I'm on my way|Haven, Ilyamen

[adris]

He finally made it back to the home, to the place of his future. Standing there at the door was almost surreal for Adris, he now has paid off his final debt, he could live in peace. He flashed a quick smile to Fauna before giving a noticable knock on the door.

"Raina? Sara? We have finally made it back!"

He waited as patiently as he could, which of course also included excited toe tapping. Counting the days silently in his head he had made it just in time too, soon enough thier child would be bore into this world and he would be here to see it. It was a dream of the forces themselves.

[Kender Bard]

The door flew open and Raina hurried out with a happy squeal of, "Adris! You're home!" She threw her arms around him as best as she could - a much enlarged belly made it a little difficult for a really good squeeze - and showered him in happy kisses. Fauna smirked slightly to herself and sauntered inside, squeezing between Raina and the doorframe.

[adris]

He hugged her lightly, remembering that she needed to be treated softly during this time. He returned her kisses whenever he could react fast enough, but sooner or later just sank into chuckling in almost childish glee.

"Hello love, it has been far too long. I missed you so very much during this adventure. The winds of Maelstrom I thought would be the end of my sanity."

Once she slowed down a little he cupped her chin with his index finger and lifted lightly so he could spend a moment just gazing into her eyes. After that moment though he kissed her again, this time as lovingly and passionately as he did so many times before.

[Kender Bard]

Raina savored there moment before nestling close to him. "What kept you for so long? Winds of Maelstrom...? Was there a war?" She gasped at the thought, bringing a hand to her mouth as she entertained visions of Adris caught between some civil war strife. In Ilyamen, it was of popular opinion that the alliance between the long-time rivals would fall apart soon.

[adris]

He placed a stabalizing hand on her and smiled warmly, hoping his usual mannerisms helped to calm her nerves a little. Everytime she did something that showed how she cared it seemed to warm his heart a little more.

"There was no war love, I promise you, no conflict that you need to be worried about. The problem was the terrible winds of Maelstrom that were kicking until recently... it made it impossible to travel. Especially for poor Fauna."

He takes a look at Raina's development and that only brings the warm smile on his lips into his eyes as well. That was a bond deeper then any ceremony could form developing there.

[Kender Bard]

Calmed and soothed, she rest her cheek against his shoulder and sighed softly. "I didn't lose faith that you would come home, Adris. And I'm so glad you didn't prove me wrong. It's been too lonely here without you. Will you stay with me now? Never go away without me again?"

[adris]

Adris held hugged her head against him, still very softly, very caringly. For just a long moment he held her, giving him enough time to get over his glee of seeing her enough to think straight.

"Raina, I have given thought to the idea of eternity. And decided it isn't long enough. I won't leave you Raina, I promise."

And with that he just held her contentedly. He never questioned for an instant that right here is where he wanted to be.

[bartimaeus]

Sara was vaguely aware of the excited chatter going on around the front of her house. Adjusting to living with more than just her in the house had been a bit of a trial. It always seemed that someone was perpetually in the bathroom when she needed it. She made a mental note to get her father to build her a new privy the next time he had spare time off. He had barely managed to get enough time to build the small extension onto the house so that the girls could have their own rooms.

Sara stands up and rubs her aching back from leaning over her garden. The warm weather of late had been good for the garden but the weeds had flourished even faster. She was weeding nearly everyday. Sara wipes the sweat of her forehead and decides she better go and see what the squealing was about. Maybe the squirrels had taken another shoe again.

Sara heads around the corner to see Adris being smothered by Raina. 'About time they got here' she thought. Constantly reassuring Raina that everything was fine was getting on her nerves. As much as she loved the people who looked like they were trying to meld together, she did sometimes wish for a quiet day here and there. However she never regretted her decision.

"Hello Adris and Fauna" Sara says, smiling widely her teeth flashing in the sunlight. She got that from her mother. "I'm glad you're back. It's all we ever talk about, oh that and the squirrels." Sara goes to give Adris a handshake and Fauna kiss on the cheek, but she notices in time that she's covered in dirt from head to toe. Instead she gives Adris and Fauna a sheepish apologetic smile.

