Gallus' immediate thoughts went to how this was a mistake as Ri'vashi reminded him of her height. He did his best to remain stern.

Thankfully for Gallus' physical well-being, Ri'vashi's response was actually unphased by his tone. However, it put Gallus in a difficult position. If he turned back to being friendly, the weight of what he had said would be diminished. If he remained stern and chiding, Ri'vashi would only take it as an insult.

As Gallus stood, staring back at Ri'vashi and trying to make up his mind, he actually felt a strong twinge of humiliation. He cleared his throat loudly, put his arms behind his back and looked down. "Alright, I'll admit that was unnecessary and a bit dramatic. I thought I needed to get you out of a pit, that's all." Gallus glanced up, "I think I will spar for a little while. I have other tasks to see to soon enough, but..." Gallus breathed a calming breath through pouted lips. "It's been another long day."

As they walked to the training room, Gallus made sure to remind Ri'vashi that they should find Lorag and Meesei as soon as they could. However, the end of their previous interaction didn't feel quite complete.

"Do you think you will ask Dro'cahi to help you?" Gallus asked as they walked, "I highly doubt anyone is going to get killed and I see no good reason why he wouldn't be willing to instruct you. Transitions of leadership can be messier. trust me, I've seen it."

---

With one last little chunk taken from the sliver of bone, the pin was complete. Tzirret quickly blew off the residue and placed it in the wooden box that contained five more of the things.

Someone in the Senchal clan had asked him for a number of dressmaking pins to replace some that were lost or broken. The time Tzirret needed to calm down and consider this options was the perfect opportunity to finish the task. Now that they were done he had an idea of what he wanted to say to Ma'tanza, but for some reason he was still incredibly nervous about going to confront her.

He sat glumly for a moment, wondering if Gallus would come by. His meeting must be taking a long time. Tzirret's grumbling stomach drove him to instead get some food. He knew that eating something would make him feel better, but part of him hoped that he would spot Ma'tanza in the dining area. It would save him the anxiety that would undoubtedly build up by seeking her out.

The nature of Ri'vashi's current mood was difficult to pinpoint at the moment. She was not exactly angry, but the tension from their previous conversation had not left her. As they walked through the halls, her footsteps were heavy, and each breath held a hint of irritation. However, she was not directing her frustration specifically at Gallus, as her tone when responding to him was quite normal.

"Ri'vashi does not know what she will do with Dro'cahi; she thinks it is best not to worry about such things right now. The most present concern is Vile's fortress, and how we are going to attack it. Once that is over, and that threat is gone, Ri'vashi can worry about those other concerns. Trying to deal with too much at once will just distract Ri'vashi, and make her less effective. You agree that Ri'vashi should be focused on the task at hand, yes?" She asked just as they reached the training room.

Once inside, Ri'vashi found a place to discard her cloak and other belongings, apart from a loincloth, then approached some of the training dummies at the back of the room. "Select any weapon you like. Ri'vashi needs a moment to warm up." She explained. At first, she simply performed a few stretches, but then moved on to throwing a few punches at one of the dummies. Even without paying close attention to her, it was easy to see, and hear, that she was not holding back. The dummy consisted of thickly wrapped cloth around a wooden post, in the shape of a person's torso and head. The cloth naturally muffled the sound of blows against it, but her strikes could still easily be heard from where Gallus was standing. They each held an almost frightening amount of weight, like a mace bashing at full force against a shield, or piece of armor.

---

Ma'tanza had indeed gone to the dining hall for her dinner, though just as he was arriving, he would see that Ma'tanza was leaving. It was crowded, so she did not notice him immediately. If he wished to speak to her, he would need to follow her.

"As you wish," Gallus responded regarding his question. It was clear that Ri'vashi was done thinking about it. Gallus could respect that.

The uneasy paces to the training room had Gallus trying to think on how he wanted to try something different in his bouts with Ri'vashi. He went over to the weapon racks and was about to reach for a simple sword and small shield. He hesitated lifting the shield and snapped his attention to the sudden heavy thump behind him.

Gallus stood with mixed feelings of dread and sympathy as Ri'vashi threatened to knock the training dummy off its chains with her mighty strikes. It was easy to tell that Ri'vashi was simply releasing anger and frustration that she had no doubt been trying to release when she cried in the meeting room. It made Gallus feel rather guilty. With his blunder before, he had no doubt that his face was on that dummy as well. He let Ri'vashi release what energy she needed to as he practised his forms nearby.

When the time came for the two to spar. Gallus held one hand up and spoke solemnly but directly. "Before we begin, I am sorry for raising my voice before. That was inappropriate."

