EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was about half an hour after she left that Meesei walked back into camp, alone. By that point, the pack had searched the bodies of the bandits and recovered anything useful, and were now gathered near the fire. The sun had already set a few minutes prior, so they had only the fire and starlight as sources of light. Leaps was at least stable, with the arrow having been removed and the bleeding halted. However, Irenya maintained that she would need to keep checking on him periodically, and recommended that he be allowed to rest for a while.

Meesei approached the fire, though she did not sit down with the others. "I was able to find them, but there is no dissuading them from their views. I know that none of you likely want to go anywhere at the moment, but it would likely be best for us to gather our supplies and move on from their carriages. It is quite evident that they do not wish to be around us. It will take longer, but we should still be able to reach the Imperial City tomorrow, even on foot." Meesei explained. She did not lie explicitly, but she decided not to tell the others that she had slain both the caravan driver and her son to prevent them from warning the Legion. She had not wanted to kill them, but what they knew was potentially dangerous enough to end their mission before it could start, or even bring harm to her pack. However, she was not sure if the others would understand why it was necessary, so it was best that they not know. She was willing to do anything for the protection of her pack, no matter how difficult it became.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was difficult to tell if the woman was even listening for much of Gallus' little speech. Despite his power over her life, she did not much seem to care about his mission, nor who he thought she was affiliated with. She also did not seem to give much attention to his offer, or at least, she did not give a reaction to the possibility of mercy.

"Right, I'm sure you can just give me a better life. I'm sure you can make crops grow, or erase debts. I'm dead no matter what you do to me, beast. Just...let me go if you really want. I'll bury my friends, then...I don't know, probably dig another grave for myself." She answered, her tone surprisingly matter-of-fact about it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, I'll just take out that last part and put it in when you're ready.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The bandit sat with her head lowered, offering no resistance to the ropes binding her. The signs of depression were painted all across her face, along with a hint of pain from her leg wound. There was a delay of a few seconds after Gallus' question before she looked up at him. "Does it really matter? I know it looked like you had a lot of supplies, and at least one or two of you are apparently werewolves or something."

The woman paused a moment, her gaze drifting towards the bodies of her dead allies. Tears started to form within her eyes before she closed them and looked to the ground. "Nothing matters anymore."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although the two drivers had a head-start, Meesei could run faster, and for longer. As well, it seemed that the pair had not counted on a lycan’s tracking ability, because they had stopped to catch their breath a few minutes after getting out of sight. Meesei was silent as she approached, so by the time they spotted her, she was too close for them to be able to run away effectively.

The Nord woman stood between Meesei and her son protectively, though her only weapon was a small dagger. “You…you’re all werewolves, aren’t you? I saw those beasts on the shore; I recognize them from the stories. Just…get away from us, you monster!” She shouted, waving her dagger at Meesei.

“We have no desire to harm you; either of you. There has been ample opportunity throughout our journey for us to kill you, but we have not. We just want to get to…” Meesei began, but she was cut off when the Nord began to shout once more.

“No! I’m not believing your lies! The tales say you can turn us into one of those monsters; I’m not trusting you for a second. The Legion will slay all of you beasts!” She yelled defiantly.

Meesei had seen such stubbornness before. Particularly among Nords, tradition was important, so all of those stories she had heard about lycans would be far more important to her than anything Meesei could say. She would not be dissuaded, and more importantly, it seemed like she intended to alert the Legion.

Adopting a more firm, threatening stance, Meesei glared at the Nord. “So you intend to alert the Imperial City guard about what we are?”

The Nord stepped back, suddenly realizing the mistake she had just made. “No, no, I’m not…I won’t…I just want you all to get away from us. We won’t tell the Legion…”

“No.” Meesei interrupted. “I do not believe you. You see myself and my family as monsters for just being what we are. I believe that, the moment you are away from us, you will tell the guard everything. You know who we are, where we are going, and where we came from. You are going to attempt to hurt my family, and I will not let that happen.”

---

Pieter, again, had a hard time finding the right words. He was just as shaken as Sabine by the whole affair, though he did not have as strong of a connection to Leaps as she did. The wamasu was a rather large and tough creature; surely with Irenya's healing, he would be able to recover? Since the arrow had not been immediately lethal, it did give him hope that was the case. It meant that Irenya would have ample opportunity to mend the damaged flesh.

Seeing Sabine in such a state, and the thoughts of what might have happened, brought a few tears to Pieter's eyes as well, though he tried to hold them back. Letting out a deep breath, he hugged Sabine. "It was...too close. Leaps will be fine, I know it. Irenya is the best healer I know."

Newt had not seen everything as clearly as Rhazii, so he was more confused than frightened. For Ahnasha, however, she was trying to do what she could to calm Rhazii. She held him close to try and allow him to be comforted by his mother's embrace. Although, at his age, calming his fears was not as simple as it used to be. "Only the bad people were burned, and the fire is gone now. If you want, we can go back in the water; no fire will ever get you there."

