The Seed-Bearer listened carefully as Ja’heil spoke of his training. It honestly sounded very similar to an apprenticeship. There were similar concepts in Eluri and in Orosi. She was willing to wager that every culture had a concept of taking in a young adult that wanted to learn a trade. Yes, it was true, that the Azurei version was harsher than others, but Azurei was a harsh land and being an Eija was a difficult job. A strict training now, meant a person would be less likely to perish in the future. It did explain some of Ridahne, and for that, Darin was grateful.

Darin considered what she had been told, “I guess an Elaitih, or any master teaching a student, is a bit like a parent. Protecting and taking care of a student in exchange for their obedience and willingness to learn.” She smiled at the boy across the table, “And you do seem willing to learn.”

In a way being The Seed-Bearer was like being an apprentice Gardener, not that there was a Gardener to act as her teacher. It was more like a self-taught apprenticeship. Suddenly, Darin was struck with a realization with blinding clarity. Ravi had said that it had always been her, that The Gardener had always been searching for her to give her The Seed. She always assumed that it was because she was a farmer. But what if was because she had been a [i]self-taught[/i] farmer? She had learned how to take care of her tiny plot by eavesdropping and watching and listening wherever and whenever she could. She was basically doing the same thing now. She was learning how to take care of a land, a people, a home, by eavesdropping and watching and listening wherever and whenever she could. Planting The Seed was just sowing on a larger scale. Everything that came after was just farming on a larger scale. Suddenly Darin was reminded of the memories of The Gardener’s life before he received his Seed. He had been a gardener. She wouldn’t be The Gardener. She would be The Farmer, and somehow that was both easier to accept and harder to comprehend.

She whispered the two words in the language of her home under her breath and just to herself, “The Farmer.” Then she gave her head a shake as she forced herself to smile up at Ja’heil, “Humans dance.” She shook her head with a laugh and a toss of her hair, “I don’t.” She nudged Ridahne with her shoulder, “Taja Ridahne can attest to that! I mainly stumble around clumsily in a poor imitation of dance.” She shrugged, “Human dancing isn’t like Azurei dancing.” She paused as her finger came to tap against her lips, “I can’t really explain the difference. Both are beautiful and I’m bad at both, but it’s hard to compare the two.”

This was not the time to be worried about personal revelation. Darin hoped that no one had noticed her wide eyes and the brief moments that she spaced out from the conversation, but she didn’t have much hope. At the very least she knew that Ridahne had noticed. The two girls knew each other far too well, and the others in the room were either training to be or were Eija and Taja. Darin didn’t particularly care to answer anyone’s questions, save Ridahne’s and knew her sister would wait to ask. Maybe she could distract everyone else.

She smiled at Ja’heil, “I do like seeing Azurei dancing.” She flashed a smiled down the row towards one person in specific person, “Do you think your master would give you leave to demonstrate for me?” She playfully joked, “I can play The Seed-Bearer card if necessary.”