[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

Whereas before the pain that Sabine perceived was a messy maze of blurry lines, like a fistful of hay, the numbing of most of the pain as well as Meesei's description helped to visualise it far more effectively. It started to be less like a haystack and more like tiny threads, splitting into smaller and smaller forks until they nearly disappeared where the pain was.

Sabine was overeager in trying to numb the pain and wasn't very successful. Instead of stabilising the field, she just seemed to push it elsewhere, causing the strange side effect of her arm feeling like it was stretching and extending until the pain in her hand was a phantom one, coming from the open space in front of her. The combination of the surreal out of body experience and Meesei's own numbing becoming disturbed made Sabine quickly stop channelling her magicka and wince.

The second attempt Sabine made was slightly more successful. She was more delicate with her channelling this time, focussing on a small area. This time, she was able to stabilise the magicka as Meesei had said, but not completely. There were still spots of pain where the nerves were not aligned as the others were. Each time Sabine tried to stabilise them, others would destabilise again. Sabine tried to cover the entire area in futility until several minutes passed and she twisted her mouth in frustration. "How do you keep track of all of the pain? I have to concentrate hard. I can't get it all."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei was patient as Sabine worked on her wound, simply observing how she went about overcoming the problems she was running into. From where she was, she could feel the magic Sabine was using, so she could make observations on her technique. As usual, however, she did not make any comment unless Sabine asked a question specifically, as she felt it was best to allow Sabine to experiment on her own as much as possible. She would learn more about her body through experience than she ever could by Meesei describing it.

Eventually, Sabine did pose a question, to which Meesei had no issue responding. "If you attempt to calm each nerve independently, it will indeed be difficult, but there is an easier way. The problem you are facing is that it is difficult to stabilize one area without interfering with another. It is like trying to create a smooth, flat layer of mud by pressing down on each imperfection in the hopes of flattening it. If you do not use the exact right amount of force, you will only create a larger problem." Meesei explained, though her analogy might not be as strong for someone who had never had to build a home out of mud. "However, if you use the right tool, you can simply scrape over the mud to smooth it all at once. Just the same, you can stabilize all of the nerves at once, you just need to shape your magic into the right tool. Feel what the energies across the rest of your body are like in places where you feel no pain. They are all stable. To numb the pain, you just need to shape your spell to make the energies around the wound match those in the rest of your body. Once you learn to do this, you can numb the pain in only a few moments. Just be aware that the patterns of magicka are different in every person, so you have to shape each spell to the one receiving it. Fortunately, this only takes a few moments once you learn how."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine glanced between Meesei and her hand while she heard Meesei's explanation. Once complete, Sabine nodded and stopped to think about it more thoroughly. At first, the analogy seemed strange. Not for the fact that Sabine didn't have much experience smoothing mud, but how exactly she could 'shape' her magic in such a way as to stabilise her pain. She took Meesei's advice to observe a pain free part of her body first and hovered her free hand over her knee, with magic glowing to discern it. With that and some more cursory analysis of her cuts, she blinked a few times, then formulated a sort of 'shape' of magic in her mind that might work. She had to concentrate incredibly hard to maintain it, but her next attempt to calm the pain was far more generally successful. It wasn't perfect, however. She continue tweaking and concentrating for a few minutes.

Right before Sabine thought she had her technique all but sorted, she attempted to numb her pain just once more. She concentrated on the perfect shape after knowing her hand more intricately than she ever had before. It was then a small whine started to emanate from Rhazii. Sabine shut her eyes, trying to keep the shape consistent. It was numbing her pain. Rhazii's cry intensified. Sabine scrunched her eyes shut, desperately trying to hold out. Sabine's mouth tightened as the noise didn't stop. As hard as she tried, the shape was lost and she sighed in further frustration.

Opening her eyes did reveal Rhazii's tense face sounding a strained wail in Meesei's arms, but Sabine couldn't stay mad. It was surprising that Rhazii had remained quiet for so long, all things considered.

