Though it had only been a few minutes so far, Ahnasha was getting a sense of who Fendros' parents were. She had heard Fendros describe them before, but seeing them in person brought their personalities into view. Calia was certainly the more reasonable of the two. Perhaps it was just because she did not appear to be quite as healthy, but she was calmer, and seemingly less stubborn. Rossarm would definitely be the challenge, as he was obviously much more headstrong. He had formed his opinions, and it would be hard to change them. Hopefully, undeniable logic would be enough to sway him. She had, of course, met Monderyn before, but she was not too concerned about him. Even the way he walked seemed to suggest that he lived in his father's shadow. If Fendros could somehow change Rossarm's mind, she had no doubt Monderyn would follow suit.

Ahnasha avoided giving any visible reaction, but she noticed when Fendros described her as a "close friend." She hoped that Fendros would not become too afraid to disclose their relationship, and especially the fact that his parents now had a grandchild. However, she did understand not wanting to overwhelm them with too much shocking information at once. That might cause them, particularly his father, to become too irrational to even have a conversation with. She did not know when would be the best time for Fendros to make that admission, but she could be patient.

At this point, Ahnasha finally felt justified in speaking up. It still somewhat frightened her to do so, but she felt that she had something of value to add to Fendros' explanation. "That is a decision that many of us make regretfully. The beasts within us feed on emotion; on fear, passion, anger. Those are all things that these kinds of reunions can inspire. For a new lycan, becoming overwhelmed by emotion, even for a short time, can cause a transformation. I have heard of lycans going to give their goodbyes to loved ones in person and...not returning."

---

Lorag gave a quick huff. "You want to hide, so you flee to the hometown of two members of the Champion's pack. Brilliant."

Meesei largely ignored Lorag's comment as she continued. "I can recognize that your life has changed. You have a child, you have re-integrated into Cyrodiil's society. But can you really expect me to just give blanket forgiveness for all you did to us? For murdering a clan leader; murdering a father and husband. For nearly tearing us apart in direct service of the enemy? You have a family now, so can you understand the pain you caused? Can you look at Narsi, the daughter you have raised for the past few years, and imagine what would happen to her if she lost her parent? What would you have me do? How would you have me feel about finding you again? Place yourself into my perspective."

Rossarm leaned back in his seat, only so much as flicking his eyes to Ahnasha for a brief time while she spoke. His following pause made it clear that he was conceding to Fendros' reasoning for now. It didn't make it feel any more like a victory. "Then, you were away all this time in the forest?"

Fendros shook his head. "We travelled for a time."

"Where?" Calia tilted her head. She was finally at the same point in Fendros' explanation as Rossarm and was listening intently.

"To give context, the group I was with...a pack. The pack I am still with, they worship Hircine as their patron, due in no small part to their condition." Fendros caught Rossarm's eye and gestured his palm down. "Before you ask, I never abandoned our ancestors or the reclamations. Hircine is mostly incidental."

Rossarm raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"We were guided by our pack alpha's prayers to go to Vos, on Vvardenfell. Then we headed south, to Thorn and Stormhold in Black Marsh. Sailed around to Leyawiin and the Imperial City. And then to Bruma, where we remained for a long while."

Fendros let his words linger. There was an air of disbelief mixed with amazement, mostly from Calia. Fendros' siblings were better informed, but remained quiet. Llarasa took a sip from her tea. Rossarm was a stern statue once again.

As there were no questions just yet, Fendros continued. "I went travelling under the impression that I would never come back here. There was little to no hope of getting enough control to be among civilisation ever again."

Calia knitted her eyebrows and blinked away a welling sadness. "Are you in control now? Is that why you came home?"

There was an uneven breath from Fendros before he decided to nod. "I am in control. I have been for quite some time." Fendros could not face his parents as he continued. "It was other things that kept me away, and other things that brought me back."

Llarasa looked away now. She was beginning to fidget again. Monderyn's brow creased downwards. They both knew.

Before Fendros could elaborate, Rossarm interrupted yet again. "It is no matter now!" This time, Rossarm's voice had a more neutral tone. Not cheerful, but no longer seething. He sat up straight again. "You are home, you have returned. There will be plenty of time to exchange details, though we should put this matter behind us and return to how things were."

Fendros peered over at his father with confusion.

Rossarm sat up straighter. "Your room remains furnished, Fendros. We should head to the township to inform them of your return as soon as we can and get you up to date with our affairs.-"

"Father." Fendros tried to get a word in.

"-It was a tragic event, Fendros, but I am willing to forgive you. You will remain to carry on our name..."

"Father! I am not staying!" Fendros shouted.

Rossarm was halfway through getting out of his chair. He stopped to regard Fendros and slowly sat back down. "And why would that be?" Rossarm's sinister tone returned.

Fendros was so angered all of a sudden that he had no qualms about admitting the next hard truth. Looking his father in the eyes, he angled his head forward and spoke each word as clearly as you could. "I have a son. I have a fiancee."

The veins on Rossarm's temples bulged and he let out a pained breath.

"Ahnasha and I are to be married." Fendros stated. He put his teacup on the table and returned his hands to his knees. The way his fingers twitched showed the hint of regret in his defiance.

The siblings did not react. Calia began to breathe uneasily and raised her fingers to her mouth.

"Fendros." Rossarm wrinkled his nose. His eyes bore holes back at Fendros stare. "You are too young to know best for yourself. You are not to be married. You are to disown these new...close friends of yours. You will take back your words and you will take this last chance to retain the honour of your family."

Calia let out a small whimper. A tear fell from her blind eyes.

Fendros, still angry, looked to his mother and softened his expression. He took a moment to turn to Ahnasha and looked at her as well. When his eyes returned to Rossarm, his response was level and confident. "I cannot do that."

Rossarm shot up to his feet and looked down his nose at Fendros and Ahnasha. He clenched his fists until they were white. "It seems my son died in the forest after all," he muttered.

Calia broke down, leaning forward and covering her face. Her sobbing was quiet, but did not lack grief.

Without any further prompt, Rossarm began to walk out of the room.

"Father! You cannot do that!" Llarasa chased after him, pleading at the top of her lungs. "You cannot just cut Fendros off! He's your son! He's our brother!"

Rossarm did not flinch as he made his way into the hallway. Llarasa's face was beginning to tense in sadness, she continued to follow.

