Ridahne smiled, making a wide, sweeping gesture at herself. "Young human, tattoos [I]always[/I] mean something." She herself was covered in them, though none were as ornate or precise as the ones on her face. "If you ever got one, you'd realize why one does not just [I]get[/I] one, or at least not ones on the face. I'll have to go back and look at Luke's but they weren't of any style I recognized." Red, too, seemed like an odd color to her, though that was probably only because Azurei did not use red ink in their own tattoos. 

Ridahne studied her, shaking her head a little. "You ARE [I]Ri'atal[/I]. That has nothing to do with your ability, or your confidence. It has to do with..." she trailed off, not willing to say it out loud in case someone else was listening. "But this is why I was sent here! I don't know if the vision came from my ancestors or the previous..." Again, she trailed off. "But I'm here, and fate has brought me to you. You have a job to do, and mine is to see that you succeed. But only if you will have me. This is your quest and it is not my place to decide for you, but if you will have me, I am here and I will serve with honor."  Ridahne did not mention that if Darin refused her help, then the elf was honor-bound to return home and, having failed in her duty, would await execution once more. Her crime would not be so easily forgiven and never forgotten, though this quest was the only hope she had to continue living. She wouldn't tell her that. She wanted the decision to be real, to come from her and not from a sense of guilt or responsibility. "Again I ask. Will you have me as your guardian?"

Apparently the horse's name was Talbot, and it was either incredibly intelligent or exquisitely trained. Ridahne guessed the former as she looked the animal over again. "You know..." she began as the horse stubbornly rejected the enclosure, "My people tell of a family--humans--who once bred the best horses in all of Astra. The name of their line has been lost for centuries, but my people call the descendants the [I]Isfali[/I]. Legend has it that they chose their own riders and suffered no other. They did not spook in the night and their gaits were smooth and strong. I think...I think this...Talbot? Is of the Isfali...but I could be wrong..."

Ridahne stepped forward, offering a cupped hand to the horse to sniff and inspect. She spoke to the animal in her own jagged language, telling him how fine he was in the elvish way.