EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Agreed, there is yet more we need to discuss. For instance, we will need to promote others to return your council to its former number, but that can wait for the meeting tonight. For now, I am sure we all have duties we must attend to. I would recommend announcing your appointment to Alpha at some point today, after the clan has mostly calmed. I will return to the infirmary, and will likely remain there for some time should you need me." Meesei answered as she took her leave. She already disliked having to be away from the wounded for any time, and did not wish to extend it any further.

As per usual, Meesei would have quite a few matters to worry about over the coming days. Tending to the wounded took precedence over other concerns, after which she would need to deal with Harriet. She would certainly have a head start, but that did not mean she could not be tracked. Alone, Harriet had few options, and would be stuck with the collar until she could find a sufficiently skilled enchanter with enough time to study the enchantment in-depth. Of course, Meesei had not directly mentioned that removing the collar would activate it, so if Harriet did not assume that was the case, then there was always the chance they would stumble across her corpse. Meesei was not entirely certain what she would do with Harriet when and if she found her, but she did not intend to let her escape justice. She would also need to deal with the Nord prisoner when she had the chance, and while the work certainly would not be finished, it was possible she might actually have time to rest after it was all over.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“Indeed, the world would be a more orderly place if it could be ruled through logic alone.” Meesei commented. “But regardless, I can respect your reasoning. I merely needed to know it. There may not be a perfect choice for this situation, but if Vera is as receptive to the counsel of her advisers as you say, then she may be the most well-rounded option. There is also the matter of other lieutenants to consider. The clan has lost two of its leaders in this whole sordid affair. Vera will be receiving the role of alpha, but that leaves the clan with two less lieutenants than before. I would advise against allowing yourselves to become overwhelmed with responsibilities, so others will need to rise to fill those roles and help shoulder the burden. But, we should rejoin the others before discussing that topic.”

With that, Meesei rose from her seat and prompted Darahil to follow her back into the hallway. Vera and Oswall were silent when she stepped out of the room, though she could only guess at what they had been thinking or speaking about. Both of them had their attention raptly on Meesei as she approached the pair, so she wasted no time in giving them the answer they were waiting for. “With Darahil’s counsel, Oswall’s recommendation, and my own observations, I believe that you, Vera, are the one who is best-suited to take on the responsibilities of being the alpha of this clan. You have considerable experience in handling the clan’s internal affairs, and a willingness to heed the advice of your peers. Jerrick obviously considered you to be a woman of good character, and I believe it is you who will most likely be able to unite the fractured groups that make up this clan. With this appointment, however, I also have a warning. The years to come will not be like those of the past. We are entering into a war for our survival, and the entirety of the clan will have to dedicate itself to the effort. Not all will fight, but all will play some role in the struggle. It will be a significant transition for the clan, and it will be your responsibility to facilitate it. It will not be easy, but you have your advisers and will not be taking on the burden alone. I can say that, unless lord Hircine commands me otherwise, I will be remaining here with my pack for quite some time.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I probably need to get to bed. I'll likely respond after class tomorrow, if you've posted by that point. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Darahil's summation of the other lieutenants' traits was certainly consistent with Meesei's experience with them thusfar. Given that Darahil had known them much longer than herself, she trusted the additional details he provided. Namely, those regarding Vera. Meesei had only really been around her after the death of her husband: a greatly emotional event. Granted, Meesei had been impressed with how well she managed to reign in her emotions after the initial shock of his death, even while being a suspect of the murder. However, Meesei did not know of her personality before the tragedy.

"Yes, I do." Meesei answered with a nod. "I did witness the behaviors you describe with Oswall. During my investigation, he did disobey my order to help maintain the peace when he gave a vague 'warning' to some of his followers. Had events transpired differently, it could have compounded the harm to the clan. Were it not for that event, I would likely consider him much more strongly. Indeed, he does have some strong merits for leadership. In all likelihood, he would make for a better war leader than Vera, but I do not believe it would be worth the tradeoff. If Vera is as open to the counsel of her peers as you say, then that may serve to counter her comparative disadvantage in matters of war. As long as she does not begin to ignore Oswall's advice for combating the followers of Vile, then she may be best option available."

