Cavin's eyes popped open in time to see himself enveloped by white fog, feeling it solidify to water on his skin and through his hair. He cried out in alarm when he realized he was flying dangerously far away from the earth, higher than anyone was meant to go. He thought for a moment that he had gone mad, or possibly Verana had, though if it was her that had gone crazy, he was more likely to die from this excursion.

But she held him firmly and he wasn't sure he wanted to struggle himself free this high above the ground, anyways. Besides, the feeling of wind rushing past, the cool air rushing past his skin, and the thrill of their speed was causing him to grin like an idiot. Cavin let out a whoop of joy, laughing as she shifted into a roll overtop of the clouds, feeling his stomach drop and his breath catch before he was laughing even louder at the thrill of it all.

Cavin couldn't remember what he had been stressing about. His body felt like it had lost all of its weight when it left solid ground and the ever present, nauseating headache from the days of endless worries was gone already.

He felt more than heard Verana laugh, grinning wider as they plummeted from the clouds and sailed over the farmlands north of the Capital. They skirted the Wild, flying over the exact line where Human land joined with Feysha, seeing how it wavered back and forth, following creeks, hills and seemingly imaginary limits.

This was his kingdom. This was what Clairval was about, not the paper or the worries. Not the taxes and dues or the wars and alliances. This land, its people, and its fierce but long misunderstood neighbours. They turned south then, skirting just out of reach of the coastline, and he felt the thrill as they were battered by different winds, lifting and dropping as Verana fought to find the right drafts. He grinned into the sunset, catching alternating cold and warm breezes, from the oceans and land respectively and the beauty of it made his heart swell.

It was far too soon that he found himself dropped gently back onto his balcony, stumbling back into the steadying hands of Shelby as they both watched Verana land on the railing. She was coated in sweat, her hair slicked back, skin slightly flushed and chest heaving as she climbed tiredly onto the more solid porch before leaning back heavily into the railing, wings sagging. Her body trembled slightly but she grinned to him, watching him with a bright expression.

"Better?" She finally gasped, drawing a laugh out of Cavin.

He grinned to her, then back to Shelby, almost leaping at the man as he hugged him in enthusiasm. "That was fantastic! I can't... I touched the sky, and when you dove? I thought I was going to cough up my heart, it was... it was brilliant!"

Shelby handed him a heavier coat, giving him a look of curiosity. "You're freezing, Cav. How about we go sit down inside?"

After a few heartbeats of that serious look, Shelby began to smile as well, finding Cavin's joy infectious.

Cavin nodded to his friend, pacing into the room as he pulled on his jacket. He paused for a moment before he strode into the room and walking to the first window in his path to pull open the blinds and draw up the pane part way. He took in a deep breath of fresh air, before turning to see Shelby sitting Verana down in one of the chairs. "Are you guys hungry? I'm absolutely famished. We skipped supper, didn't we?"

Shelby raised a brow before nodding slowly. "Yeah, we worked through it, I guess... and you know our fair Lady is always able to eat her share."

After speaking, Shelby turned from Verana and walked to the door and summoning a servant to bring out something for them to eat. Cavin sat down beside her, his eyes scanning her features as he realized just how tired she was.

Shelby closed the door, before joining them back at the table. "You scared the shit out of me Verana."

She tossed her head back and laughing so joyfully, so musically, that it buoyed Cavin's spirits even further, drawing both him and Shelby to laugh along with her. "I know. But if I had gone into the whole explanation, you would have thought too much. The goal was to get him to stop thinking for a few moments."

Cavin blushed running a hand through his hair, feeling it damp and cold. He was about to answer her when the door opened to admit his wife and Lady Reyani.

Both of them wore worried expressions as they took in the scene before them, until Cavin leapt to his feet and strode across the room, grabbing Amiya and kissing her firmly. He continued to grin as he lifted her into the air, spinning her around. "You would never guess what just happened!"

Amiya laughed then, grinning and kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. "I'm glad she didn't drop you."

Cavin lowered his wife to the ground, shaking his head slowly. "This was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Not completely, no." But the woman had a mischievous grin on her features as she hugged him close and shifted to kiss his cheek before turning to look back to the table where Reyani was sitting down on a spare chair.

"We're about to eat." Verana murmured softly, grinning to the group of them, motioning to the table, "A meal is best with friends and a good story."

As Cavin led Amiya to a chair, the door opened to allow a trail of servants carrying dishes of food. For the first time in a lone while, Cavin was relaxed enough that he wanted to eat, able to enjoy an easy meal with his companions as opposed to the dance of court proprieties that the more formal dinners forced upon him.