Ma’tanza personally did not thing that the path down seemed too difficult, but she did not argue when Tzirret offered to carry her down. Although, she did let out a brief yelp when he quickly scooped her up into his arms. It took only a few minutes to reach the cave, then head inside until they reached the gate. While the stronghold was cooler than the desert in the daytime, its insulation meant it still remained at a comfortable, if slightly cooler temperature at night. 

After the pair stopped, Ma’tanza rolled up what little they had carried with them into the bedroll, but at that point, she found herself having to wait for Tzirret to shift back into his normal form. Given that he had not hunted in a while, and he had not sated his beast’s hunger during this transformation, it would take a few moments for him to be able to calm his mind. However, Ma’tanza started to look at Tzirret with a playful expression. Walking up in front of him, she at first simply planted a kiss on the end of his snout, but then, without warning, she took a few steps back, then ran forward and jumped at him. She attempted to use her momentum to tackle him to the ground, though that would be difficult considering his mass. 

---

“Just keep the creature standing right there. It will attempt to fight this one once she attacks, but it will be banished long before it can do any harm to her.” Ri’vashi explained. “Once it disappears, Ri’vashi needs you to throw the meat at her feet. The trick to this technique is that you need to stop thinking about what you are doing. Our rational minds know that the meat does not come from the scamp, but if we allow ourselves to act on pure instinct, just for the duration of the kill, then we can trick our beast spirits, in a way. It is not as good as an actual hunt, but it is helpful. Now, give Ri’vashi a moment.”

Ri’vashi closed her eyes briefly, then allowed the transformation to take hold over her body. As she was a Cathay, and a powerful clan leader in addition, her beast form was quite large. In terms of overall mass and strength, she could match a werecrocodile. While impressive, those traits were something Gallus might have expected. What was most interesting about her beast form was that she was neither a werelion, nor a werewolf. The beast which she transformed into was much more bulky and muscular than either of those, as she was a werebear. Her spotted fur was replaced with a thick, solid brown coat, and she let out a brief, distinctive growl. Notably, werebears were a type of lycanthrope that was not commonly found in Elsweyr, or any of the regions around it.

As it was bound to Gallus’ will, the scamp did not attack as the massive werebear stomped up to it. The creature did not even seem to show any fear, likely because the Daedra was not a creature that could actually experience death. It did nothing until Ri’vashi swiped her massive claws across its back, immediately forcing it to the ground. The scamp was still alive, and tried to stand up to fight back, but Ri’vashi was easily able to get her jaws around its throat to bite down. Her beast felt the satisfying taste of the creature’s blood running into her mouth for a brief moment before the scamp dissipated back into Oblivion. At that point, Ri’vashi’s eyes began darting around the floor in front of her, searching for the corpse of her kill.