EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That is troubling, but we knew we could not keep the secret forever." Meesei responded to Fendros and Darahil. "Even if the clan has not been given any specific information on what happened, they have likely noticed our behavior. I will give an announcement tomorrow morning to give them all the truth of what happened. I had hoped that we would be able to keep the secret longer, but hopefully...well, come with me. I need to speak with you." Meesei instructed as she stepped back out into the hall with Fendros and Darahil. As they were walking towards the room Meesei had been using for interviews, she continued with her thought.

"Hopefully, there will be no need to keep the secret after today. After all of the evidence and statements I have gathered, I have determined that neither you nor Oswall are likely to be the traitor. That, of course, leaves Harriet and Vera. For the moment, though, I am looking to tie up the final loose ends that may exonerate entirely you and Oswall. If you would wait in that room for a moment, I need to have a quick word with Fendros." Meesei explained, gesturing to the room.

Once Meesei and Fendros were alone, she spoke quietly to him to keep them from being overheard. "I have two requests for you for the moment, Fendros. The first, of course, is that you give me your report on what happened today with Darahil. The second is that you give me your best recollection of what happened yesterday during our first meal here with the clan. Specifically, I need to know who, and in what order, you saw leaving the meeting room on the mezzanine."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

From Onyx's tone alone, Tarentek gathered that this role she described, a "Prophet of Fellagang," was something to be excited about. He did not know if it was a class of priest or religious leader, or even if it was something entirely unique, but whatever it was, he was glad to hear it was something she was happy with. It had only been the previous day that she had been struggling with a lack of direction in her life, but now, it seemed she had a definite goal.

"A Prophet of Fellagang, what does that role entail?" Tarentek questioned. "I feel there is a lot I still need to learn about your people, but whatever it might be, you look like you can barely contain your excitement. I'm glad I could be of assistance to you, especially when it leads to good news such as this."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek leaned forward and inspected the white mark on Onyx's palm. He had no honest idea as to its actual significance, but by the way Onyx spoke, he assumed it had plenty of meaning. "Oh, so your ritual went well, then? That is wonderful." He commented, standing up as well. He started to stretch out his muscles to get a sense of his current physical condition. The weakness and soreness was still there, but yet again, it wasn't as strong as the day before. He wouldn't have quite as much difficulty moving around, so he could become more involved in whatever Onyx happened to be doing that day.

"So, what kind of answer were you given? If that isn't too personal of a question, of course. I am not sure of everything that is involved with your rituals. Still, I assume this means quite a lot to you. I seem to remember that it involved your coming-of-age ritual, correct?" He asked.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

At first, Tarentek gave no sort of reaction when Onyx grabbed his hand. He simply continued to stare into his glass of water, lost in thought and fear. However, he was not ignoring her words; in fact, he was listening closely. It was unlikely that simple words could fully fix his problems, but he would be lying if he said they did not help. A few weeks prior, he had lost everything, and everyone, in his life. He had wandered the desert in solitude, in constant fear of dying in isolation. It was a prospect that he had never known he feared so greatly until the danger was upon him. He wanted to have friends and companions, to have something to belong to. Without his people, he felt like he had no purpose. Currently, he still had no sense of belonging, but it did seem that one person at least cared about his fate.

After a few moments of silence, Tarentek took in a deep breath, then tightened his grip on her hand as he finally turned his head to look at her. "I...thank you. I don't think this pain is going away, but I hate being alone. Knowing there is someone to help me...it is comforting. I appreciate your support. I don't know if I want to talk about what happened right now...in fact, I'd rather do just about anything else." He said, putting on a slight smile. "I think I'll take you up on that offer of a distraction."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"As I said, I just need you to trust me. It is information that could help exonerate you." Meesei said simply as she wrote down what Oswall said. After a few moments, she put away her journal, then stood to her feet. "That is all of the questions I have for the moment, but there is yet more you can do to help. I feel I may be able to identify the traitor tonight, but I am not likely to have all of the information I need for another few hours. I need you to stay in my pack's room and help keep the peace. I may also have more questions for you later. Just remember, while one of the two may be a traitor, the other is completely innocent, so try not to cause any hostilities."

