After their temporary goodbyes, the group headed back to camp, which was not terribly far from the vineyard itself. Ahnasha reached the point where she could comfortably transform back, though she waited until they arrived at camp, if only so that the rest of the pack did not have to stop and wait on her.

There was some minor arguing from Newt, but fortunately, the children were actually tired enough that it did not take too long to get them to lay down. Ahnasha was, of course, in a reasonably good mood, but even she could not help but to feel relieved after a few hours of constantly watching her own behaviors and words to make a good impression on Fendros' family. Ultimately, no matter her own thoughts on family and how much she really wanted to be close with them, her primary reason for putting in so much effort to get along with every member of his family was for Fendros' benefit. She wanted him to be able to live without worrying about them or how they felt about him, so she was willing to put in as much effort as it took.

Once she finally had a free moment, Ahnasha sneaked up behind Fendros and wrapped her arms around his waist, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. "So, how is my new husband feeling after all of that?"

---

The silence extended for a bit longer after Harriet spoke, as Lorag was mostly just improvising on what he was actually doing in her house. He did not have any real kind of goal from the moment he knocked on her door. "No, I...don't got no more to say. Just, uh, do a good job and all that. I'll...go now."

Lorag's gaze finally found its way to Narsi as he made eye contact with her. "Just take care." He said before turning to walk towards the door.

Fendros was beginning to pack away a few things in anticipation of leaving in the morning. He smiled and looked to Ahnasha in his peripheral vision, bringing a hand up to hold hers. "I'm...I don't know..." he murmured. "Mixed? The past couple of days has been, at once, all I hoped it would be and all I hoped it would not be. It was a good idea to come here, I cannot deny that. The wedding was lovely. Thank you for putting up with my family for all that."

Fendros turned his head to plant a kiss on Ahnasha's cheek and looked ahead again with lowered eyes. "It means a lot that you performed the ceremony with me. I feel as though taking those vows let me...be sincere about the certainty I feel. Even if it's just a tradition, I'm glad to call you wife."

After expressing his gratitude, Fendros smile shrank and he held his breath as if hesitating to continue. Focussing on the ceremony obviously did not detract from the troubles they had just walked away from.

---

Harriet didn't immediately react to Lorag turning around, but Narsi waved again and called out with her high voice. "Bye bye, Lorag."

"See ya 'round, big boy," Harriet added before he reached the door. She smiled softly at the back of Narsi's head. "Thanks."

Ahnasha moved herself around in front of Fendros, still keeping her arms around him the entire time. "Now, the wedding was definitely nice and everything, but you and I both know that the biggest issue with this whole thing was your family. They were the unknown, and they were the ones we spent most of our time with. I want to know how you feel about them. I want to know that you're happy with how things have gone with them so far, especially since I've completely avoided the option of literally smacking some sense into your father. Most of them have been glad to see you so far, particularly Llarasa and your mother."

Ahnasha somewhat delayed Fendros' answer by giving him another, proper kiss. She was keeping herself quite close to him, obviously in a good mood despite Fendros' apparent worries.

---

Lorag did not turn back to show the brief uncertainty on his face, nor did he give anymore farewells or other words to Harriet or his daughter as he left. For him, the past two days had been nothing but confusion, anger, and general frustration. These were not the kinds of problems he had any intention of dealing with, and in his mind, he had already done more than anyone should have expected from him. When he finally shut the door behind him, he hoped to never have to deal with it again, no matter how unlikely that hope actually was.

Fendros wrapped his arms around Ahnasha and received her kiss gladly, though he did use the time to try to think of what to say. He was, as a result, more distracted than Ahnasha was.

Fendros spoke gently to Ahnasha after their kiss ended. "I'm happy with how Llarasa and mother received us. I'm actually rather surprised how well things went with mother, but it was going to go either this way or far worse with how swiftly everything was told. Still, she puts on her 'armour' and she's almost impossible to read. I still cannot know for sure if she wholly approves of everything. What she said to Monderyn in the woods, however...I have no reason to presume that was a lie."

