In his various worries, Tzirret slept lightly and not well. Bheja's brief scream was what caused Tzirret's exposed eye to shoot open. He immediately remembered that he was still in a dim hold, but there was the odd sound of another heartbeat near his ear. He took a fraction of a second to register the pattern of the fur in front of his eye...and then another moment to recognise its shape...and another to identify its consistency. His own heart was already racing from the perceived danger of whatever Bheja's cry of alarm was, so he was panicked as he attempted to immediately get up from Ma'tanza's chest. He ended up rolling onto her navel instead, seeing her face through the parted valley. The reason for his failure lay in his still sleeping arm, pinched from sleeping in an awkward position. And of course, the other was still chained to its numb counterpart.

Now fully conscious, Tzirret heaved his functioning hand up to finally prop himself up from the floor, wide-eyed and thoroughly abashed. He first looked to Bheja and found that there was no danger, then looked sideways at Ma'tanza in fear for a moment. He couldn't maintain eye-contact for long in his shame and looked into space away from her. "Um...sorry..." Tzirret mumbled. He didn't even remember getting into that position.

When Janius awakened, he lifted his head out of the hammock to look around for Kaleeth with narrow, tired eyes. He was just as worried as Kaleeth was, so her words echoed his thoughts, but he smiled reassuringly all the same. He reached out of the hammock with one hand and placed it on Kaleeth's cheek. He breathed in deeply through his nose so he could have a moment to put together the Jel he knew. "We get Newt up soon," Janius responded, though his words were somewhat broken, "He will scare, but Ahnasha trust with us. No hurt will Newt."

Gallus had slept more comfortably than most in his bunk, but he still woke before dawn from a nightmare. Given the dim blue light on the horizon, it would have been morning soon, so he stayed up. He did not arise before Meesei did, of course, but he went to the communal quarters to quietly wake up everyone from the clan. Thankfully, Janius and Kaleeth did not need waking up by then, but soon all would be ready. His position was to overpower the navigator so he could be stowed away while his crew was slaughtered. Gallus still had daggers enough to threaten someone in close quarters. He would wait for the signal to begin.

Ma'tanza too found herself confused in the first few moments of being awake, though it was mostly at Bheja's scream. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, letting out a yawn. She found that she was sore all over, though particularly in the chest. It was actually somewhat awkward for her as well, but her expression did not show it. Overall, her fatigue overpowered any other emotion she could show. "It's...alright. We're all so packed together, you couldn't help it." She answered to Tzirret before looking over to Bheja curiously. "What happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Bheja answered, quickly and flatly. His words did not tell what happened, but his expression was rather disgusted.

Kaleeth reached up and placed her hand lightly on top of Janius'. She gave a chuckle at his broken Jel, if only to distract herself from her thoughts of Newt. She never liked separating from him, but doing so when she knew for a fact that he was going to be in danger was much worse. She had to hold back frightened tears as she thought of all of the possibilities of what might happen. She breathed in deeply, then forced herself to stand to her feet. "I...guess we should get ready."

As expected, it did take some time for everyone to rise and ready themselves, but they had the perfect chance to attack. The ships' crew worked in shifts, and at the moment, the shift was in the middle of changing. The ones who were heading to their beds were fatigued from their work, and the others were just waking up. The mere fact that they would be facing lycans who outnumbered them meant they were essentially doomed, but Meesei wanted to get through this without any casualties. As such, she wanted to give them every advantage they could. Meesei stood at the bow and looked over at the other ship sailing alongside them. Among those on deck were several of the clan, including the Senche-raht, S'nishi, who was posing as a slaver. Meesei then looked back on the deck of her own ship and briefly locked eyes with Lorag, who was in his own position next to the Senche cages. Once the signal was given, he would help them to break the lock so they could join in the fight as well. Irenya, along with several others from the clan, were also on the deck and ready.

With no further delay, Meesei brought her hands together and began charging a fireball between them. Its intensity grew rapidly, until a Redguard woman from the crew noticed. "Hey, what are you doing?" She asked loudly as she put her hand on the hilt of her blade. Of course, Meesei did not acknowledge her, and instead launched the fireball up into the air. Between the two ships, the fireball exploded, and rather loudly. For those on deck, just seeing it would be enough to prompt them to transform, and those underneath would easily hear the sound.

Kaleeth and Janius were on the crew deck just below, along with many others from the clan. Kaleeth had been loitering in the ship's mess, just waiting to hear the signal with her heart pounding, and when it finally came, she did not waste a second. Almost simultaneously, she, and many of the others, began their transformations.

