EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Very well, if we are all in agreement, then I believe there is nothing more for us to do here. I understand you all have your duties, and do not wish to keep you from them any longer than necessary. The march will begin in three days time, on Sundas morning. If any other concerns arise in that time, feel free to speak to myself or Ri'vashi." Meesei stated, effectively ending the meeting. There were still more decisions left to be made regarding the attack itself, but those would be the concern of the war leaders that were taking part in the attack, not the rest of the council. They would all meet at a later time to discuss their strategy for the attack.

With the meeting adjourned, the majority of the council started to get up from their seats and make their way out of the room, while a few lingered only briefly to speak with their peers. Ri'vashi, however, did not stand immediately. Instead, she remained where she was, her eyes focused on the documents in front of her. Though, she did not actually seem to be focusing on them. She was trapped in her thoughts, which at the moment, were only serving to reinforce her doubt at her choices.

---

Peiter returned the kiss as much as he could without moving. Although, at this point, he doubted that it would matter if he moved slightly, since La'khay was doing any precise styling. "And I mean every word of it. Of course, that's true for all of my compliments."

"See La'tahne, these two are just so cute. Young love has to be this one's favorite kind of love." La'khay remarked. She finished up trimming the hair on Peiter's torso in short order, then move on to his groin. That was, of course, the point where he became exceptionally tense. He had been anticipating it, but that still did not stop a cocktail of awkward, embarrassed emotions from flooding into his mind.

"I, uh, oh..." Peiter stammered, looking to Sabine nervously. Aside from embarrassment, he held no shortage of nervousness at the fact that she was using a knife on the hair.

La'khay seemed to ignore Peiter's fear and simply continued with the conversation. "It truly is good to see you two happy together. You both will look quite nice after this. How was that day by the river, anyway? You had such passion for one another; did your first time together live up to your expectations? How long did it last?" La'khay asked, to which Peiter had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He had started to wonder when La'khay would get back to the embarrassing questions.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Dro'cahi gave a simple answer, though not necessarily a straightforward one. "Dro'cahi has nothing more to say." He answered. His tone was unemotional, though one could see in his demeanor that he might have been hiding his true thoughts on the matter. He did not specifically say that he had no more complaints, so it was possible that he was just choosing not to attempt to fight those battles at the moment. Dro'cahi had told Gallus that he had not expected to get any results from his arguments at the meeting, so he may not have wanted to risk losing the gains he had already made.

Those lieutenants who were in support of Dro'cahi followed his lead and gave no objections, though ironically, it was one of Ri'vashi's supporters, an Ohmes-raht woman, that spoke up first. "But...clan leader, you said before that this coin was instrumental to build up an impenetrable defense. What will happen to our current expansion project?"

"Those funds were vital, yes." Ri'vashi answered with no hesitation. "But, we are now very well stocked on those supplies. The clan's defenders will not need new weapons and armor at the same rate as they will need food and water. This sacrifice will have minimal impact on our defense. As for the expansion of our stronghold, Ri'vashi would recommend placing it on hold, even if we did not make this change. With so many of our warriors away, we will not need the extra space, and it would be best to focus on the defense of the stronghold during the march, rather than its expansion."

The woman seemed to accept the explanation, and the others followed with only silence. As such, Meesei decided to speak up and ask for final, clear confirmation of the plan from the council. "As there seem to be no more objections, does everyone agree to the plan laid out in these reports, along with Ri'vashi's proposal. Does everyone agree to the number of warriors we are dedicating to this assault, and the projected length of time for which it will last?"

There was only a brief pause before the ethereal voice of the Pahmar-raht lieutenant, Ra'jorr, answered. "Champion, this one's warriors will follow you to the ends of Nirn and back. He does not even need to give them the order, for between their thirst for revenge against the enemy that killed so many of their brothers and sisters, and their gratitude to you and your companions, they all seek our enemy's destruction with an unquestioning fervor.'

Following Ra'jorr's impassioned answer, Ri'nakhad gave a simple nod in agreement. "You have the full support of the Senchal clan, Champion."