Pausing, Fendros turned his head slightly to eye the ground beside them. "As for Monderyn, he is still trying to process everything. When we spoke in private in the temple, he was trying to fathom calling Rhazii and Newt his nephews. He is...more open to the idea than you might think, but he feels as though he would cause problems if he got too close to them." Fendros glanced up at Ahnasha's eyes. "It's a sort of immediate reaction with us elves and other races. Monderyn doesn't really know how to deal with it. I tried to reassure him. Even so, I think he's having more trouble with father." Fendros closed his eyes and silently sighed. "I think father is trying to drive a wedge between myself and the family. Mother is having none of it, evidently, but Monderyn does not want to be disowned either. Mostly, I think, he doesn't want the same drama that was present when I...well, died."

Fendros' eyes opened halfway and his tone took a downward turn. "That leaves father. I'm..." Fendros' voice levelled to a monotone. "Disappointed. To say the very least, disappointed. He has decided in no unambiguous terms that I am dead to him. As much as I can hope for it to change, it won't, not unless he suddenly changes his entire personality." Fendros swallowed felt a lump in his throat that he tried to hide. "I feel somewhat powerless, actually."

"Well I meant what I said earlier." Ahnasha responded, giving no uncertainty in her tone. Monderyn's discomfort made a bit more sense after Fendros' explanation, but she honestly did not expect that he would be a problem long-term. The only real issue was, of course, Rossarm. Even having only met him for a few minutes, she felt safe in calling him stubborn. Under any other circumstances, she would not even think about putting in any effort to reason with him, but him being Fendros' father made him, unfortunately, important.

"Your father, by all accounts, is stubborn, but no one with an even reasonably normal mind can last forever opposing everyone they know." Ahnasha contended. "If he had people to validate him, maybe, but everyone he is going to be around on a regular basis is not going to be agreeing with him. Anytime he hears about you, it is going to come from someone who will try to convince him to see you. Even if he goes to his priests, they'll try to talk him into it. Do you really think he'll last a hundred years like that, or even more than a decade or two? If you suggest something to someone enough times, it will start to get to them eventually."

"I wish it were that simple, Ahna," Fendros said. "We're not the only Dunmer in Cheydinhal. Father regularly interacts with other families and...the priest can only do so much for the culture of it all." Fendros turned his eyes up to Ahnasha again. "It is hard to put explain to you, coming from Imperial openness and all, but...it is less validation keeping things as they are than it is shame. I shamed him and the family because I went against a culture that he has lived amongst for all of his long life. If anyone else found out about me in Cheydinhal, my family would be ostracised. Now, mother and my siblings can keep a secret, but the reason for ostracism lives on as a part of my father at this point. He isn't going to go against himself like that. Not even for me. The clan has to endure, the ancestors have to be appeased. All of that nonsense."

Fendros looked away again. "Now, the priest, he was probably just wise enough to know that keeping the family together would be more important than forcing the family to save face. Father? He is stuck in his ways. A century is no challenge for that kind of thing."

Ahnasha actually gave something of a chuckle when she made a connection between two of the points that Fendros made. "Hmm, well it might not be as bad as you think. There may be other Dunmer in Cheydinhal who would agree with him, but as you just said, it would apparently be shameful for him to tell them about you. So, he either has to admit to his friends what happened so that he can talk to them about it, taking on that shame in the process, or keep the secret and still have no one to validate his opinion. From what you said, it seems he will probably choose the latter. And of course, not every Dunmer in the city may be so traditionalist. It is still primarily an Imperial city, with Dunmer influence, but many of the Dunmer families have lived there for generations. Elven generations. Think back on when you were growing up; do you really know exactly how traditional all of your family's Dunmer friends were? If it's anything like where I grew up, those kinds of conversations don't come up very often if the people involved are looking to avoid conflict." She asked.

