"Ri'vashi, my friend," Gallus reached up and pat a hand on Ri'vashi's shoulder. The incident had put him in a surprisingly good mood. "I am inclined to believe that, given the circumstances, things could have gone far worse." Gallus gestured with his other hand, "Think of it this way. Today, we have rooted out a group of traitors before they could seriously harm the clan; we have organised for the salvation of another clan entirely; and you in particular prevented an attempt against Meesei's life here! Come, this is a better day than you think."

Uthri walked up with a frown and punched Gallus lightly on the shoulder. "We have work to do Gallus, stop gushing. This is serious."

Gallus lowered his hands and looked to Uthri as if taken aback. "I am being serious."

"Ri'vashi, if I may," Fendros looked to the grip of her sword curiously, "I have never seen a sword like that before. Where did you obtain it?"

Ri'vashi did not quite smile, though she did at least appreciate Gallus' sentiment. It was clear that she was ashamed of the day's events, but the fact that he was not chiding her for her failure was at least encouraging. Meesei did not react with any particular emotion, positive or negative, but she was not showing any signs of passing judgment. Gallus' attempt at levity might have upset Uthri, but it did calm her nerves somewhat. Or, at the very least, distract her from them.

"Thank you, but...Ri'vashi will be fine. She has endured failure before." She responded. After a few moments, the group finally started to walk once more towards the main chamber. It would not take but a minute or two longer for them to reach it, but she still took the time to answer Fendros.

"It is a katana, of Akiviri make, as this one was told." Ri'vashi explained. "This one inherited it from her father when he passed. He was the former, and first, leader of this clan. He was a fine swordsman, and the one who trained Ri'vashi in both martial arts and leadership. He was the one who led us to this stronghold, and helped to return it to a livable state. Our clan was much...smaller then, but it has proven to be a place in which we can expand."

"I see. That is quite fascinating." Fendros had not realised that the clan was so young compared to the Bruma clan, though he realised that there may not have been quite the lycan population in the desert to establish one to begin with. Then again, this was probably the only place that could house a clan without becoming one of the wandering tribes. With that thought, a few dots connected it Fendros' thoughts that brought another question up.

"Meesei, you mentioned that this place is likely an old Blades outpost, correct?" Fendros asked to confirm, before returning to Ri'vashi. "Ri'vashi, if your father had an Akaviri katana and he lead your people here, he didn't happen to have anything to do with the Blades, did he?"

Ri'vashi let out a light hum as she thought back on her father, bringing a light smile across her face. "He never told Ri'vashi that directly, but she always suspected it. The way he fought, the people he would talk to, his thoughts on the Dominion, and the Thalmor in particular. It does all make sense. This one was born after the Great War, though, so he would have been in hiding our entire lives. That...would also explain quite a few things, honestly. It would certainly explain how he knew of this place, but why he would bring us into the Dominion itself? That, Ri'vashi does not understand."

The group stepped into the main chamber, which by this point, had been cleaned of any evidence of the brief fight and dismemberment that had taken place only a short time prior. Uthri and Ra'kalesh would be heading back to the clan, Meesei would be going to check on the prisoners, and Ri'vahsi would soon be heading off to deal with quite a few matters of business. For a moment, however, she paused to speak with the group. "Ri'vashi would love to talk of her past, but we all have much to do. Feel free to speak to the clan and acclimate yourself to the stronghold. All of this one's warriors should know of you by now, and word should be spreading through the clan as a whole. Is there anything more before this one goes to speak to her council?"

Gallus frowned and shook his head, "No, I believe that is all for now. Do not hesitate to find us if required."

The group soon separated to their various duties. Gallus, after retrieving his belongings from the guards, went ahead with inspecting the new accommodations in order to help organise for the Senchal clan's arrival. Fendros and Ahnasha also retrieved their weapons, but also decided to stay with Meesei as a bodyguard for a while. Ri'vashi assumed that all of the impostor's companions had been captured, although the risk of another assassination was still fresh in their minds.

