"Well, it is not something that will happen soon, certainly." Ahnasha said, moving immediately back to the topic of visiting Cheydinhal. "Moving to Skyrim is going to take a while, I can already tell. We're going to have to move everyone in small groups to get them to the Riften clan. Hopefully, wherever they have made their home is somewhere convenient. After that, we're going to have to clear out an entire Dwarven ruin to get everyone in safely. Scouts can give us a sense of what we're up against, but I'm guessing it going to take a good-sized force to actually make it safe. Can't say I've ever fought a Dwarven automaton before; do arrows even work on them?"

Ahnasha let out a sigh. "Well, that's a problem for later. For now, I think I'll take you up on that offer. Read some more letters. Llarasa is a good person, more than I expected when I first met her. I will write to her as well, let her know how I have been faring. Maybe share a few embarrassing stories about you..." She chuckled. "We just have to be careful about how we handle things when we finally do visit. The last thing we want to do is bring any harm down on her through our visit. We should make sure your parents never know that she has been communicating with you. Or even that she knew you were alive."

---

For a few moments, Kaleeth stood in place across from Janius, breathing deeply and trying to focus. She had already been through a few fights, so she was starting this one with some fatigue, and moderately beaten. She was bruising from the hits she had taken, and not all of the blood on her had even dried.

Finally, Kaleeth was ready to fight, though she did approach their match with some degree of patience. Janius had taken to Ra'kalesh's training better than she had, but she had still learned something. Her instinct was still to overpower her foe with force, but she was no longer clumsy about it. She took a few steps towards him, watching to see if he was going to initiate. He remained defensive, so she took the first attack.

Kaleeth wound back as if she were going to take a swing, then suddenly lunged low in an attempt to tackle him at his waist. She was knowledgeable enough about fighting to know that she would have the advantage in a grapple, so that was what she was going to try.

Fendros nodded with a frown. "Yes, I've kept that in mind," he said neutrally. In a poorly thought out attempt to avert Ahnasha's attention, Fendros leaned over the chest and reached to rummage through it.

"You know, Llarasa still does sketches every now and then," Fendros said as he slowly pulled out a tied scroll of parchment. As he lifted it out, some loose charcoal powder spilled out of its ends. "She sent me one of the family about a year ago."

Fendros untied the scroll and opened it for Ahnasha. On it were three heads drawn from different angles. The first was recognisable as Monderyn, almost in profile with his head turned slightly towards them. He actually looked inquisitive and almost approachable compared to the pure anger he had shown the last time they saw him. The next was an old, severe, rough looking Dunmer man who had his eyes almost closed, looking down as if reading. Features of his face could be recognised in Fendros, but not Monderyn. The third was a similarly aged Dunmer woman who was looking at something off to the side. Her mouth was lined in a subtle smile, but her wrinkled eyes hinted at a certain sadness. In one blank corner was a rough drawing of a happy looking dog. Llarasa was not a perfect artist, but she had captured a lot on these drawings.

---

Janius had at least predicted Kaleeth's strategy correctly. He tried to exploit his advantage in agility to its fullest by bobbing and sliding to one side, out of Kaleeth's path and reach. Her line-up left her just open enough for Janius to risk throwing a kick at her side.

With that, Janius broke off and stepped out of reach.

Fendros did succeed in changing the subject, at least for a moment. Ahnasha grabbed one of the sketches and looked it over curiously. "These are pretty well-done. This is your brother, and I'm assuming these are your parents. She might need practice, but she really could be an artist." She commented. During the brief silence, Ahnasha's expression became more solemn, regretful. "I remember when I started trying to learn to paint. I was nowhere near this good, but I did make some progress. It's a...shame I had to stop practicing. I really enjoyed it. It's just with me learning necromancy, I became so busy and...had to put that off indefinitely."

Ahnasha closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh. "Well, maybe Llarasa can give me a few lessons in person, if there is time when we go see her. Maybe she can give us a drawing of the three of us together? Me, you, and Rhazii. That is something I wouldn't mind decorating our wall, wherever we end up living in a few months."

