The chuckle that Gallus gave to align with Lorag's was decidedly more nervous. "I dread to think," he remarked.

---

Fendros and the children came back after roughly twenty minutes. Rhazii and Newt each had half a sweetroll each and were doing a fantastic job of getting crumbs and icing down their fronts and around their mouths. With little bites, however, they seemed to be enjoying their snacks. Rhazii only dropped his into the dirty snow once, but he didn't get it too muddy for a quick brush off to fix.

Sabine returned on her own shortly after, perhaps another ten minutes. Evidently she had to take some time to re-write her letter, but it was given over to be sent successfully.

The rest of the wait was not unbearable. The children played in the snow for a bit, everyone was well covered against the mild weather, and Meesei returned before long with news of their future passage.

Across the entire group, bags were picked up and everyone stood to gather. "We're all set, I believe," Janius said, looking briefly around to everyone to confirm, "We might pass some salted meat around for lunch, other than that...Who will be riding with whom?"

"We could have a pack take a carriage each, but what's the fun in that?" Gallus commented, "I suggest we trade a few members for conversation."

"Are we riding on horses?" Rhazii asked slowly, looking up at Meesei, "Can I please ride with Newt?"

Fendros shrugged at Meesei and Gallus, "I don't mind much."

Sabine didn't say anything. That and Janius' lack of opinion suggested that they shared Fendros' sentiments.

"No horses, sorry to say." A Nord voice sounded out nearby. The caravan driver and her son, who appeared to be about twenty years of age, approached the group near the stables, having just managed to hear the young Khajiit's question. "Well, no extra horses. But, we have two carriages, which should hold all of you, even the..." She began, pausing as her gaze turned to Leaps. Her eyes widened, and she looked to Meesei with obvious uncertainty. "Oh...that is a wamasu. Um, well, just...keep it under control, okay? We'll, uh, get the carriages ready. It should take no more than ten or twenty minutes."

As the Nord and her son went about preparing their horses and carriages, Meesei answered the others with a smile. "Well, I hardly think it appropriate for me to manage every aspect of our journey. We are all going to be together for some time for this task, so I believe I will let you all decide on that."

Just as the Nord had said, the carriages were ready in a little over ten minutes, so the pack began loading and distributing the supplies evenly between the two. For most trips, the carriages would likely be spacious, but they had quite a few people, along with their supplies and equipment, to transport. Nevertheless, while cramped, they were able to load up and set off for the Imperial City in under half an hour.

---

The journey from Bruma to the Imperial City, while direct, would take some time. Walking, it could be a month to reach the city, but their carriages could cut that time in half. It only took a day or two of travel to move beyond the cold of the Jerrals, much to the apparent relief of Leaps. In the more temperate central Cyrodilic climate, he no longer had to be wrapped in furs and was generally more active and lively. As could be expected, Meesei, Kaleeth, and Newt were all particularly glad to be out of the cold as well. They were able to get out of the thick furs they had been wearing, though due to the presence of the caravan drivers, they did stick to either armor or city clothes.

Given the long and often dull nature of travel, Meesei's and Gallus' packs had plenty of time to talk. There was not much formality between them to begin with, but it did not take long for any that remained to be dropped. Most of the members of each pack seemed to get along reasonably well. It was still too early to tell if there were going to be any major problems down the road, but there were no conflicts to start. The only one who gave any hint of an issue was the Dunmer, Irenya. She was not necessarily rude towards anyone, and she certainly could be sociable, but if one paid attention, they would note that she was distant with Ahnasha, Fendros, and Meesei in particular.

After almost two weeks, the packs were close to the Imperial City. Just on the other side of Lake Rumare, in fact. On the island in its center, they could see the magnificent city and the tower that dominated it. Unfortunately, it was going to be night shortly, and it would take a few more hours to reach Weye. As such, they decided to make camp for the night just off of the road.

It was dusk, and the sun would set within the hour, but given the irregular sleep schedules of the children, Newt was wide awake. He had been staring out over the lake wide-eyed for the entire time it had been in view, longing for the water. Newt, being Argonian, learned to swim just at the same time as he could walk. To them, the two were hardly any different. Back with the clan, he loved to swim in the warm waters of the pool, but the massive expanse of this lake was entirely new to him. He had never seen so much water in one place. There was a suitable beach nearby, though it was just out of sight of the camp. Much of the shore was covered in large rocks, and the camp was on top of a hill with a short, but steep incline leading down to the shore, which the carriages could not traverse.

"Mommy, daddy, can we swim? I want to see the...big pool!" Newt shouted excitedly, tugging on Janius' leg.

Kaleeth looked to Janius and gave a slight shrug. "I think a swim sounds nice. Does anyone else want to join?"

Ahnasha, who was already holding Rhazii's hand, looked down to her son. "What do you think, Rhazii? Want to get in the water with Newt?" She said before glancing to Fendros. "Could you take him? I don't think I ate enough of a lunch. I'll join you soon."

Pieter, after finishing unpacking his bedroll, stood up and joined the others. "I guess I could go for a swim. You coming Sabine? Tzirret?"

Meesei needed only to look at the water for a moment before knowing her answer. "And I certainly will be joining."

"Actually, uh...Alpha. Could I talk to you for a second, alone?" Lorag asked, motioning his head towards a spot a short distance from the camp.

Meesei nodded. "Very well, I will join the rest of you shortly."

Irenya was hesitant at first, but eventually stood up as well. "I...think I will come too." Leaps, while he normally seemed to like swimming with the others, seemed to be content being curled up next to the fire.

