With a sigh, Fendros closed his eyes. "Well..." Fendros was dubious as to how much he could help, but leaving things how they were would not be an option. "I think I have to talk to her." Fendros carefully passed Rhazii to Ahnasha, then looked indirectly at everyone gathered in the corridor. He was going to move towards the door, but he didn't just yet. "...what should I say?" Janius had to avoid Fendros' eyes. He never had siblings and never had to deal with his family after he turned. After a few seconds, he just gave a simple suggestion. "Be honest." Fendros nodded, but was open to other advice.

Meesei's advice was a bit more complicated, and perhaps contradictory to Janius'. She made sure to move closer to him and spoke more quietly so that his sister could not discern what she was saying. "I would not go in with too many assumptions. That letter you gave your brother, we don't know what, if anything, he shared with her. I would try to get a sense of what she knows and what she thinks. If you can find out what she thinks about you, then you might have a better chance of calming her. As for telling her the _whole_ truth...I'll leave that to your discretion." Lorag scratched the back of his neck awkwardly once Meesei was finished. "I...uh..." He began, though he went nowhere with the thought. He had never planned to return to Cheydinhal after joining the Legion, so the whole "emotional reunion" thing was something he never had to worry about. Even if a reunion happened, it probably wouldn't have much emotion. Similarly, Kaleeth had no advice, but for different reasons. Meeting with her family again would be a joyous occasion for her, so she did not know how to deal with this painful one. Ahnasha took Rhazii in one arm, then reached out and lightly grabbed Fendros' hand to catch his attention. Her gaze was sympathetic, and her voice quiet as well to hide her response. "Do you want to handle this alone, or...well, I don't know what I could do, but I could be there for you." She said. Likely, she would just end up standing around awkwardly saying nothing, but at the very least, if he decided he needed to start making excuses, the presence of his mate and especially his son could be helpful.

After spending a few seconds with curled lips, Fendros squeezed Ahnasha's hand and nodded. Meesei was right, he couldn't assume that Llarasa would know what Monderyn knows. "I'd like that," Fendros said to Ahnasha, before looking at everyone else, "If you could give us a moment." Fendros walked over to the door and knocked on it three times, Ahnasha at his side with Rhazii. "Llarasa, I'm sorry. We need to talk." Llarasa's high voice sounded from behind the door between her sobbing. "You were dead! The guards and father found the horse and the dead beast and all your broken belongings and...and the flesh everywhere! You were dead! You were killed and eaten!" "That wasn't the case, Llarasa! Please let me explain." Fendros glanced at Ahnasha with a worried brow. Llarasa sobbed for a few moments longer, but it seemed to slow. "Why...why did you leave?" Fendros angled his head to one side and sighed. "Can I come in, please? I'll answer any questions you have." A few more moments passed, then the door unlocked and opened slightly. Llarasa poked her head out, her cheeks shining with streaks of tears and her red eyes puffy. She sniffed and took a look at Ahnasha and Rhazii. "Who is the Khajiit?" Llarasa croaked. "Her name is Ahnasha. This is Rhazii," Fendros gestured to the cub, who was observing everything with one little hand clenched over Ahnasha's pendant. "Rhazii is...I'll explain with everything else. Can we come in?" Llarasa looked Ahnasha up and down dubiously through her still upset demeanour, but opened the door to her room. There were two single beds, Fendros observed. Llarasa took one as a seat and Fendros and Ahnasha sat on the other, opposite her. "So why did you leave?" Llarasa asked, clearly expending a lot of effort in trying to stay composed enough to speak. Her eyes kept darting to Ahnasha as if her presence was making her uncomfortable. Fendros started by leaning forward and holding his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Shortly after I left, what did Monderyn do?" "What? But I thought-" "Please, Llarasa. I need to know." Fendros looked at her directly. Hopefully he would be able to take Meesei's advice. "Well..." Llarasa looked left and right across the floor, "He was worried for about a day, then, before they even found your...well we thought they were your remains. Before that, he flew into a rage. He just stopped listening, equipped himself to go hunting, then ran off. He was furious, nothing we said could stop him. Not even father pursuing him could bring him back. Father only said that he was looking for you. He was gone for about a month. When he came back, he had changed. Every moment he was uttering some kind of hate towards you he took your loss badly, Fendros. He wasn't the only one." Llarasa put her face in her hands and sniffed again. Her composure was on a knife's edge. "What about mother and father? What about you?" "No." Llarasa said simply Fendros, "Just tell me why you left, right now." --- When the rest of the pack had been asked to leave Fendros to his business, Sabine shuffled along with Meesei. She was nervously silent, but once they had found a settled place, Sabine looked to the floor and spoke. "I'm sorry that I got lost. I didn't want to upset you. The crowds are difficult to trace smell in."