"Oh, no, those kinds of things would not be talked about in the open. Not at all," Fendros agreed with a forced smile at Ahnasha's levity. The smile did not last long as he continued. "But, I think you're mistaking father as someone who is more flexible. He is the Dunmer that would show contempt to someone in his position. At the same time, he is the last person to admit that he is wrong. The length of time he has spent with that attitude tells me that he is validated in other ways."

Fendros adjusted his hands up under and behind Ahnasha's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Look, you might be right about him changing, but I do not see it happening in any short amount of time. And it hurts. However, I am not sure how useful it is to dwell on right now." Fendros spread a broad smile. "I just got married to the best woman in all of Tamriel and I want to dwell on that some more."

Fendros brought his head forward to place a kiss on Ahnasha's lips. It turned into another, and then a longer kiss.

Ahnasha gave a shrug. "Well, I guess we will see in time how much his family can influence him. Quite a lot of time, granted, but time regardless. Just try to focus on the positive."

The conversation essentially ended on that note when Fendros pulled her in for a kiss. As Fendros said, it was not something that either of them really wanted to dwell on. They had a few hours before they were due to return to Cheydinhal and find the tavern. Lorag returned after about another half hour, though he did not say a single word about why he had left the temple, or what he had been doing in the city. Given the mood he was in, even Meesei did not feel that it would be prudent to ask about it at the moment. Lorag was the kind of person who needed solitude as well as conversation, at different times. Given that the wedding had gone well in all of the obvious ways, the overall mood around camp was good. Meesei took the time to fashion a rough leather binding for her black book to keep it closed unless she specifically wanted to open it, while the rest of the pack passed the time in whatever ways came to mind.

It turned out that the wedding ceremony had taken longer than the pack ha realised, most likely because of the time spent in conversation. That left relatively little time before they set out for the Avarul family's favourite tavern.

The tavern itself was a cleaner place than most taverns had repute for. Calia strode in and swiftly acquired a table large enough for them all. While the meal was pleasant and the conversation as nice as it was after the ceremony, the event was still marred by the absence of Fendros' father, Rossarm. Calia mentioned that she had tried to convince Rossarm anyway, but he 'remained unreasonably stubborn in his silence of Fendros.'

Just as promised, Calia paid for everyone's meals, even if they over-ordered, but the amount of drink that Lorag consumed had Meesei handing the bartender the pack's coin on a secret tab.

Given how early the pack was to leave in the morning, they decided to give their farewells to Fendros' family that night. Addresses were exchanged for letters as promised. However, Fendros decided that he would also write to Llarasa under the alias of 'Dranas' for matters that would not be revealed in letters written and read by the whole family. It would be easier to keep track of more negative family affairs that way.

While Calia and Monderyn remained stoic with their goodbyes, Calia instead offering her small smiles, Llarasa ended up bursting into tears. She quietly mentioned to Fendros and Ahansha while hugging them that their letters had helped her through rough spots on a number of occasions with the family. They all promised to see one another again soon enough.

That night had Janius approach Fendros and Ahnasha to offer to watch the children for the night with a knowing look. Fendros and Ahnasha then took time together away from camp for the most part, embracing their first night as a wedded couple.

Travel began bare minutes after sunrise on the next day. They ate on the road to save time on their way south. Attempts to reach out to Lorag were largely unsuccessful from most members of the pack, though all could tell that seeing Harriet and Narsi had affected him. Sabine soon overcame her bout of sadness from the wedding and instead expressed a growing excitement with every day that they neared closer to Ariel. Janius and Kaleeth kept their routine regular; watching the children and Leaps, contact sparring until Kaleeth's beast spirit was appeased, and other general tasks assigned to them. The wedding had kept Janius' mind distracted with thoughts of how to find Kaleeth's tribe again and they weren't fading away with any rush. Finally, Fendros and Ahnasha continued to look as if they had fallen in love all over again. They were physically closer than usual, holding hands more often and sitting closely. It was only beginning to show signs of tapering to how things were after at least a month of travel, but the pet-name status of 'husband' and 'wife' was not losing novelty nearly as fast.