"No! Don't walk away! You have to listen! It wasn't his fault, just let him-AIH!" Llarasa's shriek was punctuated by the sound of skin being slapped. Fendros grabbed Ahnasha's wrist, both in shock and to keep her from getting up. Another footstep and the slamming of the front door was the last they heard of Rossarm in the house.

By this point, Monderyn had calmly stood up and guided Calia up off her seat. "Come, mother, it's time for your medicine."

Calia was in no rush, but she complied as she was lead out of the room by Monderyn's hand. Fendros could only watch.

Llarasa re-emerged into the sitting room holding onto her darkened cheek. Her eyes were wide and welling with tears.

---

Harriet uncrossed her arms and bared her teeth. She breathed in to shout, but stopped and grabbed at the banister beside her. Her eyes wandering up evidenced that she did not want to wake Narsi up. Instead, she held her head forward, staring at Meesei and shaking her head.

"No," she hissed. "You've got it backwards, champion." Her other hand cut at the air. "Not that murder crap, you know I did that, everyone knows. That was a disaster from the beginning. I don't care about running a clan no more. What I mean to say is...why would I have run, huh? I'm an Orc. A stronghold bred Orc. You think it's okay to die without fighting? I was already dead. If I wanted to run, it wouldn't be from a battle or from a punishment."

Harriet sucked in another breath, glancing at Lorag before continuing to Meesei. "Before that trial, before you carted me around with the warband, that slimy Argonian met up with me and left the room laughing as hard as he could, you know why?" Harriet stuck a thumb onto her chest. "Because he checked my body for any magic shit that Najirra might'a put on me and found a kid. Turns out, after I had a casual dance with that dull brick at the champion's right hand, I took a potion that had been sitting on the shelf for too long. Turns out it didn't work. Now I'm sitting there, right in the middle of the mess that I made, with more than just my own life on the line. Things changed then. I ran because I didn't want some kid to grow up never knowing her mother, 'cept that she was a scheming bitch who was played by the biggest curse of all the Daedric princes." Her voice began to shudder. "I know what it's like to be a lonely werewolf. I wasn't gonna to let that happen for Narsi."

Harriet began stabbing her finger at the air between herself and Meesei, still trying her best to keep her voice down. "So don't you even TRY to suggest that I'm here because I couldn't face death...or because I didn't feel guilty! You wanna know what I think you're thinking? I think you've got it in your head that I bunked in with Lorag here to hedge my bets, to try and get out of a death sentence." Harriet spread her arms. "If you think that, kill me right here. See if I cry. See if I even flinch. It'll be the most respect I'll ever get. Maybe then you can look Narsi in the eyes and tell her that sometimes the world screws you over and she'll end up just like me."

True to her rhetoric, Harriet's gaze was intense enough to look crazed. She was waiting for Meesei's response, even if others might take the news a bit differently.

Altogether, Ahnasha was disappointed, but not surprised. She had heard all about Fendros' parents from him, so she had mentally prepared herself for this outcome. Just as she hoped that Fendros had prepared himself as well. She largely ignored Rossarm's words as the conditioned reaction of a stubborn old man. What she paid more attention to was the reactions of his mother, and even his brother. Calia's reaction was not one of rage, like Rossarm's. Being a mother herself, Ahnasha knew well how much of her life was invested in her child. She had an idea of how much of Calia's being must have been devoted to raising Fendros. For the kind of love a mother held for her child, Ahnasha doubted this would be enough to break it. Even Monderyn had not been nearly as outspoken as she had expected. Perhaps it was the fear of speaking up in front of his parents, but Ahnasha wondered if enough time had passed since their meeting in the Imperial City for him to have his own doubts. Ahnasha still guessed that if Rossarm changed his opinion, the others would as well, but perhaps there was another way to go about it.

Ahnasha reached over and grabbed Fendros' hand, holding it tightly. "Let's just...be patient. Bide our time for a bit. We're not going anywhere." Ahnasha said with a certain amount of confidence in her voice. Regardless of how bad everything looked, Ahnasha still had her stubbornness about her. She still wanted to make this work, and had an idea in her mind of how to do it. "Your mother is the person to talk to first. There is no denying that she still cares about you, still loves you. A mother never really abandons her child."

Looking over to Llarasa, Ahnasha's expression was sympathetic, and her voice soft. "When do you think we would be able to talk to your mother alone?"

---

Meesei, for the moment, was wholly focused on Harriet. Any other implications of what she was saying, particularly involving Lorag, she let pass by for now. "What you did after the attack on our stronghold, when you ran, there is no way I can blame you for that. Were I in your position, I would have done the precise same thing. As I said before, it would do no good for me to kill you now, regardless of how easy that would be." She said, holding up her hand bearing the bonded ring. "I may be doing a disservice to Vera and Caleb by making that decision, but it is my decision to make. There is no denying that you were manipulated into murder. But, there is still no forgiving you for what you did to them. Do you honestly believe that I should just ignore you? That I should leave and pretend this did not happen? If not your death, what justice does Jerrick's family deserve."

Meanwhile, Lorag's head was darting around between Meesei, Harriet, and the others. What he found important in Harriet's explanation was, of course, far different from what Meesei found important, and her lack of a reaction made him feel somewhat crazy. He normally was not an exceptionally articulate person, but now he was simply speechless. "Wait...what?"

Fendros was already furious. Seeing his sister walk into the room with a welt developing on her cheek only made matters worse. Ahnasha's hands on his diverted his attention enough to cool down somewhat.

Llarasa crept up to her seat and sat down, staring into space and still palming her sore cheek. "Um...mother should be available in a few minutes, maybe?" Llarasa was speaking quickly and clearly trying to stay calm. "Monderyn just took her to calm her. She...she gets into hysterics, like I have said in the letters before."

"Llarasa," Fendros spoke up gently. "Are you okay? Father never hits any of us unless we misbehaved as children, what changed?"

"He does that sometimes," Llarasa bowed her head and scrunched her eyes shut. "Ever since he gave up hope trying to find you, he hits us whenever we mention you in his presence."

Fendros swallowed another wave of anger and stood up. "Sister, come here," he said as he faced Llarasa and spread his arms.

Llarasa peered up with teary eyes and stood up to embrace Fendros tightly.