Just as Ahnasha feared, she had nothing she could say. It was difficult to even be a comforting presence for Fendros, given the tension in the air. Llarasa was very understandably distraught, but even more concerning, at least to Ahnasha, was how she said his brother Monderyn took his departure. Unlike Llarasa, he knew the truth, and he was still apparently angry at Fendros. Of course, they still did not have the entire story. It could have been that Monderyn was just angry at the situation and was taking it out on Fendros, or perhaps Fendros did not know enough about his condition at the time to give a good explanation of why he _needed_ to leave. In any case Fendros could at least attempt right now to calm his sister. Whether or not he could actually change anything about his brother would have to wait until later. As for what _exactly_ Fendros should tell her, that was just as difficult. Telling the whole truth would give important context for why he left. Had he not, it would have been very likely that he would have killed one or more of his family members before being killed himself. It would make him seem the least selfish out of any excuse he could make. However, there was no way for Ahnasha to know how Llarasa would take the news of his lycanthropy. Fendros knew her better than she did, so she would just have to trust in his judgement. In any case, she could provide support to whatever story he told. --- As Fendros and Ahnasha went to deal with Llarasa, Meesei stepped into the nearest room they had rented for the night. More stress had been piled onto her than she could have ever anticipated when she woke up that morning. She sat down on the bed and let out an exhausted sigh before Sabine nervously approached. The situation with Fendros' sister had distracted her enough that she had a few moments to calm her emotions and speak to Sabine with a more level head. "What I care about most is that you are safe." Meesei said before reaching out and lifting up her chin to look her in the eye. Meesei's expression was serious, and her voice firm, but not angered. "But do not run off again, not in a city, not yet. It takes time to learn to navigate these places, and there are plenty of people out there who might trick or otherwise hurt you. If you are lost, guards may help you, but even some of those are corrupt. I forgive you, Sabine, but if it happens again, I will not just let it go. Understood?" Meesei's own fears aside, she understood that Sabine was, and very well should be, becoming more independent. She was quickly becoming an adult woman, but right now, she was still dangerously inexperienced. Her childhood had already disadvantaged her, and she needed to be eased into responsibility. If given too much as once, she could very well end up hurt, or worse.

With a deep sigh, Fendros bowed his head such that he couldn't see Llarasa at all. He paused for a few seconds and tried to consider how much he should disclose. He could partially lie and say that he couldn't come home because he fell in love with Ahnasha, but that wouldn't be fair, and if she ever discussed the matter with Monderyn, the stories would not line up. On the other hand, he and Llarasa were talking in private from any ears that needn't hear about his condition, but would Llarasa take that well, or even believe it? "Llarasa, I know you can keep a secret, so I'll tell the truth," Fendros raised his eyes to meet hers, "Do you know what Lycanthropy is?" Llarasa blinked, then looked to the ground. She still seemed upset, but was a little puzzled. "That's..." she swallowed hard due to her running nose, "That's like werewolves, isn't it? That beast they they found was a werewolf corpse." Fendros nodded. "Well, that beast that the guards found, it attacked me and I survived. Only just. Not before some of its blood entered my mouth and a wound on my shoulder." Fendros ran a hand over the area where the feral werewolf had raked his body, it still tingled when he thought of the attack. "I don't understand. Are you a werewolf now?" Llarasa asked. "Yes. I don't remember much after the attack, but I was infected very quickly. I became like that beast. Thankfully, when I woke up, a pack helped me. I couldn't return home after that, because I could have turned into the beast at any time and killed someone. I wasn't under control back then. The pack was my only hope for survival. I knew Monderyn wouldn't be satisfied that I was dead unless he saw my corpse, so I left him a letter telling as much as I've said and told him not to tell anyone else." Fendros broke eye contact, "I'm sorry that I've misled you all this time." Llarasa's eyes began to dart around again. "But...we're family. You wouldn't attack us, I know you wouldn't." "What I turn into doesn't discriminate family, Llarasa. At least, not you and the others. If I had returned, I would only have put others or myself at risk." Fendros held his palms out, "I was protecting you, mother, father, and Monderyn-" "You have no idea how much damage you caused, Fendros!" Llarasa burst out before Fendros could finish. "You say you protected us, but you hurt everyone! Mother wept for months at the mere mention of you! Monderyn was angry all the time! Father, father became distant and cold!" She put a hand to her chest as she shouted, "And I had to pick up the pieces! Me! The helpless little sister!" Fendros stopped and straightened, wide eyed. He felt a guilt emerge that he suspected might come, but was still left speechless. She lowered her voice, but her tears were back anew with her quivering voice and tensed face, "Everyone lost a part of themselves when you disappeared, Fendros." She took an abrupt, strained breath in, "It was only a month ago that I felt like we were getting on with our lives." She gestured to Fendros with her palm facing the ceiling while she wiped one eye, "And now you just show up alive out of nowhere and stirred everything up again." She covered both her eyes with the hand that was wiping them. "I should be happy, but it just hurts. It just hurts." Llarasa was bent over and sobbing as hard as she had been before. She couldn't bear to look upon Fendros. At this point, Fendros didn't seem like he was going to cry, but a tear slithered down his cheek involuntarily. He couldn't have imagined how badly his loss would affect the family. Several moments passed where Fendros looked between Ahnasha and Llarasa awkwardly. After it seemed like Llarasa was not going to stop crying, Fendros slowly stood up and seated himself down next to her. He wrapped his arms around his sister for the first time in the better part of a year, leaning his head on her shoulder. It felt almost unfamiliar after so long; his body and mind had changed so drastically that it seemed different. Something seemed to click in Llarasa, however, and eventually her crying slowed and she returned Fendros' hug for a long time. During this time, Fendros was grateful for Ahnasha's presence. She was really the one giving him the bravery to stay around with all this. Although, he felt sorry for her having to witness his and Llarasa's issues without much way to give input. Llarasa kept her eyes closed as she wept, but eventually she was recovered enough to speak again. "Don't leave again, Fendros." Her voice was tired and croaky now, "We missed you." "I wish I could say that I'm coming home, but I can't." Fendros said, still holding onto Llarasa. Llarasa pulled away far enough to open her eyes and look at Fendros in the face. She spoke frantically, but not loudly, "What? But you're in control now, aren't you? If you're not, why are you in a city?" "I am in control now. Much more than before, anyway." "Then come home!" Llarasa squeezed Fendros' arms, "Please!" Fendros sighed again, knowing that the next part would be less believable. "My pack has been a family to me ever since they found me. I'm bound to them. Not only that," Fendros looked at Ahnasha, "Llarasa, I want you to meet Ahnasha properly. She is my partner. Little Rhazii is my son." "...Oh," Llarasa didn't seem angry, upset, disappointed, hateful or anything particularly negative. Her face just formed into a perfect O and remained that way, staring at Ahnasha. It was something that was so out of the ordinary that she could barely fathom it beyond it being right in front of her eyes. Fendros never had positive things to say about Khajiit from when she knew him. "Um...hello?" Llarasa held out a hand, not knowing what else to do. "It's...nice to meet you..." This was the reaction that Fendros had expected, honestly. Llarasa was always the more open-minded one of the family. She even had Khajiit friends right through childhood and adolescence, which often drew ire from her father and brothers. Fendros managed a small smile to see that she hadn't changed. Fendros hoped that his smile would encourage Ahnasha to engage with his sister. --- "Yes. I understand." Sabine said while nodding her head quickly. She had been scared while lost, and she still felt like she caused Meesei too much stress, but some part of her felt like she was hopeless for not being able to manage on her own. Apart from being upset herself, it made her want to improve so she could find the pack again under such circumstances. "Meesei, in the wilds, there are dangers, and lots of ways to find direction and survive, but cities are different. Can you teach me how to navigate cities?"

