Konie cleaned up, and after a quick conversation with Talyn about how to handle the situation, they both dimmed the lamps on their way to bed. Except Talyn saw a pair of greenish eyes reflecting back at him from the one little window after he doused the last one, and even with his cool temperament he jumped a little. It was the Azurei's cat, looking mournfully at him through the window. He'd seen them before, but never so suddenly and in the dark like that. Once he'd gotten over his shock, he went to the window. "Looks like we've got a beggar at the door, Konie..." he did allow a soft smile, though he darkly suspected that if he didn't let this cat in, she might break their little window and let herself in. Begrudgingly, he unlocked the door and let her in. Mitaja passed the elf, though not without rubbing up against his thigh as she did. Purring deeply like soft drums rolling in the distance, the cat picked her way through limbs and blankets and mats to find a spot nestled up against Ridahne. When she'd settled, she looked back at Talyn with an expression that said, "I've got it from here." He smiled and went off to bed. --- [I]The little tavern was almost empty except for a few weary souls that sat in small clumps without mirth or joy among them. She found Hadian alone at the bar, slumped in his chear. "Hadian!" She said, beaming. "I didn't know you were going to be back so soon. I saw the ship, someone said you'd be here. You should have come to--" She took stock of the look on his face, and at the other patrons in the bar. They were all his shipmates, and they all looked glum. But none worse than her brother. "...Hadi? Bad...harvest...?" Even as it came out of her mouth, she knew it was a poor guess. And some horrible sense awakened within her heart. She felt it quicken. "Hadi, what happened?" The sailor turned his head towards her in a heavy, clumsy rolling motion. Drunk. Very drunk. "We...lost two men to the ocean yesterday. That storm...we knew it was..but...we didn't think it'd be so...big. Wave took Jirnan right over the gunnel, and Da..." Hadian paused to take a long gulp from his mug. "No..." "Jaisih, he took a rope in one hand and went right after him. We all held onto that rope but the waves were too strong and tore him from the rope." Ridahne felt sick. "Wait, wait, but--no! He--" "--knew the risks when he jumped into that water. He knew the risks when he boarded that cursed ship. We all did. Jirnan too. We tried to get them, Ridahne. We tried. Da's gone." Ridahne's breath caught in her throat as she forced out a detached, "What's done is done." And she turned on her heels and swept out of the tavern. She needed to be alone. Hadian did not call after her or follow. He simply emptied his mug and repeated, "What's done is done." And he shivered as his shipmates took up the ritual and repeated the phrase in unison. "What's done is done."[/I] --- Ridahne awoke to a darkness that was just beginning to give way to early morning. Everything hurt. Mitaja was stretched beside her with her back pressed against Ridahne's side, but she did not recognize anything else. Where was this? One hand explored the mat she lay on; she was in an Eluri town, as the low mats were distinctly one of their customs. She relaxed a little, but she struggled to remember the events of the night before. There had been a man and a woman at some point. She remembered the quiet of the forest, the unnatural quiet. Faces in lantern light. The fight. Darin. DARIN! Her eyes scanned the room wildly and she tried to sit up but immediately regretted the sudden movement. Darin was there beside her, asleep. Ridahne released the breath she'd sucked in so sharply and lowered herself back down onto the mat. Right now, they were safe. So she had time to consider last night's events, and the bitter struggle between her and the Red Hand. Ridahne had been attacked before, but never quite like that. Never overpowered. As that man's hands squeezed around her neck she could feel the very life in her body leeching out, fading, like he was a vampire that was sucking it from her, consuming it... Ridahne burst into tears. They were nearly silent, and she held her breath to keep from sobbing and wheezing. She needed this moment, this moment alone to feel that fear and release it. For someone who had spent so long bringing death to others, it felt strange to finally have it come for her. Strange and utterly terrifying. Had her partner felt this way when she'd slit his throat? Did he feel that same panic as the blood, and his life, spilled out of him? Had her father felt this way when the sea finally took him, when he took his last breath and tasted saltwater instead of air? It took a while, but she finally cooled down a little. It felt better having that out, like finally letting go of a thorn that had been gripped too tightly for too long. Mitaja stirred as Ridahne tried much more slowly and carefully to sit up again. She could feel bruises all over, but there was a deep ache in her side and her head felt like it was going to explode. But she was powerfully thirsty, and deeply determined to carefully get up and just-- Oh, she'd forgotten about her leg. She tried to be quiet--she didn't want to disturb Darin--but the unexpected sharpness of that pain made her involuntarily yelp as she cringed. Mitaja made a deep noise of disapproval and licked at Ridahne's arm. At the noise, a male elf came into the room, squinting at her through the fading darkness. He muttered something under his breath, sounding a bit alarmed as he hastily lit a candle on a nearby table and came to her. "Easy, Azurei. You and your friend are safe. You shouldn't be up." "Give me water." Her voice was hoarse, like she'd been shouting for hours. He at least had the good sense not to argue with her, because he got a large cup and handed it to her; she practically chugged it all down. But when she lowered the cup, she saw his face in the candlelight and paused. "I know you...but is this...real? Am I dreaming? I feel I've done a lot of that lately." "It's funny," the man said. "I thought the same thing about you for many years. I'm Talyn. I'm the assistant to Elder Konie, the town medic. I have always wondered, who are you?" Ridahne dragged herself backwards a little so she could lean her back against the wall, but she grimaced the whole way. "Not a Ghost, but I feel like one now. I'm Ridahne Torzinei. And for the record, I'm exactly who you think I am." She said this a little derisively, but she decided he didn't deserve the edge in her tone and added, "I imagine news has reached you of the events in Azurei. I killed the Sol. Not who you expected I'd be, mm?" Talyn shook his head. "No." After a pause he asked, "Why'd you do it? I just...I know I don't know you, not really. But I never thought you a killer." Ridahne gave him a pitied look and said, "You didn't think me real, either." A long, heavy pause, then, "Why'd I do it? An eija-alihn serves Azurei. We have no other master." It was something said upon initiation, but Ridahne thought it explained enough without explaining much in the way of details. Talyn didn't press, but the knowledge that she was not just a former eija but an eija-alihn obviously shocked him by the look on his face. He'd heard rumors about the eija-alihn, and looking at her now, he wondered which of those were true. "I'll get breakfast going. Remember that you're supposed to be resting. You're...going to be a difficult one to keep down, aren't you?" Talyn sighed resignedly, but he smiled and so did Ridahne. "Always," she answered.