Tzirret sat down beside Ma'tanza cross-legged and listened to her answers. He found it strange that Qa'habi would just up and call off a relationship with her without saying why, but he must have had his reasons. Unfortunately, it would be incredibly rude to presume to ask Qa'habi out of context, given how long Tzirret had known him.

When Tzirret breathed in to answer, he was interrupted by the increased movement around the clan. He became a little uneasy in the stomach, but smiled to Ma'tanza and tried speaking in a reassuring manner to keep her spirits up, "Come. Let's find the others." He stood up and held out a hand to help Ma'tanza up. He didn't know how much time they had to find their friends, but they could have a quick look around. In any case, Tzirret wasn't going to let Ma'tanza be alone for this.

Ma'tanza silently nodded, accepting Tzirret's hand to stand up with him. Having everyone gathering themselves in such a small area would have made it difficult for them to find her friends, but Bheja and Qa'habi were among the first to start making their way to the shackles. They all met up together, though even among Ma'tanza's friends, there was a certain amount of tension in the air. The all looked at the shackles with varying degrees of anxiety. Interestingly enough, it seemed to be Tzirret this time who was the most calm about this particular aspect of the plan.

Taking in a deep breath Ma'tanza picked up a set of shackles, then closed them around her wrists, causing them to lock immediately. Now, they would not be removed until she next transformed. Tzirret was directly to her left, Bheja was doing the same to her right, and Qa'habi was just beyond him.

As they were binding themselves, Peiter made his way over to the group and looked around until he was able to pick Tzirret's face out of the crowd. Both he and Sabine would be playing the role of slavers. It was not something he was comfortable with, but it was what he needed to do to make all of this believable. "So, um...are all of you comfortable? Well...as much as you can be?"

As soon as the shackles closed shut on Tzirret's wrists, he winced at how painfully tight they were. He immediately wanted to be out of them. It did not take long for him to try to itch his forehead and forcefully and uncomfortably bring up his other hand as well. He could only imagine what it would be like to have these on for most of his life, like a slave. In that, he empathised with his friends' anxiety to his right. Still, he could not fathom their concerns to the fullest; they were all clearly more tense than he was.

When Peiter and Sabine came around, it was good to have their reassurance, but Peiter's question made Tzirret groan. "Very funny, Peiter," Tzirret said sarcastically, "This one does not think he wants to be in these chains for any longer than necessary."

Sabine was dressed in a more completely covering set of clothes - a light hooded, moth-eaten, faded blue over-robe and a pair of shoes. She still carried her shoulder bag and her dagger, but playing the part of a slaver would not be as easily demonstrated unless she wielded her magic. "Once we are out at sea, it will not be long before we take the ships. All we have to do is play the part," Sabine reminded everyone. She took on a reassuring smile, detecting all of their apprehension, "How are you all feeling?"

Leaning forward to see everyone, Tzirret had a less saccharine face, but reassuring words all the same. "This will turn out okay. Meesei and Gallus would not put anyone in this position unless they know it to be needed. I trust them. We will not get hurt."

Peiter did his best to put on an encouraging expression. "Yeah, I think we'll just be maintaining this ruse through one night at most. And, once that's over, we'll be making sure these slavers cannot do anything like this to anyone again. So...there will be some good to come out of this." He reasoned.

Ma'tanza looked down at her bindings and let out a sigh. "Yeah, at least there's that. It is awful to think about all the people who get put into bindings like these, but are never able to break out. All the actual slaves out there that are forced to work like animals for people who don't care about them. At least we'll be doing something to make that even just a little less common. And, we'll be able to get to Orcrest in no time. It will all be worth it." She said, though by her tone, it seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

Elsewhere in the growing mass of Khajiit, Ahnasha was knelt down next to the shackles she would be putting on, with both Rhazii and Newt in front of her. She had saw Fendros come back a few moments ago as well, so she knew he would be seeking her out shortly as well. She put a hand on the shoulders of both Rhazii and Newt and looked back and forth between the two with a gaze that was serious, but hopefully reassuring. "Okay you two, I need you to make sure to stay right next to me the whole time, alright? No running around, and especially no talking to any strangers. I know it might get boring, but it's only going to be until tomorrow morning at the latest. When you see me transform, I want you to follow and stay right next to me. I'll make sure you both stay safe."

