The night was quiet. Zaljin stared up at the biggest moon, which was full and bright. Meruda was pounding some of the herbs she'd collected up on the Hinterlands in a mortar, far enough away that they could both relax in the semblance of solitude. Algida's appearance had reminded them both of the world outside and waiting, and by unspoken agreement they had spent the rest of the afternoon in friendly but separate activities.

He'd spent an hour putting in another piling on the hut, while she cooked the fish she'd caught. She'd repaired the hem of her good robe while he'd sharpened the cheap daggers he'd bought at Booty Bay. He swept the sand out of the hut while she gave Daisy a bath.

Now he was lying in the sand, listening to the waves whisper as they rubbed against each other in foamy friendliness and enjoying the complacent satisfaction of having accomplished something useful while avoiding something else. He wasn't surprised when she came to sit down next to him.

"I suppose the vacation be over tomorrow." She said. She sounded calm, for which he was grateful.

"Ya week, at least."

"I s'pose it's been better than being a zombie."

He grinned, before saying seriously, "I wouldn't 've left ya there, anyways."

"I know. Now at least." She stretched out an arm to consider it. "And a tan looks better on me than deathly pallor."

"Dunno. I know a couple undead with a thing for that kinda look."

"Ew."

"Don't knock what ya ain't tried. Rumor has it they good at sewing on enhancements. Building on an extra story as it were." His gesture indicated what he was talking about.

"I'd be worried it'd break or fall off. And that just ain't fun for nobody."

"It can be a problem." He admitted. "I made ya something." He sat up, fishing a small package out of his pocket. He held it out to her.

She took it and peered at the fabric. "No wonder I had to hem my robe."

"The wrappin' paper store was closed today. Just open it, would ya?"

She unwrapped the little bundle. A small necklace tumbled into her lap. A blue pearl hung on a shimmering string of discs of iridescent murloc scale. Her fingertips hovered over the necklace. She didn't say anything.

He couldn't stand the silence. "I figured since ya burned the last murloc necklace I made ya, ya wouldn't mind a replacement."

She swallowed hard, and said in a choked voice, "Ya gotten better at making jewelry."

"It's a hobby. Carving rocks takes time, and gives me something ta do while I'm waiting around."

"This was ya nunya, wasn't it."

"Yeah, but if you don't like it, then it wasn' worth almost gettin' eaten."

"I like it." She opened the clasp and put it on. The necklace was just long enough so that the pearl fell right to the top of her cleavage.

"I didn't make ya anything." She said.

"Ya didn't have ta." He said quickly.

"But I got a present for ya too, sort of."

He blinked. "What?"

"Ya stuff's in the cabin."

"What?"

"Ya stuff. I found it when I killed the Bloodsail captain in his room. I didn't count it or anythin' but ya clothes and …" She blinked as he went zooming across the sand, to dive in the hut. "Blue pack!"

"Ya rotten woman!" He yelled from inside the hut. "Ya had 'em this whole time? When were ya gonna tell me?"

"Well, if the week went bad, I wasn't." She called back. "If it went real bad, I was gonna set it on fire for ya before I left. When things went good, it seemed a little harder ta bring up."

He grunted. "Glad ya didn't. That's my favorite dagger."

"And ya prob'ly get peed on by more gobbos if ya had ta go shopping in Booty Bay when ya cranky."

He came back out, and flopped back on his previous spot.

"Ya ain't mad?" She asked.

"Nah. If it'd been ta other way around, I'd probably do da same thing."

She grinned, a smile that was suddenly familiar to him, reminding him of her younger self. "Nah. Ya woulda waited to give it back until tomorrow."

"If it meant ya be walkin' around naked, ya damn right." The silence stretched out between them.

She tilted her head up to look at the moon. "Thank you."

"It's just a necklace lady. No need ta get gushy."

"I wasn' talkin' about the necklace."

"Oh." He reached up absently to run his fingers through her hair, removing a few traces of seaweed. "Don' be thankin' me. That implies that one of us did somethin' more for the other, when from where I was sittin' it seemed mutually beneficial." He waggled his eyebrows, feeling strangely uncomfortable under the weight of the conversation.

"Ya always makin' jokes when the conversation gets serious."

"Best way ta avoid it."

She laughed. "At least ya sense of humor's gotten better." There was just the tiniest of wobbles in her voice.

