Fendros breathed in to further Ahnasha's answer. "I think the reason we all were able to come together was also because the pack tended to travel before we reached Bruma. We were a wandering pack, not attached to a clan. I imagine a clan would have more local people than anything simply due to staying put."

Upon seeing the food getting served up, Fendros called over Newt and Rhazii from their game. They looked reluctant to stop so quickly, but they gathered back without complaint. Rhazii sat himself down between his mother and father, but seemed confused by the look of the food. He sniffed it and looked up to Ahnasha. "Mama, this meat looks strange. Do I have to eat it?"

"On that previous note," Janius said slowly, "is Colours from Pelletine? Or are anyone else in your pack from outside the kingdom?"

There were no complaints about the taste of the food from Fendros when he took a bite. Rhazii didn't seem immediately convinced by his father's lack of hesitation.

Ahnasha gave Rhazii a few, encouraging pats on the back. "It's no different from any other meat, Rhazii. I told you when we started traveling not to judge your food on how it looks. As long as we say it is okay, then it is fine. This comes from something that is...sort of like a big mudcrab. It just lives in a much drier place." She explained. She did not actually know much about these sandcrawlers beyond their name and a basic description, but she could guess that her comparison was at least somewhat valid. They were both crustaceans, and the meat did have something of a similar quality about its texture.

Jo'rashaad nodded to Janius as he finished handing out everyone's breakfast. "Provided the story he told of his past is at least mostly accurate, Colors was born, or hatched, in Lilmoth. But, he was taken to Senchal at a very young age for reasons he either cannot remember, or was never told. So, for all intents and purposes, he is from Pelletine. And Ciinriel, of course, was born in Valenwood, but she has also lived in Pelletine for most of her life. If anything, it is Do'ajee that breaks that pattern. She was raised among one of the nomadic tribes of Anequina, and lived with them until she was turned. We both found the clan at about the same time, and she quickly became like Jo'rashaad's sister. She became a warrior for the clan and, through her, this one met S'ajira."

Rhazii stared at his food furtively for another few moments. He picked up one of the pieces and tightened his brow at the strange leg attached to it. He was hungry and he knew that mama and dada would not stop harping on until he tried it, so he did what he normally did. He held up the piece and took a tiny bite from it. The taste wasn't bad at all, really. Mama was right when she described it like mudcrab meat. Rhazii quietly continued eating but tried not to make it look like he was enjoying it. Stubbornly, he didn't want give the impression that he no longer thought the meat looked strange.

"Ah, yes, I'd heard that Do'ajee helped advise the clan before the move," Janius said. "So I suppose you're all essentially from Elsweyr, then." Janius then lowered his brow and looked down for a second, trying to remember something. "Remind me," he asked, "Did you two ever share your backgrounds with us? How did you come to be turned? And how did you find the clan?" Janius raised a hand, "If you do not mind talking about it, of course."

"Jo'rashaad was a mage in Torval. He does not mind discussing it, but..." He began, giving a slight grimace as he glanced quickly over to Ciinriel. "Perhaps we should discuss other things, regardless. As for finding the clan, it is more that the clan found Jo'rashaad. We have, or at least used to have, scouts always searching for lost lycans. With its outposts, the Senchal clan had a presence throughout much of Pelletine. Anywhere that a new lycan might go, they would have scouts. They found Jo'rashaad trying to enter a small town between Torval and Senchal. S'ajira had a similar experience about a year before this one."

The group started quickly on their meals. They still had a few hours before they were set to leave on the march, but unfortunately, they could not spend all of that time relaxing together, as they would need at least some time to gather up the last of their belongings. Regardless, they were not in too much of a rush at the moment. Leaps perked up as soon as Jo'rashaad had started passing out the meals, but luckily, he had made enough that he could give the wamasu enough to keep him occupied. Despite his training, he still sometimes tried to sneak parts of someone's meal when they were not looking. As long as he had something of his own, however, that generally was not a problem.

"Meesei found us, one by one," Fendros said through a mouthful. He swallowed before continuing. "Most of the time shortly after we were each turned. It seemed like chance, for me anyway. However, apparently Hircine guided her. I don't doubt it, with all that's happened since."

Janius gave a quiet acknowledgement to Jo'rashaad. As he chewed his breakfast, he wondered for a moment whether he should broach further. The topic of turning sounded sensitive enough that it was obvious to avoid, but Janius still had some curiosity left.

"What did you do before you were turned, S'ajira?" Janius asked.

