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

[EliteCommander]

Meesei too found Janius' nervousness amusing, though she considered the situation a bit more seriously, as a child was a serious matter. It was not likely an issue that was going to go away, but during their dinner with Ariel was not the best time to discuss it. The topic moved to their travels, and Meesei was willing to discuss it in greater detail now that they were in a more private location. She thought back to their travels in the inner marshes for any events that might be interesting to Ariel, but there was not too much which was worthy of a story, honestly. Between Meesei and Kaleeth, they knew quite well how to navigate even the thickest parts of the swamps, so they could avoid danger unless absolutely necessary. Since she had never seen the inner marshes, however, Meesei reasoned that Ariel might be interested in hearing a basic description.

"Unfortunately, we spent most of our time trying to avoid anything too 'interesting,' since those things tend to be dangerous. I can tell you that the inner marshes' reputation is well, deserved, however. There are quite a lot of creatures, and a few plants, that would be more than happy to make a meal of you. Not to mention that the rivers flood regularly, something that made our journey a bit more...annoying. As for the most interesting sight we saw, I would say it was the swamp leviathan. We kept our distance, but it is hard to miss one of those. Fully grown adults are massive, perhaps even the largest creatures in Tamriel. Had we been able to kill the leviathan, we would probably be able to buy our own ship. Such prey was well out of even our reach, though. I feel no shame in saying we would not have a chance of slaying such a beast, not without a much larger hunting party. Beyond that, I would not say we encounter all that much more which was interesting, thankfully. Most of the stories we have come from the cult of Molag Bal we contacted." Meesei explained.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel's smile immediately dropped at the mention of Molag Bal. She stared silently at Meesei as if confirming what she just heard, then her eyes glanced to the others. To Meesei, she asked cautiously, "Molag Bal, you say? You contacted Molag Bal's cult?" Ariel was at first confused why they would do something so dangerous, but the cause dawned on her. "Was that something Hircine ordered of you?" She asked.

Fendros' face became uneasy and he looked away. He never really liked talking about those events. In Ariel's arms, Rhazii began to squirm and look over to Fendros. He started to let out small whines that indicated wanting to be with his mother and father again, and Fendros carefully took him from Ariel. Ariel had no objection and quietly handed Rhazii back to Fendros, she was more interested to hear what had happened. Fendros walked back around to Ahnasha with Rhazii and sat down near her.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei could tell Fendros and Ahnasha were becoming more uncomfortable upon the mention of the cult, but she had no intention of forcing either of them to talk about their experiences. She could give all of the explanations herself, if needed. Even if it wasn't necessarily a pleasant topic, she felt that Ariel would want to know about it.

"It was." Meesei said, nodding affirmatively. "Hircine wished for us to arrange...not so much of an alliance, but a mutual agreement not to attack one another. In that, we were actually successful. When we first received the task, I had a hard time believing we would be able to deal with them peacefully, but they did not directly harm us in any way. They lived up to every agreement they made. Certainly, they were not a...pleasant group, but their leaders were pragmatic. There were two of them, an Argonian woman and her husband, a Dunmer, both of which were vampire lords. Many of their underlings were also vampires, though not all of them. They were all mages, however, mostly necromancers. I would not say they were kind to us, but they were civil, and as I said, they caused us no harm. It was the task they set us on which caused us issued. I do not wish to bring up bad memories in much detail, but we ended up fighting against a mercenary organization serving as vampire hunters. Some of us were harmed in the process, but I do not think it would be best to talk about that. If you have any question about the cult itself, however, I could answer them. Even if they are not a pleasant group, from a scholarly perspective, they were actually quite interesting. I do not know for certain, but I believe their leaders were several eras old. There was quite a lot of history in the xanmeer they called home." Meesei commented. She decided not to focus on the more traumatic aspects of their task, and instead make it seem more like one of the interesting destinations along the pack's journey. Hopefully, it would make Ahnasha and Fendros more comfortable with the conversation.