He sighed. "Yeah. Comes with gettin' older. Ya realize what's funny and what ain't. What's important, what ain't." He reached over to hold her hand. "I be glad I got my friend back."

She sniffled. "Me too."

"Hey, no cryin' allowed on vacation. New rule."

She hiccupped. "That's a dumb rule. I can cry on my vacation if I want to." She swiped at her eyes with a handful of sleeve.

"Nope. It's a rule." He looked at her anxiously. "Sides if ya start cryin' then Deathclaw will start howling, then Daisy will start snarling, and ain't nobody gonna be happy."

"Fine. New rule. Ya have ta promise to write me or come visit at least once a month, so ... so I know ya ain't dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Only if ya write me back."

"Fine." She scooted over until she was snuggled up next to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.

"What time is the blimp leavin' tomorrow?" She asked.

"First one's at dawn. Last one's at sunset."

"It's a long ride to Orgrimmar."

"It is."

"Probably should catch the first one."

"Probably."

"I s'pose we oughta sleep some then. Be a long day tomorrow."

"We oughta." His tone of voice was noncommittal.

She picked her head up to smile at him. "But we ain't gonna, are we?"

"Hell no. Plenty of time ta sleep when ya dead."

They got back to Orgrimmar around mid-afternoon. A wave of anxiety hit her as soon as the gates came into view. Going back to the temple for training at her age was embarrassing. Did she really want to do this? Zaljin watched her re-buckle the saddle for the fourth time, before he said anything.

"It's not that weird, ya know. Lots of priests go back for other training when their older." He said.

"How would you know?" She snapped.

"Cause Buli is dating one of 'em who's workin' on being a battle priest. The kind that goes out and hunts the Alliance. She decided she wanted to be more proactive about wound prevention. She's also fifteen years older 'n he is."

"Buli from the village Buli?"

"Yeah."

"Fifteen years?"

"Yeah. He likes 'em mature. Got a mommy complex or somethin'. So stop fiddlin' with the damn strap and get on ya raptor already. Stallin' ain't gonna help."

"Ya not the boss of me." She muttered grumpily.

"I'll ask Algida for a promotion. C'mon Mer, I'm starving and there's a rack of ribs and a jug of beer with my name on it."

"Ya coulda had some of my spider legs."

"I don't eat elfy food. It's bad for ya health."

She got on her raptor, with a deep breath.

"Race ya. Loser buys lunch." She said, before digging her heels into Daisy's ribs.

"What?"

Daisy was already streaking toward the gates.

"That is CHEATING!" He yelled, even as he nudged Deathclaw with his knees.

He might have still won if it hadn't been for a goblin with a bad sense of timing that got kicked over the auction house when Deathclaw tripped over him.

They both stood in front of the priest quarters. Meruda sighed. "Six months of re-trainin'." She turned to look at him, "Remember, ya promised ta write."

"I remember." He said with a grin. "I'll see ya later." And he rode off.

She watched him go, before turning and heading into the main hut. ~Vacation's over. We both gotta get back ta our lives. Different worlds. ~ She told herself firmly.

But she would have been lying if she denied a small part of her wished it was different.

Algida hadn't been lying when he said he had a lot of work lined up. He handed Zaljin a packet of papers almost three inches thick. Zaljin flipped through the first couple of pages until he found the assignment location. "Silithus?"

Algida didn't look up as he worked his way through the thousands of forms and reports on his desk. "Gobbos down there be bitchin' about some kinda bug problem. Druids reporting same thing in Feralas. Shamans moaning about the end of the world or some shit. Go find out if it's actually a problem or tree-huggin' crap."

"What's the matter Algida, couldn't find anything further away?"

"I've got another one up in Winterspring if ya like that one better. Ya never bitched about the distance before." Algida's bright little eyes narrowed at Zaljin. "Somethin' change I should know about?"

"Nah. I just gettin' tired of long flights." Zaljin stood up and left the office, papers tucked away. "I'll head out as soon as I get some stuff fixed up."

Meruda tossed on the cot, the woven leather straps that made up the hammock portion squealing in protest, as she flipped from one side to the other. She couldn't sleep.