The relaxed approach to seating arrangements and the hardness of the seating meant that each of the packs intermingled to some degree or another during the journey. There was a different seating arrangement after almost every stop. Despite the code language that had to be used around the carriage drivers, most everyone got to know each other well.

During the trip, the packs had picked one day each to make camp in a slightly obscured position to everyone else, except Rhazii and Newt. The drivers didn't ask too many questions, but thankfully they didn't have enough curiosity to check on the camp out of the way and find it empty during the night. The howls during the night kept them with the larger group.

For the children, all of the new sights, smells and sounds kept their eyes transfixed on the world around them. Rhazii had never seen so much grass and so many trees in as long as he could remember. In fact, he was so fascinated that he either still didn't realise or didn't mind how long they would be away from the clan. Newt and Leaps were always around to play with whenever they camped.

Much of Rhazii's curiosity about the world, features great and small, came forth in the form of questions that Fendros answered to the best of his ability. Fendros had to admit that his patience was occasionally tested by the never-ceasing tide of enquiries, but he managed to keep a cap on his temper for the entire way so far.

Sabine spent most of her free time in Peiter's company, if only because she was most familiar with him compared to others outside of the pack. They would trade stories, make idle chatter, or sometimes just spent silent hours looking into the wilderness. The other members of Gallus' pack had to address her directly to get into a conversation with her.

The main difficulty that Janius faced in the first few days was getting Leaps used to the shuddering and cramped space on the carriages. Leaps would be uncomfortable and tried to vault over the back a number of times. For a while, he was so restless that Janius considered disembarking and walking him alongside the carriages, but that would have slowed them down. Before too long, however, the packs worked together to help Leaps calm and he soon learned to trust the carriage, lying flat and taking in the sun.

Though the white-gold tower was visible for most of their journey, upon reaching Lake Rumare it was properly connected to the vast wall of the Imperial City across the water. It brought its unfathomable size into perspective for everyone. Those that hadn't seen it this close before, Tzirret, Rhazii, Peiter, and Newt included, had their eyes locked on it almost all the way to where they set up camp.

Prospects of a swim had Janius initially dubious. He squinted at water and rubbed his chin. "As long as we don't go too far out and we get back before dark, I don't see what's wrong with a quick swim."

Upon Rhazii giving an "Okay," Fendros took him by the hand with a smile. "We'll go," Fendros said, "You've probably not seen so much water at once, haven't you, little one?"

Rhazii shook his head. He wasn't as ecstatic as Newt due to travelling all day, but he was curious about the lake.

"Um...this one heard that there are slaughterfish in the lake," Tzirret responded to Peiter, "Is it safe?"

Janius gave a short laugh, "As long as we don't go too far out or start throwing bait in the water, Tzirret, there'll be no slaughterfish."

"This one will...dip his toes only," Tzirret conceded.

After giving a nod to Peiter, Sabine stood up and strode to Tzirret quickly. She took the nervous Khajiit by the arm and quickened his pace towards the lake shore. "You will swim!" Sabine declared.

Apart from some surprised stammering, Tzirret didn't respond. His resistance was made up of stumbling with every second step.

"I think I'll stay around here," Gallus said while seated near the centre of the camp, "Someone has to keep the fire stoked for when you come back."

At that point in time, Uthri was on firewood duty. If she were to join them, she would do so when she came back.

On the walk to the beach, Janius put his hand on Kaleeth's shoulder and gently pulled her close. "Our child swims faster than I do, even at his age," Janius muttered, "Will you make sure that he doesn't swim too far?"

Kaleeth reached up and placed her hand on Janius'. "Don't worry, love. In Black Marsh, I helped watch over hatchlings swimming in rivers with crocodiles and voriplasms. Those slaughterfish are like...minnows. But, I'll make sure he stays safe."

"Indeed." Irenya added, turning her gaze to Tzirret. "They will not get close to us. If they do, it takes but a small amount of lightning to ward them away."

It did not take long to reach the edge of the water at a spot that was sandy enough to be considered a beach. Although, the rocks nearby made an excellent spot for placing down their belongings, in order to avoid covering them in sand. Kaleeth undressed herself and Newt, then headed to the water. She held his hand up to the point where the water was washing over his ankles.

"Now, be careful Newt. The water here is cooler than back at home. Get in slowly; let yourself get used to it." Kaleeth warned.

Newt, at first, seemed to take her advice. He took one step, then another. At this spot on the lake, the water grew slowly in depth, so the water was only halfway to his knees before he decided it was taking too long. Newt ran and jumped forward, submerging himself completely all at once. He of course let out a brief scream at the sudden rush of cool water, but the discomfort would last only a moment, and Kaleeth could not help but to laugh.

Pieter undressed and placed his halberd carefully next to a rock. He carried it everywhere he could out of habit, though given the size of the weapon, there were of course places it could not go, and obviously, he was not going to carry it around in the water. Tzirret, as expected, was reluctant to get into the water, so he walked up along his right side and placed a hand on the Khajiit's back. "Come on, Tzirret, let's jump in. It'll be fun. Don't worry, me and Sabine will protect you from the big fishes." He said, motioning to Sabine to give him some help in case Tzirret gave him any trouble.

After everyone put their clothing aside, Fendros lead Rhazii into the water similarly to Kaleeth with Newt. Though, Rhazii was more reluctant than Newt. They progressed slowly until Rhazii was waist deep in the water. Rhazii simply stood still with his arms up and looking with a measure of uncertainty at where his feet were through the murk. "Dada, it's cold," Rhazii complained, "the ground is squishy..."

