Julan had hoped that his parents' return would give him some closure to the questions that had been racing through the back of his mind for the entire time he had been talking to Aurana. Whether his father decided to speak to her parents, or that they could not help, he thought he would at least have a good answer. Unfortunately, his father's answer to Aurana was much more vague than Julan had hoped. He did at least say that they would try to help her...somehow. It was slightly encouraging, but it left Julan with even more questions and worries than he had started with, and he guessed that Aurana was probably feeling the same way. 

Regardless, they did still have some time left that night, and Julan did not want to waste it. "Okay, I...hope we can help you tomorrow, Aurana. And we still have some time to talk now, at least. What was I saying...right, the oasis. Well, we weren't completely in the desert, so I guess it wasn't [i]really[/i] an oasis, but it was a big pond. Rhazii bet me that I couldn't trick them into thinking there was a crocodile in the water, which was a completely unfair bet since, apparently, the Redguards didn't even know what a crocodile was. But I didn't know that then. Anyways, I hid under the water..." Julan continued. He had been telling as many stories as he could think of from their travels, edited for Aurana. This particular story did involve him shifting into a werecrocodile, but he would, of course, leave out that detail. Aurana, by contrast, hardly had any stories of interest to share, but Julan hoped that would change eventually.

---

"Thank you, but we need not discuss such details of our mission at the moment. There will be ample time tomorrow, and I find it is usually good not to make such decisions in moments of emotion like this." Meesei said, intentionally avoiding using the word "weakness." Despite what Lunise might have felt about her own actions, Meesei did not want to do anything to discourage them. Lunise's tendency to emotionally isolate herself from those she worked with undoubtedly allowed her to more easily see herself as their better. But, Meesei had a feeling that was changing. 

"For now, I find myself somewhat curious about you, Lunise. Almost every interaction we have had through the years we have known one another has been entirely professional. Diplomatic. And I am sure you might find something interesting to learn about me as well. Are you from the Summerset Isles, or is there another place you would call your home? For me, as you likely guessed, I was originally from Black Marsh. I was from an isolated village; nowhere truly noteworthy for any particular reason. I was raised to become my father's successor as Treeminder. It is a position you may think of as a shaman, so magical training started at a young age. Different villages have different traditions, but in mine, a Treeminder was one of the leaders of the village leaders, along with an Elder and the Master-Hunter. I suppose it made for a good foundation for my current position, but I have grown much in so, so many ways since those early days." Meesei explained. The pair were still embracing one another, but Meesei was in no particular rush to bring that to an end. She wanted to give Lunise comfort for as long as she needed it, but Meesei would also be lying to herself if she did not admit that she rather enjoyed holding on to her in such a way.