EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the soldiers turned to take their leave, Meesei gave only one final comment: a Khajiit expression she had learned. "May you walk on warm sands." She said simply before returning to the line of warriors at the edge of camp. Of course, Ra'jorr had already ordered that the warriors remain on alert, with double patrols for the next day as they traveled. While the soldiers would be making their way to Orcrest, the clan would be turning south for most of the day, before they turned towards the west. It would take an extra day of travel, but it would keep them safely away from the city.

Meesei gave a nod to Gallus. "It certainly could have gone much worse, yes. Regardless of what the soldiers do, I am glad we were able to end this without bloodshed. No doubt they will attempt to return with a search party, but our tracks will be long gone by then. The chances of us being discovered are slim to none. But, that struggle just leads into the next. Now, we have to contact the Orcrest clan. Fortunately, I have become quite familiar with all of Tamriel's clans over the past few years. Based on the description I have of their stronghold, it should not be difficult to find them. Now, we still need to pack up camp and get moving in case those soldiers change their minds. After breakfast, of course." She said with a slight grin.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright. I'm a bit busy at the moment as well, as it happens.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We cannot go to Orcrest." Meesei repeated. Behind her, even more of the clan's warriors, this time more visibly armed than the mages, started to reveal themselves, making the size of the force arrayed against Qito and his men even more apparent. "You see the force I have available, more than your commander perhaps realized. I am sure you can see, clearly, that if it was my desire, I could have you killed easily. My archers and mages alone would fell you before you could reach even me. Your weapons and armor would be of a great material benefit to us, but that is not what we want. None of us have any desire to harm your men, or the Dominion. If we killed you now, it would give us even more time to evade the search party that would come afterwards. But, we are not doing any of that. We have taken a considerable detour to bring your men close enough to Orcrest that you can get to safety. You and your men have, for the most part, been respectful and courteous, and we have gone through great pains to make sure you are not harmed. We have done all of this because we do not want to harm you, or the Dominion. We are allies to you, and what we do will be to the benefit of the Dominion, and Tamriel as a whole."

Regardless of what the warriors behind her were doing, Meesei maintained as nonthreatening of a demeanor as possible. "I intend no threat against you. You are free to leave unharmed, with all of your belongings and the supplies I have had prepared for you. You may say what you like about us, just remember all we did for the sake of you and your men."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei held firm, uncompromising in both her expression and tone. "And what if I told you, Qito, that your government has been infiltrated by this secret enemy? We must be on our way."

Turning her head briefly towards the warriors behind her, she signaled for them to reveal themselves, but motioned for them to keep their distance. Despite Qito's resistance, she still did not want to escalate to direct threats. "I understand you do not know us; you have no inherent reason to trust us. In your position, I would not trust us either, but that is what I am going to have to ask you to do. We do not intend any harm against you, the Dominion, or any of its innocent citizens. We want to give you the food and water you will need to reach Orcrest, then allow you to go on your way. You can tell your superiors we were not compliant, and there was no reasonable way for you to force us to follow you." Meesei suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei shook her head. "Again, I am sorry, but we cannot go to Orcrest. I have the utmost respect for you and your men, and I understand that you want to follow the orders of your commander, but to pull you along where we are going will only put you in danger. There are dangerous groups in Elsweyr, living in secret, one of which is our enemy. At this point, you and your men must separate and head to Orcrest on your own. We will give you enough food and water to make the journey. You can tell your superiors what you wish about us; I understand that we are disobeying the orders of your commander, but it is what we have to do."

Meesei still did not give the signal to Gallus. She only intended to give any show of force if the soldiers became violent, or otherwise threatening. It would be best for the clan if they could resolve this issue with as little hostility as possible, but Meesei was ready to escalate at any moment if it became necessary. And, of course, she was ready to react to any violent action on a moment's notice.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei shook her head. "I am sorry, I do not speak Ta'agra. I can wait a moment if you would like to have someone help translate for us, but I am afraid this is a rather serious matter. It is nothing you have done, I can assure you, but this is something we will need to resolve now."

