EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Good evening. How are things? I have an idea for an event or two that can occur during their journey, like in Leyawiin, for instance, and perhaps one along the road. Otherwise, though, I'm thinking this section of the RP will just be this mission, before the next major timeskip. Instead of having several major tasks one after another. So, this one shouldn't take an entire year.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag laughed. "Yeah, misunderstandings. You know, Janius used to talk all about his 'misunderstandings' with women. Funny how much they seemed to happen with him. 'Course, that was all before he became the crocodile's mate. He's a 'family man' now, apparently. Also funny how much that seems to happen in this pack. Catdog has the Dunmer, then Janius..." Lorag moved alongside Gallus and gave him a nudge. "Better be careful. With how things go around us, you might end up with a wife and two kids by the time this is all over." He chuckled.

---

As expected, it did not take long before Meesei was able to locate a caravan driver. In fact, she found a few waiting for their next set of passengers in the tavern, and all of them took interest once they overheard how many people she needed them to transport. The more passengers, the more they were paid. As such, Meesei had ample opportunity to negotiate, a process which took roughly an hour between all of the possible caravan drivers. Eventually, she struck a deal with a Nordic woman and her son, who between them had two decent-sized carriages they could use. She was even comfortable with Leaps being present, and even riding in one of the carriages if needed. Although, Meesei had a feeling that the Nord did not have a good idea of what exactly Leaps was.

The Nord told Meesei where to meet her, then went to get her son. Meesei then headed back outside the gates of Bruma to rejoin her pack. By this point, enough time had passed that everyone should have been able to finish whatever business they had in the city, so Meesei expected to be able to leave as soon as the Nord joined them and showed them to her carriages. The eyes of most of the pack turned to her as she approached, and even Leaps raised his head to look at the familiar scent. "I have negotiated a price with a caravan driver. We will have two carriages for the journey, and we intend to leave as soon as she and her son join us. Is everyone ready to go?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag stood leaned up against the fence with his arms crossed, though his expression was not entirely serious. He assumed that Gallus and his pack had been told they would be in more of a supporting role, so most of them would not have to be greatly seasoned warriors. But, that would not stop Lorag from expecting the best they could give. Anything could go wrong, and they would all have to be prepared. "I push as hard as I need to. A proper soldier's training takes a heavy hand to get it to take. I've trained pretty much everyone in the pack at some point, 'cept Alpha. Lover-boy over there didn't know near as much as he thought he did when we found him outside Cheydinhal, but he at least didn't put up too much of a fight when it actually came to learning. Catdog let me train her early on, but I'm not much of an archer, so I couldn't help her there, and she's too stubborn to admit I could help her with her blades at this point. City-boy, he's just as stubborn, but wasn't as young when we found him. I haven't really trained him the old-fashioned way, but he's learned from me. He just might not admit it. His lizard-lover, though, she almost gets excited to train, believe it or not. No matter how rough the training gets, she keeps coming back for more, even now. The perfect student, really."

Pausing a moment, Lorag moved from the fence and approached Gallus. "Now your pack? I recognize some of the faces; I know I've given training to at least a few of them over the past few years. Hope we have time to give you some proper instruction. You might have come here for adventure, but don't think you're going to get out of work. After all, you're serving the bidding of Hircine now. He's not going to let you slack off, and neither will I." For a moment, Lorag's face was firm and serious, but it quickly turned to a grin once he felt he had gotten his point across. "Ah, but don't let me scare you too much. I'm sure you'll get all the 'adventure' you want. Though, you do know that, once we get to Elsweyr, you're going to have a hard time finding' women without fur, right?"

Newt found himself confused for just a moment. Unlike Rhazii's parents, Kaleeth was not raised in an imperial fashion. Her village did not have all of the same strict rules of formality in terms of manners and how to speak to others. They did have rules, but they were different. Janius, of course, knew Imperial manners, but Newt only had one parent attempting to teach them to him, and given his age, they had only begun a short time ago. However, if there was one thing children could do well, it was learn. He knew he wanted a sweetroll, and he knew what Rhazii had said to satisfy Fendros. He had heard the word polite before, and at least partially knew what it meant. After a few seconds of staring, he finally gave an answer. "Ummm...pleass?"

Ahnasha had been watching the exchange between Tzirret and Kaleeth, and could not help but to laugh. Granted, being afraid of Leaps was perfectly understandable. In truth, the pack probably should be a bit more afraid of him than they currently were, but they had all become accustomed to having him around. She walked up alongsize Tzirret and looked down at him with a grin. "Yeah, wamasu can charge lightning through their bodies, and even project it from their mouths. Meesei thinks it is magic, but they don't use it in the same way as a normal mage. It's instinct, something they do automatically. Grown wamasu can even use fire...kind of. They can roar out a sort of gas that is easily flammable, something their lightning can ignite easily. Leaps doesn't know how to do that yet, fortunately."