Ahnasha became almost as nervous as she could possibly be once Fendos started to give the full explanation. She was anxious enough that she had to remind herself to breathe. For many, the reaction to hear that they were talking to a werewolf was fear, followed by running, fighting, or at least sweating and nervousness, depending upon the person. Fortunately, Llarasa remained calm, perhaps because it was her brother she was speaking to, not a beast. Even so, it was not a pleasant conversation, and the periodic shouting upset Rhazii enough that she had to rock him in her arms to quiet him down. Finally, it seemed that the conversation was making progress. Fendros was able to hug his sister in their mutual sadness. Being away from his family, he could not have known how deeply his loss would have affected them, and for a moment, Ahnasha's thoughts shifted to her own family and what they might have went through. Her worries were short-lived, however, as she snapped back into the moment once Fendros said her name. At the very least, Llarasa seemed to be more open-minded than how Fendros described the rest of his family. When she offered to shake Ahnasha's hand, she took a moment to shift Rhazii in her lap so that she could hold onto him with one arm, then returned the handshake. "Likewise." Ahnasha responded. An awkward silence followed, as none of them seemed to know where to go from there, so Ahnasha quickly decided to break the silence. "I...am sorry for all of the pain this has caused you. Leaving one's home and family...it is _never_ easy, but there was no other way. Newly turned lycans, they are dangerous, primal, and indiscriminate. They are what give us our...reputation. Like the one that attacked Fendros. It had been killing in the area for a while before it attacked him. We had been trying to find it, but...we were too late. This...condition was not something your brother chose; it was forced upon him. I wish things could have been different, but..." She began, looking down at Rhazii, who was now chewing on the end of his tail while staring at Llarasa with a curious gaze. "...there has been good to come out of it all." --- Meesei smiled and nodded to Sabine. "Of course...though that will take some time to teach, and we may not have time here in the city. We might have more of a chance to practice once we reach Bruma, but I can give some advice. Unless you live in the city, you are not going to just _know_ your way around without a map. Every city is set up differently. Often, you have to ask for directions. You have to be comfortable talking to people. Although, you have to be cautious of _who_ you speak to. Guards can be a good first option. Speaking of, we asked the guards to look for you, and they are likely still doing so. We should go tell them that you have been found."

