The Nord flinched at Meesei's magic, but understood its purpose soon after. What made her uneasy was the request to be searched. She looked at the makeshift guards that Meesei had brought along and narrowed her eyes. Even if they themselves were not wearing anything, or even leering at her or Meesei's bodies, they were male. The Nord looked back to Meesei. "Can I at least have some privacy from them?" She said, nodding in the guards' direction at the end of her question.

One of the guards nudged the other and they both turned around away from the prisoner. Their curiosity was mostly at what Meesei was going to with this prisoner, but they were meant to be keeping watch anyway.

It was only then that the Nord began to remove her clothing, handing them off to Meesei and keeping a close eye on the guards at the door. Searching the Nord's belongings revealed a steel dagger in her boot, a handful of septims, and some personal affects. There didn't appear to be anything that could realistically compromise the lock on the gate to the room.

"You aren't just saving me to eat later, are you?" The Nord asked Meesei darkly.

---

Janius wished it were as simple as Kaleeth implied it was. He could only reply honestly. "Most of the time it isn't a choice, it's one thing that the beast spirit doesn't suffer to be denied; its prey. Whenever anyone tries to stop their beast spirit in that regard, whether it be a humanoid or an animal quarry, there's no stopping it on your own." Janius took a deep breath, "Meesei likes to justify it by saying that we will not ever eat or kill innocent people, but really, the beast is part of who we are, along with everything it does. There's no use in being ashamed of it anymore."

Being forced to confront a morality of this nature after ignoring it for so long was making Janius feel ambivalent. While Kaleeth was upset, he felt that he needed to distract himself for a moment. He stood up from his stool and let go of Kaleeth's hand. "I'll fetch us some water," he said as he turned and walked away with his head hung low.

Janius was away for a few minutes, giving both himself and Kaleeth a moment to calm themselves slightly and think. He returned with a full waterskin that he swigged from before holding it out for Kaleeth to take. "Have a sip, you'll feel a bit better, I promise."

---

Fendros was taken aback by Ahnasha's escalation. It was the familiar serious side of herself that she was showing. However, this was less fortified. The veneer began to break down as she continued. Seeing the tears form and her tone waver made Fendros' own eyes burn in empathy. Overwhelming that, unfortunately, was a confusion. Fendros thought he was doing what was right, even if it put himself in mortal danger. As was too often a habit for Fendros, his confusion bred anger.

"You could have been in that fight beyond the corridor, Ahna!" Fendros lowered his brow as he tried to assert himself, "Your life matters, Rhazii's life matters! I did what I knew I needed to do." A twinge of self-awareness alerting to Fendros' rash behaviour crossed Fendros' mind, but not his bull-headedness.

The healer who was bandaging Fendros had just finished tying off his arm. He looked to both Fendros and Ahnasha and tried to take a diplomatic tone. "Brother, sister, please. There are others trying to rest."