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

[Muttonhawk]

"I hope it is like other places and we'll just get used to it," Sabine thought out loud, "These burns are bad, though. We really need clothes."

Sabine eventually worked her way up to Peiter's head and then placed one hand on his shoulder. "Turn over," she requested with a smile. Once Peiter complied, Sabine began healing the red on his upper back and neck, working her way down again.

"Peiter, what do you think is going to happen once we get back home?" Sabine asked out of the blue. Her tone was bright and curious, but none of their friends and Bruma will know about their new relationship upon arriving.

Fendros gave an affirmative nod, "That is a good point. Well then..." Taking a step back, Fendros stood at guard with his wooden sword forward. He had practiced with Kaleeth occasionally, so the first wariness he kept was for her brute strength. Luckily, swords required more than that.

The opening clash had Fendros step forward first, throwing a quick cut at Kaleeth's upper-left leg and following with cuts to her shoulder and wrist. He expected a counter-attack if she was able to defend herself. Given the time that Kaleeth had taken over the past few years to train, that was no longer an unlikely outcome.

After the first little clash, Fendros kept up talking. "How have things been between you and Janius, anyway? I heard something about him trying to take you to a skooma den, but I thought that was just a rumour."

[EliteCommander]

Peiter shrugged his shoulders, which were now thankfully being soothed by Sabine. "I'm not sure. I guess we try to get used to everything being normal again. We'll have been away for so long at that point, I can't help but to wonder how much things will have changed. There will be a lot of new faces, I bet."

Once his arms were clear of burns, Peiter stretched them out in front of him. "I'm also guessing we're going to be repeating the same stories a lot. So much has happened already: Vile's agents tricking us on arrival, rescuing Ra'kalesh's pride, taking over the slave ship with the clan. And the most exciting story is yet to come. I just...hope everything turns out alright." He said, looking off to the side nervously.

Kaleeth's initial defense started out strong, with each strike being parried away. Although, Fendros was fast enough that she did not have the opportunity to counter-attack until after his third slash. She still was not the fastest of fighters, so she tried to account for that by attacking the closest part of his body to her weapon, which, after her last parry, was his sword-arm. She quickly thrust the tip of her weapon towards his hand, hoping to get past his crossguard. Given Fendros' skill level, however, it was not especially likely.

Once she was able, Kaleeth responded. "That's not completely true...or completely wrong. He let Colors take me to a skooma den to show me what it was like. He knew I would hate it, but he wanted to show me that skooma was dangerous. I've never really had any experience with it before. Still, I would have rather he just told me; I was almost ready to throttle him after he said he knew what it was going to be like before we went in. I guess it got the point across, though."

[Muttonhawk]

"We have survived so far," Sabine responded, "There might be hard points, but I think things will be okay in the end. My pack has been through many things. I trust Meesei to get us through alive."

Sabine was about halfway down Peiter's body again by this point. "Although, I was thinking about others reacting to us being together. I remember Freida actually saying that she was interested in you. It was one thing that she did not feel brave enough to tell you about. Things will probably have changed when we get back, but...I do not want her to be hurt."

A flick of Fendros' wrist parried Kaleeth's strike, but she was impressively close to landing it. Fendros was actually surprised enough to redouble his efforts at defence.

"Ah, that makes more sense than the rumours," Fendros said with an understanding nod, "Yes, Janius grew up in a city similar to Senchal in that way. It would be like him to be so concerned. Although, not just telling you does seem unfair."

In the next clash, Fendros feinted low in an apparent effort to get underneathe Kaleeth's wrist, but redirected to step forward and slash at her upper arm. He realised too late that he may have overstepped.

"Do you think you would have tried skooma if he hadn't warned you that way?" Fendros asked in their next moment apart, "I remember you looking quite content under the influence of moon sugar."

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm, well Freida is a nice girl, I'm sure she has already found someone." Peiter responded before pausing to laugh. "Okay, 'nice' might be pushing it. She'd probably give me a few bruises for saying that, but there are plenty of people in the clan who would like her energy. If she would have said something back then, I wouldn't have refused."

