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

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha smiled back at Fendros as he finally drifted to sleep. At least the drowsiness brought on by moon sugar meant he could be unconscious for most of the effect. Even after he fell asleep, she remained by him for a while just to make sure nothing else was going to go wrong. Eventually, once she was satisfied that he was in a deep enough sleep, she decided to take Fendros' recommendation and return to the others at the festival. As she left the room, she took the moon sugar pastry out of her satchel and began to eat it herself. It wasn't as if she was going to let it go to waste.

Meesei shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I had a hard time deciding. Both Rukeewei and the Altmer made exceptional wines. Looking at it without a bias, it would be a hard choice."

After a few minutes, Rukeewei excused himself from the other competitors and approached the group. As Meesei noticed before, he still seemed to be upbeat and in a generally good mood. He smiled as he walked up to them, then spoke once he saw they were not in the middle of a conversation. "It is good to see you all; I'm glad you could make it to the competition. This year's competition was a particularly exciting one...for the competitors at least. Wine tasting isn't really a spectator's sport. Still, did you all enjoy the samples? This competition brings some of the best wine in Tamriel to the same place."

[Muttonhawk]

"Oh yes, they were indeed fine. That competition was a very close one, Rukeewei." Ariel responded.

Janius gave his praise as well, "That's right. And let me say yours was particularly good. Congratulations on your score."

"So what else do you have planned for today? We have been enjoying the various food and drink. I've never seen so much in my life. It's been wonderful. Well, apart from just earlier." Ariel paused to look at the entrance of the square in the direction of the inn. She hoped Fendros wasn't too sick. "In any case, I thought I might pass around some flyers before I open up this afternoon. Would that be appropriate?"

[EliteCommander]

"Honestly, I would say it is expected. The entire purpose of this festival is to bring coin to local businesses." Rukeewei said with a smile, giving Ariel's elbow a slight nudge. "And since you're a local businesswoman, I would say you meet that description perfectly. I would just avoid passing them out around other alchemical vendors, to be polite. I could help you if you like. It has been a while since I have seen the festival with someone other than my brother." He offered.

Lorag was still finishing up the last of his wine, but he would probably go wherever the Alpha did. As for Meesei, she still couldn't help but to think about Fendros. Ahnasha said the dose he received was small, but Fendros was family, and there was no real way she would be able to halt her concern. Even so, just as she cared for the health of her pack, she also needed to trust in their judgement, so for the moment, she would remain at the festival.

[Muttonhawk]

With a chuckle, Ariel down to get the flyers she had brought out of her bag. She looked back up at Rukeewei to respond. "That would be wonderful, actually," she replied, "We could get started now if you like. Here," she handed half of the small slips of parchment to Rukeewei. Each one were titled Montgrave Remedies and had details on Ariel's products and services, as well as where to find the shop. "Now, I think perhaps handing them out to the queues of some of the more popular vendors might be a good start."

Ariel led Rukeewei over to where a portion of the crowd was standing while they waited to pick out lunch. Now that it was nearing the middle of the day, appetites had been renewed and everyone was hungry. Wearing a smile, Ariel managed to hand out a number of her flyers. Where there was a lapse in the task, she tried to strike up a conversation. "So, Rukeewei, were you raised in Thorn? What was it like growing up here?"

[EliteCommander]

As they were passing around flyers, Rukeewei struck up short conversations with people he knew or recognized, to give a bit more credibility to Ariel's advertisement. He was more than happy to speak to Ariel when she struck up a conversation, however. "Yes, myself and my egg-brother were hatched here. Our parents were fishermen, which made for a modest lifestyle. Certainly, both of us were used to working from a young age. It's pretty easy to tell just from appearances that this place has a lot of nobility, a lot of wealthy individuals. They are not unique in the fact that they tend to look down on the working class folk, but even so, we did alright. I still have many of my childhood friends, a few of which reside in the noble district. Neercana's family used to have a manor there, but they lost their wealth a few generations ago. Mostly, it was the mismanagement of a few bad eggs in their family, but they survived. Neer's mother opened the Loom and Lapis, then passed it onto Neer when she died. We've all known each other since we were hatchlings, so she and my brother just sort of fell in together. Really she was the only woman he was confident enough to speak to. For me, I just wanted to do something other than fishing for the rest of my life. I've always had somewhat of an affinity for drinks, and to a lesser extent cooking. Once I learned how to brew alcohols, making new and interesting drinks just sorta came naturally. Opening a tavern seemed like a natural choice. I took a loan like you did, then opened the Wamasu's Nest with my brother." Rukeewei explained, giving a brief background of himself and the people closest to him.

