EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I just got home. I'll respond as soon as I can.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I remember her reaction very well." Meesei responded with a slight, sullen expression. "There was crying and shouting in equal measure. Neither of us were satisfied with what happened, but I could not do what she wanted me to do at that time. I regret hurting her in such a way, though I suppose I should not assign myself all the blame in what happened. She was, perhaps, more upset than she should have been when I denied her proposal, and she continued to try to push me into it for a while afterwards. We both could have been more patient with one another."

Meesei straightened up and looked to Gallus less seriously. "Anyway, knowing you, if I go on this topic for too much longer, you will start questioning me about our mating habits. I know you are already thinking about it." She teased. "My responsibilities now preclude me from such distractions, regardless of whether I would like to have them. My research should be sufficient to occupy my time."

---

La'khay's eyes narrowed while she gave Tzirret a strange look, not of anger, but confusion. "Really? La'khay did not expect you to say that. You seem to be enjoying yourself, and it is all just for pleasure." She said, giving a grin as her hand once again went to his tail. "It is your choice, of course. La'khay would never force you. This one has just never seen a problem with it as long as her partner doesn't have a mate. Or, did you find a mate? Did you explain your interest to Ma'tanza? If so, then we should stop right away, yes."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei felt that Gallus was likely painting himself in a better light than his mates would were she to ask them the same question, but she could not fault his statement that he never shirked his responsibilities. He was, indeed, a reliable leader. If he were not, she would not have selected his pack to join in this mission. His answer did help her to understand his attitude towards it all, however.

To Gallus' question for her, Meesei shook her head. "No, I cannot say I have. That is not to say I have never had bad experiences with love, but I was not in a leadership position at the time. My only experiences with it come from before my father died, while I was still training to become Treeminder. The last person I was involved with romantically was that farmer who I mentioned back in Senchal. Her name was Dar-Veeshala, and...I did care deeply about her. My memory may be biased, but she was the most kind, and simply gorgeous woman I had ever met. She had rose-red scales, intense amber eyes, and the most vibrant blue feathers on her head. She had a rather...firm build from her work, and not to mention a nice, shapely tail." She said with a chuckle. "I can hardly even recount how much time time I spent with her. More than once I was punished by my father for neglecting my studies to be with her. She was not trained as a mage herself, but she had such interest in my craft. I started teaching her how to use it herself, which my father did approve of. One of the best ways to learn is to attempt to teach another. Veesh was...caring in matters of love, passionate in matters of lust, and altogether my best partner up to that point. The problem came when she wanted to go farther than I was ready for. She asked me to marry her, and it frightened me. I ended up breaking off the relationship, and part of me has always wondered if that was a mistake. I have no doubt I would have been happy with her, though I suppose if I had accepted, I would not have come to serve lord Hircine. Perhaps fate had a hand in my decision?"

---

Revisiting such painful memories was obviously not something La'khay enjoyed, though she did appreciate his sentiment once he learned of her sordid past. She turned her head towards him and gave a smile, albeit a forced one. She ran her hand across the top of his head, while shaking her own lightly. "Thank you, but even if that were possible, it would not be necessary. La'khay has accepted her pain, and she is happy with who she is now. She doesn't want to change it. Love is good for those who want it, but La'khay likes the freedom she has. She has kind, caring friends, and any partner who wishes to join her in bed. This one does not want to be tied so strongly to one person. Her pride and her friends are enough for her."

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

Ah, I remember now. I do recall that the only reasonable way that a suit like that would be assigned to a mission that (they thought) would be simple would be if it was on a shakedown run. You may want to add that detail to the CS. Otherwise, I've no problem with an armored soldier like that.

As for where we are right now in the RP. We are on the planet, and several people from the settlement were ushered into our shuttle. We are currently a part of a convoy heading to an unspecified location, after evacuating the temporary settlement. If you wish to join in quickly, your character could have been one of the ones that joined us in the shuttle.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

Ah, yes, we are on the planet right now. You can join at any moment. Though, I will need to give approval to your CS. You think you could post the most recent one here in the OOC?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei could not help but to smile when Gallus gave his assessment of her. "You know, by this point, I believe I have a hard time separating that visage from myself. By necessity, I have to be strong, determined, and sometimes, cold. Sometimes harsh. The line between Meesei and the Champion of Hircine has been...growing thinner." She mused.

Letting out a sigh, Meesei redirected her attention away from the window and back to Gallus. "But yes, to your question. I love Sabine just as I would my own flesh and blood. We are family in the truest sense of the word. Like most of my pack, it was through the influence of Hircine that she was brought to us. We found her alone in the forests of Cyrodiil. Alone, frightened, almost malnourished. She has been through great trauma in her life, though it is not my place to share that story. It is a tale that is personal to her, and that you would need to ask her about. It was...peculiar that Hircine would send a little girl to join my pack. I know Lorag thought at first that we must have made some mistake. But, I allowed her in without hesitation. There was just...something about her. I had seen those tragic tales before. Orphans, people whom had lost everything. But when I looked at Sabine, it was like...my heart cried out to her in pain. I wanted to help end the pain she was in, and, well, it has been years, but you can see where she is now. She has found love, and is generally happy."

After a moment to allow her emotions to die down, Meesei continued. "Well, if we are asking personal questions, I suppose I have a few things I could ask you. I certainly do see your father's teachings in you with how you have been dealing with these stresses of late, and the mission in general. However, while you are certainly no Sees-No-Colors, you do have your own reputation with women. I make no judgments upon your choices, but it strikes me as curious that you seem to embrace that while also being in a position of leadership. It does influence the perception that those beneath you have of you. I am curious to hear your opinion on that matter."