---

Janius' counter worked just as he had intended. He was able to move to the side, and his kick found its mark just above her hip. She let out a gasp and grit her teeth in pain as she fell to the ground, clutching her side. Though, it would take much more than that to stop her entirely. As quickly as she could, she scrambled to her feet, wasting no momentum as she charged straight for him. It seemed as if she was continuing her pattern of direct, relentless onslaughts, but this attack came with a bit more strategy involved. She stopped just short of him to hopefully confuse him, then delivered a more precise punch straight towards his gut. She was not holding back, so even if blocked, this was going to hurt.

Fendros spread a thin-lipped smile. "That would be nice," he said, putting an arm around Ahnasha and looking at the sketches. "I seem to remember you having a lot of fun with your drawings. Still, something to keep the memory would be pleasant. Perhaps like Peiter and Sabine's picture." He blew a single laugh from his nose. "Perhaps not something quite as passionate as that, though."

Thinking about the possibility of at least seeing Llarasa again began to turn Fendros' opinion towards supporting a visit. However, the obstacles on his mind swiftly returned and his smile faded. He opted to let Ahnasha go and pick up another letter. "This one's nice. It tells the story behind that dog. Its name is Ruby, they found her in the woods."

Fendros had no doubt that there were many more nice letters. Whether they got through them all that day or set aside time later, Ahnasha could at least get to know the Avarul family a little better. Fendros only regretted that it mostly hid some of the darker attitudes his mother and father held.

---

Janius tried to ward off Kaleeth by feinting a jab towards her. As she stopped, he thought he had put her off-balance and moved to follow through with another strike. It was only then that he realised the incoming strike. He heard it before he felt it as it forced a high grunt from his mouth. The crowd reacted with mixed winces and cheers. Janius stumbled back and doubled over, clutching his stomach with one arm. He was halted as he was caught by a bunch of spectators.

"Come on! You've got more than that in you!" One of them shouted, before all of them pushed Janius right back into the ring.

This time, Janius took the initiative. He stepped up to Kaleeth with a twist of his torso and threw a pair of punches at her nose before ducking low and striking at her chest. He resolved to keep her tied down with faster attacks while he ducked and weaved around to try and elude her reprisals.

---

Like most days, Sabine had spent most of her time up in the scholar's loft with Darahil, Marcaille, and the other alchemists. Some cursory tests of the soul-tearing gas had been done since they worked out a method of handling it safely, though there were no immediate breakthroughs. Every day was taxing on Sabine's mind, not only for all the deductions they had to make, but also for the wealth of knowledge she was absorbing from Marcaille. Now, walking through the halls, she was simply tired.

Most times, Sabine would find her friends and Peiter and take the rest of her day to socialise. However, right now, she just wanted to relax with her mate. She didn't find him with the others or any of the places that he had been occasionally assigned for odd jobs, so she was headed to Gallus' pack's room. It amazed Sabine as much as it concerned her how much Peiter tended to sleep now that they weren't travelling.

Ahnasha continued reading letters for a while, though she and Fendros did eventually have to return to their responsibilities. Rhazii was now old enough that he did not need to be constantly watched, though they had still left him under the supervision of some of the clan's caregivers, along with many of the other children. Ahnasha decided to go collect him, along with Newt if Janius and Kaleeth were still busy. She wondered what it might be like for Rhazii to see his grandparents, and if it would even have meaning for him. Being raised among a lycan clan, he had family everywhere around him. He may not even recognize what blood relationships are.

---

Kaleeth's hit had connected, though she had been correct that it was unsettling for her to land it. She had hit much harder than she generally did in practice, and she could tell that she had really hurt him. But, in the midst of a fight, her instincts were driving her to continue on just as much as her empathy wanted her to stop. She did not have much time to think before Janius was pushed back into the ring and their fight resumed.

Naturally, Kaleeth followed the general rule of protecting her head and blocked both of his blows, but when he attempted a blow to her chest, Kaleeth decided to make something of a sacrifice. Janius' fist connected painfully to her ribs and knocked the breath out of her, but at the same time, she was reaching for his arm. If she could get a good grip on him, he would have a hard time shaking loose.

---

When Sabine made her way to Gallus' pack's room, she found it empty save for Peiter. He was not sleeping, but even so, it took a few moments before he actually noticed her enter. Sabine had not seen him that day, and from the looks of things, he may have never left his room at all. He was not dressed, and overall had something of a lazy look about him. Most interestingly, he had a half-empty bottle of ale at his side, probably procured the previous day. Peiter had never been one to drink, not without the company of friends, so it was new for him.

