#Jewel of The North

[thecandywrites]

Jewel Of The North Chapter 15

Woo, it's been several long minutes since I was able to get back to this, but I'm here, with an update. As always, I had- MOST of this already planned out. And I hate it how I can get ALMOST to the end, my brain knows the endgame and suddenly my muse is like "Thank you- next." And I'm like NO, NO, NO! PleAsE lEt mE FiNiSh! And my muse gives me the bird as it walks away. Damn fickle muse.

My goal is to get this off my plate, and FINALLY finish Zorroku and Peaches update. Get to Anastascia and Talisman before Kinktober is here. And because of shit hitting the fan in my personal life, I'm going to cling to Kinktober to get me through these dark times ahead. (My daughter has a bone tumor, now we are testing to see if it's cancerous and go from there.)

So, enjoy the update. Hopefully I can get to the one last chapter and finish this. HOPEFULLY. (Dear God PLEASE)

Chapter 15

“Well if it’s not my favorite customers!” Jim greeted happily as your family returned to the dealership. 

“Did you come back for that camper?” He asked hopefully. 

“We did. I couldn’t stop thinking about it actually. And now that we’re not under such a tight time crunch, could we check it out?” You asked. 

“Absolutely, let me grab the keys.” He answered as he got the keys and then opened it up and let all the sliders out. It was a gorgeous RV that had gotten super fine and sophisticated customizations. And while it was it’s own vehicle, it was an epic one. It was as if someone took a mini semi, and then married it with an RV and a camper, all in one. It was huge. It was extra wide, extra long. And because it was both the semi and a camper trailer, it had more than enough room for the five of you to be very comfortable. 

“This was someone’s home before they bought a house up here with a truck. And we haven’t sold it because no one else can seem to justify paying so much for something that to anyone else would be a recreational vehicle.” He explained. 

“I understand that.” You noted as you checked out the appliances, and the fridge, sniffing deeply to see if anything had ever been left in here to rot. And looking for little details to see how well it had been cared for. Whoever had customized this and redid it, took their time and really put their heart and soul into it. It was the perfect, home away from home. Most likely another wealthy person. But also, someone who could probably afford to hire a driver. 

“So what endorsements do you need to drive it?” You asked him. 

“None. It’s considered an RV. Anyone who has ever driven a truck, and a trailer, or another RV could drive this.” He answered. 

“No way.” You and Noah both seemed to playfully scoff. 

“I’m serious. It’s not considered a semi. It’s classed as an RV.” Jim insisted. 

“Even if it was a full semi, I have that endorsement.” Noah assured you. 

“Well, because it’s it’s own vehicle, it means, we can leave your truck here, for when we come back next spring and just take the dully with the horse trailer.” You offered to Noah. 

“Yeah, and that way, we’d still have the truck to take to the stores and stuff, because getting this out on the road and to gas stations will be a pain in the ass. But once we get it parked in various spaces and get it hooked up, it’ll be ok.” Noah reassured you as he stepped down into the driver’s seat to become familiar with the controls and stuff as you continued to walk through and get used to the space and storage and stuff before you came back to see the kids already in the bedroom part that was put into a smaller room with two twin beds in a bunk bed set up, or the larger room with a full bed. 

“And there’s a king size bed in the trailer. Although, most parks, you’ll need two side by side spaces to get it all together, unless a place has two hook ups, one in front of the other.” Jim explained. 

“Ok, how are the beds guys?” You asked them. 

“Eh, they’re ok. Rutted out right here though.” Zane said as his rear seemed to find a space in the middle of the bed that you imagined the previous owners probably used for sex. So new mattresses would be in order. And…decent bedding too, you realized as you touched the bedding and crinkled your nose that it was the cheap, microfiber crap. Microfiber bedding was “soft” but didn’t breathe for crap and didn’t hold up past a few washings. So you were doing some quick math in your head of what else you’d need to do to get this ready for travel. 

“Let’s look at the trailer.” You insisted before you did and could see that it was the trailer that had all the luxury and all the real “upgrades.” It was basically one big bedroom and a living room with a small kitchenette and a decent sized shower, whereas the one on the RV part was ok. Not great but ok. Clean and functional and that’s what mattered. The one in the trailer? Actual tile. And a bench. Great for shaving and especially shower sex probably- if you and Noah could fit into it together. 

“Wow, this is really nice.” Noah noted once he joined you in the camper. 

“Yeah, it is.” You nodded. 

“Jim was telling me that when we park the RV, we will need either two spots in front of each other, or side by side. 

“Well, actually, did you see how there’s a way to connect the two if they’re in front of each other, and we have a way to make a hallway that connects that to this?” Noah pointed out as he motioned to it. 

“Ooh, no I didn’t.” You noted as you came over to see it. 

“Can we look under it to see the frame?” Skylar asked hopefully before she pulled out her trusty flashlight she always used to inspect things. 

“We’ve already been over it and inspected it.” Jim tried to reassure her. 

“Yeah, but another set of eyes wouldn’t be a bad thing.” Noah insisted before Skylar beamed happily before she and him went out and did just that as she chose to look under the RV first as she started lowly murmuring to Noah to make sure he saw what she could find. 

“Her uncle is a mechanic.” You excused to Jim as you got a picture of Skylar’s legs sticking out with Noah’s under the vehicle, because it was really cute before you got your notebook out to write down what you were hearing from Noah and Skylar. 

