Sabine did not have much to say to Ko'tanza another than a sombre "I know."

Had she been given a minute longer, she might have attempted to alleviate Ko'tanza and Tzirret's concerns, but Sabine was just as happy to shift the topic to something brighter.

She grinned with her eyes down, running some fingers across her hair to get it out of her face. "I actually met someone before the dragon story. We are still together. His name is Karl, we worked in the scholar's loft together. He studies dwemer artefacts." She took a wistful breath. "He is a very understanding man. And intelligent."

"How long have you two been together?" Tzirret asked.

Sabine said the words before she realised them. "Long enough that I want to marry him."

Ko'tanza smiled and, for a moment, seemed like she wanted to move, but the presence of her daughter in her arms kept her in place. "Oh, Sabine, if Ko'tanza could hug you right now, she would!"

Even Ko'tanza's somewhat louder voice prompted a few cries from Miruza, but she was able give her enough attention to calm her, for the moment. When Ko'tanza finally resumed, she spoke with a much more even tone, but still with the same amount of excitement in her eyes. "Thinking on it, this thinks it does make sense that only a scholar could keep a mind like yours interested. Khajiit partially expected you to still be with Pieter, honestly. She remembers you two being so close way back then. But, she supposes it has been many years since then; a lot can change in all that time. We have all probably become different people, in many ways."

"That is true," Sabine said, lowering her eyes. "I do not see Pieter very often anymore. We drifted apart after the battle at the stronghold. We were both young and...it affected him strongly. Tzirret has probably told you."

Tzirret nodded. "About his arm, yes, he did tell Ko'tanza. But Khajiit was too young and nervous to know exactly how else it changed him. I could only see the hurt." He tried smiling. "I did visit the rest of my old pack once since I have been here. Perhaps I will try to find Pieter later and talk to him more personally."

At that, Sabine smirked at Tzirret. "You have changed as well, Tzirret. Ko'tanza, I hope it was not too much effort teaching him how to approach people of his own initiative?"

"Ah! Sabine speaks unfairly," Tzirret laughed quietly.

Ko'tanza laughed as well, more obviously than Tzirret. "Sabine does not speak unfairly." She commented, nudging Tzirret's side. "Pursuing the healer's trade was certainly helpful for him. Unless the injury is as obvious as a gaping wound or a crossbow bolt through the leg, there is a lot of talking to people. And even if the problem is easy to identify, it does help to have a good bedside manner. Besides, people always want to be nice to their healers, so everyone is always just so nice to Tzirret."

Grinning, Ko'tanza leaned in and kissed Tzirret's cheek. "Though, Ko'tanza thinks they would anyways, just because of his adorable face."

If there was one familiar thing about her, it was that Ko'tanza still enjoyed teasing Tzirret, intentionally or not. "So Sabine, when will we get to meet this brilliant scholar of the Dwemer you fancy so much? Have you already told him of your desire to marry him? Oh, this one is still just so happy for you; maybe there will be a few little Breton children in your future, after all of this is over?"

Sabine put a hand to her stomach and curled her fingers gently around the front of her dress. "Karl is back in the Silent City, attending to a the dwemer machines we may be employing in the invasion. I will introduce you to him when I can, I think."

Tzirret tilted his ear at Sabine's nervousness, but he remained smiling. "These Khajiit would very much like to attend Sabine's and Karl's wedding if possible. And if you would have us."

"Yes! Marriage. Um..." Sabine took another breath. "It was strange, Karl and I stumbled upon the possibility of marrying in conversation by accident. I fear he may ask me very soon. I just made him hold his proposal until after the invasion." She glanced with a nervous smile at Ko'tanza and Tzirret. "I did not want him distracted. Nor myself."

"Well, it will give you something to look forward to when you get back, this one supposes." Ko'tanza replied. "Though, if it happens after the invasion, then you would not be able to hold it here. A wedding in Oblivion, would that not be an exotic wedding locale? To most people, such a suggestion would sound absurd. But, for you, not only is it possible, but I doubt it would even be the strangest thing you've done this year. If the stories this one has heard are even partially true...she could not imagine having a life as exciting as yours."

With a bit more effort, it did seem that Ko'tanza had managed to coax her daughter back to sleep, at least for the moment. That could easily change from one second to the next. She resumed soon in a hushed tone. "This one really should take her back to Tamriel. It is pretty noisy here, and she will get much better rest back in the city. But, this one was wondering, have you seen Gallus around? It has been such a long time since my Tzirret has been able to see him."

Sabine was somehow less anxious to respond to Ko'tanza's suggestion. "Oh, I do not think either of us want an extravagant wedding. Just an intimate ceremony. I still remember Fendros and Ahnasha's. It was small. But even when watching it was so...just nice."

