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

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha shrugged. "Even if they do go to ground, it is still something of a win for us. We might be moving on back to Blackreach soon, but the Evermore clan can keep the pressure on them with this information. They won't be able to use the same Talos hunters, else they'll be identified. And they won't be able to use the same people in the city who sell out Talos worshipers, since they can keep an eye on them. They'll have to move in new hunters, but then, we can just focus on investigating new arrivals."

Overall, Ahnasha's mood did not seem like it had been affected in the slightest by the interrogation. All that seemed to matter to her was the fact that they had gained the information they sought. She did not acknowledge her willing torture of the child, and just continued to smile. "But, what really interests me is the fact that we can pretty much confirm that Vile isn't working with the Talmor. It makes the situation a lot more confusing, but it is at least a bit reassuring. I would not want to have to make an enemy of the Dominion."

Leaning in, Ahnasha gave Fendros a kiss on the cheek. "We did good."

[Muttonhawk]

The only reaction Fendros had to Ahnasha's kiss was a reflexive blink. He didn't even put his arm around her.

The pause that followed gave him time to consider, and soon enough he changed the subject. "Ahna, back in the cabin, you said something to that man. It...just really shocked me." Fendros' voice was low. He continued to walk without looking at her. "'This could have been so much easier, and so much more painless,' that was what you said." Fendros' walking slowed to a near stop. "The last time I heard that from someone with a dagger in their hand, it was right after he had butchered you alive in front of me. And before that, I saw a look in that man's eyes that was the exact same as I felt back when I was in his position. They are never going to live that down."

There was so much attached to the issue that what to say next was, for the moment, lost to Fendros. It gave Ahnasha time to respond.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha's eyes narrowed, making her appear somewhat cross with Fendros. She paused, taking on a more severe expression. "Seriously, Fendros? Are you really going to try to compare what happened in there to what happened to me? I went through a waking vivisection. That man tore open my body like a butchered deer, under the 'care' of mages to make sure I stayed alive, but could still feel everything. That man was a sadistic torturer who was in it just as much for his own pleasure as he was our information. Me? I put a knife in her hand, and I didn't even leave it in that long. Then, I brought in Sabine to heal her right back up. When I was tortured, I was in periodic, terrible pain for weeks, and I still get sharp pains occasionally. Years later. That girl isn't even in pain anymore, and she'll be left with little more than a scar."

Crossing her arms, Ahnasha was intent on standing her ground. "How could you even begin to compare those two? I did nothing permanent to her, and I assure you, I took no pleasure in it. It offends me that you would compare me to him."

[Muttonhawk]

The way Ahnasha escalated the situation only caused Fendros to set off his own temper. He exploded, interrupting her before the end of her last sentence.

"That doesn't make it right!" He shouted. His body turned to her with his face laced with fury. "You think this is about who had the greatest pain!? No!" He spread his arms and only shouted louder. "It's about crossing lines! If someone stabbed a blade in Rhazii's hand for the sake of making us talk, I would call it nothing short of callous and cruel, Ahnasha!" He gestured to the cabin. "That girl is going to have pains and nightmares for the rest of her life! We could have left her completely out of it! We didn't!" He pushed Ahnasha roughly in the shoulder. "You crossed a line in there! It was your decision! And having experienced worse doesn't make it any better! Not enjoying? Getting results?! it doesn't make it any better!"

Fendros had not shouted into Ahnasha's face like this in years. He kept his anger on, even when the twinge of potential regret set in. This was an issue simmering from a long string of Ahnasha's behaviour over the past few years, and only now had it forced Fendros' hand.

[EliteCommander]

"Don't shove me." Ahnasha snapped back, shoving Fendros in kind. She was now certainly on edge, and certainly not relenting to him. "What, you want me to play nice with the enemy? Remember, he is the enemy, not just some unwitting mercenary. He knew who he was working for, and he did it anyway. I think it's a mistake to let him go at all. Who knows what he might do after he leaves here? Anyone who knowingly works with Vile deserves whatever we do to them; they started this war, not us.'

Ahanasha clenched her hand into a fist once her mind turned to Rhazii. "If someone stabbed Rhazii, I would kill them. Just like that man probably wants to kill me. Fortunately for me, he can't. Am I being 'fair' to him, no. But this life isn't fair. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that there is no such thing as fate to make sure everyone gets what they deserve. People just do things, good or bad, and then good or bad things happen to them. There's no rhyme or reason to it. I don't want to be 'nice' to Vile's minions anymore. I just want to kill them all so that we can go back to our lives in peace. Do you really think this war will ever end if we don't?"