While everyone stirred, Tzirret tried shaking his sleeping arm and causing clinking in the chains. He curled his fingers until they began to get sensation and began to speak. "Well...This one hopes the ships get taken soon. He really needs to relieve him-"

There was an unmistakable muffled sound blast from outside. It caused everyone in the hold to look up at the ceiling. Anyone who was still sleeping was awake now. A baby cried in the hold while everyone else was tense and silent. Ahnasha felt Rhazii press up against her in terror, grabbing hold of a handful of fur on her side in lieu of being able to hug her.

Then there was a greater frequency of clacking boots against the floorboards above. Shouting. Screaming. Snarling. The footsteps and shadows became heavier, causing the ceiling to creak. It reached a peak with a loud wolfish howl. Those who were to fight, nearest to the hatch, began to stand and transform, breaking their bonds in the process. They knew they could not transform all at once for fear of crushing one another in the limited space.

Thankfully, Gallus had located the navigator, grabbing him from behind near his cabin, pressing a knife to his thoat, and a hand over his mouth. Gallus hissed a warning as he lead the man into a small storage closet, "Don't move, don't make a sound. Your death will be much worse if you escape me, I promise." The sounds of the signal and the carnage that followed may have served as encouragement that the man was not outside.

Janius' transformation made him the only werewolf around him apart from Uthri nearby. The rest were werelions and of course Kaleeth, the largest of them all. That did not discourage him as he burst out a door from the mess, leaping upon the first slaver he saw and striking with such power that the surprised man stumbled off the side of the ship with a bloodied chest. He lunged at another, going for the throat.

Sabine had been waiting on the other ship with Peiter, ready to strike. When they transformed, their responsibility was to tear off the hatch from the slave hold, as another would do on Meesei's ship.

Not even a minute after the signal, the urge to leave the hold hit the slaves even harder as patches of dripping blood began to seep down through the gaps in the ceiling.

While others were transforming, Ma'tanza's hands started to glow with the distinctive violet energy of an alteration spell. After a few seconds, the latch unlocked, freeing her hands from the shackles. Reaching over to Tzirret, she did the same for him, then for Bheja. Transforming could have easily broken the latches, but it would be less painful for her to simply unlock them. Of course, none of them could leave the hold just yet, as it would take time for all of them to file out up the narrow staircase. Likely, only the first few who made it out would actually be able to help in the fight.

Instead of transforming, Ahnasha knelt down closer to Rhazii and Newt. With the chaos happening around and above them, she tried to be as calming as possible. "It's okay. All we need to do is wait here, and we'll be fine. After this, we'll be able to get out of here, and you can explore the rest of the ship. Just stay with me." She said. Like Rhazii, Newt was still visibly frightened, but luckily, that meant he was also too frightened to disobey Ahnasha.

Peiter and Sabine had made sure they were near to the hatch when it was time for them to transform. The confusion following the explosion of the fireball had given them ample time to complete their transformations. Between themselves and the hatch, there were two of the slavers, both Bosmer, with facial features close enough that they might have been brothers. Peiter ran at the one on the right as he drew his sword, then pulled back his arm as if he were about to slash down towards the Bosmer's neck. However, it was a feint. Peiter paused, and pulled back slightly instead, so when his opponent sliced through the air, Peiter swiped at and grabbed his arm, then lunged forward with his teeth and bit down on his neck.

The other Bosmer in front of Sabine tried to draw his sword, but fumbled with it as he tried to get it out of the scabbard and ended up dropping it on the floor. With nowhere to run, he backed up a few steps before falling down. He held his arm up in front of his face and continued crawling backwards, cowering before her. He was obviously immensely terrified, and at the moment, was not fighting back.

As soon as Ma'tanza released Tzirret's shackles, he carefully slid out of them and rubbed his sore wrists. "Thank you. This one forgot that magic could do that," he commented. As Ma'tanza went around unlocking whomever else while she had the magicka, Tzirret stood up and stretched, but then found himself at a loss. He glanced to Bheja and Qa'habi, "What should we do?"

Rhazii didn't much care for exploring the ship at this point. He could hear people getting hurt above and he could smell blood. He kept one wide eye looking out around the hold while he held onto Ahnasha. "Mama? What is happening?" Rhazii asked, clearly frightened.