“I see.” Jim nodded as he just stood by and you could tell he was a little nervous before you poked around in the vehicle’s crash history, what work it had gotten done, what maintenance it had gotten done, and the fact that it was sporting brand new tires, you wondered if the older ones had gotten dry rot before Noah started asking questions before Jim had to go and get the mechanic who checked it over before Skylar and Noah were beginning to speak mechanic as you barely were able to keep up mentally with the discussion before Skylar found things that the other mechanic hadn’t caught before Noah used that, to let her find every, tiny, little, thing as Noah was beginning to throw out numbers of how much it would take to fix that, and you grinned when you got your notebook out and put the estimates with everything. 

“So how much were you wanting for this?” You asked Jim. 

“Well, we were asking…” He began to list off what the vehicle was worth and all the money, the previous hosts dumped into it. 

“Yeah, but if it needs this much in repairs…” You began as you listed off everything it would need to be really roadworthy and mechanically sound as you did your best to continue to write it out what Noah and Skylar were finding under the vehicle and then once they got through that, popped the hood and continued to look it over with the mechanic. 

“Girl, how old are you?” Bud asked Skylar. 

“Eight. But I’ve been helping my uncles and grandpas with stuff since I was old enough to walk.” She answered happily. 

“And she’s been really the god’s send with helping me with my plane.” Noah praised. 

“Let’s check out the trailer.” Noah urged before they went around to the back as you continued to write down every little thing before they seemed to be done as you helped brush Skylar and Noah off before you handed him the notebook to look over before he added more things that he saw without saying anything. 

“Let’s go inside and talk.” Noah urged you as you readily passed the power brick from your purse to the kids, so that their devices wouldn’t die as you went inside and negotiated, for either the dealership to fix various things, or for the price to be dropped so that it could be handled elsewhere. 

You were simply happy to sit there and help Noah negotiate for it. And help bank on the fact that only you guys would be able to buy such a vehicle, but even when Noah had a whole plane to repair and therefore didn’t have the extra money, especially when a simple camper, that was a fraction of the price, was also available for your family. 

You guys ended up getting it for way less than you feared it would be. And the dealership still made enough money off of it, that it was still worth while for them too before Noah drove it all out of there and to his house and into his own garage to begin working on what needed to be worked on as you got your cleaning supplies ot really dig down and give it another thorough deep clean as you gagged to see how filthy the mattresses really were under that pretty bedding. Someone had obviously gotten drunk or at least very sick, in these beds  before. You could smell vomit and diarreah on them. They had sprayed air fresheners in the RV to cover up this odor. And there was no way you could clean this out of them. So you hauled them out of the RV. 

“What’s wrong?” Noah asked as he watched you push the mattress out of the RV. 

“The mattresses are beyond cleaning and saving. These are so gross. Someone must have gotten very sick on these and they tried to turn them over to cover it up.” You noted. 

“Those better not be bed bugs.” You worried before you went back inside and outright hunted for them, but now that you had the mattress pulled out and really looking, you found the faint aroma of the fumigation. 

“Is that…?” Noah asked as he came over to the edges of the mattress and scratched at something crusted to the mattress.

“Oh gods!” You yelled before you dropped it on the ground.

“Babe?” Noah asked. 

“This thing had bed bugs. I’m just seeing a few dead corpses. But this thing had bed bugs. That’s what Jim was nervous about. He was worried we would find them. OK. Should we fumigate again? Just to be sure?” You asked. 

“Absolutely. Let me get that taken care of.” Noah offered before he immediately got his phone up and called the local pest control and arranged for them to come and treat it again before he found out that they had treated it once before, it had been an issue that the previous owners were ashamed to admit that they could never seem to get them all out, that they would get it treated, then stay somewhere and get them again. And they had thought they treated it really good last time, but offered to come and treat again, just to make doubly sure. 

“They’ll be here day after tomorrow.” He offered. 

“Thank you.” You thanked him as you could do little but look and search for anything else in there. 

“Find anything?” He asked. 

“Thankfully, nothing living, just the occasional corpse in the cracks.” You answered. 

“I’m gonna need a good vacuum.” You noted as you felt like pulling apart the pieces of furniture to see if any were trying to hide elsewhere. 

After getting it fumigated again, thoroughly deep cleaned and new mattresses put in, that had to literally be flown in, you began trying to pack it up to get ready to go on the road. 

Which worked out because Noah needed to take another few days of Ukluk and Nago flying Noah back to his plane to help do some repairs just to get it flyable again which Skylar was exceedingly happy to try to help.

Sakura, Zane and yourself did as much as you could to help too. Both with the plane, and the RV and trying to make sure you packed everything you needed from Noah's house that they wanted to keep with them through the winter. 

Then Noah was finally able to get the plane just to the point that it could start and take off and then land on a tarmac in Fair Banks. And once at the hanger, more work could be done there. To get it at least passable so it could fly to the Great Lakes. Where you and Noah had agreed to rent a space at a local airplane hangar. So Noah could park it there and work even more on it there and do it for much cheaper than he could up in the Arctic Tundra where he had to pay a premium for parts just to get mailed. 