Regardless of whether he wanted to have another of his men translate, Meesei allowed Qito a few moments to finish his task so that he could concentrate on their conversation. Once he was settled, she took in a deep breath before continuing in just as formal of a tone. "I do not wish to waste your time, or attempt to deceive you, so I will simply speak directly. I know what your mission here is, and I understand that you want to fulfill it, but our people cannot go to Orcrest. We are not fugitives, or spies, and we do not have any intention of harming you or your Dominion, but our reason for being here cannot be delayed. I am sorry."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Standing up from the fire, Meesei walked in the direction of the soldiers' tents. She wore the same robe as when they had first encountered the Dominion troops over a week prior. Unlike Ri'nakhad and Ra'jorr, the soldiers were not likely to know much about her, other than what they had said during their first meeting. She had not spoken to any of them during the week they had been traveling together, and had not said much in their first meeting. All they would know of her was that she was one of the two representing the non-Khajiit of the group. The fact that she was approaching them now would likely be seen as curious, but not necessarily hostile. Even if she had been, it was far too late for them to organize any sort of retreat now.

Meesei scanned across the group of Khajiit soldiers until she could pick out the highest ranking among them, whom she had made sure she could recognize the previous day. Her demeanor was not tense, but rather, she actually tried to appear non-threatening. She did not intend to escalate hostilities before it was absolutely necessary. As she approached their leader, she bowed her head politely. "Greetings. You are the ranking Dominion soldier here, correct? I believe I need to speak with you; it is...quite important."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I had actually intended for Meesei to approach first, before signaling the warriors.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth chuckled. "Maybe. I just wish I didn't have to wait until we are out of the desert to do it. I doubt anyone will want to be fighting after walking all day, but I do want to see what this will do for me. I might not have quite as much aggression once my beast has something it can vent through. Maybe I won't be so...bitey next time have some time to be alone. If not...well, you could always gag me or something."

---

The next morning was just the same as any other, apart from the fact that Meesei, Ri'nakhad, Gallus, and Ra'jorr were all awake earlier than usual. They all knew what they were meant to do, so they mostly stayed apart as the clan was waking up. Ra'jorr took care of directing his warriors on their tasks. At first, just a few of them headed to the area around the soldiers' tents, striking up conversations with those who they needed to move away. The warriors were told not to be too specific with why they needed to move, but to make it clear that the order was coming from the clan's leadership. After the warriors returned, Ra'jorr prompted his Pahmar and mages to start slowly shifting into the area. S'nishi was brought close-by as well, though most of the Senche kept their distance so as to avoid being too suspicious.

Since the soldiers knew of Ra'jorr's role among the group, he kept his distance, while Meesei and Gallus moved closer. They sat down around a cooking fire that was just starting to be built by a few of the warriors looking to blend in. Quietly, Meesei glanced over and whispered to Gallus. "Are we ready?" She asked simply.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth closed her eyes as she thought, with the only sound she made being the breaths she took. She was still indecisive for the moment, but Janius had at least given her a direction in which to think. "I want to be a mother he can feel safe to be around. I don't want him to think that I could lose myself at a moment's notice."

There was a pause while Kaleeth ran her hands down her face and let out a sigh. "But what if I lose myself anyway, just in a different way? I don't like to hurt people; I'm not bloodthirsty like this creature in my head. That's not who I want to be, but...maybe it's who I have to be. Just a little bit. I need an outlet, or my beast does, rather. It needs to be able to vent its own frustrations. I know it will make me a bit more aggressive, but...wouldn't that be better than being a danger to you and Newt?"

Reaching over to Janius, Kaleeth laid one hand on his chest and looked up to his eyes. "Maybe...I should get together some people in the clan to fight with, like on that ship?"