Ama's eyes widened in shock. Somebody had noticed Nox' unusual appearance! This was bad, very bad. It seemed like he had found an explanation for it by himself, but if he was going to try confronting them about abusing their servants, that could turn out bad. People might remember and their pursuers would know it had been Nox if they heard of it...
"Who was it? What did you say to him?" She tried to sound calm, to not upset Nox any further, but it was a struggle to not let panic creep into her voice. She wasn't sure if she had managed, really.

---

A man that seemed to be a stablehand or a coach driver approached Gustavo, and he had to suppress a confused frown. When he heard his words, the musician's heart sank in his chest. The man had seen Nox and noticed his face markings. What should he tell him? They couldn't afford this to grow into a scandal that would be talked about, the people who would inevitably be looking for them soon would certainly recognize Nox from the description of "a boy with face tattoos". He couldn't let the man continue to believe that it was them who had made Nox get them. "Oh, there is a misunderstanding here, good man. The boy used to work for a circus before we employed him and it was there that he got the tattoos." He hoped that Nox hadn't said anything different, if the man had asked him about it. Just in case, he added: "He was treated really badly, so we got him out of there with some bribes. He's still really confused, that life was all he ever knew, so he might seem a bit odd at times. I'm worrying that it has done something to him... I'm planning to have my own physician take a good look at him soon. My fiancée is very fond of the boy, it was her who noticed him when we were visiting the circus."

"He was standing beside another carriage." Nox answered guiltily. "I- I told him you saved me! He was blaming you for the tattoos. I ran here after I told him though." He noticed how panicked she seemed even after she tried to hide it and held her hands in his. "I'm sorry, Amira. I shouldn't have been so carefree." It was all his fault, he knew it. And if whatever happened was found out by Amaris' family, he was sure that they'd be able to catch them if they didn't move soon. The thought of Amaris being caught by one of the Hunters made Nox pale even further. He remembered the night the Hunters chased after them. He didn't want Amaris to experience any of that.

---

The man gave a grin when he hears about how this nobleman and his fiancée saved the boy from the circus. "That's a really nice thing for you to do sir. Circuses and ringmasters, all they do is use innocent people who have nowhere to go. It's a good thing the kid's not with that kind of company anymore." He sighed in relief before tipping his hat towards Gustavo. "Sorry for bothering you, sir. I just had to do what I thought was right. Hope you don't mind."

(( Haha, I was so relieved when reading that the guy believed Gustavo's story :D ))

Nox seemed terribly upset by what was going on, he looked as if he thought it was all somehow his fault. But he had obviously shown quick thinking, if the man believed that she and Gustavo were not responsible for his face markings, he hopefully wouldn't see any need to make a fuss about it. The question was just if he had believed it... She gently squeezed Nox' hands, trying to calm him. "That was a very good reaction, Nox. If he believes you are happy and safe with us, there's no reason for him to spread word of what he saw." She smiled reassuringly, wishing she could somehow drive the haunted look out of Nox' eyes and see his pale face flush with happiness again.
She drew him over to the side of the bed, pulling him down to sit on it with her. "Everything will be fine, Nox. I know it. We can do this." The more she tried to calm Nox with her words, the calmer she became herself. Her gaze fell on her pile of things to take with her and got caught on her powder box. If her hands hadn't still be entwined with Nox', she would have raised her palm to her forehead at her own stupidity. Why hadn't she thought of this before? "I have an idea! I should really have had it earlier, that might have spared you this experience, I'm so sorry... Let's try putting some of my face powder on your markings to make them less prominent and noticeable before we leave the room the next time. It probably won't cover them completely, but the paler we can make them, the less likely is anyone to notice them again."
She looked at Nox expectantly, hoping he liked her idea.

---

Gustavo suppressed his own sigh of relief, not wishing to show the man how tense he had been, lest he disbelieve him after all and gave him a smile and a nod instead. "No worries, good man, it's nice to see there's people who look out for others in this world." He wished the man a good night and left to see how Nox and Ama were doing. He needed to tell them about his recent addition to Nox' backstory as soon as possible.
He arrived back in their room to see his student and a very pale and worried-looking Nox sit on the side of the bed together amidst piles of Ama's belongings. He shot them a grin before telling them about his successes. "I not only got our third horse, I also was just confronted by a man who had obviously noticed Nox' facemarkings, but I managed to satisfy him with a story of how the two of us have saved Nox from his cruel life with a circus where he had his face tattooed."