Fendros lowered himself into the water and shifted to a squat in front of Rhazii, facing him. "It feels better once you dive in at once, like Newt did." Fendros brought his hand above the water and beckoned Rhazii towards him, "Come, try it."

Making lots of noise splashing just next to them, Janius decided to waste no time as he bounded into the water and dove straight in, hands first. It wasn't the most elegant of dives, causing an audible and likely stinging slap as his middle hit the water, but a few moments later, he surfaced and shook his head out of the way. "Crisp and refreshing, just as I remember! Are the rest of you coming or aren't you?"

Rhazii twitched as the wake of Janius' dive hit his dry fur. He didn't motion to move any further, and was beginning to look tense as the pressure he was under to act built.

Noticing the discomfort, Fendros intervened. "Let's try this, Rhazii. I'll count to three, and we both put our heads under the water. Ready?" Fendros brought up his fingers to count. "One, two, three!"

The encouragement and sudden gesture was enough to get Rhazii to sit into the water. He surfaced looking decidedly smaller as his wet fur clung to his head and neck, but after blowing the water from his nose and shaking the water off his head, he gave a grin and a laugh and tried to chase after Newt. As young as he was, Rhazii was not nearly as strong a swimmer as Newt, but he was taught well enough to keep his head above the water and have fun.

During the entire time, Tzirret was leaning back against Peiter's hand, desperately making up excuses not to go and swim. "This one...I mustn't get my fur wet! There might be mudcrabs that nip at my foot, I...I don't want to. Please, Peiter..."

Sabine joined in encouraging Tzirret and put a hand on his back as well. The added pressure forced Tzirret to start taking steps forward. "Go," Sabine insisted with a smile. After another few steps - barely enough to get Tzirret's ankles wet - Sabine sighed and took a step back.

"Well, good, can you let me-Ah!" Tzirret suddenly jumped, spun to look at the ground, and lost his footing, staggering all the way into the water backwards with flattened ears. He lifted his foot from the water and looked at it while frantically breathing. With equal measures of relief and defeat, he slumped into the water and let his ears run backwards.

"You are too scared of nothing, Tzirret," Sabine said with a barely contained laugh. "Now you can swim with us. The water is nice, yes?"

"Yeah..." Tzirret mumbled just above the water's surface. It wasn't a lie, but he didn't want to admit that he was enjoying it.

If Tzirret had looked back at exactly why Sabine had stepped behind him, he would have noticed her squatting down and pinching Tzirret's heel with a tiny blue shock of magic. Sabine had charged a small lightning spell between her fingers that she made to linger slightly, like a crab's pincers. It had worked better than she ever could have hoped.

Pieter could not stop himself from bursting out laughing, but luckily, most of the laughter came while Tzirret was distracted flying through the air or underwater. By the time he surfaced, it had dissipated to a low chuckle. After taking a moment to dive in and acclimate himself to the water, he swam up to join Sabine and Tzirret. The Khajiit had actually improved over the years when it came to general socialization, but of course, he was still all-around nervous. It was tempting to use it as an excuse to call him a "scardy cat," but Pieter never actually teased him in that way, mostly because it would be terribly unoriginal.

"Yes, and now that we have you in the water, we can...carry out our nefarious plans. Right Sabine?" Pieter teased.

Irenya entered the water with far less fanfare than most of the others, as she simply walked in as a leisurely pace until she was submerged. Interestingly, she chose to swim in a spot that made her the farthest person from Fendros and Rhazii, though whether or not that was coincidence was hard to say. She watched Kaleeth and Newt with some curiosity. Newt's ability to swim, despite his young age, was an obvious surprise to her. She considered briefly asking about it, but even now, she was still more comfortable approaching those in her own pack. Glancing between Pieter and Sabine, she shook her head lightly. "One day, you are going to scare that poor cat to death."

Kaleeth, meanwhile, was keeping a close eye on Newt. At his age, he did indeed have a hard time keeping himself above water, but for him, it did not matter. Now that he had acclimated to the water, he was perfectly content floating under the surface, or even crawling along at the bottom of the lake. So, to keep watch over him, Kaleeth mostly had to stay under the surface as well. As such, Janius could mostly only join them for a few seconds at a time.

Tzirret thought he had finally earned a reprieve now that he was in the water fully, but Peiter's plans swiftly brought an end to that notion. "Oh, what is it now?" Tzirret moaned.

An sympathetic look spread across Sabine's face. She had noticed that sometimes the rest of Tzirret's pack gave him too much of a hard time. It was approaching that point again now, but she couldn't know until Peiter revealed what he had in mind. She could always stop and protest if it crossed the line. She looked at Peiter with an arched eyebrow. "Of course," she gave a predatory grin, "let us begin..."

Tzirret passively began to creep away backwards, somewhat fearfully.

While Newt darted around under the surface of the water under Kaleeth's supervision, Janius eventually realised that he wasn't helping. Noticing the scheme that Sabine and Peiter were hatching, he decided to approach Irenya surreptitiously and chat. "Huh, Sabine's been a deceptive prankster for a while, but this just looks terrifying." Janius commented, "Poor Tzirret. Has he always been the butt of these jokes?"

As Tzirret began to step back, Pieter stared at him, matching Sabine's grin. With every inch the Khajiit moved back, Pieter also moved forward to maintain the distance. The air was silent and almost tense for what seemed like minutes before Pieter proceeded to...do absolutely nothing. After a while of thinking, his mind came up with nothing unique they could do. Glancing to Sabine, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay, I'm going to be entirely honest, I was hoping you would have something. I've...got nothing."

