EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi and Gallus' practice proceeded just as usual. They went through a few bouts, ending not long after dark. With the heat, they did not train for as long as usual. It would take some time for the air to cool down, so after the fight was over, Ri'vashi sat down by the pond, panting from the heat. "This is the part Ri'vashi hates about the desert. Plate armor, with a full gambeson underneath, is not too great for letting out heat. From what she has heard, the Tenmar forest is not any better."

---

"Absolutely." Peiter answered confidently. Looking over, he placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's definitely an awkward conversation, but it's one you need to have. If you're still sure you want to do this, that is. It is...nice, but it's not worth causing yourself any pain. We are going to be heading back to Bruma eventually, after all."

Looking away, Peiter let out a sigh. Even he was starting to realize that his protectiveness was a bit too strong. "I'm sorry, it's just that I want to look out for you. You're not a kid; I know that. It's just that you're wanting to step into something you really don't know a lot about. If she does...agree, just make sure to get a potion first. Or have a healer take a look at her afterwards. From my understanding, they can do the same thing the potion does. Just make sure you think it all over first, alright?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, maybe in practice..." Ri'vashi began, grinning as she started to pat the top of his helmet teasingly. "Just don't start experimenting in a fight."

Ri'vashi grabbed her helmet and shield, then pulled her sword out of the sand. They were standing closer to the water than they had been before, though she elected not to relocate. It did not get too deep too quickly, so it could make for a hazard without actually being dangerous to them in their armor.

Taking up a ready stance, Ri'vashi trained her eyes firmly on Gallus. "Ready...begin!" She said. Contrary to most of their bouts, Ri'vashi decided to be aggressive immediately. Taking a large step forward, she thrust her weapon straight at his stomach. Even if a blade could not break the rings of the mail, the force from a Cathay werebear could still be threatening.

---

Peiter shook his head regretfully. "I don't think there's a way I can answer that. It just...happened. Well, when it did happen, it was easy to tell that we both wanted to. We had talked about it beforehand, though, and decided to wait until a good time. I think you should be careful about this Tzirret. Maybe I'm wrong, but you might still be too young to be considering it. I think you need...experience first. Not physically or anything, but emotionally. Saying it did happen, that would make you pretty close with Ma'tanza. Do you think you're ready to be that close to her, considering how long you've actually known her?" He asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi returned Gallus' smile, placing her shield on the ground, then removing her own helmet as well and placing it on top of it. She offered him back his own helmet, then gave him a pat on the back and a light chuckle. "Yes, this one likely still came out on top. If Ri'vashi was holding something with more weight than wood, you might not have remained conscious to follow through. You should be careful about strikes to an opponent's weapon. Controlling an enemy's weapon is, of course, advantageous, but you have to be careful about how you do it. When you attacked, your hammer wouldn't have threatened Ri'vashi regardless of what she did to her blade, so she had the option to ignore it. Just stop resisting the hammer and let it push past. If your weapon is something like an axe or polearm that can catch a weapon, then that is a good option. Otherwise, you want to strike closer to the hand, diagonal, instead of horizontal. Make it so that if your opponent tries to ignore you, you'll hit their hand. Really, disabling the hand is the best option to disable the weapon."

---

"Again, you can be calm. If you didn't say anything to her about it, then she probably doesn't even know you were thinking about it. It does sound a bit awkward to leave suddenly like that, but...well, Tzirret, I'll be honest, it isn't uncommon for you to do awkward things." Peiter responded. Despite his candor, he was trying to sound calming to Tzirret.

Peiter paused a moment to sit down by the edge of the water, then motioned for Tzirret to join him. "Anyway, are you sure you're not going too fast, Tzirret? You're still a bit young. I will say, though, that it is good you're wanting to be careful. Sabine makes these potions to, um, take care of that problem."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi pushed the end of her sword into the sand, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, sorry. Ri'vashi did not mean to hit you there. One of the disadvantages of helmets, sadly. Better than getting a sword across the skull, but still painful."

"How hard did you hit this one's leg? Unfortunately, these light hammers make it hard to tell in a fight sometimes." Ri'vashi began as she approached Gallus. She frowned briefly, then reached out and pulled Gallus' helmet off of his head. She was looking at his ears, though it was not as if she would actually be able to discern anything visibly.

"Can you hear Ri'vashi alright? Or does this one need to wait for the ringing to stop?" She asked.

---

As soon as Peiter was able to make out what Tzirret was trying to say, he placed his hands on his shoulders and spoke calmly, and in a firm voice. "Hold up, Tzirret. One thing at a time; I'm assuming you're not asking this for curiosity's sake. Slow down, collect your thoughts, and try to answer clearly. Ma'tanza, have you been doing anything with her? Well...I'll be direct. Have you been mating with her?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright. I'll attempt to post before going to bed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Gallus did have the advantage in terms of mobility, there was a flaw in his attack that Ri'vashi was quick to exploit. Gallus was attempting to occupy her weapon with his own, but the fact that he was striking at her weapon meant that the blow would not threaten her if the weapon were not there. As such, she had the option to simply ignore it. Instead of trying to resist the force of his hammer, she just turned her wrist and allowed the hammer to push past. From there, she simply rotated her wrist as she swung her arm forward, bringing her weapon into a slash far quicker than Gallus had likely expected. The movement of her arms was not as restricted by her armor as her overall movement, so such reactions were still a threat as long as she was fighting mostly stationary.

Fortunately for Gallus, he still had his shield to protect him, but with her strike coming sooner than he likely anticipated, it was not guaranteed that his shield would be in position in time. If it was not, then her weapon was aimed for his neck, though being only slightly lower would mean the blade would slash harmlessly across his mail.

