EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay, was doing something for a bit.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a moment, Ri'vashi seemed surprised, though that surprise faded as she thought about Gallus' explanation to her before. Instead, she simply closed her eyes and lightly shook her head. "Gallus...this one cannot say she approves, though neither do you, by the sound of it. You betrayed the trust of two women at once...and you think a little thing like a continent will protect you from their wrath." She chuckled.

Ri'vashi's expression became less joking, though not quite serious. She let out a sigh and interrupted herself for a moment to finally start on her meal. "If you want them both, fate might end up declaring that you get neither. If you were willing to move yourself half a continent away from either of them, isolating yourself from speaking to them for months, just to get away, or clear your head, then how sure are you that you really cared about them. It seems to Ri'vashi that if you loved either of them, then you would, well, actually want to be with them? Of course, what does Ri'vashi know about any of this? Perhaps you should not be taking advice from someone who has never been close to being in love."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi crossed her arms and gave an exaggerated huff. "Ri'vashi is not being manipulated. That would require someone actually be remotely close to her." She chuckled before taking on a more relaxed expression.Even if he had not been teasing her, she did not see how being alone could be a danger to her. "This one does have friends, of course, but...not in such a casual sense, she supposes. She has never been that kind of social, since there were never really others her age around as a cub. And, being the daughter of the clan leader, Ri'vashi guesses any potential mates later on felt intimidated. Of course, talk of the past like that is just speculation. There is no point dwelling on it. Ri'vashi is the clan leader now, and honestly, is happy with the current state of things. There is no one she longs after, or secretly hopes to swoon. There is just her duty." She explained, though she could not hide the hint of doubt in her tone.

Ri'vashi doubted that Gallus would give up on his line of questioning, considering that she had made the mistake of answering him to begin with. But, she could, perhaps, turn the conversation against him. Leaning forward with her elbows resting on the table, she smirked at him. "Now, Ri'vashi happens to recall you talking about your own history with women. You described yourself as having some...exciting encounters with women. Many of them. Do you seek love, or is your mind more kin to La'tahne?"

---

"Oh..." Newt responded with a depressed tone, lowering his head. "Is going...to be a long time?"

Similarly to Fendros, Kaleeth picked up Newt and held tightly onto him. "It...might be a while, yes. But...your mother knows that her son is a strong, brave little boy. You're a scary little crocodile, and you'll be just fine here. In fact, I think Rhazii is really going to need you to look after him. You think you can do that for me? Look after Rhazii?"

Kaleeth was quite intentionally attempting to "trick" Newt into being more accepting of the situation with her words. Given that Rhazii was both older, and a Cathay, he had always been the bigger and stronger of the two. While that could change once their lycanthropy fully set in, Newt would be the runt of the two for as long as they could be considered children. By suggesting that Newt might actually be able to protect Rhazii, she hoped to inspire some bravery in him. Indeed, he did actually start to smile, even with the tears in his eyes.

Meesei, at this point, was feeling somewhat out of place. Both sets of parents needed to comfort their children, and since they had reached a decision, there was nothing more she could do for them. "I...believe I will go speak to S'ajirra and Jo'rashaad. I will leave you to take some time together."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Speaking about her father, Ri'vashi nodded in agreement. "This one's father was many things; confusing being chief among them. He also had a tendency to be completely right. There were several in our fledgling clan who feared for their lives going into the desert, and understandably so. But then, he brought us straight to this oasis with abundant water for our needs, and plenty of space to grow food. As for our current population, our proximity to the trade routes connecting to Orcrest is what brings us most of our members. It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but the fact that we are in a desert makes it much easier to find new lycans. In other places, a new lycan can flee into the wilderness and reasonably expect to survive, but here, fleeing into the desert would most likely end in death. So, lycans have to stay close to sources of water, which means staying closer to civilization. We simply have our scouts watching those prime locations to find those who have recently turned."

As the conversation shifted to herself, Ri'vashi was less certain, and minorly uncomfortable, with her answers. "Well, Ri'vashi doesn't know what her hair has to do with anything, but...she does not have a great deal of time to herself. She needs to be able to fulfill her responsibilities as any time, so she does not drink often. And, um..." Ri'vashi began, breaking eye contact as a hint of embarrassment came across her face. "...she has never had a lover, no."

---

Ahnasha immediately leaned over and put her arm around Rhazii as soon as he started his cries. In this case, she was not going to blame him for causing such a scene. "We don't want to leave either, son. We want to stay here with you, but we also want you to be safe. We have to go and deal with the bad people so they won't be able to hurt you, okay? You'll be here with people you know, and you'll be able to make new friends."

Meanwhile, Newt had not been paying as close of attention as Rhazii, but once Rhazii had started crying, he knew that something had to be wrong. He looked up to his own parents silently, but with enough confusion in his eyes to easily communicate his own fear. Kaleeth was starting to feel a mix of guilt and dread about having to explain to her son that they were going to be leaving him for such a long time. Turning her head towards Janius, she tightly grabbed his hand with a nervous gaze. For this, she would certainly need his help.

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

I am certainly interested in staying. I feel we just need something to pull everyone together. If not a single thing, maybe a few. With Tir, I have a hard time justifying her going anywhere without being called for it, since I had previously laid out her plans to stay at home for the evening. Perhaps we could do a sort of global timeskip to the next day to get new events going?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"This one does not believe you have told her who Tzirret is, so she cannot say how similar our stories are." Ri'vashi responded. "Father took care of this one for a few years before he turned her. She did not really understand it all back then, but he felt it would be best for her to be a lycan like him. It would let her be an actual part of our clan. It took years more before our clan was large enough to justify moving, though Ri'vashi does not think anyone expected him to move us so far. He never went into great detail as to why he moved us here, just that he thought we would be safer here. If he was actually a Blade, that would make it even more confusing, since he took us straight into the Dominion. Our clan has grown much since then, though, especially over the past few years. We still have some of our original members, though, like Dro'cahi, Erina, and Gnolok. They're all members of the council. Ri'vashi has no doubt you will meet them when it comes time to plan our departure in detail."

