The sun shined into the bedroom on the top floor of the guild. The beams of light drifted across the linen's and up to the two faces resting on the pillows.

Kaz opened his eyes and rolled over to Noyiah, with his hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to his shirtless body for a hug. "Good morning beautiful," he spoke almost like a whisper in her ear before kissing her cheek.

Is she woke up Kaz would raise up his body so they could face each other and kiss her lips, moving his hand to her cheek.

"Our first full day off in a while. It feels like its been ages. Sorry things have been so busy recently," he said still smiling at having her next to him.

"Today is nothing but relaxation though. Did you have a cafe in mind?" he asked to verify their plans. If she didn't Kaz had no problem taking to the streets for a walk and seeing what they ran into.

Once their embrace was over, Kaz would roll to his side of the bed, sat-up, and stretched. His muscles released the tension with the yawn that followed. He stood up and walked to the floor-length window that led to the balcony. Their room was on the back end of the guild with nothing but a steep cliffside drop off so there was no worry of anyone seeing through it. They were scrapping the sky above the city in the guildhall and the vast expanse of the city and sea could be seen from the room.  

"It's a great day outside," Kaz said as the sky was clear and blue. Not a rain cloud in sight and he could feel a gentle breeze blowing from the other side of the shut window.

He made his way to the shower, as Noyiah was gathering some things together and if he went first the room would already be warm for her. The shower water started and he let the water wake him up for the day to come. it wasn't long before he remerged from it with a towel over his head t dry himself off.

"Alright. all yours my love," he said as he finished drying his hair.  As they passed each other he'd run his hand along her hip, playfully.

"Should I pack anything for the hike up the cliff. I can get the snacks for the griffon's ready too?"

He would say as he faced his toughest choice of the day. Choosing an outfit to wear.

outfit:

Noyiah awoke with the touch on her shoulder, her eyes opened slowly as she blinked off the blurriness.  She had been sleeping a lot better since they opened the guild to the public, but she wasn’t sure what was wrong, she just knew something was off.   His hand on her shoulder was still comforting nonetheless, and the kiss was enough to pull her attention to him.   She would smile at him as he lifted himself to get a better angle for a proper kiss, his hand cupping her cheek. She would blush slightly, even after all the times before, it was one of the nicest ways to wake up." good morning"

He asked if she had a café in mind, and like she often did, she had a place already in mind. “a new place opened up a week or so back, The Ebb and flow café or something to do with the tide, not sure about how good they are or even when they open, just seen the sign show up one day”
Once he turned away and moved to his side of the bed she would get up, getting out of bed and grabbing her outfit for the day, she opted for something a little heavier.  She pulled out a large bundle of cloths whites and Beiges mostly and placed it into the dresser.  As Kazimir remarked about the sky Noyiah moved to the window to look out.  it did look like a nice day; she could see a bit a movement to the top of the Clift side but nothing to alarming likely just a root blowing in the breeze or the wing of a bird who nested on the side.   But the distraction was long enough for Kazimir to make it to the bathroom first.

Once he finished in the bathroom she grabbed her cloths, he passed by her and gave her a slight touch on her hip as she passed him “Hey!” she reacted slapping his hand away “keep it professional” she said clearly not seriously as she smirked and rushed to the bathroom,  closing the door most of the way before poking her head out just enough to wink at him before she closed and locked the door.  
The shower would be heard starting up as she was asked about what he wanted to pack which she called out from behind the door “Smores! And Jerky! ~” she said giving as little instruction as possible before she pulled the shower curtain and started her shower.  

She got ready washing herself up and brushing her hair and getting ready for the day, spending the extra time to put on some makeup and place a fabric flower in her hair.  After about an hour later she would exit fully ready to take on the day.  As she exited the bathroom, she looked to see what he had been doing.

Outfit:

He hadn't placed it just yet nor did she talk about it. But there was something amiss. From time to time he caught a faint expression on her face not typical for her as if something was weighing heavily on her mind. He never pressed the issue, knowing when she was ready she would talk about it but perhaps he'd ask her today once they had some time.

As always she was ready with a location in mind. "The Ebb And Flow. I'm sure it will be delightful. I assumed you'd have already had a place in mind," he said with a grin about her astute attention to the details of wherever she lived. "I wonder what they have for breakfast?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling in thought for a second.

He retracted his hand as she smacked it away with a smirk and quick retort. He shook his hand as if the blow was far worse than it was but had a smile on his face. He brought that same hand up into a salute, "Yes Ma'am," he replied before she hastily made her way into the bathroom.

He shook his head and then gave a breathy chuckle at the wink she gave before shutting the door. She always had a way to melt him away with the simplest of gestures.

"S'mores and jerky," he replied scratching the back of his head. "Now how am I supposed to accomplish that one." He crossed his arms and thought for a moment. The shower had just started and if he knew anything about Noyiah he could guess her average time getting ready and knew what he had to work with.

A cracked his neck and opened the window. "Well, I guess I have magic for a reason." His last words before diving out of the window and free-falling. There was more than one way to get his hair dry. Before he hit the ground he'd cause a gust of wind to land him safely in front of the store.

"I'll have a bag of jerky please," he asked not realizing the cashier was giving him an odd look, not just from the fall but the fact that he was still in shirt and pants he wore out of the shower.

"Uh, here you go,"the cashier said cautiously as she handed him the bag. With a quick thank you, he was off to ride the wind back up the cliffside. He flipped back in through the window breathing heavy. The shower was off now and he assumed she would be in the process of brushing out her long hair.

He took the next moment to gather up some of the supplies he had in a cabinet. S'mores tucked away enough for them and some hungry griffons. When he heard the door open he would through on his actual robe for the day and would be putting the final bags of s' more ingredients and jerky into a bag.

"Alright, that should do it then," He said turning to face her with his hands on his hips. The only professional thing about his attire was his blue outer robe because beneath it was still the pants and shirt he wore out of the shower, like pajamas.

Meanwhile, Noyiah exited, looking sublime. Her attire captured Kaz's attention whole-heartedly. Her outfit choice reminded Kaz of his own culture and his long-forgotten home. "You look incredible Noyiah," he said softly as he held up both their packed bags, one in each hand.

Once they left the room they would see a seemingly empty guild. Most people were out on missions or our getting a feel for the town still.

During the time she was in the shower Kazimir grabbed things from the store and fulfilled her Request. By the time he came back she was dressed and ready for the most part.  She had been waiting to wear these robes for quite a while for a number of reasons,  some of it had to do with the amount of missions they had been on since they opened the guild, it was an outfit that reminded her of something Judith would wear,  but it was more of a fashion that Kazimir seemed to wear quite a bit though she never really knew if it was a cultural thing or a preference.

Her efforts seemed to not go unseen though, as Kazimir told her how incredible she looked, she couldn’t help but smile “ I’m glad you like it, I’ve had it for a bit  but was waiting for a day we had off together,  its not really practical for the field and seems to informal for the Guild house.” She explained as she eyed up the bags, he was carrying.  “we should get a move on I took a little too long to get ready and I’m sure they are getting anxious” Noyiah said  moving towards the doors if the room and sliding a pair of sandals on.  

Once they were in the main area of the guild house, there was only a few people here and there. It didn’t really seem out of the ordinary for Noyiah, and she didn’t really take note of the lack of people.  The town on the other hand seemed quiet busy as they wandered down the hill and into the streets, Noyiah smirked slightly as she looped her arms around Kazimir’s and walked beside him “ at least this hill is half the size of the walk to work in Era” she said amused with her remark, but it a fairly good mood.

She would nod towards people as they passed,  she would point out the way as they walked to the café, moving through the doors of the new establishment, you could tell they were getting quite a bit of costumers, but it wasn’t currently too busy at the moment.    One other person stood in line in front of them, and Noyiah looked around recalling how different her life was only a year ago, she recalled the hours upon hours she spent in Cafés waiting for jobs.    She remembered the day she met Kazimir, going through the first day they spent together in her mind, as she pressed into him a little bit more.

When it was their turn to order Noyiah ordered her usual coffee with two milk, and then waited to the side so Kazimir could order, breaking free from his arm so he could spent the rest of the time carrying his coffee and the bags and she would impede his movement.

