Fendros wished he didn't flinch slightly as the conjured bow came into Mundus right in front of him. His eyes went to Ahnasha's and he mirrored her grin. "Five targets, two hundred paces, with rapid fire, if that's not too hard for you, my dear Ahna." Fendros then stood up to go and collect his bow, knowing full well that Ahnasha's best accurate shot was well beyond what he challenged her to.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Janius assured Ra'kalesh, "At worst, they'll challenge one another to ridiculous trick shots and end up grazing their skin on a bowstring somewhere." Janius then addressed Meesei. "Well, it just so happens that I've been practising, too." He dipped his head to one side, "Not to downplay your tuition, but maybe I could be more confident than you might think. Which destruction element has she specialised in?"

Looking a bit lost with his hand holding one arm and peering around, Tzirret quietly padded up to the group and sat down beside Irenya. He didn't give any greeting. He merely looked into the fire pit with his knees up supporting his elbows. He generally looked for Peiter and Sabine in these situations but he didn't interrupt the current conversation.

"I could do that with my eyes closed." Ahnasha retorted as she walked closer to the edge of camp. They would still be within line of sight of the others around the firepit, and would be shooting away from camp. She had made shots like this on stationary targets many times before. It was not easy per ce, but she knew she could do it. What she did not know is if Fendros could make the same shots with the same level of confidence as quickly as she could. If so, she would have to come up with a greater challenge

Meesei did not react to Janius' confidence other than with a slight grin. She of course wanted all of her pack to improve their skills as much as possible, and promoting competition between them was one way to motivate them. To her memory, none of the others in her pack had ever suggested that they could outmatch her in a contest of magic, so such competitiveness with magic had never been possible in her pack, given that Ahnasha and Janius practiced entirely different schools. But, now that Sabine was learning, there could indeed be a more fair competition. Sabine certainly had a greater range of magical instruction compared to Janius, but it remained to be seen how they compared in the school of destruction. "She has taken an interest in frost. It is not my specialty, but until she reaches the level of a master, I will have more I can teach her about it. Still, I hope to encourage her to want to study it on her own. What about you? Have you been placing more focus on your magical, or martial skills?"

Fendros laughed as he retrieved his bow and went walked to put some targets in place. "If we weren't in a camp full of wandering people, I might make you prove that!" Fendros shouted back to Ahnasha at a distance, "Come help me put these in place, will you?"

With the targets set up, the couple assumed a firing position two hundred paces away and Fendros cut a line in the dirt with the end of his scabbard. "Ladies first," Fendros said with a smile as he gestured a flat hand to the line.

Janius huffed out a small laugh. "If course it would be frost," he muttered. In spite of his sarcasm, he raised his voice to normal to answer properly. "I've been practising both, but I'll admit, helping to teach Kaleeth here how to fight has put more time into martial skills."

That thought gave Janius a question that he faced Kaleeth with. "Hmm, Kaleeth, love, have we ever talked about learning magic before? You learning, specifically."

Ahnasha already had her arrow nocked by the time Fendros had spoken a word. The energy emanating from a bound weapon could be somewhat disruptive visually, but Ahnasha was more than accustomed to it, and the glow of the arrows made them easier to track. The range they had placed their targets was a rather long one, so even Ahnasha did not expect to be perfectly accurate. Still, she aimed to impress.

The first arrow Ahnasha released missed its mark only barely, but it allowed her to more accurately range her following shots. For the five targets, it took only six more arrows to hit them all, one after another. She had fired rapidly, just as Fendros had challenged her. Though, even with the long range, Ahnasha was quietly disappointed in her performance. Missing her first arrow felt acceptable at that range, but she knew she should not have missed any more. With all the practice she had been putting into Necromancy, she was worried she was neglecting her other skills.

Kaleeth started to shake her head. "Oh, I don't think I'd be good at that. I tried it before, back when I was but a hatchling. I got as far as being able to cast some simple spells, but those spells rarely went well. I remember finding this colorful little frog with a broken leg. It looked so pitiful, so I tried to heal it, but I, uh, accidentally turned its skin inside out. I must have cried for half an hour straight."

