Sabine stood staring right back at Peiter. Her mischievous smile was long gone, replaced by an expression that might have been worry or conflict - it was hard to tell. She could hardly breathe. "Peiter, I..." Sabine began to blink as if she was getting upset. She couldn't maintain eye contact, instead looking down at Peiter's collar, "...I have been...confused. I like you, but I..." Sabine lost the rest of her breath. "I do not know if..." she was getting quieter and quieter. Just then, in some kind of second wind, she looked up at Peiter with an almost angry expression through the tears that had been forming and spoke firmly, "Just cast the spell, you fool." Finally, Sabine pulled away and stormed off. She wasn't going for the main talking circle this time, she was going for her alchemy equipment and finding a spot well out of the way of everyone. She couldn't make much of an effort to stop the tears flowing in front of anyone who noticed her on the way.

Janius gave Jo'rashaad a surprised smile, "So you study lycans now? Ha, I think I know someone you might swap notes with if you ever pass through Thorn on the east coast of the marsh. I myself have always been interested to know more about that topic, but I'm not much of a researcher."

Apart from Janius and Kaleeth, there was one last member of the circle that hadn't spoken at all. Against his better judgement, Tzirret leaned forward and asked, curiously, "And, was Ciinriel your name? How did you join the pride?"

After Sabine's answer, Peiter was silent. He made no attempt to speak to her, nor follow her. He made no attempt to speak to anyone. The only thing he could will himself to do was to find a spot in camp, away from the others, to sit in isolation. To anyone watching him, his expression would seem almost entirely blank and devoid of emotion. Internally, his mind was incredibly confused, but he was not about to ask anyone for help.

Jo'rashaad shrugged his shoulders. "This one will study whatever he can, especially if it is not a well-known topic. It just happens that Jo'rashaad now has access to many willing lycan subjects, himself included. Most scholars who are not lycan will never even see a living lycanthrope, much less be able to carry out extended experiments."

Ciinriel's mood was better than before, certainly, though she still seemed quiet. She did not mind being lighthearted, or even joking, but she was having a hard time initiating conversations with others. As she started with her introduction, her mood seemed to be normal, at least. "Yes, I'm Ciinriel. Honestly, I hardly even remember the day I joined the clan, which was the day I was turned. Father says I was the survivor of a caravan coming from Valenwood, but I don't remember too much before that. I was so young, and it was so long ago. In Valenwood, I remember living in a massive, magnificent tree that stretched high above the forest floor. I know there are cities in Vanlenwood that are built in and around such trees, but I don't remember which one."

Tzirret gave a small smile. The image of living in a huge tree, presumably much larger than the outpost they had recently burned down, was a sight that he wanted to see. Unfortunately, Tzirret felt as if there was a cloud hanging over Ciinriel, whether anyone else perceived it or not. Her recent experiences made Tzirret feel as though he had to tread carefully, and so he couldn't really think of much else to ask her. At least, not before Janius kept the conversation going.

"So, we've heard of how you all came upon the clan, but what about life in the clan itself?" Janius asked, looking around to all the pride, "I'm not sure how much Colours said before was just a cover, but apart from that, we've not really heard much about what it was like."

"Hey, Peiter! Peiter!" Uthri called out and waved to Peiter as he approached the camp again. She had a grin, but it lowered as she saw his demeanour more closely. She lowered her hand when it was clear that he was trying to be alone. "Hm, wonder what's got into him?"

"Ra'kalesh doubts it is too different from your clan, other than the obvious." He answered to Janius. "The biggest difference is probably that we are a more varied mix of lycans. Most of us are werelions, but we also have werewolves, and some werevultures from Valenwood. We have modified our leadership structure to be in line with the Champion's recommendations over the past few years, but it was never too different to begin with. Our stronghold was an expansive, almost city-like collection of structures in the treetops. It was well-hidden, and well-defended against most types of attacks. Our enchanters were even able to provide protections against fires. We never expected the gas they used, though. Strategically, their attack was inspired, if...cold and calculated. They fought hard to gain a foothold in the treetops, and lost nearly a third of their force in the process. Then, we counterattacked and pushed them back. We drove them to the forest floor, and they started to retreat. Then, we gave chase, hoping to break them entirely. In our lycan forms, they would not stand a chance of outrunning us, which was exactly what they expected. With most of us in our lycan forms, they used the gas, then turned back around and slaughtered most of our defenders while we were defenseless. From there, the rest of our clan started an evacuation, but as this one mentioned before, most did not escape."