Pausing for a brief moment, Meesei leaned forward and looked at Darahil more intently. Vera was certainly not a bad choice for the position of alpha, but there was another line of questioning Meesei intended to follow before rejoining the others. "But, I do have one more question. What of you, Darahil? You said that you do not want to take the role of alpha. That is a position I can certainly understand, as leadership, especially of a clan this size, requires taking on many stressful responsibilities. However, those who desire such power are often not the ones who are capable of handling it. With the war against Vile, the situation we find ourselves in is not one of wants, but of need. The clan needs a strong and capable leader. I know you do not want the position, but it is a position that needs to be filled by the most capable among you, regardless of desire. What I want to know is why you believe yourself to be less qualified for the role than the others?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, I don't think we will be persuading Meesei one way or the other." Ahnasha answered with a slight chuckle. "That being said, we don't really have a reason to go anywhere else for now. It's not like we have any leads on Vile or his followers. In fact, we would probably have a better chance of getting that kind of information with the support of the clan. If we do leave here, it will probably be following the orders of lord Hircine himself, so...there would be no changing her mind in that case. Still, I know I would like to stay here as well. Since Rhazii was born...I've just always felt nervous out in the wilds. Here, there would be safety, and other children for him to play with. Not to mention, plenty of people to help watch him if we are ever...occupied with anything." She grinned. "It will probably get too cramped for Leaps eventually, but, well, it will be many years before that becomes and issue. I couldn't have imagined saying this a few months ago, but I think I actually want to stay put for a change."

---

Oswall and Vera's assessments of one another were not too far off from Meesei's own opinions. The pair both had their own strengths and weaknesses, and it was good that they both acknowledged them. However, even with Oswall declaring Vera to be the better choice, the decision was not so cut and dry. The ability to recognize the areas in which others were more skillful than one's self was an important trait for a leader, and Oswall was indeed displaying that quality.

Meesei gave a nod to Darahil and waited until they found an empty room before continuing. Looking inside, Meesei could not tell precisely what it was used for. There were boxes and barrels that made it seem as if it were for storage, but also bedrolls, though Meesei could not imagine why. Some of the boxes seemed to have materials used in tanning leather, some of which had a rather strong odor. Nevertheless, it was an empty room, so it would serve their purposes.

"Please, wait outside." Meesei said to Oswall and Vera before stepping inside with Darahil. She allowed him a moment to take a seat before speaking, so he would not need to worry about putting weight on his hip. "I suppose we should not waste any time. I have the impression you have some specific opinions you wish to share, yes?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Understood, responding now.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You know I trust you with my life, but..." Kaleeth began. She held on to him even more tightly, and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. "I might not be easy to stop in a place like this. If I'm not in one of the big chambers, then you won't be able to move around very much. I know you will do everything you can to keep me from hurting anyone. I know you are better than me, the same as everyone else in the pack. I know all of that, but I can't stop being afraid. I'm afraid you might just get unlucky when you're fighting me, or it just won't be possible for anyone to stop me in time to keep me from killing anyone. I just...I need more training, right?" She said, raising up her head to look at him once more. At this point, she was just trying to force herself to be hopeful.

---

Ahnasha nodded. "Soon, hopefully soon. I imagine all of this will keep both us and Najirra busy for a while, but I'm sure he'll call on us once he can." Ahnasha moved Fendros over on his cot, then laid down beside him with Rhazii in between them. "Until then, I think I'm going to give you more training. No excuses; as soon as you are healed up and ready, I'm going to have you training straight through both of Azura's hours. I'm sure Kaleeth would just love to watch Rhazii for us, with how much she likes children." She said, craning her head to look over at Kaleeth and Janius on the other side of the infirmary. "I do wonder how long it will be before she finally convinces him to have children, or if she can do it at all. That is just not something I can imagine him going through with."

---

"Very well." Meesei responded. "I do agree that it is more important to ensure our own safety. With how she has behaved so far, I doubt she is truly an agent of the enemy, but even so, we should attempt to pursue as soon as we have recovered sufficiently. She should not be allowed to escape justice. As soon as I have that ring, I will be able to track her, as long as she has not ran too far away by that point. Although, there is the possibility that we will only find a corpse. I will not say it is impossible to remove that collar without me, but it would require a very experienced enchanter, and considerable time to study it, neither of which she is going to have by tomorrow. If she ran out in lycan form, then she also has no clothing to combat the weather, unless...she could run for the equipment and supplies we left behind. If that is the case, then we can only hope she does not attempt to find the ring as well. I never told her it existed or that it was needed to activate the enchantment from a distance, much less that it could be used to track her."

