Family Reunion

Aleyn waited nervously for Ardith's arrival at the temple of Erathis in Grimfar. He couldn't hold hands with Vedran at the moment, not with so many other people milling about. He had made a slight gesture towards taking Mhireen's hand, but his son evidently felt that he was rather too grown-up for that. Besides, Mhireen was officially there as Vedran's page - it wouldn't do to have either of his fathers too obviously giving him special treatment. Instead, lacking anything else to do with them, Aleyn clasped his hands behind his back. He was impatient for Ardith to get there so that they could get out of the public eye and express themselves freely, without worrying what people would say.

"I'm glad she was able to make the trip," he said, mostly just to fill the empty space. "I didn't know whether she would be feeling up to it, or whether it would be too much trouble... Although I suppose I shouldn't have worried she wouldn't be able to find anyone to take care of the kids, that's never a problem."

Vedran smiled. he, for one, found the idea of seeing Ardith more calming than otherwise. "No, thankfully. I think - or at least I hope - she's looking forward to seeing everyone, at least for a little while. And at least for now she can still travel without too much trouble."

"Yes, it's easier now than it would be in a few months, I suppose," Aleyn agreed.  He hoped they would be home by the time the baby actually arrived, but it was impossible to know how long their efforts would take.  Right now everything was even more up in the air than it had been at the start of their mission, and all they could do was speculate about what might lie behind the various factions and forces that seemed to be at play here.  That was a big part of what they would have to talk about with Ardith during the few short days they would have together, and hopefully she might have some information that would be helpful in sorting it all out.

Aleyn wondered whether they would be able to fit in a nice, romantic dinner together, or whether there wouldn't be time for that - whether it would all be quick meals grabbed between planning sessions at the inn they'd found to stay at. At least it hadn't been too much trouble to find rooms adjoining one another's, with a bed that seemed like it ought to be sufficiently sturdy for three, even when one of them was a pregnant dragonborn...  He smiled more broadly as he glanced over to Vedran.  "I'm looking forward to seeing her too.  It makes for a nice break, in a way, even if it's largely work-related."

"Largely yes - I'm hoping we'll be here long enough to fit in a little family time." He squeezed Mhireen's shoulder. "Maybe a nice dinner, all four of us, hmm?"