Fendros and Rhazii watched Lorag as he left. Rhazii expressed his hopeful worry more openly on his face than Fendros, who remained subdued.

It took a moment for Fendros to turn his eyes back to Meesei. "If you wouldn't mind, yes," he answered. "We can head over there with you. We can ask around and perhaps see if Ahnasha's family have shown themselves. They might have even hired lodgings already if they have arrived."

[hr]
Lorag's trek up towards the mountain was more or less as expected to begin with. Only a short way took him out beyond the inhabited outskirts of the city and into a path between tall trees. A cool autumn chill swept up a few leaves along the way but he barely felt it.

His path eventually forked between the main path and a narrower dirt trail leading further up the mountain. Whatever was going through his head was interrupted once he travelled far enough. An underlying scent wafted under his nostrils. Not distinct or strong enough for the average person to take notice of.

Blood. Lycan blood. Not fresh, and not pungent enough to suggest a great amount of bleeding. Lycans did not normally bleed for prolonged periods unless seriously injured or cut with silver. Another curious detail was its spread. It was not in a coherent trail or blowing in from one source upwind. Lorag could smell marks of it every few steps.

[hr]
Janius could not tell if blood was draining from his head from shock or flooding his skin red in personal shame. The state struck him dumb. Kaleeth heard no words from him for a worrying while.

His head also bowed as he looked away, almost reflecting Kaleeth. "I don't know how I can defend it to mine, either," he said, barely above a whisper. "I put you through a horrible experience. I was an idiot back then, I know that much. Before you turned, though, it felt right. I don't know if I appreciated or knew whether I was in love or not, but it felt correct. I don't have an excuse, either."

He lifted his eyes and twisted his mouth. "We really stumbled through all this, didn't we?" He asked rhetorically. "But we're here now. Your parents can either accept it or not. If you don't let them do that -- if we just walk away -- all you're guaranteeing is that you'll have no chance of gaining their acceptance, rather than the small chance you can take here." He squeezed her hand. "And, knowing parenthood now, I don't think that chance is as small as you're making it out to be."