"His cloth is soiled," Sabine pointed out. The smell confirmed her words. "I almost had it. I almost had the shape," Sabine said, looking at the ground with a disappointed face.

[EliteCommander]

Once more, Meesei observed Sabine's attempts at calming her remaining pain. Meesei, with her years of practice, could identify and match the patterns of magicka in Sabine's body almost immediately, so she could easily compare Sabine's attempts to the actual patterns. At first, her recreations of the patterns were noticeably off, but the more she practiced, the closer she came to mimicing her body's magicka. It seemed like the lesson was progressing as well as Meesei had hoped. It would take Sabine a while to successfully numb her pain at first, but the more she practiced, the more quickly she would be able to match her body's patterns. Eventually, she would become too familiar with her own body, so she would need to practice on someone else in order to continue honing her skill, but for the moment, she could make progress by herself.

As Sabine grew closer to matching her created patterns to her natural ones, Rhazii finally started to act up significantly. Of course, he had a good reason, but it interrupted Sabine nonetheless. "You were indeed close, so it is best not to stop now." Meesei said as she stood to her feet. "I will take care of Rhazii. Keep practicing; the lesson is proceeding just as well as I had hoped. The more experience you have, the more quickly you will be able to match the energies of a person's body. Eventually, you will be able to do so for a person's overall patterns almost without effort."

[Muttonhawk]

As time progressed, the instruction that Meesei provided to Sabine started to diminish in necessity as the day turned into one of practising. Rhazii was taken care of and the poison test was regularly checked up on, but their isolation to the scholars' loft made the rest of the day rather quiet.

The test itself was so idle and peaceful that the large flask containing the heart suspended in red-shaded water didn't seem like it was going to react at all. Lunch passed them by, then the rest of the afternoon. Every hour that the flask didn't do anything was time that Sabine felt a pang of shame and frustration. She hoped that she had added the lycan blood in time.

Feeling crestfallen despite having a productive lesson in healing, Sabine was about to go and see if Ahnasha had returned with some dinner. It was then that a sudden change caught the corner of her eye. The flask began to darken, the heart shrivelled slightly. "Meesei!" Sabine raised her voice to get Meesei's attention and beckoned her to the flask. The red turned to brown, then to a muddy grey. In the space of half a minute, the poison had unleashed its potential. The flask began to emanate a disgusting smell then, an indication that Sabine knew to expect.

"...It's dead." Sabine spoke quietly, her wide eyes not quite believing that the test had worked just as intended. If the test was any indication with what Carana and Sabine had worked out as the margin of error, then it seemed as though the poison had to have been administered between the meeting that Meesei's pack arrived in, to about halfway between lunch and dinner that day.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei was a patient individual, but even she hoped the test would yield results sooner rather than later. The more quickly she had her answer, the more time she would have for her investigation. Regardless, she showed no outwards signs of anxiety, especially when around others besides Sabine. When she was not needed to give instruction to Sabine, she spent her time entertaining Rhazii, or meditating. The lessons with Sabine were productive, given how long they had to wait, but Sabine's most important job at the moment was to keep an eye on the test. Fortunately, their experiment finally gave the results they needed.

Meesei walked up beside Sabine and observed the flask as well. Since other scholars were still around, she kept her comments general. "Ah, that is quite interesting. It seems to take a while to activate, but then works very quickly. I do not know if any ingredients on Tamriel can create that effect. Perhaps it is possible with purely mundane ingredients, but this might suggest influence from Oblivion itself." She commented. Of course, the most important meaning she could derive from the test was that the poisoning must have taken place after the meeting, which greatly narrowed the scope of her investigation, but the origin of the poison was also of interest. If the poison did indeed come from Oblivion, then it would provide evidence that the traitor was connected to Vile, something they could only speculate on before. Hopefully, Sabine or the scholars would be able to determine if that was the case, but for now, Meesei could move on with her investigation.

