The large ship that was to carry all of the pride and packs did not exactly look like a reputable merchant vessel by any means. The weapons, the crew, and the general state of it made it seem much more like a warship, and the crew and captain did not look like they belonged to a navy. Uneasy glances were traded between crew and passenger alike. It should have been expected that they would have to pay a fare to shady sailors, but it hadn't crossed many minds until then.

Janius in particular didn't like speculating the reasons why such a big ship would take on a discrete smuggling operation. He would be keeping an eye on their heading to make sure they were not being abducted by slavers or something, not that they couldn't fight their way out if that was the case.

Sabine did not initiate conversation on the lead up to boarding the vessel. She had been fairly quiet and distracted ever since she gave Peiter a lesson in magic. In particular she had been avoiding Peiter. She thought she would have given an answer to him by now, but whether she was afraid of her answer or still undecided, she was holding back.

When everyone filed down to the bottom decks, however, there wasn't much space to avoid people. It was dark and dank, but their eyes adjusted to what light seeped through eventually. Unlike the cabins of the previous ship, this room was one large hold for storing cargo. Instead of crates and barrels, there were hammocks set up to accommodate all of their number. The only semblance of privacy to be had were the rope nets that separated the alcoves between the sets of hammocks, presumably to constrain sliding or rolling cargo in choppy waters had there been any.

Everyone found spots to put down their bags and decided without much discussion to return to the fresh sea air above. All except Sabine. She stayed amongst the luggage, seated and thinking. She thought that the relative quiet compared to the city or the jungle would help her peace of mind, but she was still having a hard time thinking with her conflicting feelings.

While the lower deck did lack privacy, they at least had plenty of space between them all. They were not crowded up with their supplies, and Leaps even had a somewhat reasonable area to wander around. Regardless, most of the group was still intent on taking advantage of their time on land while they could. The crew would likely not appreciate it if they were all to crowd the deck at once, so when out at sea, they would be below deck most of the time.

Peiter had been similarly as silent as Sabine during the entire walk to Senchal, and for similar reasons. He was at a loss for what to do or think, and he had considerable fear of making it worse. Most everyone was heading back up top for their last chance to be on dry land for a few days, so he decided to follow along. He moved slowly and unenthusiastically, so he was the last to start heading towards the stairs. For a moment, he glanced over and ended up locking eyes with Sabine by accident. He froze, with uncertainty hitting his mind. Briefly, it seemed like he might say something, but after a few seconds, he let out a sigh and started to walk towards the stairs.

Above deck, Kaleeth stepped off the boat along with Janius and looked around the dock aimlessly. Newt was insistent that he wanted to play with Rhazii, so he was with Ahnasha and Fendros. She made sure not to look back towards the ship as she spoke. "They almost look like pirates, don't you think? A lot of weapons on that ship. I'm...sure we'll be fine, though. They don't know what we are, or they wouldn't let us on board. Anyway...do you know if we have any of that moon sugar wine left?"

Sabine held Peiters gaze for long enough that she thought something was going to happen. The tension between them had remained difficult to deal with. This was an opportunity to talk, to apologise for her behaviour, to be honest. If it was such a good time and place, then why was she not saying anything? She questioned herself only when Peiter turned to walk away.

"Peiter, wait," Sabine carefully stood up, still looking at him with an anxious expression. "I want to say something."

With little to no gold and nothing but time and sun, Janius was about as aimless as Kaleeth. He held onto her hand and watched the dock workers go about their business. "I was just thinking the same thing. About the crew, I mean. They seem...I don't know, unprofessional, concerning. We'll have to make sure they aren't pulling a con with us." He took a breath and lightened up his tone before continuing. He looked at Kaleeth directly to answer her, "I don't know if there is any wine left, we'd have to ask Colours. I take it you enjoyed it yesterday?"

Peiter had honestly not expected Sabine to say anything, so he was surprised when he heard her voice behind him. With how she had been acting towards him, he figured that if anything was going to be said, he would have to say it. Regardless, he turned around and looked to her, his expression uncertain. "You do? I mean...I think I do, too. It's just...I'll let you go first."

