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

[EliteCommander]

"Oh, everyone else is fine." Kaleeth replied as Ariel pulled away from her hug. To see Ariel in such an overjoyed state certainly put at ease some of her own anxiety. Sabine's meetings with her family were usually nothing but pleasant. "Not everyone is here. We have some business in Black Marsh, so we thought we could stop in for at least a few minutes since we're here."

Meesei too could not help but to smile with Ariel's enthusiastic greetings. That kind of excitement could turn even a foul mood, though unlike Kaleeth, Meesei had already been in a perfectly pleasant mood to begin with. "Well, the three of them have some business to tend to. I simply wanted to visit. It has been far too long, Ariel, and you do not know how happy it makes me to see you doing well."

Julan, in truth, had a more difficult time relating to Ariel's excitement. He did not have strong memories of her, so meeting her "again" was not as much of an event for him. Still, he was finally getting to meet her for the first time, from his perspective, and he was curious how much like his aunt Sabine she was. Although, as was usual when the adults around him were talking to strangers, he was staying quiet for now.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel ran a hand over her tied-back hair and laughed with a giddiness. The sun made the gold of her wedding ring stand out in the brief moment. "Well, it has been a very eventful set of years. The opportunity you gave me certainly enabled many things. Both opportunities; the move and...the antidote." Her attention shifted swiftly to Karl. "Now, I do not believe we-"

Ariel's eyes suddenly caught Sabine's arm locked with Karls, as well as a few other details of his description. Karl's poor eyes did not return Ariel's look, but he tried giving a friendly smile. Ariel's mouth closed into a knowing grin. "You must be Karl," she said in the kind of inflecting tone that people use when gossiping. "I've been looking forward to meeting you after what my dear sister has written to me."

"It's nice to meet you, Ariel," he said, somewhat stilted. He extended a hand that Ariel shook.

Ariel's tone returned to its friendly approach. "You as well, I'm glad that you came! Now, come in, all of you. It looks like you could all do with a cool drink."

Sabine followed Ariel inside with Karl in tow. Janius traded a look with Julan and followed in turn.

"The girls are at the school house presently," Ariel said over her shoulder. "But they finish after lunch, so they should be returning soon. They've been dying to meet you, Sabine."

If the exterior of the shop was different, the interior of the shop was a different world to the previous establishment. One or two pieces of furniture looked similar, but the displays, lighting, paint, and general atmosphere were brighter and cleaner. The scent of various perfumes gave it the character of an apothecary in all the best ways possible. The main floor was dominated by a long counter running across the front of the wall opposite the door, behind which were tall wooden drawers labelled with all sorts of alchemical reagents. Displays around on the customer's side of the room mainly held bottles and jars artfully decorated and filled with cosmetic items. Little paper signs labelled their purposes and offered containers free for sampling. Without thinking too deeply about the composition, it was clear Ariel had laid out the shop to encourage exploring to find and try new products.

"How was your journey?" Ariel asked. She walked behind the counter and poured some pewter cups full of water with slices of some fresh fruits. A weak frost spell ensured the liquid was cool and refreshing. "From the letters I received, it sounds as though times have been getting safer, thanks to your efforts."

The store was currently empty, but Ariel still kept her words veiled for the sake of courtesy.

[EliteCommander]

"Safer than they have been in the past, though there is certainly still a lot of work ahead of us." Meesei replied. They could not speak in specifics until they had the privacy to sit and talk, but Meesei was glad to have a cool cup of water and at least catch up on the basics with her for now.

Kaleeth too joined Meesei at the counter, while Julan stayed closer to his father, though he was curiously looking around at the displays. He was not really sure what the purpose of most of the concoctions around them were supposed to be, but he was sure that they had quite an odd assortment of scents about them. Some of them smelled nice on their own, but all of them mixed together rather strongly in the air to his enhanced senses.

Kaleeth took one of the slices of fruit that Ariel offered, glancing back towards the entrance to the store before speaking. She had no intent of saying anything risky regardless, but it was now a habit for her to be aware of her surroundings at all times when in a city. "We are able to have a bit more time to ourselves now, so we are going to go find my family's village. My first family, that is. I...want to see them again."

[Muttonhawk]

"Ahh, I see," Ariel said. "I think your parents will be overjoyed to meet their grandchild for the first time. How many years has it been since you have seen them?"