"That is right," Sabine said, patting Bheja and Ma'tanza on the shoulder, before stepping across and doing the same for Qa'habi. "We had best get into position," Sabine faced Peiter, "We should go." Sabine gave a nod to everyone before heading off.

Tzirret did not want to overdo the reassurances, so he did not say anything further. However, he did try to bring a hand up to Ma'tanza's shoulder and give her a smile. He ended up awkwardly bringing both his hands up to her because of the shackles, but thankfully no one had secured themselves to the shackles on the other side of him yet. He only dragged the chains a little in the dirt rather than pull someone towards himself. Tzirret gave Ma'tanza's shoulder a comforting rub, but did not continue for long. After a moment, another Khajiit from the clan took up the unoccupied shackles. Now they just had to wait.

Fendros had come into the camp jogging and had informed all of the lieutenants that the slavers would arrive soon. Once his errands were run, he just had to take up position to receive the ships. First, though, Fendros wanted to take the time to see Ahnasha and Rhazii.

"Mama, why is everybody chaining themselves up? Transforming would hurt with those rings on," Rhazii protested. He was visibly nervous by the atmosphere and the tone of his mother's voice. "Why do Kaleeth and Janius have to stay away?"

It was then that Fendros approached, regaining his breath as he slowed from a brisk walk. "Alright, it shouldn't be longer than twenty minutes, maybe, before they get here," Fendros said, getting straight to the heart of the matter, "Remember the plan, stay by the kids. Rhazii? Newt?" Fendros placed his hand on both the toddlers' heads, "Listen to Ahna, stay near her, don't make a sound, understood?"

"Are you coming with us in the chains, dada?" Rhazii asked with an upset expression.

Fendros sighed, "I will not be in the chains, little one, but I'll be nearby. I will come to help if you need it, but do not call out for me, just stay by your mother."

"Okay," Rhazii said apprehensively.

Stepping forward and kneeling down, Fendros put a hand on Ahnasha's shoulder and another on her cheek. "How are you faring, Ahna? Are you ready?" Fendros asked. He was clearly worried, but he had learned long ago not to assume Ahnasha could not handle herself.

Ahnasha closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "I'll be fine. I just need to keep these two close, and well-behaved. When it comes time for us to break out, I'm not going to join the fight if I can help it. There are far more of us than necessary to overpower them. I'm just going to keep the children safe."

With a reluctant sigh, Ahnasha reached down, then snapped the shackles around her wrists. However, as soon as she looked back over to Fendros, she leaned in and gave him a long, drawn out kiss. "You just take care of yourself. Oh, and make sure you get onto the same ship as me. I don't want to be caught on another ship from you for the next week or two.

Just as Fendros had said, the ships were not far behind him, but the clan was in position and ready by the time the vessels came into view. The ships sailed as close to the shore as was reasonably safe, stopping with one in front of the other. The crews of the ships threw ropes over the edge and sent a few of the slavers down to make sure their "cargo" was ready, though it took another ten minutes for those still on the ships to actually prepare them for boarding. Since there was no dock, a normal ramp could not be used to get aboard. However, the slavers were prepared in that regard. They had brought with them two, extra long loading ramps, which had to be assembled on the deck, then carefully lowed down into the water. Their length allowed the incline to be reasonable enough to climb, though it would still require the "slaves" to wade out about waist high into the water in order to board.

The Khajiit, apart from the Senche who were bound separately, were all bound to one another in a single, long chain, so the slavers had sent down a particularly strong Cathay-raht with a few tools to break the chain in the middle, in order to separate their cargo into two groups, for the two ships. Fortunately for Tzirret, the midpoint was far from himself and his new friends.

Once they were ready, the Orc leaned out over the railing on his ship and shouted out his orders down below. "Alright, let's get this moving! Slaves first, then the rest of the cargo."