---

Even though he was only half-looking for Ma'tanza, Tzirret spotted her easily enough and stopped dead in his tracks. Now all the conflict that he thought he would bypass by running across her here came rushing forth regardless and he hesitated.

He was hungry. He could just get some food now and escape. However, the other side of his mind clawed back influence and the tug-of-war continued. Outwardly, he simply glanced between the rations and Ma'tanza as his time was running out. He had rising levels of ear-pulling, face-tightening anxiety written on him.

Ma'tanza reached the entrance. Tzirret resolved to take initiative. He put his worries at the back on his mind for just long enough to get his feet moving. "Ma'tanza, wait!" He called out as he broke into a jog to catch up with her. Or, at least, as much of a jog as he could manage in the crowd. "Ma'tanza!"

Ri'vashi lost focus on much of what was happening around her as she continued to land blows on the dummy. Her gaze was intense, and her strikes became even more forceful. She bared her teeth, and with each punch, let out a satisfied huff. The entire dummy shook with each hit, and the occasional crack could be heard from within on the particularly hard hits. Gallus' observations were correct in that she was using it as a method of venting her frustration. Her strikes were growing steadily stronger, until finally, she landed a blow to the dummy's head that caused the wooden post inside to snap. The cloth kept the head attached, but it did start to hang down from the torso, clearly separated from the rest of the dummy.

For a few moments, Ri'vashi simply stood, her hands clenched into fists, and her breaths frequent and heavy. Only Gallus' apology brought her back into reality. "Let us...just move past it, alright? This one is sure you mean well." She answered. Though Gallus might have expected her to grab a weapon, Ri'vashi instead took her position opposite of him and raised up her fists. Evidently, she intended to enter this fight unarmed.

---

By Tzirret's second shout, Ma'tanza noticed her name being called and turned her head towards the source. In the crowd, it took a few moments for her to pick out where the voice was coming from, but with Tzirret chasing after her, it did not take long for her to spot him. "Oh, hello Tzirret." She responded.

Since they were in the middle of the crowd, with people attempting to move past them, Ma'tanza motioned for Tzirret to follow her closer to the edge of the hall. "You...seem like you want to speak with Ma'tanza about something." She continued.

Gallus did not drop into a guard right away with Ri'vashi's intention to fight hand-to-hand. He only raised his shield and sword slowly once he realised that it was intended. As much as Gallus would have preferred to spar with equal equipment, it was impossible to say that they would be equally matched in such a bout. "Unarmed?" Gallus said with a tilted head, "...As you wish."

To start off, Gallus biased his shield slightly to Ri'vashi's right and held the flat of his sword against its edge. He feigned a jump forward to test Ri'vashi's awareness before switching the position of his sword to be horizontal above his head and lunging forward to take a small swing at her arms and push her back. If Gallus could get a cut in before or while Ri'vashi closed to attack, he hoped he could end the bout before any of those mace-like strikes landed upon anything more sensitive than his shield.

---

Tzirret followed to the side without any protest. Now with Ma'tanza in front of him he scrambled to try and find the words that he laid out in his mind not long ago.

"Yes...it is about before." Tzirret had trouble keeping eye contact, his ears were held back and he unconsciously had his hand up rubbing the back of his neck. Tzirret bit his lower lip momentarily before continuing in something of a dejected voice, "Look...this one knows that Ma'tanza does not like to be manipulated. He understands that...trying to act bravely to prove a point..." Tzirret's stopping and starting was not helped by his different thoughts trying to get out at once. "W-what he means to say is that he should have known that it would make Ma'tanza upset, what he tried. It was selfish. He should not have caused all the worry, he..." Tzirret sighed, "But he knows that he does not want to be liked for something he is not, so he never wants to manipulate Ma'tanza. He does not want to lie to her or insult her because he really...does not want her to be hurt. He...still wants to be with her."

Tzirret's eyes darted from Ma'tanza's eyes to the floor again and he fidgeted. "He spoke to Gallus and is no longer going into the fight at all. He is staying back with the camp." Tzirret's arm dropped and hung loosely at his side. He seemed to relax into a guilty bow of his head now that he had said all that he could think to. "He understands if Ma'tanza is still angry. Tzirret is sorry."

By her appearance, Ri'vashi seemed to be even more attentive than during their last bout, if that were physically possible. Her eyes were watching him closely enough that she may has well have been looking into his soul. For this bout, she was not looking for an even fight; she was looking to challenge herself. She wanted to place herself into a worst-case scenario position, unarmed and unarmored against an armed foe, and see if she could overcome. In this situation, the victor would not be nearly as clear as in their last fight.