"Also...I am going to need you to inform your packs that you were mistaken about the 'plotting' that the other packs are supposedly doing when you see them next." Meesei said, her expression becoming notably cross. "Sewing the seeds of division in that manner could have disastrous effects for the clan as a whole, and we need to be united to stand against our enemy. Now come, Darahil should have arrived by now, and I need to question him as well."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"An attempted framing is something I have to be careful for, but I believe the traitor may have been under-prepared. Whoever it is, they could not have anticipated that Hircine would warn Jerrick of his fate, and that I would arrive to keep the clan stable. I would like to believe that our traitor is being forced to do this, but no matter the reason, a betrayal of this magnitude is inexcusable. Focusing my attention on Vera and Harriet will make this easier, but first, there are a few more loose ends that need to be tied before I can completely exonerate you and Darahil." Meesei explained, flipping back through her notes to make sure she knew what to ask.

"I have two questions for the moment. The first: can you tell me the names of anyone who might be able to confirm the alibis of you and each of the other lieutenants? The second is one that probably will not make sense or seem at all related to the matter at hand, but I ask that you trust me. When you were helping skin animals in the front chamber after my story in the dining room, what kinds of animals did you, specifically, skin?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei seemed concerned as she took her notes on Janius' report. She was disappointed and slightly angered with Oswall, as his actions could potentially be damaging to the investigation, or the clan as a whole. "Thank you. Currently, I do not believe Oswall is the traitor. The evidence does not point to him, and in fact, he could be exonerated soon. However, this is still something I will need to remember for the future, as his actions cannot be ignored. At present, Harriet and Vera are our suspects, so once inside, I would like you to keep an eye on them in particular, but first, I need you to come with me and keep watch as I talk with Oswall." Meesei informed Janius before returning to their room.

Meesei stopped in the doorway alongside Janius and motioned for Oswall to join them in the hall. Wordlessly, she led them down the hall to the same room she had been using for questioning and instructed Janius to stand guard as they stepped inside. Just as before, she took a seat on a crate and opened her notes, but this time, she decided to start off differently. She wanted cooperation from him, and since suspicion had moved away from Oswall, she felt it would be advantageous to finally reveal some of her conclusions about the investigation so far. "To start, Oswall, I can say that I do not suspect you as the traitor. I have been gathering evidence, and while I cannot reveal at this time what that evidence is, I can say that it does not point to you or Darahil. However, there are still a few more points to clarify, a few more questions to ask. Firstly, do you recall seeing Jerrick drink from his waterskin at the end of the training session you two were giving just before the meeting yesterday? Or, do you know of someone that might have saw him drink?"

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek did not know for how long he remained silent after Onyx spoke, staring blankly at the scales on his arms. It seemed like minutes, though it could have only been seconds. His entire body was shaking noticeably from the fear his memory left behind, and each breath was uneasy. Consciously, he knew he was safe, but the more basic parts of his mind would not cease in their panic. Eventually, Tarentek managed to take in a deep breath, then focus his eyes on the glass of water Onyx was holding. Slowly, he managed to move himself out of his curled up position to sit normally on the edge of the bed.

Taking the glass Onyx offered, Tarentek took a small sip, then began to stare into the surface of the water. "Dream doesn't really describe it." He began, pausing a moment to sniff as he tried to cease his sobbing. "It's like...I don't know what it's like. It's horror replaying in my mind, not so much a dream as a memory. It doesn't happen every night but...too many nights. The deaths, the pain, the fear, none of it is going away. I feel...broken."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was quite obviously glad to see Fendros, and the giggles from Rhazii suggested he shared the same sentiment. However, she was still visibly in a rush and regretfully needed to keep the reunion short. "Honestly, the trip was long, cold, boring, and cold. Bruma might be an interesting place to visit normally, but while in a rush and carrying bags of meat and vegetables...I could definitely find better ways to spend a day. I felt like my feet nearly froze off and I was exhausted by the time I got back here. Oh, and did I mention it was cold? Ah, but I guess it makes seeing you all the better." She said with a smile, leaning in and giving him another, brief kiss.

"As for the investigation...well, that's why I'm here. Meesei needs to speak to Darahil urgently. She asked me to collect him and the other lieutenants. Unfortunately, I also have a few other tasks as well, so...I need to get moving. We can talk more later." She explained.

Meesei refrained from acknowledging Vera's brief words, and instead simply took the dagger and placed it in her pouch. She wanted to avoid visibly taking sides at this point, as it was still possible for either her or Harriet to be guilty. Fortunately, the steps approaching from down the hall gave her something else to devote her attention to. "Just...try to make yourself as comfortable as possible while we wait. I will do what I can to resolve this as quickly as possible." She explained, walking over to the door just as Oswall and Janius were entering.