Meesei looked to the couple with a grin. "Well, regardless, perhaps the next time Sabine is...available, we can hold this competition. It has been quite a while since she has been in anything of that nature, so it would help her see how far she has come."

Even if Ahnasha missed with two arrows, each wooden thunk upon the old shields they used as targets was a clear demonstration of her skill. Fendros did not feel as if matching her were impossible but he knew that there would be little challenge lost on his turn. Outwardly, he continued to banter. "You had better not be going easy on me, Ahna." He flashed her a grin before stepping up to the line.

Fendros' shots were successful in a different order. His first arrow actually stuck in near the top edge of the first target by equal parts skill and luck. He didn't have time to celebrate as he had already loosed another arrow. Three more of the targets were hit more or less as accurate as Ahnasha's shots. The last target was undershot. Fendros did not hesitate to loose another arrow and ended up clipping the side of the target, the arrow doing nothing but shaving off a splinter as it flew past. Fendros knew that his last arrow was the only chance of drawing with Ahnasha's volley, so he paused to aim for an instant longer. The arrow flew...and overshot.

"Aah!" Fendros sounded through bared teeth. He shook his head at himself and took one more shot for posterity. He didn't rush this time, lining it all up with the gentle wind and his heartbeat. The shot landed perfectly on the last target, if in vain. Fendros turned his head to Ahnasha and smiled with his lips pursed upward. He raised his finger and paused, then spoke familiar words. "Two out of three?"

"Mara's mercy," Janius exclaimed quietly to Kaleeth's story, "that would be hard to forget."

As for Sabine, Janius gave a chuckle. "Oh, they'll be done eventually, I'm sure. Maybe we can rope her into a competition tonight, seeing as you're so interested, Meesei."

---

It was not daylight that woke Gallus up, or even the slow, heavy breathing Ri'vashi next to him. He woke up in the dark with a full bladder and a roiling stomach. He no longer had the numbness of the alcohol or the splendour of the moon sugar in his senses, but he didn't have the time to think. He needed to get up before he potentially made a mess of Ri'vashi's bedding. Ri'vashi's bedding? Yes, that's right.

"Hircine's hounds, that's right. Oh!" Gallus grumbled and realised that both his arms were asleep from being held so tightly. "Uh, Ri'vashi," Gallus whispered, carefully easing her arms off him, "I need to relieve myself, I'll be a moment."

When Gallus finally escaped he put on the bare minimum of clothes to somewhat disguise his activities, for all the good it would do, and strode out of the pavilion to deal with immediate matters. His nausea was not settling as quickly as he would have liked, but now sober, he could think about what just happened. Not only had he bedded someone that he wasn't particularly attracted to physically, it was one of the leaders of tomorrow's assault, the head of an entire clan, and someone who had so little relationship experience that her immaturity might be disruptive by the end of it. Gallus sighed, feeling as though this was the one unique way that he seemed to mess everything up. How he managed to do so here was beyond his belief. He should have been more assertive in spurning Ri'vashi. Perhaps he shouldn't have had so much of that sugared wine.

Gallus returned to Ri'vashi's tent and quietly began to dress himself properly. He gave unsure glances in Ri'vashi's direction, but did not initiate conversation.

Ahnasha held her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other as she watched Fendros' performance. She was already prepared to continue, but was already wanting to make their competition more interesting. "Oh, you know I'm not just going to leave it there. But, maybe we can get a more interesting target? I wonder if there are any small animals around here? Something that will move around. We could take turns seeing how quickly we can kill it."

Meesei nodded to Janius. "Agreed. We should see about finding her soon and ask her about it. Um...how long do you believe it will take for them to be...finished, do you think?" Meesei asked, still showing obvious discomfort at the thought.

