Ravi did not judge. He could not judge. The two girls, who were both young in his mind’s eyes, had suffered from a lack of communication. One of them had to take the first step. He did not know which one it would be. He did not think it would be Darin. She was so terrified of doing something wrong and upsetting Ridahne again that she might be inclined to just suffer in silence. Ridahne was so sure of her own suffering that it seemed that she was incapable of seeing the suffering of others. One concerned with doing right for their own sake, the other concerned with doing right for the sake of the others, both failing at it in a manner so spectacular fantastic they had to be youths with rampart emotions. He could not tell either one of them what to do, He had a feeling they might not listen to him anyways. He could only offer advice and hoped that it did some small measure of good.

He spoke with out malice. There was only a deep understanding in his voice, “Imagine for a moment, Ridahne, that you were not here as an exile. That you still received the vision that sent you here, to Darin’s side, but you had committed no crime. As such you were sent on assignment from the Solta-Sol herself; commanded to bring honor to all of Azurei and The Seed-Bearer and you were given full honors as you left. How do you think your actions would change? Would you treat Darin any differently than you do now? Would you currently be on the ground weeping in despair because of your own sorrow?”

Ravi was hoping to make a point. It was not a point he thought would be easy to make. It had to do with that fact, that whether she meant to or not, Darin had made Ridahne Seed-Chained. Being Chained to The Tree was a bittersweet honor. He imagined being Chained to The Seed was similar. It was definitely punishment, but it was punishment with the hope of redemption. Unlike the mark on the Azurei’s face being released from being Chained was not only possible, it was the end goal. It was supposed to be a mark of shame during the duration; a lack of freedom, an almost silent condemnation, that turned into a badge of pride upon being released; a sense of accomplishment, a knowledge that you were better now than you were then. Ravi did not think that either girl would understand this simple fact at this point of their lives. He could hope to put them on the right path.
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Talbot returned to the Main Farmhouse slowly. In fact, Darin was convinced that he was taking a less than direct route. That was alright. She needed to collect herself before she returned to Ridahne. She couldn’t let her sorrow and despair get in the way of mending the gap in their relationship. She wasn’t sure it was possible, but she had to try. The Tree had managed to give her a better understanding of what being Seed-Chained meant. Darin wasn’t sure she understood it fully, but she understood that if Ridahne failed at being Seed-Chained, she would never make it home to die. Darin was the one to say the words with out knowing what they meant. As such it was her job to see that Ridahne had the easiest possible time to do that job. It would not do to always being running off from her. 

Darin slowly sat up on Talbot’s back. There were no people, but there were animals aplenty. Darin ahd a better understanding of what they saw in her. A bee came over to land on her finger. A butterfly landed on her nose. A mouser cat came and walked besides Mitaja. Darin was not surprised at that the hunter cat let the smaller cat near. They were both similar, and they both knew that neither would hurt The Seed-Bearer. A sheep dog came up the other side of Talbot. A wild hawk flew overhead. As they passed a small stream the fish got as close as they could. A frog jumped on to Talbot’s leg and onto his backside. It was a strange procession. All the animals were silent; quiet they knew The Seed-Bearer wanted, companionship they knew she needed.