"How about we all go inside and we can all fill each other in on what we've been doing, although I'd get as far as weeding. I'll make some honey tea." Sara smiles again at the sight of the three of them and heads inside to make whatever attempt at cleaning the kitchen as she could before Adris can see anything and demand that he help.

[Kender Bard]

Raina beamed radiantly and headed inside, chattering all the while. "Sara has been so good and kind to me. Like having Fauna in Ilyamen, it's comforting to be able to take solace in the presence of another person."

Fauna was seeking out a warm sunbeam to curl up in. "Adris can do all the talking for both of us. I was just there for the food and sights."

Raina giggled and took a seat. "Yes, Adris, aside from the terrible winds you spoke of, did anything exciting happen?"

[adris]

Adris followed them in, making sure to sit as close to her as possible. There is a time where they may want some space, but right now he dosn't want her out of arms reach for any period of time.

"Well, I don't know how much to tell you, perhaps because I have been there before I didn't find Maelstrom wholly remarkable. There seemed to be some tensions amongst the big names though from what I heard. And I met a kind mind type during my visit, I don't remember the last time I saw one of those."

Minds were a rarity, he saw them as often as he saw ghosts... which he questions his sanity in knowing that he has seen both more then once.

[bartimaeus]

Sara finishes shoving as much of the clutter and dirty dishes in the unused cupboard as she could until she heard voices just outside the door. She decided she didn't want to risk trying to shove more in there, so forces the cupboard shut, making a mental note not to open that any time soon.

Listening to Adris's update through the door which was partially open to let in the conversation, Sara looks around to try and find the kettle. After a few minutes of frantic searching and praying to the forces that she hadn't just stuffed it into the cupboard with the rest of the mess, she finds it under a small pile of clothes, hers of course. Some habits die hard, even with company.

Sara summons some water into the kettle with a brief touch of her sign and places it over the hot plate on her old oven. While trying to light the small fire under the hotplate, Sara wished that Bremen was here to just boil the water for her. 'I wonder what he's up to?' was all she had time to ponder on her friend as the small fire underneath lit up with a small bang and then settled down. It didn't normally surprise her as it did that every time she used the hotplates but she'd forgotten about it while she was day dreaming.

While the kettle was boiling she searched around for the tea. It was never put back in the same place in her house. Again, another habit that died hard. In the end they turned out to be where they were supposed to be, but she hadn't looked there because she wasn't expecting them to be where they should be. After several minutes with only a few bangs and clangs coming from the kitchen, Sara emerges with a tray of tea cups and a teapot of tea.

She places the tray in the middle of the table and places a cup in front of everyone, except Fauna who had found the sunlight pouring in from the back window. Sara sits down as she listens to what the others are chatting about; trying to catch up with what she had missed. She'd let the others pour theirs first. There were normally less leaves in the earlier cups.

[Kender Bard]

((*ponder* I forgot, was Sara just hanging around to keep an eye on Raina or was she going to move in with the group?))

[bartimaeus]

(Well it's up to you about if she's part of the group, but at the moment she's just been at home just being Sara...there aren't any specific plans for her...she was only made so that Bremen had help in Reave...)

[Kender Bard]

((Well if you have no plans for her, then this group is gonna go dormant until Raina has her baby. You can feel free to have her leave at any time or she can stick around as one of the family, so to speak.))

[adris]

(Yeah, this is pretty much it until the child, and Adris can use the rest by now :-P)

Adris gave Sara a wide smile when she entered and sipped his tea politely. Here is a woman he owes a lot to, whether she accepts it or not. Tea isn't his drink of choice but it is nice to not alter you're mind every time you drink. Otherwise he just makes smalltalk, if not of his last adventure at least something about ones beforehand to keep this arrival happy and interesting.