Talbot heard Ridahne and moved to follow the Elf and her horse to the small cave. Darin moved to get off the stallion. This time Talbot stood stock still instead of kneeling down or bucking her off. He just waited for the human to slide off. IT took her a moment. It was easy for her to swing her leg over the side, but Darin had to gather her courage to drop down. It wasn’t high, but it was further than Darin was used to jump. When she did drop, she stumbled as her feet hit the ground. The human pinwheeled forward for a moment before regaining her balance. Talbot snorted at her. She turned to stuck out her tongue at him. It was super childish, but Darin didn’t care.

She answered Ridahne’s question, “Yes. I also know how to make sure the fire doesn’t get out of control.”

Darin swung her pack around. Using one hand she searched for what she was looking for. She soon found the small hand-held shovel. She then found a good space in the little cave to begin digging a fire pit. As she was digging, she felt something hit her in the leg. It was gentle and when she looked it was a good-sized rock to line the pit. Darin looked up to see Talbot looking at her. She smiled at him. Talbot let out a snort and began looking for more rocks. Darin turned back to digging the pit. She didn’t really want to let the fire burn down the forest. That would not be a good thing. Once the pit was dug Darin started taking the rocks that Talbot was passing her to line the perimeter. She kept the rocks as close together as possible. It was clear that she knew what she was doing.

She looked back out to the sky, “Just in time.” She turned her attention to the wood Ridahne had gathered, “The rain is about to start.”

As she was speaking, she heard the telltale signs of rain hitting leaves. It started off slow, but it wasn’t long before the downpour started. Darin stood up from the firepit to stare at the descending water. It was consistent but not pounding. It was a good rain for crops. They would be well watered without being pounded to the ground. Talbot came to stand next to her. She looked over to horse to see him eyeing her. She was half tempted to think that Talbot was thinking the same thing she was. She was a farmer and, in a way, so was he. Of course, they knew about the rain. Of course, they knew fire. Darin was out of her depth. She wasn’t useless. She took a deep breath to let the thought go. It wouldn’t do to be offended every time it was assumed that she didn’t know anything. It was a safe assumption after all.

As she watched the rain Darin said, “This is going to last awhile. It will peter out instead of just stopping. We are stuck until the sun comes back out. That might not even happen until tomorrow.”