EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi was not quite at the point where she would be willing to outright attack Gallus, but she did stand to her feet, her towering form looking down on Gallus. "This one...finds it hard to believe that the entire council would say such things about her. At the very least, you did not have time to question them all. Still, war is what Ri'vashi has trained for. Ri'vashi may have been too hasty in judging herself so harshly in that regard. Even if she is not qualified to lead this clan, she will at least ply her expertise in this attack. Just...do not treat Ri'vashi like a child, Gallus. You have been a friend to Ri'vashi ever since your arrival, and she can forgive the offense, but this one will not be demeaned."

Closing her eyes once more, Ri'vashi gave a long, frustrated sigh. "Ri'vashi needs to spar. Just...something simple. Do you intend to join her for that?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi's reaction to Gallus' sudden, and surprising demand was not what one would call positive. After her initial shock passed, she looked up at him with something of a glare. Most certainly, she did not follow his instructions. Instead, she remained seated, but straightened up her posture.

"Excuse this one? What is it you are trying to do, Gallus? You may be a companion of the Champion...but only the Champion herself can make demands of a clan leader." Ri'vashi responded, taking up an assertive tone.

---

Peiter was not sure exactly what it was, perhaps it was La'khay's description of what they were trying to re-create, or how Sabine's heart start was racing, but he picked up on the intensity of the moment as well. When Sabine tightened her grip and leaned in towards him, he at first returned a genuine, enthusiastic kiss, though he stopped after a few seconds to take on a more static pose. He stared into her eyes, and slid his hands down her back. Without actually realizing it, his hands moved down below her hips, much farther than he normally would have in front of strangers.

La'khay, meanwhile, grinned. "Ah, now that is passion. This one can certainly do something with this." She said, mixing together a few colors of the paint before making her first brushstroke on the canvas.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Visibly, Ri'vashi's mood did not improve, despite Gallus' attempt at giving reassurances, and nothing in her tone suggested improvement either. "Dro'cahi has offered to take over Ri'vashi's role, not to help her with it. He probably finds it too important to try, and he thinks he would be better at it than her. Now...Ri'vashi thinks he is probably correct. Maybe this one could learn how to lead the clan, but is it really worth that risk? Mistakes from a clan leader can cost people their lives, so if this one tries to take the time to learn instead of resigning to someone more capable, she could end up getting people killed."

Ri'vashi was quickly falling even deeper into despair. Her tears were diminishing somewhat, but her expression was starting to hold more hopelessness. "It may not be wise for Ri'vashi to join in the attack. If her judgment cannot be trusted, then she may be a liability." She said. Now, it appeared as if she was doubting her abilities as a leader in general, instead of just as the leader of a clan.

---

Peiter chuckled. "I'm glad you think so...I am not looking forward to having to explain this to Gallus. I know it's going to be the first thing he mentions."

La'khay stood back from her easel, looking over the pair from head to toe. "You look cute together...but La'khay was thinking of something with more passion. Perhaps you can hold a kiss, or lean in as if you were about to kiss. This one can paint you from the side to get you both. Maybe...ah, try to think about it like this. This one knows you don't want her to paint you mating, and she isn't asking you to, but try to think back to that day by the river. Remember what it was like when you looked him in the eyes, and made the decision that you were going to cement your love physically. Embrace him like you certainly did in that moment. That should give the passion La'khay is looking for." She recommended.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi leaned forward onto the table, lowering her head. She gave a sigh, closing her eyes in silent contemplation. Now, there was more than only doubt in her expression, there was sadness. After a few seconds she clenched her hands into a fist and barred her teeth. "You say that...like it is something obvious. Something Ri'vashi should have seen all along. Certainly, Dro'cahi has been telling her this all along. She always just thought he was being contrary. At first, he might have just been jealous that he was not appointed as leader, and that he just wanted to get into the people's good graces, but..."

Looking up once more, Ri'vashi made eye contact with Gallus, revealing that they were filled with tears. "You have been telling Ri'vashi the same thing as Dro'cahi, the Champion told her the same thing as Dro'cahi. She thought she was protecting the people, but...she must have been blind. Blind to Dro'cahi's motivations, blind to the people's suffering. If Ri'vashi can fail to see something so obvious, then how can she expect herself to do what is best for her clan? What kind of other mistakes is she making? Ri'vashi has been thinking for a while about resigning her position...maybe she should?"

---

La'khay finished trimming the last of the hair on Peiter's leg as Sabine was giving her answer. Sabine was obviously and openly embarrassed, but regardless, La'khay kept her same, friendly smile, then put her arm around Sabine's shoulders after she stood to her feet. "Do not worry, Sabine. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. To have a good first time, and to even continue on after that, on the same day...La'khay would kill to have such passion in a partner. Now, why don't you take a seat in Peiter's lap and find a pose you like."

Letting go of Sabine, La'khay walked over and re-positioned her easel. She took the paintbrush Sabine had been levitating, then looked the pair over as she waited for them to settle on a pose. "Your story sounds much better than what La'khay experienced all those years ago. This one will tell you about her first time mating; now that was embarrassing."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi let out a deep breath. "You seem so...certain about this. That this will actually be worth it. Not the attack; that is of course necessary. But this sacrifice we are making for the sake of morale, does the Bruma clan really not focus on its defense? From the stories Ri'vashi heard, your clan was actually attacked. They broke through your front gate and fought you within your stronghold until they were repelled. That means the enemy knows where to find you, but...you still do not take similar precautions as Ri'vashi?"

While Meesei was concerned about Ri'vashi, for multiple reasons, she saw that Gallus was speaking to her already. As such, she decided to put her focus on Lorag. He had been almost entirely unresponsive since learning about Do'rhajul, and she needed to try to coax out his thoughts on the matter. He started to head out of the room fairly quickly, so she followed closely after him. Once a few remaining stragglers left, Ri'vashi and Gallus would be left alone.

---

"Oh, of course, of course. It must have been exciting indeed." La'khay answered, nodding in apparent understanding. For a moment, she stopped her questioning to focus entirely on what she was doing. It was a simple matter to trim his hair down as short as the knife would allow, so she proceeded quickly. She did make an effort to show that she was being cautious, given the area on which she was working, but she still finished in under a minute and started to move on to his legs.

Once she was beyond Peiter's most sensitive areas, La'khay returned to her former, relaxed demeanor. She stayed mostly focused on her work, but quickly glanced over to Sabine expectantly. "Okay, now that's done, so you can tell La'khay all about it. What was it like? Has he gotten any better? Do you want any advice? La'khay has plenty to give."

If nothing else, Peiter could admire La'khay's persistence. He could see what Sabine had been trying to do, but she had only delayed La'khay's questioning for about thirty seconds.

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."