[i]"Then we shall see if you are correct, or if you are overconfident in your own style of training."[/i] Zharanthixil remarked. Now that Julan was settled on his intentions, Zharan looked more relaxed. He slowly laid himself down in his hammock, then carefully placed his cane within his reach. [i]"I am feeling tired now; I need to rest. You should speak with the Master-Hunter so he can know to prepare the rite. And likely the Elder as well. There is not space for all of you here, but the Elder can decide on your accommodations."[/i]

Kaleeth had to hide her surprise until they were out of the hut, this time being joined by Julan. Part of her had wanted to stay and spend more time with her father, but she had a feeling that the real reason he had laid down was to encourage them on getting started with Julan's rite. She felt that she had a good idea of how important Julan's success was to her father. "I never thought I would hear my father say something so nice about you." She commented to Janius. "Well...nice by his standards, at least. I think..."

Unfortunately, the three of them were interrupted rather abruptly when a group of four stopped them in their tracks on the way to find the Master-Hunter. Just by their weapons and clothing, Janius would likely have been able to identify all of them as hunters, but Zharan had given him enough of an explanation for him to interpret their tattoos as well. Like Kaleeth's, they were quite extensive and reached all across their body, but three of them had designs resemblings snakes wrapped around them, while one depicted a vicious lizard surrounded by lightning: the marks of the viper and wamasu, respectively. Even between individuals with the same marks, the designs were not identical, but shared the same themes. Unfortunately, this group of hunters were not there to give them a friendly greeting. 

[i]"So it's true."[/i] The tall, bronze-scaled male said, baring his teeth at the three of them. [i]"You have returned, with your Human and your..."[/i] He began, practically growling as his glare fixated on Julan. [i]"...abomination. Just leave, Kaleeth-Rei. You were happy to abandon your people when your family needed you the most, so it shouldn't be a problem for you now. You have become an embarrassment to us, and you never should have returned."[/i]

[hr]

Ahnasha allowed Rhazii enough time to have a fair chance to respond before she continued. She had expected this to be a somewhat difficult subject for him, but considering his training, she was not quite sure if she expected him to be [i]entirely[/i] speechless. "Well, I know this might seem like a strange time for this, but I do think it helps put this whole business with my family in perspective. I mean, I do want to avoid upsetting my family, it's not the most important thing in the world. It's not worth worrying ourselves to death about. After tonight, I don't think it will seem nearly as stressful."

Ahnasha paused for just a few seconds to take a few sniffs of the air before continuing on. "Anytime our pack goes basically anywhere, Saras gives us these security reports with any scouting information that we might have on wherever we're going. Personally, I think he's a bit overzealous about it, especially since we were just coming here to visit our families, but I've given up on arguing with that Dunmer. Anyways, the point is, I read that there's been rumors of highwaymen operating to the west of Cheydinhal. They've robbed some travelers, killed a few, and there probably aren't any more than a few individuals in their little gang. So, they would be the perfect prey. If we can manage to find them, then we can kill them together. They're just bandits, so their bodies would do far more good in the world being food for you than whatever their worthless souls are going to use them for." She said, rather harshly.