A roll of her eyes was Navia’s first reaction to Théadan’s antics, for she had first feigned worried about the horses if they ended up making love if they had to camp out for the evening. He was soon dropping the theatrics however, and a prideful smile graced her lips upon hearing she had caught him in a trap of his own teasing. He was often the one to outsmart her in some form or function, be it mentally or physically, so Navia couldn’t help but feel a little smug she had managed to turn the tables on him. But Théadan was still right, even if he had been teasing her before. The acts of other people would not change their love for each other or their need to stay by each other’s sides. But it would also continue to drive them closer together, which meant likely driving them into bed together. Not only were they defiant and would want to expel that frustration through their passions for each other, they had learned they enjoyed how taboo it felt.<br/><br/>They had snuck around in the past, something they were no longer doing, so Théadan was probably right it was part of why they had gotten so twisted up in each other the night before. “I think you’re right,” Navia chuckled, mind whirling to think up examples of all those times, “Look what happened to us after Captain Culruus had admitted to you he had heard us together in your tent.” They had ended up with Théadan taking her hard and primal atop his desk. “Or when you decided you couldn’t touch me in Nygaard so others didn’t know about us.” Despite that leading to heartbreaking moments afterward, Navia couldn’t keep from smirking at Théadan, thinking about how desperate they’d been for each other that night. “Oh! Or the time we were in your office at the city guard,” Navia laughed as she shook her head, eyes casting out at the noisy jungle they passed by, “Mm, it was thrilling to know I could get you to keep going even though someone had been just outside the door, interrupting us.” He was right. It was a turn-on for them and Navia was happy enough to partake in it that she looked his way with a mischievous glint in her eye, “We’ll have make up some times like that in Mandira too.”<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Not more than an hour after traveling through the jungle did they find a small village where they could purchase food for breakfast. They continued to ride while they ate, the horses’ paces casual and unhurried. There was no need to rush in Navia’s mind; they were closer to Mandira than they’d ever been before, but were still likely another night away from it. One more night and they could sleep in real beds for the rest of their lives. One more and she could wear her own clothes, be around her own belongings. It was thrilling and even though there was no need to rush, Navia had almost suggested they do that so they could arrive in Mandira earlier in the day. Storm clouds were gathering overhead though, reducing the amount of sunlight already limited by the thick canopy of the jungle, and causing Navia to glance at them from time to time, as if she’d catch the moment the first raindrop fell.<br/><br/>Thunder and lightning began accompanying the dark clouds, leaving them to realize they would need to stop for the night and seek shelter. They had not come across another town with an inn, but as the thunder rolled overhead again, they came upon a clearing where a man could be seen in the distance hastily ushering sheep into a large, lowly built barn, his similarly-built house in the distance. “Let’s ask if we can stay there until the rain lets up,” Navia suggested, already turning Vari in that direction, “Then we can move on to find a place for the night if it calms before nightfall. I don’t want to be caught in the rain.” There was a large clearing between them and the man though, and it only took a brief smirk in Théadan’s direction before she gave Vari a swift kick and they were rocketing across the greenery in an attempt to beat Théadan and Wyndagar in a mini-race.<br/><br/>They were never going to win against such a swift and powerful horse as Wyn though, but Vari did her best to keep up and with Wyn slowing down a bit as they neared the man, they arrived at the same time. Navia called out a greeting before they were upon the farmer, which he returned. Older but in good shape and dressed plainly with long silvery and black hair tied atop his head, he appeared cautious that they had approached and eyed Théadan in a mixture of curiosity and hesitation, but after Navia explained in Khluri they were merely seeking shelter until the storm passed, the farmer nodded. “He says we can hole up in the barn until the storm moves on,” Navia announced after listening to the farmer and thanking him, looking Théadan’s way as rain drops began peppering them, “That should be good, right? He says there’s extra hay in one of the stalls we can rest on.”