It seemed that the only pack member that had not changed at all since they left Skyrim was Gallus. He kept spending his idle time preening the red feather that he carried around and did not seem as talkative as he normally was. Whenever asked about his wellbeing, he merely responded that he was feeling 'determined.'

The time eventually came for the groups' paths to diverge. Gallus and Cuts-Canes-Faster gave their goodbyes near to the south-eastern corner of Cyrodiil. It was a straight-shot to Gideon over land and marsh, with travel being slower than the firmer Cyrodilic soil by a long margin. Even though he might have been confident of his chances beforehand, Gallus quickly came to appreciate Cuts' expertise of Black Marsh. Without the Argonian guide, Gallus would have been lost for upwards of a week just trying to navigate.

By the time Gallus came to Gideon, his clothing was suitably muddy and his brow drenched from the humid heat. The town's mix of Imperial, Argonian, and ancient architecture made him gaze with amazement for a while. Cuts eventually snapped him out of it. They went to an inn to book a room, if only to clean up somewhat, and emerged feeling fresher. At least, insofar as smell and look. The dark rings under Gallus' eyes told of fatigue that he was otherwise not showing.

"I'm not sure what I expected, Cuts, but it was different to this city," Gallus remarked out the front of the inn. "Come, I'll need your help to translate. We have a child to find."

Gallus then proceeded to trying asking around taverns and markets for anyone named 'Yizan-Lei' or any family and friends of 'Dar-Tzesa.' With Cuts' cultural guidance, Gallus again found himself saving much time. Regardless, he didn't expect the search to be easy.

---

Meanwhile, Meesei's pack had continued on south until they found a ferry to Leyawiin. Travel would be fastest to Thorn by boat than by travelling across the breadth of Black Marsh. They made sure to take time to have a satisfying hunt as a pack in the nearby wilds before boarding the ship to travel around the marsh.

Even though it was just as boring as their other voyages by ship, all except for the children, Kaleeth, and perhaps even Meesei found the ship to be preferable to the conditions of Black Marsh. No incidents came up during the voyage beyond some cabin fever.

When the pack landed, Sabine was so excited that it was hard to tell whether the tension she held was good or bad. She was the first down the gangplank, even jumping ahead of some docking crew. She waited for the rest of the pack to disembark after rolling the balls of her feet on the ground for every second that passed.

"What should our movements be?" Janius asked with his shoulders laden by some of the pack's baggage. "Did you and Sabine want to go to Ariel on your own while we find a place to camp or should we all come with you?"

Meesei took in a deep breath as they stepped of the ship and onto Thorn's docks. The salty air of the sea was still ever-present, as it had been for their entire voyage, but it also carried with it the unmistakable scent of the marsh. Not all would consider it pleasant, but for Meesei, it was a cherished part of her memories. For Kaleeth, the feeling was perhaps even stronger, and she showed it far more outwardly.

"I think you should find a place for us, yes." Meesei responded. "An inn would suffice, since we are already in the city. You might try Rukeewei's inn; I have no doubt he will give us a fair price. Myself and Sabine will go to meet with Ariel. It probably would not do well to crowd her shop all at once, without warning. Just the two of us would draw less attention than a crowd. We will meet up at the inn later."

At that point, the pack split up, with Meesei joining Sabine to head to Ariel's shop. At this time of day, Meesei expected that it would be open, as there were no holidays or other events happening that would prompt it to close. Though, even being just a normal day, Thorn was still as beautiful as Meesei remembered it. The city still had lively decorations, if more subtle than when in the middle of a festival. There was water flowing down the sides of the street from a recent rainstorm, though it looked like it had been a while since the last flood, based on the state of the buildings.

The crowds were heavy in the streets, especially near the docks, but the parts of town they were crossing felt safe overall. There was a constant guard presence at all times, with one at seemingly every corner. Most of them wielded a spear that allowed their presence to be known, even in a crowd, though they did pass by a few that were a bit more hidden. The city district that contained Ariel's shop was not the wealthiest by any means, but it did benefit from containing businesses that the city had an interest in protecting, so the quality of security was still reasonable.

