[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[EliteCommander]

Meesei listened carefully to her tale, her expression completely devoid of any emotion or reaction. She simply stared at the Breton while she spoke, examining every detail of the story. She was not certain on whether or not she should believe her, but she could not deny the possibility that she was being truthful. Sabine was not contradicting anything her sister said, though it could be that she could not remember. Meesei wanted her words to be true, as their implications were very much positive. It would mean greater insight into Sabine's past, and the state of her mind, which had never been normal through the entire time Meesei had known her. There were also other thoughts forming in Meesei's mind, though there was still more for them to deal with first.

"Assuming your words are true, then I would thank you for saving Sabine. The only time her lycanthropy has been a curse for her has been while she tortured by you and the coven. In all times since, it has given her the opportunity to join a family that, according to your description, has shown her the love and support she had never been able to receive before. It has given me the blessing of knowing such a sweet girl, who I am honored to have as a member of my pack. Your sacrifice has made that life possible, but that does not change your actions. Even if you did not like it, you knowingly tortured your own sister. Even the strongest of minds cannot hold forever against the torments of magic. You left her scarred, and could have broken her mind completely. You have attempted to atone for your crimes, but the effects of those crimes are still being felt today. You deserve a judgement, but whether that will come in the form of a punishment, or in forgiveness, is not mine to decide." Meesei said, turning her gaze to Sabine. "Her fate is in your hands, Sabine."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel smiled slightly while she looked away and heard the words of the alpha. It looked as if she had recieved some comfort knowing that her sister had found a place in the world. A loving place amongst a family. Even if they were lycans, this pack seemed to be less savage than the ones that had attacked the coven. That of course did not say anything about the state of the cave they stayed in, but that was not important for now. The words that the alpha followed up with turned Ariel's expression back to how it was. It hurt because it was true.

Being given the task to pass judgement on Ariel, Sabine shot a glance to Meesei, then back to Ariel. She swallowed, feeling strange to have such a power. Sabine stepped up close to Ariel, who looked up at her from her seat with a hunched back. Sabine extended a shivering hand very slowly forward, as if afraid that Ariel would hurt her. With Ariel staying perfectly still, Sabine placed her hand on Ariel's shoulder and her jaw began to shiver along with the rest of her body as she slowly opened her mouth. "I'm..." Sabine blinked and a tear came down from one eye, "I'm scared... of you..."

Ariel closed her eyes, feeling completely resigned.

"But you... took me from the cage..." Sabine still had her eyes fixated on her sister. With both hands, Sabine held each of Ariel's cheeks, prompting her to open her eyes again. "Promise. Never hurt a werewolf again." Sabine said, a new confidence in her voice.

"I promise. I will never hurt a werewolf ever again. I saw what harm I did, I don't want to repeat it." Ariel said without any hint of thinking otherwise.

"Promise you won't hurt Meesei, or Lorag, or Ahnasha, or Janius, or Fendros!" Sabine said much louder, her eyes gleaming with tears.

Ariel glanced around as much as Sabine would allow her. Judging by the names, they were probably her packmates. "I promise. I will never hurt them."

"Promise you'll stop the coven from making the gas that you used on me!"

Ariel's brow furrowed, "What? They're making the suppressing gas?"

Sabine nodded furiously. "In these crates," Sabine pointed to the lines of crates and barrels, most still full of broken glass, but the scattered glass swept away. "The crates. They were full of them!" Sabine stepped back, releasing Ariel.

Her mouth slightly open in shock, Ariel sat up straight. "No, they couldn't have... not unless." Ariel's eyes widened and she brought one hand to her mouth. "Lilia... Vile..." She breathed from behind her hand. Lowering her hand and pursing her lips in anger, Ariel continued, "I will take care of that. I swear it."

Tilting her head in slight confusion, Sabine questioned Ariel with her eyes.

"There is a war brewing, Sabine, anyone paying attention to Daedric affairs is aware of it. Clavicus Vile and Hircine have been trading blows." Ariel explained, "Lilia, one of the witches that assisted me in trying to find a cure, she has had dealings with Clavicus Vile in the past. She must have recreated my gas to use on werewolves, even after I destroyed my notes."