---

In contrast to Gallus, Ri'vashi was not nearly as distraught about what had happened. She was not as strongly intoxicated as he had been, so her choices had at least been closer to her own. The moon sugar and alcohol had made her more bold, and more willing to take risks, but she had not done anything she would not have at least considered doing while sober. It was something that showed outwardly as well. She was simply sitting on her bedroll, watching Gallus dress with no particular hint of any negative emotion.

"Thank Hircine you woke up. Ri'vashi doesn't think it has been more than a few hours. It is still dark outside. This one stayed up for a while after you fell asleep, but she tried to rest her eyes just for a moment, then ended up waking up once you started to stir. We should still be able to sleep through the day tomorrow to be well-rested. How are you feeling now? Do you have a headache? You might want to drink some water." Ri'vashi asked.

The grammar of Ahnasha's suggestion threw Fendros off for a fraction of a second, not because he was fussy, but because it gave him an idea. "We might go hunting small game, yes. We might have to get permission to wander out a bit, but..." Fendros crossed his arms, holding his bow at his side. "Those scamps I've seen you summon for practice, would they work?"

Janius pulled a face that was both amused and questioning, as if he had misheard Meesei. He blinked, glanced away, and then shrugged. "Probably no longer than any of us spend mating. I've not been keeping track. For all I know, they're finished and playing a card game."

Such on odd question of course made Janius take notice of Meesei's demeanour. He narrowed his eyes and smiled at Meesei, angling his head curiously. "Is she alright? You seem worried about something."

---

With the reminder, Gallus immediately paused his dressing, reached for his discarded waterskin, and took an enthusiastic swig. Partial relief washed over him as the cool liquid ran down his throat, but he did not drink too deeply to spare his nausea. He took a breath before he responded to Ri'vashi properly and continued sliding on his clothing and equipment. "Right, sorry for falling asleep afterwards. I wasn't...exactly at my best." Gallus' words were stilted as he tried to multitask. "No headache, I don't think I had enough to drink for that. It's just...that moon sugar sits in my stomach. I don't think I'll be running around for a few hours."

Gallus seemed to rush to get on the last of his buckles and check that he had everything. "Look, er, I have to see my pack before the assault. I'm probably overdue to do that now." Gallus finished, stepped up to where Ri'vashi sat and smiled, hesitating. It didn't take much thought to at least show some courtesy. He took her cheeks and quickly pecked a kiss on her lips. "Catch up with me later, will you?" he murmured with a convincing smile.

It was after a moment to hear her reply that Gallus made motions to leave.

Ahnasha shrugged her shoulders. "They could, but scamps tend to shoot back if you start to shoot them. Even the best conjurers cannot maintain control of a summoned Daedra after attacking it intentionally. Every summoning is like making a deal, and attacking the creature breaks that deal. Reanimated thralls, however, are much more directly controlled by the one that raises them. It would be safer to shoot at a reanimated rabbit or something. Of course, that does only work once with normal reanimation. And we would need something dead. I suppose I could banish a summoned creature right after we shoot them, I would just need to be quick."

Meesei looked away awkwardly. "No, no, it is just that we do not have a great deal of time to ourselves before we need to rest for the attack, so anything we would like to do, we should do sooner rather than later. And...well, I would not want to accidentally interrupt Sabine before she is...available. My apologies, it is just not a comfortable topic for me to think about. I prefer to avoid it whenever I can." She explained.

---

"Provided there is time." Ri'vashi answered. "Ri'vashi does have some duties to tend to before she needs to get to sleep. If nothing else, we will meet up before it is time to march on the stronghold. See you soon."

Ri'vashi started to get dressed as Gallus was stepping out of the tent, though she did not appear to be particularly rushed. She was showing far less awkwardness now than she had been a few hours before, though as of the moment, the reason for that was unclear.

With one more nod, Gallus turned to leave, running one hand under Ri'vashi's chin. When he left the tent, he picked up to a brisk walk and his expression became somewhat troubled.