---

Ahnasha was cold and annoyed, but at least she was back underground and away from the snow, apart from the amount still stuck to her fur. She was carrying as much food as her coin would buy, which fortunately she was still capable of carrying. She looked like she was carrying an entire campsite on her back, which did provoke some questions from the lookouts on the way in, but she was able to give the excuse that she was buying specialty supplies for the Champion. After all, they couldn't tell without looking in her bags that it was all food. Mostly, it was salted meats, with vegetables and some fruits. She had visited a few different vendors and purchased anything she thought would last a while.

Without taking any detour, Ahnasha headed straight for their room, which was unoccupied apart from Leaps. She let out a deep, relieved breath as soon as she was able to set down the bags she had the displeasure of carrying all the way up the mountain. However, she did not quite know what to do next. She supposed the others would want to know that the food had arrived, but she felt it would defeat the purpose of buying all of the food if she immediately left it unguarded. For the moment, she decided to wait in their room to see if anyone was going to come by, as well as getting some much needed rest.

[Muttonhawk]

For a while, Sabine looked on silently at the grey-brown flask. "I don't know how it would be done either. I think it was made from things outside of Mundus as well," Sabine responded. Although Sabine did not have all of the information that Meesei did, she was glad that the tests finally worked out. She looked up at Meesei with a blank face covering her self congratulations, such was the seriousness of their investigation. "What happens now?"

Harriet's day proceeded without any outward oddness in the eyes of Lorag. The training lasted until lunch, teaching one person at a time, each time with a different weapon and technique. It swiftly became clear that Harriet was versed in many martial forms, and the weapons she selected were more to do with testing her students' weaknesses than fighting with the utmost efficiency. Unfortunately for Harriet's grumbling stomach, lunch was replaced with filling up her waterskin in the canal and bathing herself after the physical activity. What followed was an unsuccessful self-solicitation towards Lorag, then an afternoon spent angrily honing one of her personal weapons; an orichalcum long sword. Come dinner time, she gave up on been angry and made her way to the dining chamber, citing that she was too hungry to think and they could wait for their food to arrive. The wait was peaceful, with most of Harriet's followers spotting her unenthusiastic mood and only talking to her briefly if at all. That was until Darahil strode up to her and Lorag with pursed lips and a strong stride. Fendros followed behind with a wary expression.

"Harriet, I require a moment," Darahil said, sounding like he was holding back anger in his posture and voice. He stopped when he reached them and revealed a sheet of parchment in his hand, holding it forward for Harriet to see. "How do you explain your 'hunting supplies' adding up to one hundred gold more than they did last month? I believe it was Viora's pack, one of your packs that was allocated the task? They have not been forthcoming. I require answers."

Harriet growled as Darahil finished. She had her head held back, but brought it forward into a glower from where she sat. Harriet's tone was severe. "Darahil, can't this wait? I'm not in the mood."

Darahil brought his hands together in front of him and seemed to stand up straighter, angling his head back slightly. "Normally such a matter would be trifling, but in this entire afternoon I've not found any evidence of the gold being used in any meaningful way. I need to know where it went else more gold might be lost."

"Aaah! Darahil," Harriet pointed a finger up at the Altmer's face, "I know you don't like me, but you know something? You could try not acting like an ass when you talk to people! Why have you got to come up to me and be all passive-aggressive! I've had a disappointing day, okay? I don't need to hear your tripe."

"I hardly think it appropriate-!"

"I'll talk to them! Okay!?" Harriet held out her fingers in front of her and widened her eyes, then swiped one hand flat in front of her, "Leave me alone!"

Darahil narrowed his eyes. The movements of his jaw seemed to indicate that he was clenching his teeth for being talked to in such a brash manner. He was just able to hold back from exploding. "I expect you will let me know as soon as possible. I will inquire further before the night is out." With that, Darahil turned on his heel and glided away with his hands behind his back. Fendros gave Lorag a half shrug, then turned to follow. The two assumed the same seats that they did at breakfast. Again, waiting.