Pieter splashed some water harmlessly in Tzirret's direction, then swam casually over to him. He lightly patted the Khajiit's shoulder and gave a smile. It could be fun to tease him, but he did legitimately have an issue with being too nervous. "Don't worry, Tzirret, it's all in good fun. I promise that I will never actually hurt you on purpose. Trust me." He said, patting his back once more. "The most I would do is challenge you to a quick bout of wrestling, perhaps pull you into the water. Though, we all know that wouldn't be a fair fight. I doubt both of you together could take me." Pieter said, crossing his arms and raising his chin in an exaggerated show of pride. It was intentional, and joking, but he might not have realized how much it sounded like a challenge as opposed to bragging.

Irenya, who was content relaxing in the water while observing the others, glanced to Janius as he approached. Her expression seemed to be more neutral than relaxed, although; to be fair, that was the norm for her even when she seemed to be enjoying herself. In most cases, she seemed to have an air of maturity about her, even to the point of seeming forced at times. "Indeed. I would not say he is abused, but the cat does make himself into a target. When I first met him, I thought he was simply overwhelmed by the shock of turning and being forced into a new life. Such is common among us, I am sure you know. But it has been years; I believe he is simply a nervous soul. I think some of the others want to...toughen him up, so to speak. He is often the target of their pranks." Irenya commented, though she gave a slight, almost unnoticeable grin upon hearing Pieter's last, brash statement. "Perhaps, with motivation, he will fight back."

Sabine and Tzirret looked at each other. A silent conversation passed within a couple of seconds, weighing up whether to take Peiter's words as a challenge. Saying that he could take them both in a competition of strength was pushing his abilities out of reality. Speaking of reality, however, neither of them were particularly interested. Sabine might like a physical joke, but she has never enjoyed playfights, sparring, or much of any kind of violence. In turn, Tzirret didn't really have the confidence to initiate a wrestling match with Peiter in that moment.

Far from letting Peiter's ego stand, Sabine came up with a compromise to help Tzirret's confidence. She looked around the edges of the lake for a moment, then faced Tzirret and Peiter with a grin. "A race to that rock," Sabine pointed to a large standing stone further down the beach, "The last one to touch it must give Leaps a kiss."

Tzirret didn't even need Sabine to say when to go. He had turned in the water and began swimming as fast as he could to the stone. Sabine kept up an average pace, but couldn't keep up with Tzirret at all. He wasn't as fast a swimmer as Meesei or Kaleeth, but his speed on land gave him at least a moderate edge in the water. While Tzirret swam fast so he wouldn't have to go near Leaps at all, Sabine found the image of Peiter putting his lips to Leaps' licking tongue to be too amusing to pass up.

Seeing Tzirret's blistering pace through the water, Janius frowned with a high brow, impressed. "The boy is quick, that's a talent. I suppose putting Peiter in his place will have to wait for another time," Janius laughed through his nose. The next thought that crossed Janius' mind during Irenya's response was one that he decided to address with caution. He looked at her while facing off to the side. "I notice you call him 'cat'. That might cause some confusion with what Lorag calls Ahnasha. You don't seem like the type for nicknames, though. Do you have them for anyone else in your pack?"

Irenya raised an eyebrow towards Janius. "Nicknames? Hmm, no, I have no nicknames. I simply refer to people with efficiency. Although, I do suppose there are now more than one Khajiit and Breton among our group. And...Dunmer, as well." She said, shooting a glance in Fendros' direction. Just by looking at her, it was difficult to discern her thoughts just from the gaze. It was hardly a polite stare, but she was not being overtly hostile.

For a moment, Pieter was surprised. He had been expecting a fight, not a race. Nevertheless, it was not as if he could deny the challenge. He had some muscular strength behind him, but both Tzirret and Sabine were fast in their own right. He had long known Tzirret to be fleet footed and agile, and evidently, all of the time spent swimming with Argonians had taught Sabine proper form in the water. Pieter was behind, but only barely. He was actually starting to gain slightly on Sabine, but his transition from the water to the land was sloppy and lost him a few valuable moment. The race overall lasted only a few dozen seconds, but at its end, Pieter was the last to the rock. He stood leaned forward with his hands on his knees, panting for breath.

"That...was hardly fair. You...called it too quick. You had...a...head..." Pieter began, but his voice trailed off when he stood up and his gaze turned just to their right. Just a few feet in front of the trio were five individuals, all armed and armored with various mixes of leather, fur, and chainmail. Their weapons were raised, two of which were ranged: a crossbow and a shortbow. By their appearance, they were bandits or highwaymen. Of that, there was no mistaking them. But, thoughts raced through Pieter's mind on how they could even be there. There was always at least one lookout in camp, though they were out of sight of it. They had not caught their scent, or even just seen them coming. When it came to stealth, at least, these bandits must have been a cut above average.

The apparent leader, an Imperial woman in chainmail wielding a longsword, spoke up in a firm, but hushed voice. "Nobody make any sudden moves; nobody make a sound, understand? Anyone yells or screams and I'll have my friend here put a bolt straight through you, got it?"

The Imperial looked out into the water and pointed her sword at Janius, Irenya, and Fendros. "All of you in the water, get out and stand with the others. And don't try anything; it will only take a second to kill any of you." She demanded. One of her allies, a young Bosmer, had his crossbow trained squarely on Rhazii, likely for intimidation.

"We've been tracking you for a while, travelers. A lot of supplies in those carriages of yours. How nice of you all to put yourselves in such a...compromising position. Naked, unarmed. Couldn't ask for any more." The leader said, glancing to a mace-wielding Imperial beside her. "Go through their things, see what they brought down with them."