As soon as Uthri and Ra'kalesh returned to the clan, they searched out Ri'nakhad to deliver a recount of the afternoon. The announcement that the Orcrest clan was found and opened was received with much fanfare from the tired and worn out travellers of the Senchal clan. There seemed to be a new vigour in the air as everyone packed up to move out one last time.

Sabine had woken up from her nap long beforehand. She was still quite withdrawn, but there was no anger in those who were turned away for balm. There was some disappointment, but they all understood. Those that didn't could be reasoned with, as there was simply a lack of ingredients. With Peiter's encouragement, it was a lot easier for Sabine to speak to people. She even suspected that she might have shouted at someone had she allowed her anxiety to increase. Coming into the clan thankfully brought an end to her worries for the most part.

The transition took a while. Despite the girth of the entrance, the number of people seeking ingress and a place to stay meant that they were waiting in queues for a while. Still, standing in the sun for a little longer was not as bad as the journey they had all made, so there was little trouble. Integration with the Orcrest clan itself was a little tense at first, but as people volunteered to show others around and as the more gregarious members of each clan interacted, the fence was swiftly dismantled between them. All of the water, shelter, and good will pervaded a sense of joy and relief amongst everyone.

Due to how little time there was before the sun went down, Tzirret separated with his friends, mentioning that he would find them again soon. He found a place to deposit his belongings in a rush before immediately going to get ready for his little outing with Ma'tanza. He washed himself as quickly as possible - splashing himself haphazardly to get the sand off, he attempted to brush his almost unnoticeable short mane, and he even frantically looked for dinner for them to share on the hill. He could not find any mutton, so he had to make do with the sweetest piece of goat meat he could find amongst the stores.

Tzirret was strangely forward once he was ready. He was most nervous about the schedule. He found Ma'tanza again while he was still dripping water from his shoulders, but managed a smile. He carried a satchel of goat meat and a bedroll under one arm - presumably the bedroll was to be used as a rug to sit on, given the terrain they saw on the way into the clan home. He not even say hello when he reached her; he was so single-minded that he just took her by the hand and spoke, slightly out of breath. "Come quickly, we'll miss the sun!"

Although the word of the real Champion's arrival had spread through the Orcrest clan, the sudden arrival of the Senchal clan was a definite surprise to any who had not been specifically informed beforehand. By its nature as an underground structure, the stronghold's inhabitants were used to living close together, but it had been expanded recently and was not especially crowded except in the most populated of areas. However, with the arrival of over two hundred more individuals, it was more crowded than it had ever been. There were some complaints, but for most, simply learning of who these new arrivals were and what they had been through made them nothing but sympathetic. There were some members of the Orcrest clan who volunteered their rooms for those who were most in need of comfortable quarters, but for the most part, living arrangements had to be made rather hastily.

In the lowest levels of the stronghold, the Orcrest clan had dug entirely new tunnels to accommodate their growing population. Although, most of the new space was not used for living quarters; rather, they had moved many of their supplies to the new tunnels to make more room on the upper levels. Barrels and crates full of preserved food, leather, wood, metal, and other materials were taken out into the hallways to empty out rooms for the new arrivals. Even so, some would likely have to sleep in the hallways until more permanent arrangements could be made. The new corridors themselves were not simply crudely mined tunnels. Rather, they had proper stonework on all sides. Evidently, the clan had among its members stonemasons who could oversee such work. The new tunnels did not match the style of the old, but they were professionally made, and structurally sound.

Ma'tanza did not see Tzirret approach, so she jumped when he suddenly grabbed her hand. "Ah- oh, Tzirret. You surprised Ma'tanza. She probably should have expected you, though. It is getting late. She sees you managed to find a place to bathe." She said with a smile as she patted his still-wet shoulder. "You'll have to take this one there later, she didn't have a chance to find it yet. Someone did give Ma'tanza enough cloth to make another wrap, though. She doesn't have enough for a loincloth, but she can at least have her wrap again. This one will cut it all into the right shape later, we can head up to the top of one of the hills now."