As they were finally approaching the shop, Meesei was not entirely sure what to expect. It had been a while since they had written Ariel, especially given the traveling. But, there was no doubt that Sabine was excited. Meesei looked over to her, smiling as she patted her on the back. "I think I will let you take the lead. I will not ruin your reunion by getting to business too quickly."

---

All of the questions that Gallus ask did eventually lead him in the right direction. There actually seemed to be at least two people by the name of "Yizan-Lei" in the city, but as one of them was an old man who did not match the description, it was fairly obvious where they needed to go. Unfortunately, it took them to a rather decadent part of the city. Gideon, for the most part, had all of the comforts one would expect of a Cyrodilic city, but its slums were beset by decay caused by frequent flooding. Without near as many safeguards to protect them, about a third of the houses were seemingly uninhabitable, even if not all of them were actually uninhabited. The rest were small, simple wooden buildings with no more than a few rooms each. The streets themselves were unpaved and not that well-defined, often being split up by the long, branching roots of the Hist tree at the center of the district. The people they passed did not actually seem depressed or dissatisfied exactly; rather, they were suspicious of the obvious outsider that was Gallus.

The house they finally arrived at was in-tact, but otherwise no different from any of the others around it. Evidently, one of its inhabitants had seen Gallus approaching through a window, as it was only a few seconds after the first knock that the door was opened. The man who answered was an Argonian with dark brown scales and what was essentially a crown of horns on the top of his head. He looked to be somewhere around Meesei's age. "Hello, can I...help you?" He asked in heavily-accented Cyrodilic, looking at Gallus.

After letting the rest of the pack walk off to Rukeewei's inn, Sabine was barely able to stop herself from briskly walking ahead of Meesei. She was a step or two ahead from Meesei for virtually the entire walk to the shop.

The shop itself was notably different to the last time they had seen it. Ariel had evidently commissioned a sign that jutted perpendicular to the wall so it could be spotted from the streets. The window was lined with rows and rows of glass flasks and jars. Most of the merchandise was labelled with printed Jel, though many had Cyrodilic as well. Even with the cloudy weather, the daylight was too bright to see anything else through the window.

Sabine grinned at Meesei when she spoke. She had been taking the lead most of the way until this point. "Okay. But I think she will be looking forward to seeing you as well, Meesei. You might take your time."

Sabine jogged up to the door and pushed it open. A small bell rang overhead to join what she saw in the interior. The small shop had been fully stocked at this point. Two Argonian women were separately perusing a dizzying array of glass cases and shelves with various remedies, cosmetics, and alchemical concoctions joined the occasional raw ingredient. There were so many things to see, even in the small place, but the smell hit Sabine the hardest. It was the smell of an alchemical lab mixed with a plethora of perfumes. It was a much stronger version of what she remembered the place smelling like four years ago. It made memories flood back.

At first, Sabine looked around for Ariel's face. Behind the counter, a door opened to the storage closet that revealed Ariel poking her head out to see who had rang the doorbell. Ariel immediately gasped. "Sabine!"

Ariel's surprise made the Argonian customers turn their heads curiously. Ariel stepped out from behind the counter with a simple silken green robe and nearly ran towards Sabine with her arms extended and a laugh on her lips. Sabine joined in her mirth and they embraced in a tight hug, laughing with joy. With her lycan strength, Sabine hugged Ariel so hard that she ended up lifting her feet of the ground for a moment.

"Oh, Sabine! Waiting to see you again has been unbearable! I've been watching the door ever since I received your letter!" Ariel swung Sabine from side-to-side in her arms.

What surprised Sabine the most was that she was now nearly as tall as Ariel. It was strange to see her from a shallow angle after all this time. Regardless, she responded in kind. "It is good to see you, too, sister."

"You have no idea, Sabine." Ariel pulled away, taking Sabine by the shoulders. "Welcome back to Thorn!" Ariel took a breath to stave her excitement for a moment. She peered around. "Are the others here?" She looked out of the door. "Oh! Hello Meesei!"

