Darin’s smile fell from her face she hurried after the warrior, “Ridahne! I can’t hold my alcohol! You know this!” She urgently told Ajoran, “Every so often we both forget that and I drink why too much, which for me is like half a serving, and the next thing I know I wake up with a headache and no memory of the last night.” She exclaimed again, “Ridahne!”

In the end it didn’t matter. Ridahne took to showing Darin Tasen with vigor and enthusiasm. It wasn’t long before Darin forgot about the upcoming alcohol as her pervious good mood returned. She tried ever snack Ridahne pushed into her hands. The fruit was yummy. The sweetened almond was amazing. The smells were incredible. Darin looked over pottery and fish and scarves. Children came up at random times to give her trinkets that Darin couldn’t help but love. In the end she had to have Ridahne and Ajoran pick out a box to carry the sheer number of them. She didn’t know what she was going to do with them all. She couldn’t take them with her, but she couldn’t just tell the kids no. She tried the drink Ridahne pushed into her hands and sputtered at the bubbles and tangy sweetness but drank the whole thing, which was probably a mistake, but she didn’t care. She was in far too good a mood.

Though when Ridahne asked her opinion on the market Darin had to pause for a moment to look around. In all honesty it was just another market. Darin had been in so many over the past year. People should things to make a living. The only real difference was the amount of attention she had been getting. She had acted the same why otherwise. She ate all the delicious food and even some that didn’t look quite as yummy. She looked, but didn’t buy unless it strictly necessary, like the box for the children’s gifts. She had considered a scarf the color of a dawning’s purple or to realize she didn’t need it. It was the same for a uri that almost matched the one Ridahne wore most days. She did find a visiting Eluri cobbler to leave her boots to be resoled only to discover that she needed a new pair. It was easy enough find a new pair that reached her knees with thick soles that fit. She sat still just long enough to have a willing Azurei woman cut the dead ends of her hair and let the woman’s children braid flowers into her hair. She had clapped along with the crowd as she watched a group of street performers dance and sing. In short, for her, Tasen was just another market. One of her favorites yes, but there were few markets she disliked. She got both Ridahne and Ajoran to teach her more about Azurei dancing.

Darin didn’t want to ruin Ridahne’s good mood by implying that her home was just the same as everywhere else. So, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like when they finally got to Lively. She would take Ridahne to the bakery with the amazing scones. She would insist and showing her sister the festival pole. She would show Ridahne the home where you could always find a dog or cat to adopt to take to your own home. If the merchants were in town she would take her to the tents to show her the jeweler that everyone knew was cheating them but his stones were so pretty and the pieces so well made and the stories that came with them were so fantastical that no one really cared. Darin would show her the place that sold fine silks for weddings and fleece so soft Darin saved and saved and saved her coins for just one scarf of it only to be set on this adventure. They would visit the candy shop with caramel so smooth that it practically melted on a person’s tongue. Darin would be so excited to show Ridahne this hub that wasn’t home but was close enough that it might as well be. She had to imagine that was how the Azurei felt right now, and she had to imagine that how the human felt now would be how Ridahne would feel when they finally made it to Lively. She didn’t want to say anything that downplayed Ridahne’s excitement.

Darin finally opened her eyes, “It’s beautiful. I can see how living here helped shape you into the woman you are today. I can’t wait to see Atakhara, to see the place that gave birth to my amazing Guardian.”