"That's not fair. He shouldn't be doing that." Fendros said all he could without exploding in anger.

Underneath his outward expression, Fendros needed the acceptance from at least one family member for comfort as well. They stayed hugging for another minute until Llarasa pulled away.

"Llarasa, you..." Fendros sighed nervously. "You never mentioned that mother had damaged her eyes. Is she blind, or...?"

The reaction from Llarasa was a mix of her previous sadness and embarrassment. "Oh, that. That has been recent, actually. She's become prone to bouts of melancholy since you left. Sometimes she does...awful things. Two weeks ago, she tried to drink a poisonous magical fertiliser. It didn't kill her, thank goodness, we found her passed out before she could take a lethal dose, but...she can hardly see any more." Llarasa broke eye contact with a few blinks. "She has been taking medicine and recovering, but the healers say that she will not regain her eyesight without a medicine that cannot be found in Cyrodiil."

Fendros nodded slowly. "I see."

He was silent for another moment, but Fendros seemed to be holding his breath. Stepping back, he flopped back onto his seat and closed his eyes. One of his hand's found Ahnasha's again and it was his turn to squeeze on her fingers. "Ahna...are you sure I should talk with my mother?"

Fendros' guilt caught up to his face and he pinched at the bridge of his nose with his other hand.

Llarasa didn't sit down just yet, despite the mark on her cheek still looking painful. She clasped her hands together and regarded Ahnasha. "Mother will listen, I think. She is just shocked. I'm sorry she and father...you know..." Llarasa bit her lip and took a quick breath in and out through her nose. "Disrespected you."

---

Harriet tensed her brow and frantically began looking left and right across the floor with frustration. When Lorag spoke, she looked at him and nearly lost her temper again. "Hircine's hounds, Lorag, the kid's your daughter." She leaned forward, widened her eyes, and rattled her finger against her pointed ear. "Are you even listening?"

That much attention was all Lorag got before Harriet went right back to Meesei. "And you, champion, what in Oblivion do you expect me to say? Do you want me to go up to Caleb and Vera and say sorry? Do you want me to pick my own jail senten-" She cut herself off and gestured wildly with one hand, looking around. "Do y- What is- What to you want!? I'm not gonna abandon Narsi, whatever you think I might do. I'm kinda stuck, alright?"

"Absolutely." Ahnasha answered uncompromisingly to Fendros before turning to Llarasa. "In all honesty, I expected something like this. I prepared for it. I am not afraid of anything they might say or do."

Ahnasha remained close to Fendros to keep him comforted, and try to keep him from getting too angry. Although, looking at Llarasa, she could not help but to be frustrated by how her father treated her. Fendros had been right to hold Ahnasha back, because she absolutely would have acted otherwise. "I don't think your mother will take too much convincing. If your father had not arrived, I think she would already be coming around. Just the way she reacted to seeing you...I've felt that way before. Towards Rhazii, back in Black Marsh. I don't think her opinions towards my kind are nearly as strong as her love for you, and if those two are in conflict, I think her mind is going to look for any excuse to keep you in her life. Besides, I think she and I might actually have some common ground. Maybe I can speak to that part of her, and maybe it might surprise her. And after your mother...I think it might actually be a good idea to talk to Monderyn. I wouldn't have thought so before, but the way he was acting was different from what I was expecting. I am not sure where our common ground might be with him, but maybe your mother can help."

Finally standing up, Ahnasha looked over Llarasa for a few moments before giving her a hug. "And...it is good to see you again, Llarasa. I am glad that Fendros has you. I really appreciate your support. No matter what happens here, I would be honored for you to be a part of our wedding."

---

"Look, I...I can't deal with this right now." Lorag responded, practically throwing his hands up in the air. He turned around, and looked like he was about to storm out of the hovel, but he ended up stopping at the door. He knew that he probably should not leave, but he was also having a hard time staying. So, he ended up settling on standing awkwardly by the door. For the others in the pack, they likely had never seen him so distraught before.

As for Meesei, she acknowledged that Lorag was confused, but she needed to deal with Harriet first and foremost. "Exactly, so perhaps you see the dilemma I face? Right now, I am looking at a traitor who murdered an honorable and faithful man. But, who was acting under the deception of our enemy. I am looking at someone who has a daughter that relies on her, but who murdered a boy's father. Regardless of the impression I try to give to others, I am not without compassion, and I cannot punish Narsi for what you did, no matter who her father is. But...perhaps you can continue your redemption to our lord? You are not welcome among our clans, but you are right that we do not have a presence in Cheydinhal. If you agree to report to us, and serve our needs in the city, then perhaps I can justify this. You would do well to consider it, because if we fail, you and your daughter will die along with us and every other lycan in Tamriel."

Llarasa appeared slightly surprised by the hug at first, but she returned it all the same. She pulled away before responding. "So you are having a ceremony here?" She gave a sad smile. "I would love to be there. Thank you." She looked down at Fendros. "I'm not a mother, Fendros, but what Ahnasha is saying makes sense. Mother's reaction is probably both what you said and Father's response being too much at once." She gestured her head towards the door. "You two should try to talk with her again."

Fendros opened his eyes, but he remained seated for the moment. "It's not just her reaction," he mumbled. "I feel horrible. I...I knew that I had caused grief by running but...if mother had been drinking poison, I couldn't have imagined how bad it's been." Fendros sighed and leaned his head to one side on his fingers. "Ahna, even if mother accepts me-- accepts us both...how am I going to make up for this? Everything is such a mess."

---

Harriet's eyes followed Lorag's movements across the room, but she didn't stop him.

Meesei's suggestion caused Harriet to cross her arms again. Harriet's response was calmer than before, despite her incredulous expression. "You know, for it being my 'redemption' as well as apparently having every lycan life in my hands -- for some reason -- you're making this sound a bit too easy. You're gonna have to be more specific, champion. I don't quite understand what you're talkin' about."

"There's nothing we can do about that now, Fendros." Ahnasha answered. "Barring something like an Elder Scroll, we can't do anything about time. We can't change the past. What we can do is change what's going to happen. Let's just take it one step at a time. We can talk to your mother and try to convince her to accept you and me, then maybe see if we can do the same with your brother. We can worry about making up for things later."

