EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'khay began to laugh with Uthri's question. "You'll get different answers on that depending on who you ask. Traditional Khajiit will tell you that moon sugar is crystallized moonlight. They would say it is a part of the eternal souls of the divines, brought to the sugarcane by the waters of the Topal sea. La'khay is not a traditional Khajiit. She believes it is just the product of a plant; a wonderful product, granted. The sugar comes from canes, and is the most popular crop in Pelletine. Torval has fields of it right outside the palace of the Mane."

Do'ajee seemed to be annoyed with La'khay's answer. "You are very quick to dismiss our people's traditions, La'khay."

La'khay started to shake her head. "No no, you see, this one cannot dismiss those traditions if she never held them. La'khay is a practical woman, with practical beliefs. She does not let people tell her what to think. Many have tried to shame this one for her beliefs, and what she has done in her life, but La'khay is proud of who she is."

Do'ajee rolled her eyes. "Yes, you've said that before. This one thinks you're just stubborn. Being proud of your beliefs does not make them right."

"Doesn't make them wrong either." La'khay retorted.

While those outside the pride would not know what to think of the exchange, Colors just started to chuckle. "Don't make these two get philosophical, or you'll be listening to it all night."

Kaleeth was not actually listening to the conversation at this point. She was simply leaned against Janius with her eyes closed, smiling. With the array of sensations flowing through her body, she felt at ease, even if she had been forced to pass on the bottle once more. She let out a low, satisfied hum and opened her eyes. Seeing Janius, she kissed him on the cheek, then tightened her hold on him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Most of the pride shook their heads in response to Tzirret. Only Colors gave a nod. "Yes, I've docked in both Anvil and Leyawiin before many times. They're common stops for anyone who sails in the south. One time, I had business that took me all the way up to Bravil, but I didn't stay too long there. The entire place smelled like day-old fish left out in the sun...so a mild improvement over the Senchal docks. Regardless, as long as I have good drinks, good friends, and beautiful women, it doesn't matter to me where I go. Though I have to admit, Pelletine has grown on me. It is nice and warm, and there's easy access to all the moon sugar you can buy, along with the occasional bottle of skooma."

La'khay started to shake her head in disappointment. "This one still says you should stay away from that corruption of our sugar, Colors. She has seen what it can do to the mind. In one of the other brothels, in the center of Senchal, they forced their girls to drink it to addict them, and to keep them under their control. They didn't have to keep them around by force, because if they left, they would come crawling back within a few days."

"Oh, be calm. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I hardly have the gold to keep myself supplied, even if I did get that problem." He responded.

When the bottle of wine finally came back around to Kaleeth, she took another drink. The talk of addiction did concern her, but by the way the others were talking, it seemed like skooma was the one that was really harmful. No one else seemed to be having any problem with the moon sugar.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At first, Kaleeth was worried when Janius told her about the moon sugar dissolved in the drink, but the fact that he did not seem too concerned did serve to calm her fears. "Oh, okay." She responded, trying to focus back on the conversation. Although, after a moment, she put her arm around Janius and pulled herself close to him. Smiling, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Her eyes shifted over to the second bottle of the wine, which was also making its rounds.

"Are you...sure I have to hold off on the wine? It does feel rather...good." She commented.

Ra'kalesh shook his head. "No, this one's pride was among those who stayed with the clan for defense instead of chasing. It saved us from being killed with most of the rest of the defenders, but we were captured while covering the escape of the rest. We ended up cut off from our escape, and knew that our only hope was to surrender and wait for rescue. We are glad it finally came."

Letting out a sigh, Ra'kalesh continued before anyone else could speak. "But, let's avoid revisiting all of that. It is this one's fault for bringing it up. Tzirret, how are you liking it here in Pelletine? Is it everything you expected?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Ra'kalesh doubts it is too different from your clan, other than the obvious." He answered to Janius. "The biggest difference is probably that we are a more varied mix of lycans. Most of us are werelions, but we also have werewolves, and some werevultures from Valenwood. We have modified our leadership structure to be in line with the Champion's recommendations over the past few years, but it was never too different to begin with. Our stronghold was an expansive, almost city-like collection of structures in the treetops. It was well-hidden, and well-defended against most types of attacks. Our enchanters were even able to provide protections against fires. We never expected the gas they used, though. Strategically, their attack was inspired, if...cold and calculated. They fought hard to gain a foothold in the treetops, and lost nearly a third of their force in the process. Then, we counterattacked and pushed them back. We drove them to the forest floor, and they started to retreat. Then, we gave chase, hoping to break them entirely. In our lycan forms, they would not stand a chance of outrunning us, which was exactly what they expected. With most of us in our lycan forms, they used the gas, then turned back around and slaughtered most of our defenders while we were defenseless. From there, the rest of our clan started an evacuation, but as this one mentioned before, most did not escape."

