EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think I'm about to head to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It's alright." Peiter answered, smiling as he rubbed her back. "It was more...instinctual than I thought it would be. I guess my beast spirit took hold more than I was expecting. Still, I was...mentally present for it all. It was a bit frightening at first, but, well, let's just say I certainly don't regret it. Though, at this point, I'm starting to wish there was clothing left over for us, or that I had armor. We might have to explain our cuts and bruises. At least what we're doing is all out in the open now, though; we don't really have to keep it a secret."

Given that the two were still in a rather romantic setting, some of Peiter's touches were of a more intimate nature. "Anyway, what shall we do now?"

Ma'tanza remembered her way back to the river as well as Tzirret, so she was right alongside him as they rushed back. She stayed right by him until the point where they could see the water, when she rushed ahead just as before. She took a deep breath, then dove straight in and kept herself under the water for several seconds longer than Tzirret.

With the energy Ma'tanza had built up from their time in the ship, she was glad for the exercise. Just as the hunt had been a great release for her beast spirit, this swim would be a great change of pace for her. Though she was underwater, she put on a mischievous smile as she looked up at Tzirret just in front of her. Kicking off of the riverbed, she suddenly leaped up out of the water and pounced on him, intent on dragging him back under.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm in a game with some friends, so it may be a bit.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter had not been looking towards Sabine when she decided to pounce on him, so it came as quite the surprise to him. Unfortunately, he had already started the process of transforming back to his Human form when Sabine struck, and he could not interrupt it. His body started shifting as he was being tackled, and a few seconds after he hit the ground, he was back to his Breton self. He was on his back, with Sabine's weight keeping him very easily pinned, though he could still at least move his arms.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know you wanted to go again." Peiter commented. He placed both of his hands on either side of her head, then lifted up his own head to kiss her directly on the mouth. "You're just a big, cute puppy, aren't you?" He added with a chuckle.

Ma'tanza's face scrunched up when Tzirret licked at the blood covering it, though she did not actually say anything about it. Instead, she looked down at her own hands and started trying to at least lick them clean. Although, there was honestly not much of a point to it. Her head, arms, and parts of her torso were all covered thickly in blood. She would need a good wash in the river if she wanted to actually be clean.

"That wasn't much of a challenge, but it would be...hard to find anything." Ma'tanza answered. "Not hungry, I just feel like moving around. Maybe swimming."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That's good." Peiter answered simply. He was relaxed enough that he felt he could have a nap, though he did not attempt to sleep. In this place, he could actually enjoy Sabine's warmth without starting to sweat profusely, and he intended to enjoy that luxury. He tightened his grip around her, much as he would in human form, and took in her scent deeply.

Unfortunately, the nature of Peiter's beast spirit meant that he could not enjoy the peace and quiet for nearly as long as in Human form. His beast had initially been sated by their mating, but after around ten minutes, their inaction caused it to become restless. It felt like getting up and moving, or just doing something active in general. Likely, Sabine would be experiencing the same thing as well. They would need to do something to satisfy it, or transform back.

Instinctually, Ma'tanza was cautious when Tzirret nudged the corpse towards her. She approached slowly and tore away a few more chunks before leaving the rest to Tzirret. Between the two lycans, the sow did not have a great deal of meat left. Mostly, it had three of its legs, some organs, and its head left.

Once they were done feasting on their kill, Ma'tanza was not sure what they would be doing next. A single sow was certainly a meal, but it had not put up a great fight, and Tzirret had not even been able to kill it. However, the odds of actually finding another creature to kill, particularly with other lycans in the area, were not too great. And, if they ranged too far north, they could end up running into Imperial patrols or other settlements.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a while, Peiter simply lay with Sabine, resting. He found himself not thinking about much of anything, and while he was certainly relaxed enough to transform back, he remained in his beast form for the moment. With Sabine's head resting on his chest, he occasionally looked down and licked the top of her head and snout.

Eventually, enough time had passed that Peiter felt rested from the exertion. It would be easy to transform, but the sensation of holding her so close in this form felt different than usual. They were both large and powerful beings, and yet her fur made her feel soft. He let out a low, rumbling sound, almost like a growl. Although, it had no anger behind it. "How, do you feel?" He finally spoke up.

Ma'tanza was not close to the highest ranking member of her pride, so she was accustomed to allowing others to eat first. In fact, when Tzirret approached, her first reaction was to tear off a large chunk for herself and drag it a short distance away, leaving the rest for Tzirret. Even though Tzirret was not a member of her pride, she was used to most of the others she hunted with outranking her. The leader of her particular pride tended to enforce clan structure and rank rather strongly, though Ma'tanza did not always like it.

