EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha nodded in agreement with Fendros. "That is true, both of us have been devoted to him for many years. Still, maybe there is something more to it? It's pretty clear this war was brewing long before we started fighting it. It was one of Vile's minions that killed the previous Champion, after all. Hircine might have put our pack together intentionally for that reason. Of course, there were other packs that were competing for the same title. It could have been that he formed a few potential packs for it."

By this point, Kaleeth was mostly finished with her breakfast. Leaps had started wandering around, occasionally eyeing the meals of those sitting around the fire, and had currently settled down with his head resting in Kaleeth's lap. "Of everyone in the pack, I think I'm the only one that Hircine didn't guide them to." Kaleeth added. "Honestly, I don't think I was meant to be a part of it."

---

Peiter's sleep had been much more calm that night than Sabine's, so it was her movement that awoke him. Letting out a yawn, he only just managed to hear her mention the possibility they had slept in. A few of his joints cracked as he sat up, and he was of course groggy overall, but Sabine's words at least gave him a clear train of thought. From behind her, Peiter wrapped his arms around Sabine's chest and leaned forward, resting his head affectionately on her shoulder. "We...might have slept a bit late, but I doubt we slept in all the way to noon. Gallus would already be beating down this door if we had. We don't have too much to get ready anyway, since we packed away most of what we would need yesterday. We just need to get our clothes, weapons, and maybe...go wash these blankets. As a courtesy. Hopefully, we'll have enough time to check on La'khay's painting. She might have those last touch-ups finished."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak’s flight to the hunting grounds was not a long one. The hunt had not ranged exceptionally far from the college, and Ssarak did not have to deal with any obstacles along the way. In fact, the wind was even in his favor. Once he reached the right area, he started to fly in a search pattern low over the trees, keeping his sharp eyes and mind attentively searching for any hint of where the others could be, Meirin in particular. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to begin picking up on the thoughts of those below.

Perhaps it was due to luck, or the fact that he was searching specifically for her thoughts, but Ssarak managed to isolate what was unmistakably Meirin’s mind. It gave him an immediate sense of relief to feel her presence, but it was followed quickly by a wave of worry due to the nature of her thoughts. She was unmistakably in a fight.

With a combination of the images Ssarak could glean from Meirin’s mind, the strength of her thoughts as he flew, and simple keen eyesight, Ssarak managed to hone in on her position. The magic she was using was hardly subtle, so he could easily spot it beneath him. Annabeth had described the group as having been attacked by mages and monsters, so Ssarak had not expected to find Meirin fighting a fully armored knight, but it was of no matter. Ssarak knew not why the group had been attacked at all, but he did not care about the identify of this knight, or his motivations. All that mattered to him was that he was in a fight with Meirin, so he was an enemy of Ssarak’s as well.

Ssarak drew his sword, then turned it around to grab it firmly by the blade in both hands. With a simple telepathic command, he dulled the edged and increased the weight of his sword’s hilt to give it the same weight and balance as a mace. Against a heavily armored opponent, it would be far more effective than if used as a sword.

As Ssarak swooped down to begin his attack, he noticed that the knight was moving away from Meirin, as if he were ignoring here. Again, it was no matter; he would give him something to pay attention to. With the boost from his dive, Ssarak matched Meirin’s speed, flying directly above her with his eyes trained on the knight just ahead of them. Ssarak intended to strike him in the back of the head, or if he attempted to dodge, the upper back. With the weight of his weapon, and the momentum of his flight, it would not be a light hit if it connected.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

@Ryonara, just want to check, is Ssarak free to join that fight?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Jo'rashaad reached his arm over S'ajira, smiling as he rubbed the back of her neck. "S'ajira was born a lycan. Not as a member of the Senchal clan, but in a wandering pride in the Tenmar forest. She is, and always has been, a warrior, a hunter. Not long after her pride...disbanded, she was found by the clan."

S'ajira sat up, then nodded in agreement before nestling her head against Jo'rashaad's side. Although, her show of affection only lasted a few moments before she returned to her breakfast, which she was eating her way through rather quickly. One detail about Leaps she had picked up on after the past month of traveling with the wamasu was that he was far more willing to attempt to steal her food than he was from someone bipedal.

"Now, you said that Hircine guided Meesei, yes?" Jo'rashaad continued. "That is interesting, and this was before she became Champion? It is curious that Hircine himself would take an interest in a lone pack that did not even hold rank among his lycans."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Say @Ryonara, were you wanting to do anything specific in Meirin's current fight, or could Ssarak get involved? Ssarak can get there fairly quickly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Jo'rashaad was a mage in Torval. He does not mind discussing it, but..." He began, giving a slight grimace as he glanced quickly over to Ciinriel. "Perhaps we should discuss other things, regardless. As for finding the clan, it is more that the clan found Jo'rashaad. We have, or at least used to have, scouts always searching for lost lycans. With its outposts, the Senchal clan had a presence throughout much of Pelletine. Anywhere that a new lycan might go, they would have scouts. They found Jo'rashaad trying to enter a small town between Torval and Senchal. S'ajira had a similar experience about a year before this one."

