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

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha gave a bit of a chuckle at the thought of a wedding. Over the past few years before Fendros arrived, and even the months since, it had not been something that crossed her mind. She stopped floating on her back and swam more normally along with Sabine and Ariel. "No, he hasn't. Our lifestyle isn't really the same as what it was when we lived among Imperials. I suppose, with lycans, we do not have one set 'culture' with traditions we have to follow, but we still do not tend to put much importance on ceremony. Many lycans who find a mate will simply decide that they wish to be mates for life, which, to us, is just the same as an 'official' marriage. Whether Fendros actually wants to have a ceremony or not, I don't know." She answered.

Kaleeth's expression turned a bit sour when Janius mentioned the high cost of waterbreathing enchantments and potions. She had been hoping to find a way to explore the floor of the ocean outside the city with him, but it seemed like it was something that was out of reach. "If it costs so much, I don't think we'll be able to get an enchantment or potion or anything. Meesei said we need to save all our gold. I hoped we could explore the ocean together. But...maybe we still can? At least a little. How long can you hold your breath? I can probably carry you farther underwater than you can normally go."

[Muttonhawk]

"Well, it might be nice," Ariel looked sideways to the shore where Fendros was, "I suppose whatever works for the both of you is fine."

"Are you going to marry Rukeewei, Ariel?" Sabine asked innocently.

Ariel closed her eyes and laughed through a sigh. Sabine's new boldness made her questions so unexpected that it was difficult to get used to. "I don't know, Sabine," She opened her eyes and smiled, "Maybe. It depends if he asks. I think I would like to make it up to him for insulting his inn first."

Sabine's attention went from Ariel to Ahnasha, "I've never been to a marriage before. What would happen if you had a marriage ceremony, Ahnasha? What would it be like?" Sabine seemed hungry for knowledge here. She had only seen married couples and understood the idea of marriage, but she didn't know exactly how it was represented.

Janius thought for a moment while biting down lightly on both lips curled in. He couldn't hold his breath for particularly long. Even with Kaleeth's help, he didn't like his chances of diving so deep under the water without incident. Perhaps he should ask for help here. Though it was farfetched, he knew where his best chances lay. "I may not have the expertise to magically breath underwater, but maybe, just maybe..." Janius craned his head up and looked around for Meesei. Once he spotted her, Janius raised an arm. "Hey! Meesei! You wouldn't, by any chance, know a waterbreathing spell, would you?" Asking an Argonian this question made Janius feel as silly as he predicted it would, but Meesei was passionate about magic. Perhaps she had learned the spell for fun at some point.

[EliteCommander]

"Um, well, the ceremony for a marriage is called a wedding, but...I have never been to one either. Living in the city, though, I have heard of what they are like." Ahnasha began. "I think they work differently in different places. Even if it is a marriage performed by a priest of Mara, it can be different depending on the location. At least in Leyawiin, weddings could be grand affairs with extravagant clothing and a kind of party afterward called a reception, or just a simple ceremony with a few friends and family members. In a lot of places, I think that mostly depends on wealth. I...doubt we will end up going through with such formalities, but if Fendros did want to then, well, I don't actually know how it would go. Fendros was raised more closely with his Dunmer heritage than the Imperial culture of Cheydinhal. I have no idea what Dunmer ceremonies are like." She explained. Ahnasha had more time to get used to Sabine's heightened curiosity in the time since her ritual than Ariel, but given how many years they spent with Sabine being terribly reclusive, it still felt like she was talking to a different person at times. Her inquisitive nature did make sense, though. While she was hardly a child anymore, she had years of curiosity to make up for.

Meesei was relaxing on her back in the water when Janius called out to her. Upon hearing his question, she gave him a perplexed look, then swam over to him. "Waterbreathing? I, well, yes...slightly. I am talented with alteration, yes, but...I have never had need of that particular spell. I know the concepts surrounding the spell, and have attempted to cast it out of curiosity before, but it requires that I put myself into a state of mind that isn't natural for an Argonian. We can learn to do so just fine, of course, but I have never had reason to practice it. I should be able to cast a spell that will last about ten minutes...or two minutes. It could wear off at any point in between, really. Do you still want me to attempt it?"