While Peiter dispatched one of the Bosmer slavers, Sabine took a less rushed approach. Her opponent was not at all a threat, especially when he clumsily dropped his sword. Sabine strode up to the Wood Elf and grabbed him up off the floor by his lapel. She was adverse to killing those who were afraid under normal circumstances, but this was a slaver, just like the rest. Her beast was hungry. She shoved him up against a wall and went for his neck, making it quick.

Sabine did not give the slaver a chance to scream, but neither did she give her beast the chance to feast just yet. She left the blood-soaked Bosmer sitting up against the wall and instead turned her attention to the hatch on the floor, grabbing onto the chain that held it closed and pulling it out with all her might.

The ambush had killed many of the crew in the first few moments. Those still sleeping would be torn apart in their hammocks. It would be over quickly unless there was an unforeseen circumstance.

Ahnasha continued to look down at Rhazii, wishing she could get out of her bindings without transforming. She tried to keep a calm visage to allay his fears, though she knew he would not be satisfied without some explanation. "Nothing bad is going to happen to us, son. We planned this to happen. This ship belongs to people who are using it to hurt others, so we're taking it from them."

Just as Ahnasha finished speaking, the hatch leading up to the deck above them was opened, allowing those closest to the stairway to join in the fight as well. There were many in the hold, including Ahnasha who did not intend to fight, though hardly a fraction of their total number were likely to be needed.

Above decks, Lorag transformed the moment Meesei's fireball lit up the sky. Since most of the crew up top were distracted by the explosion, he started smashing the side of his fist against the lock. Nearby, a Dunmer drew a saber and, in a panic, swung for his nearest opponent, who happened to be Lorag. However, Lorag was more than attentive enough to see the strike coming. With proper timing of his own strike, Lorag was able to hit the flat of the Dunmer's blade mid-swing, forcing the weapon from his hand. With his other hand, Lorag grabbed a hold of the Dunmer, piercing his claws into his collar, then slammed his skull against the lock on the cage. It provided the last bit of impact needed to break the lock, and free the Senche within the cage.

Meesei, meanwhile, remained in her Argonian form. She took a few seconds to electrocute the Redguard who had shouted at her. Seeing as the slaver had no actual magical defenses, it was a rather one-sided "fight." She was confident that the others on the deck would make short work of the panicking slavers around them, so intent was to head straight for the captain's quarters.

On both ships, as the hatches out of the holds were torn off and spilled more light onto the shackled clan, those who had transformed began to leap up the steep stairs to join the fray. It was a tight fit through, so they only came up one at a time. Those who were less patient began to transform just to be free, but they would not be needed for the fight. The majority of others remaining stayed put, tensely murmuring to one another and listening up at the ceiling.

Specific to Meesei's ship, the silhouette of one werewolf actually climbed down into the hold after the fighting werelions were done climbing out. He looked across the sea of perked ears that stared back and he sniffed at the air. "Ahnasha!?" The werewolf shouted with gravel in its beastly throat. It was Fendros, checking to see if his family was alright.

While Janius was mobile on the top deck, leaping upon and dropping the crew as they slowly reacted, he took a few superficial hits. His beast relished in the bloodbath, free to fight without the fear of silver this time. Soon enough, when Kaleeth emerged, he focussed on making sure that none of the crew with harpoons or other long weapons could not take advantage of her slowness. The pair virtually secured the top deck on their own. The help from the werelions that followed them was just about insignificant. Meesei's way was clear, but for those that tried to climb the rigging to escape. Unfortunately for those that tried escaping upwards, Uthri had a penchant for climbing.

Not only did Sabine not feel the need to fight for too long, but she had been concerned about the people packed below where she was sleeping. Once she tore the hatch off and allowed the fighters to emerge, she took the time to snack on her previous kill to sate her beast, before reverting back to Breton form and stepping down to the remaining people who were shackled. One by one, she began to step around the clan and release them from their shackles with magic, prioritising those who needed to be released the most by asking.

Ahnasha was closer to the back of the hold, so she did not notice him until he was about halfway through the room. Although, once she did see him, she held up her hands above the others around her. “Fendros!” She shouted to grab his attention.

There were a few others between her and the edge of the group, but since several of the Khajiit around them had transformed to free themselves, they had some ability to make room for him. She did not even need to ask to know why he had run down to the hold with them, so she moved to the side slightly so he could clearly see Rhazii and Newt. “We’re all fine down here. Is everything going alright upstairs?” She asked, holding her shackles out to him so that he could free her.