Just as Ri'vashi had demonstrated in their last fight, she was exceptionally aware of anything Gallus was doing. His feint produced only a quick twitch from her as she prepared to move, in the event that the attack was genuine. When he actually did attack, she jumped back to get out of range of the swing with plenty of time to spare. However, without a weapon of her own, she could not counterattack safely. Her fists were at the ready, and she was strafing around him, but without the ability to parry his strikes, she could not safely attack. What she was seeking was an opportunity, even if it was just a momentary slip up or misstep, that she could capitalize on to turn the fight in her favor.

---

Ma'tanza did not appear to be outwardly angry towards Tzirret, though neither did she give a heartfelt acceptance of his apology. Overall, her expression was conflicted, and uncertain. A full ten seconds passed before Ma'tanza reached out and grabbed Tzirret's hands in her own. "Tzirret...we have already spoken about all of this, yes? Earlier, when Sabine and Peiter brought this one to you. You already apologized then, so you don't have to keep apologizing now. You know you were wrong. It did hurt Ma'tanza that you lied to her, but we don't have to keep dwelling on it. You apologized, so we can move on, as long as you don't do it again. Alright?"

Unlike most other times that he would be fighting an unarmed opponent, Gallus was as focussed and as cautious as possible. He held no illusions as to Ri'vashi's capabilities, let alone how particularly reactive she was here.

While he tried to think how to land a hit he realised that he could not rely on dizzying tricks or overwhelming power. He would have to outplay her with a combination of speed that would put her in a position where defence was most difficult. It was not an obvious puzzle to solve in the heat of the fight. In the meantime, Gallus mirrored her strafes and periodically changed stances to play havoc with any plans she was hatching.

As soon as something plausible crossed Gallus' mind, he lunged forward. With his sword against the side of his shield again, he thrust high, twisted his shield to face upwards, and the thrust low with both of the items. Gallus hoped that Ri'vashi would run out of ring space and not be able to push his shield away before he could tap the blunt end of his wooden sword to her abdomen.

---

Tzirret peered up at Ma'tanza. He was nothing short of surprised. "She is...not angry anymore?"

An uneasy chuckle came from Tzirret, more out of relief than anything else. "Well, uh...Tzirret promises never to do it again! He will never try to manipulate Ma'tanza, he swears on the moons." Tzirret pointed up at the ceiling with a bewildered face, but perked ears. His eyes twiched away for a moment, "Right, uh, no more dwelling on it. Do you..." Tzirret angled his head forward slightly and looked to Ma'tanza again, "...Do you want want to find a place to chatter like we usually do?"

For the start of their duel, Ri'vashi had been cautious. Without a weapon, she was at a disadvantage, so Gallus could easily put her on the defensive. However, with this attack, she completely inverted her behavior. Instead of dodging his attack, she actually moved into it. For an unarmed combatant, rushing in against a blade was seemingly suicide, and yet it was exactly what she was doing. She did not push away his shield; she grabbed it. With all of the might a Cathay werebear could muster, she yanked at the shield in an attempt to pull it from his hands. However, the other part of her attack was where she was more likely to fail. With her other hand, she attempted to strike at the flat of his blade to protect herself from it. If her hand did not touch its edge, then she would be safe, but failing in that would mean injury. In an actual fight, such an injury would not likely be lethal, and would not end the fight, but it could disable her use of that hand. If her strike landed wrongly in this duel, she would have to continue with only her other arm.

---

Ma'tanza gave another, brief sigh, then hummed lightly to bide time as she thought of a response. She was not necessarily angry with Tzirret, but evidently, she still was not exactly pleased with him either. Regardless, once she made up her mind, she gave a smile that was only moderately forced before she responded.

"Yes...yes, we can talk, this one thinks. Maybe do something else as well. We could go for a swim, or find some of the others? Bheja and Qa'habi are training, Ma'tanza thinks. Do you know if Sabine and Peiter are doing anything?" She asked.

The balance that Gallus maintained in his lunge gave him little leverage against Ri'vashi's brute strength. By the time he let go of the shield he was off-balance, but any longer holding it would have put his face into the sand. The shield's placement of course did not obscure anything from Ri'vashi's uncanny senses as it was swatted away as well. Gallus was fairly sure that the edge of the wooden blade ran across Ri'vashi's palm, but he was not going to break off to tell her. Instead, he took advantage of the distance he had closed. His sword twisted away from Ri'vashi's parrying hand and cut diagonally upwards, heading for her hip.