Llarasa nodded blankly at all Ahnasha had to say. Despite Fendros' predictions that she wouldn't be angry, a confused whirlwind of emotion was whirring in her head, trying to make sense of it all. Her high emotions at the time didn't help matters at all. She responded slowly as her thoughts tried to keep up, "Well, I suppose if it is like that, then you can't come home. I mean...father is going to kill you." Llarasa took her eyes of Rhazii and faced Fendros again, "Really, he might run you through for this." Fendros grinned and almost laughed, "Are you angry?" Llarasa raised her brow and shook her head. "I'm not angry, but I'm not sure how I should feel. I feel like I should still be angry for you disappearing, but I think it should be romantic and warm that you found someone. As well, I should be happy that you don't feel that Khajiit should be picked on anymore, but it's just...I think I'm mostly surprised." Llarasa looked to Ahnasha, "You're going to have to tell me how you two fell in love at some point, because I'm having trouble." Llarasa rubbed the back of her head, "I guess you don't want me to tell Mother, Father, and Monderyn, then." "I think it would be best if you kept it from them, yes. All of what I have told you, in fact." Fendros nodded, "Are any of them here?" "It's just me and Monderyn. We're here to market the new vintage. He's out trading right now. I was with him until I found your friend, the Breton girl. Sabine, she said she was." Llarasa looked sideways at Fendros, "Is she a part of your...pack, as you said? She's a werewolf as well?" "That's right. I think she was separated from the rest of the group while they were walking around the city. She's not used to cities." "I thought so." Bringing her mind back to the original issue, Llarasa faced Fendros properly. "Where have you been all this time? Still in the forest outside Cheydinhal?" Fendros blinked and shook his head. "No. We have been travelling a lot. There are a variety of reasons why, but it is best that you do not know. Trust me. I will say that we have been to Vvardenfell in Morrowind and the northern half of Black Marsh." "Azura blind me...that's...you must have been moving the entire time." Llarasa seemed so overwhelmed by it all that she might faint, "No wonder Monderyn couldn't find you." Llarasa shook her head as if trying to shake the thought out of her head, "Never mind that, I would like to hear of the good things. How did you two fall in love?" With an uneasy combination of exhaling and laughing, Fendros looked away and considered. It still didn't feel like the most flattering tale. He looked at Ahnasha with a pleading smile, perhaps she could recount it, or at least start the story off. --- Though she didn't show it, Sabine was glad that she could get some advice about cities. She didn't hesitate to agreeing to go with Meesei to inform the guards to stop looking. As they walked, Sabine wondered if the guards had something to enhance their scent and help to find things in the city, but she was swiftly doubtful. Non-lycans didn't have that sense of smell normally. She had almost forgotten what it was like to not have such a sense of smell.

Ahnasha scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. The story of their romance wasn't, well, romantic, at least not its beginning. Although, Llarasa did not precisely ask for the story of their initial encounter, so she did not have to start with that. "Ah, well, if you want the story of how we fell in _love_, it is not that special, really. We spent quite a lot of time together; every day, in fact. Living in a pack out in the wilds, you are always with each other, you rely on each other. For most, it creates a sense of family that is stronger than simple blood relations, but for us, it was something more. It started out as just close friendship. Honestly, it did not take him too long to get over his former notions about Khajiit, all things considered. We headed into Morrowind not long after he turned, and we always found ourselves together. Being in his ancestral homeland gave us quite a lot to talk about, and we talked quite a lot. Sometimes, long into the night. Crossing the ashlands was difficult, to say the least, and we passed through some of the most desolate parts of Vvardenfell. Honestly, it was a bleak, depressing place, but even without trying, Fendros kept up my spirits in a different way than the rest of the pack could. By the time we reached our destination, we just kind of...knew. Of course, there was a reason that we spent so much time together. That reason eventually became the fact that we greatly enjoyed each other's company, but at first..well, I was kind of...already pregnant with our son, your nephew, Rhazii. That story doesn't have _quite_ the same romantic charm, unfortunately." She explained, giving a slightly embarrassed chuckle. --- Meesei and Sabine left the inn to inform the guard to call off their search. They had initially told one of the guards in a different part of the city, but Meesei reasoned that it would be quicker to simply go to the nearest guard tower in the Market district. The guards had messengers, so the word would likely spread quickly no matter where they went. Fortunately, the guard towers in each district were located at the walls dividing the districts, and with how much they had looked around before, Meesei was able to guide them directly to it. Stepping into the tower's front room, it was actually a guard who saw them first. She was a Nord woman in full heavy armor, apart from the helmet, sitting behind a desk with a mass of paperwork in front of her. There were markings of rank on her armor, though that seemed to mean that she had to deal with considerable logistics for her district. "Greetings citizen, do you have any trouble you need to re...hey, you look like a girl we're meant to be finding." The Nord commented as they stepped up to the desk. Meesei returned a smile. "Yes, this is Sabine. We became separated before, but someone found and helped return her to us." Meesei explained. "Ah, well that's good, at least. I guess I'll have someone send word to call off the search." She responded, making a quick note on a parchment to her left before leaning forward on her desk with her hands clasped together, looking at Sabine with a grin. "So, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into?"