On the top deck, the slavers were being cleared almost before they knew what was happening. Between Janius, Kaleeth, and the Senche Lorag released, they were overwhelmed by opponents who could each individually overpower them with ease. Meesei faced no resistance as she simply walked to the stern of the ship to the captain’s quarters. He had locked the door, and while she easily could have kicked in the door, she decided to use an alteration spell to unlock it instead. Once this was over, they would still be using the ship, so she wanted to minimize damage.

On both ships, several of the slavers attempted to climb up the rigging in their futile attempts at escape. Uthri climbed up after them on Meesei’s ship, and on the other, the Bosmer lieutenant Miranor took it upon herself to take care of them. She started making her transformation, but as her scent had indicated before, she was neither werewolf, nor werelion. When her body started to shift, it was feathers that began to cover her. After a few seconds, the form she took was that of a werevulture. She spread out her massive wingspan and took to the sky, circling around to one of the climbing sailors, grabbing on to him with her fierce talons, and pulling him down into the water below.

Fendros' ear twitched to one side and he quickly turned his head to spot Ahnasha. He was relieved to find that they were all in good shape. Making his way over to them was difficult as he stepped carefully over and around everyone between them, but as soon as he reached Ahnasha, he gave her a quick hug. He encompassed her entire body in his embrace while he answered, "The ship is almost taken. They did not suspect anything."

"Dada!" Rhazii got up with Ahnasha and wrapped his little arms around Fendros' beastly leg. "Dada, I want to get off the ship."

Bending down, Fendros stroked Rhazii gently on the head, "We will be out of the hold soon, little one."

Once they pulled back, Fendros looked down at Ahnasha's extended arms and the shackles that held them. He tilted his head, trying to think of a way to break them without hurting anyone. After laying his hands on Ahnasha's and realising that his ideas could potentially break Ahnasha's wrists or send a chain into someone's face in the confined space, Fendros shook his head. "I cannot get you out without hurting you," Fendros said, "You will have to transform or wait for someone who can unlock these."

With the top deck cleared, Janius scurried below to help secure the insides of the ship, though he didn't have much work to do. Up top, Uthri proved a much faster and stronger climber than even the experienced sailors she was chasing. The rigging creaked under her weight, but it held. Her opponents mostly required pulling off the ropes to send them plummeting onto the deck or into the sea. The only point where she paused was to see the werevulture circle around. Part of her wished she wasn't transformed so she could see the sight for the first time with sharper focus.

Ahnasha looked down at her shackled, looking closely at the lock. She had felt that Fendros might have been able to get his fingers underneath them, then pry it apart. But, if he did not feel comfortable doing so, then she was not going to ask him to. Instead she nodded and looked around briefly. "Alright, I'll transform then. Give me a bit of space."

After waiting a moment for Fendros to move the children away, Ahnasha shifted to her werewolf form. The intense pressure on her wrist was even more painful than usual during the transformation, but once the latch snapped open, she was finally able to step away from the crowd around her. "I'm going to stay here with them until we're sure there are no slavers left."

After unlocking the door, Meesei walked inside with electricity pulsing through her hands. Orub had made no effort to hide, instead standing behind the table in the center of the room, glaring at Meesei as she entered. His scimitar was laying on the table in front of him, but he seemed to make no effort to grab it. "What are you monsters?" He barked.

"We are lycans, and we require your ships." Meesei answered, stopping a safe distance away.

Orub grunted. "Hmph, yeah I can see that. Well, you can have it. Ain't like I can stop ya. Yeah, I give up; you can tell Colors I was wrong about 'em. He ain't a complete coward after all."

Meesei's expression did not relax in the slightest. In fact, her glare only intensified. "Were you anything else, I might accept that, but I shall not accept the surrender of a slaver!" She shouted, followed shortly by a loud, intense crack of lighting from her hands, straight into the Orc. And, in the event he survived, she continued electrocuting his body for a few moments. It was rare for her to execute a surrendered opponent, but she held a particular amount of animosity towards slavers.

Overall, the capture of the ships was rapid and complete. If there were any survivors among the crew, they would be found shortly. Otherwise, the clan could now finally relax, and fully release those still bound in the hold.

Fendros nodded and turned to leave, stopping after a motion to encourage Rhazii to stay with Ahnasha and Newt.

The ship did not leave much more carnage after the initial few minutes of the ambush. With the captain and most of the crew dead, much of the time before it was deemed safe was the moving of bodies and a fine search of the ship's various hiding places. Gallus emerged before he was found and was of course directed to Meesei, bringing the terrified navigator with him. Gallus came upon Meesei in the captain's cabin, receiving reports from the fighting team leaders and from werevultures that had flown from the other ship.