“ next is the hike up the side, it should be about 30 minutes of uphill walking unless your going to fly us up,  im good with either, im not in any rush today” she said as they exited the shop after one of them payed.

He had a smile as she explained she was saving it for a day they had together. It was sweet that she thought so much that she even went out to get something from Kaz's own culture. Although he did chuckle at her remark about the impracticality and shrugged, "You're right. It isn't the easiest to fight in. Sometimes if I know things will be hefty, I wear more combat fitting clothes beneath and drop the robe. As for the guild," he looked at his own attire that he wore daily, "Are you saying I dress too informally around here?" he asked with a teasing tone in his voice.

"Yeah, we should probably get going," he replied and followed her out the door.
They made their way into the city and Kaz happily let her loop his arm and moved in close to her with a smile and kissed the side of her head.

"Yeah, at least we don't have that long walk. Helps that we leave where we work for now," he said as he put a hand to his chin and looked above them. "Although I was thinking a cable care would be nice to put in."

They stood in the line at the cafe and she pressed softly into him, gathering his attention. His mind wandering back to the first times they had come to cafe's together and when they met. He was glad that could keep such a tradition alive and find a new place to enjoy together.

Kaz ordered a hot chocolate for the walk and as Noyiah unlooped her arm, the wind mage readjusted the bags and took a sip of his hot chocolate that left behind a foam mustache on his lip. He smiled and wiped it with his sleeve as he joined beside her for the hike. Kaz left the money on the counter for both of them.

"Well then, since the day is so nice, why don't we walk up and fly back down?" he asked and if she agreed they would begin the not so long walk up the cliffside.

The area was lined with trees and the sun was able to shine down upon them. The route was mostly well-traveled and a few benches dotted the path on the way up. Until they would reach an untraversed path that would lead to the griffon's home.

"I couldn't help but notice that somethings been on your mind recently. If you want to talk about it, You know I am here for you. But take all the time you want."

The next part of the path was worn only by the two of them heading up it to care for the griffons. It was lined with foliage and trees. A path shaded more heavily than the main one they would turn off from.

Noyiah would smirk slightly” not at all, I just like to look professional when I’m about the guild” she said before giving a slight turn so he can see multiple angles. “what you wear is entirely up to you, after all you set the dress code” she said point out the obvious.
~~~~
As the moved dow the hill from the guild gates, she made a comment about the hike up the lengthy hill from their previous guild, And Kazimir mentioned a cable car which she quickly agreed with “ that would be great, I never even considered a cable car. . . wait why didn’t the Magic council have one? The hill alone was 20 minutes of my 25 minute commute. “ she complained realizing that this was certainly a good and reasonable solution.
~~~~
When left with the option to fly up top or to climb the hill side Kazimir came up with a compromise that Noyiah agreed with a nod “ sounds fair” she would say before turning towards the road that lead along side the ledge. Following it over to the far side they would be able to climb through a small area of trees before they would reach the path upwards. Noyiah would take a sip of her coffee but she still seemed a little distant. From her perspective she wasn’t able to understand the changes within her behaviour in the last few weeks either, she kept hearing something calling to her, when alone odd things kept happening, like the moss on the ship or her prized bell ringing out to her for no reason.

When Kazimir asked her about it she would nod and smile. “thanks for understanding.” she would reply avoiding the issue for the time being, still unsure if she wanted to say anything. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to discuss it as much as she didn’t understand it, it was the unknown that she feared. On one hand she was fairly certain she was slowly descending into madness, but on the other hand nothing seemed wrong, it just seemed to leave her with a sense of being lost.

After a few minutes of silence as they walked up the hill she would continue to think to herself, trying to find something she could offer out, some sort of reassurance that everything was fine. Kazimir had been nothing but Wonderful in the transitions over the course of their relationship, he had met her at a point in her life that seemed like she had everything put together, and then was there for her when she got into the Rune knights and then yet again throughout her training. He had been there for her when she doubted her own abilities and then again when they were getting ready to start the new guild, it was something that she overlooked, but he head really been there through her version of thick and thin. “ I appreciate you giving me the space to process everything, but I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I feel like normal but I’m finding that things that are happening aren’t making any sense. I think I might be losing a part of my mind, I feel more forgetful. Like im never really ever present anymore, I noticed it during the lessons and during the missions out to sea.” She would try her best to illustrate her troubles but found herself explaining things in a way that didn’t line up. “ I think the waters getting to me, I hear the water calling out to me, but I cant ever seem to find the source of the voice, its in my dream and with me whenever things go quiet” she would explain further, “ its familiar in a way, but its so distant. . I just don’t understand” she said eventually able to get more to the source of her issue, not that she thought Kazimir could help, but she owed it to him to at least tell him what was wrong even if he couldn’t help her through it, keeping him in the dark wasn’t right.

As they reached the shade Noyiah would take another sip of coffee before pausing to look out over the town and water, hearing the voice again, but tuned it out, this time it felt like it was the wind itself calling to her, but she was scared that if she paid any attention to it would slowly drive her insane.

He laughed at the realization that they had been without one the whole time in the knights, "You know...that is a good question."

-----------


With her response, he understood that she needed more time to process all the things she was going through. He nodded back to show her he understood and they kept the walk going. There was a pause in the conversation as she seemed in thought and he was trying to think of something less pressing to talk about.

He was content being by her side and knowing that she would talk when she was ready. The way they always had. They had been together for over a year and gone experienced much more in that short time frame than most couples he would imagine. He was able to lean on her in his times of doubt and weakness. When the knights broke a part he didn't know what he would do or where he would go. She was always the one he could show his more vulnerable side to. He never told her but if it wasn't for her, he may not have walked down the path of starting the guild.

He looked at her as she suddenly began to speak again. her first sentence seemed like they would leave it at that but she opened the door to him with the next. He was about to say something but kept silent as she continued. Her explanation made him wonder if it was because of some strange creature out at sea that had done it. There were beings they encountered recently that could alter the way a person thought and acted. reach out to them in their dreams. It was more concerning than he thought. His first guess was that it was some anxiety about their direction or about the sea. He had no idea she began to doubt her sanity.

It sent a shiver up his spine as it reminded him of the dark days when something similar had happened to him. "The waters...speaking to you?" he asked as a question but certainly not implying he thought she was crazy. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were going through all of that and yet you always perceive and push yourself to work."

He looked away for a moment and thought. He could ask her a million things and give a thousand ideas but maybe none of that would help at all. Instead, "Noyiah. We live in a crazy world and things are hard to explain so don't feel like you have to make sense or that you're going crazy," he then turned to give her a tight hug. he began to speak gently as he pulled away.

"Noyiah do you know....wind mages are a lot like birds. But we are much dumber. We have no wings and yet just like a baby bird in a nest we jump from something high, hoping that this thing that is so light you could breathe it in without feeling it, will catch us and keep us a float."  He said as way to lighten things a bit and how sometimes you have to trust the unknown.

He then spoke straight from his heart, "You're not going crazy Noyiah. I don't know what's happening to you and it can be scary. I lost myself once too. I heard voices in my head and was taken over by the spirit in my magic. I watched from within my soul as I acted like something else," he made eye contact with her, "I'm not trying to completely compare my situation with yours. What I'm saying is. I have an idea of how scary something like this can be. And I will be by your side now and always. If you want to dive into the waters and face it, I'll be there when you emerge or to pull you out. You won't be taken by the tide," he said in almost a surreal way. It was hard for him to believe. Noyiah was speaking about the water the same as people did when he was a young boy first meeting the clan of water. "You aren't losing your mind. You are still the woman I fell in love with.

"I...if...you want, I was shown an old trick by someone dear to me, who loved the water. It always seemed to bring them clarity," he offered with love but a wistfulness in his voice from a memory long ago.

They paused and he caught her starring off again. Now he didn't know if it was to enjoy the view or to face some unknown fear. He knew she would need to face it eventually but doing so was one of the most frightening things a person could do. he took a sip of his chocolate and when she was brought back he would just stand alongside her to walk once more.