"Ugh, how long 'til we get to eat?" Harriet asked Lorag.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei knew exactly what it was she needed to do. All of the information she had finally pointed her to a suspect, though she still needed much more to actually make an accusation. Based on Vera's testimony, Harriet was the one who had the opportunity to poison Jerrick, as she had been alone in the meeting room with his waterskin. However, Meesei could not make a judgement based only on a lieutenant's testimony. If Vera was the traitor, she would have plenty of motive to lie. Regardless, Meesei intended to question the lieutenants once more, and hopefully gather more forms of evidence. For the moment, she still needed to keep up appearances, so she made sure her tone was curious, and even somewhat upbeat.

"Hmm, I believe we should take it back to our room, and perhaps take some notes on it. Perhaps you might be able to learn more about it, now that you can clearly see the effects of the poison? Come, I am sure Leaps is missing us." Meesei said, waiting a few moments for Sabine to seal up the flask and bring it with her out of the scholars' loft. Once they were in the halls and Meesei checked to make sure they were alone, she spoke up in a hushed tone. "I would recommend you try to learn more from the poison if you can, but if there is nothing more to learn, do not worry. I have the information I need. Just make sure the timing we determined is accurate, though that is why we stayed close the entire time. I am sure you would have been able to notice if something went wrong. If Ahnasha has returned, then we can have our dinner, but after that, I am going to return to my investigation. If we are fortunate, I may be able to end this tonight."

Most of the clan was starting to head for dinner, so it took slightly longer to get through the halls, but once they were past the main hall, they were able to make it quickly back to their room. Much to Meesei's relief, Ahnasha had returned, which meant she was safe, and had brought back their dinner for the next few days. "Ah, Ahnasha, welcome back. I am glad to see you unharmed, did you encounter any difficulties?" Meesei asked as she stepped into the room.

Ahnasha shook her head. "No, not unless you count the cold. I certainly would; the weather in these mountains is...horrifying, honestly. We complained about it on the way here, but I do think it is something to be worried about. I realized trudging through the snow that most of our pack wouldn't be prepared if we ended up stuck out there alone. Maybe Lorag would be fine, but the rest of us? After all of this is over, we should make sure to learn to survive up here, just in case."

Meesei nodded to Ahnasha. "I will attempt to remember that, but for now, I have...well, I hesitate to call it 'good' news, but it is progress. I believe I have a strong suspect, and am ready to continue questioning the lieutenants. I wish I did not need to ask for another favor, since you have been outside all day, but could you go and search for the lieutenants? They will likely want to hear that their food has arrived. I would like you to see if you can send Vera here first. I need to clarify some matters with her original statement."

"Of course...though I might start expecting a tip if this keeps up." Ahnasha responded with somewhat of a grin. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she liked to be able to keep up at least some good humor. It was something she had found herself struggling to do over the past few months, though only recently had she really noticed it. She had to admit, she had essentially been an errand girl for the day, but if it meant she was helping, she was glad to contribute. "I'll pick up taking care of Rhazii once I get back. Besides, I'm sure he has missed his mother." She added, giving a smile to her son before leaving the room.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine was sure to thank Carana and Safina for their help on their way out. They had been distracted and out of the way while the final reaction happened, so they tried to inquire further about the results. Sabine had to wave them off and apologise while scurrying down the stairs behind Meesei. The scholars just exchanged a glance and went back to work, bidding farewell to the pair before they were out of earshot.

Leaps was understandably excited to see Meesei and Sabine as they arrived in the room, jumping and climbing all the way up to Sabine's shoulder and chirping in her face. Sabine giggled and eased the hatchling to the ground before giving it a pat, but it wasn't the only one in the room. "Hello, sister," Sabine said to Ahnasha, giving her a quick hug.

