EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha seemed unimpressed with Gallus' answer. She did not exactly give him an angry glare, but her gaze certainly was not an approving one. She sighed and thought for a moment about how to handle him. "Yes...I think there is. I think what I want you to do is to figure out where you actually stand in all of this. You're not going to be able to just stand back and give...political answers to both of us to stay out of it. You're going to have to take a stand at some point. Honestly, I don't think you really understand where I'm coming from. If you did, there wouldn't even be a hint of neutrality in your words. You haven't experienced the same things I have; you aren't of a people who have been the victims of this sort of hatred for more years than you could count. It might not stay that way, though. We're in the Dominion now, Gallus. I'm curious how many times it will take of you running across a Thalmor, or one of their sympathizers. How many times will you have to be berated by someone proclaiming how men exist to serve elves and all that nonsense before you're willing to take a stand? So yes, what I want you to do is to take some time and really think about who you are, because you're going to have to decide on that very soon, I'll wager."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha leaned back in her hammock with her arms crossed and her expression firm. Irenya's problem did not seem to be too different from what she had expected. While it was not the worst example she had seen, it still offended her. Nevertheless, she did not expect to just be able to change the mind of someone like Irenya. "I can tell you that, in combat, my one and only concern in killing my enemy while protecting my allies. I can tell you that completing this task for Hircine comes before any thoughts I might have on Irenya. But, I am not going to tolerate any displays of bigotry. If she treats myself, Fendros, and my son just as she does everyone else, then there will not be a problem. If she gives Meesei the respect she deserves, then there will not be a problem. But let me be clear that 'treating us the same' does not mean leaving every time I approach. It does not mean avoiding me unless she absolutely has to. She does not have to like me, but I expect to be treated with respect. I expect her to be willing to talk to me, politely. If she can do that, then there will be no more arguments among us." Ahnasha explained.

Leaning forward once more, Ahnasha's expression became curious. "And, if I may ask, Gallus, what is your perspective on this whole situation?"

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

My semester is finally over, which is nice. I'd like to check and see where everyone is for this, though. I'm assuming at this time of year that many of you are busy.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth smiled, more slowly and cautiously this time. "Hopefully so. They lost a lot of bets on me, but they know I can fight now. I'm going to need to rest for a while, though. I'm sure we can find other ways to pass the time, though. Maybe I can convince Ra'kalesh to teach me something?" She commented.

Once back at her hammock, Kaleeth went ahead and undressed herself before laying down. No one from the crew was yet to actually come down to the bottom deck, so it did not seem as if it would matter. Now that she had a chance to look herself over, she could see that she had taken more hits than she thought. Obviously, she had cuts and bruises spread across her head and torso. Both her knees and elbows had a few scrapes, and the back of her forearm was particularly bruised. She knew she had been hit a few times on her back, and assumed it was bruised as well. Regardless, she let out a relieved sigh once she was finally able to lay down. "Do you think you could get Meesei or Irenya? I will be fine, but it would be nice not to be so sore."

Ahnasha let out a sigh, not sure how much she should say. Irenya was a member of Gallus' pack, and likely a friend, but she decided not to hold back. "I think I've had to deal with bigots before. Dunmer, Altmer, Argonian, doesn't really matter what they are. They all share that same attitude. Irenya is...different somehow. There is something unusual about her, but she's not far off from what I've seen before. I think that I'm willing to get along with just about anyone, as long as they're willing to get along with me. But if they're not, then I'm not just going to sit and take it. Especially if it's coming from my own allies."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth groaned. Her nose was bleeding, and she had bruises all over. Not to mention, she was as sore as one would expect for someone who had been through three consecutive fist fights. "I...might regret this later, but I still don't right now. It was satisfying to the other part of me, I think it beat the frustration out of it." She said with a smile, which quickly diminished once she realized the act of smiling caused her pain. "I think I want to go lay down, though. Maybe Meesei or Irenya could look at me, ease the soreness. Could you help me to my hammock?"

Peiter smiled. "Okay." He answered. "It's not private, but it's a bit out of the way, kind of."