As he Repeated her words aloud she immediately shook her head and was about to say how crazy it sounded, but he managed to beat her to the draw as he continued to talk to her.  She wanted to dispute it but he was right, she pushed herself to work almost always, if not as part of the guild she was at work as a mother to Iris or Raising the Gryphons.  There was very little she wasn’t working, but she couldn’t help but think that it had to do with when she felt at peace the call came to her again, she needed to keep busy to avoid its presence.  “I made commitments, that I would do my job through any obstacle, that I wouldn’t let the sinister intentions of the world go unchecked. “she said Referring to the promise they had made the king, before everything fell apart and her allegiance to the guild

He Continued to comfort her as they walked, it was a lot like the conversation they had had, when she was talking about having to do investigations on mages,  how the rules of the world didn’t apply to them because their magics allowed for them to bypass logic, she recalled the day as accurately as possible,  images of Kazimir sitting across with her with his Rough looking tin cup drinking tea with her as she drank her coffee and waited for her next investigation.  Although things had changed so much in the last year and a half, she could easily remember most of their talks,  the conversations that took place around a clasped cup it was quite remarkable that amount of comfort they could provide for each other.   After hearing him tell her she wasn’t crazy she felt immediately better about the situation,  self-doubt and anxiety built within her as she Focused on her issues and tried not to burden others with her problems. Her issue was still that despite having a Family and a lot of friends she still tried to handle everything on her own.  Her Thoughts were interrupted as she felt him wrap his arms around her,  holding her back to press her close and tight to him, her eyes widening as she looked at him.  At first her hands stayed extended out  as she protected her coffee from spilling before she  wrapped her hand not holding the coffee around him. To embrace in such a hug always seemed to help her out,  there was something about his hugs that told her that the world will be fine, she would get lost in his consolation, not releasing the hug until he did.

His next statement made her smile slightly, as he compared the logic of a bird to that of a wind mage, the trust he had in his magic was something she had overlooked. Where mages could trust in their magic, people like Noyiah couldn’t rely on such things, only themselves and the struggles they undergo to try and stay in a world dominated by magic and whimsy.  “I never looked at it that way, but it’s not really the trust in the air but in yourself, and your ability to use your gifts to your strengths.”  She disputed, though she still seemed to cheer up a bit.

She could tell he was trying to be Sincere, and she appreciated the attempt but his next set of words didn’t provide her with any bit of comfort, as she worried that it might have been a possibility that she could become something other then herself, that she could potential hurt her family, friends and guildmates.  “  if . .  . “ she paused for a second “ if for some reason I lose control of myself can I count on you to stop me through any means necessary, or is that something I cant ask of you,  I know it would be tough, but I want to know if you could. . . well you know. “she said softly knowing it was a difficult subject.  “ I just need to know ill be kept in check if things go badly” she clarified  in a way that sounded less like having to deal with her in a combat sense, despite what she meant.

He offered her a trick he knew from someone who he held dear, though his words held key indications,  that the person he talked about were either no longer dear to him or that they had passed away at some point,  but it wasn’t something she wanted to bring up, there was no point in calling it out at this point.  She nodded softly “ I wouldn’t mind trying it, if you think it would help” she meekly, knowing that he only meant the good intentions but his words had opened up a bit of doubt within herself that she didn’t know resided within her.  She would stop near the shade and look out over the city, taking a drink of her coffee she would hear the faint call out to her, and slowly  she would  look about and then back to Kazimir seeing the slightest bit of worry in her expression she would say “ you were right though, it is a nice day” she said taking in the view of the town below as she took another few drinks of her coffee. She attempted to ignore the echoing sound that sounded to her like a loud humming white noise that wouldn’t seem to cease.   She knew if she tried to fake like everything was alright that he would call her on it, they had been together long enough to know the subtleties of one another’s behaviors. “ we should keep going though, I’m sure the Gryphons are waiting” she said in attempts to turn the subject away from herself  and shift it to the task for today.  

She would continue to walk offering to take the bag from him “ I can carry it the rest of the way up if you’d like” she said motioning to the bag  before  finishing off her coffee.

The wind on the hill side was soft and warm, the taste of salt fresh off the sea was something that they were getting used to,  it a very distinct smell, the kind that isn’t easily mistaken for another.  The sky itself was a vibrant and Bright Blue that only had small patches of clouds.  Each cloud would Sift by as the wind blew it past,   the gust was enough to rattle the trees  and shake their leaves and as it passed by them Noyiah couldn’t help but watch the leaves dance down from the tree’s, feeling almost captivated by its beauty.

Her answer was everything he expected it to be. A resolute response to her duty and passion as a person, a knight and someone seeking to bring compassion to the world. He just smiled even though he worried about her. They both were a bit of work addicts and it was days like this that helped put things into perspective for him.

He did his best to comfort her through her mix of emotions. Struggling through but trying his best. Any small peace of mind he could bring her was a triumph for him. Her battle was a long road ahead of her, but one she didn't need to face alone. His embrace came from nowhere, and she stood still for a moment, before holding him back. The wind rustled the stalks of grain dotted around them and danced through the leaves. Her perfume mingled with the spring air.

They broke apart as he talked about the wind and then she replied. A statement that made him tilt his head and put his hand out in front of him to feel the wind push against it. "It's tricky to explain. But it's a little of both. And mages cast magic differently. For me its...more like an agreement than control. If the spirit ever felt I was unworthy he would no longer carry me. I control it but only because it lets me. Like my hand motions are the request and its arrival is the answer. The wind is just as alive as I am," He said as he was lost in his own thoughts, feeling the wind on his face. Thinking of the turbulent and soothing times. She was right in that it was his gift he had to trust but it was also in trusting the wind to answer his call.

Things took a more bleak turn that he didn't expect. He was stunned by her request but he could understand where it was coming from. Nothing inside Kazimir believed for one second it would go that far. Kaz looked away with a heavy sigh, thinking about it. As much as he didn't want to entertain those thoughts he couldn't dismiss that she felt it was a real possibility.

"Noyiah," he said with a brief pause. "I am sure you are too stubborn for that to ever happen. But if it does... I won't let anything happen to you or anyone else," he said implying that he would try and keep everyone safe. "You won't have to have the thought that you harmed people weighing on your mind. Or that you'll have to be harmed," he said with a voice full of hope that she also wouldn't be harmed.

"But whatever happens. Even if things go that far. I'll find a way to pull you back."

As she agreed to the little trick, Kaz gave a quick scan of the area. "Great. I know a little place up ahead that would be perfect for it."

She urged them to carry on towards the Griffins and Kaz nodded in agreement. They couldn't keep them waiting all day. "They'll be ecstatic for the snacks."

"Oh...thank you," he said, handing her the bag. if they hadn't been together for so long, he would have continued to carry it but it was the little things like this that made a long relationship just a bit more meaningful.

They pressed onward in the enthralling beauty of the countryside. Noyiah stopped to gaze at the falling leaves. A gentle stream washed over rocks beside them as they approached the winding path upwards. A fish from time to time could be heard splashing out of the water. It was the exact place Kaz wanted to find.

"Come with me," he said as he walked over the ankle-high water. He took of his shoes and rolled up his pant legs. Raising his foot he took a careful step into the water that had been warmed by the sun.

He turned to face Noyiah with both his hands held out for her to join him. As she got in, he would kneel down and pick up a small pebble. They would be standing in the part of the water that was nearly still.

If she took his hand he would interlock their fingers, "Now we just close our eyes," If she did, he would put his forehead on hers. She could feel his heartbeat in his fingers and his palm.

He held his free hand between them with the pebble within. Slowly he opened his hand and let it drop with a splash into the water. It sent out ripples around their feet and water splashing up on their legs.

"They said if you let it. The ripples almost match our heartbeat, and our heartbeats ebb and flow with it. Reminding us that we are one. We are connected," he said as their beating hearts gently thudded against their chests while the ripples washed by their ankles one after another. "Sometimes I just do it to think. To regather myself. When I was traveling alone. A kind of meditation"

After she disputed his claim of trusting in the air,  she would nod whilst listening, it was a nice distraction to hear about the inner workings of his magic,  something that she didn’t know about,  she knew he had been gifted his magic by a Elemental embodiment, but she wasn’t sure too much more than this.  She Assumed that he had to work quite hard to control wind, to work with something you have to sense is there, something you couldn’t see unless it worked.