By this point, the bottle of wine had made it back to Kaleeth, but she was staring to feel strange, to put it mildly. There was an odd euphoria building through her body the likes of which she had never felt before. The closest she could think of was the effects of Hist Sap, but this was distinctly different. After another drink, she leaned in towards Janius beside her. "Love, I think I feel...strange."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After Sabine's answer, Peiter was silent. He made no attempt to speak to her, nor follow her. He made no attempt to speak to anyone. The only thing he could will himself to do was to find a spot in camp, away from the others, to sit in isolation. To anyone watching him, his expression would seem almost entirely blank and devoid of emotion. Internally, his mind was incredibly confused, but he was not about to ask anyone for help.

Jo'rashaad shrugged his shoulders. "This one will study whatever he can, especially if it is not a well-known topic. It just happens that Jo'rashaad now has access to many willing lycan subjects, himself included. Most scholars who are not lycan will never even see a living lycanthrope, much less be able to carry out extended experiments."

Ciinriel's mood was better than before, certainly, though she still seemed quiet. She did not mind being lighthearted, or even joking, but she was having a hard time initiating conversations with others. As she started with her introduction, her mood seemed to be normal, at least. "Yes, I'm Ciinriel. Honestly, I hardly even remember the day I joined the clan, which was the day I was turned. Father says I was the survivor of a caravan coming from Valenwood, but I don't remember too much before that. I was so young, and it was so long ago. In Valenwood, I remember living in a massive, magnificent tree that stretched high above the forest floor. I know there are cities in Vanlenwood that are built in and around such trees, but I don't remember which one."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter's heart pounded, and though only a few seconds passed, his mind raced with thought as she stood up. As nervous as he was about the whole thing, he knew what he felt. And, unless she was crafting an elaborate lie, he thought he had an idea of what Sabine felt as well. When she stood up, he did not let go of her hand. Instead, he quickly stood up as well, and decided to take one more terrifying step.

"Wait." Peiter began. His eyes darted back and forth nervously for a moment before he finally forced himself to make eye contact. "I do rather like that...interesting offer, but..." He began, clasping his hands around hers and standing within inches of her. "Are you sure you don't want to just...skip straight to it?" He tried to stay confident in his tone, but the sweat on his brow told another story.

Colors gave a laugh. "Oh yes, the dreugh rarely target ships. A decent-sized vessel is big enough to just scare them away on sight. No, the creatures you have to worry about on the open sea are much larger than a dreugh."

Continuing the introductions, Jo'rashaad spoke up next. "This one's wife is S'ajira. She was born into the clan, and has been a part of it her entire life. She is a respected defender of our clan. Were she able to speak for herself, she would likely be in a leadership position by now." He said. As he spoke, S'ajira sat down beside him and lightly rubbed her head against his shoulder.

"As for Jo'rashaad himself, he is from Torval. The capital is home to a few organizations of magical learning, formed from the remnants of the old Mages' Guild, one of which this one was a member. Of course, there is much political trouble between them, but not to the extent of the Synod and College of Whispers. We engaged in actual magical research. Jo'rashaad was on the way to an excavation of an Ayleid ruin near the border to Cyrodiil when he was turned. This one was...disappointed to leave behind a life of magical learning, but the magical nature of lycans themselves is something of interest." Jo'rashaad explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I was going to add more, but I think I need to get to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter was able to feel what Sabine was doing, but it was not nearly as easy to understand as he had hoped it would be. The magicka almost seemed to disappear before the light was formed, and he could not make sense of why or how the spell even worked. Nevertheless, he tried to mimic it. He focused on manipulating the magicka in the same way as Sabine, but no light was being formed. He got to the point where the magicka disappeared, but did not know what to do from there. There was a part of spellcasting he was missing, and he knew it.

"I feel like I'm missing something...fundamental to all of this. I can manipulate the magicka, I can charge it now, but I just can't make the light. I'm close though, I can feel it. Maybe with some more practice, it might start to make sense. But maybe we should rest for now, though. This is surprisingly exhausting for me. Not physically, but...I guess magically. But, thank you. Really, this means a lot to me." He said.

La'khay smiled and reached over to place her hand on Tzirret's shoulder. "Of course, there's no way you're going to a brothel. That would just be silly...since La'khay can just give you the same service herself." She said with a chuckle. Of course, she was merely teasing him, but he did not need to know that yet.

Colors laughed and decided to continue before Tzirret had a chance to respond. "You all already know me, but as for my history? Well, I've been called many things in my life. A good-looking rogue, a dashing scoundrel, but in reality, I was but a humble handsome trader. I worked on the seas, even had my own ship. It was just a schooner, but it was mine. My work involved, uh, finding goods that were in need in one place and hard to acquire, finding them in another place, then trading between the two."

"He was a smuggler." Do'ajee interrupted bluntly.

"Ah, such a harsh term. I was an...extralegal entrepreneur." Colors retorted.

Thinking back to the previous night, Kaleeth commented on a detail she noticed. "A smuggler, you say? I thought you said yesterday that you couldn't fight?" She asked as she took a drink. It was much sweeter than she had anticipated, but she supposed that was her fault for not expecting such from a Khajiit drink.