With that order, the slavers, both those from the clan playing that role, and those that had been sent down from the ships, started to guide the two groups onto the ramps. The Senche would be loaded last, after the bulk of the clan was below deck. For all of those acting as slaves, they had been told to speak only Ta'agra when around the slavers. Although, they would still need to watch their words, as many of the slavers were likely knowledgeable in the language. The largest reason to restrict them to that language was to further sell the illusion that they were mostly captives from nomadic Khajiit tribes.

Peiter, and the others acting as slavers, had been told to show no kindness to the clan. As much as he disliked it, Peiter put on an impatient, angered glare at the clan as he helped to shepherd them into the water. He prodded a few of them with the blunt end of his spear if they started stepping out of line, though he put in not a single bit more force than necessary.

"Okay, be safe," Fendros said as Ahnasha secured the shackles. After their kiss, Fendros gave a forced smile, "I will find you."

The boarding came about with such a rush that it didn't appear that the the slavers suspected anything. Sabine kept magical fire prepared in each of her hands while flanking the line of chained up Khajiit. She returned the looks of those she knew, but did not change her face from blank and impatient. Janius was too worried for Newt to get too far into acting, but he looked the part of a slaver easily enough with his armour on. Gallus and his pack did their part as well, though Gallus' position was mostly supervisory, looking on from the stern as the slaves waded into the water.

Tzirret found marching in the chains to be uneasy for more than one reason. Each time he missed a step from the one in front of him, he would be tugged forward, while if he tried moving too far forward, he would tug at Ma'tanza behind him. Still, he did his best to keep quiet and keep his head down. It was when Tzirret was halfway between the beach and the ship that he suddenly remembered something. Where is M'ibasa? He tried leaning to one side to look down the line and turned his head to look behind him, but it was not easy to see. Especially when he was tugged forward again, almost tripping into the water.

One of the clan posing as a slaver, an Orc with a mace, shoved Tzirret back in line and growled at him in Ta'agra, "No wandering."

Tzirret did not try looking further after that, but the pit of his stomach was getting closer to Ma'tanza's level of worry now.

The ramp came up before them and Tzirret was extra careful not to slip over or make eye contact with any in the crew. Soon they would be below decks, then they should be relatively safe. He just hoped that the slavers would not have their attention drawn to them.

Once on the deck, the slavers halted the group, then opened up a hatch leading down below. As the stairs were not exceptionally wide, they were led single file down, first to the crew deck, then to the deck on which they were intended to spend their entire journey. It was a deck that was dark, with only small amounts off light filtering in through the floorboards above, and almost entirely empty apart from two support columns near the center. The slavers shouted for them to stand precisely in rows, exactly where they were told. On the floor beneath them, there were chains attached to the floorboards, which could then be attached to their shackles. Once they were all in position, the slavers attached the chains to the shackles of every other Khajiit to keep them securely in place. Once all of their "slaves" were secure, the crew members headed back up to the upper levels. As much as the members of their clan among them would have liked to stay to comfort their captive brethren, they were forced to follow as well.

What became immediately apparent once they were locked into their positions was how little room there actually was. To say that they were shoulder-to-shoulder was no exaggeration. Those who were at the edge of the group did have some room to move, but the chains kept those in the middle from moving too far. And, it was made worse by the fact that they were all wet from having to wade through the water, and given that nearly all of them were Khajiit, they would all be wet for some time. Nevertheless, the captives all started to settle in as best as they could. Overall, sitting down was more comfortable, but it made the issue of space even worse. They had almost nothing in the way of leg room, so they had to accept that their legs would be pressing against those around them.

A few minutes after she sat down, Ma'tanza began looking around the large, compact group more and more nervously. "Tzirret...do you see M'ibasa anywhere?"

Above deck, the slavers were loading the last of the Senche into their cages. They all had iron collars that were indeed enchanted, though only with simple illusions. Their crates of supplies and equipment would be loaded next, during which time all of the clan's "slavers" would be required to pack away any weapon larger than a knife. It was a measure meant to protect Orub's crew, though being unarmed would matter little to a clan of lycans.

Since Meesei was already unarmed, she looked briefly to Colors and Gallus nearby. "I believe I will head down to our room now...dear." She said, barely able to get out the word without a break in her tone. "Feel free to visit if you like, Gallus."