After she had blindsided him with a request to stop her if ever she lost control,  he started to  speak against her request,  but after he said Stubborn,  she would interject “  Determined”, correcting his Adjective, before letting him proceed.  After he essentially Agreed to her request she would nod, leaving it at that, though she was grateful for his answer.  It wasn’t that she thought she was losing control, but she worried about what was transpiring, and she didn’t know what it would be like to suddenly lose control, at least now she had some control through her actions before hand.  She knew it was a lot to ask of him, but she knew he would do anything he could.  He sounded quite Remorseful when he admitted he lost control the first time he mentioned it, something at the time Noyiah had dismissed rather easily, she couldn’t see him, even now able to do what he said.  Which made her think it was over with, his actions were not of his own choice, and he did was he could to stop them.   But Noyiah was a lot more of an internal thinker, and if she was unable to stop herself from actions like what Kazimir had happen to him, she wouldn’t be able to live the same life, she would surely die of Remorse.  “thankyou” she responds after he said he would pull her back if something like that ever happened.

Once she agreed to the Trick with water, Kazimir seemed to already have a spot picked out, which if she hadn’t been still internally Processing what she had said, might have been a bit curious of his readiness.  Luckily, she didn’t Catch the thought as it swirled within her mind.  She Would nod and look back out over the town below, she had to remain strong for the people, she promised the king this, and wouldn’t back out regardless what happens.

After she looked back at him  and reminded him of the waiting Gryphons,  before she offered to take the bag, he Said thankyou and she just smiled at him. During her Storm of Thoughts she knew a few absolute truths, and one of them was the amount of love and Care he had for her, it was not something that someone could fake, not for as long as they had been together.  She was extremely Grateful to have found someone who was prefect  for her,  to balance her Logical and Emotional turmoil’s,  someone who Cared so deeply for her, and someone who matched her Determination with his own efforts.  She was truly grateful for have found him.

As they continued along the path Noyiah managed to ignore the call of the wilds for the time being,  the beauty of the nature around them was beautiful in its own simple way, and she seemed to be in a better mood now, or at least was able to hide he confused she was.

As they approached the shallow Stream Noyiah looked about the area, taking in its organic Magnificence, she listened as the stream moved, and the sound of Trickling water flooded her  Sense of hearing.  The sound that broke everything up was Kazimir’s Sweet voice calling her to join him.  She would place the bag of goodies on the ground and then  Slide her Sandals off and scrunch up the bottom of her robes,  before twisting them up and tucking it back into the Belt that was tied over her waist,   giving her enough room to move,  but also tucking all the fabric that would get wet  at just over her knees.  Once she went to take a step, she felt the Earthy sand and rocks below her feet, the feeling of sand on her skin often irritated her, but it felt right.  Her hands slowly Reached out towards Kazimir’s as he guided her to him.  The waters gentle touch on her feet was energizing, a vigorous Rejuvenation of her energy as she took each step. Something about the moment they were in right now seemed perfect.  Like it was meant to happen, no sense of wrong or red flags as she would often refer to them, could be picked out.  The Waters warmth traveled through her as she felt like water flowed through her.  She watched him kneel and pick up a stone.  Before she would interlock her fingers with his,  as she did as she was instructed, closing her eyes.  She listened as he explained the process, which seemed a bit ridiculous from her rational perspective.

Though the darkness of her eyes being shut,  let in only the  warmth of the light, without the light itself,  Each time she felt her heart beat, a Small flash of Colours,  not unlike the Northern lights seemed to present itself to her.  The Stone hit the water with a small burst of impact, splashing up her legs,  but she felt the Ripples slowly push against her, and Kazimir Continued to explain what she was suppose to be feeling.   She focused in on what he said as she awaited to flow of water running into her,  as it slowly linned up with the beat of her heart for a short period of time before it seemed to lose sync with her.

The Lights she was seeing behind her eyelids seemed to move with the flow as it pushed and then pulled back,  as if it wore against something in her mind,  She urged it to Push higher, revealing the object in her mind with the colourful water rushing against it.  She quickly Realized  that as this was happening in her mind  she felt the same thing on her legs.   She would Quickly Open her eyes to watch the water pull itself away from them with an unnatural force and then Slam back into their legs,  its aim to  splash higher and high up their legs.  Before it stopped and returned to its Tranquil stream. “ Is that suppose to happen? “ she asked looking to Kazimir with a Confused expression.  Not having put together yet that it might have been her pushing it to behave.  

She would lean back over and pick up the same stone that they had dropped once before.  She held it up for a moment before she took a deep breath and let it drop a second time,  though this time as the stone fell she felt water  rain down around her, as the stone Plummet down and Created such a Forceful impact  against the surface of the water, the Tension of the surface Collapsed upon itself and caused it to sound like a cannonball landed beside them. Spraying water all over the pace.   As the Bell she kept on her belt started to ring out.  A Green Magic Circle would light up under Kazimir and a Surge of Magic would Rush through him.  It would feel familiar to him, but would make him feel Considerably stronger.  And then immediately Disappear,  as Noyiah opened her eyes  and looked about at the water taking a Few steps backwards to leave the stream.  “ did you do that?” she asked looking at Kazimir wide eyed a bit of hesitation in her voice.

Spells Used (Mana 2025/2050) :

Kaz was holding her hand as they closed their eyes to fill the push and pull of the water. He had stood in this very similar place many times and was accustomed to the way the water moved, but something was different and familiar at the same time.

He felt the water recede from around his feet suddenly. He opened his eyes to see the water pulled back to reveal the bare ground at his feet. He wiggled his toes on the silt and rock of the exposed river bed. It lasted only an instant before the waters rushed forward, trying to reach higher up his legs. He flashed back to years ago as a child when something similar happened. His mind tried to refute it but his gut knew what it meant. That was unnatural for water to do. It had to be...

She saw it too, clear as day and asked him about it. Kaz looked back at her. He paused not sure what exactly to say but gave her a simple... "No, not unless," he said as his brows furrowed in a confused look at Noyiah. It couldn't be, all this time...no...he kept thinking in his mind as she picked up another pebble.

He waited with bated breath as she dropped the pebble back to the water. It felt so slow to him like it was moving inches at a time. Whatever was going to happen next would cast things back to normal or send them into an all-new world. The pebble hit like a cannon. Kaz's eyes flashed wide with a faint gasp. The water sprayed all over them and Kaz stood motionless for a moment.

The bell she wore rank and a green magic circle formed around them. Kaz looked left and right seeing all the edges of the green circle. His mind searching for an answer but it was already there. An answer that swept through his body like a shiver, followed by a surge of magic that filled his muscles. he rose his arms and turned them over while opening and closing his hands. He felt stronger...much stronger. He tightened his fist and felt a new power squeezing harder than he had before. His leg muscles flexed and tightened out of reflex.

He felt Noyiah step back but Kaz stayed where he was and examined what had happened. He lifted a rock and heaved it. The rock whizzed through the air, twice as far as he had ever thrown one. The green magic circle was gone and he felt the power within him, beginning to fade. But he knew now what it was without doubt. His eyes slowly panned back up to Noyiah with a confused and exhilarated smile. She wasn't crazy at all.

"Magic can bend and break the laws of the world Physics and science don't matter to it. But there are rules that it follows. Limits on power, distance, speed. And most importantly..." he said as he took in a deep breath and gathered the wind around him. He began to cast a spell and a white magic circle appeared around his feet. "Every mage has an element. And every element has a color. Mine is white," he took a few steps out of the water to Noyiah. His foot pressing him up onto the river bank.

"And yours...yours is green. The color of Nature." He put his hands on her shoulder, knowing that this was going to be an unbelievable shock. it changed everything for her, maybe even down to her feelings and relationship with her sister.

"You're not crazy. You're a mage."

She had heard him say ~ unless~   and then pause, as she felt compelled to let the stone drop.

After she asked if he had done the larger splash,  figuring it might have been him splashing her, and that all of this might have been a ruse to splash her and have some fun,  at least it would have taken the focus off her dwelling, But he replied with something that boggled her mind.