Mention of Miruza brought Sabine out of her reminiscing. "I...believe Gallus is leading some infantry. He has taken to more responsibility over the years but I do not see home very often. I hear he reunited with Uthri romantically. Perhaps you can find him with the other officers." She shifted in place. "I will help you find him, but first...um..." She looked down at Miruza again. "May I hold her? Just for a moment?"

Ko'tanza did hesitate for somewhat longer than Sabine might have expected as she weighed the rist of waking Miruza in the process. It was rather likely that moving her around would wake her, but then again, she would almost certainly wake on the way back through the portal, regardless. She slowly moved her hand and motioned for Sabine to take a seat beside her.

"Sure, just be careful. If you look into her eyes for too long, you might find her too cute to want to let go." Ko'tanza grinned. Gently and carefully, she handed Miruza to Sabine, still wrapped up tightly in her blanket. "Ko'tanza can still remember when her little brother was just this size. It's almost hard to believe that this one now has her own little cub. Hmph, even her brother is old enough to have his own cubs, if he can ever find the right partner."

Sabine readily followed Ko'tanza's gestures, easing Miruza into her grasp with a smile.

Tzirret answered while they handed the baby over. "I still think he will find someone eventually. You and your sister do sometimes crowd him overmuch."

Miruza began to squirm in Sabine's arms. Sabine stared down at her with such an endeared look that she might have melted. There was no telling how comfortable Miruza would remain in the following moments, but at least Sabine spotted the tiny Khajiit open her big eyes for a squinting, grumpy look at her new carrier.

"You two are lucky," Sabine mentioned. "Your child is such a sweet thing."

Tzirret put an arm around Ko'tanza. "The sweetest thing," he said.

Sabine turned her eyes up. "I recall your little brother. Um...something-Basa, correct? Is he having trouble?"

"Not particularly." Ko'tanza answered, albeit with some hesitation. "Well...perhaps some trouble. In a way. He grew out of wanting to be a warrior or a mage, but he didn't really grow into anything either. It seems like he does a new job every year. He trained as a scout, and Ko'tanza taught him some magic and alchemy, but then he also learned about building, and being an armorer, and even farming for a while. He seems happy enough, he just doesn't seem to like settling down. He is thinking about leaving the clans and becoming an explorer after the war is over, which...honestly seems like it might suit him. Perhaps we do end up trying too much and crowding him, but as long as he finds something he is happy with, this one would be satisfied."

For a few moments, Miruza's squirming turned into outright crying, until Ko'tanza leaned in close enough to Sabine that Miruza could see her mother's face above her. "This one known you will probably be very busy these next few days, Sabine, but maybe we could still find the time to just relax together? Things are so different now, this one knows, but this one does still think back on our journey through Elsweyr, from time to time. Even with everything that was going on back then, we still did find the time to be friends."

"Perhaps he should try travelling first," Sabine suggested. "There are many strange and wonderful sights across Tamriel. I think learning perspective from different lands may help him find what he wants." She smiled. "But be wary of that. He might find a new place from which he does not want to re-...Oh..."

Miruza's protests made Sabine give Ko'tanza a sympathetic look on the baby Khajiit's behalf. However, behind it was genuine regret. "I would very much like to catch up. But I fear the limited responsibilities of a young apprentice are behind both of us these days." She took in a slow breath. "Especially with...things right now. If I have spare time and energy, I will seek you out. But until then I can only promise to get all the people I care about together after this invasion and hold them tightly. I will probably cry."

While perhaps mildly disappointed, Ko'tanza returned a nod. "This one understands. She cannot imagine how many important things you must have to do. You are the Sabine Montgrave, after all. The great Dragonslayer from the songs." She laughed, laying on a thick, teasing tone.

"But yes..." Ko'tanza continued, taking on a more even, serious tone. "...Khajiit will be glad for all of this to be over as well. The uncertainty is the worst. Both of us are...somewhat used to it by this point. We are healers, so we see people in their most dire of situations. We never really know who will need us next, and how badly they will be hurt. Sometimes there isn't anything we can do. But for this invasion, everyone is going to be at risk. Ko'tanza does have faith in you, though, Sabine. Everyone does. Out of anyone that Ko'tonza is worried about having to save, she does not think she will have to see you, or any of your pack in her tent."

Sabine flushed and breathed out a laugh at Ko'tanza's teasing. Though what Ko'tanza said afterwards caused Sabine to hold her breath. A wave came over her that forced the air out of her lungs and made her scrunch her eyes shut.

Tzirret leaned in, concerned. "Is Sabine okay?"

All Sabine could manage was to nod and carefully hand Miruza back to Ko'tanza. "Tzirret. Ko'tanza. I...I trust you. I must not tell you why but...should Meesei come to you harmed I want you to promise me she will not die..." her voice trailed off into a harsh tightness in her throat. Tears sprung out of the corners of her eyes.