[Muttonhawk]

"That child didn't knowingly work for Vile!" Fendros tried to shout over Ahnasha in the middle of her retort. It didn't stop her.

After a while, Fendros simply stood with his mouth slightly open, incredulous. He had to give some seconds before he responded just to process what Ahnasha had said. He could only come to one immediate conclusion.

He shook his head slowly. His voice was quieter now, clearly hurt. "I hardly recognise you anymore, Ahna. Why are you being like this?"

---

Meanwhile, Sabine walked back from the search for the letter in a daze. Her memory hardly recorded any of the search. She wasn't even clear if they found it or not. She just wanted to head back.

The one thing she remembered for the entire time was that she was scared. Fendros and Ahnasha had stabbed that scared girl in the hand. Well, Ahnasha had her knife out, but Sabine didn't know who it was. The scream still rang in her thoughts.

For lack of seeing Ahnasha and Fendros as she was walking back, Sabine instead began to approach Kaleeth-Rei, slowly picking up her speed faster as she approached. By the time she ran into Kaleeth and gave her a hug, she was jogging and nearly in tears. She did not so much as say a word, let alone explain what was on her mind at the time.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha was actually fairly confused when Fendros' shouting stopped, coupled with his words. She was not entirely sure what kind of point he was trying to make to her. "What are you talking about? I'm not 'being' like anything; I'm the same as I've always been. I'm just as devoted to ending this war as ever. Just as devoted to you and Rhazii. I'm not going to pretend that it is easy or something that I want to do, but it's what I need to do. Like I said, it wasn't about the girl; it was about her father. I didn't hurt the girl, not really. You have to understand, pain...pain doesn't matter. I have had to pour months and years into studying all aspects of the body for my research, so I know that pain is just a way for the body to tell the mind that it is in trouble. Pain itself doesn't do anything. The place I put the knife, it was a flesh wound. Ran it between the tendons, avoided the bone. Not even a chance of permanent harm. It's not going to give her nightmares or traumatize her; you're overreacting. I just used some temporary pain to learn something that could do some permanent good in this area. That's all."

Stepping forward, Ahnasha grabbed a hold of Fendros' hand tenderly with a far softer expression than the anger that had preceded it. "Nothing about me has changed. I just want what's best for the clans, and ultimately for us. Everything I have done, all of the fighting, all of my research and soul gathering, all of the missions I have been a part of, it's all been for you Fendros. Because I love you."

---

Sabine and those she had brought with her had recovered the letter they had sought to find, but Malithus was handling it for now, leaving Sabine to do as she pleased. Kaleeth had remained in her werecrocodile form, just in case it was still needed for any reason, such as moving the wagon again. As it happened, she gone for a swim in the lake during the interrogation to try to help keep her beast spirit placated, so she had not heard the scream entirely clearly under the water. She noticed some discomfort among the members of Malithus' pack, but she had not taken the time to ask them about it.

Naturally, Kaleeth was entirely confused when Sabine came running up to her in tears to hug her. She placed her massive hand on Sabine's back and looked down on her with the closest expression to concern that she could currently produce. "What's...wrong?"

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros looked down at his hand. He did not grip Ahnasha's in return. "I don't doubt why you're doing all of this, Ahna. Don't think I don't appreciate that. You have changed, though. You might have been knowingly making sure that they pain wasn't permanent, but the way you treated the family back there was especially callous. And what you said about just wanting to kill everyone on the other side, that's chilling. You know as well as I do that most of the people that Vile recruits are there because they were desperate or tricked." He looked to one side and nodded. "There are the crazed zealots that deserve to die, just like that woman leading them, just like our torturer. But that man wasn't one of them, neither was his family. If anything, the family had less control in the matter than he did."

Meeting his eyes with Ahnasha's, Fendros took on a pleading look. "We have to choose to kill sometimes. And sometimes, we have to choose not to be monsters ourselves. Otherwise we're just as bad as them. Please, just...you still have sympathy for them, don't you?"

---

For the first few moments of their embrace, Sabine simply pressed her face into Kaleeth's scales and tried not to sob. Kaleeth's question at least gave her enough focus to explain.

"There was a scream. After they interrogated the woman and her child, I was called in." Sabine said at a high pitch. Her voice was muffled against Kaleeth's body "They put a knife through the child's hand in front of them."

The pack had done interrogations before. Those interrogations had gotten physical before. They had never before involved children.

