EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter looked back at the gold in Sabine and Tzirret's hands. It was more than the value of two bottles of wine, or twice the number of bottles of cheap ale. And, for what they wanted to do, having more alcohol was preferred. Of course, they would need to leave some margin as a bribe for the quartermaster. He did not want to spend more gold than was necessary, so while he could add more gold to the pile, he decided just to add a bit and offer an even number.

"I think we have enough to purchase three bottles of ale, with a good 'donation' for our most gracious quartermaster. Thirty gold is how much we have, all for you." Peiter offered. Considering that amount would purchase five or so bottles normally, he supposed the extra coin would make for a good bribe.

The outcome of the fight created quite a bit of surprise and disappointment among the crowd. Almost everyone present had placed their bets on the Altmer, with only Fendros, Colors, and a single crew member putting their money on Kaleeth. As such, their payout was quite high. In absolute terms, Fendros did not receive that much gold, but he did quadruple his money. Colors, meanwhile, received a bag of gold. Kaleeth, being the winner, even received a cut of the total bets. She had not even really wanted the gold, but it was a nice bonus.

When Janius approached, Kaleeth smiled and gave him a quick kiss after wiping the blood from her snout. "It was satisfying. My arms and...face are going to be sore, but I think I needed that."

As they were talking, another of the crew approached, this time a Suthay-raht male. He stood with his arms crossed, though his expression was not necessarily angry. He was more intrigued by the surprisingly tough Argonian. "A good fight, and a bit upset for many. It lost this one a good amount of gold, and he would like the chance to win some of it back. How would you like to fight a more worthy foe? This one challenges you to a match, Argonian." He stated. He appeared to be just as much of a fighter as the Altmer. While not spectacularly muscular or anything, he had the build of a soldier, and would obviously be much stronger than the Altmer. Of course, that would not matter against a werecrocodile, but the rest of the crew would be expecting him to be able to overpower her. Despite this, the thrill of the first fight was still coursing through Kaleeth's body, and from her expression, it seemed like she wanted to accept this challenge.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter rolled his eyes once everyone started to look at him. "Oh fine, fine. I'll talk to him. Let's pool our coin and I'll head up there." Once they had collected together the coin they had on them, Peiter stood up and started up the stairs. Ciinriel, after looking around nervously for a moment, decided to follow. She did not particularly want to talk to the Cathay, but she did want to watch to make sure everything went alright.

On the next deck up, Peiter headed towards the stern of the ship. He passed a few of the crew on the way back, but it seemed to be much less crowded than usual in the ship. He supposed that a large portion of the crew must have been above decks. As he approached the Cathay quartermaster, he decided to be simple and direct. With the Cathay's personality, he supposed that approach would be one he would appreciate, or at least not be annoyed by. "Hello, I'd like to buy something from you. Wine, specifically. Or any alcohol, really."

Whether from the encouragement of her friends, or just her own determination, Kaleeth let out a scream as she charged forward at the Altmer. She kept her arms raised to protect her head, which did allow the Altmer to land a solid blow on her ribs, but Kaleeth did not care. Since the Altmer had gone for a strike instead of dodging, Kaleeth was able to tackle her to the deck. The force from her charge was, again, more than the woman had been expecting, so she did not react quickly enough to Kaleeth's next move.

Once on the ground, Kaleeth brought herself up to her knees on top of the Altmer and delivered a swift punch to her jaw. It was not as hard as she could have struck, but it was certainly enough to leave a mark. The woman tried to shove her off, but Kaleeth was able to hold her down with surprising ease. After Kaleeth delivered another blow to her stomach, the Altmer started to hit back once more. Even while in this less-than-advantageous position, she was still quick enough to give another solid blow to Kaleeth's snout before she could raise her guard.

Not intent on just trading blows, Kaleeth grabbed a hold of both of her opponent's arms. One she simply held down against the deck, but the other she started to twist backwards. The Altmer struggled in every way she could, but she simply didn't have the strength to resist her. Kaleeth did not twist her arm far enough to break it, but she kept it at a constantly painful point, until the woman realized her struggles were in vain. "Ahhrg, fine, you win!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ciinriel shrugged. "Just, whatever we have that is valuable. Gold, usually. But, I don't have any gold right now, and there really wouldn't be much of a point in betting something we all share anyway. Playing for drinks does sound like it could be fun, if it is what I think you mean. We could try to see if we can buy something from their messdeck, if you want?"

The Khajiit huffed at Fendros after he placed his bet. "Five gold? Not much of a fan of risk, are ya?" He said as he made a note of Fendros' wager on a parchment.

Colors leaned in and spoke quietly to Janius as he sized up the Altmer. "Well, I only saw her fight once. She won, obviously. Pretty tough, very confident, and rather beautiful. From the way she acts, she must be one of the best, at least among the women here. She fights a lot with strikes, and I think a lot of the men can outgrapple her, but that's to be expected. She won't expect Kaleeth, though."