Tzirret wished he could breathe a sigh of relief when the slavers closed the hatch to the hold they were packed into, but he was afraid that if he breathed out too quickly, he would not be able to breathe in again. He lowered himself down to be seated between Ma'tanza and the man in front of him and maintained shallow breaths.

In response to Ma'tanza, Tzirret tried craning his head around. Even if he could see around everyone else's heads, it was too dark to make out faces. "This one tried to see him while we were walking. He could not see him." Tzirret whispered in Ta'agra with his voice noticeably wavering. "Tzirret thinks that he might be on the other ship."

Tzirret tried looking up and only saw slivers of dim light through the ceiling. He tried taking a deeper breath and found that he indeed did not have room. His already shallow breathing became constricted. "Ma'tanza?" Tzirret's whispered words began including some panicked squeaks, "This one never liked confined spaces..."

---

Above decks, Gallus continued watching as the chained lines of clanspeople were lead into the wooden bellies of the ships. He almost betrayed a wince as one of the less patient slavers struck one of the clan for talking, but it was not violent enough to warrant intervening.

When the 'slaves' were accommodated and the supplies began getting loaded, Gallus considered following Meesei to make sure the next phase of the plan was clear, but they had plenty of time. He had already handed in his hammer and larger daggers, keeping two others well hidden on his person. Without taking his eyes off the porting crew, Gallus leaned his head to one side and spoke. "I'll come by once we've cast off."

It took roughly an hour before there was virtually nothing left on the shore. There were no serious complications so far. Satisfied, Gallus pushed of the railing of the top deck and made his way to Meesei and Colours' room.

Gallus knocked on the correct door before stepping inside and closing it behind him. "We are away. Everything is going according to plan." A small smile crept onto Gallus' face, betraying exhilaration at the risk that just passed.

Ma'tanza still continued to look around the hold nervously, though there was only a slim chance of actually identifying anyone beyond a short distance away from them. "M'ibasa was supposed to shackle himself close to us. He might have waited too long and ended up shackled somewhere else. Oh, if he's on that other ship, he's going to be so afraid. This one hopes he is somewhere near at least someone he knows."

Once Ma'tanza turned back towards Tzirret, being one of the few she could actually see clearly, she noticed he looked somewhat strange. When he said that he had an issue with confined spaces, she looked at him with concern, then moved her shackled hands over enough to place a hand on his leg. "Are you going to be alright, Tzirret?"

---

Meesei was sat on the edge of the bed, of which there was, unfortunately, only one in the room. Loading the clan onto the ship had been an altogether uncomfortable affair for everyone involved, and though she would not say it aloud, part of the reason she had gone to her room early was so she would not have to witness the remainder of it. She felt immense guilt for putting her fellow lycans through such an experience, but if it guaranteed their safety, she supposed it would be worth it. Regardless, she still put on something of a smile when Gallus entered the room.

"Yes, it is just a matter of waiting now." Meesei said quietly as she stood up and walked over closer to Gallus. "I shall give the signal tomorrow morning, once we are far enough into the Topal Sea. I just hope the clan can hold strong until then."

Tzirret did not get any better. No matter how much he tried to breathe, he was always short of breath. As Tzirret's stress escalated, he had a familiar niggling brush against his subconscious. He knew exactly what it was - it always came about when he was especially afraid. There was no order from Gallus here, no minotaur to kill, no focus, and most importantly, no escape. It only caused him to spiral further, but he remembered one thing that might have helped.

"Ma'tanza, please, this one needs to breathe..." Tzirret pleaded in a desperate whisper though his hyperventilation, "He needs...he needs you to count out breaths for him...slow breaths...it is what Najirra does...please. He cannot let his wolf out! Not now!"

---

"I think we'll do just fine," Gallus responded, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe, "Short of any unforseen hiccups. Still..." Gallus looked to another wall, "I might sneak below and hand out some water during the night. Just to keep everyone going."

Gallus didn't find the boarding experience easy either, so he suspected that Meesei might have been having trouble as well. His eyes found Meesei's again and he spoke at a lower volume, "How's that veneer holding up?"