It took a day for Noah to fly down there and park his plane and begin the process of ordering parts and stuff to repair it. He readily made friends with the other pilots, most of which just had small bush planes as they were sympathetic of the crash and gave him a ride to the local airport so he could fly back home to the Arctic Tundra so he could help you pack and drive him and his family and his animals down to the Great Lakes. Since you had been spending all that time getting all the horses’ paperwork prepared and the vet and get them ready for the journey. And get all the cats and get them to the vet and ready for the journey. and of course the dogs as well.  Sakura was happy to start packing too before you had to go and pick Noah up from the airport again. 

“So? How were your flights?” You asked him. 

“Long. How were things at home?” He asked. 

“Busy, the vet I think made his year getting all of the animals ready for the trip. By the way, do you want to pack all of your clothes or do you want to pack just some of them since we will be back up here next summer? Also, what do you want to do about the contents of your freezer?” You asked him.  

“We can either split it between Neena’s parents and mine or whatever, or we can try to bring it with us.” Noah offered. 

“Yeah, no. I don’t want to have to worry about spoiled rotting meat on a cross country trip because that frrzer is only so big in the RV. Let’s give it to the people who are staying up here and we can always bring in more food when we come back, I don’t want anything to go to waste or rotting while we are gone." You answered. 

“Yeah I didn’t want that either.” Noah readily admitted. 

“So, did you want to drive the RV or the horse trailer?" You asked since you had had to drive it to various places to get stuff for it already. 

"Don't care, I can do either one." He offered. 

"Well we can always trade off." You shrugged. 

"Which one would you prefer to drive?" He asked.

"Honestly, I don't care, I'll take whichever one you don't want." You answered. 

"Well, How about you take the RV, I'll take the horses, since they can move while in transit and sway the horse trailer. The RV should be pretty constant." He suggested. 

"Ok." You nodded with a smile. Noah was still, always so thoughtful. 

It took another few days to get everything packed up that needed to be packed up since all Noah and Sakura really needed were their clothes and other sentimental items they didn’t want to live without over the winter since most of everything else didn’t need to be moved as Noah and yourself and all the kids pitched in to winterize Noah’s house and his barn.

Then the fateful day came where you said your goodbyes and made plans for Noah’s family and even Neena’s family to come down for the next high holiday that your family and theirs would be making into one big gosbe to join both the Great Lakes Family and the Arctic Tundra one to converge at your yourse, flying commercially of course for an official, really big, gosbe with all of Noah’s family and yours. 

You went from camp ground to camp ground and even national park to national park. And despite the initial cost of the RV, it really was so much cheaper than staying in hotels and eating out for every meal. Because with the RV, you could camp it in, get showers, do laundry either in the small on board washer and dryer or stop at laundromats for the bigger items like bedding. You could get the horses out regularly, and ride them and the dogs and cats could use the bathroom regularly and the chickens were content in their little coop. And it would give you practically two weeks before school started and with the gradual traveling from the Arctic Tundra to the Great Lakes, you all could gradually get used to the time change. And it was actually, really nice. And it made a lot if really good memories. It really made a national parks pass to stay in all the national parks from June Neau to the Great Lakes worth every penny.

Two weeks later in the late afternoon, early evening, you, very tiredly pulled into your driveway at home, putting in your code to open the gate and led the way in, Noah and the horse trailer behind you as Sakura gasped when she saw your house. 

“This is my house?” Sakura asked in excited awe when she laid her eyes on it. 

“Yup, this is your house Sweetie, but we gotta get the horses into the barn.” You told her as you parked the RV, as Noah drove down to the barn to unload the horses into the barn. 

Your mother had already gotten the barn doors open and helped Noah back up the horse trailer to the barn as your horses were eager to see who was new to the barn as your mom had already gotten new stalls ready for the new horses. 

Your parents were eager to meet their new granddaughter and of course see Noah in person as they already had dinner ready and waiting on you in the house as soon as you could get the horses unloaded and the dogs of course beginning to mark their territory and meet all the other dogs who were excited to see you and the kids again and eager to meet Sakura and Noah as your parents warmly and eagerly hugged Sakura first and then Noah. 

And once the horses were squared away, you brought your family back into the house and had them drop their bags at the door and led the way to the kitchen that was open to the dining room as Sakura and Noah were both taking in the sight of the very nice house you had. Noah was trying to keep his awe down and not completely gawk at his surroundings. 

His sister Alorna may have been onto something, this felt like a mansion. It was huge and very high end materials and was overall very luxurious and he was getting overwhelmed by just the foyer and the chandelier in said foyer. Which was the fanciest crystal thing he had ever seen and then the kitchen was straight out of a magazine, and the feast that your dad had prepared was delicious and immaculate and somehow very familiar as Noah could see and taste where you had gotten your culinary upbringing from. 

“Hey, it’s just a home right? Just a really nice one.” You reminded in a soft whispered murmur to Noah as you noticed he was just staring at everything around him wide eyed as you reached over and held his hand as you walked him down the buffet line that was on the kitchen counter as you both were piling on food onto your plates. 

“Yup, just a super nice, luxurious, super spacious house.” Noah whispered back. 

“That you should feel comfortable in, you’re not just a guest, this is your house too.” You reminded him with a reassuring but tired smile as you then got a beer from the liquor refrigerator and Noah was frankly impressed that you had a refrigerator in your kitchen that was completely dedicated to bottles of beer and wine and was full of it too which Noah nearly cried opening and made the cutest little whimpering noise that was a noncoherent string of half words of awe and amazement and appreciation to the sheer variety of what was before him.  

