Ahnasha was quick to bring her lips up to Fendros', though she was not sure how long she left them there before Fendros finally pulled away to speak up once more. She gave a nod, then pulled him in close for another hug. "I'll be honest, I was worried about you there for a while. I'm still a little worried about your father, but it wasn't all bad. It was actually kind of good. Now we just have to make sure this wedding goes just as smoothly."

Grabbing Fendros' hands in hers, Ahnasha paused, uncertain. "Saying we do get to speak to your parents again...how do you think we should handle it? Now that we've seen them, and have an idea of what they'll be thinking, I think we can try to figure out what might work best. And not just to convince them of anything, but to show them who you are. You're your own, independent man now, not the child they remember. Your father...I mean, I don't want to insult him, but he seems aggressive, and stubborn. If you hadn't have held me back, I definitely would have given him a good punch to the gut for striking Llarasa. That was uncalled for, unacceptable. Still makes me angry just thinking about it. If he does happen to show up for whatever reason, I could foresee him putting you in a bad position. You might have to decide whether or not to stand up for yourself, or go along with a lie or something, and that won't be my choice to make. It's yours."

---

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you." Meesei responded. She brought her hand up to the side of her head, contemplating as she stared down the book. "But this situation is far from normal. Mora does not give knowledge for free, and I certainly doubt he would do so now, but he has already shown himself to be in opposition to Vile. If the books on the topic are at all credible, then scholars in the past have had their minds consumed by madness searching through the volumes of knowledge found in Apocrypha. But, none of those scholars were at all important to Mora. For myself, he obviously does not care about me, but he has to recognize that I am the leader of Vile's primary opposition. To try to take my soul, or something of that nature, would be in opposition to Mora's goals, while granting me more power would help him. Even if Mora is entirely selfish, then he may give me what I need for his own benefit."