Rossarm was completely still for exactly three seconds after Meesei finishes speaking. He then took a deep, silent breath through his nose, lifting his chin as he did so, and responded. "Understood."

As he quietly released the rest of his breath, Fendros noticed Rossarm's eyes stare into space with a subtle hint of something negative. Whether it could be called, anger, sadness, fear, or any mix of the three was near impossible. Fendros only knew, once again, that he had never seen anything like it from his father before.

"I will perform any drills required of me," he added. "I have no great need to rest at this time."

[hr]
Janius answered Julan before he move back to his tattoos. "We will do everything we can. Everything. I can promise you, Julan."

His eyes followed Julan's to look into the water. He let his hand fall from Julan's shoulder. When Julan starting sounding concerned about spending time with Leeus, Janius looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Try as he might have to stifle a laugh, the contrast from the previous subject caused him to chuckle through a grin. He spoke with much more levity than just moments before. "What? Are you afraid she'll bore you to death out there?"