EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think it's time for me to get to bed, goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Um, yes, it is." Ma'tanza responded, somewhat awkwardly. Regardless, she took a few more bites, then smiled at Tzirret. "Thank you for bringing Ma'tanza up here. She doesn't think she will see a place like this again when we finally leave the Orcrest clan. It isn't a place she would want to live, but...she doesn't mind visiting. And...it is nice to talk to you alone. Ma'tanza is never really away from her friends. So, uh, what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

The sun was still visible, but the air was already starting to cool somewhat. In contrast to the blistering hot days, nights in the desert could be downright cold, during which Ma'tanza was certainly glad for her fur. Already, she moved herself a bit closer to him, enough that their sides were touching.

After another swing, Ri'vashi closed her eyes and sighed. Already, she regretted the comment, and blamed herself for letting her emotions get the better of her to the point that she would mention it. "Some would say so, yes. Ri'vashi is a strong warrior, and few doubt that." She explained before interrupting herself with a few swings. "But, some might disagree. They don't necessarily say Ri'vashi isn't a good leader...well, some do, but they mostly say that there are better choices. Or...a better choice. Some might say that Ri'vashi was given the leadership by her father just because of who she was, and not what she could do." Again, she struck against the dummy; her precise form was quickly giving way to raw strength. "Some might say that an elder, more experienced councilman like Dro'cahi would have been a better choice to lead our people. Some people still think that Ri'vashi needs to prove herself worthy of the title."

With her final few swings, Ri'vashi managed to make tears in the stuffed cloth dummy with the blunted blade, after which, she stood still, breathing heavily. "Ri'vashi...should not be bothering you with this. It is unprofessional."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza sat down beside Tzirret as soon as he laid out the bedroll. They had seen the sunset over the desert many times along their journey, but never from such a high vantage point. The light changed the entire color of the landscape, while their height above the dunes gave them perspective on how truly vast it all was. In all directions around them, there was nothing but sand for as far as the eye could see.

"Oh, definitely. Ma'tanza almost did not realize how hungry she was after we got into the stronghold. She was too distracted trying to get situated in the new place." She answered, rather enthusiastically. Once he produced the goat meat from the satchel, she was quick to help him divide it between them, and even quicker to bite down into it. It was quite pleasantly sweet, and by her guess, likely contained moon sugar. Though, that did not cause her to hesitate eating it in the slightest.

Ri'vashi shook her head. "Oh, no, this one does not believe it would ever come to that. Dro'cahi tends to oppose Ri'vashi, but he is loyal to Hircine. Ri'vashi...would be lying if she said the arguments have never been a problem, but this one believes he contributes far more to the clan than he costs. He will be glad to hear that your people will be willing to help. Ri'vashi is willing to let your people rest a few days, but there is always work to be done."

Once Ri'vashi had removed her pouches and set them aside along with her katana, she removed her rather bulky cloak, leaving her in a simple leather loincloth. Without her cloak, the patterns on her fur became more clear. Brown spots, each encircled by a black ring, covered her light tan fur. Interestingly, she was more muscular than one would expect from a werelion, even a Cathay. She grabbed one of the practice blades from the weapon racks. It was metal, so it had the proper weight, but was entirely blunt. "Dro'cahi...he just wants what is best for the clan, like all of us. He is a respected man, and a good leader." She commented as she gave her first, heavy swing against the dummy. "Probably a better one than Ri'vashi."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, Ma'tanza has seen one or two before, but she was more talking about all of the plants in there. Some of them she had never seen before. It was almost like being in the forest again, with all that life everywhere. Whoever tends to those gardens must have a passion for making them beautiful. La'khay will probably like them." She answered. Since people were still bringing in supplies from the outside, the cave leading outside was lit with magic-fueled, smokeless torches, which were the primary light source for the majority of the stronghold.

It did not take long for the pair to make their way outside. There was a light wind blowing over the area, but otherwise, the weather was perfectly clear, as always. The sun was already beginning to get low in the sky, so they would need to get to the top of one of the hills soon, but Ma'tanza still took a moment to pause and look out over the vast expanse of the desert before them. "The desert is amazing in its own way, but...it's just so barren. So...dead. Ma'tanza would not want to live here."

"Well, you are with the Champion, so Ri'vashi does not think she has any right to keep any matter relating to the clan from you. The disagreement was over how quickly this one decided to bring your people into the stronghold. One of Ri'vashi's council, Dro'cahi, felt that bringing everyone in at once would put undue strain on our supplies. By no means does did he just want to abandon your people, but he wanted to leave them outside for a few more days while we rationed out supplies for them, then bring them in gradually. He fears that, after so long in the desert, many of your people may not be conservative with the food we have. His arguments are...not without merit, but Ri'vashi did not want to subject the Senchal clan to any more suffering than they have already experienced. It may cost us, and we may have to purchase more supplies from Orcrest as a result, but Ri'vashi stands by her decision."

As they spoke, Ri'vashi had walked over to one corner of the room, near the weapon racks, and began untying her satchel, pouches, and scabbard. It appeared she intended to train at the moment. "It's just, arguments between this one and Dro'cahi get heated...frequently." She added, though by her expression, she immediately regretted mentioning it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza too was impressed by the grandeur of the stronghold's main chamber. The entirety of the hill had essentially been hollowed out: a feat which she could hardly imagine that anyone completed. She stretched out her hand and ran it under the waterfall as she walked by, grinning at the feeling of the water flowing through her very dry fur. "It is more than Ma'tanza expected to find. She had hoped for just enough to take a bath, but this is almost like being back in Pelletine. This one supposes there is a good place deeper in the stronghold to bathe? These streams seem to shallow. Actually, she's not really sure what these streams would be good for. Ma'tanza supposes you could drink out of them, but she hasn't seen anyone else doing that. Are they really just for decoration?"

