EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the pair headed towards the dining chamber, Ri'vashi attempted to move on from their previous topic of conversation. Any decisions regarding their prisoners would need to be made with the Champion, and the situation with Dro'cahi was one she would have to deal with herself. So for now, there was no point in worrying about such matters.

"So Gallus, what is life like in Cyrodiil? Bruma specifically. From what this one knows of the place, it is basically in Skyrim. Just with some more Imperial influence. This one is no stranger to the cold, and she has lived around some Nords, but Skyrim was not a place father took her often after he found her. The bandits that sacked this one's caravan were Forsworn, after all. For most of this one's upbringing that she can remember, she lived in High Rock." Ri'vashi explained.

---

Meesei, after leaving the prisoner, headed to the dining chamber as well. It was around the time that most of the clan was eating, but her first matter of business was not her own meal. Instead, she sought out Janius, Kaleeth, Fendros, and Ahnasha to ask that they join her at a table. In all likelihood, it was not going to be too long before they set out for Vile's stronghold in the region, provided their scouts' reports were not unfavorable. As such, there was a matter they still needed to discuss.

Once they were all gathered together, Meesei was the first to start. "I apologize if I interrupted anything, but there is something I feel we should discuss. It relates to the attack on the stronghold. As you know, Corinthe is a sizable march from here, and at the minimum, we will be away for several weeks. We need to discuss what to do about your children."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Time for me to get to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

By her reaction, Ri'vashi seemed to accept Gallus' assessment of Meesei's character. Of course, there were advantages to having a callous, emotionless leader, but she was more comfortable knowing that she still had some emotion. When it came to answering him about the council, however, she gave a mixed expression.

"Well...there have not been many arguments this last week. Once everyone from your clan settled in, there hasn't been any real conflict for Dro'cahi to argue about. It is...pleasing how quickly we were able to get along. The ways of Pelletine are different from Anequina, but Ri'vashi supposes we are all lycans. But, this one has not really confronted Dro'cahi either; nothing has actually changed. This one will just have to be more assertive with him with our next conflict." Ri'vashi answered. She was not exactly looking forward to any arguments, but the frequent conflict between them had been wearing thin. Letting out a sigh, she tried to move on from the topic.

"Do you...perhaps want to join this one for dinner? She would rather not dwell on such severe matters when there is nothing she can do about them at the moment." She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi's expression matched Gallus', and for at least a few moments, there was an awkward silence between them before she spoke up. "Yes, this one supposes you are right. We do not know what she would have done to us had her plan not been halted. There should not be a debate in this one's mind about what we should do."

Regardless of her words, Ri'vashi's uncertain tone was not consistent with what she was trying to say. "There are many who would say they would want to be the Champion, but Ri'vashi does not envy her position as well. These kinds of decisions could not be easy. And yet...she does not show any doubt. Any regret. Her attitude when talking about the prisoner has been...cold, emotionless. She simply does what she is meant to do, without complaint nor hesitation. Ri'vashi does not understand how she can maintain that composure, even under those circumstances. This one would not be able to."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi shook her head lightly, then motioned for him to follow her to a less crowded area. As they walked, she spoke up somewhat quietly. "No, nothing to be concerned about, at least. It was a lengthy procedure, but Meesei was able to keep her unconscious for the duration of it. She has been bound up in isolation once more, and will remain under guard until she recovers. Unfortunately, we will not be able to determine exactly how successful the procedure was until that recovery is complete. Her face is still scarred almost beyond recognition, but La'tahne assures this one that she will heal completely with attention from the healers."

There was a brief pause as Ri'vashi glanced away in thought for a moment before continuing. "From Ri'vashi's...uninformed observations, however, she cannot see how it could be a failure. Even with the scars, her features are almost frighteningly similar to Meesei's. There is something uncomfortable about just being around her. With what we plan to do to her...this one almost wishes she was just as hostile as the Imperial. It would make this plan easier to come to terms with; Ri'vashi does not envy your task."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'tahne's face sculpting took about four hours of constant work to finally reach completion, for which Meesei had to be present, both to serve as La'tahne's model, and to keep the prisoner safely unconscious. Her work had only been on the details of Dar-tzesa's features, but that did not stop her from looking like an entirely different person. Unfortunately, it was difficult to say at this point exactly how closely her features now matched Meesei's. That would not be determined until her scars were able to heal completely. Until then, Meesei called on a few guards to help empty out the room of anything nonessential, and to help bind her more properly. With their work done for now, Meesei dismissed La'tahne and left the prisoner in the care of the Orcrest clan's healers.

