Elliot stopped mid unharnessing to give Serrah a proper hug, fond, affectionate, but like a family member would hug another, before returning to unfastening his ox. "How have things been here? That old inn burn down yet?"
Nick stood and dusted himself off before starting to unhook Keth-Salhen from his wagon. Within short order, the two beasts were paddocked in the Cuchulainn's small animal paddock and the two traders headed back to the wagons with the three residents of the clearing, while the ox was clearly familiar with the space, the black beast of a draft horse roamed around the small enclosure, sniffing around, looking back to Nick who gave him a thumbs up.
Back at the wagons, Elliot opened up the back doors and started rummaging through crates and barrels, trying to remember where he put his gifts for the youngest Cuchulainns, eventually producing two small bags of candies from all over. Maple Toffee from Hyoite, licorice from Arca, sour hard candies from La'marri, a tart little crumbs of hard sugar from Essyrni, each was separated in a smaller bag inside telling where it was from. "You can only have as much as Serrah or your dad say you can a day." came Elliot's wise instruction, knowing full well that those little baggies would be gone within a day or two.
He set aside a bottle of dark amber scotch, for the Cuchulainn patriarch, and a finely crafted utility knife for the eldest son, before pulling out a lovely dress, the color of lightly toasted cream, with lilac embroidery emblazoning the chest and arms. "I hope it's sized well, I'm sure Nick will be happy to tailor it for you if it's not the right size."
Hearing his name, Nickolas snapped his focus back on the giving of gifts, realizing that he'd been starring at Serrah all the while. Elliot was right, she had come into her own as a woman. To him, she was gorgeous, and the fact that she'd been atop him mere moments earlier made his mouth dry. She probably had every suitor in town asking after her, what chance did he have? A man that was gone half a year at a time occasionally. "Oh.. yeah, absolutely. It'll be tough, never worked on tailoring something that fine before, but it'll be worth it. Now let's see, where did I put my gifts..."
His hand reached under the side of his wagon, and there was the sound of sliding wood before a panel on the side of his wagon popped open, cleverly hidden, before it popped out the panel had been flush with the wall of the wagon, completely invisible. "For Tanner.." he reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out a box, setting it on the ground, he opened it so all could see, inside there were rows and rows of little soldiers, finely carved and painted, sixteen painted in white standards and uniforms, sixteen in black. He then pulled a board out of the lid and unfolded it, revealing a checkerboard pattern of white and black squares, "Later I can show you how to play 'Chess', a game that's all the rage among the fine young gentlemen across the land."
"And for Emelie" again his hands disappeared into the compartment and pulled out a soft leather bag that clinked softly as he opened it up and turned the contents into his hand. Gemstones, bright, vibrant, perfectly cut, and massive- for gemstones. each was about an inch long, half an inch wide, and caught the sunlight, making multi-colored refraction dance across her features. They were, of course, glass. If they'd been real, they'd have cost a fortune- and were still probably expensive as they were, but he held them out to the youngest Cuchulain, who took them happily, "Jewels fit for a princess."
Standing back up, he looked to Serrah, gave her a half smile, then pulled a silver chain from his vest pocket, a necklace. At the end of which held an fancy, artistically crafted emblem, clearly a triangle, but folding back in on itself in a sort of never ending knot, without a beginning or end, this knot traced all around circle and a square, tying the two together. "A Scholar in Ketra I met at a tavern got really drunk and started telling me all about historical families, surprisingly, he mentioned the Cuchulainns, or rather 'Cu Chulainns' specifically. This was their emblem. So now I present it to you, Serrah Cuchulainn." And with a bow, he held the silver necklace out to her.
In the compartment, he had something else for her as well, a heavy leather bound book of pressed flowers that he'd come across. He always had one for her, giving it to her once he filled the pages. He'd been doing this since her mother died, but that gift would have to be given more privately. Lest Tanner of Emelie got jealous, and also because, Nick just enjoyed having something private to him and Serrah.
