Throughout their meal, Meesei was noticeably and unusually distant. Indeed, she had been distant for the past few weeks, though it was mostly due to her responsibilities in that case. She had of course spent a good deal of time with several members of her pack while tracking Harriet, but even then, she had been driven and focused on their goal. Idle conversation had been sparse, at least where she was involved. Besides the hunt, Meesei's other responsibilities had taken up nearly all of her time. Over half of the day after she returned had been spent dealing with the Nord prisoner, Arnora. She had been free with her information, and in return, they agreed to release her with adequate supplies. Some were not happy with the decision, but Meesei understood that a simple mercenary was not their true enemy, and she intended to remain true to her word. 

Even after dealing with the problems that had fallen to her, Meesei did not stop herself from taking on new ones...many new ones. Nearly every aspect of the clan, she was finding herself involved in. She helped to inspect and fortify the clan's defenses, and began work on creating enchantments in the area around the ruin's entrance that would serve to offer early warnings against intruders, or at least large groups of them. She met with both Oswall and Darahil to organize larger expeditions into the unexplored sections of the ruin, with the eventual goal of making the whole of the ancient city safe for the clan. She spoke with Pierrette and Vera to lay the foundation of her plan to expand the clan's economic capabilities in County Bruma, and perhaps beyond. She intended to look for clan members who had connections that still might be used, as well as opportunities for acquiring land in the mostly uninhabited wilds. The unusable equipment from the mercenaries who attacked the clan, particularly the silver, could be sold for a considerable amount of gold, so the clan would be receiving a boost to its treasury soon enough. As a related goal, Meesei began work on organizing envoys to other clans and packs to establish lines of communication across Tamriel. She personally only knew of how to contact the clan in Black Marsh, south of Helstrom, but there were others who knew how to find some of the other clans. Still, it would take some time to locate and communicate with all of Tamriel's clans. She did anticipate that there could be resistance to her plans, or even her right to authority in general, from some other clan leaders, but with Hirecine's blessing, Meesei expected to be able to bring them all together eventually. Though, perhaps the most daunting challenge Meesei intended to face was the restructuring of the clan itself. The factions that the clan had fractured into were obviously an exploitable weakness, but it would not be easy to undo an entire social structure. The livestyle of lycans naturally lent itself to compartmentalization, so it would be difficult to overcome that instinct. Still, lycans were also rational beings. It could take years, but Meesei had a plan to slowly bring them all together. 

In their current conversation, Meesei heard what the others were saying to Sabine, but was unusually silent on the matter. Normally, she took great interest in anything related to Sabine's progress. Most of the pack likely expected her to give either encouragement or cautious advice to Sabine on what could be a major event in her life, but for a while, she said nothing. Adding to her strange behavior, she had only eaten about half of her lunch before stopping, despite having skipped both dinner the evening before, and breakfast due to her work with the clan. 

"I trust in Sabine's judgment." Meesei finally said, but with half of her meal still remaining, she stood up from her seat on the floor. "My apologies, but...I have something I need to tend to. I will talk to you all as soon as I can, I promise." She said, and without another word, walked away. 

As Meesei left the room, Lorag shook his head and let out a sigh. "Alpha's going to work herself into an early grave." 

Ahnasha was obviously concerned as well, but she was trying to think about it optimistically. "I know she has a lot of work to do, but...I'm sure she will be fine. She is wise enough that Hircine himself trusts in her abilities; I'm sure she knows what she is doing." She began before looking to Sabine. "And I think you'll be fine as well. We're always here for advice if you need any help."

--- 

Meesei stepped into the pack's room and quietly closed the door behind her. Leaps raised his head up for a moment to look at her, but curled back up on Fendros' bedroll to continue his midday nap. The pack was going to be given several separate rooms soon enough, but with how hectic the past few weeks had been, Meesei and the rest of the clan leadership had been too busy to bother with it. Meesei sat down on her bedroll with her knees pulled up to her chest and buried her head in her arms. She felt her whole body shudder as she tried to erase her worries from her mind, even if it was only briefly. It was a moment of weakness to which Leaps was the only witness.