Ariel quietly cleared her throat. "Right, well," Ariel began to speak flatly. "Settling affairs here in the city is the first thing. We will need to see the An-Xileel to settle whatever is owed, then take measures to see that the shop and the inn are taken care of. And then, packing should be light. The pack tends to supply themselves as they go, so there is no need to be too...too worried about the weather or anything..."

Ariel's trailing off came with her trying to blink away her emotions, but she couldn't distract herself with minor details in front of Rukeewei. She took in a shaky breath and let a tear drip from her turned-down face. "You can't just let it go like that," she croaked. "I don't want you to think I could just get away with keeping secrets, Rukeewei. You don't deserve that. How can I fix this? Please, I want to make it up to you."