With appropriate care, Tzirret shuffled to beside Sabine and Ko'tanza and put a hand each on their shoulders. He glanced to Ko'tanza to affirm, before craning his head down to look up at Sabine. "We promise these two will do everything they can," he said slowly and confidently.

"You don't need to explain; Ko'tanza already understands perfectly well." She remarked, carefully taking Miruza in her hands. The Khajiit infant did seem briefly agitated by all of the movement, but Ko'tanza was able to slowly rock her back into a state of relative calm. "Meesei is basically your mother. Of course you are going to be worried about her. This one always gives every bit of effort she has to everyone she treats, but you probably do not have to worry too much about the Champion. Ko'tanza is confident that her power is no myth, and even besides that, if she were to get hurt...well, this one can say that Argonians are more resilient than most. They heal more quickly, and can survive wounds that would kill many others. If there is anyone who will survive, it will be her."

After a moment, Ko'tanza reached out and rested her own hand on Sabine's shoulder like Tzirret. "You just make sure you take care of yourself, okay? Don't go worrying about everyone else so much that you neglect your own safety. There are plenty of people here who will want to see you come back in one piece."

"I know, but..." Sabine held her mouth silently open. She wished she could tell Ko'tanza the truth. However, Ko'tanza did not lie. Sabine took another second or two to let go of her response before drawing Tzirret and Ko'tanza both into a hug. Her eyes were shut against their shoulders. The two of them promised as much as they could be expected to.

"You can count on these ones," Tzirret added. "You can count on Meesei, and you can count on yourself."

"Of course," Sabine said sadly. "I just get nervous. Thank you both."

The three of them pulled away slowly.

Sabine tried to smile a little. "I should perhaps try to help you find Gallus and the others now. Or did you want to settle with the child back in the Silent City?"

From Ko'tanza's perspective, she was glad to be able to help comfort Sabine in whatever ways she could, though she, of course, could not know the true source of Sabine's worry. She was now having to give more attention to Miruza to keep her at least reasonably calm, but despite the distraction, she was not quite ready to part from her old friend. Especially since they might not have much more free time before the invasion.

"Well...Ko'tanza does need to give her a bath, and she will probably be hungry soon...but this one can still spare a few minutes, at least. And she is sure Gallus would love to be able to see her too." Ko'tanza answered, slowly and carefully standing to her feet so as not to unreasonably disturb Miruza.

Tzirret followed suit, standing up as well. "This one is very much looking forward to seeing Gallus again. Though the memories may not be as wistful, he has missed being called 'Cloudy Cat,' somehow."

Sabine grinned. "There is no guarantee of that with the kind of person you are now. But let us go find him."

Fortunately for all of them, Sabine's position did provide the convenience of lycan officers being helpful in their search, let alone giving her the time of day. In a short enough period of time, they found both Gallus and Uthri finishing up a conversation with a quartermaster about provisions. They both had excited embraces and congratulations for Tzirret and Ko'tanza in seemingly endless supply. Gallus even betrayed tears at seeing the both of them standing pridefully in the robes of healers with their own child in arms.

Gallus and Uthri both had greyed and matured, not only in looks but in demeanor. While Uthri was always blunt and grounded, and Gallus witty and boastful, the two of them were closer and relatively subdued. They were long term mates, much to Tzirret's surprise considering their past. Whatever transformation they undertook had evidently subdued the lengths of their personas. Probably for the better, they tacitly agreed.

Gallus was a fully fledged officer as his father had wanted. He commanded over a hundred fighters. Uthri was one of them, even if she sometimes commanded him when off the battlefield.

After a while, Pieter was mentioned. He was still in the Silent City – his days of being a warrior were behind him since he lost his arm. Regardless, Sabine made a mental note to seek him out before the invasion began.

For Meesei, and those who were helping her, the next several days contained some of the most frantic research that most of them had likely experienced. For this, Meesei called upon every resource she had available. She used their clan's broad array of connections to obtain any potentially relevant materials they could on short notice, without giving away anything too telling about the situation. Every day, the number of books, scrolls, and notes that they had piled on their tables in the scholar's loft grew, though they all still remained focused in their purpose. Ariel, Sabine, and Ahnasha all had their own skills and specializations, and Hal-Neesa had an absolute wealth of information and expertise that she was now sharing freely. Meesei did her best collate all of their skills and all of their resources into a single approach they could focus on. Given the danger Meesei was just about to step into, finding a method to keep her soul stable upon an unexpected death was the focus. Hal-Neesa easily came up with several solutions that could send her soul to an afterlife if her death was planned and intentional, but those sorts of solutions were not helpful at the moment.

