Glade decided that the room she found herself in was pleasant, and made infinitely more so by the company. The lycan and her forebear had excused themselves from the gathering above, opting to spend time together, instead. The two were sitting in the Circle's personal area, the Imperial's private quarters, to be precise. Reman had procured a vintage wine from a Khajiit trader, and the two werewolves sipped on it between bites of food and conversation.

“We came all this way, just to hand you a bag of gems and be denied help.” The lycan mare chuckled and took another bite of the strange bread. Actually, every part if the meal tasted fantastic, almost professional in quality. “Where did you find this stuff, anyway?”

“I cooked most of it.” Mainly the meat dish, but the soup had been his own creation as well. One can't really prepare bread after it has been baked.

“Since when do you cook?” Glade knew that there were quite a few things that she had been left in the dark about, the lycan mare and Rose hadn't discussed much in regards of Reman.

“You'd be amazed at what you pick up around the Empire.” The lycan mare understood, she herself had learned a number of tricks during her training with the Royal Guard. “Every country in the Empire has its own cuisine, and the locals can't really keep things like that a secret.”

“Well, at least we have someone who knows the local flora, now.” Glade took another sip of the fermented drink. “I was starting to wonder about what was edible.” The mare giggled as she recalled her encounter with the aquatic predator, though she enjoyed her revenge much more than that. “I actually had to eat a fish from Lake Ilinalta, damned thing tried to make a meal out of me.”

“You ate a slaughterfish?” Reman knew how the violent fish tasted, the Cyrodiil and Morrowind variants were less delectable than their Skyrim counterparts. Still, they made a good meal for anyone who wasn't able to hunt a bear, and too stupid to use a bow. “Bet that was fun.”

“It was fine, but I was sick the next morning.” Glade rolled her eyes at the thought, getting poisoned on her first day in this realm hadn't been part of the mare's plan. Noticing her forebear's expression, the lycan mare inquired about the occurrence. “Happens all the time, right?”

“No, no it doesn't.” Reman was about to press the issue, but a loud bang from about took priority over his own curiosity.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Twilight was amazed by the Circle's varying behavior. While Kodlak had maintained a civil and controlled attitude, the other four were anything but. Vilkas and Farkas were recounting tales of battle and glory, which Skjor then had to outdo with his own stories. Though the Princess was hesitant to allow the Elements near the group of warriors, she understood that tonight was a time for celebration.

“I still can't get over the fact that you're a bunch of horses.” The lone woman, Aela the Huntress, was one of the Circle's more vocal members. The redheaded Nord had no trouble understanding that such creatures could live in Tamriel, but the thought of pegasi and unicorns talking just didn't sit well with her.

“We're ponies, not horses.” Rainbow Dash was quick to respond, not really thinking about what she said, nor the ramifications if the woman took offense. Besides, the cyan mare was certain she could handle the Companion in a fight. “Reman only made that mistake once.”

“No wonder he had such an easy time adjusting, the Imperial's had a silver spoon in his mouth since birth.” Aela's words were harsher than she had meant, but she was still mad about Reman's deception. “His sisters probably kept a few ponies as pets.”

“Bite your tongue, Aela, you should know better than to speak ill of a Shield Brother.” Kodlak intervened before any others could, all in hopes of preventing anything from spawning off the malcontent words. However, the Huntress took the Harbinger as meaning that Reman was preferred over her, with Aela running high on anger, this posed a problem.

“You've been taking his side since he first walked through those doors.” It seemed that a number of feeling were about to be vented, everything else in the room ceased making noise, even the fire's crackling seemed to fade into the background. Fluttershy and Pinkie took cover, though the Element of Laughter was hiding in preparation of a counter-aggression strike. It was of the banana cream variety.

“Aela, calm yourself.” Skjor wasn't one to rush to Reman's defense, the two men actually had a deep disdain for one another. The one-eyed Nord put his hands up in an attempt to calm the redhead. “You aren't yourself right now, maybe you should lie down.”

“And now you're taking up for him?” The woman launched herself from her seat, Aela's chair crashed to the ground with more noise than one would expect. “Of course, leave it to a couple of Imperial dogs to look after each other!”

“If you have something to say, huntress, say it to my face.” Reman voice cut the air like a knife, silence the redhead's violence, for the moment. While a crashing noise wasn't cause for concern in Jorrvaskr, the Companions brawled on a daily basis, with the diplomatic expedition in the mead hall, the Imperial was on the lookout. In any case, Reman looked like he was ready for a fight, the earlier conflict at Dustman's Cairn seemingly forgotten.“You certainly seem to have a few grievances, air them.”

“Don't even try to speak to me like you're so much better.” Aela's muscles tensed, ready to pounce on the Imperial, should he try to reach her. The two werewolves were in a standoff, neither making a move, nor speaking to the other. Reman and the huntress circled in the open space near the stairs, and the Imperial lack of a weapon was made obvious. The Circle member had a Skyforge steel dagger on her hip, whereas Reman was unarmed. “You don't even have the courage to fight with a warrior's tools.”