The first day hadn't been bad, but it'd still involved a lot of uncomfortable conversations. Owazi had listened to her reason for requesting re-training with a solemn silence that had unnerved her. When she finished, mentioning the loa dream, and her own resolve not to do any more magic until she was certain that it was for the right reason, he nodded twice. He got up, arthritic joints creaking, and hobbled around the desk to squeeze her shoulder.

"I be glad ya ain't lost to us daughter. It's a hard, hard thing ta resist the darkness once it digs its claws in deep. Sometimes I be thinkin' we shouldn't teach the dark at all. But that ain't in balance, and it ain't my decision. We teach ya the ways of the light this time." He patted her shoulder, before asking gently, "Is that all that's troublin' ya? Ya seemed a bit sad when ya came in."

"Nah. Just a little embarrassed about havin' ta come back ta school like a youngling." She lied.

Old Owazi stared hard at her for a moment, before saying cheerfully, "Ya ain't gonna get treated like a youngling, kiddo. Lessons gonna be much harder. Think of it like taking an advanced course. And ya get ta help teach da younglings, 'cause it's the best way ta learn yaself and 'cause we short-handed. C'mon, I'll take ya up ta ya room so ya can get settled."

As soon as she'd dropped her packs on the floor of the tiny room on the third floor, he'd insisted she get introduced to everyone in the huts, from the smallest youngling to the oldest cook, hobbling up and down the various stairs and around the huts without any sign that his arthritis or age was slowing him down. By the time they'd finished with the tour, Meruda was starting to wish she'd slept last night, and wondering what the hell Owazi drank that gave him so much energy.

He'd taken her back to her room, and she'd started to think happily about a nap when he asked her to write a letter to Mother Dismay, because apparently the old priestess had demanded that she be told if Meruda ever came back. That had been surprisingly difficult. She felt like she ought to mention Zaljin yet was absolutely certain that she didn't want to talk about him. She wanted to keep that week to herself. She didn't want anyone to judge her for it, or even inflict cynical thoughts on it. In the end, she settled for writing fully about the loa dream, and her decision, with a single line mentioning that she'd also regained her friendship with Zaljin along the way.

By the time she was done with her letter, it was dinner time, and the chaotic noise of the common dining hut compounded the headache she'd already started. After dinner, she was informed that the newest arrival to the temple always had to do the dishes. By the time she dragged back up the three flights of stairs after having washed every pot in the kitchen she was ready to fall asleep.

And yet she couldn't. Alone with her thoughts at last, in a strange bed and a strange place, she felt overwhelmingly lonely. When she'd felt like this growing up, she'd talked to one of her pets. Now she was a grown-up and didn't have any pets to talk to, and she was in a building full of relative strangers. And she missed Zaljin. She found herself bursting with things she wanted to tell him, but she had a whole month to wait before she heard from him again. If she heard from him again. He might even have already left Orgrimmar. She decided it was completely justified to cry herself silly tonight, and go get a pet tomorrow from the auction house.

She had just gotten to the hiccupping stage after a bitter flood of tears and snot, and was wiping her nose on her sleeve when a familiar voice said from the window, "Mer? What's wrong?"

She froze in confusion. She couldn't decide if she was happier because Zaljin was sitting on her windowsill when she wanted to see him or madder because she was embarrassed he caught her crying. She sat up, scrubbing her face with the sleeve of her robe, before turning to look at him.

"Nothin'. Just been a rough day, and I figured it wouldn' bother anyone tonight." She mumbled.

He slid off the windowsill, and walked over to sit next to her on the bed. "Why's it been so bad? Old Owazi's supposed ta be the good sort."

"It's .. just strange, and startin' over, and ... and it's been a crazy week." She sniffed, mad that she couldn't get her voice to cooperate.

He stared hard at her for a second. "And ya thought I meant good-bye when I said see ya later. Ya know, for a priest, ya don't listen too good." He put an arm around her, and she snuggled into his side, glad of the chance to duck her head, as she sniffed.

"I thought ya were emphasizing being friendly, without bein' serious. The way it was before. And it'd be ok if ya were."

"Lady, ya gotta quit thinkin' with that brain. I'm startin' ta think it's defective."

She punched him lightly in the leg. "What's that supposed ta mean?"

"It means that maybe I don't want ta go back ta the way it was before. Ya weren't naked nearly as much for one thing."