He hoped he could land a hit before Ri'vashi's now shield-occupied hand could return to punish him. He intended to try and spring back as soon as he could.

---

Tzirret looked to one side and narrowed his eyes. "This one is not sure. He does not think they had any plans. We might be able to find them in their room." Tzirret's ear angled itself slightly and the volume of his voice decreased. He added quickly, "If there is something tied to the door handle then...they are busy."

Before they headed off, Tzirret turned his eyes to Ma'tanza for a moment and narrowed one eye, looking somewhat worried. "Is Ma'tanza sure she is alright?" He reached a hand up to her shoulder, "You are all...Tzirret can see you are troubled."

As soon as she had wrestled the shield from Gallus' hand, Ri'vashi's first reaction was to disengage and back away from his retaliation. Still, even with her quick reactions, she only scarcely managed to evade his swing towards her hip. Still gripping it by its edge, she swung the shield towards Gallus' blade to prevent him from following through, then took a few more steps back to get distance between them. With the brief pause in the fight, she glanced to her off-hand with a disappointed expression. Her attempt at a parry had not wholly succeeded, so she pulled the hand behind her back, indicating that it was disabled. With a quick, deft movement, she moved her grip on the shield from its edge, to its center grip.

The shield was small for Gallus, and comparatively even smaller for her, like a buckler, but she now had a tool with which to parry his strikes. Unfortunately. she was now essentially restricted to one hand. As skilled as she was, to win the fight in her current situation was not something even she expected.

---

Ma'tanza shook her head. "No, it is fine. Ma'tanza is not angry, but she still needs some time to get past this. Let's just do something else to get our minds off of it. If we can get more people together, maybe we can come up with something new." She suggested.

As Peiter and Sabine's room was near to the dining hall, it did not take long for the pair to reach it. Ma'tanza did not see anything out of ordinary at the door, so after glancing briefly to Tzirret for confirmation, she gave the door a few knocks. "Hello? It's Ma'tanza, and Tzirret. Are you there, can we come in?"

Inside, the knocks at the door caught everyone's attention, though it did not phase La'khay in her work. She continued painting without interruption, and instead simply looked briefly back towards La'tahne. "Oh, hello. Could you let them in, La'tahne?" She requested. Evidently, she did not consider visitors to be much of a disruption, and since they were close friends, she assumed Peiter and Sabine would want them to come in. Their arrival only briefly interrupted the story she was telling. She had said before she started the painting that she would tell Sabine and Peiter the story of her first time mating, and whether they asked about it or not, she had followed through on that promise. Presently, she was explaining the the embarrassing parts of the act itself, and was not sparing any details.

Gallus felt his wooden sword swipe cleanly through thin air right before he jumped back. He was thankfully quick enough that he didn't suffer a counter-attack and he had just had possibly the closest clash to defeating Ri'vashi than ever. However, the gains he had made were somewhat offset by Ri'vashi acquiring a means to parry without losing her other hand.

Now that he had lost his shield, Gallus changed his stance again. This time, he had his sword hand forward and his other hand held out slightly behind him for balance. There wasn't much he could do with his off-hand now unless he got in close. Still, he had the advantage of a weapon and he pressed it. He shuffled up and attempted a combination of slashes high and low to try and put pressure on Ri'vashi. He suspected it would now be as difficult for him to land a hit as it was for Ri'vashi to attack without retribution.

---

"Okay," Tzirret said with a hint of helplessness. He wished that the situation would be resolved quicker so he did not have to keep second-guessing himself. There didn't seem to be anything else he could do.

Throughout the sitting, Sabine had tried her best to hold her pose. She had her eyes narrowly open and her mouth pressed up against Peiter's, but between La'khay's graphically recounted story and the time spent sitting still, her previous rush of affection had mostly diminished. She had no doubt that Peiter would probably be feeling similar but with the added affect of slowly numbing legs. Sabine had a very light build but she wasn't an infant. Anyone who had her on their lap for a protracted period of time would get a pinched nerve eventually.

The knocks and voices at the door caused Sabine's eyes to widen in surprise. She turned her head towards the door and wiped her lips on the back of her hand before it was answered. She didn't exactly feel the most proud of her position right now, although it was not enough to ask La'tahne to not open the door.

Meanwhile, Tzirret was just as surprised to hear La'khay's voice coming from behind the door. She was the last person he expected to hear. He wondered what on earth they were doing in there. When the door did open to reveal La'tahne's face, Tzirret's ears angled halfway up in confusion. "Um, hello again...La'tahne?" Tzirret said, cautiously remembering the gardener's name, "Are Sabine and Peiter within?"