"Greetings, everyone!" Gallus said with a grin, leading the navigator in at knife-point, "A job well done by all! Couldn't have expected better." Gallus leaned his head around the navigator's shoulder, "Navigator, you've met Meesei, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone else?"

In spite of Gallus' entrance, a clan warrior jogged into the cabin a couple of moments later. He was a tall Bosmer, nude after transforming. He looked to Meesei with a worried face. "Er, Champion, there is a situation with the cargo? We found something you should see when you have a moment."

After Fendros had climbed up out of the hold again, it was barely ten minutes before he returned, back in Dunmer form. The efficient clearing of the ship meant that it was deemed safe in no time at all. Fendros brought with him a smile that he shot at Ahnasha, but also a splitting block and a sledgehammer in his arms and hands. Another warrior followed him with a fine-toothed saw and a crowbar. Fendros breathed in and announced to everyone, "The ship is taken! Anyone who needs help to be freed, we'll come forward to break your chains! If there are any mages amongst you that could help save time, please do not hesitate to help yourselves and others!"

Upon hearing the announcement, there seemed to be a wave of relief that stretched across the dim hold. Tzirret especially felt himself relax again. Ever since his claustrophobic panic attack, he had been on edge, right up until then. As he had been released by Ma'tanza, he was free to go right then and there. He considered waiting for her to finish unlocking shackles with her magic, but he did really need to find the latrine. He started moving, deciding that he would catch up with everyone later. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, causing a loud series of shuffling and chatting as most of the hold stood up at once. The chatter and crowd would thin eventually, especially with the number of people deciding to simply transform. For now, though, the murmurs were punctuated by Fendros slamming down a hammer, his comrade sawing between wrists, or people's manacles buckling with the crowbar.

Fendros himself found it odd that he would ever be in this position; a Dunmer breaking the chains of slaves. Sure, it wasn't quite the real thing, but there was an amusing irony to the image, given his family history.

Despite the fact that they had captured the ships, there was still much for Meesei to do. She had scarcely been able to confirm the captain's death before team leaders started arriving in the cabin. Overall, the reports were positive. The slavers had been taken off-guard in their ambush, which had been over in minutes. They were currently conducting a detailed sweep of both ships, and the structural damage to the ships was acceptable, and entirely internal. Neither hull had suffered any real damage.

It was not long before Gallus brought up the navigator, but mere moments later, one of the Bosmer warriors ran into the room behind him. Evidently, there was some kind of problem or other situation, which Meesei would likely need to deal with before getting into the more detailed planning. With all of the issues she needed to tend to, she decided just to give the others the tasks she could think of at the moment which needed to be completed while she dealt with this situation. "Okay, first and foremost, I would like a comprehensive report on any injuries sustained by the clan. If necessary, I want the healers gathered and a temporary infirmary established to tend to the wounded. Next, search the slavers' bodies and collect together all valuables and clothing. We are very low on cloth and will need as much as we can find. As for the bodies themselves, I want their meat prepared to be preserved with whatever salt we have, then stored."

Stepping away from the table and towards Gallus, Meesei gave the navigator a threatening glare. "As for you, we will speak in greater detail later. But for now, I want these ships heading north towards Leyawiin as soon as possible. And rest assured, we do in fact know our cardinal directions, so we will know if you attempt to lead us astray. Gallus, ensure his compliance." She ordered before finally addressing the Bosmer. "Now please, bring me to this situation with the cargo."

In the hold, Ma'tanza remained to help free those who did not wish to transform, and to see if M'ibasa was anywhere in the hold with them, while Bheja and Qa'habi joined Tzirret to head upstairs. Further back in the hold, Ahnasha, still in her wolf form, scooped up both Rhazii and Newt into her arms. She passed by Fendros and quickly addressed him. "I'm going to head up top. Rhazii, and probably Newt, need to use the latrine, and both of them want to be out of this place."

Each of the addressed leaders gave confirmation and went off to begin carrying out their tasks. Gallus, once he had made clear that there was no escape for the navigator, decided to let him go and lead him less threateningly back to his cabin so that he could plot another course, leaving a couple of guards watching over him. Gallus was curious about this cargo situation as well.

