EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As much as Ahnasha wanted to hold conversations in dept with Fendros' family, she also wanted to be respectful to the priest who was holding the ceremony and did not want to force him to wait around for too long. Meesei was of the same opinion, so she had already taken her seat in waiting of the ceremony's start. Though, she was not going to do anything to rush them after the ceremony's end. They could leave the next day if need be and it would not terribly impact their schedule. Indeed, Meesei expected that Calia would want to speak to her more in-depth than the few questions she had answered about herself. It could take some effort to convince her that her capabilities were not being exaggerated by Ahnasha. Even Lorag was starting to see the ceremony as a decent enough distraction from his own thoughts, so he would possibly cease his brooding soon.

Ahnash a understood the signal to begin immediately, so she gave a nod to Fendros, then walked up towards the front of the temple. Although, she stopped quickly to speak to Llarasa and ask her to watch Rhazii during the ceremony. She reasoned that it would be a good chance to bring Rhazii a bit closer to Fendros' family. She held the fire shield potion close to herself, though she did not uncork it just yet. She did not want to drink it too early and have it wear off, so she kept her eye on the priest and waited for him to give the okay to drink it. Meanwhile, the others started to notice Ahnasha and Fendros moving to the front, so they began taking their seats as well. Kaleeth was sitting at the front pew on the right side next to Janius, with Newt in her lap. Meesei was beside them, and Lorag on the far end.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"No really, it is no burden. We actually have half those ingredients on hand alrea-" Ahnasha began before she was quickly interrupted by Calia. Regardless of the arguments she had in mind, she decided to let it go for now. It did not really matter if Calia refused help anyway, Ahnasha would likely end up sending the ingredients regardless.

Throughout Calia's explanation of her expectations for marriage, Ahnasha could not help but to smile once more. Her short speech was something she had obviously been thinking on for a while, and it showed that Calia really had accepted that Ahnasha would be a permanent part of Fendros' life. And, perhaps a small part of hers. Following Calia's speech, Ahnasha closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as she thought. "Honestly...I believe I understand that better than most couples ever do. In the years we have known one another, we have been through so, so much together. The challenges we have faced...it is hard to really put it into words. There has been more than one occasion where I have quite literally put my life at risk for him. When he or Rhazii were threatened, and I was willing to die for him. We...were not in as safe of a position then as we are now. There have definitely been times that I've been so angry with Fendros that I wanted to claw his eyes out, but every time I'm angry, I always have in the back of my mind the times where I knew he was the only thing in the world that mattered to me. The times of desperation where he was the only thing that could give me hope. I know what it's like to really rely on him as a part of myself, and for him to rely on me. You can believe me when I say that I truly do understand the kind of bond you describe."

Kaleeth reached her hand down and placed it gently on Newt's back. Like Rhazii, he was entirely confused on who these people were, perhaps even moreso since he had never even met them in his life. "Yes, he is our son. He and Rhazii have grown up together. They are...brothers, really. In all the ways that matter."

Meanwhile, Meesei responded to Monderyn simply and directly. "Fendros and Ahnasha were the ones you harmed. If they have forgiven you, then I have forgiven you as well."

"Huh, yeah, sure, that sounds good." Lorag added, somewhat apathetically as he turned his head back away from looking at anything in particular. He was not being intentionally dismissive of Monderyn as much as he was simply not paying that close of attention. His mind was distracted elsewhere.

"Do not mind Lorag. He has been in a foul mood as of late due to some personal issues." Meesei explained briefly. "Regardless, you should not feel unwelcome among us. You might be surprised at how accepting we can be."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That sounds like a good opportunity for you.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha could not help but to smile when Calia started to "look" at her with her hands. If they were fortunate, that would not be a requirement forever. She took a moment to look around the room and make sure that the priest was nowhere close by. Regardless, she still whispered to Calia. "Well, there are a few advantages to our condition. Heightened strength, disease immunity, lengthened lifespan, improved recovery from wounds, better senses. Fendros has all these things too, of course. Don't worry though, a frost atronach is a good deterrent to anyone looking to be a bully." She chuckled.

When Calia turned her tone more serious, Ahnasha shifted her expression to match. "I understand. There is a lot I'd like to speak to you about when we have more time. Maybe after the ceremony? I doubt we really have time to go into it all in detail. I know my lifespan might not seem like much to you, but I think Fendros and I will be able to be happy together for longer than you think. Like I said, we'll both be healthy for quite a while. Aside from that, I was wondering real quick if I could ask you about the ingredients you need for your medicine? Specifically that nettle from high rock. Those ingredients would not be difficult for us to obtain at all."

Nearby, most of the others were standing by waiting for it to seem appropriate to speak to their new guests. Obviously, Fendros and Ahnasha would want to speak to them first, but Meesei expected they would want to speak to them eventually as well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha leaned up closely against Fendros. "Well, I may not care much for appearances, but I'll certainly take the compliments. I can also say that you have..."

Before Ahnasha could finish her thought, her ears perked up from the sound of the doors opening at the front of the temple. It only took a few moments for relief to finally wash over her. Calia, Monderyn, and Llarasa all entered the temple, ending any worries Ahnasha had that they might have any more unpleasant confrontations with his family. Not only had Calia came of her own free will, but after her greeting to Fendros, it seemed like she was happy to be there. At least, as much as Ahnasha could have hoped for after a single day. Since everyone had arrived, Ahnasha expected that the ceremony would begin soon, but there would be time beforehand that they could all greet one another. And hopefully, much more time afterwards that they could all speak more in-depth.

Ahnasha was not sure what Calia had in mind to say to her, but even if she could not see it, Ahnasha approached her with a smile. She wanted nothing more than to embrace Calia as family, but she was a bit more cautious about it, strictly following Calia's lead. Ahnasha put her arm gently on Calia's to make her presence known, then gave her a hug. "It is good to see you here. I am sure you can imagine how much this means to Fendros. And myself."

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?"