“We didn’t know exactly what you’d want to drink so we got a bit of everything.” Your mom, Stacia offered sweetly. 

“Uh...everything? I will happily try...anything..ev..every...everything.” Noah stuttered as his brain was short circuiting which cracked you and your family up. 

“Well how Zara likes to keep things organized is we have the lightest beers on the top shelf, the pilsners, the ales, then we have the medium bodied beers, the lagers and some porters in the middle and the heavier, stouts and things at the bottom and the freezer has frozen glass steins to pour it into.” Your mom explained as she gestured to the many levels and opened the freezer and Noah looked like he was going to cry which got your dad to bark a laugh and pat Noah on the back and wrap his arm around his shoulders and give it a good squeeze from the side. 

“I know, it’s a thing of beauty, just wait till you see the kegs in the gameroom in the basement.” Your dad offered teasingly to Noah. 

“She has kegs?” Noah asked in awe. 

“Yeah, they are wonderful things. She had me pick them up and install them earlier today, special, just for you. Because she wants everyone around her to be well fed, well watered and taken care of. She is aggressively hospitable. I blame that southern bell of a mother in law she has or had rather.” Your dad teased. 

“Yes I am.” You crooned as you sat down at the table before Noah got his selection and walked over to the table to sit next to you. 

“Although Andrew’s mother Nancy, that woman can cook me under the table, but she focuses on quantity, my family prides itself more on quality, for instance, I would wager you spent what, five hours caramalizing these onions?” You posed to your dad. 

“Nah, just four.” He waived off with a appreciative grin. 

“Oh don’t sit there Noah, sit here, this is your place now.” Your dad insisted as he moved Noah to sit at the head of the table as a sign of respect as he sat on one side and you sat on the other side but still said prayer, thanking the gods for your safe arrival home and your new complete family, which was very touching and appreciated.  

“So? How was everything? How was your trip?” Your mom innocently asked. 

“Horrible at first, then morphed into OK, then good.” You started laughing which got your family to start laughing with you before Noah and yourself told your parents about how everything seemed to go wrong from the storms on the cruise, to the objectification Noah and Sakura got for being ice orcs, to Zane getting recognized and practically swarmed on the cruise because he was ‘a celebrity’. To the plane crash to the loss of the rest of Noah’s flying season, then to your driver license expiring and all of your check cards expiring except for a couple of credit cards who were already almost at their max limits thanks to the cruise and how getting money up there was a nightmare and how you had to out yourself to a few bank branches who you were sure were going to use all winter to tell everyone there at that bank branches how a millionaire was now banking there and what rumors you would find when you got back there in the spring to how the truck nearly overheated and died on the highway from pulling the horse trailer even though it was technically brand new and shouldn’t have had any issues. 

But then you got the RV, so it was rather just a two week long camping trip, going from state park to state park all the way from there to here for the horse’s sake and riding a few trails to let the horses stretch their legs so standing in the trailer wasn’t so hard on them or hard for the other animals either because finding hay along the way was a little tricky and when you could find it, you loaded up on it and it would often be you’d be on your last bale of hay before you would find more along the way. But feed stores were relatively easy and getting to laundromats so you could wash all the clothes and bedding and how the kids traded off between the RV and Noah’s truck so all the kids got one on one time and attention and everyone got to know each other really well. Along with everything in between, you were so grateful to finally be home and very much looking forward to sleeping in your own bed tonight and getting a decent shower. 

But what became clearly evident was how together, Noah and yourself and the family managed to roll with the punches and take each problem as it arose, together and how each problem only made you grow closer as a family, and learn to depend on each other. Which was awesome which made your parents glad to hear that effort was being put forth on both sides and despite a rocky start and admittedly some of the worst of circumstances, things were still going well. And thanks to the long drive from the Arctic Tundra to the Great Lakes, your kids and yourselves had a chance to get reacclimated to the time zone change really gradually which was nice. 

After dinner your parents helped unpack and unload the RV and then left your family in peace so you and your children could give Noah and Sakura ‘the grand tour’ of the house. Sakura had instantly fallen in love with a cockatoo that had been a pet for one of your adopted grandparents and the moment when she had come into the house the parrot had immediately flown over to her as she happily let it rest on her shoulder as that bird had always been rather stand offish to you and your family but with Sakura, something about her seemed to click with the bird as the bird kept kissing her cheeks and saying ‘I love you’ and ‘pretty girl’ over and over again and wanting bits of dinner as she happily fed it little scraps as she surprised both Noah and yourself as all the birds seemed to flock to her. 

“Well she always was the chicken whisperer in the past.” Noah tried to shrug off as Sakura happily got to find and explore her new room. 

“Can Ollie’s cage be put into my room?” Sakura asked hopefully. 

“I don’t mind.” You put to Noah. 

“If you want it to be.” Noah agreed before you and Noah relocated the bird and it’s cage to Sakura’s room and got a spot for it as Sakura’s dogs didn’t seem to mind the bird’s place in Sakura’s room since they took up position on the dog beds in Sakura’s room, complete with a dog door just in case they needed to leave to relieve themselves. Since you had doggy doors that led to a fenced in portion of the yard that the dogs could take themselves out to relieve themselves as needed which your dogs seemed to show Noah’s dog’s how to do and what to do in that department as the rest of the “pack” accepted Noah’s dogs pretty well. 