Noticing Julan's nervousness, Janius offered him one of the cups of water before peering around the store. He gave Julan a smile. "Ariel finds lots of custom trading in body paints, make-up, perfumes, and other things that help to make people look and smell nice," Janius explained quietly. "Want to take a closer look? It's hard to appreciate without focussing on one thing at a time, and they are rather special."

[EliteCommander]

"Not since I first left them." Kaleeth replied, a tinge of regret showing through her voice. "We couldn't really exchange letters to a tribe like we can between cities. I just left and...was never able to go back. I still don't really know for sure if it is a good idea, but I want to try."

Julan mostly looked confused at Janius' explanation. The concept of makeup and perfumes was not completely foreign to him, as there were a few rare individuals in the clan that made use of them from time to time, but they were much more rare among lycan clans. Perfumes in particular would have to be specially mixed to be appreciable to most lycans, since standard mixtures were usually far too strong for a lycan's nose to be experienced in the intended way. "People pay gold just to smell nice? That can't be true, can it?" He asked, finally looking towards Ariel.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel showed a sympathetic face to Kaleeth. "Well, I do not know your parents, let alone your tribe. But you can take it from orphans like Sabine and me; presence is better than absence, even if only for a short time."

Sabine solemnly nodded.

Julan's question drew Ariel's attention away. She grinned. "It's very true, Julan. It may seem frivolous -- and you would be correct most of the time -- but there is something about perfumes that can make memories clearer when they are recorded." Ariel turned and hovered a reaching hand over the drawers on the wall behind the counter, reading the labels upon them. "Let's see...from what I have been told about...ah! Here we are." She quickly took out a small glass vial filled with a clear oil.

Ariel held the vial in both hands, smiled knowingly, and removed the stopper. "Does this remind you of anything?"

The oil was pungent enough to get in Julan's nose from across the counter. He might have fainted if he took a whiff directly from the vial. However, it was just subtle enough in the air that a thread in his mind tugged him to an image in his head. The memory of his first visit to Bravil came to mind. It was all the way back when he met his aunt Aurana.

Ariel was not there when they met Aurana for the first time.

Recognition flashed in Janius' eyes after a moment, but he let Julan answer first.

[EliteCommander]

Whatever was in the vial was certainly strong, though at least it was bearable from a distance. Although Ariel had been talking about memories, Julan still found himself surprised by his sudden thoughts back on Bravil. He had not been thinking about it any time in recent memory, so he appeared distinctly confused for a few seconds.

"I, um, well...I remember Bravil. I remember meeting my aunt Aurana, and father's family. They were weird, but Aurana was really nice to me." Julan answered.

Meesei, meanwhile, tried to hide some of the mild discomfort she was feeling. She had been inspired with a different memory: one from much longer ago. It was not an unpleasant memory, especially at the time, but in context of her current life, it was somewhat awkward for her to think about. A great deal had changed for her in all that time.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel was merciful enough to replace the stopper on the vial soon after Julan responded. "I had a feeling Bravil would come to mind. I remember Sabine telling me of a visit there some time ago."

"Is that some kind of alchemical magic you have there?" Janius guessed. "My memories were of Bravil, too, but not early memories."

Ariel smiled. "Not exactly alchemy, no." She lifted the vial between her thumb and forefinger and wiggled it. "This is extract of bergamot. A flower that grows thick in the area around Bravil. Not so much a popular perfume, but I had a feeling your sensitive noses would still draw the associations. Lucky I didn't embarrass myself by being wrong with that guess." She laughed through her nose as she put the vial away. Only a quick, if realising, glance was given to Meesei.

"Anyway," Ariel continued to Julan, leaning one hand on the counter. "A lady...or, occasion, a gentleman, may find themselves associated with a lovely smell. And even regular people can find their senses for that smell grow rather sensitive when they have forged attachments with such wearers of perfume." She looked to the others. "Now, with your little gifts, you likely have made those associations already with how people naturally smell. You can likely pick up the scent of your mother, father, or your other packmates. But for the rest of us, it is done a little more deliberately." She smirked. "Especially if some natural odours are not so pleasant as flowers or fruits."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei hummed lightly to herself, her eyes still upon the now-closed vial until Ariel put it away. "Ah, I suppose that makes sense. I wondered why it seemed familiar to me. Argonian bloodwine is made with bergamot seeds. Speaking of wine, I hope your husband's business has fared just as well as your own."