It was a joint effort for the pair to get to their feet and walk over to their hammock, and an even greater challenge for them both to balance themselves in it without tipping it over. After at least five solid minutes worth of attempts, however, they both managed to lay down together within the hammock. He wrapped his arms around her as usual, but after giving another glance around the room, he hazarded another kiss.

Ahnasha raised her brow at Gallus and looked briefly around the room for a moment before leaning in closer to him. "Yeah, I can talk, but I do need to keep an eye on Rhazii and Newt, so keep that in mind. What is it about? Has Irenya said something?" She asked curiously, but in a rather serious tone. Given what had happened between them before, Ahnasha did not expect that anything involving her and Irenya specifically could be good.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth brought herself up to her hands and knees, but did not even attempt to stand. Ra'kalesh stood close, waiting for her to do something. It seemed he was not interested in kicking her while she was down, literally or metaphorically. He just stood, waiting to see if she would continue to resist. With how many attempts she had given, however, Kaleeth felt it was hopeless. He was trained in a way of fighting that she had never even seen before, and she had no clue how to effectively resist.

Kaleeth coughed a few times as she looked up to Ra'kalesh. "I give up. I can't do it; I can't fight anymore." She announced in resignation. With the end of the fight, there was a combination of cheers and groans from the crowd, depending on whom they had placed their bets. Ra'kalesh helped Kaleeth up to her feet and gave an encouraging smile.

"You show great promise, Kaleeth-Rei. You just need guidance in some areas you have not yet addressed." Ra'kalesh said.

Kaleeth still seemed to have some shame from her defeat, but she nodded nevertheless. "Thank you. I...need to sit down."

While Ra'kalesh went to collect his winnings, Kaleeth walked over to the railing near Janius and Fendros and sat down, holding her hand over her side.

After he stopped laughing, Peiter looked around the bottom deck at the other members of their packs, and a few from the pride, who were still very much present. He did not move immediately, but he did reluctantly stop kissing Sabine. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers as he stared into her eyes. "This isn't very...private, is it? There has to be somewhere quiet on this ship, though."

"no, Rhazii, get off of him! You're too big for that." Ahnasha exclaimed. She was on the bottom deck, sitting in her hammock with her legs hanging off the side while she watched over Newt and Rhazii. They had a tendency to start roughhousing when they played together, as was to be expected from young boys. Unfortunately, the older Cathay was too much for Rhazii, so she had to keep him under control when he became too rough. She heard her voice called out from the other side of the room, though she had been too distracted to tell at first who had shouted it. "What? Yes, I'm here." She answered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hello." Peiter repeated. He was not sure if Ciinriel was still paying attention, but at the moment, his own attention had been taken elsewhere. He smiled and brought one hand up to her cheek. "I always love...falling into the arms of a beautiful woman." He said before giving her a kiss, properly this time. Of course, as the bottom deck was quite open, other members of their packs were still around, but Peiter had forgotten about that detail for the moment.

For Kaleeth, it was one thing to know how Ra'kalesh fought, but another entirely to actually counter it. She simply couldn't seem to hit him; he was just too quick. Her powerful strikes were either knocked away, or dodged entirely. The crowd, having seen Kaleeth fight previously, were on the edge of their proverbial seats watching Ra'kalesh. Although, thanks to Kaleeth's prior performance, many of them had placed their bets on her.

When swordfighting, much of her strategy revolved around overpowering her foe. If her opponent had a strong defense, she would use her shield to break it. She did not have her shield here, but she could try something along the same lines. She could run at him with her guard raised and try to knock him over and get him into a grapple. Even with his training, she might still be able to overpower him if she could just get a hold of him.

Kaleeth charged with her arms raised to protect her head and upper torso. She saw him start to move to the side, so she corrected her course, but much to her surprise, he was actually able to dash back in the other direction far quicker than she could correct. As she was running past, Ra'kalesh quickly grabbed one of her arms, put his other hand on her shoulder, then used her own momentum to bend back her arm. He was careful not to bend it to the point of breaking, but she did scream out in pain. Knowing that he could not hold her in one place for long, Ra'kalesh followed up by delivering an open-palmed strike to the center of her back while sweeping her legs with his, knocking her flat onto the deck. He intended to keep her down, but since he could not do it by grabbing her, he stood close and, when she tried to stand, struck her down once more.