Noah’s cats and your cats of course kept their distance from each other but Noah’s cats were happy to have a cat tree and some perches and happy to see so many litter boxes available to use and of course some really good wet and dry cat food to eat. 

Then Zane got to show off his snake collection to Sakura and Noah. Noah did his best to act cool about it even though he had never even held a snake before, much less seen one in real life, and now he was holding one, one of the tamest and sweetest ones in Zane’s collection, he was stiff with nervousness but still trying to remain calm as it wasn’t so bad as he thought it was going to be. 

“They’re so soft!” Sakura cooed excitedly as she held hers and pet hers softly. 

“They are.” Noah had to admit before he handed it back to Zane to put away. 

You got the kids to get showers before bed and walked Sakura through how to work her shower and stuff since she had her own bathroom for her bedroom. 

You were delighted when she loved everything in her bedroom and bathroom before you helped put the kids to bed. 

Then you led Noah to your bedroom, the last stop on the grand tour as Noah softly gasped when he saw it. It was gorgeous and smelled amazing and again, right out of a magazine as you readily put your dirty clothes into the washing machine that was in your bathroom and asked for Noah’s clothes too so you could start that while you got a shower with him l. 

You giddily got him into your bathroom and into your shower that was the most epic shower Noah had ever been in. You waked him through how to work it and washed happily got to finally have sex with Noah in your shower as he sat on your bench and let you ride him as hard as you wanted to.

Once you were done, you got the now clean but wet clothes out of the washer and into the dryer and let him get changed into some underwear and pajamas you had gotten for him. You already had ready for him in his new dresser that you had put into your bedroom for him. 

Noah sunk into your almost excessively soft bed with you. 

“Oooh.” Noah cooed appreciatively as he climbed into bed and got comfortable, feeling like he was sinking into a soft pillowy cloud. 

“And if you don’t like your pillow there’s a few more to choose from in that closet over there.” You pointed out your linen closet in your room as you got into bed and took your meds and then cuddled into his side. 

Noah touched his lamp to turn it off and practically melted into the bed with you and was happy that because it was still August in the Great Lakes, it was still hot and you thankfully had the air conditioning up so he could rest comfortably before you both succumbed to sleep. 

Noah woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise as he looked down at you sleeping blissfully still in his arms and just that made him smile happily before he peeked around the room, appreciating the soft pastel turquoise walls with punches of royal blue and royal purple throughout the room as he tried to bat away the feelings of guilt and self doubt that he belonged there. He wondered if that’s how you had felt in his home at first, a guest, too scared to call it home yet. But this was still his first night, and first morning waking up like this. First of hopefully many more before he looked back down to you, still resting in his arms, your back to his front as he spooned you. He had realized that over the last few weeks, home was wherever you were, whether in an RV, or his house or now this house. And if this house was your home and you were his home, then yes, this was his home too, just...one he wasn’t used to yet. And it was clear that to you it was important that he felt comfortable and worthy of ‘such a setting’ for the jewel you were adamant he was. 

But if you thought he was worthy, then by the gods, he was going to do his best to live up to it. 

Noah fell back asleep for a couple more hours before you stirred awake, waking him up in the process and morning sex without having to worry about noise or movement because every movement could be felt in the RV, so sex had to be sneaky for the last two weeks. 

But here and now, it could be enjoyed in all of its vigorous glory as Noah happily pumped you full again but that was only after he had eaten you out and after you had returned the favor. Noah felt like he was in heaven in such a wonderfully soft bed with the woman of his dreams with her mouth full of his cock and his balls being stroked and tantalizing scratched in her hands as his own hands were in her silky soft hair and the hard growling grunt of his climax was especially sexy. 

After you were both decently sated you went down to the kitchen to make breakfast while you went down the line and filled all the dog’s bowls full of food for their breakfast as well as all the cats as you went around and checked on all the other birds to make sure they had enough food and water too. 

You refocused on making breakfast for your family as Noah was already getting acquainted with the restaurant sized walk in refrigerator you had and found thick cut bacon and ham steaks, and cubed steaks that were practically begging to be floured and fried to have chicken fried steak and gravy, which you felt definitely needed biscuits to go with it. You got those ready along with some eggs and hashbrowns and just as the bacon was starting to sizzle, all three of the kids made it down the stairs, all of them looking still half asleep. 

“Oh thank the gods, you guys started breakfast.” Zane murmured as he got up into the breakfast bar and folded his arms and laid his head on his arms, still tired as Skylar did the same but Sakura was having Ollie sit on a perch with the other birds in the “menagerie” and once everyone was served breakfast at the breakfast bar, then you all got dressed. 

The, right on time, Zane got his rat shipment in so he could feed his snakes who had built up quite the appetite since his friend had come to the house to feed them two weeks prior. 

After breakfast, you showed off your spa to Noah and Sakura and then Sakura was happy to meet your flock of chickens.

Noah especially was practically drooling over ‘the man cave’ which was your outbuilding and your other garage that had your other vehicles that you had accumulated since all of your adopted grandparent’s death and when Noah saw your motorcycle collection he nearly fell to his knees, and then the four wheelers and other ‘toys’ you had. 

“Too much?” You asked teasingly with a giggle. 

“Yeah?” Noah admitted, feeling overwhelmed. 

“Well, when the plane is fixed and things settle and we get used to things and find our new normal, then we’ll work on simplifying then ok?” You offered. 

“Ok.” Noah nodded.