Ahnasha took a few steps towards Leaps. "But, if you think you're afraid of him, you should imagine what it was like for me when Rhazii was playing with him, especially once he started getting bigger. I had to make sure Leaps understood the boundaries. The first time Leaps shocked Rhazii with anything more than a bit of static, I made sure that Leaps understood clearly who should be afraid of who, didn't I Leaps?" As she spoke, Ahnasha knelt down next to Leaps' head and extended her hand close to his snout. Hearing the tone of her voice, Leaps broke away eye contact, lowered his head, and lightly licked the back of her hand. "I thought so." Ahnasha added.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag gave no real reaction to Uthri, having obviously not been paying close enough attention to notice her glare. He did not precisely know what Gallus was actually talking about, but he shrugged and nodded to him regardless. He still had plenty of mead for the road, so he was fine just waiting outside, leaned against the fence of the nearby stable. Carriage drivers were generally not too hard to find in a city, and given the number of people they would be transporting, they would probably end up leaving soon since the driver would not need to wait for any more passengers.

"So Gallus, why'd you agree to come along for all this?" Lorag asked simply.

Even with the thick furs he was wearing, Newt was shivering at the cold, moreso than Rhazii. He held his arms tightly across his chest, close to himself in much the same way as he saw his mother doing whenever they went out into the snow. As one might expect, he was no more of a fan of the cold than any other Argonian, even having been raised in County Bruma.

"S-sweetroll?" Newt asked, his expression filled with anticipation. Unknown to him, his mind had immediately gone to much the same place as Rhazii's. They did not go to Bruma often, but most of the times they had, they had received some kind of treat.

Kaleeth was nearby to Leaps, who was laid down on the ground, curled up near a fence. In the cold, he tended to become notably docile and reluctant to move in order to conserve energy. It sometimes made it difficult to convince him to move along, but giving him a flame or other source of warmth to follow would generally work. Tzirret, it seemed, was afraid of him, which she understood perfectly. Wamasu were terrifying and dangerous creatures that hatchlings in Black Marsh were taught to run from. At first, even Kaleeth could not help but to be nervous around him once he started to get somewhat large. Tzirret would not know the stories, but even he could see easily that Leaps was a predator, and large enough to be dangerous. Nevertheless, Leaps had lived all his life with them, and Meesei had neutered him to prevent his natural aggressiveness from becoming a problem.

In response to Tzirret, Kaleeth sat down on the ground beside Leaps and put her arms around him. He started to curl up tighter and closer to Kaleeth, which made it appear as if he was returning her hug. Although, in reality, he simply wanted to be closer to the new source of warmth. "Yes, we've had him since he was an egg. He has gotten pretty big, but he has never hurt any of us on purpose. Just be careful if he starts playing with you; he has caused some scratches with his claws, and he might shock you a bit."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I need to get to bed now, but I did manage to post first. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a nod of agreement. "Yes, I would. Your sister is trustworthy, of course, but we always need to keep in mind that your letters could be intercepted. It is unlikely they would be read by anyone of consequence, but it is a precaution to take nonetheless. I will likely take me some time to find and negotiate a price with a caravan driver, so you should have ample time to rewrite and send your letter."

"Outgoing, certainly. And at least Rhazii likes her." Ahnasha commented, pulling Rhazii closer to herself and looking down to him with a grin. "If she's going to be helping look after him, then that is certainly a good thing."

It took a few hours to reach the gates of Bruma, as they were not moving in any sort of rush. It was not winter, so the cold was not as intense as it could be, but Meesei still had to give attention to Leaps to make sure he was kept sufficiently warm. His body was adapted for the heat of the marsh, and would not warm itself alone, and he could not be wrapped as warmly in furs as Meesei or Kaleeth. Magical fire was enough to make it tolerable, though Meesei doubted he was comfortable.

At the gates, Meesei stopped and addressed the group as a whole. "I will negotiate with one of the caravans to take us to the Imperial City. If there is anything that anyone needs to do in the city, now is the time. Although, I hope to be here for less than an hour or two, so hurry if you can. Janius, be sure to watch after Leaps while I am away and keep him warm. We can all meet back here when you are ready."

With that, Meesei headed into the city, starting with the tavern, where many locals and travelers congregated. There was no one single location where Meesei would be guaranteed to find a caravan driver, so she would have to ask around. Kaleeth remained outside and stood by Leaps. While he was still technically small enough to be brought into a city, they had found in the past that the Bruma guards were uncomfortable around him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You know, that seems...dangerous." Pieter commented with something of a perplexed look on his face. "Tasting random plants, I mean. You might eventually come across a strong poison; I know there are some out there. You ended up in Black Marsh before you came to Bruma, right? I hear that the entire swamp is filled with poisons, heat, humidity, and murderous beasts. I...think I'll be perfectly fine not going there."

"I find it to be a beautiful place, though I may be biased." Meesei chimed in. She only heard the very end of their conversation, but felt it appropriate to speak up for just a moment. Sabine and her friend seemed as if they would talk for a while, and Meesei had one thing to ask before they reached the city. "Sabine, I have a brief question for you. When we reach Bruma, would you like to write and send a letter to Ariel? This will be the last chance before the Imperial City to write to her. For safety, you may wish to avoid writing our exact destination, but she should likely know that her letters may not be able to reach us for a while."