[Muttonhawk]

A few moments after Meesei had finished, Ariel responded with a quick "I see." If what Meesei was saying was true then that was probably the cause of Rhazii's burns and Ahnasha's missing finger. There must have been a lot of pain involved, but Ariel was even more confused that it wasn't the cult that caused it by Meesei's account. "If that's the case, it sounds as though your dealings with them had some luck. I've seen how depraved followers of Molag Bal can be when they had visited the coven." Ariel looked into the campfire, "They brought thralls with them. Fresh thralls, but not all of them were undead, some were slaves. It was hard to tell the difference."

"I would hardly describe our time there as lucky." Janius said, also looking into the fire, "Successful, perhaps, but definitely not fortunate." He looked at Ariel with a frown, "Meesei is right, though, the cult itself did not harm us, but we were caught in the conflict between them and the mercenaries and...bad things happened."

Fendros sounded a low and seething response, "They did nothing..."

"Actually, Meesei is right, let's not bring up bad memories about what happened," Janius said in an attempt to quell Fendros' building anger, before looking to Ariel with a less dismal expression.

"Oh, okay," Ariel said, nodding understandingly. She was interested in what Meesei had pointed out, though, "A xanmeer? Aren't those large stone ruins? I've only heard some things about them, but I'm hardly a scholar on ancient Argonian history. What sort of things were inside?"

[EliteCommander]

Given her weakness for history, Meesei was almost eager to talk about the xanmeer itself, especially since it diverted away from the more unpleasant aspects of their experiences. "Yes, xanmeers are temples built by the first Argonian civilization. Most seem to be temples to the Hist, as one would expect, though much history from that time has been lost, so any other purpose they had is unknown. They are actually not all that uncommon in Black Marsh. I recall from my childhood that our village tended to pass by a few of the ruins, and while Thorn does not have one, I believe a few Black Marsh cities, like Lilmoth, contain the ruins of one. However, I had never seen one in as good of condition as this one. The outside looked just as ruined as any other, but it was the catacombs underneath the outer structure that contained the most interesting features. One of the reasons that I say their leaders must be eras old is because the catacombs were exceptionally well-maintained. It seemed like they had been lived in almost since they were originally created. The carvings were clean, and in perfect condition. Had we not been otherwise occupied, i would have loved to study them. Interestingly, most of their furniture and decorations seemed to have been influenced by Black Marsh, Morrowind, and Cyrodilic cultures, and not always from this era. Still, they did not damage the stonework, merely cover it. It could be that their leaders have a respect for history as well, though I am simply speculating on that. In any case, walking through some of the less decorated sections of those catacombs made me feel as if I was stepping back in time. I feel one could learn quite a lot from that place."

As much as Meesei respected the works of scholars, she recognized that any kind of study of the cult's lair would remain in her imagination. If either Neesa or Llarvan had an interest in history as Meesei suspected, then they likely would have recorded every bit of information they could gather from their home, and were probably not intent on sharing it. In any case, the topic reminded her of another question she had occasionally found herself thinking about since they returned the Thorn. "Also, speaking of learning, I recall that last time we were here, one of the officials in charge of your loan showed us a strange magical item. Do you know if she ever learned any more about that?"

[Muttonhawk]

"Amazing," Ariel said, quite glad that the less pleasant aspect of their stay had moved on from the conversation, "I wish I could have seen it. Well, under better circumstances, maybe."

When Ariel was asked about Juseich and her elusive jewel, she had trouble remembering what Meesei was talking about. "What?...Oh! The jewel! Yes, um...let's see, " Ariel looked up and tapped her chin, trying to recall anything to do with it, "I haven't heard anything from Juseich since we obtained the deed, but I do hear about political rumours every now and then. Apparently, Juseich's jewel has not only caught a lot more liars recently, but I've heard that she has also become much more prominent in court for her uncanny investigative abilities. Some people are saying that she's paid a ghost to spy for her, but I think she might be using the jewel to - well, such magic has never been so reliable for centuries at least - but I suspect she's adapted it for scrying. As for the lie detection, I think some illusion magic has helped her to tune it to some aspects of people's thoughts, but only for lying, as far as I know." Ariel took a deep breath and shrugged, "I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing at this stage, but she is a wise enough leader. I only hope that the stone's secrets don't fall into the wrong hands." Ariel's brow lowered, "Actually, there was one more detail. Allegedly, Juseich is also using all of her spare time constantly weaving magic with it, always muttering about trying to find the Psijic Order itself. Perhaps it would have been easier before their island disappeared."