Together in their tent, Sabine was curled up around Peiter's side, just having caught her breath after their passionate moment. It was not uncommon for them to just lay together and stare into one another's eyes for a while after such moments. This time, Sabine's blissful smile was interrupted by some rough footsteps approaching their tent. She shifted her head to the sound, which stopped nearby and pat against the canvas three times. Gallus' voice spoke, "Peiter? Finish up. Pack meeting. Ten minutes." The footsteps then resumed, fading as quickly as they came without confirming if Peiter was even within the tent.

Sabine ran a hand up Peiter's chest and leaned her head forward to kiss him quickly. She had a relaxed smile. "You'd better go," she mumbled, before beginning to sit up and clean the sweat from herself.

---

"When you put it that way, perhaps we should just hunt small game instead," Fendros conceded with a squinted eye. He continued with a twist of his head, "We could reuse what we kill if you make them a thrall, if we don't want to bring them back for meat." That much was a decision for later. For now, Fendros turned to look to Meesei. "Hey alpha, do you mind if we go out hunting for a bit, or do we need to ask another official?"

Janius offered a hand for a moment and looked back into the fire pit. "Well, suit yourself." He breathed out a silent laugh. "If is funny to think how much Sabine has grown, though. It still doesn't feel quite normal to think of her doing what she's doing."

It was at that moment that Gallus' determined footsteps reached the group at the fire pit. In the dim light his dishevelled hair was just perceptible but his strangely stern expression clearer. He didn't step too close, but that didn't stop an unfamiliar smell emanating from him. "Greetings everyone. Had a bit of...business to take care of." He looked to Meesei, "Mind if I pull away my folks for a while? It'll just be for a few minutes and afterwards we can all catch up." His eyes scanned over Tzirret, Irenya, and Uthri, "I'm late to talk about this assault with all you lot. It's important we're all on the same page of the book."

Turning her attention to Fendros and Ahnasha, Meesei shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, I cannot authorize any hunts right now. We are too close to the enemy stronghold for any of us to range too far from the camp. And I doubt there are any animals in the area that would not run from such a dense concentration of people."

Ahnasha let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "Fine, I understand." She responded. Briefly, she paused as she tried to think of another solution. "Perhaps...I can just summon something without any ranged abilities, like a clannfear. That would give me plenty of time to banish it."

Fortunately for Gallus, Meesei and most of the others were too distracted by their own concerns to pay too close of attention to him. Meesei gave him a nod, and his pack members got up to follow him. About a minute later, Meesei spotted Peiter walking past nearby to join them as well, which of course meant that he and Sabine were finished with anything they were doing.

As Meesei started to stand up, so did Kaleeth. With a smile on her face, she extended a hand down to Janius. "Well, it looks like it's time to go find Sabine, isn't it? I'm looking forward to seeing how my love fares against Meesei's apprentice."

"Very well," Fendros said, the initial disappointment disappearing from his face. He wanted to be careful not to shoot towards the camp but he trusted Ahnasha to keep the creature in position. He pulled a few arrows from his quiver and gave a confident smirk. "I'll go first this time, I think."

Janius rook Kaleeth's hand absand stood up with the rest of them. "I think I'm curious as well?" He chuckled with a hint of humility, "Either that or I'm going to have a sudden need to practice more."

They did not have to look very hard for Sabine. They spotted her coming towards them a few moments after Peiter emerged. She was clothed and looking bright, but Meesei knew the smell on her well. Sabine walked up and gave Meesei, Kaleeth, and Janius all a quick hug each as she addressed them. "Hello. Where are the others?"

---

Gallus' pack meeting started as soon as Peiter joined them. They were seated slightly out of the way, but still close to their's and Meesei's pack's tents. Gallus stood to begin speaking, the gravity of his tone distracting from his strange smell and appearance.