Peiter looked up to Sabine from where he was sitting on his bedroll and slowly began to smile. "Sabine, there you are. I was going to go look for you...eventually. You should join me."

Following Ra'kalesh's teachings, Janius retracted his arm as quickly as he could after hitting Kaleeth's chest. However, Kaleeth was just fast enough to grab about half of his wrist with her fingers. Janius reacted by pulling his arm back harder and twisting it upwards. He got loose, but not without Kaleeth's claws dragging on his skin and opening fresh and bloody wounds. He took a couple of steps back and winced, shaking off the blood from his arm and onto the floor.

"No fair," Janius quipped with a laugh as he bobbed from one foot to the other with his fists raised. "I cut my fingernails, you keep them long. This has to be a handicap!"

Janius had agreed not to hold back in this fight, but he intended to use his new wound to his advantage. At the first sign of Kaleeth attacking, he planned to swipe his hand in front of her eyes in an attempt to get blood in her eyes and counter. It was a dirty trick, he would admit, but he had to make use of every advantage he could get.

---

"Peiter?" Sabine asked as she entered the room.

Sabine's first reaction to Peiter's greeting was actually to smile back. It was rare enough that he smiled these days that she sometimes forgot how warm it felt to see it. It was as she walked up to him and smelled the ale that things began to seem strange.

"You are undressed. Did you...have you been here alone all day?" Sabine asked with sympathy. She sat down closely beside him and craned her neck forward to see the bottle by his other side. "Have you been drinking alone as well?"

"Hey, I didn't want to claw you! That was your fault; you made me do it." Kaleeth shouted back to Janius. Even if she was not pulling her punches, she still avoided bringing her claws and teeth into these fights, as they were simply too dangerous. Usually, if she got a hold of someone, she could keep her grip, but Janius was a quick-moving opponent.

Regardless of the accident, the fight continued on, and Kaleeth continued to be the aggressor. She wanted to go for another tackle, but since he would no doubt step aside, she decided to throw two or three punches towards his head and chest to hopefully distract him long enough for her to attempt the tackle.

---

Peiter nodded lightly to Sabine. He let out a yawn and stretched out his arm before taking another drink. "Yeah, I've just been...not feeling good lately." His voice was not exactly slurred, but his overall body language was unfocused, and he spoke slower than usual. "You could probably tell that. I've been worrying about so much lately. Giving myself a lot to worry about. I just wanted to relax a while. I wanted to come get you, but I think I've been sleeping a lot today."

Leaning his head over, Peiter interrupted himself by giving Sabine a kiss, then offering her the bottle. "Here, have a drink."

Janius lifted his arms to block and deflect Kaleeth's strikes. Her ferocity made it difficult to line up flicking blood in her face, so he was only able to do so after Kaleeth had put her momentum into charging into him with a tackle. Janius tried to bring his knee up to hit her below her ribs, but there was no real way to stop her this time.

---

Peiter was tipsy, that much was obvious. However, there was a part of Sabine that was surprised and hopeful when Peiter kissed her. It was probably the first time he had sincerely initiated a kiss in a long time. Sabine knew better than to think that Peiter was back to normal, but after so long seeing him in the doldrums, she wanted a break from it as well.

"Well..." Sabine reluctantly took the bottle. "Maybe it would be nice to just...relax." She smiled and took a swig of the ale, before putting a hand on Peiter's shoulder. "Just don't drink alone anymore, okay?" She leaned in to kiss him again to see if his good mood wasn't just for show.

Kaleeth took Janius' strikes full-force, but she already had her momentum. Even as she felt a sharp pain in her ribs and once again lost her breath, she was taking down Janius to the ground. Her efforts to subdue him were more calculated than they might have been in the past. She attempted to maneuver herself to plant one knee on his chest to hold him down, and another on his left arm to secure it. With her right elbow, she tried to press down on his neck to hopefully force a submission. As well, she wanted to grab his other arm with her free hand, but failing that, she would start punching at his stomach.

---

Peiter gladly returned Sabine's kiss, though instead of doing anything more, he simply took another drink of the ale once it was his turn. "I think I might be able to agree to that, if you're the one drinking with me."