By this point, the bottle of wine had made it back to Kaleeth, but she was staring to feel strange, to put it mildly. There was an odd euphoria building through her body the likes of which she had never felt before. The closest she could think of was the effects of Hist Sap, but this was distinctly different. After another drink, she leaned in towards Janius beside her. "Love, I think I feel...strange."

Janius knew immediately what was happening to Kaleeth as spoke. He had been going easy on the wine so he wouldn't be hit by it so hard, but he didn't think to let Kaleeth know. "Oh, that's probably the moon sugar." Janius put an arm around Kaleeth. It was not likely enough to do her any harm unless she had a similar reaction to Fendros, but he would keep an eye on her. "You should probably hold off on the drink for a while. Just let it pass," Janius said, gently taking the wine from her hands and passing it over to the other individual next to Kaleeth. A niggling worry about the addictive nature of moon sugar ran through Janius' mind, but there was no problem he could see yet.

"This gas, it sounds terrifying," Tzirret said, a somewhat less nervous due to the mix of alcohol and moon sugar, "Were any of you caught in it? How does it work?"

"If it is anything like the time it hit our pack a few years ago, it's not pleasant," Janius responded.

At first, Kaleeth was worried when Janius told her about the moon sugar dissolved in the drink, but the fact that he did not seem too concerned did serve to calm her fears. "Oh, okay." She responded, trying to focus back on the conversation. Although, after a moment, she put her arm around Janius and pulled herself close to him. Smiling, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Her eyes shifted over to the second bottle of the wine, which was also making its rounds.

"Are you...sure I have to hold off on the wine? It does feel rather...good." She commented.

Ra'kalesh shook his head. "No, this one's pride was among those who stayed with the clan for defense instead of chasing. It saved us from being killed with most of the rest of the defenders, but we were captured while covering the escape of the rest. We ended up cut off from our escape, and knew that our only hope was to surrender and wait for rescue. We are glad it finally came."

Letting out a sigh, Ra'kalesh continued before anyone else could speak. "But, let's avoid revisiting all of that. It is this one's fault for bringing it up. Tzirret, how are you liking it here in Pelletine? Is it everything you expected?"

Janius turned his head down to face Kaleeth and smiled, playing off the concerns in his mind. "Well, I can't force you not to, but moon sugar can be addictive. Just mind yourself."

Tzirret wasn't quite prepared to be asked anything else, but he seemed more eager to talk now that the wine was in effect. "Oh, Pelletine? This is the first time this one has been here, actually. Some images of towns in Anequina are remembered, but that was when Tzirret was a cub. It was dryer there. Much dryer than here." Tzirret shook his head, "No, this is Khajiit's first time in the south. Senchal is very big and impressive, but it is crowded and there were many sad faces on the streets. The forest is also beautiful, but this one still has yet to get used to the thick air and the noise...and the flies." After a small, strange laugh at something, perhaps himself, Tzirret actually responded to Ra'kalesh with his own question. "Has Ra'kalesh or any in your pride been to Cyrodiil?"

Most of the pride shook their heads in response to Tzirret. Only Colors gave a nod. "Yes, I've docked in both Anvil and Leyawiin before many times. They're common stops for anyone who sails in the south. One time, I had business that took me all the way up to Bravil, but I didn't stay too long there. The entire place smelled like day-old fish left out in the sun...so a mild improvement over the Senchal docks. Regardless, as long as I have good drinks, good friends, and beautiful women, it doesn't matter to me where I go. Though I have to admit, Pelletine has grown on me. It is nice and warm, and there's easy access to all the moon sugar you can buy, along with the occasional bottle of skooma."