Stepping back over to Fendros, Ahnasha took his hands in hers. "Just don't try to trick yourself into thinking you had a choice in what happened. You were attacked, and there was only one real way to protect your family. It wasn't fair, but it was what fate decided for you. That feral destroyed the life you had, but now you can try to make the best of the life it gave you. Come on, let's go see if we can find her."

---

Meesei shook her head. "Oh no, your role in all of this would be minor. What I mean to say is that we, in general, have to succeed against Vile. He and his followers have the intention and means to easily kill any and every one of our kind in Tamriel. They developed a weapon; a gas that, when breathed, rends our souls from our bodies and sends them straight to their lord. There are only few, limited ways to resist that, and we have not found the antidote. They can expose themselves to it with no effects, so they can use it liberally against us. We no longer have the option to fight them conventionally, so we need every advantage we can find. What I would need you to do here, on a basic level, is to help keep an eye on the city. Perhaps serve as a representative for any of us looking to make other connections in the area, perhaps pass on messages or perform other tasks of that nature. Regardless of whether or not whether you want to have any contact with other lycans again, you may want to consider your own family's safety. Hiding may not be sufficient forever when the enemy has a weapon that affects only us."

Fendros listened, but he did not raise his eyes to meet Ahnasha's. When she insisted that they try again, he stayed quiet for a moment, and then stood up out of his chair. "I could have come back earlier," he mumbled. His futility joined his slow stroll towards the entrance of the sitting room.

"Just come along, Fendros," Llarasa urged, leading Fendros and Ahnasha through the house.

They came to find Monderyn and Calia sitting at a simple dining table in the next room. This part of the house had a far more rustic and simple decor. It could even almost be described as flat. It was clear that the sitting room was more suited for entertaining guests while the rest of the house remained austere. Monderyn and Calia were at a corner of the table beside an empty glass flask. Calia had her head bowed forward and her eyes closed, breathing carefully with tears still streaking down her cheeks.

Monderyn turned his head to look at Llarasa and narrowed his eyes at Fendros. "Why did you have to blurt that out with such a tone, Fendros?" Monderyn hissed. The tone was chiding, but had surprisingly less venom than the last time Fendros heard his voice. "Why did you have to say it at all? You knew father wasn't going to accept it!"

Still feeling guilty, Fendros' response did not sound as defensive as before. "I came here to tell the truth, Monderyn."

"Well, look at all the good that's done for us." Monderyn's eyes wandered. "Did you ever stop to consider that maybe we were better not having you come back?"

"Boys, you will silence yourselves this instant." Calia's voice cut them both off with such a presence that the crying woman that had left the room before seemed like a bad dream. Calia lifted her exhausted head to Fendros and Ahnasha, mostly looking past them. "Your father can be short tempered, but the decisions between you two should not be dictated by anger. Fendros, did you truly not return to stay?"

Fendros solemnly shook his head. "I did not, mother. I am sorry."

---

Harriet's confusion waned in her expression, turning into a cold look at the floor. The reality of the situation dawned on her just as it would any other sane lycan. She stood staring for a few seconds.

"...I'll do whatever you need me to do," she said flatly. Her eyes went up to Meesei again. "I don't care if its for you, me, or every lycan there is. I'm keepin' Narsi safe. If what you say's true, I'm in."

Again, Ahnasha expected that Fendros would need to be the one primarily who spoke to his mother, but she felt more confident to speak now than she did before. Now that she had a better feel for the people around them, and Fendros' father was not present, she could add her own input when she felt it was necessary. There was a way that she felt that she might be able to relate to Calia, but first, there was something she could say that might help to excuse Fendros to them.

"There is another reason Fendros did not come here to stay, aside from our marriage." Ahnasha began. "For your own protection, I should avoid telling you too many specifics, but we are in danger, particularly in the cities. There is a group intent on hunting us; on hunting lycans. We are experienced with keeping ourselves hidden away from society, so we can keep ourselves safe there. But elsewhere...they now have ways of picking us out from non-lycans. We can visit cities, but to live in them, it would be too difficult to stay safe." She explained. Of course, she did not want to share every detail of their war with Vile. She wanted to make sure to give the impression that Fendros could be safe in the wilderness to keep Calia from worrying about Fendros after they left.

---

"If so, then the first detail you may wish to keep an eye on is the city's water supply." Meesei warned. "If the enemy finds a way to get the liquid form of their weapon into the water then they could kill every lycan in a city without the rest of the population even being aware. It is doubtful that the city guard would simply allow them to release their gas into the air among the people, but they can use their weapon indiscriminately in any way that is undetectable. Here in Cheydinhal specifically, it will likely be quite a while before the enemy has any presence here. We have never operated in any meaningful way in this area, so if the enemy has competent information gatherers, they will not check here first. We dealt them a heavy blow when we discovered their weapon a few months ago, but they will recover eventually. I will have our alchemists create a method to test for their weapon in the water, and distribute it to all of our lycans working within society. Until then, be cautious."

Lorag, meanwhile, faced away from the others and spoke up somewhat softly. "I just can't believe all this." He said before finally heading out the door and slamming it behind him. He obviously was not easily coming to terms with what he had learned.

Calia spent most of the time that Ahnasha spoke to digest Fendros' answer. Her expression was already fearful and worried enough that Ahnasha's words didn't seem to change things. "You are being hunted?" She asked. "Who would do such a-" Her eyes widened. "You are not wanted by the law, are you?"

"No, thankfully." Fendros walked up to the table and pulled out a chair, looking to Ahnasha and Llarasa to do the same. "The legion doesn't know about any of us, as far as we know. It's others." He sat down and leaned on his forearms. "Crazed or wronged people, mostly those that have lost something or someone to a feral lycan that devote themselves to wiping us out. They are...organised these days."

Llarasa had found a seat for herself as well. The atmosphere they had previously was beginning to re-emerge.

"Ahna is correct, though. I left for your protection, now I have to leave for the protection of my pack and me."

Calia faced the table again. "It is no matter now, it seems," she said solemnly. "If the city is the dangerous place, you could still be safe here. We are outside of the walls and the forest is just a walk away. But I cannot control your decisions now. You chose..." She trailed off with heavy breaths.

Calia resumed in Dunmeris. It was clear that she was trying to hold back her emotions. "You know that you would outlive a spouse that was not an elf, Fendros. You know that your ancestors would not abide you making a cross-breed, let alone..." She shook her head. "I understand why you left, Fendros. I cannot understand why you would marry this early in your life and...to a Khajiit. It is a filthy thing to do. It dishonours yourself and your clan. Why?"

