Four days after the cleansing of the traitors Necun felt strong enough to go house shopping.
Her entire body still felt sore beyond belief, and she found herself leaning heavily on her aura to move long distances. It was still a preferable alternative to the packed clutter of her father's workshop. Just escaping the smell had improved her mood tremendously, and walking in the fresh air with her bond brought her cheer to new heights.
Nickolas wanted to see everything in the city, his attention constantly shifting to each new stall or roadside workshop. The Hunter could sympathize, while visiting the human fortress had been a novel and interesting experience Necun couldn't imagine living her entire life in such a dreary gray setting.
The city hummed around them, noise and colour lashing out on all sides. Now that he could relax and wander her bond seemed intent to take it all in at once.
"Is that a tattooing station?" her bond asked, joy filling his voice. "I didn't know you did much tattooing, I've never seen any orcs with one."
"It's impolite to get one where it can be seen in public." Necun explained. "Most get it on a thigh, since it's easy to hide, but also reasonably less painful than a foot. Anywhere with lots of bone close to the skin gets nearly impossible, our auras keep the needle from doing it's work."
"Most girls back home get something small on their back, if at all." Nickolas said. "For the same reasons I assume. I do know of one Knight who got something big on her butt cheek. Her lover's name I think. He wasn't impressed."
Necun hummed as she considered the notion.
"Why wasn't he impressed?" she asked. "It seems like she made a large commitment to him."
"I think he would have preferred something more...dignified." her bond responded with a snort. "The arm maybe, or the chest. Bragging about his lover's ass cheek tattoo isn't something you can bring up in polite company. Some of the others thought it was sweet, I think, but no one was exactly recommending it to their own spouses."
The Hunter conceded the point with a thoughtful nod.
"Would you consider getting one yourself?" Nickolas asked, catching her off guard.
"I've never really thought about it." Necun admitted. "A warrior's brand perhaps, but, well, I didn't think about being bonded much until we already were so..."
She trailed off, not entirely certain where her mind was going with the thought. At least she had made her lover look bashful for a moment. It also earned her a kiss, which, she reasoned, meant she had said something correct.
"I wouldn't mind getting something small, if you were willing." Nickolas said. "Something matching on our wrists maybe. I would be fun to put our arms together to show it off. Or would that be too embarrassing?"
It did sound like fun to Necun, and she hummed in agreement as she veered towards the tattoo station.
"Wait wait wait." Nickolas squeaked. "Not right now! You're in enough pain already, and I haven't fully decided!"
"I just wanted to discuss designs." the Hunter replied sheepishly. "There's always a wait anyway. And so what if I'm in pain? It's the best time for it if it's going to be on my wrist. This is the only time I won't be using a climbing hook for so many days in a row."
It was Nickolas's turn to hum. Necun wasn't sure if he was seriously pouting or if it was feigned. She decided to err on the safe side.
"You'll have a while yet to decide, since I'll be resting." she said, patting her bond on the shoulder. "We'll only do it if you're sure."
"Now it sounds like a chore." the Mage pouted, Necun was sure it was feigned now. "If neither of us are that excited..."
"We could just get some body paint." Necun recommended. "Even just testing the patterns. It doesn't hurt and it washes off a few days after."
"How would that even work?" he asked, his excitement sounding more genuine. "Paint is...paint. Not known for holding well to skin. Is it applied by a Mage?"
"I...don't know." she admitted, not for the first time that day. "I know the last time I got one done there wasn't magic involved, but maybe there's something in the brewing process?"
"Brewing?" her bond said, deadpan.
"Whatever you call making paint." Necun huffed.
The pair reached the great set of stairs, starting their journey down several levels to reach the housing Necun was interested in.
"Because the paint is temporary they can add some interesting details as well." She added. "I always liked letting it dribble down a bit. Always thought it made me look fierce when I was pretending it was war paint."
"I was going to ask if the face paint you used was different." Nickolas said. "It seemed odd that you would let non Hunters use it if it was special."
"War paint is made in the old way." the Hunter confirmed. "A bit of blood in each batch. You can feel it when it's applied. It heats you up like a furnace in your chest. Just enough to quiet the echo of fear and get your mind ready for a dangerous hunt."
"Whereas the paint you can find in the city just looks interesting." her bond said.
"Well, yes, and lets some girls imagine what kind of Hunters they will grow into." Necun said, with mild embarrassment.
They left the din of the shops and large crowds behind. As they reached the correct level and stepped off the great stairs they entered rows upon rows of miss matched housing blocks jutting into one another. Young couples moved across the structures many balconies and walkways, chatting or sharing a meal.
"This is where a lot of the newly bonded Hunters find a house." she declared. "I'm sure there will be something here for us, even if it's small."
"Small is fine, so long as it's clean and not too loud." Nickolas assured. "So how does this work? Is there a landlord we talk to? Someone who manages all this?"
"There will be a caretaker in each 'section', but that's loosely defined." Necun said. "We don't need to find them. Just look for flagged doors."
Making her way over to the third building on her right Necun strode in, finding the stairs. The third floor of the third building was fairly popular, but there were still some pickings. Nothing with a balcony, but one or two with a good window view of the street. Each of the empty apartments was marked with small gray flags at the door. It was the only system that could be agreed on. Young couple's first houses were meant to be free of oversight, but they still needed a basic structure to prevent confusion.
