EliteCommander

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose- Catacombs

---

Ssarak did not waste any time as he saw Khan approaching. When he had sent his doppelganger to Khan as a messenger, he could not change the message it delivered after it moved too far away, and it had warned that Tyrael was a possible danger. He had recognized that there was a possibility that they could talk Tyrael down, which would still leave Khan expecting a fight. But, at the time, Ssarak had felt that would be a preferable problem to face than to be forced to face down Tyrael with no help in sight. At the very least, Ssarak had thought about what he was going to say and reacted quickly to defuse the situation before any problems started.

Before Tyrael had even had a chance to speak, Ssarak had already sent a telepathic message to Khan: ”We managed to talk him down. He saw reason once we all spoke up. The danger has passed, or at least the danger from Tyrael. A master Vitamancer also attacked us, and may still be in the area. I can explain everything I witnessed regarding Tyrael, but I can understand that you may not wish to discuss it in the presence of the Naga. They are survivors from Mesa Gaan, and both they, and some of the students, received injuries from the ridge hounds we were fighting. Fortunately, Tyrael did not actually harm any of us.”

Since the headmaster possessed powerful wards that Ssarak would not even attempt to break, for multiple reasons, he could not read into Khan’s mind for any response that the headmaster might have unless he specifically allowed Ssarak into his mind. Regardless, as long as he could deliver his message, the situation could hopefully resolve peacefully.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Through Sabine’s explanation, Ma’tanza quickly started to show surprise, moreso than Peiter had been expecting. She had known that Tzirret was joining in the battle, but once she learned that he was doing so willingly, she immediately stopped her work on her potion and looked at Sabine with widened eyes.

For a few moments, Ma’tanza was silent in her confusion until she spoke up hesitantly. “Wait…do you mean he doesn’t have to join in the fight? And he actually refused to stay back in safety when you tried to talk to him? So he can try to protect his friends?”

Again, there was a pause, and Peiter again noticed something he was not expecting. He had anticipated that she might be worried about him, but she started to narrow her eyes and bare her teeth. She tightened her grip on the edge of the table, raking her claws across its surface. “Ma’tanza very much wants to talk to Tzirret. Can you help her find him?” She asked with unmistakable emotion. It was possible that she was concerned about Tzirret, but what was showing through her demeanor at the moment was the fact that she was angry.

---

La'tahne nodded graciously. "It was no trouble, Gallus. La'tahne will serve in whatever way she can; she just wishes she could ply her trade under less unsavory circumstances. People tend to be afraid of going under this one's knife. Ah, but anyway, why is it that you think this one and La'khay were so destined to meet? There are many people in this clan now."

La'khay started to laugh. "This one thinks you know the answer to that, La'tahne. Though we just met, La'khay can already see you are a woman after her own heart. Though, this one does wonder if Gallus had his own, more...selfish reasons for wanting us to meet one another? Perhaps he wants to stay around with us after he speaks to Tzirret?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza made room for Sabine at her table, glad for the help. Sabine was easily more knowledgeable than herself in matters of alchemy, so she started paying close attention to Sabine's mixtures as she continued her own work. Though, it was not long before Sabine moved on to the true reason they had sought her out. Ma'tanza's ears lowered noticeably with the mention of Tzirret, and the attack. "This one knows he is coming; he told Ma'tanza earlier. We talked about the attack, and what Ma'tanza should do. This one's sister is going to be on the front lines, which is terrifying to Ma'tanza. She was thinking about joining her to help protect her, but Tzirret convinced this one it would be better to stay back and help the wounded. This one should not be in such a battle. She only wishes Tzirret could do the same. He told Ma'tanza that his alpha ordered him on the march, but she hopes Tzirret can convince him to let him stay back, perhaps with Ma'tanza? This one did take some time to teach him about anatomy." She explained.

---

La'tahne continued to smile. "Oh, this one is a face sculptor. She can change a person's face to look like anything within reason. Almost like carving a sculpture. She can make an ugly man handsome, and a handsome man flawless. It is an art, and your face would be a good canvas. So young, free of scars and the years of stress found on anyone older. It would be enjoyable. But, that was just an observation; this matter with the attack is much more serious."

La'khay's gaze, for a few moments, was fixated on La'tahne in much the same way as she had been looking at her. But, she remained focused on the conversation. "Yes, aside from your handsome face, it does not sound like your friends to treat you badly. But, this one supposes she wasn't there. Are they angry with you too, or did they just upset you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza's ears perked up once she heard Sabine's voice. She was surprised briefly at the interruption, but smiled as she looked at Sabine, and Peiter behind her. "Oh, hello. This one is making healing and magic resistance potions. The warriors are going to need the protection for the attack, and Ma'tanza will need the healing potions to help treat the wounded. Hopefully, she will not need to use many of them. Are you going to make something as well? This one does like to watch you work; she always learns something."