Fendros responded in Cyrodilic. "Mother, she is neither filthy nor a dishonour. And my son is not an abomination." Fendros held back his anger as best as he could. "I love them both. Khajiit aren't all like the beaten creatures that used to work your fields before you left Morrowind." Fendros glanced to Ahnasha and back to Calia. He opened one hand. "As your son...please, at least find it in yourself to meet her as more than just a slave?"

Calia turned her head to the rough direction of Ahnasha's breathing.

---

Harriet's eyes did not brighten. "I'll, uh..." Lorag slammed the door and she paused. "...I don't have a lot of gold, but I can send off messages. My name's not Harriet in this place, by the way. It's Henrietta. Make sure the letters are addressed right."

Harriet looked over at the door. After a blink, she turned to Janius and Meesei. Her voice was faint with guilt. "You can tell big boy that he doesn't gotta have nothin' to do with Narsi if he doesn't want. I've been runnin' on that assumption since I left and...well, you guys are busy savin' the world and everything. S'not as if I can tell you to let go of your Orc so he can raise a kid." She looked to the door again and curled her lips. "Is he gonna be alright?"

For Ahnasha, she decided to continue with what she had intended to say, regardless of what Calia was saying. Between the bits of Dunmeris she could recognize and what Fendros had clarified, she knew what Calia was saying, but she did not care. “I knew this would not be easy, for you or for us. It is not usual for lycans to return to their families, and I know that our situation is not usual for you. But, this was the only thing to do that seemed right to us, no matter how hard it was. I remember when our son was in danger. We had been forced to leave him in the care of another and...a fire started. I remember rushing back with the fire all around me, but I don't remember the heat. I don't remember the pain or the burns. All I remember was devoting every single fiber of my being to reaching Rhazii and making sure he was safe. I think someone had to pull me away from the fire once I had him in my arms, because all I wanted to do was to hug him. I don't think I really understood before then what it meant to be a parent; to be a mother. When you have a child, they become your world. You still have all the other parts of your life, but they stop holding the importance you thought they used to. You love them unconditionally, before anything and everything else. I had heard people say those kinds of things about being a parent before, but after that point, I felt it as an undeniable truth. I think that's what caused me to want to do all of this; to return to my family, and to Fendros'. I felt what my parents felt when they lost me, and I couldn't stand it. I knew that any amount of suffering I had to endure would be worth it for you to know that your son is safe."

After she finished speaking, Ahnasha remained silent to allow time for Calia to think. She just hoped that her words had been enough to speak to the shared experiences between them.

---

"I will make note of that." Meesei responded. "We will send you enough gold to accomplish your tasks, so as long as you continue to carry them out adequately. You need not worry about impoverishing yourself to complete them."

As for Lorag, Meesei was just as uncertain as Harriet of what to do about him. Compared to others, he could be a more difficult person to speak to, as he was not exactly keen on opening up, even to her. "I am uncertain about Lorag. This is somewhat...unprecedented with him. Considering that he does not have any investment in his daughter, and he does not hold a high opinion of you, I would not expect him to pursue any involvement with her. His mental well-being is what I am concerned about. I expect he will keep his feelings contained inside himself, as he usually does, but I do not know if he will be able to ignore them so easily. We will need to speak to him."

Calia listened on, not so much as parting her lips to interrupt. There was little for her to do but bow her head in thought when Ahnasha finished. She sighed. As much as she would rather object, nothing Ahnasha said was a lie, she could tell.

"You have spoken eloquently...Ahnasha," Calia admitted. "Only a loving mother could know what you know. For seeing my son again, I am most grateful." Her expression became pained, but she swallowed it away. "I cannot ask you to be gone from Fendros' life. That much is obvious. I hope you understand, however..." Calia lowered her brow. "You have done Fendros a cruelty. He will outlive both you and the child. You bear the fault for that as..."

"No. She doesn't." Fendros interrupted with a similar expression to Calia. "I knew what this meant from the start, Mother. We have talked about it between us. I may be young, but I am sure about this."

Calia shut her eyes while she responded. "This is not about your decision, Fendros, this is about hers." She opened one up hand to Fendros. "You say that she is not like those in the slave cages? She will prove her wisdom, then." Calia opened her eyes again. "Ahnasha, you could imagine your child making a decision that goes against what you believe. You know of your lifespan and what it means for Fendros to marry outside of his race. What do you have to say for yourself?"

---

"Well..." Harriet hesitated and gave Meesei a sincere look. "Tell him I'm sorry. I won't go soft on him, but I owe him that much at least."

With that, Harriet looked around and scuffed her heel on the wooden floor. "Is that everything? I...uh, ain't exactly the best hostess. You've probably got places to be."

Janius finally spoke up after remaining on guard this entire time. "Meesei, should I go after Lorag?"

Ahnasha knew that she should have expected that question, or something similar, in the event that she managed to convince Calia to be at least somewhat accepting of her. Of course, she felt it best to not mention her efforts into life extension. It was technically possible that there were other methods to extend one's life aside from necromancy or vampirism which she did not know about, but in essence, to admit to trying to extend her life was to admit to practicing the dark arts. She would just have to fall back on another explanation.

"I believe we have very different on our lives, Elves and Khajiit. Eighty, a hundred years, those are small parts of your lives, but I would be happy to live that long. Fendros will be able to know that his wife and child have lived long, happy lives. And after that? Well, that is when existence really begins. My body may not last as long as his, but our souls are equally eternal. Just as my life is short to you, even an Elven lifespan is, how to say it...it's like a blink of an eye compared to literal eternity. If, after I am gone, Fendros decides to live his life until we are reunited, then my soul will be waiting for him. If he decides to find someone else in all that time, then I will be content with the time we had. I could not expect him to remain alone for all that time." Ahnasha answered.

---

Meesei turned her head to Janius and nodded. "Yes, see if you can talk to him. I do not expect him to be very open, but...just do whatever you can. I will join you shortly."

