Sabine was less obstructed by emotion in answering. She nodded at first. She was hushed and gained momentum as she spoke on.

"Hircine favours the hunter," she began. "The greater the quarry, the greater the risk to yourself, the greater your reward. Amongst lycans, not all worship Hircine but respect is given to those that hunt dangerous prey. In this war, my pack has hunted so much dangerous prey that the prestige lost its worth to us. But we had not killed a dragon before. Ahnasha will be impressed. She hunts for the sake of challenging herself."

Sabine raised her face. A sobering thought made her lips relax into a frown. "I have never been the mightiest in my pack. It could be strange if I come back after slaying a dragon. I might look more powerful than I want people to think I am." She cast her eyes down. "Maybe you and Rhajul should take full credit for the kill instead."

Yerig shook his head. "I don't think that would have the effect you would want it to have. You need to be the leader and the hero for this; the last thing you want your clan to start seeing us as is 'dangerous'. If we do kill a dragon, I don't think you should be afraid of the accomplishment. If anything, it might make your word hold more weight with your clan."

After a few moments, Yerig slowly pushed himself up to his feet with a groan, and a few popping bones. He stepped over to his tent and found a safe place to put his greatsword that would be within his reach in the middle of the night. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can stay up too much longer. I don't quite have your energy. Don't worry about disturbing me, though. I sleep like a rock. You might have to shake me a bit when it's my turn to go on watch." He chuckled. "Just try not to let your thoughts harass you too much, okay? Forcing that much stress on yourself just is not healthy."

Sabine did not have a counterargument for Yerig. She knew she was afraid of leadership roles. The situation was more complicated than she had the mental energy for, even if Yerig claimed he had little energy in comparison. The constraint made Sabine curious.

She turned her tilted head to Yerig and narrowed her eyes, confused. "Yerig, wait. In the ambush, you were moving so fast Janius was having trouble fighting you. But you have moved like an old man since I saw you from the tree I was captured from. How?"

Yerig was starting to climb into his tent, but he stopped and turned when Sabine questioned him. "Hmm? Oh, well, I do keep myself in the best shape I can. Most probably would have retired long before me, but I still have purpose. In the middle of a fight, with your blood pumping and your mind focused, it's not too hard to ignore how sore it will all make me in a few hours. When I'm not fighting anyone, I'm free to take it easy, and to complain as much as I feel like."

Slowly, Yerig sat himself down in front of his tent. "Also helped that Arinette gave me some potions in preparation for the ambush. Stamina, agility, things to help be get around a bit better. If you have anything like that, or could make anything like that, for me before we potentially fight a dragon, I'd appreciate it." He added.

A few possibilities clicked together in Sabine's mind already. She looked aside and found Yerig's state to make more sense, at least where alchemy was involved. She pondered whether he could use the same joint salve she supplied to Ahnasha during her pregnancy years ago when she remembered he was still awaiting an answer.

"I think so," she said quickly. "Goodnight, Yerig. And thank you."

Sabine didn't think she could go to sleep that moment if she wanted to. Finding some implements and ingredients to make potions could help distract herself, at least. Yerig and Rhajul could use them.

She stood up, letting her cloak slide up from the ground to follow her height. Around the campsite where a few wild grasses and flowers. The bark from the trees might even have some useful properties. She kept her eyes open for Rhajul while foraging, wherever he was, so they wouldn't startle one another.

Yerig climbed into his tent while Sabine went around the area to forage. The flora on the island did not seem to be terribly different from that on the mainland of High Rock, so Sabine would know roughly what she could expect to find. She would eventually spot Do'rhajul, who had simply gone to bathe himself in the sea. From a distance, he did not seem to be doing much more than sitting in the water, staring absently out over the waves. Without knowing his thoughts, it would be difficult for Sabine to tell how much her advice and encouragement had been affecting him. He was obviously deep in thought, but whether those thoughts were constructive or destructive to himself, she could not determine.

Shortly afterwards, Sabine would be able to hear a distant echo of an unmistakable sound: a dragon's roar. It was distinct and easy for her ears to detect, but the source was obviously far from their location. It sounded like it could be near the center of the island. It placed their group in no immediate danger, but it did confirm both that they were in the right place, and the dragon was not yet dead. If the axe's wielder was still alive, he had certainly not collected his bounty.

Sabine was quiet in her collecting of ingredients. She had no doubt that Rhajul could hear her rustling in the undergrowth over the lapping of the waves, but she did not wish to disturb him. She found a handful of grasses and some sea shells that brought her closer, however. With it, she kept giving the back of Rhajul's head curious looks.

The dragon's roar made Sabine jolt her head to look inland. She knew just the silhouette to look for in the dim light, thanks to her time in Skyrim and the bones by the silent city. After a time, there remained nothing to be seen. She exhaled from her nose and returned her mind to Do'rhajul.