Peiter did not speak up yet, other than to return Ma'tanza's greeting. Like with Gallus, he did not yet know how Ma'tanza felt about Tzirret joining the fight, or if she even knew. It could be that she fully supported him, in which case they might have a difficult time persuading her.

---

La'khay gave Tzirret a skeptical gaze. "That does sound an awful lot like you're doing it for pride. La'khay doesn't necessarily think there is anything wrong with trying to build up your pride, this one just wouldn't do anything dangerous for it. Anyway, La'khay won't tell you not to, but...why do you think your friends are wanting you out of the fight? You're obviously upset with them for it, but what do you think their motivation is? Do you think they want to do something good, or do you think they don't respect you?"

La'tahne finally broke her silence after reaching out and pacing a hand sympathetically on his shoulder. "It is hard to believe anyone wouldn't respect someone like you. You seem to be a kind and handsome man. This one would just love to work on your face."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter let Sabine take the lead in searching for Ma'tanza, looking in the closest spots first. She was not in the common areas, nor in the training room. Neither of them were completely sure on exactly where Ma'tanza's room was, so it would take a while to locate her if she was there, but luckily, they eventually managed to find her in one of the more research-oriented rooms that the clan's mages tended to use. It appeared as if she was doing something alchemical, though Peiter could not tell at a glance what exactly she was doing.

Ma'tanza was focused on her work, and facing away from the entrance, so she did not notice the pair enter. Peiter gave a brief nod to Sabine to let her be the one to say something first, as she was more familiar with Ma'tanza, and would be able to recognize if whatever Ma'tanza was mixing was something that could be interrupted.

---

"That is...a bit of a specific question." La'khay commented with a slight amount of uncertainty. "La'khay is not a competitive person, and she has never really felt the need to prove herself to others. She had some competitions with some other girls in the brothel, but she was never upset with herself if she lost. People have said a lot of bad things about this one, but she lives her life as she wants. There is always someone who will judge you poorly no matter what you do, so you shouldn't worry about upsetting people. La'khay might compete with someone for fun, but never just to prove herself. What reason do you think it is that you want to fight? Is it more for your friends, or just for your pride?"

La'tahne remained silent as Tzirret and La'khay spoke, but she was obviously taking more of an interest in La'khay the longer the conversation went on. Her gaze was curious, and Tzirret might notice her staring at La'khay.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Day 3, 20:47- 20:48 GST|~

~|Location: Mos Eisley, Docking Area (District 5), Fa-Val-Kuul|~

Given the types of people that could commonly be found on these kinds of near-lawless, backwater planets, Fa had an idea of how she could blend in. Trying to be kind would either paint her as an off-worlder they might take advantage of, or just make the street urchins suspicious of her actual motives. In a place like Tatooine, everyone was working for their own benefit, so she just had to make it believable that the children could do something useful for her which would make it worthwhile for her to actually speak to them. She had to turn this encounter into a business transaction. Whether someone was in the badlands of Tatooine, or the heart of Coruscant, business was a force that anyone could recognize.

“My name is not important; nor is your attempted theft. Do not attempt to lie to me, because I do not care. If I did, you would already be missing a hand. No, you have something that I want: information. I know, because I can smell it on you.” Fa answered. She reached up to her hood and pulled it back slightly, so that her face was still mostly obscured, but her sizable snout was visible to them.

Reaching into her cloak, Fa grabbed one of her credit chips, though she did not yet reveal it to the urchins. “You carry a scent, and a fresh one at that. Her name is Jeik, a Twi’lek, green-skinned. She is known to frequent this place, along with a bar named Fel’kaw, and a certain pawn shop. You encountered her recently. Take me to her, and I will pay you. Twenty credits, no questions, no tricks. Once it is done, then we never saw each other. Is that a deal?”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter nodded in agreement. "I've never known Tzirret to disobey a direct order from Gallus, or anyone, really. But, he's been doing a lot of things that I've never known him for recently. Not to mention, he might end up panicking if he sees someone he knows in danger. Honestly, it still might be best to keep him away from the fight, even as a messenger, if we can't be sure that he will listen. If getting Ma'tanza to talk to him doesn't work, that is."

The pair started to walk along, but Peiter was quickly at a loss for where to actually go. "I, uh, don't really know where to begin to look for her, though. I haven't seen her in my daily routine since we got here, except for once or twice at breakfast or dinner. She's not a warrior, so I suppose she has different responsibilities. I think I'll let you lead the way, being that you two know each other a bit better."

