Darin let out a yelp as Ridahne suddenly moved. The human was not surprised when she wound up on her backside. That didn’t change the fact that she was quickly on her feet as Ridahne continued to move. Darin didn’t know much about treating wounds like the type the warrior had, but she was pretty sure that the injured person shouldn’t move around like that. That just seemed like common sense. Soon the Elf staggered, and Darin quickly reacted to catch her friend before she hit the ground. Darin was also sure that head trauma would not help in the slightest. The human staggered for a moment under the weight of the Elf, but soon had her footing.

Darin chided, “Enough of that! You shouldn’t be stressing yourself!” She sighed, “The archer has been dealt with for now. I finish dealing with him when I get you on Tsura.” Darin looked over at the Azurei horse, “I’m going to need your help Tsura. I can’t do this on my own.”

For a moment Darin thought about dragging Ridahne to Talbot, because she knew Talbot would cooperate with her, but then that moment passed as Tsura came over to the two girls and bent his knees. It wasn’t easy, but Darin managed to get the injured member of their hodge podge group on her mount. It took a little bit of searching, but soon she had the roped necessary to tie Ridahne to the saddle. Darin didn’t want to tie the knots too tightly, but she also didn’t want the Elf slipping. In the end Darin wound up tying want was probably a bunch of useless knots, but she was fairly certain that Ridahne wouldn’t be slipping off the saddle anytime soon. That was all that mattered right now. Darin would worry about getting Ridahne off once they got to the village.

Darin looked at the hunting cat, “Mitaja, I need you to lead the way back to Talbot. Can you do that?” The cat made a sound Darin hoped was agreement and darted off. Darin called out, “Hey! Wait for us!”

The Seed-Bearer quickly grabbed Tsura’s reins before following Mitaja. Darin was almost out of the glade before cursing herself and turning to grab Ridahne’s blades. Darin didn’t want to know what the Elf would do it the human left those. The cat set a decent pace, and the human found herself walking briskly to keep up. It was probably a good thing the they were because they quickly returned to where the archer was still tied up. Darin took one look at the scene and realized that he must have tried to escape at one point or another. His foot was now a bloody mess and Talbot look mighty pleased with himself. Darin couldn’t fault him. They couldn’t afford to let him escape.

The archer grinned at him, “It looks like your acquaintance has seen better days.”

Darin was breathing heavy with the thought of what she had to do, “Better than you.”

The archer’s smile vanished quickly, “What do you mean? You were going to question me!”

Darin’s laugh was devoid of any mirth, “I don’t know how. And I can’t have you running home to whoever sent you.”

The Eluri struggled against the bonds, “You can’t kill someone tied up! It wouldn’t be right! You’re the Seed-Bearer! You have to be right!”

Darin’s hands were shaking as she put Ridahne’s knifes down and drew her sickle, “I am a farmer. Do you know how many times I have killed animals I helped raise that did nothing to me? Do you know what those animals did to me?”

The enemy slumped, “Nothing but love you.”

The human was surprised by her smile, “You do know.” Darin placed the point of her sickle to the man’s neck, “It may not be right, but Astra vs the life of one man who wants to destroy Astra is hardly a choice.”

The Eluri seemed resigned to his fate and raised his chin high. Darin pulled back to make the swing. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Darin swung only to falter. She tried again only to fail once more. Darin grabbed her shaky wrist with her other hand and swung back once more. With a yell the Seed-Bearer swung one final time. The archer closed his eyes and was surprised when he opened them. With eyes shocked wide he turned to look beside him were his arm was clean off on the ground beside him. Darin couldn’t do it. She knew he would die tied to the tree with an arm missing, but there was a chance. It wasn’t much of one, but a slim chance was better than no chance.

Darin looked at the ground, “That is my mercy. You will not receive it again.” She bent down to retrieve the knifes and managed to put them into Ridhane’s sheaths, “Let’s go Talbot.”

Talbot bent his knees so she could get on without climbing. Darin knew that she needed to go south so she looked for the Star Ravi to follow that. Once she had it, she grabbed at Tsura’s reins. They didn’t have time to linger here any longer. They needed to get to the village of Ridahne was going to have any hope at all. A soft thank you form the Eluri cause her to pause for only a minute. Then Darin tapped her heal against Talbot’s flank and the odd little group was off. Darin could only pray to The Tree that they made it in time. Darin knew she couldn’t do this alone.

"Finish...?" The word barely even came out. There were still tears on her face, tears of relief and joy and the kind of cold thrill that comes from an all-too-close brush with death. She was so tired. And knowing that Darin was alright robbed the fight from her and she wanted so badly to give in and just rest. But she wasn't so convinced she'd come back if she did. She'd never say that out loud, she didn't want to worry Darin. But that thought stayed ever-present in Ridahne's mind.

Tsura dipped his sleek head at Darin when she spoke to him in almost a bow. All the creatures of Astra knew and respected the authority of the Seed-Bearer, and the proud Tsura was no different. After he'd lowered himself and Darin struggled to maneuver the much taller than her Elf onto his back and secured her there, Tsura straightened with such grace and care, it was like he knew his longtime rider was in a sore condition.

A soft, horribly strangled voice joined the orchestra of nighttime creatures making their gentle noises. "Eialtih.." The Azurei word had many meanings, including 'master' (as in a master and apprentice), 'captain', or 'trusted advisor'. In a way, Ridahne meant all three. "Have I served well?" This is not something a coherent Ridahne would have ever, ever asked. But she asked it now, half delirious and yet genuinely concerned about the answer. If she'd been more aware of herself, she would have noted the guilt she felt about leaving Darin to clean up the absolute mess that was Ridahne when it should have been her looking out for Darin. Or the anxiety she felt when she realized just how close she'd come to genuinely failing in her task. But she was not so self-aware and instead asked the question.

Mitaja was quick to lead the way, dashing ahead but never too far out of sight for her glowing greenish yellow eyes to pierce the darkness like two little guiding beacons. She arrived back at the spot and did a pass under Talbot's legs as if to check in with her friend and see how he was doing before circling menacingly around the captive archer. Ridahne was silent the whole way except the rasp of her breath. Shallow and slow, but steady. She blacked out, and when the elf came to, she could blearily see the captive archer. By the Tree, she was proud of Darin for doing that much. Ridahne knew fighting wasn't Darin's strength, but somehow she no longer seemed entirely the clumsy girl she met hanging from vines on the roadside.

The sight of the other elf made her blood boil even in her current state. She snarled and had a mind to get up and draw steel on him, but she was securely tied to the saddle, and after that gentle reminder she gave it up. Probably couldn't even lift her sword anyway. Ridahne didn't like watching Darin attempt to execute the man. It wasn't that the elf was made uncomfortable by death and blood--she very much was not. But watching Darin try to execute a person was like watching a beautiful flower succumb to fungus and rot. Ridahne knew the weight of blood. She did not want it on Darin's hands. Her hands belonged in the soil where things grew and flourished, not tearing the life out of a person. That was Ridahne's curse.

But Darin did not kill him, not directly. Something in Ridahne was relieved, even though she would have slain the man herself after forcing some answers out of him. He was a deadman, sure, but Darin would not watch the life drain from his eyes and know with bitter certainty that it was her hand that did it. Ridahne was thankful for that.

They left. The undulating of Tsura's body jolted her arrow-pierced leg miserably with every step and she felt her head pound to the rhythm of his hooves. But Ridahne was too far gone to feel much misery at this point. The pain was something she was aware of, but not a dominating sensation of discomfort like it should be. She hadn't sustained any one fatal injury, but she had an arrow in her thigh, a very deep cut in her side, and her hair was matted in the back where her head had been slammed into a tree root. Tsura looked painted on his right side where her blood had either rubbed off or dripped onto him. Ridahne was not doing well, but the fact that she was still breathing was hope enough. She'd make it if she got some help. Soon.

Darin bit her tongue to keep from chastising Ridahne. It wouldn’t do much good with the warrior in the state that she was in. That didn’t change the fact that Darin was sick and tired of the Azurein coming up with new words to title the human with. Darin forced herself to ignore the form of address. Ridahne didn’t seem all there. Odds were the Elf didn’t even realize she had said it. Darin would let it go and do her best not to mention it again. The last time Darin haad found fault with how Ridahne had addressed her they had gotten in a huge fight. The human didn’t want to repeat that experience.

Darin didn’t have much time to think of it anyways. Soon they had arrived at the village that Ridahne had mentioned. She had been worried that she was going to have to go door to door in order to find help. That wasn’t the case at all. There was a group of people waiting for the little group in the town center. Unless Darin missed her guess, it was this village’s equaliventl of elders; including a mayor of some sort, a village wise person, and a healer. There were also a group of people who it was clear was just here to observe. Darin looked at them with her worry plainly evident. They all looked like Ravi and their attackers. It didn’t take a lot to realize that they were Eluri and probably had visions of some sort. Were they friends or foes? Right now Darin would just take, “willing to help for money” if it meant Ridahne got the help she needed.

The village head spoke, “I am Yarick, mayor of this town. Who are you?”

Darin took a shuddering breath, “I’m Martin, Martin Lively.” She gestured to Ridahne, “I’m her apprentice.”

Darin had no idea what type of name a good fake name for an Azurein warrior would be. Besides she didn’t think that she was believed. The mayor had raised his eyebrow at her in clear disbelief. Darin wasn’t sure what to make of that. It probably wasn’t good that she wasn’t believed. They would be less likely to help her now and at this point she wasn’t sure Ridahne would last long enough to make it back to The Farm. They needed help now. Darin wasn’t sure she cared if people believed her about her name or not. The adrenalin from earlier was wearing off and she was exhausted. She just wanted help for Ridahne and was prepared to do what she needed in order to get it.

One of the other leaders scoffed, “Try again human.”

Darin found herself losing her temper, “I am sick and tired of people assuming they know me just by looking at me. I am sick and tired of people assigning me roles I may or may not want. I am sick and tired of people wanting things from me because of something I had no control of. You clearly know who I am, but you will not make me say it out loud. Either you take the information I give you the same as you would from nother strangers or you won’t, but I refuse to play this ridiculous game with you!”

The last leader’s voice was cold, “Do not disrespect us child! We see things that you …”
Darin cut him off, “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Visions I get that. Did it ever occur to you that you shouldn’t share that information with everyone just because they already know.”

