<span style="color: #00FF00">Valehna gave Tal a crooked smile. "I'm not so sure you deserve being imprisoned any more than nobles do. You may kill for a living, but at least you're honest about it. As far as I know, nobles do plenty of killing throughout their lives, lie about it, and hardly ever do it themselves. Whether it's sending out assassins after an enemy over some frivolous feud or starving out the poorer people by hoarding their wealth in times of scarcity, I have no respect for their dishonesty."<br/><br/>She glanced over at the house where Mesaraih and Ester were sleeping. "Although I suppose it provides some people with their livelihood," she added with a smirk.<br/><br/>Valehna was thankful to Tal for not pressing her further in his questioning, and conflicted about it at the same time. Ever since her clan had been murdered she had had a mixture of reactions beyond the grief. At first she felt only rage. That never really went away, and the sadness didn't either. But at times, despite all her attempts to shut herself off, she couldn't help but feel vulnerability pierce through her, and wanted dearly to have one of her clan members rise from the dead for only a few minutes, if only so that she could cry into their shoulder until she felt dry again.</span><br/><br/>Mesaraih dreamt of the children, but then realized he was dreaming. As soon as he did, the dream faded to a blinding white and he woke up instantly. He looked over to see Ester's body half-rotted away on the bed opposite his. He swore and scrambled to his feet, looking wildly around. And then he realized he was dreaming again and truly woke up, cold, clammy, and sweaty.<br/><br/>"What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered under his breath, tossing and turning on the bed.