"This looks good for a start." she said, popping the door open. "If nothing looks right on this floor we can check the forth and fifth next."
"Not the second?" her bond asked.
"Of course not!" Necun replied as she stepped into the sweet scent of a newly cleaned apartment. "That would be absurd."
************
Moving into their first house was more of an ordeal than Nickolas had first suspected. At every turn his wife was introducing a new ritual aspect to the process. Something he was hoping to be through with in a single morning was threatening to stretch the entire day. Perhaps even two.
Because Necun had decided that their first house had to be utterly perfect.
"Floorboards too creaky." the orc huffed, spinning on her heel to walk straight out of the small apartment.
Nickolas was the son of the Warden of Blightstone. He had tread the polished halls of the greatest trade Queendoms. He had been hosted by women who would rather die than inconvenience a guest under their roof.
And now he was confident that his wife could have found a fault with every single palace of the human heartlands within three breaths of entering the gates.
The very thought of watching a princess hosting them be told to their face that the doors of the main hall were misaligned filled him with glee, but at the moment Necun's pickiness was starting to grate.
Regardless, he followed quietly. This seemed to be as much a part of the ritual as anything else, and he wasn't going to mess it up.
Being a perfect husband, or as close as he thought he could manage, was a more tiring task than Nickolas had expected. There were plenty of moments of rest, mostly cuddling, and when they were alone it was simple enough to keep Necun in good cheer while ensuring her every need was met. Going out in public was more difficult. As was sharing a space with Melat. His father in law was a pleasant man to talk too, but the costumer had certain opinions on how things should be done that Nickolas kept having to creep carefully around.
It wasn't that the Mage felt the need to constantly push and prod at the people around him, it was just that he he had been doing so for so long that not doing it felt strange. Actively trying to prevent himself from doing it doubly so.
"Sixth floor is unlucky, but that just means we'll have better picks." Necun said, her gait shifting slightly as she flinched.
The orc did it every dozen steps now, some pain shooting up her side as a bruise made it's presence known.
"Is the number six unlucky or just the sixth floor of buildings?" Nickolas inquired.
"Sixth floor of a newly bonded couple." Necun said. "Everywhere else it's fine, but newly bonded pairs need everything perfect sometimes. We'll make do."
Nickolas could feel the moment his wife's words caught up with her mind.
"Not that I don't want this to be-" she sputtered.
"Sixth floor is perfectly suitable." he cut in, already lambasting himself internally for interrupting. "Whatever the omen I'm certain we can break through. We've already been through so much I can't think of much that would hurt our bond now."
The golden haired War Mage could actually think of quite a few things, but he trusted his wife to be an honorable woman, and so they likely wouldn't come up.
Climbing the well worn stairs Nickolas listened again for the echos. It was all around them, even if Necun seemed deaf to it all. Laughter, and singing, and what he was certain was poetry readings. All the sounds of young couples doing their best to make their new spouses happy. To keep that special period when a couple was alone for the first time going as long as feasible.
The fortress had it's own similar traditions. Patches and small caves that were perfect for a nightly meet up between betrothed. More than once Nickolas had listened to one of his servants recounting how they met their lovers for a passionate night under the cover of darkness. Nothing to guide them save a small candle. The feeling of being alone together. Away from any judgment or fear. The fondness and joy they had felt shone through each time. He wanted that for himself.
"Looks promising." Necun said, fingers grazing carved symbols on the door frame.
Swinging the door open revealed a room steeped in shadows. The far wall ended awkwardly, the ceiling coming down at an angle such that anyone would have to stoop to avoid hitting their head as the walked towards the window. Light bounced around the room in strange patterns, the source hard to pin. Some corners were perfectly lit, others could barely be peered into. In some places the contrast was so harsh it looked like there was a wall of light separating random parts of the floor.
"Beautiful." Nickolas breathed out.
Stained glass couldn't have created more interesting light. Nickolas stepped past his wife, walking a circuit of the room to see the patterns form each angle. He knew they would change as the sun fully set. Already he was wondering what new patterns he could see.
"It's okay." Necun said grudgingly. "A little cramped with the ceiling coming down like that."
"We could use it for storage." Nickolas said. "Just leave a bit of a passage for window access. Oh! And we could put the bed over here."
He already had so many ideas for how to emphasize the unique charms of the space. Assuming Necun agreed.
Nickolas put on his best pleading eyes just in case.
"It has a balcony." Necun muttered, leaning into another room. "Weird angle. But still. Balcony."
"Even better!" Nickolas said, joining his wife as he looked into the next room.
It did indeed feature a balcony, separated from the open room by a large thin wooden door. The ceiling was more normal here, only slanting down to barely head height at the edges.
"I change my mind." Nickolas said. "Bed goes here."
"Not sure I like the neighbors seeing us wake up." Necun replied.
"We'll put up curtains. I want to wake up and walk out into fresh air." the Mage countered.
The Hunter huffed, but Nickolas could hear victory in the sound.
"If you like it it's the best we've seen so far." she said.
"I do and it is." he beamed back.
"I'll set our mark." Necun said, fake exasperation failing to hide the real tinge of excitement.
He kissed her before she reached the door, and like that their household began.