She didn't say anything for a long few moments, as she let herself pretend for a few moments that such a thing might work out. She shook her head as she forced herself to say, "It wouldn't work. Ya ain't cut out for living in a village, and neither am I. We'd drive each other nuts, and hate each other for feelin' trapped. It wouldn't work."

"Ya absolutely right." He agreed. Her heart sunk even lower. "But who says we'd have ta be living in a village ta have somethin' better?"

She shook her head. "Ya not makin' sense."

"Just 'cause somethin's the way everyone else does it, doesn't have ta be the way we do it Mer. There's no rule sayin' we can't be together if we don't live in the village. Ya go do your thing, I go do mine, we meet in the middle bits. Maybe some missions we go do together when ya done with school. Lots more people be doin' that sort of thing now, with the hostilities escalatin' in Warsong and Southshore." He paused and said, a little uncertainly, "It'd be enough for me Mer. But I dunno if it'd be enough for you. Cause it's either you or nobody for me, but I'd understand if ya couldn't do that sorta life and I'd be happy for ya."

She glared at him angrily. "How do you know it's me or nobody? It's crazy ta be that sure after a week. Ya could meet the love of ya life tomorrow in the street, and then ya'd feel like a real goober!" ~And I'd be heartbroken.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I known the important part of ya a lot longer than a week, Mer. The core of ya don't change, no matter what happens ta ya. I'm not sayin' ya the same person ya were then, cause ya ain't, and I ain't either. But I always loved ya, in that real scary sort of way."

"Ya mean the kind of way where ya just want the other one ta be happy, and ya don't care what it costs ya ta give it to 'em." She mumbled.

"Yeah. Dat way."

"Maybe when we were kids, ya did. Ya just .. just high off a nice week." Her hands were twining hard in the fabric of her robe, and her voice was husky and shaking.

"Ya used ta be braver, Mer, but ya ain't ever been a liar. Could ya look me in the eyes and tell me ya don't love me, right now?"

"Of course not, ya my best friend." She mumbled.

"Is that all ya want from me?"

The internal struggle was epic. Insecurities fought with what she really wanted, while fear played on both sides. Finally, she whispered, "No. But I don't t'ink I could survive losing ya again. I'd rather have ya as a friend than go through that."

"Ya always underestimate ya'self. Ya'd survive just fine. I might not, after ya got done being mad, but ya'd eventually be ok. Maybe in prison, but ok." He teased, as hope released that tight knot of tension that had been building in his chest while she'd remained silent.

She snorted, and muttered, "I wouldn't get caught." with a shadow of her old confidence.

"Sometimes Mer, ya gotta go on faith. And let me tell choo what a weird thing that is for me ta be tellin' ta ya. Trust me when I tell ya I only ever been close ta one person, and dat be you. There just ain't room for anyone else the way ya under my skin. I was at the auction house ta get a new dagger, and instead I find myself gettin' dis pissy little monster cause ya didn' have a pet, and no matter what ya say, ya always needed ya stupid pets."

He reached under the bed for the bag he'd dropped there. For the first time Meruda could hear muffled snarling noises. He reached in gingerly, and pulled out a golden cage, holding it at arms' length. Inside was a light blue furry spider, about the size of her palm, hissing and chittering angrily.

"The damn thing was an egg when I bought it, but it hatched on me." He shivered as he recalled reaching into his bag and feeling something reach back.

Her eyes filled up with tears all over again, as she stared at the utterly adorable spider with eight big brown eyes, as it threw itself against the bars of the cage in a full-out tantrum. He'd gotten her a pet spider. HE had gotten HER a SPIDER. He hated spiders. She'd always loved them and the beauty of their webs. In fact it had been her fault that he'd nearly been eaten by giant spiders when they were young because she'd been trying to catch one for a pet. After that she hadn't gotten a spider for a pet because of his feelings.

She reached out with shaking hands, and opened the cage, reaching in to scoop the baby spider out, and stroke its furry back gently. It calmed down immediately once it was out of its cage, shrinking down close to her hand. He shuddered and slid away from her about a foot.

"I still don't like those things." He warned.

"Ya love me." She said, softly.

"I been tryin' ta tell ya that." He said with exasperation.

"Yeah. Ya have." She lifted the spider to eye-level. "I'm gonna name ya Mookie."

"What's wrong with somethin' accurate? Like Horrible Monster or Bad Idea."

