"Look here," Ridahne said sharply, a sudden fire within her burning away any tears or shame she had left. She stood then, pointing an accusing finger at her young companion. "You can say what you like about my former work. You can say what you like about Khaltira-Sol and what I did to her. But do not for one moment pretend to understand Ajoran and I, and the complicated situation we have found ourselves in." Her tone was low and harsh like a warning growl. "I may not be bound by Azurei law anymore, and though I have broken them I still have respect for them. But remember there are two of us. And Ajoran IS bound by the law, and for it he cares deeply. What's more, if us being together was against the law, who would marry us? You know nothing of Azurei, Darin. And you know nothing of us," she said, meaning her and Ajoran. "Do not scorn me for things you do not understand." She huffed, looking every bit like a dog with bristling fur. 

Ridahne would accept being chastised for the things she had done wrong. She would have even accepted if Darin loathed her for them. But Darin knew nothing of the relationship between her and Ajoran, of the decades they had spent together, of the trials they had faced and overcome. She knew nothing of how deeply it pained her to walk away. Darin knew only of her father, who disappeared without an explanation to abandon her mother to struggle and toil on her own. That wasn't what happened between her and Ajoran, not by a mile. She had to go and he let her. And it was the most excruciating, most soul-tearing thing she'd ever had to do. What she'd done for him, she did out of nothing but love. If she could not be prosperous and well, then she would see to it that he was--no matter the cost. 

Darin went off into the darkness--again--and left her sitting alone by the fire. Darin was angry with her, and though Ridahne had been expecting that, she had expected it for different reasons. She had come clean about all the horrible things she'd done. She had laid bare the pitiful waste that was her life and had expected to be scorned for it. Darin hadn't said much about what she'd done and instead was angry with her for all the wrong reasons. Ridahne had tried to explain but it didn't seem that Darin understood. Was it a language issue? Ridahne didn't know, but it made one thing abundantly clear: every time Ridahne tried to do the right thing, life came back and bit her for it. Was she always doing the right thing in the wrong way? Did she simply have a terrible sense of what the right thing actually was? Or was fate just cruel to her? Likely the latter, she thought bitterly. 

"I would like, for ONCE to just do something RIGHT!" she snarled to the sky and the glittering stars overhead. She scooped up a rock and threw it at a tree; it bounced off and landed in nearby ferns with a soft rustle. But then she deflated and said more softly, "Please, ancestors...let me complete this task. Let it be the one thing I do right in life." And as if in answer, she felt like she needed to start by making Darin didn't get into trouble by herself. Ridahne sighed. Talbot had gone with her and that was good, but if trouble did happen, Talbot would likely stand his ground and stay with her, not come running back to find Ridahne. So the elf looked to her feline companion. "Go follow and keep an eye on her, but keep your distance. Find me if anything goes wrong." The cat trotted off into the night like  a shadow, and once more Ridahne was left alone.