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine ate up every word, but unfortunately most of Ahnasha's answer simply multiplied the amount of questions in her head. Did Fendros want a wedding with Ahnasha? What were Dunmer weddings like? Would it happen at all? Sabine felt as though some of the questions might be better directed towards Fendros than Ariel or Ahnasha. Even though Ariel had been amongst Dunmer culture as well, her thoughtful expression and silence suggested that she didn't have the answers either.

The next thread of thought Sabine went along brought her questions inwards. "I wonder if I would get married some day?" She thought out loud quietly.

"Oh Sabine," Ariel put a hand on her sister's shoulder endearingly, "you are young enough that you don't have to worry about such things. You might meet someone and decide to have a wedding ceremony, or just to live and love with them like Ahnasha and Fendros do each other."

Sabine's eyes looked down into the water, "What is love like?" She asked.

Ariel hung her own head suddenly and sighed with a wide smile, nearly blowing bubbles in the water under her face. Each question Sabine gave just seemed to get more and more deep. "That is not a simple question to answer, sister. Let's see..." Ariel slowly looked away and tried to think of something. "Well, I know at least each time I've fallen in love it's been slightly different. That might just be experience, or something else. Hmm..." after a few more seconds, Ariel found herself at a loss, "I would have to think about that to put in into words properly, but I can at least say it is a state of mind that influences you. I think you'll know it when it happens, Sabine." Ariel moved her eyes to Ahnasha, "Have you got an interpretation, Ahnasha? I'm never good with explaining things like this."

The answer Meesei gave was about what Janius expected, but that it was possible was heartening. Janius looked at Kaleeth, then at Meesei again. He didn't take long to decide what to do. "Sure," he responded confidently, "let's test it. Kaleeth, what should I do if the spell runs out and I need to get to the surface? Talking underwater doesn't really work."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha scratched her head, trying to come up with something in the way of a satisfactory response, but she hardly had the answer to one of life's fundamental questions. "What is love? Um, well, I don't think anyone can answer that, really. Scholars have been writing about it for thousands of years and have came no closer to an answer. Honestly, I don't think an answer exists; it's just too personal of a question. I think there is one thing that most people agree on, though, and that is it is easy to recognize once you find it. You can't really go out searching for love, at least not directly. It just...happens. It could be quick, or slower as with me and Fendros. Like Ariel said, though, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's not something you'll miss when it happens." She said, hoping it would be a good enough explanation.

"You can...squeeze my hand really tight. Or anything else you can grab. I'll make sure to stay very close to you." Kaleeth said reassuringly before looking to Meesei with an expecting gaze.

"Very well, I will give it a try." Meesei commented, placing her hand on Janius' shoulder and giving an unusual amount of concentration. She closed her eyes and slowly started to charge alteration magic into him. After a few moments, he started to give off a violet glow, which dissipated once she removed her hand. "Okay, the spell should be active. Just breath as you normally would and your lungs will handle the water just like air. And...be careful." She warned.

[Muttonhawk]

"Okay," Sabine responded. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to fall in love or not, but it seemed to at least make people happy. With how much she still had left to really discover about the world, Sabine concluded that such an experience could wait for now.

The seemingly final silence that Sabine ended with gave a window for Ariel to stifle another laugh.

Sabine looked up, a little confused. "What's funny?"

"It's just, well I've pointed this out earlier, I think, but Sabine," Ariel shook her head incredulously, "I am just amazed at your confidence in all of this. You never would have asked such questions, or much of any questions, the last time I saw you." Ariel waded towards Sabine and gave her a hug, "I'm just so proud of you."

Sometimes Sabine completely forgot about how she might have acted in the past. It really wasn't until times like these that she realised how much she had changed. She returned the hug for as long as it lasted.

