Hearing that some apprentice boy was out there cleaning [I]her[/I] blades absolutely galled the elf, and despite her obvious pain and relative lack of energy, she squirmed at the idea. It wasn't that she thought he would mistreat them--his master would throttle him if he ever dared. An Eija's blades were sacred things, and very personal. The eija had to meet their blade smith as an apprentice and get to know each other, then train in something specific so that by the time they were decent at them, the smith would make them something that would truly fit. They were survival tools, negotiating chips, pieces of art, and extension of the wielder. The apprentice would know that. No, she wasn't worried so much about their safety as much as it just bothered her that someone else had their hands on them without her knowing. Not to mention the embarrassment of having filthy blades that would have sat that way except that someone else found them. 

But she sighed, defeated. There was no way she'd make it all the way out to the stables and not in the rain either, and Darin needed to be warm and dry just as badly. "I really doubt they'd take them. Not unless I was dead. Not to mention that apprentice, if he's any good at all, won't do anything so rash as stealing someone's blades without his master's explicit command. No, I do believe he went snooping, found them filthy and thought to clean them out of respect. It was right to let him do it, even though it's hard to think of them in someone else's hands without my say-so. Thank you." 

Ridahne sought Darin's gaze; her own was earnest. "You did nothing wrong. It's not like you could keep them from snooping around, and they'd figure it out one way or another eventually.  Eija don't usually kill--that's the realm of the eija-alihn. But I don't know if there's any rules written, not in any recent memory, about what I've done and how to deal with me. But they will come here. In the night, is my guess. It's what I would do. But Darin, please promise me, whatever happens, remember that their issue is not necessarily with you. I can keep you out of this, at least this time. I'm hoping they can be reasoned with, but...killing a Sol is kind of a big thing and it's very close to the heart for everyone right now, so I can only imagine tempers might run a bit hot." 

Ridahne accepted Darin's sickle with an air of respect and deep gratitude. Even if Darin was not a warrior, it was no small thing to give away your weapon, especially one so dear to her. The fact that she would even offer it made Ridahne feel incredibly honored. "Thank you," she said, her tone sober and sincere. "I will keep it with the utmost care until I return it to you."

There was a small silence between them, then Ridahne asked the question that had been simmering at the back of her mind since Darin told her about the archer she'd maimed. "About the man...his hand...are you alright? I...I ask because I know that the first time you take someone's life, indirectly or otherwise is...hard. I know because I've been there. And you should know, and this is kind of hard to admit," she laughed ruefully, "But I cried for at least a week afterwards. I had nightmares once or twice. It was awful. And it gets easier. But I don't want that for you. I don't want it to get easier for you, because I don't want you to have to face that choice, or that necessity if you can help it. My hope is you never have to again. So...anyway...if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. And I understand." 

It might seem odd, a career assassin speaking so openly of the grief one feels after taking a life. But it was a reality that was discussed often among eija-alihn. When Ridahne was initiated, a more senior member took her aside and spent hours discussing the value of life, and how it should be preserved if possible. He told her that some day, she would have her first target. And it was going to be ugly. [I]"You are trained for the moment,"[/I] he told her, [I]"And so when it comes you know what to do. But after? In the silence of night left alone with yourself and the gravity of what you've done, you have to make peace with yourself somehow. And you can't be trained for that." [/I] Ridahne had given support and received it from her fellow eija-alihn, especially her partner Takhun. But he grew hardened to a point where he no longer cared. Ironically, Ridahne killed him for it, and for that twist of fate she would always harbor some guilt. She did not want Darin to taste that kind of poison. It was too late for herself, but she would do everything in her power to shield Darin from it.