The whole phenomena still seemed like magic to Julan, but he supposed Ariel knew what she was talking about. He had seen the things that could be done with alchemy, thanks to his aunt Sabine, but it amazed him that people would want to put just as much effort just into making scents. As strange as the world outside the clans was to him, there was a part of him that was curious to see more of it. "I...guess that makes sense. The city still seems weird to me, but...do you think you would want to show us more of it? The city, I mean? I never really get to see cities. Do we have time to look at the city?" He asked, turning back towards his parents.

Kaleeth sighed briefly and shook her head. "We...really don't have time for that, Julan. I'm sorry. We need to get to my village before they move, and I've known them to move as early in the year as two weeks from now. We are going to need to get going soon, unfortunately."

Julan was obviously disappointed, but he was far form giving up. "Okay, but...we're coming back here once we're done, right? Could we do it when we come back?"

Kaleeth could not help but to chuckle at his persistence. "I guess we would have time then, but only if Ariel wants to when we get here."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel gave a coy shrug. "Come by on a weekend and we'll have plenty of time to see Thorn," she said. "As long as you don't mind sharing the time with my children as well. When do you think you will be back?"

"It's hard to say, really." Janius rubbed the back of his neck. "It could take a while to find them, it might only take two days. And once we're there, we did not have a solid plan on how long we wished to stay. We were going to work it out when we got there. At any rate, I doubt we'll be longer than four, five weeks? Likely less."

Sabine spoke up as well. "And if Ariel and Rukeewei are too busy, Julan, I could take you to almost any city you like after you visit your grandparents. I will have some other business to attend soon, after I spend some time with my sister, but there is no rush."

There was an uncertain look from Ariel to Sabine. She opened her mouth as if almost about to ask.

Sabine beat her to it. "But you were interrupted before, Ariel. How is Rukeewei? Where is he now?"

"Rukee is doing relatively well," Ariel said. "He has had some ups and downs, as have I, but we have been able to hold each other up when..." A shadow moved across the front window, catching Ariel's eye. "Oh! That'll be him with the girls right now. You can ask him for yourself!" Ariel grinned.

Already the high-voiced chatter of three very young Bretons was closing in on the door near Rukeewei's silhouette.

[EliteCommander]

Rukeewei was quite understandably distracted as he shepherded the three girls from the street into the store. He was hardly able to give a glance towards Ariel before he had to stop, reach down, and grab something out of the youngest girl's hand. It looked to just be a broken piece of a ceramic pot, but he still tossed it out of the door regardless before closing it. "No, you can't have this. No picking up things from the street; you have no idea where it's been." He said in Jel sternly, though not angrily.

Rukeewei was almost completely up to the counter before he was finally able to focus back on Ariel. "Sorry, I'm a bit late. The girls were apparently hide and seek before I went to get them, so I had to..." He began, trailing off at the point where he finally took notice of everyone around him. "Oh, Sabine! And everyone else it looks like. Or at least half of you. I knew you were coming at some point, but I didn't think it would be so soon. Um...hello." He added somewhat awkwardly, obviously having been caught off-guard.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine slowly lifted her hand to wave, but Rukeewei and the children were a whirlwind that gave no opportunity to speak.

The daughters counted three. Two younger twins with a similar straight-if-slightly-curled auburn hair as Sabine and Ariel and one older girl with darker hair, but still similar. They all wore plain calico, brown, and faded blue dresses of slightly different designs, but what distinguished them the most was their behaviour.

While Rukeewei spoke to one of the girls about the shard of clay, giving her a pout as she looked at the floor, the other youngest ran headlong into Ariel's open arms as she squatted down to pick her up. "Hello, Joan," Ariel said with a grin.

The girl responded with "Hello mammy," in surprisingly accented Cyrodilic.

Meanwhile, the elder girl had quietly hidden herself behind a display table, peeking around a stand of soap blocks at the new visitors.

Rukeewei's approach only had Ariel looking like she was about to burst out laughing.

There was an awkward pause before Janius spoke back. "Hello, Rukeewei." His Jel was still lisped almost beyond recognition. "I understand this much."

Ariel settled for a chuckle. "You're speaking Jel to foreigners again, love," she said. "Come here..." She beckoned him to lean over the counter so they could exchange a quick kiss. She spoke softly to him, smiling. "Hello, Rukee. Thank you for picking up the girls."

In contrast to Janius, Ariel's Jel was impressively well practiced for one without an Argonian mouth.

"Now," Ariel continued to the others. "Joan, Danee-Na, Aimee...Come out now, Danee, no need to be shy. Girls, I would like you to meet your aunt Sabine." Ariel gestured forward. "...And her companions, Meesei, Kaleeth-Rei, and Janius, and Sabine's ma-...partner, Karl."