The mayor held up his hands in a motion that was clearly meant to defuse the situation, “Everyone here knows who you are. The fact that you are distrusting is simply alarming.”

Darin began laughing hysterically, “I have been shot at by two different people and my friend is dying. Of course, I don’t trust. Especially not strangers. It’s not the human way.” Her voice was cold, “Will you help my friend or not?”

Yarick was calm, “You’ve given us no reason to.”

Darin nodded, “Fair enough.” She leaned down to rub Talbot’s flank, “Come on. Back the way we came.”

This was why The Tree was dying. No one helped because it was the right thing to do. She had told one harmless lie and now she was seen as a threat even though everyone knew it was a lie. Darin wasn’t going to argue with the town’s leaders. She just hoped she could get back to The Farm in time. Then a thought struck her. Talbot might could do it. Tsura would be faster but Talbot would have the endurance necessary to do it. The question that remained is would Talbot do it? She wasn’t sure but it would be worth a shot. Darin was about to swing off to switch spots with Ridahne when a light chuckle stopped her. It was the leader that had spoken second.

She grinned at Darin, “Humans are odd. I forget that they do not receive visions like we do. I am Konie, the village doctor. Bring your friend. Perhaps I can help her.”

None of the others stopped Konie as she pushed though the crowd and headed to a house not far from the village square. Darin didn’t take long to make up her mind and follow her. She wanted to debate the pros and cons, but Ridahne didn’t have the time for that. Konie entered a house and Darin got off Talbot and went to cut Ridahne down. Hopefully this didn’t end badly. Darin couldn’t afford for this to go badly. She couldn’t afford to lose Ridahne.

"Ridahne, I need you to stay here until tomorrow," Jaisih, Ridahne's father spoke softly. There was a tired note to his voice.
"But da! Hadian gets to go! How come it's always Hadian who--"
Jaisih cut her off by firmly but not unkindly grabbing her chin with one hand. She held it high, as if to pull free from his grasp, but she otherwise did not struggle or look away. And though his hand was firm, his eyes were soft, pleading. She had to understand, he had to make her understand. "Enough." Spoken softly, it was a command. Jaisih was a good man, but he had a will of iron, and his daughter inherited that from him. He sighed. "I need Hadian to come with me. We can't sail the boat without ten hands, Ridahne. I know you don't want to be bound to the house, and believe me Ridahne, it hurts me to see a wild thing caged."

This admission softened young Ridahne's disposition. Her father did understand her, better than most. "But Da, I could help make some money. I...I could...uh, I could dive for shellfish and seahorses, or I could borrow Hili's horse and go out to--"
"Ridahne, I know you would. I know you could. And I hate that I've ever had to ask you to go out into the Dust Sea, however willing you might be. But this isn't about making ends meet, Ridahne. Yes, we're not doing well financially. But there's a more important task I need you to do."

Suddenly it felt less like a prison sentence to be cooped up for so long. "A task?"
"Yes." Jaisih swallowed, and Ridahne watched something in him, some kind of light slip away from his eyes. She watched him turn to stone before her very eyes and knew that something was very wrong. Because when things were hard, she did the exact same thing. "Your mother is...not doing well," he finally said.
Ridahne shook her head. "Well no, she's been sick. But the healer is doing everything he can...Right?" Silence. "Jaisih?" A panic crept into her chest. "He's doing everything he can, right Da?"
"He...is. Yes. He will probably be by this evening. You must thank him for all his work and assist him where you can. But my dear...sometimes things don't work out like you want them to."
Ridahne gasped, but she could already feel the lump in her throat. "Are you saying--"
"I'm saying I'd like you to stick around here until we get back, Ridahne. For me."

A painful fear like she'd never felt touched her young heart. At first it felt like she couldn't breathe, but by force of will she finally took a breath and nodded. She caught Hadian's eyes as the two turned and walked out into the still dark morning, and she found there a look of understanding. Hadian knew. Their mother was dying and Hadian knew and didn't tell her. Ridahne had never felt more betrayed. So she waited for Hadian and Jaisih to walk out of sight, and with her mother asleep in the other room, Ridahne dropped to her knees and wept.

---

"Ikali.." Ridahne had gone very still and very silent for a stretch of time and when she eventually did stir, that was the one conscious thought she could express. It was a female name, though who exactly she was referring to was unclear. It was her mother's name of course, but Darin didn't know that. She felt the undulation of Tsura underneath her and knew for the moment she was safe, so she didn't fight the wave of dizziness that came over her again.

Ridahne could sort of make out voices. They didn't sound entirely friendly by their tone, but she had little comprehension of words. Were they there already? How long had she been unconscious? Just how bad was she? More movement, some voices again. A tall man came from the house, took a second to assess the situation, and went to help Darin get Ridahne off Tsura. He had blonde hair and gray eyes, but a cool composition dosed with the right amount of urgency after seeing all that blood. It was hard to tell with elves, but he seemed to be older than Ridahne, but much younger than the village doctor. "Got yourselves in some trouble, didn't you?" He had a soft voice, cool and contemplative like water.

Ridahne felt hands on her, ones she assumed were Darin's because of what felt like callouses. She moaned softly, but otherwise didn't resist until she felt the second pair of hands on her and heard a male voice distinctly say the word 'trouble'. It was like a part of her barely conscious brain was still back on the road fighting the Red Hand, with that man's hands around her neck, squeezing, strangling her, his weight pinning her down as she was robbed of her right of breath. Not again not again not again no no no no NO NO!

She tried to scream but it came out a sort of raspy keen, and a sliver of life came back into her limbs. Not nearly as vibrantly as when Darin first tried to move her earlier, but she managed to latch on to one of his hands and tried to peel it away. He was too strong for her. She tried a kick but between him and Darin, she was held firm.
"Ah, we've got a dangerous one, Konie." The way he said this was almost endearing, like he wasn't really worried about her being a threat but he knew they needed to be careful all the same. "Easy, Azurei," he said softly. "We're here to help. You're alright." He and Darin laid her down on a table and Ridahne gave in, going limp but with vacant eyes half open. The man, obviously Konie's assistant, began washing Ridahne's wounds to get a better idea of how badly and where she was hurt. He wiped her face clean with a cool, wet rag and stopped short as he got a good look at her face.

"Talyn?" Konie asked.
"I know her." His voice was so, so soft. He looked stunned. "The last time I went to Azurei, I was in terrible haste. And I thought I could go through the Dust Sea, I thought I'd prepared enough. I didn't. I came close to dying out there, and then someone came and found me. And I thought for all these years that she was a Ghost of the Sands, an apparition of the Dust or perhaps just my delirium, because one moment she was speaking to me and the next, I was in a large hut with a doctor, but she was gone. But I know something of Azurei Ojih, and that's definitely her. She's...real." He touched the black mark on her forehead, her most recent mark, with a gentle fingertip. "And not at all who I'd expect..." He turned to Darin. "She saved my life once. I'll see to it we return the favor."

The two worked tirelessly, cleaning the wounds, stitching up the arrow wound and the deep cut on her side, bandaging up her head. They could do little for the bruising on her throat, but that would fade in time. Once they had her cleaned, stitched, and bandaged, they moved her to a low mattress that was very nearly on the floor, as was the Elurian custom. Talyn had cleaned himself up and, after serving Konie with a steaming mug, came to sit on a cushion beside Darin. He offered her a small cup of a hot, milky drink that smelled slightly sweet. A mild flavored milk-tea that was a staple in these parts. He sipped his own cup and asked softly but straightforwardly, "What happened?"

Darin was glad that there seemed to be some people that were willing to help her and Ridahne. It didn’t seem like that came without reasons. Darin wasn’t sure what Konie’s reasons were, but the man, she thought his name was Talyn, had reason’s that were simple enough. He wanted to return to save Ridahne’s life as the Azurei had once saved his. Darin didn’t really care what the reasons were. She was just glad that someone was helping. The human did her best to stay out of the way. She didn’t know much about patching up people and knew better than to pretend that she knew more than she did.

So instead Darin watched nervously. Right now, the odds were not in Ridahne’s favor. She had lost a lot of blood. She may have lost too much of it. Darin wasn’t sure. She felt so useless and unable to do anything. Maybe if she hadn’t waited with the archer for so long, she could have gotten to Ridahne sooner. She might have even been able to help the Elf out. Darin gave her head a minuscule shake. There was no point in thinking about any of this. Nothing could change what had happened. The only thing Darin could hope to do now was learn and grow from the experience.

They finished working on Ridahne and the man came to offer Darin a drink. She reached out to take it with half a smile. He didn’t seem distressed. The human hoped that meant that Ridahne would be fine. That left Darin with only one worry. What should she tell this man? She needed to tell him something otherwise he would grow suspicious. The people of this town already knew that she had lied once so odds were that they weren’t going to believe her no matter what she told them. Darin just wasn’t sure she wanted to tell them about the Red Hand. They were technically bandits. Maybe The Seed-Bearer could get a way with only telling half of the truth. That might be safer.

Darin placed her untouched drink on the table, “Bandits attacked us on the road. They were looking for trouble. I don’t think any of them survived.”

For a brief moment Darin considered telling this man about the archer still tied to the tree. He might be able to send someone out to check on him. However, Darin wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. Odds were that he was already dead. Darin clasped her hands together tight enough that her fingernails were leaving crescents in her skin. She didn’t know that she wanted to be responsible for someone’s death. She knew that was a foolish childish hope. People died all the time and there were people that wanted her dead. She wouldn’t get very far if she wasn’t willing to do what it took to defend The Seed. Darin swallowed as she considered her options. None of them seemed ideal.

Finally, she gestured tin the vague direction of the archer, “One of them got injured pretty badly. We tied him to a tree to keep him from running off to get more of his friends. I don’t think he could have survived, but he might have.” With that off her chest she looked to where Ridhane was resting, “Will she be okay? I desperately need her to be okay.”

