Meesei gripped the book tightly, her claws doing nothing to even scratch its surface. She could hear what the others were saying, but she was not paying particularly close attention to it. All she was focusing on was the book in her hands. After a few moments, and giving a low growl, she turned around wordlessly and stepped up to the cliff once more.

Regardless of any potential protests from the others, Meesei reared back, then threw the book over the cliff as hard as she could, sending it down into the waters of the river far below. Afterwards, she simply stared down into the water, breathing heavily with her hands clenched into fists.

Lorag crossed his arms and gave a simple grunt. "Hmph, good enough for me."

Meesei had settled the debate without any words. Second thoughts brought the possibility of someone finding the book downstream, but it was unlikely enough to be any friends or enemies that there was no point speaking up about it. More importantly, if there were any more doubts about Meesei's commitment to resuming her responsibilities, they were quashed as soon as the book was thrown.

Lorag's words summed up everyone's opinion. No one else felt the need to speak.

Sabine had one hand clasped in the other while she watched on, but knowing Meesei's physical weakness, she crept up to her to support her once more.

"That book meant a lot to you," Sabine said. "I am sorry everything ended up like this."

Meesei lightly shook her head. "Its only meaning to me was one of pain and loss. I do not even want to so much as think about it again."

Leaning against Sabine for support, Meesei took a few moments to breathe and calm herself. "I feel like I wish to return home. To have some...food and rest. I ceased using my magic on myself when I came out here and, well, I simply feel like I am on edge of death. My body aches, I can hardly stand, and it is difficult to keep myself awake. I...am worried about what I have done to myself. I am not completely certain if I can wholly recover. But, at least I can begin to try. Does anyone have any clothing or a blanket for me? The air out of the city feels so much colder than I remember." She requested.

"Of course. We will make you something when we get home." Sabine spread a warm smile and helped Meesei begin to walk. "I love you, Meesei," she mentioned.

The pack not only provided a jacket for Meesei, but a waterskin too. Sabine was soon joined by Fendros, who took Meesei's other arm to help her back to the city.

The next two months were a relief in the sense that the uncertainty of Meesei's behaviour was solved. She spent a time in bed to recover physically and to catch up on reports she missed. Sabine doted on Meesei's needs during her free time, no matter how Meesei insisted otherwise. It was not until she got out of bed a week later, looking more nourished and refreshed, that Sabine allowed her independence again. The next steps were her physical strength and participating in the council again. These were both difficult, not only because Meesei overestimated how hard she retrain, but also due to the myriad problems that had arisen due to her absence. Vera and her lieutenants exercised patience, but Meesei still required time to knock the rust off her mind and get up to date in current affairs.

All through the time they had, the pack helped Meesei however they could in her recovery. The damage left by her absence -- both to herself and the clans -- was not likely to fully heal within at least a few years, but Meesei's mind could never permanently be blunted.

Another particular change was Sabine's behaviour around Meesei. Previously, her usual maturity had tended to regress back to hints of delicate adolescence when interacting with Meesei. Now, the softness in her voice, smallness of her demeanour, and the way she would hint at how she was as a child was now all but gone around Meesei. Sabine interacted with her like a fellow adult, with mature interaction, tone, and mannerisms. While it came off as cordial at times, Sabine still showed dear love for her adoptive mother. However, Meesei's actions had evidently left a mark that would not fade away. There was no way of telling whether this was for better or for worse.

The more immediate change was the increase in the intensity of Rhazii's regular nightmares. He was thirteen years old now, experiencing growth spurts and changes that any Khajiit boy his age would expect. Though his beast spirit was growing up, too. He lost more and more sleep, became grumpy and snapped at parents more often. It was not easy for Fendros and Ahnasha, but they knew that the worst was yet to come.

The next full moons were coming up tonight.

As was the case for every night where the moons were full, the entire clan was abuzz with organisation. While they would be heading out at their own pace, Ahnasha, Fendros, and Rhazii went ahead to set up a hunting camp further into the Blackreach tunnels.

