The night fell quickly, allowing less time before sleeping than everyone suspected, though there were few people who were not tired by the end of a day of travel anyway.

Sabine managed to get all her balm done with Ma'tanza's help. M'ibasa did end up watching for a bit and even helping out, but a combination of fatigue and boredom sent him to his regular scurrying and eventually to his bed.

Tzirret ended up trying another magic lesson with Irenya, but did not make very much progress. Unlike Sabine, Irenya's approach to teaching magic piled on a lot more background theory. This was challenging for Tzirret, but it meant that the attempts at practical application were better informed.

Fendros spent a bit of time awake in reflection that night, with Ahnasha and Rhazii sleeping in his arms. It turned out that Kaleeth's notion of living without the danger of the war had not been something he had considered. By the end of it, his duties overtook any desire to settle down. Although, he had found himself caught between the desires of safety for his family and a more exciting life for himself and Ahnasha than bookwork for the clan.

The next morning had Gallus stomping up to the head of the moving clan at a hurried, brisk walk. Behind him were a couple of Khajiit rangers who had come back from their dawn patrol. Despite the severe expression on Gallus' face, he couldn't help but marvel at the good time that the clan was making. He had expected a much slower pace due to the civilian discipline and the elderly and injured, but the Senche and S'nishi effectively gave the clan more beasts - or simply people - of burden that they would not normally have. Also, the clan was getting much better at packing up and moving swiftly.

Gallus became more focussed when he caught sight of Ri'nakhad and Meesei. "Champion, clan leader," he said firmly. If he was not referring to them by name, it said enough about the severity of the situation. Once he had their attention, he turned to the rangers. "What was your name? Dagritta? I need you to tell them what you told me."

The taller of the two rangers seemed slightly out of breath as he faced Meesei and Ri'nakhad while they moved. "Leader...M-" He swallowed, nervously speaking with a thick accent, "Champion. We spotted some mounted soldiers, Elsweyr soldiers, outriders - Khajiit on desert horses and Senche - four altogether. They were following the tracks of the clan. We did not know why they were following us, they just seemed to be following the trail we have left."

The ranger glanced to Gallus, who waved his hand for him to continue with a hurried speed to it. "We did what we could to hide ourselves and lead them away. Warning shots with our bows, not hits. We knew others would come to find them if they went missing. We were able to make them think they were being ambushed, so they fled, but...there will be more. If we do not do something, they will come back in force, perhaps with Thalmor. They stick their snouts in the business of Khajiit when there are strange matters at hand." The ranger lowered his head, "They probably to not know that we are lycans, but they may have been following us since shortly after we left the ships. Such a large number of tracks would not go unchecked from Cyrodiil."

"To make matters worse," Gallus added, still deadly serious, "if they have been following us from the ships, they may have found all the chains, which means they might take us for slavers. I do believe that we will have to confront them in some manner, preferably not kicking the ant nest in the process."

After packing up quickly, Tzirret sought out Ma'tanza to travel alongside during the morning. They would likely gravitate towards the rest of their friends as usual, but Tzirret was eager to see her, even after having breakfast with her earlier. "Greetings again, Ma'tanza," Tzirret said as he approached with a smile. For some reason, he looked slightly tired, having puffy eyes and ears that didn't seem to stand completely. This could have been explained earlier with trying to wake up, but he didn't seem to improve much since breakfast.

Tzirret gave Ma'tanza a quick hug and fell in beside her to begin walking, weaving his hand with hers. "This one wants to show you something," he said proudly, bringing his empty hand up in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to concentrate. Eventually, magicka clumsily flowed out of his hand without doing much of anything, not even making a visible spell. He furrowed his brow and frowned, trying again, but after about half a minute, he released a disappointed sigh.

"Tzirret does not understand," Tzirret bowed his head, somewhat sadly, "He practiced so much last night. He was able to make a light before." He sighed and turned his head away, "Never mind. Tzirret is still stupid."

As Tzirret's magical tuition had been haphazard and brief so far, it was not fair to assume that he would be able to cast a light spell already unless he was especially talented. Still, he had embarrassed himself with a brief moment of overconfidence.