"Alright, so, I wanted to catch up with everyone before sundown, when everyone was still more awake, but this'll have to do." Gallus took a deep breath. "I will not paint a false picture for you all. This battle tomorrow will be the largest that any of you have been involved in. It will be more spread out than Bruma. If you are on the field to fight, it is unlikely that you will not fight. Given the danger that we will be stepping into, I want to be absolutely sure that everyone is ready. Those of us going in will be sticking together, no exceptions but on my orders. Keep your defences raised, stay in formation, and most of all...do what you always do; look out for one another."

Gallus gave a moment for the words to sink in before he continued. "Now, it stands that we couldn't have known to get into anything of this scale when we left Bruma. It's frankly unfair for me to drag you all into this. However, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think any of you were capable. As well, you're my pack. I care about you all. I, and those around you, shall do their utmost to keep you safe. This battle means a lot to many fellow lycans." Gallus nodded to one side. "That said, if any of you no longer wish to take part tomorrow --" Gallus pushed his upturned palm through the air, "-- now's the time. If you have any general concerns as well, now's the time."

Tzirret knew that he was already staying out of the fight, so he just wrapped his arms around his knees and kept quiet.

Uthri was the first to answer. "You honestly think I'd let you blunder in there without me?" She said with a cheeky grin, "You should be asking me to lay your head in my lap and sing you calming words, you great baby!"

Gallus gave Uthri a knowing chuckle. He expected nothing less from her. Gallus then looked over to Peiter and Irenya. Gallus in particular commented to Peiter. "Now, Peit, we've already had the discussion about why you can't be next to Sabine in this battle, but how are you holding up? Are you alright with this?"

Meesei was glad to hug Sabine, even if the scent did give her an unwelcome reminder of her previous activity. "Gallus' pack is having a meeting, and most of the others are spread around, finding different ways to occupy their time. Ahnasha and Fendros are having an archery competition, and I believe Lorag is watching."

"Speaking of competitions..." Kaleeth began excitedly as soon as there was a moment's break in Meesei's words. "We had a competition in mind that you might have some fun with. You see, we started talking before, and someone mentioned how much you had been improving. It might be interesting to see how your destruction skills compare to Janius here, with all the training you've had."

---

The reactions that each of Gallus' pack members had to his speech were varied. Irenya was intensely serious, and remained as stoic as ever throughout. Peiter was similarly serious at first, but once Gallus reminded him of Sabine, the thoughts he had been trying to suppress for the past few weeks came back to the forefront of his mind. Where he was seated, he was hunched over, looking almost directly down at the ground. He hesitated for a few seconds, then finally responded shakily. "Gallus...alpha...I just can't get that worry out of my head. It's going to drive me insane tomorrow, I just know it. Not being able to tell what is going on with her, or if she is safe...I just don't see how being separated will help matters. Are you sure that we'll both be safer apart?"

Sabine's expression became conflicted. "A competition?" She asked, glancing between Meesei and Kaleeth. "I...I do not know. How would...?"

"It'll just be a friendly competition, no doubt," Janius said, picking up where Sabine trailed off. He looked to Meesei and itched at his ear, "Though I'm unsure exactly what you had in mind. Did you want to compare feats of magical power? Using training dummies?" He lowered his arm, "Or did you want to do a duel to the first to break the others' ward?"

Sabine seemed to tighten up her shoulders at the latter option.

---

Gallus gave a sympathetic sigh and knelt down to place a hand on Peiter's shoulder. "Come now, Peiter. It is natural to worry, I understand. But I need you to be focussed for this. Sabine's a big girl. From what I've been told by Meesei and from what I've seen, she'll be as safe as she wills it. I trust her and her packmates to keep herself safe." He angled his head forward. "You, too, will have to learn to trust her to be safe. I know you are very fond of her but I won't have you being rash on the battlefield for the sake of protecting her life. I've seen it before in soldiers with years more experience than you, and my father many more. It's for your protection as much as hers."

Gallus was repeating a few of the points they had already talked about, but with the emotion running through Peiter's head, he felt they needed repeating. If Peiter still had problems, they would need to be sorted out there and then.