Even the distraction of gathering reagents wasn't keeping her mind from it. Sabine looked upon Rhajul and could only imagine he was ruminating in a poor manner. He was pitiful. She could not stand while he put himself in such pain.

Sabine put the reagents and her less water resistant belongings aside before approaching the waves. She stopped and looked at her wooden staff. The answer came to her in a spell that made a wavy glow from her bare feet. She stepped over the next wave and carefully walked on the surface of the water to Do'rhajul's side.

She sat down, letting the water gently rise and fall under her without letting a drop touch her. She laid the staff across her lap and looked out similarly to Rhajul for roughly a minute to let him grow used to her presence. It gave her enough time to think of what to say.

"What are you thinking about?" Sabine asked. "It must be complex. You have been thinking for a long time."

Do'rhajul had been just as alert to the dragon's roar, but like Sabine, had calmed when it was clear that it was not approaching. Being a Khajiit werewolf, he would have certainly heard Sabine step up on the beach and cast her spell, but he did seem to pay her too much attention. It was only once she started to walk out onto the water that he turned his head to look at her. He observed the glow on her feet with something of an uncertain expression, but did not say anything to protest her approaching him.

Do'rhajul did not seem like he was going to speak at all until Sabine directly questioned him. "I have? Hmm, how long has it been? I must have become distracted. Forgive me, if you want to bathe yourself and finally wash away that blood, I can give you some privacy." He offered.

Taking his eyes off of Sabine, Do'rhajul returned his gaze out to the waves. "I would not call my thoughts complex. Well, they may be somewhat complicated, but the goal is straightforward. I am merely trying to determine the most effective ways you can allocate your resources to damage Clavicus Vile. I know you said that you intend to invade his realm, but it may still be valuable to cripple his efforts in Tamriel in the meantime. I know a great deal about their operations, and while that information will become increasingly out-of-date as time goes on, it still could be useful. You merely need to decide what strikes would be the most valuable to you. For instance, part of our organization devoted themselves to recovering artifacts of great power to help turn the tide in the war. At first, they sought artifacts directly related to Hircine in the hopes of being able to study them to gain some sort of advantage over Hircine. As far as I know, they were never successful in learning anything of value, but we did recover a few relics, like the Spear of Bitter Mercy and the Savior's Hide. I know where they are holding them."

"...I see." It was not the first time Sabine had been wrong about someone else's thoughts. She looked down and picked at a splinter that clung to her finger. "The artefacts will help. And the information. More than just us should act on that, I think. Such a matter is something to tell when we get home." Sabine's lips curled in and back. "I wish you could speak with Ri'vashi about strategy. She is more competent than me. You two are very similar and not just because of your Khajiit moon birthday. Though, I think she would rather tear you apart than get to know you."

Rather than delve deeper without Do'rhajul's spoken interest, Sabine quickly breathed in. "And do not trouble yourself to give me privacy. I will find it if I desire it." She paused. "I had almost forgotten about the blood."

"Hmm, that is not a name I know." Do'rhajul replied. "I do recall the presence of a Cathay commander at the fortress in Elsweyr, from the reports afterwards. But, getting specifics on your command structure has always been difficult with the hidden nature of your clans. We had to generalize based on the average structure of the clans we did know about. If this Ri'vashi wishes to see me dead, well, then I am afraid you will have to be the one to argue against her. I have no right to disagree with her if I have wronged her. Even if I did, I doubt my word would matter."

Do'rhajul laid himself back in the water, staring up at the steadily-darkening sky above them. It would not be long before the sun set over the horizon. "Whether or not your allies are willing to listen to me in terms of strategy, I do hope that I can at least lead you to something useful. Gold, weapons, powerful artifacts; I know where caches of such resources were being held that could be useful for your clans. Though, I suspect that, once they realize I am helping you, they will move as much as they can, and shift their operational tactics from the ones I created. Even that alone will be disruptive to them."

After a moment, Do'rhajul's expression became curious towards Sabine. "Would it be necessary to convince the other leaders of your clan? You are a member of the Champion's pack and one of the highest ranking lycans in Tamriel, are you not? Could you command a force of warriors yourself?"

The splinter came free easily enough. Sabine flicked it aside into the water. She did not return Rhajul's look.

"I could," she answered. "I am not a commander. I have rank, not skill in tactics." She brushed her palms together. "Even if I did, I will still have to convince the leaders to spare you. For instance, one thing you have in common with Ri'vashi is that you both know what it is like to lose everything you love." Sabine clutched her fingers. "She was the leader of the clan near Orcrest."

"Ocrest..." Do'rhajul repeated. His mind turned back towards the past, and his face turned grim. Again, he started to look away from Sabine as he spoke. "I remember what happened. It was an order that came down from the priests. I did not understand it at the time; I thought it was too aggressive. We launched simultaneous attacks against multiple clans, every one of which we knew the location. It was a short term victory for us to destroy so many clans, but ultimately a long term loss in the war effort. Your people learned, adapted, and retaliated effectively."