Once she had finished the meat she had torn away, Ma'tanza started creeping up to what remained of the sow to hazard tearing off another piece for herself, while carefully keeping her eyes on Tzirret the entire time.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Though he might have been able to simply overpower them, Ssarak, as per usual, decided to take the cautious approach. When the first ridge hound leaped up onto the wall, Ssarak jumped back. Although, the ridge hounds would not necessarily perceive it, as in his place he had left a doppelganger. Though they did not have eyes to see it, their other senses could still perceive it.

With the ridge hounds focused on the illusion, Ssarak retaliated immediately, focusing first on the one that had attempted to pounce on his head. If these beasts were at all capable of recognizing the deception, that would be the hound which would notice it first, since it had passed straight through the doppelganger. Fortunately, killing a single ridge hound was not a difficult matter. A simple thrust with his sword through the confused beast's chest was enough to end it.

It was at that point where Ssarak heard Tyrael shouting about something down the hall, prompting him to focus on collecting thoughts from that direction. Most of them were the bestial intentions and perceptions of the ridge hounds, but there was something else mixed among them, something more coherent. They were beings with sight and rational thought, and they were currently engaged in a fight. He could have attempted to filter out the ridge hounds to listen in greater detail, but it would require more concentration to gain knowledge that would be unnecessary at the moment. With his cursory scan of the tunnel, he already knew there were people ahead fighting for their lives. "There are ridge hounds and...people!" He answered quickly.

Seeing as there were people ahead who could use their help, Ssarak went on the offensive. The hound attempting to flank his doppelganger was his next target. Again, he thrust his blade into the beast, this time from behind towards where he assumed the heart would be. Though, he quickly pulled the blade from its body to keep up his momentum. Two of the beasts had just "tackled" the doppelganger, and subsequently fallen through it, so Ssarak brought down a diagonal overhead strike at the nearest one, intent on using the momentum to proceed into his next swing towards the other. If he was able to kill them, he would turn to aid Tyrael if he had not yet killed those threatening him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While the instincts of Peiter's beast spirit had essentially taken over beforehand, Peiter had much more solid control after it was over. This time, he had collected a few small scrapes and bruises from the resistance Sabine had put up. Although, he doubted she could control that resistance, just as he could not control his own beast spirit's insistence to fight back. Nevertheless, it had been satisfying from his perspective. Now that he was back in control, he walked around in front of her and licked her snout, then nuzzled his head up against hers.

In contrast to Tzirret, Ma'tanza was quite used to hunting with werewolves, and as a werelion, she had absolutely no issue in keeping up with him. What she lacked in strength, she made up for in speed and agility. In fact, she could have easily overtaken him at any point, but she was following his lead. The only thing that was endangering her of being left behind was that she was continually distracted by the wealth of new sights, sounds, and scents around her. Even the songs of the birds above them were different from what she was accustomed to. They felt lighter, almost. But, as she could not hunt birds, her beast spirit eventually demanded that she refocus on the hunt.

It took a while of running before they caught the scent of viable prey, and this time, it was something that was also familiar to Ma'tanza. Swine were common enough in Elsweyr, so as soon as she recognized that it was nearby, she bolted off after the sow. Her speed easily outpaced Tzirret's, allowing her to get ahead of him. Their prey took off running as soon as it heard the rustling leaves and heavy footsteps rapidly approaching. But, a werelion was not one of the creature's usual predators, and her agility allowed her to maneuver between the trees and foliage seemingly effortlessly. It was only seconds before she was upon the sow, tackling it with her entire body and tearing into it with her claws and teeth. She was too distracted by it to pay attention to Tzirret, nor to his beast's reaction to her taking its kill.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It is probably time for me to get to bed, goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter walked with Sabine far enough from camp to feel secure in their privacy, though was careful not to travel too far. After one last kiss, he quite eagerly transformed himself into his lycan form. On the way out of the camp, he had actually been worried about how his beast spirit would react to his intentions once it was released. He usually only transformed for the purpose of hunting, and any time he used it for something simple like traveling or climbing, it was to the irritation of his beast spirit. He had worried that he would have to fight his beast spirit through this entire event. However, as he quickly discovered upon shifting, his beast had adopted the frame of mind he had before the transformation, and was also quite eager to go through with his intentions.

Ma'tanza could not say how she felt about the climate. She felt more comfortable, true, but it was not what she was accustomed to. It was not so much that the cooler air was uncomfortable as much as it was just strange. Nevertheless, she followed along and began her transformation alongside Tzirret. While he was small for a werewolf, she was also around his age, and thus, the same relative stature for a werelion. As such, the size difference between them was obvious. In her werelion form, she was larger and stronger than her normal Suthay-raht form, but not to the extent of a werewolf. Her fur was short, and she lacked the mane of her male counterparts.

Once transformed, Ma'tanza's beast spirit was almost at a loss for what to do in the new surroundings. They were not too greatly different in appearance, but virtually all of the scents around her, apart from Tzirret himself, were unfamiliar. It was curious to investigate all of these new scents, but she reigned it in to focus on the matter at hand. She walked up beside Tzirret, waiting for him to take the lead on their hunt.