The group started quickly on their meals. They still had a few hours before they were set to leave on the march, but unfortunately, they could not spend all of that time relaxing together, as they would need at least some time to gather up the last of their belongings. Regardless, they were not in too much of a rush at the moment. Leaps perked up as soon as Jo'rashaad had started passing out the meals, but luckily, he had made enough that he could give the wamasu enough to keep him occupied. Despite his training, he still sometimes tried to sneak parts of someone's meal when they were not looking. As long as he had something of his own, however, that generally was not a problem.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

As the group was exiting the catacombs, Ssarak had certainly not expected to see Annabeth approaching. In speaking with Meirin before, he knew who was joining in Lyn’s hunt, and from his memory, Annabeth was meant to be among them. However, when his mind received the message from her, he grabbed on to the hilt of his blade reflexively.

”What?” Ssarak said audibly, and for apparently no reason to those watching the exchange. He was glad to hear Lyn was safe, but his thoughts immediately went to Meirin. Annabeth had given no information on the state of the others, and he knew that Meirin was more than capable of defending herself, but the fear for her safety still lingered in his mind. The only thing which gave him a moment of pause was the sight of Tyrael nearby. Given the Demonomancer’s recent outburst, Ssarak would not trust him to help, and if he knew that Mar was in danger, then he could very well disobey Khan to try. As such, Ssarak felt it best not to inform him.

Preparing another telepathic message, Ssarak directed it towards Khan, Grey, Aramir, and Darius. ”Something has gone wrong on Lyn’s hunt. Lyn is safe, but everyone else is in danger. I will give you my full report when I am able, Khan, but I must help them now!”

There was not a moment more of hesitation from Ssarak as he took off running after Annabeth. Fortunately, his conversations with Meirin about their respective missions meant that he knew roughly where the hunt was taking place. Ideally, he would have liked to have taken something to regenerate his blood before stepping into danger once more, but there was no time for that. Mentally, he attempted to take stock of his magic usage so far. He had, of course, been reading minds and sending mental messages fairly consistently, but for a psychomancer of his level, reading unwarded minds was a trivial exertion. Otherwise, he could recall creating three or so doppelgangers, and performing some illusions against the ridge hounds. He had exerted himself to a far greater degree during endurance training in the past, so he was not worried about blood sickness for the moment, especially considering how conservative he tended to be with his magic.

As soon as Ssarak made it to the courtyard, he took to the skies and, after taking a moment to orient himself, started off in the same direction as Annabeth beneath him. Being that he could fly straight to the hunting grounds, he expected to be the first from the college that would be able to reinforce the group on the hunt. Though, his priorities were not entirely selfless. He would help anyone he could find, but his first priority was finding Meirin and making sure she was safe. He flew low, and kept his mind searching for any thoughts that might lead him to her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha gave Rhazii a few, encouraging pats on the back. "It's no different from any other meat, Rhazii. I told you when we started traveling not to judge your food on how it looks. As long as we say it is okay, then it is fine. This comes from something that is...sort of like a big mudcrab. It just lives in a much drier place." She explained. She did not actually know much about these sandcrawlers beyond their name and a basic description, but she could guess that her comparison was at least somewhat valid. They were both crustaceans, and the meat did have something of a similar quality about its texture.

Jo'rashaad nodded to Janius as he finished handing out everyone's breakfast. "Provided the story he told of his past is at least mostly accurate, Colors was born, or hatched, in Lilmoth. But, he was taken to Senchal at a very young age for reasons he either cannot remember, or was never told. So, for all intents and purposes, he is from Pelletine. And Ciinriel, of course, was born in Valenwood, but she has also lived in Pelletine for most of her life. If anything, it is Do'ajee that breaks that pattern. She was raised among one of the nomadic tribes of Anequina, and lived with them until she was turned. We both found the clan at about the same time, and she quickly became like Jo'rashaad's sister. She became a warrior for the clan and, through her, this one met S'ajira."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's about time for me to get to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth allowed her head to rest lightly on her hand as she thought. She did not quite have an immediate answer. "If it were just me, I would of course answer Black Marsh, but...I really don't know what the rest of the pack would want. I doubt everyone else would want to live there. Well, Meesei might, but it isn't comfortable for outsiders. I don't think it's really about where I want to live as much as where I don't want to live. The Bruma clan is very nice, but I don't want to live there forever. I don't really want to live in Skyrim, eastern High Rock, northern Morrowind...or the rest of Morrowind. This clan is nice as well, but I don't think I would want to live in Anequina, or, what is it called...the Alik'r."

Ahnasha gave a brief huff, along with a chuckle. "Basically, she'll be happy anywhere that isn't cold or dry. Or Morrowind."

Jo'rashaad nodded in understanding, but another thought had come to his mind. The meat had finally finished cooking, so he started to pass around breakfast as he spoke. "Sensible, from what this one knows of Argonians. Colors, for instance, was perfectly at home in the southern forests, but this one heard nothing but complaints from him about the desert. Though, to be fair, that was not an...uncommon sentiment. Anyway, one thing this one notices about your pack is how varied you all are. You seem to be from all over Tamriel. In this one's pride, most of us are either from Pelletine, or have lived there most of our lives. We met there and formed our pride there. It seems strange how your pack could even come together from so far apart."

"We do probably come from more places than most, but I wouldn't say we're that varied." Ahnasha explained. "Kaleeth and Meesei are from Black Marsh, and Sabine is from Morrowind, but the rest of us are all from Cyrodiil. Leyawiin, Bravil, Cheydinhal. Granted, all thsoe places are rather far apart, and take influence from different places, but they are all Imperial at their core."