Briefly, Ma'tanza looked down to M'ibasa beside her. "Go find your big sister and see if she'll come with you to make some new friends, alright?"

Elsewhere, Ri'vashi was stomping through a hallway just below the main chamber, more in frustration than rage. She was very visibly distraught, and seemed to be going somewhere with single-minded determination. She passed directly by Gallus, but did not acknowledge him. With the way she was looking straight ahead, it was questionable that she had even seen him at all.

Tzirret looked apologetic when Ma'tanza was startled by him. He realised that he didn't need to rush so much here. He smiled and nodded at the good news about finding cloth, but fidgeted on his toes as he waited.

"See you, M'ibasa," Tzirret said quickly with a small grin as he walked off with Ma'tanza. Tzirret kept a brisk pace as he walked through the clan home. He normally wouldn't walk so fast, but the sun would be setting soon.

"Um, this one is sorry for startling Ma'tanza," Tzirret said as he walked. His ears were held back, but they perked a little as he continued, "It is good that she found some cloth, though. You can move around without being so sore again." Tzirret let out an uneasy laugh.

When they entered the main chamber, Tzirret couldn't help but gaze around at the various grand features. "This place is very beautiful," Tzirret said loudly over the sound of the waterfall they were passing, "Tzirret never thought he would see so much water here."

Gallus had just finished up advising a pride where they could set down to sleep when he spotted Ri'vashi passing by. He was in his mail armour and equipped with his weapons again. "Ah, Ri'vashi! I was just looking for..." Gallus raised a hand in greeting and turned as the clan leader walked straight past him without acknowledging him at all. His first thought was that she didn't recognise him in his clothing. "Hold on! Clan leader, wait!"

The expression on Ri'vashi's face interpreted in Gallus' mind as a greater issue going on. He broke into a jog to catch up with her. "Wait!" Gallus slowed to match the large stride of Ri'vashi's Cathay gait and looked up to the side of her face, "Has something happened, clan leader?"

Ma'tanza too was impressed by the grandeur of the stronghold's main chamber. The entirety of the hill had essentially been hollowed out: a feat which she could hardly imagine that anyone completed. She stretched out her hand and ran it under the waterfall as she walked by, grinning at the feeling of the water flowing through her very dry fur. "It is more than Ma'tanza expected to find. She had hoped for just enough to take a bath, but this is almost like being back in Pelletine. This one supposes there is a good place deeper in the stronghold to bathe? These streams seem to shallow. Actually, she's not really sure what these streams would be good for. Ma'tanza supposes you could drink out of them, but she hasn't seen anyone else doing that. Are they really just for decoration?"

As it happened, Ri'vashi was near to her destination when she encountered Gallus. By the time he called out her name and ran to catch up to her, she had already turned a corner into one of the nearby rooms. Based on its appearance, it was obviously a training room. Compared to some of the others, it was a rather large chamber, with a good deal of open space in the room's center, with dummies and other training equipment scattered around. Closer to the back of the room, there were two square sand pits, presumably for sparring, with weapon racks on the wall behind them.

Ri'vashi stopped and looked down at Gallus as soon as she noticed him beside her. She seemed surprised that he was even present, suggesting that she had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she had not even noticed him. "Oh, Gallus. This one sincerely apologizes. This one did not see you. There is...nothing wrong, she can assure you. At least, nothing threatening as before. All of the prisoners are still alive and securely detained. There was simply a...disagreement between this one and a few of her council members in her last meeting. But, we resolved the issue, and your clan will not be impacted, rest assured." She answered; although, her diplomatic answer did not explain the obvious frustration she held.

"Tzirret never asked, but he thinks they are for the garden and for decoration," Tzirret and Ma'tanza were passing through the main chamber quickly, despite slowing down a little to admire it. They were almost at the gate already, "He will admit, he did not search below for a bath, he just splashed himself with the water in the streams. They looked clean enough. Still, he would like a proper bath. Maybe he will find one below anyway."