The warrior led Meesei into the cargo hold without hesitation. When they were almost there, he spoke up, "We were searching through crates to find any last slavers, but there was a detail that we didn't count on." The Bosmer finished when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Across the hold, a few unsure looking fighters were keeping an eye on the contents of a large, tall crate they had pried open. Inside, there was four terrified looking Khajiit; two Suthay-raht - a man and a woman, a female Ohmes-raht child, and an nearly elderly female Ohmes. All were seated and pressed against the furthest wall of the crate with no clothes. They were so emaciated that not even their filthy fur hid the shape of their ribs. They had been wallowing in their own waste for a while, producing a disgusting smell. Their chains and lash scars marked them as slaves.

"They're not from the clan, champion. They're not lycans," the Bosmer explained.

Upon glimpsing Meesei, the Suthay-raht male pleaded something in desperate Ta'agra. His throat was dry from dehydration.

The Bosmer thought to translate, "He says for us to please not hurt his family, that's all they've said so far. What should we do about them?"

It was in that moment that Gallus walked up with slow steps. His face was stern, but his eyes were wide. "Divines above..." he breathed.

Fendros paused in the hard work of breaking chains to wrap one arm around Ahnasha's neck and give her a quick kiss on the underside of her snout, before running his hand over Rhazii and Newt's head. "Understood. I should think Janius and Kaleeth will be relieved to see Newt safe. Well done, you three."

Once he finally was able to get out of the hold, Tzirret tried heading for the place at the bow that people normally relieved themselves on ships, but found that there was a predictable line-up. With a sigh, he did what a number of people already did and just took a porthole and a crate to prop up and use the side of a ship. Afterwards, he headed back to the hatch of the hold. There were a few people gathered, waiting for friends and family, but a memory came back to Tzirret that urged him to do otherwise. Ma'tanza was probably looking for M'ibasa. Tzirret decided to head back into the hold to help, not being too bothered about finding Ma'tanza first.

Meesei did not outwardly show too much of her surprise, nor the mix of emotions she felt upon seeing the rather shocking sight. She gave a brief reaction to the smell, but it did not linger long on her face. The discovery of these slaves certainly had the possibility of forcing alterations to their plans, but Meesei gave no hint of hesitation in her response. Her opinion towards slavery, and empathy for its victims, made the choice an easy one for her. "I want them to be given food and water. They should all be given a chance to clean up, and a set of clothing for each of them. Then, bring them to our healers so they can help restore their condition. I will need time to think on how this will affect our plans, but assure them that I will not harm them. I also want to know from where they were captured, and if there are any more aboard either ship."

Ma'tanza and the others were mostly finished with freeing the remainder of their clan-mates from the hold, but at that point, she could clearly see that M'ibasa was not among them. That, of course, started to make her visibly frightened. The only other place he could be, if he was still with the clan, was on the other ship. When she spotted Tzirret, she stopped releasing shackles early and walked up to him, one arm crossed over her stomach and holding nervously onto her other arm. "This one can't find M'ibasa anywhere. If he's not here, then he has to be on the other ship, right? Do you think he'd be on the top deck? Do you think we could see him from this ship?"

"At once, champion," the Bosmer responded, before turning to one of his comrades and pointing a thumb over his own shoulder, "Yittrad, Deruce, fetch some of the stew and some trenchers, as well as a couple of skins of water."

"Yes sir," they both said in unison as they walked off. It seemed that everyone was of the same mind as Meesei in this matter.

With that, the Bosmer walked slowly up to the slaves and knelt down with a sympathetic expression. He spoke quietly in Ta'agra to the family. At first, none gave any reaction, but as the Bosmer elaborated, the man shot a glance at Meesei and Gallus, before shakily giving some words of his own. Those hearing carefully could understand the word Senchal, but nothing more if they did not know Ta'agra.

The Bosmer turned his head and conveyed, "He says they are from Senchal. The man had a skooma debt, so they went for his home. He doesn't know whether there were any others, they were just thrown in this box a while ago and haven't seen light since."

The man spoke some more and the Bosmer looked to hear, conveying the words, "He says he didn't mean his family to get involved. He doesn't care what happens to himself, as long as they can go." The Bosmer gave a nervous sideways glance to the man, "I'll tell him that we're going to help him and get them out of this filth."

The Bosmer did just that, asking his friends to help carry the starving family by the shoulders out of the crate. The child screamed, but with some words in Ta'agra from the mother, she settled into fearful sobs.