"Don'cha listen ta him Mookie. She's a Smolderweb from Blackrock. It's probably been cold in ya bags. That's why she be so angry. They like it warm." She walked over to the little dresser in the room, and opened a drawer, laying the spider down on top of her spare robes. The spider immediately burrowed in the soft cloth.

"It's lyin' in ambush." He warned.

"Ya breakin' a rule ya know." She turned and smiled at him

"Eh. Maybe it wasn't a good rule." He couldn't help staring at the look on her face as she walked back over. It was soft and vulnerable and so warm with affection, and open that he was transfixed. He'd always thought she was pretty, but that expression made her beautiful. It would have been worth buying a thousand spiders to see that look, knowing it was for him. "I mean, ya like the disgusting t'ings."

She cupped his face in her hands and leaned in to kiss him with all the love she felt, even as tears rolled down her face.

When she pulled away, he stated, "Ya love me." She nodded.

"Was that so damn hard?" He demanded in a false-angry tone, as he pulled her in to sit on his lap.

"It was." She kissed him again. "It really was."

The kisses grew more serious. Clothes fell away. The euphoria carried them both away, until they forgot everything and everyone around them. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, the bed banging and bouncing on the floor, when Owazi poked his head in.

"Meruda, I know this be ya first day and all, but we got rules about fornicatin'. Mainly keep it the hell down. Ya wakin' everyone up." He said sleepily, as both Zaljin and Meruda froze in surprise. "And ya just volunteered ta be teaching sexual education ta the fifth years, so ya can explain why ya been bouncing ya bed on their ceiling at two in the mornin'. Nice ta meet ya young man. G'night!" With that he left again, shutting the door firmly on a purple-faced Meruda, and a snickering Zaljin behind him.

"It's not funny!" She hissed in mortification.

"Yeah it is." He grinned down at her, and kissed her on the nose.

"Ya not the one that's gonna have ta explain it ta younglings."

He nibbled on the side of her neck. "Want me ta come provide practical demonstration? Could be kinky."

"Pervert." She tried to glare at him, but ended up making a 'mmm' noise as he nuzzled her neck.

"Ya love me." He said smugly.

"Maybe. I might change my mind."

"No take-backs on ya loving me." He started moving again, more slowly so as not to make the bed bang on the floor. Her legs tightened around him, her toes sliding down to his calves. He ducked his head to suck on a nipple.

She bit him on the shoulder to muffle the screech of pleasure. "Ya ain't helpin' on this quiet thing." She hissed.

He just lifted an eyebrow and grinned wickedly. "I ain't the one he told ta be quiet." He started moving again, and Meruda groaned behind clenched teeth.

The next morning Meruda went downstairs with Mookie sitting on her shoulder to breakfast, jaw squared to meet what she was sure would be an embarrassing plethora of stares. Instead, the only person who appeared to notice her arrival was Owazi, who grunted a good morning, focusing on his food.

She had made herself a plate, and was sitting down to eat it, when Owazi grunted, "By the way, Mother Dismay is here. She wants ta see ya."

"What?" Meruda still wasn't any better at mornings, and she couldn't remember Mother Dismay ever leaving the village before. What Owazi was saying didn't make any more sense than saying the sun hadn't risen that day.

"Ya heard me girl. Go see her after breakfast. She out on the rocks up front smokin'."

Meruda hastily emptied her plate, and headed out front. The old priestess had gotten fatter and more wrinkled over the last five years, but the pipe and the way she sat with her spine straight as a board hadn't changed.

"Mother Dismay, whatchoo doin' here? Ya ain't never left the village before, have ya?"

Mother Dismay fixed her with a look, staring into her eyes so long, Meruda started to feel naked. Eventually, she blew out a smoke ring, and said, "Wanted ta know if ya hurt was fixed. Ya letter didn't say nothin' about that boy 'cept ya were friendly again."

Meruda sat down upon a rock, trying to figure out how to answer. "Yeah. I think it be fixed." She paused. "How'd ya know?"

"Got eyes, girl. Ya ain't the first youngling I raised, but ya had the most power I'd seen in five years. Scared me ta death when I could see all that pain in ya. Dark Loa come that way, and power be the hardest to resist, especially when ya mad at the world."

