Nesryn gave her husband a rueful side glance as he mentioned her sweet tooth, enjoying the cake too much to actually feel slighted by his simple statement of her desire for sugar. It was, pun not intended, sweet that he had thought to bring them home for her. The news that his day was uneventful sent a small pang of guilt through her. Sure they had agreed this was the best way of doing things but she couldn’t help but feel that she’d help put him right back in the position of servant. Of course, he had more freedom to do as he pleased but the work wasn’t thrilling.
Her thoughts were quickly rein-checked when he spoke of Hythian ships and not hearing anything in the tavern about bounty hunters.
“Mitri, you can’t just go around asking-“ she gave a small exhale and get the issue go. It wasn’t worth fighting over and if he figured out she’d almost entirely booby trapped the house and gotten Bryer to sneak her some information on his outings, he might be slightly annoyed.
Finishing the last of her sweet in what seemed like an inhale, she gave him a small shrug. She didn’t want to worry him over her being sick this morning and she really was feeling a little better.
“More cooking with Luna. I would show you what we made but unfortunately it won’t come off the bottom of the pan... I did some washing and then-“ she trailed off a little, eyes drifting to his still untouched sweet “aaaaand I got a sketch done. Other than that I haven’t been up to much at all, it’s been-“

The door opened behind them and Bryer came in, arm full of things from the market- including a fruit pie- and a big grin on his face.
“How you feelin Nessie? Better after upchucking this morning?”
Nesryn shot him a vaguely annoyed look knowing that now Dimitri would be worried.
“I was talking to the stable hand at the tavern and he was telling me that name you were looking for, Hogan Lasky, was at the tavern. Not only that, but he’d asked about any new additions to the community. Most people didn’t even think to say we were new except that-“
Nesryn caught a look of anger and some other emotion in Dimitri’s eyes and quickly cut Bryer off.
“Thank you Bryer... I’ll ask you some more questions later...”

Mal glanced up from his page, pen in hand to see Eir walk in with an impressed smirk. Malachi smirked right back and jumped up to give his friend a big squeeze. He had really hoped that it would work and there was only the slightest shadow of doubt in his mind. After all, Glaperans were a stubborn bunch of people. Mal let go and did a little dance, giving his arms a shake and moving his hips.
“Yes yes yes yes yes! This is the best!” he said triumphantly, giving Eir a grin. He put on a relieved expression and pressed a hand to his heart.
“Mother dearest will be so relieved and father with be beaming!” he gave a chuckle and put his hands on his hips assessing his friend.
“Ah, you’ll make a fine Phonaxian!” he said dramatically.
He remembered something and hurried back to his piece of paper, pulling it out with a triumphant flourish. He gave his throat a clear and held it in front of him.

He grinned before continuing,

Eir gave Bryer a scolding exhale when he began talking about marital spats, even if he did flinch a bit when he heard Nesryn raising her voice. Dimitri wasn't the type to yell unless pushed and even then it took quite a bit to rattle the man. Either way, a few arguments were expected here and there, as long as they came out of it closer or understanding each other a bit better. He gave Luna a small glance, noting how she looked a bit worried toward the door. Would they ever argue the way the others had? Both he and Luna were still navigating the newness of their relationship, her still a bit shaky from her time with Malachi and him not wanting to push too many expectations on her. While they were able to be close and connect in the light-hearted moments and be intimate, there was a bit of worry on Eir's part about actually consummating things. He was fine with their time together and simply being near her was enough, but Luna's distance and her subservient nature taught to her by her mother often worried Eir that he was taking advantage of her...He wouldn't and couldn't do that to her...
Luna glanced in his direction as his mind was drifting, catching that odd distant look in his eyes. But Eir was quick to look away to Bryer to talk to him about things. "I'm sure it's only a tiff. In all fairness, when isn't Nesryn a bit...intense?" Luna gave Eir a scolding look, which made him give a clearing of his throat. "But I wouldn't worry over it. Di and Nes are quite happy still and the spat doesn't seem all that rough. No blades have been drawn after all. Tease all you like but you'll have to deal with that one day if the gods are gracious." He said but did pause to listen for that a moment. When it seemed to quiet down, Eir eased back into his seat and gave a small shrug about dinner.
"Fish is what I was thinking of trying. How hard can it be?" Luna said as she showed off the fish there that she had purchased with Eir at the market a bit ago. It looked healthy and sleek, but once Luna was done with it, Eir felt it might be blackened and...well done.