Kaleeth nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, it was really good, actually. Very good. The sweetness was almost too much for me, but the moon sugar made it just...euphoric. If we don't have any wine, maybe we could go buy some? Or just something with moon sugar, I really don't mind. I think it would be nice to have for later, during the voyage. You remember how dull ships can be, I'm sure, and it doesn't look like we'll be able to have, um, privacy for this one. I guess I wouldn't mind having some right now as well, now that I think about it. Let's go talk to Colors." She suggested, with unusual eagerness.

With a deep breath, Sabine walked towards Peiter, one hand clasped in the other. She couldn't quite hold eye contact with him. A second after she stopped, a distance such that she didn't have to raise her voice, she began. "I am...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got mad at you yesterday. That was not your fault. I just had many thoughts in my mind, I was confused and scared." Sabine's grip tightened on her other hand, "I want to continue our lessons, I...like being around you." Sabine wished she had more courage for this situation. This much was causing her knees to begin quivering with adrenaline.

Janius was honestly rather conflicted about Kaleeth's enthusiasm in finding some more moon sugar. On one hand, he didn't want to impose upon her personal decisions - she was not a child. On the other hand, he didn't want to see Kaleeth make a habit of consuming the sugar. Even Janius had taken more than he intended to yesterday, and while it was as good as Kaleeth described, he was wary of getting fixated on it. He had seen inside Skooma dens in Bravil. The last thing he wanted Kaleeth or himself to resemble was any that he saw inside.

Janius tightened one cheek, considering, "Well...alright, but only once. Moon sugar is a bad habit to get into." He looked around for Colours and called out before he got too far away, "Colours! Wait a moment. I don't suppose you have any of that wine left?"

Peiter too had a hard time looking directly at Sabine. Even though what she was saying should have been encouraging, it just caused him to be more confused. Her actions the previous day, and how quickly she seemed to shift her entire demeanor, made it hard to guess what she actually felt. "I'm confused too, Sabine. Really, really confused. Everything over the past few days, or weeks, really, all seemed to be suggesting something more. We spent so much time together, and the way we were both acting...even Tzirret saw what was going on with us. Yesterday, you offered me a kiss, and I was so sure of how you must feel. Then...it hurt, Sabine. It really hurt."

Taking in a deep breath, Peiter took a step forward and finally made eye contact. "I want to spend time with you too, Sabine. I want to continue our lessons, and do everything we have been. But, I think there is something more. This is all new to me, so I don't really know, but I want to try. Just be together for a while, and see how much we really do like each other."

Colors stopped and turned back once he heard his name. "Huh? Oh, no, we drank all of that right away, since S'ajira found that other bottle. Honestly, I would've already bought more myself if I had any coin. Say...you weren't thinking of buying any, were you? If you are, I could come with you can help you pick out the best choices. I do know the local brews, after all."

Kaleeth looked to Janius questioningly, though she did not actually say a word. She did have some coin that had been allotted to her and could buy it on her own if she wished, but she still wanted to know if Janius was coming along.

Sabine looked up at Peiter with guilt and sadness when he mentioned his pain. She stood her ground when he stepped closer, but second thoughts and panics were nudging at her mind as if she was about to make a mistake. She banished those thoughts as much as she could manage and took one more step forward, closing the distance between then. Sabine's hands rose up and slid over Peiter's shoulders. Her face was still anxious, but she was resolute in her path now. "I can explain," Sabine barely spoke, moving herself closer and closer to Peiter, "But...you do not have to be confused any more." She attempted to kiss him, wrapping her arms tighter around him. She was fed up with the games she had been playing, with her own apprehensiveness, and with being indecisive. She wanted all of that stress to drain out in his arms.

Without knowing it, Janius reflected Kaleeth's look right back at her. Though, there didn't seem to be any particular protest, so he turned back to Colours and answered. "Of course. That would save us some time. I don't know how much they are but..." Janius glanced to Kaleeth, "...I'm sure we could pool some coin."

Although Peiter had hoped for something positive to happen, he had not quite expected that reaction. He was surprised at first, and went into the kiss awkwardly, but he too wrapped his arms around her once he had gained his bearings. He could hardy keep track of how long it lasted, but no matter how long it was, it was not long enough. Eventually, he pulled his head back and spoke with considerably less apprehension.

"I think I'm still confused, honestly. But...I don't mind so much. Not now. Just...what do we do now? I guess we're together, now." He said, reaching up and running his hand through her hair as he spoke.