Peiter turned his head to look back at Sabine. "Of course, she couldn't hold a candle to you. And I'm not just saying that because you are literally rubbing the sunburn off my behind at the moment." He chuckled.

Kaleeth started to fall for Fendros' feint, and by the time she noticed what was happening, she couldn't bring up her blade to parry. She only barely managed to turn her body away and lean her upper body back to avoid the tip of the weapon. That, of course, left her off balance, so she attempted to stab towards his chest. He was barely within her reach, so it would be easy for him to jump back and evade, but it would at least give her some space. If he reacted quickly enough, however, he might get a clear strike on her arm.

"With no warning at all, I probably would have. I had no way of knowing of the danger. But I trust him, and would have trusted his warning. The place was a skooma den and brothel, and I wish I didn't see what I had." Kaleeth explained. "Anyway, I'm still not taking moon sugar to be safe. Well, not on purpose. I accidentally had a fish seasoned in it yesterday. With all of the Khajiit here, moon sugar is everywhere. That must be hard for you, with how you react to it. How have you managed to avoid it?"

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine joined in Peiter's laugh and gave him a friendly pinch. "Thank you, but Freida is very pretty and brave." Sabine glanced to Peiter's eyes and tightened her lips briefly, "But, maybe she was just waiting for you to do something. A lot of girls seem to do that." Sabine's grin returned, "You took too long for me to wait."

Sabine's comment of course oversimplified the situation between her and Peiter leading up to their relationship, but it was true that she eventually had to step across the line first. In her mind, anyway.

The overreach in Fendros' attack brought his chest onto the end of Kaleeth's wooden sword. His momentum was stopped as he grunted in pain, while his sword only landed a superficial cut in return.

"Good hit," Fendros remarked as he rubbed the spot where his first bruise of the evening would no doubt form. He raised his guard as he responded to Kaleeth, waiting for her to strike first this time. "How have I avoided moon sugar? Well, with great care. I normally get Ahnasha to taste test food for me. Normally, though, if I eat any by mistake, it's a small enough amount that I just get nauseous for an hour or two." Fendros angled his head curiously, "Has Newt accidentally had any?"

[EliteCommander]

"Oh, sure, sure. Freida is pretty." Peiter began, though his smile only widened as he looked at her. "But you are absolutely gorgeous. You're the strong, capable apprentice to the most powerful mage in the clan. You're as sweet as an apple pie, but dangerous like a daedroth. You have smooth, beautiful skin that's always drawing my eye, fiery hair as soft as silk, and a body with a form as perfect as Dibella herself."

Peiter was intentionally laying on his compliments very heavily. Even if he was exaggerating, he did enjoy watching her reactions to such things. Although, he would probably flatter her more with compliments to her skills. Regardless, he did try to sell his compliments by giving a loving stare to accompany them.

Kaleeth shook her head. "Not that I know of. I always try to be careful of what I give him. Though, I guess I might not even know if he had. He's always so active and energetic, it could be that I didn't notice it. Anyway, how has everything gone with you and Ahnasha? I've heard about what happened in Leyawiin, but what do you think it will mean for you? Is it true she told her parents she was a shopkeeper?"

For the next bout, Kaleeth started off with much more aggression than their previous round. She decided to do something more risky, but more in line with her aggressive style. She ran at him, intending to swat away his blade with her own, then grapple him to the ground.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine was busy finishing off Peiter's ankles as he started to speak, but she immediately grinned and began to flush as if she knew the tirade he was about to go on. "Stop," she laughed partway through, failing to stop him, "Stop!" As soon as Sabine was done, she leaned across and tried to cover Peiter's mouth with her hands as he was comparing her to Dibella, still grinning widely, "Stop that, Peiter!"

Knowing one sure way to shut Peiter up, Sabine moved her hands from Peiter's mouth to the sides of his head and began to kiss him passionately. They were at an awkward angle to one another, but it was the first time they had been able to kiss without pain from sunburn that afternoon. Sabine made it linger, running her hands through Peiter's hair affectionately. When Sabine finally lifted her head from Peiter's she took a slow, content breath. "I have to make balm now."

