Muttonhawk Member

Now that was also something that was difficult to find a place for on the ship. Fendros' smile curled with Ahnasha's, "I think I like that idea much better." Fendros gave Ahnasha a quick kiss and they sat up together. It seemed that they wouldn't be quite as idle as Fendros had anticipated. With a sharp exhale, Janius gave up on trying to be subtle. Surely Kaleeth would understand, and it was only a matter of time before the topic came up. "Okay, I won't say that I am proud of it now, but these gardens are a great place to...enjoy another's beauty as well." Janius caught his tongue before drawing attention to the pack by being vulgar. He rubbed his upper arm as they continued, "There were some times where I would have some temporary relationships with other women here. Before I, you know, changed." Janius attempted to move on by addressing the one most likely to want to see the Arcane University, "Meesei, this gate leads to the university. Not much of it is open to the public, but we can have a look if you like."

Too much back and forth between Rareth and Shiva might not be the best idea. Does someone else want to post?

There wasn't much of a response on the tip of Fendros' tongue when Ahnasha kissed him, so he was silenced thereafter. Once they broke their kiss, Fendros' hand wandered to Ahnasha's side while Rhazii squirmed between them. The fresh sheets' smell mingling with ocean-seasoned bodies of Ahnasha, Rhazii, and himself reminded Fendros of something that might help to calm all of them a little more thoroughly. "You know what would be good right now? A hot bath. I'm sure there were some small baths the last time I was here. What do you think?" Janius had to start off slowly. He had expected Lorag to pick up on what he had said only a few moments after it left his mouth. "Well...there were a few times where...women would find this place as beautiful as I did." Janius' tongue darted across his lips nervously, "Sometimes I would come here in the company of someone I was fond of and...enjoy the beauty. That was a long time ago now." Apart from his sudden apprehension about the subject, Janius actually surprised himself at his own insecurity with the topic now. Before he met Kaleeth, there was no way that he would be anything short of boastful. He wondered if he should be more honest and trust in Kaleeth's understanding, or leave the more promiscuous details of his background to himself. The pack approached the central colonnade and they found themselves effectively at a junction. Towards the outer wall was the gate that lead to the Arcane University. Onwards in their original heading was the gate to the Temple district.

Fendros was probably the most aware of Ahnasha's antics at trying to looks strong. It was concerning at times, but her self-awareness here actually succeeded in making him smile. After she was finished talking, Fendros brought his own hand up and ran it along her arm. "I suppose so. I'm glad that we at least have that remedy. I think I would have gone truly mad without it," Fendros said without much hope. Though, his expression seemed to change with a connection of thought, "Actually, it would make sense that there might be someone who could help us in the Bruma pack. There would surely be plenty of lycans who would go through terrible experiences in turning, perhaps they could help us?" Expecting that Meesei or Kaleeth may ask something, Janius stopped momentarily and pointed to the nearest statue. "That-" his finger pointed to the stoic woman, "-is Saint Alessia. She was the one whom the Divines spoke to and lead humans to rebel against the Ayleid elves. She is virtually responsible for the creation of the empire of Cyrodiil. That man over there-" Janius gestured to the man with the manacles in the distance behind them, "-is Morihaus, Alessia's consort, a great warrior, and a hero of Cyrodiil and the Divines as well." Janius looked to Kaleeth and Meesei, "I only know because someone else told me who they depict. I doubt anyone really recorded clearly what they looked like. For instance, the books I had to read said that Morihaus was more like a mix of a man and a bull, like a minotaur, I suppose. I also doubt that the great Saint Alessia would find many dresses of that kind back in her day." Janius shrugged, "But who am I to say? They have a long and storied tale in any case. I think we should move on to the Arboretum, I'm looking forward to seeing it again." Under Janius' guidance, the pack moved to the next section of the city. Through the gates the cobblestone road continued on as normal, but instead of grey-silver buildings of equal height, there was a vibrant panorama of carefully cut lawns and topiary. Some flowers were blooming, but not all of them due to the season. The order of the Arboretum meant that it didn't quite have the natural feel of the wilderness, but the flora gave off a reverent serenity that seemed to make the entire vast garden feel safe and peaceful. There were still people wandering around and carts on the road, but this district was the least like a city of all the city. Up ahead was a circular colonnade of sorts that held a peculiarly empty pedestal. Ringed around the colonnade were tall statues that could be identified as depicting all of the eight divines. Janius took a deep breath of the fragrant air once he stepped inside. "Ah, many sweet memories are forged here. Some of mine included."

