Jeane bristled a little. "Temporary owner," she insisted, looking at Khalid. "I haven't stopped looking yet, you know." She crossed her arms over her chest as best she could, glowering at Azad. Another thing she learned from Cal.

"Temporary?" Azad repeated, looking at Khalid.

"She's 'that one'," Khalid replied. Azad nodded in understanding. Every djinn looked for 'that one' owner that would set them free.

"Glad you found her, then," he said.

"What about you?" Khalid asked.

"Oh no," Azad replied, hands in front of him. "I'm good the way I am. Wouldn't get to keep doing what I do otherwise."

"What do you do?" Jeane asked, unable to curb her curiosity. He was Khalid's brother, so he couldn't be that bad, really.

Hopefully.

Azad grinned.

"I make bottles," he replied. "Or rather, my master makes regular bottles alongside the rest of his craft, and I take commissions for real, functional bottles."

"Azad is the one who I sent that sketch to," Khalid added.

"That was a lot of gold and white, by the way," Azad commented, looking at his sister. "Not a typical commission." He raised an eyebrow in question, sending a pointed glance towards her stomach. Khalid said something in the old Arabic dialect, sounding distinctly like she was telling Azad where he could shove his question.

Jeane hid her laugh in a cough and nodded. "Well, that sounds like interesting work." And it did. Plus he probably got to see a lot of interesting things.

Although she didn't envy him the work.

"Been doing it for generations," Azad replied cheerfully, not bothered in the least by his sister's sharp tongue. "My bottle gets handed down through the family as each son takes over for his father. I don't mind, really. My bottle never leaves the family, and I get to keep doing what I enjoy."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Jeane offered cautiously. "Not as bad as it could be, at any rate." She figured things could be much worse.

"I've got it good," Azad agreed. "I give my masters some raw materials here, a few repairs there, and they let me keep taking commissions. It all works out."

"Lucky bastard," Khalid sniped, although it was more teasing than anything.

Jeane chuckled and nodded. "Sounds like the good life, comparatively. Although if you want, once I figure out how to do it, I can tell you how the whole freedom thing works. If Khalid doesn't tell you first."

"I'm good," Azad replied, waving a hand. "For now, at least." Azad wasn't chomping at the bit for freedom as his sister was, but he also had an easy life, for a djinn. "So, did you stop by to pick up the commission, then?"

"I wanted to see if it was ready," Khalid admitted. Azad grinned and disappeared, a trail of smoke leading up to an old-looking bottle high on a shelf. He was back a moment later with a cloth-wrapped bundle that he handed to his sister. Khalid took it and unwrapped it.

"It's perfect," she murmured. The bottle, although a bit smaller than was typical, seemed to be a mosaic of frosted glass and semi-precious stone chips, mainly quartz and tiger's eye. The seams were gilded, and there was a wide band of solid frosted glass at the top and bottom of the bottle's bulb. There was a fine gold chain draped around the neck of the bottle, with a small feather-shaped charm dangling from it.

Jeane smiled to see the bottle. It was perfect. It fit, somehow. it wasn't like Khalid's bottle, but it fit. "I like it," she said quietly, although she knew her approval wasn't necessary.

Azad grinned. He took pride in his work, and even moreso knowing that this particular piece was for his sister, and by extension, his niece or nephew. He was still curious about the design, since it wasn't reminiscent of typical djinn designs, but if his sister was pleased with it, that's what mattered.

Khalid admired the bottle for a few more moments before wrapping it back up carefully.

"Thanks, Azad," she said softly.

"No problem," Azad replied. "Just make sure to bring the kid around eventually, alright?"

"I will," Khalid promised.

Jeane grinned. If she had her way it would be more than just eventually. But she didn't say that yet. Once she had everything figured out she'd be able to make sure both Khalid and her child had good lives.

There was a bit of silence between them all for a few moments.

"Well, you two get going," Azad said finally. "I'm sure there are a ton of other places you want to get to while you're here, and this place isn't all that interesting, really."

Jeane snorted at that. "Not that interesting. Right." She rolled her eyes. She could quite happily spend a few hours just looking at everything there, but she didn't say that.

Azad raised an eyebrow.

"Compared to the jewelers around here, and the rest of the market, no, we're not that interesting," he replied. He tilted his head slightly towards his sister. "And there's nowhere in here for her to get off her feet."

"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Khalid retorted.

"We rested for a while before we came here," Jeane put in. "And we took a nap before we went to the market earlier." She'd been keeping track of how much rest they got. Partially for herself and partially for Khalid. She didn't want to tally wear herself out the first day, after all.

"If you're sure," Azad replied. Hey, he could worry about his sister. That didn't mean he could tell her what to do. "Look around all you like. I have a few projects to keep working on."

Jeane nodded and made her way around the shop, taking her time to investigate a few things. But once she was done she migrated back over to Khalid. Now she was kind of hungry.

Khalid leaned against the counter while Jeane looked around. Finally, Jeane looked like she was finishing up.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yup." Jeane grinned briefly. "Food now?" She sounded rather hopeful.

Khalid nodded. She was getting hungry, too. She gestured for Jeane to follow, and started making her way to a place she knew served good food.

Jeane followed her, still looking around while they walked. She definitely liked it here. Yeah, it was hot during the day, but she could deal with that.

Plus they had tons of pillows and cushions with which to make nests.

Later that night, after dinner, Khalid was finally settling in again. She'd tried to talk Jeane into taking the bed, but the historian would have none of it, and Khalid had finally given up. She knew when she wouldn't win.

She also knew that she was starting to get lonely in a way that had nothing to do with Jeane and everything to do with Robin and Ishiah. So she broke down and sent a quick message.

The baby was restless today. And I never realized quite how big my bed is when it's just me in it.

Robin snatched up the phone as soon as it started buzzing.

We can be there in a few hours to keep it warm for you, he offered. Ishiah rolled his eyes.