In the water, Kaleeth could both see and hear what was going on above the surface, so she grabbed up Newt in her arms and remained out of sight under the waters. She was at a loss for what to do, but she had to do something. Most of the people she cared about were in danger, and the bandits didn't know she was there. But, she had Newt to be worried about, and the frightened hatchling was holding on tightly to her. Looking down, she ran her hand across his head and spoke softly. Even underwater, Argonian ears could make out a voice clearly. "Be calm, little one. You're safe with me."

Tzirret's triumphant smile turned to terror as he saw the armed group. He gasped and backed into Peiter before he got the message to stay still. Sabine had to cover her mouth not to scream. Both Fendros and Janius turned their heads as soon as they heard the voices.

Rhazii paddled around obliviously for a few moments longer. "Newt, where did you go?" He asked innocently.

"To me, Rhazii. Now." Fendros said sternly, holding out an arm.

Now considerably more frightened, Rhazii paddled to Fendros' arms and followed him out of the water.

"Who are-?"

"-Quiet." Fendros put on a facade of anger to hide his fear and kept his eyes on the bowmen. In response to the crossbowman aiming at Rhazii, Fendros tried to keep his son behind him.

They were the only words heard. Everyone else gathered at the standing stone where the race had ended, completely silent.

Tzirret felt Sabine's hand grab his arm tightly. "Don't run," Sabine breathed with wide eyes, "You must not run." Tzirret was grateful for the grounding, despite the situation. He could hardly think, he didn't have his armour or his spear. The felt vulnerable. He tried to concentrate on keeping his beast spirit in check. It was always strongest when he was genuinely afraid.

Sabine's own heart was pounding. She tried to weigh the options. The weapons that the bandits used didn't look like silver, so it was likely that they didn't know that they were facing down a line up of Lycans. She could shock one of them, but the other would shoot, and they wouldn't have enough time to transform before the others transformed. Perhaps she could coordinate with Irenya, but even if she tried, they might let off a shot and hurt or kill someone. By the looks of it, Newt and Kaleeth hadn't come out of the water and hadn't been noticed yet. Additionally, Meesei might show up. If either showed up, that could be the time to strike. It was rash, but no one could tell her as much right now.

While Sabine was more invested in an oncoming fight, Janius was more collected and patient in his thoughts. These were probably just highwaymen who didn't know that they were out of their league yet. If they weren't slaughtered by an ambush by Meesei, Lorag, Uthri, Ahnasha, and Gallus while they were rifling through their things, that wouldn't be the end of it. Even if they had others amongst their number, which Janius tried to spot in the features around them, it didn't matter. As soon as this band walked away, they would leave a trail and the tide would turn. The best hope they had was to not give them an excuse to try and kill any of them.

The priority in Fendros' mind, above all else, was Rhazii's safety. As soon as an arrow was loosed, he would drop and shield him from any further fire. If he could still move by then, he would carry him away. Then, he would fight or warn the others.

The air was entirely silent while two of the bandits scoured through the group’s pile of belongings. Although, there was little that they did not take. Even furs and clothing was valuable. Even so, the looks on the bandits’ faces were distinctly disappointed. They packed away what they wanted into their packs, grabbed the weapons, like Pieter’s halberd, then approached their leader.

“It’s not looking that good, ma’am. There were a few weapons, a few coins, but I reckon most of it is still up in their main camp. A lot more of them up there…” One of the bandits explained quietly.

The leader, whose blade was still held out towards the group, did not take her eyes off of them as she answered. “Thought that might be the case. Well, we planned for this. We’re heading up there, then. Grab one of them for…compliance.” She ordered.

“With pleasure.” The mace-wielding Imperial answered, drawing a dagger from his belt. While the archers kept their weapons at the ready, aimed at the most seemingly defenseless members of the pack, the Imperial took a few steps forward. His eyes gravitated towards Sabine, looking her over from head to toe. It was a gaze that was unsettling in more ways than one.

The man walked up to Sabine and lightly brushed his knife across her cheek. “Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing? You’re going to be coming with us for a while. Now, make any noise and I’ll slit your throat.” He threatened. Grabbing a hold of her, he pulled her to him, facing away, and put his blade to her neck. Slowly, he started to walk backwards towards the rest of the bandits with her.

As the Imperial grabbed their hostage, the leader watched the rest of the pack like a hawk. “Don’t even think about trying anything. Remember, we want your things, not your lives. We’ll even send your girl back to you once we’re…assured of your compliance. Stay here, stay quiet, and don’t even think about following.”

As the bandit was making her threats and the rest of her men were keeping the pack under control, a silhouette appeared on the hill above and behind them. The actions of the bandits, it seemed, had not gone entirely unnoticed. It was uncertain exactly what had alerted him, but looking down on the bandits from above was Leaps, and he was most certainly angry. A simple beast he might have been, but even a beast could recognize when his masters were being threatened.

The moment that Sabine confirmed that the man with the knife was walking to her, the threat of the situation became a level more real. The bows levelled at them was all that was stopping her from lashing out. Grimacing, she pulled her head back and to one side as the knife scraped over her skin. Her eyes narrowing to a near shut made the sudden grapple from the man jarring. With how cold the knife was, she couldn't tell if the last drops of water running down her neck included her own blood. She just kept her chin angled upwards and her mouth sealed shut. Her breathing was involuntarily shallow and shuddering in and out of her nose.

They paced slowly up the hill. Through the whirling storm of panic in her mind, she desperately tried to remember how Meesei had taught her to paralyse someone with magic. She had not mastered it yet, it was an advanced spell. She had to do something of that nature or the worst would happen, she knew it. The outline of Leaps as he crested the hill caused Sabine's eyes to widen. Leaps could shock this man. It would surprise him, daze him maybe. That would give enough time for Sabine to follow up. She knew she could kill him quickly if she had that chance. She didn't think on it any further. She just had to make sure that she wasn't so close to the other bandits.

