EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Okay, I'll try." Peiter answered. He strained, focusing as much as he could on the strange, chaotic energy he felt. She said to push it through his hands, which sounded simple, but he did not have much of an idea how to actually move this energy he had never felt before. He went through considerable effort and concentration just trying different methods, hoping to find some way of interacting with it. He attempted just thinking about the energy moving through his hands to create a light, but it was, of course, not that simple. He tried to imagine the sensation of the energy collecting in his hands, and while it did make him feel even stranger, it did not bring him completely to his goal. To Peiter, each attempt seemed to bring nothing but failure, but to Sabine, whose perceptions were much more well-attuned, she would know that his magicka was actually being charged through his hands. He just had no idea how to give it form.

Colors laughed heartily before pulling what appeared to be a bottle of wine from his bag. It was a local wine, complete with moon sugar, so he had likely grabbed it from the enemy's outpost the night before. "Oh come now, we all know that wouldn't happen." He said as he popped the cork off of the bottle and looked to Janius. "It wouldn't even come close to being a competition." He said pridefully.

As Colors pulled out the bottle, S'ajira got up, then slowly walked around the outside of the circle and sat down beside Colors. Even without words, it was clear to the pride what she wanted. Jo'rashaad leaned in as he turned his gaze to Colors. "This one hopes you're ready to share, Colors. It has been too long since my wife, or any of us for that matter, have had a good drink."

"Yes, and perhaps we should give a drink to the Suthay-raht boy over there while we're at it." La'khay commented, motioning outside of the circle towards Tzirret. "He's been staring at us for a good five minutes; it looks like he could stand to calm his nerves."

Kaleeth took her seat in the group next to Janius and eyed the wine curiously. Seeing as she was not aware of its contents, she did feel that it would be nice to have a drink. Although, with the number of people present, she doubted she would be able to. "I don't think that one bottle would be enough for us all."

"Yes, yes, it's unfortunate, but there's not enough for all of us. Even so, I have no problem sharing this bottle." Colors added quickly, but as he was speaking, S'ajira investigated the bag beside him. By the time Colors noticed her rummaging through the bag with her snout, she had already pulled out a second bottle of the wine with her teeth. Colors gave the Pahmare a glare, while several of the others laughed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Since one conversation seems to be over, we could have one between the pride and a few of the others. I think Janius and Tzirret are still there, along with Uthri, whom seems to go back and forth between the two of us.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Feeling Sabine's embrace once more was certainly enough to pique Peiter's attention by itself, but he tried to focus on the matter at hand. She was doing something to him, though he did not know what. He still did not know what to look for, but now, with whatever Sabine was trying, he knew that something would probably be different. If he could feel whatever it was within him that wasn't normal, then he might actually be able to feel the magicka. He took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly much as he had before. At first, everything felt normal. He felt his breath, his heartbeat, the warmth of Sabine's body behind him, but as he focused harder, he had a sense of something more...chaotic. It was strange and out of place from what he was accustomed to.

"I think...I don't know. There is something, it's...unusual. I feel warm, almost." He explained.

Meesei shook her head. "No, just that you avoid drawing attention to yourselves. Senchal is a large city, in which it would be easy to remain hidden, but you should be cautious all the same. I will remain here and aid Irenya in helping the pride to recover...as well as myself. I will go speak to Fendros and Ahnasha. If there is anyone else you would like to go with you, I would go speak to them now." Meesei recommended before taking her leave. Ra'kalesh headed back to the center of camp to join the rest of his pride, who seemed to be conversing with several members of both Meesei's and Gallus' packs.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter attempted to follow Sabine's instructions to the letter, but his lack of experience made that much more difficult than it sounded. He was trying to feel this energy, but had no concept of what it was even like. Even if he did feel it, he was not sure how to go about willing it into his hands; would it just be as simple as thinking about it happening? He breathed deeply and tried to focus on each breath, but all he could recognize within his body was his heartbeat pulsing in the background. He was sure the magicka was there, as it was supposedly in everyone, but a description was not enough for him to understand, at least not easily.

"I...I don't know. If I focus, I feel a lot of things: my breaths, my pulse, a light breeze around us, random sensations. I just don't know what to feel. I feel like a blind man trying to understand color. Is there some way you can sort of...show me what to feel? Can you do anything to make it easier to sense?" He asked.

Ra'kalesh turned his head briefly to look over his pride. With the aid of a healer, they could be ready to hunt reasonably soon, and they would not want to delay much longer after that. "To allow this one's pride time to heal, we will likely hunt tomorrow. So, if you can find a captain willing to leave tomorrow evening, or the next day, it would be ideal."

Meesei nodded in agreement before commenting. "I would expect that most people in Senchal can speak Cyrodilic, but just in case, I can send Ahnasha with you. And, perhaps a few others for defense. Though it is a city, it would be unwise to go in alone, given the situation. I would recommend taking someone who is skilled in matters of trade and bartering. I know both Fendros and Ahnasha possess that ability."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter followed Sabine excitedly, although not particularly for the magic lesson itself. They stayed close to area and found a clear enough area to sit down. He was not certain what this lesson would entail, or how they would even go about beginning, but he was sure Sabine knew what she was doing. She did have quite a good teacher, after all. Her first question was quite simple, and he should have expected it, but he still found himself scratching his head as he tried to think of something useful to say.

"Um, well, I know it uses magicka to work, which comes from the stars...or something? I don't know how to use it or anything. I've never even really...felt magicka before. I don't really know what it is like, or how I would begin to feel it. I know, being Breton, it shouldn't be too hard, but I've never seriously tried before." He answered.