It would be difficult for Rhazii, there was no doubt. That did not stop Fendros from trying to reframe it. He flashed Rhazii a grin while they set up a tent together. "You excited, little one?" Fendros kept the name even though Rhazii was rapidly closing with his height.

Rhazii did not look up from his task. He held a nervous frown and merely gave an acknowledging grumble.

"Ah, you don't need to be nervous. We'll be right here." Fendros stepped around and clapped a hand on Rhazii's back. "This will be a milestone for you. You're growing up."

Rhazii sighed and mumbled. "Hrolf had his first transformation a couple of months ago. He said it hurts."

Fendros lowered his voice and gave a sympathetic look. "I understand if you're anxious. I will not lie, it does hurt, but it gets a little easier each time. After tonight, you will have experienced the worst of the shifting part, isn't that right, mama?" Fendros turned to Ahnasha for confirmation.

Ahnasha placed a hand on Rhazii's shoulder. Despite only being around thirteen, Rhazii was about at Ahnasha's height. He had not yet outgrown Fendros, but being Cathay, it would not be all that long until he did. "You'll forget any pain in a matter of minutes. I will be honest, you might have a hard time remembering some of what happens tonight. I don't have any memory at all of my first transformation, but I was infected later in life. Since you were born a werewolf, it will be a bit easier for you. You might keep some memory of it. Your beast spirit has always been with you, just...tucked away inside. It is certainly going to be enthusiastic to finally be let out, but from what I understand, I think you'll find that you're already familiar with it. You just don't know it yet."

Walking along the path from the direction of the city was the rest of the pack heading towards Fendros and Ahnasha's camp, Meesei included. Even on full moons, Meesei had no need to hunt due to her Ring, but she had elected to join this time. It had quite literally been years since she had gone on a proper hunt, since her duties had kept her busy most of the time, apart from when she had been absorbed into the book. The clan spread out in hunting parties in nearly all directions around the city, and they tended to need to move somewhat far from the city to actually find something suitable to kill. It had been easy at first, but over time, the Falmer had gained a sense for when the clan would be hunting and hid in response. There were other creatures to kill in the caverns, but the Falmer were some of the more numerous targets. Granted, they could also be dangerous, so some of the less experienced hunters made their way to the surface to hunt.

Meesei was in far better health than she had been months prior. She had put on some weight, and built up more of her former muscle. She still was not as physically fit as she had been in her prime, and it would take quite a while longer to get back close to that level, but she at least looked healthy again on the outside. She did not feel self-conscious about being seen by the clan, but in private, she confided in her pack that her bones were still brittle, she felt tired often, and she had to force herself to eat since she still had little appetite. The effects of her malnutrition were not necessarily permanent, but it would be almost a year before she was truly recovered, in all likelihood. But, her responsibilities would not wait. She had been challenged for her position again. The moons had caused some delay but she would have to fight in the duel the very next day.

Rhazii's ear turned at his mother's voice. After she spoke, he gave her a worried glance punctuated with a twitch of a smile before breaking eye contact again. "I dream that it likes to tear things apart. I hope it is nicer than that."

"You'll be surprised how much you and your beast spirit will begin to think alike once you get to know it." Fendros stepped to keep on setting up the tent, but stopped to look at the approaching pack. He grinned and waved at them all. "Hello!" His eyes even lit up some surprise. "Nice of you to join us, Meesei! Are you hunting tonight?"

While Rhazii was still nervous, he managed a smile for the pack. "Hello," he echoed is father. Eleven year-old Kaj-Julan got his own greeting as usual, though Rhazii's emotional state dampened his tone. "Greetings, Snake Butt."

Kaj had his own arsenal of teasing names for Rhazii. It was unclear when the exchange of teasing started or who shot first, but it echoed through Kaj-Julan and Rhazii's ongoing mix of sibling love and rivalry.