You took Noah to your local branches of your banks and got him on your accounts and got Noah’s signatures into their systems and everything squared away before you all got fully settled in, with the last thing being, to add the other sacred sculptures onto the walls so that all of the gods your whole family worshipped were now represented before you all offered up prayers of thanks for all of you getting home, safe and sound. 

Then you took your family to the school to finish Sakura’s enrollment and had your kids help show her the school and meet her teacher who was very sweet and welcoming of Sakura. She wanted to know about Sakura and her culture from Sakura and Noah so she could mindful of that in class. 

And after that, you went to the post office to get all of Noah’s and Sakura’s mail changed to your address and of course receive a whole huge box full of mail again before you grabbed lunch on your way out. 

You felt like you spent all  late afternoon and evening going through all of the mail. It was a task in itself, as you almost spitefully laughed when you found the replacement cards you had needed back in the Arctic Tundra as you went through activating the new cards before your family made dinner together. 

You still had a few days before school and that meant back to school shopping the next day, and clothes shopping and buying special wearable cold packs for Noah and Sakura so they could tolerate the heat easier since August was still high heat in the Great Lakes region. 

To say Sakura got a lot of attention the first day of school, was an understatement. Being the only ice orc any had seen in their lives in the area before. But Sakura was happy to make so many friends and instantly being somewhat popular and thanks to those wearable ice packs and a special cooler, filled with a small square of dry ice, to keep the other cold ones in so she could change them out periodically was a lifesaver for Sakura, especially when the classroom was a little stuffy for her liking. 

You eased back into work yourself, only seeing a few clients a day to let yourself get back into the swing of things. Noah took the new truck and went to the airplane hanger and began to do some more assessments of his plane and what it needed and began working on it and bringing it up to code as his new equipment began to arrive. 

Granted this was not the ‘construction’ he thought he would be doing at the moment, but it was still work that needed to be done and ordering new parts and having the shipping and waiting periods to be so small, was a pleasant surprise. 

And of course having Skylar chomping at the bit to be helping him fix his plane and help put it back together when she wasn’t in school, or martial arts classes and Zane wasn’t in ballet classes which Sakura was much more interested in Zane’s dance class than she was in Skylar's martial arts class. You readily got her signed up and in a beginner’s dance class, she was really happy to be in something new. 

And slowly but surely, things fell into a new rhythm, a new normal. And just as everyone got to learn their stride, then was the next high holiday that was also being turned into a giant gosbe, where your family, complete with your late inlaws, together with all of your siblings and their families and even Natasha’s mother, Olga was coming to give her blessing which you appreciated. 

But you knew it was going to be the biggest “full house” you were ever going to have. You had every guest room assigned to who was going to be sleeping where, as even your parents and late inlaws helped you place different members of Noah’s family and Neena’s family that overflowed from your house, into theirs.

You went into a big box store and had practically bought out the store in ingredients so that everyone could have their ingredients to cook all their dishes that they were making for what you knew was going to be a gosbe to end all gosbes.

Once everyone was landed then it was an ordeal making sure everyone had their own rental cars so that they had their own independent modes of transportation to get to your house. 

You felt like Noah and your family and yourself practically led a caravan to your house where everyone from your side of the family was eagerly waiting to meet Noah’s family. Every parking space both for your own driveway and for your business was filled with vehicles as you had already gotten a competition BBQ joint to come in and cater all the food for tonight’s dinner, roasting several hogs and dozens of chickens and brisket and steaks and all the sides and fixins since everyone was no doubt tired and jet lagged and nervous and excited. 

The moment Ukluk came through the door though, your father greeted Ukluk like the long lost brother the two had always been. 

“Ukluk!” Your father boomed as he came forward and practically ran into Ukluk giving him a big bear hug. 

“Grusta!” Ukluk cheered as he did the same. And while Ukluk was bigger than your dad, they both hugged each other tightly and started crying at being reunited in person. 

“Gods you got old and fat!” They both cried and but smiled so bright and happily at each other before your dad introduced your side of the family to Ukluk and his family and Neena’s family while Ukluk introduced his side of the family and Neena’s family to everyone else too as you literally had everyone put name tags on so everyone could get each other’s names right but Olga needed no such measures as she practically knew each person by name before they could introduce themselves to her. She seemed to be so relieved that what she had seen in her peering years prior was coming true. She very graciously welcomed them into the home and thanked them for bringing love and kindness, respect and dignity into the home. 

Your dad and Ukluk went to the kitchen to see the feast that was laid out there as your dad and Ukluk gently argued about who should say the prayers before Ulga interrupted them and pulled the ‘I’m a High Priestess, if anyone is going to give a prayer of thanks and blessing it’s me’ card which got your dad and Ukluk and everyone else to agree as everyone gathered around in the kitchen and closed their eyes and bowed their heads while the families huddled close and held hands. 

“To Aura…” Olga began before she peeked at the list that had all the gods and goddesses both your family, Noah’s family, Neena’s family and Andy’s family believed in before she closed her eyes and concentrated again, letting the god’s holy spirit flow through her and help her choose the right words. 

