EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter grinned, pulling Sabine in closer for a hug. "You know, looking at you know, one would never guess what things used to be like for you. Even since we first met years ago, you've changed quite a lot. It's really impressive what you've managed to do with yourself. You're such an intelligent, capable woman. Who knows? Maybe I'm holding the future Champion of Hircine in my arms?"

"Anyway, as for right now, maybe we should just head back to our room, have some time alone?" Peiter suggested.

---

"It should not be long." Ri'vashi answered. "It can be difficult to get all of the clan's leadership away from their responsibilities at the same time. Some of Ri'vashi's lieutenants have important roles in the stronghold, but again, it should not be long."

Meesei gave a look towards Dro'cahi as well, or at least the man in the group she assumed to be him based on his description. "With the report the scouts gave, and all else we have learned, we cannot afford to let the opportunity we have go to waste. It will be easier if everyone is in agreement, but unless this Dro'cahi makes some very compelling arguments, we will be marching on the enemy stronghold."

It was not long before a few others entered the room, which, by the reaction of Ri'vashi, were the ones they had been waiting for. Dro'cahi noticed as well and motioned for the group with which he was speaking to take their seats. Seeing the movement, everyone else started to take their seats. The meeting would certainly begin shortly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once they were out of the room and had walked a short distance down the hall, Peiter breathed a sigh of relief. "Well...I do not think that went badly. It's not ideal, obviously, but it could have gone much worse. I do wish we could have changed his mind without making Ma'tanza angry, but I think he'll be able to handle it, and she doesn't seem too unreasonable about it. But you..." He began before stopping suddenly, putting his arms around Sabine's waist, and taking a few brief moments to give her a kiss. "You impressed me. With just a few words, I think you turned around all of his worries about Ma'tanza. I don't think I would have been able to do anything like that by myself."

Smiling, Peiter ran one hand through Sabine's hair. "I think you really helped him, and I really want to thank you for it. He is your friend too, I know, but he's still like a brother to me. I'm glad that he's going to be okay."

---

"That is quite alright." Ri'vashi answered. "We have no shortage of people capable to be message runners. You should have no trouble having his orders changed."

Moving to Gallus' other question, however, Ri'vashi became noticeably more uncomfortable. She made a subtle motion towards a group of people talking near the other side of the table, at the center of which was an older Suthay-raht man. "We may have to worry about this one's...usual opposition. Dro'cahi has voiced his displeasure at sending out such a large attack force even before you arrived, when the impostor ordered us to prepare our forces. He was not willing to to disobey what he thought was the Champion, but he certainly argued with her. Of course, the impostor was very quick to silence dissent, but the fact that we were fooled by her seems like it may have emboldened him. He, and some of the others, may push for a more cautious approach." She explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter was impressed with the cleverness of Sabine's response; he doubted that he could have come up with an argument so simple, yet so impactful. She was trying to get Tzirret to see the situation from Ma'tanza's perspective, so that he would see that it was not as serious as his mind was making it out to be. In truth, Peiter did not know what more he could add that would not seem like a simple afterthought. He had no advice better than what Sabine had given, so he simply decided to show his support.

"It seems like you know what to do then, brother." Peiter commented with a smile. "Just try to see the situation through her eyes. I wouldn't go chasing after her immediately, but you can give her some time to settle her mind, then speak to her. Until then, perhaps you should try to clear your own mind? Get some rest, or some dinner. Or, perhaps we could all go for a swim? That would be your choice." He offered.

---

As Gallus took a seat nearby, Meesei slid one of the illustrations the scouts had made of the enemy stronghold to him. "The news is encouraging, overall. I cannot claim this will be easy, but the defenses are not overwhelming. I have reviewed the reports, and it seems like they do not have a full contingent of defenders. Likely, some of their forces are away preparing for the ambush they were expecting to carry out on our forces. But, the walls themselves are strong, and they still have no shortage of soldiers at the ready to defend them. I doubt we will be able to afford a long siege, so we will need to find some way to breach quickly. There are some possible weaknesses, which we will go over in the meeting itself."

Ri'vashi nodded in agreement, but did look around the room with slight uncertainty. "As for the mood, it is not as universally positive. There is some tension over the prospect of dedicating so many of our soldiers to this fight. Even if our own defense was not a concern, we have not entered into combat of this scale before. Some of the others feel we stand to lose a lot if something goes wrong, and they may be correct in that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter went along with Sabine's lead. She started trying to relate to him, and he did not seem to be pushing back against her advice in any real way. At the very least, he was not angry for her trying to help. That meant he could be a bit more direct in trying to comfort him. Sabine started explaining some of what she had told him about her history with her pack, though he noticed she did not go into any details about Black Marsh. He guessed that was intentional, so he decided not to give away any more than she had. Afterwards, she directed a question towards Peiter, which he actually had to pause for a few moments to think about. He had, of course, worried about upsetting Sabine in the past, and had thought about what he might say to her. But, something specific to Sabine would not be helpful to Tzirret.

