Muttonhawk Member

With a deep sigh, Fendros bowed his head such that he couldn't see Llarasa at all. He paused for a few seconds and tried to consider how much he should disclose. He could partially lie and say that he couldn't come home because he fell in love with Ahnasha, but that wouldn't be fair, and if she ever discussed the matter with Monderyn, the stories would not line up. On the other hand, he and Llarasa were talking in private from any ears that needn't hear about his condition, but would Llarasa take that well, or even believe it? "Llarasa, I know you can keep a secret, so I'll tell the truth," Fendros raised his eyes to meet hers, "Do you know what Lycanthropy is?" Llarasa blinked, then looked to the ground. She still seemed upset, but was a little puzzled. "That's..." she swallowed hard due to her running nose, "That's like werewolves, isn't it? That beast they they found was a werewolf corpse." Fendros nodded. "Well, that beast that the guards found, it attacked me and I survived. Only just. Not before some of its blood entered my mouth and a wound on my shoulder." Fendros ran a hand over the area where the feral werewolf had raked his body, it still tingled when he thought of the attack. "I don't understand. Are you a werewolf now?" Llarasa asked. "Yes. I don't remember much after the attack, but I was infected very quickly. I became like that beast. Thankfully, when I woke up, a pack helped me. I couldn't return home after that, because I could have turned into the beast at any time and killed someone. I wasn't under control back then. The pack was my only hope for survival. I knew Monderyn wouldn't be satisfied that I was dead unless he saw my corpse, so I left him a letter telling as much as I've said and told him not to tell anyone else." Fendros broke eye contact, "I'm sorry that I've misled you all this time." Llarasa's eyes began to dart around again. "But...we're family. You wouldn't attack us, I know you wouldn't." "What I turn into doesn't discriminate family, Llarasa. At least, not you and the others. If I had returned, I would only have put others or myself at risk." Fendros held his palms out, "I was protecting you, mother, father, and Monderyn-" "You have no idea how much damage you caused, Fendros!" Llarasa burst out before Fendros could finish. "You say you protected us, but you hurt everyone! Mother wept for months at the mere mention of you! Monderyn was angry all the time! Father, father became distant and cold!" She put a hand to her chest as she shouted, "And I had to pick up the pieces! Me! The helpless little sister!" Fendros stopped and straightened, wide eyed. He felt a guilt emerge that he suspected might come, but was still left speechless. She lowered her voice, but her tears were back anew with her quivering voice and tensed face, "Everyone lost a part of themselves when you disappeared, Fendros." She took an abrupt, strained breath in, "It was only a month ago that I felt like we were getting on with our lives." She gestured to Fendros with her palm facing the ceiling while she wiped one eye, "And now you just show up alive out of nowhere and stirred everything up again." She covered both her eyes with the hand that was wiping them. "I should be happy, but it just hurts. It just hurts." Llarasa was bent over and sobbing as hard as she had been before. She couldn't bear to look upon Fendros. At this point, Fendros didn't seem like he was going to cry, but a tear slithered down his cheek involuntarily. He couldn't have imagined how badly his loss would affect the family. Several moments passed where Fendros looked between Ahnasha and Llarasa awkwardly. After it seemed like Llarasa was not going to stop crying, Fendros slowly stood up and seated himself down next to her. He wrapped his arms around his sister for the first time in the better part of a year, leaning his head on her shoulder. It felt almost unfamiliar after so long; his body and mind had changed so drastically that it seemed different. Something seemed to click in Llarasa, however, and eventually her crying slowed and she returned Fendros' hug for a long time. During this time, Fendros was grateful for Ahnasha's presence. She was really the one giving him the bravery to stay around with all this. Although, he felt sorry for her having to witness his and Llarasa's issues without much way to give input. Llarasa kept her eyes closed as she wept, but eventually she was recovered enough to speak again. "Don't leave again, Fendros." Her voice was tired and croaky now, "We missed you." "I wish I could say that I'm coming home, but I can't." Fendros said, still holding onto Llarasa. Llarasa pulled away far enough to open her eyes and look at Fendros in the face. She spoke frantically, but not loudly, "What? But you're in control now, aren't you? If you're not, why are you in a city?" "I am in control now. Much more than before, anyway." "Then come home!" Llarasa squeezed Fendros' arms, "Please!" Fendros sighed again, knowing that the next part would be less believable. "My pack has been a family to me ever since they found me. I'm bound to them. Not only that," Fendros looked at Ahnasha, "Llarasa, I want you to meet Ahnasha properly. She is my partner. Little Rhazii is my son." "...Oh," Llarasa didn't seem angry, upset, disappointed, hateful or anything particularly negative. Her face just formed into a perfect O and remained that way, staring at Ahnasha. It was something that was so out of the ordinary that she could barely fathom it beyond it being right in front of her eyes. Fendros never had positive things to say about Khajiit from when she knew him. "Um...hello?" Llarasa held out a hand, not knowing what else to do. "It's...nice to meet you..." This was the reaction that Fendros had expected, honestly. Llarasa was always the more open-minded one of the family. She even had Khajiit friends right through childhood and adolescence, which often drew ire from her father and brothers. Fendros managed a small smile to see that she hadn't changed. Fendros hoped that his smile would encourage Ahnasha to engage with his sister. --- "Yes. I understand." Sabine said while nodding her head quickly. She had been scared while lost, and she still felt like she caused Meesei too much stress, but some part of her felt like she was hopeless for not being able to manage on her own. Apart from being upset herself, it made her want to improve so she could find the pack again under such circumstances. "Meesei, in the wilds, there are dangers, and lots of ways to find direction and survive, but cities are different. Can you teach me how to navigate cities?"