The story was heart warming enough that Llarasa actually smiled near the end of it. She let out a high pitched titter along with Ahnasha's chuckle and glanced at Fendros knowingly. "Was it drink?" Fendros looked away, took a deep breath, and lifted his eyebrows as far as he could. "Drink may or may not have been involved." Llarasa smiled through false bemusement and hit Fendros in the back of the shoulder with her palm, chastising him. "I should have known. At least it seems to have worked out. That doesn't explain how you changed your opinion of Khajiits, though." "Well, it's just as Ahnasha said, we enjoyed each others' company. Also, once I found out that she was pregnant, well, I couldn't just pretend that it wasn't my responsibility." Fendros looked up at Ahnasha, "And it's hard to see race as an issue when you're in love." "That's adorable, brother." Llarasa laughed. She sniffed the last of the fluid form her nose and kept glancing at Rhazii. After a few seconds, Fendros noticed Llarasa's looks. "Would you like to hold him?" "Could I?" Llarasa asked quietly, looking between Fendros and Ahnasha's faces. --- Sabine was a little nervous. The Nord woman was a stranger and she didn't know why she would want to know what exactly happened. Meesei said that the guards were okay to talk to, though, so Sabine eventually began after holding her forearm in her other hand. "I was in the Arboretum with the others and went to see an interesting mushroom. When I got up, I couldn't see Meesei or the others anywhere. I thought they had gone in the same direction we had been going, but I couldn't find them." Sabine looked at the guard's inkwell idly, "I found the Temple District, and I had seen that before, so I just tried to find the inn. I took a wrong turn, though, and ended up in a crowd and couldn't find anything familiar. After a while, a Dunmer woman saw me crying and helped me." Sabine scuffed a her shoe, "I'm sorry that I made everyone look for me."

Ahnasha nodded, then moved from her place on the bed to sit down next to Llarasa. When she picked Rhazii up off her lap to hand her to Llarasa, Rhazii started to giggle, as he was about to be able to fulfill his curiosity. As soon as he was in her arms, Rhazii tried to reach up to grab her face, though his arms were not nearly long enough. Nevertheless, the cub was undeterred as he started to grab at the fabric of her dress. Ahnasha chuckled. "Rhazii has to be the most curious cub in Tamriel. Though...that is probably something every mother says. He always so energetic, in the morning, the afternoon...the middle of the night. I didn't expect parenting to be easy, and he certainly enjoys giving us a challenge. Are you very experienced with children?" She asked. --- "Eh, it happens." The Nord responded in a dismissive tone. "You'd be surprised how many lost children we see in a month. And I can say that pretty much all of them get returned, if not by us, then a concerned citizen, like with you. This is a big place, with thousands and thousands of people moving through it at any time. Kids get lost, and we help find them. We're here to serve the citizens, after all. Not that you should be going around _trying_ to get lost or anything. We do have crimes to deal with. Just stay with your, uh..." The woman began, scrunching up her face as she tried to decide what to call her in relation to Sabine. "...just stay with her."

Rhazii's presence seemed to put a permanent endearing grin across Llarasa's face. She lent Rhazii her hand under the cub's grasp and he promptly stuck her fingers into his mouth, but she just giggled. "I'm not experienced with children at all, really. You've probably heard what Dunmer are like, I wasn't expecting to become an aunt this century, and I doubt I'll become a mother in that time, either." Llarasa craned her head down to Rhazii and pouted, "Aren't you just the cutest little thing." She close her eyes and pulled her head back when Rhazii ran his fingers down her face, but she didn't seem to mind too much. "He is probably the thing I expected to see the least after Fendros left, but he is beautiful. Oh, I wish I had the time to sketch him." "Oh? You started a sketch book again?" Fendros asked. Llarasa nodded and pointed to the book on her bedside. "Mhm, it's right there. I started again shortly after you left. With how everyone was behaving, it kept me sane, really." The book she pointed to was the same as she was grasping when she knocked on Fendros and Ahnasha's door. Fendros leaned over and picked it up. She flipped through it in the view of both Ahnasha and Llarasa. There were a lot of skilled sketches in the book, mainly of little plants or small landscapes, but also of people. It was clear that she was more skilled than Ahnasha, but Fendros wasn't going to rudely point that out. Llarasa had a ten year head start after all. "Well, we're here for the rest of the night and leaving in the morning, you could knock on our door again, if you liked. I'm sure if we could sort this out, Monderyn might like to know everything as well." Fendros didn't notice how optimistic he had become. With that, Llarasa's face darkened. "No, I don't think...no, that's not a good idea. Monderyn, he...he is still incredibly angry." Llarasa's lips tightened. "He has become more hateful of everything, really. But especially you. I don't know what he would do if he found out but..." Llarasa's shoulders began to hunch in fear, "He's prone to violent outbursts these days. I don't want him to break anything or hurt anyone. I think we should keep this from him and you should leave early in the morning. Just stay in your rooms for a while, I think that would be safest." Fendros placed a hand on Llarasa's back and looked down to see her eyes. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" "On a couple of occasions, yes. He was remorseful afterwards, but he...he scares me now..." Looking up at Ahnasha, Fendros didn't really know what to do. They couldn't afford to get a room in another inn. He considered perhaps for Llarasa's safety that they venture out of the city to find a place in the wilds, but that would take a long time and leave the pack far from any carriages in the morning. Perhaps they should just stay in their room for the rest of the day. --- "Okay," Sabine agreed quietly. Though, she didn't have to be asked after the stress of today. She would likely not stray from Meesei's side until further notice. Underneath it all, Sabine felt a tiny pang of annoyance at being referred to as a child underhandedly. She was fifteen, didn't that mean she could take care of herself? It made her put on a glum expression while she walked out with Meesei.