Jo'rashaad reached his arm over S'ajira, smiling as he rubbed the back of her neck. "S'ajira was born a lycan. Not as a member of the Senchal clan, but in a wandering pride in the Tenmar forest. She is, and always has been, a warrior, a hunter. Not long after her pride...disbanded, she was found by the clan."

S'ajira sat up, then nodded in agreement before nestling her head against Jo'rashaad's side. Although, her show of affection only lasted a few moments before she returned to her breakfast, which she was eating her way through rather quickly. One detail about Leaps she had picked up on after the past month of traveling with the wamasu was that he was far more willing to attempt to steal her food than he was from someone bipedal.

"Now, you said that Hircine guided Meesei, yes?" Jo'rashaad continued. "That is interesting, and this was before she became Champion? It is curious that Hircine himself would take an interest in a lone pack that did not even hold rank among his lycans."

Fendros frowned and looked down at his food. Meesei had seemed so connected with Hircine at the time of Fendros' induction that it did not strike him as odd amongst lycans. With the fresh perspective, Jo'rashaad's question was valid in Fendros' mind.

"I don't think I could speak for the intentions of a Daedric prince." Fendros shrugged, "It could have been part of a greater plan or Hircine could have simply been taking notice of Meesei's supplication and offerings." Fendros looked to Ahnasha, "I know Ahna has exercised much devotion to Hircine in the past and she had a close experience."

---

Sabine was shunted back into consciousness with a sharp intake of breath and a thudding heart. It was morning, as evidenced by the murmuring behind her and Peiter's door. Everything except her numb left arm was where she left it before falling asleep. Opening her eyes quickly accounted for her slept-on limb.

With no more reason to be afraid, she tried to calm her mind and ignore her cold sweat to drift back to sleep. Her lycan nightmares did not differ an awful lot, save for the extra worry brought about by the coming march, so the routine did not change for her. Of course, that thought gave her consciousness another reason to be awake.

"Peiter," she mumbled with half her face against a rolled up fur hide that was her pillow, "Do we march out today? What time is it?"

Her groggy mind slowly put together the pieces and deduced that the murmuring outside spoke of it being later than she had planned to wake up. With a groan, she sat up and stretched her arms. Her bed hair stuck up and around in various manners and her ribs showed under her skin as she took a deep breath in. "I think we slept in," Sabine said as she exhaled. She sounded surprisingly calm about the scenario.

Ahnasha nodded in agreement with Fendros. "That is true, both of us have been devoted to him for many years. Still, maybe there is something more to it? It's pretty clear this war was brewing long before we started fighting it. It was one of Vile's minions that killed the previous Champion, after all. Hircine might have put our pack together intentionally for that reason. Of course, there were other packs that were competing for the same title. It could have been that he formed a few potential packs for it."

By this point, Kaleeth was mostly finished with her breakfast. Leaps had started wandering around, occasionally eyeing the meals of those sitting around the fire, and had currently settled down with his head resting in Kaleeth's lap. "Of everyone in the pack, I think I'm the only one that Hircine didn't guide them to." Kaleeth added. "Honestly, I don't think I was meant to be a part of it."

---

Peiter's sleep had been much more calm that night than Sabine's, so it was her movement that awoke him. Letting out a yawn, he only just managed to hear her mention the possibility they had slept in. A few of his joints cracked as he sat up, and he was of course groggy overall, but Sabine's words at least gave him a clear train of thought. From behind her, Peiter wrapped his arms around Sabine's chest and leaned forward, resting his head affectionately on her shoulder. "We...might have slept a bit late, but I doubt we slept in all the way to noon. Gallus would already be beating down this door if we had. We don't have too much to get ready anyway, since we packed away most of what we would need yesterday. We just need to get our clothes, weapons, and maybe...go wash these blankets. As a courtesy. Hopefully, we'll have enough time to check on La'khay's painting. She might have those last touch-ups finished."

Janius reached an arm around Kaleeth's shoulders and pulled her close enough to kiss her on the side of her head. "You say this, my darling, but the way you were turned says otherwise." Janius looked to the others, resolving not to tell them all the details without Kaleeth's permission. "Kaleeth was not turned when we met her. None of us are were crocodiles."

---

With a small smile, Sabine wrapped her arm up around Peiter's head. Thankfully it had recovered enough feeling to do so without bludgeoning him. She also turned her head to give him a quick kiss and leaned her head onto his. She exhaled with satisfaction. If there was anything that calmed her down it was Peiter's embrace.