Talyn studied darin carefully, but he had a slow, patient way about him that made it clear he wasn't grilling her. He sat and listened and tried to process what he heard. He looked back at his patient on the table with a small, somewhat sad smile. "No, I can't imagine any would. I'll see to it someone looks in on the one you left behind." For a moment it looked like that was all talyn had to say, for he fell silent. But his face turned mildly sour, and in a troubled tone he added, "We've had some issues here lately with bandits. They've been harassing our roads and made getting supplies and news difficult. Its good news that they are dead, if indeed you met all of them. We have actually sent for some Azurei eija to help us track them down, but they've been unable to find more than one or two. None have talked." A thought occurred to him and he said with a small cringe, "Some secrecy for your friend might be prudent, then...I don't personally deal with Azurei politics, and I owe her my life so it makes no difference to me but...your friend is not loved among her own. Not anymore. Words have reached my ears of the infamous assassin and the talk isn't good, young human. I will keep her identity secret as best I can. Speaking of identities..." he spoke very softly and gently. "I have a guess as to who you are. Call it a...gut feeling, as you humans say. There's something about you, a nurturing spirit, perhaps. I don't know. And I don't need to." He smiled. "My name is Talyn, I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

Talyn refilled his cup and Konie's, and offered to refill Darin's too. "Your friend will be alright. Her wounds were serious, but not mortal, and she will heal well enough in time. She's lost a lot of blood, so she might be unsteady when she wakes up. But she will wake up. She did have a grievous head wound, so we'll need to watch that. I don't doubt she has a concussion." He stood. "Excuse me, I'm going to go have a word with our Azurei guests so they can find this bandit of yours. And to inform the elders that at least some of them have been...eliminated." Talyn was a gentle soul and did not like the idea of killing, however justified, but there were times when he bit his tongue for the greater good. As a man of medicine, he knew all too well what violence wrought. but if one had to die to save countless others from harm...well, it was a bit like removing an infected limb. Unpleasant, but too necessary. "I will tell no one of her identity, nor will I make guesses at yours. I suspect some of the elders already know anyway, they are strong with the Sight. Get some rest. And now that we've all had a moment to breathe, Konie can take a look at your own injuries and hurts." He gave a shallow bow and left.

Darin had all but forgotten her own injuries until Talyn mentioned them. All of the sudden both her arms throbbed and pulsed like they never had before. It was then that she remembered that while she didn’t have any new injuries the archer at Greyrock had ripped open one shoulder while Taja had ripped open the other and her arm. She was pretty sure that she had ripped her stitches, but she wasn’t sure. She supposed that she should let Konie look at them, but that was a risk she wasn’t sure she wanted to take. She would have to take of her shirt, and as pointless as it seemed, Darin was still trying to travel as a boy. Talyn didn’t seem like the type to reveal her. She was less sure of Konie.

As Talyn left the small dwelling, Darin moved to sit on the floor next to Ridahne. The warrior’s identity was at risk as well. There were other Azurei here; more Eija. They might not take to kindly to the traitor being here. Darin’s gaze hardened as she gently took the unconscious Elf’s hand in hers. She wouldn’t let anyone, Azurei or not, Eija or not, stop the Seed-Bearer from doing her job. Ridahne had fought and protected her. It was her turn to do the same. While it was true that Darin wasn’t what she could do or what she was capable of she knew that she would do her best. She couldn’t afford to do anything less then her best. Ridahne deserved nothing less than her best.

Konie came over and tugged at the human’s shirt, “Alright. Take this off. I can see the bleeding. And do not worry. What happens here stays here.” The healer smiled at her knowingly, “Any secrets you wish to try and keep will not be mine to tell.”

Darin sighed and began to remove her shirt. She didn’t get a chance to actually get it off before someone came rushing into the hut, “My Apologies Elder Konie. But the traveler’s bird is not being polite.”

Darin sighed a very different type of sigh as she began to stand, “Taja. I’ll take care of him.” The human cut of the Eluri healer’s protest, “He is suffering and lashing out. There’s no point in redoing stitches that he’ll just undo.”

Konie’s protesting was not yet complete, “You need rest. If the bird is that difficult perhaps.”

Darin stopped at the doorway to turn and glare at the Elf, “Do not finish that thought aloud. Taja is mine and I will take care of him.”

With that in mind Darin left the hut. She wasn’t entirely sure where she needed to go, but the messenger came out of the hut. They lead the human out to a small stable. Inside there were several frazzled looking stable hands. It didn’t take long to determine that all of the animals of their little party, not just Taja were being difficult. Tsura was still saddled. Talbot was glaring at the Eluri. Darin looked at them with her hands on her hips. The stable hands looked to be at the end of their wits. Darin couldn’t blame them.

Darin spoke to the four remaining members of their party, “She will be fine. Can we please get settled so that way my stitches can be redone?” She moved to run a hand along Talbot’s flank, “Let’s just get settled for the night alright?” Talbot let out what was basically a snort, “Yes I know they are here. We can still all behave. Let me take care of Tsura and Taja. Alright?” Darin smiled at the hunting cat, “Mitaja? Will you go see about finding dinner for yourself and Taja? It would mean a great deal.”

With that said Darin moved to take of Tsura’s tack. It took a few minutes since he wasn’t allowing anyone else to touch him and Darin wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing. Luckily, he didn’t protest as she handed the equipment off to the one stable hand brave enough to help. Once the tack was all off Darin asked for a brush and received one. She took her time to brush Tsura’s coat. Mitaja was back by the time she was done. Darin inclined her head to Tsura and moved on to Taja. She took the rat from Mitaja with a whispered thank you and a scratch to the ears. She held it out to Taja who lashed out with his beak to take the meal. While the hawk was distracted Darin removed him from the traveling basket and very carefully looked at his wing. He was surprising careful of his claws and for the first time he didn’t break skin. Darin smiled at that. It appeared he was growing more trustful of her. She encouraged him into the rafters over an empty stall with a chiding to behave. Then it was Talbot’s turn. Luckily, he was easy. She just needed to remove the reins and good him a good a brushing.

When that was done, she pointed at him and MItaja, “You two look after the others.” Then she pointed at the bird and the other horse, “Everybody behave. I have to get patched up and check on her. Let’s all try to get some sleep.”

Darin gave Talbot once last pat on the flank, Tsura one more bow, and Mitaja let her rub their ears again. With that Darin exited the stable to go back to Konie’s. She could no longer feel her arms and that did not seem like a good sign. Darin wasn’t sure what she should do about the Eija here, but she knew she couldn’t do anything until her arms were fixed up. For some reason the journey back to where Ridahne was taking longer than the journey to the stable. Darin let out a noise of exhaustion. It had been a long day and she just wanted to sleep.

The three Azurei warriors grouped around Talyn with interest. They'd heard of some commotion but hadn't gone to investigate. They wished they had. The most experienced of them was a broad-shouldered man with a storied ojih, and he acted as the little band's leader. The other was a woman, shorter and more stout than Ridahne and with slightly darker skin. The third was her apprentice, who was clearly quite young for an elf and his ojih was very simple.

"They've been found?"
"Yes." Talyn spoke decent Azurian, though he'd been told his accent was poor. "Seems most of them are dead, but reportedly, one is tied to a tree with a severe injury. On the off chance he's alive, you might want him."
"Aye," the older man said. "We do. But we can learn a fair bit even if he's dead. Where'd they come from?"
Talyn gave a wobbly shrug. "North I think?"
"Forgive my boldness," the apprentice said quietly, obviously half expecting to be barked at by his master. Her gaze was sharp, as if to warn him that whatever he had to say better be worthwhile, but he was allowed to speak. "But you said the rest were dead? Those travelers killed them? Who are they? Can we speak to them after we're done searching for the one?"
Talyn frowned. "Er, no, I don't think that's wise. The younger of the two is wary of strangers and needs to rest. The other was...very seriously wounded. She was dangerously close to bleeding out, I doubt she'll be up for being interrogated."

The woman's slim brows furrowed slightly. "An elf then. Human women do not fight, and they do not kill multiple bandits. Not the Red Hand. She is Azurei, isn't she?"
Talyn hoped they wouldn't come to that conclusion, but lying would make things worse. Figures--eija were sharp like broken glass. "Yes. She's a Sea guide I believe, but a well trained one. And a spent one. As a physician, I ask you leave her be. She'll come to you when she's able and if she's inclined."
The man's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's her name?"
Talyn's cool nature served him as he shook his head calmly and said, "I don't know, it's hard to make introductions with an unconscious woman. And I have no experience reading the ku'o, so I don't know her family name. Besides, I had work to do."
"Hm." The man went stony and distant and Talyn knew the man was thinking behind that stoicism. "We should go." And in a moment they were mounted and melted into the night darkness. Talyn released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and returned to the hut.

Mitaja was pleased to see Darin, though when the human entered the stables, the cat had been sitting poised and elegant but looming near the horses, and her green eyes tracked the stablehands with sharp accuracy. She'd been trained to protect Tsura as well as her handler, and she growled at anyone who got too close to their two horses. Tsura, meanwhile, tossed his head and bit at anyone that tried to take his tack off, though he bumped Darin's back with a soft nose when she came.

The cat dutifully slunk away to pounce on a sizable rat that she presented to Darin. She could smell more but she'd get them later. Where was her handler? Mitaja knew her role was to stay with the horses while Ridahne was away, but as Darin left the animals the cat yowled loudly. She'd stay here now, but there was no promise that she wouldn't find her way into the hut in the middle of the night.

Konie saw Darin shuffling towards the hut and she scuttled out to meet her, putting an arm around her as support as the elderly woman ushered the human back inside. "Sit now, dear." She was gentle, but that was a very soft command. "You got no more business running around. Come here, child, I'll have a look at you."

Talyn entered then, and locked the door behind him. It wasn't highly unusual--he did that whenever they had patients in need of rest or space and when they did not want to be disturbed. He went over to check on Ridahne. The soft rasping of her breath was quiet, but even, and that was something. A dark bruise had developed over her throat, and Talyn could just make out the impression of fingers. He got something from a cabinet, a dark bottle, and poured a little bit of its contents into a little cup of water, swished it around, and then began pouring it into her mouth slowly. "A bit of medicine, and a bit of cool water to soothe her throat," he explained to Darin. He didn't want to alarm her. After covering the elf with a blanket, he sat on a cushion with his back against the wall. He was very tired.

"I think the eija here are a bit suspicious. They're hard to sneak things past, as I'm sure you know, and they asked a lot of questions. I said that she was a Sea guide. Not untrue, I guess. But I sense they know I'm not telling the whole story. The good news is they don't--er...didn't belong to Khaltira-Sol. They're under Hjendi-Sol's rule I believe, so the situation is a little less...close. Konie, I'll let you handle the other Elders. There's mutterings among some that the presence of the Red Hand here recently is due to our guests, and they're not happy." Talyn sighed.