Once they pulled away, there was a short silence in absence of another topic of conversation. After a short while, Ariel looked across to the slowly dimming horizon. "I think I'll stay and enjoy the water for a little longer, then I think we should head back. The dark isn't much of an issue, but it still wouldn't do to be walking the streets during the night."

Janius felt the familiar sensation of alteration magic coursing through his body as soon as Meesei channelled her magic. Janius had taken waterbreathing potions before, so he knew how it would work, but he was still cautious as he lowered his head under the water. He tried breathing in through his nose slowly, and rather than immediately beginning to cough and splutter, the water simply felt like air in his lungs. He exhaled and brought his head back up with a satisfied smile. "It's working. Thank you, Meesei, we'll be careful." Janius looked to Kaleeth at his side, "Shall we?"

Making sure to keep Kaleeth's hand in his, Janius dipped under the water and kicked off further away from the beach. If there was anything interesting, like a reef, they shouldn't have to wander too far out. Given the estimated duration of Meesei's spell, they might not even have the time to wander too far anyway.

[EliteCommander]

It was touching to see the bond between Sabine and her sister. It was hard to imagine how the first time Sabine ever mentioned Ariel, it was to warn them to stay away. Had Janius not stumbled into her shop, and had she not taken the risk of seeking them out, they never would have reunited, and Meesei would likely not have had the idea to bring Sabine to Black Marsh for her ritual. While the current situation was not perfect, it was probably one of the better outcomes that could have resulted from their visit to Vos.

Ahnasha smiled and swam closer to them once they pulled away from one another. "I think you will be perfectly safe with Sabine at your side. Honestly, I've always wanted to see her throw a grown man to the ground." She commented with a chuckle before reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Still, it's probably best to be safe. But...well I know we still have a few days, but I just want to say that I am glad things turned out as they have. It was a pleasure to have you along during those few months between Vos and Thorn. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without your salves and all the other potions you made. Now, I don't normally find that I like city dwellers...but I'm glad to call you a friend."

Once Janius dove under the surface, Kaleeth was quick to take the lead and dart out deeper into the water with him in tow. Not far from the shore, Kaleeth saw fields of kelp growing up from the floor of the ocean beneath them, though she did not know what it was. To her, they seemed like a small forest of long leaves. Being careful not to lose her grip on Janius' hand, she cautiously swam up to one and touched it gently to feel its texture.Once she was satisfied they would not harm her, she suddenly swam into the thickest part of the kelp, dragging Janius along with her.

Meesei did not follow close to Janius and Kaleeth, but she was sure to dive under far enough to keep them within her sight. She trusted Kaleeth's swimming ability to bring him to the surface if something went wrong, but she felt safer if she was close enough to help.

[EliteCommander]

It was touching to see the bond between Sabine and her sister. It was hard to imagine how the first time Sabine ever mentioned Ariel, it was to warn them to stay away. Had Janius not stumbled into her shop, and had she not taken the risk of seeking them out, they never would have reunited, and Meesei would likely not have had the idea to bring Sabine to Black Marsh for her ritual. While the current situation was not perfect, it was probably one of the better outcomes that could have resulted from their visit to Vos.

Ahnasha smiled and swam closer to them once they pulled away from one another. "I think you will be perfectly safe with Sabine at your side. Honestly, I've always wanted to see her throw a grown man to the ground." She commented with a chuckle before reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Still, it's probably best to be safe. But...well I know we still have a few days, but I just want to say that I am glad things turned out as they have. It was a pleasure to have you along during those few months between Vos and Thorn. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without your salves and all the other potions you made. Now, I don't normally find that I like city dwellers...but I'm glad to call you a friend."

Once Janius dove under the surface, Kaleeth was quick to take the lead and dart out deeper into the water with him in tow. Not far from the shore, Kaleeth saw fields of kelp growing up from the floor of the ocean beneath them, though she did not know what it was. To her, they seemed like a small forest of long leaves. Being careful not to lose her grip on Janius' hand, she cautiously swam up to one and touched it gently to feel its texture.Once she was satisfied they would not harm her, she suddenly swam into the thickest part of the kelp, dragging Janius along with her.