The tunnel made much more of an echo as they passed through. There were still a few people ferrying supplies, so it was not as eerie as when Meesei and her advance party first stepped through it. "She says that the waterfalls are like being back in Pelletine. Are there many waterfalls in the Tenmar? Tzirret did not get to see any."

For a moment, Gallus considered dropping the issue and leaving Ri'vashi to her own devices, but his curiosity got the better of him. He nodded and gave a short hum. "That is fortunate," he said, before angling his head forward and continuing more slowly, "Are you allowed to disclose what the disagreement was over? I can tell that it was passionate, you look worse than my father after learning that a patrol was skipped."

"Oh, Ma'tanza has seen one or two before, but she was more talking about all of the plants in there. Some of them she had never seen before. It was almost like being in the forest again, with all that life everywhere. Whoever tends to those gardens must have a passion for making them beautiful. La'khay will probably like them." She answered. Since people were still bringing in supplies from the outside, the cave leading outside was lit with magic-fueled, smokeless torches, which were the primary light source for the majority of the stronghold.

It did not take long for the pair to make their way outside. There was a light wind blowing over the area, but otherwise, the weather was perfectly clear, as always. The sun was already beginning to get low in the sky, so they would need to get to the top of one of the hills soon, but Ma'tanza still took a moment to pause and look out over the vast expanse of the desert before them. "The desert is amazing in its own way, but...it's just so barren. So...dead. Ma'tanza would not want to live here."

"Well, you are with the Champion, so Ri'vashi does not think she has any right to keep any matter relating to the clan from you. The disagreement was over how quickly this one decided to bring your people into the stronghold. One of Ri'vashi's council, Dro'cahi, felt that bringing everyone in at once would put undue strain on our supplies. By no means does did he just want to abandon your people, but he wanted to leave them outside for a few more days while we rationed out supplies for them, then bring them in gradually. He fears that, after so long in the desert, many of your people may not be conservative with the food we have. His arguments are...not without merit, but Ri'vashi did not want to subject the Senchal clan to any more suffering than they have already experienced. It may cost us, and we may have to purchase more supplies from Orcrest as a result, but Ri'vashi stands by her decision."

As they spoke, Ri'vashi had walked over to one corner of the room, near the weapon racks, and began untying her satchel, pouches, and scabbard. It appeared she intended to train at the moment. "It's just, arguments between this one and Dro'cahi get heated...frequently." She added, though by her expression, she immediately regretted mentioning it.

Their shadows were growing long, but Tzirret stood with Ma'tanza to see where she was looking as well. He took a moment before he responded, panning his eyes over the crags and the dunes. "This one grew up on green roads and in the snow. This place...it is the opposite. And it goes on forever, or it looks like it." Tzirret looked up one of the hills, "He wonders if he could see the edge of it if he climbed up these hills?"

Tzirret was careful climbing up the hill they chose, still hand in hand with Ma'tanza. It was not a large hill, but it was closer to the edge of the dunes and would provide a good view. Patches of loose scree meant that there were a couple of close calls and overbalances, but thankfully neither of them tumbled down the hill.

They reached the summit, or close enough to it, just in time. The entire landscape was beginning to take on a shade of pink. Tzirret laid out the bedroll on a relatively flat surface and sat himself down, facing out west. He let out a deep breath to finally relax and looked up to Ma'tanza with a smile. "Would Ma'tanza like something to eat?" Tzirret asked, gesturing to the satchel he had brought up with him, "Tzirret found something fresh."

Gallus brought his head back and rubbed his neck. "Alright then. Well, thank you for standing up for us all." Gallus took a deep breath and seemed to hold it as he spoke, "Look, it would be naive to think that bringing the Senchal clan here would have no impact on you all. We do not want to be a burden, so if there is anything we can do to pull our weight, please, bring it to us. I mean, I am not Ri'nakhad, so I cannot speak for the clan officially, but I do not see why he would differ."