With the mix of advantages and disadvantages that both of them held, Ri'vashi and Gallus were reaching a stalemate. Each strike Gallus made, Ri'vashi could predict, but she lacked the ability to effectively retaliate. The shield made it easy to block or parry a blow, but it was also the only weapon she had available. Indeed, she did attempt to deliver a few strong bashes, and may have bruised Gallus' hands and arms in the process, but he could threaten her enough with his sword to keep her from doing anything that might end the bout.

At the current rate, there was a possibility of the fight simply ending when one of them became too tired to continue, but there was one advantage Gallus did have over Ri'vashi in the form of his free hand. He could not overpower her, and as of yet had not been able to do much with it, but it still presented him with options. Disrupting her defense, even for a brief moment, would be enough to allow him to land a solid strike against a more important part of her than a hand.

---

La'tahne gave a smile and a nod before opening the door fully to allow the pair inside. While what they were doing was more innocent than Tzirret had been worrying, seeing Peiter and Sabine modeling for a painting was still quite unusual. Although, Ma'tanza was not entirely surprised. As a well-known, and somewhat infamous, member of the Senchal clan, La'khay's affinity for artistic works was at least known to Ma'tanza.

Peiter was becoming just becoming just as uncomfortable physically as Sabine from sitting for such an extended time. He was not sure how long they had been posing for La'khay, but he had a feeling they would be stopping for the day sometime soon. As for Tzirret and Ma'tanza, he was not particularly embarrassed about being seen in such a position. Intimate embraces between himself and Sabine were nothing new, even if they did try to refrain from doing anything too personal in public.

When the pair entered the room, it was enough to prematurely end La'khay's story as she greeted them. "Ah, good evening you two. It is nice to have some of the cutest pairs in the clan all together in one place. This one hopes you did not come for a painting, though. She is afraid she cannot take on another right now."

A couple more attempts at getting past Ri'vashi's defence with just his sword proved futile for Gallus. He actually paused for a grin and a small laugh at the awkwardness of it all.

Eventually, Gallus thought of one thing he could try to end the cat-and-mouse game that the bout had become. He didn't hesitate to try, for if anything was going to work, it was this. He advanced and slashed high to draw Ri'vashi's shield arm up. And then with the bottom of the shield's rim on front of him he attempted to step forward with rear foot and grab at it. He did not try to pull it away or twist it. Instead he simply held it in place while he stepped forward again and brought his sword around to cut at Ri'vashi's middle. He did not have the strength to keep the shield still for long but the blow would be decisive if he could land it.

---

It was a few moments before Tzirret could make sense of the scene before him. La'khay's words seemed to tie it up and his brow went up in realisation. At this point he didn't even process the possible embarrassment from La'khay's compliment of himself and Ma'tanza.

Tzirret raised a hand to La'khay, "Oh, that is fine. We...Tzirret did not expect to see this, to be honest." Tzirret turned to Peiter and Sabine, "Um, we were going to spend time, maybe go for a swim or find something new to do, but..." Tzirret tightened his mouth as if he had interrupted something more special. "If you are busy, it is no matter."

"Actually," Sabine began to speak, addressing La'khay first, "Do you mind if we take a break, La'khay?" Sabine's eyes went down to Peiter's legs and back up. "We have been sitting for a while."

While Sabine spoke, Tzirret leaned around curiously to see the painting in progress. He had not yet looked closely enough to notice Peiter's groomed form.

With Gallus’ attempt to break the stalemate, he did something that even Ri’vashi did not find likely. It was obvious to both of them that Gallus could not outmatch Ri’vashi in terms of raw strength. But, with his momentum and the force he could use to grab her shield, he did delay her, if only briefly. Had she the use of her other hand, she would have had more options, but that was not the situation she had to deal with. She reacted just as quickly as ever and attempted to bash the rim of her shield against his blade. She did indeed overpower Gallus’ grip and successfully hit the blade, but Gallus’ delaying tactic gave him just enough time. While the blade did not hit exactly where Gallus had aimed it, it did slash across her side, just above her hip. It was difficult to say what kind of damage it would have done in a real fight, but it was enough to end the duel.

“Ah!” Ri’vashi exclaimed, standing up straight and lowering her guard. “Well done. You got through unscathed…well, mostly.”