"Greetings, Oswall. I apologize for the short notice, but I am afraid matters are rather urgent. I will speak to you privately in a moment to explain what is going on. First, I need to speak to Janius alone. I will be back momentarily." Meesei explained quickly as she stepped out into the hall, motioning for Janius to follow. Just as with Oswall, she went straight to business quickly.

"I wish I could give a more friendly greeting after not seeing you all day, but as you can likely tell, I think we are getting close. I need to give me your report on the day's events with Oswall, but I also have another question for you. Yesterday while we were eating dinner, did you happen to look up at the mezzanine? I need to know exactly who you saw leaving the meeting room, and when." She asked.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

It was loud. Everything was deafeningly loud. Explosions, shouting, the cracks and pops of bullets flying through the air and hitting against sand, metal, and sometimes flesh overwhelmed every sense Tarentek possessed. He was prone on the rooftop of his neighbors' house, trying in vain to pick out any target in the darkness beyond Amman's walls. Only minutes before, the land was shrouded in the near-complete darkness of the moonless night, but now he was nearly blinded by the bright red glow of the dozens of flares that had suddenly been fired over the city. Even now, they were illuminating himself and his allies holding the road below, and making the darkness beyond all the more impenetrable.

Tarentek was meant to be a marksman, but he could not see anyone to shoot. Some of his allies below were firing blindly into the darkness to suppress the enemy, but he could not take advantage of it. He tried to focus his sights on the muzzle flashes of the enemy to give him some chance of hitting someone, but he couldn't keep his rifle steady. Despite his prone position, his hands were shaking, and he could feel nothing but fear. They were being overwhelmed, in every sense of the word. The sounds, the light, the gunfire, it was destroying them in body and spirit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a friend's head explode into a mist of blood behind her. She was twenty-two years old, a year younger than himself. Her father had wanted her to become a butcher like he was, but she was too much of a thrill seeker to be complacent just cutting up meat. She liked to think of herself as the best shot in the squad, despite the fact that both Tarentek and Rithalsa could regularly outmatch her in training. She had recently pranked him by adding something extremely spicy to his soup, and he still had not managed to think of a way to get her back.

Closing his eyes a moment, Tarentek tried to snap himself out of it. He needed to focus on the moment; he needed to find something to shoot. His eyes tried to scan the darkness for some trace of a silhouette he could shoot, but he kept hearing something that distracted him. It was quiet compared to the chaos around him, but it was close. After a few moments he realized from where and what it was: crying, from directly beneath him. His neighbors were likely hiding in the second floor of their home in the room just under him. His neighbors' had their egg hatch only a few weeks ago. He had heard about it a day or so after his team returned from their last mission. They had been trying for a child for quite a while, as their last two eggs were already lifeless when they were laid. Luckily, he had returned in time to attend the celebration they held for the child's hatching. The partly had lasted a few hours longer than intended, but it had been a good opportunity for Tarentek to catch up with the others in his neighborhood.

A bullet pinged off of the edge of the roof beside Tarentek, bringing him back into the moment. Some of the flares had been burning down, but the enemy just fired more. Still, he could use their muzzle flash; he could find a target. Eventually, his shaky hands managed to guide his rifle somewhere near a flash in the darkness. Despite seeing nothing, he looked through his scope on reflex, then started to squeeze the trigger before a blinding while light interrupted him. It was like a floodlight straight onto him and his allies, which was bright enough to force him to close his eyes and turn his head. Once his eyes managed to somewhat adjust, he saw the lights approaching unbelievably quickly, and with a terrifying roar. He froze up as it drew closer and closer. Just as it came crashing through their fortifications, he was able to see the machine which the lights were attached to. It was a large, armored version of the decaying vehicles found in old Human cities, but instead of a rusting pile of steel, this one was quite operational. He was almost in awe of the machine as it shattered their fortifications, crushed a member of his squad, and crashed through the very building Tarentek was on top of. The walls and internal supports crumbled as the building began to collapse, sending Tarentek tumbling to the ground below.

Tarentek awoke screaming. He kicked and thrashed his blanket away from him violently enough to tear it slightly with the claws on his feet. He shot up into a sitting position as his eyes darted around the room, which was lightly illuminated by the morning sun. For a few moments, he was still panicked and confused, unable to separate reality from memory. He waited for his inevitable death, but when it did not come, he was slowly brought back into reality. However, the influence of those memories could not be so easily escaped. Tarentek backed himself against the wall and brought his knees up to his chest, then buried his head between his arms as he wrapped them around his legs. The vivid memories of that night tore at his very being, to the point that he began to sob uncontrollably.