"Hey, mangy-giant." Julan responded. It was not the first time that he had been present for one of their hunts, but this would be the first time that Julan had been present for a hunt during the full moons. He was not yet old enough to transform himself, but he had always known that there was something different about the full moons. For young lycans, they almost always caused nightmares until the point where they could transform. "You think you're going to transform tonight? It won't be too long before I transform too. Mamma says I'm going to be a big crocodile like her; then I'll finally be bigger and stronger than you, since you're just a werewolf. You'll be a big, uh, cat-dog."

On the other side of the hunting camp, Lorag gave a brief, amused grunt.

Meesei nodded to Fendros. "Yes, I shall be joining you. Kaleeth and Janius want Julan to see a full moon hunt himself before his first transformation. It could be more difficult for him to adjust, being that he is not a pack animal, so they wish to be prepared. I can keep a better eye on him to make sure he stays out of trouble. And, it has been quite a long time since I have hunted myself."

Rhazii pulled a tired smile. "Yeah, I think it's going to happen tonight. I have been having nightmares every night for at least two weeks now. Mama and dada say that means that the beast spirit is coming." He idly rubbed at one arm. "I don't know what it's going to be like to be a wolf. I'm...nervous." Julan's other observation did make him let out a small moment of laughter. "It will be weird when you transform, though. You might start winning wrestling matches." Rhazii then quickly added, "You'll still be a big snake butt, though." He poked out his tongue.

"It'll be good to have you back," Fendros said to Meesei. "Your ring might give you control, but I'd be willing to bet that your spirit is going to be especially grateful tonight."

Janius stepped up and addressed them all. "You know, this is the first time we have hunted as a complete pack since...oh, Bruma? Has it been that long?"

Julan smiled and nodded to Rhazii. "Mamma says that werecrocodiles are the strongest of them all, but apparently we don't get along too well with others. I don't really understand it that much, but she says that only Miss Ri'vashi is as strong as her. But she's a giant cat, and also a bear. But, anyways, you think you'll kill anything hunting?"

"For a hunt like this, at least, it's been that long." Ahnasha chimed in. "There has always either been something for us to do, or Meesei needed to watch the children."

Meesei put on a light grin. "Well, I am certainly looking forward to it. It has been long enough that I worry I might have lost my touch. I will likely need to stay back somewhat with Julan, so I will have the pleasure of seeing how you have been hunting without me. Just based on some of the trails I caught on the way over here, there may be some wild chaurus in the area. Do you believe Rhazii will be okay trying to kill one?" Meesei asked.

Rhazii nodded. "I think so. I will help, anyway, that is what dada says. It won't be like hunting with a bow, though. I will have to bite and scratch."

To Meesei, Fendros hummed a brief note. "I believe so. I've taken him hunting chaurus before, so he knows the dangers, but I'll have to trust him to avoid biting into the venom glands or getting pinched. The poison and acid won't kill him, but it's awfully painful. We'll be guiding him through the hunt, at any rate."

"Trust me?" Rhazii caught on to the conversation. "I've butchered plenty of chaurus before. I won't bite its glands!"

Julan stood with his arms crossed, and a bit of a grin. "Hmm, biting a gland doesn't sound fun. It must be real scary to have to worry about poison like that." He commented, with no small measure of smugness in his tone.

Kaleeth too adopted a similar stance as Julan, though her satisfaction was coming from the fact that she was going to be knocking down his pride a peg or two. After all, she did not want her son being too boastful. She did not see it as a good trait. "Chaurus venom burns as well as poisons, remember Julan? It would hurt you almost as much as it would Rhazii."

"I can heal anyone that may get burned, but that will not stop it from hurting, so you would be wise to be cautious." Meesei added. Briefly, she looked up, though there was no sky for her to see. Even so, she, and the rest of the pack, could feel that the moons were getting close to the horizon. Even as far underground as they were, the influence of the moons could be felt as clear as if they were on the surface. They had some minutes yet, but it would not be too long before their transformations were upon them.

"I hope we are able to find prey in good time. I likely should be rested for tomorrow." Meesei continued, though her expression certainly soured with her last comment. It was clear that she was referring to her impending duel with her challenger. It was an event that she had made clear to her pack she did not enjoy. They did not necessarily have to end in death, but they were dangerous regardless.