Kaleeth stepped into the circle, opposite of the Altmer while she waited for the betting to finish. The Altmer had a strong air of confidence about her in general, and passed a few threatening glances at Kaleeth. She was obviously expecting an easy victory, and certainly didn't expect to be as heavily physically outclassed as she was. Of course, Kaleeth didn't expect to be better at everything than her. She had received unarmed combat training from Lorag, and a few other instructors in the clan, but she still wasn't especially agile. The Altmer could well be faster, but if that became a problem, she could just run in and grab her. Once the Altmer was in Kaleeth's grasp, there would be no escape. However, as that would possibly demonstrate too much of her strength, she would try to just use strikes at first.

After a few minutes, the Khajiit managing the fights closed the bets. "Alright. Only rule is that you not maim your opponent...intentionally. Fight ends when one of you either gives up, or can't keep goin'. Now, begin!"

The moment they started, the Altmer rushed forward swinging. She was an aggressive fighter who barely gave Kaleeth time to raise her arms in defense before she was upon her. As expected, she went straight for Kaleeth's head, though her strikes only ended up hitting Kaleeth's arms. It was better than being struck in the head, but Kaleeth would probably have some bruised arms by the time the fight was over. The Altmer continued her flurry of blows in the hopes that one would connect with something sensitive. Kaleeth, remembering her training, instead waited for an opening, which she found when the Altmer stepped a bit too far forward in one of her strikes. Kaleeth delivered a startlingly heavy punch straight to the Atlmer's chest, which staggered her back and knocked the breath out of her briefly.

The Altmer was surprised and confused at the sudden, forceful attack, but was far from deterred from the fight. It was just going to motivate her to fight harder. With impressive speed, the Altmer struck three times, first to Kaleeth's shoulder, then her head, then her stomach. The first was easily blocked, and her arms were already in position to defend against the second, but the third was quick, and far out of the way. Her fist hit Kaleeth's stomach cleanly, causing her to curl forward on reflex. Following up quickly, the Altmer then managed to land a punch across her snout, then an uppercut to her lower jaw.

This time, it was Kaleeth that was staggered back with a sore jaw and a bleeding nose. Just like the Altmer, however, she was not deterred. Instead, she just became angry. She wanted her paypack, end did not mind using some of her strength to get it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ciinriel looked down, pulling back her sleeve slightly to look at the remnants of one of the scars on her arm. "My body has been healing. Your healer does good work. And it has been nice to be able to eat again; our captors barely fed us enough to survive while they held us, and it was usually old or rotten. If we weren't immune to disease, we probably would not all have made it."

Closing her eyes, Ciinriel let out a long, uncomfortable sigh. She decided to move to another topic quickly. "I don't think we have any drinks left. I think the crew of this ship has plenty, but you would need to find a way to get it from them."

Kaleeth approached the bow of the ship eagerly, but with some uncertainty. She was not entirely sure how to actually get involved in one of these fights, but fortunately, the current fight seemed to be nearing its end. The two bruised, bloody Khajiit in the center had nearly beaten each other senseless. After another minute, one of them managed to grapple the other and force him to the ground. He started to twist his arm until the one on the ground shouted out end the fight.

There was a mix of cheering and groans from the crowd in the aftermath of the fight, after which Kaleeth noticed that most of them headed over to a specific brown-striped Khajiit sitting on a crate nearby. He seemed to be the one managing their bets, and the one who Kaleeth guessed she would talk to about actually joining in a fight herself. She walked up to him at about the time Colors was receiving his payout from the last bet. He had won, but evidently, he had not bet that much since the payout was not all that large.

The Khajiit looked up to Kaleeth briefly as she approached, then waved his hand to shoo her away. "Ya' didn't bet on this fight, lizard. Wait 'till the next round to put down your coins."

"Actually, I don't want to bet. I want to join in a fight myself." Kaleeth answered, which was met with a laugh from the Khajiit.

"Ha, you want to fight? This one saw all've ya fancy Cyrodilic clothes and all that. This isn't some sparring match between nobles. This is a fight, with real gold, and real blood." He answered, but before he could go on, another voice sounded out nearby.

"If the lizard wants to fight, let her. I'll kick her tail myself." An Altmer woman taunted. She was tall, even for one of her race, and certainly had the build of a fighter. She had a collection of nicks and scars along her arms and face. She wore a pair of rough, sack cloth pants with thick cloth tied tightly around her chest. She had a few bruises suggesting she had already fought today, but since she was still mostly unharmed, that fight had likely gone well for her.

The Khajiit gave another laugh. "Alright, looks like we've got our next fight. Bettin's opening now."