Peiter seemed upbeat, and his kiss held at least some of the passion their relationship had once known, but despite that, he did not initiate anything further once he had the bottle again. Before the battle, he had a hard time keeping his hands off of Sabine, but they had still not been intimate with one another since his injury. It was obvious that Peiter still cared deeply about her, but he was not taking much initiative of his own to return their relationship to what it had been.

Janius made Kaleeth fight for every limb she pinned to the floor. He threw punches at her face and neck before his arm was under her knee. With one last effort, he threw a punch with his right arm right into the side of Kaleeth's ribs. The move allowed Kaleeth to grab his arm properly.

At this point, Kaleeth's arm was putting on more pressure than was comfortable. Enough of his left arm was free to tap against the floor if he wanted to submit, but he put one last effort into trying to throw Kaleeth to one side.

---

Sabine was silent in her disappointment, but at least there was not too much hope built up.

Over a short time, Sabine shared a few more sips without knowing what exactly to say. It was hard to get Peiter's lack of intimacy off her mind at this point. Thinking back, she kept in mind the advice that Meesei gave her. It was more likely that Peiter was keeping himself down rather than anything being wrong with her. Sabine thought that she might take the opportunity of Peiter's now loose tongue to try and address the issue.

Sabine took Peiter's hand in hers and began to fiddle with his fingers, avoiding eye contact. "Peiter. You have been...very distant since..." Sabine refrained bringing up the battle and trailed off. "I still love you. I'm still...attracted to you, you know. But...you do not seem to..."

Sabine let out the rest of her breath and kept her down eyes. Her nervous embarrassment in talking about this was only made worse by the words she was using. The ale was loosening her tongue as well.

Kaleeth was gaining the advantage, though she had paid for every bit of ground she had gained. She had taken quite a few hits to pin Janius, and they were taking their toll. She had been in pain even before their fight had started, and it was to the point that her adrenaline was not suppressing it entirely. As well, she was at a point in their brawl where she could not do what she would be able to in a real fight. She had her arm on his throat, but she could not apply too much force without risking seriously hurting him. So, she had to hold back.

Taking a risk, Kaleeth released her grip on Janius' other arm to start striking him in the abdomen to encourage him to give up sooner, as she could not continue on much longer. Unfortunately for Janius, when he tried one last time to throw her off of him, it disrupted her enough that she accidentally struck him in the groin. It was certainly not pleasant for Janius, but if he could push through it, Kaleeth was too sore and exhausted to continue fighting for long.

---

Peiter leaned over and kissed Sabine's cheek. "I know you love me, and I love you. I still like hearing you say it, though. You're...you're more beautiful than I'll ever be."

While Peiter was glad to share another tender moment with Sabine, he was perhaps frustratingly oblivious to the actual meaning of Sabine's words. He was too far under the influence of the alcohol to be able to think critically and read between the lines, as it were. He was not likely to understand anything not presented bluntly.

Janius was already gritting his teeth trying to push through the pain of Kaleeth choking him. While the hit he landed on her side seemed effective, the answer he suffered in trying to throw her off was too much. He began slapping his left hand against the floor to signal his submission.

"Argh! Enough! I'm done!" Janius croaked. He sucked in a breath, scrunched his eyes shut, and looked to one side while the pain subsided. The small crowd -- or at least the portion that had bet on Kaleeth -- sounded a cheer. The losers walked off with disappointed mutterings that accused Janius of letting Kaleeth win.

Janius ignored it all. After a moment, he lifted his arm to place it on Kaleeth's shoulder. "You're always tougher than I remember, dear," he said, apparently not losing his humour even after their bout. "I daresay I underestimated you."

---

Sabine blinked, but otherwise didn't react to Peiter's kiss, not even looking at him. "It is not that," she said. Her cheeks began to redden as she tried to put the words together.

"Peiter, we have not..." She turned to face him, but had a hard time keeping eye contact in her embarrassment. It was not the act itself, but the fear that she would hurt Peiter. She ended up almost blurting it out, though she kept her voice soft. "Why do you not want to mate anymore, Peiter?"