Sabine stepped up and took Ariel by the shoulders again. "You did not make the gas?" Sabine asked, her own eyes wide.

"Of course not. I've seen what it does. I've not made it since I released you."

Sabine stood silent for a moment, then began to shake again. This time it was not out of fear. She threw her arms around her sister and stayed quiet.

"I'll make sure that they never make the gas again, and I know just how to do it. I promise." Ariel reiterated, slowly bringing her arms up to return Sabine's embrace and closing her eyes. "Oh little Sabine, how you've grown."

Sabine's crying became audible now, they remained in each others arms for another while as the rest of the pack looked on.

When Sabine let her Ariel go, she turned around and wiped her eyes, before looking at Meesei. "I want her to live." Sabine said, wearing a rare smile.

[EliteCommander]

"Then so it shall be." Meesei said, giving Sabine a warm smile. Either choice Meesei would have respected, but she was glad Sabine did not hold anger in heart. This Breton, Ariel, could still be completely lying. She could be guilty, unrepentant, and just trying to survive, but that did not matter. The fact that Sabine could rid herself of well-justified hatred was pleasing. Meesei herself was completely open to offering her sister a chance at redemption, she simply preferred to keep healthy skepticism about her intentions. She would not be entirely convinced until Ariel's actions proved her case.

"The matter of this suppression gas is unsettling to me." Meesei said, moving on to the next order of business. "You say you know how to stop your former coven from producing it. How do you intend to do that? As you can imagine, we have an interest in stopping them. That gas was largely responsible for my own wounds, and those of my pack members."

[Muttonhawk]

"I see," Ariel's eyes glanced to the alpha's wounds again. "For you, a brew to resist it may be made from Corkbulb root, Netch leather and Guar hide. It's simple to make, I can write the recipe down for you. If made properly, a dose should protect you for about an hour. As for what I intend to do to stop my coven, well... while inert in it's final form, the process for making the gas is very unstable. If they are making it on the scale that could fill these crates, then it would simply be a matter of sneaking in, like I did here, and setting some fire runes down where they are needed. With that, the runes will trigger and the whole laboratory will go up in flames. After that, I will find Lilia if she survived and... tamper with her memories." Ariel seemed less tense now as she explained. "It might sound a violent way to go about it, but in the time I have been away from it, I have come to realise just how evil my coven has become. Siding with a particular daedric prince was a death sentence anyway. How they were corrupted into agreeing with Vile is evidence of just how wrong they have become."

"Still," Ariel paused, "I cannot help but feel guilty for your wounds, if it was my gas that brought them about. If I can help in any way, I would be glad to."

[EliteCommander]

"I am no longer in danger of dying. My wounds will heal in a day or two. You need not be concerned about me." Meesei answered. "What I am concerned about is your chances of success. Your plan seems sound, but it does not seem like something that will be easy to perform alone. You were raised in this coven, yes? So the foundations of all of your skills came from them. Unless you have managed to improve your skills exponentially more quickly than them, then it stands to reason that they have as much, if not more magical knowledge than you, as they were your teachers. Your plan has no backup, no contingencies. What will you do if you are compromised? I wish to stop the production of this gas, and if you wish to atone for your sins, then our goals are aligned. Besides...I just told Sabine here I would keep you alive."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel shifted, unsure exactly what the alpha wanted. "Well, yes, I don't think there's much I can do if they catch me." Ariel slowly chopped her hand forward, "If they catch me." She looked slightly away and bobbed her head to one side in agreement, "You're right though, they are more skilled than I, even if I know them." Looking at the alpha again, the hint was processed, "Are you offering to help?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei nodded. "Yes. We need to not only disrupt the production of this poison, but we need to determine if they have given the knowledge of its creation to anyone else. Their communication with Vile's allies may not be restricted to Vvardenfell. I fear Vile's minions may be far more organized than they have been in the past. If Vile is preparing for war, then he very well may have consolidated is forces, so to speak. It could be possible that they have shared the secrets with Vile himself, which would mean all of our enemies will have access to it. We can still go with your basic plan, but my pack can also help to draw the attention away from you. Of course, this will have to wait a few days. As you can see, myself and Lorag are in no condition to step into danger. I would like you to stay here in the meantime so that we may build our plans, and I am sure you and Sabine have much to talk about."

