EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Not really. The point of the scene was pretty much to give a visual of how Sabine has changed, and in what direction she may continue to change over the next few years. Though, I did intend on having Meesei speak to Sabine alone after they all leave the pool. You could timeskip that if you like.

As for Ahnasha, she's going to study that dark tome, and Kaleeth of course is still in the middle of the conversation with Janius

Lorag ended up being the odd man out. I had an idea to have him duel Kaleeth during her demonstration, but that would have made quite long posts even longer. At the very least, I do have plans for him in the future, after the skip. A subplot for him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry, I really didn't know what to have him say, since I don't know who he talked to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As interested as Meesei was in how Sabine would handle Caleb, she had to remember that it was no longer her place to interfere. Sabine did appear uncomfortable, but Meesei knew she would not always be there to help her through such things, so she had to learn through experience. What struck Meesei as odd was Caleb's attitude towards Meesei as soon as he saw her. It was possible that he was simply in a sour mood, but she wondered if there was something more to his apparent resentment.

In any event, Meesei remained silent for the moment towards either Sabine or Caleb. She simply focused on keeping Leaps from swimming away or accidentally injuring someone else. At the very least, she could find entertainment in watching the events before her unfold. They were developing similarly to some of the romantic short stories she had read or heard in the past. She just hoped that its ending was a positive one for Sabine. Though, as much as Sabine likely would not want to talk about it, she would need to Sabine regarding Caleb once they left. It would be an uncomfortable, but important conversation to have.

---

Ahnasha experienced a mix of emotions from the remainder of their session with Najirra. Regardless of how much they relaxed beforehand, talking about her perspective of the torture was a difficult task through which to remain composed. It was somewhat cathartic to tell her experiences to someone like Najirra, but that did not stop it from being painful. It was like stitching a wound without a potion or spell to numb the pain. She had a feeling that Najirra did not want it to be a painful experience, but for some trauma, no amount of tea or breathing exercises would be enough to make it easy to discuss.

Regardless, as they left Najirra's chambers, Ahnasha felt that there was at least progress, if only a faint amount. However often he wanted to call them in, she would make time to ensure they could both meet with him. "I hope so. It's just...it's not easy to talk about. I need to get my mind off of it all for a moment. Can you take care of Rhazii? I think I am going to go...train for a while." She asked.

---

Kaleeth reached out and grabbed Janius' hands. "You know you don't have to act like your father. I don't know what he was like, but if you hate him so much, then he couldn't be like you. You've been so caring and loving with me, and you would be the same way with our hatchling. That's just how people are with family. And Meesei said we will be staying here for a long time, where it is safe. We have Ahnasha, Fendros, Meesei, and plenty of other people in the clan who can help us. I think this is the perfect time for us to do this." She answered. Her tone was not quite as pleading as before, but it was certainly obvious how badly she wanted him to say yes. There was no question that she was enthusiastic about the prospect of a child, though one could attempt to blame her naivete. She was, after all, only nineteen years of age; not that much older than Sabine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei kept a tight hold on Leaps in case the sudden crowd of people caused him any distress. Luckily, he seemed to have more curiosity than fear. "Black Marsh? It is my homeland, a place often considered impenetrable by other races. It is hot at all times of the year and, as the name would imply, is covered mostly in thick swamps. Argonians like myself find it comfortable, but most other races can have a difficult time surviving, at least in the deep marshes. However, along the outside, there are cities that anyone can live in relatively easily. Luckily for lycans, we are entirely immune to the diseases that make it so dangerous. But, in the depths of the swamps, there are great and powerful creatures which would pose a challenge for any hunter. A wamasu like Leaps is one such creature. As an adult, he will be...probably as long as two wagons put together, with scales tougher than a werecrocodile and the ability to shoot lightning, almost like a magic-user." Meesei added some more dramatic details to her description of her homeland, for the entertainment of her audience. She found that younger individuals tended to appreciate story-like tales, even those based in reality.

Meesei of course noticed when Sabine was scratched, and where she was looking at the time. Caleb had arrived, though it did not seem like he had noticed them yet. Meesei had been wanting to check on how he had been faring for some time, but she recognized that now was not the time for any sort of direct line of questioning. Given their conversation before arriving at the pool, Sabine could potentially want to speak to him, and Meesei had to let her handle it herself.

---

Ahnasha was silent, looking down and staring into her half-empty cup. There was no miracle cure that Najirra could offer them, though perhaps it had been unreasonable to expect that. However, he was insistent that they were treatable, that they would not have to live with this for the rest of their days. No matter how much of the pain was left over, even just having it reduced would be a blessing.

"I am already scarred. I have a...gaping wound in my mind that just won't heal. Every time I tough it, it just delivers a piercing pain, then grows even wider. There is no way it could get any worse, so I trust that whatever you want to do, you'll at least make it better. Even if it isn't cured, a treatment is something" Ahnasha answered.

---

"Yes, I really, really am." Kaleeth answered, stopping in the middle of the hallway with Janius. She turned him to face her and lightly placed her hands on his sides. "You see how adorable and lively and just...happy children are. Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to have one? Haven't you ever wanted to raise a son or daughter of your own, to have a family? You would be a great father. You are so kind and loving, and I just saw how good you are with them. Please, I think it would make both of us happy." She asked, her tone bordering on pleading. They had walked away from the thickest of the crowds, though there still were a few people around in the hallway. She did not know her way around this part of the ruin, though she honestly did not care how many people were around to hear.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, I'll probably keep playing then, but I'll respond before going to bed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I just started a game in smite. I'll start writing after, probably about 20 minutes.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

Avatar was monitoring its allies’ communications, but was only dedicating a negligible percentage of its processing power to the task, apart to those originating from RK. The safety of its allies was a strong concern, but from its current position, it had no ability to render aid to them beyond the range of the airlocks. The only action it could perform to improve their chances of survival was to clear the room of hostiles as quickly as possible. As such, that was where it placed the vast majority of its focus.