Colors eagerly put in his next bet, then turned around when he noticed Janius and Fendros watching. "I'm surprised you let her fight. You two getting in on this? It's basically free money."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ciinriel sat down cross-legged in the circle as she looted to Tzirret, who currently had the cards. She scratched her head in thought, and briefly wondered if she should just watch them instead. However, she knew that was probably not what they wanted. "Well, it would probably take me longer to teach all of you a game than to just teach me what you're playing. What kind of things do you play for?"

Kaleeth shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that 'anyone' could just try to fight the women in the group, if that would be more 'believable'. Maybe try not to use her full strength? Though, if they saw the muscles I have under this shirt, they might honestly believe that kind of strength. Come on, I don't like being trapped down there in the ship doing nothing. Or, well, the...other part of me really doesn't like it. It has been very tense for the past day; it's one reason that I train so much. If I joined them, then you could even make some coin off of it. So, do you think it's safe enough?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ciinriel had been laying in her hammock nearby when Sabine called her name. She sat up and looked over to them nervously, for a brief moment. She had been rather distant since they met her, but right now, she had pretty much nothing else to do. Letting out a deep breath, she stood up and walked over to them. She looked at the cards they were holding with some confusion. Although she had played games with cards before, she did not recognize whatever game it was that they were playing.

"I...guess I can, but I don't know this game, I don't think. Do you know any other games? Not that you have to change if you don't want to, I just...don't want to hold you up trying to learn." Ciinriel explained.

Kaleeth smiled, still looking out over the ocean. "That is true. It might be, how would I say it...a business investment for them. Still, fighting like that would make them better whether they want it or not."

Turning herself around, Kaleeth observed the ongoing fight from a distance. They might not be trained soldiers, but the way the two were fighting did not suggest they were inexperienced. They would make for a good challenge if she were to fight them. "Looks like Colors is enjoying it too. I wonder where he got the coin to gamble? I doubt he actually entered a fight himself. Though...I wonder if they'll let anyone join in?" She questioned.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Let's just...try to forget about it." Kaleeth answered as they started walking along once more. It would still be a few hours before they were going to set sail, but in lieu of a training area, she was probably going to end up just laying down to relax and try to be rid of her stress.

Everyone in the group had returned to the ship at least half an hour in advance of their scheduled time of departure. While other captains they had sailed with had made the statement that they would depart without them if they were late, this particular captain was one that might actually follow through with that threat.

Although few among the group were particularly excited to be back aboard a ship, they at least had the comfort of knowing that it would not take all that long for them to reach their destination. They would just be traveling along Elsweyr's southern coast, so it would only be a few days before they were dropped off and on land once more. The supplies they already had would last that long, but with the number of people they had to support, they would need to hunt for food not too long after arrival.

For the first day, many in the packs stayed away from the crew and interacted with them only minimally. They were a much rougher group than any they had sailed with before. They were at least mostly professional when on duty, but certainly not when they had time to themselves. The games they gambled on were sometimes painful, dangerous, or even lewd. They used skooma freely, though they were at least rather protective of it, so Colors could not tempt any members of the pack with a taste. They were largely indifferent towards their passengers, at least on the first day. It remained to be seen if there were going to be any conflicts over the duration of the journey. These people were not a patient group, so a severe enough slight could turn to violence.

By noon on the second day, Kaleeth could no longer stand being contained below deck. She, Janius, and Fendros headed up above deck, while Ahnasha was caring for the children. One thing that had not changed about Kaleeth over the years was her distaste for the dresses she had to wear in the cities. As such, she had stopped wearing them by this point, and instead of cutting holes in Janius' clothes, she decided to borrow some from Colors. He was a bit taller than her, with a larger waistline, but she could fit in them well enough as long as she tightened the belt.

What the three noticed almost immediately was a circle of the sailors gathered near the bow of the ship, with Colors among them. In the middle, two of them seemed to be in a fistfight, but as they watched, it became clear that it wasn't an argument they were fighting over. The sailors, it seemed, were betting on fights. Kaleeth ignored it at first, instead walking over to the railing and looking out over the ocean. However, she could not help but to glance back at him. While she had gotten rid of her own frustration from the argument she and Janius had before they left Senchal, her beast spirit had remained tense. Being confined within the ship the first day had only made matters worse, and she wanted a way to relieve that tension. "That fight is...sort of like training, don't you think?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's just sitting in general that does it. I really don't like sitting for too long.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I do have one thing in mind, which I have actually been thinking of for a while. I'll just be starting that one scene, though. If you want to have something happen, you can create one as well. I may be directing the overall story at the moment, but I do think it is nice if you can do things too. Plus, I'm having trouble thinking, and my joints keep cracking. That may be unrelated.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I was thinking of doing something with the crew. I'm just having a hard time thinking of ideas at the moment. I took a final today and am feeling rather mentally exhausted. Luckily, the minimum score I need to retain an A in the course is 64%, so I'm not all that worried.