Sabine had heard shuffling of feet as she dozed half asleep through the early hours. She had opened her eyes for a moment and only found the dim blue light of the early morning. She settled and tried to sleep for another hour or two, but she couldn't get into a deep sleep again. When Meesei woke her up, she didn't have any trouble sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She was silent though, only acknowledging Meesei with a glance. Her jaw was sore from clenching her teeth in her sleep from the stress, so she opened and closed her mouth a few times to try and loosen it. Once again, Meesei had brought them breakfast made up of a greater portion of meats than she was used to. She wasn't sure if she could eat that much, but she made a start.

Fendros and Janius woke up with the sunrise habitually. Fendros gave Ahnasha a good morning kiss while she slept and went to retrieve breakfast for them both. Janius, on the other hand seemed a little troubled. He wished Sabine, Meesei and Fendros a good morning, but when facing away from them his smile lowered into a decidedly unsure look. He took the time to get breakfast for himself and also feed Leaps-On-Elves, who even in a couple of days had grown about an inch in length. At least it was warm enough in its bed not to snuggle up to Janius' face this morning.

Kaleeth was still asleep, but Janius could guess why. He hadn't seen her between this morning and when she went to speak to the Treeminder. She may have been up late talking. Hopefully whatever counsel she was given was useful for her. When she wasn't around, the uncertainty had got to Janius as well. Whether she was staying or joining, Janius preferred to know now so that he wouldn't be left without some sort of closure, but he knew it was her decision. His mind was so split in holding out hope for either outcome that it was making his chest hurt.

To distract himself, Janius sat with Sabine and Meesei to feed Leaps. He had congratulated Sabine on her victory yesterday, happy to see her in a good mood. Now the culmination of her efforts would sum to the ritual today. "So how are you feeling about the ritual, Sabine? Excited?"

Sabine didn't look at Janius directly for a moment, but she answered. "I don't know."

Janius leaned over and patted Sabine on the shoulder. "Ah, you'll be fine. I think you'll be feeling much better by the end of the day. I daresay this probably won't be as scary as you think." Janius of course knew very little about the ritual, but he wanted to show support for Sabine. The ritual was the reason they came to this place anyway.

In response, Sabine's mouth twitched uneasily and she resumed her meal.

Two seconds passed and Janius turned to Meesei, "Did Kaleeth get to talk with you last night? I asked her to see you. I've been been concerned with her."