Found:
I spent the day pondering on my prior conversation with Ry. I have a hypothesis, but it will require further digging when next I get the chance to talk to him alone. I had hoped that chance might arise sooner rather than later, but it was not to be.
He found my camp eventually, sometime after midnight. At first, from the stumbling and crashing, I awoke to think a bear might have come along looking for treats, but the lack of any warning from Steel quickly convinced me otherwise. Besides, bears don't usually faff about with the ties on tent flaps. He didn't make it inside, silly sod, too drunk to work them out, but instead slipped into a booze addled unconsciousness right outside.
After wrapping him in one of my blankets, I tried to return to sleep. It was fitful. I gave up in the end and did my morning exercises long before the sun even thought to graze the horizon.
'Dara found us there, me by the campfire, him still passed out where he'd fallen. She seemed in something of a hurry, enjoying a morning ride perhaps, though the looks she cast his way suggested that it wasn't quite coincidence that she'd stumbled upon my camp. I invited her to sit, and we spoke for a goodly while about all manner of things.
I must admit that I needled her a little over Ry. I couldn't help it! Her blushes are delightful! She, of course, is less taken with them than I which is to be expected but...
She's changing, I think. She's slowly growing into her own. For the moment, I get the impression that she remains trapped between who she was told she should be and who she wants to be. A delicate balance. The wings of the emerging butterfly may yet break... we'll see.
But even as she changes, even as she grows, I can only hope that those quick-and-easy blushes do not! She's like Gregwald in that respect. There's an innocence to the pair that the world has thus far failed to beat out of them. I hope it remains so. They should meet.
I really do like the girl. A bit young for my tastes, no matter how much I tease her about the possibility of a tryst, and I'm still not certain how far I can trust her. Another test was given; we shall see what she does with the information imparted.
Perhaps she'll surprise me yet.