Meesei did not follow close to Janius and Kaleeth, but she was sure to dive under far enough to keep them within her sight. She trusted Kaleeth's swimming ability to bring him to the surface if something went wrong, but she felt safer if she was close enough to help.

[Muttonhawk]

"Oh, Ahnasha, I'm sure you would have managed," Ariel put her hand on Ahnasha's while it was on her shoulder, "But thank you all the same. I couldn't agree with you more about how things have turned out." Ariel grinned and lowered her hand. Looking out around the water, Ariel's expression became neutral. She only spotted Lorag nearby. "The others must have gone further out to swim. Sabine, how about we dry ourselves off. They'll probably reappear before we go."

Sabine considered swimming for a while longer, but there wasn't much light left. She nodded and accompanied her towards the shore. They both passed by Fendros, who was sitting cross-legged and holding onto Rhazii. Rhazii seemed to be entertaining himself for the most part by running his little hands through the wet sand from where he sat, occasionally trying to bring some to his mouth. He only succeeded in tasting some of the sand, but no large clumps entered his mouth as long as Fendros was around to stop him.

His head perked up when he heard the sisters stepping through the water past him. Upon seeing Sabine, he let out an excited shriek and began to make splashes in the water. Fendros was concerned at first, but realised quickly by Rhazii's nearly toothless smile that he was not upset. He didn't normally make noise like that unless he was crying. Fendros smiled that he was having such fun.

Under the water, Janius' eyesight was not nearly as clear as Kaleeth's, but he could recognise the kelp when he saw it. Most of the time, kelp was fairly uninteresting when compared to the colourful fish and coral that Janius had seen brought up from the sea before, but Kaleeth wanted to experience it to the fullest. Janius was startled when she suddenly surged into the kelp with no heed. The texture was interesting to say the least when run across his entire body, but Janius was more concerned by the fact that he could no longer see clearly where he was going. Once the initial fear had passed, Janius found which way was up again and trusted Kaleeth's guidance. He just hoped Kaleeth wouldn't panic if one of the kelp fronds accidentally wrapped itself around her arm or leg. Not that it would be a big problem to get unstuck.

More frightening was the sudden plume of sand ahead of them, heralding a panicked flat ray flapping away from the two big new creatures in the sea. It didn't look like it was dangerous as it swam away though, just alien, like most things in the ocean. Still, it was the first time Janius had seen such a fish before, so his heart was pounding for a short while.

[EliteCommander]

Once Ariel and Sabine headed to shore, Ahnasha decided to swim back as well to rejoin Fendros. He had been watching Rhazii for a while, so she supposed it was his turn to swim again. She sat down in the shallow water beside him, with Rhazii between them. "So, you two enjoying yourselves? Thanks for watching him; you can go and swim for a while if you like, unless you would rather just stay here." She said, putting her arm around him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

It was not long after the others climbed out of the water that Lorag returned to shore as well. As he walked past Ahnasha, Fendros, and Rhazii, he stopped just on the edge of the shore and glanced down at them. "Figures that everyone would leave me all alone without even a word."

"Well, if you would actually say a word every now and then, people might remember to talk to you." Ahnasha commented.

Lorag crossed his arms. "Hmph, I'm plenty talkative."

"Yeah, as talkative as a mute." She chuckled, though her expression became a bit more inquisitive as a thought popped into her mind. "Although...in all seriousness, I have noticed you have been especially quiet for, well, at least a month or two by now, since I'm thinking about it. What's going on?"

For a brief moment, Lorag actually seemed to show a bit of concern in his expression, but he quickly pushed it aside and answered dismissively. "Whatever." He said before looking at Rhazii and speaking up, as if to dispell Ahnasha's observation. "So, what's your little puppykitten up to?"

