Colin bent over the countertop as he gently cut through a row of various herbs he had gathered a few days ago with Nylfallas, who had taken the opportunity to teach this human, at the same time, how to handle a surprise naga ambush- a particularly non-existent venture upon the mountain, and a situation that Colin had already handled in the past anyway. Still, Colin was indeed sincere in his request, and he had actually asked all of Kyra's siblings to do what they could to help him strengthen himself in whatever way they could offer.

In true form, for instance, Vylira had snuck into their home in the night, being found the next morning simply sipping at a cup of tea on the couch, reading a book- turning the tables and actually placing the burden of a masterful entrance on her hosts. She then did her best to teach some rudimentary semblance of grace while in combat- a lesson she ensured they would pick up at a later date. Vylira was supreme in her ability to weave her way in, around, or through enemies in order to exploit their weaknesses, and she was hopefully that Colin could learn a thing or two.

Nylfallas had, of course, taken him into swordplay, though his younger brother, Aaleas, simply forced Colin into a spider's den with nothing but a knife, telling him to escape with one hand in his pocket. Kyra took the punctual opportunity to explain her brother's somewhat harsh pranks while rubbing salve on Colin's arms for him.

Y'eanel had visited as well, though, as a "legitimate" priestess, she could only offer to teach Colin some healing spells, as well as some semblance of herbalism. This changed when Colin accidentally made the scar from the previous event worsen, forcing Y'eanel to begin casting some rather sinister holy magic on Colin, "so he could understand the flip side of their magic". Kyra took a quick opportunity to explain her sister's short-lived membership in a warlock's club before re-dedication herself to the Priestesses as she helped Colin sew up those same scars from earlier.

Syheath, the second youngest to Kyra, never visited, nor did Colin even really know much about her. Kyra never spoke about her, though not for any mal intent; she simply had no further information to give. She knew that she'd enjoyed animal pelting as a child and had grown into a fine leatherworker. During the boom of champions to Northrrnd, she'd gone along to hunt that same foreign game, never to be heard from again, save for the occasional letter home, though they were most always addressed to her parents. If pushed to explain what he'd learned from her, Colin might have answered that his introversion had been bolstered by her story.

Starting tomorrow, Colin and Kyra were to head off up north to help Kyra's parents, Eldris and Cayssarin, return home to Teldrassil, along with their oldest child, Kel'aeth, giving Colin a chance to learn something from all of her siblings. The two of them had remained in practice as far as traveling was concerned, so such a trek wasn't so arduous to begin with, though they remained sure to prepare adequately.

Most nights before a long journey, the two took it easy and usually just made a quick meal before turning in early for a good start, as was the case in this instance. Colin carefully rubbed the herbs throughout the small piece of boar meat, his head lightly bouncing to the beat of some song he had in his head. Kyra reached across him and grabbed a small jar of spices, pouring a small amount in her hand, measuring by her eyes.

"Perfect," she muttered aloud and she wiped her hands off above a small batter mixture she'd been working on, "Say what you will, but I'm telling you, there's nothing like Azsharan spice bread. Just a tiny bit of this stuff and you'll be crying with how good it is."

Colin grinned, "You say that as if I have an opinion on the matter."

Shrugging, Kyra began rolling the ball of dough out on the counter, smiling mischieviously, "It's not like I enjoy knowing most of my opinions also belong to you simply by default. Just look at webwood soup; you hate that stuff, while I love it."

"Yes," Colin agreed with a shudder, "Such bitterness should only belong to some thousand year old being, not food."

Kyra scooted over slightly, playfully bumping her hip against Colin's alongside a dismissive moan, causing Colin to clarify, "I didn't mean you, honey."

She giggled lightly, "It's just funny that that's what you immediately think of when I do that."

"Trust me," Colin began as he grabbed his pan of food and shoved it carefully into the fire-lit oven of cobblestone, "After this long, I think I have a pretty good read on your behavior, ma'am."

Kyra showed a sidelong smirk as Colin walked toward her, turning to lean his back against the counter beside her, "Let's see. Hmm…"

He nodded to himself, snapping a finger before pointing at her, "When you wake up early enough to catch the sunrise, I know you enjoy staring at it for a bit."

"Easy," Kyra noted, "So I like watching the sunrise; I've still just started seeing it at all."

She grinned at him devilishly, "Come on, rookie."

Colin nodded slowly, thinking, "On those mornings after we've made love, you hold on just a bit tighter to me when I have to start getting up."

