LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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 Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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 Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

“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.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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 Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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.”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I am so glad you are finally getting your surgery. I know you've been looking forward to it. On another note I don't really feel up to writing. Is it alright if I don't get you a response until next weekend?

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

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.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin paced back and forth in front of her captive as she furiously gnawed at the hangnail on her thumb. Ridahne hadn’t come to find her yet. That wasn’t a good sign. IT had been a while, and her captive was slowly bleeding out. Could the battle have not gone the way she had hoped. Darin wasn’t sure she wanted to know. If Ridahne hadn’t been the victor Darin needed to get back on Talbot and leave now. However, if the battle hadn’t been decided she needed to be patient. Darin wasn’t sure she could stand this waiting any longer. That was when sound finally returned to the forest.

Well that was not a good sign. The battle was over and had been for some time. Darin could hear it. The animals felt safe enough to resume their life. The night would continue unhindered. Now the question was simple: who would come after her. If Ridahne had won that was a good thing. If she hadn’t Darin needed to run. She cast another glance towards her captive. He was smirking at her. It was clear that he thought his allies were the one who had won. Darin wasn’t sure that she could fathom that possibility. She didn’t know what she would do without Ridahne. It had been less than a week and The Seed-Bearer knew that this journey would be impossible without the Azurein.

She asked Talbot, “Who do you think won?” Taja let out a shriek as Talbot let out a whinny of concern. Darin nodded, “You both have good points, very good points.”

The archer scoffed, “You talk to your animals? Why? They no nothing useful. Maybe you are just a very lucky idiot.”

Darin let out a small laugh, “Now you’ve got it. The question is simple. Is it good luck or bad luck?”

Darin whipped her head around at another screech from Taja. What she saw made her blood run cold. It was Mitaja. The hunting cat seemed distressed, and it didn’t take long for the human to figure out what was wrong. Ridahne had to have been hurt and sent her cat to Darin. Darin figured she should probably run. Darin didn’t care. Without even thinking about it she ran in the direction Mitaja was leading her. Talbot didn’t follow. Darin looked over her shoulder for only a minute. It appeared the plow horse was going to stand guard. The human was fine with that though there might not be much point. The Elrui was still bleeding out. It wouldn’t be long before he was dead. If Ridahne wasn’t capable of questioning him there wasn’t much point in keeping him alive. She supposed that meant she killed him. She would deal with that fact after she determined if Ridahne was okay.

That was not the case at all. Mitaja stopped at a point. Darin took a moment to glance at Tsura before falling to her knees next to Ridahne. The Azurei looked terrible. Purple bruises covered her neck. There was an arrow in her thigh. The Elf was practically covered in blood. Darin’s hands fluttered uselessly. The human wasn’t even sure how to start. Should she take out the arrow or would that make the bleeding worse. Darin didn’t know much about treating people. She had only done birds before. The only real chance she had was finding another person to help her. She just didn’t want to leave Ridahne. She wondered if she could get Ridahne on to Tsura. Then where would she go? Darin was sure to get lost. If they followed the road, they might make it somewhere. Were they close enough to The Farm to get there before Ridahne died, or should they try to make it to the town Ridahne had mentioned earlier? Would the people there help them, or were they connected to this Red Hand? Darin had no idea what she should do, and for a moment was paralyzed by fear.

Then she gave her head a shake. She couldn’t do nothing. With that decided Darin figured the best she could do was at least try to find help. She knew she couldn’t leave Ridahne alone so the Elf would have to come with her. The only way to make that happen was to get her on a horse. There was no way that Darin was carrying Ridhane anywhere by herself for long. Still the first step was to get Ridahne up off the ground. That raised another question; would Darin be reconziged or would Ridahne think she was another enemy. There was only one way to find out. Darin was just going to have to try. At this point anything was better than nothing.

With that in mind Darin knelt down next to the Elf, “Come on Ridahne.” The human took one of Ridahne’s arms to place around her shoulders, “Let’s get you up.”