Despite her apprehension about sacrificing her own clan's defense, Ri'vashi answered in agreement as well, followed shortly by Dro'cahi, and each of the other council members afterwards. Some were more enthusiastic than others, but none were showing any outward signs of opposition.

---

"That is so sweet." La'khay responded with a smile. "This one could tell just by watching you two that he was good for you. And you, Peiter? What do you love about your beautiful mate?"

Peiter would have turned to smile at Sabine as well, if it were not necessary for him keep looking straight ahead. Both of them had given each other plenty of compliments before, but to hear her say such things about him to someone else was flattering. He had expected that La'khay would ask him the very same question, so he had given it some thought and was able to answer more quickly. "Well, there are a lot of things I love about Sabine, and it's hard to pick something that I love about her the most, but I'm going to say honesty. People lie to each other, a lot. And not just about big things, but small things as well. People give compliments they don't mean, or change the way they say things just enough to help themselves, but Sabine...I really feel she is honest with me. If she says something nice about me, I know she means it. If something is wrong, I know she'll tell me honestly. I really like that."

As Peiter was giving his answer, La'khay finished her work on his hair. Since it was shorter, it did not take as long for her to trim and style. His hair was now sleek and even, with hardly a single strand of hair out of place. She started moving on to trimming his body hair, starting with his chest. Compared to Sabine, his body hair was obviously much more significant, but since she only needed to trim it down as short as possible, it would not be complicated work.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With the metaphorical push from Gallus, Ri'vashi was at least forced to acknowledge that she was the one that was meant to speak. "Yes, just...thinking on how to present this." She muttered. After another deep breath, she looked down the table, specifically towards Dro'cahi. "Gallus and the Champion have recommended to this one a course of action to help alleviate the...stresses this march may place on the clan's morale. As this one's council knows, the clan takes a percentage of all gold coming into the stronghold to buy supplies necessary for the clan's operation. Since our stronghold currently has an...adequate surplus of most of these supplies, this one proposes reducing the percentage taken to allow more gold to be available to the clan's members for private purchases."

The members of the Senchal clan of course had little reaction to Ri'vashi's proposal, but virtually all of Ri'vashi's council, regardless of who they supported, showed a measure of surprise at the sudden proposal. Evidently, such decision were not something that Ri'vashi was known for."

Dro'cahi's demeanor did not betray whatever emotions he might have been feeling, and his response was calm and professional. "Dro'cahi can support this proposition." He said simply.

---

Peiter let out a rather long sigh. "You...are not wrong, but I have a feeling you just want to have something to laugh at. Fine, I'll do it, but just because I want to see you smile." He answered, which produced a smile from La'khay as she motioned for him to take a seat, then started on his hair. His was much shorter than Sabine's...at least on his head, so she did not have as many options. But, she did not seem to approach him with any less confidence.

"So, how has everything been going for you two? Are you happy together? This one knows you are certainly cute together. The perfect Breton couple. What would you say you love the most about him, Sabine?" La'khay asked curiously.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi lowered her head, sighing lightly. We may as well give everyone the announcement." She answered simply. She said no more, instead losing herself in thought for the remainder of the wait until their break was over.

Little else occurred as they waited for everyone to take their seats at the table once more. Meesei attempted to speak to Lorag briefly, but even she could hardly coax any words out of him. Evidently, he was taking the idea that this enemy general could be his same commander from years ago very seriously. It was rare to see Lorag so quiet, but Meesei could do little at the moment to try to calm any worries he might have. Once the fifteen minutes had passed, Meesei gave the word for any not yet sitting to return to their chairs.

"Now that we are all here, this meeting shall reconvene. I trust you were all able to review the documents provided, and get a clearer picture of the situation we are in. Now, it is my understanding that there is a new proposal to be brought forward to the table." Meesei explained. She looked to Ri'vashi expectantly, but unfortunately, it seemed that the Cathay was having trouble actually making the suggestion herself. Ri'vashi appeared as if she were at the edge of speaking, but there was an immense level of doubt in her expression.