Similarly, Rhazii was glad to see his mother and reached out a small arm towards her. As she left again in a hurry, he began to cry at the sudden separation. Once he was eventually settled, Sabine looked a little confused. "Meesei, what does Ahnasha mean by a 'tip'? Does she want you to teach her something?"

The day that Vera shared with Kaleeth had been a near constant learning experience for her. The rest of the morning class may not have been enough for her to outright understand and write Cyrodilic, but she had reached the middle of the day with a better understanding than before. After lunch, or lack thereof, Vera's duties revolved around assisting those working the laundry. She couldn't exactly feel comfortable with Kaleeth sitting and doing nothing, so they both performed the duties with Kaleeth under Vera's instruction. A knowledge of how clothing was washed may not have been a particularly new concept, but sewing and repairing tears was also covered in that afternoon. Allowing Kaleeth to experience working with Cyrodilic clothing a little more closely.

The late afternoon was capped off with something more of a daily routine for Vera; weapon drills with a sword and shield. In spite of all of Vera's gentle and nurturing nature throughout the day, the way that she held her blade was a reminder that she was still a lieutenant of Jerrick, an alpha, and as much a warrior as the rest of them. This was the only point where Vera did not pause to teach Kaleeth unless she wanted to join in and try to keep up.

It just so happened that Ahnasha was spotted by Vera as they were all heading into the dining hall for dinner. Vera had needed to be amongst her packs anyway, but they were hoping Ahnasha would have returned by then. Vera stopped and smiled warmly, raising a hand to get Ahnasha's attention. "It is good to see that you have returned...Ahnasha, yes!" Vera said shortly after remembering Ahnasha's name, "Greetings!"

[EliteCommander]

After a day of being unable to eat, Meesei was quite glad to be able to prepare herself and Sabine a quick dinner, even as she was thinking about how to conduct her questioning. She needed to be careful in how she worded her questions to both Vera and Harriet, as she did not want to reveal that she had an actual suspect, which might influence their responses. There was only so much reliable information she could get from questioning them, but it still might give her leads she could follow.

Rhazii would likely need to be fed again soon, but for the moment, Meesei focused on finishing off her meal as quickly as possible. "I know you prefer cooked meat Sabine, but I hope you do not mind eating raw today. I do not have the time to cook, unfortunately." She commented before moving on to Sabine's question. "What are tips? I am still not completely familiar with all of the cities' customs, but I...think they are something you give to someone who performs a service if you believe their work was of good quality, usually a small amount of gold. I seem to remember making a mistake along those lines a few years ago when I started offering advice to a woman who served our drinks in a tavern. In any case, I believe Ahnasha was making a joke."

Ahnasha returned Vera's smile and wave, though from her overall demeanor, it was clear she was in something of a hurry. "Ah, Vera, I was just looking for you. It is good to see you as well, though I'm afraid I'm in sort of a rush." She began, her voice becoming quieter as she walked closer. "I left the food up in our pack's room, if you would like some dinner. Meesei is waiting there as well; she said she wants to speak with you." Ahnasha explained briefly. She expected she would have to do quite a lot of walking to find all of the lieutenants, but luckily, she had already eaten her dinner while she was in Bruma. "Also, do you happen to know where I might find the other lieutenants? Meesei wanted me to give them a message."

[Muttonhawk]

Given the circumstances, Sabine didn't mind eating the raw meat at all. After briefly rummaging through the items that Ahnasha brought back in the bulging knapsack and pulling out what appeared to be heavily salted beef rump, Sabine found a place to sit down and quietly chew. She contemplated tips and compared them to the wider concept of gifts. It seemed to make sense to her.

Vera leaned her head closer as Ahnasha lowered her voice so she could hear over the chatter of those entering the dining chamber. She gave quick nods to each point of information and imitated Ahnasha's tone in responding. "The lieutenants generally keep their packs company during dinner, so you will likely find them all there now. If not, they will be heading over. I will see the champion immediately. I actually need to see her about something as well, as it happens." Vera gave one last friendly smile and stood up straight again, "I will see you around."

