EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus' group attracted some attention as they returned, considering what they were carrying. In particular, Peiter took interest in the pair of oversized horns under Tzirret's arm. He walked over to him and looked over his trophies with some measure of disbelief. "A minotaur? You mean one of those giant, man-like bulls with skulls like iron and the temperament of Gallus after a woman denies him? I'll admit, that's almost hard to believe."

Ahnasha too seemed to be curious about Tzirret. She did not stand up, but she did eye the horns under Tzirret's arms curiously. "A minotaur is indeed an impressive kill. I had to take down a big one before, as a test from Hircine to prove worthy enough to speak with him. They're tough, and excessively strong. It took quite a few arrows and well-placed blades to finish it off. That must have been a tough fight; how much did it take for you to bring it down?" She asked.

While a few of the others were questioning Tzirret, Meesei approached Gallus and La'khay. "I suppose since you're alone you did not find the clan? None of us had any luck either, though I suppose it is only the first day of searching. Did you find anything else worth mentioning?"

La'khay nodded. "Well, we did find a Khajiit corspe in the minotaur den. La'khay didn't recognize him, unfortunately, and the smell in the cave makes it hard to tell if he was a lycan. But, it's possible one of my pride could recognize him, if he was part of our clan. In any case, one of us should probably take a group back to the den anyway. There's a lot of meat on the minotaur, and some more in the cave we might be able to take. It could extend our food stores for a while."

"Very well, I will gather up a few of the others, then one of you can take us back when you're ready." Meesei responded. "Now, were any of you hurt during the encounter?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gave a quick post, but it's time for me to get to bed. You can bring us back to camp if you don't have anything else in mind. The clan isn't to be found on the first day.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once Tzirret let go of her, La'khay quickly grabbed up her belongings and held them under her arm. Some of the straps had snapped from the quick transformation, but it would be easy to fix back at camp. As Gallus directed her attention to the Khajiit corpse, she gave a grimace, but reluctantly examined the decaying body. "La'khay...does not know. Not for sure. She does not recognize that one's face, but she didn't know everyone in the clan. This one...doesn't think he smells like a lycan, but the decay makes it hard to tell."

La'khay looked away from the as soon as she had given her answer, instead focusing on the minotaur. It seemed Tzirret was taking a well-deserved trophy from what was essentially his kill, even if he hadn't technically finished it off. Hopefully, the horns would serve as a reminder to him that he could actually be a strong hunter. As for the rest of the body, La'khay knew they could not carry it themselves, but it would be a shame to let it go to waste. "We still need to cover the rest of our area, but let's try to remember where this cave is. Our food supplies are running low in camp, and there's a lot of meat here. Some of it is rotting, but this minotaur could feed us for a while, and we could get some meat from the other carcasses. We just have to be able to lead the others back here." She suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Since the threat had passed, La'khay closed her eyes and started to calm her beast spirit while Tzirret was hugging her. She took in a few, deep breaths as she focused on clearing her mind. Beast spirits were typically not too keen on relinquishing control so soon after transforming, but after about a minute of silence, her body finally began to shift back into her normal form.

Once back to normal, La'khay was able to wrap her arms around Tzirret as well to continue to give him comfort. It was honestly difficult to tell how Tzirret was feeling at the moment. On the one hand, he did seem to recognize his own success, but on the other, he was still in tears, and apparently in need of comfort. His timid nature made him a hard Khajiit to understand. Regardless, she wanted to encourage him. Now that she could think more clearly, she could see that this frightening affair was actually a good opportunity to bolster his confidence. "Yes, you did good, Tzirret. You were afraid, but you did it anyway. La'khay is proud of you, not to mention grateful." She said with a smile.

After a few moments, La'khay's grin started to take on that now-familiar mischievous quality. Glancing back, she could see that Gallus was preoccupied with retrieving his weapon, and therefore, not looking in their direction. Quickly, she gave him a kiss straight on the lips, then pulled away grinning. "Congratulations."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pull of La'khay's beast spirit started to wane once she saw that the minotaur was most certainly dead. Slowly, she walked up to Tzirret as Gallus was comforting him and stood uncomfortably beside them. Although it had been ended quickly, the whole situation had been terribly stressful for her, and obviously Tzirret.

