Arete retreated immediately upon arrival. She wandered away from the settlements. Silent, she wandered into the Exile Lands and curled up on the ground. Vindi was there. She looked up slowly and he frowned at her. "Your house is a wreck." Arete looked away. "Satoshi won't let me in my house. I'm exiled from there. It doesn't matter," she whispered. Tears filled her eyes. "I can't make him happy. I can't make my father happy. I can't make anyone happy. I do everything wrong." Vindi stood and slapped her, hard. Arete scowled, then stalked to the cave curling up. She uncorked the vial. Vindi grabbed her wrist and tossed the vial on the ground, shattering it. "Are you done with your medicine?" Arete gave a tiny nod. "Good. Now, I've cleaned your house. I'll talk to Satoshi about letting you come home, but you need to take your medicine and behave."<br/><br/>Arete gave a silent sigh, curling into the ground and staring into the water. She nodded again, making some tea and sipping it. "I belong here. Alone. Forever..."<br/><br/>Vindi sighed, then stalked off and away from her. "Just get better and stop your damn whining," he growled.<br/><br/>Arete tiredly lay against the wall, crying. Vindi ignored her, leaving to handle his own tribe. After she'd finished her tea, the young Air Dragon got to her feet and walked deeper into the exiled lands. She didn't care about the other dragons anymore. No one gave her the time of day. They lectured her and sent her on missions. She silently kicked a rock off of the cliff, then sat down on the ground, tears in her eyes. She didn't care about the pearls. She didn't care that she wouldn't be reimbursed. She didn't care that Yoshito had lectured her. She'd just wanted to get home and prove that she still had value. She could get a mission done, and quickly. She was sick, yeah, but she'd gotten Satoshi his liquor and everyone their messages and packages in a little under a week. Tears filled her eyes, streaming down her face and making it go hot and red. Weeping hard, she began to rock back and forth.<br/><br/>The festival would be starting soon. Arete could hear soft music on the air. She began to weep softly, swaying and tiredly wandering to her cave. She sipped some more tea, feeling lonely and upset. Satoshi had been kind and given her so many chances. She'd just not deserved any of them. Giving a weak shudder, she fell still on the ground, her entire form shuddering as she wept. She wanted to come home. She slowly fell asleep, the soft sounds of a flute sending her into a dreamless unconscious state.<br/><br/><br/>Meanwhile, Erydia was opening up the art caches of the Fire Dragons, setting out sand paintings on the beach and opening the museums. The day passed, full of laughter and cheer as everyone came around and began to enjoy themselves. Vindi delivered some of Daiki's liquor for the Alphas. Erydia set it in a special cool room, then nodded around the room. She noted Arete's absence. The young Air Dragon loved her solitude, but she usually enjoyed this festival. Vindi whispered something in her ear and she blinked, then sighed. "She's finally gone too far on poor Satoshi, then?" she asked. Vindi gave a nod, then began to set out some tapestries.<br/><br/>Preparations for the festival went on all day. The Earth Tribe had been cooking long hours and were setting out exquisite trays of food for everyone. Erydia had even had some of her sculptors make some ornate pools for any of the visiting Water tribe members. A few members of the Air Tribe began to play music while some artists from Fire Tribe were painting the mountain. Erydia smiled and settled into a dark obsidian chair in her home, closing her eyes to relax. She turned to her aid, Venitia, and asked that she bring Satoshi in so they could speak about performance times.