EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The temple was not nearly as extravagant as the massive cathedral that housed the chapel of the Divines in the city. Naturally, the number of Dunmer in the city who followed the Reclamations was far fewer than the citizens that followed the Divines, so their place of worship was far more modest. It would be a smaller, less formal ceremony than anything in the chapel, which suited Ahnasha just fine. For the sake of the temple's priest, they had elected to leave Leaps behind at camp, both to keep Cuts company, and to keep him from breaking anything in the temple.

The rest of the pack settled in and made themselves comfortable while Ahnasha prepared herself for the ceremony. She finally applied the perfumes Sabine had given her, so the scents would be fresh when Fendros' family arrived. That is, if they arrived. They were taking oddly long to arrive at the temple, and while Ahnasha did not expect everyone in his family to show up, she knew that Llarasa at least would be there for certain, and probably Monderyn.

Sitting down next to Fendros, Ahnasha put her hand on his shoulder. "They'll be here soon. And if they don't show up, then I'll go get them myself. I know for a fact that Llarasa wouldn't miss this by her own choice, and I'm not about to let your father, or anyone else, keep her away if she wants to be here."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can move along if you like.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite being behind Fendros, Ahnasha shrugged. "Honestly, it might not have been as much of a surprise to me. Having an Elven father really cut down how strongly I identify with other Khajiit. A nice, handsome Dunmer would be no crazier than anyone else. Honestly, the actual marriage part would have got me more than anything else. I'm still sometimes surprised, not only that I agreed to it, but I...actually am kind of looking forward to it. Before Rhazii was born, I never would have even considered it, but it's not like we're going to be settling down or anything, so I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with it all.

Moving around in front of Fendros, Ahnasha held herself close to him and pressed her forehead lightly against his. "With a pair like us, your parents will come around eventually. I don't care how many hundreds of years it will take. No parent can resist seeing their child happy."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, you know where I stand on traditions." Ahnasha responded. With a wide smirk across her face, she quickly snatched the soap out of his hand, then continued washing him where he left off.

"Hard to believe this is where it all started for us." She continued. "It's just so...indistinct. A forest on the outskirts of the city, with nothing at all remarkable to its name. If it even has a name. Yet, it's where our lives changed forever. It really didn't take long for everything to happen once you were with us. With all the alcohol that was involved, I don't remember too clearly how it all happened. It might have been that Rhazii was conceived at this very river."

After a few more moments, and after moving on to washing Fendros' back, Ahnasha spoke up again on her musings. "I have to wonder what would have happened if we had not been drinking quite so much. If we had not slept together that time, and Meesei had not left camp. Obviously we would not have had a child at that point, but do you think we would have decided to have one later? Do you think we would have ended up together, still?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmph, yeah, probably." Lorag responded neutrally before once again looking away. As seemingly random as it was for him to bring it up, he dismissed the topic just as quickly. If Janius was expecting a conversation, it did not look like Lorag was intent on continuing one on his own. However, even that brief mention of the girl showed that she was still on his mind. For someone who was supposedly denying the possibility that she even could be his daughter, it was strange for him to be thinking of her.

Ahnasha had elected to wait until closer to the ceremony to try on Sabine's perfumes so that they would be more fresh for the ceremony itself. She spent some time in the morning explaining to Kaleeth how the ceremony was going to go, since she was somewhat irrationally nervous about doing something to ruin it. Ahnasha had not shared every single detail about their visit to Fendros' family with the rest of the pack, but they were aware that they wanted to make a good impression on Fendros' parents. They had told them what to expect from Fendros' mother, and to be cautious in the unlikely event that his father decided to show up as well. Given his reaction the previous day, Ahnasha would not expect his intentions to be pleasant if he did attend.

Once she had her breakfast, Ahnasha made her way down to the river just a few minutes behind Fendros, climbing in the water after him. She stepped softly and lowered herself into the water carefully to avoid making too much noise and being noticed as she approached. She attempted to remain silent until she was right up behind Fendros, at which point she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "So when we found you in these woods all those years ago, what do you think you would have done if someone told you that you would be preparing for your wedding in the same place just a few years later?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Since I'm too tired to give much detail, I just brought us to the early morning in camp.

Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei tried to be reassuring to Janius, at least as much as that was possible. She could not diminish the risk entirely without outright lying, but there were some ways she might be able to calm her pack. "Mora is certainly powerful, that I do not deny. It would be unwise to underestimate him, but I would caution against overestimating him too. As much as he might try to convince Tamriel otherwise, he is not omniscient. He is very skilled at obtaining information, and obviously resourceful, but he does not simply gain knowledge automatically. To learn something, someone still has to tell him, or his seekers have to find it. He will not know that something is wrong with me unless I or someone else tells him. Just avoid speaking of anything important if I summon a seeker. I assure you I will not use that Daedra liberally. As far as the book itself is concerned, Mora cannot use it to trap me in his realm, or anything of that nature. Not to my knowledge. It may be one of his artifacts, but there are still rules he must abide by, thanks to the barriers between our worlds. The greatest effect he could have on us would be to use the book as a conduit to appear physically in our world, but even that has limitations." She explained. Although, she did not have a way to address the real concerns going through her mind. The greatest threat to Meesei's safety would not be from the book, or even Mora, but her own ambitions.

---

Ahnasha found the flasks not too long after returning to her tent, and it did not take much guesswork to determine who they were from. She was in an overall good mood from the day's events, and the gift served to make her feel even better. Despite the parts of the day that had not gone well, the rest of it had more than made up for it. The meeting with the priest at the Temple could not have gone better, even if he had made her and Fendros sit through a long list of questions. There were ways in which she wished she could have answered him, particularly relating to her own lifespan, but she did not want to say anything that would even hint at the possibility of necromancy. Regardless, he was pleasantly approving of the whole arrangement. It probably helped that they had been together for years, which showed that it was no rash decision. Of course, the ceremony did not hold near the importance for her as the priest likely assumed it did. To her, there was not going to be much changing between her and Fendros between that day and the last few years.

Though she did not make any kind of big scene out of it, Ahnasha did make sure to take the time to find Sabine alone at some point before going to sleep to find Sabine and give her a hug and thanks for her gift.

---

The next morning involved a lot more comprehensive preparations than usual. Meesei had taken her dress and many of the other clothes to the nearest body of water to wash them thoroughly for the ceremony. Some dirt and stains were generally not a concern for them, but the priests might consider it odd if they did not at least appear to be putting effort into their appearances for the ceremony. Most of the pack were taking care to select the "nicest" of the clothes they had available to them, apart from Lorag, who was just going to wear a clean version of what he always wore in cities. Granted, the pack did not have a great deal of options to choose from. Most of what they were picking from was simply what was the least damaged. Ahnasha was, of course, getting the best dress they had on hand, though that was at best equivalent to the wardrobe of a reasonably successful merchant. Fortunately, Ahnasha did not care in the slightest how anyone looked, even herself or Fendros. For the most part, her only reason for putting in the effort was to make the best impression on Fendros' mother.

Lorag was sitting in the center of camp, waiting for Meesei to return with the washed clothes. Janius happened to be standing nearby, but for most of the morning, he had not done anything to address or acknowledge anyone else. However, suddenly, in a neutral, matter-of-fact tone, he finally spoke. Although, it would not be immediately obvious that he was actually talking to Janius. "Wonder if she'll teach that girl to be a real Orc?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I am going to be heading to bed soon, but I'll be sure to respond beforehand. I'll likely move us on to the next day.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can move on whenever you think the others have had their input.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With little reason to keep it around, Meesei quickly dismissed the seeker. In truth, she felt somewhat unsettled looking upon it as well, but at least it would likely intimidate some of there less knowledgeable and more superstitious foes. Meesei understood when Janius voiced his concerns, but she could tell that Lorag was a fair bit more upset. He was staring at the book in her arms with obvious distrust. "Your judgment is normally fine, Alpha, but that book's a poison. We don't need it; it'll just poison your mind. I say we just throw the thing in the fire and be done with it."

Meesei let out a sigh. "I am sorry, but I cannot do that Lorag. Aside from the fact that it is likely not so easy to destroy, we are not in any position to deny advantages given to us. I will take the risk myself, and hopefully the reward will prove worthwhile. I apologize for making a scene of it all; that was not my intention. I wanted to read it quietly in my tent so that I could test how it functioned without worrying you. After having read it, I cannot see any obvious source of danger with reading it, apart from the fact that I have no perception of what is happening around my body here on Mundas. Even if I cannot be harmed while reading it, I would be wise to only read it when we are in a safe and secure location. Until then, I am going to make sure it does not leave my person."