"Yeah, shut up, Julan!" Rhazii added. "Besides, I just want to keep the glands so that I can sell them to aunt Sabine later!"

"They haven't backed down, huh?" Janius said. "It's a pain, but hey, perhaps they left thinking you were still in bad shape. Maybe they will give up once you show them what you've got."

"The moons," Sabine piped up from outside of the circle. The words were enough for everyone to start moving.

Fendros casually pulled off his tunic and folded it aside while speaking to Rhazii. "Right, it's almost time, son. Get undressed unless you want to repair them after you transform."

Rhazii's eyes widened. "Oh, right, um..." He quickly began to remove his clothing and throw them into the tent. By the way he rushed and fussed at his laces, it seemed that his briefly distracted nervousness was playing up again. He finished stripping down and found that he was the first to be ready. His toes and tail began flexing against the dirt in anticipation.

"Got any more questions, Rhazii?" Fendros asked as they took up positions away from the tent.

"Yes...I think..." Rhazii looked blank. He blinked. "Actually, I don't know. I...no..."

"Alright, I'll transform in advance. Remember, it'll sting, but don't resist it. Just let the beast spirit out and then follow our lead, okay?"

Rhazii nodded firmly. As Fendros shifted into his werewolf form, Rhazii gave a fleeting glance at Ahnasha, and then back at Julan. His ears were flat and his fear had crept up onto his face, tensing his cheeks and jaw. It was only getting worse as they neared time.

Meesei sighed. "I hope so. These duels are nasty business. Risky, in more ways than one. She's a talented battlemage from the Daggerfall clan. She leads their warriors, and has the capacity to train both their soldiers and mages alike. I am going to do all that I can to avoid killing her tomorrow. From what I have heard, she has been a wonderful asset to her clan and I would hate to lose her. These duels, they put the best of us in grave peril, but they are central to our identity as worshipers of Hircine. I just wish they were not necessary. We cannot afford to lose such good people."

Once everyone was ready, the majority of the pack began their transformations ahead of time, as even with how experienced they were, it was somewhat more unpleasant to be forced into a transformation. At least by a small margin. Apart from Meesei, who was going to remain in her Argonian form until after Rhazii had completed his transformation, Ahnasha was the last to hold off from transforming. Walking up to Rhazii, she grabbed one of his hands in hers. "Don't worry, there's nothing that can go wrong. Not once has a tranformation done any real harm to a lycan. You're about to feel what it is like to be one of the most powerful hunters in Tamriel. The descriptions you've heard really don't do it justice. Don't be afraid, be excited.

Soon enough, Ahnasha had to leg to of Rhazii's hands to begin her own transformation, as above ground, the moons had finally crested over the horizon. All across Skyrim, and every part of Tamriel to the south of it, every lycan would feel their pull. Ahnasha started her transformation on her own, but it would only be seconds later that Rhazii would feel his beast spirit pulling on him like never before.

Rhazii looked into his mother's eyes and at least closed his mouth to try and calm, but he was only kept steady while he waited. Everyone had told him that it would be fine. He knew that it was not going to hurt after transforming. The worst part was not knowing when it would hit him.

The others finished transforming, Rhazii closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. All of a sudden, a heartbeat so powerful thumped his chest hard enough to make him step back. He felt the pressure of it crest his upper back, jolt his tongue, and ache at the back of his eyes. He stopped and looked ahead, breathing rapidly through his mouth. Before he could even process what happened, another wave overtook his lungs, neck, and ears. With it came a blurring of his vision and an oddly familiar train of thought. Something was pulling the strings in his mind. It was making him think in the same way as in his dreams. He recognised it and tried to ward it back reflexively. The next wave threw over his mental defences like a river over a pile of sticks. A pain in his wrists was the only feedback he had to realise that he had fallen onto his hands and knees.

