Namaari breathed deeply, her fingers trailing through the tall grass beside the trail. Her fingers picked up traces of the morning dew that was left on the leaves and she felt the sun warm her back as it rose over the horizon. She walked at a leisurely pace, stopping to crouch down and look at a butterfly fanning its wings in the growing sunlight. After a moment, she stood and continued down the path, rounding the last bend in the trail to come into view of Heart's major settlement. Benja was leaning against the doorway to one of the buildings and smiled when he saw her approaching.

"Good morning," Benja called once Namaari was in earshot.

Namaari trotted the last few steps to the building and all but ran into Benja as she hugged him, almost knocking him over.

Benja laughed, putting a hand on the doorframe to steady himself as he wrapped his other arm around Namaari. "It's good to see you, too," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I was looking for you this morning."

"I wanted to go on a walk," Namaari said, pulling back enough to smile at him. "Why were you looking for me?"

"We have a lot to get ready before we leave for Fang tomorrow. I've got a pretty long list of things we need to work on. But." He paused, tapping the end of her nose with one of his fingers. "I feel like you're about to tell me that you have something you'd rather do instead."

Namaari scrunched up her nose until he pulled his hand away, then nodded. "I do. And I need your help."

Benja stepped back out of their hug and bowed, gesturing toward the door. "After you, then, firefly."

Namaari took Benja's hand and led him through to the opposite side of the building and onto the road that went through the center of town. Once she stood on the cobblestones, Namaari stopped and turned toward the bridge that connected the road to the Dragon Gem sanctuary. Benja waited silently, matching her pace when she was ready to move forward again.

Namaari kept her eyes on the ground, not looking up until they stood at the door of the sanctuary. She paused on the threshold and stared into the chamber, the hitch in her breath echoing around the now empty room. Benja remained silent, but squeezed her hand and moved close enough for their shoulders to brush. Namaari took several deep breaths before she toed off her shoes and stepped hesitantly into the sanctuary. Keeping her gaze lowered, she walked slowly forward, watching the water that still flowed the wrong way up the stairs toward the sanctuary's center. She stopped at the edge of the circle that surrounded the pillar that had once held the Dragon Gem, then knelt. Benja matched her movements, still watching her closely.

After a long moment, Namaari finally raised her eyes to look at the pedestal. "You can almost still feel the Gem's magic here. The trust and love that created it. And I ruined that." She took a deep, shuddering breath, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I feel like I need to face this before Raya will be safe around me again, but I don't know how to do that."

Benja nodded but didn't say anything as she continued speaking.

"I didn't really want to do it. To betray Raya. Especially after it felt like we could be friends." Namaari's voice was quiet, barely loud enough to echo through the chamber. "But Fang was in the middle of another famine. It didn't feel like there was any other choice, so I followed the plan. And all I did was make it worse. Breaking the Gem caused more suffering than anything Fang went through before that. And it was all my fault."

"That's not true," Benja said, shaking his head. "It wasn't your choice to make, not really." He sighed heavily, his eyes drifting from Namaari to the Gem's pedestal. "Inviting the nations to Heart like I did was a mistake. I should have worked more on diplomacy with each nation separately before bringing them all here at once. I hope you can forgive me and my idealism," he said, turning to Namaaari and smiling sadly when she gave him a surprised look. "I was trying to make a better world for Raya. And I know you and Chief Virana were trying to make a better world for Fang."

"That doesn't excuse what I did." Namaari dropped her eyes back at the ground, her shoulders tensing and her hands balling into fists where they were resting on her thighs. "I still chose to betray Raya. I hurt her and so many other people."

"That must have been a hard choice. Saving your people or betraying your friend," Benja said softly. He reached toward Namaari's face with his free hand, but she turned her head away. "It's not your fault that you lived in a world where a child had to make that choice."

Namaari was still looking away from him but didn't resist when Benja put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head as her shoulders began to shake. "I forgave you a long time ago, firefly. And I think Raya has, too. The only thing left to do now is forgive yourself."

"How?" Namaari managed to gasp out around her sobs. "That doesn't seem fair to all the people I hurt. Or to Raya."

Benja moved his hand to her face again and she turned toward him, letting him wipe some of the tears from her cheeks. "Making yourself suffer now isn't going to change the pain of the past. You owe it to yourself and everyone who was affected by the Druun to work toward a better world. You can't do that if you spend your whole life beating yourself up about a mistake you made when you were twelve years old." He gave her a small smile and tapped the end of her nose with one of his fingers. "And I know Raya wants you to be happy."

Namaari wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder as he held her. They stayed like this for a few moments, Benja rubbing her back until her breathing evened out again and her shoulders finally relaxed. Once she had calmed down, Benja stood and moved in front of her, offering his hands to pull her up. She took them and rose to her feet, immediately pulling him into another hug.

Benja laughed, returning her embrace. "Do you feel like you're ready to see Raya again?" he asked.

Namaari nodded against his chest and held him even tighter.

"I'm glad," Benja said as he ruffled her hair. "And I'm proud of you, firefly."

Namaari stepped back and shoved him gently away from her. "You're going to make me cry again."

Benja grinned and reached to muss Namaari's hair a second time, but she dodged away, laughing as he followed her out of the sanctuary.