Ariel blushed and averted her eyes at the compliment. "Oh, no, I am sure there are more qualified people amongst you..." she said with an uneasy laugh.

The next thing Meesei said gave Ariel pause. "Oh? Which hunting grounds?" she asked.

Sabine answered. "Hircine's."

Ariel's eyes flicked to Sabine, then to Do'rhajul, Tarna, and then Meesei again. "[i]The[/i] Hunting Grounds?"

Sabine nodded once, smiling lightly.

Ariel worried her brow and pressed the tip of her finger on the table. "You have a [i]camp[/i]...in [i]the[/i] Hunting Grounds, Hircine's plane of Oblivion itself...and you need my advice on [i]lycan souls[/i] for a few hours?"

"I promise there is no danger, sister," Sabine assured. "Meesei has not told me what her matter is. But the matter with the Hunting Grounds is to do with the mission I alluded to before. It will make more sense when we are there."

At first, Ariel looked so uneasy that she might have fainted. But as her shoulders lowered and she stopped to think, the colour came back to her cheeks and she turned her head to Rukeewei. "This does sound urgent. Could you finish up tonight, Rukee dear? I will make it up to you, I promise."