---

When Tzirret asked about La'khay's own experience with love, she turned onto her back and looked straight up at the trees. "It has been years, and La'khay does not like speaking of it. She thought he was a nice man, but he was as vile as most of Senchal. He was the reason that La'khay can no longer have cubs of her own. He was the owner of a brothel. La'khay was a little younger than you, and he was...older. She met him while working at a tavern he liked to come to. He was so charming, and handsome, and he always complimented La'khay. One day he invited her to his room, and after that, we started seeing each other. It was a few months before he suggested that Lakhay come work in his brothel. She was nervous, but she trusted him. But...he made her go through this treatment from a healer of his. It made sure this one would never have children from her work. Then he started giving La'khay skooma, and started getting rough with her, out of bed. He punished this one if customers complained, or if her appearance wasn't right, or if he just got angry. He...started forcing her to mate, even if she didn't want to."

By this point, La'khay had tears in her eyes, though she was trying to avoid sobbing. "It did not take too long for him to abandon La'kay; to go find another mate. It also didn't take long after that for him to die. He just fell over one day at dinner. No one ever proved it, but this one thinks his new mate poisoned him. She was a good woman; she inherited his business, probably by forging his will. She helped us all get off of skooma, and made us feel glad to work for her."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus interrupted Meesei's meditation, though she did not particularly mind since a conversation was just as good of a distraction from the stresses she was under. She opened her eyes, then straightened up and sat with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. Letting out a deep breath, she nodded to him.

"Certainly. It seems we both have need of some mental clarity. I can assume the past week has given you some insight into the past few years of my life. I have been working to direct the activities of all of Tamriel's clans, and the independent packs that are willing to serve as well." She commented, pausing to look out the window at the moon shining in from just over the treetops. "Although, in truth, this has been far more stressful than any of that. Being out in the wilds, seeing the people my decisions are affecting with my own eyes, packing the supplies and piling the lumber with my own hands, it is far different from ordering troop movements from half a continent away."

---

The previous week with La'khay had hardly been any different than it was before the attack on the clan, albeit with more manual labor. She was not particularly fond of it, but she had been more than willing to do her part to help the clan. And of course, she had many "partners" other than just Tzirret and Colors. It was something of which she made no secret, though by Tzirret's request, she kept all of her encounters with him in confidence.

When Tzirret spoke, La'khay opened her eyes, rubbing her hand down his tail almost by reflex. Although, once he finished, she looked at him more sympathetically. "You want that kind of bond, yes? You want a permanent partner, someone you...love. It is something La'khay has not wanted for a long time, and that she doubts that she will ever want. But, if you want it, then you should of course try to find it. What Peiter said is probably better for that than what this one said. La'khay was just trying to help you feel good about yourself. You don't need to apologize to her about what happened, but she forgives you regardless. She is just glad you seem to understand it all now. La'khay is glad to mate with you, but we are just friends."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter did not have anything to say about the exchange between Bheja and S'nishi, mostly because he himself had no idea how to put his thoughts to words. He did have many, sometimes inappropriate thoughts, but they were nothing he would say aloud at the moment. Instead, he just focused on answering Sabine. He shrugged his shoulders, and managed to speak in a normal tone. "I wouldn't really mind either way. It would be nice to try something new, or to just watch some displays of magic."

S'nishi made a deep, brief vocalization and pointed to Ma'tanza. Peiter did not know what she meant by it, but Ma'tanza seemed to understand well enough. Ma'tanza nodded to her, then quickly walked over to her tend and grabbed her loincloth. "We can have a magic contest, and Ma'tanza can explain the board games when it's Sabine's turn."

---

Although Meesei and the clan's leadership had come to an agreement, the clan was still at the outpost a week later. They had spread word through the clan the very day of the meeting of the plan that their leaders had agreed to. As expected, it was met with greatly mixed reactions from the clan's population. Some thought that it was a clever plan that would get them to safety quickly, and away from the outpost they had been isolated at for so long. Others thought it was dangerous for them to move at all, and that the plan would only get people killed. The fact that the clan had been stagnant for so long did work in Meesei's favor, as it meant that many, even some of those who were not entirely sure about the plan, were simply glad that they would be doing something at all. Inaction had caused an air of fear to permeate the clan, and the hope brought on by Meesei's arrival was enough for many to accept even such a hard-to-swallow plan. There were, of course, those for whom the very idea of posing as slaves seemed unthinkable. Some were proud warriors, others did not want to subject their families to that kind of treatment. However, Ri'nakhad personally gave his assurances of his confidence in Meesei's plan and quelled most resistance.

Even with most of the clan working towards getting ready, it still took some time for them to pack essentially an entire outpost. They had to make sure they brought every single movable resource they had, which also included deconstructing some of their shacks and other structures. The lumber, if they could find a ship bound for Valenwood to which to sell it, would still be profitable to sell. It was a week of work, during which most of the clan's normal activities were put on hold. There was some free time, especially in the evenings, and the workload that everyone, including Meesei, Gallus, and their packs had to endure made that time all the more valuable.

With the clan finally packed and ready, the night before the clan's departure was both a relief and worrying in different ways. They were finally ready to start moving on, but they had a long journey ahead of them. Both Meesei and Gallus' packs still had their rooms, since many of the original structures would be difficult to disassemble, and they would not be able to carry all of the lumber even if they tried. Meesei undressed, then set up everything she intended to wear the next day neatly next to her bed. They would be leaving early, so she wanted to be ready quickly. Unfortunately, the stress on her mind made getting to sleep difficult, so for the moment, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed with her eyes closed, meditating.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I could skip to the night before leaving. It would accommodate both of them.