Kaleeth just barely caught a glimpse of the ray before it was out of sight, so to her, the large fish was just a mysterious plume of sand. It captured her curiosity, but also gave her a healthy amount of worry. Ariel said there were dangers in the ocean, so she decided it would probably be best to defer to Janius to take the lead. While the field of kelp felt strangely smooth against her scales, she quickly found that it wasn't to interesting in itself, though she supposed it might hide some other kinds of creatures. Still, she had no idea what to look for. It was one of the rare instances where Janius actually had more experience with a body of water than herself.

Since Humans could not hear properly underwater, she tried to find some other way to communicate to him to take the lead. She had not planned out ways to communicate, however, so she just ended up staring at him expectantly, as if doing so would somehow tell him her thoughts.

[Muttonhawk]

"I think I'll stay, but you can take over the sand eating watch for me if you like." Fendros replied to Ahnasha with a smile. When Lorag came about, Fendros looked upon him with a bit more concern than Ahnasha, for he suspected what the problem might be. Still, he answered Lorag's question. "He's been quite happy discovering what sand and water are like," Fendros looked down at Rhazii, who was looking between him and Lorag, "I think once he learned how to make splashes, he has had no end to his fun. Isn't that right, little one?"

Rhazii was fairly oblivious, and went back to grabbing at the sand. Fendros decided to try and bring up the topic that Lorag had dismissed, though a little more directly. "Lorag, how are you doing with the, um..." Fendros glanced away and made a repetitive gesture with his hands, as if trying to find the right word, "...those concerns you told me about a while ago. You being quiet hasn't been about that, has it?" Fendros wasn't sure how else to put it without straight up revealing the insecurity Lorag had about aging, but there shouldn't have been secrets in the pack in the first place. Lorag would have to let everyone know eventually, especially if it was going to be affecting him while hunting and fighting.

It took a moment for Janius to realise that Kaleeth was staring at him strangely. Once he realised, he looked back at her, then glanced away, then came back to her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but swiftly remembered that even though he was breathing water, he still couldn't talk. What did she want? After a few awkward moments, Janius searched around and didn't spot anything that he might have needed to do, but he did spot an outcropping in the same which seemed to also be a break in the kelp. Janius pointed in the direction of the outcropping, then turned and began to swim towards it.

Once there, it appeared to only be an uninteresting formation of brown rocks, but more closer inspection saw movement. One of the rocks was wriggling and had eyes. It was actually bulbous looking fish that was rock coloured, but otherwise textured like most other fish. Its big, beady eyes didn't seem to be looking in any particular direction, but Janius suspected that it was keeping an eye on him and Kaleeth. This was something Janius recognised as a blowfish. They came in on fisherman's nets all the time and were too poisonous to eat. Janius wondered if it would puff up if they got too close or whether it would swim away.

[EliteCommander]

Lorag watched Rhazii splash around in the water with some interest before Fendros asked his question. At that point, he turned his head and looked straight forward, at least slightly upset by the question. "Don't worry about it. I figured that out." He said firmly before walking away without allowing for so much as a word in response.

To Ahnasha, Lorag's lack of a response said almost as much as if he would have outright admitted to whatever it was. Something was bothering him; that much was clear. She doubted she could get that kind of information from him, but it appeared that Fendros already had. Once Lorag was far enough away, she glanced over to Fendros and gave a slight nod. "Okay, so you have to tell me what that is about." She said quietly.

Kaleeth eagerly followed Janius out of the kelp, though it took her a moment to notice anything out of the ordinary with the rocks in front of them. She only noticed that one was actually alive when she saw Janius staring at it. While it was quite impressive how it blended in, she did not see anything too spectacular about it at first. After all, there were plenty of fish in the marsh that made use of camouflage which was just as effective. It wasn't too large and did not seem threatening, so Kaleeth started to slowly inch her way towards it so she could see it more clearly. For the first few seconds, it remained perfectly still, but once she reached a certain distance, it puffed up on an instant. Kaleeth let out a muffled scream and jolted back to the edge of the clearing, which pulled Janius along with her. She was not sure what to think at first, and instead just looked around wide-eyed and confused.