“You speak of magic like you know some.” Taking jabs at the Imperial's arcane skills, and current lack thereof, was a surefire way to anger him. Right now, all Aela wanted was for Reman to attack, it'd give her a good reason to end him. A blue aura of raw magicka enveloped the lycan's sword arm, as though he was about to unleash some age-old technique. “Maybe I should show you what a spellsword can do.”

“Both of you, settle down.” Kodlak's voice left no room for protest, respect for the elder lycan was present in both would-be combatants. The huntress' hand moved away from her blade, and the glow dispersed from the Imperial's arm. “Aela, get to bed, Reman and the ponies will be out of Whiterun before sunrise.”

The huntress slowly nodded her head, before slinking towards the stairs. She gave Reman plenty of room as she passed him, though she still wished to throw a few blows. Much to Aela's surprise, one of the ponies scampered from the stairwell, eager to avoid the Nord woman. Despite the distraction, the huntress still made her way to the basement. She would likely stay there for the rest of the night.

“You owe me twenty septims.” Farkas was speaking to his brother, the two had a slight gambling problem. The same twenty coins had changed hands more times than anyone in the Companions could count, and they would continue to do so.

“Dare I ask what you two bet on this time?” Reman pulled up a seat and popped the cork from a bottle, finding the one surefire way to get his body out of combat mode. His calm acceptance of the brothers' habit was expected, he often gambled, himself.

“We were seeing if you and the werewolf pony were involved.” Vilkas was more subtle about his meaning, though it wasn't disguised to any in the room. “Don't try to deny it, the two of you have practically switched scents.”

“Wait...” Applejack was struck by an odd thought, a realization of sorts. While the farmer had experienced a gut feeling about the Circle members, it was now coming into the light. “If ya can smell Glade an' Reman on each other,” a red tinge began coating the orange pony's cheeks, “Don' that mean th' rest o' y'all are-?”

“Correct, little pony, every member of the Circle is a werewolf, even myself.” Kodlak answered before anyone else could, though it was odd that he would share the information with outsiders, perhaps being friends of Reman excepted the ponies from distrust.

“What happens if one of you gets fleas?” Rainbow had spoken before she knew the meaning of her own words. The six lycans in the room looked at her, the Element's question might have offended them.

“We don't get parasites.” Skjor spoke as though it was the absolute truth, and, in a way, it was. The one-eyed Nord still had his permanent scowl, but he was easing himself around the colorful equines. The mention of illness and disease seemed to spark a memory in a certain pony.

“OH! OH! I have a question!” Pinkie waved a hoof through the air, like a filly in school trying to get her teacher's attention. Despite the humans looking at her, giving her clearance to speak, the Element of Laughter still shook her hoof around. Understanding what was happening, Reman tapped Kodlak's shoulder, and gestured that he knew what to do.

“Yes, Pinkie?” The pink party pony needed an instruction manual for times like this, but at least she was easy to get used to. At Reman acknowledgment, the Element ceased her motions, though Pinkie appeared confused after a few moments.

“I forgot...” Pinkamena Diane Pie wasn't prone to lapses in memory, quite the opposite, but she knew that the eldest lycan may take offense to any questions about human longevity. Beisdes, a little, white lie never hurt anypony, right?

“I just realized that we never got your names, beside the Princess, of course.” Vilkas wasn't concerned about their names, the man really couldn't care less, but formality demanded proper introductions.

“I'm Pinkie Pie!” The two-toned ball of pink appeared over Vilkas' shoulder, as though she had been there the entire time. “Number One Party Pony of Ponyville!”

“Mah name's Applejack.” The orange pony tipped her hat to the humans across the table. It struck as odd that the two groups hadn't been introduced earlier, but she dismissed the strange notion. “Mah family owns Sweet Apple Acres, best apple ya ever had.”

“I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria.” The cyan pony was slightly disappointed that the earlier disagreement hadn't come to blows. But, at least things would be easier for any future negotiations. Dash put her hoof around the pony next to her, providing her introduction. “This is Fluttershy, she's kinda uncomfortable around new ponies.”

“My name is Rarity, the most talented seamstress and fashion designer in Ponyville.” The alabaster unicorn bounced her curled mane, all in all, it made her appear more elegant and refined. “Though, some ponies would say that I’m the very best in Equestria.”

“And I'm Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia.” The Element of Magic didn't wish to disclose anything other than her name and occupation. She didn't think any of the Nords would enjoy learning her place as an Element of Harmony.

“I immediately regret asking for introductions.” Vilkas looked like someone had passed him some rotten fish. The lycan though the names were childish and far too feminine to demand respect. However, at a time like this, Vilkas could turn to one of his fellow werewolves. “Please tell me that you have a name worth knowing.”

“I'm Summer Glade, Equestria's first lycan.” The mare wore a sweet, friendly smile as she spoke. Reman, knowing the equine werewolf, wisely scooted his chair back a few inches, giving her a clear shot. In a flash, Glade launched Pinkies banana cream counter-aggression device, hitting Vilkas directly in the face, and spraying pie-filling everywhere. Still wearing that same sweet smile, the pegasus finished her introduction.

“And I'm the pony you just pissed off.”