Before they left the hold, Gallus walked in front of them and stopped them for a moment. He drank from his waterskin, before offering it to each of them. At first, they suspected a trick, but the man took the risk and wrapped both quivering hands around the skin. He drank deeply with both hands, passing it on to his family, who did the same. Gallus got his empty waterskin back with a few smudges of filth on it, but he would manage.

"I suppose we had better inform the other ship," Gallus said gravely. He took a breath, obviously affected by the scene, "That's how the clan would have looked in the hold after a while, wouldn't it?" Gallus looked at Meesei, devoid of joy, "I think I understand your bent towards slavers a little better. That is a horrible thing to do to anyone."

"M'ibasa?" Tzirret called out as he looked around the hold, "M'ibasa?"

Ma'tanza's voice interrupted his search. Tzirret turned around to see her looking understandably nervous. She obviously had no luck either. Tzirret offered a sympathetic look. "This one thinks...that if M'ibasa is looking for you as well, he would try the same thing?" Although his response was not exactly confident, Tzirret tried smiling and put a hand on Ma'tanza's shoulder as he turned to leave the hold, "Let's look anyway."

Meesei returned a solemn nod to Gallus. "Yes, it is a sight which can leave a person scarred, one that they will never forget. If only everyone in Tamriel could be witness to it. Then, perhaps, it would not be so easy to ignore. Gone are the days of the mass enslavement of the Khajiit and Argonian people, true, but the fact that the practice can find refuge anywhere is infuriating."

As the Khajiit family was being led out of the hold, Meesei took in a deep breath, silent for a few moments in her thoughts. Though, whatever they might have been, she did not say them aloud. "Well, we still have much to do. We need to gather up all the cloth, leather, and hides we have to make enough tents for everyone. We will need them for protection against sandstorms. Anything left over we can use for bedrolls, and clothing if we're able. But first, find Colors and make sure he is having no issues coordinating everyone. Hopefully, the instruction he has been giving to the clan about how to operate the ships has been successful."

Ma'tanza's heart was pounding in fear as she thought of M'ibasa, so she ended up practically running up the stairs with Tzirret. They met up with Bheja and Qa'habi on the crew deck above them, then all ended up making their way to the top deck together. With everyone out of the hold and wanting to get fresh air, the top deck on both ships was getting to be very crowded. Undoubtedly, most of them would be made to head back down once they started getting the ships moving again, but they had some time for now.

Unfortunately, due to the crowd, it was difficult for Ma'tanza to even get to a point where she could see the other ship, much less pick out M'ibasa's face from the crowd. One thing that was unmistakable, however, was that she could see S'nishi towering over all of the others on the other ship. "It looks like S'nishi is over there. Well...at least M'ibasa will have her...if he's there. How are we going to get the attention of either of them from way over here? The ships might be close enough, but it might be too loud for them to hear."

Gallus nodded and looked to the floor, "Right."

When Gallus came onto the top deck, he saw a number of things. Mostly, there were people just getting fresh air and sun after being cooped up in the hold. Many were by the side of the ship, looking out onto the other ship, trying to spot people they knew. Others were dragging the last few bodies that hadn't been taken to be preserved or wiping the blood and gore from the deck with brushes and buckets of water. Looking up, Gallus saw some Dagi and Dagi-raht Khajiit amongst the rigging. Their climbing skills made them well suited for the job. In looking around for Colours, Gallus turned and checked the helm. He found the scoundrel next to the helm, instructing someone on how to steer the ship while he directed everyone else.

"Colours," Gallus said as he approached, trying to wipe away his recent experience with a smile. Gallus clapped a hand onto Colours' side and grinned, "Well done convincing those slavers. You really put on a good show." Gallus then glanced up at the rigging again, "How goes our new sailors?"

Tzirret gave quick greetings to Qa'habi and Bheja. He kept up behind Ma'tanza as she ascended to the top, but how she kept up the pace while everyone's eyes adjusted to the sun was beyond him. They reached the edge of the ship, but could not clearly see the other ship. At first, Tzirret thought he was out of ideas. Even if they threw out some kind of signal, it would have no guarantee of being recognised. However, spotting a child in a mother's arms nearby gave him an idea. He stepped back to a spot where he could keep his balance, then lowered himself to one knee, smiling to Ma'tanza. "I might be able to lift you if you climb onto my back," Tzirret suggested, pointing behind himself, "You might see him from higher up."