“Magic?” she asked in disbelief, “I don’t have magic “she said matter-of-factly. She felt his hand rest on her shoulders as she stood in the water “Nature?” she questioned looking at him and then to the water, and then to the sky.   Had it really been calling to her this entire time and she was unable to hear it properly, like it was in a Language  all its own. Something she had never experienced before.

As Kazimir Said ~ Your not crazy you’re a mage~   it felt more real, something she had dreamed about as a child,  how heart breaking it had been to watch her sister have the gift she wanted so badly,  and the find out that most of her childhood and the struggles she dealt with  were for nothing.  

Instinctively she touched the bell at her side, it brought her comfort, a gift from her sister, who she had had so much Envy towards, despite trying hard to be a good sister.  A Sister who had magic at an early age, something that Noyiah had been so jealous of, for it to turn out  to activate her innate magical Abilities.    It hit her all at once how awful of a sister she had been, having not reached out to talk to her in so long because she was afraid to hear she was even better the she was before.  How she hadn’t talked to her mother in close to a year, having played ignorant to the passage of time, how she hadn’t even sent a letter in the last year or visited her mother.

The Feelings of being a poor family member, clashed with the triumph of having magic, the two feelings mixed  to create a Cocktail of Dread and excitement.    She  knew she had to talk to her mother and her sister,  but now with so much time that had passed it seemed harder and harder each new day, and now to suddenly say something because she had magic seemed petty and almost worse then staying reclusive.

“ I’m a mage” she repeated softly, as she looked out at the water,  “ a Nature mage”  she said thinking of the irony of have been a Urbanite most of her life,  and it wasn’t until she met Kazimir did she even bother roaming into the country side, unless she was on a specific task that couldn’t be done in town.

“ We should get to the Gryphons” she said suddenly,  almost like nothing that had just happened had occurred. As she turned away,  giving Kazimir a Peck on the cheek as she returned to shore and picked p the bags,  the Denial method was often the Method she chose then things got to be too much for her something that might have been noticed by Kazimir in their time together,  not that it happened often  but it served as a Copping mechanism  so she wasn’t as overwhelmed.  “ I bet the younglings are nearly ready to hatch,  and they  will be hungry” she said moving her robes out of the belt tie, and letting it fall back down.  Slipping her sandals on and readjusting the bag again.  Ready to move out she would turn to Kazimir “ I bet they will appreciate the Jerky, most animals cant get enough salt” she said  softly.

Her Mind still processed as they would head back to the trail that lead to the Gryphon nest,  she didn’t waste much more time getting there, other then to pick up a few sticks  here and there, collecting them up to build a small fire later.

Denial was her coping mechanism in the past and it appeared again now. It was disbelief at first, denouncing and questioning the very idea of it. It was easy to see just how much it weighed on her mind. He stood waiting for it all to sink in and would wait for however long it took for it to happen. Denial was her way of handling some things, but even more than that he knew she prided herself on a logical mind. Once she had time to stop and think and look at it rationally it would all sink in. He had a feeling she already knew it to be true but just needed time to fix how it fits into her life.

He heard the faint whisper she repeated...being a mage. Was she settling into it after all? "That's right. That's probably what the whisper was and what happened with the water," he added, thinking she was ready to talk about it. He didn't expect her to be a mage let alone one of nature, but if it was going to be an element, something about it seemed to fit her. When he thought about Nature he thought of nurturing and kindness. Traits he saw in Noyiah, day in and out.

Kaz was ready to talk her through what was going on when she suddenly changed course, "Huh? oh..yeah. Uhm," he fumbled to find the right words with the curveball she tossed at him. A complete 180 on the topic and with a peck on his cheek, she was off to the shore.

The wind mage just took a short breath and smiled, "Yeah, we can't keep them waiting." If she needed time he would give her all she needed. This was something that could change her life forever. Nothing about it was going to be easy to deal with.

He tilted his head, looking up in thought, "I've never dealt with baby griffons before. But I bet they can eat and eat and eat," if she wanted to go on as if nothing had happened then he would also.

With a small laugh, he replied, "Yeah, and those s'mores that are tucked away." He made his way to the shore and slid back on his shoes, then rolled down his pant legs. Noyiah took off up the trail and he followed suit.

It wasn't long before they could hear the tiny squawks of small griffons. Larger more robust squawks snuck in between the small ones, a sound more disciplinary. The small griffons, tumbled over there own feet and had to be scooted back into the nest for safety multiple times.

Both of their griffon's laid at either side of the nest. There was some food speckled around the nest from a hunt, but the baby griffons sprang to life, once the aroma of Noyiah's jerky hit their tiny noses. Noyiah's griffon almost looked like it cocked its brow at the other bag that held the s'mores. The same snack it had eaten when they first met.

Kaz knelt down by his griffon and pet his ruffled wings. "Good to see you again my friend," he said with a smile. The griffon nudged Kaz with its beak and then batted him with his wing from behind. The griffon shoved Kaz into the nest. He fell on his butt, surrounded by the badger sized griffon's that now playfully pounced on him, while squawking for the meaty treat.

It wasn’t so much that she didn’t hear his  snippets of Truth,  how the water whispered to her, and how this was all because of her magic,  but she was still processing,  she didn’t React to his statement at all but instead rushed them to go see the gryphons.

After Kazimir started to play along with her delusion, and started talking about the baby Gryphons, he commented on how much they could eat “From what I read they can eat their weight right after their hatch.  But we are taking about sweets Children so it could be A lot more” she said with a shrug as she started towards the top of the cliffside.  Leaving Kazimir to catch up a bit “Yeah I’m still not sure how good smores are for Gryphons  but I cant really stop now” she said  not taking her eyes off the trail ahead, gathering the odd stick  here and there as she reached the top.

Once near the top the Sounds of soft Squawking could be easily heard, a mix of the parents and then Newly Hatched Griflets,  Small Creatures  no bigger then a cat excitedly bounced about as they approached. After she could see Sweets, she dropped the small arm load of fire wood on the ground. Noyiah’s Face lit up at the Sight of them, the stress of the Day Dissolved away as she reached her hand out, and Sweets pressed her beak to her hand.  Noyiah would then move her hand and place her forehead against its beak and brow. “ you did so good sweets,  they all look healthy and  Rambunctious” She said with a slight chuckle looking as Kazimir  was shoved into the next and the Babies Started Leaping and Bounding Near him. Noyiah still with the bag Smiled at the sight before leaning down and Tearing the small bag of Jerky open,  she then Took a few small pieces and  broke them up further,  and tossed them in on top of Kazimir like Meaty Confetti.  This was surely To make the Grifflets Trample him and try and get  the jerky.    A Smirk Arising to her lips as she watched with a slightly wicked Intent.    But she couldn’t Watch for to much longer before Sweets lightly Head butted her a few time for some jerky,   Giving some to Sweets she would start to head towards Kazimir Gryphon with a piece for him as well.  Though she felt like He Trusted her, she was still a little wary of his actions as she found him a little more unpredictable then her own Gryphon.

Her thoughts and amusement was disturbed by the wing of Sweets  pushing her towards the nest as she ended up in the small Gryphon pile as  the hatchlings jumped about attempting to find the scraps of Jerky that had rained down.   But Still having the bag on her  seemed to catch the attention of the Small intelligent beasts. As they started to Squawk at her  to get her attention.   Noyiah would  take the bag of jerky and give it to Kazimir if he was able to get it before the little menaces did.

Gryphlets :

"We may need to bring some more food next time. I don't know how fast they grow." The thought of the amount of food was terrifying. More so with how much they would eventually have to carry or having the flock of griffons flying down to meet them. They would certainly need a few more bags of jerky if the animals grew too fast.

He gave a small chuckle, "Yeah I think Sweets would be rather upset if you stopped bringing those," he remarked. Noyiah was always the more studios of the duo. Kaz had spent most of his time just letting Griff fly around and do his own hunting and they ate together. It was something he never really had to think about and Griff was used to that kind of thing.