“Thank you all, for helping two lost parts of your family find each other again and make each other whole when they had felt so lost and broken before. Thank you for giving your blessing and letting it be so acutely felt, that our family is now whole, happy and where they should be at this time. And while these lost pieces have picked up other families, we are all here, and united now. Our family is now complete. Please, let every single member of this family feel peace, serenity and security, knowing that Sakura, Skylar and Xander now have both of their parents. Who love each other and their children very much. Thank you for blessing them and their family. And thank you for allowing those blessings to radiate to everyone else. Please, do not forget Anarra’s family, since we know that she is with you in the afterlife. She is no longer in pain and no longer worries for Noatak or Sakura for she knows that Zara will love her daughter just as much as she did, will protect her just as much as her own, will train her just as much as Anarra wanted to and will embrace her culture and heritage with arms wide open, without judgment and respect and dignify Noatak and Sakura’s culture and heritage and make it her own. As will Skylar and Xander since they are Sakura’s siblings both literally and figuratively but especially spiritually. Anarra is at peace and happy that Sakura and Noatak are where they should be. And please, do not forget Andrew and his family either, please let Andrew’s family who remains, to find peace, comfort and serenity as well. Knowing that Noatak will do his best love and care for his family the way they deserve. And be comforted that Noatak and Sakura will also respect and dignify Zara’s, Skylar’s and Xander’s culture and traditions. And welcome those with open arms and without judgement. For he knows that Noah will love his children as his own, protect them as his own, train them as his own and care for them as his own, just as much as Zara will continue to do as well." Ulga prayed, her voice almost a beautiful song. As the acoustics in the kitchen seems to amplify her voice. 

"He too, is happy and at peace, knowing that Zara and his children are loved and cared for in ways he could only dream of. He is so proud of his children for protecting each other and their mother from the wolves and vultures that would come to feast on the material possessions that the gods sent to Zara to take care of her in his place when he was suddenly taken away. And the gods know that Zara, Skylar and Xander will teach Noatak and Sakura and their families these same lessons and defenses to protect Sakura and Noatak from the wolves and vultures in the future." Ulga perceived. 

"And once Zara returns to the Arctic Tundra next summer, she and Noah will take care of the wolves and vultures for good. And Sakura and Noatak and their immediate family and extended family will know peace, serenity and success. They will be a family- having two homes, one here, and one in the Arctic Tundra, but one family to bring from to the other so that both of them may be happy and fulfilled, having occupations that they not only enjoy, but were meant to do. Let them find peace, happiness and success in those ventures as well. We know Anarra and Andrew are so proud of Noatak and Zara for sticking it out and becoming stronger and waiting for their perfect second mate to find them and not to fall victim to loneliness or desperation before it was the right time for them to find the answers to their own prayers." Ulga stressed. 

"Thank you so much for bringing this family together, and their extended families together and continue to bless their immediate family and their large, extended family. In all this we pray and give humble thanks. And all of us appreciate all of you for giving Zara- who has always been the most gracious and generous of your loyal servants- the tools and education so that she may use those generous gifts best and use them to build herself, her immediate family and her large extended family up. Because only Zara would look at such generous gifts and only see how she can use them to help others, instead of hoarding them to herself. Which is why you have blessed such a magnificent jewel of a person with such a wonderful and beautiful setting and allowing her to find the perfect jewel of the north in Noatak to join her in both the setting she has made for herself, and the setting that Noatak has made for themselves. And together, the two jewels together with their children, who will be the biggest and brightest jewels of the future to shine brightly, reflecting the light you shine on them. In all this we pray- Amen.” Olga prayed as everyone was trying to keep their appreciative weeping as quiet as possible before they too, echoed ‘Amen’. 

“Thank you Mama Olga.” You thanked her as you hugged her tight. 

“Marry him quick while they are here, wear your best priestess dress as your wedding dress, and when you return to the Arctic Tundra, you will have a fourth on the way and give Noah the one thing Neena didn’t give him- a son. I will perform the wedding myself after the gosbe tomorrow. The marriage license is already ready in my purse.” She whispered in your ear as others were going down the buffet line and getting their plates piled high with food as you were grateful that there were stacks and stacks of each thing so that everyone could get as much as they wanted from each dish. 

“My Zanochka Volchietsa, you have risen again and you will continue to rise to new heights.” Olga praised as she held your face in her hands and wiped your tears away with her thumbs.

“I told you that if you built this home- your family will come, and look, they all have. They are all here. And they love you and your family wholeheartedly. Do not fear that anyone in here will do you harm or hold back because no one in here will ever take advantage of you. You are safe and surrounded by family.  Enjoy it.” She encouraged you before she went to your ear. 

“Really?” You whispered as your smile shamed the sun it was so bright. 

“Really, think of this as your rehearsal dinner.” She advised. 

“Ok,” You nodded. 

After the prayer, your father went down the line and announced what each thing was in the buffet line since all of it was being served from buffet that was being held in chafing dishes in wire racks with the little torches under them to keep the food warm as your father took the aluminum foil lids off of each thing down your kitchen counter as everyone eagerly grabbed a plate and started piling it high with food. 

Then your dad showed Ukluk the beer fridge and laughed when Ukluk put his plate on the counter and actually got on his knees. 

“Thank all the gods for bringing my son and our family to paradise,” Ukluk sarcastically began to pray on his knees in front of the fridge which got everyone to erupt into laughter as Ukluk got back onto his feet and picked his favorite one before nearly crying again at seeing the frozen glass steins in the freezer and picked one before he and your father sat at the foot of the table as Noah’s brothers and brothers in law also nearly cried at seeing the beer fridge too while even the cater-ers were invited to grab a beer and enjoy the feast they had made with you and your family. 