Meruda looked down at her hands, a question rising unbidden to her lips, "Why didn't ya warn me? Say somethin'? Tell me what could happen? I hurt so much.."

"And how would ya have reacted? Ain't no hurt in the world like a young broken heart. If I'd started lecturin' ya about how ya needed ta forgive th' boy for ya own sake, what would ya have done?" asked the priestess quietly. "Ya would have been angry at me, maybe run away. Only thing I could do was teach ya ta control ya power, best I could, and hope ya was strong enough to handle it. I put a flea in the boy's ear though. Not that he listened at th' time. Young trolls don't never listen 'less ya sayin' what they want ta hear."

Meruda thought about it. Mother Dismay was right. If the senior priestess had come out with it, Meruda's own embarrassment and anger would have driven her away.

"Ya was too sensitive. Power makes ya that way, cause ya in tune to the spirits, and they twangin' on ya emotions." The old priestess continued. "I know. S'why I drink. Drowns 'em out."

"He loves me." Meruda said quietly, and a little hesitantly. "But I'd already decided I couldn't walk the shadow path no more. The loa dream.. it wasn't what I wanted ta be."

"He always did love ya girl, though maybe not in the physical sense. But half-grown men be stupider than the full-grown sorts, especially when it comes ta sex." Mother Dismay got an unpleasant glint in her eye. "If I'd thought he'd hurt ya on purpose, or 'cause he didn' really care, I'd have skinned him alive. But I could tell he was real sorry, though he wasn't grown up enough to know how ta fix it." The priestess puffed on the foul-smelling pipe, and they sat in silence. "Ya was always meant for the light side. Ya cared too much 'bout all the living things ta be a dark one. "

"Ya came all this way ta tell me that?" Meruda realized it sounded a little rude, but she was still confused at seeing her old mentor.

"That, and I wanted ta look at ya. I've seen a lot of younglings. Most ain't near as much trouble as ya, but they ain't worth as much neither." The old priestess harrumphed suddenly, as if bothered. "I wanted ta be sure I'd done the right thing back then. Back then, I wanted ta warn ya. To try and make ya pain less. It damn near killed me, seein' ya go from a happy young thing ta a hollow-eyed mass of hurtin', and not doin' anything was one of the hardest things I had ta do."

Meruda stared out into the streets of Orgrimmar, shocked by the priestess' admission. "I didn't realize …" She trailed off before saying 'you cared'. Mother Dismay had been an ever-present figure in her life, but she'd never given consideration to how the old priestess felt towards her charges, never realized that the old priestess might take an interest beyond how well they were learning, and how soon they'd be ready to leave. She'd never once thought of confiding in her, of confessing all the anger and rage she felt, and Meruda immediately felt both shame and like an utter fool.

"And I should've realized." Meruda said. "I'm sorry I didn't talk ta ya back then. Maybe it woulda made things easier."

The older priestess shrugged a shoulder. "It don't matter now. I'm just glad ya found ya true self again." Mother Dismay knocked the ashes out of her pipe. "And the boy too, I guess."

"I don't know if I found all of it yet. But maybe I will. Takes a while to heal wounds that deep."

"Yes, it will. Listen to Owazi, he get ya head on right. The way the spirits is mutterin', the world might be needin' ya power soon. Dark things movin' around, dark spirits gettin' stronger. The old gods be wakin' up." Mother Dismay repacked her pipe. "Ya got a class ta teach I hear, better get to it."

Meruda muttered, "I'd hoped that was a joke."

"Owazi don't never joke. Best learn that one now," said Mother Dismay.

Meruda stood up, and brushed her skirt off. "I guess I'd better get going, then." She stood there awkwardly, for a moment before leaning down to give Mother Dismay a brief hug. "I appreciate ya.. ya coming to see me."

The old troll harrumphed again. "Don' get mushy. Ya got work ta do, and I gotta get back ta the village." She scrambled to her feet with an alacrity that belied her age. "I told Owazi ya was a good learner. Don't make me a liar."

Meruda laughed, "I'll try not to. But it's been a long time since I was in school."

Mother Dismay patted her on the shoulder. "If ya survive the fifth years wantin' ya ta teach 'em about sex, ya will be fine." With a hoarse cackle, she headed off down the road to the windrider tower with surprising speed.

Meruda sighed, and headed back inside the temple.