"Yes, but you see, the best smuggler is one who doesn't have to fight." Colors explained. "Sadly, I lost my ship when I turned. One of my crew must've been turned at some point on land, because she transformed during the full moons and nearly killed all of us. Only myself and my first mate survived, at first. He died later from his wounds, and the ship crashed against an outcropping of rocks during the fight."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter was reluctant to let go, but Sabine was excited enough to teach him that he did not have much of a choice but to continue with the lesson. Upon her instruction, he started to channel his magicka once more. Now that he had done it once, he just had to replicate what he had done on the first attempt. Now, with focus, he could actually somewhat feel what he was doing. It was far weaker than what Sabine could do without even trying, but he was manipulating his magicka nonetheless. As for actually casting a spell, however, he was having much more difficulty. Her analogies seemed to make sense, but trying to 'move' magicka in the way she was describing did not come easily to him. He tried imagining that his hand was glowing, but the most he could seem to do was to make the magicka within him flutter.

"I'm...trying, but it's just not happening. I know you said it's like moving a muscle, but it's like trying to move a muscle I never knew I had. Maybe..." Peiter began as he looked up into Sabine's eyes. He clasped his hands around Sabine's and held them close to his chest. "Maybe you can show me? I can try to feel your magicka, to see how you are doing it."

Tzirret had not gone into detail on his turning, but traumatic turnings were common enough among lycans that the pride made their assumptions on what might have happened. Regardless, such stories were ones that many of them shared, and they knew it best not to dwell on those details. Ra'kalesh was the first to answer Tzirret.

"This one is Ra'kalesh, the leader of this pride. In his life before turning, he was a monk. This one lived in a monestary, and was a student of the Whispering Fang. You may know it best for the style of martial arts we practiced, but we did have a life and beliefs beyond it. Ra'kalesh was turned when out hunting with one of his brothers. This one was taken into a smaller pride for a while before we found the clan. It was difficult adjusting to such a life at first, as this one is sure you can relate, but he has found more meaning in this life than his last."

Once he was finished speaking, Ra'kalesh nodded to the next of his pride beside him, Do'ajee. "This one's life has not been so exceptional. She is Do'ajee, a warrior by trade." She said. Notably, her Cyrodilic was much more heavily accented than most of the others in her pride. "This one is of one of the nomadic tribes who wander the deserts to the north. We had wandered close to the Tenmar forest when this one was turned. She was swimming: a rare opportunity for one who wanders the desert. Fortunately, this one was alone, and did not return to her tribe. Finding the clan took time, and Do'ajee admits she did not want to join them at first. She blamed them for the rogue lycan's actions, but Ra'kalesh convinced this one to give them a chance."

Since they seemed to be going in a circle, La'khay gave her introduction next. "This one is La'khay. She is not a fighter like most of the others, except Colors of course. This one is actually from Senchal. Her parents were paupers who worked odd jobs around the city, just as this one has done most of her life. Before her turning, La'khay was a prostitute working at a brothel near the docks. It was a nice place; you should visit it if you get the chance. It was probably one of this one's clients who turned her, considering that one day, she was suddenly a werelion. Luckily, Colors happened to be nearby when this one was close to turning and took her out of the city." She explained. Despite the nature of her history, La'khay did not seem to show a hint of shame in describing it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I did?" Peiter questioned. He felt like he had done nothing at all, so he was surprised to hear that he had any measure of success. "I didn't create the light like you wanted, but you said I was...channeling, right? I mean, that is something. More than I've ever done before, definitely."

As Peiter stopped focusing on his magicka, he started to smile. Technically, he had not actually cast any magic yet and still wouldn't consider himself to be close to even being a novice, but for the first time, he had felt a small taste of a force that had always seemed so strange to him. It was satisfying. In his cheerful mood, he turned himself around and hugged Sabine tightly. He said nothing, and did not seem to want to let her go.

Colors glanced back and forth between Janius and his drink. "Well...I for one think that wine is an essential." He said as he took a drink. "I mean, my pride has been through a lot. It is imperative that we be able to keep our morale as high as possible, so naturally, I thought to grab it for their benefit. Besides, there was extra space in my bag after we finished going through everything else that was useful, so there was no harm in taking it. I mean, wine is a valuable item, so if nothing else, we could sell it." Evidently, Colors could not settle on a single excuse, because he seemed to be giving them all at once.

"Colors, just close your mouth, and pass the bottle." La'khay interrupted. S'ajira trotted over and gave the bottle she had taken to her to open. La'khay uncorked the bottle and allowed the Pahmar to drink a portion before taking a large swig herself. "We have it now, so there's no point in worrying about how or why it got here. Just enjoy yourselves."

Leaning over towards Tzirret, La'khay offered the bottle to him. "That includes you, 'cloudy-cat.' Just relax. Tell us about yourself, what is it, Tzirret, right? Where are you from?"