Janius and Fendros' eyes each glanced up the hill as well. Janius' plan of waiting until they left were already being deconstructed as he considered that they might take Sabine with them, but Leaps was apparently forcing the last few bricks to tumble all at once. He braced himself, holding his hand behind his back and beginning to charge an ice spike. Fendros wasn't as armed, but he knew that he would have to spring into action soon as well. Seeing the fear in Sabine's eyes, they both knew that they wouldn't forgive these bandits. Hopefully the others, particularly Irenya, would recognise the situation and ready themselves as well.

Kaleeth, from her position under the water, could see what was happening. She saw that Sabine had been grabbed by one of the bandits, she saw them backing towards the camp, and she saw Leaps crest the hill. There was little question about what was about to happen, and there was no way she would be able to just do nothing. She wondered if she should transform, or if she would even have time. The bandits did not know she was there, so even in this form, she could still do something.

Looking down, Kaleeth rubbed Newt's head once more. "I need you to listen to me, little one. Stay right here under the water, and don't go anywhere, or make any noise. Okay? Don't do anything until mommy comes back to get you."

Obviously, Leaps did not have the capacity to fully understand the situation, so his actions were based on instinct. He saw that Sabine was in danger, so he acted immediately. Lightning pulsed through his body, which he quickly shot out at the bandit holding Sabine. The electricity coursed through his body, and into Sabine as well, to a lesser extent. It was not lethal to either of them, but rather importantly, it did cause the bandit to drop his dagger without cutting her throat. If she was able to overcome the effects of the shock, she could fight back against him. If not, Leaps was presently in the middle of pouncing at her attacker.

As the attack had been sudden, and from an unexpected direction, the Bosmer crossbowman glanced off to his right towards Leaps, which delayed his shot. Immediately as Leaps shocked the bandit, Kaleeth emerged sprinting out of the water, screaming at the top of her lungs to grab the attention of the crossbowman she was charging towards. She just wanted to keep him from shooting any of her family, regardless of the danger to herself. Her hope was that she could reach the Bosmer before he could swing his crossbow around.

Pieter was afraid, more than he ever thought he had been, so there was not much rational thought going into his reactions. He had a soldier's training and knew he should help, even though he had no exact plan for how to do that. As soon as the bandit was shocked and their enemy distracted, Pieter ran forward to try and help Sabine. His lack of anything to actually fight with was not a detail that registered too strongly in his mind.

While the bandit holding Sabine had been briefly incapacitated, his allies' reactions were varied. The leader, being the most disciplined, brought her weapon to bear against the most present threat. Leaps was charging towards them, and she intended on meeting him with her blade. The crossbowman was trying to level his weapon at Kaleeth, while the other archer had an arrow drawn, but seemed to be caught briefly trying to decide what to shoot. The last bandit, another Imperial with a shortblade and a buckler, looked like he was going to try to cut down Sabine.

The bright blue flash striking down from the hill was all the signal they needed. Rhazii and Sabine both screamed, one in pain, the other in fright.

Janius flung his arm around and let loose a flying magical icicle at the nearest bowman. It happened to be the Bosmer with the crossbow. He would have to trust the others around him to get at the other one. The ice spike struck the Bosmer in his side with force enough to cause him to recoil. Janius charged at the elf at full tilt, intending to tackle him to the ground. He had to keep him from shooting.

The reaction Fendros had might not have been the most considered, but he didn't hesitate either. He spun and scooped Rhazii up in his arms. He ran to behind the standing stone just nearby and placed Rhazii down. At this point, the frightened cub had tears glistening in his eyes. Fendros knelt down and held him by the shoulders, speaking frantically. "Rhazii, you will stay here, you will stay out of sight, don't make a noise..."

Even if Rhazii wanted to respond with more than a failed grasp at his father and a choked sob, Fendros immediately began the process of transforming. He could only hope that the others wouldn't be harmed at this point.

When the lightning struck, Sabine realised just how much she had underestimated the pain it would cause. Still, her captor had dropped his dagger and slid off to one side. Gentle wisps of smoke rose from the folds of his clothing. Sabine regained her balance and tried to react with more than surprise. She brought fire spells to her hands - nothing nuanced, just a panicked reaction. Certainly not the quick kill she had in mind previously. There were assailants all around her, so she sprayed flames in their general directions as liberally as her hands could cover. It would take a few seconds to regain her bearings and retreat. For now, the flames she conjured were unlikely to cause more than minor burns and a distraction, perhaps even momentary blindness from the light.

Where everyone was fighting, Tzirret was frozen. He had been caught flat footed with quivering knees. It was the truth that he had been trained as Peiter had, but he didn't have a weapon. He was at a loss. One part of his mind found itself in a powerful position from this state. All it took was a wordless suggestion from his beast spirit in his mind and he let it take over. He buckled forward and let the pain flow through his burgeoning body as he began to transform.

The light and sound were more than enough to bring Gallus' attention to the commotion down the hill. He slid to a stop beside where Leaps had charged from and pulled out his hammer and a knife that no one saw him carrying. With a sprint down the hill, he would be in the fray as well.

The noise from the fight was easy to hear from camp. Meesei, Lorag, Ahnasha, and even the caravan drivers were all running to investigate, but would take a few seconds to arrive. Even in those few seconds, much could happen in a fight.

