[RP] Visiting Bravia, the husband and such

[Dwayberry]

	Day 1: December 2, 1655 Aldwyn has been bored since I left my big pile of parchment on the Widu market. I can't let him use half my notebook to draw on, so I let him use the duel request Rieron sent me when I passed through Cork. I started to see those as dark elf-specific welcome letters. It's good to have left that town full of suspicious people behind and enter good old Bravia. My Nocturne wasn't home when I arrived, so I left him a note and then took Aldwyn to the market. No buckets there, however. Ridiculous to not sell any buckets on an orchard town market! Perhaps they do it on purpose so visitors cannot pick all the strawberries? Aldwyn and I went to just pick them with our hands. It's been a while since we had any strawberries this fresh, so naturally we ate a lot while picking. They are healthy so it is good practice to do so. At the end of the day, we took our harvest to Nocturne's home. "No many, mommy," Aldwyn said. I suppose he has a point.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 2: December 3, 1655 This morning I threw a snowball after Nocturne as he left to arrange the last preparations for our trip. Of course the damned shadow man dodged... At least he did not use his power to throw anything back. As I strolled around town later though, that Rannek did throw several snowballs at me and I regret to admit he did not miss... I will get him back though! With his size, he should be an easy enough target. Just in case Nocturne manages to arrange everything today, I will hang around town and not find myself a job. It's a good opportunity to check out the local designers, in case I might need some new clothes or hats. I have the slight feeling Nocturne might not appreciate some of my hats, which is all the more reason I should buy more. Men who are both attractive and intelligent are rare in these lands, so I have to make sure he won't ever regret marrying me. I took Aldwyn to Nocturne's fields to see the cows. The animals are very curious and all came to the fence to study my boy with their friendly, but dumb expressions. Aldwyn talks and moos to them as if they can understand what he says. I had to pull him away from the animals when it got late.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 3: December 4, 1655 Unfortunately I fell asleep before Nocturne arrived home, but he told me the preparations aren't finished yet, and won't be either today. He'll be at university all day, so I told him I'll see him there. I left Aldwyn with Nocturne's steward before going to university. Once there, I browsed the shelves and concluded there is nothing left for me to study... I studied everything interesting for my profession and self development, and even all horticulture books to help boost field production. Perhaps Nocturne is right and I should start studying some of the more advanced (read: boring) material. The thing is I have no interest in political or army tactics and I have no magical talent, so studying magic is not very useful either. Besides, my grandmother as well as my teacher have always told me that one does not need magic to lead a comfortable life. Now if there were books on travel, grave robbing, more efficient self defence, that might be interesting... I picked up Aldwyn and we headed out for another day of strawberry picking. Fortunately there was someone selling buckets today, so we should be able to harvest more. Aldwyn said ''Mommy no eat all berries!'' I don't know where he gets the idea I would eat all of them? Sometimes he just seems to think the worst of me, just like his father.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 4: December 5, 1655 We're still in snowy Bravia. I bought a sled to pull Aldwyn along as he gets tired easily when moving through the deeper snow. He is very excited about the upcoming Winterfest. I hope we will make it to North Staunchville in time. They have the best Winterfest tree on the town square, bigger than Aldwyn has ever seen before. I haven't decided yet what I'll put in his sock when he puts it up the Winterfest tree. Perhaps Nocturne has some ideas. I left Aldwyn with Nocturne's steward to make snowmen, so I can go hunting. This is a busy town, which means I might have less of a chance to stumble upon a good zyrk or yvyrm nest. However, now it's cold at night I hope more people will stay inside their workshops or university, leaving me with more kills. It's going to be fun, using my bare - well, gloved - hands to do it! I prefer using a weapon, but it's been a while since I did any bare handed training. Perhaps I should have accepted Rieron's duel request to that effect. Though not sure if Nocture would approve of me dying, besides, I quite enjoy being alive.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 5: December 6, 1655 Well, last night was a complete waste of time. I am not sure if this was the first time ever that I could not even find a decent zyrk or yvyrm nest, if not it must have been a long time since it happened. This town might just be too crowded, and they likely retreated into the woods of Cork and Staunchville. I suppose it will be back to strawberry picking today, which is not so bad really. I just wish I could start the trip with Nocturne already. Speaking of Nocturne, he finally retaliated snowball-wise. Could have known he'd suddenly jump out of some dark corner and somehow manages to throw ten snowballs at once! I sat in the tavern for some time with Aniel. She was making ridiculous demands this time. Perhaps I better just stop working for her, even though advising her how to spend her money is rather amusing. Oh, and Rannek challenged me to a duel. Perhaps he got upset about the snowballs, or he just want to test his skill, I don't know. I didn't bring armour and also not a lot weapons. I suppose I'll use the staff rather than the axe and see how it goes. The referees should stop the fight before any of us gets killed.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 6: December 7, 1655 I woke up rather tired from the duel at midnight. Rannek did not manage to hit me, but he is getting faster and more agile. It took more effort to stay out of his weapon's reach than the previous time. But what a surprise! My husband left me with several sweet notes, kisses and surprises. Apparently it is my birthday, I completely forgot. I'm not sure when my birthday actually is, only that it is somewhere during late autumn, so a few years ago I just picked a random day. I'm not exactly sure how old I am either... might be late twenties already. Oh well, I suppose no-one will notice the difference if I claim it to be mid-twenties. Some others of my new family somehow remembered it is my birthday. I received a luxury meal from Ambra, together with a nice looking card, though strangely enough it was devoid of any text. Rannek sent some flowers. Very nice considering I might have hurt him quite a bit. Duke, the mayor of my hometown, arranged for some local kittens to sing for me. Aldwyn especially enjoyed this, but he was sad he could not keep the kittens. I had to tell him they have mommies elsewhere, and I would be upset too if someone else decided to keep him. I brought some apple pie to the tavern because naturally, I do not enjoy sharing strawberry pie with too many others. Dahlia appeared upset about something, and she told me in private she is worried about her husband. Casimir left for some quest or another and hasn't contacted her since. I wasn't sure what to tell her, other than that in my experience, men usually return when you least expect them, and are already halfway over them. Perhaps I should have advised her to get over him quickly, but it did not really seem like the right thing to say at the moment. She is clearly not thinking straight as it is, making up reasons why she should not go look for him herself. I suppose I could ask Nocturne if we can keep an eye out for Casimir when we travel north. Aniel later distracted me with blatant strawberry abuse! Strawberries should be treated and eaten with love and respect, preferably by me. That angel must have some issues with me not granting some ridiculous requests. I had to block my emotions before things got out of hand, and now I have a headache, just as I am waiting for Nocturne to return home. Not good. Perhaps I should show my displeasure to Aniel tomorrow.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 7: December 8, 1655 My birthday ended very well after all! Nocturne returned home with a beautiful ruby (giving me a great opportunity to buy some matching clothes for that since I didn't bring anything in that colour) and we enjoyed the big strawberry pie he arranged for. My headache was quickly forgotten and eventually, I slept most wonderfully. Strangely enough this morning I feel very tired. I'm almost glad we're travelling yet today. I suppose that duel with Rannek combined with Aniel's nonsense exhausted me more than expected. I don't get enough practise in the tavern anymore. In the old days we had verbal or more physical, let's say, arguments almost every day. Keeps the body and mind in good condition. I'm trying to stock up on strawberries while I wait for Nocturne to have everything ready for our trip. It's terrible to not be able to eat them immediately. There's something about frozen winter strawberries that makes them taste quite different than strawberries of other seasons, though not any less delicious. When I eat them, I can almost clearly remember my first days in Bravia. Though Aldwyn is getting bored. He wants me to pull him around on the sled I bought, and I tell him he's big enough to walk because I don't want to admit I feel too tired today to pull the damned thing.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 8: December 9, 1655 Again, I have been feeling very tired all day. I'm not sure what's going on. I'm sleeping well next to my Nocturne, and Aldwyn almost never wakes me up during the night anymore. There's no reason I should feel this tired! It's probably somehow Aniel's fault. It can be exhausting to figure out what she wants from me at times. Juggling went terrible, thanks to this exhaustion I assume. I had to go home and change clothes after I was done. As if snow alone isn't slippery enough already. It's still not sure when we'll leave Bravia. As long as I'm here, I'm just profiting from the abundance of fresh frozen strawberries. How to make a frozen strawberry milkshake: Add two spoons of sugar and some vanilla to half a pound of frozen strawberries. Finely chop and grind the mixture, then mix with a cup of milk. Mix in two cups of frozen cream. Ignore people who claim the weather is too cold for frozen strawberry milkshakes. They are probably drunks looking for burn their stomachs with poison instead.