There was a nod from Fendros, "Yes, she has...parents who are very devoted to the eight, so it would not do to tell the whole truth, unfortunately. It was not something I was completely on board with, but it had to be done." Fendros let out a single, cynical guffaw, "We now own a hunting supply shop. Still, it was important for Ahnasha to reunite and make amends with her family. There were a lot of wounds that were healed. I just pray they do not turn up at Bruma without warning."

Fendros stopped to concentrate as Kaleeth took the initiative and hit his sword away. He tried to leap and step back, but once Kaleeth crashed into him, he could not keep his footing for long enough to cut or stab her. He was sent to the ground and pinned. It became a scuffle for who could land a hit first, as Fendros had no advantage in trying to control the grapple.

[EliteCommander]

Throughout the kiss, Peiter held his arms around Sabine, pulling her tightly against him. "Now, why would I ever stop if that's my reward?" He said before letting out a sigh and releasing his grip on her. "But yeah, I suppose you can go make the balm. There are a few dozen people at least waiting for their kind and beautiful savior to come to them with their sweet, alchemical relief. I...think I'm just going to lay here for a while. Don't take too long, it will probably get cold again tonight. I'll need to hold on to you to keep warm, among other reasons."

Kaleeth was able to successfully tackle Fendros to the ground, but once there, her attempts to keep him down were more awkward than she would have liked. With the angle she fell on him, he was able to wriggle his sword arm free, so Kaleeth tried to bring up her sword to hold it to his throat. Unfortunately, just as she raised it off the ground, she felt the edge of his weapon slide cleanly across her back.

"Ah, I knew that was a risk. That was quick thinking." Kaleeth said in defeat before bringing herself back to her feet and extending her hand down to help him up. "I hope they never try to visit unannounced. At least that's something I'll never have to worry about from my family." She commented, but with her last point, she broke eye contact and lowered her head slightly. "Of course, I'm probably never going to get to see them again. So...it isn't really a problem."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine narrowed her eyes and smiled slyly. "Sorry Peiter," she said, almost sarcastically, "It is going to be a while. I have a lot of balm to make." She patted his cheek twice, "So that can be your reward." With one last quick kiss on the lips, Sabine proceeded to put on her shoulder bag and seek out Ma'tanza. Sabine was definitely going to be working under a tent, but finding any sort of help would speed up the process greatly for making something in bulk.

In the heat of the grapple, Fendros was amazed that he managed to cut Kaleeth at all, but her honesty was well enough that she stopped. He accepted her hand and pulled himself up.

When Kaleeth mentioned her own family, Fendros gave a sympathetic smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "They meant a lot to you, didn't they? I know how you feel. I still miss my mother and father sometimes...despite their beliefs." Fendros pulled Kaleeth's side into his in a quick, comforting hug with one hand, before giving her a pat on the back and stepping back to bring up his guard again. "You know, you shouldn't write off the possibility of ever seeing them again. You still have at least half of your lifetime with a good chance to reunite. I may be an elf, but that is still a long time for things to happen."

This time, Fendros stepped up and swung first. He brought his sword around in a light slash to Kaleeth's side, meant to be easy to block but to be distracting. He followed up with a series of similar quick swings before feinting low and making a proper attempt at cutting her neck. Of course, he did his best to slow his strike down so he didn't end up seriously injuring her.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth was having a difficult time keeping up with Fendros' strikes. She usually tried to make up for her lack of agility with her armor and shield, but she was not wearing her armor at the moment, and was of course only using the same weapon as Fendros. She had been training more with just a weapon, but Fendros had more training, and was rather talented. She only barely managed to parry each blow, and as for the last one to her neck, she only blocked by virtue of Fendros slowing his weapon before the hit. "Ah, you would've gotten me there." She admitted.