Perhaps pushing his luck, Gallus brought his curiosity further. "Do...your arguments ever become a problem?" Gallus brought his hands up to his chest and quickly clarified with a small laugh in his voice, "Excuse me prying, it's just that the last time that there was a major division in the Bruma council, our leader was murdered and my father got stabbed by the leader's son in a rage. You will have to let me know if I am being paranoid."

Ma'tanza sat down beside Tzirret as soon as he laid out the bedroll. They had seen the sunset over the desert many times along their journey, but never from such a high vantage point. The light changed the entire color of the landscape, while their height above the dunes gave them perspective on how truly vast it all was. In all directions around them, there was nothing but sand for as far as the eye could see.

"Oh, definitely. Ma'tanza almost did not realize how hungry she was after we got into the stronghold. She was too distracted trying to get situated in the new place." She answered, rather enthusiastically. Once he produced the goat meat from the satchel, she was quick to help him divide it between them, and even quicker to bite down into it. It was quite pleasantly sweet, and by her guess, likely contained moon sugar. Though, that did not cause her to hesitate eating it in the slightest.

Ri'vashi shook her head. "Oh, no, this one does not believe it would ever come to that. Dro'cahi tends to oppose Ri'vashi, but he is loyal to Hircine. Ri'vashi...would be lying if she said the arguments have never been a problem, but this one believes he contributes far more to the clan than he costs. He will be glad to hear that your people will be willing to help. Ri'vashi is willing to let your people rest a few days, but there is always work to be done."

Once Ri'vashi had removed her pouches and set them aside along with her katana, she removed her rather bulky cloak, leaving her in a simple leather loincloth. Without her cloak, the patterns on her fur became more clear. Brown spots, each encircled by a black ring, covered her light tan fur. Interestingly, she was more muscular than one would expect from a werelion, even a Cathay. She grabbed one of the practice blades from the weapon racks. It was metal, so it had the proper weight, but was entirely blunt. "Dro'cahi...he just wants what is best for the clan, like all of us. He is a respected man, and a good leader." She commented as she gave her first, heavy swing against the dummy. "Probably a better one than Ri'vashi."

When Tzirret took his portion of their meal and bit into it, there were so many juices that flooded his mouth that it was as if he was discovering fresh meat all over again. He smiled as he tasted the moon sugar as well. It may not have been mutton, but it was probably the best he could have picked out.

"It really does go on forever, doesn't it?" Tzirret mused as he looked out over the now pinkish-orange sands. Even though the dunes made a sort of repeating pattern as they stretched on, the way the shadows and the colours laid out across them made it impossible to run out of things to look at.

"It, um..." Tzirret tried to find eloquent words for the scene before them, but whatever he came up with seemed a bit silly. He instead found his eyes drawn to Ma'tanza. He smiled without considering it, but felt a pang of worry in his chest. As usual, he did not want to do something wrong, but he just felt like putting his tail around her waist again. He found himself doing so anyway, in spite of leaving his sentence hanging in the air. He realised himself and stammered as he tried to say something - or anything, really. "He, uh, w-we found a nice spot, he thinks..."

With the attempts at eloquence in his mind just moments before, Tzirret felt his ears flushing with embarrassment. He looked ahead and took another bite of his dinner to try and escape the awkwardness.

Gallus listened on with interest to Ri'vashi. He smiled and crossed his arms at the last comment, narrowing his eyes with interrogating interest. Even Ri'vashi's imposing physique didn't give him pause in this matter. "Better than you?" Gallus paused as Ri'vashi's sword struck the practice dummy, "He sounds like a wise enough man, but what makes you think that he is a better leader? You're the leader of this clan for good reason, no?"

