EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Just realized I can connect again. Not too much time to post, but I'll do what I can, provided it stays up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Website has been kind of spotty today, hasn't it? I just now started to be able to connect.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unlike usual, most of the pack was not in too much of a hurry to dry off once they finally got out of the water, as the cool of the water was a great way to counterbalance the warmth of the air. For once in her life, Ahnasha was glad to have fur which trapped in the water for an extended time, since it kept her at a comfortable temperature for longer than the others. She made sure not to let up on bragging about it to Fendros to get at least a little revenge on him for his relentless assault before, though she still needed to do something else to truly get even.

Normally, the pack traveled through the wilds to reach their destination, but since most of the pack was not adept at traversing marshlands, Meesei consulted their map to bring them to a road...if it could be called that. Waterways were the primary method of travel in the marsh, so land-based routes were often overgrown, but it was still faster than wading through the swamps. It took a few days of travel for them to near the city, during which time the road seemed to become more well-maintained. They ended up passing more travelers than Meesei expected, a surprising number of which were non-Argonian. Even so, they received far fewer strange looks for their choice of attire than they were used to in Cyrodiil, since Argonians from smaller villages often wore more 'tribal' clothing. The most curiosity from strangers seemed to be as to why such a mix of races would all adopt the same style.

When they finally reached the city, they easily saw why it had gained such a reputation. The marsh had become much less dense as they drew closer to the coast, so when they crested the hill just beyond the city, they were greeted by the magnificent sight of Thorn set against the vast expanse of the ocean behind it The region was still marshland, but the area immediately around the city had been cleared and was fairly open. Along the side of the well-maintained road cobblestone road leading up to the city were multicolored flowers, some native, and some imported from other parts of Tamriel. The walls were a fine, white stone with flowering vines growing up them, while the gate was carved and painted with patterns of thorn-covered vines. Inside the city, the architecture and aesthetics were just as majestic. The buildings were made from either a similar white stone to the walls, or carved wood. For Meesei, it seemed just as alien as any other city she had been in, as the style only seemed to have slight Argonian influence, almost to the point where it would not be noticeable if she did not know what to look for. Regardless, she had to admit it was quite beautiful, which was clearly something the residents of Thorn cared greatly about. Hanging above them as they walked through the surprisingly crowded streets were more flowering vines suspended from wooden beams running between buildings. Indeed, there seemed to be colorful flowers growing in many places across the city.

Although Argonians were still the largest group, over half of the people they saw were a mix of other races. One group that stood out was a group of Khajiit draped with flowing, multicolored cloths walking beside them. Ahnasha recognized them as a kind of traditional Khajiit acrobats, but was rather confused on why they would be in a city in Black Marsh. As they continued on, however, they walked with the crowd into a sort of open market area that explained why the city was so exceptionally lively. There appeared to be some sort of festival going on, with people from all over Tamriel coming to experience it. Certainly, it explained the extravagant decorations all over the city, though it would still be quite beautiful even without them. Music filled the air and the scents of all sorts of foods and flowers mixed to form an odd, but pleasurable sensation. Meesei felt rather strongly out of her element in such a place, but as usual, she maintained her composure.

"I heard this place was beautiful, but...this is definitely not what I expected from a Black Marsh city. It's so...lively, and vibrant." Ahnasha commented.

"Neither did I." Meesei added. "I think Thorn may be unique among Black Marsh cities. The Argonian influence is not too obvious, at least not on the surface. I suppose we still do not know a lot about the people here. I am guessing many of these people are only visitors to this place. Still, we have time to learn. I think at some point soon, we should purchase some clothes for use in the city. We have these city clothes, but they do not match the local styles of city Argonians. Many of the visitors aren't wearing clothing in that style, but it may help Ariel not to be seen as a simple visitor."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I am rather exhausted at the moment, so I gave a short post. I can timeskip us to thorn once we are done with this scene.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag shrugged. "She is with her sister, I guess." He said, breaking his silence. He did find it strange as well how Runt was acting, so much so that he was genuinely curious as to what caused it.

Meesei nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Ariel most likely was part of Sabine's life since she could first form memories. Even if some of those memories ended up being bad, that is still quite an imprint to leave. I think it is good that she is getting along well with her sister. Being able to settle her problems from her past will make the ritual that much easier."

