"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...[i]that[/i] 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.