After some time of silence, the bandit leader just started shaking her head. "it was not supposed to be a fight. We were just meant to get in, get some things, and get out. There was an opportunity; we had to take it. No one was supposed to die."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The fight had been brief, but disturbing for some. Ahnasha ran to Rhazii, dropping down to her knees and picking him up in her arms to comfort him. Kaleeth, as soon as Janius mentioned the name, sprinted back to the water without so much as a word and dove in. However, it was an action that was quickly explained when she walked back out of the lake holding Newt in her arms. She walked back towards Janius, though she seemed more focused on making sure Newt was alright.

Although she had only even known about the attack for under a minute, Meesei had to make several decisions quickly. She had seen much happen over the course of only a few seconds, which had created several problems to address. "Alright...Gallus, Lorag, tie up the survivor, question her when you can. Irenya, help Sabine heal Leaps, if you could. I will chase down the caravan drivers and see if I can calm them. Just stay on alert; we do not know if there are more out there."

Irenya responded only with a simple nod as Meesei turned to follow their caravan drivers. She walked around to Sabine's right side and knelt down beside her. She did not ask Sabine to move or stop her own healing, and instead simply got to work applying her own restoration talents to the wound. Although, it quickly became apparent that Irenya's healing talents were far more developed than Sabine's own. She was, after all, a specialized healer, while Meesei had been giving Sabine more general magical training.

Pieter too knelt down beside Sabine, on her left. He looked over Leaps with an unsure expression, gently placing his hand on the top of the wamasu's head. The arrow was still protruding from the wound, as it seemed that Irenya wanted to get a better handle on the bleeding before removing it. Leaps was breathing heavily, and occasionally letting out a low, pained whine.

There were a few moments of silence before Pieter turned his head to Sabine. He looked unsure at first, but then, it seemed like he was trying to smile. "I...do believe I lost that race, didn't I?" He commented before leaning in and kissing the top of Leaps' head. "I would kiss this lizard a thousand times after what he did for you. He may well have saved your life. After he is healed, I think he deserves a reward."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

So far, it has been pretty much what I expected. Which is to say, I'm really enjoying it. There are a few minor annoyances for me, but plenty of improvements. I find the actual shooting mechanics to be a lot better, like if I aim at something, the bullet might actually go there. The thing that probably bothers me the most is that it doesn't tell me what an object weighs before I pick it up. Random junk is a lot more useful in FO4, so that would be a really, really helpful thing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I didn't expect it would run at all, but it actually auto-detected for medium.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret's claws, coupled with his lycan strength, pierced through the bandit's skull with deadly effect. He fell to the ground, motionless, and pouring blood. Meanwhile, Gallus' dagger found its mark in the back of the bandit leader's leg. While not a particularly dangerous wound by itself, it did cause her to trip over one of the shore's many rocks. She kept a hold of her blade, and managed not to harm herself with it in the fall, but looking back make it abundantly clear that she was not getting away. Even if she could get to her feet, there was a lycan werewolf charging straight for her. Briefly, she considered raising her blade for one last-ditch defense, but she knew it would be meaningless. The woman dropped her sword and raised up her hands. "Stop, I surrender!" She shouted, though she had little hope that a werewolf would hold back.

Seeing as Tzirret had handled the bandit threatening Pieter and Sabine, Irenya ran forward to help Janius finish off the Bosmer he was on the ground struggling with. She could not use her fireballs, but since Janius was holding him in place, it was a simple enough matter to conjure a dagger, run up to them, and stab it into the Bosmer's throat.

The rest of the pack had started running as soon as they heard the fight start, but it had only taken a few brief moments for the pack's surprise attack to eliminate every threat. Ahnasha ran down the hill to find Rhazii, while Lorag started to rush to the bandit leader as well. It only took a brief moment for Meesei to gather what had happened, and her first concern was for her pack. "Is anyone hurt?" She asked.

The caravan drivers too had come running over the hill, and while the bandit attack was certainly a surprise, it was, after a few moments, not their greatest concern. When they spotted Tzirret and Fendros in their beast forms, the Nord woman's eyes widen. "What happened here? Wait...is that..." She began, grabbing her son's shoulder. "Run...RUN!" She yelled as she bolted off in the direction of the forest with her son in tow.

After the danger had passed, Pieter turned to Sabine and placed his hands on her shoulders, his expression obviously concerned. "Are you alright, Sabine? Did he hurt you?" He asked. Although, despite the fact that it was Sabine who had been taken hostage, he was perhaps in more need of support than her. He had never been in a situation even close to that dangerous before, so it had left him shaken.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Replying now, sorry for the delay. I've been playing Fallout 4. My computer, surprisingly, runs it.