[EliteCommander]

While not quite as confused as before, nor as combative, Ahnasha still was not conceding entirely. Her stance was more neutral, and she still held on to Fendros' hand, but she also still defended herself. "What do you mean? Who should I have sympathy for. If you're talking about the woman and the child...yes, I can agree. The child definitely can't be blamed, and the mother...is redeemable. But, well, some of the enemy might be desperate, yes. However, that doesn't excuse their crimes. Don't forget that a lot of these people who were 'just' tricked, or supposedly don't know any better, still willingly kill defenseless people just for being lycans. They gas them out, hand their souls over to Vile, just for being lycans. They don't care which ones fight back and which ones don't; they just kill them all. Is it really wrong to want to kill anyone and everyone who is willing to do that to us?"

Ahnasha lowered her head briefly and let out a sigh before pointing to the room with the captives. "And that man, that enemy soldier, don't even for a second think he's innocent. He wasn't even killing lycans; he was hunting Talos worshipers. He was hunting down and killing defenseless townsfolk just because they wanted to worship some old Emperor. Whether or not he did any of the killing personally, he was still helping them. Don't you think those townsfolk had families that cared about them? Children that relied on them? Do their families matter any less than his? He made a deal with a Daedra to help kill them because he needed money. If you're asking if I have sympathy for him, then no. I don't have the smallest shred of sympathy for a man like him." She said resolutely.

---

Kaleeth had a hard time believing that what Sabine said was true. She did not think that Sabine would lie to her, of course, but her first thought was that she was mistaken somehow. Confusion did not show too clearly in a werecrocodile's expression, but there was a hint of it in her voice. "That...can't be right. Are you sure that's what happened? That doesn't sound like them at all. Is there any other way it could have happened? An accident, or..." She asked, her deep voice trailing off.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros closed his eyes for a while to think. His head ached from the shouting just moments ago, but he could see progress.

"I won't ask you to forgive those kinds of people, Ahna," Fendros said, before opening his eyes again. "You can feel anger if you want, you can desire revenge, you can want this war to end. None of that is inherently wrong." Fendros finally closed his hand over Ahnasha's. "I just don't want to cause cruelty to those who had no choice in the matter. I don't want to kill or hurt families, I don't want to make children suffer, and I don't want to justify any of that by saying that it'll somehow suddenly end the war or help us live in peace."

Fendros brought up his other hand to hold Ahnasha's as well. "I don't expect the enemy to give us the same mercy. I know I shouldn't. But I know that if they were willing to spare my family if they caught me, I would take it. If that was done, if they lived, I might doubt that they are as horrible as the others we've fought." He looked down at their hands again. "I know I must be sounding like some blubbering fool who doesn't know what he is talking about. I just want us to stick to some boundaries from now on, okay?"

He squeezed her hand. "In killing every single person who wishes lycans dead, would you be willing to spare their families if you had the choice? Can we choose to do that from now on?"

---

"Ahnasha was holding a dagger," Sabine said without thinking. She breathed in quickly twice. "...I do not know what happened. It could have been an accident," she conceded. "They were so indifferent about it." Sabine pulled back with one arm and wiped her eyes. "I...I should ask them. I got scared."

[EliteCommander]

"I didn't really hurt his family. Never intended to; like I said, pain is meaningless. But I'll never kill an innocent like that, you have my word. That was never something I would do." Ahnasha answered in a tone that was meant to be reassuring. She had not yet really admitted any wrongdoing.

Ahnasha put her arms around Fendros' neck to bring him into a hug. "Now, I really wouldn't mind just finding a spot to sit down and relax a while, maybe by the lake. I think we could both use some rest before starting up the next interrogations. I doubt we'll get anything more useful than we already have, but you never know. So, is everything alright?"

---

Kaleeth tried to rub Sabine's back comfortingly. She was certainly able to hold on to her tightly. "I'm sure it wasn't anything terrible like that. Fendros and Ahnasha are our friends; they wouldn't purposefully do that. Just, um, try to relax. We can both go talk to them in a bit." She suggested.

Kaleeth let go of Sabine for a moment so she could bring her lumbering body to lay down on the ground by the lake. She motioned to the ground beside her for Sabine to take a seat. She was having some trouble keeping her mind calm while she was doing nothing, but her recent meal kept her well-enough in control.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros managed to return the hug, though he wasn't completely convinced. "You say pain is meaningless, Ahna. I want to believe you. I am not sure I can right now." He pulled back from the hug with a tired frown. "If that child finds out what we are, she is going to grow up thinking that lycans are violent creatures because of the pain. She might think that about Khajiit." He shrugged. "I would prefer not to have the children hurt at all, but..." He rubbed the side of his head. "Ah, I can't know it's going to influence her life. If the damage was not permanent, I suppose there is nothing else to do about it for now."

