EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Just a decorative pattern.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

You know, I just thought of something. S'nashi gave Fendros an engraved silver candlestick. That would probably burn. I suppose I can assume he just was careful in where he grabbed it, if it wasn't solid silver.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hmm, Sydney. Always a place I've wanted to visit. Being half a world away, though, it is difficult.

I think the business in Leyawiin is concluded now. I could move us to Senchal.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha had a difficult time answering at first. She stepped onto the deck, then leaned against the railing beside Janius as she looked out over the docks, towards the city. Closing her eyes, she released a deep breath. "I don't know, honestly. It was better than it could have been, not as good as I wish it had. They were shocked and angry at first, of course, but they did forgive me. That much, at least, is good. I was able to talk to my family again, to...laugh with them, to catch up with everything that has happened. My brother, he finally has a fiance: an Argonian woman who he is going to open a restaurant with. They were able to meet their grandson for the first time, and to learn that I am alive, safe, and...happy."

Turning her head, Ahnasha looked to Janius nervously. Her eyes were red, and the fur beneath them moistened by her tears. The normal confidence she carried did not seem to be with her in the slightest. "But...I couldn't tell them everything. There were certain things I had to keep secret, so we lied. We had to grow those lies, and now we are going to have to maintain that illusion. I'm worried about the future, and what will happen if they find out. They are giving me a second chance, but I don't know if I'll get a third."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even before saying anything, Ahnasha had already begun to tear up. The past day had been fraught with intense, often opposing emotions, and now, sadness was taking its turn. She had gone nine years without so much as thinking about seeing her family again, but now, she was having a hard time letting go. They had been an integral part of the first sixteen years of her life, after all, and even though her opinion had turned against them before she left, she could not say she did not love them.

"Mother, father, brother. I...I don't even know what to say. I didn't know what to expect when I came back here. I thought you might be angry, or even denounce me, and I would have deserved it. But...I am glad I came back. I regret everything I did, and I hope to never let go of you again. Even if I can't be here, we will keep in contact. As soon as we're back in Bruma, we'll send a letter letting you know where to send the response. I love you, and I promise I will do whatever I can to come back here and visit someday."

"Wherever in Tamriel you are, we will always be with you. At night, whenever you look up at the twin moons, know that we will be looking at them as well, and we will never be apart." S'nashi answered, immediately stepping forward to give her daughter a hug. Gwindir and Vasiq quickly joined in, and for a silent few moments, they all embraced one another. When they all finally separated, no one found any words that would be more appropriate for their final farewell.

As Ahnasha left the store alongside Fendros and Rhazii, she closed her eyes and let out a deep, shuddering breath. Despite the fact that a wound from her past had been healed, the reunion with her family had been bittersweet. She was still living a lie, and she hoped those lies would not come back to haunt her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha rubbed the top of Rhazii's head once more. "Maybe, it depends on what Shevari is cooking. I suppose it will be a surprise for us all." She answered before climbing out of bed herself. Once they were all dressed, they headed out into the dining room to join the rest of the family.

The morning was far less tense than the previous night, though Ahnasha could not shake her nerves. Through breakfast, she worried constantly about accidentally saying something to contradict the story they had conjured the previous night. Small details were likely to go unnoticed, or could be explained away, but it would only take one significant misstep to unravel the narrative they had created. Otherwise, it was a pleasant breakfast, cooked with all of the quality they had come to expect from Shevari.

The ship was leaving in the afternoon, so they did have about six or so hours to spend with Ahnasha's family. Shevari did have to leave after a few hours, but both her parents and her brother remained with them the entire day. They even closed the shop for the day so as to be able to give as much attention to them as possible. Fortunately, they did not have to expand their lie too greatly; they only had to give a few more details about their shop and describe their friends. For the latter, no lies were required, as they needed only describe their own pack in vague enough terms to leave out the lycanthropy. Fendros was also able to learn more about Ahnasha's parents, and their lives in Leyawiin. Once they had moved past the topic of Ahnasha's false life, she was able to enjoy the time with her family. Her father even only shared a single embarrassing childhood story about her, regarding the time when she mistook a freshly-hatched mudcrab for a seashell.