When she disembarked the Hummingbird, Shiva was actually not quite sure whether she should have been following Shuo to put away her equipment or going straight to the infirmary to treat Rareth. It was not an emergency at this point, but even so, Shiva simply followed along silently. She felt somewhat out of place walking into an infirmary with a plasma assault weapon at the small of her back, but there were no protests that Rareth had trouble dealing with. "Right," Shiva responded to Rareth once she had been given a cot. Shiva started by unclipping and removing the sections of her suit that covered her arms from the elbow down and putting her helmet aside. While doing this, she began to speak to try and keep a familiarity to the situation. "So, normally I go into ops looking forward to it, because it's the point where most people leave me alone. Today, though, I think I was more worried than ever. It's the pressure, I don't think I've had anyone have this much confidence in me since I was younger," her tone quivered in a slight laugh at the end of her sentence, "I definitely didn't want to mess up." Shiva retrieved a syringe gun of local anaesthetic and pulled off the cap. She carefully injected it shallowly in various places on Rareth's chest in order to numb the pain of readjusting her ribs. "I think I was okay in the end, though. The mission was more hectic than I thought it would be, but it went well, like everyone said. I want to say thank you for trusting me. Not many people do." Once done administering the numbing substance, Shiva put the syringe gun down and hovered her hands over the affected parts of Rareth's ribcage, trying to update her previous assessment of the wound. She would be lying if she said that she was not tired from the mission, but taking the treatment at her own pace meant that it wouldn't be too strenuous. "You and Telmeck are close, aren't you?" Shiva asked casually, "Would you mind telling me some of your background together? It will help my nerves if we talk. I will tell you if you need to hold your breath."

Fendros sighed slowly as he sat down beside Ahnasha. He looked at the ground while he responded, "I guess that might help. I know I didn't have any trouble before, but the thought of cutting up a person doesn't sound...like something I would be able to do anymore. At least, not now." Fendros sucked in a breath through his teeth, "People other than Khajiits, maybe, but every time I see something like that, I see you and it..." Fendros stopped himself escalating any further. He closed his eyes and bowed his head forward for a few moments, before looking up and leaning back onto the bed with his hands on his front. "This is hard, but it is embarrassing as well." "Well, sometimes the fights can be exciting to watch," Janius answered simply, "The fights in the arena can be bloody and brutal, but the combatants are really there to put on an entertaining show. There's also the gambling." Janius quickly realised that Kaleeth might not know the concept and explained before she could ask. "Sometimes people put money into a pot and declare that they believe that one combatant will triumph over another in a future arena fight. If that person is right, he gets to take out more money than he put in. If he's wrong, he gets no money. That's gambling. It can be fun in and of itself, but some people take it too far and lose a lot of money." The pack's interests were clearly unanimously elsewhere at this point, so Janius decided to skip past the arena's entrance and move on to the Arboretum. Before they reached the gate, they passed two statues on either side of the arena. One was of a pointing man with undone manacles in his other hand, and the other was of a stoic woman in an armoured dress. Janius pointed each of them out as Morihaus and Saint Alessia. "Those two have a lot of history in Cyrodiil."

Given that Fendros' original intention was to find a quiet space to calm down, he actually preferred the notion of Ahnasha coming with him. However, he knew that without either of them, the pack wouldn't have the best hagglers on hand, so he waited for Sabine's answer before indicating either way. "They aren't rare. It's just dried sheep brain." Sabine said with a shake of her head, "We don't need much." Fendros managed a smile at that. "In that case," he turned to Ahnasha, "that would be very nice." Fendros ran the thumb of his held hand against Ahnasha's and began to walk. "We'll see you in a few hours," Janius mentioned before the pair separated from the rest of the pack. On their way back, Fendros was mostly quiet. He kept trying to take his mind off the incident, but it was still fresh in his mind. When they were climbing the stairs of the inn to reach their room, he finally spoke. "It was just a stupid pig box. Why did it set me off like that?" He said, not quiet shouting, but clearly frustrated. The others made quick work of finding the last ingredient. The very next apothecary they came across was actually overstocked on sheep brain, so no haggling at all was required to get a price of three gold. They made their way to the next district promptly afterwards. The open gates revealed a large circular building with many flags atop its roof. The building wasn't quite as tall as the Temple of the One, but it was nearly twice as wide. The area surrounding it was mostly lawns, paths and the road. As the pack walked forth, there was a cheer of a crowd from inside the building. "Sounds like there's a fight going on right now," Janius remarked.

