In midprayer when she felt Théadan’s presence at her side, Navia instinctively turned toward him as his arms slid around her. He pulled her in and she let him, finishing the prayers she silently offered as her face buried in his chest. It was comforting there, safe. The tears came more strongly with his whispered apology, the heartache of knowing how much he meant it tugging her mood even lower. Her emotions were just so high, so tender, that the sympathy she felt for Théadan having to see what his nation’s armies had done to hers only encouraged more tears. Her own arms wrapped around him, under his so she did not break the hold he had on her, and Navia pressed tightly to him for the comfort he so freely gave. It was hard to see, hard to know Théadan’s family has wreaked so much havoc on her beloved country, but she would have be grateful to have him by her side during such difficult moments.<br/><br/>Amongst the helplessness that had overcome her, Théadan gave her reason to hope. He pointed out the valley could be depopulated, that the city could live on. She knew he was right, knew just that was happening across the northern portion of her country. People were rebuilding their lives and making sure they moved on despite the horrors the Mes’Mo’Tanians has unleashed upon them. That knowledge helped to calm her tears and Navia sighed heavily against Théadan while she tried to recover from the elevated emotions. She had always cared deeply for her people, had always been proud to be Khluri, it was something that had connected her and Devam, but she had not expected it to have such a harsh impact on her. The heightened emotions left her feeling drained and muted, much like she had been after the few other crying jags she’d had since leaving Nygaard. Navia also knew there was a difference this time as well; she knew part of why she was so upset was due to her own selfishness. She had never thought to check on her friend when she heard Zyena had fallen to the Mes’Mo’Tan armies. She’d been too caught up in her mourning of Devam.<br/><br/>Luckily Théadan pointed out they could be somewhere else, that she could still return Sura’s Necklace to its keepers. Nodding her answer that they might have abandoned Zyena for safety, Navia pulled back from Théadan enough for one of her hands to rise up between them so she could wipe at the tear streaks on her cheeks. “Yes, they could have gone to Mandira,” she answered solemnly, reddened eyes rising to meet his gaze, only to pause at the dark marks left on his chest from her tears. Frowning, Navia brushed at the damp spots, “Sorry...” Then she adjusted with a heavy sigh, legs shifting forward so she could sit down on the earth beneath them and allow her legs to extend before her. “I don’t want to go to Mandira right away though,” she continued, withdrawing from him enough to begin tucking the necklace back under the safety of her dress, “Will you please bring me the map?” She didn’t trust her legs; she felt somewhat shaky from the onslaught of emotions that had overcome here.<br/><br/>It was likely another day of riding to reach the spa her mother had taken her to in the past. Once the map was retrieved so she was able to open it upon and lay it across her lap, Navia could see it was, but they would also have to backtrack some before heading south toward the coast. “We’d probably have to find a place to stay tonight,” Navia sighed, finger tracing across the Khluri countryside on the map and wondering if there were even inns standing that could give them shelter for a night, “Or we’d have to set up a camp like we did in Mes’Mo’Tan. What do you think?” There were a few small towns listed on the map between them and their destination, but that meant little now that she had seen the state of so many towns. Her finger came to rest on a coastal town labeled Lamph a, built where the ocean seemed to encroach on the land and create a long, shallow curve of a coastline. She tapped the tip of her finger against it thoughtfully, a frown tugging at her lips. “Is it wrong of me to want to do this?” Navia asked suddenly, looking up at Théadan earnestly, “That I want to bring you to this place instead of going home immediately? Is it wrong to put off returning the necklace and seeing my family again?”