Herbalists' Cache [m] tejano blue

"Aya, if anyone is to blame, it is me," she tried reassured him with a slight smile. It was clear he was hurting and the thought weighed heavily on Tulugak too, yet she was powerless to stop it.

Instead, she let words fall away once again, moving closer to press against his shoulder. It would hurt more knowing what she had to do next, yet she wished not to leave the events of today on a sour note. 

As the sun began to colour the sky pink, she sank to the cool earth below and told Arkadiy of her travels north, about the rivers of ice and the village that once called it home. "There are villages here too," her voice was tinged with sleep, though within she had never felt more awake. "To the west across the mountains - that is where I intend to go." Her gaze met his, an unreadable expression on her face. 

Though she did not want him to become her shadow, she intended to leave him with a last fraction of honesty as if to off-set the guilt that had begun to eat at her.