Darin so glad the Elf was willing to help her. At least now she wouldn’t break something. She could have done without the comments about the wild being dangerous. She was well aware of that fact. That was why it was called the wild. Besides. It wasn’t like Darin was here by choice. If it was up to her, she would be back on the farm getting ready for the harvest. She supposed she did have a choice. It just wasn’t much of a choice. She couldn’t just let Astra fall.

Once she was on the ground the cat got closer. Darin held impossibly still as she was examined. When the cat decided that she was okay Darin let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. With a slight smile she began running her hand though the cat’s fur. She thought that was the right thing to do since the cat had all but demanded it.

Darin whispered, “You really are beautiful.” Louder than that she told the Elf. “You’re right it’s safer. But, how did you?”

She didn’t get a chance to finish before the cat was pinning her to the ground. Darin was convinced the cat was bigger than she was. She tossed a look at the Elf. This wasn’t good. This is why she needed to get The Seed planted. No on wanted to be nice any more. Though why the Elf had decided to help her ground only to pin her to the ground was beyond her. People made no sense to Darin. Not for the first time Darin wished she was back on her farm. Why did it have to be her?”

Darin decided to answer the question without going into too much detail, “I’m a journey for my mother. It’s very important. Please let me go. I’ll try not to bother you anymore.”

There, the Elf wouldn’t be able to call her a liar. Darin was on a journey to protect her mother. It just so happened that it was also a journey to protect everyone in Astra. And it was very important. It was life of death important. Darin couldn’t tell her anymore. She may not have been prepared for the wild, but she wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t jus go around telling people she was on a journey to plant The Seed. That would a paint a target on her back. While it was true some people would be more willing to help her, Darin had no experience in telling if a person was bad or good. She knew that too. So, it was better to keep to herself.

Darin knew better than to try and struggle out of this mess. The Elf was clearly a fighter. Darin had none of those skill. Somehow, she didn’t think being able to plow a field would help her in this case. She could only hope that the Elf would take her answer and not question her further. It was a true answer, so if the Elf had someone to tell she was lying she wouldn’t be able detect a lie from her. At least that’s what Darin was hoping.

Darin was not above begging, “Please. I’m just a farm girl. All I want to do is finish my journey and go home.”

Also true. That was what Darin wanted. She wanted to figure out where The Seed wanted to be planted. Then she needed to plant it and make sure it would grow. Then she wanted to go home, back to her mother, back to her farm. In the back of her mind Darin knew that wouldn’t be the case. In the back of her mind she knew The Gardener had called her to do more than just plant The Seed. Darin wasn’t paying attention to that part of herself. If she did, she thought she might collapse from the sheer overwhelming nature of this whole adventure.