Ma’tanza was confused at first by what Tzirret was saying, but that confusion ceased to matter when he mentioned that his beast spirit was staring to act up. At that point, the only thing that mattered was that they find a way to calm him down. ”Okay, okay, just…we need to get you calm. Okay.”

Pulling her shackled hands over to her left, she reached up and put her hands over his head so that she could get her arms around him. She ended up pulling Bheja over towards her in the process, but a mild inconvenience for him was not important at the moment. Ma’tanza pulled Tzirret closer while maintaining firm, unbroken eye contact. ”Alright, let’s just…breathe slowly then. Just focus on Ma’tanza; nothing else matters. One…two…three…” She began, giving one count for each of the slow breaths she exhaled.

---

Meesei leaned herself against the wall immediately beside Gallus. Most of the crew was busy above deck, but she still spoke at a whisper that was only just audible to him at that distance. “I will be fine. I can maintain the role of the confident enchanter as long as needed. Though, I believe I will avoid direct conversation with the crew if possible.”

Closing her eyes briefly, Meesei gave an uncomfortable sigh. “As for sneaking down to the clan…as much as I dislike saying it, it may not be worth the risk. They have eaten today, and they will be given food and water tonight, so they should not be particularly hungry until morning. We just need to keep an eye on the crew to make sure they do not suspect anything. We have put on as complete of a façade as possible, but there are some details they may notice. I expect that it would take them much longer than a single night to put together the pieces, but I will be ready to give the signal early regardless.”

Meanwhile, Colors was also in the room, though he was standing far enough away that he could not hear what they were saying clearly, and was quite obviously uncertain of what he should be doing. He had performed his role well in setting up the deal, but there was little left for him to do now other than to make sure their deception was not discovered.

Ma'tanza's embrace was at first surprisingly distressing for Tzirret. He had even less space to breathe and was on the verge of lashing out for fear of transforming. However, he did as she said and focussed on her. His breathing was uneven and shuddering for the first four breaths, but by the fifth, he felt his shoulders relax. He still could not fill his lungs to the fullest until about the tenth breath, and his beast spirit did not leave him alone until the fifteenth. All the while, he either had his eyes closed or fixed his gaze on Ma'tanza's eyes. About a minute later, on the twenty-third breath, he felt calm enough to stop.

"Okay, Tzirret thinks he is okay now," Tzirret murmured, looking guilty. "He thought he would not be afraid of this any more. He is so sorry." Tzirret's shame caused him to scrunch his eyes shut, trying to avoid tears. "He just needs...he just needs to focus now."

---

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Gallus conceded, "I will focus on keeping watch and I'll let you know as soon as possible if something happens." Gallus then gave a brief reassuring grin, then lowered his face just as quickly.

Glancing to Colours, Gallus felt bad for keeping him out of the conversation, but there was one more sensitive matter Gallus wanted to broach. "I was actually referring to your other veneer, Meesei," Gallus said quietly. He wasn't sure whether Meesei would be comfortable confiding her personal feelings towards the plan here, but she did not have to answer.

Ma'tanza kept her arms around Tzirret, this time tightening them to give him a hug in sympathy, and hopefully, give him some comfort. [i]"Ma'tanza wishes you did not have to go through this. But you are her friend, and she is here to help you. What do you need to focus on? Is there anything Ma'tanza can do to help?"

Bheja, who had quite literally been pulled into the conversation, looked at Tzirret with equal concern to Ma'tanza once he realized what was happening. An accidental transformation at this point would accelerate their plans far, far too quickly, so he certainly had an interest in helping as well. Though, he felt that there was little he could do at the moment.

---

"My other veneer? I will be fine, Gallus. This is not a comfortable experience, but it is a necessary one. I have had to do far more difficult things in the past than this. After tomorrow morning, we will be past this uncomfortable charade." Meesei answered.

Letting out a sigh, Meesei took a few steps away and spoke up, this time to both Gallus and Colors. "We should all get back to what we were doing. I have to go check on the...enchantments for the Senches' collars."