"Hurt you?" Ahnasha commented, clenching her fists without noticing. The idea that what happened to Fendros would cause him to be so angry made no sense to her. She could understand some anger at the situation, certainly, but to go so far as to hurt a family member? Even if she did not know Llarasa, she was Fendros' sister, so Ahnasha felt herself grow angry as well. "That...I don't understand. He knows the truth; surely he has to realize what would have happened if he stayed. Fendros would certainly be dead, and some of you might have been killed as well. I can understand having anger and sadness at the situation, but..." Ahnasha stopped herself and let out a deep breath. Even if they did want her opinion, it was not truly her place to make any decisions in this situation. "So...you don't think there is anything that can help him?" She asked. --- Now that they had spoken to the guard, they had the rest of the day to do as they pleased. It was an option to see about teaching Sabine more about being on her own in a city, but Meesei was also concerned about the situation with Fendros' sister. They did not have to return immediately, but Meesei did want to at least check back at the inn soon. For the moment, however, Meesei noticed that Sabine seemed notably depressed for an unknown reason. "Is something wrong." Meesei asked.

"He has been fine for the past three months. He gets angry quickly, but he doesn't get violent anymore." Llarasa's tone tried to play off her fear, but her demeanour gave it away, "I'm just worried that he'll get angry again if he finds out that you're here, Fendros." Llarasa looked at Fendros solemnly, "Just stay away from him, find another place to stay, or just stay in your room out of sight, I don't care, but just don't let him find out." Fendros looked forward and down sternly. At times, Monderyn and him were inseparable. Even if they weren't brothers by blood, they shared a sibling bond. Monderyn may have been rash and followed along with Fendros' plans too much, but it was hard to imagine him getting so angry that he would hurt Llarasa. "I can't let him continue to hurt you, Llarasa. Let me talk to him-" "No, please." Llarasa interrupted surprisingly calmly. She squeezed Fendros' arm and pleaded, "He's finally accepted that you're gone. He was upset and angry because he always looked up to you. I remember hearing him muttering that you abandoned him forever. If he knows why you left, it makes more sense that he would be angry for longer." Llarasa looked at Rhazii's smile as the cub tugged at a lock of her hair, "And you know how he is about beast races. He was worse than you. All this at once would make him explode, I know it. If we leave it, he can live in peace." Llarasa's stare bore into Fendros' eyes, desperately halting the anger that was building within him. "Please..." Llarasa whispered. As much as he tried, Fendros couldn't see any other way about it that wouldn't put Llarasa or the pack at risk. He pursed his lips and swallowed his anger, then responded. "Very well. I'll stay in my room, out of sight. He won't recognise the rest of the pack." Llarasa smiled gratefully, "Thank you." Fendros couldn't help but look disappointed that the situation couldn't be resolved ideally. "How much time do you have to catch up today, then?" Fendros asked Llarasa. "Actually, I should head back, otherwise Monderyn will come and find me." Llarasa slowly lifted Rhazii back onto Ahnasha's lap, "I'm sorry that I don't have more time..." Llarasa pinched at the end of her index finger with her hands in her lap and looked down sadly again. Fendros was understanding and put his arms around Llarasa again. There was no loud sobbing this time, but she was silently weeping again as she returned the hug. "I'm sorry, sister," Fendros said, "I'm sorry I put you and everyone else through this. I'm glad we could talk, though. I'm glad I could explain." Fendros angled his head to one side, "Are you sure there's nothing we can do about Monderyn?" Llarasa nodded, "I think it is for the best." When they separated, Llarasa wiped one eye and turned to Ahnasha. Even though they were fairly unfamiliar, Llarasa reached a hand to Ahnasha's shoulder. "I hope all goes well with you both..." --- Sabine's mouth twitched and she took a moment to form the words before she spoke. "Meesei, ever since the ritual, not much has scared me anymore. But, more and more things are making me worried again. I feel like I should be old enough not to be a child, but if I keep doing stupid things like getting lost..." Sabine kicked a loose stone along the pavement "...how will I be able to take care of myself without others?"

"And you as well." Ahnasha responded. She wished she could say more, but she could think of nothing that had not already been said. It was almost depressing that they could do nothing to influence Monderyn. Llarasa seemed to be saying that he was slowly getting better, but what if he ended up reverting back to violence? Ahnasha felt sympathy for Fendros' family, but she could only imagine how much worse it was for Fendros. Ahnasha was an action-oriented individual, and she could not stand the thought of just leaving this situation as is. However, she had to remind herself that interfering might only make it worse. After all, if there was anything that could send Monderyn back to violence, it was seeing Fendros. At the very least, Fendros was able to have some form of closure with his sister. "Just...take care." She finally said, reluctantly deciding to leave the situation alone. --- "Sabine, you are definitely _not_ a child, but..." Meesei began, letting out a small sigh as she lightly placed her hand on Sabine's shoulder. "...your concerns are not baseless. You were put through far more hardship than you ever should have been, and it stopped you from learning some of the things that others would have. But that does not mean you are a child, it just means you will need to work hard to learn what you have been missing. Perhaps now is a good time for me to answer some more of your questions? Oh, and I would not be upset if someone a lot older than you calls you a child. That is simply how some people are. If I were to return to my village, I would wager that the elders would still call _me_ a child." She explained with a supportive grin.