With her attention back on Harriet, Meesei was had just as harsh of an expression as before. "Be aware that we will be keeping an eye on you. I cannot forgive you for what you have done, and I do not expect many others will either. For your sake, I will not tell those you are meeting who you actually are. Our clan has moved on from Bruma, so you will likely be meeting with people who do not recognize you. You may live your life as you see fit, and as long as you continue to help us, you will be afforded any protection we can give against Vile, if you are discovered. Just do not expect to be welcome in any clan again, barring direct intervention from Hircine himself."

"Is that so?" Calia said. Her head angled back. "Are you so certain that you will be amongst Fendros' ancestors when his soul passes on? Are you so arrogant to assume that you are worthy of joining our family in the afterlife?"

Fendros gave Ahnasha a look, before breathing in to speak. "Mother, it's not..." he trailed off and sighed from his nose. "What Ahna means to say is that she understands that I can't let her be part of my entire life." He put his hands together, finally deciding to draw the line on how much he would disclose with the matter of spirituality. "Whether our souls reunite or not is irrelevant."

Calia blinked and slowly breathed in. "When you find yourself a Dunmer wife, Fendros, whenever you decide that shall be...you will leave your connections to Ahnasha and your son behind. Do you understand?"

There was a twinge of anger in Fendros' face at his mother's assertions. However, knowing what he knew and what his mother did not, he cooled his head and nodded. "Yes, mother."

"I do not care if this...lycanthropy curse still afflicts you. It is the only way that you will have a chance of redemption in the eyes of our ancestors."

"Yes, mother," Fendros repeated obediently.

"And your...child." Calia swallowed. "You shall not bring it here. Such a creature is not welcome in this house."

Fendros looked to Ahnasha again, this time with more consideration. He lowered his eyes and turned his crestfallen face back to Calia. "I feel like you are trying to gather things up to end the conversation, mother. I wish you would continue to try getting to know Ahnasha better."

Llarasa was staying silent in her seat. Her look had become increasingly worried as Calia had dictated Fendros' future. Monderyn was staring at the table with a neutral, if submitted face. He looked like he was waiting.

---

Janius softly nodded and strode to the door. His exit was far more peaceful than Lorag's.

"Yeah, sure, sure," Harriet said. Not able to meet Meesei's eyes, Harriet shuffled over to the fireplace and lifted an old kettle over the coals. She spoke as she added another log to the fire. "I never thought I'd say this but...thanks." Her tone was deadpan, uncannily like Lorag's when he deliberately hid his emotions. "Thanks for givin' Narsi a chance, even if I don't deserve a second one."

Immediately outside of the house, Janius looked for where Lorag might have run off to. Even if he was emotional, he couldn't have wandered too far for risk of losing track of the rest of the pack. Janius couldn't begin to imagine the shock that Lorag must have felt, but he hoped that he could connect to him as a friend. Perhaps as a fellow father as well.

For as long as Fendros and Calia discussed their souls and the afterlife, Ahnasha was silent, towards Calia at least. However, she recognized that Fendros was not being truthful. Both of their souls were bound to the Hunting Grounds, of that there was no question. Ahnasha knew she had no right to demand that Fendros tell anything to his parents, but in this case, she felt that lie would do more harm than good. Calia seemed unaware of what lycanthropy meant for Fendros’ soul, but that did not mean it would stay that way. There were scholars who researched lycans and published their findings, or even lycans themselves who spread information about their condition. The fact that lycans were bonded to Hircine was not unknown information, and she imagined that someone in the family would be motivated to research them after this. If not Calia, then perhaps Monderyn, or even his father.

Fortunately, the enhanced senses of a lycan meant that Fendros’ ears could pick up even the faintest of whispers from Ahnasha beside him. Calia had not been blind for long enough for her hearing to measurably improve. “You know that’s not true. They will do their research, and they will eventually learn about your soul. You don’t want them to know you lied to them.” Ahnasha whispered, quietly enough for the sound to reach only Fendros in any meaningful way.

As the conversation continued, Ahnasha became increasingly worried for Fendros. She felt that he was becoming afraid to stand up for himself and his convictions. Again, she knew his words were just lies to appease her, but she wondered if that would truly make him happy with this visit. She had told her share of lies to her parents, so she could not demand that he admit anything, but she had also not denounced Fendros right in front of him. She could not help but to be at least somewhat offended that he was not standing up for her or Rhazii. “Fendros…you are your own man. You are not a slave to anyone’s desires. Mine or hers. You need to be very sure this is what you want to say; this is what you want them to think. I can’t make you do anything, and if you have a plan, I’ll be patient. Just…really think about this.”

When the conversation finally moved towards Ahnasha once more, she quickly tried to think of something to say, this time loudly enough for Calia to hear. “I will be entirely honest, I think you’re wrong about me. But, to really be able to say that, I think I just have to ask directly. What do you think about me?”

---
Meesei let out a long sigh. “Narsi is innocent in all of this, which is why I hope you do what is right for her. I would not expect you to see me again, unless necessary. I have a difficult time looking at you without feeling the regret of my failure to save Jerrick, but be aware that those watching you will be suspicious, due to your previous ties to Vile. I think that you have seen for yourself how despicable they are. No matter what Vile promises, he will not be merciful to the lycans he coerces into his service, especially you, who have betrayed his agents in the past. If Vile learns of you, he will no doubt seek to use your daughter against you. He will not live up to the promises he makes. If something happens and you do not believe you can keep Narsi safe, I will agree to bring her into a clan’s protection.”

Janius would not have to go far to find Lorag, as he was standing just across the street from the hovel. He saw Janius step outside, but he made a very obvious effort not to make eye contact with him. Lorag could sometimes be difficult to read, but in this case, he was obviously angry, and in deep thought. Internally, he was conflicted, and externally, that showed through frustration. Even as Janius stepped closer, he would not acknowledge him until spoken to directly.

Fendros scrunched his eyes shut at Ahnasha's whispers. "It will be one thing at a time, Ahna. Trust-"

"It is rude to whisper secrets between yourselves," Calia interrupted. "Speak plainly or we need not speak at all."

For the first time since they sat down, Monderyn cleared his throat and gave Fendros a sideways look. "If you're really here to tell the truth, Fendros, don't dodge away from where your soul is going."

Fendros peered over at Monderyn, and then to the mouth-full-of-needles expression on his mother. They did not appear to pick up on Ahnasha's words but it made sense that Monderyn would know Fendros' white lies. He had known about his condition for the longest in the family and may have read more. He had brought a silver dagger when he found Fendros in the Imperial City after all.