Do'rhajul took in a deep breath, the reminder of the clans he had attacked not doing much to improve his mood. "I did not understand it then, but it was because Vile had already given up on you. He had already deemed the war not to be worthwhile, so attacking at that time made sense just to claim what souls he could before abandoning the war. I was a fool not to see it, and to keep following those orders. Thinking about it now, I would wager that my task to hunt down and kill the Champion was meant as a way to be rid of me. I doubt Vile would have any issues sacrificing a loyal zealot like Arinette if it meant tying up a loose end like myself. Perhaps that shall happen still; this Ri'vashi's rage against me is completely justified. It would be wrong of me to raise a finger against her, no matter what she does to me."

Sabine looked at Do'rhajul when he turned away. She listened with interest. She afterwards gave a moment for Do'rhajul to stay laid back before calmly replying. "I will not let her hurt you until you have freed the souls of her lost clan. And all the others Vile has." She looked ahead with a hint of hope. "I will talk to her in the meantime. If she listens to why you did it, maybe she will not make your mistakes."

Cupping her hands under the water in front of her, Sabine splashed her face and her hair, finally rubbing off the dried, brown, pungent blood that clung to her. "I wish you could have met without the pain between you," she said. "You really do have much in common with Ri'vashi."

Sabine lifted her face. She would have to bathe more thoroughly to rid all of the blood but she was finally less of a horror to look at. Her lips thinned in sympathy. She asked a simple, almost naive question: "Would you like a hug, Rhajul?"

Do'rhajul seemed almost more surprised by Sabine's last question than by anything else she had said or done up to that point. He turned his head directly towards her and looked at her almost as if she was insane. It took several seconds for him to actually respond. "Um, that...that will not be necessary. Nor would it be appropriate, I do not think. I am not dressed at the moment." He replied. It appeared that he was far from being accustomed to the average lycan's lack of modesty.

Do'rhajul shifted around in place where he was sitting, but seemed to be reluctant to stand up. "There is quite a lot I wish was different about the past, but it is only painful to dwell on it. I cannot alter history, and my soul may or may not already be doomed. But, I can at least have some confidence, some...peace in the fact that my actions in the rest of my life will at least be for a better cause than what I have done in the past decade. It is something. It will not erase my sins; it may not even atone for them, but it is something worth doing."

Sabine glanced in realisation, closed her eyes, and almost smiled into a frustrated huff. She knew of traditional modesty but she had assumed Do'rhajul would have attained it by being half-submerged in the water. She did not press the issue.

"I am happy hear you say that," Sabine responded. "I think it suits you better to do something. Not just give up." Sabine lifted herself with her hands to face herself away from Do'rhajul. "I want to bathe now. You can go. But, before that..." Sabine looked over her shoulder. "Tomorrow morning, if you feel tense, please thank Yerig. And hug him. He cares about you as a friend. You should not suffer alone."

Sabine then turned away again to give Do'rhajul a moment of privacy to walk away.

"I...thank you. I will consider your advice." Do'rhajul replied, standing up once Sabine turned away. He walked ashore and over to his belongings, quickly dressing himself, albeit only in a loincloth for the moment. It took longer for a Khajiit to dry himself than a Human, and he did not wish to soak his clothing. Picking up the rest of his belongings carefully in his arms, he turned back to camp, but gave one more look towards Sabine. "Sabine..." He began, though there was a pause as he seemed to consider his words. "...sleep well. And thank you, again. I do appreciate the second chance."

---

The night was mostly uneventful, apart from one or two more distant roars. They never drew closer, though they did serve as a firm reminder of the stakes of their current task. The more Sabine traveled with him, the more it became clear that Do'rhajul still had a strong, military sense of discipline. He was awake before sunrise, and already had breakfast cooking before anyone else was even fully awake. He was much like Lorag in several ways, except less inclined to levity. Yerig, on the other hand, was in no hurry to wake up, and was the last to rise. He preferred to act at his own pace, which was somewhat slow compared to the the others. Being an old hermit, it was likely that he was rarely in a rush for much of anything.

Nevertheless, it did eventually come time for the group to get moving, and Yerig was just as ready as everyone else to focus on the task at hand. They would be following Cyrus' trail deeper into the island in search of the axe. The hope was that they would not need to confront the dragon, but of course, they could not merely assume everything would go to plan.

"So, Sabine." Yerig began. "What exact approach would you want to take if we happen to run into this dragon? Would you rather ambush it, sneak by it, or try to reason with it?"