Though he didn't know how much it would help, Tzirret awkwardly reached out and put a hand on Peiter's other shoulder. He could understand how Peiter felt.

"Why not do all of those?" Kaleeth suggested, giving a shrug. "Or at least some. You can show all of your skills."

Meesei nodded in agreement. "We can find a clearing to carry out a few trials. Let us just be careful not to range too close to the other competition between Fendros and Ahnasha. From what I can see, it looks like they are practicing against moving targets. Though, since we are intending to test your destruction skills, it would be best not to involve your wards."

As Meesei started to walk towards a clearing at the edge of camp, she gave a grin towards Janius. "I would not want to give Sabine an advantage, after all."

---

Peiter answered with an unemotional "Yes sir." to Gallus' explanation. Logically, he understood Gallus' decision. Given his feelings for Sabine, it made sense that she would distract him in combat, or impede his judgment. But, he knew he was going to worry regardless, and he feared that worry would distract him just as much. He did not have any more he could think of to say, so he simply sat in silence.

Irenya spoke up suddenly, seemingly without care for Peiter's current struggle. "Well...alpha, you mentioned before that we would be staying with you except by your order. What if we are ordered to do otherwise by someone higher in the chain of command, like Ri'vashi or the Champion? You are our alpha, and we have always followed your orders, but...a battle between what is essentially two armies is not an environment that meshes well with the command structure to which we are accustomed." Although it might not have been immediately obvious, Irenya's question was intended to be a mercy to Peiter. She could already guess what Gallus would answer; the purpose in her asking was simply to fill the silence so that Peiter did not feel that all of the attention was on him.

Angling his head forward and smiling wryly, Janius retorted with a raised brow. "Hey, who ever said I couldn't raise a good ward?"

Though she was shy about it, Sabine had a small smile at the indirect encouragement.

"So, little sister, you've focussed on frost, have you?" Janius asked Sabine as they walked. "Any reason for it?"

Sabine pulled her mouth to one side and looked to the ground. After a pause for thought, she shrugged. "I used ice storm spells when I was being chased by the enemies near Senchal. It slowed or killed them and saved my life. That is all, really." She gave Janius a glance of ete contact. "It feels...safe. And I know it better."

"Well, you certainly picked the match up for this competition," Janius poked a thumb onto his chest. "I took up fire, of you remember."

They reached a spot where they were out of the way of both the camp and the archery competition at this point. Sabine was more relieved when she heard that she and Janius would not be duelling harmfully with magic, but she looked around the clearing with an uncertain expression. "What should we do first?" she asked Meesei.

---

Gallus at first lowered his head and closed his eyes in a way that could have been frustration, but not quite. He remained kneeling opposite Peiter but took his hand off his shoulder and faced Irenya.

"No, that's not how it works," Gallus said patiently, "if anyone wants to order you around they have to ask me first, even Ri'vashi and the champion." He shifted slightly to face Irenya and began gesturing while he spoke. "The same goes for any pack. Now, if you're following common sense then of course you may follow their suggestions." Gallus put his hand to his chest. "But I'm still responsible for you. The important thing is that I know what you're doing. Just make sure you keep me informed. I trust you all not to run off without telling me, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Tzirret didn't remove his hand from Peiter's shoulder yet, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He wasn't sure that anything he even could say would help the situation.

Not missing a beat, Gallus immediately turned his attention back to Peiter after answering Irenya. "We'll catch up after this meeting, Peiter, alright?" He seemed to drop it there, glancing around to the others. "Is there anything else? Tzirret?"

With the attention on him, Tzirret's eyes darted around for a moment. "Well, er..." He shook his head, "not really, no. Just...stay safe, okay?"

Gallus smiled and gave a confident nod. Given how quickly he dismissed Irenya, he returned his attention to her in case she needed any further clarification.

Meesei stepped out into the clearing and began looking around for options. "Well, some of the defining metrics for a destruction mage are their power, accuracy, and endurance. Accuracy should be easy enough to test, I have a few ideas for power, and the competition itself can be a test of endurance. The only question is which you wish to start with."

