Family Gathers Mid Winter Day 1 (Noku)

[Deleted]

It was always a question of when Mid Winter began, for some the first day was the eve of midwinter, for others it was after the moon had risen to the highest point in the sky. Aria was one of the latter, and she had met the first day with her dearest. She spent the morning with him as well. It wasn’t until noon that she did depart, for she had other gifts to bring. Aria had brushed out her hair so its long soft wavy locks were left mostly undone and allowed to cascade down to her hips. Only part of her hair was tied up in a brightly colored ribbon, one of which Garrett had used to decorate his room. Aria was dressed in a pale golden cream wool dress with a brown decorative belt cinched around her thin waist. The dress was trimmed in thick white rabbit fur; the fur wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. The tendrils of her dark red hair a striking contrast to the white. The fur adorned the hems of the bell sleeves which cascaded to the fur lined hems of her skirt which trailed slightly behind her. Her feet were clad in warm brown boots meant for walking on snowy days. Indoors however she would switch to soft fur lined slippers which matched the dress. It was a warm dress for a cold day; and it was one she found fairly comfortable. Aria also had a small bag which she had packed with trinkets and such, ones she planned on delivering through the day.



The first day of Midwinter was always for family, so after she dressed she headed to the moon temple. Although she was no longer apart of this family after being fated, they were still apart of her in a way. As habit would have she did not forget them this year even though circumstances had changed so much. She had made a midwinter card with a delicate drawing; and inside a note ‘Happy Mid Winter, may it be a joyous one. Ps. My apologies I tried to attach a bird but it wasn’t in the holiday spirt’ was scrawled neatly on the paper. Sure enough there seemed to be a smudge of glue in the shape of a small bird with a feather stuck to the card. It was signed with her name and nothing more. It was left upon Saden’s statue tucked into the stone collar of his jacket. She knew the card would likely hold little meaning to this Saden. But it was something. Next she moved on to Mylee’s statue, for him it was a small package of underclothing. No note or whom it was from. Then she went to Ai’s, a small carved wooden lotus was left at her statue. Aria went so far to even leave Zepon a small token, a small lunar flower.



With that done Aria headed back to the castle, there was one more she would spend today with or at least try to. By the time she made it to the castle her hair was flecked with snow, as it had been coming down in a steadily since first light. Even with her warm clothes she still felt the small bite of cold which had permeated through the layers. She was more than happy to welcome the warmth the castle offered as she first stepped inside. She switched into her sleepers as to not track wet snow all over the place, and made her way up to Noku’s office. She hoped he would be up there, while she could have sent for him via a messenger, after last time it seemed the task was better left for herself. There was also the fact this wasn’t really an ‘official’ visit. Considering the circumstances, Noku was now included as a member of what the Red head considered her family. Even if he didn’t want her company she at least wanted to give him the present she had for him. When she finally stood before the large wooden doors she knocked and waited to see if there was an answer, or whether she would have to track him down in some other part of the castle.

[Noku Noru]

Noku was busying himself with all manner of official-looking documents with various letterheads, indicating matters from this or that noble, some new prominent business enterprise, or correspondence from various known factions. Before his attention now was a plain sheet of parchment, with no embellishment, the words penned in a crude hand that showed the misgivings of prematurely abandoned learning. He perused its contents while creating a document on his own letterhead, occasionally referring to the parchment, starting and then stopping again intermittently, the process obviously laborious. During one such pause, as his quill pressed the paper, a gentle knocking disturbed the tranquility and halted his penstroke. He returned the quill to the inkwell, turned both documents facedown, and answered aloud: "Who is it, and on what business?"

Aria presently made herself known and admitted into the office, Noku returning a polite but seemingly forced greeting. After the bland formality, he brightened a little, and asked cordially: "what brings you to seek an audience with me, Mrs. Wurud? I trust you've been keeping well on these premises, no?" He sat now with his hands clasped together on his lap, leaning slightly forward in a relaxed posture. Noku was known to assume a less restrained demeanor with persons familiar to him outside of business proceedings, but only occasionally, and generally with cause. His silken garments appeared more attuned to serve the purpose of sleepwear; notedly light, on account of the generous fire installed in the fireplace. This added to his overall appearance of leisure, a stark contrast to his expected mean and attire.