After passing out a few more flyers, Rukeewei looked to Ariel curiously. "So what about you? What was Morrowind like, and how were you drawn to alchemy? So far, the body paint you have been testing on me has been working well, so you seem to have a diverse skillset."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel paused to think about her response. She couldn't risk telling him that she was a witch, at least not yet, and not in such a public place. She chided herself internally for risking the subject, but she was able to come up with something which wouldn't give away all of her past. "Well, Sabine and I never knew our mother and father. We were adopted into a... household that was full of alchemists, and some mages. We were taught as we grew up. It was a remote place in the countryside, but not too far from Vos. You could say that we lived simply even if we were comparatively well off." She looked up and paused before thinking of what else to say, "My guardians put me in charge of a shop in Vos, taking over for an older member of the family." She rubbed the back of her neck, "Unfortunately Sabine and I fell out with our adoptive family. It's complicated. I still ran the shop for a while though. And Sabine went and joined Meesei's travelling group, she may seem shy but she's more suited to the outdoors than I am." Ariel took a breath and cocked her head, "About two years passed, I saw Sabine again. And her group of friends convinced me to move to Black Marsh. I had friends in Vos, don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad by any means. There were other reasons..." Ariel glanced at Rukeewei. Why did her words go faster than her mind? Now she'd probably have piqued his curiosity. Damn it. She looked away with a concerned face. "Sorry, I... I'd rather not go into detail."

There was an awkward pause that caused Ariel to curl her lips. She quickly though of something to turn the subject around. Her expression changed to a a more joyful and casual one, "So, you've been in the city for most of your life. You certainly know a lot of people here. Your brother is married, but have you found someone?"

[EliteCommander]

Rukeewei was about to ask about the other reasons Ariel mentioned, but he stopped when she indicated she did not wish to speak about it. When she asked if he had found someone, he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Oh, well...no. I haven't. I have a lot of friends here, but I have no mate. I do admit, I used to have a bit of a thing for Neer, but I am long passed that. It was a long time ago, and she and my brother are a much better fit. I guess I just haven't put much of a focus on finding anyone. I have thought about it before, but most of my childhood friends are married by now. What about you? Did you ever find anyone in Vos? I assume you didn't find anyone permanent, since you're going to be living here alone...unless something...bad happened." Rukeewei asked, his voice immediately becoming regretful at the end. He felt he might have made a mistake. If she had found and lost a mate, then he would have just brought up a painful memory. He hoped that wasn't the case, and wished he would have stopped to think before speaking.

[Muttonhawk]

"Me? No no no, nothing bad like that, don't you worry." Ariel responded, her voice interspersed with a laugh at Rukeewei's tone. She looked ahead with a smile and sighed, "No, I didn't really have much luck in that regard. There were a couple of times that I grew fond, but the first loved someone else, and the other simply wasn't interested." She glanced up, "I had friends though, it wasn't as if I was completely lonely." Ariel chuckled through her nose quietly for a moment, "Not to mention, I was running a shop on my own. It wasn't really high on my agenda either. But who knows," she shrugged, "there probably aren't as many men here that are attracted to Bretons as in Vos, but perhaps my luck will change?"

[EliteCommander]

Rukeewei nodded in understanding. He knew well all the stresses and responsibilities than went along with owning a business. He had the fortune of being able to operate his tavern with his brother, but in general, business owners had to make all important decisions themselves, and bear all consequences. He understood that she would have little time. After her last statement, however, Rukeewei seemed to become a bit nervous. He was silent for a few moments before speaking up. "Maybe, well...actually there was something I've been meaning to ask...about. I was...wondering if you maybe would like to, sometime, go out and get some...dinner, maybe? I mean, I know you'll be busy opening your shop today, but...maybe later, or tomorrow, or...something. I mean, only if you want, I just thought it would be nice to get to know you a bit better and I-" Rukeewei asked, his voice trailing off at the end as he started to stumble over his words. He was once again rubbing his neck awkwardly, and he would have been sweating if that were actually possible for Argonians.He was starting to feel like he had turned into his brother or something.