"Um, yes, it is." Ma'tanza responded, somewhat awkwardly. Regardless, she took a few more bites, then smiled at Tzirret. "Thank you for bringing Ma'tanza up here. She doesn't think she will see a place like this again when we finally leave the Orcrest clan. It isn't a place she would want to live, but...she doesn't mind visiting. And...it is nice to talk to you alone. Ma'tanza is never really away from her friends. So, uh, what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

The sun was still visible, but the air was already starting to cool somewhat. In contrast to the blistering hot days, nights in the desert could be downright cold, during which Ma'tanza was certainly glad for her fur. Already, she moved herself a bit closer to him, enough that their sides were touching.

After another swing, Ri'vashi closed her eyes and sighed. Already, she regretted the comment, and blamed herself for letting her emotions get the better of her to the point that she would mention it. "Some would say so, yes. Ri'vashi is a strong warrior, and few doubt that." She explained before interrupting herself with a few swings. "But, some might disagree. They don't necessarily say Ri'vashi isn't a good leader...well, some do, but they mostly say that there are better choices. Or...a better choice. Some might say that Ri'vashi was given the leadership by her father just because of who she was, and not what she could do." Again, she struck against the dummy; her precise form was quickly giving way to raw strength. "Some might say that an elder, more experienced councilman like Dro'cahi would have been a better choice to lead our people. Some people still think that Ri'vashi needs to prove herself worthy of the title."

With her final few swings, Ri'vashi managed to make tears in the stuffed cloth dummy with the blunted blade, after which, she stood still, breathing heavily. "Ri'vashi...should not be bothering you with this. It is unprofessional."

There was a bit of relief to hear that Ma'tanza acknowledged that she was around her friends almost all of the time. Tzirret wanted to follow up on that, but he could only look at Ma'tanza and nod while he chewed his mouthful. That lead Ma'tanza to ask about what they should talk about in the first place, which caused the tiniest of panics in Tzirret's mind.

Tzirret swallowed his mouthful a little early in an effort to speak. It made it uncomfortable and he closed his eyes for a moment, but he didn't choke. "Er...we could talk..." Tzirret felt as though there would be a mental blank in his future if he tried to find a subject from scratch, so he instead defaulted to what he was thinking of earlier. He started off a little quiet, but gained confidence gradually as he spoke. "You know, this one was thinking the same thing. It is nice to talk without your friends around. I-it is not that Tzirret does not like your friends - many are his friends as well, it's just..." The corner of Tzirret's mouth twitched, "...Tzirret gets self conscious. Maybe it's Bheja and his jokes, maybe it's...he doesn't know exactly, but he always enjoys being around Ma'tanza. In front of everyone else its...he feels like he draws eyes, but up here..." Tzirret's smile returned and he reached to take Ma'tanza's hand, "...he does not worry so much." A single huff of what could be a laugh sounded from Tzirret and he looked down and forward again, "Unless this one embarrasses himself anyway."

Tzirret took another bite of his meal. He was close to finishing anyway.

After the seriousness of Ri'vashi's speech, there was a low, rhythmic laugh from Gallus' nose. He was smiling again, looking at the training dummy, but he was not laughing at the results of Ri'vashi's now clear attempts to relieve her frustration. "If I wanted professionalism, Ri'vashi, I would have left you alone as soon as I was ensured that the clan would be alright. This is all me being a prying gnat, no more, no less. Swat me away if you're sick of me."

Gallus lowered his arms and clasped them behind his back before looking up to Ri'vashi once more. "How long have you been the leader of this clan? Has this always been a cloud over you?"

Ma'tanza chuckled as she reached over and put her free hand on Tzirret's shoulder. As she had many times before, she attempted to look encouraging towards him. "Tzirret, you're always thinking that you're embarrassing yourself. Even when you don't admit it, she can see you retreating back onto yourself. Or hear you stammering and having a hard time thinking. Ma'tanza knows when you start getting nervous, but she doesn't care, Tzirret. You don't have to be embarrassed around this one. We're together, aren't we? We can talk to each other openly and honestly, and everything."

