He was reminded how different their guidance was. Polar opposites, in reality. From the first day of Noah's training to become the leader, Diane had told him how little people could think for themselves as a group. According to her, they needed constant guidance and a firm hand to keep them from killing each other, accidentally or otherwise. Patrick, on the other hand, had said that good people like the ones in Dust just needed a mediator and protection from outside threats.
Noah had been the official leader of Dust for almost four years, and he still couldn't figure out which one of them was right.
When Evanne was wheeled up to the front, he bowed his head. He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes after what had happened, and he still wasn't sure what to do about it. He had only visited her in the Med Hut while she was asleep, and he couldn't stop himself from panicking every time he saw her. What he had done was visit Evelynn every day while she was In Martha Remmington's custody. They didn't talk about why he was visiting or why at times he would just stare at Evelynn and try to pick out which features came from whom. He didn't know if Martha, or Dust for that matter, was aware of Evelynn's parentage.
Brushing dirt off his arm sling, he tried not to listen to Evanne. Nonetheless, he heard every word. "'You have to do better than us,'" she announced as Patrick's last words.
Noah couldn't imagine doing better anymore. It was clear to him that they were--he was--doing so much worse.