He sighed and took Ahnasha's hand. "You're right, we should relax." He began to walk to the lake with her.

---

After another short while, Sabine swallowed and nodded. She let go of Kaleeth and tried to put it out of her head that Ahnasha or Fendros would inflict that kind of cruelty.

Sabine sat down close next to Kaleeth's huge leg and drew her knees up to wrap her arms around them. She was able to calm herself enough to look at Kaleeth directly.

"Sorry for not staying close to you in the ambush," Sabine said. "Did the potion work okay?"

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth nodded her head. There was hardly even a mark on her left over from the fight, and she had not received any magical healing. She was a large target that tended to be hit easily in fights, but she also had exemplary regenerative capabilities. As long as she was not critically wounded, or hurt by silver, she could recover quickly. Even silver weapons took more to hurt her, due to her armor-like scales.

"The cold hurt, but it didn't really injure me. I don't remember it all too clearly; I was letting my beast spirit have some freedom in the fight. The pain strengthened it. It was probably my fault for charging away so quickly. It would have been better for me to stay near the eye with you, where there was less ice. Though, I don't remember completely if there was enough space in the eye for me. I know I take up a lot of it." Kaleeth answered. She nudged her snout against Sabine's shoulder to attempt to give the sense that she was trying not to be serious, since she could not smile. In the back of her mind, there were thoughts wondering about the possibility of Fendros or Ahnasha really intentionally hurting a little girl as Sabine described, but she did not want to think about those at the moment.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine couldn't help but be almost pushed over by Kaleeth's nudge. It made her smile for only a moment, but Kaleeth's words helped her feel a bit less ashamed after what Fendros had told her.

They did not sit together for too long before they spotted Fendros and Ahnasha taking a seat further alone the lake's edge. Sabine spotted them and put a hand on Kaleeth's side to get her attention. "There they are," Sabine said, now sounding noticeably calmer. She looked up at Kaleeth's eye. "I think we should ask them now."

Whether Kaleeth still felt like finding out or not, Sabine stood up and made her way up to Ahnasha and Fendros. She had her hands clasped together, telling of some anxiety, though she spoke directly. "Fendros, Ahnasha, what happened to that girl? Did she try to attack you?"

Fendros raised his eyebrows. He had been so stressed before that he didn't even think to consider what Sabine might have been thinking. "Um, no, she..." Fendros cut himself off. He neither wanted to lie, nor cover for Ahnasha in this case. He looked at her to explain.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha had already dealt with Fendros shouting at her over the interrogation, so she doubted it would be much more difficult to talk to Sabine. It was easy to tell her reason for questioning them for the anxiety she was showing. As such, Ahnasha decided to answer directly and honestly.

"I did it." Ahnasha said abruptly. "The blade, it went through her third and fourth finger bones, correct? It avoided all of the tendons; a flesh wound. And she isn't in any pain anymore, right? I certainly don't want her to be in pain anymore. Her father is a murderer, but she deserves peace. They'll all be fleeing to the Summerset Isles, so hopefully it all ends well for them. Maybe the father will even find some redemption? It would be awful if his family was hurt for his mistakes."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine's eyes danced to one side as she recalled the wound itself. "That is right. It was simple to heal." Sabine said, partly in realising it herself. Her brow then knitted with confusion. "I do not understand. What happened?"

It was enough that Ahnasha owned up to her part. Fendros picked up to help the issue along. "The man we were interrogating was her father. He thought we weren't being serious about what would happen if he didn't speak," Fendros said upfront. "Ahnasha inflicted an injury to the girl in the least damaging way she could, while frightening the father. Thankfully we did not have to carry out our threats as they were said." He nodded to Sabine. "And we had you on hand to heal her. Thank you for doing that."

"Oh, okay," Sabine said as a default. She was still and clearly conflicted.

"We didn't want to hurt the girl," Fendros reassured. "We promise."

Sabine swallowed. "And we are helping them now?"

Fendros nodded.

After breathing out some tension, Sabine itched her collar nervously. "Okay. I am sorry. I was frightened by the scream." She was still unsure, but she breathed in suddenly to change the subject. "We found the letter. Malithus' pack has it."

Fendros' eyes lit up. "Excellent. We'll go and have a look at it in a short while. Thank you, Sabine." He smiled.