Having played into her delusion a bit given how hard she took it, it was nice to see the smile return to her face upon seeing the griffons. Kaz couldn't believe the bouncing band of winged beasts that awaited them. All so big already and full of energy.

Kaz was already trying to keep his head above the flurry of tiny feathers when he caught a devious look on Noyiah's face as she held the little bits of jerky in her hand, "....Noyiah, let's. Let's think about this," he said in playful fear. The meat bits flew through the air and landed on top of him spurring the griffons to launch forward and bury him. He poked a single arm out of the bundle, "NOYIAH...WHY," he said between bouts of laughter as the griffon's little claws and beaks tickled him as they rooted for the treats.

She approached Kaz's griffon, the two of them still had not spent much time together. Most of the time Griff flew around wild until he was needed for something. His bird-like eyes squinted at the offering and then moved his head under her hand to butt it from below, gently. It was a gesture for her to toss it into the air. Once she did, Griff would happily snap it out of the air and wiggle himself back down. Both doing it for fun and to show the young ones how to go after something.

Soon Noyiah joined in him in the pit and the smell of the jerky took the attention of the babies. He gave a sigh of relief and a sly smile as it was Noyiah's turn now. Instead, she reacted by handing the bag of treats to Kaz, who was still blowing his own messy hair from out of his face. He looked at it and then the griffons that whirled back around.

He reached into the bag as they stampeded towards him. His breathing was slowing down, now that he wasn't being trampled and tickled. One by one he brought out a treat and tossed them up for the little ones to snap at. He sent Noyiah a devilish grin as the griffons got worked up. and 'accidentally' tossed one of the treats to her. "Whoops"

As she Waited to toss the jerky all over Kazimir, he pleaded with her playfully, before she would let it rain down, his Response was enough to make her laugh, as the pieces of jerky landed all about them and the second of Tranquility broke as the hatchlings figured out what had fallen down. His Call out to her was answered with a smile and a Laugh before she was distracted with Sweets and Griff.
Sweets had no problems being hand fed, it had started off with her tossing the treats at her, and then moved into more Personal feedings once they grew some trust between them. But Griff was Trained differently, possibly better and more self-sustaining methods.

Griff seemed to be waiting to take the treat from Noyiah as she held it out, it like he wanted it but not enough to take it from her hand, or perhaps it was just not how he was trained to take treats, Noyiah couldn’t recall at the moment, so she would toss it towards him, which was partly what he wanted.

Sweets headbutted her towards the nest, no doubt that She was proud of her children, and wanted to share them with her, once in the nest she would sit down on one side of the nest and pass off the treats to Kazimir, who Tossed the Treats up for the little gryphons, who leapt and bound towards the treats. They were smaller far less efficient hunters then their parents and collided in the air and jumped about attempting to find more of the treats. “ I didn’t think they would be this developed when they were hatched” Noyiah commented before Kazimir’s Sly grin formed and a Piece of Jerky Landed on her. A ~ Whoops~ rang out before she looked back to see the rampaging scrap cleaners flocked towards her.

The Cat Sized Gryphons Lept Towards her, knocking her over and pining her to the ground for a few seconds as they nipped and brushed their small wings over the her trying to knock the jerky around blindly, because their sight was more based on Movement, it made sense that they would try and push it around before finally managing to pin it down, as it rested On Noyiah ‘s Stomach. “ Ooo Ow Oh Stop it! your stepping on my Collarbone~“She would protest happily, as she started picking them up and placing them on the nest instead of on top her.

“ you can all have a piece if you share” She said picking the slightly Bitten and somewhat wet piece of jerky, breaking it up into three pieces she tossed one to each of them, most of them went over their heads and landed before they even attempted to catch It, but they quickly turned around and found more pieces.

She would show her hands as empty to the small Gryphons, before turning to look at Kazimir again “ we might not be able to have a fire for the smores with them roaming all about” she said tapping on of the Hatchlings beaks with her fingernail, as it tried to nip her finger. She would continue to play with the Gryflets as she turned her attention to Kazimir, her Thoughts were still in her mind, despite the adorable little distractions in front of her, she couldn’t help but wonder about other people and the magics they had, and how they got their magics. It was something she would have to ask other mages more, she bet the Judina had a good reason as to why Metal Make was her magics calling.

She would smile At Kazimir though, content with her life still, it wasn’t like he was the issue in anyway, he had been nothing but supportive in their time together, Sympathetic when the situation called for it, but mostly he was probably the best thing in her life even still. “ ill try and keep them busy over here if you’d like to try and start the fire” she said pulling one of the Gryphons tail lightly, so it would turn around and face her.

Kaz's griffon could hardly be called trained well. At least in the wind mage's eyes. Griff was a survivalist. He had only talked about it briefly but for the beginning of Kaz's and griff's relationship, Kazimir was more like an animal than a man and hunted with him. If that could even qualify as training.

"Yeah, it's amazing. I wonder how fast these little guys grow," eh responded right before his sly grin and jerky toss tactic. Kaz stood with his hands wrapped around himself laughing at the sight. When he heard her say 'ow,' he stopped laughing and reached forward instinctively to see if she was okay, but her jolly protest answered him. He stopped and went back to a light chuckle about the flock that had descended on her.

Kaz held his hand over his mouth at the soggy treat and filled his cheeks with air. He had seen a lot of things in his time, but there was something about the moist saliva dripping jerky that was...off-putting. "I think we'll have our hands full training these little ones. You've learned more about them than I ever have," he said looking over to Griff. "I raised him, hunting together. Like we were a pack," his eyes narrowed. "In retrospect that's probably what made him so bold and mischievous." Griff cocked his proud head away and scoffed. The two of them did this often and was just a part of their bond with one another. But griff did have a tendency to sneak in a prank or two on the wind mage when things were calm.

"Oh yeah. They are all over the place. Don't want them flapping too close," he stood and scanned the area for a good place to have it. Noyiah then offered to keep them busy and Kaz looked back at how easily she sat between them all, calm and comforting. It put a smile on his face. "I'm on it,"Was his simple reply as he sauntered off to grab the bundle of sticks she laid down earlier. He sat cross-legged in front of a spot a little away from the baby griffons and behind Sweets and Griff.

The sticks were stacked to form a tent-like structure. Some dry leaves were placed beneath and Kaz lit a spark that caused the embers to flicker. Kaz gently blew it with wind from his hand until the whole batch of sticks caught fire. Griff leaned its beak closer and Kaz quickly plugged its nostrils. "Nope," he replied, knowing the Griff aimed to snort and put out the fire. The griffon shook off the odd feeling and returned to guard the babies, with a light plop on the ground.

"Alright, one fire, ready to go," Kaz announced and stood up to give Noyiah a hand out of the cluster of feathers. He then pulled the bag of s'mores out along with a few pokers for them to use. He couldn't help but think about the time her Marshmellow melted off the stick into the fire. He just held his grin in and handed her the metal rod.

Kaz sat down and slid a marshmallow onto his and Noyiah's, "Hopefully we make enough for them." The babies were already squawking with excitement.

When Kazimir mentioned he didn’t know how long they took to mature, Noyiah Shrugged, she had read it somewhere but at the moment she couldn’t recall. And in the moments to come she would have forgotten the question as the mighty little Badger sized Gryphons Trampled her down.


After she distributed the soggy Jerky, she would comment on what Kazimir had said “ I think its important for us to both have a hand in their Raising, but for the most part it seems Gryphons can be trained at any age, though it seems they retain their traits “ she said Points out Sweets whose attention had moved to Kazimir’s as he neared the bag with the Smore Supplies. “ but yeah, “ she said pausing for a moment to Readjust to poke at the Gryphons beak. “ I think that if we divided the tasks up, you could teach them hunting grounds, I could teach them not everything needs to go in their mouth” she said with a Chuckle as she pulled her other hand out of the mouth of one of the hatchlings, slime covered it as she flicked her fingers outwards, wads of Slime Rained off her hand. As she made a slightly Disgusted face, and then wiped her hand off on grass beside her.