Darin let the healer lead her back to the cabin where Ridahne was resting. She also let the healer take of her shirt. If the Eluri was shocked by the human’s bound chest nothing was said. She just carefully pulled out the stitches that were already busted. Then the healer carefully redid them. It was a sign of how exhausted she was that Darin didn’t even flinch. Her face twisted into a grimace of pain but that was the only outward sign that the needle piercing her skin was causing her any damage. At this point Darin knew that she was bound to scar. There was no avoiding it anymore. She would have to be more careful if she wanted to keep the mobility in her arms.

Konie voiced that thought out loud, “You need to be more careful. Breaking your stitches will not help you heal. I assume you want to be able to use your arms in the future.”

Darin’s small smile surprised even herself, “That would be ideal, yes. However, my life seems to be growing more and more dangerous and I have work to do.”

The healer sighed, “Be that as it may, even a small injury may become dangerous if ignored.”

Darin was forced to agreed, “True.”

Konnie continued, “I’m inclined to make you both stay until you are fully recovered.”

Darin let out a sigh as she considered that she would love to just stop and rest. It felt like she had been going nonstop since she left home forever ago. Had it really only been 3 months? It felt like so much longer and looking forward to the future Darin knew that the journey was going to be so much longer than she wanted it to be. She had to travel all of Astra. It was not going to be a short journey and if they had to stop to nurse injuries every two days the trip just became at least twice as long; if not longer. She wasn’t looking forward to it. Talyn entered the building to lock the door. What he had to say was discouraging. Darin wondered about that. They might not be able to stay here the way Konie wanted them to. They might have to leave as soon as Ridahne was awake. Darin didn’t want to stay in a place where there were disapproving elders and suspicious Eija. Then again, she might not have a choice. Ridahne still needed to wake up. Darin wasn’t going anywhere alone. That much was painfully clear.

Darin spoke quietly into the air, “Right now I think I’m going to rest. If I must deal with the Eija I will deal with them later.”

Darin laid herself out on the ground next to the cot with Ridahne on it. Darin looked up at her companion’s face as she reached out with her hand towards Ridahne. The human let it fall as she maneuvered into a position that would put as less stress on her stitches as possible. Anything either Talyn or Konie had to say to her would be ignored. Darin was not interested in talking to anyone for the rest of the night. The Seed-Bearer wondered why she was constantly reminded that she didn’t really like people. Soon enough she found a place and then she closed her eyes. Almost as soon as she had done that, she was asleep.

Her rest was not peaceful, but it wasn’t bad either. Darin found herself, or perhaps her spirit or mind, sinking into the ground towards The Roots. The Tree welcomed her gladly and Darin found herself wandering across Astra to the places that she knew and loved. She wondered if The Gardener had been able to do something like this. It seemed likely. It was a good way to travel across their island world. However, there was no way to talk to the people of Astra and that was what Darin needed to do. She needed to try and make friends. She wasn’t doing such a good job at the moment.

Maybe Darin did need to stay here. She might could try and impress the elders. Maybe not the elders but maybe she could talk to some of the other people of this village. She might could even talk to the Eija. Darin wouldn’t know until she tried. She just wasn’t sure that she wanted to try. She knew what she really needed to do. She could just do it now. The only problem with that was Darin didn’t just want to run from a challenge. Her entire life had been full of challenges, and she had never run from those. She was disinclined to run from trying to make friends. She was just going to have to learn on go. Darin could feel The Tree’s amusement and approval at that attitude. Darin drifted back to her body, but she didn’t wake up. Her mind needed rest just as much as her body, and here was relatively safe.

Konie cleaned up, and after a quick conversation with Talyn about how to handle the situation, they both dimmed the lamps on their way to bed. Except Talyn saw a pair of greenish eyes reflecting back at him from the one little window after he doused the last one, and even with his cool temperament he jumped a little. It was the Azurei's cat, looking mournfully at him through the window. He'd seen them before, but never so suddenly and in the dark like that. Once he'd gotten over his shock, he went to the window. "Looks like we've got a beggar at the door, Konie..." he did allow a soft smile, though he darkly suspected that if he didn't let this cat in, she might break their little window and let herself in. Begrudgingly, he unlocked the door and let her in.

Mitaja passed the elf, though not without rubbing up against his thigh as she did. Purring deeply like soft drums rolling in the distance, the cat picked her way through limbs and blankets and mats to find a spot nestled up against Ridahne. When she'd settled, she looked back at Talyn with an expression that said, "I've got it from here." He smiled and went off to bed.

---

The little tavern was almost empty except for a few weary souls that sat in small clumps without mirth or joy among them. She found Hadian alone at the bar, slumped in his chear.
"Hadian!" She said, beaming. "I didn't know you were going to be back so soon. I saw the ship, someone said you'd be here. You should have come to--" She took stock of the look on his face, and at the other patrons in the bar. They were all his shipmates, and they all looked glum. But none worse than her brother. "...Hadi? Bad...harvest...?" Even as it came out of her mouth, she knew it was a poor guess. And some horrible sense awakened within her heart. She felt it quicken. "Hadi, what happened?"
The sailor turned his head towards her in a heavy, clumsy rolling motion. Drunk. Very drunk. "We...lost two men to the ocean yesterday. That storm...we knew it was..but...we didn't think it'd be so...big. Wave took Jirnan right over the gunnel, and Da..." Hadian paused to take a long gulp from his mug.
"No..."
"Jaisih, he took a rope in one hand and went right after him. We all held onto that rope but the waves were too strong and tore him from the rope."
Ridahne felt sick. "Wait, wait, but--no! He--"
"--knew the risks when he jumped into that water. He knew the risks when he boarded that cursed ship. We all did. Jirnan too. We tried to get them, Ridahne. We tried. Da's gone."
Ridahne's breath caught in her throat as she forced out a detached, "What's done is done." And she turned on her heels and swept out of the tavern. She needed to be alone.

Hadian did not call after her or follow. He simply emptied his mug and repeated, "What's done is done." And he shivered as his shipmates took up the ritual and repeated the phrase in unison.

"What's done is done."

---

Ridahne awoke to a darkness that was just beginning to give way to early morning. Everything hurt. Mitaja was stretched beside her with her back pressed against Ridahne's side, but she did not recognize anything else. Where was this? One hand explored the mat she lay on; she was in an Eluri town, as the low mats were distinctly one of their customs. She relaxed a little, but she struggled to remember the events of the night before. There had been a man and a woman at some point. She remembered the quiet of the forest, the unnatural quiet. Faces in lantern light. The fight. Darin. DARIN! Her eyes scanned the room wildly and she tried to sit up but immediately regretted the sudden movement. Darin was there beside her, asleep.

Ridahne released the breath she'd sucked in so sharply and lowered herself back down onto the mat. Right now, they were safe. So she had time to consider last night's events, and the bitter struggle between her and the Red Hand. Ridahne had been attacked before, but never quite like that. Never overpowered. As that man's hands squeezed around her neck she could feel the very life in her body leeching out, fading, like he was a vampire that was sucking it from her, consuming it...

Ridahne burst into tears. They were nearly silent, and she held her breath to keep from sobbing and wheezing. She needed this moment, this moment alone to feel that fear and release it. For someone who had spent so long bringing death to others, it felt strange to finally have it come for her. Strange and utterly terrifying. Had her partner felt this way when she'd slit his throat? Did he feel that same panic as the blood, and his life, spilled out of him? Had her father felt this way when the sea finally took him, when he took his last breath and tasted saltwater instead of air?

It took a while, but she finally cooled down a little. It felt better having that out, like finally letting go of a thorn that had been gripped too tightly for too long. Mitaja stirred as Ridahne tried much more slowly and carefully to sit up again. She could feel bruises all over, but there was a deep ache in her side and her head felt like it was going to explode. But she was powerfully thirsty, and deeply determined to carefully get up and just--

Oh, she'd forgotten about her leg. She tried to be quiet--she didn't want to disturb Darin--but the unexpected sharpness of that pain made her involuntarily yelp as she cringed. Mitaja made a deep noise of disapproval and licked at Ridahne's arm. At the noise, a male elf came into the room, squinting at her through the fading darkness. He muttered something under his breath, sounding a bit alarmed as he hastily lit a candle on a nearby table and came to her. "Easy, Azurei. You and your friend are safe. You shouldn't be up."
"Give me water." Her voice was hoarse, like she'd been shouting for hours. He at least had the good sense not to argue with her, because he got a large cup and handed it to her; she practically chugged it all down. But when she lowered the cup, she saw his face in the candlelight and paused. "I know you...but is this...real? Am I dreaming? I feel I've done a lot of that lately."
"It's funny," the man said. "I thought the same thing about you for many years. I'm Talyn. I'm the assistant to Elder Konie, the town medic. I have always wondered, who are you?"
Ridahne dragged herself backwards a little so she could lean her back against the wall, but she grimaced the whole way. "Not a Ghost, but I feel like one now. I'm Ridahne Torzinei. And for the record, I'm exactly who you think I am." She said this a little derisively, but she decided he didn't deserve the edge in her tone and added, "I imagine news has reached you of the events in Azurei. I killed the Sol. Not who you expected I'd be, mm?"
Talyn shook his head. "No." After a pause he asked, "Why'd you do it? I just...I know I don't know you, not really. But I never thought you a killer."
Ridahne gave him a pitied look and said, "You didn't think me real, either." A long, heavy pause, then, "Why'd I do it? An eija-alihn serves Azurei. We have no other master." It was something said upon initiation, but Ridahne thought it explained enough without explaining much in the way of details.

Talyn didn't press, but the knowledge that she was not just a former eija but an eija-alihn obviously shocked him by the look on his face. He'd heard rumors about the eija-alihn, and looking at her now, he wondered which of those were true. "I'll get breakfast going. Remember that you're supposed to be resting. You're...going to be a difficult one to keep down, aren't you?" Talyn sighed resignedly, but he smiled and so did Ridahne.
"Always," she answered.

“What are you doing?”

Darin looked over at her mother. This was the first Talia had spoken to her daughter since it was determined that Martin wasn’t coming back. Darin wasn’t sure what to make of that. Her mother had become withdrawn and quiet; trapped in both heartbreak and memories. Most days the woman drifted about in a sort of daze. She would stat one simple task before drifting to another without finishing the first. Darin would come home to find dozens of things that needed completing. Those were the good days. Other days Talia wouldn’t leave her bed or would just move to the rocking chair.

