The advice that Meesei offered made sense to Sabine. Beforehand, she had been more broadly observing the behaviour of the one she liked, but she didn't know what to look for, and more often than not she would just lose focus. The points that Meesei provided helped things be more concise.

Sabine put down her shoulder bag and undressed nearby Meesei. Her eyes were drawn to where Meesei was looking and her face lit up a little. "Yes," Sabine said enthusiastically. She pointed towards a group of people around her age, "Over there is Freida, Primus, Angela, Thyme, and Rikki. Caleb sometimes accompanies us, but he is probably with Najirra right now." Sabine looked around for a moment, "There is also Peiter, but he must be doing something else, I cannot see him." Sabine's gaze stopped on the low wall near the back and stopped, "Oh, there is also Roland. I think he is afraid of me. I don't know why."

[hr]
"Very good," Najirra gave a slow, seated bow, "This one thanks you both for being patient. Now, do you both know why you are here?"

Fendros glanced at Ahnasha with confusion, and then answered. "A few months ago, we both fell into the hands of an Argonian noble in Black Marsh who hated lycans. He tortured us by cutting Ahnasha open in front of me and keeping her alive and awake during the process." Perhaps it was the abridged version, perhaps it was Fendros' anger suppressing his fear and sadness, or perhaps it was simply the time that had passed, but Fendros was surprisingly contained and monotonous in his recount. "Later on the day we escaped, we found out that our complacency put Rhazii, our child, in danger, and he was caught in a fire. You can see how he was scarred."

Najirra listened attentively, nodding every now and then. He waited for Fendros to finish before speaking, "So this was the event that has caused such painful memories. We shall detail it further, but first I need to know how [i]exactly[/i] it has affected you both. I take it the event changed you."

"Yes, of course it did," Fendros kept his eyes on the teapot while he spoke. He was less angry at Najirra now that it appeared he was getting to the crux of the matter. "We both get nightmares, but not like lycan nightmares, these are...recurring, they go back to the chains and...there are many nights that we cannot sleep properly. A friend gave us a medicine to suppress the memories from entering our dreams, but we have all but run out of that. I've foregone my doses so that Ahnasha may sleep." Fendros wiped one eye, though he wasn't outwardly emotional yet, "Even when I'm awake, the memories come back in visions, like they're real. I panic, I can't think straight, it once made me transform against my will. Any smell, sound, or sight that is similar brings me back there. Sometimes I don't even see the memories, but I panic when I smell viscera and hear screams." Fendros tightened his jaw and closed his eyes.

Although interested, Najirra was visually unaffected by the impact of Fendros' story. He waited until he could be sure that Fendros' pause was actually the end of his explanation before looking to Ahnasha. "If you would tell this one how it has affected you, now. If you feel comfortable expanding upon the event, you may do so."

[hr]
"You'll be fine," Janius gave an encouraging smile before they headed into the main chamber.

With all the children gathered around haphazardly, Janius made sure to keep things safe in case the worst happened. "Alright, all of you stay here, you will not get any closer to Kaleeth than where I am pointing! She isn't like a werewolf, she needs the space around her and is very..." Janius was about to say nervous, but he decided to exaggerate a bit, "...easy to anger!"

The children seemed compliant enough and all stood where directed.

Janius went to grab an old and battered round shield from the racks of practice weapons and held it by the rim next to the children. Janius had made sure that they all gave Kaleeth a wide berth as she transformed. Kaleeth's shifting was what the children expected at first, but as her physiology began to resemble a werewolf less and less, there were gasps of excitement and astonished remarks.

Once Kaleeth was fully transformed, he carefully rolled the old shield in her direction. It spiralled to a stop next to her with a series of scrapes on the floor. Janius kept a close eye on Kaleeth, ready for anything. "Just bite the shield and turn back, Kaleeth. You can keep in charge."