If Neesa had not been so near Teroiah, she might have cast the illusion that she was not breathing at all. But she was, and she breathed calmly, with not a shudder from Hal-Neesa's speech.

Exactly four seconds of silence passed.

Teroiah opened her frown. "Are you done putting words into my mouth?" she asked softly. "If we must be direct as Gro-Tagnud requests, I need only clarify that you were never the one in this room who needed to fear doubt. All I need to know is whether you will commit to [i]giving a damn,[/i] as you put it, or whether you will be like so many other talented Thalmor officers both above and below my rank that all insist on disrupting command for the sake of their pride."

[hr]
Even as Lunise drew herself up from the water, soaked, dripping, and chilled, she slowly assumed the 'mask' she mentioned previously to Meesei in front of the hooded monks. She flinched a little when the water was shed from her body and clothes, letting a little astonishment show on her face as she glanced up her arm and sleeves.

She did not have any immediate words. The details around her began to distract her; the sky, the shore, the robes, and the man who received them. She shakily brought her hands together and gave a polite bow of her head. "Thank you, Loremaster," she said more quietly than she had expected to. The ambassador-like tone she took did not quite gel to the situation. "While common protocol would demand that word be sent ahead, that was beyond the means of...anyone for quite some time, as far as I am aware."