~~~~~
The day at work had been filled with anxiety for Dimitri, over the possibilities of this bounty hunter and now his wife's worry. He had really put his foot in his mouth the other day, pushing Nesryn into a mood swing that carried her across the spectrums of bad to worse and then back to manageable. He wasn't the best at interpreting her emotions or the little nuances of her feelings that could cause her this level of distress. While he wasn't completely convinced there was some bounty hunter after them, he did his best to help calm her that night as she curled up with him. She seemed to calm with him promising her that he believed her and that he was just worried about her stress levels. Eir had warned him that was something that could harm her health if she did wind up pregnant or just in general. Besides, he wanted her to be happy and not constantly worried about things. She should be able to be happy and not feel like every misstep or error was her fault and her failure. Just seeing her bury her face in her hands and hearing her say that everyone relied on her for safety, hurt him a little to think that she truly felt responsible for carrying that weight on her own. It wasn't like he helped by making her feel like a paranoid woman the other night...He needed to rectify that...
He tried his hand at asking the port master if he met a Tika Trosky during his shift but only got funny looks and jokes about if he was on the lam hiding from a bounty hunter. That drew enough nervous chuckling to end that conversation and allowed Dimitri to slip out early.
So Dimitri took off a bit earlier and made his way by the local tavern, the only place really you could rent a room unless a resident opened up their house to you. He tried to ask the bartender harmless questions about travelers or people staying in the port that may have had "bounty hunting" as a profession, but the man seemed lost at the very idea. "This is a quiet town of friendly people. No need for bounty hunters to want to venture there." Right...Of course, no Tika Trosky to be found...
Resigning himself to groveling out an apology to Nesryn, he stopped by the florist to see about grabbing some roses to cheer her up. While they were not the roses she was used to, they did have desert roses in yellow that might make her smile. He tried to also bring home a few sweets from the baker as she seemed to be eating quite a few of them and he remembered her liking the baked goods from the Alessandrian bakery when they went on their first date.
He made his way inside past Eir and Luna who were reading through an old poetry book together, looking like that old couple that you 'awed' at at the park. Dimitri had hoped to surprise Nesryn but the door noisily opened and he instead almost ran into her as she came into the kitchen looking for something.
"Ah--Hello, love. I--I came home a bit early to um--Well, to surprise you and apologize to you. I uh--" He was fumbling it, screwing up the apology as she looked off and he wondered if she was perhaps still angry with him. "So to start I'm sorry I tried to talk down to you the other day and didn't support you completely. That was wrong of me. So I got you these and I know that's not going to make up for everything, but I was hoping it's a start?" He gave her a puppy dog stare, the look worried and remorseful as it could get. He tried to get closer, only to frown when the floor gave this noisy protest. "I thought we fixed those boards. That's loud enough to wake the dead." He muttered with a glance to the floor.

Nesryn felt herself draw back as Dimitri reasoned the presence of a bounty hunter on the island. Immediately, her brow knitted and a pang of anger thrummed through her. Did he think she was being paranoid? Did he really think this was all some wild coincidence. She scoffed and folded her arms levelling a stern look toward him.
“Tika Trosky, one of the worlds most infamous bounty hunters happens upon the very same island all four of us fled to and you think that’s coincidence? What on Liphilius would he be here for instead? Palm fronds? Coconuts- Dimitri don’t be ridiculous...” she turned away to grab her basket, her emotion swinging in a completely different direction. Dread settled in her stomach... dread and guilt.
“I was too optimistic- To think we could just run away without Malachi putting a bounty on us. No doubt he’s announced us as kidnappers, twisting it for his campaign. This is all my fault...” she wrapped her arms tighter around herself before turning back to Dimitri, eyes glistening. Seeing his confused expression, she immediately thought it was due to him not believing her, not the intense mood swing. Even as she turned to seek his comfort, her action paused mid-air and she gave him a shove backward onto the bed, eyes narrowed as she put her hands on her hips.
“You think I’m paranoid? Dimitri- We are harbouring the wife of an influential Phonaxian lord and potential member of the Truce! How could I not be paranoid? Our safety relies on me!”
She caught his bewildered stare and she gave a sigh, reaching up to weave her fingers into her hair. It was much longer than when they had left Alessandria and now hung below her shoulders. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to her husband and held her face in her hands. She was being irrational.