Janius and Sabine sat with rather blank expressions. Neither of them really had the context of what Ariel was saying, and even some of the terminology was lost on Sabine. Janius leaned an arm on one knee and hazarded a question, "Pardon, who's Juseich, and what is this jewel you speak of?"

Fendros was amusing Rhazii by playing with his hands in an effort to distract himself from hateful brooding. He wasn't really paying attention.

Ariel turned to Janius, "Juseich was one of the officials that interviewed me when I obtained the deed to my shop. She showed us an artifact from the Psijic order that had been with her family for centuries. She was using it as a fake lie detector, but let us have a look at it afterwards. It turned out to be more than it seemed."

[EliteCommander]

As Ariel described it, the jewel seemed like quite an interesting relic, especially since it now seemed to have some power to it. She would have liked to examine it further, but iit was doubtful that Juseich would permit such a thing at this point. "The Psijics, theirs is an order I cannot say I know a great deal about. Although, I doubt there are any on Tamriel who know a great deal about their order. The power they are reputed to command is immense. Most likely, it is good that they do not take sides in Tamriel's politics or warfare." Meesei speculated.

Ahnasha too wanted to get away from the prior topic, though she attempted to do so by bringing up something else. "Speaking of that loan, how long do you believe it will take for you to pay it off in full? I'm not sure of what level of profitability you have in your store, but you said you have at least a few regulars, right?"

Lorag, as per usual, had been rather quiet compared to the others, but while he wasn't quite as emotional about this reunion with Ariel as the others, he did not want to go through the whole night without so much as speaking to her, so he decided to start getting involved in the conversation. "Yeah, wouldn't want you getting kicked out of the city after all the trouble it took to get you here."

As the conversation had shifted away from Sabine's earlier question, Kaleeth's gaze shifted back over the endless expanse of water only a few feet from where she was sitting. While her expression did not show the awe she experienced upon first seeing it, the ocean still filled her with a sense of wonder.

[Muttonhawk]

"On that front, I have good news and bad news." Ariel said, then turning particularly to Lorag and giving a small smile, "I have gone over my takings, and as long as I live fruitfully, what I have in business is sufficient to pay tax, support myself, and pay back the loan in regular instalments which will outweigh the interest." She tilted her head to one side and looked into the fire, but kept her smile, "The bad news is that doing so will take...what was it again?...I cannot remember exactly, but it will be roughly thirty years."

This caught everyone's attention, including Fendros'. It seemed like a form of imprisonment to be forced to live three decades without freedom over one's finances. Not to mention, there was no telling what could go wrong if Ariel's profits did not remain consistent.

Ariel noticed the reaction and tried to play it off by holding one hand forward. "Oh, no, that's just with how things are now. Each week, I'm trying new things and adding new products to my store. Some are more successful than others, but they often attract new faces which means more gold. I still have to see how the rest of the year treats me, but if I stay open for long enough and continue to build the business, I'll be able to cut weeks off the loan, then eventually months, and even years." Ariel faltered at no point. She seemed very convinced herself, "Like I said, I just have to live fruitfully."

In particular, Fendros took an interest in this aspect. As well as Ahnasha, he knew a thing or two about businesses in being groomed to be a winemaker before he turned. "If you say so, Ariel. It might still be prudent to keep a fund secured in case bad things happen. You did mention that there might be floods in the city, did you not?"

"Well, I do have some money stored away, but..." Ariel's smile lowered, "...I actually hadn't thought about flooding and the damage I might have to pay for. I think I will have to spend a Sundas looking over my books again."

"It's still good to hear that you are on course," Fendros said encouragingly.