---

The moment they were given the word, Peiter and Sabine stood up together. Peiter groaned as his joints popped and his muscles were finally allowed to stretch. He quickly noticed how sore he had become, though it would just take a few minutes of walking around to recover. Naturally, he was just as curious as Tzirret, perhaps even moreso, about the progress that La’khay had made on the painting. He was not even sure how much time he and Sabine had spent modeling for it, but he certainly wanted to see the results of all of the effort they had put in to it. He walked around to the other side of the easel, and to his surprise, actually found himself smiling at what he saw. In his upbringing in Chorrol, he had only limited exposure to actual artwork. Like most of the residents, he was used to seeing the statue just inside the city gates, and the stained-glass windows of the city’s chapel, but paintings were more rare. They could, of course, be found in the city’s keep and the homes of its upper class residents, but he had never once set foot in either of those. Some merchants had paintings hanging on their walls, but they did not commission portraits of themselves. To see his own image painted onto a canvas was not something he had ever thought he would see.

When Sabine came close, Peiter put his arm around her waist. “I think it’s looking pretty good.” He commented. For the moment, he was distracted enough that he had forgotten about his current lack of body hair and was not attempting to hide it from Tzirret.

Gallus shot back as quickly as he could as soon as he landed the blow and fell into disbelief for a few seconds. It seemed so out of the ordinary to actually win with a solid hit for a change. All other bouts with Ri'vashi had resulted in defeat with superficial blows landed at the very best. Though, he didn't get too excited. He simply laughed lightly instead.

"Hircine's hounds," Gallus said, testing his jarred arms for any further damage. "One of these days I might even defeat you weapon to weapon." Gallus' sarcasm stopped when he held his sword under his arm and wiped the sweat from his hands. He looked up to Ri'vashi directly. "Do you want to keep fighting unarmed? I can't vouch for my chances doing the same but I do not mind how we spar."

---

A grin spread across Sabine's face when she saw the painting as well. It was very much incomplete, though Sabine could not fault La'khay's skill in capturing their forms. It actually made Sabine feel a bit strange to see a picture of herself outside of a reflection. "La'khay, this is really nice," Sabine commented, giving her a glance, "Thank you."

"Er, hey Peiter," Tzirret began, raising an eyebrow and desperately suppressing a laugh. "Did you shave yourself? You look...weird."

Ri'vashi shook her head. "No, Ri'vashi thinks that is all she needed. Victory or no...she needed the challenge." She answered. She started to turn around to head back to her belongings, but stopped before taking a step. Turning back to face Gallus, she glanced between him and the ground nervously. "Ri'vashi...knows that she must be insufferable right now. Arguing, doubting herself, falling to tears...that is not how a clan leader should be. She is sorry for all the trouble. She knows you have other places to be, and you're just staying here to try and help ease this one's mind. She thanks you for it; many others probably would have just agreed with her decision to resign. You are a friend."

With only a brief moment of hesitation, Ri'vashi reached out and pulled Gallus into a hug. "Thank you." She said with a voice both emotional and friendly.

---

While La'khay was smiling at all of the praise, Peiter looked down at his own body and immediately remembered all of the grooming La'khay had done to him. He felt like covering himself, though it was already far too late for that. For a few seconds, he froze up and looked away nervously, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Umm, well yes, but...okay, in my defense, it was La'khay's idea, and Sabine said she would like it."

Peiter turned his head to Sabine as he was rubbing his hand down her back. "You do like it, don't you? The way it looks and feels?"

There was nothing more than a sincere and friendly smile from Gallus as Ri'vashi spoke. He was going to play it off with a comment on how he has it worse from his boys, but the hug took him off guard. The side of his wide-eyed face was pressed suddenly against Ri'vashi's collar. In response, he let the wooden sword fall from under his arm onto the ground and tried his best to wrap his arms around to her back, giving her a couple of comforting pats. "It's no problem, Ri'vashi. That's what friends are there for," he said as if he was not being hugged at all. Ri'vashi was surprisingly gentle. "Anyone in a pack knows this, but you do not need to be ashamed of yourself with friends," Gallus added. "We all need a spot to tear up or be insufferable every now and then."

Gallus motioned to separate eventually and gave Ri'vashi an encouraging smile and a pat on the arm. "Now, if you're done fighting, how about we catch up with Meesei and Lorag and see what we can find out about this Do'rhajul fellow?"

---

Sabine lifted her opposite arm until her hand was over Peiter's over her waist. At the same time, she smiled and peered eyes between points on Peiter's face and body. "I like how it feels," she said after a pause, "I will get used to the look." Sabine's coy response purposely did not give any strong hints as to her opinion.