Kaleeth climbed off of Janius, though she certainly did not stand up. As Janius placed his hand on her shoulder, she laid herself down on her back. Despite her victory, she felt like she might have pushed herself a bit too far. She was already hurt when the fight started, and her tenacity would not allow her to give up. It might have given her the victory, but she knew she would be regretting it for the next day or so.

"Ahhh, I don't feel...very tough. I feel like...death. I should really give up sooner. It was the same way two days ago. I promised myself I wouldn't fight as long, but..." Kaleeth began, letting out a pained sigh. Can I just lay here a while? Or in a bed?"

---

Peiter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh, that. I just...I mean it's not that I didn't want to. I still love you and everything, I just..." He began, pausing to take in a few breaths and buy himself time to think. "I was just going through a lot, and I was stressed, and I've been more tired, and...I didn't know if you would want to."

Peiter's tone was difficult to read, so it was uncertain if he was being honest, or just making excuses. His nervousness could imply that he was lying, but it could also be that it was just a sensitive subject for him. He leaned over and kissed Sabine, this time giving it more passion. "I still love you." He repeated. Again, his anxiety appeared to return, but perhaps due to his intoxication, he quickly tried to replace it with levity. He crossed his arm over his chest and held his chin up in an exaggerated, "posh" fashion. Still, if you want to mate...I guess you're just going to have to seduce me." He grinned.

"In that case, maybe next time you could learn from your defeated enemies. Aheh-arh..." Janius curled his body as his abdomen protested his laughter. Upon rolling his head over to look at Kaleeth's exhausted and battered form, he knitted his brow in concern and rolled onto his hands and knees. "Okay. It sounds like you've had enough fun for today," Janius smiled and slowly brought himself to his feet in the least painful way that he could. He spoke as he knelt down to take Kaleeth's hand and carefully hoist her over his shoulder. "Come, let's clean up. Newt'll be out of his classes soon. We should--ooh!" Janius paused in his steps to let his bruises settle slightly and then continued. "We should lie down for a bit, I think we both need it."

The bookkeeper called out before the couple got far. "Are you two going to be okay?" He asked.

Janius waved him off. "We'll be fine, thank you."

With careful footsteps, Janius carried Kaleeth over his shoulder all the way to the bath chamber. They got some odd looks from passers-by, but Kaleeth's fighting club had become widely known enough that there were no questions. Besides, they were both calm enough that it was clearly not an emergency.

When they reached the bath chamber, Janius lowered Kaleeth carefully onto the steps leading into the water such that she was seated waist deep. His gentleness returned in contrast to their combat as he scooped up water in his hands and began to clean the blood from her scales.

With a light smile, Janius asked something so casually as to make it sound regular. "Do you feel like having another child, Kaleeth?"

---

Sabine leaned into Peiter's kiss and put an arm around him to prove his reservations wrong, whether they were honest or not. His answer was uncertain, but Sabine didn't really process that much until he pulled away again.

At Peiter's show of joking defiance, Sabine tilted her head, widened her eyes, and smiled in surprise. "Seduce you?" she asked. Deep down, there was a twinge of indignity that she had to put in the effort, but she still giggled in good humour. Still, she leaned back and held onto her crossed legs, looking to the ceiling with a grin at how she would go about it.

When Sabine brought her head forward again, her look was narrow-eyed and surprisingly sultry. In fact, she had an expression that evoked images of La'khay in some ways. There were some more cerebral techniques that Sabine had been taught that she did not have occasion to try until now. She had just enough ale in her veins to give herself the confidence to try.

"Seduce...you..." she cooed, leaning forward onto her hands and knees and stalking like a cat around in front of Peiter. "Do I..." Sabine took in a sharp breath through her mouth and breathed out, "...have to?" She continued stalking towards Peiter until her hands were on his legs. "I think...you want me anyway..." She opened her mouth and leaned in to whisper. "I know I want you."

Sabine sat back and stared intensely at Peiter for a moment, before the corner of her mouth twitched upwards. At that, she lost her composure, bowing forward and bursting out laughing. Her hair fell forward to hide her beetroot red face from Peiter at her completely out of character behaviour. She remained laughing for a solid ten seconds before she looked up and outright threw herself onto Peiter, pushing him onto his back, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him more deeply than she had in months.

