Rai held his hands out, gesticulating as he spoke. "All dis time, I been wonderin' how I would try and find a out if it was okay fer someone like you to come to Zandalar. I mean, all trolls are welcome, but I didn't know what dey would say 'bout half trolls. I can't really go an' ask King Rastakhan or anyting like dat, but I tink I figured out who I can ask: da Loa demselves!
"Dey be da real authority here, even more den da King and the Zanchuli council. Maybe, if I can talk ta one o' dem directly, dey can help me figure out if you be allowed ta be here too, or failin' dat, figure out what we can do ta change dat. Maybe dey can even help me figure out tings about da visions I been havin' about my own fa'da."
Excitedly, Rai hopped over to Seria and threw his arms around her in a big hug. "Well, I know what I'm doin' first ting tomorrow! Tank you so much, Seria! Maybe dis will be da start o' gettin' you able ta come back home wit us!"
Quckly realizing his mistake, the shaman withdrew from his embrace and coughed. "I, ah, erm... dat is... if ya, you know... wanted ta come back to da tribe, after all dey did."
"I'd be lying to ya if I didn't say dat I was a little homesick. But did ya even talk to ya sista yet? Would she even consider unbanishin me? Would there be anyone happy to see me back?" Seria slumped to the ground, pulling her knees close to her chest and sighed. "I'm not telling you to not do it Rai. But I don't even know when ,if I'm even able to, return. Ya know I've been helpin ya friends and I don't know how long dat's gonna last."
She takes a moment and looks at Riff and then back up to Rai.
"When we got separated and I found Riff's egg I promised dat I'd keep him safe. And I'm not gonna leave him just so dat I can go home."
Seria buries her face in her knees and mumbles, "Dis sucks."
Rai winced. "I, ah... haven't had de opportunity ta talk ta Zulfli'Jin yet. I, ah... well, between da reservation, and den de attack by da elves, and den buildin' our ships an' comin' here, it's been..."
Rai sighed and shook his head.
"...I been too afraid ta bring it up. B-but I will! It's just that... well... now, gettin' her permission ain't even da big ting. Even if she be okay wit you comin' back to us, if da Council ain't okay wit you comin' in, dey just trow you out inta Nazmir... and I don't even tink you would stand a chance out dere alone."
Rai clapped his hands together, pleadingly. "B-but I promise I'll figure dis out! I tink I know just da place ta go ta start workin' out how we be makin' dis right. How I be makin' dis right."
The shaman looked down at the sand that sunk between his toes. "...It was my fault ya lost everyting in da first place. Dat you got kicked out, and dat you lost your ma'da. It's... I promise I fix everyting, now dat I got da chance. Even if I gotta give up ma own arm ta do it."
Riff curled more tightly in his coil, shrinking at the sudden shift in the tone of the conversation. He didn't quite feel out of place, but he did feel guilty for Seria.
...Am I keepin' her from bein' wit her own family? he thought to himself. The blood serpent made a quiet, mournful sound as he pulled his wings a little closer around his coiled self.
"Rai don't go and get ya self killed because of me. If dey tell ya no, it's fine. Ya don't gotta fix everything for me. I'll figure it out. Ya know I always do."
Her gaze shifted over to the shrinking Riff. Even though he hadn't been with her for very long, she could tell something was bothering him. Seria reached out her hand and pet the little loa to try and comfort him.
Telepathically, his words reached the two trolls. "Ma'da, I... am I holdin' you back?"
His head slowly turned to Rai. "I don' want ya ta be lonely an' homesick just cuz of me. Ya've already done ssso much for me, but now you can't even go sssee your old family witout me makin' tings harder for ya."
Riff turned back to Seria and looked down at her feet before his eyes met hers again. A mournful whistle died in his throat as he seemed to deflate a little more. "I been nuttin' but trouble for you, huh?"
Slowly the petting stopped as Seria listened and she got up.
"Absolutely not." She said as she quickly hugged Riff. "Riff you're one of the best tings dat ever happened to me. You are not making anything harder for me I promise. Dose people never accepted me because of what I was, so it's not a big deal. I'd rather be with one person dat cares then a whole tribe dat doesn't."
She hugs him tighter and looks him in the eyes.
"Riff, you're my family now and nothin's gonna change that."
Riff lifted his head, his serpentine mouth curling slightly into a smile. Rai placed a hand on Seria's shoulder and on Riff's coiling body, smiling to both of them.
"An' both of you be like family ta me," he said. "Don' worry, little guy," he said, brushing his hand over his beautiful scales. "I know you two be a package deal. If I'm gonna get her permission, I be gettin' it for you, too."
There was a twinkle in the young shaman's eye. "I know I ain't da chief, but my fa'da was. And I know my fa'da might not have been able ta protect you or noting when he was around, but I do know dat he always said dat you'd 'ave a home wit da Darkspears. Even if dat's changed right now? We'll find a way. And, as far as I be concerned, you and me? We neva stopped bein' Darkspears, even when we thought the other was dead! And, if you be her kid, dat makes you a Darkspear too, Riff!"
Perhaps he was inspired, seeing this softer, gentler side of his old friend. Rai moved forward and wrapped one arm around Seria's shoulders, and another stretched as far as he could around the sinuous serpent. "Bein' a Darkspear be about more den just bein' dere in person, ya know? Da tree of us, right here and now? We be Darkspears just as much as anyone else." He looked over at Seria with a slightly-nervous smile. She probably wouldn't smack him for this, but a part of him could never really be sure. Nevertheless, he continued. "We in dis togetha. Once a Darkspear, always a Darkspear."
Rai blushed, uncertain as to how one might respond to that, but thankfully, the tiny blood god answered for him. Riff smiled and unravelled himself, wrapping gently around the duo with a telepathic giggle. The little loa squeezed the two gently as he nuzzled his snout against Seria's cheek, his soft wings blanketing his self-proclaimed Ma'da and Fa'da.