---

La'khay's confusion subsided, and instead was replaced by concern. His clarification was much more believable than the idea that his friends would call him a coward. Though, she could not admit to knowing what kind of advice she should give him. "Well...no one can say you are a coward. La'khay would be terrified to be anywhere close to that battlefield during this attack. Hundreds of people on both sides, arrows and spells flying everywhere. It would be easy to get killed by pure bad luck. Even La'khay's bravest of friends, Do'ajee, is nervous about it. La'khay...she loves everything about warriors, except the wars they fight. Our soldiers are brave in mind, noble in purpose, and beautiful in their physical forms. Seeing them all together with their shining metal weapons and imposing sets of armor is almost majestic. But, when they go to actually fight, they tear each other to pieces. Beautiful faces are ruined by scars, strong and healthy bodies are mangled by crippling injuries. It is such a waste. This one can see why you would want to protect your friends from that, but then again, they probably feel the same way. This one...does not know what to tell you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter raised his brow briefly upon the mention of a mission, but did not correct Gallus. He supposed a mission was also a reasonable explanation for why Gallus would be so exhausted, though he had little idea what kind of mission he could have been on for a single day, in the middle of the desert. But, he supposed he did not need to know.

"Any time." Peiter answered to Gallus as they all stepped out of the room. He guessed Gallus would be heading to the dining chamber, so he and Sabine were free to find Ma'tanza, or just go about their day. Reaching over to her, Peiter grabbed Sabine's hand and actually started to smile. "I think that went as well as it could have. I didn't think about Tzirret being a messenger. It wouldn't exactly be safe, but he would be safer than almost anyone else in a battle."

---

La'khay appeared to have some honest confusion at Tzirret's comments. Her eyes narrowed, her ears perked up attentively, and she gave him a questioning look. "Really? That does not seem right. Which friends are you talking about? Sabine, Ma'tanza, or someone La'khay has not met? That doesn't sound like something they would say. This one has heard others say you have been getting braver, and she has seen it herself. What do you want to do to help them? This one can think of plenty of things you might do to help the warriors."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While he did not envy anyone who had to live in a "militarized" clan, Peiter supposed that he was glad they had the extra warriors available. Thinking about it, he reasoned that more clans across Tamriel might be forced to adopt such a philosophy, even if it would not be popular.

Peiter brought a hand up to his chin, pausing to think for a moment. "Well, I haven't been looking at the sun today, but I think it was noon a few hours ago. It's still daylight, at least. Um...have you been sleeping all day? That's, uh, not like you, honestly. Did something keep you up...oh, nevermind." He said quickly. Knowledge of Meesei and Gallus' plan with the prisoner had only been shared among the bare minimum number of people, so Peiter was unaware that Gallus had been away the previous night at all. Even for Peiter, Gallus' reputation was one of the first thoughts to come to mind for what might keep him up through the night, so he assumed that Gallus' exhaustion came from less "professional" acts.

---

La'khay chuckled. "Well, you haven't changed that much, this one sees. La'khay has been learning about this clan, meeting its people, and trying to find ways to be helpful. This one does not know how much she can offer beyond her company, though. All of the important jobs that La'khay knows how to do are overflowing with volunteers from this one's clan. And everyone seems so...serious. Like soldiers. La'khay has even tried offering to decorate people's rooms, or make a painting for them, without anything in return, but no one seems to want to take the time."

"Yes, La'tahne knows what you mean." She interjected. "There has been so much of a focus on efficiency here in the last few years. For preparation, and survival. Well, there are still people who would accept those offers, but less than La'tahne would like. This one is just glad she still has her garden. But, it is certainly nice to meet a beautiful person who appreciates beautiful things."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, well, everything has been fine for me." Peiter answered. He was caught off-guard briefly by the conversation being directed towards himself, but he now found himself in a much better mood now that he knew for certain that Gallus agreed with him. "I just finished training for the day not long ago. I've been sparring with some of the Orcrest clan's warriors. They're...tough. You can tell they've been preparing for war. I think the clan leader herself may be involving herself in their training; some of their techniques seemed a bit familiar. Really, this whole place just has that...military feel. Part of it is the style of the stonework I think, but everything is organized, apart from the places the Senchal clan has crowded into. And there seem to be more fighters compared to the Senchal clan, even accounting for their numbers."

Now with a bit of curiosity, Peiter turned his head to Sabine. "Have you noticed anything like that with the mages, or alchemists?"

---

La'tahne was quick to smile at Tzirret's praise. "Thank you. This one puts a lot of work into making this place look just right. Even with all the troubles people have to worry about, La'tahne thinks people like to have a peaceful place to relax. Working here is more enjoyable than the time she has to spend helping grow food. All that matters there is efficiency."

"You do seem to have an eye for beauty." La'khay commented before looking back to Tzirret. "Anyway, it is good to hear you are happy with her. La'khay was hoping her advice would help you. This one did not expect that everything you did would be perfect; no one ever is. But, she knew you would try hard enough to be successful. Ma'tanza is kind, and lively girl with a warm heart and voluptuous figure. Is she enjoyable to talk to? How skilled is she in bed?" La'khay asked. Predictably, her line of questioning did not take long to move to the physical aspects of a relationship, of which La'tahne quickly took notice.