EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm about to go to bed, so I made a shorter post. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once in position, Kaleeth took up her defensive stance. Her shield was decently sized and, when held as Janius showed her, could quickly move to block high or low attacks. It was important that she kept her shield ready to defend, as doing so with her mace was much more difficult. Without any sort of guard, she could risk losing fingers if she blocked incorrectly in a real fight. It was something that made her feel like it might be a good idea to try to learn to use a sword eventually, but for now, the mace was easier. At least with it, she did not have to worry about aligning a blade properly with each swing. Even being slightly off could drastically reduce a sword's cutting potential.

As they began, Kaleeth did her best to do everything just as Janius had been teaching her. She had to think about it more consciously than someone like Janius, but by this point, she was at least following all the right steps. Her stance was good, her attention as focused as it could be on his movements, and her shield held at the right distance. Since she had a few moments to think, she decided to open with something more than a basic swing. Taking a few steps forward, she tried acting as if she was opening with one of the shield charges she was fond of, but instead swung low with her mace at his hip while trying to keep her eye on his weapon. Of course, the attack was not perfect, and she telegraphed her move more than she intended, but it was a less straightforward approach than she had been taking.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I know, Meesei told me about it before." Kaleeth said as she finished up her breakfast. "It makes me nervous knowing that there is a metal that can hurt us so much. Just touching it can burn my scales, she said. I think I remember feeling that when we were fighting in that village, but it is hard to know for sure. My beast spirit was mostly in control then, so my memories are not all clear. Meesei said it isn't a common metal though, so that is good. She also said that the weapons it makes aren't very strong except against us, so only people expecting to fight lycans will use it."

Kaleeth stood up, looking down at Janius once again with an enthusiastic expression. "But I can worry about that later. I want to train." She said, walking the short distance to her bedroll. She started to put on her armor piece by piece as she continued the conversation. "Last time we fought, I did okay. I mean, I wasn't that good, and I would have died without you, but I think I did help. I don't think I'll ever be as good as you, but if I can just make myself a bit better, you won't have to worry about protecting me so much."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I know, Meesei told me about it before." Kaleeth said as she finished up her breakfast. "It makes me nervous knowing that there is a metal that can hurt us so much. Just touching it can burn my scales, she said. I think I remember feeling that when we were fighting in that village, but it is hard to know for sure. My beast spirit was mostly in control then, so my memories are not all clear. Meesei said it isn't a common metal though, so that is good. She also said that the weapons it makes aren't very strong except against us, so only people expecting to fight lycans will use it."

Kaleeth stood up, looking down at Janius once again with an enthusiastic expression. "But I can worry about that later. I want to train." She said, walking the short distance to her bedroll. She started to put on her armor piece by piece as she continued the conversation. "Last time we fought, I did okay. I mean, I wasn't that good, and I would have died without you, but I think I did help. I don't think I'll ever be as good as you, but if I can just make myself a bit better, you won't have to worry about protecting me so much."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha had somewhat managed to regain her composure by the time Fendros returned, so her appearance seemed normal once more. She remained fairly quiet as they began to eat, since Rhazii was still asleep. He had awoken once in the middle of the night, but he was still asleep for the moment, so she wanted to keep it that way. Although, with the increasing activity in the camp, it would probably not last long. "Sure, let's just try to keep it quiet. I really do not want to bother the others with this."

Kaleeth tried a few bites of the meat, noting that it was much more tender than usual. Even knowing that she could not catch diseases from it, eating the undercooked meat still felt strange and worrying. Like everything else, she supposed she would get used to it in time. "Yes, it's just...strange. Argonians are pretty resistant to disease, but to be completely immune...it is hard to think that I will never get sick again. It doesn't matter what you run into or how disgusting it is, you never have to worry. Hirince's magic must be strong. Although, I still worry that there might be something out there that can hurt us. What if another Daedra makes a disease?" She questioned as she ate. Even with her initial worry about the meat, she was eating rather quickly, which was mostly driven by her desire to get to their training. She had already collected her weapons and armor next to her bedroll, so all she needed to do was equip them and find an open area to spar, of which there were plenty on the beach.

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.