Kaleeth was not going to be knocked out of the fight by a grab like her opponents, but at this point, she could not even stand to fight without being knocked back down. Her body ached, but she did not know if she should give up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's alright.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ciinriel quickly shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine." She began as she slowly started to lift herself up off the ground. Shakily, she brought herself to her feet with her arms held out wide to help steady herself. She struggled to walk with the movements of the ship, but did manage to make it over to her hammock nearby. However, actually sitting down in it was another matter entirely. She tried unsuccessfully to steady it with her arms as she tried to sit down, so the moment she lifted her feet off of the floor, she accidentally ended up spinning the hammock and falling onto the floor underneath it. Her pillow fell on top of her, which she promptly grabbed and placed under her head. "That was...intentional." She said.

Peiter did not attempt to get back up and instead simply remained right where he was, wrapping his arms around Sabine. With Ciinriel's display, he simply could not stop himself from laughing.

Just like the previous fights, Kaleeth and Ra'kalesh took their positions, then the word was given to begin. Much like the Suthay-raht crew member, Ra'kalesh did not attack first. Instead, he slowly stepped forward while eyeing down Kaleeth. He did not have the same kind of obvious overconfidence as her previous opponent. In fact, it was hard to judge how he felt at all. He was like Meesei in his unemotional approach to combat.

Kaleeth was the first to attempt to strike, but Ra'kalesh's reversal was quick and precise. She punched toward his jaw, prompting him not to block, but to knock her arm to the side with his own forearm, as if he were parrying a blade. With his other hand, he delivered a strike quicker than any the Altmer had attempted. He struck at her ribs on the same side of her body which she was using to punch, making it all the more difficult for her to block. He landed an open-palmed strike exactly on one of her pressure points, causing her to yell as she was pushed back.

Ra'kalesh did not stop once he had the momentum. Kaleeth did manage to raise her guard to protect herself, but her opponent knew precisely how to bypass it. He swung wide to hit her slightly from the side, chopping his hand down on the inside of her elbow. This caused her arm to curl up reflexively, allowing him to land a clean punch on her snout. Kaleeth, in addition to her strength, had an abundance of endurance, so she charged forward swinging, intent on breaking his guard through sheer force. Unfortunately, Ra'kalesh was just as agile on defense as offense. His footwork was impeccable, and with how much she was telegraphing her strikes, he could easily move his upper body out of the way so that her punches hit nothing but air. Whenever she would miss a swing, he would take the opportunity to land another blow, usually on a pressure point. What Kaleeth did not know was that the Whispering Fang was a martial arts style, and Ra'kalesh had trained in it for years. His abilities served to highlight what was perhaps Kaleeth's greatest weakness in combat: agility.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I'm nervous? No, you're the nervous one." Peiter responded, chuckling. "Everything I did was just a, uh, cunning plan. To get you to realize how much you liked me. There's no fear here."

While Peiter was looking at Sabine with a prideful smile, Ciinriel put on a mischievous one. From where she was laying nearby, she was able to give Peiter a light kick to his side. While not particularly painful, it startled him enough to cause him to jump and fall onto Sabine. Ciinriel raised her head slightly to look at the others and started to laugh. "You're a...fearless knight, Peiter. An inspiration." She said sarcastically.

"I don't think it's competitiveness, really." Kaleeth mused. "It's...something else."

Kaleeth looked over towards the crowd at Ra'kalesh, as if to size him up. As a werelion, he would probably be stronger than her last opponent, but he still wouldn't be able to challenge her directly in a contest of strength. However, she knew little else about him, or what he could do. She remembered that he used to be a monk, though she had no real idea of who the "Whispering Fang" actually were. "I don't know much of what he can do really, but I think I'll be fine. If I have trouble, I can just grab him like the others."

Soon enough, the current fight ended, and while the bets were being paid out, Ra'kalesh walked back over to Janius and Kaleeth. "Ra'kalesh asked the one in charge, and he agreed to allow us to fight. No one from our group will be allowed to bet on the fight, however. This one believes he fears that one of us could throw the fight for easy coin. Regardless, we are next."

Kaleeth stood up and smiled as she looked to Janius. "Wish me luck."