On the other hand, Tzirret was at the same time amused and overwhelmed that Peiter was the one in the embarrassing situation for once. With tall ears and and tiny snorts emerging from his nose, he looked to Ma'tanza. "What does Ma'tanza think?"

Ri'vashi closed her eyes and took in a deep breath for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh, though this time it did not contain near as much frustration. "Yes, we should probably get back to our duties. This one does not think we will be able to spare much time over the next few days. Though, the Orc, Lorag, he did not seem too keen to speak back in the meeting. Perhaps that will be different when he can speak in confidence, but...Ri'vashi does think the whole situation is almost difficult to believe. The notion that the second to Hircine's Champion could have a personal history with the General of Vile's forces simply could not be a coincidence. Ri'vashi does not know what mechanisms could cause such a situation to occur, though. Does Vile actually have the capabilities to learn the history of the Champion's pack in such detail? Or did Hircine know of this Do'rhajul even before Lorag joined the Champion's pack? We cannot know right now, Ri'vashi supposes. For now, we need only find where they went."

---

Peiter returned Sabine's smile and rubbed his hand down her leg as far as he could without bending over. "Well, I think I can say the same about you. It looks as smooth as you feel. I trust that you'll come to my defense when Gallus catches sight of me, right?" He said. He was making an intentional effort to keep his mood lighthearted, and avoid showing any signs of embarrassment. By ignoring Tzirret's muffled laughter and speaking with some confidence, he hoped to discourage him from poking too much fun at him. He could try to hide it, but he could not deny that he was self-conscious about his new appearance.

Ma'tanza, meanwhile, simply appeared confused as she looked over Peiter and Sabine. She did admire the painting, but she did not understand their justifications for shaving their bodies in such a way. "This one does not think it makes any sense. If you wanted your bodies to feel better, wouldn't you want to have more hair?" She asked, obviously thinking about the situation from a distinctly Khajiit perspective.

La'khay chuckled. "They are Human; their hair isn't soft and smooth like Khajitt fur, except sometimes on their heads. No, their hair is course, and irritating. Though personally, La'khay doesn't mind it."

"I cannot say that I could defend you that much if that happens." Sabine brought a curled hand up in front of her mouth before she could stifle her own giggle, "I will try. Maybe."

"Tzirret knows that he does not want to be shaven," Tzirret commented, "It would be so cold and...exposed. He would be pink and mangy." He brought his hands up to rub his upper arms with just the thought of it.

Sabine turned her head to Ma'tanza and Tzirret again. "Maybe it is a good thing that La'khay is not painting you after all," she said jokingly. "Anyway, what did you say you wanted to do again?"

---

A few more thanks and farewells had La'khay and La'tahne left behind as the rest of the group went to entertain themselves. Without much inspiration on the way to the pool it seemed as though they were simply going to enjoy a swim. However, what they had found there was something they didn't expect. Some of the clan children had taken a sheep's bladder, inflated it, tied it off, and sewn sheets of oiled leather around it to make a buoyant and bouncy ball. They seemed to be playing some kind of game in the water which involved two teams getting the ball to the edge of the pool and then sending it to a guarded goal on the other end. The rules were arbitrary and the game involved a lot of physical contact, but it certainly looked like everyone involved was enjoying themselves.

Upon investigation it was noticed that there were spare balls available that Tzirret, Ma'tanza, Sabine, and Peiter were permitted to use. They did not pretend to understand the game, but had enough fun passing the ball between themselves with their hands or fists. The game in the water even meant that it wasn't as much of a strain on Ma'tanza as it would have been out of the water.

Until then Sabine had resigned herself to not getting in any further magic practice that day, but she ended up having a lot of fun using telekinesis on the ball to play mischief with the others. Ma'tanza eventually joined in using telekinesis, turning the game into an impossible round of piggy-in-the-middle for those less magically inclined. Eventually, Tzirret became fed up enough to try and disrupt Ma'tanza's magic by employing some of the tackling techniques of the children nearby, to varying degrees of success.

The fun they had certainly took the edge off of Tzirret's anxieties about Ma'tanza's current feelings about him. If nothing else, he was too tired out that night to stay awake worrying.

---

The next few days had Sabine and Peiter sit for their painting some more and accelerate their preparation to move out. It was always uncomfortable to sit still for so long but it was worth it to see the progress La'khay was making day by day. Sabine actually found the static kiss with Peiter to be a welcome relief from helping the alchemists make seemingly endless supplies. Just as she had predicted, La'khay's grooming resulted in uncomfortable itches as her hair regrew, but at least this time she had a partner in her discomfort. It must have been a very new experience for Peiter. At least the smooth skin was enjoyable in other ways while it lasted.

