EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Mimicking Janius' posture, Kaleeth rolled onto her back as well and stared up at the roof of their tent. It was quite obvious that she was conflicted. Indeed, she had shown a similar expression a few times over the last week. The matter of her beast spirit was something that had been keeping her awake at night with indecision.

"I...don't know, really. There's just so much to think about with all of this. I know my beast spirit will never be like yours. Crocodiles aren't like wolves, they don't have the same, what is it? Inhibitions? They're not that social, so they don't worry about trying to fit in with the group. It makes me impulsive when my emotions start running high. I think I have a few choices about what I can do. Getting close to my beast like this, it has helped me understand it more. We understand each other, really. When I fight, or use my strength on something, I feel like I'm letting it into my mind a bit. But, I also think I'm getting into its mind in return. It's strange; I know it's influencing me, but I feel like I'm in better control than I've ever been. I don't ever really feel like its going to push me over the edge and take control. Before, it was always a struggle to stay in charge of my mind. It's like fighting, and doing all those other things helps it to vent." Kaleeth explained.

Turning back towards Janius, she reached up and placed a hand on his cheek. "I...think I have to decide. I could try to go back to the way things were before. I could try to suppress it; to keep it contained like you can do with yours. I don't think I would have any of these aggressive emotions anymore, but it would probably be easier for me to lose control. Or, I could keep doing this. I could keep fighting, keep letting it out just a little bit at a time. I don't know what I want to do, or what would be best for me...or you, for that matter."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth opened her eyes when Janius whispered in her ear. She had been wondering when or if he was going to ask about that night. It had been quite a while by this point, but as it was something she felt at least slightly embarrassed about, she had not brought it up. Slowly she moved Newt slightly to the side and wrapped him in the bedroll so she could roll over and whisper back to Janius.

"That night? It was fine for me; great actually. You're the one I was worried about. I know I scratched you up and...maybe bit you a few times. I'm sorry. It was just all very intense for me, with my beast mixing with my emotions. I didn't lose control or anything, it was more like my beast spirit was just...closer to me. But what about you? You're the one that was hurt." Kaleeth explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, though it has been about a week since the sandstorm.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ra'jorr took a few seconds to think on Gallus' suggestion. Specifically, who would be best to carry it out. "Yes...Ra'jorr believes it may. There are some among our warriors who have been with the clan for decades, and will know who to speak to first. This also gives Ra'jorr another idea. He has enough Pahmar, Senche, and mages among his forces to provide an intimidating force without causing any prior alarm. He can send groups of them closer to the soldiers so they can reveal themselves as fighters more quickly when the Champion gives the signal. Once the soldiers know of our intentions, the rest of his warriors will have time to approach as well."

Given the situation, Meesei appeared to be reasonably confident with the plan they had created. "Good, there are still risks, but it seems as if they will be manageable. If there is nothing else, we should separate before the soldiers take notice."

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

Since I have accidentally written myself into a corner, is there anyone wanting to figure out anything to do? I know I can have Tir go after the same target as CQB's character, but since Tir has just finished a bounty, she wouldn't really need one for a while.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'nakhad ran a claw through his mane, attempting to contemplate all of the angles of their plan. The Champion would be in the most direct and immediate danger, given that she would be the one that was face-to=face with them. However, he had faith in both her abilities and her judgment, so that was not the aspect of the plan which most concerned him. "Well, just at this one's first impressions with the plan, something could go wrong if they have any suspicion of our motives. We have not approached them in any meaningful way for as long as they have been with us, so calling them all together for an announcement could alert them. Perhaps we should wait until they bring themselves together on their own."

"They do all sleep in the same area." Ra'jorr commented. "If we get to them before breakfast, they should all be in one place. We will just have to warn the warriors to ready themselves discretely in the morning, and inform the other members of the clan nearby that they should back away once the confrontation begins. And, of course, we have to spread the word without alerting the soldiers."