[Muttonhawk]

At first, Ariel was simply bright eyed and attentive as ever. When what Rukeewei was proposing dawned on her, her eyes stayed somewhat wide and she was frozen on the spot. Eventually, Rukeewei ran out of words and Ariel's face quickly reddened as she made a few tuneless sounds through her open mouth. She honestly didn't expect this. Although it was dodgy assumption in retrospect, she assumed that Argonians generally stayed amongst their own kind. Apparently not? Her mind raced with mostly empty thoughts clouded by a sudden nervousness. Well, Rukeewei was nice to be around. Over the past couple of days Ariel had always enjoyed his company. She wanted to get to know him a bit better as well. Come to think of it, she liked the idea the more she thought about it.

External from her racing thoughts, Ariel stood frozen and heavily blushing for for such a time that Rukeewei might have asked if she was alright, but right before he got that chance, she responded. "Er-yes! Yes! Heheh..." she grinned and tried to recover, but her words only sped up. "That-would-be-... grand... it-would-be-great!... I-would-love-to." She caught herself prolonging eye contact for too long and averted her eyes with a giggle that she hated the sound of. She took a shaky breath and collected herself, "I didn't have any dinner plans for tomorrow, would that be a good time?"

[EliteCommander]

For as long as Ariel was silent, Rukeewei feared that he had made a very big mistake. He worried that he was too forward, and was too presumptuous. His impression of Ariel was that he rather liked her, and he wanted to see if something between them could last, but he didn't want to lose a friend because he misread her actions. When she accepted, however, he had to hold himself back from sighing in relief. Normally, he was confident and outgoing with other people, but in matters such as this, he felt like a bumbling fool. He was just glad that she seemed to be open to the idea. "Yes, I have time tomorrow. I need to work at the inn in the morning and into the afternoon, but my brother takes over before evening. Perhaps we could go after you close up shop for the day? I wouldn't want to cut into your business hours, especially so soon after opening. I know of a few places that can cook better than I can, and they're usually not crowded after the Day of Feasting."

[Muttonhawk]

"Tomorrow then," Ariel smiled widely. There was a moment where she just stood silently in front of Rukeewei, holding one of her hands in the other. She felt quite upbeat and excited now. She seldom received such propositions. The moment was short lived when she cleared her throat and looked around. "We'd better finish handing out these flyers. It'll be time to open soon."

Now with a different distraction in her mind, Ariel wandered around the rest of the festival with Rukeewei until their flyers had run out. Even though she constantly smiled and felt an anxious mix of feelings around Rukeewei, every time his back was turned she felt somewhat pathetic for not being more confident and sure of herself. The last time she fell in and out of love, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with herself in the eyes of the one she was interested in. She didn't want to make the same mistakes, but it was hard to know whether she was making them at all, let alone how to keep herself from making them. As such, she did manage to hold conversations with Rukeewei still, but she kept tripping over her words, or saying things that she regarded moments later to be somewhat stupid. Him, on the other hand, only seemed to become nicer to be around.

Before Ariel left to open up her store, she stopped by the pack and informed them that it was time. Thoroughly full, and with a few new odd acquaintances due to the 'rules' of the day of feasting, the pack followed Ariel to her shop, with Ahnasha breaking off on the way to check on Fendros. Once they made it to the shop, there were a few last minute preparations to do, during which time a small number of people could be seen peering through the front window. Ariel opened the door and informed them that the store would open soon. In the last minute rush, she felt grateful for the distraction of familiar work rather than constantly punishing herself for not acting up to her own unrealisic social standards around Rukeewei. Here, she bossed him around quite confidently with a couple of tasks as soon as she had delegated tasks to the pack.

With the many hands they had, it was only light work that needed to be done before Ariel opened the door and made an announcement to the small group of people outside. "The store is open, everyone. Please come inside!" She said, then realising the cause of some of the blank faces in front of her. "Oh," She tried to assemble the Jel in her head, then in her throat, "The shop is open. Welcome!" Even though it wasn't the most native sounding Jel, the hisses caused the rest of the group to begin moving. With that, she smiled and ducked back inside, walking behind the counter and tapping her fingers against the counter excitedly. "Finally open," she said with a tone of relief. She had missed attending a store.

[EliteCommander]

Once the shop opened, Rukeewei looked around at her selection, which he had not yet had a chance to see, while the pack just tried to stay out of the way and avoid disturbing the customers, or Ariel. The last thing they wanted to do was to create a bad impression by getting in the way of the customers, or distracting the shopkeeper. Overall, things seemed to be going well for the moment. Ariel's selection was a bit limited at the moment, but it was large enough to be interesting. Meesei was sure she would be able to build up her inventory more over time as she gained more resources, and learned more about the locals' tastes.