Colors smiled at the pair. "Well then, I know the perfect place. Come on, let's head into the market." He walked between them and put his hands on both of their shoulders as he started to lead them towards the city gates. "How much you spend depends on what you want. Most things with moon sugar are naturally going to be more expensive, but there are still some cheaper options. Cheap wine with the sugar will still give you the euphoria, but if I'm going to get myself a treat, I personally like to go all-out."

Looking around for a moment, Colors pulled them both closer and started to speak more quietly. "Of course, if you're really wanting something good, and are willing to put down the coin, you could always go for a bottle of skooma."

"I've heard of it before, of course, but...what is skooma, really?" Kaleeth asked. During her entire life with her village, she had never so much as heard of the potent drug, and she had not had any real encounters with it over the past three years. As such, she had much less perspective on its effects than most.

Peiter's first few words after coming out of the kiss made Sabine laugh with futility, but at least he didn't reject her. She angled forward so that their foreheads leaned against one another. Sabine would have just been content relaxing with Peiter, perhaps kissing him more, but she felt as if he deserved to know what caused her behaviour. She whispered her words slowly, "Would you sit with me for a while? I was being unfair before today. I want to tell you why."

"Wait," Janius interrupted with firmness in his voice. Having Kaleeth even entertain the idea of taking skooma was too much. He locked serious eyes with Colours and motioned to stop. He was about to go on a tirade about how they would never go near skooma, about its dangers and its consequences, but Janius only paused. He had a better idea. He breathed in quickly, glanced to Kaleeth, and then looked back to Colours with a softened expression. He raised a finger to point at Colours' chest, speaking in a low voice, "If we're going for skooma, you'll take us to a den with other users." Janius lowered his hand.

Peiter nodded his head. As much as he was enjoying Sabine's embrace, her behavior was something that had filled him with questions he simply could not get out of his mind, and he certainly appreciated the opportunity for some answers. "Okay. I'll admit, I'm curious about, well, what on Nirn happened yesterday. Between your first reaction and Tzirret, of all people, trying to give me drunken relationship advice, I felt like the world was trying to play some elaborate prank on me."

Slightly reluctantly, Peiter let go of her and walked over to one of the hammocks. He sat down, though he nearly lost his balance as the hammock rocked back and forth until he was able to keep it steady. "I guess I should ask if everything is alright. I mean, I didn't actually offend you or anything, did I?" He asked.

Colors looked at Janius quite strangely, cocking his head to the side slightly as he turned to look at him. "Yeees, that's how one usually goes about getting it. I know a place over...near the residential district. Real quiet, real discrete, not that it's too necessary in Senchal. Any den that pays its bribes will get a pass, along with its customers. I know the owner of the place, you should say she's a...friend of mine. We can get a decent price, though I doubt you would want to buy more than one bottle, else people start wondering where all your gold went."

Kaleeth gave Janius a look with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Are you sure it's alright for us to get skooma, Janius?"

It was a bit awkward to try and sit with her legs off the side of the hammock, so Sabine slid her whole body in, sitting up one side. Wanting to be close to Peiter, she took his arm and gently encouraged him to join her. The hammock wasn't big enough to wrap the two of them completely, but it was enough to support their lower halves together without fear of falling out.

"No. You did not offend me," Sabine said with a smile, "It was..." Sabine paused as her expression lowered again. She couldn't just name her feelings and use that as an excuse. She knew she would have to explain thoroughly. "It is not simple. Three and a half years ago, in Black Marsh, one of our missions from Hircine was to seek out a cult of Molag Bal. We were meant to negotiate a truce. They were frightening people, but their leaders agreed to a truce if we helped them destroy an organisation of vampire hunters. With the cult, we ambushed them and routed them. Though, Fendros and Ahnasha were captured." Sabine's tone turned particularly solemn as she continued, "We tracked them to a settlement where we able to attack with the cult. I did not do as much fighting. I went to find them." Sabine's eyes showed a little fear with her memories and she looked down from Peiter's face, "When I found them, in a dungeon, I saw they had been tortured. Afterwards, we had to hurry back, because the hunters had sent an attack upon the cult at the same time." Sabine glanced up at Peiter, "That is where Rhazii got his burn scars." She looked down again, "That day was not the end of Fendros and Ahnasha's pain. They had to watch one another suffer torture and...they had nightmares. For years, they had nightmares, almost every night, sometimes when they were awake during the day. They still have repeated, painful nightmares. If they had not found Najirra, they would have done something very bad by now. I saw how continued their pain was."