Though cautious, Meesei was optimistic that Ariel's intentions could be genuine. One of the main reasons she had offered to allow her to stay with them was so she could grow more familiar with the Breton, to learn what type of person she really was. If she ended up helping them stop the production of the suppression gas, then that would be proof enough to Meesei that she sought redemption.

[Muttonhawk]

"Of course. That would be much appreciated." Ariel said, smiling gratefully, "I can stay if you like, Vos is nearby if I need anything from home and it might take a while both to tell you all that I know about how the coven's defenses, and make a plan to navigate it." Ariel cautiously stood up, "begging your pardon, I don't think I was formally introduced to your pack, apart from..." Ariel squinted her eyes and looked at Janius, "... I'm sorry, I know it started with a 'J'."

"Janius, at your service." Janius put his axe in his other hand and held his forward with a sly smile. Ariel assumed to shake it, but Janius held onto her hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss the top of it. "Nice to meet you again." He said after letting her hand go.

Ariel chuckled slightly nervously as her cheeks reddened slightly and looked to the rest of the pack. She wasn't expecting them to be so forward.

Fendros laughed at Janius' antics. "He's always like that," Fendros said behind Ariel, causing her to turn around, "I'm Fendros." Fendros held his sword between his left arm and his body and shook Ariel's hand more conventionally.

Consoled that it wasn't the entire pack that acted the way Janius did, Ariel prepared to receive the rest of them.

[EliteCommander]

"I am Ahnasha." Ahnasha said with a nod while Fendros was shaking Ariel's hand.

Meesei stayed where she was as well, preferring to avoid excess movement, but gave a respectful nod. "I am Meesei, Alpha of this pack." They all waited a few moments for Lorag to give his introduction, but were only met with the sound of light snoring from the other side of the chamber. Evidently, he had quickly lost interest, and consciousness, after the excitement died down.

"His name is Lorag." Meesei quickly added. "You can change back into your robe and recover your belongings, if you wish. I trust you will not abuse our hospitality. The hunters kept some provisions in the crates on the far side of the room, mostly vegetables and salted, dried meats. There is fresh meat in a bag by the fire, but you may wish to avoid it. The stream that leads to the pool over there is clean, and according to Ahnasha, the pool itself is surprisingly warm and relaxing if you wish to make use of it. Overall, this cave contains far more supplies than we could hope to use, so you may make use of whatever you wish."

Before she returned to her bedroll, Meesei turned to Sabine, having one final thing to speak about. "There is one last thing, Sabine. These revelations about your past, while I do feel sorrow for the pain you went through, there is one way in which this is good news. The struggles you endure, all the pain, the nightmares, the fear, they are not endemic to who you are. You were not born with them, they were forced upon you. Now that I know this, I believe there is something that can be done. The tortures you went through left your mind scarred, broken...but what is broken can be repaired. The souls of my people, the Argonians, are uniquely connected to the Hist. For all Argonians, they are connected to our minds from the day we hatch, but it is not only Argonians who can experience this. With the proper rituals, any mortal can connect their mind to the Hist. In my time as Shaman, I helped a few broken souls through this process. I believe I could use those same rituals to help you. Although I cannot hope to understand the mind of a god, my experience with the Hist leads me to believe they would help you. Your nightmares, all of the pain and fear you experience, it could be erased."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel nodded to each of the pack as they introduced themselves, except of course Lorag, whom she did not know what to make of except that he seemed to have a wounded leg. It was nice to meet them on terms which were not at the end of a weapon. "Thank you, Meesei. I'll get changed." She said before making her way to her belongings. The rest of the pack put away their weapons and dispersed.

After putting away his sword, Fendros felt like heading on back to sleep. "That was interesting," he commented to Ahnasha on his way back to his bedroll.

Janius took it upon himself to fetch a bedroll for Ariel and get her settled in. It was no small embarrassment to Ariel to be interrupted while changing despite them all seeing her when she initially arrived. Janius never indicated whether it was because he temporarily forgot common modesty, but apologised all the same.