[Muttonhawk]

There really wasn't much Fendros could say to stop Lorag and question him further, so he just watched as he walked away. Ahnasha's question brought Fendros' eyes to her with a look of worry, but he pursed his lips until Lorag was out of earshot. "He's...he feels like he is getting old. He feels like he's just passed the peak of his strength." Fendros looked down at Rhazii again, "Back in Stormhold, he told me something along the lines of Orcs going out to find the best fight they can as soon as they reach his age. He said I wouldn't understand it, and frankly, I still don't. 'What's the point of living if you're just going to watch yourself die,' or something like that." Fendros looked at Ahnasha again, "He said he wouldn't go out to try and find death, or anything. He even said that he would be staying with the pack. With that, I thought it was going to be okay, but...with what he said just now..." Fendros tried hard to think of anything that Lorag might have in mind to fight, at least in the near future. "Ahna, I'm not sure what to do." Fendros' tone held a very real worry. If Lorag is sure that he's worked out what he was going to fight, that means that it could very well kill him.

Even Janius flinched at the speed at which the blowfish inflated to look more like a ball. Kaleeth's reaction was priceless. Janius tried to laugh, but couldn't under the water. He had to be satisfied with grinning like an idiot and looking like he was laughing. The blowfish itself was far easier to spot now, floating with its little side fins waving around frantically. It just added to the silliness of the situation. Perhaps Kaleeth would have acted differently if she knew that the fish was completely harmless unless you ate it.

Once they had recovered, Janius lead Kaleeth a short distance upwards so they could see better, then followed a direction along the outcropping until they found something interesting. Once again, it was initially hard to spot. Janius almost swam right past it until he saw it. He stopped in the water and pointed for Kaleeth to see. On one of the sand at the bottom of the rocks were two small starfish. Janius had seen dried starfish brought up by sailors on land, but not under the water before. Their nature as living creatures, slowly crawling along the surface of the sand, was probably the furthest removed from any creature Janius knew of.

The starfish held Janius' attention for a short while, until he noticed more movement through the kelp. The movement soon turned into a school of tiny striped fish, that swam around in some seemingly agreed upon direction. The school gave Janius and Kaleeth a wide berth, but something about the fish were somewhat entrancing.

[EliteCommander]

"That...is pretty worrying, actually. Have you told Meesei about this?" Ahnasha asked. Given that Leyawiin's Orc population was rather small, she did not know a great deal about their ways, but what Fendros described seemed perfectly in line with the rest of what she knew about them. Much like Nords, they had a warrior's culture, so desiring an "honorable" death seemed to make sense. She would have thought that being raised in Cheydinhal would have mitigated some of the more...extreme cultural traits, but that did not appear to be the case.

"I can't really think of what he would want to fight, nothing we are guaranteed to find, anyway. We're going to be on a ship for almost a month, then...we really don't know what is going to happen. Do you think it would help for you to ask him, or do you think he will just shoo you away again?" She wondered.

After taking a few moments to collect herself, Kaleeth could see that the strange fish was not actually a threat, and with its bulbous shape, it would actually slightly amusing. Still, it had startled her enough that she was eager to get away from it. The fish had been one of the oddest creatures she had ever seen, until Janius stopped at the next point of interest. At first, she thought the strange, star-shaped beings were some kind of plant or growth, but after a few moments, she noticed some slow movement. It was like no fish or animal she had ever seen, so it made her start to wonder if there were actually plants that could move. Given what happened with the other fish, she made sure to stay precisely as far away from it as Janius. Just like with him, though, her attention was diverted when the school of fish emerged from the kelp a short distance away. It was a tantalizing and majestic sight. They were small like trodh, but with how many there were, they seemed gigantic. Once again, she looked out at them wide-eyed, but this time with wonder instead of confusion.