Sabine swallowed and looked at Peiter directly now, looking as if she was going to be upset. "When the hunters found us the day before yesterday, we were almost captured, you almost died. You saw the pain on Ciinriel's face when the pride was rescued, it was the same for Fendros and Ahnasha!" Sabine let loose a tear, "That could have been one of us, or both, watching each other!" Sabine put her head forward so it was up against Peiter's chest. She held him closely, "I wanted to be with you, but I was scared of that pain if I was that close to you. But, I couldn't...I could not get my feelings out of my head. I kept being close to you. Now, I still cannot deny it, even after avoiding you. It is painful trying to avoid you! And-" Sabine tried to take a shaky breath, "I do not want to feel the pain any more."

"We will not be needing much," Janius responded to Colours, devoid of humour. To Kaleeth, he gave her the same tone, "I'll let you see for yourself."

Peiter moved up to join Sabine without hesitation, but throughout her entire recollection of the events three years prior, he was entirely silent. His expression remained somber in sympathy for the horrors she described, and even after she was finished, he had a hard time speaking up. He looked away, debating internally on how to respond before looking back nervously. "I...don't know what to say about all of that. I really don't. I never knew what you all went through. Divines willing, you'll never have to again, but..."

Peiter looked back, trying his best to look encouraging. "We'll be careful. We know the enemy is here now, so we can be on our guard. And if we...do get captured, we can make sure they don't know we're together. So they can't exploit it. I know it's not perfect, but it's a possibility that may never even happen. It's a...hypothetical. But, what isn't hypothetical is what we have right now, with each other. I'm happy being with you, that's something I know."

With no further delay, Colors led the pair into the gates of the city itself. He walked them away from the most crowded streets, towards parts of the city not as popular with visitors. The area he brought them to could be described in no other way than as a slum. The buildings were worn, and often decaying, much like the people themselves. And in that, the skooma den Colors brought them to was no different. Vines were growing up the side of the walls, and much of the paint that had once adorned it had now been chipped away.

Before they stepped inside, Colors spoke up quickly. "Ah, this is it. Right in the basement. Don't let the looks fool you, it's really a wonderful place. They'll take care of any need you have in here. Not that you two need those kinds of services, of course, but you can get a private room, if you want it."

Heading inside, the building looked entirely abandoned until Colors brought them down a set of stairs in the back of the building. He knocked on a door at the bottom, after which someone inside cracked it open for a moment to look out at them, then opened it fully to allow them in. He was a Cathay, armed an armored. He said nothing, but seemed to do his best to look intimidating. Colors, meanwhile, gave him no attention as he led Janius and Kaleeth through another door into the main room. Overall, the room itself seemed rather normal, apart from the door near the back which had been replaced with a very solid iron gate. There was a counter to the left with a Khajiit woman behind it, with a few other tables and chairs scattered across the room. There were several others in the room as well, but none looked to be customers. All of them except for one were women, and all were wearing rather revealing clothing. Off to the right there was another door, and by the smell of skooma emanating from it, it was where the customers went to enjoy their purchases.

Several of the women in the room looked at each over for a moment once the trio entered, then sent the Argonian among them to greet their customers. She had light green scales with matching feathers, and her entire demeanor, from her movements to her tone of voice, seemed to be meant to be seductive. "Well hello there, is there anything I can get for you this evening?"

Sabine didn't know what else to say. By the way Peiter reacted, it was not clear that he understood the probability of capture, much less the control over it. Still, Sabine was relieved to finally be honest with him, as well as herself. Still with her face to his chest, Sabine wrapped her arms around Peiter's torso and let some joyful tears escape her eyes. "Stay with me. Please." Sabine made no other motion to move.