The pack was sticking around for the moment, but with everything they set out to do in the city accomplished, they would not be staying much longer. Meesei knew it was not going to be an easy moment, especially for Sabine, but once Ariel had the time, they would need to say their goodbyes and depart the city. For the moment, however, they were simply staying out of the way and awaiting Fendros and Ahnasha.

In the inn, Ahnasha made her way upstairs and returned to their room. Inside, Fendros was pretty much just as she had left him. Sitting down beside him once again, she rubbed his shoulder lightly until he started to stir. "How are you feeling?" She asked quietly.

[Muttonhawk]

Wiping the sleep from his eyes and taking a deep breath, Fendros awoke to a mouth that tasted of sick and a headache. "I've been better," he grumbled. He slowly sat up and looked out the window, "How long was I asleep?" Judging by the afternoon daylight, it might not have been that long, unless of course he had slept overnight. He was able to get up from the bed and walk with Ahnasha to the shop, hand in hand. It was clear from his stride and his complexion that he had recovered considerably, but was a little shaken by the experience. "I remember becoming isolated from everything, then relaxed, then when my senses started to come back, it was... crawling, biting." He shuddered at just the memory, "Then I remember seeing you, you helped me. Thank you. I didn't say or do anything bad, did I? I was in a strange state of mind."

At the shop, Ariel saw some familiar faces from when she handed out flyers. Many customers were content to browse, but others came straight to her for a specific request. The local's requests ranged from the simple, to the complicated, to things that Ariel hadn't even considered. There were occasions where Ariel was able to fulfill the request on the spot, but she very quickly had a lot of orders in her logbook. She was most grateful for knowing what little Jel she had mastered. Even though some exchanges were slow and a little frustrating, Ariel was able to be patient and communicate sufficiently. So far, the opening day was going about as well as Ariel had hoped.

With all of the activity, it was hard to even notice Sabine leaning up against a wall. She was looking down mostly, but didn't give away much in her demeanour except that she was uncomfortable. It might have been all the activity in such a small space, but more likely she was anticipating their departure. There was of course no chance that Ariel would be coming with them. She knew that all too well. It didn't make it any easier to say goodbye, or to wait to say goodbye.

Janius observed Sabine in this state and stood beside her with his arms crossed. "It seems to be going pretty well, hey Runt?" He said, looking at her.

Sabine did not respond.

"Hey, don't be too upset, Runt." Janius put his hand on Sabine's shoulder comfortingly and gestured to the shop. "Ariel's got a great thing set up here. Is there anything you want to say or do with your sister before leaving?"

Sabine scrunched her eyes shut for a moment, then shook her head. "Later," she said weakly, keeping her tears at bay for the moment. Ariel was busy, she didn't want to interrupt her just yet.

[EliteCommander]

After a while of Ariel dealing with customers, Rukeewei approached her when she had a moment free. "I wish I could stay, but I really need to get back to the inn and take over for my brother for the night. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, though; I'll see you then." He said with a smile before taking his leave. The had thinned out some, but there were still others browsing the shop, and Meesei was starting to feel like they were getting in the way. At the very least, they weren't, and really couldn't, contribute anything at the moment. As a result, she glanced around at the others, then approached Ariel herself.

"We should probably head back as well. We need to gather our belongings to prepare to leave. I promise we won't leave the city without giving you a chance to say goodbye, though; we'll wait until after you close up your shop for the day." Meesei explained.

Ahnasha was glad to see that Fendros had at least mostly recovered. It was frightening to see him in such a mentally compromised state. To Ahnasha, seeing someone in mental anguish was even worse than physical injury. At least with wounds, she could easily quantify how badly someone was hurt, and how easy it would be to heal them. Mental injuries, however, were nowhere near the same. In this case, she knew he would face no permanent harm, apart from the risk of addiction. "Not really, you didn't have much time to say or do anything before I got you back to our room. I just hope you don't start feeling any cravings for more of the stuff. I ate the pastry, so there is no more to be had, but withdrawal symptoms can be...unpleasurable." She answered just as they entered the shop, though from the way everyone was gathering up, it seemed like they arrived just as everyone was leaving.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros made a short and quiet chuckle, "I don't care how unpleasurable the withdrawal symptoms are, it'll better than going through that experience again, I'm sure." The smile he briefly had faded and he looked at Ahnasha directly with a more concerned face, "Still, if it's addictive, I'll need to watch out. I trust myself enough not to try it again, I mean, it wasn't a pleasant experience. Just in case though, would you... I don't know, keep an eye on me as well?" He looked ahead with another laugh and smile, "Perhaps you could point out the signs that say if there's moon sugar in the food. I appear to be blind to them when I've spices on my tongue."