La'khay started to shake her head in disappointment. "This one still says you should stay away from that corruption of our sugar, Colors. She has seen what it can do to the mind. In one of the other brothels, in the center of Senchal, they forced their girls to drink it to addict them, and to keep them under their control. They didn't have to keep them around by force, because if they left, they would come crawling back within a few days."

"Oh, be calm. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I hardly have the gold to keep myself supplied, even if I did get that problem." He responded.

When the bottle of wine finally came back around to Kaleeth, she took another drink. The talk of addiction did concern her, but by the way the others were talking, it seemed like skooma was the one that was really harmful. No one else seemed to be having any problem with the moon sugar.

"Yes, Bravil is actually my home town," Janius added, "Skooma does the rounds there as well. I've seen how it destroys people. Moon sugar, however...I don't know enough about, only that it seems to be in just about everything in this province." Janius chuckled, finding an anecdote to keep the tone of the conversation jovial. "It's going to be hard for Fendros, our Dunmer. He has this hypersensitivity to the stuff. Not in a good way, mind. There was this festival we went to in Black Marsh that had some Khajiit pastries. He ate a portion unwittingly and he ended up with crawling skin, vomiting, and hallucinations. Ugly to watch, but quite the spectacle, all the same."

Uthri seemed incredulous, "How much sugar did he have? It sounds like he was swimming in it."

"Only a couple of mouthfuls of pastry. Like I said, overly sensitive. I haven't a clue why," Janius explained.

There was a shrug from Uthri, but she didn't sound convinced. Instead, she turned her attention to the various Khajiit in the group. "There is one thing I have always been curious about. How is moon sugar made, anyway? Do you mine it out of the ground or something?"

La'khay began to laugh with Uthri's question. "You'll get different answers on that depending on who you ask. Traditional Khajiit will tell you that moon sugar is crystallized moonlight. They would say it is a part of the eternal souls of the divines, brought to the sugarcane by the waters of the Topal sea. La'khay is not a traditional Khajiit. She believes it is just the product of a plant; a wonderful product, granted. The sugar comes from canes, and is the most popular crop in Pelletine. Torval has fields of it right outside the palace of the Mane."

Do'ajee seemed to be annoyed with La'khay's answer. "You are very quick to dismiss our people's traditions, La'khay."

La'khay started to shake her head. "No no, you see, this one cannot dismiss those traditions if she never held them. La'khay is a practical woman, with practical beliefs. She does not let people tell her what to think. Many have tried to shame this one for her beliefs, and what she has done in her life, but La'khay is proud of who she is."

Do'ajee rolled her eyes. "Yes, you've said that before. This one thinks you're just stubborn. Being proud of your beliefs does not make them right."

"Doesn't make them wrong either." La'khay retorted.

While those outside the pride would not know what to think of the exchange, Colors just started to chuckle. "Don't make these two get philosophical, or you'll be listening to it all night."

Kaleeth was not actually listening to the conversation at this point. She was simply leaned against Janius with her eyes closed, smiling. With the array of sensations flowing through her body, she felt at ease, even if she had been forced to pass on the bottle once more. She let out a low, satisfied hum and opened her eyes. Seeing Janius, she kissed him on the cheek, then tightened her hold on him.

Despite Colours' warning, the opening bout was not the first time that La'khay and Do'ajee intellectually sparred that morning. Regardless, the conversations lasted for another few hours, bringing all who participated closer together. Both Janius and Tzirret ended up learning much and more about Elsweyr and Pelletine in particular, while trading stories in return. As the last of the wine was making its rounds, the laughter and good nature of the circle reached a crescendo. Even Janius was affected by the moon sugar to the point where he was probably not the most responsible guardian of Kaleeth. They ended up relaxing into each other more and more until poor Newt started to overheat between them and squeezed out to find Rhazii.