[Deleted]

”It’s Aria”

Figures he’d be busy on a holiday, but at least he was letting her in. She stepped into the office when he allowed her in. Yes there was the formal dribble that she suppose counted as a greeting. It seemed forced as he had obviously been working on something. She did feel slightly bad for interrupting but it was too late to turn back now. When he asked what she was doing there a small sheepish smile came on her lips as she held a neatly wrapped package out to him.

”Happy Mid Winter”

She hadn’t a clue how he’d react to her bringing something on midwinter, she didn’t even know if nobles actually celebrated it like the common folk. Last year he had thrown a ball, perhaps that’s how nobles celebrated it….if that was the case last midwinter had to be pretty sucky for him. Despite not quite knowing how nobles usually celebrated midwinter she had included him in her gift making, it was part of the holiday tradition she liked most. When he opened the gift he would find an intricate hand carved phoenix statue, with a vial of clear liquid neatly labeled phoenix tears. Something which was known for its tremendous healing properties without the possibility of tripping balls once it was taken. It was a rare substance as was the phoenix itself. Last year she had left him a wooden carving as well, of a barn owl; though that was some weeks after midwinter and an apology for fainting on him at midwinter was carved into it.

Hopefully those two words would be all she needed to explain as to why she was there; it was a simple visit with really no alternative motive. Aria nodded when he asked if she had been keeping well here in Nova since she arrived; though she was sure he was asking if she was doing well on the castle grounds more so then wondering around Nova.

”I’ve been keeping busy; less so in the past couple days though. I was kicked back here a few times with orders to get some rest, but I have been doing well enough. What of yourself? Are you doing alright?”

Aria had yet to take a seat, as he hadn’t asked her to. There was a possibility that he was too busy and she would be sent on her way. So she wasn’t going to make assumptions and overstay her welcome to his office.

[Noku Noru]

Noku remained seated as Aria entered the study and approach him cautiously upon first arrival. At first he was skeptical, remaining silent as she closed the gap and began to fidget like she had something to hide. Oh God was she going to try and stab him too now? Noku remained rigid as he noticed the sheepish grin spread across her lips. Noku's brow's knitted as he held his breath until suddenly she held out a small gift box out in front of him.

For a second Noku's features remained blank, as if unsure what he was actually looking at before him. With an out reach hand Noku slowly took the box from Aria. Staring at the box for a moment as he listened to Aria talk. His eyes only lifting up from the gift when Aria had asked if he was doing alright. His golden eyes locked onto aria with a stern expression as if he was contemplating to answer the question or not. " I'm been fair... Less festive I'm afraid, but well enough to enjoy some bit of the seasonal traditions." Noku nodded, carefully un-wrapping the gift with accurate persition enough to where he didn't even tare the paper or ribbon. His eyes staring into the box as he looked at the gift she had given him. A raised brow forming over his right eye while he reached into the box to pull out the owl figurine. Placing down onto his desk, his eyes still locked onto the object while he lifted his hand to point over to the corner of his study where a large pile of presents of different sizes were stacked.

" All those gifts are for the family; I haven't sent them out yet, but yours should be among them if you wish to take a look. I think I remember your gift being wrapped in a green." Noku spoke, no longer looking at the owl but over to Aria. If she were to find the present, it would be a medium size wrapped in dark green paper and dyed green twine. Inside the box, Aria would find a newly crafted saddle that is made of boiled leather, steel fittings and fine crafted embroidered designs chard into the dark cherry hue leather. The saddle also had pockets and other attachments for grappling and safety measures while strapped to the winged-creature. A perfect fit for a drake that could be customized to fit the size of the beast if it grew.

[Deleted]

Aria hoped that he enjoyed the present; however his expressions hadn’t given away anything. Well besides for the fact he hadn’t been expecting a gift to be pulled from behind her back. He had looked as though he had been expecting something less then pleasant. She waited patiently for him to open the gift; meeting his gaze when he answered her question on how he had been. It was not surprising that his answer was vague, but it elicited a small chuckle from Aria. The less then festive part amused her.