After one last nod and smile, Llarasa rose from her seat and proceeded to the door. Fendros and Ahnasha followed suit, as it was not their room. Before she left through the door, though, Llarasa turned to the couple one last time. "What time are you leaving tomorrow? "Sunrise," Fendros answered plainly. Llarasa was cautious in asking her next question, "If I got up before then and waited by the main gate, might I see you off?" Fendros smiled. "I would like that. See you then." "See you," Llarasa hesitated, and then resumed her walk down the stairs to get back to where Monderyn was. Fendros stood and watched Llarasa leave with a smile, but his face faded into a frown once she rounded a corner. It was only then that a brief crackling sounded as he clenched his fists and hung his head. "I can't believe he would do that. He would never hurt Llarasa." Fendros bared his teeth and sucked in a frustrated breath, "I wish there was a way to solve this." Whether Ahnasha answered or not, Fendros walked back into their room and turned to address her. "Ahna, thanks for being there. I'm not sure that I would have been able to face her if not for you." Fendros said, lightly taking Ahnasha's arm and pulling her into a hug with Rhazii between them. --- "They would call you a child?" Sabine repeated with an astounded expression. Meesei was a lot of things, but it was hard to fathom her being a child at all. Nevertheless, Sabine tried to think of things to ask. She started with what Meesei had mentioned to her as advice beforehand. "You said that I could speak to guards to ask where to go if I get lost, but you said some were corrupt. How do I tell which ones are corrupt? What will they do?"

Ahnasha could not be happy with what they learned, but at least the encounter ended much better than it could have. There were still far too many unresolved questions for her liking, ones that would certainly end up bothering Fendros. She returned Fendros' hug until Rhazii started whining for attention between them, at which point she pulled away to sit down on the bed with Rhazii in her lap. "I'm sure you would have been fine, but if you were going to speak to your sister, it was probably best that she know about me. Perhaps it will make it a bit easier on her to know you have a family?" Ahnasha lifted Rhazii up to her chest, then laid down on her back and looked over out of the window at the sky above. "Why can't the sun hurry up and go down so we can get some rest. It's barely past noon" She said, letting out a fatigued sigh. --- "That...is not actually an easy question to answer." Meesei commented. It was not too many years ago that Meesei herself would not know what advice to give, though she had learned much more about cities in that time. The pair reached the inn, but instead of going inside immediately, Meesei leaned up against the side of the building, watching the crowds bustling through the outdoor section of the market. "Well, it is not only guards you can talk to, I should say. Anyone might be helpful, but anyone, including guards, could also want to swindle you out of what you have, or worse. It is not always easy to spot someone who is corrupt. Some of them you will know are acting strange as soon as you speak to them, but others are good actors. It helps just to be reasonably cautious with everyone you do not know. Be friendly, and grateful for their help, of course, but do not take risks. If you want to be safe, I would avoid actually following someone unless you really need to. As you saw with Llarasa, some people just want to help and mean you no harm. Actually, I would say _most_ people are like that, but there are some people who may try to lead you somewhere alone to rob you, or even worse than that. It is best to start out by just asking people for directions, and only ask for someone to guide you if that does not work. As for who to ask, guards are a good option, as I said. Beyond that, I would stick to people who you can see have jobs: dock workers, merchants, and so on. Anyone who has an honest, paying job will be less risky."

Fendros sat down by Ahnasha and removed his shoes. It didn't seem like he would be walking around the city today after all. That would have to wait. "I think she may have been more excited than she let on about being an aunt. Honestly I'm glad it was her that we ran into and not mother or father." Fendros laid down as well and put his hands behind his head, "...Or Monderyn, now with what he's become." Though he wasn't especially tired as Ahnasha was, Fendros got up and drew the drapes at the window closed to stop some of the light. "You can take a nap if you like. Rhazii's just had a sleep, but I can keep him occupied. Its not as if I can do much else today." --- As the day progressed, Sabine asked more questions of Meesei as they arose. She ended the day feeling a bit less worried about cities than she had been, though it was sad to hear about all the dishonest types that she would have to keep an eye out for. To say that she was streetwise was a lie, but she could at least handle herself as if she wasn't born yesterday. Without much gold, there really wasn't much else to do in the city, but Janius was still willing to guide the pack around to the unexplored parts and lead Meesei to the university for the afternoon. Fendros was true to his word and stayed in his room for the rest of the day. Any disappointment he had was offset my a determination not to put Llarasa in any danger. His presence at the rooms at least meant that he could keep an eye on Leaps and Rhazii, where Rhazii was not being carried by Ahnasha. Dinner was light for the pack that night. Despite the savings gained by the haggling for Sabine's ingredients, their shoestring budget could only afford them basic meals. To Fendros, though, it was worth it, as Sabine was able to refill their empty remedy bottle with a new batch that night, and they could both sleep soundly. For the most part. During their secluded dinner, Fendros shared everything about their encounter with Llarasa with Meesei, being sure to let her know that Llarasa does not know of the pack's travel plans. Fendros and Ahnasha were woken up during the night by Rhazii's small cries, but this time it was different. It was not especially late. He wasn't hungry or in need of burping, he was disturbed by sounds that both Ahnasha and Fendros could both hear now. A muffled pair of shouting voices was sounding from another room. It was made intermittent by the sound of feet stomping. Fendros and Ahnasha awoke enough to soothe Rhazii, but eventually, Fendros rose to his elbows. The voices were familiar. "Ahna," Fendros whispered with some concern, "I think that's Llarasa and Monderyn." They barely had a chance to discuss their next course of action before a door in the hallway slammed open and sure footsteps approached their door. There were three solid knocks on their door that prompted them to rise. Fendros decided to get up and obscure himself behind the door in a corner, out of sight of what was probably Monderyn. Fendros whispered again, "If he doesn't go away, try to talk him away." There were three more knocks. "Fendros. Open the door." A low voice demanded.