Sabine nodded and promptly left them alone. She would probably be asking Meesei about the matter, as she usually did when she was unsure. In the meantime, the interrogations would continue into the day. She could stand by to heal anyone else that was non-compliant, secure in the memory that none of them would be innocent bystanders this time.

[EliteCommander]

Eventually, the group made the journey back to the Evermore clan. In order to ensure that the family of the wagon driver did not learn the identities of Malithus' pack, they had to be taken back with bags over their heads, and they were not taken into the clan itself. However, the Evermore clan would honor the agreement Fendros had made with them. The interrogations of the other prisoners did not reveal much more meaningful information than the first, so they were all taken back to the clan so they could be interrogated in depth, over time. It would be the responsibility of the Evermore clan to deal with them, but once being brought into the clanhome, they could not be allowed to leave alive.

It took a few days for all of the missions to end, with Meesei's being the last. Fendros' mission had returned the most results. The letter they had recovered hinted at possible locations where the Talos hunters' local stronghold could be found, as well as further confirming that they were not working with the Thalmor. They had leads for further investigation, but it would not be Meesei's pack that would carry it out. When they had set out for the Evermore clan, they had intended only to deliver Meesei's cargo, so they could not remain for too much longer. However, they had given the Evermore clan more than enough information to work with.

It was early in the morning, and Meesei had ordered the rest of her pack to gather their belongings and meet near the entrance to depart. During their missions, Meesei had instructed some of the clan's mages on how to set up the cargo they had brought, which they had done at a location outside of the clan itself. According to Meesei, they were going to ensure that the scholars had properly prepared what they had brought before they left. Sabine was the first to arrive in the chamber with Meesei. Since Meesei had only returned the previous night, they had not yet had a chance to speak privately.

[Muttonhawk]

Being that Sabine often had a number of alchemical implements to pack up, her being even near the first ready to go was a phenomenon that only began after Rhazii and Kaj-Julan were old enough to cause their parents trouble in morning departures. Of course, that did not excuse Lorag, though his style was military timing. He was not late and he was not early.

This time, Sabine was early. She carried her usual light load of baggage over her shoulders towards Meesei at the clanhome entrance. It was nice to dress up every now and then, but she would readily admit that the simple clothing and furs she wore on the road were preferable to the dress she wore in the city. Despite the comfort, she seemed tense when she slowed to a stop. "Good morning, Meesei," she said quietly.

A silent moment passed where she looked back into the entrance. She thought that she was perhaps too early. It gave plenty of time for her discomfort to show through in her body language. Some time had passed since the interrogations, but she wasn't sure whether to dwell on it.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei seemed relaxed as she sat on the floor, cross-legged while leaning back against the wall of the cave. Her mission had brought her into some combat, though she had received no injuries. Indeed, most of her current soreness came from the excessive walking her task had required. She currently wore simple hides and a loincloth, though oddly enough, her thick, fur coat was tied on the top of her bag, where she would be able to grab it quickly.

Nevertheless, Meesei smiled warmly at Sabine. "Good morning, Sabine." She responded. Though, it certainly did not take long for her to pick up on Sabine's discomfort. Meesei rarely had trouble noticing Sabine's emotions, even when she was not making it as obvious as she was now. "Come, have a seat. Relax a moment; tell me what is wrong."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine hesitated before sitting down. She mimicked Meesei's cross-legged position, but sat leaning forward. Meesei's request made her realise that she was biasing the decision to speak about the matter all along.

She began slowly, looking ahead. "Something happened. When Fendros and Ahnasha were questioning the people they captured. Fendros told you about the man with his wife and daughter in the wagon." Meesei had been updated on the details of the investigation, but nothing as thorough as the techniques Fendros and Ahansha used. "They questioned those three together. I heard shouting from inside the cabin." Sabine shook her head slowly. "I expected that. But then the daughter screamed. There was a moment, and then Ahnasha told me to come in and heal the girl. She had a knife wound through her hand."

Sabine brought up her knees unconsciously. "Ahnasha was holding a knife at the time. I...I told Kaleeth afterwards and she thought it could have been an accident. I thought that was it and asked Fendros and Ahnasha later. Ahnasha said that she intentionally stabbed the girl in the hand to get her father to talk." Sabine was not upset as she explained, but her eyes were wide with anxiety. "The way Ahnasha and Fendros explained it, they did not want to cause permanent damage, and they did not. But...they were so indifferent. I did not know that Ahnasha would do something like that. And Fendros seemed okay with it. We never hurt innocent people. It felt like they did not care. And I..." Sabine stopped to take a breath. "I am confused and afraid. I do not know what to think about it."