"I hope to see my parents again, but it's a lot more work to find them. They move all over northern Black Marsh, and the places they go can change over the years. I couldn't just go by their village if we happened to be sailing past Black Marsh. I would have to go there just for that reason. But you are right; I do have time. I hope we can end this war quickly so we can all do what we want with our lives, instead of what we need to do. I want to find a place to settle down and raise Newt in safety." Kaleeth explained.

For her next attack, Kaleeth followed Fendros' example and made a feint towards his chest, then pulling back her blade and swinging around towards his lower body.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros stepped back an attempted to parry Kaleeth's feint, so she had to step forward to follow through. Fortunately for Kaleeth, Fendros' sword was out of position, so he had to step back further. To try and ward Kaleeth off, Fendros swung horizontally from his left, but did not have much of a plan ahead. It made his next movements more telegraphed - a wild slash down on Kaleeth's head from above.

"Quite. As much as I am afraid to, I feel that I need to make amends with my parents as well." Fendros responded, "If only there was some kind of larger objective to work towards. It just feels like we're lashing out and destroying Vile's lairs where they pop up, but we're no closer to finding their central organisation...if there is one."

Fendros pulled a puzzled expression as Kaleeth suggested wanting to find some place to settle down. He was so used to either travelling or living among the Bruma clan that settling down some place else seemed odd. "Say, if we could go some place just to raise the children, where do you think we would go? Bruma has been quite safe since we rooted out their troubles."

[EliteCommander]

Fendros had stepped back far enough that Kaleeth's weapon did not connect, and she was quite off balance with how far she leaned forward. As such, her parry to his horizontal slash was less than ideal. He still ended up nicking her bicep, though it was not a solid enough of a hit to end the bout. His overhead strike was fairly easy for her to block, and afterwards, she backed off slightly while keeping her sword touching his just enough to try and feel his next move.

"I wouldn't mind staying in Bruma, honestly. It's colder than I like, but it is a safe place, and we have friends there. And the Ayleid city is very comfortable and secure. It's just, I would like to actually be able to stay there. I don't want to have to worry about going out on patrols or missions. I don't want to have to worry about fending off lycan hunters working for Vile. Everything has been fine so far, but...you never really know what is going to happen. What if we end up in a fight that's too much for us? Or what if Janius goes out on a patrol and never comes back? What if this mission goes wrong and none of us make it? Even if Newt ends up being fine, I can't bear to think of what any of that would do to him. Having a family just makes me see how much danger we're all always in." Kaleeth answered.

[Muttonhawk]

With a frown, Fendros nodded in understanding. "There have been...many times where I have been deathly afraid for Ahna or Rhazii's safety. I trust Ahna to be able to take care of herself, and sometimes she has to remind me to even then, but..."

As Fendros trailed off, he flicked his wrist around to try and get around Kaleeth's sword and thrust from up high. It was not certain to work, so he used the opportunity of forcing her guard high to step up and try to grab her wrist so he could try to strike her quickly. At that point it would be his speed versus her strength.

Whatever the outcome of the bout, Fendros had a brighter face as he recalled something. "When we had sessions with Najirra, he would hear us saying similar things to what you said, recounting our worries. After it all, often regardless of what our worries were, he would just ask us two questions;" Fendros raised two fingers, "Would we truly have control over that situation? And, is it useful for us to have such a worry in our minds at that moment?" Fendros showed his teeth in a small grin for a fraction of a second, "It may sound quite simple and strange, but just realising that a thought isn't useful to be thinking all the time is grounds to cope. You just...turn away that thought when you do not need it." he shrugged before raising his guard again, "It made more sense when he explained it, I can promise that."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth of course brought her guard up high to defend against Fendros' attack, which was successful. She expected him to back off and was already starting the motion to strike back against his arm when he made a move that surprised her. Instead of backing off, or even just trying something else with his weapon, he stepped in to grab her. Understandably, it was the last tactic that Kaleeth was expecting. She could outmatch him easily for strength, so a grapple was pretty much guaranteed to go in her favor. In fact, she was able to jerk her hand back hard enough to nearly pull him off balance, but his grab had served its purpose. He was able to move her sword arm enough to give him an opportunity for a clean strike.