Sabine was in a good mood now, so she didn't feel too apprehensive about Meesei wanting to talk further. What she explained was interesting to say the least. She could hardly remember what it was like before becoming infected. The idea of relieving the nightmares and fears was very tempting, but it sounded scary in itself. Talking with a godlike collective consciousness was not something that she had ever planned on doing. Going through with the ritual might change her. Whether for better or worse. Sabine stood silently by Meesei for a moment, then looked up to her. "I'll think." She said, before heading to her bedroll. As if waking up in the middle of the night didn't make her tired enough, the whole episode tonight had been emotionally exhausting for her.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei understood that Sabine would have a hard time deciding at the moment, especially after all she had been through, so she allowed her to retire for the night. Meesei was about to do the same, but first waited for Janius to return to head back to his post, as it was still his watch. Once Ariel laid down, Meesei walked across the chamber to Janius. "I know I've invited her here, but I want you to make sure to keep an eye on Ariel, just to be safe." She whispered, safely out of earshot of the others. She then bid him goodnight a bit more loudly, then made her way back to her bedroll to get some much-needed rest.

Ahnasha joined Fendros, laying down beside him. She was tired, but at the same time curious about this rather surprising turn of events. She certainly had not expected to encounter Runt's sister, of all people, as a result of this hunt for the Orc. Her mind was racing with questions, but unfortunately, pretty much all of them would have to wait until later. "So...what do you make of all this?" Ahnasha commented to Fendros. "For once, I'm starting to wish we could just enjoy the sights in the places we visit, instead of stepping into danger," she said, giving a bit of a chuckle, "Hmph, avoiding danger. I think my maternal instincts might be starting to take over."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros laughed quietly along with Ahnasha. "Come now, I think we'd all stagnate if we stayed out of any kind of danger. Even you, mother Ahna," Fendros poked at Ahnasha's navel as he spoke the last sentence. He then closed his eyes in thought and scratched the underside of his chin, "As for what I think, I think it's nice to understand Runt a little better. Almost seems strange to call her Runt with 'Sabine' being thrown around." Fendros shrugged, "Maybe catching up with her sister will help to heal her mind a little. What are your thoughts?"

Janius nodded to Meesei. If he were perfectly honest, he was wary of her, but putting on his regular attitude would at least detract Ariel from knowing that. For much of the night, he tried again at practicing the ward that Meesei had tried to teach him. He was not at all skilled in magic outside of destruction despite a little instruction from his peers, but getting hit by any more paralysis spells was something he wanted to at least make an effort to avoid. After a while, the light and noise that he was making disturbed Lorag enough for a gruff "shut that damn magic up, Janius, it's like there are wisps in this damn cave" to sound from his bedroll. Janius twitched the corner of his mouth and decided to stop practicing for the moment. He wasn't making much progress anyway.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha rubbed her stomach as Fendros poked at it, moving herself a bit closer to him. "Honestly, I think we're stepping into the fire with this coven. Still, if Ariel can make us something to resist that gas, then maybe we can surprise them. It couldn't be as bad as fighting that Orc. There are probably still marks on my throat under my fur from where he tried to strangle me. We should probably get some rest, though. No sense in getting excited about it now." She said, closing her eyes and quieting down in an attempt to get to sleep.

