When Chitsa paused it seemed an eternity of silence stretched out before him. When she crumpled to the ground and spoke understanding dawned on him and his broad shoulders slumped. He didn't know how this had happened, but there was no guessing it to be anything else. He saw it in her eyes and in the way she collapsed in upon herself. Nayati walked forward, closer to his old friend, but he stopped short of actually giving her any physical comfort. The Amara woman could be a testy creature in the best of times, and while she was consumed by such grief there was no telling where her boundaries might lay. "You should not carry this all on your own. You must confide in someone, or it will eat you alive." It was clear from his voice he did not necessarily mean himself. It had to be someone she felt comfortable with and of her own choosing. Nayati would do whatever he could for her and would be there for her, but he knew he could never presume to know what Chitsa would want.
She stood and turned away again, but did not flee from him like he had been half expecting. She spoke the fateful truth that he had already deduced, but then another nugget of information came that was just as shocking—Dawali's and her father was gone as well. How could these things have happened? Was there sickness running rampant in the Great Tribe again? "I cannot begin to understand your loss and grief, and I will not insult you by trying. You are not alone though Chitsa. Dawali is here for you, and so am I." He would be there for her as long as she was here, even if she would be too stubborn or proud to accept it. Nayati swallowed past a dry and scratchy throat. He did not wish to compound her problems, but he had to ask, "What is going on in the Great Tribe?" Something was clearly wrong, and he had a right to know. His family was still there too.
.nayatifrb1 b {font-weight:bold; color:#a6d0e0; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #284e5d; }
.nayatifrb1-ooc {font-style:italic; padding:0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#152836; text-align:right;text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #284e5d;}
.nayatifrb1 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.nayatifrb1 {margin:0 auto; width:480px; background-color:#40688b; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... nafb01.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #152836; padding: 160px 0px 10px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#152836; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12.3px; text-align:justify; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #40688b;}
.nayatifrb1-border1 {width:482px; border:1px solid #40688b; margin:0 auto;}
.nayatifrb1-line1 {width:450px; border-bottom:1px dotted #5e84a6; margin:0 auto 3px auto;}
</style>