After spending a few seconds with curled lips, Fendros squeezed Ahnasha's hand and nodded. Meesei was right, he couldn't assume that Llarasa would know what Monderyn knows. "I'd like that," Fendros said to Ahnasha, before looking at everyone else, "If you could give us a moment." Fendros walked over to the door and knocked on it three times, Ahnasha at his side with Rhazii. "Llarasa, I'm sorry. We need to talk." Llarasa's high voice sounded from behind the door between her sobbing. "You were dead! The guards and father found the horse and the dead beast and all your broken belongings and...and the flesh everywhere! You were dead! You were killed and eaten!" "That wasn't the case, Llarasa! Please let me explain." Fendros glanced at Ahnasha with a worried brow. Llarasa sobbed for a few moments longer, but it seemed to slow. "Why...why did you leave?" Fendros angled his head to one side and sighed. "Can I come in, please? I'll answer any questions you have." A few more moments passed, then the door unlocked and opened slightly. Llarasa poked her head out, her cheeks shining with streaks of tears and her red eyes puffy. She sniffed and took a look at Ahnasha and Rhazii. "Who is the Khajiit?" Llarasa croaked. "Her name is Ahnasha. This is Rhazii," Fendros gestured to the cub, who was observing everything with one little hand clenched over Ahnasha's pendant. "Rhazii is...I'll explain with everything else. Can we come in?" Llarasa looked Ahnasha up and down dubiously through her still upset demeanour, but opened the door to her room. There were two single beds, Fendros observed. Llarasa took one as a seat and Fendros and Ahnasha sat on the other, opposite her. "So why did you leave?" Llarasa asked, clearly expending a lot of effort in trying to stay composed enough to speak. Her eyes kept darting to Ahnasha as if her presence was making her uncomfortable. Fendros started by leaning forward and holding his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Shortly after I left, what did Monderyn do?" "What? But I thought-" "Please, Llarasa. I need to know." Fendros looked at her directly. Hopefully he would be able to take Meesei's advice. "Well..." Llarasa looked left and right across the floor, "He was worried for about a day, then, before they even found your...well we thought they were your remains. Before that, he flew into a rage. He just stopped listening, equipped himself to go hunting, then ran off. He was furious, nothing we said could stop him. Not even father pursuing him could bring him back. Father only said that he was looking for you. He was gone for about a month. When he came back, he had changed. Every moment he was uttering some kind of hate towards you he took your loss badly, Fendros. He wasn't the only one." Llarasa put her face in her hands and sniffed again. Her composure was on a knife's edge. "What about mother and father? What about you?" "No." Llarasa said simply Fendros, "Just tell me why you left, right now." --- When the rest of the pack had been asked to leave Fendros to his business, Sabine shuffled along with Meesei. She was nervously silent, but once they had found a settled place, Sabine looked to the floor and spoke. "I'm sorry that I got lost. I didn't want to upset you. The crowds are difficult to trace smell in."