---

As La'khay finished up her work on Sabine, she reached up and gave Sabine a pat on the shoulder. "Well, it's hardly like La'khay is going to force you to do it. This is your painting, not hers. She is just glad to have the chance to do this for you. And to have the time to speak with you both, of course. La'khay helped you get the confidence to mate your first time, and she is eager to learn how your relationship is going."

Standing back up, La'khay turned and looked over Peiter. "Now, shall we get this handsome Breton trimmed up as well?"

Immediately, Peiter's eyes widened, and he raised up his hands almost reflexively. "I, uh, I don't...know..." She stammered, turning his gaze to Sabine with a mix of fear and uncertainty. "Do you want me to..."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi still showed obvious discomfort at the suggestion of making changes to her defensive strategies, but she was far less willing to get into a heated argument with the Champion and Gallus than she was with Dro'cahi. "Ri'vashi does not...like this. She thinks it is a mistake to weaken our defenses for this. How can she make such a choice? With most of our warriors on a march, this will be the time that the clan most needs its food reserves, and with the number of defenders reduced, the people may need the training. No, it has to be something else. Something else Dro'cahi has been wanting. Let Ri'vashi think..."

Conflicting thoughts raced through Ri'vashi's mind, rapidly weight the pros and cons of giving in to any of the complaints Dro'cahi had been making. She was not confident, but she did at least come up with an answer. "Dro'cahi has been asking this one to let go of more coin to the people. The clan takes a reasonable amount of all gold coming into the clan and devotes it to strengthening the clan as a whole, but Dro'cahi has been trying to say that the percentage is too high. What we don't put towards food, we mostly put towards weapons, armor, and other supplies for the warriors. But, we do have a good store of all of those items now, so changing that would not be too harmful. At least in the short term."

---

"Nervous isn't the word I would use exactly; I think it would be a whole other kind of uncomfortable." Peiter answered. As much as he liked being close to Sabine, and especially as much as he loved mating with her, he had to admit that posing for that kind of a painting would be more unusual than pretty much anything he had done before. La'khay had finished trimming Sabine's armpits, was nearly finished with her groin, and woudl only need to trim her legs before she would be finished. Afterwards, Peiter was not sure if La'khay would want to do the same to him, and was slowly becoming more nervous about that thought.

La'khay still did not seem to be deterred by the answers she was receiving. She was not exactly pushing the issue, but she was still staying on the topic. "Well, you would only need to hold one pose, and La'tahne could step out. You can have any painting you want, of course. This is for you to have something to remember this moment by. Something you can hold onto to remind you of what it was like when your love was first blossoming. La'khay just thought that would be the most romantic painting she could make. But, she would not want to do anything that would make you unhappy with the final product."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi continued to hesitate in her answer. She looked straight ahead, with growing frustration in her expression. Gallus was correct in that she had gone through this argument with Dro'cahi many, many times before, but he had not asked these questions. Gallus was asking her to quickly come up with a solution to a long-standing problem within the clan, but her mind was coming up empty.

"Ri'vashi...doesn't know." She answered, almost growling in her tone. "We have gone over a year without an answer to that question; at least not one that will not sacrifice our defense. Ri'vashi has tried making the purpose of the drills more clear, she has tried making public reports on how much extra time our food stores would give us during an attack, but that only seemed to make them more discontented. The way they think does not make sense. It is like the war itself is unacceptable to them, but you know as well as Rivashi that we cannot choose to be uninvolved in this war. There is nothing Ri'vashi can do. Would you really think it worthwhile to stop training our people, or stop rationing as diligently, just out of convenience?" She said, as if it was obvious that those measures were necessary. To Meesei, it seemed as if she did not understand that her clan was over-prepared.

---

La'khay's expression appeared to be almost genuinely confused at Sabone's question. "Well, of course not." She answered confidently. "Why would she be? It's just another way to enjoy yourself, like kissing your mate. It can be very romantic between two people that share genuine love for one another, but La'khay doesn't see it as any different from any other kind of affection. Back when she worked at the brothel, La'khay would sometimes mate with many people at once; it was just part of her job. La'khay might understand being nervous around strangers, but you would be nervous in front of friends too?"