"The others are getting a room at the inn," Sabine mentioned with a grin.

Ariel released Sabine and walked out of the store to wrap her arms around Meesei in turn. "It has been too long! How have you both been?" She pulled away and beckoned Meesei. "Come inside! Come inside."

---

Gallus had been investigating all day, so meeting one more stranger was not a particular challenge. However, he had a feeling he was getting close now. To try and gain the trust of the man who answered the door, he held his hands behind his back and stood with a strong posture. It would be more officious than any of the more thuggish types they had passed already. Unfortunately, there was only so much that Gallus could do about his armed leather and mail attire and smell of the wilds.

"Greetings," Gallus began with a clear tone to spare shortcomings in language. He trusted Cuts to translate if required. "My name is Gallus Oswallson. Does a Yizan-Lei live here? I need to speak to him."

Gallus remembered to expect some kind of crippled child. This man was not likely Yizan-Lei, but could be close to him.

The first thing Meesei noticed upon stepping into the shop was, of course, the scent. With all of the perfumes and other volatile liquids, the scents were particularly overwhelming for an Argonian lycanthrope. She would not say it aloud, but it was honestly not especially pleasant, though she suspected the perfumes would be much more agreeable when taken individually. In any case, the average Argonian nose would not be as offended, so it was not likely an issue to her business.

Aside from the scents, Meesei was pleased to see the shop in its fully completed state. After all this time, Ariel had no doubt had the chance to get everything just as she wanted to maximize both her business, and personal satisfaction. Granted, Ariel did not have too much space to work with, but the shop did give a sense of her tastes.

Stepping inside, Meesei was of course much less excitable than Sabine, and she did not squeeze the breath out of Ariel like Sabine when she hugged her, but she wore a smile nonetheless. Ariel was one of the first friends she had made outside her pack since she first left her village, and one of the few non-lycan friends she had now. Ariel had made great sacrifices to help them in the past, so Meesei held a great deal of respect and trust for her. “It is good to see you, Ariel. My apologies for the delay in getting here; we had a detour through Cheydinhal that caused the journey to take longer than we initially told you in our last letter. Regardless, we are all safe and in good health. Still, I expect there will be quite a lot of catching up to do.”

---

As Gallus might have suspected, the man’s immediate reaction was one of suspicion. It was a common reaction for the majority of the people he had been questioning that day, but this time, the man took on a more notably defensive posture than usual. He held his hand tightly on the door, ready to slam it shut at a moment’s notice.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to need a more…specific reason why a strange outsider is wanting to talk to my nephew before I do anything.” The Argonian responded.

"I have no doubt. I want to hear everything about your journey," Ariel said, still grinning from ear to ear. She walked behind her counter again. "I'll put on some tea for us. One moment."

Before Ariel reached the stairs, she stopped and looked to the two customers who were still confused by the sudden disturbance in the otherwise peaceful shop. Ariel still spoke with accent, but her jel shot out with frightening fluency. "Apologies, ladies. I have not seen my sister for years. Please, if you require anything, I will be down in a moment to finalise any purchases, but I will have to close the shop for a while after that."

One of the customers appeared overwhelmed, but the other merely smiled. "As you wish, Ariel. I only came in for some skin pigment. I cannot help but browse when so many things have been discounted."

Several minutes and some customer affairs later, Ariel had closed the shop with a note and was sitting opposite Sabine and Meesei on the floor above the shop, pouring tea for them.

"So, what news from the frozen north?" Ariel asked. "And how was your journey?"

---

The uncle in front of Gallus had a common reaction. Argonians in this city were cordial with strangers at the best of times. Gallus decided to get right to the point.

He pulled the long red feather from his pocket and held it up between his fingers and thumb. His voice was grave. "It is regarding his mother, Dar-Tzesa."

