Meesei was not the only one to notice Fendros' mood. After Janius had finished with the area he was searching, he approached Fendros from behind, who was still fuming and withdrawn. "Hey, Fendros," Janius said with one hand on his hip, "that was the first one of your own kind that you've killed, wasn't it?" He gestured to the red smear where the corpse they fed on used to be. "I know it's hard-"

"-Don't! Even! Talk!" Fendros burst out, making rapid movements with one hand on each word for emphasis, "just..." Fendros gritted his teeth, then pushed back whatever anger he had left and resumed what he was doing.

Janius stood his ground, he kept the same pose and tone. "I was like you, Fendros. We were all-" Janius waved his hand around to pan in the direction of the rest of the pack, "-like you. For the most part, we had qualms about our new nature. I remember when I first killed and ate an imperial, it was a bandit, but that didn't change the fact of the matter." Fendros piled up the hides of leather he had found with a more hurried pace, and Janius continued, "listen, I've had much time to think about my own situation. It may or may not help you to think of it this way, but... some things in the world... they're not problems to be solved. There are some things you just can't deal with, you can't get rid of. Once you know what those things are, you must treat them like the immutable facts of life that they are... you must adapt." Janius glanced to one side and took a deep breath, "Your beast blood, that is something you cannot control completely. No one can, at least not permanently." Fendros slowed to a stop and stood with his back to Janius still. "Look, no one asked you to enjoy your position, but where you are now, you are not an evil beast. You have a beast within you that you're probably fearing that you would become, but as long as you have our support -and you do- you can still be the Fendros that you want to stay as. Just think about that." Janius turned on his heel and went on his way, "... you can make it up to me with a bottle of mead, if you find one." Janius added as he strolled away.

Fendros remained still for a while. He could feel a cool tear run off the edge of his chin. It took all of his will to not turn around and strike Janius on the nose, but he could not refute him. Except maybe that he couldn't go back to his family, but that was a reality he had accepted weeks ago. Fendros sniffed and wiped the tears from his face. The anger had been replaced with a kind of hopelessness now. At least it was a peaceful hopelessness.

There was a nudge on Fendros' shoulder that took him by surprise, he turned around and saw Sabine in front of him, with what looked like a number of enlarged crab shells fashioned onto armour. Sabine shoved the pile of shells into his arms, much to his confusion. "What's this?" Fendros asked with a tired voice. "It's your size, don't waste." Sabine said, before walking off without another word, as she did. Fendros looked down at the objects he held now, it was the chitin armour that Meesei mentioned. He was surprised that no one else wanted it. He held a few of the pieces up to his body, it would indeed fit him. It was at least something else to occupy him to try it on. After several minutes of working out the various fastenings and sections, he tried moving around a bit in it. It was surprisingly lightweight and seemed rather sturdy. It even had a mask to ward off the ash, if he needed it.

Keeping the helmet under his arm for now, Fendros approached Meesei with a calmer mind. "Meesei, I apologise for being... difficult," He said with distinct lack of self-confidence, unsure whether it was worth trying to say sorry, "it's just another thing to get used to."