The affirmation made her nod and smile slightly. He was getting there… he would understand it yet. But at the same time… she knew that he had to take from it what he would, and to find his own interpretations in what she had to say. But on the whole, she found that people were a manipulative bunch. It was in their very natures. Friends could be made, only to turn around and abandon you when it no longer suited their purpose to treat you as an ally. Betrayal was a bitter herb to chew. He’d find that in times to come, if he hadn’t yet. One never knew, especially with the world they lived in… but still… still. “While you’ve made friends and allies… and that’s all well and good… understand that when push comes to shove… the only one you can trust absolutely is you. Nurture strength in yourself… in your spirit… to shield yourself when misfortune comes. But do not distress yourself unduly with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.” She was quiet for a moment, pausing, though she clearly had more to say. Maybe she was just trying to figure out how best to phrase it. “You know… with all of its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams…it is still a beautiful world. Be yourself… and strive to be happy.”
She listened as he pondered, quiet and unhurrying, letting him work it out for himself. That was important – that he make his own connections and draw his own conclusions. She had thought of telling him what had happened to Kavala, what had helped shape her into who she was now, and why she was so different from the way he remembered her. But at the same time… it was not her story to share. If the Konti had wanted him to know, she would have told him. And Kavala had not looked to be in her normal state of mind when she had come to get Raiha. That alone was enough to tell the young Akalak not to talk about it. Kavala would tell him when the time was right to do so… and that time would be when Kavala was ready.
“We all need friends in this world,” she agreed slowly. “Yet time is never still. It’s like the water,” she looked out over the sea. “It’s always changing, always fluid. Just because you step into the river once does not mean it will be the same river when you come back to it… the current changes, and what it brings with it changes as well. The ocean down there below… every wave looks the same, doesn’t it? But its composition is different. People are the same way. They are always changing.” But his realization… the need to embrace the present… and what they were now instead of what they use to be earned him a nod and an actual smile that was almost radiant, like a mother watching a child accomplish something particularly tricky for the first time. “Memories are both a blessing and a curse. We compare what things used to be to what they are now, for better or for worse. For better, because we can see how we’ve grown. For worse, because we become enamored of what we had… and feel bitterness about what we have lost while they have grown. We hope for the future… but we reach for the past, seeking the familiar in our memories. Kavala is changing, and you, too, have changed… though we never see it in ourselves that we have. We see it in each other, but neither of us sees just how truly profound it is the way another will, especially when you haven’t seen each other for a time.”
When he gave her a way out, Raiha considered her course of action. Kavala needed Hatot, yes… But at the same time, Kavala had Akela there with her. She could wait a few more chimes yet, surely… because Raiha had a question of her own. As naturally as breathing, Raiha focused on the wellspring that was her own djed, and brought it to her eyes to look and see beyond what she could without it. Just as she had thought, the lines of djed that had spanned over the Sea of Grass were not here. She hadn’t seen it out here before, and she hadn’t expected to see it now, but she hadn’t been able to resist checking anyway with her Auristics. “May I be permitted to ask you a question?” She brought her gaze back to him, her gold eyes honestly curious as she took a chance that he might know what she was talking about… and further, if he did, might be, just might be, willing to tell her. Vanator had his own aura, giving her hints to his age. He, like his sisters, was older than she was. Lingering sadness. Awareness. Discovery? Realization! It was difficult to try to pick up emotions and feelings – she was still learning at Auristics, and since she had left her teacher in Mura and hadn’t sought another, it was slow going, learning what to pick out and what it meant. “You are Drykas… and have lived in the Sea of Grass all of your life, yes? When I was traveling to Riverfall… I saw the djed-paths over the plains from the coast. I have heard of a ‘web’ in Cyphrus. Do you know what they mean by that? What purpose does it serve?”