---

Ahnasha personally was not quite as against Kaleeth's suggestion as Fendros, as they had been with Ra'kalesh's pride for well over a month by this point, and she considered many of them friends. Certainly, she would trust any of them more than she would trust Irenya, but if Fendros was against it, she was not about to try to push for that option. "Well, S'ajira and Jo'rashaad do have a daughter, but if you don't want them taking care of them..." Ahnasha began, pausing as she tried to think of who would be best for the task.

"Uthri is the most mature of that group. I don't know how much experience with children she has, but she would be the most responsible." Ahnasha suggested.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

I'm still present, just haven't been able to do anything with Fa since my last response.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi shook her head. "No, not after father found Ri'vashi. She does remember her mother; she was probably around...ten years of age or so when the attack happened, so she does remember her birth parents. But, those memories are not too clear. Father, um, the one who found this one; his name was Ennond Morette. A Breton man. He happened upon Ri'vashi hiding among the foliage near the wreckage of her caravan and took pity on her. She remembers he originally intended just to get her to safety, but he did not want to take her to Markarth. Instead, he took us back west into High Rock, but that took a while. We were held up by the weather, and a few other problems. By the time we made it to the next town, this one had apparently grown attached. Ri'vashi doesn't know how true his story was, because she remembers it a bit differently, but according to him, she wrapped her arms around him and wouldn't let go when he tried to drop her off at the local chapel. He said that when she looked up at him with her big, shimmering eyes, he made the 'best bad decision' of his life."

Ri'vashi sat down with her meal at a nearby table, though did not start eating immediately, as she was too distracted with her reminiscing. "Ri'vashi doesn't think father ever thought he would have a daughter, or any family really. He had some friends; other lycans he knew, but nothing so close as a daughter. He was already a grumpy old man when he found this one. Well, perhaps not 'old' exactly, but he was getting older. That started to change not too long after he found this one. He formed what would eventually become our clan; perhaps because he wanted more stability for us."

---

Just as Fendros expected, Ahnasha was immediately uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Rhazii with Irenya. She was surprised he even made the suggestion, but she supposed he was trusting her more after she apparently spoke to him for whatever reason. Regardless, she voiced her disapproval. "I don't think Irenya would be a good idea for that."

Meesei actually agreed with Ahnasha, but for different, more practical reasons. "Irenya is a talented healer, and may be able to save lives during this attack. I believe she would be more helpful joining the warband. Perhaps another would be more suitable?"

Though not completely confident in her thoughts, Kaleeth did have one suggestion. Once everyone was quiet, she spoke up, albeit hesitantly. "I wish we didn't have to leave them behind, but it is better for keeping them safe. Maybe...well, we've made some friends since we've gotten to Elsweyr. Ra'kalesh's pride has been with us since the day we first arrived, and they've been with us through all of it. I...would trust any of them to at least do their best, I think."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Can I get a summary of what's happening? I'm still adjusting to my new job.

@Freeshooter92

I think you still need to have Grey guard the Naga from the bone spikes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi chuckled. "Well, this one may be their leader, but most of them are werelions, so we call ourselves a pride. That is one way in which we are different from the beasts on which our lycan forms are based. Animals do not tend to gather together with those outside their own kind, and indeed, it is against the instincts of our beast spirits, but as people, we can act against our own nature. This one's pride is seven strong, and consists of people of varying ranks. None of her pride are on her council, by the rules established by her father. The council works best if the leader views them as advisers instead of direct subordinates."

The pair reached the dining chamber shortly afterwards and started gathering their meals, though Ri'vashi continued the conversation. "Anyway, there are some born lycans within this one's clan. Perhaps not as many as some older clans, but some of our younger members were born in this stronghold. Some were born elsewhere, and joined us along with their families. Personally, Ri'vashi almost envies them. It would be the ideal way for new lycans to be created, rather than infection from an existing lycan. So many tragic experiences could be avoided that way. Is your family still safe back in the Bruma clan?"

---

With the answered she had received so far, Meesei showed some relief. Asking parents to separate from their children for an extended time was not easy, nor something she wanted to do, but it was perhaps necessary. "I was going to suggest that they stay here, yes. This time, our warband will consist only of those who are going to be needed for our attack. However, unless the enemy stronghold's defenses are significantly weaker than I am expecting, I can say that I would prefer to have you all with me. You are my pack, those who I trust, and that I know work together well. I worry it would endanger us to split ourselves apart for this attack. The reason I wanted to speak with you all was to ask if you would be comfortable leaving them here during that time. This should be a safe place for them, far more safe than they have been for the past few weeks. I would suggest that whoever is left here with them be someone who will not be needed in the attack."

Ahnasha was not exactly comfortable with the suggestion, but was too conflicted to outright protest. She looked down at Rhazii, along with Newt, who was sitting on the ground at Fendros' feet, looking up at Rhazii. Though it had been years, the tragedy that had occurred with Rhazii in Black Marsh was not something she would ever forget. It still weighed on her mind, and influenced her thoughts about leaving him behind now. Granted, they would be leaving him in the care of friends and allies, rather than a den of Vampires, but she still would not be able to see him for weeks.

"You want them to...stay here?" Ahnasha said, pausing for a deep breath. "Of course I don't want them to be with us out in danger, but...who exactly should we leave them with? What if it turns out we will need Gallus' pack? They are mostly warriors. Though...I would rather take that risk than leave Rhazii with someone I can't trust."