"Very well," Fendros sighed. "Mother, you should be told. When one contracts lycanthropy, their soul is taken upon death to Hircine's hunting grounds in Oblivion to join the eternal hunt. Unless any of my ancestors are lycans as well, I will not be joining any of them at the end of my life, no matter how repentant I am."

Calia held her breath and her scowl. "And why have you lied to me?"

Fendros wiped his hand down his face and leaned his forehead on his fingers. "I wanted to put it off until a better time. I've come back and put a lot of tidings on the table, I didn't want to shock you into...well, disowning me, like father just did."

There was a second of silence while Calia's jaw began to quiver. "I will be the judge of that. Your father may be cruel and ill-tempered at times, but it shall be more than simply wasting a century in the arms of a lesser woman that convinces me to do the same. I am saddened to hear that your soul has been doomed. Lying to me about it almost offends me enough to think otherwise." She drew a breath from her nose and turned to firmer words. "Do not do so again, Fendros."

Calia angled her head to Ahnasha. "So you wish to know what I think of you, Ahnasha?" Her tone was not as firm, but still equally as cross as moderated to elegance. "I am grateful that you helped my son in his time of need. I cannot blame you for his hardships, but I find your actions selfish and naive. You are not worthy of Fendros, soul damned or no. My son deserves better than a short-lived beast and an aberrant spawn that was never meant to be."

Closing his eyes bowing his head forward, Fendros' fists clenched to the point of crackling and pallor. By the time Calia was done, he was all but shaking in contained fury.

---

Harriet proceeded from the fireplace to a sack next to what served as a kitchen bench. "Okay," she murmured after a moment. She bent down and produced some potatoes from the sack, putting them on the bench. She stopped to turn to Meesei with a slackened jaw. "Just one more thing, champion. Did you want your ring back? It's...not the most comfortable thing."

If Harriet's behaviour was still anything like Lorag's in that moment, she wasn't likely expressing how uncomfortable it really was.

---

Janius spent a moment looking at Lorag before going up to him. He needed to think carefully of how to approach the situation without making him angry. He decided to take the route of mirroring his actions. Janius walked up to Lorag and crossed his arms, looking off in the direction that Lorag was staring.

"Quite a shock, huh?" Janius began. "That was the last thing I expected to see today." Janius glanced to Lorag's eyes. "You know, I wouldn't know what to do in this situation to be honest, so I won't assume anything, but..." Janius hissed a sigh out between his teeth. "You've got time to think. What's going through your head right now?"

Ahnasha was not one to refuse to defend herself, even in this situation. Although, whereas she would usually be much more hostile, she could temper her response in this situation. She had prepared herself for this kind of a response. "And do you believe you can truly make those judgments without really knowing me? We did just meet, after all. I was born in Leyawiin; my parents were modest traders, and, unfortunately for me, devout followers of the Eight. I reluctantly went to chapel with them every week, and grew more and more disillusioned with it all. I had a hard time bringing myself to revere the Aedra in any real sense, though I think even worse was the self-righteousness of some of their followers. Being a follower of the Reclamations in a Cyrodilic city, I am sure you can sympathize. How they will subtly chastise you with a smile on their face for not revering their gods, how they like to work mentions of it into every conversation. It was little wonder that I found Hircine to be more worthy of reverence than them." Ahnasha began, carefully tailoring her words to her audience. Calia, like most Dunmer, was a Daedra worshiper, following the Reclamations. Given how prevalent the worship of the Eight was in Imperial culture, Daedra worshipers tended to feel marginalized. They were often agitated by, or even angered with followers of the Aedra. It was another potential shared experience between herself and Calia.

"Hircine, however...I found his sphere to be both powerful, and honorable. He encourages strength among his followers, without disrupting the natural order of Tamriel. Indeed, his influence follows the natural order of predator and prey. I was granted an audience with an aspect of Hircine himself after I hunted and killed a powerful minotaur." Ahnasha explained. Fortunately for her, there was no particular distaste for Hircine among the Temple of the Reclamations. He was, of course, not worshiped by them, but unlike some other Daedra, he was not considered to be an enemy of Azura, Boethia, or Mephala. he was simply another Daedra, so respect for Hircine and his sphere was not mutually exclusive with the worship of the Reclamations. "Hircine led me to my current pack, just as he led us to Fendros after he was attacked by the feral werewolf, so it was more than simple luck that allowed us to protect you from Fendros' beast spirit after he was attacked. I believe fate may have more for us than simple survival; we are doing good work across Tamriel. Hence how much we have traveled."

Ahnasha elected not to become any more specific immediately, and instead glanced to Fendros. She gave him a look to suggest that they might elaborate on that topic. The fact was that Fendros was not just a lycan. He was a lycan in the pack of Hircine's Champion. For one familiar with the Daedra, like Calia, she would know what that meant. She would know that the leader of their pack had been judged to be the most powerful of Hircine's followers. They had personally had contact with multiple Daedric Princes, including the Reclamation Mephala. Knowing that one of her gods found Ahnasha worthy to speak to directly at one of her shrines could potentially shift Calia's opinion on her. As well, Ahnasha was thinking of a way to frame her pursuit for life extension in a way that would not connect her to necromancy.

---

Upon Harriet's request, Meesei's expression become somehow even more serious. "It is within my capability to remove that ring, yes, but you are not asking for something simple, I hope you understand. The ring was not meant to exist within a living person for so long, so it does not surprise me that you have begun to feel it. However, to remove it requires cutting you open once more, which means I will need another healer to keep you stable while I work. And, even though I am the only that created it, there is still some risk to remove it. I do believe with reasonable confidence that I can extract it without triggering the enchantment, but there is still a small possibility of failure. It was, after all, specifically designed not to be removed. So yes, I can take it back, but do not think it to be a trivial matter."

---

Lorag kept looking away. He was angry, but at this point, there was no specific reason to believe that he was angry with Janius. However, his response was less than polite. "What's goin' through my head? All the different reasons why that traitor is lying to us. We need to just go in there and put a sword in her gut. No way that child's mine. What does the kid even matter anyway? She killed Jerrick, so she needs to get what she deserves."

Ahnasha's answer gave Fendros time to rebalance and calm. He was once again glad to have her with him. Unfortunately, for all the time Calia gave Ahnasha to speak, her expression did not change far from stern.