After Fendros and Ahnasha left for the city, the task of keeping an eye on Rhazii would normally have fallen to Janius and Kaleeth, but Tzirret and Meesei ended up being the only ones sober enough to make sure both Rhazii and Newt didn't wander too far when playing. Even Tzirret was still affected by the wine.

The sobriety of the group was going to be required for a hunt, and the cover of darkness would help them all. In light of this, the three groups were going to hunt in the late afternoon and sunset. For now, though, the jovial gathering went on.

With not much else to do in the heat of the day, Sabine desperately tried to distract herself from her inner conflict by brewing potions out of the local flora. While patience and clear thought were normally her virtues in alchemy, Sabine did not make much progress for obvious reasons. She only discerned the basic effects of most of her samples. It frustrated her. She almost started throwing things around before she broke down and burst into tears fully. She buried her face in her hands and bent forward, trying to muffle her sobs. Secretly, she wished she could talk to someone about it without exposing her feelings.

In the opposite corner of the area, Peiter's brooding was interrupted by a staggering Tzirret, carefully trying to step through the detritus in front of Peiter's vision. As if Tzirret did not notice Peiter at all, he stopped a short distance away and began to urinate by a tree, facing away from him. The sound of the rough trickling was likely distracting enough, but halfway through, Tzirret began to hum tunelessly as if he was remembering a nostalgic hymn of prayer. It wasn't anything that either of them would recognise out of context, because it didn't resemble anything.

Once Tzirret was finished and laced up again, he looked over to Peiter and gave an uncharacteristic grin. It was interrupted by a sudden, small step forward from Tzirret to keep himself from falling over. Tzirret walked to a point beside Peiter and leaned over sideways to level their faces. Tzirret's ears were so taut upwards that they might have touched tips together if he strained. Tzirret was leaning further and further sideways, angling his head such that his ears were beginning to point to the ground, up until now, he looked deep in thought while closely inspecting Peiter's face. "Why is Peiter sulking and Tzirret humming happily? Nirn is turning upside-down!" Just as Tzirret reached the end of his sentence, his head was fully upside-down while looking at Peiter. He overbalance and tumbled, partly gracefully and partly clumsily, over onto the ground and sat up into a position with his legs crossed and looking at Peiter. With a leaf still on his head, Tzirret grinned as if he didn't feel a thing. "Tzirret wants to help his friend." He opened his arms, expecting an embrace for some reason, "Let me hear your troubles instead, while the ground is still spinning."

Peiter would have known Tzirret well enough that he was the last person to offer good relationship advice. He was younger than Peiter, and generally less confident. The wine and moon sugar cocktail was the only thing giving him the bravery to speak so directly. Still, they were friends, and Tzirret had a kind and gentle heart that might serve well in listening.

Once the conversation in the center of camp began to die down, Irenya began work in pulling members of the pride aside and giving them detailed examinations to heal whatever issues she might find. The pride's captors had kept them well-healed so they could torture them for longer, and more effectively. However, they may not have dealt with some lingering issues that such frequent trauma might cause. Meesei intended to help in that task after a while, once she was sure that her own wound would require no more attention from her. She intended to request that Sabine brew a weaker, but long-lasting potion for her. Once Meesei sought her out, however, she found her near the edge of camp with her alchemical supplies, in tears.

Approaching from out of Sabine's sight, Meesei sat down beside her. She did not have the context of what was troubling her, though given a few of the events she had noticed over the past few days, she did have some idea of the possibilities. When she finally spoke up, she did so softly, showing her obvious concern. "Sabine, do you wish to talk about it?"

Peiter, at first, attempted to ignore Tzirret. He was obviously intoxicated, and while that would normally be the perfect opportunity for any number of jokes, Peiter was in no mood to even attempt them. All he wanted at the moment was to be alone and try to figure out what it was that he had done wrong. However, it seemed like Tzirret was not going to make that easy. Instead of leaving after he finished, as Peiter had hoped, Tzirret stumbled right up to him, then onto the ground shortly afterwards. Tzirret, it seemed, was not going anywhere on his own.