The place that Colours took them to was obviously doubling as a brothel, given the other characters around the place. Unfortunately, the damaged customers of the skooma den were out of sight for now, which meant that they would be spending their coin before seeing them. Apart from a brief, amused half-smile at the situation, Janius was not giving the professionals in the room any particular heed. He knew why he was there. Janius regarded the evocative Argonian before them with a serious tone, but gave a polite smile all the same, "My friend here says this place sells skooma. May we purchase a single dose? If we could take it into your..." Janius pointed to the door that reeked of skooma, "...back room, that would be appreciated." Janius smile widened, as if he were purchasing something in the market.

Peiter wrapped his arms tightly around Sabine to hold her as closely as possible. Looking down, he gave her another kiss. "Sabine, there is no way in Oblivion I would even consider being anywhere else but right here at the moment. Your embrace just feels far too good to give up."

Colors nodded in agreement. "Yes, though, uh, I may come back to you myself shortly, my lady." He said, looking the Argonian over from head to toe.

"Of course, anything you desire. I will go get your skooma at once. For a single dose, the price is only fifty gold. If you have need of anything else, just come find me." The Argonian said before walking over to the counter. As she left, Kaleeth gave Janius a look of uncertainty. This was not a place she had been expecting to go, and it was making her uncomfortable in more ways than one. It's location in the city made her nervous, not to mention the fact that it was a brothel. As well, fifty gold was quite a lot to spend at once, and a slight bit more than she had on her. Janius would have to pitch in if they wanted to buy it. "Are you...sure about all of this, Janius? That is a lot of gold."

There was no where else Sabine would rather have been either. In Peiter's arms, she laid silently drinking in his presence and warmth. It took a minute to calm down from her emotional recollection, but even then she stayed unmoving for several minutes more.

A long while after the moment had passed, a thought crossed Sabine's mind about what Peiter had said before. She looked up from his chest, giving him an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. "Tzirret gave you advice?" She asked softly, hardly believing it herself, "What did he say, exactly?"

Janius didn't answer Kaleeth directly. Once the woman had walked to the counter, Janius took Kaleeth's hand and gestured his head towards the door with the skooma smell. "Come with me, we won't be here long, I don't think," he said with a frown, ignoring Colours for now. With Kaleeth in tow, he walked over to the door he pointed out and carefully opened the door so that Kaleeth could take a good look inside, whatever was there. All Janius knew for sure was to brace himself for the harsh miasma of skooma fumes that would come pouring out from those who chose to take theirs from a pipe.

Peiter started to laugh. "Well, I wouldn't really call it advice, exactly. I think he said you were crazy, or confused or something. I wouldn't put much stock in it though, he was very drunk. Honestly, I wish we both would have been in a better mood solely so we could have been there to take advantage of the opportunity. Next time we get ourselves some alcohol, we definitely need to get him to drink it. A drunk Tzirret is far more entertaining than I could ever have imagined."

Kaleeth was not exactly sure what Janius was intending when he went over and opened the door off to their right. She had smelled something strange coming from that direction when they walked in, but it was only once she looked inside that she realized what it was. On the other side of the door was a large room, about the size of the one they were in, but much more crowded. Along the back wall, there were six or so areas with dividing walls that the customers used to mate with the prostitutes, separated from the rest of the room only by curtains. Although, some did not even bother to close them. In the center of the room, there was no furniture to speak of, only cushions and blankets strewn about across the floor, not that any of the clientele seemed to care. Most were very much high on skooma, some drinking it, others smoking it. Some, other than the euphoria they were feeling, looked otherwise perfectly normal, but many were much farther along in the stages of addiction. Their clothing was ragged and torn, and their bodies looked almost decayed. Some were malnourished, and many just laid back on their cushions, twitching and laughing from their high.

Kaleeth looked to Janius with obvious fear. "I don't understand, Janius. What is this?"

"Well," Sabine grinned and giggled at the thought, "He was right about the confusion. If we get him to drink again, maybe we can unlock more wisdom." Now that she was in a glowingly good mood, Sabine shifted such that her head was level with Peiter's. She felt like talking more. "Have you or Tzirret been in relationships before?" She asked casually.

Janius left the door open and leaned against the wall next to it. His humourless face returned as he looked at Kaleeth, "That, my love, is skooma. Those people in there, look, they're starved, wasting. They spend all their gold and time here, because nothing matters to them except the euphoria. All of them became this after one bottle." Janius kept his voice low enough that the others in the room would not hear. He didn't want to make them cross by lecturing, even if they weren't listening. "I have some gold to help you buy your bottle, but I want you to make the decision yourself."

