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As a child, Serr had traveled with Aunt Fiia to Tind a handful of times for trade, and even though he knew there had to be more to an entire settlement than elderly Winds gawking at pies, he had labeled the place as boring and that label had stuck. At first, he'd silently dreaded coming here, but they had been in the south for a while, long enough for him to realize stealing from tourists wasn't a lifelong gig and stability didn't mean stagnation. Eziya had valuable skills and he... well, Serr was good at sneaking around. They could manage a bit of a change. They might even thrive up here.

The nomads they were traveling with had no use for a thief, but he was making himself useful by teaching a few of the younger children sleight of hand, and a healer was always welcome. They were on their way to Iory, and if he was being honest, Serr was very excited to see all the sail scales.

Of course, it helped that Eziya seemed happy too. He squeezed her hand in return and looked at her properly, something he'd gotten better at since they'd been back on the road. People had grown accustomed to his tendency to avert his eyes when he spoke to them, and meeting new traveling companions was a good way to break him of that, at least for a little while. Eziya was stunning today, but that was a fact that never changed. Serr realized he was smiling and looked down at his shoes. Shoes. They were barely more than sandals, but they were still weird.

As for playing a game, well, he was always up for that. "It's supposed to be rocky, so I hope there are some interesting caves. I'm not sure what we might discover in them though." He thought there might be water too, farther outside of town, but he didn't hear much about people exploring it, so it was probably dangerous. "What do you think we'll see?"

"Yes. Pirate hoards. There will be gems and crates of fancy clothes. And maybe it wasn't just the place they stored the stuff they stole. Maybe there will be whole rooms they carved out of the rock. Bedrooms and rooms for dancing and a big kitchen with a tunnel that goes up to the sky and lets out all of the smoke." It was rather ridiculous, the thought that they would be the first to find these things and that time and other scavengers wouldn't have robbed them of their usefulness, but it was still fun to think about.

"We could make it our summer home." Serr laughed, and the short huff seemed to surprise even him. "Or a special place for medical..." Experiments? No, that sounded creepy. "Discoveries."

When she mentioned their potential treasures in particular, Serr had a similar series of thoughts. As far as possessions went, he had his ring, his clothes, his feathers, his daggers, and the cuff on his arm, but that was about it. While he'd once had a small hoard, trading the things he's stolen for the things they needed had satisfied him more than keeping them. He'd even had to get rid of Ulgo. Unfortunately, the needs of a fully grown snapptrotter had been a little out of his league, though the creature's absence had been the only thing to spark a twinge of failure in his chest whenever he thought about it. Was he that bad at caring for living things? Or had he just started too big?

"You look better than me," he said without hesitation. "And I know Auntie has at least two dresses because I brought them to her." He had worn one of them to make a getaway many, many years ago. "But those were too... poofy. And pink. If I had to pick the best fancy clothes for you, they would sparkle like the stars." If that was poetic, he hadn't intended it to be. It was the simple truth.

Serr bent to press a quick kiss to her blushing cheek when he saw her fingers sweep over her arms. "Do you want fancy clothes and treasures and a cave in the rocks? He smiled again. "I'll get them for you?" His words rose with amused uncertainty. It was nice to say, but he had no idea how he would manage all of that if she said yes.

"Me?" Serr said, bringing his free hand to his chest like a flustered maiden even as he kept his voice low. "I'm the best around?" He chuckled once then looked ahead, his smile slowly slipping back to neutrality as he watched the wind travelers around them. Was this the life for them too? He honestly wasn't sure anymore.

After a short stretch of steady walking, he turned to her once again, his eyes wide and earnest. "If you ever do want anything else... I don't have to take it. I can earn it. Because you'll always have me, so... just in case you want something more."

"No, I..." Serr looked thoughtful for a couple of steps, then said, "I'm not worried about us eating or having a place to stay. And I'm happy." Frighteningly so. "But I want you to be more than happy. So, if you ever want something..." He stopped speaking. That wasn't what she had asked, and more than anything he wanted Eziya to feel reassured.

"We manage things together. And I promise I'll tell you if I ever want anything."

Another squeeze. Serr's worry faded, at least for a couple of seconds. He shouldn't have been concerned about meeting her parents, but the thought made his stomach flip-flop until he pushed the feeling down.

"Yeah! We should." He swallowed. "I know you said you don't want me changing who I am, but maybe... a little? I want them to like me."

Serr smiled to himself and nodded a little as he looked down at the ground once more. He didn't think he'd ever go out of his way to locate his actual mother for introductions and pleasantries, so at least they wouldn't have to deal with that.

"I understand. Well... I won't be taking anything directly from them, so they probably won't be able to tell I've ever stolen anything at all. Unless you want to tell them..." That might be a disaster, but it was up to her. Again it struck him that he was worrying quite a bit about this potential future event, like he had to pass some mysterious test when she had just told him he did not. "Everything will be fine." The statement was as much for him as it was for her.