Meesei took a sip of her tea, glad to finally be able to relax properly after so long being cramped up within the ship. "The journey itself was mostly dull, fortunately. There were no surprises, just walking and sailing. Though, we did have some...mostly pleasant affairs in Cheydinhal. As for Skyrim, it has been a good home for us, perhaps just because we have been able to find such a wonderfully secluded home within it. I apologize that we have not been able to describe it to you as of yet, but I have taken to being exceptionally careful concerning its secrecy. Our letters may take a bit longer to reach one another, but you can rest assured that we are safe."

Taking another drink, Meesei looked around the room. It was obviously not as decorated as the shop below, but it was more indicative of Ariel's personal life in the city. "It is good to see that your shop seems to be doing well. I heard you faced some flooding damage, though that is nothing uncommon in Black Marsh. Most buildings tend to be built for it. Has everything else been going well in the city? Any interesting stories to tell?" She asked.

---

The mention of Dar-Tzesa's name caused the man to immediately become much more severe, and further strengthened his suspicion. He appeared to be on-edge, but did not yet do anything to distance himself from Gallus. He merely kept his grip tightly on the door as his gaze went down to the feather in Gallus' hand. "I would ask you to explain yourself to me, clearly and...directly."

"Ah yes, that flood was a learning experience for me," Ariel said, scratching behind her ear. "I have since learned to have sandbags ready, keep important stock on the upper level, and about five other things that the locals know since childhood."

Ariel perked up from her minor embarrassment quickly. "As for thing since my last letter, things have been relatively stable." She held her tea cup in both hands and raised it to her lips, revealing a gold band on her finger inlaid with three amethysts. "Rukee's business is doing fairly well, as is mine. We've talked back and forth about living together, but neither of us have the means to purchase a new house unless we sold what we have. Instead, we just alternate where we live between here and the inn."

"Meesei?" Sabine turned her head to her. "If we are not allowed to talk about home in the letters, can we speak of it here?"

---

Gallus shifted and lowered thee feather. "As you wish. I regret to inform that Dar-Tzesa has passed away. I can tell you the details, but I would prefer to inform her son at the same time. It is a sensitive matter and I am sure you would both have questions."

Gallus angled his head forward. "May we come in? Mister...?"

Meesei shook her head lightly. "I am sorry. I know it is a tempting topic of conversation, but I would rather us not speak of it at all, unless it is necessary. It is, after all, the most important secret we have, and you never know who may be listening at any time. Particularly in a place as crowded as Thorn. That said, as long as we do not physically describe our home, I have no problem speaking about events in the clan."

After another sip of tea, Meesei clasped her hands together in front of her. "Regardless, the others are securing rooms for us in Rukeewei's inn, so we will be heading over there later. I am glad everything has been going well for you. In light of recent events, I believe I have come to appreciate stability far more than I ever have before. The knowledge that your next day will be as safe and prosperous as the previous is comforting, to say the least. Perhaps that is why Ahnasha and Fendros elected to be married."

---

The man did not respond immediately. In fact, it took some time for him to react at all. He lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes as he allowed the silence to hang over them in the air. He breathed out slowly, and at first, only seemed to speak his response as an afterthought. "We had feared this for a while, but that does not make it less...painful to hear."

Looking back up at Gallus, the Argonian started to bare his teeth ever so slightly. "But if you are...if you..." He started before quickly becoming frustrated with Cyrodilic and switching to Jel. "If you are one of those degenerates that used her grief to take her away from us, then I would have you nowhere near my nephew."

Ariel's face shuddered and she placed her teacup onto the table in front of them with a loud clink. It was just in time before she brought an arm to her mouth and erupted in a brief fit of coughing. The shock may have sent tea down her windpipe.

When it subsided, she grinned and responded. "Ah..ahem, sorry. By Azura, I completely forgot! I remember reading that they wanted to get married." She stopped to cough once more into her arm and clear her throat. "So that finally happened? Where did they have the ceremony?"

"Cheydinhal," Sabine answered. She had been stifling her laughter from Ariel's surprise.