Perhaps Dimitri was right...
After all, her informant would have notified her if there was any news of a bounty on their heads. Her last letter from Damien had been all clear, save the death of the Guild Master, now leaving Farren to head the organisation. Everything on that front seemed fine. He would have sent word if there was trouble headed their way. Unless Malachi hired the bounty hunter privately? Also unlikely considering Tika’s regard for the ‘twittering Lordling’ and distaste for working for anyone save themselves.
She gave a shaky breath and looked to Dimitri apologetically.
“I’m sorry... You’re right. Perhaps I should just relax” she gave a sigh and flopped down on her back beside him, looking up at the ceiling with a frown. What had gotten into her lately? Such strong fear and emotions? Perhaps the continued paranoia was getting to her and setting her on edge. She curled to hug into her husband, wincing when her chest pressed against his awkwardly. That was another thing... the tenderness. Perhaps she should ask Eir about it. She hoped it wasn’t an illness or tumor. She reached to place a kiss on Dimitri’s cheek, relaxing a little.
“You’re probably right... probably right...”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bryer had sauntered in not long after Nesryn had rushed in and his eyes widened as the muffled sounds of the usually placid woman echoed through the walls. Nothing he could really distinguish but the tone said enough.
The lad looked to Eir, “What’s Di done now? She’s been awful touchy lately. I wonder if the marital spats have begun already”
He chuckled, sitting down at the bench and looking at the pair. Something was off about them as they sat there flustered and pointedly an arms length from each other. Amusement tugged at his lips and he lent his chin in a hand.
“So what’s for dinner?”

(Again, feel free to keep those interactions going XD)

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Nesryn groaned as she wiped at her mouth, hiding out by the back garden. She’d been trying to get some peace and quiet when all of a sudden the urge to hurl her breakfast became all too much. She took some deep breaths, hands on her hips as she breathed in the morning air. Mitri had already headed off to work hours ago and she had planned to perhaps get some sketching done. Anything to keep her mind off the bounty hunter. Of course Nesryn had been taking precautions despite Dimitri’s insistence that it was coincidence. She’d jigged the doors so they would creak when opened and she’d loosened a few specific floorboards to ensure they also groaned when trod on.
“Woah- You alright?”
Nesryn flinched and looked over her shoulder to see Bryer looking at her in concern, a bundle of herbs in his arms.
She gave a shrug and looked at him ruefully, “I think I just have eaten something. Luna’s fish lasts night probably unsettled my stomach. I’m sure I’ll feel better in a min-“ her eyes widened as nausea hit her again and she bent over, hands on her knees as she felt like she was going to throw up again. Tears pricked her eyes as she only gagged but she gulped in air and straightened up again.
“I mean- It wasn’t great but I hardly think the dinner gave you food poisoning Nessie”
She shot him a glare at the nickname, still not sure if she appreciated bejng called something akin to a horse.
Bryer rubbed the back of his neck, “Maybe it’s viral? Perhaps Eir can brew you up a little something- Speaking of the man himself”
Bryer gestured toward Luna and Eir who were sitting out the front of the house, out of ear shot of her unpleasant upchucks. Nesryn shook her head.
“No- I don’t want to disturb them. Besides Bryer, I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow. Just a little upset stomach”
She moved past him, back into the house to find that something sweet she really needed.

The arm going around her was a pleasant addition as she settled into his hold, her eyes still shut as she rested her head on his chest. The quiet in the room was broken by the shifting of sheets and Septimus's voice that rumbled through his chest. That at least made her groggily open her eyes, even if they stayed half mast and clouded by sleep. " 'mornin." She mumbled back with a yawn as she settled more comfortably there. He was warm and she currently still felt like she could get a cat nap in with his arms still about her. However, his question made nasal breath in amusement a bit of pink coming to her cheeks. She stayed in bed hadn't she? Did he really have to ask? "Hopefully the same as yours." She looked up at him even if much of his face was just out of view from her position. Still, she could see that lazy smile on his lips that made her heart race a bit.  "Fun. Steamy. Exciting. And still restful. Haven't had that sort of night in a while." She gave him a softer, lighter smile, a bit of worry seeping in despite herself. "And this is alright with you... right?" She asked her expression softening considerably at the thought that she may have put him in an uncomfortable position. He was her advisor and a close friend, now...whatever this was.