With a sigh, Fendros closed his eyes. "Well..." Fendros was dubious as to how much he could help, but leaving things how they were would not be an option. "I think I have to talk to her." Fendros carefully passed Rhazii to Ahnasha, then looked indirectly at everyone gathered in the corridor. He was going to move towards the door, but he didn't just yet. "...what should I say?" Janius had to avoid Fendros' eyes. He never had siblings and never had to deal with his family after he turned. After a few seconds, he just gave a simple suggestion. "Be honest." Fendros nodded, but was open to other advice.

Whatever initial thoughts Fendros had on how to approach the situation with Llarasa were interrupted with the arrival of Meesei and the rest of the pack. "I'm sorry, I couldn't find you." Sabine said guiltily, raising her arms to return Meesei's hug. She was surprised that Meesei would act in such a way. She had expected her to be angry. Janius made his way to the door with everyone else. He looked relieved, but had a curious eyebrow raised. "What happened, Sabine? We looked for you all over the Talos District." "Talos District? Was that the one I didn't recognise?" Sabine asked. "I'm sorry, what exactly happened?" Fendros had a hand on his hip and another at his temple, "All this is confusing." Sabine looked around briefly and silently until she realised that she was expected to speak. It didn't seem like anyone was angry, so her fear of that dissipated as she started. "Um, I was following behind you in the Arboretum. There was some bleeding crown mushrooms at the base of a tree. They don't normally grow above ground so I wanted to look at them. I took a sample and when I got up I couldn't see you. I thought you went to the next district, so I ran. The next district was the one with the temple with the dragon statue-" "-The Temple of the One, yes, we tracked you there. Where did you go?" Janius interrupted. In answering, Sabine simply continued her recount. "I tried to find you in that district, but I couldn't. I thought I lost you, so I just tried to get back to the inn. Then I got lost. I was in a big crowd and..." Sabine looked down and put a hand on her upper arm, "I didn't know where I was. I looked around and around, but I went in circles. I got upset, and then the Dunmer girl helped me. I didn't know that it was Fendros' sister. I'm sorry!" "Wait, what?" Janius was following along until the last part. He looked up at Fendros, who was leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed, deep in thought. Janius followed up with a question, "Where is she now?" Sabine pointed to the door that Llarasa slammed. In their new silence, they could hear a muffled, intermittent sobbing emanating from it.

