EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm about to head to bed. I'll respond in the morning.

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

I could have Tir come back by to aid Dyno, @HHShetland. Though, she would need to be alerted. It might be that she would start listening to his radio show. That could be used in some way, perhaps.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei crossed her arms, glancing towards the closed door. "Hmm, that is a fair point. Looking at me for only a moment seemed to enrage her. An emotionally compromised person can be manipulated, we should probably question her before attempting that. Or rather, you and Ri'vashi should. I will only serve to distract her. Go through with your plan and see what you can learn from her I will wait outside and listen in. If you feel it would be advantageous to agitate her emotions, feel free to call me in." Meesei answered.

Ri'vashi gave a nod. "Of course, Champion. Since Ri'vashi has been around this impostor for most of the time she has been here, this one should be able to call out at least some inconsistencies in her story. This one can get another healing potion for her injury, one moment." She said, motioning to one of the guards nearby in the hallway. "Soldier, fetch us a healing potion, something specialized for pain. As quickly as you can."

---

Irenya rubbed her neck awkwardly with widened eyes. "Oh, well...I am no priestess. I have been to a wedding before, so I am familiar with the ceremony, but I do not know if I would be qualified to run it. I would hate to miss an important detail and displease your ancestors, which would be a definite possibility."

Looking off to the side, Irenya finally continued her meal, though only for a few moments. "You would be best served trying to find someone qualified for such a ceremony. That may be difficult in Elsweyr, but...what about later? We are, in all likelihood, returning to Cyrodiil after this whole affair. Cheydinhal would certainly have someone willing and able to do just what you need."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a moment, the Argonian was silent, apart from a few sobs. Slowly, she raised her head to look at Gallus, but as soon as she saw Meesei standing up behind him, she started to bare her teeth in rage. Since Meesei was out of her reach, she looked back to Gallus and spat in his face. In contrast to the Imperial from before, however, her demeanor of defiance did not last. "It doesn't matter...nothing matters." She answered as she lowered her head once more.

"Just...kill me. Kill me now! You've already destroyed my life, just put me out of my misery." She added with an utterly defeated tone.

---

Irenya leaned back defensively in her seat, almost on reaction. Fendros' question was probably one she should have been expecting, but she hesitated enough in her answer that it definitely did not seem prepared. "I...do not know what you are implying. I have taken an interest in your spiritual well-being since we first started traveling together. You have a family now, but to have a child and no one to call your wife is certainly not something I would think your ancestors would prefer. There are certain formalities that our ancestors expect by tradition, you understand. I merely want to give you some helpful advice."

Irenya's tone did not necessarily imply that she was lying, but her answer completely ignored all she had said before about Ahnasha and Rhazii being Khajiit. It was a reversal of her previous opinion, and one that had come without Ahnasha or Fendros saying anything more to her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With no further delays, Meesei, Gallus, and Ri'vashi made their way down to the prison cells. The stronghold had a specialized prison built into it, though ironically, the clan had to carry out the supplies they had been storing in most of the cells in order to make room for their prisoners. The rooms had solid stone construction, with heavy, windowless iron doors. The only opening was a slot near the bottom which opened inwards, and could be used to slide in food without opening the door.

Meesei led the group to the last door at the end of the hallway, which contained the only prisoner she had not yet interviewed. The impostor, even if she was not the leader, would have to have some knowledge of their goals in order to carry out her sabotage. As such, she was the natural one to begin interrogating first. As soon as Ri'vashi unlocked and opened the door for them, they were met with sobbing from within. As a precaution, the Argonian had her legs and remaining arm shackled with chains designed to hold through a transformation. She, like the other prisoners, had been stripped of all her belongings to prevent them from improvising any tools, but she did not appear to have the will to resist. She had her head hung low, and did not raise it even to look at who was coming to question her. All she did to acknowledge them was to speak breifly between her cries. "It still hurts. It's not there, but it still hurts! I can feel the shackle on my wrist...but it's not there. It's not there." She sobbed.

---

Irenya was not attempting to read too deeply into Fendros' words. Even just the surface of his answer gave her pause to think. She was obviously uncomfortable, but she gave no hint of judgment, positive or negative, from learning that they had not any sort of ceremony. Although, her next response gave much more clarity to her opinion on the matter. "Well...if you are going to have a family, you should really do it properly. Why not have a ceremony to formalize your...love? I am not particularly familiar with the Eight Divines, but I do not believe either kind of ceremony would need to be extravagant. Hircine does not require that we observe such customs, but neither does he forbid it."

Irenya was touching on a topic that was personal to Fendros and Ahnasha, and while it might not have been her place to insist on such things, it could be seen as a step in the right direction for her. Not only was she now readily acknowledging Ahnasha and Rhazii as Fendros' family, but she was actively encouraging him to formalize that relationship in a ceremony she considered sacred.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's expression was notably uncertain with Gallus' suggestion. "I...cannot say that will not work, but it seems to me like a long shot. They are prisoners, and know that we are going to interrogate them. I doubt they will trust anything that any of us say. If it is to have a chance of working, you would have to make your conversion to defector believable. You could...make them believe that they are affecting our loyalty. You recall how the Imperial taunted you? I would be willing to wager he is going to do so again. Perhaps this time, you can make it seem like he is getting to you? I will leave you alone, and you can beat him senseless. Make it seem like he is angering you, then leave him. After a few sessions, he may believe he is affecting you."