Darin spoke softly, “I’m getting ready to go work in the wheat field. I need to finish weeding from yesterday and I’ll need to water. After that I have to take care of the vegetable garden. I’ve already feed the pig and the chickens. I’ll be back a little after sundown to finish dinner.”

Darin had already put a pot over the hearth fire to allow the stew to simmer. It was an easy dish to make and it was easy for Darin to help Talia eat it. Though maybe, now that she was interacting with the world again, Talia would be able to eat on her own. Darin wasn’t sure. She just didn’t want to push her mother too quickly. Still it had been months, almost a year, and Darin was running herself ragged trying to do all the work the farm required. It would be nice to receive some help; especially the against the elders. They were still trying to take the farm away from Darin and her mother.

Talia seemed surprised, “You’ve been taking care of the farm for the past couple of weeks?”

Darin bit her lower lips as she slowly correct, “Almost a year. But yes. I have been taking care of the farm.”


Darin groggily blinked as she heard a yelp pf pain. It didn’t take much for her to realize that it was Ridahne. It appeared the warrior was awake and was trying to move when she shouldn’t. Darin almost said something, but Talyn beat her too it. Darin listened to the conversation with a groan. Did that have to be the first thing Ridahne brought up every time they meet someone new? It was getting kind of irksome, and Darin had a feeling that it was going to get worse. They were heading closer to Azurei, and they everyone would know just by looking at the warrior’s face. That was the problem with putting life events on your face. Everyone thought they knew you just by looking at you. Darin resolved not to say anything about it yet. But she might if Ridahne kept starting her introductions with, “Why yes. I did kill a Sol,” without add, “She was a monster, so she needed to die.”

Darin did groggily say, “If you move before you are supposed to, I will ask Mitaja to lay down on top of you.” Darin turned over to her stomach and pushed herself up into a kneeling position, “You aren’t going to heal if you don’t do as the healer orders.” She rubbed at her eyes as she stood up, “I’m going to go check on the horse. They both have no manners whatsoever.” She pointed a finger as she glared at Ridahne, “Healing first. Moving second.” As she exited the hut, she gave one last order, “Watch her Mitaja. Make sure she doesn’t hurt herself further.”

The locked door gave Darin some trouble for a minute, but soon she was outside and headed towards the stable. She was still exhausted. Ridahne moving had woke her up long before she was ready to wake up. However, since she was awake the human figured she better check on Talbot, Tsura, and Taja. It wouldn’t do to leave the other members of their party out just because they were sleeping somewhere else. Darin figured she could crawl up next to Talbot and get some rest that way when she was done checking on them. She wasn’t sure could sleep in the medic’s home while Ridahne was being restless.

As she walked Darin softly swung her arms. They were sore and stiff. She blamed grabbing that branch from Talbot’s back. She was still surprised that she managed to do that. In fact, she was surprised that she had managed to do anything she managed to do last night. She was careful not to tear her stiches. She had a feeling Konie wouldn’t like that at all. Darin softly whistled as she walked as well. She was taking her time to get the stable. She didn’t want to admit, but she was scanning for the other Azurei warriors. She wanted to see if she could take a report back to RIdahne. Then again, she didn’t want Ridahne to leave the bed yet. So she might not.

If the noise Mitaja made could be considered a meow, then it was deep, and not at all the cute mew of barnyard tabbies. It could be a very menacing MOW sound, but to the two women who knew her and at the current moment, it was a very pleased noise. The dun colored cat hooked one big, black-ringed paw around Ridahne's nearest arm and pulled, while at the same time butting her head into the elf's shoulder.
"Ai! Alright, alright," she mock-grumbled, and scratched the velvety spot between the cat's eyes. Watching Darin get up, she added in the same sort of falsely miffed tone, "Good morning to you too, Darin." Honestly though, it was just good to see her in one piece. Mostly one piece anyway, she noted from all the blood on her shirt. She looked down at her own and realized that she must have bled more than she initially guessed, because she was dressed in her very simple underclothes and even those were stained red. Maybe at some point she'd ask to borrow a robe or something and get all her clothes washed--goodness knows they needed it, even the ones that weren't bloodied.

Talyn called after Darin as she left, "Don't be gone too long. I'll be making breakfast soon."
"Don't hold your breath," Ridahne said with a tired smile. "She does what she pleases." She said this with pride, not with disdain. "Ought to name her Isfahan too."
"That means erm...fireheart, right?"
"Aye."
"Have you known each other long?"
Ridahne very slowly and gently shook her head. "No, only...ah..." She frowned. She knew how long, but the exact figure seemed just out of reach. Maybe she wasn't as clear headed as she thought she was. "Well, not long."
Talyn caught the stumble and studied her with a trained eye. "You really ought to rest more. We'll get some food in you, and more water, and then its back to bed with you. I mean it."
Ridahne gave a mock-salute--a turned-out fist to her chest. "Yes sir."

--

In the stables, two hands were already going about the daily chores, including feeding and watering the animals. Tsura was behaved, but a little on edge and the reason why became quickly apparent. The younger Azurei, the apprentice, was already at Tsura's stall, seated on an upturned bucket holding Ridahne's sword in both hands. Her knives were beside him. He saw Darin and seemed to know who she was immediately, or at least guessed. At first, he was obviously startled, but seemed to remember his training and sat firm with his chin up. He did hold out one hand in a placating gesture, and pinched between two knuckles was a polishing cloth, stained pinkish red.

"My master asked me to inspect the Azurei traveler's horse since we were told not to bother the rider. But we have many questions. So she sent me here, and I saw that her blades were still bloody from the fight. Blades of quality should not lie soiled, and especially not ones that belong to one of our order. So I am cleaning them. I will put them back in the saddlebags when I am finished, you have my word." He bowed slightly. It was unclear exactly how he knew Ridahne was eija, but he seemed to count her among himself and his companions. He was silent for a moment before he added, "We found the bodies last night. The last of them, the one with no hand, he is dead also. We did not get to interrogate him. Do you...have rituals you would perform on the dead?" He seemed unsure of this question, as if he had heard strange and possibly untrue rumors of human customs but had never really encountered them for himself.

He was young, easily half Ridahne's age or less, and though he did not have the keen awareness of Ridahne or his master, his light brown eyes were sharp and attentive, and always reading her as best he could. His common Astran was a little halting, and his accent was extremely thick. In his right ear was a large stone earring with a symbol carved in it like Ridahne's bone one, except his ku'o was a flat disc that sat in his earlobe rather than something that hooked through it and dangled, and it was made from what looked like white marble or howlite.

Darin went over to place a gentle hand on Tsura’s nose. She wasn’t sure she wanted the male Azurei touching Ridahne’s blades, but the truth was she didn’t know how to stop him. She wasn’t sure that she should stop him. He was right. The knives shouldn’t be left bloody, but she wasn’t sure how to take care of them. The Seed-Bearer supposed that as long as he returned them, she couldn’t be upset. Darin knew it was slightly cynical, but until she saw the blades returned, she would be keeping an eye on him. He had to know that.

Darin’s Azurein was just as accented as his common, “Please make sure that you do. As for what to do with the dead.”

Darin had to pause to think about that. She wasn’t sure what to do with the bodies. Some were Eluri and some were human. Darin wasn’t sure what the customs for the Eluri were. She knew of a couple human traditions. In Lively they buried their dead in a special place call a graveyard. In her village the dead were buried in fields to help crops grow. In both places they burned the bodies of those that felt didn’t earn the honor of being buried. Darin felt the scowl etch on her face. She had no clue of they would be honored by having their bodies burned, but it seemed like a good way to get rid of the bodies.

Darin’s voice was harsh, “Burn them. If you cannot discover anything from the bodies just burn them. Let them be forgotten.”

Talbot let out a snort and Darin shook her head as she let Tsura to go check on her steed. Darin forced herself to take a few deep breaths. She needed to calm down. She didn’t know these people. Just because they wanted to kill her didn’t give her the right to hate them for no reason. She had no idea who they were or what kind of people they had been. For all she knew they had just been hired to kill her. It might not have been personal at all. In fact, she was willing to bet that it wasn’t. They didn’t care about her. They cared about The Seed-Bearer. They might not even care about that. They might have just wished for her dead so they could get paid. Darin had no idea, and now that they were dead, she would never know. She just wished she knew if they were connected to Martin and his crew. Darin guessed she wouldn’t know that either. She had so many questions and no answers.

Though she did have work to be doing. The Azurei was right. Blades shouldn’t be left a mess and she had not cleaned hers. Darin pulled out her sickle. For a moment she just stared at the blood. She had killed a man. While she hadn’t ended his life directly, he had bled out because she had chopped his arm off. She took a few shuddering breathes as she thought about that. She had never killed before. Darin could have just left him tied to the tree. She forced herself to disregard that thought. Could haves and should haves didn’t change anything. What was done was done.

With that in mind Darin pulled out a cloth and started cleaning off the dead man’s blood. She tried her best to focus on the task, but she kept stopping to just stare at the blood of the man she killed before he could kill her. Was that what her life was now? Kill or be killed? Darin wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that. Eventually she couldn’t take it anymore. She let the sickle fall to the ground as she practically dashed outside of the stable.

Darin stood breathing outside of the building as she closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the sky. She wasn’t sure that she could do this. She had been thinking these thoughts for a while, but this was different. She couldn’t explain the difference. She just wasn’t sure she could do this. She didn’t want to kill anymore. It made her feel sick. It was almost like a stomachache but different; like a stomachache in her heart or mind. She didn’t want to do this anymore. She had to though. She was the only one who could. Apparently, she was always the only one that could. That thought was just plain depressing. Astra might just be doomed.

The Azurei lad--for he was considered on the older side of adolescent among his people--blinked and was visibly surprised to hear Darin speak even halfway decent Azurian. It was a complex language, as complex and difficult as the people who spoke it. Few bothered to learn it unless they themselves were elves and often had business with their desert kin. Eluri was a little easier in structure and to get the accent right, and the Orosi often talked with their hands as much as their lips, so they were a bit easier to follow. Yet here was a human who could hold conversation with him. "You speak like a...long-time-visitor." A rough translation maybe, but he thought it would do. "I have heard of Rah-Elaitih that would not teach the blade until their student learned the speech of Azurei. But I have never seen someone do it so well." A Rah-Elaitih was a blade master, though it more commonly referred to specifically those that traveled Astra and took apprentices to teach their art to. He had either heard their cover story, or simply assumed it on his own.