Pausing briefly, Ma'tanza looked back out over the sands. The sun was getting rather low in the sky by this point, and it would not be too long before nightfall. "Now Bheja, he's the one that should be embarrassed. Unfortunately, he has no shame. At all. None. You heard the things he said to us; Ma'tanza would just die if someone told other people those kinds of things about her."

Ri'vashi was silent for an almost uncomfortably long amount of time a she stared ahead in thought. The tip of her practice blade was resting on the ground as she leaned lightly onto the weapon. Eventually, she let out a sigh and turned her eyes towards Gallus. "Two years. It has been two years since father died. It wasn't a surprise, or anything. He was an old man in failing health, so Ri'vashi and the clan had time to prepare. It's just...everyone assumed Dro'cahi would be his successor. He was his most trusted adviser, and a good friend. Dro'cahi had been with this one's father almost as long as Ri'vashi has. He was a part of his sleuth up in High Rock, and stuck together with us no matter what. Everyone was expecting him to pass his title onto Dro'cahi; Ri'vashi was expecting it, and would have been happy with it. This one did not ask to be made leader, but...that was his word. It was a surprise to everyone. He had never given Ri'vashi special treatment for anything like that before. This one had been refused leadership of a pride twice until he thought she was ready. Then, on his deathbed...he just gave Ri'vashi everything."

Tzirret looked out at the horizon as well. He couldn't help but let out a small laugh at Ma'tanza's comments. "Yeah, Bheja is a bit too good at embarrassing others," he said. The sun had made contact with the sands now, casting a spatter of deep orange flecks across the uneven landscape. "Tzirret was surprised that S'nishi did not object. Does she enjoy embarrassing others as well?"

Encouraged by Ma'tanza's previous words, Tzirret slowly brought his arm around her back and held her just above the waist. He felt that it was a risk to be in such free physical contact without explicitly asking, but Ma'tanza said he did not have to be embarrassed. As well, in the past, when he had asked for permission for every advance with La'khay, she got tired of his requests very quickly. Tzirret did not want to make the same mistake again.

"I see," Gallus murmured. By her omission, Gallus assumed that Ri'vashi had no better idea of why she had been chosen as leader in the end as anyone else. It didn't seem to make sense at face value why Ri'vashi's father would choose her over Dro'cahi, but..."There has to be a reason," Gallus said, staring at the ground in contemplation, "A leader for so long, still of sound mind...I could not see someone like your father choosing you for no good reason. Perhaps...I would say that it is precisely the differences between you two that..."

Gallus looked up, then interrupted himself, "...ah, it is not my place to dictate, but if you would hear friendly advice from me, hear this: My mother always told me that I shouldn't second-guess myself for the sake of the opinions of others, that I should always do what I think is best. On the other hand, my father was a military man. He told me that the best advice comes from the experience of subordinates, that pride should never discount the usefulness of other points of view, for...in a war, you are all on the same side." Gallus angled his head, "You are both passionate, but you are on the same side, no? Is it really useful to take the disagreements between you two so personally?"

Following Tzirret's lead, Ma'tanza leaned closer to him and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder, though her tone was still simply a friendly one. "S'nishi? Eh, not really. She likes to play jokes every now and then, but not ones like Bheja. She's just...oh what is that word? Stoic. She also isn't easily shamed, it's just that she doesn't go out of her way to embarrass others with it. Honestly though, she was probably laughing on the inside earlier."

Ma'tanza gave a brief chuckle as her grin became more thoughtful. "Bheja can go a bit too far with his jokes sometimes, but he is a very kind person. He loves his friends just like they are family, and he'll do anything for them. M'ibasa's nightmares have started getting worse recently; we think he is about to have his first transformation soon. Not long before you all arrived, M'ibasa was too afraid to get to sleep, so Bheja sat next to his bedroll, told him stories, and even sang him a little song, for a full three hours one night. All without even being asked, and without asking for anything in return."