Another wave came over him, this time physically changing tugging his bones apart. He began to feel his limbs and face stretch against the transformation and fire every nerve of pain he had. He couldn't help but scrunch his eyes shut and screech until his lungs puttered out the last of the air within them. He wanted to thrash out and strike at the thing causing him pain. He could distinctly smell the soil he was crushing between his clawing fingers as the itch and tingle of new fur edged from his skin. The gaps between the last of his screaming were filled with scuffs and twitches and the echoing of the quiet caves. Everything sounded so close. Everything smelled so different. He opened his eyes.

Mama was there, still next to him. She was smaller. He looked at his hands in the dirt, they were clawed, sinewy, and matted with soft black fur. Dada was in the other direction, he was smaller as well. He was smaller than them still, being in their beast forms, but the snout in his central vision confirmed it. He had grown.

Fendros pat the ground while looking at Rhazii and turned to follow the rest of the pack as it moved out. Rhazii knew to follow without remembering who told him. He licked his teeth as the thought of hunting for food crossed his mind. That is what they were doing. He could understand.

Of the two biggest of the pack -- Meesei and Lorag, by their scents -- Rhazii knew to follow along with Lorag's directions. He was the one giving them. Everything seemed to make sense. Rhazii did not have much more than passing thoughts to think of why. He was too excited. His tail wagged in anticipation. He even let out a few muffled barks. The others did not share quite the same playfulness, though they snapped their teeth down in his direction when he needed to be quiet.

Suddenly, the entire pack halted as Lorag sniffed at a rock they were passing. He kept following the scent trail and they were speeding up. Rhazii could smell a chaurus where Lorag had sniffed.

Meesei had transformed after Rhazii, once she was sure that he had proceeded through his first transformation cleanly. Varying emotions could cause newly transformed lycans to behave unpredictably, and sometimes violently. Fortunately, being a natural-born lycan, Rhazii had stronger pack instincts than most. Kaj-Julan was likely to be the difficult one.

Meesei herself was as large as she had ever been in her lycan form, though her muscles were still not quite as pronounced as the pack might have remembered. Lorag was unquestionably the strongest werewolf among them, physically. Meesei allowed Julan up onto her shoulders as they set out so that he could stay with them, then stayed closer to the back of the pack along with Kaleeth so that he would be better able to observe the hunt. It was meant to be a learning experience for him.

After some time searching, Lorag did eventually catch onto a scent. It was somewhat old, but just new enough that it would be worth trying to follow. Granted, they might have to follow it for a while to find its source, but chaurus had quite distinctive scents that tended to be easy for them to track.

The trail led them through the forest of glowing mushrooms, far from the ancient Dwemer roads. The terrain was uneven, requiring plenty of climbing and maneuvering around large boulders and short, but jagged cliffs. They lost the scent briefly once it crossed a river, but Kaleeth was able to quickly swim up and down the riverbank a fair distance until she picked it up once again. The scents were growing stronger the longer they tracked their prey. However, they had not yet reached the chaurus when they spotted movement in a clearing that the trail crossed. Three bright glowing orbs seemed to dance back and forth among one another as they grew steadily closer to the pack. They were no normal creatures, but rather wisps. They were specters; ethereal beings that, in themselves, were mostly harmless, but carried a more sinister purpose. They tended to lead people and creatures to their wispmother, which was a far, far more dangerous kind of specter. Meesei was wise to the potential deception, but she did not think about the fact that Rhazii may not be.

Most of the pack passed by the gently dancing wisps without a second look. Not only would they not provide food, but their logical minds knew the dangers behind them.

Rhazii had fallen slightly behind. Between getting used to his new body and navigating the rough terrain, his movement was not as fluid as the others. He didn't mind -- the sheer power that he felt in his limbs as he hoisted himself up cliffs and jumped over rocks was exhilarating. When he saw the wisps, he slid to a halt and stared at them, ears perked. He did not notice when the others went ahead. He wanted to play with the creatures, or at least hunt them for fun.

He crouched low to the ground on all fours and approached the wisps as quietly as he could. When the time was right, he jumped at the nearest one and tried to snap his teeth around it. The wisp was not caught as it fluttered away with a burst of speed. Rhazii jumped again and still the wisps retreated, just out of his reach.