We can move on to the reaction of entering the arena district if you like. The ingredient I chose was fairly arbitrary, so whatever the other one we need shouldn't matter too much. As long as we could get it for the six gold we have left.

In the alleyway, Fendros could hardly think. He felt as much like screaming and running as he felt as though he was going to throw up. Even in the clearer air and space, he could hardly breathe. He stood fairly still with Ahnasha's arm around him, his eyes wide and looking at one of the grey walls either side of them. Ahnasha's eyes caught his gaze, though, and he took a minute to slow his breathing and his heart rate. For all the times that Fendros had attempted to calm Ahnasha after one of her nightmares, she was still capable of doing the same for him. For a moment he smiled gratefully at Ahnasha, despite some of the nausea remaining. The rest of the pack were waiting patiently and some were looking sympathetically as well, but now that he had his wits back, Fendros felt rather humiliated. It was just a painted box with some liver, tripe, and intestines in it. It was nothing he hadn't seen before. Why was it something so harmless that made him panic? Was it because he had not been taking the remedy as recommended? He frowned and began to feel suddenly very tired and frustrated with himself. "Alright, I think I'm okay now. I apologise." Fendros said, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. He turned to the rest of the pack, "I actually think I need to go and lie down. I'll head back to the inn. Janius knows his way around." Even though Fendros was well aware that no one would believe him to be unwell physically, he hoped they would be understanding enough to know what was going through his mind. Janius angled his head, "Well, okay. Are you sure you don't want to have a look around the rest of the city with us? You might feel better once we get out of the crowds." "I'm quite sure, thank you, Janius." Fendros put up a hand reassuringly. "Very well. The apothecary is nearby, I think the next destination in our tour will be the arena district. We don't have to go and see a fight, but the building is still impressive. Shall we move on?"

The Breton stood looking at the smaller piece for a few moments. He took a slow breath in as he considered. Ahnasha had surely backed him into a corner with this, but he might be able to fight for a greater price. On the other hand, it was not often that people willingly bought the smaller samples, and this customer was a fine haggler. "Done," he concluded, snapping his eyes back to Ahnasha. In the moments that followed, the Breton took a pair of tongs and placed the fungus in some rough fabric, tying it in twine. The coins were exchanged and the pack had its ingredient. As they walked out of the store, Sabine held the wrapped ingredient in both hands and smiled to Ahnsaha. "Thank you, sister. You are great at making prices lower." Janius raised an eyebrow and a smile, but was understanding of Kaleeth's ignorance by this point. It was fair, of course. The Imperial City was probably one of the furthest things from Kaleeth's village on this plane. Between the transaction and moving out of the store, Janius did his best to answer all of Kaleeth's queries. He sighed before starting, thinking of a good beginning, "Okay, well, a garden is like an area of plants that has been arranged by people to be a beautiful and relaxing space. The Arboretum is the official name of the district with the great garden. An arena is like a clear circle on the floor for people to fight in, with seats ringed around it for others to watch. It's an impressive building. A university is a large place for people to learn, teach, or research. The Arcane University almost exclusively revolves around the field of magic." Janius squinted one eye, trying to recollect, "What was the last one...? Ah, right, a prison. A prison is a secure building where people are detained if they are criminals. We'll not be going there, it's closed to the public, out of the way...and not particularly pleasant." It wasn't long before Fendros slowed down and turned to Janius. "Do you know any close apothecaries? The nearest one I know is on the other side of the district." "Yes, I know a closer one. A few stalls sell ingredients that we might find, but if we have no luck, there's one a few blocks north-west." Janius promptly took the lead as they continued. Passing by the stalls had the pack amongst the crowds again, but they were sticking together fairly effectively. They passed by the area where vegetable vendors congregated, then craft vendors, then meat vendors. It was here that Fendros suddenly came across something which gave him some trouble. A Bosmeri merchant had something of a grisly display for his stall; he was selling offal, in its various forms, from a wooden box shaped like a smiling pig on its back. The offal was roughly placed in the box's hollow belly in positions that they might have been if one had similarly opened a real pig. The scene triggered a flash to an image of Ahnasha on the torture chamber in Fendros' mind. It was then that he was taken by sudden nausea, followed by a quick breathing and panic. He put a hand on Ahnasha's shoulder and tried not to look at the box, but was looking down and seemed incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, can we stop for a moment?" The pack slowed to a stop, but they were obstructing nearby shoppers. Fendros was beginning to pale, his eyes looked up to a nearby alleyway. "Let's...let's just get out the crowd for a bit. I need to breathe."