Danee-Na, the older girl crept out from behind the soap, though she kept quiet, looking at Sabine neutrally. Joan, propped up in Ariel's arms, waved her little hand and smiled open-mouthed and enthusiastic. "Hello, family!" she said. Aimee remained clutching Rukeewei's hand and smiling, but she didn't know how to answer.

[EliteCommander]

Between Meesei and Kaleeth both, they smiled at the sight of the girls. Whether they were nervous or excited, all of them were simply cute in different ways. "Well, it is just a pleasure to meet all three of you. And good to see you again as well Rukeewei, naturally." Meesei greeted once they were introduced.

There was a part of Kaleeth that wanted to pick up one of the girls and squeeze them with a hug, but she restrained herself for the moment. "Now I wish we could stay longer. We will have to catch up for longer once we get back to Thorn, if we can."

Julan was the only one who looked like he had any sort of confusion, and without much thought, ended up blurting out his curiosity somewhat reflexively. "I've never met a Human with an Argonian name before. I didn't know you could have those." He said, looking directly at Danee, despite her anxiety.

[Muttonhawk]

"That would be lovely," Ariel responded to Kaleeth.

Danee-Na stepped to face Julan. She started quiet and gained volume. "Umm, it means mixes-red-paints." Like the other girls, her Cyrodilic was heavily accented to the point where she sounded more like Rukeewei and his family.

"Danee was the only human taking part in her naming ceremony," Ariel explained. "Rukeewei's family insisted on it -- she is part of the family, after all. It was mostly a matter of convincing the treeminders...and giving advice on lowering the dosage of sap, with its effects on non-Argonians at times."

"Interesting," Janius said. "Did the treeminders need much convincing?"

Ariel's mouth twisted, though she tried to remain in high spirits. "Some more than others. A marriage between a foreigner and a local Saxhleel is not terribly common here, much less bringing forth non-Argonian children. There are some...lost customers of Rukee and myself in this city who find the idea disagreeable."

"Have you gotten in trouble?" Sabine asked.

"Oh, no," Ariel shook her head. "We are breaking no laws, nor are we strictly treading on taboos that city-dwellers observe. We are simply...different."

"What's your name?" Nanee asked Julan. In all the excitement, Ariel forgot to introduce Julan.

[EliteCommander]

"Me? Oh, I'm Kaj-Julan." He answered. The girls were strange to Julan, especially with how they spoke. They had stronger Argonian accents than he did, and it was likely that their Jel would sound at least a bit more natural than his. He wished that he could stay longer and learn more about the city, and Ariel's family, but he was sure that his parents would want to get moving soon enough. Part of him was excited to see more of Black Marsh, but the traveling itself did not sound too fun. It was apparently dangerous, and he would not even have Rhazii to keep him company.

Meesei had not expected that Ariel would have been met with open arms by the entirety of the city. With as many people as lived in Thorn, there would have to be some groups that would care enough to make their opinions known. Still, it was evident that there was not enough opposition to prevent them from having a thriving business. "Well, if you ever do find yourself in any trouble, you know who will support you. Mere coin could never be enough to repay what you did for us. Even the rest of our...kin in Black Marsh would be willing to give you as much help as you need. Any of us in Tamriel, really."

"Hopefully, you will never need any help." Kaleeth commented. "You are definitely part of our family too, though. I wish we could see you more often. I...think we do need to go, though. I want to get far enough west of here by nightfall that we'll be in territory that is familiar to me. Hopefully it hasn't changed too much since I was young."

[Muttonhawk]

"Indeed," Janius agreed. "We had best not to tarry." He smiled brightly. "It's wonderful to see you doing so well, Ariel, Rukeewei. And it's great to finally see your children."

"Mm, it is a pleasure to see you all as well," Ariel said, walking back to shop side of the counter again. "I look forward to seeing you again to visit! And I wish you the best of luck with your tribe, Kaleeth." Ariel placed Joan on her feet and gave Kaleeth another tight hug. "Oh, I know they'll be happy to see you. You're too sweet to have it any other way, Kaleeth."

Ariel gave Janius and Julan another embrace each, as well as encouraged the children to say farewell. The girls recited a goodbye in practiced politeness, even if they clearly had little context of these new family friends' journey.