Ariel nodded, though was a little confronted by the revelation that she had left something out in her master plan. She doubted she would forget about it, so she decided to look up and deal with it at a more appropriate time. For now, she noticed that Kaleeth was looking out to the sea and looked to it herself. The sun was almost completely below the horizon now, and the world was yellowed by its light. Most notably coloured were the white-walled buildings of the city itself. "Had you seen the ocean before coming to Thorn, Kaleeth-Rei?" Ariel asked curiously.

[EliteCommander]

Ariel's explanation of her finances reminded her of her parents' own financial woes early in her life. They had purchased their shop in a similar manner, though that was years before she was born. By the time she was old enough to retain memories, they were nearing the end of their payments, but she still remembered how stressful it could be for them. Slow months in their business could easily cause arguments between them and general high tensions in the home, though there were also cycles of increased business that made up for those months. Still, Ariel's plan of diversifying her products seemed to be a good one. With how much time she had left on her loan, anything to bring in new customers would be a step in the right direction. "Perhaps the next annual festival will improve your profits, especially if you can win any competitions with your potions." Ahnasha recommended.

"And if it is any consolidation, Black Marsh cities tend to be built where they are to avoid flooding. That isn't to say it cannot happen, but I do not believe it will be as severe as you fear." Meesei added before Ariel noticed Kaleeth.

She was distracted by the waves at first, but when Kaleeth heard her name, she quickly turned her head to Ariel. "Oh, no, I haven't. The Treeminder described it to me when I was a hatchling though. He said it was like an endless lake, and I agree. I also agree that it is very salty; I tried to taste it just to see before you got here. It was...awful. I think it is still wonderful, though. I know there is a lot of water in Black Marsh, but here...there is just so much more. I would bet that all the water in all the lakes and rivers in Tamriel would not be more than this ocean. I wonder, is it safe to swim in it?" She asked.

[Muttonhawk]

"Not safe to drink, no," Ariel said, chuckling through her nose, "But it's quite safe to swim in. It is actually good for your skin- er, well, good for human skin and maybe scales as well. You just have to be on the lookout for sharks, or jellyfish and the like. The sea is full of different creatures to the swamp." Ariel faced one palm to the sky, "Whether they are more or less dangerous than marsh creatures is down to opinion, I suppose, but it doesn't change the fact that you should keep an eye out."

"The only thing I remember about swimming in the ocean is having salt in my hair after I dried off." Janius mentioned, looking to Kaleeth and noticing the gills on her neck, "You don't have hair to worry about, but...hmm, Meesei?" Janius turned to the only other Argonian nearby, "Does salt water to anything to Argonian gills?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei shook her head in response to Janius' question. "No, nothing harmful or permanent, anyway. We can breathe salt water, though it does feel...strange. I do not think I could explain the sensation adequately, especially considering that you cannot actually breath water in the first place. Still, I have swam in the ocean before, so I can confirm that it is safe." Meesei explained. Honestly, she found it curious that Argonians could survive in both salt and fresh water, as that was not the case for most aquatic creatures. A gift of the Hist, she supposed, considering that they were the ones who made them with the features and abilities they had.

"Well, if it is safe, then does anyone want to swim with me? The only reason we have swam in the last few weeks was to cross rivers and such; we haven't really been able to relax." Kaleeth suggested

Ahnasha shrugged her shoulders. "Why not?" She responded, glancing over to Fendros. "Rhazii might like to sit in the water in the shallows, as long as one of us is there with him."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros looked up and considered going for a swim, then lokoed down at Rhazii. "What do you think, little one? Want to go down to the water?" Fendros asked quietly. Rhazii stuck a hand in his mouth and looked obliviously up at Fendros, before looking at Ahnasha, then turning around to look at someone else. Fendros looked up and managed a smile, "I wouldn't mind cooling off."

"Me neither," Janius concurred.

Everyone began to sit up now that dinner was done. The rice and vegetables had gone down a treat, it seemed, and some swimming in the clean ocean might be nice before it got too dark. As everyone began to walk down, Sabine brushed up by Ariel and looked up at her, "Do you go swimming in the ocean often, Ariel?"

Ariel shook her head, "Not as much as I would like. It's a nice relief from the heat, but I'm too busy most days." She glanced down at her dress, "In fact, I think I'll stay sitting on the edge of the water for now."