Kaleeth felt relaxed once she was in the water. Despite her beaten appearance, and the general weakness she felt, her injuries were not actually that great of a concern. Being both Argonian, and a lycan, her body could recover from injuries impressively quickly. Unless she was wounded particularly severely, she could be perfectly fine within a day or two. Unfortunately, her regenerative capabilities did not do a great deal to contend with the pain.

Kaleeth and Janius sat in the water at the far end of the chamber, close to where the water emptied out of the Ayleid city. Since Janius was clearly in the better shape of the two, he was doing most of the work of actually cleaning. When he started to speak up, Kaleeth had definitely not expected the question he asked, but her response was also likely a surprise. She did not actually assume that he was serious, so she smiled and laughed. "Very funny. I am sure that wouldn't be any more work than Newt. I'm not that obsessed with bearing eggs, you know."

---

Even if Sabine had continued her attempt at being seductive, there was no way that either of them could take it seriously. Both she and Peiter fell into laughter at about the same time. If nothing else, it had served to lighten the mood. The reasons for which Peiter had been so distant these last few months had not been erased, but he had been distracted from them. His spirits had been risen, in part because of the spirits he had been drinking, and Sabine's encouragement. At the moment, there was no way of knowing if this would be a permanent change for Peiter, but for the first time in months, he was actively pursuing intimacy.

It was clear where their kiss was going; Peiter was already grabbing at Sabine's clothing. There was one point of concern in that the room they were in was not guaranteed to be safe. It was the room that Peiter shared with his pack, and while they were alone at the moment, the door was not even closed. Even if it was closed, the iron Ayleid doors were made in an artistic pattern with plenty of holes. Even so, Peiter did not seem to care about any of that, as his focus was solely on Sabine. Though, he was a bit more...assertive than usual.

"Never said you were," Janius responded as he reached for a cloth and took it by the corner. He wet the cloth and brought it up to Kaleeth's nose, dabbing at the blood. "I don't know, I was just curious." Janius shrugged and then tilted his head to look Kaleeth in the eyes. "Well, do you feel like it?"

---

After such a long time since last they were in this situation, Sabine returned Peiter's enthusiasm in kind. They were locked in their passionate embrace for long enough for Sabine to be partly undressed by the time she gathered the presence of mind to consider their privacy. At that she pushed her upper body away from Peiter for a moment and looked upon him with heavy breaths. "Is anyone going to come by?" She asked quickly.

Kaleeth had expected Janius to start laughing along with her, so when he did not, she quickly took on a more serious, if confused expression. "Um...no, not really right now. We already have Newt, and you know how much work he is. With the war and all the other stuff we have to worry about...I just don't think we can do that right now."

Shifting her position in the water slightly, Kaleeth cringed from another sharp pain from her bruised chest. It was hardly the worst pain she had ever felt, but it was a bit distracting. Regardless, she was not trying to drop the topic. She was almost concerned as to why Janius was bringing this up now. "What made you ask about this?"

---

Peiter seemed reluctant to be pulled away from their passionate embrace. He glanced towards the door for only a second before looking back up at Sabine. "I, uh, don't think so. It's still midday. We're fine." He answered quickly. It was certainly true that Gallus' pack were rarely in their room during the daytime, as they all usually had something to be doing. But, the fact did still remain that they had nothing protecting them. But, even so, Peiter wrapped his arm around Sabine and pulled her close for another kiss, then started to pull at her remaining clothing once more. It was somewhat unusual for Peiter, as even he had been more cautious in the past, but it was possible that it was simply his inebriation making him more willing to take risks.

Janius nodded to Kaleeth's reasoning. He did not seem disappointed by her answer. Rather, he kept his smile and continued cleaning the blood from her face. He answered her question without reluctance. "It's just a whim, really. After being a father for this long, it has been...well, more fulfilling than I ever thought it would be. I just thought it would be nice to have another child. To give Newt a sibling and..." he trailed off and shook his head. "You're right, though. It's not a good idea right now."

---

When Peiter pulled her into a kiss again, Sabine became too caught up in the moment to care any more. She resolved to simply try to stay quiet in the act, and perhaps try to keep it brief. Only time would tell if they would be interrupted.