As they had been speaking, Meesei had managed to at least stabilize the patient she had been working on. His fate was still uncertain, but his chances were better than they had been. "As for the matter of succession, if you wish to speak in confidence, then we can go somewhere else for a short time, but I would like to return here as soon as possible." She said as she stood up, motioning for the others to follow. Given the current state of disorder that the clan was in, there were likely more rooms vacant than usual, but even so, Meesei still began to speak as soon as they were alone in the hallways.

"Vera, Oswall, the responsibilities of the Alpha will fall to one of you. I have been judging all of your actions so far through the crisis we have faced, but first I would like to hear your own opinions on yourselves. Do either of you believe yourself to be the most qualified?" Meesei asked.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

I'm certainly still here, though you already know CQB said he was busy. I'll likely ask him if I can just post myself and just have his character come along so we can at least get caught up with the rest of the rescuers.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Post is up, and goodnight.

I don't know if I want to actually RP through searching for Harriet. I gather it might be important to do, but we might be able to insert some tactical timeskips. I'll trust your judgment, though.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I don't know. Family, I guess." Kaleeth answered with a rather uncertain tone. "That is the only reason I stay: you. And the others. I love you more than I hate myself. It...it keeps me from leaving, but it doesn't make me happy. I'm not like you, I'm not a wolf. No one here is like me, and none of them had the same problems. The way Meesei talks about it, werewolves won't hurt their own pack. It isn't...instinct. But I'm not like that. Every time I turn, I have to fight not to hurt you; I have to just...convince myself that I want to hurt something else even more. When I was...eating those bodies, the beast would have tried to kill you if you got too close. It would have killed you, eaten you, and it would have been proud of it."

There were a few moments of silence before Kaleeth suddenly leaned over and hugged Janius tightly. "I'll do the best I can, Janius, but please promise me you won't let me hurt anyone. Kill me if you have to, but please don't let me hurt anyone else, especially not you."

---

Meesei was still tending to wounded when the lieutenants all arrived, and she showed no indication of stopping. The matters they needed to discuss were rather important, but they did not have the luxury of time. "My apologies for bringing you all away from your duties, but I do not believe I can delay these matters. First and foremost, Harriet seems to be gone. I have Lorag searching for tracks outside the cave, though I do not have too much hope for that approach. I do not know what her exact intentions are, given the issue of the collar around her neck. It will kill her if she attempts to remove it, as I designed the enchantment, and only I know the proper method to disarm it. As well, it can be tracked just as I did with Galsek, but I need the corresponding ring. Unfortunately, it is buried in the snow with the rest of the warband's equipment. I need to have that ring recovered, but I cannot afford to leave this infirmary right now. I do not doubt the competence of the clan's healers, but the fact remains that I am still among the most skilled restorationists in the clan. I would rather allow Harriet to escape than to let anyone in this room die unnecessarily. I was hoping one of you could send a group to recover it as soon as possible, unless you do not believe it to be worthwhile to pursue her. Justice has not been delivered, but she is no longer a threat to us."

Without wasting a moment, Meesei quickly brought up her second point as well. "And of course, there is also the matter of succession. This may not be the ideal time and place, but we have discussed it long enough. One of you needs to be selected to take on the responsibilities of the Alpha of this clan. I know you do not wish to have the title, Darahil, but I still value your input on the matter."

---

"I know you were scared for me, and that's the problem." Ahnasha responded, though it was considerably more calmly than before. She sat down on the side of his bed and started to rock Rhazii in her arms in an attempt to coax him back to sleep. "You got scared, so you stopped thinking. You wanted to get to us so intensely that you couldn't think about what it would mean for you. Throwing away caution like that could even get one of us hurt, in the wrong situation. You will have to accept that I am going to be in danger in the future, Fendros. I'm going to get threatened, and I'm probably going to get hurt, but I'm not a kitten, Fendros. I can handle myself, and you're going to have to be able to trust me."