"Of course," Ariel said. "That must have been why you had a pleasant- of course! Oh, I have to hear all about it now." She placed an arm on Sabine's forearm. "You two mustn't spare any details."

Sabine angled her head and smiled, looking into her tea. "It was romantic. The ceremony involved ash. The priest was nice and the vows were beautiful." Sabine's eyes returned to Ariel. "And we met Fendros' family. His previous family."

Ariel was less excited, but just as curious. "Really? I remember you telling me that Fendros' family was not exactly happy with him, or was that just his brother?"

Sabine cast her mind back. "His sister Llarasa likes him. Monderyn seemed conflicted. His mother Calia was shocked but calmed down and turned friendly, but hard to read. Fendros' father Rossarm was the one we did not meet. He sounded really mean."

"Oh? I take it he didn't react well?" Ariel gave a concerned look to them both.

---

Gallus did not understand a word of Jel, but the uncle's tone made him lower his brow and turn his head slightly. There was a second where Gallus overcame the shock before he slowly turned his head to Cuts to interpret.

Upon hearing the translated words, Gallus' face softened and he looked back at the uncle. "If you are referring to the ones who made her that false deal to go with them, then you should know at once that they are my enemies. Those who accompanied Dar-Tzesa were captured with her and are also dead." Gallus lifted a palm. "I am not here to manipulate anyone. My foremost reason for coming is to recount to Yizan-Lei what happened."

Meesei was chuckling internally right along with Sabine upon Ariel's reaction. Eventually, Ariel regained her composure enough to continue her questioning. "His father is a staunch traditionalist, from what I heard." Meesei answered. "I never met him myself, though I imagine I would have liked to. I have to admit that I get some personal enjoyment over proving my magical prowess to those who doubt me. Especially if they are doubting me for being Argonian. Regardless, the majority of Fendros' family were eventually glad to see him, so I believe Ahnasha and Fendros found the wedding to be a success."

"Have there been any troubles for you here?" Meesei continued, looking curiously at Ariel. "I know you are with Rukeewei; has his family been accommodating to you? Or does he have family in the city, other than his brother? Are there any people in the city who have mistreated you because of it? Thorn does have more outside influence than a lot of Black Marsh cities, but I know well how isolationist Argonians can be. Luckily, Black Marsh has never had anything specifically against Bretons, being on the exact opposite side of Tamriel from High Rock."

---

Again, the Argonian took a while to respond. He looked Gallus and Cuts over from top to bottom, the suspicion never leaving his eyes. Obviously, he was having difficulty resolving what to do about the information that had been thrust upon him, let alone Gallus' insistence to come inside. "Outsiders have caused nothing but pain ever since they have stepped into our lives. If my nephew's sickness wasn't enough, they come and take away the only parent he had left. But, if you really are their enemy..."

The Argonian gave another look over Gallus, particularly focusing on his blade. "If you both give me your weapons, I will let you into my home."

Ariel was able to clear her throat enough to drink her tea properly before answering Meesei. "His extended family actually live together in a house near the walls. It's not especially large or luxurious, but his mother, father, and two aunts live there."

Ariel smiled and angled her eyes down. "They didn't seem outwardly taken aback when they met me but...they have other ways of expressing their isolation. It wasn't really in a way that I was prepared for." Ariel looked up to Meesei. "You see, they were all warm and welcoming smiles while I was in front of them and it felt like something was off. I found out soon after that they were talking about me behind my back. How I'm rumoured to be a 'wild mage' and I'll only bring trouble to the family. I'm sure that even if I wasn't a witch they would find something else wrong with me."

After a quick sigh of frustration, Ariel leaned back a bit. "It's tense, but I am working through it slowly. They attended our wedding, so it doesn't sound as bad as Fendros' situation by a large margin."

---

Gallus looked to Cuts to check his comfort, and then carefully began handing over his hammer and many daggers. He didn't even keep one hidden this time, as was his habit. The two of them would be unlikely to find trouble here.

"You were her brother? Or her in-law?" Gallus asked while producing his weapons. "You have my condolences. I didn't catch your name."