On Do'rhajul's way back to shore, Sabine splashed more blood out of her hair. It threw forth a thin scent that she picked up and found cause to pause. She looked at her hand, running red in its crevices, and went still. She felt a sudden pain in her body that just as quickly receded when Do'rhajul spoke up.

Sabine looked back blankly and gave Do'rhajul a slow nod only. Not even minding the wood of her staff, she ended her water walking spell and threw herself under the water to loosen the rest of the blood as quickly as possible. It would be easy enough to dry her belongings with magic.

---

Sabine wished the dragon roars were the only things that woke her up during the night. Even in the cool night breeze that sighed over the island, she found herself staring up at the stars in a freezing cold sweat more often than not. She was not having bad dreams -- her heart and mind merely refused to slow down. She was afraid of nothing that was present. Arinette and her other tormentors were far away and detained. And yet, she felt afraid.

The only thing that allowed her some measure of calm was clutching the Staff of Magnus close to herself. She kept reminding herself that its power could stop any danger to herself. She reminded herself over and again until she drifted off to sleep.

Despite her sleep remaining as disturbed, if not more so than the last few days, Sabine woke up focussed enough to get ready with Yerig and Do'rhajul. Her taciturn demeanour had not changed, save for the lack of dried blood influencing her appearance. Nevertheless, she provided each of her companions with two potions that she had made the night before. One, she explained, was if the dragon breathed frost and the other was if the dragon breathed fire. Either should be taken if they had to defend themselves. There was not a great variety of local ingredients to be had but she found enough to fortify their agilities and help to resist the dragon's breath for a few minutes.

As for Yerig's question, Sabine lifted her brow in mild surprise and regarded him. "Reason with it?" She shrank slightly. "Oh, you are joking," she assumed. "I think we should ambush it only if the site is favourable. Places to hide from its breath, stones and such. And if we can force it to the ground quickly. Otherwise, sneak. So be it if we must fight it regardless."

Yerig lightly shook his head. "No, I wasn't joking. Reasoning with him is an option, though I can't say what the chances are of actually talking him out of a fight. You said this one has a bounty, right? Been attacking ships out at sea? He might be a violent one. It's in their nature, unfortunately. They're prideful, dominating. I have talked to dragons before, one or two with more restraint. There was one who made his home in the Reach, not terribly far from me. It's the perfect home for a dragon, really. Plenty of mountains, which they like, and which also makes it easy to find places that the locals can't or don't go to. His name was Aarfrinidok; I would call him shy for a dragon, believe it or not. After the defeat of the World-Eater, he just wanted to find a place to be left alone. I climbed his mountain once, gave him some advice on avoiding the locals."

"But, uh, like I said, this dragon doesn't sound that peaceful." Yerig added. "I could imagine some situations where he might have attacked a ship out of self-defense, but there's definitely no guarantee. Your plan is definitely the safer bet."

Do'rhajul was the one leading the group at the moment. He was not a hunter, but he still seemed to be a skilled tracker. He did have a lycan's sense of smell to pick up on the traces that Cyrus' group had left behind, and a sharp eye to spot traces of their tracks. The landscape around them was still forested, but was starting to become more hilly as they drew ever-closer to the mountains at the center of the island.

"I see." Sabine thought about the implications of trying to talk with a violent dragon. Before now, she did not think it was even possible. However, she did not have any more information than Yerig's assumptions; if the dragon was going to attack anyway, there was little point in considering it as a primary objective.

"We will still try to avoid it," Sabine concluded. "We do not need to ambush it, I think. We do not need to kill it unless we are forced to." Sabine raised her voice enough to speak ahead. "Do'rhajul? What is your opinion on the matter?"

"Since the axe is the goal, avoiding the dragon is the most efficient plan." Do'rhajul answered. "Although, I believe that not all of us will be helpful for that. Neither myself nor Yerig are particularly adept at stealth, and we would likely be liabilities if we tried. You will likely need to be the one to approach, since your magic can hide you."

Yerig nodded. "I think so too, unfortunately. I've never been one for sneaking around. Still, we need to be careful; it's not easy to sneak up on a dragon. They have sharp eyes and are quite perceptive. Not to mention, there is a shout that can detect life. If he gets and inkling that we are there, he will find us."

Fortunately for the trio, Cyrus' group had done nothing to hide their own tracks, so they remained relatively easy to follow deeper into the island. The hills they were climbing started to grow a bit steeper the closer they came to the mountain, and thusfar, it did not seem like Cyrus had stopped at any point. The island was not terribly large, so they could likely reach the center of the island by early afternoon.

Finally, through a gap in the trees above them, the group would be able to see movement in the sky, just above the taller of the two mountains at the island's center. It was the dragon, coming down for a landing on the mountain in the distance. Its scales were reddish, or perhaps a shade of violet, and it was, of course, a gigantic creature. This was likely the closest that Sabine had been to a dragon before, and they would only be moving closer.