[Muttonhawk]

Since his parents started talking in a more serious tone, Rhazii's playing started to slow. He got to the point where he looked over to Ahnasha and began to reach for her while starting to whine and tense his face. He was probably tired or hungry. Maybe both. It was getting late for him.

Fendros lifted Rhazii up into his arms and passed him to Ahnasha while he answered her. "I can't say. I had to be very insistent the last time I got something out of him. He really doesn't like talking about these things." Fendros faced Ahnasha, but didn't look at her directly, "I'm not sure whether I should try and talk to him again, or just go straight to Meesei and let her talk to him. I think he would be more forthcoming with her, but I don't want to disrespect him by letting everyone know what's bothering him. He hates admitting to anything that could be seen as a weakness."

While the fish were in the vicinity, Janius wondered if he could try to pull something off that the last person he dove with showed him. He had only experienced it once, years ago when he was a teenager and visiting relatives in anvil. He shifted to place himself in front of Kaleeth and held one finger up in front of her, nodding to try and get her to stay perfectly still. Then he took her other hand and stayed as still as he could as well. Whenever Kaleeth shifted, Janius lifted a finger and tried to stay her movement. It took maybe half a minute, but the school of fish eventually turned in their direction and engulfed their lower bodies, the flow of the fish parting to avoid them.

Janius' mouth slowly curled into a smile at the sight, this couldn't have worked out better. At least it would have been until his next breath caused him to suddenly cough a cloud of bubbles. The fish instantly scattered away as the water had almost entered his lungs. He knew exactly what this meant. He wasted no time in squeezing Kaleeth's right hand as hard as he could and kicked roughly away from the sea floor. They weren't especially deep, but deep enough for their ears to hurt as they ascended in the water.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha took Rhazii and allowed him to nurse as she listened to Fendros. Just like him, she was indecisive on what to do. Lorag was always a hard person to understand. Even though his actions always seemed so straightforward, there was more to him than he liked to let on. It also did not help that he was the oldest member of the pack, so no one else had gone through what he was experiencing.

"I feel like...this isn't something I know how to approach. I mean, aging is something I am worried about, but...I'm not in the same position as Lorag. I think...you should at least try to talk to him once, since he already told you before. That seems like the option that would upset him the least. If it doesn't work, I think telling Meesei would be the next best option. He will always listen to the Alpha." Ahnasha suggested.

It took a few moments for Kaleeth to understand what Janius wanted her to do, but eventually, she realized that she was meant to stay still. There was a decent wait where she did not understand why he wanted her to be still, but once the fish started to swim around them, it all made sense. She could not help but to smile at the sight around her. The school was made up of more living fish than she had ever seen in one spot, moving like a cloud swirling around them. So entranced by the sight was she that she almost didn't notice Janius' breathing issues until she felt her hand being squeezed.

Janius had started to pull Kaleeth up with him, but once she began to swim as well, she ended up pulling him much more quickly. They had not been so deep that they needed to worry about a significant pressure difference, so she brought him up as fast as possible. Once they broke the surface, she allowed him a few moments to catch his breath, but as soon as his breaths calmed enough, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and gave him an enthusiastic kiss, her passion inspired by the majesty of the sights he showed her.

Meesei had saw that Janius had suddenly needed to surface, but fortunately, Kaleeth seemed to have the matter well in hand, as she brought him to the surface more than quickly enough for him to be safe. As such, she swam back to shore once the pair had made it to the surface. She gave a smile to Fendros and Ahnasha as she walked by them, but she decided to approach Ariel and Sabine, as it appeared they were drying off, and would likely be leaving soon.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros spent a few seconds contemplating, then decided that Ahnasha was right. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss before standing up out of the water. "Right, I'll go and find him."

Making his way out of the water and towards the camp, Fendros picked up his belongings on the shore and kept his eyes open in looking for Lorag. He couldn't have gone far unless he was to find his quarry tonight. as soon as he would find him, he would approach him.