Colors had just finished speaking to the ship's new helmsman when Gallus approached him. Though, he did not take to Gallus' compliment with near as much pride or gratitude as he might have expected. Instead, he turned his head and looked away uncomfortably. "Hmm? Oh, yeah...right." He said, taking in a quick, deep breath before continuing. "But yes, the clan. They're doing fine, remembering everything well enough. I feel like I'm correcting them constantly, but still. I wouldn't take them on a job with me or anything, but they should get us to our destination just fine."

Ma'tanza was not sure what sure what Tzirret was doing at first until he explained it. Getting higher up would let anyone on the other ship see her more easily, even if they still couldn't hear her. S'nishi could see over crowds with ease, so if she happened to look over to the other ship, she might notice them. Looking down to Tzirret, she gave him a nod. "Oh, you want Ma'tanza to climb on your shoulders or something? That makes sense. Maybe S'nishi will see her?" She reasoned as she attempted to climb up onto his back.

On the other ship, Peiter had returned to his human form as well, after sating his hunger on one of the corpses. Sabine and a few others had finished freeing the remainder of the clan in the hold, all of which had headed upstairs. Of course, that meant that the upper decks were now uncomfortably crowded. As uncomfortable as some of the clan might be about it, they would have to re-purpose the hold into a usable living space for the rest of the journey. Otherwise, the ship would still be too crowded to be bearable.

Walking up to Sabine, Peiter put a hand on her shoulder and let out a sigh. "Well, at least that's done. If everything goes well, getting to Orcrest should be easy from here. Though, this might be our worst sea voyage yet. No matter how you look at it, the ship is going to be crowded, and I'm not really sure where the rest of our friends are. Do you think any of the others are actually on this ship?"

"That's good," Gallus said, "Do not hesitate to fetch myself or Meesei if you need anything." Gallus was about to turn around, but stopped and raised a finger, "Oh! And we spared the navigator. He's in his cabin if you need a word."

It was only then that Gallus took note of Colours' apprehension. Gallus angled his head and gave Colours a puzzled look. "You know...it occurs to me that you had prior dealings with this crew. Now, I can't forgive them for being slavers, but..." Gallus paused and twisted his mouth a bit, "...did you know any as friends?"

Tzirret's words stumbled a bit. "Um...let's just try with your legs under my arms first, not over Tzirret's shoulders." Once Ma'tanza was in position, Tzirret heaved himself up onto his feet, ascending Ma'tanza to look over the top of the crowd. She was heavier than Tzirret expected, but he did not have trouble holding her up. "Do you see Peiter or Sabine as well? This one has not seen them yet."

Sabine shook her head. "I have not seen anyone. I think my whole pack is on the other ship." She glanced away, "I thought I saw Irenya. Maybe Ciinriel as well. S'nishi is definitely on board. I do not know about anyone else. More of Ra'kalesh's pride, probably." Even though she was still dirtied from the fight, Sabine put her arms around Peiter by habit and leaned her head under his chin. "If we stop at Leyawiin, we might be able to switch ships. I am not worried about the voyage, though. I am worried about the desert."

Colors continued to look away from Gallus as he walked over to the railing to look out over the ocean. "Yeah, they were slavers. Terrible people, about the worst out there. But Orub, some of the others, I called them friends once. You know why Orub first got into this business? A userer took his daughter and broke her legs because he couldn't pay his debt. Of course, he never got out of the business once his debts were paid, and someone did eventually kill his family, but still. He trusted me, and I just used that trust to kill him."

Once Tzirret lifted Ma'tanza up, she started waving at S'nishi and shouted her name. The Senche-raht was looking the opposite direction at first, but after Tzirret had been holding her up for about ten seconds, she happened to glance over in their direction. It did not take her long to pick out Ma'tanza waving over the crowd. The moment they locked eyes, Ma'tanza shouted over at her. "Sister, is M'ibasa over there?"

S'nishi neither nodded nor shook her head, but instead looked to the side and raised up one ear, which was her sign for saying she could not hear her clearly. Undeterred, Ma'tanza shouted the same question again as loudly as she could, perhaps enough to cause Tzirret some pain. But, this time, S'nishi seemed to understand. She nodded twice, then lifted up her paw and pointed it downwards. "This one...thinks that means he is down in her ship!" She said excitedly.

Peiter hugged Sabine in return, and began to rub her back gently. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Dry, hot, sandy, no food or water anywhere. But, apparently, we have more than enough supplies to get us through it. I've never been to a desert, so I don't know what to expect. I think our path is being planned by one of the clan who lived in the desert, though, so at least our leaders have some experience. I'm sure we'll be fine." He reasoned before giving her a rather long kiss.