Ahnasha could not say she knew much about Falkreath, expect that it was one of Skyrim's holds. Since Uthri did not mention a specific town or city, though, Ahnasha guessed that she may have been raised outside of them. She was at least aware that Skyrim did have more than just mountains and snow, but did not know where Falkreath fit into the province's climate. Regardless, she certainly seemed to fit the image of a strong Nord, and she was being friendly enough. Currently, it was mostly Irenya with which she was worried about leaving Rhazii.

Ahnasha answered as soon as Fendros finished. "And I'm from Leyawiin, to the south. As Fendros said, though, we've been all over Cyrodiil, Morrowind, and Black Marsh. Rhazii, I suppose he was born in Black Marsh, not that it really matters. He has mostly been raised in the clan so far."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter shook his head. "No, not really. The longest trip I've ever been on was moving to Bruma from Chorrol, where I was born. And I didn't even make it the full way on that journey; that's when I was turned. I've never been outside of Cyrodiil before, so this will all pretty much be new to me. It's kind of frightening and exciting, really. You're from...Morrowind, right? And you've traveled all over with your pack, so you definitely know more than me. What do you expect from the trip? Does it get boring along the road, or on a ship?" He asked. Being that he was no longer trying to keep quiet, Irenya heard some of what he said, but was largely uninterested until he mentioned that Sabine was from Morrowind. She did not say anything, or include herself in the conversation in any real way, but she certainly took interest.

Uthri's voice had a certain quality that could certainly capture one's attention immediately. Ahnasha's head turned to her quickly, and her grip almost reflexively tightened on Rhazii. She was not being threatening, however, and mostly just being friendly. They were all going to be spending quite a lot of time together, so that was certainly not a bad plan. "Rhazii is three years old. I know he looks a lot older, but that's just because he's a Cathay. They end up being much larger than your average human or elf." Ahnasha explained, glancing over to Leaps nearby for a moment. "I'm actually pretty glad we have that wamasu. There will be a point where Rhazii is too big to carry around, but still too small to keep up on a long trek. Hopefully, Leaps can be his horse."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, sure." Peiter answered as he picked up a pack of supplies and threw it onto his back. They were already starting to move, so he had to orient the bag along with his halberd as they were walking along towards the exit. "There's Gallus, but you already know him. The Khajiit is Tzirret. He was formerly the young, nervous, and naive apprentice to Gallus, but now after a few years of training, he is a young, nervous, and naive full member of the pack. The Nord is Uthri Wild-Heart. Fitting name. She was raised on a farm way out in the wilds of Falkreath, to the north, but she's more of a woodsman, or...woodswoman? Anyway, she's used to being in the wilds. The Dunmer is Irenya Helvi; she's our healer, and mage in general. Honestly, she doesn't really like answering to someone as young as Gallus, I don't think. She was born a little while before the Red Year in Morrowind, so she's two hundred at least. Thing is, she's, uh, not that good at leading." He explained to Sabine at a whisper.

As everyone had been given ample opportunity to give their goodbyes, the two packs set out quickly. They passed through the gate leading to the cavern exit, then two more before finally making it to the surface. Since the attack a few years prior, the clan's security had become much more robust, with several layers of protection. Meesei had even overseen the scattering of enchantments in an area around the entrance to help detect intruders, although admittedly, they had mostly just caught members of the clan who had forgotten to announce that they were leaving the ruin.

Luckily, once they were out of the ruin, the snow was relatively light, and the temperature, while still cold, was comparatively mild for the region. It was late summer, and while the snow rarely melted this high into the mountains, it would not take too long of traveling to the south to reach warmer weather. Meesei would need to stay close to Leaps to ensure he stayed adequately warm, but first, there was a question she wished to ask of Sabine. They were going to be stopping briefly in Bruma to find a caravan to take them to the Imperial City, and there was something Meesei thought Sabine would want to do while they were there. However, as she did not want to interrupt her conversation, Meesei decided to wait until Sabine and Peiter has finished talking. It was going to take a few hours to reach the city, regardless.

Ahnasha was trying to avoid making too specific of judgments just yet on Gallus' pack, for good or ill. They had not yet had time to learn what they were like, but she still could not help but to wonder. As one might expect, she was walking alongside Fendros while carrying Rhazii. While both Rhazii and Newt would walk by this point, neither were capable of such a long trek. Rhazii in particular was much heavier than he used to be, so Ahnasha and Fendros would have to trade off on carrying him.

"So, what do you think about...everyone?" Ahnasha whispered to Fendroa, leaning in close as she spoke nearly inaudibly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay. I've got a huge assignment to do by tomorrow afternoon. I'll have to hold off on posting until then.

The good news is that this is the last big assignment for the semester. The bad news is that I'll be studying for exams after that. The conciliatory news is that I only have one exam!

@Muttonhawk

It's such a rollercoaster of emotion.