Hiei nodded. He could manage that long, as long as no one bothered them. "Very well." He settled back in his seat, looking out the window briefly before looking at her. "Once we reach our stop?"

"There's usually a driver waiting," Naomi replied as she settled in and leaned against the windowframe. "I've never known there not to be." She stared out the window as the train got moving.

"Hn." Hiei looked out the window as well. More cars? He almost wrinkled his nose at the thought. Maybe he'd just run behind it or something instead...

"I know, you don't like cars," Naomi said. "Unfortunately, they're necessary. Horses are more trouble than they're worth, up north."

"I could follow the car." Hiei looked at her again. He'd done so before, and he liked that much better than getting in the moving metal deathtrap.

Naomi nodded. That was a good compromise.

"Okay," she said. And if her family had a problem with that, they could deal with it. She wasn't going to tell him otherwise.

Hiei nodded, pleased with that comprimise, and settled back in his seat to wait out the trip. At least the train was fairly steady. And nowhere near as packed as the last train he'd been on.

Naomi ended up drifting off to sleep in her seat, leaning against the window. The landscape outside slowly changed from warm and green to colder and darker as the train went further north. About two-thirds of the way into the trip, snow appeared on the ground. As the train finally slowed and stopped, Naomi woke from her nap and stretched a bit.

"Almost there," she commented, glancing outside.

Hiei nodded. Half the time she'd been asleep he'd been watching her rather than the scenery outside, but now he switched his gaze. It was starting to look more like the Koormie island, sort of; cold and snowy.

Finally, the train slowed and stopped at the station. It was more a platform than anything, with just a single ticket counter in an enclosed cubicle stationed on top of the concrete platform. When the train stopped, Naomi picked up her bag and then gestured towards the door.

"There should be a driver waiting," she said.

Hiei nodded and stepped outside, taking a moment to adjust to the temperature and take in some of the smells around the train station. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Now he just had to trail the car to her family's house.

Naomi glanced around and spotted the driver that usually picked her up from the platform. The driver raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw the fire-element with her, but Naomi just shook her head slightly.

"He's with me," she said. "Just leave him be." After a moment, the driver nodded and opened the door for her. She tossed her bag into the car, and then got in.

Hiei stayed back, very much intent on just following the car now. It would give him time to adjust to the place and get used to the smells here, so he'd be better able to tell when something was off.

The ride to the family manor was just as anxiety-ridden as it usually was, even though Naomi could sense Hiei following the car. She always hated having to visit the family. Finally, the car pulled up in front and the driver opened the door so Naomi could get out.

"Well," she said, mostly to herself, "let's see how long this visit lasts."

Hiei stopped a little ways behind her, just taking a few moments to take in the area and feel out who was around. No one stronger than him. He'd figured.

Naomi took a deep breath, and then went inside.

"Nomia!" Her father's voice cracked out like a whip. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Naomi said, looking at her father. "I've been here for thirty seconds, I haven't had enough time to disappoint you yet."

"You know very well what I'm talking about, young lady," Corvus replied. "What is the meaning of bringing a Level Six fire element here?"

"He's here with me," Naomi replied calmly. "He would have just followed on his own anyways."

"I will not stand for this, Nomia, this is an insult to the entire family."

"Then I'll leave," Naomi snapped. "I'll go back home. I didn't want to be here anyways."

Corvus looked torn between telling her to leave and ordering her to stay.

"All I can say is there had better not be any trouble," he finally said.

Hiei was quiet as he watched, his eyes narrowing a little at Corvus. He didn't say anything, though. He moved up next to Naomi in silent support, not quite glaring at Corvus. Not quite.

After a moment, Corvus waved them away and left to check on the preparations for the Naming ceremony. The sooner this was done, the better. The entire household would be on edge, now. Not only was there a fire-element around, but he was stronger than anyone in the household. That was unnatural.

When they were dismissed, Naomi hefted her bag and headed towards the stairs. She wanted to be in her room for a while.

Hiei followed her, unsure what else he should do. He knew better than to intentionally piss off the others in the house, for Naomi's sake if for no other reason, and he figured he could get a look at the place.

"There's a spare room next to mine," Naomi said as they went up the stairs. "They put my room at the edge of the guest wing, as far from the main family area as they could without cutting me off." She was sure they wouldn't object to putting him in that spare room, so that she would be the one to deal with him the whole time.

Hiei nodded. He was quiet for a few moments before he looked at her. "Would you have preferred I didn't come?"

"I couldn't have stopped you," Naomi pointed out. She knew she was sidestepping the question. "I've never brought anyone with me before when I visit my father's family."

Hiei wasn't entirely sure what to make of her sidestepping. Her tone said she didn't mind, but her words said she might mind. So he frowned.

Naomi noticed the expression and nibbled her lip a bit.

"I don't know," she finally said. She really liked having him around (not that she would admit it quite yet) and god knew she enjoyed seeing her relatives squirm, but she knew her siblings and stepmother would get back at her for it eventually, somehow.

Hiei nodded. Okay, that was an acceptable answer. And it was consistent with what he'd heard. So he took that as an answer and looked away again.

Not that he regretted deciding to come, but still.