Peiter let out a sigh as he ran his hand across his face. Although he was annoyed, he could not help but to give a brief chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation. Even so, he was not about to discuss his personal issues with an intoxicated Khajiit. Although, there was the possibility that he wouldn't even remember them, if he just wanted to vent. Rolling his eyes, Peiter reached out and brushed the leaf off of his friend's head. "Tzirret, you are drunk. I think what you need is to lay down and rest. And you're lucky that...well, you're just lucky you're in this state today, and not when we were on the ship."

With tear-soaked eyes, Sabine peeked up at Meesei when she sat down beside her. Her question took a few moments to answer. At first, Sabine caught her breath and tried to clear up her tears. It was difficult as the feelings would not simply go away. "Meesei, how do..." Sabine sobbed, barely able to get that much out, "...how do you stop liking someone?"

"Drunk? Rest?" Tzirret crossed his arms and lowered his brow, but not his ears, "Rest is not for the middle of the day!" Tzirret leaned forward and looked at Peiter closely, even leaning his hands on the ground in front of him. "If Tzirret looks through your eyes, maybe he can guess why you brood so. This one's grandmother could do the same thing before she died." Tzirret squinted and stared, "Hmmm...it was your magic lesson. That is what you were doing just before, yes? You...were bad at magic! No! You were..." Tzirret sat back suddenly, clapped his hands once, and pointed to Peiter with a triumphant grin, "You tried to confess to Sabine!"

Meesei could not help but to give an odd expression to match Sabine's equally odd question. It was certainly not what she had expected her to say, but at the very least, it seemed to confirm the suspicion she had developed when she saw Sabine in this state.

"Sabine, I am not entirely sure how to answer that question. To simply stop myself from liking another is not something I have done, nor have ever really wanted to do. However, it does lead to the question: why do you want to stop liking this person?" Meesei asked. Provided she was correct in her assumptions, she did not intent to simply tell Sabine what choices to make, but she could attempt to make her mind more clear for her own decision.

Peiter's unintentionally widened his eyes in shock for a moment before he was able to reign in his reaction. Briefly, he wondered if whatever Tzirret had been drinking had somehow given him clairvoyance. Or mind reading. He could not have been that obvious over the past few days, could he have? Even with a moment to pause, Peiter could not think of a great response before speaking up. "Um, what...are you talking about? Confess? I...haven't done anything wrong, not to her. What could I possibly have to confess?"

Although her tears had slowed and she was no longer sobbing, Sabine's nose was still blocked and her face was still strained and red from crying. She swallowed and turned to look at the space in front of herself. "Because I like him a lot, but..." Sabine's mind was a maelstrom of the different reasons that she wanted to stop liking Peiter. It was hard to pick one out. "...he almost died...or, he and I could have been captured, and then what happened to Fendros and Ahnasha - or to Ciinriel - could happen to us." Sabine brought the heel of her hand to her eye and sniffed, "I do not want to feel that pain. It still haunts them, I see it. I do not feel safe liking him. I'm...scared of what might happen to one of us, but...I keep getting close to him. I have been trying to...delay things. I cannot keep doing that." Sabine held her eyes shut. "It hurts. I don't want to like him any more."

Tzirret broke into a quiet, dry, staccato laugh. "Tzirret thinks that even one who is not lycan or Khajiit could smell Sabine on your hides." Tzirret took another breath, "You also held hands at breakfast." With realisation, Tzirret's smile lowered slightly and his tone became a little apprehensive, "Wait, Khajiit is not mistaken? When Bretons hold hands, is it for affection, yes?"

Meesei let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She reached out and placed her hand on her shoulder with a compassionate expression. "I cannot tell you who you should and should not like, nor what you should do about it. Ultimately, all of those decisions will lie with you, and you alone. I cannot give you the answers, but I might be able to help you ask the right questions. You are worried about the pain of loss, which is definitely understandable. It is something I feel as well, for all of those in my pack. If you believe that being with him would give you more pain than joy, then I could not fault that decision. However, you need to be sure that it is actually true, before deciding based on it. Imagine, for a moment, that you decided to be with Peiter. If he were captured and you saw him go through that kind of suffering, then how much worse would it be than if the same thing happened to another one of us? Imagine if you saw Tzirret undergo that torture, or myself. Would Peiter's pain be worse for you, or would they all cause about the same distress?"