Ra'kalesh had to think for a moment, not about the game in the area, which he was intimately familiar with, but how it would compare to what Gallus was accustomed to. "The Tenmar forest shares much prey with the Blackwood forest of Cyrodiil, this one believes. Bears, boar, wolves, deer, dreugh, the occasional troll. But, there are more, of course. The durzog is not unique to Elsweyr, but it can be found here. The same is true of the lamia, and goblins. We might find tigers, minotaurs, or crocodiles if we go into the water. Spriggans can also be found here, but this one doubts you want a feast of tree bark. Ra'kalesh's pride...may be able to hunt, but perhaps we may wish to wait a few hours, or another night to allow us to rest and heal more completely. Your healer has done great work so far, but there are quite a few of us. You could use the time to head to Senchal and broker a deal with one of the ship captains." He suggested.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

Nice, how are things with you?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter's heart was pounding, to the point where Sabine might even feel the pulse in his hand if she were to grip it tightly enough. He tried to remain calm on the outside, but even he did not know if he was succeeding. The mention of training caused him to think back to the day before, to their swordsmanship training. He did not know what to expect from magical training, but it would require that they take even more time together. "Yes, I suppose you do. I certainly would not mind spending...more time with you. Perhaps we can try it now?"

"It may be that you are correct." Meesei commented. "We still do not know much about the enemy in this area. We will need to be cautious when searching for them, in case the enemy is able to turn this into a trap."

"Ra'kalesh does not think the remnants of his clan have yet been discovered." He responded. "One of the questions they kept asking us when they tortured us was where to find the rest of our clan. This one told only lies, and he never told the rest of his pride that he knew where our clan could have gone. There is magic one can use to hide a trail, and this one believes our clan leader would have made sure to use it. He wanted to make sure our clan remained as hidden as possible if we had to evacuate. It is still possible they could have been found, but Ra'kalesh thinks there is a good chance they haven't."

Meesei continued looking over the map in thought as she answered. "That is good to know, but we should still be cautious all the same. Gallus is right that they will attempt to track us. I have no doubt that they would attempt to track any lycans, but the pack of the Champion is an especially alluring target. I can attempt to use magic to keep our trail hidden, but that may be difficult for me to accomplish alone for such a large group."

"Ra'kalesh knows that Jo'rashaad can help, but there is another option, if we can get the gold. We could hire one of the ships in Senchal to take us to area along the coast where we might find them. It is not a long journey by ship, so the expense may not be too great. We cannot be tracked by scent over the ocean, and it is unlikely that the enemy would already have a ship waiting to follow us. It is worth noting that not every captain would be willing to transport passengers, in secret, to an unmarked location along the coast, so we would likely have to deal with smugglers, pirates, or others of the sort." He suggested.

Although the plan did come with costs, Meesei did believe it could work. They were unlikely to be followed by ship, so it would allow them to reach their destination undisturbed. "We were able to save on costs during the first leg of our journey to Elsweyr, so I believe we may have the coin to make such a voyage. Although between paying for supplies and passage for our packs and your pride, we may not be left with much more afterwards. Regardless, it would keep us from being tracked, and allow us to finally be able to engage Vile on our terms."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter took a deep breath. When he actually managed to look past his own fears, he could see that Sabine was nervous as well. He needed to have the courage to speak to her, to say what he wanted to say. It was difficult, but he at least could keep back the fear enough to try to keep the conversation on the right track. "No, I haven't, but I think I can wait. I...think I'd much rather talk to you right now. We've, um, we've been spending a lot of time together...over the past few days, haven't we?"

Ra'kalesh took a look over the map, trying to recall the features of the area that had been described to him. His focus was on southern Elsweyr, near the coast. The area seemed to have little in the way of settlements or other distinguishing features that one might find on a map, so Meesei supposed that wherever they had gone was likely remote. "Again, this one can give no guarantees, but...to the west, a little over halfway to Torval along the coast. If they followed their plans, that is where they would have gone. It is far from the cities, so they would be more safe to recover. But, this one does not know an exact location. We will have to search the area to track them down; they are more than likely still in hiding. Ra'kalesh may know what to look for, but he can say no more for certain until we are there. It is not as far as the fortress near Corinthe, but we will still need to travel for a week or two to reach it. Perhaps longer, with the state of my pride. We would be off of the roads for part of the journey, so the forest may slow us down."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think I'll be getting to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter rotated his wounded arm with a light groan. "Sore, but better. A lot better. Irenya said they were just fleshwounds, but...let me say for the record that 'just fleshwounds' can still hurt like a duststorm in the Deadlands. I think I'm going to stay away from any silver-wielding giant cats in the future. That Khajiit, uh, really kicked my behind, didn't he?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He at least wanted to try to laugh at himself over the whole ordeal. As he moved his hands back down to his sides, however, he mustered up some bravery of his own and allowed his hand to rest slightly on top of hers.

Meesei returned a smile. "Yes, but the reasonable kind of eager, this time. It would be nice to be able to scout them, but as I said, Corinthe is no small journey. Our time may be better served by exploring our other options. Colors mentioned that the survivors from the Senche clan were able to retreat, but he does not know where they have gone. There is also the Orcrest clan in the deserts of northern Elsweyr. It is even farther than Corinthe, but we know we have a force which will support us there. Between the two, I would prefer to find the survivors in this area first. We need to attempt to find some lead as to where they may have gone."

"Ra'kalesh may be able to help with that, actually." He said as the topic of his clan came up. "In the clan, this one was the second to one of our leader's lieutenants. This one was not privy to all of our long-term goals, but he does know that we had emergency plans for events like this. There are no guarantees, but...this one may have an idea of where they may have gone. Or at least where we can start to look. I can say they would not be around Senchal, though. If evacuation ever became necessary, our leader guessed that this peninsula would not be safe from the enemy."