”The bird I just tried to glue to a midwinter card wasn’t in the holiday spirits either.”

Aria tilted her head to the side when he seemed to just stare at the gift she had given him; only to point to the other side of the room. Her gaze fallowed where he was pointing; her eyebrows rising in surprise when he mention he had a gift for him among the pile in the corner. She was surprised she had been included; she looked back at him and then back to the pile.

”Thank you; that was very kind of you to include me”

Aria walked over to the pile; once more being surprised when she spotted a rather large present wrapped in green. She carefully picked it up; careful not to disturb the other gifts, and brought it a little ways away before placing it back on the floor. Aria sat down on her knees her skirt tucked underneath her. She carefully undid the twine and unwrapped the paper. Her eyes widening when she pulled out a gorgeous looking saddle. She ran her fingers over the finely crafted leather; inspecting every inch of it; a large smile spreading across her face as she looked up at Noku excitedly. It was a lovely gift and practical to!

”Thank you! My drake will grow into this nicely; this will be great for long trips. Would you like me to take you up for a flight sometime?”

[Noku Noru]

Noku watched Aria cross the room and walk towards the pile of presents he had stacked up in the corner. He didn’t say a word as she mentioned how the bird she had glued to a holiday card wasn’t in the holiday spirits as well. This made Noku’s brow raise a bit in confusion as to why the hell she would try and glue a bird to a card in the first place. His brow remaining raised the entire time as he sat in his seat pondering this very thought the whole time as she searched the pile.

When she finally found the present that was labeled hers; Noku’s expression became normal again. This time he seemed a little more intrigued, leaning a little forward in his chair to rest his elbow on the arm rest and straighten up in his chair to get a better look at her reaction while she unwrapped her gift. A small smile appearing behind his hand that rested casually against his mouth as she became distracted with her saddle.

She was like a child so happy with something so simple and not very complicated other than a saddle. With eyes wide like saucers; Aria looked over the craftsmanship and inspected every inch before sporting her big goofy grin towards him. When her eyes made contact with his, Noku’s smile had completely vanished and he stared back at her with his hand still in front of his mouth. He rested his chin in his palm of his hand for a minute. Listening to her as she praised him for the saddle and offered to take him flying on her drake at some time. He lifted his head and allowed his hand to fall back down on the chair rest. His brow raised at her for a second in a bit of amusement.

“ I’m glad the gift is to your liking Lady Wurud. I don’t fly often and normally creatures don’t like my presence all that much. The offer is appreciated, though perhaps another time. “ Noku nodded, not completely dismissing the offer of flying on one of her drakes; But at this time and late in season he didn’t seem to thrilled with the idea of flying out in the cold blistering winter winds of Nova.

[Deleted]

Aria liked the saddle; it would be good for long trips. When Aria heard him call her by her last name she tilted her head. He kept switching from her first name to her last name; both in the company of others and now in private.

”I think you’re the only one who uses my last name; why do you keep switching? But I do enjoy gifts that are practical but to be honest I would have been happy even with a rock. I’m more touched you thought of me. Midwinter is always nicer when you have people to share it with.”

It would seem he had been flying before; it was still a fun activity though more preferable in summer. The cool air that was higher was a pleasant change to the warm air below. She frowned slightly when he mentioned creatures not faring well around him…that thought was saddening.

”Does that bother you at all? I think I’d be sad if animals avoided me; with animals at least you know if they are with you it’s not because of some hidden motive. They’re honest; a trait I value.”

She supposed it helped to be able to talk to animals; perhaps animals did not like him due to the fact he was so tense. He did have the tendency to put people on edge, animals usually picked up on that. Perhaps he wouldn’t run into the problem if she was able to explain things for the animals. She nodded when he suggested another time; she hadn’t meant that they go now so the delay wasn’t minded at all.

”Perhaps in warmer weather yes? Summer time is one of my favorites; the cool air from the sea hitting the warm air from the mainland creates wonderful air currents. You hit the right thermal and you can fly for hours. But if the drakes do have a problem, I could always take you up myself. I’ve taken Lilith before. But if I talk to them I don’t think there will be any issue.”