"It is time to get up," she quietly and reluctantly insisted. With that, she stood up from the bedding and walked around to find her clothing. "I am not very hungry yet but we can get breakfast. What do you want to do first?"

Kaleeth started to turn her head to return another kiss to Janius, but all of the movement above him piqued Leaps' curiosity enough that he lifted up his head and licked the end of Kaleeth's snout. "Ah!" She exclaimed quickly, before letting out a sigh and rubbing Leaps' side. "Well...that is true, but it wasn't exactly the same. Hircine didn't lead any of you to my village; you just happened to end up there. It seems more like an...opportunity he took, instead of something that was planned. I honestly don't know how much of an opportunity it was, really. It has taken years of training just for me to become acceptable in a fight."

Most of the group was finishing their breakfast by this point, but Jo'rashaad had stopped as he listened to the story. "What exactly did Hircine do with you when you were turned?" He asked.

"I don't really know, exactly. I have no real memory of being turned. I just remember I was trying to hunt a crocodile in his name to commune with him, I was wounded in the process, then I woke up as a lycan. I do remember a presence that might have been Hircine, but it is all very hazy." Kaleeth explained.

"Hmm, you say all of that as if it is something normal. Your pack seems to have almost frequent contact with Hircine himself. There are worshipers that follow him their entire lives and never hear his voice." Jo'rashaad remarked.

---

Peiter pushed aside the bedding and stretched out his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, if you're not hungry yet, we can hold off a bit on breakfast. Maybe go ahead and bring the bags we have packed up to one of the carts, if there is space. And of course, we could try to find La'khay and see our painting one last time before we go." He suggested.

Glancing down to the end of the bed, Peiter spotted Sabine's clothes on the ground at the foot of the bed. Without a word, he walked over and picked them up off the ground, then approached Sabine. Grinning, he took it upon himself to begin to dress her. "I'll leave it up to you to decide; I don't mind regardless."

"Well, it is only a few of us that have actually experienced him," Fendros reminded, "but you are right, I suppose." He shrugged, "If only we had a better answer than Meesei attaining the championship."

Janius looked into his food as he spoke. "A bit daunting, really, now that we're talking about it. Never really thought we would have a higher power watching us closely." Janius let out a silent sigh from his nose, "I don't know what to think about it."

After a pause, Janius' eyes lifted from his breakfast to Jo'rashaad and S'ajira. "Are any of you religious?"

---

Sabine was proactive in dressing herself when Peiter found her clothing. Still, she grinned with amusement as he tried to secure the various knots and buttons. She didn't wear much in this heat; a drab brown hide vest over a thin, stained white shirt and loose leggings, all provided kindly by the Orcrest clan. With a head wrap that she would don later, it was enough to keep the worst of the sun from her skin. She was not jealous of those that would be wearing armour on the march, if there was anyone who would.

The short time to dress gave Sabine the opportunity to think. Once finished, she turned around and began to assist Peiter dressing in return. "I think we should go and see the painting first. I have been excited to see how it looks," she suggested.

A combination of still waking up and the multitasking she was performing unfortunately ended up with Peiter's top garment being slid on backwards.

Jo’rashaad shrugged briefly. “Well, none of us are priests by any means, but the power Hircine has over his domain, and over us, is undeniable. Serving a Daedra is nothing like worshipping the Aedra. Apart from major events in history, those beings give very little evidence to their followers that they even exist at all, let alone that they hold any measure of power over the world. With Daedra, however, their power is very tangible to their followers. Even if a worshipper does not experience their presence themselves, they usually witness the influence of the Daedra’s power on their leaders, or others around them. Daedra have artifacts in Tamriel imbued with their power, they commune directly with followers, and sometimes even appear to them. For us, as lycans, with our transformations, Hircine’s power could not be any more obvious. None of us spend our days hunting sacrifices for his glory, but with the power he holds over our souls, it would be foolish not to give him the proper respect.”

Among the rest of the group, only Ciinriel was slowly finishing the last of her breakfast. They could continue their conversation for a while yet, though they would need to finish their preparations for the march soon enough.

---

Peiter noticed as she was doing it that Sabine was putting on his thin linen shirt backwards, but he allowed her to finish before saying anything. He placed his hands on her hips and gave her a kiss before laughing and pointing a finger to his own shirt. “You know, I think you are a lot better at undressing me at night than dressing me again in the morning. I don’t blame you; the former usually comes with something much more exciting.” He grinned. Peiter took a few seconds to turn his shirt around to the proper direction before continuing.

