Before serving herself, Navia just had to watch to see how Théadan reacted to one of the simpler, but tastier of the Khluri desserts. He appeared inquisitive toward it at first, but she could see he was hooked from that first bite. It brought a pleased smile to her lips and she went ahead to serve herself before handing the pan over to Risho. There was something just so pleasing about seeing Théadan not only interacting with aspects of her culture and people from her country, but enjoying them. She worried he would hate living in Khlurios, a very tiny part of her even feared he might come to resent her for having to flee his beloved country for her, so something as small as Théadan enjoying a piece of Khluri cake was reassuring.<br/><br/>Her own slice of cake was heavenly. Théadan was right that they had not even many sweet things in Mes’Mo’Tan, admittedly she could not remember eating anything sweet other than fruit as he said, and Navia had always enjoyed Khlrui sweets. They had been coming to mind more often as of late, and those strawberries she had surprised Théadan with had only reinvigorated her enjoyment of sweets instead of satisfying the urge. She very nearly reached for a second slice, then caught what Théadan was saying about the rest of the crew hopefully having the remainder of the large amount of food set out for them. It was too much of the common tongue for Risho though, and so as he finished off his own slice of cake, he looked questioningly to Navia. She set her fork down on her plate while swiftly translating Théadan’s question into Khluri.<br/><br/>Risho nodded with a smile, it was clear he appreciated Théadan’s thoughtfulness to the crew, and started to speak quickly in Khluri, only to shake his head and wave his hand in front of him to stop himself from only answering in Khluri. This was a man who was very much so out of his element, surrounded by people from a different country on a foreign ship, but still thoughtful enough to think of others. “They come eat after you,” Risho said to Théadan instead of relying on Navia to translate for them. He followed it up with a nod and a smile, but then turned back to Navia with another string of Khluri for her.<br/><br/>Navia nodded, reaching for her napkin to dab at her mouth and make sure it was clean of her meal. “Risho says we should not feel obligated to linger, for he would like the crew to receive hot food. He says we all live on the same ship, so we can chitchat later,” She explained, finding that to be a perfectly acceptable reason for them to go. She also wanted the crew to take part in such a delicious meal. So she set her napkin down and moved to stand. As soon as she did so, Risho did as well, and so Théadan knew he should as well, Navia’s fingertips brushed his shoulder before she nodded toward the door.<br/><br/>“<i>Dhanyu</i>, Risho,” Navia said again, lingering at the door in case Théadan wanted to say anything else.<br/><br/>“Come back,” Risho offered, but also extending his hand to Théadan to shake, “Have dinner here again.”<br/><br/>Once Théadan had said whatever goodbyes he liked to their new friend, Navia led the way out of the stateroom and into a chilly evening of darkness. Gone were the vibrant tones of the sunset, replaced by inky darkness and pearly stars. The ocean surrounding them was just as dark, but nearly as calm, with the ship only slightly moving as the gentle waves caressed it. A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting its luminosity upon the main deck of the Northwind. Instead of heading for the stairs that would take them back down to their room, Navia hugged her arms around herself to combat the chill and stepped further out onto the deck, her face tipped up to take in the moonlight. It seemed as though the minute they stepped from the room, the crewmembers were coming out of the woodwork to join them captain for a meal, but Navia only glanced at them before returning her attention to the splendor of the moon and stars. It had been an ideal evening, one that made her wish on every star she saw they could enjoy more together that would be even more special when her family was involved.<br/><br/>“You liked it, didn’t you?” Navia asked, figuring Théadan would not go far from her and instead indulge her so they could go down to their room together, “The food? The company? The traditions aren’t so confusing and Risho likes you. Can you see yourself eating meals like that in the future?” She so badly wanted Théadan to feel welcome and comfortable in her country.