[b][u]Lingering goodbyes[/u][/b]

The night had passed quicker than Rhasha'Dar had preferred, but it was a merry time nonetheless. People appeared to be getting over the events of Windhelm and the attacks of the Kamal, and Rhasha would have died one happy cat if he never thought about the "Ice-Bastards" (As Sylvanis had so eloquently dubbed them) again.

However, as morning came to pass, he realised how foolish he had been to consider forgetting the monsters. 

Before the meeting, the morning had begun as a pleasant one - he'd said some last goodbyes to the caravan, his siblings, and Sylvanis - making them promise to travel as far west as they possibly could to avoid the Kamal. The twins were obviously concerned, thought they tried to hide it... Rhasha couldn't blame them. When he had joined this group, he had expected to kill some bandits or plunder some caves, not deal with such beasts that had arrived a few days ago. It would only be expected that they'd run into more trouble like that - the moons alone could tell him that.

"This one has penned a letter to [i]ahnurr[/i] and [i]fado[/i] - add something yourselves. The two of you are always terrible for writing home to them - this one will not be around now to remind you." Handing the heavy piece of parchment over to the twins, Rhasha offered a smile to them. He still thought they were too young to have left home with him - but he could not deny them an adventure, and they were certainly old enough to deal with the consequences.

“Forever nagging us, Rhasha. This one and her twin are too busy fighting mammoths and trolls to write home!” Ma’Zardi retorted, joking tone somewhat tinged with sadness as she hugged her older brother, Ma’Zargo watching on with a sober smile.

“These two will deliver the letter, however. Perhaps send a rude drawing to Ri’Nhazi? Cheer him up on the front lines.” He joked – knowing fine well any form of rude message would either cause a roar of laughter from their brother, or a scowl of embarrassment; it all depended on who he was with at the time. Since rising in the ranks, Ri’Nhazi-Do had become far more diplomatic in his words – a trait Rhasha was pleased to see surfacing in his eldest sibling, what with all the years of settling things with his claws. His brother had always lacked finesse, in that area. However, he seemed to be impressing his superiors, whatever came out of his mouth.

“Ah, perhaps.” Rhasha said with a chuckle, pulling his brother into the hug with his free arm, ruffling the top of his head as he did so. “Stay safe – and avoid mammoths, yes? You have an injured Bosmer to look after.”

“Do they hell. I’ll kill any bloody mammoths that wander in our path, arm or no.” The familiar grumble came from behind as Sylvanis walked over – she was far more steady on her feet, and the light pallor in her cheeks that had lingered simply from shock had faded – as for her stump, well... the arm was not going to be re-attached, nor would it grow back. But it was a clean wound, and was healing well – Rhasha’Dar had suggested she pick up some skills in enchanting, what with seeing one of their Dunmer companions coping well enough with an enchanted prosthetic arm. If she did the same, perhaps she could wield that monstrous hammer of hers again.

“Sylva, do try to avoid fights until you can hold your own again. This one will be most upset to find that you’ve been crushed to death by an angry giant.” 

"Just try to stop me, you bloody cat." Although said with a smirk, Rhasha noticed there was something else lingering in her amber toned eyes... was it worry? Regret? Something he couldn't place, for it was a foreign thing to see in Sylvanis. Letting go of the twins, Rhasha then wrapped his arms around his Bosmeri friend, who, for once, did not attempt to fight him off - instead wrapping her good arm around him as well. Only when the twins joined in on the hug did she release herself from the huddle.

"Alright, that's enough." She muttered gruffly, familiar scowl now set back in place as she regarded the three Khajiit. "The caravan's moving on soon... and I'd like to find a place that isn't running low on mead." 

"Hmm... and this one should rejoin the others in the Inn. It would be most regrettable for Rhasha to miss the briefing."

At this, the group split - with a few items exchanged, and a joke to avoid the cliffs, simply for Sylvanis' sake - and Rhasha'Dar entered the Inn. Having already eaten with the caravan, and all of the seats already filled up, Rhasha stood nearby the head of the table, taking a handful of the bread rolls to eat later - it never hurt to stock up, just in case.

This was when his heart sank to hear where they would be going next - and the possibility of running back into the Kamal. But surely, they could not have destroyed that entire city? Were their war machines truly that powerful? The company's next mission seemed to get worse and worse as Ashav talked - not only would Dumhuvud be in charge, but they would be going via ship.

[i]"Ah, perfect. This one cannot swim."[/i] He thought with a sigh, shaking his head ever so slightly. He'd never been sea-sick before, but the idea of drowning in such cold waters was not a pleasant one. He'd be remaining below decks for the voyage, it would seem. Lighting his pipe and taking a few puffs, Rhasha'Dar remained silent as Ashav called for questions. Their mission appeared to be a simple one... or so he hoped.