Janius looked left and right, halting his gaze at a pair of patrolling legionnaires moving along the road. "We'll just talk to one of the guards, they'll know what to do." When they approached the guards, Janius was the one who did the talking, seeing as it was his idea in the first place. The heavily armoured soldiers were understanding, asking Janius for Sabine's description and leading the pack one of the guard towers to collect a few more men to help scour the district more thoroughly. Additionally, a couple of guards were sent to other towers to pass on a message to try and find Sabine in some adjacent districts. After sharing where they were staying, the pack were told to head back to the inn and await further news. The guard who appeared to be in charge mentioned that Sabine might have reached the inn already, but they would search the for rest of the day if they weren't told that she had been found. Janius began to guide the worried pack back through the crowds to the market district. Their tour of the city had been more eventful than they would have liked. --- Back at the inn itself, Ahnasha and Fendros were dressing themselves in preparation to have another look through the city while they still could. Fendros just finished tying his jerkin when there was an unexpected knock on the door that woke Rhazii up and caused him to start crying. Being closer to his son than Ahnasha, he scooped the cub up and began to hush him with some gentle rocking and calming coos. Fendros exchanged a glance with Ahnasha, wondering whether it was rest of the pack arriving back so soon. Fendros walked over to the door with Rhazii in one arm and opened it carefully. The first person he saw was Sabine, looking red eyed and sullen, but the young Dunmer woman accompanying her, dressed in a plain dress and holding a book in her hands, was familiar for different reasons. At first, her expression was smiling and friendly, but as soon as she saw Fendros' face, it sank slowly into a shocked intake of breath and wide eyes. The others in the pack were nowhere to be seen. The woman and Fendros stared at each other silently for a few tense moments. Sabine's expression turned into one of slightly fearful curiosity, but it didn't appear that she knew what the situation was. "F...Fendros?" The woman stammered in a high voice, looking like she was on the verge of tears. It had been a long time. "Llarasa," Fendros said in acknowledgement, though not really knowing what else to do. Llarasa stepped back, almost losing her balance. Her hand slowly came up to her mouth just as a sob escaped it. "No..." She said, shaking her head as a tear fell from her cheek, "NO!" Without another word, she stormed off down the corridor to another room of the inn, produced a key, and opened the door. Fendros stepped out of the room and leaned to see her. "Llarasa! Wait!" His pleads were answered only by Llarasa slamming her door behind her. "How do you know her?" Sabine asked meekly, trying to understand what just happened without making things worse. Still staring down the corridor, Fendros looked on with an expression that didn't know whether to be sad or worried. "She's my little sister. From before I turned."

Janius and Kaleeth reached the north gate and tried to peer over the crowds piling in and out of the market district. Many people and goods used this gate, so it was difficult enough to determine a scent. Janius didn't change his expression much in his response to Kaleeth, "I know, I know, it's just...Sabine has always been the younger one. She's quiet and she can get upset easily. Since the ritual, things have changed a lot, it has made her far more braver. But, she's still, well, it's hard to think of her not being fragile, despite her strength. We've always looked out for her." Once they reached the gate, Janius checked for some time to try and find Sabine's scent again. His and Kaleeth's actions drew some curious eyes, but they couldn't find anything. It was disheartening to say the least. Despite Meesei mentioning that there was little chance of the guards remembering her face, Janius asked them if they saw Sabine. Likely she was upset and confused at this point, at least that was something. Unfortunately, the legionnaires simply shook their heads and promised to keep an eye out. From there, Kaleeth and Janius' best bet was to check the side streets. Lorag and Meesei's avenues of investigation didn't yield anything either, both with their planned movements and searching their sides of the district more thoroughly. About another hour passed before they all met up. They were bordering on distraught to see each other empty handed. "Meesei," Janius said, looking about as worried as she was by now, "I wouldn't normally suggest this, but I think we should ask the guard for help in finding her. They have the numbers to help with matters like this and I doubt we're the first to lose someone in the city."

Everyone joined in on Meesei's calling for Sabine. For a while, they followed what was left of her trail, but as the crowds thickened and the scent waned, they were soon simply wandering aimlessly. Given the directions that Sabine seemed to take before they lost her, Janius was confident at this point that she had become disoriented and lost. It was certainly not the conclusion he had been hoping for. The pack eventually split into two and Janius instructed them on how to sweep the district without getting lost themselves. They agreed to meet up at the statue in the centre of the district once they were done. Janius took Kaleeth with him, as Kaleeth was least used to the city. He had a look of equal determination and anxiety at this point. "I don't think there is anything in this city that Sabine couldn't handle on her own, but if Meesei is worried as well, then I know this is serious. This place is the biggest city in Cyrodiil, perhaps even in all of Tamriel." Janius sighed uneasily, "I'm worried, Kaleeth. Sabine's not used to cities."