“Anyway, La’khay should still be staying in La’tahne’s room. I don’t think she leaves it very often. Actually, apart from us, I don’t think many of the others have seen her for the last few days.” Peiter commented.

Fendros gave Janius a small smile in an effort to relax his apparent seriousness. "If anything, a good way to look at this is how relatively benevolent Hircine has been so far. Or at least benign. Apart from turning people into lycans against their will." Fendros' smile went down as his point seemed to dissolve on its own. "Anyway, it's not as if we're gaining favour for torture and domination, like Molag Bal, or something less sane."

In response, Janius almost laughed, but only managed a wry smile. "I suppose that is an upside, yes," he conceded.

Soon afterwards, the subjects of conversation shifted onwards at a steady flow. The talking continued for a short while after everyone had finished breakfast, including mostly lighter matters and last-minute questions about the children. However, before long, it was time to get ready to leave. Thanks and commendation was given to Jo'rashaad for the nice meal and the group decided to meet up once more before marching out to say their goodbyes.

---

Bringing her arms around his back, Sabine returned the kiss in kind. She was so absorbed in it that she didn't even notice Peiter's shirt until he pointed it out. Her eyes widened for a moment and she let out an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry," she said in response, letting go of Peiter so he could fix the issue, "I am still waking up."

As for La'khay, Sabine looked to the door with a curious frown. "Hmm. She must be working very hard on the painting," Sabine said with an almost oblivious tone of voice. "I hope it has not been too much trouble for her. At least La'tahne has been keeping her company." Sabine's mouth twitched with an amusing thought before she smiled brightly and reached out to take Peiter by the hand, "Let us go."

Peiter chuckled. "She is certainly working hard on something." He commented as he followed Sabine out the door. He was perhaps more aware of what was potentially happening between the two Khajiit, and honestly, was a bit worried about what they might be walking into. However, this would be their last chance to see the painting before the march, so they could not delay if they wanted to see it. Knowing La'khay, it was very unlikely that she would have any sort of embarrassment if they happened to interrupt an intimate moment. Indeed, Peiter mostly just hoped that she would actually stop before letting them into the room.

La'tahne's room was farther away than La'khay's but Peiter and Sabine had been there once before to model for the painting, so they knew where to find it. The hallways were much more crowded than usual with warriors carrying their equipment, and their family members who were taking whatever time they had together before the march began. For Peiter, all of his pack would at least be joining in the march, though there were some in the clan, like Ciinriel, who he and Sabine would miss while they were away.

As they approached the room, Peiter actually found himself a bit nervous to knock, so he allowed Sabine to lead the way. He could hear some muffled noises from within, but they were not clear enough to place with certainty. The door looked to be slightly ajar, so it was possible there was nothing happening out of the ordinary...unless they simply forgot to close the door completely.

A few little thoughts passed through Sabine's mind as she walked with Peiter to La'tahne's room. The friends and families of the warriors reminded her to do a round of the various people she had befriended in the clans to give farewells before noon. The smell of food in the air also brought her appetite out of hiding. As well, she needed to make sure that her own alchemical supplies were stocked for the march. Peiter may not have wanted her to run out of certain kinds of ingredients, but he would unfortunately not be indulged so. By her estimates, she would either have to ration heavily or simply have Peiter exercise patience on the way back. Then again, if she used La'khay's advice...

The train of thought was interrupted when Peiter silently expressed reluctance to knock on La'tahne's door. Despite also hearing the sounds within, Sabine was not as concerned. Even she doubted that they wouldn't close the door properly if anything private was behind it. She did not hesitate to step up and rap her fist against the wood three times. "La'tahne? La'khay?" Sabine called out in a friendly voice, "It is me and Peiter." Sabine made sure not to open the door regardless of her apparent confidence.

There was a quick yelp of surprise from within the room, followed by some shuffling and creaking wood. After a few seconds of movement and whispering from within, La'khay's voice finally sounded out in response. "We are here, you can come in."

With a brief, uncertain shrug, Peiter stepped inside with Sabine. Looking at La'khay and La'tahne all but confirmed his suspicions. Their clothing was strewn haphazardly across the floor, and both of them were laying on the bed, with La'tahne holding her arms around La'khay in an impassioned embrace. She was holding her in a way that even Peiter would be hesitant to do with Sabine in front of others. If this was what the pair of Khajiit was comfortable with them seeing, he wondered what it was they made an effort to hide.