"He already has a sibling." Kaleeth commented, placing her hand gently onto Janius' shoulder. "He and Rhazii are as close as brothers. Really, it's a lot the same way here as it was in my village. Hatchlings were raised by the whole village, so everyone became family, in a sense. Since blood relationships are so rare in lycan clans, I guess it makes sense that the same thing happens. Anyway, I think Newt will be happy growing up just as things are now. I don't regret having him for a second; like you said, it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. It's just...I want to be safe, you know? Plus, I'd like to know what we're in for with Newt before we do anything else. He's still only a few years old.

Kaleeth lowered her head, staring down at the water. "Really, I just regret that my parents won't be able to see him. I know they'd love to meet their grandson. I think even my father would smile if he saw his cute little face, no matter what he thinks of you. Even if I could just let them know that they even have a grandson to begin with, I would be happy. But, I can't send them letters like Sabine does with her sister. No one delivers to nomadic tribes in the middle of the swamp. I asked."

Janius brought his lower lip over his top front teeth and sat down on the steps beside Kaleeth. There were many things that had changed about Kaleeth, but her love for her parents was not one of them. "Yes, it's unfortunate," Janius put an arm around Kaleeth and brought her close to comfort her. Doing that managed to hide the twinge of guilt that passed across his face. "I wish there was something we could do about it. Some way of finding them."

---

The frantic preparation made the pack's brief break a short one. After only a week and a half, preparations had been made for the entire clan to migrate in small groups. The announcement was made with a few days notice, making the move jarring and distressing for many. However, protests were isolated and largely quelled with either negotiations or the reality that the clan would be moving either way. The journey was organised such that Meesei's pack would be in the lead with whomever she needed, while the rest of the clan would be staggered behind them, stretching out such that they would catch up with them after about a month.

Sabine went along with a bit less anxiety up until the day that they would move out. Her work kept her busy as usual, though she held a bit more hope up about Peiter. Hopefully the time outside and the exercise of travel would only have him feel even better. Sabine did not feel the need to update Meesei about such things just yet, not even Peiter's apparent relief with ale. Sabine was apparently not aware of its dangers.

Newt and Rhazii were of course rather upset again to be moving so soon after catching up with their friends. As Meesei's pack would be going ahead with some members of the council to reach the Riften clan first, they would be separated from many of the other children in the clan. Their parents didn't hear the end of their protests up until they were ready to leave. Newt, in particular, was not looking forward to travelling in the cold again.

While he didn't say so to anyone but Meesei and the council members travelling with them, Gallus opted to travel with the first group for the sake of Peiter's mental health. While he had occasionally tried to reach out to Peiter, his responsibilities kept him busier than he would have liked. With this journey, he hoped to buffer Peiter's problems with Sabine's presence and take time to try and work things through with him.

As a consequence of Gallus' pack joining them, Fendros and Sabine were not only joined by Ahnasha at the Bruma courier, but also Tzirret. All had penned letters to their respective loved ones, with Ahnasha and Fendros penning a letter together to send to Llarasa. Within the heartfelt messages were instructions to send replies to Windhelm as that was the closest city to their destination. However, it would be further out of the way than Bruma was to their now former clanhome. None of them knew exactly when they would next read whatever responses found them. They were headed even further away from the letters' destinations than before.

As expected, the most memorable thing about the journey was the cold. The high altitude and the frigid wind made the travel thoroughly uncomfortable, even with thick fur clothing. The group hoped in vain that Skyrim itself would be more hospitable. That much was half-true at best. After passing border guards with no notable trouble, the mountains descended into a forested plateau of sturdy thin trees, vast sparkling lakes, and rough grass. The rift was reminiscent of Bruma's higher forests in many ways, but the air remained humid and cold in the sun. Fog would often pervade the roads in the mornings, adding to that which showed itself on their outward breaths. As well, the place simply had a different atmosphere to Cyrodiil's forests. Sabine observed that it might have been the lack of Ayleid ruins, though it felt less tangible than that.

After about three weeks of travel, the group's first terminus was Riften itself; a closely built Nordic town without walls, but with many matching tiled roofs that reached out with wooden prows on either end. Their best bet with liaising with the Riften clan was to find a representative in town. If their ways of monitoring the area were anything like Riften's, there would be a few lycans at the local inn or similar establishment.