(( He's had good intentions from the start. Soooo, yep ;D ))
(( Sorry, more short replies ))

Nox nodded fervently when Amaris told him that they could hide his markings. If he could do something to help her in anyway then he would wholeheartedly agree to it. The dark markings all over his body did not have much meaning anyway. They were just there like the skin over his body or the feathers in his hair.

When Gustavo entered and sent them a confident grin, he felt the nervous air dissipate. There was nothing to be worried about anymore and he looked back to Amira with relieved eyes. He moved towards the window to check on the man and was surprised to see not only the man grinning at him and giving him a thumbs up but also the horse covered in pink.

"Why did you get such a strange horse?"

(( Sorry it took me so long again! My semester ended, so I had a bunch of deadlines and that always takes all the creativity out of me for a while. Now I'm just studying for exams though, so I'll be at my desk most of the time and very glad about any excuse to do something else, so I promise to be a bit better at writing responses now :) ))

Ama smiled when Nox agreed to her idea to use the powder on him. She hoped he wouldn't find the sensation of it on his skin too irritating.
Gustavo's news were even better though, allowing her to finally let go of the dread that had been firmly lodged in the back of her head, even as she had calmed a little. She grinned and congratulated him for coming up with a story that not only was a good explanation but also fit exactly with what Nox had told the man before running away.

When she heard Nox ask about the horse, she joined him at the window, curious to see what he found so strange. Her gaze fell upon a real beauty outside - maybe the pink decorations were a tad much, but the horse itself was gorgeous. She gave a slight squeal of delight. "It's lovely!"

Gustavo had blushed a bit at Nox' question, but he smiled when he saw Ama's reaction. "Well, I told the horse trader I needed a gift for a young lady... That might not have been the smartest move to get an inconspicuous horse, but I thought it best to stick to our story as much as possible in this town. And she is beautiful, isn't she? Apart from all the ribbons..." He glanced at Nox, wondering what he thought of it.
Ama excitedly answered instead. "She is! Does she have a name?"
He smiled before he answered. "No, not yet. You can name her whatever you like, she is yours. I think the trader did a fine job at suggesting a fitting gift for you after all."
Ama was speechless for a moment. She had expected to get to ride this horse, of course, since it was obviously trained for the side saddle and even had one, but not that Gustavo would outright gift it to her. Wouldn't he want to sell it again as soon as possible? It must have been quite expensive from the looks of it. She wondered if she should say anything about that, but couldn't really think of a polite way.
"Mine? Oh, thank you! I mean, that is a lovely thought Gustavo, but it is quite a big gift..." She trailed off, unsure what to say.
He grinned and wondered what he was doing. She was right of course, it wasn't smart to just gift her the horse, the smart thing would be to sell it again at some point. But when he had seen her excitement, it had seemed only natural. And what use did it have to plan for a time when he could sell the horse anyway? There was no telling when they'd leave the forest again or what their situation would be then. So why not just enjoy the things they could now?
"Don't worry about it Ama. She's perfect for you and I want you to have her."
She smiled and blushed a little while thanking him again.
"Hm, what shall we name her then? Any ideas?"
She looked at Nox and Gustavo while also thinking about it herself.
Goldy? Sunny? Certainly fitting options, but incredibly boring.
Solara maybe? She did have that sunkissed look about her mane.

(( My fault. I disappeared and couldn't really think of a reply when I got back ))

Nox looked back at Ama and Gustavo, waiting for the two to pick a name for the horse. He moved closer to the window to look at the three horses that they are bringing to their journey and couldn't help but smile at the horned bluebird that played with the pink ribbons on the new horse's mane. Soon enough, there was no longer any sunlight that shone past the horizon and the town was bathed in the orange fires of the lamplights. Only a few windows on the street remained illuminated as most were closed for the day and the busy crowd that passed over the brick path was replaced by one or two passersby, making their ways back home.