You were so grateful that you had gotten such a huge and long formal dining table as every adult had a place to sit at it while all the kids had another table just for them that seemed to be just as long and just as full as Sakura sat in between Skylar and Xander. 

Olga sat at the head of the table while you and Noah sat to her right and Natasha and Gavin sat to her left as Olga talked to her daughter in Siberian about what was going to happen tomorrow as Natasha’s eyes went wide as she looked from her mother to you as your brother barely caught a few words. 

“Marriage?” Gavin began to say before Olga, Natasha and yourself shushed him. 

“It’s a surprise.” Natasha whispered. 

“Wait what?” Noah asked as he looked to you once his ears perked to that word. 

“A gosbe is a wooing marriage feast, Olga offered to make it an “official marriage feast” tomorrow while your family is here, but I want it to be a surprise. I’m going to wear one of my priestess gowns. You could wear your regalia if you’d like to, make it a mixture of both cultures.” You whispered to him. 

“Ok, they’re in for the surprise of their lives then.” Noah grinned happily, elated that you wanted him in his Frozen Tundra Clan regalia. 

“And I can get my IUD out when I go to the OBGYN in a couple of weeks and we can get another bun in the oven if you want to.” You murmured in his ear.

“Don’t tempt me beyond what I can bear, I don’t want to kick everyone out so I can feast on you on this table again.” Noah practically purred in your ear. 

“Later. Eat, you’ll need your strength.” You purred right back before you both chowed down on your dinner. 

“So, tomorrow?” Noah asked Olga. 

“Yes, the reason I was late today was because I was getting the document from my temple before I left.” She answered. 

“And I’m not…?" Noah began to ask. 

“No you’re not rushing. It’s time. Besides, when you see your homeland again, you will be coming back with more than you left with. Take care of her, for she will carry for you a blessing to really cement your family together.” Olga hinted as you smiled cheekily at Noah who blinked in surprise. 

“If you’re ready, that is.” You hinted. 

“Been ready.” Noah readily and adamantly nodded once the weight of her words finally seemed to sink in. 

“Good, me too.” You smiled.

[craigofinspiration]

From the Sunshine State to Sword Coast: Meet DnD's 'Neverwinter Man'

Welcome to the eccentric world of 'Neverwinter Man' and their escapades in Dungeons & Dragons. These headlines capture 'Neverwinter Mans' bizarre actions such as trying to free zoo animals, crashing into stalls, stealing identities and more.

by Jedd Chevrier for Wizards of the Coast There has always been a quirky side to Dungeons & Dragons. But what in the Forgotten Realms do you think can match the craziness that is ‘Florida Man’? Get ready to dive into the wild world of ‘Neverwinter Man’. Imagine a newsie or town crier shouting these headlines when the PCs first arrive in town. And it doesn’t have to be Neverwinter, feel free to…

[onenicebugperday]

Blue jewelled spider fly, Eulonchus smaragdinus, Acroceridae (small-headed flies), Diptera

Flies in this subfamily are endoparasites of Mygalomorph spiders

Photographed in California by kueda

[ostdrossel]

Finally a male hummingbird yesterday! And the Birdfy hummer cam recorded him. Activity is still super low but their babies should start coming to feeders soon… There is still time to enter my Instagram giveaway of a feeder like this!

[wgm-beautiful-world]

The famed Jewel Box in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, UNITED STATES

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Jewelled gecko. Location: north-west Otago, NZ.

Photograph: Carey Knox

[faguscarolinensis]

Curcuma petiolata / Jewel of Thailand at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[gaygentdanvrs]

[carefreejules]

My catalog and table placement for Anime North! My table partner is @nappotuna!!

[melanieexox]

MISS SCARLET & THE DUKE | S3E6 - The Jewel Of The North: Arabella spilling some truth tea on William.

[mostsanescarletspiderfan]

Dakota North and Jessica Jones team up when

[lacewing-oddities]

A favorite from my collection

[ostdrossel]

As temperatures rise, more hummingbirds show up. Make sure your nectar and feeders are fresh & clean. 1 part white sugar and 4 parts water is all you need. I love how this female chose the Allura feeder, and how she prefers one side 😃 Stay cool and hydrated!

[babalmaghrib]

A 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑘 pendant from Tangier, Morocco, 20th century. Ancient eagle-shaped necklace symbolizing strength, prestige made of gold and precious stones.

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Bread and baguette for your favorites atm! :)

Thank you for the ask! From this ask game.

🍞 [BREAD] Does your OC have any allergies? How severe are they? Do they require equipment to help them?

None of my OCs have allergies, though that might be a fun thing to add at some point. Just not too strong ones, because there is no equipment to help them 😅 I'd probably have to keep it from "eating it makes them sick" for medical probability of survival.

🥖 [BAGUETTE BREAD] Where is your OC's favourite food from? Is it a variety of places?

Fun fact: I decided absolutely randomly that Merridy loves sheep cheese, because eh, why not, and I needed something for a chapter. Weeks later, I realized that d'oh, she grew up on a fucking sheep farm. I swear, that moment she looked at me like "no shit."

And since it's favs, that absolutely includes Damien and Riordan.

Damien likes stuff made from local ingredients of the town he grew up in. It's what he could get his hands on, and what he learned cooking with. He'll experiment, but that's what he always comes back to.

Riordan would just list "everything he cooks--and my mama's pie," lol.