[Dwayberry]

	Day 9: December 10, 1655 We're travelling to Paz today! Nocturne woke me up because I was still sleeping. I'm still feeling tired and I don't understand why. Eating strawberries every day should make me feel healthy and strong. I hope Nocturne won't notice my fatigue, because I don't want him to cancel the trip. Fortunately, the road to Paz is mostly downhill, so it won't take a lot of effort to pull Aldwyn's sled. I joined Aldwyn on the sled for the last hill down to Paz. That was fun! It reminded me of how we used to glide downhill on logs in winter when I was a child living in a woodcutters' village near North Staunchville. It's much easier to stay upright on a proper sled than on a log, though. It's the first time Aldwyn visits the shore in winter, so it must be rather strange for him to see that the water isn't frozen. This time of the year, Lake Fenia is frozen and we have to make a hole in the ice to go fishing. Here at sea, we can take out the boat. I just have to make sure Aldwyn doesn't fall in the water, because it's very cold. Paz is normally quite a nice sight in the distance when coming out of the hills, but the sun set long before we arrived. Apart from some larger buildings and inns, most of the town was dark. There appears to be no Winterfest tree here yet. My gran used to tell me how in the coastal village where I was born, lanterns would be lighted in the masts of all ships and boats during the nights of winter solstice. I wonder if Paz has a similar practice?

[Dwayberry]

	Day 10: December 11, 1655 I had a rather restless night. The sea goddess must be sensing my presence to water. Dreams of fish location where extremely vivid and persistent. She told me as well, in her own way, where not to go because of dangerous currents. We'll stay in Paz for a few days because Nocturne has some stuff to arrange with a local, strangely named salesman. At least, I assumed he wasn't talking about meeting up with an actual pack of wolves. I spent the morning in a snowball fight with some people, and fortunately that did seem to give me some new energy. It's a pretty clear day, it's impossible to miss where the fish are. Still some people seem to be completely oblivious to their location, which is always interesting to watch. The locals know the sea here well enough though to avoid the dangerous currents. Aldwyn and I went fishing later. The basic principle is the same, but still it feels different at sea than on the lake. You can't see where the sea ends, if it ends somewhere it all. Sometimes, you can feel a strange attraction of larger fish and sea animals deeper and further from shore. I don't want to go out too far at the moment, though. I also don't have proper tools with me to hunt larger animals. It's a bit too cold to stick my hands down the water, so I used a fishing rod. Caught two decently sized halibut, and that is enough for today. I can't store too much fish at the time anyway, away from home. As long as Aldwyn doesn't know how to block his emotions, I let him look away when I kill the fish. That child is so sensitive...