The eija-in-training looked somewhat...disappointed? It was like he'd expected to finally learn the exotic truth of how humans did their death rites, and it turned out they were no different than Azurei's. He nodded. "Ah, to dust, then. Yes." The lad continued to clean Ridahne's blades in silence. The human did the same with her own blade and he found it to be very strange. It was oddly curved and not optimal for combat. He tried desperately to apply what he knew of his own blade training to the odd weapon, but nothing seemed to really fit. He would most certainly report that back to his master. There were some details about the whole situation that made the three of them begin to wonder who these two strangers were, how they both found and bested the Red Hand agents, and what they were doing out there to begin with. Jinh, the seasoned male eija, seemed to have a clue as to who they were, or at least who the elf was, and the other two quickly understood his guess.

There was a lot he didn't know, but he had seen the sigil carved in silver on the horse's tack. While he himself could not identify it, he thought perhaps either of his companions might.

--

Ridahne drank a lot of water, and that was encouraging at least to Talyn. But he could still see her amber eyes glazing over every now and then as they stared into a wooden plank without really seeing it. Even she'd catch herself doing this and would blink rapidly and refocus her eyes and become a little more alert, but Talyn caught it all the same.

Finally Ridahne sighed as if in defeat. "I'm very tired. But I have something to ask of you before I rest again."
Talyn inclined his head. "Mm?"
"I need a piece of paper and some charcoal, or even ink if you have it. I'd like to send a message."
"To?" Talyn asked as he opened up a small drawer and fished for a stick of charcoal and a little piece of paper.
Ridahne took the materials, smiled, and said, "His name is Taja-Ajoran. A message sent to the palace and addressed to him will find its mark." Ridahne carefully propped up her good leg and used it as a writing surface. She wrote with care, and the one single word was scribed with as much precision as could be managed with a piece of charcoal. Ridahne wanted to tell him everything, to tell him she'd found Darin and was on a road that would eventually lead her back to Azurei. To him. But she knew that messages often were intercepted, and secrecy was their best ally, especially after last night's experience. So she trusted to Ajoran's thoughtfulness and knowledge of her and simply wrote:

Soon.

It said everything she needed it to. 'I'm alive and I'm coming home one day.' And instead of addressing it with her name, she simply drew a rough version of her sigil--a seahorse. She handed it back to Talyn and eased herself back down onto her back with a lot of grimacing and some amount of dizziness.

Darin took several deep breathes as she stared up at the sky. She couldn’t afford to panic in a place where there were Eija she didn’t know. She had no idea how they would react if they discovered who Ridahne was. Darin wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. For all she knew they would take it as a chance to kill her friend. They might put the pieces together and realize who she was. That would lead to a completely different set of problems. Those were also not problems that the young human wanted to think about. There were too many variables that she didn’t know what move to make. Darin had never been very good at chess.

Darin was pulled from her slow breathing as the smell of the air changed. Slowly she opened her eyes as her head deliberately moved towards the direction, she thought she should be looking. The dark clouds on the horizon confirmed her thoughts. It was going to rain and judging by the speed of the storm heads it was going to be soon. Darin looked around to see others pointing at the sky in the same direction. They looked worried. The young farmer quickly put the pieces together. There were crops that were in danger. If something didn’t happen soon, they would be damaged.

Darin quickly walked up to a group of what looked like farmers to listen, “We need to get the crops covered! Rain of that magnitude will hurt them!”

They were speaking in Elurin, “We know that Oscor. We just don’t have enough people or enough time to cover everything. We need to prioritize.”

Another man spoke, “The wheat in Alin’s fields and the beans in Marcon’s.”

Everyone was nodding as the second speaker continued, “Agreed. If we have the time we’ll move to the carrots in Gigi’s.”

Darin found herself matching the language, “What other crops are there?”

The second speaker, clearly the one with the most experience, eyed her as he answered, “The garden patch in Jerone’s and the orchard.”

She asked a follow up question in surprise, “No rye?”

The man shook his head, “We grew wheat this year.”

Darin nodded in understanding, “How can I help?”

There were murmurs of protest that the man silenced quickly with an upraised fist, “Can you pound stakes?”

Darin was honest, “Not as fast as some, but I know how to protect crops from rain.” She was earnest, “I can help if you let me. I want to help.”

The man nodded slowly. He wouldn’t turn down offered help, “The wheat in Alin’s field.”

Darin nodded as another man ran up with a cartful of stakes, “I’ve got the stakes Harris! Alin’s coming with the canvas!”

Harris, the man answering Darin’s questions, nodded, “We are heading to the wheat. Let’s go!”

Darin followed the crowd as they rushed to a collection of fields. There were no houses nearby. It was easy to see that people lived in the village and came out to work their fields. Based on what Harris had said Darin was willing to bet that it was more of a team effort to grow the crops. Alin’s field was his responsibility. Quickly they got to work. At first, they paired up. Darin was paired with Harris and she followed his instructions exactly. She held the stakes in place as Harris hammered them into the ground. The stakes were a good 2 feet taller than the wheat crop. They placed stakes every three feet. Others were going the same. Once the entire perimeter was done lengths of canvas covered in beeswax to waterproof them were cast over the field. Darin was on of the people in the middle of the field tying the lengths together. Others were tying them to the stakes. There were gaps, no solution was perfect, but the damage to the wheat would be minimal. Darin was exhausted when they were done, but she gave no indication of that as they moved to beans. It started raining during the carrots. The work became more earnest and more desperate.

They finished the carrots and Oscor had to yell to be heard over the wind, “We aren’t getting to the garden field.”

Another man hollered back, “I’m staying to finish the job.”

Harris pointed out, “The orchard is older; older than some of our grandparents. It will be fine. We only have the garden field left.”

Oscor, and a few others, shook their heads, “I’m not staying out here to be soaked. You stay if you want.”

A few of the younger men left as Darin and the older ones watched them run off. Harris turned to her and asked, “What about your young visitor?”

In response Darin moved to a cart and grabbed a stake, “There is still work to be done, and I will dry.”

Harris’s sunbeaten face cracked into a smile as nodded at her, “Aye. That’s true enough lad.” He repositioned his hammer as he headed towards the last field, “And the sooner we’re done the sooner we can get back to hot soup and warm ale.”

Darin returned the smile with one of her own. It was slightly manic, “I just want dry clothes and a warm blanket.”

The men laughed with her as they got back to work. The mood wasn’t exactly cheerful as they pounded stakes into the ground around the peas and spinach and lavender, but it had lost that desperate edge. The urgency was still there and gave way to despair as the rain began to torrent from the sky. Darin swore in the tongue of her home. It was growing hard to hold the stakes. Her hands slipped more than once as Harris dropped his hammer. He was lucky that it didn’t fall on his foot. The rain only got harder as the wind increased. Darin was finding it hard to see as rain soaked her and her fellow workers to the bone.

Darin let out a groan of frustration as she lost her grip again. For a reason she couldn’t explain she threw her hands up to the air as she craned her head towards the sky to scream, “STOP!” She spoke in the tongue of her home, “FOR ONE MOMENT JUST STOP!”

And stop the rain did. The Seed-Bearer suddenly felt like she was holding the weight of a thousand barrels of wheat and rye as countless water droplets hung in the air like perfect diamonds forges by deities themselves. There was a sudden silence as the wind was suddenly silenced. It was a good thing Darin was one her knees already or the pressure would send her toppling over. She was already exhausted and could no longer hide it well. Her breathing became erratic. Then Eluri stood and stared at the sky, the garden, her, in pure shock. They were stunned motionless.

Darin grit her teeth as she practically spat in Eluri, “Not to be rude; but can we please finish this. Rain is heavy.”

Harris was the first to move, “Yes! The stakes!”

With that the men were cast into moving again. Darin was worked around as stakes were finished and the canvas casted into place. They moved though the midair droplets with only a few finches. They finished as quickly as possible. They then looked at Darin as if they were waiting for something. Darin wasn’t sure why they were just standing about. They still needed to do the orchard. She wished they would hurry it up. Her arms had started completely extended, but her elbows were slowly bending. She had no idea what she was doing, but it felt like she was physically holding the rain.

A man seemingly older than Harris figured it out, “The orchard is older than me lad, and older than my father. Let the water go. It will be alright.”

With a shout the Seed-Bearer dropped her arms completely. The wind immediately continued rushing. The rain quickly followed. The already soaker workers were soon drenched to the bone. Harris reached out a hand towards Darin and she took it. He helped her up, but the moment Darin let go she careened forward. Harris let out a shout as he rushed to catch her. Darin looked up at him as he braced his hands on her shoulders. Her hands gripped his forearms. She desperately tried to find her footing, but the ground was more mud than dirt and she was exhausted. Her eyelids were heavy and the next time she closed them she didn’t open them. Harris simply responded by swinging her into his arms.

A man whispered, “Magic.”

Someone scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous! Magic is a fiction. None of the Children have what could be called magic. The only person that has magic is.” He paused as he realized what he was about to say.”

The man who had told Darin to let the rain go finished the statement, “The Gardener.”

Eyes went wide, “You don’t think that the boy is connected to The Gardener? Do you?”

The older man spoke, “I don’t know. I know the council knows something the visitors that they aren’t sharing.”

Harris spoke, “I do not know what the council knows about him. I know that he helped us protect our crops when there were those among us that wouldn’t. I am taking him to Konie and Talyn. He needs rest and has earned my respect.”

Others nodded as they followed Harris back into the village. Others came out to see them as they came out. Questions were asked, and all the workers told the others was that they didn’t managed to cover the orchard but that the other fields were fine. No one said anything about the visitor’s gift to the village or his power. Harris walked to Konie’s and knocked on the door. He would tell the other visitor that he had over worked himself covering the crops. He didn’t know if the Azurei knew about her companion’s gifts and it was not his secret to tell. So after he was safely placed in the healer’s care Harris would leave. He still wanted his hot soup and warm ale.

