Kaleeth held out a hand to Janius' shoulder, lightly holding him back and speaking softly to him in Cyrodilic. "You probably shouldn't get involved. Hunter apprentices have to fight their own battles, and I think she's one of them. I think most of these children are, actually. They look strong enough for it." 

The girl, Leeus, quickly scrambled up to her feet, apparently unscathed. Their scales were good at protecting against minor scrapes, which could easily become infected in the swamps. While their bodies were usually good at dealing with infections regardless, it was just another defense they had against their environment. [i]"Hmph, cheap shot Vaarkai. Still doesn't make you look any less afraid."[/i]

Vaarkai stood up along with Leeus, and Julan was not sure what he should be doing at this point. He did not feel like he had done anything to cause a fight, yet this all was clearly about him. He was not sure if he should get involved, or how to calm everyone down if he did. Unfortunately, Julan's lack of a plan did not stop him from speaking before giving himself time to think. He stood up along with them and held up his hands in front of himself. [i]"Hey, there's no need to fight each other. I don't mind sparring, if you want. I mean, if you don't want, that's fine too. I just really..."[/i]

Vaarkai may or may not have listened to everything Julan was [i]trying[/i] to say, but he was getting upset, and Julan was the most recent person to speak to him. He growled between his teeth between his words. [i]"Fine! If everyone wants me to fight so bad, then I'll fight!"[/i]

Quickly, Vaarkai lashed out, delivering a surprise punch straight to Julan's snout. He stumbled back holding his hand over his nose, though more out of surprise than the actual force of the blow. The other children started to gather around them in a circle, clearing out space between them and cheering on one combatant or the other in their impromptu sparring match. Julan was still looking down at the ground with one hand over his head, but the other was clenched tightly into a fist. If Janius looked closely enough, he could see Julan's teeth, and the intensity in his eyes. It was a familiar sort of rage for one who had spent well over a decade living closely with a werecrocodile. Even when they were in control, they could be quite volatile with the right provocation. 

[hr]

Ahnasha looked ahead, silently contemplating for a few seconds. "It's been a long war, and I've killed a lot of people, but I can't think back on any kills that I regret making. If I don't think someone deserves to die, then I don't kill them. It's really as simple as that. If you're asking if I've ever killed anyone in battle and learned something about them later, well..."

Ahnasha gave another look out into the forest, though her mind was looking back into her past. "I saw the aftermath of one of our enemy's gas attacks. You were still pretty young when Ariel came up with the antidote, so you might not remember what it was like: the fear. We lost whole clans to an enemy we couldn't even fight. We just had to run, hide, and hope not to be found. We moved to try and help some refugees who were fleeing from one of the clans that got hit, but we didn't get there in time. They gassed them too, took anything valuable, then just left the bodies. Men, women, everyone from the elderly to little infants. They weren't just dead, they were like husks; they had their very souls stolen from their bodies. If that's the enemy that I'm fighting: an enemy that is working to steal the souls of myself and everyone that I love, then I can't go worrying if the random soldier I'm fighting may or may not have any 'redeeming qualities'. Some of our enemies may have just made mistakes, but if those mistakes end up with a mass grave full of souless husks that used to be children, then there is still a price to pay for that."