As a group, the pack tracked Sabine along the now more familiar cobblestones of the Temple District. Her scent was becoming more and more difficult to trace as they passed through higher traffic areas, forcing them to slow down somewhat. They traced her almost wordlessly around various places of the district where she had wandered, probably trying to find the pack. Meesei's anxiety began to rub off on the others at this point, as there could be any point where Sabine's trail could do cold in all the footsteps. Calling out to Sabine still didn't produce any sign of her. Sabine's scent eventually lead to Green Emperor Way. Janius didn't have to mention that Sabine probably recognised where she was and tried making her way to the inn after failing to find them. Something happened that caused Janius concern, though. In the obviously repetitive features around the base of the White Gold Tower, Sabine had taken a turn too early. Now it was Janius' turn to become worried, "Looks like she went to the Talos district. It's crowded and unfamiliar to her, we have to hurry."

Now that Fendros had a chance to calm down and put his worries aside, he wasn't feeling so adverse to going out again today. "Perhaps. There's still the rest of the day left. Not having any gold means we might not even get to taste anything, but taking a further look around the city would be enjoyable in any case." Fendros gave a nod before getting to work on Rhazii's clothing. The cub would probably appreciate not chafing his legs on a salt-encrusted loincloth again. The change that came across Meesei was jarring. Janius believed that Sabine would not be in any immediate danger, but it was obvious that Meesei was still worried. He gave no protest to walking at a fast pace back to the Arboretum. "If she's still in the Arboretum, she won't be too difficult to find. It's the least crowded public place in the city at this time of day," Janius said in an attempt to be reassuring. When the pack arrived back amongst the great garden, they began to move slowly across the sides of the road with their eyes and nose scanning their surroundings. Occasionally, they cupped their hands to their mouths and called her name. With the amount of scents going through the city, Sabine's was difficult to pick up, but retracing their steps eventually found the last point at which they were together. When they were nearing the colonnade, it seemed that Sabine strode off to one side to inspect some mushrooms at the base of a tree. One of them had been cut from its stalk. After some further investigation, it appeared that Sabine had doubled back onto the road, but her scent went in the direction of the next district. "She must have thought we were heading in the same direction we had been going. She might have missed hearing that we were heading to the university," Janius concluded to everyone, "The next district is the Temple District. It might be that she can find her way back to the inn, but we might not be too far behind her either." Janius was still a little worried for Meesei after her reaction to it all, so he walked beside her and craned his head forward to see her face, "Are you alright?"

Upon asking the innkeeper about something to bathe Rhazii in, he was quick to retrieve a small, clean trough from the kitchen and let Fendros know about the well out the back and the kettle on the fire. Fendros requested that a bath for himself and Ahnasha be prepared, and then returned up to the room with the trough partially full of cold water with a lump of soap and a brush floating within. It would take a short while for the kettle to come to a boil to heat Rhazii's bath, but the innkeeper knew some magics to heat their own bath in a comparatively shorter time for the greater volume. Fendros' entire body began to scratch as he saw the soap begin to dissolve a film onto the cold water, he was anticipating being clean again after so long. "Yes, that's certainly true." Fendros answered Ahnasha's question, sitting down again, "Back with my family, we would look forward coming to the Imperial City when my father would consult wine brokers. There was always something new each time." Fendros smiled, "Perhaps some time we might come back. It will be more like the time we had in Vos." He glanced down at Rhazii, "Except with Rhazii in our arms, or alongside us, rather than within you." Janius gestured in dismissal to Meesei, "Oh, no, it will be fine. Let's go have a look. It was impressive the last time I saw it." With that, Janius turned and lead everyone through the gate on the outer wall to proceed across the bridge to the separate circular fort that was the university. At the university's main gate was a pair of hooded legionnaires that were recognisable as battlemages. The pack proceeded without obstruction through the gate and the area opened up to a courtyard of trees with stairs leading up to a tower in the centre. Imperial banners draped over the tower highlighted the pale grey stone with lines of red. At the top of the stairs was a patterned circular mosaic of an eye within a gold and blue star. The insignia of the now disbanded Mages Guild. Also at the top of the stairs, Janius turned around and squinted his eyes. Just to make sure that he had not missed something, he peered down the stairs again. "Where did Sabine go?" He asked simply. She was nowhere to be seen by anyone. "She was behind us in the Arboretum. Where is she?"