The young eija in training, after finishing with his task, slipped away in silent eija fashion to join his master and her partner. The group was on good terms with the little village--they'd been asked to come and so were welcome, and had been treated with courtesy and respect. To the Azurei, the village kept them employed, and it was their duty to track down bandits anyway. Still, they tended to keep to themselves. They even brought their own tent that they slept in together, and sat around the fire outside. They would generally join one of the village elders for mealtimes though.

"Took you a very long time, Ja'heil," his master pointed out with a note of disapproval.
Ja'heil bowed low. "Sorry, Elaitih. I did as you asked, but the Azurei's blades were still covered in blood, and...they were beautiful, the touchmark was Teleisun, I think. I made sure to clean them."
The male eija's attention sharpened. "Teleisun? Which variant? With a star, or a crescent moon?"
"Star."
"That's the mark of Taja Ajoran Teleisun, if I'm not mistaken. He's made blades for only six eija that I know of. He stopped smithing when he became a taja. Was she of our order?"
Ja'heil nodded curtly. "Without question. Those blades were excellent, Harum. And her saddle bore a sigil I haven't seen...but I assume it's an eija's sigil. It was a seahorse."

That gave them all some pause. The ranks of eija were small, and they all at least vaguely knew of one another. Sigils weren't always unique--some families had generations of eija and passed down their sigils, or if they were from an important family, they kept their house sigil. If they never had one, or had ties to one, they would create one. The Seahorse sigil was new and thus uncommon. It took a moment for Salei, the female, to recall it. "The Atakharan girl, I think. Tall, slim. Remember her?"
Harum had to really stretch his memory. "The quiet one...can't remember her name. Yes." And then it dawned on him. "She's got one of Teleisun's blades...and I seem to recall seeing her with Taja Ajoran a lot. They were...an item. You don't think..."

Silence. Each one of them knew exactly what that meant. And suddenly they all knew who lay injured in Konie's hut, though nobody wanted to say it out loud for reasons none of them could understand. They'd known, they'd always known somehow. But they needed proof and now they seemed to have it. Salei looked visibly uncomfortable. "The Traitor is still alive. But nobody knows why. Did she...escape? There was never a search...we would have heard about it."

A distant roll of thunder punctured the next round of silence. Rain slowly began to drizzle on their heads and it picked up momentum quickly. Wordlessly, Harum extinguished the fire, and the three of them went quietly back into their tent. They had a dilemma on their hands, and for once they did not know how to face it.

--

The rain was a thundering torrent on the rooftop but Ridahne slept through it. Talyn and Konie went about their usual business making salves, preparing tonics, clipping herbs from pots outside and hanging them to dry. Linens, including Ridahne's clothes, were washed and hung to dry over the fire, as they would only get more soaked on the line outside. Darin hadn't come back, though they weren't too worried. Perhaps the other elders had cornered her and demanded answers, but nothing horrible was likely to happen in town.

A knock made them both look up; Talyn put a gentle hand on Konie's shoulder, signaling she should stay where she was, and got up to answer it. He opened the door only a little at first, though when he saw Darin passed out in Harris' arms he threw it open. "Oh dear..." he sighed, his voice cool. "Set him down there, tell me what happened." Talyn had a way of being calm while still employing the necessary urgency for the situation.
"Lad just needs rest is all, and maybe a stiff drink when he's come to." Harris laughed a little, but Talyn detected something off in his tone. Something distant and thoughtful. "Worked himself hard out there." He set Darin down near the fire, stole a glance at the sleeping Azurei in the corner, and after a polite nod he dismissed himself to go and get warm, dry, and fed.

Talyn shut the door and locked it once more, then went to Darin. He checked her pulse, and though she was clammy from all the rain, there was still a good healthy warmth to her. He knew of heat exhaustion...but with the rain out there, it hadn't been hot at all. And she did not seem frail. What really happened? He explained his thoughts to Konie, who was in the kitchen, as he gently peeled away Darin's soaked outer clothes and covered her in a thick wool blanket to keep her warm. He hung her clothes to dry too.

"Quite the pair, these two...quite the pair..."

“That was dangerous Darin. I can’t believe that you did that. Do you understand how unbelievably stupid what you just did is?”

“I know. I know. I get it. It didn’t feel smart while I was doing it. It doesn’t feel smart now. It feels super dumb.”

Darin wasn’t entirely sure were she was. She was pretty positive that she was dreaming. The area was sunny, bright, and warm. Darin was dressed in an outfit reminisce of the outfits that the Workers from The Farm wore. She was barefoot and her shirt was untucked. Her hair was just a little longer than she would like. Across from her was a person that looked like Ravi. It wasn’t though. The Tree had picked a form that Darin’s exhausted mind could comprehend. It spoke with Ridahne’s voice and dressed like her mother. Darin watched the odd from pace back and forth. To say that The Tree was livid at the human girl was an understatement.

The Tree continued its rant, “The weather is not something you can just manipulate to your whims Darin! It’s dangerous. Gardeners before have died trying to call rain or push snow away. Yes, the sky will listen to you, but the sky is more temperamental then the stone and the sea.”

Darin scoffed, “Not by much! Trying to manipulate any of them means the odds of disaster increasing dramatically. I saw the memories. I’ve got that. I didn’t realize I could do it so soon. So, I’m just surprised it worked.”

The Tree stopped pacing to look at Darin, “You’re right. You shouldn’t be able to do anything to speak to the sky yet. It’s too soon.” The Tree resumed pacing, “It’s only a matter time before stone and sea follow. You need practice before you do any major workings.”

Darin sighed as she nodded, “I will add that to the list of things I need to learn and practice; along with blade work and horse riding and making friends.”

Suddenly The Tree was right up against Darin with a grin on Its face as It looked Darin dead in the eyes, “You managed to make friends today! Harris respects you.”

Darin took a step back as she scoffed, “That was just because I managed to stop the rain. I can’t do that every time.” Her arms came up to wrap around herself, “I still need to learn how to make proper friends.”

The Tree let out a laugh, “It’s not that. You stayed to work.” It shook its head, “But you won’t believe me. I know you won’t. Learning to trust yourself; that should be on the list of things you practice.”

Darin sputtered, “You shouldn’t be here. Not like this. It will drain your power faster.”

The Tree raised an eyebrow, “And now you are lecturing me?” It smiled as It shook It shook Its head, “I suppose that’s fair.” It cupped Darin’s face in Its hands, “I’ll be going now. Just promise me you’ll be careful when calling on the sky, sea, and stone.”

Darin nodded, “I will. I promise.”

The Tree’s smile deepened, “I supposed that’s all I can ask.” It leaned forwarded to place a kiss on The Seed-Bearer’s forehead, “I love you dearly.”

With that The Tree was gone and Darin was left alone. The human reached out towards the empty space, “I love you.”

--

Darin woke with a start and looked around the cabin. She wasn’t sure what time it was or how long she had been asleep. Talyn and Konie were missing. She was sitting near the fire. Her clothes were damp, but not completely dry, so she couldn’t have been sleep for very long. She could still here the rain outside, but it was slowing down. Darin shakily stood up as she moved towards her collection of things. She wanted dry clothes. She needed to check on Ridahne. She also needed to check on Tsura, Talbot, and Taja. She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. She found herself slowly sinking to the ground near Ridahne’s cot. She couldn’t see straight either.

Absently she muttered, “I don’t feel so good.”

She was willing to bet that she was running a fever. Even though she just woke up she still felt exhausted. She supposed that was because she has just held up who knew how much water. The only reason why she wasn’t still asleep was because she hadn’t tried to change the weather. She had just paused it for a moment. Trying to send the rain away might have killed her. Calling on the sky was a skill every Gardener before her had had. They just couldn’t use it as quickly as she could. Even though Darin’s mind was fuzzy she had to wonder if that meant anything.

Darin let out a sneeze as she went a head and laid back down where she was. The bare ground wasn’t very comfortable, but she didn’t have the energy to move back to the sleeping mat by the fire. Right here would have to do. Darin sneezed again and this time her already pounding head pulsed at the movement. She wanted to just curl up and forget the world, but she was so tired of being wet. Plus, she needed to check on Ridahne and the animals. With a groan Darin rolled over to her stomach to try and push herself up. It was a failed endeavor since her arms felt like overcooked barley.

She collapsed with a groan, “I guess that’s what I get for biting off more than I can chew.”

Ridahne's father tightened the grip of his hand on her small shoulder--a reassuring gesture for both himself and his daughter. He was unsure of all this, Ridahne could tell by his silence. Jaisih was a quiet man and she was used to this, but he was not usually so stony about it. But he smiled at her and tried his best to make her feel supported, and that little semi-forced gesture meant more than it said to Ridahne. Her father loved her dearly, and he did support her and believe in her--no one better. But he was out of his element here, and even Ridahne could see he longed for the company of his wife to help guide him. She wished Ikali were with them, too.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Ridahne?"
"Yes, Jaisih, more than anything." Despite the knots in her own stomach, she was beaming.
He gave her a hug. "Ah, my sweet Isfahan. You'll do great. You know...I heard Master Teleisun has a son...about your age. He's a smith. He'll...probably make your blades when you're awarded the honor. You...should...go and say hello. You know, be friends."
She squinted at him. "What are you getting at, Jaisih?"
He smiled and held up his hands innocently. "Nothing, nothing. C'mon. Your master is expecting you."

The two entered the small home, where a large, brawny man wearing a loose white shirt, and Ridahne's master stood. She bowed to them both. "Master Teleisun, thank you for allowing me into your home. I am honored."
"Glad to have you. I understand you are going to begin your training to be an eija, yes?"
"Yes, Master."
"Jaheil will do. Now, today we'll be testing your aptitude for certain weapons, and find one that suits you. It will help your master know how to train you, and when you've earned it, one will be made special for you. Would you like to see the smithy, have a look around?"

Ridahne nodded, and the four of them went out back to the covered shelter that served as the smithy. There were tongs and hammers and oddly shaped blocks of metal, grindstones, large barrels of water, a stack of wood to fuel the forge, and a large rack holding several weapons. There was a shortsword, a longer one, a scimitar, a collection of little daggers, and slim throwing knives. Ridahne admired them all for a moment before a tapping sound caught her attention. She turned and saw a boy, about her age, sitting at a sturdy workbench fitting a chunk of wood to the hilt of a blade for later refinement. The blade itself was wide at the end and narrowed in a sweeping curve where it bent slightly, like a boomerang, towards the back. The boy holding it wasn't too bad to look at either. His hands were nearly black with soot or coal, and she found she liked watching them nimbly work the little piece of wood. She eyed her master, who's head tilted in the tiniest encouraging nod, and then approached the boy.

