He got up and went to gather the Kazahd’s clothes for the night as well as his own, also laying out the sets that they would wear tomorrow.

Yashaadu Naj watched him from where he was still sitting, his eyes closed halfway. He really liked Dayatar’s way of busying around. In those moments, he was completely focused on his task, not minding protocol or what his husband would think of him. He just quietly worked, handling one matter after the other until all was done. It made him look a little younger, a little less restrained, more like the version of him that he liked to see the most. Just like the day they had met.

Well, in the future, he was sure to see this more often. With just enough time and enough reminders, Dayatar would settle into his new role. He didn’t doubt that for a moment.

Yashaadu Naj finally got up when his husband had prepared everything and went to sit down on the edge of the bed just in time for Dayatar to turn around to him. He waved and his husband came over, climbing onto the bed behind him and picking up the brush he had readied to do his hair.

Usually, these kinds of things would be done by servant girls but Yashaadu Naj enjoyed letting his husband take care of him. The gentle brushstrokes seemed to comb away the worries of the day and the soft touches when he took off his clothes and helped him put on his garments for the night were like a sweet whisper of the hours to come.

Yashaadu Naj’s eyes did not leave Dayatar’s figure for even a moment and his gaze burned hotter when his husband quickly changed his own clothes before putting everything away. He did not say a word though and just stretched out his arms again when Dayatar turned back around.

His husband came over, looking a little bashful when he stepped into his arms. "Kazahd." Surely, his thoughts had strayed to what might happen at night.

Yashaadu Naj smiled and pulled him closer and onto the bed, his gaze lingering on the beautiful face.

Dayatar held onto his husband’s broad shoulders but his gaze couldn’t help but flit to the side where the headboard of the bed was embellished with beautiful carvings.

Yashaadu Naj noticed his gaze and couldn’t help but chuckle. "Don’t worry, they’re not magical."

Dayatar retrieved his gaze but after a moment, it already returned there. He didn’t know how the Kazahd was able to distinguish the magical ones from those that weren’t. To him, these ones didn’t look any different from the ones he had seen on the door to Elder Aeliann’s study.

Yashaadu Naj watched him, realizing that to Dayatar, everything had to be suspicious right now. He glanced up and realized that it was probably impossible to tell the difference just by looking. He thought for a moment and reached up to the headboard.

"Kazahd!" Dayatar yelped and reached out, clinging to his arm before his fingertips could touch the wood.

Yashaadu Naj raised his brows in surprise and then laughed at his expression. "It is harmless, Naj-il." He did retract his hand though, not trying to give another demonstration.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around his husband’s middle and pulled him closer, just holding him for a moment. "You know, there is a lot of magic in Romallia but it is not just there for the sake of it. It is there for a reason.

"If you think of the door to Elder Aeliann’s study, then the carvings are enchanted so they can open it themselves. He doesn’t need to worry about whether he will have a hand free to do so himself.

"On some of the walls of the Arcademy, you can see carvings that form messages: announcements that the students should see, tasks that need to be solved, and otherwise, it will just be the rules of the school. I can show you tomorrow."

Dayatar had gone still while his husband talked. Now that the Kazahd said it like this, it started to make sense. Magic was probably difficult and maybe even expensive to apply. Why waste it on something with no use?

Yashaadu Naj saw that he seemed a little calmer and reached up, brushing through his hair, his gaze touching upon Dayatar’s face. He looked … tired and a little scared despite his best attempts to calm him down.

The Kazahd stopped with his hand resting atop Dayatar’s head. "It was a long journey, a long day. There were many new things to see and I am sure you must be shocked. Don’t think too much.

"For today, let us go to sleep. Tomorrow, I will go to see Elder Aeliann again to put the court’s mind at rest completely and after that, I will take you through the Arcademy. If there is still time afterward, I will show you the city as well. There are many places you haven’t seen yet and you didn’t have the chance yet to look at any of the buildings I mentioned more closely. You will feel better when you have."

Dayatar nodded and nestled up against his husband’s chest, trying to find some comfort in the familiarity of his silken robes, the warmth radiating off the skin beneath, and the scent of cardamom that clung to his body even after venturing out of the palace for so long.

It worked in part. But despite this and no matter how often the Kazahd told him not to worry, he still couldn’t shake this feeling of unease at being out in such a foreign place.

His husband was right in that he would feel better when he had seen and heard more about this place. If he knew, then he did not need to fear it. But right now, it wasn’t enough. No, right now, he was still afraid.

Everything he had seen over the course of this day and even the weeks of travel before made him tense. He understood some of these things but simply not enough. And until he did, he wasn’t sure if anything would change. He was in a state of constant agitation and nothing he tried to change seemed to work.

He hadn’t slept as well as usual and only in his husband’s arms could he find a semblance of peace and rest for a bit. But that had been when they had been on the road, encased in the somewhat familiar carriage they had switched to halfway through their journey.

Now that they were in a building he had only heard of today and that held such strange wonders he could not make sense of yet, it was much more difficult to calm down. He didn’t think that he would find any sleep tonight.

Yashaadu Naj realized as well that his words had not much effect. He reached up and brushed through his husband’s silky dark hair again, comforting him. The rhythmic strokes would usually calm his husband down but today, he realized that it wasn’t quite as useful.

Dayatar was still tensed, the worry clearly not dissipated in the least. The foreign sights on their way here had been difficult to bear but they had been outside the window of the carriage, sometimes far in the distance where they were nothing more but a faraway thought.

Compared to that, the magic of Romallia must have left him in dread. It was even more unfamiliar to him and close at hand to boot. He could not push it out of his mind after passing by because they had not passed by. They had stayed. And now, he had to live with the knowledge that he was at a place full of unknown dangers that he did not know about and could not escape.

Yashaadu Naj continued to stroke his back while he pondered. He did not want Dayatar to be afraid but while he could lessen the impact slightly by telling him more, he could not dissipate the fear completely.

If only there was something he could do. If only there was something that could quell Dayatar’s fear. But what he lacked right now was the familiarity of their home and if even his embrace could not give him that, then he was not sure how else to accomplish that.