Kazimir started the fire on the opposite side of the hatchlings parents and during this time Noyiah did her best o keep them entertained as they nipped at her finger tips, with their little Pecking beaks, through the time she started to lose the attention of one of them as the other two seemed too quick for the third, and only having two hands made it difficult to keep all three rounded up. The third one that had lost interest started to Stumble up the Side of the nest and tried to make his way towards Kazimir but was Stopped promptly by the Parents as they Squawked at the youngling and it Ran for the cover of the nest again. Once it made it back Noyiah Reached out and Scooped it up, and then went back to playing with the other two while the third sat nestled in her lap, every few times that the other Gryphons started to attack her fingers she would touch the beak of the third to include it in the distracting fun.

During her time distracting the younglings, Kazimir seemed to have his own set of issues, as Griff attempted to Snuff out his flame, No doubt a Parental Precautions. She would continue with the Bird Lion Cubs, the thought of her magic Laid in the back of her mind as she continued to toy with the Easily Amused Animals. The thought came by Almost Naturally as she Chuckled to her self, “ Too bad I’m not a fire mage, Smores would be a ease” she decided to say aloud, as she thought of her sister, and her Affinity with the earth, Was Nature a step ahead or was it lesser in comparison, it wasn’t the most Sisterly of thoughts but it flowed through her all the same.

Her Attention was broken from the subject as Kazimir declared the fire lit, and then added in how he hoped they could make enough of them. “ we should probably only let them have one, the marshmallows will swell in their Tummies” she said poking the Gryphlet, in her lap in the belly softly. “ wouldn’t want you to explode now would we “ she said babying the small Gryphon in her lap as she attacked it with her fingers before she let it back down into the nest and Stood up to Approach the fire.

“sweets keep them in the nest, if you can” she said with a Smile, before she started make her way to Kazimir, taking a look at the set up she quickly devised a plan that could get them a few Smores quickly. “ if we put a few Marshmallows on sticks near the fire and plant them into the ground, then you can blow the heat from the fire onto them, that should cook them slow enough, and as they start to melt off the stick ill pick them up and put them into the Sandwiches” she suggested picking up some of the Sticks she had put aside for the fire that hadn’t been used yet, breaking off Sticks that were thin enough and broke them off to be only a few inches long.

He nodded at Noyiah's suggestions about teaching them. A look that quickly changed to a smirk as her hand was covered with griffon spit. "Seems you'll have your work cut out for you," he gave a chuckle and turned back to his task at the fire. "Yeah, I can take care of helping them hunt...well....I'll hunt with them anyway," he replied with his right hand scratching the back of his head. His left hand still prodding at the fire. He had hunted alongside Griff enough times to know what he did. But mostly, they just ended up doing their thing or taking game down together. He would mostly just be tagging along with them. But he knew it'd be an enjoyable time. He just hoped Noyiah didn't overestimate his teaching ability, given they would probably learn most of what they needed from Sweets and Griff.

"I think I could probably show them how to hunt alongside humans," he finally said aloud, speaking his thoughts more to himself.

Griff finally backed off of pestering the wind mage and basked in the fire. It brought back some pleasant memories of the two of them hiking through caves together. His concentration was swept away as Noyiah snuck in a comment about magic. His eyes flashed wide for a moment, but he still wasn't facing her. Although she could see his back straighten a bit with the surprise. It relaxed again and he poked the fire with his wind once more. "Yeah, that would kick it up," he then peeked at her over his shoulder with a smirk, "But I think fire and wind may be too volatile of a combination," he smiled and turned back to the fire.

It was nice to see how well she was getting along and playing with the babies. The baby griffons danced around in delight within the tiny nest. Noyiah made her way over with a plan as always. "Well thought out," he replied as he stabbed some of the sticks into the fire. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to explore some of her affinity with nature magic and try growing something. He looked up at her with his hands still on the stick he just stabbed into the ground. The question was written on his face but only for a moment before he looked away and rocked himself back into a seated position. Perhaps all of that was a bit too soon, but it was hard for him to contain his curiosity.

"Alright," he proclaimed as he rolled up his sleeves. Gentle breezes were never much within his field of control. He lowered himself and glared into the fire with unyielding focus. His hands rose slowly, his left coming behind his right and grabbing his wrist. The faintest of magic circles appeared around his hands and wind sputtered out. "Oh yeah...watch out just in case,"
he said as the wind picked up, threatening to be violent but it sputtered out until it sustained a gentle breeze against the marshmallows.

The treats started to get gooey and lurched off of the stick. "Here they come!" he said, ready for Noyiah to swoop in before they plummeted to the ground.

It Brought a smile to Noyiah ‘s face when Kazimir mentioned hunting along side humans, it was something she hadn’t really considered, but Gryphons could likely hunt and eat people, it would be good to teach them to respect and work along side humans to achieve goals, in a more simple term it was like dogs, they had the potential to harm or hunt people but don’t out of a relationship formed by people.

Her comment about being a Fire mage didn’t seem to go unnoticed as Kazimir Replied with how they would be a Volatile combination, though he wasn’t wrong, she couldn’t help but feel that would make her feel less helpless in some situations. Would a magic change who she was a person she wondered, it wasn’t like the sudden realization she had magic was going to affect her personality, or would it? She pondered this while playing with the Babies until the fire was ready and she proceeded to tell him her plan to make a lot of smores relatively quickly.

When Kazimir Agreed to the plan he started to set it up as she started to pull out the supplies, still keeping an eye on the wild little beasts trying to Follow her, though sweets kept them back for a bit blocking them in with her large wings. And buying the couple some time to prepare the smores. Noyiah would back up when Kazimir asked her to watch out, still holding the gram crackers of course.

Noyiah waited for the marshmallows to get goopy, and as they started to slide down the stick Noyiah would place the piece of Graham Cracker on one side of it and the opposite side held both a graham cracker and a piece of Chocolate, She quickly Did the first few but as they started to get ahead of her she quickly took a hand full of each ingredient and tossed the bag towards Kazimir “ Get that one or we are going to lose it” she said quickly stacking them up in her one hand. Having clearly underestimated how fast she would need to go, they would have to divide it up a bit or lose a few to the grass, not that the Gryphons would likely mind.

Noyiah quickly turned to see the small Gryphons starting to make their way towards them, and moved in between them and the fire to safe guard the curious and wild babies. She would distract them quickly with one of the smores as they all gathered around her awaiting their Treats with loud Squawks and cheeps, Noyiah looked back to Kazimir and if he was ready to give out treats then she would offer the first one out to Sweets, making sure she got hers before the rest. Noyiah didn’t think the sweets would try and take food from her babies but it was hard to say, they had never been in a situation quite like this before.

Noyiah would smile softly as she watched sweets pull the cracker off her palm and gobble it up hastily, and then step back away from Noyiah so the Hatchlings could get theirs. Noyiah Looked at the babies and then to Kazimir before asking a question that was not an easy one to answer, sure it had likely come up in conversation on a few occasions but nothing was ever decided completely. “ Have you ever wanted kids?” she asked before looking back to sweet and Griff and then to the babies practically attempting to climb her for the smores.

The fire was blazing and the s'mores began to droop down toward the ground when Noyiah stepped in to scoop them onto the crackers. They browned faster than expected and Noyiah tossed the bag to Kaz. With a bright-eyed look, he grabbed the bag and quickly pulled chocolate and crackers from it. "On it," he quickly replied as he lunged his hands forward to capture the rogue marshmallow.

At that same time, Noyiah had swung around to block the babies from getting to the fire. Kaz fumbled the s'more in his hands and breathed on it. The hot marshmallow had oozed out the sides and globed onto the sides of his hands. "hot hot hot," he uttered as he claimed control of the treat. Noyiah began to feed the tiny ones after Sweets had her treat. The wind mage sat down to her side and was held out the treats for her to take and divide them up between all the little ones that scurried around her. Mostly to keep himself from getting trampled by them.

The keen senses of the babies were enough to surround him as well though and soon the couple was circled by the squawks and flapping wings of the tiny griffons. He breathed easy as they pecked into the treats, content with their newest triumph. Griff plopped down and laid on the ground just watching the young ones enjoy themselves.

Kaz's mind trailed away in the simplicity of the moment, that was changed when Noyiah asked something he didn't anticipate. He raised a brow, curious as to where this was coming from but concluded that it must be because of the little ones here. It was a topic they had only ever danced around.