Meanwhile, Peiter was simply obverving La'khay at work with Sabine's hair. He had not watched her at work before, back in Pelletine, so he was curious to see how she had made Sabine look so exquisite. This time, she did not have any special alchemical concoction to aid her, but La'khay could still do quite a lot with just some water, her claws, and a knife. Peiter was impressed with how quickly she was able to straighten out Sabine's hair to be near perfectly even and elegantly styled. Soon enough, La'khay was able to finish with the hair on her head, and move to trimming down her body hair. As for the conversation, Peiter found La'khay's opinions on the matter to be...interesting, to say the least. He had never met anyone who treated it so casually.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Again, Ri'vashi was surprised, though for a different reason this time. Gallus' new line of questioning seemed to have genuinely caught her off-guard. For a few moments, there was silence as she had to think of how to actually respond. "Um...well, this one is sure you know that there is no way to keep morale at its maximum during wartime. At least, no way that would be worth the tradeoff. Of course, Ri'vashi wants to improve the people's morale. She wants them to be happy, just like Dro'cahi does, but she doesn't want them to lose their safety. They don't all recognize how much their sacrifices help to keep them safe, but Ri'vashi has to make the unpopular decisions for their own good. To improve their morale...Ri'vashi wants to show them what their sacrifices do to help them. If they can see clearly what we are doing for them, surely they will be more understanding. If we can succeed in this attack, it will make them feel safer."

With the new information Gallus had brought by speaking to Dro'cahi, Meesei had her own comments to add. "That is not always how people work. Actually, it is quite rare to encounter someone with that level of pragmatism. People like you and I are prepared to make any sacrifices necessary to achieve our goals, but you have to remember that their goals are not the same as ours. Where we want to defeat our enemy, they simply want to survive, and live as comfortably a possible. Many lycans did not choose this life, and want something at least close to their old ones. It is not ideal for defense, true, but it is what we have to contend with."

---

As soon as she saw that Sabine was in agreement, La'khay grabbed the bucket of water she intended to use to clean her brushes, which was still perfectly clean and clear at this point, and set it down next to one of the chairs. She motioned for Sabine to take a seat, grabbed one of Peiter's knives from the room, and used it in conjunction with her claws to start cutting some of the uneven strands of hair on Sabine's head.

La'khay had no issue conversing as she worked on Sabine's hair, as she found it to be quite an easy task, even while multitasking. "Oh, you didn't insult La'khay. Although, she doesn't really understand why mating is so taboo to people. This one never had any problems mating in front of her friends at the brothel. La'khay just wants you to have a nice painting, and she thought it would be nice. She did not want to offend you or anything. Anyway, the painting might require us have another session or two, just so you don't get bored sitting for too long. Don't worry, this one will make sure it is done before the march starts." La'khay answered, pausing briefly before adding one last comment. "Out of curiosity, why do you think you aren't comfortable mating in front of others?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi's concern turned to skepticism rather quickly as Gallus started to give details on the compromise. Her gaze became tense, and increasingly uncertain overall. "Ri'vashi is...surprised at you, Gallus. This one was sure you, of all people, would understand the need for these measures. We cannot afford to be caught without supplies, or otherwise unprepared. If we do not ration, then we will not last as long against an enemy attack. This stronghold can indeed hold off an army magnitudes larger than the defending force within, but that can only last as long as the people can be fed. As much as Ri'vashi would like it to be so, we cannot grow enough food within the stronghold's walls to support everyone. And the training...what could we possibly gain by stopping it? The people need to know what to do if our clan is attacked. Combat training may not be enjoyable, but it could save their lives if something goes wrong. It seems like everything Dro'cahi wants to do is designed to make us more vulnerable to attack." She protested.