Peiter lowered his head, burying his face in his hands. "I really was that obvious, wasn't I?" He commented with a sigh. Looking back up at Tzirret, he took in a deep breath to collect himself.

"Look...Tzirret. Just...it's complicated, okay? I'm going to be perfectly fine, trust me. I appreciate your concern, really, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm sure the pride needs more cheering up than me." He argued. He hoped he was more convincing this time, as he had underestimated how perceptive Tzirret would be while intoxicated.

There was no obvious answer that came from Sabine. She had to open her swollen eyes, look down, and think for a moment. She tried imagining different people she knew being tortured to try and compare her reaction and found every single sight to be sickening and terrifying. She had to concentrate deeply to try and get anything useful from it. "With Peiter, it would be worse," Sabine said sullenly, "but I do not know how I would make it better. Even if I didn't tell him how I felt, the thought is just as bad. I just...maybe it will be worse again if I do tell him." Sabine ran her hands down her face and sniffed again, "I just wish that I did not feel this way until after this whole mission. It hurts to brush him away."

In response to Peiter, Tzirret glanced to the pride, heard another peal of laughter from their talking, then looked back to lonely Peiter. Tzirret let his head angle to one side and he gave a sympathetic smile. "Are you sure, brother?" Tzirret glanced down and away, "When Tzirret feels as you do, his mind can get stuck. Even just speaking the words to Gallus or someone else can help this one to make sense of things, even without advice in return." Tzirret opened his mouth wide and brought his hand up to close his jaw comically. Through his closed jaw, he mumbled, "This one will stay silent if Peiter wishes it. Of this, now, and forever more." Tzirret lowered his hand and angled his head forward, "Now speak! What answer did she give?"

"With any attachment, there is risk. Whether it be friends, family, or something more. As much as I hate to say it, that kind of pain and loss is something that we risk with our service to Hircine." Meesei said with a somber voice. "But, it is my opinion that one should not allow the fear of death to rule their life. I fear for your safety more than I can describe. I know well the danger we face, and while I am prepared to take the risk for myself, there is no part of me that wants to force you into that kind of danger. In preparing for this mission, I wanted to leave you with the safety of the clan, but I could not let fear make that choice. As I said, I could not blame you if you feel the risk would be too great, but that said, I believe you would be happier if you made the choice based on what would give you the most joy, not the most fear."

Meesei straightened up in her posture before continuing in a serious tone. "Now, with that said, that does not mean I am saying you should be with him. I am only saying that your decision should not come out of fear. There are other considerations you need to make. Would you be happy with him, and would you be able to handle being apart? Remember that Peiter is not a member of our pack, and it may come to pass that our packs will separate for an extended time. It is something that you should think about before making your decision, but no matter what you decide, I would say that Peiter deserves more than being 'brushed off,' as you said. Make sure he understands what you are deciding, and why you are deciding it."

Peiter sighed; he could not believe that he was actually going to talk about this with a drunk Khajiit. "Look...her exact words wouldn't make sense without me going through the whole conversation, but...suffice to say it wasn't a yes. It was strange, I was so sure of what she wanted. The way she was acting just...screamed it. I mean, she offered to kiss me for the Divines' sake! Nothing about this whole thing makes any sense. It's like it was all just some big joke. It's like she was...confused or something."

Peiter closed his eyes and shook his head. "Or maybe that was just me."

Meesei had brought up details that Sabine had not actually considered in her state. She was correct that fear was disproportionately influencing Sabine's decision making, even if she would have denied that to herself. The pain of separation was of course going to come about anyway, but Sabine wasn't looking that far ahead. Still, it gave her some perspective on what their time together would mean either way. Would she endure the pain of being around Peiter for the rest of the journey and not being able to love him, only to regret it after they separated, or would it be worse to be with him for the time they had and regret separating?