Fortunately, the enemy could not defend effectively against such overwhelming force. There was no cover in the room of sufficient strength to stop fighter-mounted weaponry, and between the two interceptors, they could eliminate the majority of threats before they reached the exits. Some attempted to return fire on the interceptors, but the mercenaries had not equipped themselves to deal with armored targets while aboard a space station. In under 90 seconds, all hostiles within the room were either killed, or critically wounded. As such, Avatar proceeded quickly to the next stage of the escape. It sent two instructions, one to the shuttle pilot, and the other to RK. It told the shuttle pilot to fly through the hull breaches and land in the room and await the others, while RK was meant to keep her interceptor ready to deal with any sudden threats that entered the room. Meanwhile, Avatar turned its interceptor away from the station to defend against any potential external threats.

“The room is currently within safe parameters. Proceed quickly to the shuttle for evacuation.” Avatar instructed over the group’s shared communications channel.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, no, it's fine, I'm fine, everything is...fine." Roland answered to Angela between coughs from the bit of water that had entered his lungs. "It just...startled me, is all." He tried to quickly explain, though for a few moments, there was only silence between himself and Angela. It was an awkward pause broken by Sabine calling out his name. "Um, sure." He answered notably abruptly.

Meesei swam over closer to the group, being sure to hold Leaps securely in her arms. His method of swimming was essentially just clawing at the water, so getting too close to him while he was swimming around could easily result in a few unpleasant scratches. Roland approached reluctantly, though whether is was because of Leaps, or the fact that he was approaching the Champion, was uncertain. Slowly, he reached out and rubbed Leaps' back, to which he responded by sniffing Roland's wrist.

"I would not be frightened of him. He has not bitten anyone, yet. Just be mindful of him if he is swimming around, as he might unintentionally give you a few scratches." Meesei warned the group.

---

"Sure, sure." Ahnasha answered, exhaling deeply. She did feel rather relaxed at the moment, but it would not be difficult to become nervous once again. Besides which, she did rather like the tea.

As she took a few sips of the rather warm liquid, Ahnasha tried to thikn about Najirra's answer. His description made their problems sound a lot like instinct. For lycans, it was something they were intimately familiar with. They had to train rigorously to control the natural urges of their beast spirits, but she did not know where to begin for training her mind to ignore the effects of something like trauma. It seemed much more...innate than the instincts of the second souls residing within their minds. It was a direct part of the way their minds worked, so if Najirra's plans did not work, it made her feel as if there would truly be no hope for the to recover. She could only hope that their experience in controlling the instincts of their beast spirits would help them in controlling their own.

"You make it sound a lot like an instinct. Will we be able to control it in the same way we do our beast spirits, or will we need to do something else?" She asked.

---

Kaleeth kept her arm around Janius as she walked alongside him, even resting her head against him as much as she could while they were moving. Even for her, she was being notably affectionate towards him. "I agree, I love being around them. It is great to see them happy like that, especially if I am the one making them happy."

Kaleeth gave Janius a quick kiss on the cheek. She did not know where exactly they were going at the moment, and did not particularly care. She was simply going wherever he was. "Don't you think you would like spending more time around children?" She asked, her questioning bringing the conversation closer to her true intent.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Like Sabine, Meesei too remained silent, observing how the situation unfolded. Roland obviously heard them, but was quite reluctant to do much of anything. "Oh, um, well, I..." He began, but he failed to say anything even marginally coherent. It almost looked like he was about to leave entirely when he felt something brush up against his leg. He quickly glanced down, then let out a scream and started running off in the direction of the pool. He seemed as if he were trying to run around it to the other side, but as he neared the pool, the floor became more wet from people climbing in and out of the water. So, as he tried to turn, he slipped and fell straight into the water.

To punctuate the event, from behind the low wall, Leaps-On-Elves sauntered out into the open, raised his head, and let out an almost innocent-sounding chirp. Obviously, most of Sabine's friends were laughing, and even Meesei did not hold back a quick chuckle. Still, she decided to remain mostly uninvolved and instead swam over to the other side of the pool to grab Leanps and bring him in, under her supervision.

---

Unlike before, there was no question in Ahnasha's mind about what she wanted to do. There was one effect of their ordeal that was the most common and persistent. It was perhaps not the most intense, but certainly it was disruptive. "I want to understand these nightmares. We do our minds keep making us live through that torture again and again? Do they wish to just torment us? I only have them occasionally with the medicine, but Fendros...it makes it difficult for him to sleep. Is it because we are lycans that the nightmares are are so intense; have we been cursed by Vaermina? They're just...too common to be tolerable."

In Ahnasha's tone there was the strong presence of desperation. There were other problems that they were facing during waking hours, but not having to fear going to sleep each night would cut down on their stress tremendously. She needed to have an answer, and she hoped that the nightmares were a problem that Najirra would be able to solve relatively soon.

---

Kaleeth shook her head. "No, we wouldn't have enough shields, not old ones at least. I don't think anyone would want us breaking the good shields." She answered, not quite picking up on the potential sarcasm. She was better about such things than before, but the subtleties of tone in Cyrodilic was still a point where she could err.

After she finished getting dressed, Kaleeth put an arm around Janius and pulled herself close to him with a wide smile across her face. For just having transformed, she was in a surprisingly good mood. They started to walk away, but as they moved along, she turned her head and looked to him curiously. "So...do you like the children too?"

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

Today is going to be rather busy for me, as I am going to be away for a few hours and have a test to study for, but I may still be able to do it today. If not, then tomorrow.