Once Fendros' weapon hit against Kaleeth's neck, she backed off and lightly rubbed the area. "That was...clever. I need to remember not to be so confident, even in the things I am good at." She remarked. Instead of taking up a guard position once more, she stood leaning on her sword, with its tip resting in the sand to allow herself to rest. "Anyway, I just have a hard time not thinking about it. I mean, if me and Janius were to run off on our own from Newt, we wouldn't be in this war anymore. We would probably be safer, but...none of you would be. I wouldn't feel right leaving you all behind while you're in the middle of a war. I couldn't live with myself if I knew any of you were hurt because I wasn't there to help you. You don't have to worry about me running away or anything, so...I guess there isn't much of a point in worrying about it. I'm not going to be able to do anything to get rid of the danger, so I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I can to make myself better to help protect them."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros smiled and shook his head slightly, bowing it forward. Not only did it amaze him how easily Kaleeth put herself down, even after all these years, but Fendros thought that perhaps he didn't communicate his message properly. Nevertheless, he held the blade of his wooden sword in his other hand and let Kaleeth take a break.

"Don't worry, we trust you not to run off," Fendros said, "You do what you think best, and we'll all protect each other, just like always."

Fendros took a step back and raised his guard again. "As for making yourself better, you know exactly what you need to do about that. Come on, let's put worries aside and focus on practice for now."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth took in a deep breath, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Well, on your guard, then." She said, readying her weapon. Ridding herself of the fears that were, in her mind, very realistic would not be an easy task, but at the very least, training was something she could do with a definite, tangible benefit. As long as she was not wasting time with her thoughts doing nothing, she could be content.

As night fell on the camp, the temperature dropped and most people headed to their tents. At the very least, most of the clan had access to bedrolls, so they could get a reasonably comfortable night's rest. Unfortunately, they could not keep fires going trough the night, since they had to conserve the firewood they brought with them from the forest. However, the night air, while cold, did remain well above freezing, so the clan was not in danger of anything other than some discomfort. There were some high winds in the night, and Ra'jorr did warn that a sandstorm was possible, but nothing had come of it by morning.

The clan awoke early in the morning and set about quickly packing up the camp once everyone had a chance for breakfast. There was much that needed to be packed away, but the clan was surprisingly disciplined in most aspects of travel. It was a skill that most of the clan had been forced to learn in the aftermath of the attack that had driven them from Senchal, which now allowed them to be ready to move almost as fast as a small warband.

[Muttonhawk]

The night fell quickly, allowing less time before sleeping than everyone suspected, though there were few people who were not tired by the end of a day of travel anyway.

Sabine managed to get all her balm done with Ma'tanza's help. M'ibasa did end up watching for a bit and even helping out, but a combination of fatigue and boredom sent him to his regular scurrying and eventually to his bed.

Tzirret ended up trying another magic lesson with Irenya, but did not make very much progress. Unlike Sabine, Irenya's approach to teaching magic piled on a lot more background theory. This was challenging for Tzirret, but it meant that the attempts at practical application were better informed.

Fendros spent a bit of time awake in reflection that night, with Ahnasha and Rhazii sleeping in his arms. It turned out that Kaleeth's notion of living without the danger of the war had not been something he had considered. By the end of it, his duties overtook any desire to settle down. Although, he had found himself caught between the desires of safety for his family and a more exciting life for himself and Ahnasha than bookwork for the clan.

The next morning had Gallus stomping up to the head of the moving clan at a hurried, brisk walk. Behind him were a couple of Khajiit rangers who had come back from their dawn patrol. Despite the severe expression on Gallus' face, he couldn't help but marvel at the good time that the clan was making. He had expected a much slower pace due to the civilian discipline and the elderly and injured, but the Senche and S'nishi effectively gave the clan more beasts - or simply people - of burden that they would not normally have. Also, the clan was getting much better at packing up and moving swiftly.

