She did not know what to think upon that, and so she schooled her features to show no reaction, "I am sorry to hear that." She said with sincerity, before clearing her thoat softly and changing the subject, "Have you ventured back into the Inn?"

He thought her quick change of subject to be odd, but he knew she was doing this for his sake. He went back to being somewhat cheery, "Not yet. I simply have not had a lot of time to do so. Lying around all day, and observing here in the Marketplace makes me tired. By the time dusk comes, I am so tired, I go right to sleep." He figured a joke would help lighten the mood.

She rolled her eyes slightly at that, "I am sure. I take it you have not ventured to your real home either?"

"Not yet." He had not ventured home yet, mostly because he had not had any reason to. He moved his eyes away from hers to her hands. He was surprised to see no ring. "Storm, I am surprised at you. Just married, and already you walk around without your ring?"

"Oh, we have not used rings. It is custom in his homeland to use amulets." She took hers off carefully to offer it to him to see. The amulet was adorned with symbols and decorations along the edge, hers being clouds, with symbols of a fish and a bird in the center.

He took the amulet in his hands. He twirled it around a bit, studying it very carefully. The offered it back to her. "It is very beautiful, and I truly do wish the two of you the best. I am sure not all of the others approve, but you two have my blessing." He smiled a sincere warm smile.

"Others?" She smirked and replaced the amulet with care, "Are we speaking of those that believe in preserving the true blood lines?" She said, her voice dripping with obvious disapproval, "Their opinions are only opinions."

He became suddenly solomn "I agree with you, love cannot be controlled. I am just saying that if the time ever arose where you needed to defend yourself and Ewan, you will have my support."

His words did little to soothe, and her face openly showed that she was irked, "As much as your kindness is appreciated, I think Ewan and I will handle the situation should it even ever arise." She in an almost painfully polite manner.

He smiled suddenly again, and began to chuckle, a light hearted chuckle. "I am sure you will, you are strong. I was simply offeing my help. We should find a time to meet, since I have been in Rhy'Din, I have not had adequate time to talk to you. I would like to share with you the story of why Kiara and I are no longer seeing each other, and why I came here, but I can see that you simply are in a slight hurry." He rose to give her a farewell.

She was unsure if she even wanted to hear that story, or what she thought about the twists in his words. Still, her eyes followed his standing motion as she stayed in her spot, "Yes, there are matters that we need to discuss." Was all that she offered.

He moved in slightly to kiss her right cheek, but thought twice about it, very unsure of what to do. He transitioned from moving in, to a slight bow and an awkward smile. "I shall see you soon than Storm, and please... Send my best to Ewan."

She stood still, watching him move into a simple bow of his head. Relieved, though that did not cross her face, she took a simple step back in the direction of home, and gave a slight nod in return, "I will. Stay out of trouble, Jeremiah." She repeated, just in spite, before turning and heading back home.

He had been around for close to a month now. That was only a minimal amount of time to actually be somewhere, and yet, he had neglected his duties as the Guardian of the Mountains. Truth be told, there was more to his absence than he wanted to give away. However, he knew that he would have to face her eventually. Until then, he would continue to put things off.

He sat inside of his room. He had just woken from an almost restless night. The more he thought, the harder it was for him to sleep, and yet, at this time, it was nearly impossible for him to shut his mind off at night. Thoughts of the other Guardians, and home, and all that had happened leading up to his permanent stay in Rhy'din, and yet, he knew that it would all be for nothing if he did not perform his duties as Guardian. He sat in thought for sometime, and was interrupted by the all too familiar presence of Storm approaching. He jumped off of the bed, and proceeded to get dressed. She was coming to see him, and that meant one of two things. Either he was in trouble, or she was. He readied himself, and awaited a knock at his door. He would be ready to stroll, that is, if she was.

He awaited her arrival with anticipation. He had been staying in the inn for close to a month now, and he was almost tired of not having a true permanent residence. He had not taken the time to get to know anyone in Rhy'din, and it was starting to bother him. Maybe that is why he missed the other Elements. He laughed to himself slightly, he knew that was not true, but maybe he could come to believe that. He felt her presence ever more powerful as she approached. He stood from the bed, and straightened his jubba, he did not want to show Storm any emotion, or slight bit of weakness. The knock came. He opened the door, and bowed his head slightly as recognition to his fellow Elemental.

He heard her first statement, and replied. with a slight amount of sarcasm to his voice, "Of course I am Storm, as I told you before, I needed to make sure you would not get into too much trouble." As she stepped back, he took the opportunity to walk out of the door and close it. As he took the time to lock it, he turned his head slightly, and looked at her over his shoulder. "A stroll would be absolutely splendid."

He followed her as she backed down the stairs. He had not quite gotten used to the smallness of the area around him. He had to bend down slightly to avoid some of the lower hanging beams. He did not smile at her remark about Ewan, in fact, he acted as though he did not hear it. He knew she would be making small talk until they exited the building. He knew just as well she did that to talk of things in a closed area where ears could be anywhere was not a good idea. Although he masked his true emotions, he went along with her conversation, smiling slightly as he answered her first question sarcastically, "Well, the alcohol is quite delicious, and I absolutely enjoy having to bend slightly every time I enter or exit through a doorway." He kept a straight face on the outside, but was much enjoying himself on the inside. He grunted slightly in agreeably with her statement of Richard. He too waved as they passed Richard, and just to throw Storm off a slight bit, as well as to see how she would answer before in an open area, asked "So what brings you to this inn at this time Storm? I thought you would be with Master Ewan at this time."