Meesei have been keeping track of Rhazii from behind, but Fendros did not notice that he had wandered until a few moments after he was out of sight. He stopped, turned around, and sniffed at the air. He caught Ahnasha's eye and began to backtrack.

Being that they were in the back, both Meesei and Kaleeth noticed Rhazii as he crept up on the wisp. Unfortunately, he had already pounced by the time Meesei could take any action. "Rhazii, back!" Meesei said, though the damage had already been done. Meesei had to set down Julan before closing in, and Kaleeth was not too quick in general, so they could not help immediately.

The wisps had led Rhazii only a short distance before the temperature of the air around him dropped to near-freezing. He would be able to see his breath in the air. The ethereal energy of the wispmother swirled in the air around him and she let out a shrill scream as her body took its physical form. Her appearance was like that of the ghost of a Human woman surrounded in mist, but her temperament was that of a wraith. Almost immediately, she let out a wave of frost magic towards Rhazii.

The scream was naturally enough to grab the attention of the rest of the pack, and both Meesei and Kaleeth were nearby, but for a few brief moments, Rhazii would have to act on his own.

Rhazii ducked his head and flattened his ears at Meesei's shout, glancing back, but the scream of the wispmother made him yelp and stagger back away from it. The mist jetting from his nostrils told of the panic that overtook him. His mind blanked of any reasonable thought except the options to any cornered creature; to run, to stay still, or to fight. His beast spirit was close enough to lash out. Rhazii fought.

Unfortunately, Rhazii's beast spirit was not an experienced warrior. The magical wave was not regarded until his skin seethed with white flecks of instantly frozen dew just as he threw his clawed hand forward and his limbs lost all energy. He struggled to stand up, growling and yelping in pain and terrified anger. He managed to find the energy to look up at the wispmother just in time for it to be engulfed by a speeding black shape that growled and bit down on what essence of it was corporeal. The wake of air that passed held the scent of his father.

Fendros had broken into a sprint as soon as he had heard the screech. He had hunted in Skyrim for long enough to know what a wispmother sounded like and he was the first to leap on it to tear it asunder. His hands and teeth were getting numb with every attack at the wispmother's ectoplasm, but each attack brought it further to losing its grip on mundus.

Rhazii's beast spirit opted to be still.

The wispmother was able to be harmed by physical means, though it was more difficult than killing it with magic. Still, Fendros' attacks displaced enough of its form and disrupted enough of its energy to harm it. Unfortunately, it was not so easy to hold down a ghost. The wispmother disappeared briefly from Fendros' grasp, then re-appeared in the mist, along with three other shades of itself. Three copies that possessed all of the same magic, though they could be killed much easier than the original. They would all disappear as soon as the original wispmother was killed, but determining which was the original would not be so easy.

Fortunately for Fendros, he was not alone. Meesei and Kaleeth stepped up alongside Fendros. Ahnasha was not far behind, and the others were circling around to get into better positions. They had all placed themselves between the wispmother and Rhazii, who seemed virtually frozen in place. One of the shades to the left launched a wave of frost towards Fendros, though he would have a few moments to react. Meanwhile, Kaleeth lunged forward at the shade, which dissipated into nothing upon a single slash of her claws.

Fendros raked his claws across the cavern floor and snarled out around him at the wispmother's copies. His eyes twitched between the remaining two after Kaleeth swatted away one. It was impossible to know which one was real.

Unlike Rhazii, Fendros knew what was coming when one of the wispmothers produced another wave of freezing wind in his direction. He launched himself out of its path, feeling the cold on his toes as it left a trail of frost. Then, sliding on the loose dirt, he spun, crouched, and pounced upon the one that had thrown its magic.

Rhazii felt just enough control return to his limbs. For lack of any other guidance, Rhazii mirrored his father's movements by jumping out of the way of the magic as well. However, when he tried to pounce, he slid and stumbled, still freezing cold from the previous hit. He mildly processed how fast he was recovering in this form. It wasn't quite fast enough to go out and attack.