After a moment, Meesei found something of use on the ground. It was a simple rock of decent enough size to serve as a target, at least for as long as it held together. Meesei extended her magicka-charged hand, then lifted up the stone telekinetically. "Accuracy may be the best to start with, so that the magicka intensive trials are saved for the end. Weak fireballs and ice spikes will be sufficient to test your aim."

Meesei pushed the rock away from herself and held it still in the air. To start, they could try to hit a stationary target, then she could start moving it in regular patterns. "In this case, I suppose it is fortunate neither of you intend to use lightning. It is far easier to aim than either fire or frost. Still, it would not hurt for both of you to practice with it more. Lightning is good for those situations where accuracy is essential."

---

Peiter took in a deep breath. "I'll be fine, I just...I need to get my mind off of it. I'm sure once all this starts, the fight will be enough to keep my mind occupied."

For Irenya, Gallus' answer was actually not what she had expected, but she did not argue it. She had taken the focus off of Peiter, which was her only real intent in asking. Even if she had never personally been in a battle of this scale, she had certainly seen them before. During the Oblivion Crisis, and later during the Great War, she had witnessed all manner of engagements, large and small. She knew, perhaps more than most in the clan, what to expect from the attack.

"I remember how to use the weaker lightning spells but I never quite had a handle on-"

Janius stopped when a crack sounded in the air and Sabine extended her hand to the rock in a long pushing motion with her body. A small magical icicle shot through the air and struck the rock nearly head-on, shattering as it landed and causing the rock to spin. Sabine stood slowly up straight again. Gentle wisps of mist descended from her palm.

Janius frowned deeply at the rock. "Good shot," he remarked. Not to be out done, he began to emanate an orange glow from his hand and lowered into a position to launch a spell. The small ball of fire that shot unerringly from his hand flew straight towards the rock as well, striking it so accurately that it did not spin at all. "Is this the part where you...?" Meesei had already begun to cause the rock to move around. Janius stepped back and gestured for Sabine to take her turn again.

This time, Sabine took some more time to aim before she fired, trying to judge the speed of the rock against the speed of her spells. It was a regular part of destruction training with Meesei, but it was always tricky. Luckily, the unerring flight of their spells made aiming less complicated than arrows or thrown weapons.

Sabine's first shot landed off-centre but still shattered against the rock. She took however many shots that were available to her and missed a few as well. Each time she missed, she gave a slightly embarrassed look. In the end, the majority of her shots landed.

Janius' shots were more rushed. He had not practiced with moving targets as consistently and it showed. While he still landed over half of his shots, they were fewer than Sabine's. He scratched at his head after the last shot, which was one of the misses. "Well, you beat me out on that one, Sabine," he said with a measure of good nature. He looked to the rock and then to Kaleeth, "I know what I need to start drilling more again."

Sabine just held her arm and smiled with a bit of relief.

---

Gallus turned to Peiter again, considered for a moment, and then stood up. "If there's nothing else anyone wishes to discuss, that's all for now. If you need me, come find me. Everyone get a good rest for tomorrow. You're going to need it."

Uthri and Tzirret looked to each in their pack before standing up and taking their leave.

Though, Gallus didn't let Peiter leave yet. He took Peiter by the shoulder again. "Wait a moment." Gallus spoke now that they were no longer in front of anyone. "Are you sure you're going to be alright? I care about your well-being Peiter. We can have a heart-to-heart about this if you like, none of that military coldness."

Meesei could not help but to be proud of Sabine's performance thusfar. Accuracy had been a problem for her, so they had been drilling it consistently. Hopefully, the competition was turning out to be just as much of an affirmation to Sabine herself of her abilities as it was to the others. Of course, the contest was not yet over; accuracy was only one aspect of being a destruction mage.