In response, Sabine pulled a smile and lowered her brow in joking frustration, "Come, sister. Join us in the water."

There was a quiet laugh from Ariel, partly from Sabine's insistence, but also in surprise that Sabine would talk in such a way. She was normally extremely nervous and quick about asking people to do even the simplest of things. "Very well, Sabine, I'll just have to find a clean spot for my dress."

The group was being headed by Janius as they approached the water, more out of coincidence than knowing where to go. It was barely thirty paces before Janius paused to navigate his way down the chest-high stone outcrop that delimited the soil from the beach. The water ahead advanced and retreated with surprising calmness, but given the smoothness of the stone Janius climbed down, the stormier nights probably made for ferocious tides. Before going any further, Janius began to remove his armour and equipment. Fendros was especially careful descending the outcrop, opting to squat down and lower Rhazii into Ahnasha's hands once she was on the sand.

[EliteCommander]

The group walked the short distance from the camp to the beach, climbing down the small outcropping of rocks onto the sand. The beach itself was rockier than many, but there was enough sandy areas that they could use it like any other beach. As well, the larger, smoother rocks allowed them places to leave their belongings where they would not be covered with sand when they went to retrieve them.

As Kaleeth removed her armor, it revealed the full and impressive extent of her tattoos, which Ariel had not yet seen, but for Ahnasha, doing the same revealed that prominent scar down the center of her body. In a passing glance, the scar looked like it might have been made by a deep and serious cut from a blade or other weapon, but upon closer inspection, one could make out the much more faded remnants of the two additional, horizontal cuts below her collarbone and above her waist. The positioning of each of the injuries was too precise for it to be believable that they occurred in combat; instead, they hinted at a much more deliberate placement of the blade.

While most of the others waded out into the deeper sections of the water, Ahnasha sat down in the shallow area by the beach and carefully set down Rhazii next to her. She picked a spot where the water came up to just above his hips when sitting, and made sure to keep her hand on him to keep him from falling over. He had been in water before, but only when they needed to carry him across one of the many rivers the pack had to cross on the way to Thorn. This was the first time Rhazii had a chance to actually play in the water, but of course, the first thing Ahnasha had to do was to keep him from eating a handful of sand once she placed him down.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius, Fendros, Ariel and Sabine took some time to strip down before approaching the water. Ariel did notice Kaleeth's tattoos, and it was very much a confirmation that she was a tribal Argonian. Ahnasha's scar down her front, however, quietened Ariel. That might have been gained at the xanmeer.

Fendros waded in first until he was about waist deep and dove under the surface. He emerged with a breath and his hair slicked back from the water. After he wiped the water from his face, he looked around to find Ahnasha and Rhazii and walked back over to them. Rhazii's head followed the strange dripping father-shaped character as he sat down by him. "I bet you're as overheated in that fur as your mother, little one." Fendros said with a grin, cupping his hands in the water and pouring some over Rhazii's back. Fendros noticed that Ahnasha had not wet her fur beyond where her legs were below the water either. "Are you going to have a quick dive?" Fendros asked, "Go and duck your head under, the water is very nice. I'll hold onto Rhazii for a moment."

While Janius entered the water in a similar fashion to Fendros, he stayed in an area he could swim around in. He let out a newly awakened breath, "Phew! Perhaps anything that doesn't swim in Black Marsh dies due to the heat! I know I would have given up by now if I couldn't swim."

Ariel let out a short chuckle and waded into the water in her undergarments with Sabine. She was used to the nudity of the pack, but her modesty was reinforced after living in a city for a while. Once she reached a point where she could lower herself to be neck deep underwater, she suddenly frowned and turned around to Ahnasha, Rhazii, and Fendros. She confirmed that they were out of earshot and looked at Sabine with some worry. "Sabine, that mark down Ahnasha's front, how did that get there?"