"I will speak in simple terms, not to insult you, but to be upfront and specific," Calia said. "You are Khajiit. We are Dunmer. We do not marry Khajiit, we do not make children with Khajiit. Our bloodlines are too sacred to muddy in such ways. Unless Hircine sees fit to transform you into a Dunmer, your worship of that him shall never change that fact."

There was a moment of apparent finality, interrupted by the looking around of both Llarasa and -- surprisingly -- Monderyn.

Monderyn spoke first. "Mother, you're angry," he said, putting a hand on her forearm. "You can't change what's already happened. Can't you just try to accept this?"

Fendros peered to Monderyn with surprise at how calm he was.

"Please don't hold contempt, mother. Monderyn's right," Llarasa urged. "This is like how you were with father when Fendros left. Please don't put yourself through that pain again."

Calia stared at the wall behind Llarasa for a few seconds. Fendros' eyes flicked to her and he noticed a way he might be able to appeal to her.

"Look, mother, you and Ahnasha might have more in common than you think," Fendros said in a low voice. "We've been able to live more than ever because of each other, and not just because of the love, but because of the thing's we've seen. We've spoken to Daedric princes, we've gone to the corners of the continent and back." Fendros opened his palms. "I know you're upset, but I still love you, mother. I don't want to push you away and I don't want you to push me away. Even if you don't like how things turned out, this is me now, with my fiancee. I know you can choose to see the good in it. Please."

Calia's stern face remained, but her shoulders lowered with a quiet outward breath. Carefully, but without struggle, she put her fingers to the table and stood up from her chair. She stood for a second longer before speaking. "I am fatigued." Her voice was flat. "I need to lie down."

Monderyn offered to take Calia's arm as she turned to leave, but she carefully brushed him off. She navigated by sliding her hand along the wall and shuffled out of the room. She didn't stop for any words.

---

Harriet's eyes went down. "Nah," she mumbled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

Without any further words, Harriet turned back around to the bench, produced a paring knife from a basket within reach, and quietly began to peel the potatoes in front of her. She didn't even ask for Meesei to leave, much less further acknowledge her existence.

---

"Hey, you might be right about Harriet, but that 'kid' doesn't deserve that," Janius quickly responded. "Look, it's probably not yours. Knowing Harriet, she's probably just trying to save her own skin. But still..." Janius dipped his head to one side. "Say it was your daughter, what would you want do to?"

There was a lot that Ahnasha could be feeling about the results of the conversation so far. There were questions she could ask, things that she could say, things that she wanted to say. To both Calia, and Monderyn. However, Ahnasha could not feel comfortable simply leaving Fendros’ mother to walk away on her own. If she merely wanted to rest and think, that would be fine, but some of the other details they had heard about her from Llarasa made her worry.

After Calia had stepped out of the room, Ahnasha spoke up quietly. “Maybe…one of us should keep an eye on her for the next few minutes? Make sure she is just going to rest. I understand completely if she just wants a few minutes to herself to think; we’ve just given her quite a lot to think about. But after what you said with that poison…I would just like to be sure she doesn’t do anything else. If I’m concentrating, I could hear anything she is doing from a room or two away.” Ahnasha suggested.
---

“That is your choice.” Meesei responded flatly. “You may send word if it ever causes any health issues. And I could devise a way to reduce any discomfort it is causing you. The greatest risk, of course, is the enchantment activating in full. Before I leave the city, I will give you a list of possible symptoms to pay attention to. If you experience them, then it would be best to have it removed. As well, the enchantment can be triggered by a specific word being spoken aloud. The trigger word is ‘redemption’, but spoken in the Daedric tongue. Not something that will be said in any normal conversation, obviously, but you should be aware of it.”

---

“Don’t call her my daughter.” Lorag snapped back, as if even the suggestion that she could be was offensive to him. “But even if she was, it wouldn’t matter. I didn’t choose that, and she was the one that made the mistake. Why in Oblivion would that come back on me? I don’t want children, never have. If Harriet couldn’t pay attention to what she was grabbing, that’s on her.”

Llarasa stood up despite Ahnasha's offer. "I don't think she'll be doing that, but I'll go and keep an eye out." Llarasa wafted her fingers towards Ahnasha. "You stay put..." her eyes caught Monderyn. "You never got to catch up."

It was unclear what Monderyn was thinking. He seemed distracted enough that he only acknowledged Llarasa with a fleeting glance. He returned to frowning at the one arm he had on the table.

Fendros seemed to adopt a similar demeanour for a short while. There was hope with his mother yet, but not nearly enough to show excitement. He greeted Monderyn with sigh and broke the silence. "It's been a while, brother."

Monderyn softly grunted behind his frown.

"Look, I regret what happened in the inn..."

"Don't worry about that," Monderyn spoke over him and shook his head. After another short silence, he swallow in frustration and curled his hand into a fist. "I don't know what to do, Fendros. There is so much happening at once." Monderyn finally looked up at Fendros with something of a pleading face. "We separated on such bad terms, but I'll swallow all that, I've been scared for mother. I don't want whatever poor taste we left in each other's mouths to get in the way of making sure she's well," Monderyn looked past them both with wide and spoke as if he was finishing a chore. "So, while you're here, I have to say sorry. I was just...back then, at the inn, I was so angry at everything that I was losing myself. Finding you was the kick back into reality that I needed." He let out an exasperated breath, ashamed enough to go dark blue on the ears. "Many things have happened since. That apology goes to you, too, Ahnasha. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I was in a dark spot and I regret what I did."

There was a creak in a floorboard elsewhere in the house, likely caused by Llarasa. It caused Monderyn to stop speaking and hold his lips shut.

---

Harriet's abdomen flinched as Meesei led up to the command word. After a second, she resumed her potato peeling. "I'll try to stay away from Daedra, then," Harriet murmured, trying to play off the brief moment of surprise.

With that, Harriet didn't initiate any further conversation.

---

Janius raised a hand. "Never said it had to."

There was a moment where Janius observed the people around them, thinking. "Tell you what, since you're so worked up about it, why don't you think of it like Harriet is pulling your leg and call the bluff?" Janius raised his shoulders to be non-committal. "You don't have to bluster at her about treachery and all that, but if you let it bother you any more, you may as well be treating it like she's telling the truth."