Gallus became more focussed when he caught sight of Ri'nakhad and Meesei. "Champion, clan leader," he said firmly. If he was not referring to them by name, it said enough about the severity of the situation. Once he had their attention, he turned to the rangers. "What was your name? Dagritta? I need you to tell them what you told me."

The taller of the two rangers seemed slightly out of breath as he faced Meesei and Ri'nakhad while they moved. "Leader...M-" He swallowed, nervously speaking with a thick accent, "Champion. We spotted some mounted soldiers, Elsweyr soldiers, outriders - Khajiit on desert horses and Senche - four altogether. They were following the tracks of the clan. We did not know why they were following us, they just seemed to be following the trail we have left."

The ranger glanced to Gallus, who waved his hand for him to continue with a hurried speed to it. "We did what we could to hide ourselves and lead them away. Warning shots with our bows, not hits. We knew others would come to find them if they went missing. We were able to make them think they were being ambushed, so they fled, but...there will be more. If we do not do something, they will come back in force, perhaps with Thalmor. They stick their snouts in the business of Khajiit when there are strange matters at hand." The ranger lowered his head, "They probably to not know that we are lycans, but they may have been following us since shortly after we left the ships. Such a large number of tracks would not go unchecked from Cyrodiil."

"To make matters worse," Gallus added, still deadly serious, "if they have been following us from the ships, they may have found all the chains, which means they might take us for slavers. I do believe that we will have to confront them in some manner, preferably not kicking the ant nest in the process."

After packing up quickly, Tzirret sought out Ma'tanza to travel alongside during the morning. They would likely gravitate towards the rest of their friends as usual, but Tzirret was eager to see her, even after having breakfast with her earlier. "Greetings again, Ma'tanza," Tzirret said as he approached with a smile. For some reason, he looked slightly tired, having puffy eyes and ears that didn't seem to stand completely. This could have been explained earlier with trying to wake up, but he didn't seem to improve much since breakfast.

Tzirret gave Ma'tanza a quick hug and fell in beside her to begin walking, weaving his hand with hers. "This one wants to show you something," he said proudly, bringing his empty hand up in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to concentrate. Eventually, magicka clumsily flowed out of his hand without doing much of anything, not even making a visible spell. He furrowed his brow and frowned, trying again, but after about half a minute, he released a disappointed sigh.

"Tzirret does not understand," Tzirret bowed his head, somewhat sadly, "He practiced so much last night. He was able to make a light before." He sighed and turned his head away, "Never mind. Tzirret is still stupid."

As Tzirret's magical tuition had been haphazard and brief so far, it was not fair to assume that he would be able to cast a light spell already unless he was especially talented. Still, he had embarrassed himself with a brief moment of overconfidence.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei's expression became just as severe as Gallus'. They had already packed up their belongings, but Meesei set down her bags upon hearing about this event. Ri'nakhad was equally troubled as his eyes went out over the horizon. "We could have this discussion confidentially for now." He recommended.

None of the clan's tents were large enough to accommodate a meeting, and even if they were, most of them had been packed away by this point. As such, they found a rocky area near the edge of camp that they could speak in relative privacy. Ri'nakhad made a point of finding Ra'jorr to bring him into the discussion as well. Being that he was both a native of the desert, and the commander of the clan's warriors, his input would be valuable.

Meesei was the one to begin the discussion. "I feel that we require as much information as possible before we can make a decision. Ideally, we want to avoid resorting to violence to solve this. Even if we can defeat them, it would bring the wrong kind of attention to us. Avoiding them entirely would be the best option. Is there a way we could force them to lose our tracks, or perhaps simply outlast them? Would these outriders have the supplies to follow us across the desert all the way to Orcrest."

Ra'jorr's body language was neither completely confident nor hopeless in Meesei's suggestions. "It is possible, but not guaranteed. These riders and the force they are scouting for likely would not normally have the supplies to pursue so far from their posting. However, that could change depending upon how close they are to their nearest supply outpost. As for losing our trail, it is also possible, but for a group of this size, the only way we could guarantee that would be to take advantage of a sandstorm. Since we cannot control the weather, that option is dependent upon chance."

