"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.

[hr]
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.