Kyra's eyes remained fixed on the dough at her hands, hiding a blush as her lips contorted in dismay, "N-Next."

Through another smirk, Colin nodded again, lowering his head in thought, "Your eyes."

He turned his head up toward her, "My whole life, I've seen elves and you can't ever tell what they're looking at- you know, their eyes just glow the same. But, being with you, I've noticed your eyes, darting back and forth when you're examining something. They move so much more than your head; they're so quick and..."

He smiled, sure enough, while Kyra's eyed shifted to watch him from their corners, her hands holding still atop that ball of dough, "And when our eyes are lost, together, in themselves, they shake ever so slightly, almost disarmingly so."

He shrugged, grinning boyishly, "Something like that."

Kyra's head fell slightly as his words ran circles in her head, "N-… Next."

Colin hummed to himself in though, rolling his eyes slightly as he ran through everything in his mind, "Hmm… There was that one time I caught you flipping your nails and scrutinizing them heavily; just staring at them as you rolled them, one at a time, between your fingers."

"Y-You saw that?!" Kyra shouted, her head whipping around in his direction.

Shrugging, Colin replied, "I just figured you were hunting for any maladies or something."

Nervously, Kyra turned away slightly, "Oh, y- yes, that's it."

She slowly went on kneading, lowering herself down closer to the dough to avoid Colin's questioning glance, his lips curving into a grin, "Why, were you doing something else?"

"Of course not!" Kyra replied heatedly, "Definitely not something I'd never do in front of you. Just totally normal stuff, you know."

Colin nodded, "I mean, you shouldn't be nervous or anything. It means you're comfortable being here; comfortable being around me. I'd love nothing more than for you to feel able to be yourself around me. C'mon, you already know a ton of weird stuff I do."

"Like what?" Kyra spoke, challengingly, as though getting back for his last observation of her.

"I don't know; you already know I'm compelled to keep lists most of the time."

Kyra eyed him, "Only when we're off journeying, which is understandable."

She turned toward him, meeting a pair of unenthused eyes as Colin sighed, causing Kyra to go on, "Hang on; how haven't I caught it?"

Colin embarrassingly reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notebook and flipping to one of the highly written-upon leaflets, clearing his throat, "Ahem. Do you want a detailed inventory of the stock room? or perhaps of the linen closet? That one has a subsequent list of items that Vylira appears to have pilfered her last time here."

Kyra watched him silently, forcing Colin to simply read aloud without direction, "Four towels, blue, 24" x 38"; two robes, embroidered with a 'K' and a 'C', purple and blue, respectively."

He paused as his finger scrolled down the small page of notebook paper, "Was inquired about a third robe, embroidered with a 'V' for "Visitor"…"

Colin looked up, blankly, "…though I assume it would stand for "Vylira" if I were to actually make such a robe."

Kyra watched him silently, her face slowly turning into a smile, "No wonder, uh, everything runs so smoothly out here."

Colin nodded, "Yes ma'am; every trip out for firewood or ingredients is always due to necessity. So see? We both have our own little quirks, noticed or unnoticed."

Kyra grinned lightly as she turned back toward the countertop, "Uh… Whenever you pull out an old book, you can't help but bring it up to your nose and smell it."

Colin nodded, his eyes peering off, "Yeah, I guess I do-"

"And I can tell when you're lost in thought because the food always comes out more done when you're thinking about me, or, I guess, your lists," Kyra continued, lightly.

She smiled, holding a hand to her chest, "And whenever we end up separated in crowded room, whenever I walk around, you always turn and watch me, as though you're able to psychically tell where I am. And when you sleep with your head on me, your heartbeat is slower while you sleep. And when-"

Colin reached over and held her hand, forcing a pause from her lips as she turned to watch him, their eyes meeting like two magnets pulled together. She smiled weakly at him, though only because his stare had weakened everything about her when they met hers like this- like they were staring through her. Colin lifted her hand to his face, closing his eyes as he took it into a kiss.

"I'm also an incredibly, unindulgently, hopeless romantic," Colin surmised aloud, "And you allow me the freedom to share every bit of that with someone else."

Kyra blushed, turning away and pulling her hand back toward her ball of dough, "Just…help me finish this, alright?"

Colin smirked as he pulled over a small bread pan, "Azshara spices, right?"

Kyra nodded, quickly, though remained silent as Colin reached over to place the pan beside her, gently leaning his head in to kiss the nape of her neck, "Sweet things come from Teldrassil anyway."