Even though Ariel was certainly in a state of mental alert during her business hours, the momentous occasion of her opening day only stayed momentous for so long. The pack and Rukeewei started to shift to leave.

Ariel returned Rukeewei's smile when he approached. "Of course, yes." Her eyes twitched to the floor and back up to his face, "Thank you for coming. I-I'll see you tomorrow."

When Meesei spoke shortly after, Ariel nodded in understanding. "Right. I'll head to the inn as soon as I close." She looked to the rest of the pack as well, "Thank you all for coming. And thank you again for your help."

Fendros and Ahnasha at least got to see the shop in business when they arrived, even if the pack were just getting up to leave. They exchanged some quick words with Ariel before they left with the others. Fendros at least was satisfied that all the work that had been put into the shop was paying off. It would be sad to say goodbye to Ariel, after all the time she had been with the pack. Now though, it was time to pack up.

On the way back to the inn, Janius walked alongside Fendros and Ahnasha for a short while. "How are you feeling, Fendros? That pastry was a surprise to say the least."

"I could be better, to be honest. I would hit my head against a wall for being stupid enough to eat the moon suger, but-" Fendros lifted his hand to his temple as he spoke, "-it feels like my head is administering the pain for me."

Janius chuckled, "You certainly acted strangely. At one point you were flailing about like you were being attacked by an invisible troll. What was that about?"

Now being reminded once again of the crawling skin, Fendros closed his eyes and creased his brow. Continuing to talk about the memory made Fendros rather uncomfortable. "Look, I'd really rather not talk about it right now, it wasn't a good experience. I just want to put it behind me, okay?" Just in case Janius decided to pry, Fendros tried to shift the conversation, "Let's talk about something else. How was the rest of the festival?"

Raising his hands to show that he got the hint, Janius dropped the subject for now. "Well, I suppose it was good. We all had lots to eat and drink, we got to talk with a few people. Also, Rukeewei's wine ended up placing second in the competition."

"Oh, good. I'll have to congratulate him when we get back." Fendros responded. Turning his head to Ahnasha now, Fendros nudged her and walked closer to her, "How about you, Ahna? Did you get up to much else at the festival?"

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, there wasn't all that much time between me returning to the festival and us leaving. I did buy another one of those pastries, which was a great way to avoid having to share my food. People there were quite sociable, and I did end up talking to a few strangers. Some locals, some visitors. I almost always ended up getting congratulated on our child, which got rather old, to be honest. I don't quite know why she was at the festival in the first place, but a priestess of Dibella complimented my appearance, so I suppose that was nice. Apparently, this dress 'accents my natural beauty', or something."

As the group entered the inn, both Meesei and Lorag wasted no time in getting upstairs to pack their belongings. They had spent more coin than Meesei was used to over the past few days, but with how much they made off the silver weapons, there was still enough left over to suit their needs. One issue they were going to face was that they would need to go hunting as soon as they were out in the marsh, as their food supplies were not especially high, and it would be expensive to buy enough meat during the festival. She was not worried, however, especially considering that they were now in the part of Tamriel she was most familiar with.

[Muttonhawk]

"I can see the truth in that," Fendros responded, looking Ahnasha up and down, "I don't think you need clothes to do that though." He flashed a cheeky smile.

Janius, Fendros and Sabine followed the others upstairs to pack up as well. Travelling as they did, it didn't take long to gather up everything. After that it was just a waiting game until Ariel would turn up. Fendros took a bit of time to see Rukeewei at the bar and give him congratulations and thanks for being such a gracious host, as well as apologising for not being there to see the end of the competition. It didn't seem to bother him too much though. Sabine sat fiddling with the bracelet she had won a few days ago, it seemed to have a small shimmer to it now. It looked like she was just as uncomfortable as she was in the shop. Perhaps she just wanted to get the goodbyes over and done with before the thought of them drove her mad.

Some time passed, and Ariel entered the inn. There was a silence as she walked up to where the pack was seated with their belongings about them. She tightened her lips and breathed in. "I guess this is it." She started, doing her best not to break down immediately, "I know I've said this over and over, but, I couldn't have done this without you all. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also want to thank you for taking in my sister. I know my actions were not ideal in the past, but the chances you six gave me were..." she nodded and tried to find the right word, "... redeeming. Again, I'm going to miss you all. You've helped me so much." Her voice tightened up at the end of her last sentence.