At this point, Tzirret wished that he could hug Ma'tanza in return, but the shackles made that virtually impossible without pulling the stranger beside him. For now, he just leaned his head on Ma'tanza's arm. "Maybe we could talk quietly for a while. That would help distract this one, he thinks." Tzirret suggested. Though, when Tzirret lifted his head again, he saw Bheja and gave a look of surprise. It did not take longer than a moment to realise that Ma'tanza's hug had drawn him towards them. "Oh, sorry Bheja," Tzirret looked to Ma'tanza again and spoke awkwardly, "You should...probably let Tzirret go now."

Once they had reached a point of comparable comfort, Tzirret initiated the conversation, keeping it quiet. "You were speaking of M'ibasa, yes? I do not doubt that he will be okay. This clan is kind, and M'ibasa will find someone he knows."

Idle talk between the three was joined by others in the hold talking as well, but no one dared speak louder than a murmur. Whenever there was the sound of feet from above, those talking would all fall silent and look up. There was a case for keeping sanity through conversation, but no one would risk attracting the attention of the crew. Soon enough, Tzirret became acclimatised to the cramped position he sat in and he did not suffer another panic attack. The worst thing, really, was the unsolvable urge to stretch out his bent legs and back.

---

"Right," Gallus unfolded his arms and pushed off the door frame. "Colours, do you have something to do? I could give you an area to keep watch if you like. Or perhaps you could accompany the officers and keep an eye on them?"

Colors rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and stared in silence for a few moments as he tried to think. "Well...honestly I should probably find Orub. I'm sure he'll be wanting to catch up with me over drinks, and I probably don't want to keep him waiting." He reasoned. Despite his general nervousness at the whole plan, he had kept up the cover story perfectly when they were speaking to the Orc before.

---

The rest of the day proceeded, thankfully, without incident. Most of both ships' crew tended to keep to themselves, just as the clan's members remained mostly together. Over a long journey, they might have expected some tension to grow between them, but their facade would not go on for nearly that long. By the next day, they would be well-into the Topal sea, and at the perfect place to take over.

The Khajiit in the hold had been given at least enough food and water that they could all have something. Over the course of a month or two, they would all practically be starving, but the most any of them would feel by the next morning would likely be normal hunger. However, the space issue became more apparent once they tried to get to sleep. Just sitting caused them to crowd together, but laying down meant they were quite literally having to lay on top of one another. Comfort seemed like an impossibility, and most of them were quite thankful that this would just be for one night. The stranger on the other side of Tzirret already had his torso laying across Tzirret's legs, and Ma'tanza felt like she wanted to get to sleep soon.

Eslewhere in the hold, Ahnasha did what she could to lay herself down on her back. She was not lucky enough to have a spot at the edge of the group, so her feet were under a Dagi, and much of her upper body was resting on a Cathay. However, it was the comfort of Newt and Rhazii she was most concerned with, not her own. They were obviously much smaller, but even they could not fit in the space between her and the person beside her. "It's okay, you two. I know it isn't comfortable, but just try to lay down, alright? We won't have to do this again tomorrow. I promise I'll find something soft for you to sleep on tomorrow night. You can lay on my stomach if the floor is too uncomfortable, just try to get to sleep."

As everyone eventually found the space to curl up and lay down, Tzirret was partly relieved to have the space to stretch out his arms. Even if there wasn't much light in the first place to herald nightfall, the lack general movement and light brought fatigue to Tzirret's eyes eventually. Unfortunately, as the man next to Tzirret had already settled from his left, there was no space where he would not be imposing on someone, including Ma'tanza.

"This one can hardly keep his eyes open," Tzirret whispered to Ma'tanza so he wouldn't wake anyone, despite the occasional crying infant doing that already. "He...is okay with the confined space here now. He will not panic if you need to...sleep on him," Tzirret's eyes darted around, but even in the dark, his voice betrayed that perhaps he wouldn't have minded at all if Ma'tanza was close.