Leaps' charge ended with him pouncing straight onto the Imperial who had grabbed Sabine. He had tried to find his dagger on the ground as he was recovering from the lightning, but he was nowhere near fast enough to defend against the enraged wamasu. Leaps tore viciously into him with claws and teeth, tearing him apart as he tried in vain to struggle.

Kaleeth was rushing at the crossbowman when she saw that he was struck by an ice spike. It did not hit a vital location, but it pierced through him like an arrow, the shock of which caused him to fire his crossbow harmlessly into the water. It was a weapon that would take a while to reload, and Janius was rushing straight at him, so at the last moment, Kaleeth broke off and ran at the other bowman instead. Her new target had been briefly blinded by Sabine's flames, but after a moment, had found his target. Unfortunately, Kaleeth could not reach him in time to stop him from loosing his arrow, which struck Leaps' side. He was too late to save the bandit Leaps had mauled, but his scales were not yet thick enough to sufficiently resist an arrow, so the pain of being hit caused him to collapse to the ground. Kaleeth was upon the archer only a moment later, tackling him to the ground. He tried to reach for the blade on his hip, but Kaleeth's attack was relentless. She clawed at his neck, then delivered blow after blow to his head. With her strength, each punch was like getting his by a hammer, and she could hear his skull crack under the force.

The Imperial with the shortsword was stopped in his tracks by Sabine's flames, though they had more of a frightening effect than an actual one. He faced some minor burns, but once he realized he had not been melted by the heat, he still intended to finish her. The flames, however, had given Pieter enough time to reach Sabine. He tried to run in and grapple the bandit, but he had regained his bearings enough to defend himself. He swung at Pieter, forcing him to jump back to evade. Even still, the blade seemed to pass only a hair's breath in front of Pieter's neck. It was at that point that the reality set in of how defenseless he was at the moment. Sure, he could outmatch the bandit in a grapple, but that blade could end him in only a single swing. He was not going to abandon Sabine, but he did not know what to do next. Behind them, Irenya had two fireballs charged in her hands and was trying to help, but she had to get to an angle where she would not accidentally hit Pieter or Sabine.

The leader of the bandits was at first rushing forward to meet Janius, but Tzirret's tranformation behind him immediately grabbed all of her attention. In just one, panicked moment, she did not have the thought that all of this group of travelers might be lycans, but even so, just one werewolf was enough to make her instantly re=evaluate this fight. Without hesitation, the Imperial woman turned and began to run away, intent on leaving her allies for dead.

Still reeling from the ice spike, the crossbowman was charged by Janius, bringing them both tumbling to the ground. Janius tried to pin the Bosmer and choke him, but he had to struggle as he retrieved a knife and almost sunk it into Janius' side. Janius managed to grab his wrist and stop the dagger, but the Bosmer was stronger than he looked. It would take a while to overpower him.

Although perhaps not the best use of her magic, Sabine's flames had given her some space. She stepped back and tried to address the nearest threat. Regardless of the fact that both she and Peiter were unarmed, the man with the sword and buckler seemed to have some skill. Sabine might have been able to hit him with a more powerful spell. She just had to concentrate. She fumbled with a spell in her hands, trying to make a small ice storm spell to weaken him. She might have managed it, too, but the Imperial would not give her reprieve. All it took was a swing for her to jump back and break her concentration. With another step up, the bandit reared to thrust his short sword into Sabine's stomach, but the grey mass of Tzirret's beast form seemed to appear beside him and rake him across the head with large claws before the strike could commit.

Perhaps unbeknownst to the retreating leader, there were more threats than she had accounted for in her retreat. Gallus was not going to let her get away. With a deft movement, he flipped the dagger in his off hand so he held the blade, then pitched the dagger hard at the leader, aiming for one of her legs. If that wasn't bad enough, Fendros emerged from behind the rock that he had placed Rhazii, ears flattened and teeth bared. He could smell the fear of the leader and ran to close the distance to her.

Tzirret's claws, coupled with his lycan strength, pierced through the bandit's skull with deadly effect. He fell to the ground, motionless, and pouring blood. Meanwhile, Gallus' dagger found its mark in the back of the bandit leader's leg. While not a particularly dangerous wound by itself, it did cause her to trip over one of the shore's many rocks. She kept a hold of her blade, and managed not to harm herself with it in the fall, but looking back make it abundantly clear that she was not getting away. Even if she could get to her feet, there was a lycan werewolf charging straight for her. Briefly, she considered raising her blade for one last-ditch defense, but she knew it would be meaningless. The woman dropped her sword and raised up her hands. "Stop, I surrender!" She shouted, though she had little hope that a werewolf would hold back.

Seeing as Tzirret had handled the bandit threatening Pieter and Sabine, Irenya ran forward to help Janius finish off the Bosmer he was on the ground struggling with. She could not use her fireballs, but since Janius was holding him in place, it was a simple enough matter to conjure a dagger, run up to them, and stab it into the Bosmer's throat.

The rest of the pack had started running as soon as they heard the fight start, but it had only taken a few brief moments for the pack's surprise attack to eliminate every threat. Ahnasha ran down the hill to find Rhazii, while Lorag started to rush to the bandit leader as well. It only took a brief moment for Meesei to gather what had happened, and her first concern was for her pack. "Is anyone hurt?" She asked.

The caravan drivers too had come running over the hill, and while the bandit attack was certainly a surprise, it was, after a few moments, not their greatest concern. When they spotted Tzirret and Fendros in their beast forms, the Nord woman's eyes widen. "What happened here? Wait...is that..." She began, grabbing her son's shoulder. "Run...RUN!" She yelled as she bolted off in the direction of the forest with her son in tow.