A quick walk with Kaleeth by Vera's side brought them straight to Meesei's pack's chamber, Vera didn't speak except to comment "My mouth is watering already, I'm famished." When they arrived, Vera knocked at the old gate that closed off the chamber then discreetly peeked through the empty circular window in its top-centre. "Champion? You sent for me?" Vera asked. Leaps chirped at the voice from Sabine's lap, but didn't escape Sabine's hands after Sabine sounded a quiet "heel" to him as Janius had taught.

[EliteCommander]

Lorag had been watching Harriet closely for the entire day, not that he actually noticed anything interesting. She did seem annoyed and angry, but then again, so was he, for several reasons. Mostly, he just wanted a good meal, a craving that only grew as time passed. Eventually, they ended up waiting in the dining room for their food, at which point Darahil made an appearance. The brief shouting match between the two didn't actually attract all that much attention, likely because Harriet was involved. If it wasn't normal for her to be yelling at someone, then Lorag had probably misjudged her. Regardless, he tried to pay attention to exactly what they were yelling about. It sounded just like mundane accounting, but it was something he could report to Meesei.

It wasn't long after Darahil went away that Lorag saw Ahnasha step into the dining chamber, which meant the food had finally arrived. He and Harriet were the first pair Ahnasha saw, so as she started to walk towards them, Lorag looked down at Harriet, who was facing away from the entrance. "When do we eat? I'd say right around...now." He commented just as Ahnasha reached them.

"Lorag, Harriet, there you are. Meesei sent me over here to-" Ahnasha began, though Lorag quickly interrupted.

"It's here isn't it? Don't have to wait anymore?" He asked almost with enthusiasm, something Ahnasha was not used to seeing in Lorag unless the situation involved alcohol. There had been times where hunting was difficult and he had to go longer without food, but she supposed the fact that he knew the food was coming made the wait harder to deal with.

Ahnasha let out a sigh. "Yes Lorag, it's here. Just head back up to our room."

"Great, now let's go." Lorag said, trying to rush Harriet to get up and follow him, though with how impatient she had been, it would probably be more like a race up to the room.

"Yes, good to see you too, Lorag." Ahnasha mumbled with a slight chuckle. "Also, Harriet, just to let you know, Meesei might be coming to speak with you before the day is over. I think there is something she wanted to talk about."

With how long it had been since she had eaten, Meesei was already halfway through her meal by the time Vera and Kaleeth arrived. She looked up from her spot where she was seated on the floor and saw Vera peering in through the metal door. "Yes, please, come in." She answered as she motioned for her to enter.

Once Vera and Kaleeth entered, Meesei pointed to the collection of bags in the corner that contained the food Ahnasha had purchased. "The food is in those bags. Please, help yourselves. There are a few types of meat, fruits and vegetables, and I believe a few loaves of bread. I apologize if you normally prefer your meat cooked, I was just too impatient to wait for my meal."

Meesei paused, then used a spell of detect life as she looked around through the walls to ensure no one was close enough to listen in. "I believe my investigation today has been fruitful. I am ready with another series of questions for you all, and I have hopes that we may be able to resolve this soon. Let us all finish our meals first, though. I am sure you have been just as hungry as I have."

[Muttonhawk]

"Finally!" Harriet shot up as soon as it was clear that the food had arrived and began walking quickly with Lorag. "Thanks!" Harriet shot a grin at Ahnasha and patted her roughly on the upper arm as she passed. The rush up to the room brought the pair to Meesei's pack's chamber in short order.

Vera was grateful for the opportunity to eat and walked straight for the food. "Thank you, I don't mind raw meat," she said. She pulled out another piece of beef from the package that Sabine had opened and a carrot from another, and then sat opposite Meesei with the heating crystal between them. Vera took a bite from her carrot and did not chew much before she swallowed. She had her own question. "Champion, Meesei, I was wondering...my son, Caleb, normally attends breakfast, but he generally stays around his friends and his packmates. However, I haven't seen him all day. I assumed he was just training, or maybe he slept in for some reason, but I want to know if he...well, if you told him anything."