Despite the rather daunting timeframe of the group's task, there was actual, recognizable progress. Perhaps it was the desperation, or just the result of having so many skilled and knowledgeable mages working on the same problem, but through all of their experiments that Meesei readily put herself through, they started to gain insight into exactly why the presence of her latent memories was so destabilizing to her soul. Each and every one of those memories had to be imprinted upon her spirit's essence, but there were so many of the memories weaves into her being with such complexity that, without a body to bind to, the structure of her soul energy was quite fragile. Their collaborative research did give them the tentative conclusion that Meesei's soul would not be entirely destroyed upon death, but rather, its fragile structure would rearrange itself into something more stable. However, that was no comfort to Meesei, as it would destroy all of her memories and likely leave her with an entirely different personality. To her, it was a fate that was hardly any different from complete destruction. Theoretically, her soul could retain its structure by itself if it was simply stronger, but as of the day before the invasion, they had not come up with a definite method to accomplish that. Despite the impending deadline, Meesei herself did not show many obvious signs of worry, though she was more than skilled enough to hide those sorts of emotions.

---

It was getting to be later in the afternoon and the sun was steadily dropping lower in the sky. By this point, everything was ready. The camp was fully constructed and all of the soldiers from all three armies were in position. The great gate had been assembled and was awaiting its activation, and all of their plans, battle tactics, and strategies has been decided upon. There would be no more delays, no more waiting and anticipating. The invasion was set to begin the next morning. Meesei had continued to work with the others all morning, and for a few hours past noon, but she eventually stopped, despite the fact that they had not settled on any definite solution. They had come up with several promising ideas, certainly, but had not yet tried any of them. For Ariel, and even Hal-Neesa, Meesei thanked them both for all of their help, and did leave them open the option of coming to her with any ideas they might come up with before the end of the day. For Ahnasha and Sabine, she asked them to find the rest of their pack and bring them to a specific location in the Hunting Grounds. Fendros, Lorag, Janius, and Kaleeth, specifically.

Meesei was the first to go to the planned meeting place, which was almost half an hour's walk from the camp itself. Although, it would not be immediately obvious why she had asked them to go there, specifically, when there would have been plenty of other, more convenient places to meet. It seemed to be just another spot in the forest, albeit a remote and tranquil one. It was a warm and cloudless day, and despite the fact that they were in Oblivion, the slow, peaceful stream by which Meesei was sitting could have easily been mistaken for any other in Cyrodiil. Even when the pack approached, Meesei did not say anything immediately. She sat by the stream with her feet just barely in the water and her eyes closed, breathing deeply almost as if she was in a trance.

The pack united and ventured to the meeting place as a group. The thorough preparations for the invasion had kept everyone largely optimistic and motivated. However, they were under no illusions that Meesei's problem had not been solved. The mood was therefore sombre and quiet.

Ahnasha and Fendros walked hand in hand. Ahnasha would not admit to any hard feelings upon herself, but Fendros did not want her to go through any fatigue-induced negativity on her own. Indeed, Sabine was only still awake by alchemical means. Even being forced to sleep to prepare for the big day could not be enough to keep her worry from draining her. Janius and Kaleeth similarly walked with hands joined, though Janius resolved to take his optimism with them. Meesei was not doomed until she was dead, as far as he was concerned. What they all did have in common was uncertainty about the exact nature of the meeting.

Fendros was the first to step up and speak when they found her. "Meesei?" he said. "How are you feeling?"

Meesei's first response was a simple, light smile up at Fendros. "Tired, for the most part. I think even Hal-Neesa has been exhausted by our efforts these past few days."

Ahnasha stepped up slowly on Meesei's other side, though kept a bit more distance than Fendros. She did not look directly at Meesei, and showed what seemed like shame in her expression. "Meesei, I...know you have been working pretty much non-stop. You can rest if you like. We can still work and see if we can come up with some-"

Interrupting Ahnasha, Meesei held up one hand slightly. "Ahnasha, it is alright. We have worked hard on this. You have given it many hours, given it all of your effort, and you have all helped make so much more progress in such a short amount of time than anyone ever could have expected from you. You have given me good ideas to work with, and I could not ask for any more. But right now, that is not why I am here."

Meesei's breaths paused a few moments as she stood up, slowly, to her feet. She moved as if every limb had a heavy weight attached to the end of it, and only got to her feet after the protest of aching joints and tired muscles. "I remember what happened the last time I had too much conviction. I remember spending practically months at a time with nothing but me and tomes of Apocrypha. I remember being so afraid of losing my life that I failed to live it. Tomorrow...is the end of the war. For better or for worse. No matter how well, or how poorly it goes, things will never be the same for us again. Today, I am going to spend a few hours with my family."