Ariel walked up to the pack and addressed them all, right to left. Ahnasha was first, she put her arms around her and held her tight, "Ahnasha, thank you for convincing me to come to this beautiful place. I wish you all the best for your child, and your art."

Next was Fendros. He wasn't expecting a hug, but he got one anyway, "Fendros, thank you for your support. Take care, and watch you don't have any more moon sugar."

"Sure," Fendros laughed, "Goodbye Ariel."

Lorag was next in line, he got a hug as well, "Lorag, you're a real anchor for this group. You've been a great help."

Janius came next, they both had a small awkward pause before embracing, but they were at least satisfied that it was platonic at this point. "Janius," she smiled, "You always know what to say, you just don't know it. Just stop worrying about bedding everyone all the time." They both had a chuckle. Ariel's chuckle ended with a sniff, "Thank you for your help."

"It was my pleasure. Have a good life, Ariel." Janius said.

Ariel faced Meesei next. "Meesei," Ariel walked up to her and hugged her tighter than anyone yet, "Everything you've helped me with. The language, the culture, the loan. I don't know how I could ever repay you. Thank you so much."

Finally, Ariel looked to Sabine, who was seated. "Sister," Sabine looked up from her bracelet and revealed reddened eyes, "Come here." Ariel opened her arms and approached her. Sabine slid off her chair and they embraced. It was at this point that Ariel's tears began to flow. "Take care. And please write often. You have a wonderful family. You don't ever need to be afraid with them around." They held each other for a good minute. They both knew they might not see each other again, so separation was something they wanted to postpone.

When they finally broke away, Sabine took Ariel's hand and secured the now enchanted bracelet around Ariel's wrist. "Real good luck," Sabine explained. Ariel nodded and put her other hand around it. "I'll keep it close," Ariel said.

To all of them, Ariel spoke through her tears. "All the best on your travels. You will always be welcome here. I will never forget you all."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha gave a smile, though it was obvious it also came with a fair amount of sadness. "Goodbye, Ariel. I think we're all going to miss you. I'm glad Janius wandered into the right store back in Vos. I'm also glad Sabine will be able to carry on your habit of making anti-inflammatory salves for me. My joints and muscles also thank you for that." She said, trying to speak with a bit more of an upbeat tone. "Maybe we'll be able to come back and see you again."

"Yeah, that'd be good, I think." Lorag added. He wasn't much for extended goodbyes or emotional speeches, but he had to say something. He had gotten used to having Ariel around, to the point that he didn't feel like yelling at anyone when she hugged him. A part of him even wanted to bring her along and induct her into the pack, but he knew they were going into danger, and quite a lot of it. For how helpful she was on the road, that really wasn't something she was cut out for.

Meesei stood beside Sabine and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her sympathetically before turning to Ariel. "I cannot promise it, but if we have the opportunity to return here, we will. At the very least, we will inform you of the results of the ritual. We'll do our best to write reasonably often. It has been a pleasure, Ariel." She said before turning back to the others. "I suppose it is time for us to depart."

[Muttonhawk]

The pack hefted their bags and began to walk, their shoes clonking against the wooden floor of the inn. Fendros and Janius said one last goodbye as they walked through the door. Sabine was the last one out and paused at the door to look back. Though she still had tears down her face, her mouth formed a vibrant smile. Ariel returned the smile and raised her hand in a wave. Sabine continued and the door closed.

There were a few moments where Ariel stood and stared at the door, but she eventually turned away and found a seat. She was happy and sad at the same time. Her journey to her new life was well and truly over. She looked at the bracelet again, it was a cheap memento, poorly built. But to her it now meant a lot more. Taking a deep breath, she decided not to tarry; she had many orders to fill and with tomorrow night being booked, she would have to work extra hard. Wait, tomorrow night... Ariel clutched her head in both hands as a shocked expression swept over her face, "I need something to wear!" She breathed, before bolting upright and running out of the door, forgetting to even say hello to Rukeewei. If she was lucky, Neer might not have shut her shop yet.

The pack proceeded to the gate they arrived through. Things weren't quite as vibrant as they were when they arrived. Many people on ladders were carefully taking down the decorations for the festival. People were going back to their casual lives.

"So that's Thorn. Quite a nice city." Janius remarked.

"And that's Ariel, sad to say goodbye," Fendros added, before turning to Meesei who was in the lead. "And hello again to the wilds. Will we be hunting tonight, Meesei, or just covering distance?"