"Wait, I wouldn't happen to be...no, wait stop!" Ahnasha shouted before she began to laugh uncontrollably. She twitched and curled up around the spot Fendros was tickling. "No!, Please, I can't..." She said, unable to form complete sentences. As her arms were flailing around, she accidentally ended up dragging one of her claws across Fendros' inner thigh.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's perfectly fine. Such responsibilities come first.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei noticed Ariel's hesitation to get in the water. She knew about her inability to swim, but had not thought greatly on the matter before this point. Being that they were in Black Marsh, water was ubiquitous, and flooding was a concern. Most of the cities were built in places that were safe from rising waters, but if she ever wanted to go elsewhere, being able to swim would be helpful. "You know, Ariel, I should teach you to swim. Well, maybe I should not be the one to teach you; I would not know the first thing about teaching someone else to swim, as it is basically instinctual for Argonians. Perhaps one of the others could teach you? As I am sure you can tell, there is no shortage of water in Black Marsh, so it is something you may want to learn. Failing that, you could always learn a water walking spell, although it may not be wise to rely only on your magic to deal with water."

Ahnasha paused for a moment in thought. She was relatively certain that a lycan could safely transform at any point during a pregnancy, but it would still be rather unfortunate timing if it happened exactly during the full moons. "I don't know, I think it would be fine. I mean, I know childbirth in and of itself is a dangerous thing. Mothers and children alike die all the time from complications. I admit, I get a little afraid when I think about it sometimes, but I do believe I have better chances than most. Khajiit cubs are born smaller than elven babies, so it is less risky by that fact alone. The bodies of lycans can live through much more punishment than those without the blessing, so that also helps me. Not to mention the fact that Meesei will be there to help with her magic. I don't think there is much of a reason to worry. It will probably hurt worse than anything I have ever experienced, but...there isn't much I can do about that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei smiled, obviously pleased that Ariel seemed to like it, or at least not hate it. "Trodh are fairly common in Black Marsh, but there are other dishes that are actually dead before we eat them. With all the unique plants and animals in the area, Argonian cuisine is just as unique. I will warn you that you should always do research before trying a dish you haven't seen before. Some of the foods we eat are highly poisonous to other races. Anyway, I will catch a few more trodh later that you can experiment on. Do you feel like joining us in the water, in the meantime?"

Ahnasha nodded. "Yes, but not quite for the reason you are thinking. The phase of the moons associated with Senche is the full moons and, well, you know what happens to lycans in full moons. We've been through a few of those over the past few months. I'm not entirely sure what would happen if I started to lose control while giving birth. I mean, my beast spirit is instinct driven, so maybe it would know enough to try and stay calm for the ordeal. Perhaps it wouldn't even put up enough of a fight to make me turn? Either way, everyone else would be in their lycan forms, so I would be having to do it all alone...except for Meesei, I suppose. Her ring could keep her in her normal form, so she could help me. Still, I hope it happens after the full moon, and not during."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Site seems to be acting up today. I'll respond if it lets me.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded to Ariel. "He speaks the truth. Trodh produce a deadly poison shortly after death, but swallowing them whole prevents that." To reinforce the validity of what she was saying, she grabbed one of the creatures from the waterskin and ate it whole in front of her. "Feel free to join us in the pond if you like, and perhaps try one of the trodh. I won't force you to, but I will say, they are rather good. At the very least, I'm guessing you will want a few dead ones to experiment with. If they can produce such a strong poison naturally, I can only imagine what you could do with it. Though, with the concoctions I have seen you make, I wouldn't be surprised if you made a health potion out of it."

Ahnasha gave a slight laugh when Fendros touched one of the more sensitive areas of her foot, though she tried not to call attention to it. "The potions have taken effect, the salve is working, so overall, I feel fine." She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled to draw a bit more attention towards their child. "Only about three and a half more months to go. I'm about halfway through. Just think, in only a few more months, we'll have our own cub. I've been talking with Meesei about the phases of the moons, and it seems that there will be three different phases around the time I should be due. Based on that, we think it might end up being a Cathay, Cathay-raht...or Senche."