It was easy to tell that Ahnasha was nervous when they awoke to voices down the hall. It was hard to place at first. It was shouting, obviously, but the voices were muffled, indistinct. It was Fendros who recognized them first, and with the expression on his face, his warning wasn't even necessary. They had calmed Rhazii, but the silence was brief, as it was only a few seconds later that they heard footsteps approaching to their door. Both of them got up, with Ahnasha making sure to keep Rhazii obscured under the fur blanket. As Fendros hid himself away in the corner, Ahnasha whispered to him. "I'll...try, but I don't think this will work. He knows you're here." She warned, her tone definitely worried. She was hardly prepared to speak to Monderyn. She had no idea what to say to him if her first plan did not work, and being that they were awoken in the middle of the night, she wasn't even clothed. She slowly approached the door, making sure that her footsteps could be easily heard outside, while frantically trying to determine what exactly to say. Leaning to the side, she cracked the door ever so slightly and looked out so that only a part of her face was visible. She did her best to look and sound frightful as she spoke. "Please leave me alone. I don't know who this Fendros is, you must have the wrong room."

The face that Ahnasha beheld was held forward. Even Monderyn's dark Dunmer skin did not hide the fury in his complexion. He had a rounder face than Fendros, but the same eyes and hair, save for a clean shaven face, as well as a similar height. His fists were clenched at his sides. His standing position only lasted for a fraction of a second. He didn't let Ahnasha finish her sentence before he rushed forward to the gap in the door and forced his way through. His speed and momentum threw Ahnasha off balance before she could react. She could barely but keep her balance by hanging onto the doorknob before Monderyn threatened her throat with a shiny dagger and forced her against a wall. It was unmistakably silver. "So you're the one who took-ulk!" Monderyn wasn't able to finish either. In the dim light it was hard to spot, but the furred silhouette was unmistakable as it picked Monderyn up and pinned him against another wall. Fendros forced Monderyn's weapon arm against the stone with one clawed arm, and pinned his other shoulder with an elbow, letting him get close enough that Monderyn could feel his brother's breath on his face. Fendros' slow growl formed words that were understandable even if they were spoken in a different language, "Drop the blade." Monderyn bared his teeth and struggled, his movements separated by fearful whimpers. Even so, it was clear that he was just as angry as he was afraid. He meekly kicked at Fendros' torso, but he didn't have the space or leverage to have any affect. "Drop. The. Blade." Fendros repeated, hesitating before adding, "...Brother." Monderyn's struggles halted, but he kept breathing fast and his expression remained the same. The tings of the silver dagger were heard on the ground as he released it. "You attacked my love, you hurt Llarasa, you abandoned the family to look for me when I told you not to come looking." Fendros was struggling to make out the words past his own fury. "You abandoned us!" Monderyn hissed back, spitting out the next word, "Brother. You and that whore cat wrecked the famil-aaah!" Fendros squeezed Monderyn against the wall for his words. "I should kill you now. You have caused too much suffering." One of Fendros' flat ears turned involuntarily as Rhazii began to cry again. He was in such a blind rage that the sound brought him briefly back to reality. It caused him to hesitate before acting further.

Perhaps she should have expected it, but nevertheless, Monderyn's sudden attack caught Ahnasha off guard. She bared her teeth at the sight of the knife, and even as it was against her throat, she intended to fight back. She was moments away from conjuring a blade of her own when Fendros intervened, with ferocious efficiency. He pinned Monderyn to the ground with no contest, as he had nowhere near the strength to overpower Fendros. As soon as Monderyn dropped his blade, Ahnasha snatched it up, being careful not to touch the metal herself. If the attack wasn't enough, the exchange between Fendros and Monderyn only served to heighten Ahnasha's own anger. Though not as enraged as Fendros, she had no sympathies for his brother. She was not quite to the point where she was willing to kill him, but it would not take a great deal to send her there. She scowled at him, walking to the side so she could be sure he could see her. Whether or not it was her business to become involved was irrelevant to her at the moment; she was too angry to care. "You're the one who destroyed your family, fool. Fendros was the victim of an attack he could not control, he could not stop. He did not choose to leave you, but you...you chose to blame him for putting your lives above his. You chose to hurt your sister. What did Fendros do wrong?" With the brief pause that followed, Ahnasha could hear some movement in the adjacent rooms. The commotion had awoken at least some of the others in the pack as well, and with Monderyn forcing his way into their room, they were likely not far behind.