Previously, Sabine had worn a small smile caused by succeeding in imploring her sister to swim, but the mention of Ahnasha's scar caused it to lower. Sabine spoke quietly enough such that they were truly out of earshot, and with her back towards Ahnasha. "Fendros and Ahnasha were caught by the mercenaries that were fighting the cult." Sabine glanced back, then at Ariel again, "I don't know what exactly happened, but Ahnasha said that they..." for lack of words in that moment, Sabine ran a finger down her front then ran her fingers outwards from the middle of her chest as if she was pulling her middle open, "...cut her open. She doesn't like to talk about it. Neither does Fendros. When we rescued them, Fendros was chained up opposite to her. I think he had to watch." Sabine swallowed, "They keep having bad nightmares about it."

"Azura's light..." Ariel breathed in astonishment, her eyes wide. She glanced over to Ahnasha similarly to Sabine. "That's horrible, no wonder there are such bad memories of that place. I shall try not to bring it up any further."

"I'm worried about them, sister," Sabine said, tugging lightly on Ariel's arm, "I'm scared that they will be like I was."

Ariel put a hand on Sabine's shoulder, but still held a worried look, "Sabine, I would be surprised if you weren't worried about them, but there isn't much I can do in these situations. I've never been good at it. Ahnasha and Fendros' roads will be different to yours, I guarantee it. Just...be there for them, as family."

Sabine wasn't quite satisfied by the answer, but looked down and conceded for now.

[EliteCommander]

"A Khajiit's fur helps to keep us cool just the same as it helps with warmth, but still, you are right. I don't think Khajiit were ever meant for this place. Just make sure he doesn't eat the sand; I know he keeps trying." Ahnasha responded to Fendros before giving him a kiss on the cheek, then wading out into the water with the others. It was quite refreshing to dive under and allow the water to wash over her head. The pack could be much more relaxed now that they were in a comparatively safe area. They no longer had to be completely alert for danger at all times, which was quite helpful to reduce her overall stress. In the time since her ordeal, she had to admit that there was at least some improvement in her condition. As long as she was awake, she did not seem to flash back to her torture as she did for the first week or so after the event, at least not under normal circumstances. She did not know what would happen if she witnessed something particularly traumatic, but at least she could function without mental anguish. The night terrors were still an issue, but she felt that she could engage with others, and even feel genuinely happy at times. After all, her torture had been cut short by Fendros' cooperation. The noble had done vile things to her, but it could have been even worse by a large margin. Had he started ripping out organs or shattering bones like he did in her dreams, she could not imagine what her mind would be like now.

Once she surfaced, Ahnasha took in a deep breath of the salty ocean air. Even if she wasn't in perfect condition, she could maintain a sense of normality with her actions, and to Ahnasha, appearing strong was almost as important as actually being strong. She noticed that Sabine and Ariel were somewhat away from the other, so she swam over to them. She at least appeared happy, though at this point, even Ahnasha was not sure if she was acting. "You know, there are a few things about Black Marsh I will miss, and quite a lot that I won't, the heat among them. Hopefully, you can adapt more readily than I can." She commented to Ariel. "You have a home now, a business, friends, people you care about. I know my parents would probably say you have hit success, even if it isn't perfect. Do you have any other future plans for your shop, or your life here in general?"

[Muttonhawk]

When Ahnasha approached Sabine and Ariel, they both looked up to her and put the topic of her scar to the back of their minds. They both understood that Ahnasha's relaxed veneer hid painful memories, so Sabine couldn't quite bring herself to smile as cheerfully as Ariel did upon addressing her. Ariel laughed knowingly at the mention of the weather before replying, "I've not really put much more though into the future than I've already mentioned. To be perfectly honest, I've been content with what I have so far. I've always loved alchemy, and helping others along with it, and there's nothing else I would rather have for a profession." Ariel looked into the water in front of her, "Although, it might be nice to travel some more. See the white-gold tower, the forests of Valenwood, the mountain ranges of Skyrim." She interrupted herself with low hum, "I think tourism might be a bit beyond my means right now, though." A short fantasy popped into Ariel's mind where she could be strong and wealthy enough to travel Tamriel with impunity, but even she knew that was unlikely to happen at all.

