Darin wasn’t sure how far she had walked from the little cave. She wasn’t sure she cared. She wanted to be mad, so she was going to be mad. She knew that it wasn’t fair to be mad, but she wasn’t sure she cared. She knew she hadn’t been fair to yell at the Elf either. Darin tried to be fair. She really did. She tried to see things from other people’s points of view. She just didn’t always succeed. It was harder than it sounded; being fair to others. Darin wasn’t sure it was even worth it.

Right now, she was trying to convince herself that Ridahne had a choice to come on this journey while she didn’t. The only problem with that was it simply wasn’t true. They both had a choice. Ridahne could choose to die or come on this impossible journey. Darin could choose to let Astra fall to ruin or come on this impossible journey. Those weren’t amazing choices. It wasn’t like there was much of a choice, but it was still a choice. So, Darin couldn’t even say that she had been fore to come on this journey while Ridahne had not been. The Elf probably thought she had been forced to go as well. It was a terrible situation all around.

Then there was the fact that Ridahne was right. Darin had led her to believe that she was an outcast back home. How was the Elf supposed to know that anyone had been kind to her? The human had certainly given no indication of it. For all Darin knew Ridahne thought she was coming to Darin’s defense. Then the Elf had a good reason for leaving details out of her stories. Darin hadn’t asked for those details. In fact, the human had tried to avoid those details all together. So, it wasn’t fair of the human to expect those details. Darin cursed and muttered under her breath. She wanted to be mad at the warrior. It was hard to do that when she was trying to find good reasons for what she had done and said or not said.

Darin let out a wordless screech to the sky. The sky responded not at all. Darin cursed her own stupidity for leaving the cave. She was cold and wet, and the rain didn’t appear to be stopping any time soon. Darin returned to muttering. She couldn’t go back now. She could go back when she was ready to apologize for not being fair. Darin scoffed at that thought. Why did she have to be the bigger person? Oh right, she was Ri'atal, hope of many.

Okay, Darin could be mad about that one. If she was being fair to Ridahne she should be fair to herself too. The human had told the Elf not to treat her any different, and yet here she was using names that probably had no real meaning. Alright, that wasn’t fair. Ridahne wasn’t treating her any different. If she did, she wouldn’t have yelled at her. Okay, Darin couldn’t use that against the Elf. The human paused to let her head make contact with the nearest tree. May The Tree save her from her own stupidity. She had messed this up big time.

It was getting darker. The sun must be setting behind the rain clouds. Darin wasn’t sure she was ready to go back. Even though she was fairly positive she had no right to be mad she still wanted to be angry. Darin found a good-looking tree and started to climb. She wasn’t the best at climbing, but she was okay at it. She climbed until the branches could no longer take her weight. Than she sat with her back to the trunk and closed her eyes. It wouldn’t be the first night she spent in the rain. Darin didn’t think it would be her last either. She would head back in the morning. Maybe, she would be ready to apologize then. She would at least have to go get Talbot.