Meesei nodded. It seemed as if the plan would come together if they could settle that final detail. "In that case, the last issue to address is how to ensure the clan knows what to do. Will it be possible to spread that information without it reaching the soldiers?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, I doubt they would believe any lie we could tell them that would involve us not going immediately to Orcrest." Meesei answered. In truth, she doubted that anything they could say, true or false, would give the Dominion much of a positive impression of them. The soldiers themselves might appreciate their decision to spare them, but the bureaucracy they would report to would be largely emotionless in its pursuit of its perceived fugitives. Hopefully, it would not matter in the end. If they could avoid the initial search, identifying them later on would be difficult. It would take time for any information about them to move to cities beyond Orcrest, and even then, they would likely only need to use aliases. It was not as if every guard in the Dominion could memorize the physical description of every known fugitive, and even if they could, the descriptions alone would likely be too generic to prove their identities.

Since lying was not likely to be beneficial, Meesei decided she would rather be at least partially open about their intentions. "I believe I will be honest. I will say that we do not intend to go to Orcrest, and that we will let them leave with enough supplies to get to safety. It would be best if I personally confront them and explain the situation. I would be the one most likely to be able to escape them without harm, if the encounter turns to violence. I do fully expect them to resist in some form, but hopefully it will remain a verbal argument, rather than a physical one. How should we go about forcing their surrender? I believe we need a sufficient show of force to deter a violent response, but I do not want to directly threaten them if it is not necessary."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei was glad to hear that the soldiers still seemed oblivious. After keeping up the ruse for so long, the last thing they needed to do was to slip up in the final day. When Gallus suggested gathering together the soldiers, Ri'nakhad gave an uncertain expression as well as looking up at the sky with a frown.

"If this one may, perhaps we should go through with this confrontation in the morning, rather than now. It would give us time to get word to the warriors we will need, and it will let us put distance between us and the soldiers much sooner." Ri'nakhad suggested.

Meesei nodded in agreement. "That is a fair point. I would rather not wait around in camp immediately after forcing them to leave. Confronting them in the morning will allow us to leave immediately. That just leaves the matter of how to go about confronting them. We want to make it abundantly clear that we have more than enough power to kill them, but I would still like to give off the impression that we do not want to kill them. One of the potential advantages of this approach is that they will be able to give their account of what happened with us. If the soldiers give the impression that we are not a militant group, the Dominion may be less driven to pursue us. What do you think we could tell them that would give us some advantage?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

By the next morning, the sandstorm had subsided, so the clan packed up to get moving just as normal. Although, it did take longer to brush away the sand covering the tents, and anything that had been left outside. Their Dominion escort packed their belongings just as quickly, and followed along without a word. Just as before, they did not interact with the clan in any meaningful way, apart from observing them. Even so, the side of the clan nearest to the soldiers was much quieter than it had been during their last few days of walking.

Traversing the desert sands did become marginally easier over the next week, due to their growing experience with the issues it presented. The Humans and Elves were still being sunburned, but it was at least starting to take longer thanks to the tan they were developing. After a few days, the clan was able to mostly relax around the soldiers, though they still rarely spoke to one another directly. In general, the soldiers were respectful to the clan, even if there were more than a few occasions of some of the soldiers, particularly the men, giving long stares to some of the clan's unclothed women. Otherwise, Meesei made sure to keep their scouts scanning the area behind them to be sure they were not still being followed.

After roughly a week's time, the clan was drawing near to Orcrest. They made their camp in the space between two dunes, as usual, to serve as some protection against the wind. From their current location, they would be able to reach Orcrest itself in four days, and according to Ra'jorr, it was the perfect time to confront the soldiers. Their own supplies had run out days prior, so they were now reliant on the clan's food and water. With a four day journey ahead of them, they would still need water to survive it, so they could be forced to abandon the notion following the clan. Meesei, Ri'nakhad, Ra'jorr, and Gallus all met together on the opposite side of the camp from the soldiers to have a final discussion on the details of how to enact their plan. Meesei started them off. "Okay, we should keep this brief. We do not want any of them wandering over here to overhear us. Gallus, you have been watching them for the past day, correct? Do you believe they have noticed anything unusual about us?"