"Well...my first step would be to figure out how you really felt about whatever happened, and how you were feeling about me. When people are angry, they can say things they don't mean, and the things they mean, they don't say. I would wait until things cooled off, then just talk to you. Ask about what happened, and anything that might hint about what you're feeling. What about you, Sabine? If I were to anger you, what and you were still angry after an apology, what would you want me to do to make it up to you? Peiter asked.

---

Inside the meeting chamber, the crowd was starting to form. All of Ri'nakhad's lieutenants, and most of Ri'vashi's had arrived. Meesei had set her papers at the chair at the far end of the table, and had made sure there were copies of the important documents spread around the table. Meesei had asked both Gallus and Lorag to join in the meeting, and despite the rush he had been in, Gallus had not been the last to arrive, as they were still waiting on a few of Ri'vashi's lieutenants.

Meesei had taken her seat at the end of the table, though most everyone in the room was still standing, talking in groups among themselves. The last time Meesei had attended a meeting this large was when she was discussing the large scale strategy of lycan forces across Tamriel with the representatives of the clans back in Bruma. What was essentially the leadership of three clans were all gathered together in a single room, ready to plan for war. When she saw Gallus enter the chamber, Ri'vashi gave a nod to him. The meeting had not yet convened, so he was free to speak to anyone.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay, I've been doing some things. Do you happen to remember the name of that werevulture lieutenant?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter followed suit and stepped into the room just behind Sabine. He still was not exactly sure what to say, but luckily, Sabine started the conversation off for him. It did not produce much of a response from Tzirret, but it did at least give him a few more seconds to figure out how to approach him. He tried to think of anything he might do that could accidentally come across as trying to "parent" Tzirret, as if he were a child. He sat down in the same chair Gallus had, across from his bed.

"I...know you can handle this, Tzirret. Ma'tanza doesn't seem too upset; I think at the heart of it, she was mostly concerned. Still, you haven't been with anyone before like this, so if you want any advice, maybe we could help?" Peiter offered.

---

Elsewhere in the stronghold, Meesei was getting ready for the meeting. Herself, Ri'vashi, Ri'nakhad, all of their lieutenants, the leader of the scouting team, and some of Meesei's companions were all going to be in attendance. In this meeting, they were going to review the scouts' report, and make the final decision on what forces they were going to commit to the attack, and when. Meesei had a rather thick stack of maps, notes, and other documents in her bag, and she had ordered copies made of some of the more important documents. She went ahead and made her way to the meeting chamber, which was going to be rather full as soon as everyone arrived.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Normally, Peiter would have offered to help Tzirret without hesitation, but listening to the prior conversation, he wondered if that was a good idea. The whole issue that Tzirret had been attempting to address with his actions was that he wanted to stop himself from being seen as a coward that was entirely dependent on others. The last thing Peiter wanted to do at the moment was to accidentally treat him like a child. "I...don't know." Peiter whispered to Sabine. "The reason this happened was because Tzirret wanted to show that he isn't a child; that he can take care of himself. If I go in there trying to comfort him, what if he just sees it as an example of how we don't think he can take care of himself? I want to make sure he knows that I think he can handle this situation himself."

Despite his reasoning, Peiter ran his hands down his face in his uncertainty. "But, on the other hand, everyone needs the support of their friends and family at least occasionally. There's nothing abnormal, or coward-like about leaning on your friends for support when you need it. But will Tzirret know that? I just...don't want to make anything worse." He explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's fine. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza pressed her fingers against her temple, lowering her head and closing her eyes as she thought. "Okay...good. This one just wants you to keep yourself safe. You should be honest with Ma'tanza. She has always been used to boys trying to lie to her and manipulate her. Always trying to find the definite way to impress her. You have always been honest with Ma'tanza, until now. Just...this one needs to get back to her work. She still has more potions to make for the day. This one...will talk to you later."

While they had not exactly "made up", Ma'tanza was not nearly as emotionally charged as she was when she first stepped into the room. She had not specifically accepted his apology, but she did not do anything to suggest she would not forgive him. She gave a brief nod to Peiter and Sabine as she walked out of the room, though Peiter was not quite certain what she meant by it. She could have been thanking them, or perhaps just acknowledging that she was done. In any case, there was an awkward silence between the remaining three, as Peiter certainly did not know what he could say.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Well, I used to think Tzirret was a few years older. I placed her in the 17-18 range