The next morning, or at least they all assumed it was morning when they awoke, proceeded mostly normally. Ariel had not killed anyone in the night, which was a good sign. As per usual, Janius started preparing a breakfast for those who preferred their meats cooked. He made sure to prepare one specially for Ariel which consisted of the hunters' preserved provisions, in case she wasn't too keen on eating meat from Humans or Elves. By this point, Meesei had improved even beyond her condition the previous night. She now felt strong enough to walk around the cavern with no issue, though she could still easily feel the effects of her internal injuries. Meesei grabbed some raw meat from the bag by the fire, then went over and set it down next to the pool, as she finally felt well enough to wash the dried blood from her scales. Unraveling her bandages, she saw obvious discoloration on her scales due to internal bleeding, along with a prominent scar on her abdomen. The discoloration would fade in time, but she wasn't quite sure if she could rid herself of the scar. Fortunately, all of her other wounds had healed over without a trace, at least. She slowly and carefully lowered herself into the soothing water, allowing it to wash away the thick, caked on blood. While she bathed, she tried to eat as much as she could of her breakfast, despite her distinct lack of appetite. Lorag had healed enough that he could limp around as long as he did not put too much weight on his leg, so he was easily able to join the others around the fire for his breakfast. Ahnasha's meal was notably larger than normal due to the particularly voracious appetite she had gained recently.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine and Fendros woke up with everyone else. They both tucked in and ate their breakfast happily. Fendros glanced over to Ariel, who appeared to be sleeping in after spending the night tracking them. He hoped that she wouldn't get too curious about the differences between her meal and the rest of the pack's breakfast. Looking over to everyone else, Fendros noticed that Meesei and Lorag had only improved overnight. The mood Janius seemed to be in made Fendros wonder where all the annoyance at being magically paralysed had gone to. Sabine was mostly unchanged, but looked slightly less tense, Fendros thought that maybe her demeanour would change a little more after last night. Ahnasha was very hungry this morning, as was becoming a pattern with her pregnancy, or at least that was what Fendros believed. He hoped that she wouldn't have to purge it from her stomach later.

Most of them had nearly finished their breakfast by the time Ariel stirred. She took in a deep breath and rose from her bedroll, hair in a mess. After wiping her eyes on one wrist, the looked over to everyone by the fire. "Oh, have I slept in late?" She asked.

Some of the pack's head's turned to her. "It's quite alright, come, have some breakfast." Janius invited her with a smile.

"Is that what I can smell?" Ariel slowly stood up and walked to the fire, sitting next to Sabine and taking her plate of food gratefully. The breakfast had decidedly more vegetables than any of the other pack's meals, a detail that Ariel seemed oblivious to for the moment. "Now, Sabine, you must tell me what I have missed these years. What happened when you were released."

Sabine nervously paused her chew and twitched her head to Ariel's direction, feeling a little uncomfortable by habit. Quickly finishing her mouthful, she thought of whether to talk about it. It seemed odd to talk about it, but then again it was her sister, of course she would want to know. "Mmm," Sabine sounded, unsure, "I wandered, hunted." She looked into the fire, thinking, "I learned... I ran from people... then I found the pack." Sabine's voice was small as always, not used to conversation.

Ariel was understanding of her apprehension, but was still curious. "I see, I see. How did you join the pack?" Ariel craned her head forward to get a better look at Sabine's face.

"Hmmm," Sabine's hum had more of a nervous tone than a recollecting tone. She looked to each of her pack members, hoping that they would take over for her, but they seemed content to let Sabine explain herself this time. Looking back into the fire, Sabine continued, "There was a hunter with silver, he wanted to hurt someone with an arrow. I killed him with a rock, then I wasn't scared that they would chase me away... then I made some potions, then they let me stay. They took care of me."

With that, Ariel smiled. She was thankful that Sabine didn't run into much more misfortune before finding a pack. Ariel was glad for that. Her sister was one who needed the acceptance more than most. "I want to thank you all for looking after my sister." Ariel said to the rest of the pack, "I can see that you are all very close."

[EliteCommander]

Despite the previous day's events, Sabine still seemed to be nervous about talking to Ariel, which made sense. It wasn't as if meeting her sister would suddenly cure years of social anxiety. Sabine really had not changed from when they found her, though she may have changed considerably since Ariel last saw her. There was no telling how she acted before the torture scarred her mind.

"Well, we're all a family." Ahnasha commented between bites of what was likely a Dunmer's leg. She was eating even more than Lorag, which was saying quite a lot. "Really, we're like the closest family you could ever imagine. Run-Sabine does an important job, and even if she didn't, we would still take care of her."

"Yeah, like catdog said. We're a family that occasionally likes to go around killin' things with our teeth. The best kind of family, really." Lorag said with a hardy chuckle.