---

Peiter grinned at Sabine. "Well, it's certainly a lot better than her first idea. Those kinds of...activities, I'd rather keep all to ourselves." Peiter answered quietly before continuing in a more normal voice. "Should we just stand here and kiss, or..."

"Hmm, well first, La'khay would like to get you fixed up. You're already clean, so she can just get your hair ready, and maybe trim up your body hair again. You'll hopefully have this painting to look back on for years to come, so you want to look as good as possible, yes? Besides that, you can just stand and embrace one another however you like. Or you can pull up a chair and sit down for it. That might be easier for you." La'khay suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Given Gallus' apparent mood, Ri'vashi seemed hopeful once he returned. She became even more interested, and quite obviously surprised, when he actually mentioned some sort of compromise. "Wait...really? You actually managed to get Dro'cahi to agree to something? This one has faced nothing but resistance from him for months. You must either be an expert negotiator, or have Nocturnal's luck. It is almost hard for this one to believe, but..."

Ri'vashi leaned onto the table, giving her gaze carrying a bit more concern. "You say this will be a 'bit of work.' What does that mean, in this case? What kind of compromise is he wanting to make? This one can hardly think of any significant things he has wanted over the past few months that wouldn't compromise our defenses in some way."

---

La'khay rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Oh, fine. No one will ever agree to that, except Colors. This one does not understand why people are so...timid about this. La'khay used to mate in front of others all the time. Ah, well we could still do something romantic, at least. What about painting you two in a loving embrace? Something that really captures your passion for one another. Would you mind holding onto him in a kiss for a while? Or do you have another idea?"

La'tahne, meanwhile, was laughing silently at the exchange for a short time before standing up from the bed and walking over to La'khay, placing her hand gently on her back. "If you can find her a partner, La'tahne wouldn't mind such a passionate painting...or we could be the subjects, if you can find another painter."

Peiter was obviously surprised with La'tahne's offer to La'khay, though with how the pair of Khajiit acted, he honestly was not sure if it confirmed anything about their relationship. Regardless, he was starting to become more comfortable with La'khay's suggestions for the painting.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“You wish to know more about Dro’cahi? He was a friend to Ennond for almost the entire time we were in High Rock, yes.” Dro’cahi answered. “Ennond was like a brother to this one, and the others in our sleuth. Our group was…much smaller back then. We had known each other for years before he found Ri’vashi, but we did not truly band together as a single group until a few months afterwards. No doubt it was her presence that made that decision for him; he had always said beforehand that he preferred to live alone.”

With his reminiscing, Dro’cahi briefly became less focused on Gallus, and more absorbed in his own thoughts. Although, it only lasted a few moments before he brought himself back into reality. “But…that is all ancient history by now. You want to know about the current state of our clan. Dro’cahi has been a lieutenant in this clan for as long as it has existed. This one and Atadia, the Redguard woman at the table over there, are the only ones from Ennond’s original council who still serve as the clan’s leaders. Two have passed on, and the rest simply decided to retire from the stresses of leadership. Dro’cahi’s official role in the clan, other than serving as a member of the council, is to handle the logistics of trading for our supplies, and to oversee any building or repair projects we may undertake. But, he also serves an an…intermediary between the clan’s leaders and its people. He tries to protect their interests, and give them the best lives he can.”
---
La’khay simply started to laugh as she waved her hand towards Sabine lightheartedly. “Oh, don’t be silly. La’khay isn’t asking you to mate right in front of her or anything. There is no way that would work for a painting, especially after you just finished mating. No, you would just need to act like you’re mating!” She explained, speaking as if she did not recognize that there was anything fundamentally wrong with her request.

Again, Peiter could not help but to internally laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Though, his expression showed some measure of confusion and embarrassment when La’khay mentioned what they had just finished doing before they went down to the pools to bathe. He wondered how she could possibly know about that, but a few sniffs of the air answered that question. They had not actually cleaned the room before they left. Regardless, he tried not to think about that particular embarrassment and focus on the matter at hand. La’khay was quite good at finding ways to embarrass others, but at least she was not intentionally malicious about it.