"Hello. What are you working on? What is that?"
He looked up at her; she could see his eyes scanning her scant ojih, and then they met hers. His were so dark, and hers were like the heart of a fire. He cleared his throat a little. "This is called a khukri. It's uh, it's not finished though. And it's only my second one so it's not my best work but--"
"Can I see it?" He nodded, took a nearby rag to wipe the thing down (along with his hands) and then handed it to her. She admired the weight of it, the way it felt in her hands. It was heavier than she expected. She liked that. She couldn't begin to see any flaws in it; clearly this boy had been practicing his skills for a long time.

Jaheil came over with an appraising look at Ridahne. Knowing the answer already he asked, "Do you want to see any of the other blades?"
"No sir--uh, Jaheil. I mean, thank you, but...I really like this one. I like how heavy it is, but it's not that big. And it's...I don't know. Pretty. I like the curves."
Jaheil scratched his beard, and a little gleam came into his eye. "Yes, the weight is part of how it's useful. Ajoran..." The boy snapped to sudden attention, as if he had not expected to be called upon and was unprepared. "Why don't you show Ridahne how to use it?"
Ajoran beamed. Any chance to take a break from his work to go recklessly hack at some logs was worth taking. "Alright! This one's not finished, let me grab the last one I made and we can use that."

Rain came down in a sudden torrent. But, Ridahne noticed as she looked up, the rain seemed to be coming through the roof. Not leaking...coming through. No one else seemed to notice. Alarmed, she looked down to see not only that puddles were forming, but she was taller. Older. Bleeding. Ridahne cried out, surprised and confused, then ran outside to see if the rain was real. It was. And kneeling in a patch of mud oddly placed in a whole area of sand was a soaked Darin.

"Darin! What are you...?" Ridahne gasped. The human girl lifted her hands, and with a motion like she was hoisting a stone over her head, she made the sheets of pelting rain just...stop...

--

A noise disturbed Ridahne from her long sleep. She cracked her eyes open and realized it was really raining outside, though this roof seemed to do its job in keeping the water out of the hut. She turned her head and saw a very pitiable looking Darin sort of fold rather than kneel nearby. Ridahne gasped sharply, growled her painful regret, and finally spat out, "Darin! What happened to you? Ai, you look like you might pass out at any moment!" She leaned over and put a warm, slender hand on Darin's brow to find that it was cold and a little clammy. "Damn. Don't move, I'm going to help you."

Ridahne pushed herself upright and tossed her blanket over Darin. The elf was a torn up mess, but she forced herself laboriously to her feet, favoring her wounded leg. If Darin had any ideas about protesting, Ridahne wouldn't have it. Besides, she wanted to get herself moving as soon as she was able. The warrior practically dragged herself over to the kitchen where she found a pitcher of water for them both and half a loaf of bread. She was reluctant to get back down onto the cot, mostly because of the effort it cost her, but Mitaja stood by to brace her. Ridahne poured a cup of water and pushed it into Darin's hand.

"Drink. You need it." Her voice was still rough; it almost didn't sound like hers. "And eat. I can see your hands, they're a quivering mess." Ridahne waved her hands and instructed Mitaja to go lay next to Darin, though in typical fashion the cat very nearly was laying ON her, sort of half on, half off. And, while she was at it, the cat groomed Darin's hair with her big tongue a few times, just for good measure. Ridahne took a little piece of bread for herself. "What did you do..? I heard you say you bit off more than you could chew...which..I'm assuming is some kind of human idiom for doing too much?" Ridahne tried to hide her own misery; she'd done a bit too much getting up and walking so far so soon, though she knew she'd have to do more of that pretty soon.

"I assume you were out in the rain...which is funny, because I had a dream that you--well, it was in Azurei, and it was raining inside the building and you were there for some reason, and you lifted up the rain. But," she waved a dismissive hand, "Concussions do strange things to your head. Hearing the rain on the roof probably made me think about it too. Anyway, what happened? Where have you been today?" Her question was not accusatory like a mother clucking over a truant child. More like a feeling of 'what in Astra did you get into?'

Darin instinctively wrapped her arms around Mitaja. The hunting cat was just so warm, and she was so cold. It was easy to burry her hands into the thick fur in a desperate attempt to regain some feeling into them. Darin wasn’t sure why she had started moving in the first place, but now Ridahne was moving and that didn’t seem like the point at all. There was no stopping the warrior now. The human reluctantly removed her arms from the cat when the Elf returned with the water and bread. Darin took the cup of water and took impossibly tiny sips of water. She was still shaking, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. It was a combination of having something to do and the fact that she was no longer freezing.

Darin looked up in shock as Ridahne described her dream. It was odd that the warrior had had a dream about something that she hadn’t seen. Then again, The Seed-Bearer wouldn’t be surprised if The Tree had sent a message to Ridahne to make sure the Elf knew to ask. It was probably a good thing. Darin wasn’t sure that she wanted to talk about it. There was already so much in this village to worry about. Speaking of which Darin needed to tell Ridahne about the other Azurei in the village. The ex-Eija would need to be warned that current Eija were nearby.

Darin carefully put her still mostly full cup down and returned to hugging Mitaja, “That’s exactly what happened.” She vaguely gestured to the roof above them, “Rain like this, when it comes down in torrents with barely a pause, can hurt crops. It will pound them into the ground before you can even blink.” She swallowed weakly before she continued, “So you have to cover the crops with stakes and waterproof canvas. It’s hard work and I was helping as best I could. We got most of it done before the rain really got started. Then when it did, we started having problems.” She sighed as she dropped her hand to absently pet Mitaja’s ears, “So I stopped the rain while the others finished the job.” She let out a groan, “It was heavy. I felt like I was physically holding the water. It was terrible.” She grinned tiredly, “But we got the job done. So, it was worth it.” She flopped down to stare at the ceiling, “But everyone working saw me so I don’t know who else knows.” She paused as she turned to make eye contact with Ridahne, “Including the visiting Eija.”

With that Darin fell silent. Saying just that little bit had left her feeling even more drained. She needed to drink more water and eat some of the bread, but she just wasn’t feeling it at the moment. She continued to absently pet the hunting cat as she stared at the ceiling. So much had happened today that it felt like a lifetime ago. By The Tree, so much had happened since she met Ridahne. That was a little more than a week ago, yet it seemed like an eternity. Why did it seem like so long? Darin sighed yet again. At least she and the warrior were now able to sleep in the same space. So, thank The Tree for small favors.

Ridahne laughed at first, thinking Darin was just having a little joke when she said the events in Ridahne's dream were true. That wasn't even possible, after all, and dry humor was kind of Ridahne's style anyway. Ridahne was about to ask what really happened when the human continued speaking, going back a little to explain all of what happened and why. The elf's small smile melted off her face and gave way to an expression of utter disbelief and...awe. "Hang on, hang on, you're serious?" Ridahne pointed a mock-accusatory finger at her and said, "Don't you mess with my head, my brain's addled enough." But she didn't really mean it--she knew Darin was serious. She just wasn't sure how to deal with that information. "By the Tree...Darin...that's...incredible. And kind of concerning, I mean, for your health. But...I didn't know you could...I didn't know that was even possible. Have you always known this?"

Her mind was reeling. Mostly still trying to understand how and why that was possible. She assumed it had to do with being the Seed Bearer, obviously, but she wasn't aware the Gardener had powers quite like that. Of course, there were lots of tales told about the Gardener and his connection with not just the Great Tree but with all of nature and with the people of Astra. And those tales ranged from the mundane and expected to the only slightly supernatural. But never in her life had she heard he, or any of his successors, were capable of controlling the elements like that. She wondered what else Darin was capable of that either she hadn't shared with her yet, or that she herself didn't know.

Secondly, Ridahne had known that they were connected, she and Darin. They were fated to be with one another, but Darin sealed that bond when she made Ridahne Seed-Chained. The elf both knew and felt that there was some kind of extra connection between them, but it didn't occur to her that it would be quite so...tangible. She'd seen what happened to Darin in her dream. Whether it was just an elvish vision, which didn't usually come in the form of dreams and were more like waking visions, or if it was strictly a message from the Tree or a result of their bond, Ridahne wasn't sure. Maybe both. Maybe since she was connected to the Seed-Bearer, she could sense when she did things that were especially magical.

Darin continued, explaining that the whole village had seen it. Considering the hut wasn't up in flames, Ridahne thought, that was probably alright. And especially if--

"What?"

The color seemed to drain from Ridahne's face at the mention of the visiting Eija. The usually self-assured warrior suddenly looked like a rabbit pinned in her den by a fox. She had to remind herself (multiple times) that there was no possible way they were here for her. If they were, they'd have gotten to her by now. Killed her in her sleep, if that was their goal. Eija did not usually kill--they more often would debilitate or injure someone if they had to in order to bring them in. In some extreme cases, the criminal's sentence was simply to lose a limb, typically a hand. They would take them to a healer, do their task, and leave. There were rare circumstances in which an eija was permitted to take a life, including self defense or the defense of others in the case of an active threat. But did that apply to her, traitor of traitors? Her situation was unprecedented in her lifetime, and she had not known of any other assassin who killed a Sol. What rules still applied to her? Did any of those apply at all now that she was outside the borders of Azurei? Not likely. If someone wanted to see her dead, in Azurei or out of it, they probably had the right to do so.

"Who??" Ridahne asked, as if Darin would know. Ridahne knew most of them. They were probably here on contract for some reason or another. But they'd find out about her soon enough, if they hadn't already. "They're going to know." Her tone was edged with a panic that she tried to keep down but couldn't fully eliminate. "If they don't, then they will. I don't know what kind of rumors are spreading around Azurei about you or the Gardener, so you might be alright. But they'll find out about me. If they see Tsura and his gear then they'll know. We know our own. Darin, will you please do me a favor? Later, when you're more solid and feeling better, will you go to the stables and bring me my knives?" Ridahne felt the spot on her chest where a strap of her blade harness usually sat; it felt vulnerable and naked without it. She wanted to be able to defend herself when they came. Not that she would stand a chance as she was, but she would never go down without a fight. Ever.