"You both did well, but I believe Sabine was the clear victor of this round. Next, we can test the strength of your spells. The winner may not be as definitive for this contest, since it is more...qualitative than quantitative, but if you are too close, we can simply declare it a draw. I would like for you to cast the strongest, highest-level spell you are capable of. You need only do it once, so you do not need to be conservative with your magicka." Meesei explained as she stepped out into the clearing.

Looking to Janius specifically, Meesei held out her hand in front of her. This time, she would allow him to go first to set the bar. "Seeing as I would prefer you not ignite the forest, you can cast your spell against my ward." She said. Once Janius gave his spell, she would have a few words of encouragement for Sabine.

Kaleeth, meanwhile, simply smiled and gave Janius a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure you'll impress. I believe in you."

---

Peiter hesitated for a few seconds, his body language showing a distinct lack of confidence. "I...don't know, I just...I don't think there are any words that can make me stop worrying. Right now, I have all the time in the world to think about her, and what might happen. I know you're right, I know she can take care of herself, and her pack can take care of her. I know my fear isn't completely rational, but it's still there. Once we get into the fight, once my mind starts working on training and orders, I'm thinking I'll be able to focus in the moment. I don't really know, but I think so."

"Thanks, darling," Janius replies to Kaleeth. The bit of encouragement helped him to bounce back from the last round and step up.

Janius was confident that he couldn't break Meesei's ward with one spell, so he didn't hold back as he brought both his hands close and charged an intense sphere of flaming magic. "Brace yourself," Janius said with a a grin. His arms pushed forward and an exceptionally bright fireball leapt forth. Meesei recognised it as an incinerate spell, though it was clearly charged with all Janius had. It's impact would hit with as much physical force as it would damaging power.

---

Gallus bit his lip and looked away. He spent some time to think with his hand on his hip, but faced Peiter again with sympathy. As he sat down opposite him again Gallus spoke with a gentle voice. "I'll tell you what, Peiter. I don't know if there are any words either." He sighed. "How about we try something simple? Najirra taught this to Tzirret, perhaps it is worth trying here. I need you spend some time to meditate. Just to calm your body. Once you're relaxed, I want you to scrutinise those thoughts of what could go wrong and ask yourself if they're useful." Gallus angled his head forward, "If they're not so useful, you don't have to forget them, just...put them away somewhere. Put them some place you can't hear them. It might help you get some sleep, at least." Gallus gave a smile, "Here, look up at me. Do you think you can do all that?"

While perhaps not as flashy as a wide-area fireball, any destruction mage would recognize the skill and energy required to create a concentrated incinerate spell. It was an intensely hot and impactful spell, though Meesei's ward rendered it entirely ineffective. She stood stalwart, without so much as flinching. Though, she did have time to prepare herself mentally for the spell to temper any involuntary reactions. With his spell, Janius had set a high bar for Sabine to follow. Meesei was not entirely confident that Sabine could surpass it, but matching it was certainly possible.

Meesei avoided conventional words of encouragement for Sabine. Instead, she wanted to raise her spirits by simply showing confidence in her abilities. "Well done, quite a strong burst of energy. I almost felt it against my ward." Meesei joked, obviously exaggerating. "It will take a strong spell to match it. Sabine, you recall during one of our more recent lessons, you studied an icy spear spell; a stronger, more concentrated version of ice spike. An expert-level spell, it could probably put a hole through one of these trees. Do that." Meesei said with complete and utter confidence. Sabine was not yet an expert, by any means, but Meesei had introduced her to the spell. In general, Meesei had her work on higher-level spells to help push the boundaries of her current skill level, and while it certainly would not be magicka efficient, Meesei hoped Sabine could cast it with some motivation.

---

After another, lengthy delay, Peiter finally made eye contact with Gallus. "Okay...okay, I can try. But, maybe you could help guide me through it?" He asked. With the stories he heard about Najirra, and how notoriously anxious Tzirret had been prior to leaving Bruma, he honestly believed whatever Gallus had in mind might work for him as well.