EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth felt tired, afraid, hopeless, and about every other emotion that made her want to lay down and give up. Nothing could be the same as it was again, nothing would ever be normal. She hated what she had become and was afraid to even get up and move, for fear of agitating her beast. She gave no physical resistance when Janius picked her up, but she desperately wanted him to stop. She did not feel safe going to the village. And what of her father? They had easily outrun him, but he would not give up tracking them. He would end up finding Janius' things, and she did not know what he would do from there.

Looking up into Janius' eyes, she spoke weakly, in a pleading tone. "Please, stop. I don't want to go back, it...dangerous. I'll hurt someone. Father will hurt you, then I might hurt him. I don't want to hurt anyone, please." She begged. She did not understand all the details of her new condition, but she knew she needed to keep it from everyone. However, she was in no position to actually resist Janius. Even if she tried, he would no doubt overpower her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With how much she was tearing away from the crocodile at once, it did not take long for Kaleeth to devour the majority of the crocodile. All that remained of it were scattered shards of bone and a few scraps of tissue covering the ground around them. Both her jaws and the mud beneath her were covered in copious amounts of blood, further adding to the gruesome nature of the scene. It was a great relief to her when she felt her beast spirit start to calm. While werecrocodiles did not have the same pack instincts as werewolves, therefore making them more unpredictable, there was one silver lining to this version of lycanthropy. As cold blooded creatures, crocodiles possessed more efficient digestive systems than warm bloods, so it took less food to satisfy them. As a result, the meal was more than sufficient to make her beast spirit want to rest, giving her back more control.

Kaleeth's beast spirit contented itself in curling up on the ground to rest, with just a bit of a push from Kaleeth. After a few minutes, it receded enough in her mind that her body started to shift back into her normal form. It was a painful transformation, but while she was laying on the ground sobbing by the end of it, the physical pain was not what she cared about. She was a monster, and according to Janius, there was no way to fix it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth ran through the marsh, trying her best to hold on to her own consciousness. Fighting her beast's urges were futile, and she knew it, so all she could hope to do was to direct it away from those she cared about. She knew Janius was following, and she wished he would go away. She didn't know what this beast was going to do if it couldn't find prey, and she did not want to hurt anyone.

Kaleeth's senses were not improved, but she did have her same sense of smell. She could sense something nearby, something small, but nonetheless alive. If nothing else, it would be an appetizer for her beast. She followed the scent to its source, but as she was none too stealthy at the moment, the small lizard easily saw her and ran, diving straight into the river. Unfortunately for the creature, that was likely the worst choice it could have made. When Kaleeth dove into the river, she went from being slow and clumsy, to being a fast and streamlined predator. While in the water in this form, her powerful tail could propel her at dizzying speeds and her natural camouflage made her near impossible to detect under the water.

From the surface, Janius would be able to see some motion, but the murky waters obscured exactly what was going on beneath. The only thing that was certain was that jumping into the water with a werecrocodile was likely the last mistake any creature could make. About a minute passed before she resurfaced, but when she did, it was in a much more spectacular display than one would have anticipated. Instead of a measly lizard, Kaleeth practically jumped out of the water with a regular, but fully grown crocodile in her jaws. The creature thrashed about in her maw, but there was no escaping the sheer strength of her jaws. The only chance it had to run was when she briefly opened them once more to bite down on it, but it was too slow to take advantage of the opportunity. Her jaws snapped shut with a bite force that essentially cut the crocodile in two. Its bones and organs were crushed in an instant, leaving only shreds of tissue and scales holding it together. As the beast started to tear away pieces of the meat, Kaleeth did her best to ignore Janius nearby and hoped that the crocodile would be enough to satisfy it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once again, Kaleeth heard the words that Janius spoke, but was too overwhelmed to comprehend them. Her mind was not entirely hers. It was not completely the beast's like last time, but she could not claim complete control of her actions. In all honesty, she could not tell where its thoughts ended and hers began; her mind was wrapped up in its instincts and basic desires. Fortunately, her beast did not have a desire to kill her mate, but it still wanted to kill, and it was not going to be denied. The best she could possibly do was to go along with it, but to direct it somewhere else, anywhere else.

After staring down Janius for a few moments, Kaleeth picked a direction and suddenly started running in search for prey, though she was not particularly quick in this form on land. It would not be difficult at all for Janius to keep up, but Kaleeth's conscious mind was doing the best she could to just ignore him. The less she thought about him, the less urges she would have to kill him. There were no scents of prey in the air that she could track, but nevertheless, she was moving with a rather confident purpose.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth heard Janius' words, but she couldn't bring herself to believe them, not when she could feel its presence crawling under her scales. Panic had consumed her, so she kept running long after her father had been left behind. She ran in no particular direction, just wanting to get away from anyone she could hurt. She ran until her legs failed her and she fell onto her hands and knees. She continued to sob, her arms shaking and nearly causing her to collapse into the mud. Janius stood over her, and she was sure he was probably talking to her, but she could hear nothing over the sounds of her own cries. There was nothing she could do to stop it now. She finally looked up and made eye contact with him. "Janius, I...not werewolf."

