When the knock came several members of Kaalims family stood, he himself stood with two newborns in his massive frame and he made the first move toward the door. Mbube and Jojo followed their Father as did Ateppa, Jojo pulled the door open his excitement and Mbube were teeming with unbridled excitement and Kaalim and Ateppa smiled at Imani.

"come in Imani, we are happy you accepted the invite," Ateppa greeted Imani with a gentle hug and a peck on the cheek, "can we play outside until dinner? please, we'll stay around the home," Jojo asked, "and I'll stay with all the little ones," he confidently confirmed looking up at his Father, "As long as Imani approves and your Mother's, no further than the fire pit," he spoke strong and proud, but worry always tinged his words...no one knew when they'd come...

"I'll go with them," Izette offered, she was again the jealous kind often distant from the other wives but when it came to the children she was very hands on she came to take Mbube hand looking at Imani, "I won't let them go past the fire pit."

"you are truly a blessing Imani and we all thank you for accepting the invitation," Ateppa took the gifts and offered Imani another kind smile, she didn't shy away from undressing the woman quickly with her eyes and wondered..., "please sit, dinner is nearly ready," Kaalim offered his hand and he would bring her to a seat at their table where half the meal was sitting ready right next to his seat at the head of his table, "so tell me, the festival is close are you entering this year? I'd like to see the Parabolti winning some of the games this year."

Kaalim sat beside her and grabbed two cups pouring them two cups of heavy fruited wine.

Kaalim looked very proud to hear Imani and a few other Parabolti were going to compete, "Cheers indeed! Makes my warrior heart full to hear such good news and the only embarrassment that would come was from a lack of entering if it were my opinion," Kaalim chuckled but honest words were never truer, he touched her offered cup and then drank deeply from his.

Ateppa returned with wooden plates sitting on the other side of Kaalim, then Asper beside her smiling proudly at her husband and guest, "I am entering the Beast battles, as much as I want to enter the one on one too I'll share the glory of the Parabolti wins with them all," and again Kaalim was smiling brighty, "As long as we win more against the Nevermeren folks, that's all I ask."

"Thank you Imani, it was my Mother's recipe, I will pass it down to my daughters too," Ateppa cooed very appreciative but also not hiding her own interest in the very beautiful woman. Kaalim clearly had good taste when it came to his wives, Ateppa had always said as much. The kids were all called back for dinner and Kaalim actually fed his children and wives first before himself and boy did Kaalim eat..he ate enough for three grown average men!

They ate and talked and drank for a few hours, the children going off to play somewhere in the home. Finally Kaalim stood offering a hand to Imani, "Would you care to join me for a after dinner smoke and perhaps we could talk?"

Kaalim guided Imani from his dwelling outside, along a short dirt trail, and into the greenhouse he had built a season ago. Several lanterns were lit inside when Kaalim opened the door for her, once inside it was a fairly large space full of various growing plants, "I built this after Raead's death, while he was going to be a proud warrior I knew and saw things most Father's look past when raising their sons...he was a natural nurture, he tended to his siblings as a Gardner does their flowers," Kaalim spoke proudly of his now dead son but there was a line of hurt and hatred inside the large man that he kept buried within himself.

He picked up a worn and used pipe from a tray that sat on a mostly empty table, he pinched up some herbage from the same tray packing the bowl, he then laid a stick of wood on the edge of a lantern as he moved to open the back of the greenhouse which was two large doors. Cool might air poured in.

"Come sit with me, I have been meaning to talk with you about something," Kaalim offered her a seat on the soft green grass at the edge of the back of the greenhouse, his own large frame lowering itself and he puffed peacefully from his pipe...

Kaalim could take solace in agreeing with Imani, he too felt Ra'ead would have been proud the boy had lived for his Father to do everything his Father asked. Be a warrior. Be a boy. He would have had three wives and all girls for awhile before his first daughter and her name would have been Kaalam...only...Kaalim smiled to hide the pain of a reality his head played that his heart already knew.

"I miss him, I miss all of them," Kaalim pulled the flame from the stick to the bowl igniting a thin layer of ash in its wake, he inhaled deeply holding before exhaling smoke away from Imani, "...I don't want to linger with that if that's okay, what I wanted to talk to you about is, first I respect Rahil now and then he was a good man and he was honorable but do you or your Father have any prospects on you getting married again?"