He took in a breath and exhaled slowly from his nose. He sat with one leg stretched out and the other bent so he could rest his arm on it. "I..." he wasn't sure exactly how to start the sentence. Maybe it was something he had been avoiding for a long time.

"When I was...human," he said wistfully thinking about the times that he was a human. He still thought of himself as connected with humanity but it was times like these that he felt so far away from it. "I thought about it when I was human. But now...I can't have any. And if I could, I'd likely outlive them," he said while looking at Noyiah's back.

"My life span is a few hundred years and I don't age. I'm not even entirely sure what my end would look like," he spoke as calmly as he could about it and rubbed his shoulder near the point that his wings emerged from.

They made a good team in the field and at home, Knowing exactly what she wanted as she tossed him the bag he swiftly got the last of the smores she was to busy to get before they dropped of their roasting sticks. Saving them from unsanitary conditions they regrouped and started to hand the treats over to the hatchlings, as they started to crowd around them, and then slowly they moved around Kazimir and herself cheeping excitedly and searching for any hint of what could have been a treat.

Noyiah would break each smore up into pieces and divide them off for the three hatchlings, at the end she was left with one for Griff and one extra, she would hand them both over to Kazimir for him to give out. And while kneeling next to the hatchlings she would ask her question, one that seemed to leave Kazimir speechless for a second.

He Stumbled over his words at first, which made Noyiah realize that she likely should have asked about it, it wasn’t something that had stopped to talk about with the guild coming to Fruition and their time wit the Rune knights, they had been so busy that it hadn’t been discussed. Everything he had mentioned made her realize how insensitive her question had been, and immediate regret washed over her. However Kazimir explained why he couldn’t have children, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t known this all along but for some reason hearing him say it aloud made it real.

She hide her disappointment and dismay well, but a hint of Sadness bled through her words as she nodded still looking at the Gryphon hatchlings. “right. . . I’m sorry I didn’t. . . I wasn’t thinking.” She admitted before standing from her knelling position and brushed her hands off on her pants, before taking a deep breath and looking out over the coast. From the cliff side they could see almost all of the town and the harbour.

A Somber feeling was heavy in the air now as she recollected herself, his response wasn’t what she expected despite having known it already there was something about the idea of this not lasting forever, how he would outlive their children and even her had put things into a new perspective. Before this she hadn’t ever doubted their relationship, or where it was heading but not their plans seemed so minuscule when compared to Kazimir’s lifespan. The Realization had shook her world, and for the first time she wondered if he thought the same way about them, if this was her forever but his temporary.

“ I think id like to head home soon, to get a start on dinner” she said masking her tone before leaning down to scratch lightly on the beak of one of the hatchlings. She chose not to look back towards Kazimir quite yet, mostly because she knew that if she did she would break down, still being in the process of gathering herself back up.

Today had been a very tough day already, and her life was changing to fast for her liking, having a day off was nice but today she had learned that she was a bad sister, daughter and possibly girlfriend, despite her efforts.

As always the two were in sync with one another. They flowed together naturally and saved the smores from an untimely demise. The griffons were more than excited to scarf down the tasty treats. Kaz smiled at the pleasant time and how Noyiah handled the little critters. Things were calm, up until that question that brought tension to the atmosphere. One that he tried to graze through.

It was a hard question to ask and he imagined an even more difficult question to hear the answer too. Speaking the words made it all the more real. Something that had been stirring behind work and life. Unspoken and untouched until now. With everything with the guild, it had falling back. He stopped passing out the s'mores and just looked at her as she interacted with the griffons. The answer wasn't fair to her. He had assumed or hoped things would all work out...but he couldn't have expected her to really know what it meant to be with him and what would have to be given up for that.

Her sadness struck him in the heart and his hand reached out to her but stopped when she stood. He waited for a second as she looked out over the coast and stood up behind her. His hand gently rest on her shoulder, "No. You're fine. It's me who wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." His apology was more about the fact that it took so long to talk about it, and that he hadn't brought up all this before now. Something they both knew all along but chose to ignore and live in the moment. He closed his eyes, holding back the flood of emotions that would no doubt break free. He hadn't thought about it until now, that they would be together and she would age while he stayed young and that one day she would pass away and he would still be there. It was times like this he cursed the angelic nature that stripped away his humanity.

It was her words again that broke the silence. He nodded in quiet agreement and patted griff on the head. She began walking down the path only this time he kept a pace behind her. His eyes wandered across the landscape. Both of them holding on to their feelings and the silence to contemplate and process. A simple trip to meet the family of griffons changed so suddenly.

For the first time...he knew what it meant to live so long. The pain and sacrifice that came with it. They continued in silence and Kaz let her walk until she was ready to speak, or perhaps words would be unspoken until they came home. Soon they made it all the way down the path and back to the main road.

Noyiah would take a deep breath of the fresh sea air, how much her life had changed in such a short amount of time, everything they had done together, how much they had accomplished, she was proud of who they were, but her heart stung deeply with the words she knew already to be true. But there was something that made it very real once it was said aloud, such a innocent thought that she had blurted out had brought the mood full circle back to her reflecting on her life.

She would announce she wanted to head home, mostly because she wanted some time alone to process the feelings that troubled her. Standing up she felt his hand touch her shoulder, it wasn’t that she was upset at him, it wasn’t his fault but that lack of being able to blame someone for this felt almost too overwhelming, she would turn around and look at Kazimir, a sadness was shared between them, she would pick his hand up off her shoulder and hold it to her heart before kissing the back of his hand. “it takes two” she replied through a trembling voice. She would let his hand go and continue past him to deal with the fire before they left, stomping it out before pulling a bottle of water out of her bag and pouring a bit of it on the coals. She would stir the fire with her foot a few more times before looking back at the gryphons and their hatchlings.

She would head over to sweets and place her forehead against the gryphons, and gave her a small hiss on the bridge of her beak “ they are very cute, take good care of them” she said before saying goodbye and heading down the trail with Kazimir.

It was not that she was upset with him, or that they hadn’t talked about it, she knew of his angelic boon, he had never attempted to hide it from her or anything. But hearing that they would not be able to have a family of their own was a lot to solidify. During their walk towards the main trail she remained quiet, unsure of how to proceed, it was not like she could just drop it and pretend it never happened, it was far to important to be ignorant to. it also was not like she could change the subject either though, it was all her mind could think of, the thoughts of having magic was replaced with worry for their future and how everything would end up.

As they reached the main path down the cliff side she couldn’t help but ask “ are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” she asked, at least a little bit hopeful, it would be hard to believe that in a world full of magic and relics, angels and demons that there was nothing that could be done to make it work.

He felt the same sting in his heart when he saw the sadness that swelled in her face when she looked at him. She took his hand and he wished that her touch washed away all doubt as it always had before but there was something heavy between the two now. Her kiss made his heart beat faster and sink at the same time mixed with pleasure and pain. Her voice trembled and he wanted nothing more than to take her and tell her everything was going to be okay...but he couldn't.

They walked down that long and sorrowful path. He took the time to reflect as well. To think about anything he could say to her, but nothing would be the words that she wanted to hear. That she deserved to hear. He went over sentence after sentence and bounded from one idea to the next but nothing settled. it was like throwing rocks into a lake waiting for one to float on the top.

Once they reached the bottom she stopped. Kaz stood motionless behind her until she turned, he didn't know what was going to happen but his time to sift through his own thoughts had come to an end. When she turned around her question cut into the wind mage and it pained him to look into her eyes, knowing he couldn't give her the response she wanted.

"Noyiah," he began with a sinking voice, that gave way to the sorrow he felt. He took her hands in his and stepped forward to put his forehead against hers. "I...don't think there is. I wish more than anything I could give you a different answer than that," he continued as he shook his head. He never cursed his angelic nature any more than this moment now. His anger for what he was could be felt in the heavy breath that he took.

He hated the fact that there was no way around saying something that would hurt the woman he cared so much for. All he could do was wait for her response, but to be with him, meant a life without a family. And he could never take that away from her. He didn't know of anything that could change the situation, no matter how many thoughts he tried while he was coming down from the cliff.