Meanwhile, Ri'vashi decided to personally fulfill Gallus' request to inform him of the operation's outcome. Enough time had passed that his training session with Tzirret would be over, so she had to ask around in order to locate him. Although she did not like keeping secrets from her clan, Ri'vashi understood the importance of discretion in this case and approached Gallus casually until they could speak privately. She nodded to him briefly and subtly as she spoke. "We were able to complete the task we were working on before." She said simply.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'tahne made her first cut, then carefully started the second in order to peel back the scales. "It should go pretty quickly for an Argonian lycan, but just to be safe, La'tahne would give her at least one night's rest. If you want to fool someone with her appearance, it needs to be perfect."

"That will be fine." Meesei commented. "The prisoner does not likely expect you to commit the murder immediately. Taking some time to carry out your plan would seem natural."

La'tahne paused until Meesei kept her head still once more, then started her work. For as much as La'tahne considered face sculpting to be an art form, it was very gruesome work. She had to peel back the scales across one entire side of her face, exposing the muscle and bone underneath. She was able to use her own restoration abilities to limit bloodflow to the area, and reduce bleeding overall, so it was a cleaner procedure than it could have been. However, seeing such large openings in a still-living person's body was an unsettling thought for most.

The actual face sculpting itself was far from a quick process. Once the scales were pulled aside, she started chiseling away bit by bit. With the bone exposed, it became quickly apparent the kind of skill required to actually reshape one's face intentionally. It was easy to conceptualize how carving the bone would change one's features, but it was another matter entirely to be able to be able to understand how her actions would affect the final appearance. It was also readily apparent how long the procedure would take, as the progress each time the bone was chiseled was hardly noticeable.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh..." La'tahne started, lowering her head to look down at the prisoner. Meesei had already drained enough of her energy that she was struggling to keep her eyes open, and was likely delirious. "Well, she will need to be alive for this, and for her recovery. Her face will not look right if she does not have time to regenerate. Healing magic can accelerate it, of course, but..."

As La'tahne's voice trailed off, Dar-tzesa's eyes finally closed completely, and she became entirely unresponsive. She took up her small, sharp knife, turned the prisoner's head to the side, and pressed it against her cheek. Before making any incisions, however, she raised up her head and looked closely at Meesei's face. "Okay...this one will have to narrow her cheeks a bit first. Just have a seat across from this one, if you could, Champion. Stay close, and try to stay still."

La'tahne pierced through the scales with the knife, but hesitated before completing the cut. She did not make eye contact with any of the others, but instead spoke up nervously. "This will help the clan, right?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Dar-tzesa gave no sort of reaction to Gallus' assurances. She showed neither relief nor dread, just absolute despondence.

Ri'vashi and Meesei had made sure to gather all of the tools that La'tahne requested. As soon as they laid the Argonian prisoner on the table, they shackled her down to it as a precaution. Whether she was actively resisting or not, she was still a werewolf. These shackles would not be enough to contain her on their own, but they would buy them time if it came to a transformation.

La'tahne looked down at her subject sympathetically. "This one has all of the supplies she needs, but...her subject should be unconscious for this. Movement can be very disruptive." She answered.

Meesei nodded, then placed her hands on Dar-tzesa to charge a spell through her, rapidly draining her energy. After about a minute or so, it would render her too exhausted to remain conscious.

As Meesei was casting the spell, La'tahne was closely examining Meesei's facial features. She did not touch her, so as not to interrupt, but she did walk around her to get a better look at the details. "Well...at least this prisoner will have a more beautiful face after this is over. But...why are we doing this? Unless you've found a way to give her another arm?"