---

Ri'vashi looked down, lightly rubbing the pommel of her weapon with a single claw, as if to attempt to distract herself from her thoughts. "The problem isn't that Ri'vashi is angry, or offended at Dro'cahi's objections to her authority...it's that she fears he is right."

The Cathay turned away and started walking back towards the weapon racks, but stopped as she passed through one of the sand pits. Looking down at her feet, she ran her toes through the sand as she let out a sigh. "Father must have saw something in Ri'vashi. That is what her friends and confidants told her when she was appointed. He never did anything without reason. This one just needs to find what he saw."

Turning back to Gallus, Ri'vashi planted the tip of her weapon in the sand and gave him a brief nod. "Say, would you like to pick up a practice blade and join this one for a bout?"

Tzirret of course knew that Bheja meant well on the inside, but it surprised him to hear that Bheja would do something so selfless. "Wow, that...this one would not expect something like that," Tzirret remarked, "That is very kind of him." Now that he had finished his dinner, Tzirret began to relax some more into Ma'tanza. "Ma'tanza, your friends and your family, they are very loving people. You are lucky." Tzirret let out a breath and leaned his head on top of hers, "And they are lucky to have Ma'tanza."

Rather than pressure himself into saying more things, Tzirret just sat and enjoyed the moment. The sun was had sunk past halfway into the horizon by the time a genuine curiosity of his came to mind. "Ma'tanza, Tzirret never properly asked, but...well, he has seen her with many friends, but this one has never clearly known who is actually part of Ma'tanza's pride."

---

Gallus smiled and gave a nod, "Certainly." He was glad that Ri'vashi asked. He was feeling awkward just standing around while she talked. Indeed, retrieving a couple of practice weapons individually - a wooden warhammer and a blunt shortsword - gave him some time to think of a response to Ri'vashi's concerns.

Once he had found a spot in the sandpit, Gallus dropped into a guard position and focussed on Ri'vashi's core to detect her movements. With how quickly she cut the arm of Meesei's assailant before, Gallus held no illusions as to her speed, regardless of her size. He decided to compare their agility by proceeding with some feints; despite Ri'vashi's remarkable speed, it was still something that Gallus might beat. He knew that strength or reach was not something he could count on.

"If Dro'cahi is right, what would you say that means for you? For the clan?" Gallus asked as they sparred.

"Ma'tanza does not spend that much time with them, really. Other than S'nishi and M'ibasa." Ma'tanza answered. "Bheja and Qa'habi aren't actually a part of this one's pride. Her siblings are, but not them. This one's mentor is our pride leader, and there is another Suthay-raht named Hizhar. He's a hunter, but not very, um, kind. Well...he isn't really unkind, he just seems indifferent towards everyone."

Ma'tanza shifted somewhat uncomfortably. "This one used to spend a lot more time with her pride, but that was...before. The attack, that is. Other than S'nishi and M'ibasa, they all died, so we had to be placed in a new pride. It never really felt the same."

---

While she did put her blade in position to guard each time, Ri'vashi did not even bother parrying any of Gallus' feints. Each time, she seemed to recognize that the attack was not genuine, and instead pushed the attack to force him to back off. It was not her speed that defined her as much as it was her predictive capabilities. She was exceptionally observant, as it seemed that he could not do anything without her seeing it coming.

"It is hard to say. Maybe the clan would live better with him at the lead. Ri'vashi does not exactly know what she is doing wrong. There have been some more...complaints than there used to be when father lead us. Small things here and there, nothing serious, but things that this one does not know how to solve. No one has made any serious challenges against Ri'vashi yet, even Dro'cahi, but she wonders what will happen if she makes any larger mistakes. Perhaps everyone is simply happy that we are safe? Our defenses have been impregnable the last two years. We have stopped dozens of enemy patrols, mercenaries, and other groups associated with Vile. None have come even remotely close to finding this stronghold...until the impostor arrived, of course." Ri'vashi explained. This time, she started going on the offensive with a simple, direct stab towards his torso. Though, with how she had performed so far, it would be difficult to believe that there was not more to it.