Sabine gave them a reminder as she waved them off. "If I am not here when you get back, wait for me here in Thorn. I will be visiting the Thorn clan...discretely."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth was reluctant to depart so quickly, but she knew that she needed to not only to make the ground they needed by nightfall, but also to keep herself from finding reasons to delay. She was afraid to return to her home, but she still hoped that Ariel was correct about her family. She knew how she expected her father to react, but there was a lot that could have changed in all the time that had passed. Eventually, after everyone had a chance to give their goodbyes, the three of them headed out of the shop to start on the road ahead of them.

Even with Kaleeth, Janius, and Julan gone, the counter they were all gathered around still felt crowded. While not as numerous as the whole of Meesei's pack combines, Ariel still had quite a large family of her own. And that was not even considering Rukeewei's extended family, only one of which Meesei had actually met. "I feel there is so much for us to catch up on; although, I know our arrival was somewhat unexpected. Will we need to wait until your shop closes? I would understand if you could not change your schedule on such short notice." Meesei asked.

[Muttonhawk]

After the farewells lasted longer than they needed to, the filing back into the shop was relatively quiet.

Ariel brushed the side of her hair back. "They do deserve the best of luck. How they have changed over the years is rather amazing. And how fast Julan has grown! One day, I'll blink and my girls will be taller than I am."

Meesei's question made Ariel turn and lift her brow. She hesitated twice. "I do not want to seem rude..."

Sabine picked up where Ariel trailed off. "...Maybe we can check into an inn first. Do not worry about us, sister."

"I will admit, I have a few more orders to fill before I can close up today." Ariel smiled to hide the mild shame. She perked up in short order with an idea. "Oh Rukee, are there rooms vacant at the Nest? I could watch the girls while you get them settled, if you're free." She grinned. "You can tell them all about your latest concoctions."

"Mammy?" Danee-Na spoke up in Jel between the conversation. "Can I go with daddy and Aunt Sabine?"

Ariel leaned her hands on her legs, bent forward. "You may, but do not make trouble, okay? Sabine, Karl, and Meesei have just come from a long way away and travelling makes one very tired. You promise you'll be on your best behaviour?"

Danee switched to Cyrodilic. "I promise, mammy."

"Good girl," Ariel quickly straightened out Danee's hair and stood up straight. "I'll finish up as soon as I can and meet you over there."

[EliteCommander]

Rukeewei nodded to Ariel, then took Danee's hand in his to keep her from lagging behind. "Okay, there should be enough rooms. I think I will even make a special dinner for us tonight for when you get there, just for the occasion."

Meesei had no doubt that Ariel wanted to spend time with her sister right away, but since not herself, Sabine, nor Karl were in any particular rush, there was no need for Ariel to sacrifice the needs of her clients just to get to it sooner. Rukeewei took the lead to guide them out of the district, and into some more familiar parts of the city.

"I shouldn't have a problem getting at least two rooms for you all. This isn't the busiest of seasons, so I rarely have all of my rooms filled at the same time." Rukeewei explained as they were moving through the crowd. "And don't worry about coin. Family doesn't pay...unless I'm really desperate. But, my business has been doing well too. I have employees now that aren't my brother. He actually finally worked up the courage to take a risk and open a brewery of his own. Or, half a brewery, I guess. One of the few close friends he actually does have was willing to go in half on the investment, and run half of the business. He's just happy to finally not have to work directly with the customers. Anyways, um, is there anything specific you would want? For your stay, that is?"

[Muttonhawk]

Danee had no trouble keeping up despite her height; the care Karl had to take while walking along the uneven streets ensured their pace was unhurried.

"That's really nice of you, thank you, Rukeewei," Sabine said. "And when we see your brother next, we will have to congratulate him." Sabine turned to Karl. "The inn, the Wamasu's Nest, it's quite nice. Do you feel like anything to eat or drink when we get there?"

Karl had his shyness on full display. "Oh, I, uh...I think I am alright for now. Thank you." He tried to smile. "Just trying not to sweat. I might turn into a prune."

"Excuse me," Danee said to Karl. "What is it you are looking at?"

Karl appeared confused for the brief moment it took to realise why Danee had asked. He smiled with good nature. "I am not looking at much I can clearly describe, I'm afraid. My eyesight is particularly poor. That's why Sabine here is helping me."

Sabine smiled. She waited for Meesei to answer Rukeewei's question, if she had any needs, before continuing. "Rukeewei, I was wondering about your sister-in-law, Speaks-With-Thread. How is her tailor business faring? We might visit to get Karl clothes that he will not turn into a prune in."