Once Gallus mentioned the calf, La'khay turned her gaze to it. Her current form did not show the same subtleties of expression as her Khajiit form, but her slight grimace did show that she was not thrilled at the prospect of slaying the small creature. "Yeah...why don't you do that?" She finally answered.

Keeping herself low, La'khay walked around behind Gallus so that she was in front of Tzirret. "Tzirret." She said as she sat down, pausing until he looked up at her. "You saved us, cloudy-cat. You actually did it." She said warmly. And, since hugging was more threatening in this form than anything, La'khay expressed her gratitude by licking his snout. Uncomfortable or no, she did have good intentions.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The moment the spear was stabbed through her ribs, the minotaur let out a pained roar and jerked away from Tzirret, pulling the spear from his grasp. She swiped in Tzirret's direction, though he was too far away for it to connect. Tzirret's interruption gave Gallus plenty of time to move, but the beast would not be charging anymore regardless. After her roar, the minotaur found it difficult to draw in another breath. She gave a furious glare at Gallus and Tzirret, but wheezed as she backed away, towards her calf.

Evidently, the spearhead had tore through her lungs, as she could not draw in enough breath to sustain her. She collapsed to her knees in front of her calf, still desperate to protect it in her final moments. In all likelihood, the beast would die, but it would be a long and painful process.

While Tzirret had attacked, La'khay had transformed out of fear. Her werelion form had short, tan fur and was larger and stronger than any bipedal Khajiit, but not to the extent of a werewolf. Dropping down on all fours, she skulked over behind Tzirret, still staring at the wounded minotaur in fear.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A minotaur was a fierce, exceptionally strong, and easy to anger beast, but one thing they did not tend to be was tactical. When Gallus dodged, either by charging again, or by swiping at him with her massive fists. Each time she missed, she let out an enraged roar. Obviously, she was no agile beast, but Gallus needed only to make one mistake for her to deal a grievous injury.

The minotaur was focused on Gallus to such an extent that she was still not aware of the others behind her. In fear, La'khay could not stop herself from transforming, if only to be able to run away more easily, but even in her lycan form, she could not take advantage of the angle they had. Tzirret, however, had an opportunity to strike while the beast was readying for another charge.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once given direction, La'khay ran up against the wall right behind Tzirret. She held her dagger in her hand, but it would be all but useless against such a massive beast, even if it was in skilled hands. In her panic, she pressed herself against Tzirret's back, wanting protection. These were situations she hated being in, as even in her lycan form, she doubted she could take a minotaur. "You can...keep La'khay safe, right?" She whispered to Tzirret.

Within seconds, a large, female minotaur rushed into the room to investigate its calf's cries, and immediately, fixated its gaze onto Gallus. Her fur was bloody from a recent meal, and her horns long and worn from heavy use. She was enraged at this threat to her calf, and let out a deafening roar that reverberated through the chamber. Just as Gallus predicted, she charged straight for him with the single-minded purpose of crushing his bones to dust, of which she was certainly capable.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"This one...does not like it either." La'khay whispered, staying firmly in the middle of the group. The scent only grew stronger the deeper they went until, after another minute or so, they came to a larger chamber, about the size of a few rooms in the average home. Around them along the walls, as they might have expected, were carcasses in various states of mutilation. There were a few deer, boar, and at least one Khajiit corpse. Some were little more than skeletons, while others were fresh kills. Near the back of the chamber was the largest carcass, that of a bear. It was fresh, and looking closely, they could see movement behind it. It was no large predator, however, but rather something around the size of a child.

The creature had been feasting on the bear, but once it saw the trio enter, it ran back to a small nook in the back of the chamber. At that point, they could see it clearly: it was a very young minotaur. It had thin fur, horns that were barely more than stubs, and large, frightened eyes. Immediately, it started to let out loud, piercing cries that echoed through the cave in terror of this new threat that had entered its den.

"Aw, it's actually pretty cute. But...if that's the child, then..." La'khay began, only to be interrupted by a lout, bull-like roar coming from the cave behind them. Looking around quickly, La'khay could see no other exits in the chamber, so fear quickly started to overtake her expression.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Hello.

You know, I probably could do something in Blood, though it would just be a quick answer to Lyn. Do you think we should go ahead to the next event?