Meesei nodded in understanding. "I see. then we need to learn more about them." She commented, turning her attention to one of the scouts. "How certain are you that they were soldiers of Anequina's military?"

At first, Ma'tanza's reaction was wordless. She leaned in and gave him a longer hug before eventually speaking up. "Tzirret, you're expecting too much from too little. You haven't had enough practice to start casting spells yet. You have learned how to manipulate magicka, that Ma'tanza can feel. So, that is certainly something. Just keep putting in the time for practice and you'll be fine. Maybe in the meantime, you can learn something else to help? There is more ways to help the injured than just magic. You can learn how to properly bandage people, how to set broken bones, staunch bleeding, and generally care for someone who is hurt. You could even learn how to mix a basic healing potion, and how to know how much of a potion to give." She suggested.

[Muttonhawk]

The shorter ranger responded this time, pointing a thumb to his chest. "Aurg'ta got a good look at them. All had uniforms of Anequina soldiers, probably a border patrol."

"And how fast were they able to move?" Gallus asked, "Do you know how long it would take them to report this? How much time we have until they respond?"

"Like we said, desert horses, and the Senche can keep up with them. There aren't many guard posts this far out as far as we know, so it might be a day or two before we spot anyone else." The ranger shrugged, "That is Aurg'ta's best guess."

Gallus clenched his teeth for a moment, "As I thought, they'll be able to outpace us easily." He then looked to Meesei and Ri'nakhad, "If we do not find a sandstorm, if they catch up to us, what then? I agree we cannot attack them, but a colony of mostly unarmed mixed races coming in from the Empire...with few enough clothes to boot...Ra'jorr?" Gallus looked up, "Do patrols tend to check up on wandering desert groups?"

A few possible solutions came up in Gallus' mind, but he was not confident enough in them for now. He stood thinking and waiting for other input.

Although he returned the hug, Tzirret sighed forlornly, "You are probably right. It's just that...Tzirret stayed up late practising this last night and he managed to make a light then. He must have just forgotten how." Tzirret's glum face did nod to one side with acknowledgement, "Those other things sound useful. Perhaps he should try those before pursuing healing magic so much."

There was a murmuring that spread across the clan at that moment. All the walking had stopped. There was no cry of alarm, so perhaps one of the Senche's had accidentally slept in? Tzirret could only guess, but he tried not to be too bothered by it. Instead, he continued talking to Ma'tanza. "How long did it take Ma'tanza to cast a spell for the first time?"

[EliteCommander]

Ra'jorr hummed in thought. "The soldiers will check up on anything out of the ordinary. We, unfortunately, are not normal. The desert tribes can wander undisturbed, but if they have been following us, then they will know that we are not one of them." He explained.

"I doubt they will give up. Or at least, I would not count on them losing interest." Meesei commented. "Still, we do have some options. As I mentioned before, it is still possible we could get away from them. We will not be able to outrun them, but we may be able to outlast them. If they are not supplied for a trek across the desert, then they will not be able to follow us for too long. We could slip far enough away that the sands will cover our tracks before they can get themselves properly supplied. If that does not work, we may be forced to confront them, hopefully without violence. We could once again play the role of escapes slaves. If they found our ship, we could explain our presence by saying that we managed to overpower our captors, then sail here. We could simply say that we are trying to get to safety in Orcrest." She suggested.

Ma'tanza looked to the side briefly, rubbing her chin. "Uh, hmm...Ma'tanza cannot remember too well. It has been a very long time. She was studying magic even before she was turned. It took a while of practice to learn the basics. It is not an easy discipline, as this one said. Healing was the first kind of magic that she started to learn. It's one of the most useful for the average person; mending wounds, resisting disease, giving yourself energy. All of that is useful for someone who has to work, or a cub who wanted to be able to play for longer, in Ma'tanza's case. Anyway, we're probably going to be moving soon, but what do you want to try to learn first? You'll need to learn all about the body and how to care for it, and for more than just Khajiit, probably. Humans and Elves are pretty similar, though Argonians are pretty different."