Rhazii had already been chided for speaking too loudly and had been told that he neither could get more food or water, nor use the latrine, so asking that he try to get comfortable was not going to produce results. "Okay mama," he mumbled miserably. He carefully curled up against Ahnasha's stomach and put his arms around Newt, but with very quiet sobs, he started to cry. While others hid their fears, Rhazii simply showed his openly. "Mama? We will get out tomorrow? You promise?"

"That is good...there doesn't seem to be much choice." Ma'tanza answered as she looked around the room, which was now nearly pitch black. Even the night eye of both a lycan and Khajiit together could only do so much to brighten near complete darkness. Although, since Bheja was laying down in the other direction, her chains pulled her to lay down towards him, just as Tzirret's were being pulled towards Ma'tanza. "Ma'tanza admit, she did not think about this, well...earlier. She is almost looking forward to tomorrow."

Ahnasha carefully reached up and pulled her arms over both Rhazii and Newt, trying to make sure that only her fur was touching them, instead of the shackles and chains. Newt was in no better of a mood than Rhazii, and once Rhazii had started to cry, he was not far behind. "We...we won't have to do this anymore? We can play again?"

"Shh, shh, it's alright, children. Tomorrow will be much better, I promise. You won't have to do this again. All you have to do is stay close to me, alright? No matter what is happening, stay with me. Now maybe...would you like to hear a story? Something about a brave adventurer, or a cunning mage?" Ahnasha whispered, doing her best to sound upbeat.

"Ma'tanza is almost looking forward to tomorrow? Tzirret does not want to be in this place for another second." Resigned to the situation, Tzirret carefully lowered himself down onto the wooden floor and found himself laying draped over Ma'tanza's lower body. The chains that kept them together weighed down on his shoulder. It felt awkward and not the most comfortable position, but not only was Ma'tanza correct about them having no choice, but it would be more comfortable than just the floor. If he really wanted to stretch out, he would be on Ma'tanza's upper body, or if Ma'tanza laid onto her side and allowed Tzirret to sleep on the floor in front of her, but Tzirret did not want to inconvenience her any more than necessary. In fact, he wanted to make sure. "Is this okay?" Tzirret asked, referring to the position he had taken.

Rhazii's sobbing paused and he looked up to his mother's face with big eyes. Even though he looked thoroughly miserable, he nodded his head and perked his ears, giving a hummed, "Mhm?" Rhazii loved stories. It helped when his nightmares were especially bad.

Ma'tanza shifted around to try and find a more comfortable position in which to lay, but none of their limited options seemed any better. [i]"As alright as it can be, Ma'tanza supposes. Let's just hope we can get any sleep at all."

Ahnasha wished she could have held the children more comfortably, but the shackles were far more restricting than she liked. Nevertheless, she could at least give them a story, as long as she whispered. She wanted to make sure they were asleep before she allowed herself to rest as well, no matter how long it took. "Okay, well I have one about a brave Cathay, an axe, and...a dragon..."

---

For the Khajiit in the hold, the next morning was just as uncomfortable as almost all of them had expected. Unless they could successfully push them aside, the chains and shackles tended to dig into their sides as they slept, and they had nothing soft upon which to sleep apart from one another. For some, the morning was uncomfortable in a different sense, as many of them had been tossing, turning, and otherwise shifting in the night. When Ma'tanza awoke, Tzirret was sleeping face down on her chest. Although, it could have been much worse, as Bheja discovered when he opened his eyes and quickly screamed at how he was laying on Qa'habi.

Kaleeth, by the time Janius awoke, was sitting on the floor next to their hammock, staring ahead worriedly. They, and all of the others in the clan posing as slavers, had been given simple communal quarters, which were fortunately mostly separate from those of the actual crew. They did have some degree of privacy, though it was not enough that any of them felt safe talking freely at anything above a whisper.

When Janius started to stir, Kaleeth turned her head towards him. "Do you think Newt is...alright down there?" She asked in Jel. Janius had been learning, though they had not yet been in a position where he was relying strictly upon it for communication.

Above deck, Meesei had been one of the first among the clan to leave her room to get ready. She had moved up top under the guise of checking the Senches' enchantments, though now she was just waiting until it was time for their mutiny. It would be another hour or two, but when that time came, she would be ready to give the signal.