Ariel raised her brow and looked at Ahnasha again, "How about you? I know that life in the pack is probably ideal for you, but now that you have a child, do you have any plans to settle some time in the future to raise Rhazii? I mean, I'm not sure whether or not you even intend to, it might be that raising him amongst the pack while travelling will work, or whether a stable environment would help." Ariel became a little apologetic with her tone, "Ah, either way is fine, I'm sure. I don't know how to raise a child." Ariel let out an uneasy laugh.

Nearby, Janius was floating along the surface of the water when he suddenly leaned himself backwards and dove under the surface. It was hard to see anything in the fading light under the water, but he searched around for anything interesting. There wasn't much here on the beach so close to the shore except for sea shells. Most were shattered pieces, but Janius' luck had him spot an iridescent pattern just under the sand. Carefully, he pulled free a round sea shell, about the size of his palm. The convex side was covered in scale and dead barnacles, while the concave side was perfectly smooth and reflected spots of colour off its grey surface. Whatever inhabited the shell was long since gone, but the shell was a beautiful specimen. He surfaced and held the shell against the light, marveling in its patterns some more. "Hey, Kaleeth, come and look at this," he said, "This was the home for a sea creature at some point. I've not seen one like this before."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha looked back to the shore at Fendros and Rhazii. Their cub was blissfully exploring every aspect of this new situation, and of course fighting his father to attempt to stick every shell or rock he could find in his mouth. They were learning to care for him as they went along, and it was hard to imagine how things would change as he grew older. Given their inexperience, it was hard to think more than a few days in advanced, yet alone years. Still, Fendros had mentioned the very same possibility weeks ago, so it was a thought that crossed her mind.

"I think that makes both of us." Ahnasha commented with a chuckle. "It hasn't even been that long, and I can already say raising a child is very difficult. It is amazing any of us survived our childhood. I honestly cannot say I know what we are going to do, but...I don't think I am the type to settle down. Rhazii might be a cub now, but he is still a werewolf. The life we have now in the pack is one that comes naturally to us, and I don't think I can ever bring myself to leave it. I suppose our lifestyle is the one we will teach him. It will be years before he can take on his lycan form, but he will probably already have control of his beast spirit by then with all of the time and instruction he will have to master it. At least in that respect, he has an advantage over many other lycans."

Ahnasha leaned to float out on her back, letting out a relaxed sigh as she started to look at the stars which were slowly becoming visible. "As for travel, that is something I can say I rather like. I haven't been to either of those places, but I do remember my father describing Valenwood. Although, I wouldn't say even he was an expert on his home province. He wasn't a...traditional Bosmer. He would eat a cabbage just as quickly as he would a chicken. Still, the place as he described it sounded amazing. It has thick forests with some of the most visually impressive trees you will ever see. It is like Black Marsh, but with taller trees and and much less water."

Kaleeth surfaced next to Janius, coughing with a disgusted expression. "Ah, I am not used to having to keep my mouth closed in the water. It tastes terrible." She commented, though her attention quickly shifted to the shell Janius was carrying. There were clams and other similar creatures in the swamps, so she had seen their shells before, but this one did look different, and was particularly colorful. She swam closely next to him and put her arm around his waist to pull them together as she examined it. "I have seen shells before, but not one shaped like this.It doesn't look like a clam. Ariel said the names of plenty of creatures I don't recognize, like...sharks and...another fish I don't remember. Is this one of those?"

[Muttonhawk]

"Your father was a Bosmer?" Ariel asked rhetorically with a face of mild surprise, "Hmm, I never would have picked it. Then again, how could I, right?" The corners of Ariel's mouth twitched and she looked away realising that she was probably being rather insensitive. Ariel stumbled to continue talking, but quickly got back on track, "I-I've heard similar things of Valenwood. You could say it is what sparked my interest."

Up to this point, Sabine had been passively listening, but with the pause came some words of her own. "Maybe in some years, you could travel with us again."

Ariel gained a wide smile at the prospect, but knew it wouldn't be foreseeable. "Perhaps, Sabine. However, it would be a long time before that could happen, even if everyone agreed to it. It's too far into the future to say with certainty."

Sabine looked down again. It was a nice thought, however short lived.

After another moment, Ariel took a breath and faced Ahnasha again. "Do you get to see your father at any point? Or any other family? How do you think they would react to learn you had a child?"

