EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi sighed lightly. "Some trouble sleeping. Ri'vashi doesn't know if it is anxiety, or just ill-timed lycan nightmares, but she has been stressed as of late. Luckily, she did get a decent night's rest last night, so hopefully the same will be true tomorrow. This one would like to be well-rested for the attack. Ri'vashi has lead many battles before, but never one of this scale. She supposes it will be a test to see if she is really as skilled as her father told her."

After finding a nearby tree to lean against, Ri'vashi closed her eyes and took a few moments simply to breathe deeply. "Ri'vashi wishes she could just...bring herself to relax."

---

With the attack drawing ever-closer, Peiter had not been acting quite like himself. He was sitting with Sabine outside their tent, but he had been quiet, and even more unusually, somewhat distant from Sabine. There had been no hugs, kisses, or other signs of affection from him; only nervous glances and silence. Eventually, he decided suddenly to crawl into their tent with no hint as to why. He had previously told Sabine that he would not be going to sleep until at least noon the next day, then followed it with a lewd innuendo, so he was likely not retiring for the night.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak was already focusing intently on the Knight, so he was ready in an instant when he began to attack. His opponent threw at him what appeared to be his only good means of close quarters attack and defense, then rushed at him with only his fists. It was a questionable decision, in Ssarak’s mind, and one he intended to punish him for.

Since his shield was already at the ready, it took only a quick movement to bring up his own shield to protect his head. He held it forward and at an angle to deflect the incoming shield, and more importantly, the force it carried with it. Meanwhile, Ssarak also swung his mace low as hard as he could muster, directly towards the knight’s incoming fist. Ssarak intended to break his attacker’s hand, and if he missed, his mace would still continue on to strike the knight’s torso with frightening force. Ssarak was too focused on aiming his strike to pay close attention to what Meirin was doing, but he trusted in her abilities to help.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Meesei stayed to collect the documents on the table, the rest of the council started to disperse through the camp. However, outside the tent, Ri'vashi quickly caught up with Gallus, as she had been doing quite often recently.

"Seeing as we are all checking on our subordinates, Ri'vashi reasoned she would check on you. She is glad that she will have you and your pack at her side during the attack. Has there been any trouble for any of you worth mentioning?" She asked.

---

Ma'tanza appeared uncomfortable up to the point where Tzirret finally agreed to drop the subject, though she was still somewhat flustered even afterwards. She did not embrace him again, but she did at least try to smile. "Yes, Ma'tanza just wants to move on from this subject. Actually...she thinks she would like to go talk to her sister for a while. We...might not get a change again before the attack. Ma'tanza will talk to you again later." She said, standing up rather hastily, though she did at least wave to him as she started to walk away.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus' question was met with a look of determination from Miranor. "There is always more I would like to have, but we have made all of the preparations possible. As the one leading the infiltration, trust me when I say no one understands the stakes better than I. This plan relies on myself and my scouts, and it is our lives at stake if we fail. If we had a better option, I would be the first to suggest it."

Ri'vashi nodded in understanding. "We have done all we can do for now, at least in a meeting. This one recommends we speak to our officers and other subordinates to make sure there are no outstanding issues before the attack."

---

Ma'tanza's initial reaction was one of simple confusion. "What? No, what are you talking about? This one knows you are younger, but you have to know it would hurt. You're Khajiit; the barbs are...painful, this one has heard. She just isn't ready for that. Nothing else is wrong, and this is still...uncomfortable to talk about."

At this point, Ma'tanza was starting to unconsciously pull herself away from Tzirret. "Can we please move on to something else? Ma'tanza doesn't like focusing on her body. She just wants to be ready for tomorrow."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I have spoken with the officers and had a sufficient number of mages assigned to the task, and I have instructed them on what to do." Meesei answered. "I can lead the ritual, so they need not have any knowledge of the spell. They just have to lend their power to me. We have enough soul gems as well. Some of our scouts will place them in position behind the treeline around the stronghold. I will summon the mist as soon as the front gates are open. We have had as many magicka potions made as possibly with our ingredients, and Ri'vashi even sent scouts to try to find more. To my knowledge, all of our preparations are in place."

Meesei's eyes shifted around the room to the others. "Does anyone have any further observations, or knowledge of any problems with our warriors? If not, I believe we can commit to this plan."