Meesei was too far from everyone to naturally become involved in the conversation, but she listened in with interest. It had been quite a long time since they allowed a non-lycan into their camp for any real length of time, and they had never had a guest overnight. It was likely that Ariel would not be used to many of their customs, and it would certainly be interesting to see how she reacted. The fact that Lorag still hadn't dressed himself could prove...distracting for her. It seemed Janius had thought ahead and given her a meal from the hunters' provisions. Most of the pack preferred fresh meat to something that was dried and salted. Eating other mortals wasn't something Meesei was ashamed of, nor would she deny it, but there was no reason to bring it up. Beyond that, seeing how close knit their family was, and how willing they were to help one another, could potentially change her overall outlook on lycans. Too many saw them as brutes or savages and ignored how caring they could be for one another.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel smiled to Ahnasha and Lorag at their comments, turning into a nervous grin at Lorag. The comment sounded threatening enough, but it wasn't until she focussed that Ariel noticed the Orc not wearing so much as a loin cloth in front of them all. No one else in the pack seemed to mind, though. She thought that nudity must be commonplace, just ignore it and it'll be fine.

After a couple more mouthfuls, Ariel brought up the cave itself. "So, what brought you all to Morrowind anyway?" She asked, trying to feel a bit more comfortable among them, "Judging by what you had said about the flasks earlier, were the previous occupants here servants of Vile?"

"A bit worse than that, I'm afraid," Fendros replied, having finished his meal, "They were werewolf hunters. Lead by one so notorious that Hircine himself put a bounty of sorts on his head. Meesei was contacted and we were sent up here to eliminate him."

"That would explain all of the lycans in Vos." Ariel nodded, "what became of the hunters?"

The pack was quiet for a moment, until Janius cleared his throat and swallowed his mouthful, trying not to attract attention to his own meal. "I, er, I buried some of the bodies, burned the others," he said quickly, "As far as we know, there were none left alive after we attacked."

"I see."

"We've only really remained here to recover our wounds. It was a costly fight." Janius explained, "Thankfully not too costly." He leaned forward then, wanting to satisfy his own curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking, we had enough trouble finding this place ourselves, how did you find us?"

"Oh, that would be thanks to your hair." Ariel brightened up, eager to explain.

"My... hair?"

"Yes. I plucked one from your head when you were in my shop the other day. With something to reference you by I was able to identify you as a lycan and enchant this vial-" Ariel took out the tracking vial that she had used last night, "-to glow when close to where you had traveled. It is a technique I made myself."

Janius sat up again, looking suspicious. He suddenly felt uncomfortable that he could be tracked so easily by any alchemist.

"Oh! But don't worry, I haven't told anyone else how to do it. It's mostly for helping parents to find lost children during the market and festivals. I never thought it would come in handy for finding lycans." Ariel's initial excitement faded off into something slightly guilty looking at her actions, "Uhm, sorry if that seemed a rude thing to do."

"It's certainly impressive," Janius commented, putting the last of his breakfast into his mouth.

Fendros almost laughed behind a smile, it looked like this Ariel had social anxieties of her own, though of a completely different nature. Where Sabine is silent, Ariel is talking her head off.

[EliteCommander]

It was not long before Meesei had washed away the blood that had coated her scales. She had picked her portions for her breakfast well, as she was able to finish everything she had taken. It was tempting to stay in the pool, but she really needed to work on healing her injuries, and Ariel could perhaps be of assistance with that. Meesei slowly and carefully climbed her way out of the water. Since her old bandages were bloodstained and worn, she left them behind and approached the campfire. Specifically, she walked up behind Ariel and lightly tapped her shoulder to grab her attention.

"Your alchemical skills do seem impressive, and I think I would like to take you up on your offer of assistance. I want to be able to scout this coven personally as soon as possible. Can you make something with the ingredients we have available to speed my recovery? I would like to be well enough to head out by tonight, if possible." Meesei asked.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel turned her head from where she was seated, then turned her shoulders to face Meesei properly. "Tonight? W-well of course. I could attempt that. It would depend on what he have, though." Ariel replied, "Come here and let me take a look at your wounds."