As it happened, Ri'vashi was near to her destination when she encountered Gallus. By the time he called out her name and ran to catch up to her, she had already turned a corner into one of the nearby rooms. Based on its appearance, it was obviously a training room. Compared to some of the others, it was a rather large chamber, with a good deal of open space in the room's center, with dummies and other training equipment scattered around. Closer to the back of the room, there were two square sand pits, presumably for sparring, with weapon racks on the wall behind them.

Ri'vashi stopped and looked down at Gallus as soon as she noticed him beside her. She seemed surprised that he was even present, suggesting that she had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she had not even noticed him. "Oh, Gallus. This one sincerely apologizes. This one did not see you. There is...nothing wrong, she can assure you. At least, nothing threatening as before. All of the prisoners are still alive and securely detained. There was simply a...disagreement between this one and a few of her council members in her last meeting. But, we resolved the issue, and your clan will not be impacted, rest assured." She answered; although, her diplomatic answer did not explain the obvious frustration she held.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although the word of the real Champion's arrival had spread through the Orcrest clan, the sudden arrival of the Senchal clan was a definite surprise to any who had not been specifically informed beforehand. By its nature as an underground structure, the stronghold's inhabitants were used to living close together, but it had been expanded recently and was not especially crowded except in the most populated of areas. However, with the arrival of over two hundred more individuals, it was more crowded than it had ever been. There were some complaints, but for most, simply learning of who these new arrivals were and what they had been through made them nothing but sympathetic. There were some members of the Orcrest clan who volunteered their rooms for those who were most in need of comfortable quarters, but for the most part, living arrangements had to be made rather hastily.

In the lowest levels of the stronghold, the Orcrest clan had dug entirely new tunnels to accommodate their growing population. Although, most of the new space was not used for living quarters; rather, they had moved many of their supplies to the new tunnels to make more room on the upper levels. Barrels and crates full of preserved food, leather, wood, metal, and other materials were taken out into the hallways to empty out rooms for the new arrivals. Even so, some would likely have to sleep in the hallways until more permanent arrangements could be made. The new corridors themselves were not simply crudely mined tunnels. Rather, they had proper stonework on all sides. Evidently, the clan had among its members stonemasons who could oversee such work. The new tunnels did not match the style of the old, but they were professionally made, and structurally sound.

Ma'tanza did not see Tzirret approach, so she jumped when he suddenly grabbed her hand. "Ah- oh, Tzirret. You surprised Ma'tanza. She probably should have expected you, though. It is getting late. She sees you managed to find a place to bathe." She said with a smile as she patted his still-wet shoulder. "You'll have to take this one there later, she didn't have a chance to find it yet. Someone did give Ma'tanza enough cloth to make another wrap, though. She doesn't have enough for a loincloth, but she can at least have her wrap again. This one will cut it all into the right shape later, we can head up to the top of one of the hills now."

Briefly, Ma'tanza looked down to M'ibasa beside her. "Go find your big sister and see if she'll come with you to make some new friends, alright?"

Elsewhere, Ri'vashi was stomping through a hallway just below the main chamber, more in frustration than rage. She was very visibly distraught, and seemed to be going somewhere with single-minded determination. She passed directly by Gallus, but did not acknowledge him. With the way she was looking straight ahead, it was questionable that she had even seen him at all.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

If you like, sure.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can probably do a skip to bring everyone to the stronghold, if you like.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi let out a light hum as she thought back on her father, bringing a light smile across her face. "He never told Ri'vashi that directly, but she always suspected it. The way he fought, the people he would talk to, his thoughts on the Dominion, and the Thalmor in particular. It does all make sense. This one was born after the Great War, though, so he would have been in hiding our entire lives. That...would also explain quite a few things, honestly. It would certainly explain how he knew of this place, but why he would bring us into the Dominion itself? That, Ri'vashi does not understand."

The group stepped into the main chamber, which by this point, had been cleaned of any evidence of the brief fight and dismemberment that had taken place only a short time prior. Uthri and Ra'kalesh would be heading back to the clan, Meesei would be going to check on the prisoners, and Ri'vahsi would soon be heading off to deal with quite a few matters of business. For a moment, however, she paused to speak with the group. "Ri'vashi would love to talk of her past, but we all have much to do. Feel free to speak to the clan and acclimate yourself to the stronghold. All of this one's warriors should know of you by now, and word should be spreading through the clan as a whole. Is there anything more before this one goes to speak to her council?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi did not quite smile, though she did at least appreciate Gallus' sentiment. It was clear that she was ashamed of the day's events, but the fact that he was not chiding her for her failure was at least encouraging. Meesei did not react with any particular emotion, positive or negative, but she was not showing any signs of passing judgment. Gallus' attempt at levity might have upset Uthri, but it did calm her nerves somewhat. Or, at the very least, distract her from them.

"Thank you, but...Ri'vashi will be fine. She has endured failure before." She responded. After a few moments, the group finally started to walk once more towards the main chamber. It would not take but a minute or two longer for them to reach it, but she still took the time to answer Fendros.

"It is a katana, of Akiviri make, as this one was told." Ri'vashi explained. "This one inherited it from her father when he passed. He was the former, and first, leader of this clan. He was a fine swordsman, and the one who trained Ri'vashi in both martial arts and leadership. He was the one who led us to this stronghold, and helped to return it to a livable state. Our clan was much...smaller then, but it has proven to be a place in which we can expand."