Some loud footsteps began to sound at that point to herald Harriet and Lorag's approach, but there would be time for a short answer before they arrived.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei gave no immediate visible reaction to Vera's question. She was in the middle of a bite of meat when she asked, so she had a brief moment to think about her response. Meesei could not afford to reveal that she had any contacts within the clan, and while she did not want to lie directly to the clan as a whole, she recognized that it would be necessary to lie to the lieutenants at times during the investigation.

"No, I did not know you had a son." Meesei responded, shaking her head slightly with no noticeable emotional change. "You could try to keep an eye on him if you think something is wrong, but it may be nothing. In the situation we are in, we need to be vigilant and watch for anything out of the ordinary, but also be aware that you might start noticing patterns where there are none. Sometimes, people simply change something about their day for mundane reasons, or none at all. That is something I have to stay aware of in my own investigation."

It was not long before Lorag and Harriet arrived, though unlike Vera, neither of them had any intention of knocking. Lorag entered first, his gaze immediately telling what he wanted. Without needing to say a word, Meesei pointed to the bags in the corner to direct him and Harriet to their meals. "Greetings Lorag, Harriet. Help yourselves to whatever you like, but keep in mind this food needs to last us a few days." She cautioned. "Harriet, I am ready to ask another set of questions for all of the lieutenants, but for now, you can return to the dining chamber with your food. I do not want to attract too much attention by keeping all of the lieutenants away from their packs at the same time. I will send someone for you when I am ready to speak to you." She explained.

[Muttonhawk]

Vera's eyes wandered down to the food in her hands as Meesei explained. "I know, I know. I just...wanted to ask, that's all," Vera said, before looking up at Lorag and Harriet. "Greetings?" Vera asked, slightly confused at their behaviour, but understanding a little better once it hit her that they were just here for the food.

"Hey Vera," Harriet said quickly, barely paying any attention to her at all while she very nearly dove into the food. Harriet shoved the first thing she pulled out into her mouth - a sheep heart, by the looks - and paused once Meesei finished speaking. "Hm?" She tore off a piece of the tough meat and began to chew while she responded to Meesei, "Oh, sure, sure." She gave Lorag a rough pat on the arm with her free hand, "Don't overstock, big boy." Harriet proceeded to tear off a chunk of fresh bread before she waved everyone off and walked out of the room.

After they left, Vera looked at the door for a few moments. The room was awfully quiet now. She decided to stay relatively quiet until she finished her meal.

By the time that Harriet and Lorag returned to the dining chamber, Harriet had eaten half her food already in the rush to sate her hunger. She paused at the entrance with a cross expression and had to wait several moments with her breath held while holding her fist to her chest. A couple of thumps to the chest brought up a belch and a sigh of relief, allowing them to continue. They sat where they were, but Harriet's packmates risked soome conversation once they saw that her mood had improved.

Already in the dining chamber once they had arrived back was Oswall, laughing with his packs. Janius seemed to be comfortably fitting in with the conversation. He was acting more like Oswall's packmate than his guard.

[EliteCommander]

After everyone had finished their meal, Meesei was ready to begin her questioning, but since the other lieutenants would be coming and going between their room, she decided it would be best to move elsewhere. She stood up and looked to both Vera and Sabine. "Now that we have all had a chance to eat, I believe I am ready to ask a few questions. If I remember correctly, there are some storage rooms nearby we might use. I would rather not be disturbed by the other lieutenants coming for their food."

Once Sabine was on her feet, Meesei approached her. "I will need you to watch after Rhazii while we are talking. Also, I would appreciate it if you could stand outside the room and keep watch. Let me know if anyone gets close enough that they might hear us. We should still be at least within sight of our room's gate, so you should be able to give Rhazii to Ahnasha once she returns." Meesei explained before handing off Rhazii to Sabine.