The beast had weakened her mind to the point that it could finally emerge. She screamed out in pain as it started to overwhelm her body. Her bones began to break and reform as her body grew around them. Instead of fur, her scales thickened and her tail lengthened. Her jaws and teeth grew in size while her claws elongated. By the end of her transformation, her form was similar to that of a large daedroth; she was a werecrocodile. Her version of lycanthropy made her even larger and stronger than a werewolf, though not nearly as fast nor agile out of water. The bite force on her massive jaws were stronger than almost any other creature on Nirn, though her senses were not improved at all from her basic Argonian form. Standing to her feet, she looked down on Janius with a low, rumbling growl. As a crocodile, she did not have the same kind of pack mentality as a werewolf, so it was only the fact that she regarded him as her mate that kept her from attacking. She was not completely out of control like the first time she turned, but neither was she completely in control.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth continued to sob for a few moments after Janius finished speaking, then slowly shook her head. "No, it is not safe, it...it..." She tried to find the right words, but just ended up panting more heavily. She felt wrong in every way possible, and she could feel it getting worse. Eventually, it got to the point where she knew she could not bear it for much longer. She had to go, right then.

"I...I'm sorry." She said before suddenly bolting off deeper into the marsh at blinding speeds.

"Kaleeth!" Zharanthixil shouted, immediately running after her. Unfortunately for him, her surprisingly powerful legs were carrying her at speeds he did not think she was capable of. He found himself confused and desperate in equal measure. He did not know what kind of insanity had overtaken her, but he needed to catch her and find out what was wrong. After days of thinking she was dead, she was now right in front of him, and he was not going to let her go. However, it was clear that both she and Janius were gaining ground on him. At this point, he did not care if it was Janius who caught her, he just wanted her to be safe.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I...I am not hurt, but..." Kaleeth began. Her breathing continued to speed up as she glanced to her father nervously. "I am afraid."

Perceiving himself to be the source of Kaleeth's fear, Zharanthixil placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with as sympathetic of a gaze as possible. After all that had happened over the past few days, he no longer wanted to worry about acting on his hatred. He still did not like Janius or the other outsiders, and he still hated the fact that Kaleeth was associating with them, but right now, he just wanted his family back.

"You don't need to be afraid, Kaleeth. I am not going to hurt you, I'm not going to yell at you. I just want to take you back home. Get you some food, water, and rest. All I want is my daughter back, Kaleeth. I don't want to be angry at you anymore." He said reassuringly.

Kaleeth could not bring herself to make eye contact, so she instead started looking at the ground. She wished she could just turn back time and take back everything she had done, but the growing feeling inside of her was a constant reminder that it wasn't possible. "No, it is not that. I love you, father. It is just that...I just..." She began, but as the fear and other emotions started to overwhelm her, she stopped and closed her eyes. She could bring herself to do little more than sob, and for the moment, was completely unresponsive.

The Depths of Deception

Before Ashley could respond, Rareth suddenly found herself quite surrounded, with several people talking to her at once. The hallway had become rather crowded, and honestly, it would probably be best to move their conversations elsewhere. She glanced back and forth between the people talking to her, then held up both of her hands. "Hold on, I cannot really talk to everyone at once."

Walking over to the door to the middle suite, which the Dirophyd had chosen, she looked back to the group and spoke up to get everyone's attention. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think it would be best to get out of the hall. How about we all head to this suite for the moment. It should be at a somewhat reasonable temperature. We can get our living situation figured out and introduce ourselves properly."

With a touch of her hand, Rareth opened the door and entered the suite. The Dirophyd was on the couch in the living room and did not appear to be doing much of anything interesting. The suite was made for four, but there was enough furniture in the living room for everyone to be seated with only a little crowding. The aesthetics were as ugly as ever, but it was starting to get to the point where she could ignore it. She took a seat on the couch opposite the Dirophyd and watched the group entering through the main door. "So where were we? I believe someone was asking me if I am part of the Rahn'Masser? That is correct...though anything further is classified and must remain undisclosed." She said with a chuckle.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Zharanthixil was again surprised with how sensitive Janius' senses were, but at the moment, he could not care less. Once they started off in the direction Janius specified, he was able to hear her voice as well. He continued to shout out to her, and she continued to respond, growing louder and louder as they drew closer. Eventually, it was clear enough that he could unmistakably say that it was Kaleeth's. The anger, disappointment, and disdain he had felt towards her when she first left had dissipated over the past few days and was replaced with the desire to simply see her again alive. Now that desire was close to being fulfilled, and there was nothing else on Nirn that mattered more to him.

After a few minutes of calling out to one another, the pair closed in on her. Zharanthixil pushed his way through some thick shrubbery until he finally saw her, though she was in quite a different state as when she left. She was naked, unarmed, and covered in mud from the marsh. Everything about her made it seem like she was in duress, but strangely, there wasn't a hint of injury across her body. Just like the trail they followed to reach her, the scent she carried was not quite her own, though the mud caked on her scales was masking most of it.

"Father, Janius?" Kaleeth said in disbelief. While she certainly felt both relief and joy to see the two, she felt afraid as well. Very afraid. Zharanthixil was too overwhelmed to notice it at the moment, her body language was apprehensive, nervous. She did not move as her father ran to her and hugged her, other than shaking slightly in place.

"Kaleeth, I...I am sorry. For everything I said, I just...I am so glad to see you alive." Zharanthixil said sincerely

"I forgive you, father." Kaleeth responded in an anxious, somewhat distracted tone. Her emotions were washing over her like a flood, so by the time she pulled away from him, she was breathing heavily. There was definitely something wrong with her.

The Depths of Deception

During this time of year, I expect people to have random absences.