As soon as Janius broke the surface of the water, he drew in a constricted breath halfway, before closing his eyes and coughing the last of the water from his lungs. It took a few more coughs and breaths to almost recover, but Kaleeth didn't quite give him the chance. Once Janius had got over the initial surprise, he slowly brought his own arms up and returned the kiss in full. In that moment, the worries that were slowly wandering to the back of his head during their dive were all but unnoticeable. He had almost forgotten how good it felt just to be in Kaleeth's arms without needing to worry about her beast spirit, or travel, or some cult. Once they finally separated, he looked into her eyes with a renewed happiness. "We should do this more often." He cleared his throat of the last of the water and exhaled sharply in amusement, "Perhaps with more reliable waterbreathing."

[EliteCommander]

Lorag was sitting near the edge of camp alone. He had stoked the fire in preparation for everyone else's return, but he wasn't near it himself. He was simply sitting on a smooth patch of dirt, staring off at nothing in particular. He saw that Fendros was approaching, and it did not take much to figure out why. Still, he was not keen on a conversation, so he looked away from Fendros as if refusing eye contact would stop him from being able to speak.

Kaleeth did not respond immediately, and instead just stared at him with her arms still wrapped around him. It was amazing to her that she could experience so many new things in even a relatively small area of water. It was as if she had lived her entire life until this point in a cave, and was only now stepping out into the light. It many ways, it was frightening, as she knew nothing about what she was stepping into, but as she had seen, there were also wonders for her to experience. There was still a significant part of her that wanted to return to what was familiar and safe. After all, just because something was new, that did not mean she would like it. She could end up suffering in the world outside her home, but she was finally starting to realize that there was a chance she could actually enjoy this life. There was a chance that her life away from home was not necessarily just going to be her trying to make the best of a bad situation. Eventually, she smiled. "Yes, we should." She said, giving him another, quicker kiss.

[Muttonhawk]

Not a moment after Fendros spotted Lorag, he proceeded to sit down by the campfire as well. He tried not to look worried, rather, he took on a serious face such that Lorag didn't feel as though he was being worried about. It seemed to be the best way of approaching him with such issues, to make him believe that it was a necessary conversation and not one driven by anyone's feelings. Fendros faced the fire, but eyed Lorag as he spoke, toning his words, again, to remove worry. "So, Lorag, if I interpreted you correctly back there, it sounds as if you've found a quarry. What are you planning to fight?"

Janius brought Kaleeth into an embrace with his head looking over her shoulder to just be closer to her. They floated in the water for long enough for Janius' smile to fade as his own worries returned. If anything, this episode had made things perhaps less decisive for him, but he wasn't sure that he could make sense of it all until he put it into words. Unfortunately, he didn't feel as though Kaleeth was the right person to talk to about it. Janius eventually drifted to a position where he could see Meesei, Ahnasha, Sabine, and Ariel at the shore. It looked like everyone was done swimming. It was getting dark anyway. Janius smiled and pulled away to look at Kaleeth again, "We should probably head back while we can still see clearly."

[EliteCommander]

"I ain't found nothin' to fight, nothin' to kill." Lorag answered immediately and dismissively. "Only thing that I know I'm going to be fighting is the thralls of Clavicus Vile. Don't need anyone else to fight." He seemed content to leave the topic there, but after a few moments, he let out a sigh, realizing that there was little chance of Fendros just leaving him alone.

"Look, I know what you're going to say, and you can stop all that worrying. I thought about it, and I realize I'll probably have a few more years than most Orcs. Lycans stay healthier for longer, so I can fight for longer. With this war, I'll probably find some great battle in the next few years that I can end it in. So you don't have anything to worry about now, alright?" Lorag explained.

Kaleeth smiled and began swimming slowly around Janius. "Alright, I guess we can go back. Humans can't swim for very long, can they?" She said as she started to swim backwards just ahead of him. Even in a backstroke, she could easily outpace him in the water. At the moment, she felt energetic from the excitement of their exploration.