It was all still strange to Nox, knowing only of the simple life in the forest and his short stay in the Wittingham manor. He wasn't yet sure if he could live in this foreign world as Ama and Gustavo did, but he knew that if he were to choose to stay, then he would do his best to fit in. A little bit of face powder isn't going to discourage him.

He opened the window and let the cold night air in and breathed in as he leaned over the window sill. His cap lay on the floor behind him, now forgotten, as he felt the wind rustle through the feathers in his hair. His ears perked when he heard what sounded like a soft hum of the forest, calling for him to come home.

He turned back around to look at Ama and Gustavo and a soft smile played on his pale lips. "What are you naming her?"

(( Ahhh! I read your post but didn't have time to reply at the time and then I completely forgot I hadn't done it yet! Sorry! ))

Gustavo looked thoughtful for a moment, and Ama was about to just go with Solara when he finally spoke up. "How about Helia? I believe it means sun ray, I think that would fit her quite nicely."
Ama laughed, it was as if he had read her mind. "I was just thinking something sunny would work well. Yes, Helia sounds lovely! It is settled then."

Nox had turned to the window and seemed to not have listened to their conversation, seemingly lost in thoughts of his own.
He turned towards them again, asking about the result of their deliberation and Ama answered him, confirming the choice of name again. "Helia - Gustavo says it means sun ray." She smiled.

Suddenly her stomach rumbled and they were reminded that they should use the chance to have a proper meal this evening before they'd head out into the wilderness the next day. Gustavo offered to just fetch something from the innkeepers to eat in their room and Ama heartily agreed, happy to not have to act all throughout dinner.

Nox smiled as he heard the name. It felt perfect for the horse, he didn't know why, but it did. "It sounds nice. I know she'll love it."

He didn't notice how hungry he had been as he scarfed down the baked potato dish that Gustavo brought for them. He'd only been eating a few pieces of bread ever since he was caught by the hunters and he hadn't eaten anything since they left the manor. He was used to eating an amount less than what humans normally consumed but the amount of food he'd been receiving hadn't been enough, especially so when he had tried to starve himself.

The horned bluebird flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder, hopping around continuously before Nox offered it a potato. It ate its bellyfull and seeing how rotund it became made him laugh as the bird seemed to scoff at him before flying up and nesting into his hair.

The potatoes were delicious after the long day on the road and Ama felt like stuffing herself properly before they went on with their adventure.
Gustavo grinned, watching the two hearty eaters in front of him. He was especially relieved to see Nox, who looked quite thin to him, happily eating his fill. He wondered if that was just his natural slender figure, or if he had been badly fed in the manor and it was showing. He thought about asking, but he didn't want to disturb the joyful dinner with talk of Nox' time in captivity.

It was Ama who broke the silence after a bit. "Nox, what kind of food do you normally have at home in the forest?" He obviously seemed to enjoy the potatoes, but was that a completely new dish to him? They might have very different resources available in the forest after all, and there was no reason the raven boys should develop the same style of cooking as humans had. She was excited to hear about their food, and to hopefully try it very soon.

She smiled at the bold little bluebird that made Nox' share his dinner with it. It looked incredibly cute and satisfied once it had nestled itself into Nox' hair. She laughed before addressing it softly: "Well, you look like you've found the perfect spot up there, little bird."

Nox blinked at Ama's question. "Berries." He answered. "Fruit." He continued. "Fish." He pondered for a while as he looked down at the potatoes in front of him and the horned bird almost fell from his head. "I've never had this before." His head turned up quickly to look at Ama and Gustavo, once again disturbing the sleeping bird on his head. "There was also that bread that the man brought. I like this one better though." He grinned as he ate the last potato on his plate.

"What is this called? Is it some sort of fruit? It looks odd. How did they cook it without it turning dark? Is there a special way to use the fire?" He looked to Gustavo with curious eyes. "Can I bring some to my brothers? I'm sure they'd love this. We don't have this in the forest." With another smile, he looked out of the window. Excitement with a hint of scared anticipation flowed out of him in waves. He turned to look at Ama, his sun, and moved from side to side as if listening to a soft tune playing in the air. "I can't wait to get back home. I'm sure you'll love it there."