Most of Sabine's friends stepped forward to coo and aww at Leaps while giving him little rubs. Leaps chirped happily with all of the attention. Rikki watched on from behind them, still dubious.

Thyme looked up, "So Leaps came all the way from Black Marsh? That's a long way. What's it like there, anyway?"

Sabine had joined in petting Leaps when she became distracted and began to cringe a little. Suddenly, she gasped and pulled her hand away. She lifted her hand out of the water to reveal a small scratch. It wasn't bleeding, save for the tiniest of red beads. "Sorry," Sabine said, as if an apology was owed at all, "I wasn't being careful."

Angela and Frieda were paying close enough attention that they glanced over to what had caught Sabine's attention. They looked at one another knowingly and let out a small giggle.

Sabine's cheeks flushed slightly. She knew that she had been caught out. Over on the floor above the pool, the Redguard orphan boy, Caleb, was preparing to wash himself in preparation for bathing in the pool. His expression seemed neutral. If anything he looked tired from recent manual labour. He hadn't apparently noticed the group across the pool looking in his direction.

[hr]
Fendros silently placed his teacup forward to be refilled. He didn't think he could drink very much of it without feeling sick, but he had to admit that it was soothing in a way.

There was a nod from Najirra to Ahnasha as he refilled both cups Fendros and her had put forward. "There is much to helping your mind that comes from teachings of lycan control, but there are a few fundamental differences. While a beast spirit grows in power and becomes apparent after infection or during adolescence, your minds have been with you all of your lives. There are many different behaviours that are so natural to you that you hardly notice them until you are taught to recognise them. That is a large part of helping yourself, you see; simply learning to recognise how you think and feel. Another fact to know is that your minds cannot be sated and tamed so easily by simply carrying out instincts of hunting and eating. Do not mistake, if you are starving, your instincts will hold more sway no matter who you are, but we are here in regards to a mind that has been wounded by a horrible experience, not one that is simply starved. In essence, the limits of your personal instincts have been overloaded to a breaking point."

Reluctantly, Fendros spoke, "Is there a way to fix us, then? To heal it?"

"Yes," Najirra said with reservation, "But you will be left with a scar. A very sore scar."

Fendros looked into his teacup. Despite his previous suspicions, he was now convinced that Najirra was their best hope. He looked up, "I don't care. As long as we heal."

"I am glad that you are so willing. But before we begin with what I have in mind next," Najirra offered a palm, "I want you to understand that you may ask me of this information at any point, to make clear and explain my reasoning."

[hr]
Kaleeth's intentions clicked in Janius' mind as soon as she laid her head on his shoulder. He began to slow his walk then, both to think and so that he didn't bump Kaleeth's head uncomfortably in his gait. His mind was washed with a familiar apprehension, but he managed to smile and glance at Kaleeth. "You really are set on becoming a mother, aren't you," he said quietly. Given that Janius assumed that Kaleeth knew where she was going, their aimless walk appeared to take them towards some storage chambers. Whatever Kaleeth wanted to pick up from there was becoming more ephemeral, replaced by Janius' hope that it would be private enough to have a proper conversation about the issue.

To a lesser extent, a jest came up in the back of Janius' mind: If they did agree to have children, he hoped that Kaleeth would not be too enthusiastic. The cold stone floors would not be very comfortable.