Eventually, the time drew near that they would have to return to the ship. They had not been given an exact hour of departure, so unfortunately, they had to be back sooner rather than later. Knowing this, everyone began to gather in the main room of the shop for their final goodbyes. S'nashi emerged from the back room carrying a single tiger lily in her hand. Her usual ritual was to place the tiger lily at the base of the candlestick on the mantle, and to ensure that the candle was lit. This time, however, she approached the fireplace with a smile on her face. For the first time in nine years, she took the engraved silver candlestick off of the mantle, then handed it to Fendros.

"I do not think we will be needing this anymore." S'nashi commented. For Ahnasha, she took the tiger lily and gently pushed its stem through her fur, just above her ear. "I know not everything about this has been pleasant, but I am glad that the three of you came to us yesterday. I feel like I am finally at peace."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think I may bring us to the point where they are getting ready to get back to the ship. Everything that needed to happen happened the previous night.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha chuckled at Fendros' sudden clumsiness. "I know, I know, it was just...interesting, is all." She said with a smirk. Leaning forward, she gave him a quick kiss. "Don't worry about it too much; it's not like we could invite our parents to a wedding."

Turning back around, Ahnasha carefully climbed into the bed so as not to wake Rhazii. She pulled the fur blanket over herself and moved as far over on the bed as possible to make room for Fendros. It was not a double bed, so it would be rather cramped. "Let's just try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, Hircine willing, will hopefully not be nearly as difficult as today."

---

For Ahnasha, the night was as restful as a lycan could reasonably expect. She did awake once to a nightmare, but it was nothing related to the trauma she and Fendros had been seeing Najira for. It was simply a nightmare brought on by her beast blood. She awoke for good early in the morning to a knock at the door, followed by her brother's voice.

"Sorry to wake you, but I figured you wouldn't want to oversleep today. Shevari is about to start breakfast." Vasiq said loudly through the door.

Ahnasha yawned and stretched out her muscles as she sat up in the bed. "Thank you, brother. We'll be out soon." She answered before turning to Rhazii, who had also been awoken by the knocking. She rubbed her hand across his forehead and smiled. "Sleep well, Ma'rhazii?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha sighed. "I don't know, honestly. I am glad to be able to see them, I just hope I'm not causing even more pain in the future. I'm hoping I really am right about hiding the truth. I'm doing the best I can, and making the decisions I think are right, but only time will tell if I'm correct in it all. It could be that we're both wrong about everything.

Shaking her head, Ahnasha stood up and walked over to the corner of the room to get undressed. "At least we don't have to leave first thing tomorrow morning. I can have time for proper goodbyes. I'm going to try to avoid talking about this 'life' of ours as much as possible, and try to keep the topic on them. Just in case, let's make sure we stay together the whole time so there are no contradictions." Pausing a moment, Ahnasha walked over and hugged Fendros tightly. This whole day would not have been possible were it not for his willingness to go out of his way for her benefit, and no matter how it turned out, she knew he did it all just to help her. "And thank you, for everything. I love you, Fendros. I love everything about you."

Once Ahnasha released him, she sat down once again on the side of the bed, at which point a thought crossed her mind: something that had occurred to her before, but was not appropriate to bring up. "By the way...you told them we were married?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha still could not bring herself to make eye contact with Fendros, so she kept her eyes facing straight ahead as she answered. "I don't think my brother will be any different. We're just going to have to make sure we're always the ones doing the visiting instead of them. I mean, Leyawiin may still be in Cyrodiil, but it is on the exact opposite side of the province as Bruma. That is not a journey you just make on a whim, or unannounced. They can't just go on long journeys like we can; they have to tend to their business. As for Rhazii..."

Ahnasha turned her head towards her son, who was sleeping just behind her on the bed. At his age, he wouldn't understand the real reasons for anything they were doing. It was fortunate that he had been obedient thusfar and said nothing to counter what they had told her parents. They had drilled rather strongly into his mind that he should not mention transforming in public, so the concept of keeping something like that hidden was not new to him. "We'll just tell him that the things we said were to hide the fact that we can transform. He does understand that, so he can understand this at least well-enough. Maybe he won't understand why we lied, but he knows not to speak up about it."