Irenya nodded. "Yes, our skin is quite resistant to such affects. And...I suppose Khajiit fur does much the same thing." She commented. Her breakfast was still mostly untouched, as she was eating rather slowly. Even with the large pauses between speaking, she was too distracted to focus on her food. Instead, she kept glancing over to Ahnasha, who was still focused on helping Rhazii with his breakfast. At this point, she had not yet noticed her.

Taking in a deep breath, Irenya asked yet another question. "Out of...curiosity, are you married to your mate? Um, to Ahnasha? Have you gone through the proper ceremonies, that is?" She asked. It was a seemingly random and personal question, with no obvious reason on why Irenya would be asking, or why she would even care. She had never shown any signs of caring about Fendros and Ahnasha's personal life, beyond voicing her objections to it, so to say that her current line of questioning was peculiar would be an understatement.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, it is difficult to say what will work at this point." Meesei answered. She crossed one arm over the other and held her hand up to her chin as she thought. "I have not yet questioned them enough to know how forthcoming they will be. Plain torture, in my experience, is not useful for obtaining accurate information. People will simply say whatever you want to hear. They have to have another motivation. In my questioning last night, I determined most of their names, and a few admitted to being infiltrators. Any information they can give us, we of course want, but right now, the primary questions we need answered are about their intentions, and their base of operations. If they refuse to cooperate, our best chance may be to use them against one another. Some of them might give away information that we could use in other interrogations, or if we can discover any specific connections between them, we might be able to take advantage of them. It would be useful if we could identify which one of them is the leader."

Once she was asked a question she could answer, Irenya was able to speak more confidently. "Yes, the impostor is stable. She was still unconscious when I left her last night, but according to the healers I questioned earlier this morning, she awoke in the middle of the night." She explained. However, her confidence faded once more after the conversation once again fell to her. She went back to her meal briefly before forcing herself to speak up once more.

"You and your...family, are you in good health? Have there been any complications from the conditions we have been in over the last few weeks. I had to prevent two cases of heat stroke during our travels, and some people were too conservative with their water rations. Be sure you are all properly hydrated, just in case." Irenya continued.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As well, I think this is a good place for a skip.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

In the hours following the Senchal clan’s arrival in the stronghold, most were able to settle in surprisingly quickly. Apart from a few representatives, none of the members of either clans had met one another before, but they all had enough common ground to relate to one another. The cultures of Anequina and Pelletine were notably different, but as lycans, they had similar lifestyles that moved beyond those boundaries. As well, the war had, over the last few years, created at least one positive effect among Tamriel’s lycans in the form of unity. They had one common enemy; a goal that could unite them no matter how disparate their backgrounds or beliefs. In this case, the fact that they were mostly Khajiit of Elsweyr simply sped up their acceptance of one another.

Meesei had taken the time to question the prisoners they had captured, though she had not gone into a detailed interrogation just yet. For that, she would rather have others present to assist, particularly Ri’vashi, since she was more familiar with them. For her first round of questioning, she was simply testing to see what they would freely admit. Apart from the Argonian, who was still unconscious, she was able to learn their names, and managed to get a few to confess to at least being infiltrators. Before retiring for the night, she did meet briefly with Ri’vashi and Ri’nakhad, mostly to introduce them so they could discuss the werevultures they would be sending out as scouts the next day.

Just as when they had first arrived at the Senchal clan’s outpost, Meesei, her pack, as well as Gallus’ were offered proper quarters closer to the leaders of the Orcrest clan. In that, both Ri’vashi and Dro’cahi were agreed. Meesei left it up to each member of her and Gallus’ pack on whether they would accept, but she gladly took one of the rooms, and personally thanked the individual who had offered it to her.

---

The next morning, Meesei awoke early and had her breakfast before most in the clan had awoken. With permission from the person whose room she was using, she had taken one of her cloaks and modified it slightly to fit her, so she did not stand out quite as much in the crowds. For the first matter she needed to deal with for the day, she sought out Ri’vashi, then headed with her to find Gallus. By this point the Argonian impostor would likely have awakened, or could be awakened, so she wanted to begin the interrogation.

Gallus was in the middle of breakfast when Meesei and Ri’vashi approached. It was not necessary that they begin immediately, so she sat down beside him to wait for him to finish. “Gallus, I believe it is time for us to interrogate the prisoners. Feel free to finish your meal first, however.”

Nearby, Ahnasha and Fendros were eating their breakfast with Rhazii, as usual. Ahnasha was sitting beside Rhazii, taking small samples of his food to make sure it did not contain moon sugar before he could eat it. As such, she was not conversing with Fendros at the moment. There was nothing strange about any element of this scene until Irenya, of all people, moved to the seat next to Fendros. Despite how unusual it was for her to, as it seemed, seek him out, she did not say anything at first. For a minute or so, she simply sat silently, and somewhat awkwardly, while she ate her meal. But eventually, she spoke up in a calm, but ever so slightly nervous tone. “So…Fendros. Have you been finding everything you need here?”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'll need to make a point of watching it at some point.