---

Peiter had intended to, as one might expect, rejoin Sabine, but just as he was climbing out of the water, Tzirret pulled him aside. He seemed nervous, which, while not particularly strange for Tzirret, was in stark contrast to how he had been acting while swimming with them. But, Peiter was not one to refuse to help his brother and gladly stepped out of earshot of the others with him.

"Of course, Tzirret. Is something wrong?" Peiter asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi smiled. "Trust this one, you won't be able to. Not with that, at least."

Ri'vashi held her sword forward, and her shield at an angle in front of her. As usual, her eyes were firmly on Gallus, watching his every move. While Gallus was trying to gauge her mobility, the fact that she was in armor unfortunately made that more difficult, as there was a fundamental shift in how she responded to attacks. Because of her armor, only heavy blows held enough force to do any real damage to her in an actual fight, so she could almost ignore lighter, quicker attacks. As such, she moved only a minimal amount, which obscured how mobile she actually was. The part of her which moved the most drastically was her shield arm, but the movements were still not significant enough to be telling. Ri'vashi was, of course, not as agile in her armor as she was out of it. She could not move as quickly, her reactions would take slightly longer, and some of her joints did not have as extensive of a range of motion. But, it still provided more advantages than disadvantages.

Seeing as Gallus was testing her defenses, Ri'vashi decided to make a sudden attack, and from her position, the quickest one she could make was a shield charge. She rushed forward in an attempt to hit and throw him off balance, then follow through with a sideways slash to his arm. Mail, while it was not as durable as plate, could still stop a blade easily, so her current goal was simply to reduce his ability to fight back.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi started to chuckle. "That's the whole purpose of the armor, don't you think?" She said, pausing to give Gallus a pat on the shoulder before setting down the bag of practice weapons. "Anyway, Ri'vashi didn't design it, exactly. This one could not wear her father's armor, but he always wanted to pass on as much of his legacy to her as possible. So, once the clan had the resources, he had armor made for Ri'vashi that was modeled after his own."

Carefully placing her katana aside, Ri'vashi grabbed one of the practice blades, as well as a hammer, though she simply kept it on her belt for the moment. She walked a few paces away and took her position in the flat area next to the pond to wait for Gallus to be ready. On the far side of the pond, she could see that some of those who were swimming had taken enough interest to start watching the duel.

---

"Yeah...honest." Ahnasha muttered as she returned his embrace. Though she did not admit it, she knew in her own mind that she had been too hard on Irenya. She had made an apology, and Fendros made a good point that she would have nothing to gain by lying. But, she could not bring herself to admit her own error directly, especially after defending her opinion so fervently. Even acknowledging this, however, she was not about to run after Irenya to apologize herself. She just had to hope that her response had been good enough for Irenya.

"Well, I feel like getting some rest. It might get cool soon; you feel like laying down as well?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi paused for a moment. She had not planned on anything besides rest for the evening, though that also meant there was nothing stopping her from accepting the offer. "Oh, an armored duel. That would be good practice, this one supposes. Hopefully the practice weapons are not buried under too many bags. We should practice somewhat away from camp, perhaps on the other side of the pond. No doubt there are those already trying to get to sleep, and we will need the space. Ri'vashi will meet you there."

Even considering the head start Gallus had in getting prepared, it took Ri'vashi quite a while to finally make her way over to the opposite side of the pond. Not only did she have to locate the practice weapons, but she also dawn her armor, which, considering it was a full steel plate suit, was quite a chore. It had a dark, shining coat of paint, a unique layered design on the arms and shoulders, and an open-face helm. She carried a simple, circular shield, her katana at her side, as well as a bag with the practice weapons. Interestingly, her armor did not seem to be of Khajiit design, or any other culture in the Dominion. She had previously mentioned that she could not wear her father's armor, but what she did have certainly was not conventional.

"Ri'vashi apologizes. She probably should have mentioned that it would take a while." She said as she approached.

---

Ahnasha, while not angry, was not exactly in the best mood. "I feel like...I shouldn't let that woman affect me so much, honest or not. If she has really changed her mind, then that is fine. Good, even. But, I can't let myself get caught up on everyone that insults me. I'm used to it, and have been used to it for a long time. Even in Leyawiin, there were insufferable people like Irenya, and I would have gone insane had I cared about them. I don't understand what was so important to Irenya about apologizing to me, but for what it's worth, I do at least hope she got what she needed."

Following Ahnasha's answer, there was more silence, and more discomfort from Ahnasha. She looked down at the ground, running her claws lightly through the sand. "Do you...think I said the right thing?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With Gallus' question, Ri'vashi appeared immediately surprised. "What? No, of course this one trusts her soldiers. Ri'vashi has been overseeing their training since even before she became clan leader. Even Dro'cahi has commended this one's training, and their effectiveness. No, Ri'vashi just meant that she trusts you...specifically. Well, um, not that she trusts them significantly less than you; Ri'vashi still trusts them with her life. You're just a...kind person, you can fight well, and...you know. Is...Ri'vashi making any sense?" She answered rather incoherently. By this point, she was rubbing her neck and had lost concentration on where she was walking.

---

There was enough of a silence after Fendros' response to quickly become awkward. Even if Ahnasha was not as hostile as before, she still did not seem to be in a mood to talk. Inenya breathed deeply, then stood up in front of them. "Well. I should not disturb you any further. I really should get some rest; I need to awaken early to make sure the assistants are performing their duties adequately. We are having them work hard now to make sure they are well-practiced for when it truly matters."

After their farewells, Ahnasha waited until Irenya was entirely out of sight to say another word. "So did she do that on her own, or did you convince her to?"