"Hmm...good morning. It is morning, right?" La'khay asked. "Well, anyway, it is good to see the cute couple. Is there something we can do to you...um, sorry, for you? Ah, sorry, this one's mind is a bit...distracted."

While La'khay spoke, Sabine's face was reddened by what she saw, and smelled, and reflection on what she heard. Her suspicions had been as present as Peiter's, but it was still embarrassing to impose on her friends like this.

"Um, I think we should apologise instead. We should not have interrupted you both." Sabine almost stumbled over her words, but a quick pause prevented that as she considered her speech as usual. "We just came to see the painting. We did not want to miss out seeing it before the march began."

La'khay grinned as she sat up on the edge of the bed. La'tahne followed suit, through she was still quite affectionate at the moment. She placed her hand on La'khay's cheek, turned her head towards her, and gave her a rather long kiss. La'khay was glad to return it for a few seconds, but she eventually pulled away. "In a minute."

Turning her attention back to Peiter and Sabine, she continued in an almost casual tone. "Oh, it is no bother. We are always glad to see you. La'khay thinks your painting is done, and she must say it is beautiful. This one can keep it here while you two brave warriors join in the march; she promises it will be in perfect condition when you get back."

"Thank you, I doubt a canvas would last too long on the march, especially once we reach the forest." Peiter commented. He was trying to act comfortable, though his eyes kept moving between La'khay, and La'tahne's hand, which was creeping up La'khay's leg.

La'khay nodded. "Yes, just make sure you're careful with it when it's finally time to take it back to Bruma. Now, this one will get it for you." She answered as she finally stood up from the bed and walked over to the easel in the corner of the room. She pulled off the cloth covering it, revealing the completed painting. While not perfectly realistic, it was a rather good representation of the scene they had modeled. La'khay had put almost all of her focus into Peiter and Sabine themselves, so she had intentionally made the background blurry and washed out to save time. Their bodies, and particularly their faces, however, were surprisingly detailed to Peiter. He had not seen such a painting before in person.

La'khay and La'tahne's unabashed behaviour to each other made Sabine feel uncomfortable. She was glad that La'khay didn't waste much time in showing them the finished painting.

The cloth slid off with no particular expectation from Sabine short of what she had seen before. Sabine's immediate reaction to the finished image was mixed. Outwardly, she had a small smile as she stared at it. The detail was nothing short of exquisite. In fact, from the distance that she stood, the focal points were hard to recognise as paint more than a frozen image in a mirror. Still, Sabine had only seen her own likeness in reflections from water, metal, and perhaps only once or twice through an actual mirror. Peiter's face was the same as she always knew it, but looking at her own face was utterly strange. To others, she looked normal with her lips locked with Peiter's. To her, she looked goofy and laughable. She wasn't sure whether she would get used to that.

Still, Sabine could not fault La'khay's skills. She stepped up to take a closer look and was almost relieved to have the illusion of the image's realness broken back into paint strokes. It allowed her to look at the image as a whole, which did bring back a small portion of Sabine's emotions when she was first told to take the pose that she did. That much at least was a better testament to La'khay's efforts.

"It is..." Sabine normally paced her words such that she spoke with a sureness, but she wasn't quite equipped to describe what was before her with justice. "La'khay, I had no idea you could do something like this," Sabine said, before looking to La'khay with a grin and a laugh on her breath, "It is delightful." Sabine stepped up to La'khay and gave her a tight hug, too happy to notice the smell of La'tahne's breath on her fur. "Thank you so much!"

La'khay patted Sabine's back with one hand as she tightly returned the hug. "Oh, it was just as much of a joy to create, this one can assure you. She wishes she could paint the entire background for you, but she doesn't think she has the ability to do it without her models. The lighting would be all wrong."

"I don't think that's a problem at all, it might even be better this way." Peiter commented. "The real focus of the painting has wonderful detail, and there isn't anything to distract from it. I've never even seen a painting like this before, much less one where I'm the subject."

When La'khay finally pulled away from Sabine, her expression showed her obviously wonderful mood. "You both are just too kind. It has been a pleasure traveling with you, and the rest of your packs. If La'khay were able to help in this march, she would join you all in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, she can't help enough to justify the food she would take. You just...take care of yourselves, okay? La'khay does not want to see a single blemish on either of your beautiful bodies when you get back, you hear?"