Meesei lightly shook her head towards Ariel, after another sip of wine. “Oh, no, nothing specific. I will be busier than most of my pack, so I believe I will just look to take whatever time for myself that I am able. Most likely just to spend with my other packmates. I feel fortunate to have been able to make time today, for multiple reasons. I was able to delegate my meeting with the Daggerfall clan leader to someone else. I do not enjoy speaking with that man; I just know he wants to usurp me, but lacks the strength to challenge me directly.”

Meesei gave a quick shrug as her eyes drifted over towards the kitchen. She could easily smell the dessert Rukeewei had prepared. Even she did not recognize it, but it was something warm and sweet. “Ah, but I do not fear any threat from him. He lacks any meaningful ways of attacking me.  And if I speak on clan politics any longer, I may run the risk of boring you to death. In fact, I feel we have been neglecting you in this conversation. Are there any exciting events upcoming for the two of you, or your children?”

[hr]

It had been several weeks, and Ahnasha finally had confirmation that her family wanted to meet with Fendros’ family. She had already suspected that was the case, but the situation was worse than she had feared. According to the letter they had received, her family was going to be making the trip to Cheydinhal, and [i]had already left[/i] shortly after sending it. That would mean they would be arriving within the week, at most. Strictly speaking, the purpose of the trip was for a business deal that her father was going to be making with a supplier in the city, but Ahnasha had a feeling he had only pursued the deal [i]because[/i] it would take him to Cheydinhal. Her family was not actually under the impression that Ahnasha or Fendros would be there, since they lived in Skyrim, but Ahnasha absolutely did not intend to allow her family to meet Fendros’ without the both of them present. 

Rhazii had joined his parents in their room to wait for Meesei to come collect them. Ahnasha had seriously considered leaving Rhazii behind, given potential arguments and hostility they could be entering into, but in the event that everything somehow [i]did[/i] go well, Ahnasha could not imagine how to explain his absence to her family.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door that Ahnasha quickly answered, though to her surprise, it was not Meesei on the other side. Rather, it was Lorag, standing awkwardly in a rough, somewhat dirty set of city clothes. “Um…hey.” He said tersely, offering absolutely no explanation as to his presence.

[hr]

The search for Kaleeth’s village was taking longer than Janius might have expected, but Kaleeth continued to assure them that they had not left the area. She had pointed out multiple signs of their presence in the area, and, according to Kaleeth, it was just a matter of checking all of their usual locations. Still, it could not be denied that she had become somewhat more distant, especially in the last few days. She went to sleep earlier, and rarely spoke unless spoken to. For the most part, she looked trapped in her own thoughts most of the time. 

This evening, Kaleeth had stepped away from the camp ostensibly to find sufficiently dry firewood, but had remained away far longer than she should have. She had already been acting strangely enough that Janius would certainly investigate, and she would not be difficult at all to track. She had not been attempting to hide, and had not gone too far. It was only one river away that Janius would be able to find all of her armor and belongings laying on the side of the river, as if she had decided to go for a swim. Though, it was obvious that she was not simply out for a recreational swim in the river. While she was indeed in the water, she was acting every bit as oddly as she had been the last few days. She was laying just underneath the surface of the water, almost completely still and with her eyes closed. Given the murkiness of the water, it was hard to tell if she was even awake.