Janius stole a glance at Kaleeth and had a quick laugh through his nose, trying to imagine a shark living in a shell. "No, I think this still counts as a clam shell. It's just...a different kind of clam." Janius' face spoke of deeper thought, "It actually looks similar in shape to an oyster." He pointed to the centre of the shells insides and looked at Kaleeth to explain, "Sometimes, if you find a clam that lives in these, it will have a pearl inside of it. Or at least the ones at Leyawiin did when an old friend of mine showed me a long time ago, I don't know if this one would. Do the clams in the swamp make pearls?"

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha shook her head. She still felt that the way she went about leaving her home was the best overall, but it was still somewhat uncomfortable to explain to others. "No, my parents do not know that I became a lycan. Actually, they do not know I am still alive. Knowing how my parents are, I do not believe they would accept what I have become, so I found that it would likely be less painful for them if I faked my death upon leaving. At least then they would have some closure on me. For that reason, I cannot return to Leyawiin. I know any ship we take is inevitably going to have to sail by the city, but as long as I do not have to go inside the walls, I will be fine."

As she moved on to her next answer, Ahnasha tried to make her tone seem a bit more upbeat. "If they did know I was alive, though, I believe they would be excited to hear about their grandson. Although, my brother may already have a child by this point. He did not yet have a mate, but he had feelings for at least one woman in the city, and I know there were a few interested in him. Obviously, neither of them would have a problem with my mate being a Dunmer, but I think they might take some objection to the fact that we have not had any official wedding ceremony. Both of them are devout followers of the Eight, and they follow Imperial cultural norms fairly closely. I know many in the pack find such ceremonies unnecessary, though I do not have a problem with them, really. I think they can be a...romantic endeavor, but mandatory as my parents would say.. What about you? I know you said you did not know your parents, but would the ones who raised you have an issue with your Argonian mate?"

"I...am not sure." Kaleeth answered, running her fingers across the surface of the shell. "The clams we found sometimes had this smooth, shiny stone in the middle. Is that a pearl? I don't know the Cyrodilic word for that stone."

After examining it for a few more moments, Kaleeth handed back the shell and looked out over the expanse of the ocean, wondering if it held anything even more spectacular. With how unknowably massive it was, that had to be the case. "I wish you could breathe water like me. I would love to search around for more interesting things under the surface with you, but you can only stay under for such a short time. Is there any kind of magic that can help you stay underwater for longer?"

[Muttonhawk]

While Ariel thought it a little sad that Ahnasha had to separate herself from her family entirely, she nodded in understanding. Not all circumstances were alike with Ariel and Sabine. In fact, Ahnasha's case was probably rather common.

Ariel's reaction to Ahnasha asking a similar question of her was to hold her mouth open in confusion and look around until her mind processed it. "Er...me and Rukeewei? Um, well, I suppose we have been together for long enough to count as 'mates', as you say. Hmm, what would the coven think though?" Ahnasha scratched her head, "There were a couple of witches in the coven with...old-fashioned views on Argonians, but I think the main problem would be with me taking a partner in the first place. There were traditions to uphold. You couldn't really marry and live in the coven." Ariel shrugged, then looked at Ahnasha with a smirk, "Has Fendros asked you to marry him? He was raised in Cyrodiil as well, was he not?"

Janius half-smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a pearl," He responded. As for the question on staying underwater, he took a slow breath and looked at Kaleeth directly, "As a matter of fact, there is. Mages have used waterbreathing spells for hundreds of years now. There are even alchemical concoctions that do more or less the same thing for a time, that's how I was introduced to the effect. Not only that, the effect can be imbued into jewellery permanently, but those tend to be rather expensive." Janius' enthusiasm waned a little as he continued, "It's not really my field, however. Alteration magic is the school where the spell falls under. It would be a nice spell to have, I'll admit." Janius tilted his head to one side for a moment and looked at the shell again, "Who knows? Maybe Sabine has ingredients for a waterbreathing potion lying around. Better yet, Ariel might have one ready made. It would depend on how much they would cost, I suppose."