The thought of returning had traveled through his mind quite often since he had left for Rhy'Din. Yet, every time he thought of returning, Kiara came to mind, and he instantly blocked that from it. He knew that he had duties to perform, but the uncomfortable situation that he would be put in at that time outweighed any work load he may have later. He gave some thought to his answer before responding with the slightest bit of sarcasm to annoy Storm. "You know Storm, if Cornelious will not allow you to return without me, than you may have to extend your stay here just a tad bit longer than expected." His face showed that he found his statement quite hilarious, yet there was no laugh, and not a sign of a smile. He knew he had pushed Storm, but he wanted to know if there was any other reasons why she was here to talk to him. he wanted to know if she knew why he would not return.

As they walked down the path, he took notice of where she was leading him. He had been around long enough to understand that Storm was trying to appeal to his senses. He also knew that she would feel uncomfortable the more they went on. He listened to her words carefully. He knew that she was serious about what she felt, and when Storm became serious, generally, so did he. Although his attitude and mood had changed, his face showed nothing. His body language stayed the same, but he knew Storm would catch onto his serious nature.
"Storm, I am sorry for any and all trouble that I may have caused you or your family. Ever since I left, I have been very selfish. I have my reasons for having not returned yet, and the only way that I could foresee you helping me, is if you could convince Kiara to keep her distance. You are correct, that you do return, and I am sure that there is much else that I could learn from your time spent here in Rhy'Din. I shall return at once, and resume my duties as guardian, despite my not wanting to return to the amount of work I have ahead of me. I shall continue to remain here in Rhy'Din, but if ever you see me begin to fade into a point of selfishness again, please do me a favor, and slap me."
Although long winded, he had released some of the things he needed to say, and in a way had used Storm as someone he could vent to at the moment. It was unusual for him to do so, but there had been a lot to hold in for that long of a time. As he had talked, he had began to take them back the way they had come. He looked to Storm again, and stated, quite frankly "Sometime Storm, perhaps we can stop by the Teas'n Tones and we can discuss the full reason for my presence in Rhy'Din."

After his time with Storm, he had done quite a bit of thinking. It was time for him to return to business. He had let his emotions take the better of him, and although he would remain in Rhy'Din as a permanent place of residence, he also felt the need to do as Storm had done, and return at least once a week to take care of things. The earth realm had apparently suffered since his departure and absence, and he felt personally responsible for this. He needed to speak to Storm in order to find the portals she had set, and also to hopefully set up some portals that were more comfortable to him. He had never been one to make house calls, so he left the inn he had been staying at, and headed for the marketplace, as he passed the desk, he made a gesture with his hand to the innkeeper, and nodded in thanks to him.
He exited, and headed down the alleys of Rhy'Din. This had become a normal practice for him. he much liked dark places that reminded him of the underground, and since these did not exist naturally in Rhy'Din, he took the back alleys instead. He arrived at his new favorite place, Teas'N Tomes. He quite enjoyed the atmosphere. He ordered a cup of tea, and waited outside at a table he much enjoyed sitting at to watch the people of the marketplace. He had learned much from the time he spent watching the people. He hoped that Storm would walk by, or at least come close enough for him to get a feeling from her gift. But until then, he would wait and observe.

He smiled to himself as he watched Storm walk up to the table. He went to say something, but then saw her finger. As she walked in, he understood the nature of why she had silenced him. As he waited for her to come back, he took another sip of his tea, and continued to observe the people of the marketplace. As she arrived back at the table, he watched as she took the seat across from him. He narrowed his eyes a slight amount, and without taking his eyes off of the crowd of people in the marketplace added with some interest behind his voice, "Storm, so many different cultures pervade this area. Some do not even speak the same language, yet, they all speak one language..." He paused for a second and looked from the people to her, "Money." As he finished, he lifted his cup, and took another sip. He added politely, "It is very nice to see you Storm, and it is quite a coincidence that you chose this table to sit at, as I have a favor I must ask of you."

He looked at her, a tad bit of a quizzical look on his face. His eyebrows were raised, simply for the sake of showing interest. He recomposed himself, and began, became serious, "I have returned home, but it is quite a difficult and time consuming activity. I was wondering if you could show me where the portals that you have created, and show me if there were any other ways that I could create my own portals. This would help me in my plan to return more often." He had a sincere look on his face, and waited for her reply.

He watched as she drew the town. It was not the best map that he had ever seen, but it was a clear representation of the town. He watched and listened as she told him the "rules" of using the portals. He had no intention of putting her or her family in danger. Having heard where the portals were, he knew that he could return to the business that he had neglected for so long.

He smiled and nodded to her "Thank you Storm. Your help will greatly affect the way that I return to business. As you suggest, I will return to my realm, and speak with Shawn. Hopefully he wil be able to provide me with information on how to create portals that I can use

He stood, indicating that he was ready to leave. He bowed slightly as indication that he was thankful for her help. Then added "Until we meet again Storm, safe travels, and give my regards to Ewan and Avery." He offered a parting nod, before turning to walk away.