Fendros held his bow up to his chest in both hands. One thousand years was of course pushing possibilities without some sort of magical assistance, but it didn't alter Ahnasha's point. It was something that he had reasoned as to why he would never try to get too connected with too many people of non-elven races, that was before he joined the pack, before he fell in love with Ahnasha. It was all such a nice dream up until this point that it wasn't something he had remembered. Now that he had been reminded, it suddenly became rather hard to breathe. Fendros sat himself down in front of her, putting his bow to one side. His eyes looked at the ground next to him, his thoughts whirring and churning like an small ocean.

"Ahnasha, I..." He tried to look at her, but the pain in her face was difficult. "Come here, I'll tell you something..." Fendros shifted himself to get close to Ahnasha and took her hand between his hands. The words came to him slowly, he had to think carefully, but there was a hope in his mind that he wanted to express. An inevitability that had a harsh truth, but one that Fendros could not see an alternative to. "Ahna..." Fendros stopped to breathe, stroking her hand with his thumb while he held her, "... we elves are cursed with our lifespans. We have to be the ones who watch all good things in the world come to an end." He managed to look up at her now, the words in his mind assembled, "Ahna, you have made me happier than I could ever be in my life, in this... in this, my fate is sealed. You see... my great aunt, Mirasi, she wasn't a black sheep because she was disagreeable. It was because she fell in love with a Nord. I never knew who this Nord was beyond his first name but it just so happened that he died shortly before the Red Year commenced... with what she wrote about him, and how I feel now, I finally understand what really happened to her. She lived more than most Dunmer, I keep finding that out more and more. There was no more living for her to do." Fendros paused and let the implications sink in for a moment. "... I cannot imagine those hundreds of years I might live either, Ahna. I don't know whether it's just me being young and stupid, but all the living I want to do is with you." Fendros brought his hands, along with Ahnasha's hands up to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "My promise that you would not be alone, the one I made weeks ago. All the hunters, all the gods in the world be damned if it is not their will. I won't break it." Fendros reached and placed his hand on Ahnasha's cheek, his own eyes were saddened and grieving as they stared into hers, "I cannot break it."

-----

With the clinking of bottles and the chatter of their voices, Ariel, Janius and Sabine emerged into the main chamber of the cave, laden with alchemical supplies. Ariel wore a bright smile as she entered, it looked like her and Janius had a fine time entertaining each other with their company. Sabine didn't really feel the need to speak during their journey, but there was a colour to her cheeks, a healthy one.

Janius and Ariel deposited their crates near the light of the fire so they could sort through what they brought back, while a couple of paces away, Sabine went about organising what they had brought back in the sack. "Hello again, everyone!" Ariel announced cheerfully, "Meesei, I brought you what you asked for, as well as what will be needed. Come, I'll show you."

Firstly, Ariel removed a number of vials of restoring potions, both for magicka and physical health. "These will come in handy for quick treatments, of course." Ariel said.

The next five bottles were all of an odd set of colours and consistencies, and had Ariel's strange brand names. "These are for helping to cast spells. I brought two for making illusion easier, one for restoration, one for destruction, and finally one for channeling magicka in general, though it is not as effective for any particular school of magic as the other ones."

Not even stopping to catch her breath, Ariel pulled out seven bottles of sickly-cream coloured liquid. "This is my special invisibility mix. They don't last long so I brought all I had. I can use illusion magic to sustain my own invisibility, but I thought you or your pack might want to make use of them yourselves."

"And finally..." Ariel strained to reach in and pull out a wine-bottle sized deep red mixture, "... This is your medicine. Enough of this could remake the flesh on Tiber Septim's bones. I also have a little spice to add which should dissipate any traces of silver left. It'll probably make your entire body a little sore, but if it doesn't make you as fresh as when you were born, then nothing will heal you." Ariel handled the hefty potion carefully to Meesei. "Sip it slowly, don't try to drink it all at once." She was quick to make clear.

"The rest of it is... some of my equipment... some more ingredients..." Ariel excitedly pulled out various items from the crates like she had come back from a day of shopping for clothes in the Imperial City, "some inflammation ointment for Ahnasha... aha!" Ariel pulled out a green bottle filled with what appeared to be a clear liquid, "Lorag, this is for you. I don't think it's within my means to help your kneecap any more than what is being done now, but this..." Ariel pulled the stopper from the bottle and almost immediately the entire room reeked of menthol and chamomile. It was somewhat pleasant, but rather overwhelming, "... if you rub this on the skin around your knee every few hours, it'll deal with the pain for longer than potions will, and it will make sure that your cartilage stays healthy." Ariel explained it all rather proudly, obviously being used to the smell, as well as not having the nose of a lycan. She handed the bottle to Lorag.

"Oh! And of course I brought back enough ingredients to make enough of the suppression gas resisting potion to last the entire pack at least a few doses each." Ariel concluded, gesturing to the sack that Sabine carried back. "Um, where are Fendros and Ahnasha, by the way?"