Despite that, Sabine remained furtive in front of La'khay about what went on behind closed doors while Peiter or anyone else was present. La'tahne might have been fine, she supposed, as she got to know the gardener. Both La'khay and La'tahne had very similar mindsets.

Gallus did eventually come by to all the interested parties of the incident with Tzirret's assignment. He had secured Tzirret an assistant's role with the healers, given that he had shown an interest in the art. It was not a glamorous or advanced position, but he would have no shortage of things to do. Meanwhile, Peiter's makeover was acknowledged with a snort and a snide comment against his masculinity, but nothing particularly mean-spirited. Once that was sorted out, his schedule quickly filled until it was bursting at the seams. There was always another inspection to make, another meeting to go to, another drill to give, or another problem to help sort out. He did not envy his father's position when it came to organising an offensive. At least he could find some catharsis in sharing the experience with Meesei, Ri'vashi, and other officials that he interacted with. They were all kind people behind their official exteriors and they had to lean on one another often for moral support.

As for Tzirret, he was perhaps more cautious than he needed to be around Ma'tanza. This first big mistake did not feel properly forgiven. He still spent time with her, but between the upcoming march and his guilt, he became more tense and stressed. Thankfully, Gallus' advice regarding the issue had allowed him some measure of peace of mind as well as a touch of inspiration. Late at night, he began carving a gift for Ma'tanza and her little brother. He hoped it would be well received when he would give it the morning that they would march out.

Fendros and Janius had their hands full with the children as usual. The days leading up were often spent swapping watches with Kaleeth and Ahnasha while they would take turns to drill and train. Interestingly, Fendros' brief disappearances on mysterious business were increasing in frequency. Apart from that, time was spent getting the children and Jo'rashaad's family acquainted. Rhazii in particular had been rather quiet leading up to the march, but he was not immune to smiles and laughs when he could take his mind off his parents temporarily leaving.

---

The get-together that Fendros and Jo'rashaad had speculated a few days ago was initially difficult to organise. There were a lot of competing schedules that were all in flux throughout. They eventually settled on breakfast on the morning of the day that the march would begin. They were scheduled to rally outside and get moving by noon, which gave plenty of time for family farewells.

They were seated around a cooking fire together. The couples were side-by-side, with Ciinriel next to her adoptive parents and Rhazii and Newt sitting on whichever laps took their fancy. Right now the two children were upon Janius and Kaleeth's laps so they could talk to each other underneath the adult conversations.

Janius opened up the conversation while they were about to begin eating. "I know this has been said plenty of times, but we cannot even begin to show enough appreciation for you agreeing to watch over the children while we are gone," he said with a gesture to the Khajiit couple opposite him. "Anyway, how have you been since we arrived in this clanhome? All talk up until now has been busy and related to the children."

With the group gathered around the fire, Jo'rashaad was the one watching over their food as it cooked. Occasionally, he would keep the fire stoked with a small, quick burst of magic. Ciinriel was seated next to her mother, who was laying down against her side affectionately. Meanwhile, Kaleeth was sitting somewhat back from the fire with Rhazii on her lap, so that he could be a bit more comfortable. One detail that she noticed about Rhazii was how much heavier Rhazii was than Newt. The fact that he was a Cathay was becoming more and more apparent by the day.

Jo'rashaad looked up from the fire at Janius. As per usual, he had to answer on behalf of S'ajira when she could not write her answers. "This one thinks things are finally settled down. At first, with the impostor, and all the problems that came with trying to settle so many people at once, there was this...tension in the air. The Orcrest clan was very welcoming, but that stress was still there. Now, though Jo'rashaad thinks everyone is getting comfortable. The Khajiit of Anequina have some strange customs, but we are getting along well. This one knows our daughter has made a few friends. It is a shame this attack has to separate so many of us, but it will be worth it."

With the mention of the attack, S'ajira shifted noticeably in place. A subtle motion, but one that Jo'rashaad picked up on immediately. He gave her a quick nod before continuing. "We debated for quite a while on what we were going to do about the march. Both of us are trained to fight, and neither of us like the idea of leaving our brothers and sisters to head into danger alone, but..." He said, giving a quick glance to Ciinriel. "We have our responsibilities here. As dangerous as the attack may be, this clan will still need people able to defend it. Some of our warriors will have to stay behind, and, well, we want to make sure this clanhome is well-protected. We know very well the kind of tactics our enemy uses, so if the worst comes to pass and there is an attack, we hope to be able to help."