After the danger had passed, Pieter turned to Sabine and placed his hands on her shoulders, his expression obviously concerned. "Are you alright, Sabine? Did he hurt you?" He asked. Although, despite the fact that it was Sabine who had been taken hostage, he was perhaps in more need of support than her. He had never been in a situation even close to that dangerous before, so it had left him shaken.

Tzirret's turning was not with the best of control. The bandit he felled did not solve the fear that urged his spirit to fight. There were others, the driver and her son, running temptingly. Tzirret began to bolt after them mindlessly.

"Tzirret! Halt!" Gallus' voice rang out in a more forceful tone than any in Meesei's pack had heard. The command forced Tzirret to kick up dirt in his effort to stop, before drooping his ears and lowering his head. Now that Tzirret was pacified, Gallus returned his attention to the leader.

Fendros' pursuit of the leader ended in the same second that she shouted to surrender. Fendros held both her arms to the ground and roared at her face. He would have killed her then had he held less control.

Gallus increased his pace, but he was glad that Fendros did not immediately rip her throat out. "Let's keep her alive, Fendros. Perhaps she knows something. Bring her back here."

With a slight twist of an ear at Gallus' words, Fendros leaned up, licked his lips, and grabbed the leader by the lapel. As if she were a scarecrow, Fendros pulled her to her feet and threw her in the direction of the pack, forcing her to stumble and fall towards them, surrounded. Gallus retrieved her sword before approaching.

Though he knew that the Bosmer was not as strong, Janius was appreciative of Irenya's help in dispatching him. He gave her a nod, pushed up off the limp corpse, and then walked to Kaleeth. "Kaleeth, are you alright? Where's Newt?"

A small rising series of sobs and cries could be heard from Rhazii as he peeked around the rock despite Fendros' instructions. His face was painted with fear and anxiety. "Mama..." he said through his crying as he reached out in Ahnasha's direction.

The moment was just about over. Sabine stood with her mouth open, staring at the dead bandit that almost ran her through. She wasn't bothered by the gore, but being so close to death had put her into shock. When Peiter grabbed her, she stared at him, wide-eyed. "I don't..." Sabine dabbed a pair of fingers to her throat where the dagger had touched. It still felt cold from the metal. When she held her fingers in front of her and saw no blood, she swallowed and nodded. "I am unhurt," she said finally.

A familiar croak brought everyone's attention to the one casualty of the fight. Leaps was still prone with an arrow in his side, bleeding.

Sabine was the first to look at him. She fell to her knees beside him and began breathing faster. She didn't say a word, but her faced was strained with worry. She immediately began trying to assess the wound with a magical yellow glow from her palms. Despite the fact that Meesei had only taught her humanoid anatomy, she knew that the principles would mostly be the same. She tried to treat Leaps without asking for help, but she would probably need it.

At this point, Gallus had reached the spot where Tzirret was cringing nearby. He slid his hammer back into his belt and put the vacant hand on Tzirret's shoulder. "Alright, Tzirret, time to turn back. Remember what I taught you. Focus on the image of the apple in your mind, clear it of all else." Tzirret hadn't mentioned exactly how Gallus had taught him control, but after roughly ten seconds, Tzirret's body began to contract and revert to Khajiit form.

Tzirret was out of breath and sitting on the ground when he finished reverting. He stared at the blood on his right hand. Rather than crying or going on nervously about irrational fears, it didn't appear as though he wanted to talk at all in that moment.

Gallus left Tzirret where he was seated with a pat on the shoulder before walking to the others. "Looks like the drivers found us out," Gallus commented, noting the wound on Leaps and looking at everyone else for injuries, "How is everyone?"

Fendros kept his eyes on the leader and growled loudly whenever she made any motion to get up from where she was.

The fight had been brief, but disturbing for some. Ahnasha ran to Rhazii, dropping down to her knees and picking him up in her arms to comfort him. Kaleeth, as soon as Janius mentioned the name, sprinted back to the water without so much as a word and dove in. However, it was an action that was quickly explained when she walked back out of the lake holding Newt in her arms. She walked back towards Janius, though she seemed more focused on making sure Newt was alright.

Although she had only even known about the attack for under a minute, Meesei had to make several decisions quickly. She had seen much happen over the course of only a few seconds, which had created several problems to address. "Alright...Gallus, Lorag, tie up the survivor, question her when you can. Irenya, help Sabine heal Leaps, if you could. I will chase down the caravan drivers and see if I can calm them. Just stay on alert; we do not know if there are more out there."

Irenya responded only with a simple nod as Meesei turned to follow their caravan drivers. She walked around to Sabine's right side and knelt down beside her. She did not ask Sabine to move or stop her own healing, and instead simply got to work applying her own restoration talents to the wound. Although, it quickly became apparent that Irenya's healing talents were far more developed than Sabine's own. She was, after all, a specialized healer, while Meesei had been giving Sabine more general magical training.

Pieter too knelt down beside Sabine, on her left. He looked over Leaps with an unsure expression, gently placing his hand on the top of the wamasu's head. The arrow was still protruding from the wound, as it seemed that Irenya wanted to get a better handle on the bleeding before removing it. Leaps was breathing heavily, and occasionally letting out a low, pained whine.

There were a few moments of silence before Pieter turned his head to Sabine. He looked unsure at first, but then, it seemed like he was trying to smile. "I...do believe I lost that race, didn't I?" He commented before leaning in and kissing the top of Leaps' head. "I would kiss this lizard a thousand times after what he did for you. He may well have saved your life. After he is healed, I think he deserves a reward."