Meesei pulled her notes out of the satchel she kept on her person, then retrieved some writing implements from her bag before leading Sabine and Vera out of the room. The room which the lieutenants had given to Meesei's pack was the only one on the hall that was entirely unused, but there were others that were used simply for storage. After looking through a few of the rooms, Meesei decided on one at the end of the hall which was within sight of their room, but out of the path the lieutenants would need to take to retrieve their meals. Inside, there were boxes, barrels, and loose junk items scattered around. While it would have been crowded to sleep in, the room was perfectly fine for a simple two-person conversation. Just like the first interview, Meesei readied her notes, then opened with the first question.

"Alright, before I get to my main questions, is there anything you would like to tell me? Anything you might have remembered or figured out since yesterday that could be helpful? If not, that is perfectly fine, I just thought I would ask." Meesei questioned, her tone light and non-aggressive.

[Muttonhawk]

Despite the audible protest by leaps at being locked up in the room alone again, Sabine did as Meesei told her. There was a chilly draft out in the corridor, but both she and Rhazii were clothed well enough.

Inside the storage room, Vera sat uncomfortably on a small, horizontal barrel on a stand. She seemed a little nervous, but straightened her back and spoke directly to Meesei's eyes. "I don't believe I remember anything of note. Today has been...distracting, in many senses." Vera's look faltered, most likely for the seriousness of the situation. "I know you have to suspect me, but I will only say the truth."

[EliteCommander]

"I know you are likely nervous, but I promise that my accusation will only be given based on strong evidence. The traitor was likely not expecting me to suddenly arrive here, so it is unlikely that he or she had the time to set up a convincing way of framing any of you. The evidence should point to our killer. Even if I cannot identify the traitor tonight, I may be able to exonerate one or more of you from suspicion." Meesei said reassuringly as she marked off another section in her notes.

"Now, to begin, I would like to focus on Jerrick's waterskin. Specifically, how many times, and exactly when did you see him drinking from it? From what you told me last time, you saw him fill it at breakfast. Since he did not separate from it at breakfast, it is incredibly unlikely that it was poisoned at that point, so I am not as concerned about then. At any point after that, though, can you recall actually seeing him drink from the waterskin? I understand this is a very specific thing to remember, so I will give you a moment to think." Meesei asked. She suspected that the information Sabine's test had given her would narrow down the point at which Jerrick could have been poisoned, but to know for sure, she needed this one last piece of information.

[Muttonhawk]

"That's...hmm," Vera didn't seem outwardly uncomfortable with the question, but she did have to take Meesei's offer to pause and think. She brought her thumb and forefinger up to her lips and looked down into the space in front of her for a short while. "I do remember that he drank some water at breakfast, after he filled the skin. He went to teach afterwards, I didn't see him until just before the meeting, just after his lesson, like I said before." Vera trailed off, still deep in her memories. She took a breath and seemed like she was about to resume speaking, then went silent again, and then breathed in once more. "I think he drank from it during the meeting. But it looked less full, I'd say he also drank during or after his lesson, though I cannot be sure. Apart from that..." Vera slowly looked up at Meesei again, "...That's all. I'm sorry, I can't remember any other occasion."

[EliteCommander]

"I understand." Meesei responded as she marked down a few notes. She agreed with Vera's assessment that Jerrick must have drank some of his water around the time of the lesson. Given that transformations inherently involved physical exercise, it was natural that one would want to drink some water afterwards. She would still ask the same question of the others, but she had more reason to believe that was the case than just Vera's word.

"Let us talk about the meeting. Everyone I have questioned said it proceeded normally, apart from my arrival. I was told that he kept his waterskin sitting on the table for the meeting's duration, then he forgot it when he went to speak with Darahil on the mezzanine. If you saw anyone tampering with it, I would of course want to know, but I doubt the traitor would have attempted the poisoning with others around. After I left, can you tell me again the order in which everyone left the meeting room?" Meesei questioned.