Ridahne sort of pursed her lips together with an expression that clearly read 'oops'. She didn't think about needing to practice the language, much less needing to hear it slower. She was just so excited to share something of hers with Darin that wasn't ugly, painful, or wrong. On some level she couldn't wait for them to reach Azurei, if only so that she could show Darin what the desert nation really was like. She'd told stories only of eija, of intimidating law keepers with bright swords and fierce dispositions, of death and murder and corruption. Of exile. And though that might be her story, it was not the story of Azurei as a whole. Azurei was often seen as a harsh place, and that was true. Its folk had to be hardened a little to live in such an intense climate. People were blunt, practical, and sometimes grim. But there was such beauty there too! She'd never seen a landscape that was red anywhere else. Not a gentle tan or a dull brown, but red like iron, and when the sun set over it, the dunes were set ablaze like towering rubies. There was the ocean and the joy of its rolling waves, and the colorful fish that lived below it. There was artistry and music and craft, and so much food! She wanted to show that side to Darin, and language was the first step to understanding it all. 

"Sorry, I'm just excited. I don't often get to speak in my own tongue with people that are not my kin. It's very rare." She spoke slower this time, and a bit clearer. To me, it's like someone suddenly producing your favorite dish from home when you didn't expect it. You will get better with practice though." 

Ridahne absently decided to braid a little section of Tsura's black mane as they walked. "We are heading into Eluri, yes. It is more forests, though I think a different sort than you are used to. For one thing, it will start to get warmer the further south we go. The trees are very close and there are lots of creatures that live in them you might not have seen before. Some parts of Eluri butt up against the Azurei mountains and those parts can get more dry. Their coastline is small and is mostly made of sharp cliff faces, so they do not have marine commerce like we do, not as much anyway. There are a few ports here and there though. Its people are...well sort of like Ravi. Something about them is always a little distant, like a part of them exists on some other plane of being." She laughed--clearly this was some sort of joke among the Azurei. "They are the most prone to visions of all the elf peoples. It's less common in Azurei, and some people get them, some will never, others only have them once. I've had a few. None so clear as the one sent by The Tree, of course. Not all of them make sense--you could see a glimpse into the life of someone you've never met. In both Eluri and Azurei, there are people who's job it is to sort of...collect people's visions. If you have one, and you want help interpreting it, you go see a Sightmaster. They hear the visions of many people and with that information, might know something about yours.

The Orosi do not have visions. Maybe one or two in the last several centuries, but generally they do not. I have been to Eluri and Orosi more than once, though not for an extended period of time. My work sent me there sometimes--occasionally merchants or important people needed safety escorts to protect them on the road and they would 'borrow' an eija for the task. But no, I did not come that way to find you. I went North, far past your town of Lively. Went East for a while, then meandered back Southwest again. I had no idea where to go. I really thought I'd never find you..." 

Ridahne got quiet for a moment as she reflected on that thought, that period of despair, but she didn't dwell there long. It didn't matter now anyway--she'd found Darin. "We should reach the border of Eluri by nightfall. You'll know when we've crossed in, because there are creatures that live only there--they look like fireflies only much larger....do you know fireflies? Do they have them where you come from? They do not live in Azurei, but I have heard about them. I have only ever seen their relatives, the [I]uloia[/I] in Eluri."