EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I think so. Could you get something for me? Something raw, preferably. I...would rather sit here for a while." She said, keeping her head turned away from the others. She reached up and tried to wipe away some of the tears to make herself more presentable to the others. She hoped that Ariel would be compassionate when it came to price, if there was even a potion that could help her, though at this point, Ahnasha would trade everything she had for some relief, especially if it meant Sabine got a recipe as well.

"Hmm, I think I want to learn to be good with my mace before I try to learn with anything else. Once that happens, we can maybe try a sword? Or since I already know how to use a spear against animals, I could try training with it against people." Kaleeth reasoned as she stood up and cheerfully gathered their portion of breakfast from the campfire. Her cut of meat was cooked, but it was closer to raw than she had been eating, as she had noticed that others like Ahnasha and Meesei never seemed to cook their meals. It was a thought that made her both uneasy and curious, so she compromised by simply trying it undercooked at first.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth leaned over and scratched Leaps behind the holes that were his ears, causing him to chirp enthusiastically. She then sat down beside Janius and leaned up against him, still smiling widely. "I think I know what I want to do today. It...might seem strange, but...I want to practice. To train. After what we talked about yesterday, I want to stop myself from feeling so sad again, so grim. I felt that way because I felt helpless, so...I want to make it so I never feel helpless again. I want to practice; I want to get better, stronger, faster. I am motivated to actually do all of those things. Meesei did say we need to turn before we get on the ship, so we could train me for a while with the mace and shield again, then maybe go for a hunt as a crocodile? What do you think?"

Ahnasha accepted Fendros' comfort, but was completely silent for a while, not because the nightmare was too greatly scarring, but because she was concentrating in thought. Since she had awoken, she had been trying to think about some way to fight the night terrors between flashbacks to her torture. There was one thing that came to her mind which would not be too disruptive to try. It was not likely to work, and even if it did, it would only serve to bandage the issue, but at least it would be something. "I don't know how to fix this, but, I was thinking, maybe we could ask Ariel? Maybe there is some kind of potion that can help. I doubt there is anything that can stop nightmares, but maybe there is something that can just stop us from having dreams altogether. It's not perfect, and it would only last as long as the potions, but at least it would let us rest peacefully for a while. Should we pay Ariel's shop a visit later?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The next morning found Kaleeth in a cheerful mood. She awoke earlier than most of the others, and even took it upon herself to get the fire started and begin cooking their breakfast. The previous day had seen extremes of emotional highs and lows, but now, she had an energetic enthusiasm for the future in a way she had not felt for quite a while. As the meat on the fire was cooking, she crept over to Janius and sat down on her knees just above his head. She carefully placed her hands on his shoulders, then shook him awake. As soon as his eyes opened, she gave him a kiss before he could react. After a few moments, she pulled away and looked down at him with a bright smile. "Good morning! How are you feeling, because I feel just...great. I feel, what is the word...motivated."

Only one other person awoke before Kaleeth, and she was laying curled up in a ball on the other side of camp, with a leather blanket obscuring her from most of the others. Once again, Ahnasha was awoken by her horrid nightmares, but she managed to awaken quietly enough that she did not even disturb Fendros beside her. It had been about half an hour, but there was no way she was going back to sleep. Instead, she was silently sobbing, the fur on her face soaked with tears. There had to be some way for her to stop this torture. Even if the nightmares were less frequent than they had been, the fact that she was having to suffer through them at all was almost maddening.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We...can do that. It might not be an extravagant dinner, but it would be cheaper certainly. But.." Rukeewei began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Your friends are camping outside the walls? That doesn't seem particularly...great, especially with the city so close by. I mean, I suppose you do what you must if you don't have any gold. I...I wish I could help you. I really do want to, but...I just don't think I can afford that many free rooms. We are close to being booked to capacity as it is. I could perhaps spare one or two, but that would be very cramped for how many of you there are, not to mention your belongings. Maybe...camping out is the best option after all." Rukeewei reasoned. He knew Sabine did not ask, but he still felt somewhat guilty that he could not offer them assistance.

"But, yes, I think it would be nice to have a simple dinner here. My brother has the night shift tomorrow, so...how about tomorrow night, about an hour after this time? The inn usually is not too crowded by that point, and as long as we are not too loud, we shouldn't disturb anyone." He suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei shook his head. "Not beyond Black Marsh. I do have some family in Helstrom that I have visited before, but for the most part, I've always been in Thorn. I have heard about the Imperial City before, though. Mostly from my patrons. They say the tower at its center reaches above the clouds, though I'm sure that is an exaggeration. If you ever find yourself back here, I would love to hear about it from someone with a little less of a bias than the travelers who call it home."

Out of the corner of his eye, Rukeewei saw his brother looking at him, but he still had at least a few minutes before it was time for his shift. "Anyway, if you're only going to be in town for a short time, we should all do something together, your friends too. I know the festival isn't going on or anything, but even just a dinner would be nice. I'm sure we could find at least an hour or two of free time in the next two days."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright. We can move on to morning whenever.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Don't think there is much more I can add to the scene with Kaleeth and Janius. I think it's at a good conclusion.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I couldn't agree more." Rukeewei whispered back as Ariel pulled away. Rukeewei had not known Sabine long enough to know what she had been like from experience, but Ariel had certainly talked about her before. She had never told him exactly where Sabine went when they left a few months ago, but she had told him some about her personality. Of course, what Ariel had said about her did not seem to be holding true, though Rukeewei wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

"I have been good, all things considered. I need to take over for my brother soon, but I do have some time to talk. How about we have a seat?" Rukeewei suggested, motioning to the nearest empty table. As they were taking their seats, Rukeewei seemed to be in a genuinely good mood, as a lot of the stress of the past few days had been lifted off of him. "It's nice to see that you two have the opportunity to spend time together once more. How long will you be in town this time?" He asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Kaleeth and Janius walked along the beach, her head lowered and her expression was as melancholy as Janius' tone. She had no idea that Janius had been going through so much pain recently, and she felt guilty for not noticing. She was always so distracted by her own suffering that she failed to notice his, and to make matters worse, she was the cause of it. She hated that she did not recognize what she had been doing to him. She was saddened by the fact that Janius did not want children as she did, but at least with that topic, he did say it was something they could try in a few years. It was something she could latch on to in order to keep up hope that she might have a family one day, but that slight relief did not overshadow her own regret for how she had been acting over the last few months.

When Janius looked into Kaleeth's eyes, tears started to form within them. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't know I was hurting you like that. I was selfish, too selfish to see what I was doing to you. I should have...been stronger, I should have trained harder. I shouldn't have let the fear get to me. I shouldn't have made you hate me."

Kaleeth lowered her gaze to her feet, now silently sobbing. "I still love you, Janius. I don't think i can go on without you. We...we don't have to have an egg now...or ever, if you don't want." She said in a pained voice before raising her head back up to look at him once more. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a shaky breath before trying to smile. "I just want to have more days like today."

---

Inwardly, Rukeewei breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he had been trying to distract himself with other things, he had been going through what he had said in his mind since the last time he spoke to Ariel and had been regretting it more and more. However, the surprise of Sabine suddenly pulling Ariel over to him made his response just as nervous and awkward as her apology. "Oh, well, um, no. I mean...I'm not mad...anymore...is what I meant. I'm sure you didn't..." Rukeewei stammered, but luckily, he managed to stop himself, take in a deep breath, and collect his thoughts. "What I mean is I'm sorry too. We were stressed and not thinking clearly. Can we...just forget it ever happened? I would much rather just move on to other things, like your sister here. When did she get back to the city? Are her friends here too?"