Sabine sat silently staring down at her tear-wet hands for what reached half a minute at least. As much as she wanted to just pick an answer, she would need to think about her decision. She finally shifted from where she was sitting and slowly wrapped her hands around Meesei. "I will decide. I think I need time." Sabine pushed her face into Meesei's shoulder and spoke as a daughter would, "I love you, Meesei."

While Peiter explained, Tzirret laid himself down on his side, looking up at him. His tail swayed back and forth with more grace than his drunken body ever had. Despite promising to stay silent, he spoke anyway. "Tzirret believes that if what you say is true, then Sabine is either a madwoman or is confused," He closed his eyes and looked contented, "This one thinks you were not the confused one. You could still be a madman, but you do not seem as much to Tzirret..."

If Peiter had a response, he would be speaking it to a now sleeping Tzirret. He drifted off so silently that it was difficult to tell if he was still awake without closer inspection. Apparently the middle of the day could be a time for rest after all.

"And I love you, Sabine." Meesei responded, returning her hug just as tightly. They each returned to their own tasks after a few minutes, with Meesei returning to the center of camp to aid Irenya in treating the pride, or at least attempt to do so while balancing that task with looking after Newt and Rhazii.

By the late evening, the pride felt up to the task of going on a hunt. Gallus, Ahnasha, and Fendros had returned from the city with news of their travel plans. They had managed to find a captain who was willing to take them straight to their destination, with no questions asked. It would take a considerable amount of their gold for the number of people she was agreeing to transport, but they would at least be safe from being tracked. They would be leaving the next evening, and since they now had definite plans, they had all the more reason to get their hunting out of the way as soon as possible. As planned, they split into groups depending on where they intended to hunt. The pride stuck together for the most part, except for Do'ajee and La'khay, who were sent with each of the two other groups to help guide them in the area. To keep their numbers even, Peiter and Lorag joined the pride in their hunt. Kaleeth was directed to the nearest river for her to hunt alone, as she was best as a solitary hunter. Since Meesei had no need to hunt, she was the one to stay behind to look after the children, along with Leaps.

By midnight, everyone had returned from their hunts, though they were quick to get to sleep. Kaleeth was the last, as she came in early the next morning, dragging the half-eaten carcass of a dreugh behind her. Evidently, she had found several of the creatures and had decided to curl up and have some rest before eating them all. The meat would not last too much longer after having been left in the jungle for so long, so the group split it up for their breakfast.

The group left shortly after breakfast in order to make it to Senchal by the time they were scheduled to leave. The pride was able to move much more quickly than before, and with their knowledge of the area, they were able to navigate back to Senchal with good speed. They were on-guard for any servants of Vile that might be in the city, though it would be difficult for either group to find one another in such a crowded place. Even so, they made their way directly to the docks as soon as they arrived. Ahnasha and Fendros led them through the crowd to the correct ship. It was a older, slightly worn vessel, and was a bit larger than the one they had sailed in on. Notably, both the vessel itself, and every member of the crew they could see, were armed. It had ballistas set up on the deck which were currently unstrung, but had their ammunition close at hand. As they waited nearby the vessel for Ahnasha to find the captain, some of the crew gave the crew suspicious looks, and made sure that the cutlasses on their belts were plainly visible.

After a few minutes, Ahnasha returned with the captain of the ship, who met them by the loading ramp. She was a scruffy-looking Khajiit woman in rough leather clothes, stained and ripped from heavy use. "So, this is ya' group, right? It's the right number, so ya' not tryin' to cheat this one. Good, good. We leave in three hours. The entire bottom deck's yours; don't bother this one's crew, and we won't bother you, got it? You can board as soon as I've got my fee."

Meesei had already counted out the correct amount into a separate bag before they arrived, so she stepped forward and presented it to the captain. She glanced inside briefly, then nodded in response. "Alright, this one's headin' off to her cabin. You have any problems, go bother someone else." She said before stepping back onto the ship.