When Darin came down, she found a rather jovial looking Ridahne awaiting her below. The elf had abandoned her shoes too, and her eyes were bright, glinting in the dim light of the large insects that flitted slowly and clumsily through the air. Lihaelen never really grew full dark, despite the thick canopy. The uloia always provided some level of soft, gentle glow, ranging from the light of a full moon, to diffused lanterns depending on how many there were in an area. Presently, there were relatively few of them, so it was quite dark compared to the rest of the city. 

Ridahne smirked. "How was it? I made the climb once when I was here last, I remember it being worth the effort. I have no regrets about how I spent my time though." Her smirk blossomed to a full smile. "Apparently our inn's tavern is a regular spot for the river workers. You know how you can walk into a rural village and you sort of just...gravitate to the farmers? And you feel like they get you, and you them, even though you're so different? I guess that's sailors for me. Those are my people. These were all Eluri, not Azurei, but a mariner is a mariner. I never felt the call of the sea, not like my brother or our ancestors. I always knew that, even though I loved the sea, my fate lay somewhere on land. I think I understand why now. Anyway, we had a few drinks and I bested one in an arm wrestling contest. I daresay I actually made some friends for once." 

The elf grew thoughtful at Darin's question, and absently she wondered what the human had been thinking about and pondering up in the canopy all evening. There were some stories, though nothing Ridahne would consider to be indisputably true. "Mm, I've heard a lot of things, mostly as a child. I was told some ridiculous story by an ancient man when I was little, and he told me that when Astra first came to be, the creator wanted to fill their new land with people. So from the earth, they drew humans: steady, hardy folk. From the seas came forth the sirens, gentle, adaptable, and yet inexorable in their determination. From the sky, the elves were brought forth, and because of their lofty origins, they retained some of their high sight and got visions." Ridahne shrugged. "Seems like nonsense in a way, I mean, it's not like the elves came from thin air, and you aren't made of rock. But I know the Azurei at least have a strong connection to the stars. We believe they are the spirits of our ancestors, and it is said that in the beginning, there were no stars until the first Azurei died." 

Ridahne smirked. "On a more practical level? Half the reason Azurei are Children of the Night Sky is because in high summer, we turn nearly nocturnal to avoid the heat of the sun. Midday in summer is [I]brutal.[/I] We come out early morning to start the day, and in the afternoon we all hide indoors or somewhere cool if you can help it, then it's business as usual in the evening and well into the night. It's not that way year round, I mean, Azurei is a desert, it's always some level of hot during the day. but for summer, suddenly we all do things a little differently." She laughed. "It will probably be well into autumn by the time we get there, which is good." She paused, then asked, "Do your people have any stories about how you became Children of the Stone?"