While everyone else dispersed from breakfast, Ariel inspected Meesei's injuries, occasionally asking questions about the nature of her wounds and her treatment so far. She had not had to treat any lycans since experimenting on Sabine, but she knew a silver wound when she saw it. What came next was to take stock of what ingredients the pack had, and what Ariel had on her person. Sabine hovered nearby, watching her sister's work. It was clear that Ariel knew more secrets of certain alchemical ingredients and their various effects with each other, and it was likely born from the years of experience that Sabine had missed out on. Still, it appeared that Sabine had a better grasp on the few Cyrodiilic ingredients that had made it this far in their journey. Also from experience of using them.

"It looks to me that Sabine's work, as well as your restoration magic, has been doing a good job so far." Ariel said, now a little more relaxed being in her element, "With what we have left, though, the best I can do is mix up a salve to keep the wound from opening. Anything more than that would take too long to prepare." Ariel put a curled finger to her lip, "I do have a more powerful healing remedy back at the shop, though. If we were to obtain that, then you would be far safer moving around by tonight."

Idly, Ariel picked up a few seed pods in her hand that Fendros had gathered under Sabine's instruction. She turned the pods in her hand and scratched her head, "Have you been making... nausea remedies? I thought werewolves didn't get sick."

Sabine avoided answering that question, not wanting to explain such a long story.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei had laid back down on her bedroll to allow Ariel to examine her, which caused Sabine to take interest. It was comforting to know that her wounds could be mostly healed potentially by the end of the day, as she did not like being so weak. If Ariel needed to return to Vos, then Meesei had no issue allowing her to leave. "If you need something from your shop, then I have no problem with you going to get it. I would make sure to grab whatever else you think will be helpful as well, if only to reduce the number of trips you have to make." Meesei advised.

When Ariel asked about the nausea cures Ahnasha scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Those would, uh, be for me. Werewolves are immune to diseases, so we do not really get sick, but...pregnancy can cause all the same symptoms." She explained. The circumstances were a bit awkward to explain, but she wasn't going to hide it. There was no reason to be ashamed of her cub. Besides, with how proficient of an alchemist Ariel seemed to be, Ahnasha was not about to pass up an opportunity to see if she had any remedies that could be helpful for her.

[Muttonhawk]

"Pregnant? My goodness, I didn't even know that was possible for lycans." Ariel said, "I suppose there is no reason why it shouldn't work, if the transformations do not hurt the child, that is." Ariel was trailing off, but she stopped and smiled at Ahnasha, "Oh, but what would that matter if you've had only the usual problems so far. Congratulations, Ahnasha."

Ariel looked back to Meesei, "Yes, if I head out now, then I should be able to bring back enough supplies to help. If you don't mind, I would like to have some extra hands to carry things."

"I'll help," Janius volunteered, "It'll be nice to get out and have a walk."

Glancing around, Sabine put her hand on Ariel's arm. "Can I?" She asked quietly. Ariel nodded with a warm smile.

After getting up, Ariel looked over to Ahnasha. "I have a catalog of supplements at the shop that may prove useful to you, Ahnasha. I'll have a look and bring you back something nice." Then Ariel looked at Meesei again, "Meesei, is there anything in particular that you think we'll be needing? I have a number of different things in stock."

Fendros sat back quietly while Ariel went about gathering up her items to leave. He figured that maybe she didn't want to pry about the father because she didn't see any male Khajiits in the pack. Understandable, he supposed. While Sabine and Janius got changed into their city clothes, Fendros approached Ahnasha, "Runt's actually volunteering to see her shop. This is a turnaround."

Unfortunately, Fendros didn't quite dodge Ariel's earshot with his comment, she turned to him with a curious high brow. "Who's Runt?"

"Oh, right," Fendros said, biting his lip, "as far as I know... when Sabine joined the pack, she didn't really talk... at all. Runt was a nickname that stuck. It seems a bit awkward now."

"I see." Ariel smiled, but looked down, probably ashamed that her own experiments caused the anti-social behaviour. When she looked up again at Fendros, her smile faded, "She wasn't bullied, was she?"

"I actually don't know." Fendros said, looking at other pack members for a better explanation, "I wasn't around back then."