The rest of the journey was as hard on Fendros as it was on Ahnasha. They found some relief in each other, but each night either one of them woke up from a night terror, Fendros had to fight hard with himself to keep to their agreement to get to Bruma and deal with the pack there first. The wishful thinking that he had about their problems simply fading away was becoming less believable. Time to consult the rest of the pack was not particularly abundant with how busy they all were, not that Fendros and Ahnasha weren't spending their spare time alone with each other anyway. They barely even had time to inspect the tome they had acquired.

Janius continued training exercises with Kaleeth, finding that her progress had improved substantially. It could be argued that Janius' change in instruction to be more strict and less coddling since Kaleeth's outburst in the xanmeer had helped, but there was no denying that Kaleeth's acceptance of herself was playing a big part. By the time they had reached Thorn, Janius was confident enough in Kaleeth's abilities to allow her to ride on a ship for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, the long days of travel, hunting, gathering, and training left little time just for each other. It caused Janius a little concern, but there was not much they could do. Janius figured that there would be plenty of time on the way to the Imperial City.

Arrival at Thorn was met with some relief from Fendros and Janius. The central marshes were nothing short of the worst Black Marsh had to offer, and though it was only annoyances most of the time and wild beasts some of the time, the real reason lay in the anticipation of the fresh coastal air. Once they tasted the salt in their noses, they knew they were close. The walls of Thorn poked out beyond the trees and was slowly revealed to them as they proceeded. Janius was at the head of the group at the time and was the first to spot the ocean. Once he did, he stopped and turned to Kaleeth with a smile. "Don't get dizzy, now," was all Janius had time to say before Kaleeth spotted it in turn.

Sabine's pace quickened as they approached the gate and soon she was setting the walking speed. She would have run to Ariel's shop if she could, but after travelling for the entire day prior, she was the only one with the energy to do so without warrant. The city was largely as they all remembered it, though with less decorative flowers and banners. Some of the whiter walls had yellowed and the other walls browned with weathering, but it hardly looked run down. There were also less people clogging the streets without the festival. In fact, the main demographic on display was more Argonian than ever before. It was all to be expected.

Eventually, Sabine had to slow down momentarily. This was both to allow the pack to catch up and to regain her bearings and the route to her sister's shop. They eventually found it and the shop was one thing that certainly had changed from the outside. The front window was now thoroughly decorated with a wide range of stock to catch the eye. Glassware filled with all manner of salves, powders, liquids and more were neatly lined up with labels and prices. It even looked like the shop's sign had recently been repainted. [i]Montgrave Remedies[/i] was written proudly atop the doorframe at an angle easily seen from the end of the side street in which the shop resided. Sabine was so eager to see her sister that she was the first to push the door open, a short distance ahead of everyone else. The bell above the door rang, but there was no one behind the counter, only an Argonian woman Sabine didn't recognise waiting patiently. The rest of the shop's interior was also more thoroughly stocked, but kept neat and ordered. Sabine's smile faded as she walked up to the counter, the Argonian woman giving her a sideways glance.

By the time Sabine reached the counter and placed her hands on the wood, the door to the back room opened and a more natively dressed Ariel emerged. She had obviously bought a dress from Neercana-Rei's shop to replace her old robe to bear the marsh weather more effectively. As well, she had cut her hair shorter. No longer was it long and tied up, but now it was only barely reaching her neck. Again, this was probably for the weather. She held a round wooden container in her hands and was about to present it to the Argonian woman, but her head moved in a shocked double take at Sabine. "Sabine?" She asked as if she was seeing illusions.

Sabine beamed, "hello sister."

"Sabine!" Ariel quickly put the container down and rushed around the counter to throw her arms around Sabine in the tightest hug she could muster. "Oh sister, it's so good to see you again! How have you been?"

The rest of the pack came in to see Sabine and Ariel in such a tight embrace it was like they were trying to become one person. "I'm well, sister. Your shop is very beautiful."

Ariel had her eyes shut and was so emotional she was nearly shedding tears. "Oh wonderful! I received your letter and have been waiting every day for a new one, and now I get to see you in person! Oh, we've so much to catch up on and-"

The Argonian woman, who was waiting patiently interrupted the reunion with a respectful clearing of her throat and Ariel's eyes shot open. "Oh! [i]Yes, Vutamna, my apologies. Here, your violet paint, as ordered."[/i] Ariel released Sabine and turned her attention to her customer, speaking frighteningly improved Jel from when they last saw her, [i]"Now, you have enough solvent to remove it when you want to take it off, correct?"[/i]

The Argonian woman smiled and nodded, [i]"Yes, this will do for now. Thank you again for your services, Areeal."[/i] Vutamna's eyes looked to Sabine, [i]"Is this family of yours?"[/i]

[i]"Yes, it's my sister and her...foster family. We don't get to see each other much."[/i]

[i]"Well, I will leave you to it. Goodbye."[/i] Vutamna elegantly left the shop with the wooden container in her hands. Evidently a woman of high class in the city.

Now that the shop was empty, Ariel got to lay her eyes on the rest of the pack, switching back to Cyrodilic. "Ah, hello everyone, it is so good to see you all again!" Ariel swiftly assaulted everyone with a hug and each naming them in turn. She started with Meesei, then Lorag, Fendros, and paused at Ahnasha to behold Rhazii. "Oh my goodness, look! He's so cute, ooh! Hello there!" Ariel spoke in a high voice of endearment to address Rhazii. In her excitement, she moved on quickly, "I can't leave you all ungreeted. Hello Janius!" She hugged Janius just as enthusiastically, then her expression changed with Kaleeth from excited to curious. Almost by habit, Ariel switched to Jel, recognising Kaleeth's armour to be tribal, [i]"And greetings to you. I'm not sure we have met, I am Ariel. What is your name? Are you a guide?"[/i]