EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei slowed down as they climbed up the stairs. "Falmer? I thought you said this place was safe?" He exclaimed. He did not actually know what a Falmer was, but Fendros' tone made it seem dangerous.

"We haven't had any losses from Falmer since a few weeks after we arrived." Ahnasha answered. "I think they're starting to avoid us, like they avoid the Dwemer machines. We just do what we can to make sure they don't organize."

Regardless of Rukeewei's newfound fear, he had little choice but to follow the pack up the stairs and through the massive doors into the ruin. As expected, they had been spotted on their approach by their scouts, since there was already a group of guards in the entry hall to meet them. Although, they were not the only ones to greet them. Alongside the guards was a Dwemer sphere, but instead of attacking or standing in one place mindlessly, it was moving along the sides of the hall, as if patrolling.

Meesei regarded the machine curiously, but without the kind of surprise Ariel or Rukeewei might have expected. "Hmm, I see they have the automatons working now."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A minor note, the closest port to Raldbthar is Windhelm, so they probably wouldn't have been traveling weeks over land. I doubt it would take more than a few days from there. Still cold, though.

Now, time for me to get to bed, goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pack trudged up the snowy, mountainous terrain slowly but surely. It was later at night than they would normally be traveling, but they were close enough to the clanhome that they did not want to wait in camp again, particularly considering the frigid temperatures. Rukeewei was the least comfortable, as one might expect, supplanting Kaleeth for the most number of weather complaints among the pack. Both moons were out, and Masser was full, so it was fairly bright out for nighttime, though Rukeewei was still carrying a torch for the heat.

Journeys such as these were almost routine for the pack by this point, but Rukeewei was both mentally and physically exhausted at this point. The voyage on the ship had actually been novel and somewhat exciting for him at first, since he had never sailed before, but that feeling very quickly subsided. A mundane routine was nothing new to him, but having nothing to do for the majority of the day started to get to him over time. He did spend some time getting to better know the pack, but for much of the time, he was more distant form them than he had been the first time they had met. Knowledge of what they were had unquestionably changed how he saw them, and there was always that hint of caution or nervousness whenever he spoke to them. It was as if part of him expected that they could turn on him at any moment. Regardless, he did start to become somewhat more sociable near the end of the voyage. Rhazii and Newt ended up being the gateway that motivated him to speak with their respective parents. He saw little threat from them, so on at least a subconscious level, he was more comfortable talking about them. In terms of Rukeewei's comfort reaching land had not been much of an improvement. They left Windhelm soon after they arrived, and Eastmarch was a far worse place for him than he had expected. The lands they had to travel across were some of the coldest in Skyrim outside of the Pale, and he had never so much as even experienced a moderately cool day before. Fortunately, they were finally nearing their destination.

Eventually, the pack made their way high enough up the mountain to reach the base of the large, imposing stairway leading up to Raldbthar. The Dwemer ruin looked just the same on the outside as it had when they left, as it likely had for centuries. The clan did not want to give any clues that the ruin was being inhabited, Meesei had mandated that nothing be visibly changed about either the ruin's exterior, or first few rooms. Although, there was no doubt that they had been spotted by their scouts on the way up the mountain.

Rukeewei had to pause, holding his torch behind him so he could get a clear view of the structure towering over them. "What...manner of place is this?" He asked. The Dwemer had never expanded into Black Marsh, so Rukeewei had never seen any examples of Dwemer technology or architecture.

"This is the Dwemer city Raldbthar. It serves as the gateway to our home." Meesei answered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

you can probably summarize it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei's expression was anything but confident, but he answered firmly nonetheless. "There is no other choice. I could not bear to let you go alone. What if something happens on the way, or what if you get infected with that lycanthropy disease? I could not live apart from you like that, not for so long. My brother is capable of running the inn, especially if he can hire someone to help. My inn will be fine; my parents will not be happy, and they probably won't let this go, but I can handle that."

Rukeewei let out a sigh. "I know there's not much I can do to help. I'll just be...there, doing nothing. I can't protect you, or myself, really. I haven't so much as been in a fist fight since I was just a hatchling. I know I won't be useful, but I can at least try to keep you happy; to be your reminder of home." He tried to bring himself to smile. "Besides, you can keep me safe with your witch-magic, can't you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"So you really are wanting me to leave here." Rukeewei said, looking away for a moment. It seemed as if he were speaking to himself more than anything. "But, there is no way for you to 'fix' anything. Things happen as they are, and that can't be helped. Doing something nice for me now isn't going to change what happened. All that you can do anything about now is the things you haven't done yet."

Again, Rukeewei looked away uncomfortably. "I...still really don't want to leave here. This is home. But I know your sister is in trouble, and I know this is the only way you have to help her. And, like I said, our lives are one. What happens to you, happens to me. So, this is the only choice. I suppose...if you want to do something, is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all, about anything? Any secrets you don't want to keep?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei breathed deeply. "Okay." He said simply, followed by another, somewhat tense pause. He was having almost as much trouble speaking as Ariel, though for different reasons. He had clearly been upset, but he had not shown any sort of anger. "You know that, and you should always remember it, but there is still the here and now to deal with, so we need to figure out what to do together. I know you want to keep your sister safe, so I do too. Your family is my family. What do I need to do to help you do that?"

While he had been hurt by Ariel's secrecy, Rukeewei was sounding just as supportive of her as ever. Even after a three-year long lie, his tone made him sound more disappointed in her than actually angry.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Ariel." Rukeewei interrupted, though the pause lingered in the air for several seconds before he finally continued. "You told me all of this yesterday, and I've had..." Rukeewei exhaled. "...plenty of time to think about it. You should have told me all of this before, or at least told me you are acquainted with lycanthropes. I know you said that it was Sabine's secret to share and everything, and I would normally agree with that if it only meant something to her. But this is something that you knew could come back into your life. Something that has come back into our life."

Rukeewei walked up to Ariel and took the hand bearing her wedding ring, holding it up between them. "You remember the vows? That we would be 'as one with each other until we become one with the trees.' Our lives became one life that day, so when something happens to one of us, it happens to both of us. I had a right to know that this could happen." Rukeewei's voice was firm, but not exactly angry. Evidently, he had thought about the matter enough to rid himself of any rash emotions.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Ariel had convinced herself to hold off on speaking to Rukeewei, he was a bit more impatient. He had skipped his breakfast entirely and persuaded his brother to watch the inn for a short time while he sought out Ariel. He entered her shop before she opened for the day, unlocking the door with his copy of her key, and made his way nervously upstairs. He was quiet as he stopped just outside her door, and paused to collect his thoughts.

Rukeewei had been almost as sleepless as Ariel the previous night, as he had spent most of it thinking on every angle of this situation that had been suddenly dropped on them. He thought about it at every angle he could. At some points, he went back to feeling fear at the thought of lycans in his inn, while at others, he felt nothing but sympathy for Ariel about everything that had happened to her sister. The thoughts of what he would do for his brother if he were in similar trouble kept him from being too angry at Ariel for lying to him for so long. After a few moments, he opened the door slowly to Ariel having her breakfast withing. "Ariel...dear, I...think I'm ready to talk."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei would probably come to her. For Gallus, you could have him speak to Ri'vashi, or Meesei, or anyone really. Probably do that one at the same time as the pack's return.