Gallus lifted a finger, breathed in, paused, and then let the breath go and his finger lower. His second attempt had him tilting his head forward. "It...may have been such a long time since you and Dro'cahi have seen eye to eye that it may have been forgotten but...he's worried about your safety." Gallus started by explaining slowly but realised he was being confrontational. He tried to salvage the situation by explaining further before Ri'vashi could respond. "Let me put it this way. Morale is low inside the clanhome. Incredibly low. The way things are run? We would only have it this way in Bruma if there was an emergency, and not for any lengthy time. Dro'cahi sees problems with [i]internal[/i] stability right now. Discontent, possible mutiny if unchecked. Things that will come up time and again without change." Gallus glanced to the door and back, "People are acting like soldiers when they are not. They cannot keep doing it. So...once this enemy stronghold is taken it will be a window of safety. An opportunity to change a few ways that the clan is run. Being in the mindset of a war can be useful. However, clans aren't armies."

Gallus turned his hand to show a palm. "Starting off, you only have to bring forward one change to lift morale. Increasing rations or reducing drills for non-combatants or something. Once the warband returns? Other changes will be incrementally brought in, under your proposal." Gallus brought his hands together, "I have seen these things Dro'cahi has mentioned myself, so I know that there is truth to his words. At the same time, our warband will be at full strength to eliminate its biggest threat. Right now I personally see it as the best compromise between internal and external security we can have right now."

[hr]
Sabine was visibly relieved when La'khay conceded to a less intimate scene. "Those would be better. Thank you," she said quietly. It might be awkward to hold a kiss still for long enough to be captured in a painting, but Sabine would much prefer that to the original idea.

As she took up a position with Peiter in front of the easel, Sabine's spirits were slightly lifted by the dialogue between La'khay and La'tahne. She stifled a laugh at just how forward they both were to each other. The ridiculousness of having two such people in the same room helped to relax Sabine's self-consciousness as she wrapped her arms around Peiter's sided and up his back. "Should we...just kiss or kiss and hold still for a while?" Sabine asked unsurely. She was hoping that being in a kiss for so long wouldn't cause too much of a dribble down their chins.

Before they began, Sabine looked into Peiter's eyes and asked quietly, "Are you alright with this Peiter?" He had not spoken at all since they entered their room again.