Peiter shook his head. "Me? No. Well, my mother once tried to convince me to court the daughter of a merchant in Chorrol, but she was about as likable as a case of ataxia. That lasted about two weeks before she decided I wasn't giving her enough attention. In truth, the attention I did give her was too much. As for Tzirret, I can't really say for sure, but my guess is a no. He's young and, well, you know him. He can hardly talk to anyone that he hasn't known for a while. I wish we could help him, honestly. It would be nice if he could be as happy as I am now." He said, giving Sabine another kiss on the cheek.

Kaleeth looked across the room once more with disgust. This was not a place she ever would have wanted to come to on her own, no matter what she was offered. Turning to Janius, she shook her head with an expression that showed some degree of frustration. "What? No, why would I ever want this? This place is awful; why didn't you tell me what this place was like? Come on, let's get out of here and back to the ship. I want to get away from here."

Not even waiting for a response, Kaleeth walked back over to Colors, who was staring down the Argonian over by the counter. "This place is awful, colors, and so is this skooma stuff. You can stay if you want, but we're going to go."

Colors' eyes widened. "What? No, no you can't do that!"

Kaleeth's gaze narrowed. "Yes, we can. I'm not spending any gold in this place."

Colors started to shake his head as he stepped forward and started to speak more quietly. "No, no, you don't understand. You can't just come here, ask for skooma, then leave. That's not something customers do, not normal customers. The people that do that are the ones working for the guard, or other skooma dealers. They'll think that you're just trying to confirm they have the product, and they won't like that. At all."

Sabine's smile was about as wide as possible. She closed her eyes momentarily when Peiter kissed her on the cheek. Sympathy for Tzirret did come over her, though. "It is sad. I actually used to be always nervous like that a few years ago. I talked a lot less, though. We might be able to help him if we found a hist tree." Sabine spoke bluntly without realising that Peiter might not have known what she was talking about.

The response Kaleeth gave was a little more explosive than Janius predicted, but it was not entirely unexpected. Keeping calm and collected, he pulled the door shut to leave the addicts to their fixes. As he walked up to Kaleeth and Colours, the point Colours brought up was actually something Janius forgot to consider. He put his hands on both Colours and Kaleeth's shoulders and tried to console them. "Hold on, hold on, what if we buy some moon sugar instead. Do they have that?" Janius leaned in and lowered his voice, "If that won't work, we can just buy it and throw it into the dock later. It's just a bit of coin."

Peiter raised his brow and gave a curious gaze to Sabine. His knowledge on the Argonians and the Hist was not especially extensive, so he had little context beyond rumors and a few scattered mentions of them he had read in books. He knew of Hist sap from Argonians he had spoken to and knew that it was special in some way, but he didn't see how that would matter to a Khajiit. "O-kay. I'll admit, I honestly have no clue where you're going with that. What do the Argonians' trees have to do with Tzirret?"

Colors scratched his head nervously. "That...might work. At least we'd be buying something." He said. He straightened up as soon as the Argonian woman returned. She held out a small bottle of skooma and looked to the group expectantly, at which point Colors tried to think quickly. "Ah, there you are. We've had, uh, bit of a problem. It seems my fool of an Imperial friend here managed to forget his coin purse. Luckily, his lovely friend here actually had the presence of mind to remember hers. Perhaps a pouch of moon sugar instead? Twenty coins by my memory, right?" He explained, giving a smile as he continued in Jel. "Honestly, I think it's a miracle that his kind ever managed to bring ours into their Empire. Even if it was by treaty."

The Argonian's eyes narrowed as she gave Colors a disapproving look. There was a brief moment of silence before she finally answered. "Well, Colors, at least you decided to mention your lack of coin before making a purchase this time."

Colors laughed. "Yes, I learned my lesson. I know those claws of yours are not just for show, my dear. Sorry for making you go through an extra trip, but I'll be sure to make it up to you later."

As the Argonian woman turned back around to retrieve the moon sugar from the counter, Colors let out a sigh of relief before turning his attention to Janius with a satisfied expression. "You're welcome." He said pridefully.