---

Ma'tanza was still looking away, though Tzirret's response did calm her somewhat. "Of course, Ma'tanza is fine. She just...she didn't know you thought about doing that with her. Or at all. That isn't...that isn't something Ma'tanza wants to do right now. We haven't been together for nearly that long. It makes Ma'tanza uncomfortable to think about it; she isn't ready for that kind of pain." She explained nervously. She did not pull away from Tzirret, but she was more just allowing Tzirret to grab her hand than holding his hand mutually.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag looked over the sketches and shook his head. "Doubt it. Do'rhajul wouldn't have his men sleepin' outside the walls like that unless he had no choice. Maybe if all the barracks inside were filled to the brim, but everything we know says half their soldiers are gone right now. If there's anything at all in those buildings, it's nonessential supplies. There'd be soldiers out there to guard the workers, but if we're attackin' in the middle of the night, then it'll probably all be empty."

"We can have some of our warriors move through the area just in case." Ri'vashi suggested. "It will not slow them a great deal to check for hostiles, and if there are any, they can ensure we will not be flanked. If they are part of the groups who will be attacking with ladders, then it is not essential that they reach the wall as quickly as those charging the front gate. Miranor, were there any other observations that could have a chance of altering our plan?"

There was no hesitation from Miranor in her response. "No ma'am. Nothing changed from our last scouting mission apart from their construction process. The treeline on one side of the stronghold is slightly farther away now, likely because of their use of lumber for the buildings, but we should easily be able to reposition our forces without any impact on the plan."

---

As soon as Ma'tanza was sure of where Tzirret was going, she became immediately, and rather drastically, nervous. She looked away and started breathing more heavily. "Oh...this one thought...she thought it was possible you could be...Ma'tanza isn't...sure. Isn't is too soon to do...that? You're young, and Ma'tanza doesn't think..."

Ma'tanza stammering quickly became more incoherent than even Tzirret's, and the fear in her expression was obvious. Clearly, the idea of mating was not something she had been considering.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei acknowledged Gallus, then gave a quick nod to Miranor. "This should be everyone. Miranor, you may share your report." She instructed. Miranor reached into her back on the table and produced a few fresh sketches of the enemy stronghold.

"Overall, not a great deal has changed about the stronghold since we first scouted it. The strength of their forces seems unchanged, and there is nothing else that I would consider to be a surprise. The greatest change, as expected, is that the construction on their expansion of their stronghold has progressed. The buildings they have constructed do not seem to be anything more than additional barracks, or possibly storage buildings. It does indicate that their forces are growing, but it does not seem to present any immediate threat to us. The walls to enclose this new area are not completed, but they have kept the old wall standing for now. We did notice that there is now some scaffolding on the new wall which is somewhat close to the old. In lycan form, a werewolf or werelion might be able to make the jump, but the enemy could collapse it easily, so I don't think it would make for a good entry point." Miranor explained.

---

Ma'tanza was laying against Tzirret with her arm across his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. They had been quiet for a few minutes, so Ma'tanza had been lost in her thoughts when Tzirret finally spoke up. She did hear everything he said, though her reaction was not quite easy to read. She did not look particularly surprised or confused, but neither did she do anything to suggest that she knew where he was going with his apology. If she was aware of the reason behind Tzirret's recent strange behavior, she was not letting on to it at this point.

Looking away from the stars, Ma'tanza sat up and turned her attention to Tzirret. "Of course, what is wrong?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi finally released her grip on Gallus to allow him to swim freely. "Well, seeing as we're already in the water, we should just keep swimming for now. Maybe we can talk about something besides fighting and business. This one rarely talks to you about anything else. So...what kind of hobbies do you have, other than sparring?"

---

The journey to the forests southeast of Corinthe was long, and thankfully, dull. The walk through the desert and into the forest took two thirds the time as their entire journey from the Senchal clan to Orcrest, since they did not have a boat to expedite their progress. Though, they moved comparatively faster on land than they had before. The transition from desert to forest was a reminder of home for the warriors of the Senchal clan, and brought about a sense of awe for some from Orcrest. For those who had lived in the desert their entire lives, a forest was something they had only heard of in stories. Some of the officers even had to go as far as reprimanding a few of the sentries who were a bit too distracted by the massive trees towering over them to keep watch on their perimeter.

True to her word, Ri'vashi made an effort to socialize outside of a professional setting, though it was almost always with Gallus. When not working or training, she was outside of her element, and turned out to be surprisingly awkward for one in her position. While she was not as bad as Tzirret, she sometimes became nervous enough to almost be amusing.

Eventually, the warband drew close enough to the enemy stronghold that they were forced to remain at constant high alert for any enemy patrols. They made camp mere hours away from the enemy in order to send scouts ahead to scan their path through both magical and physical means. Miranor once more led a group of werevulture scouts to gain updated information on the fortress itself. Unless they learned something which would make the attack impossible, they intended to launch the assault the following evening, so tensions in the camp were understandably high. It was already past nightfall, though many intended to remain awake so they could sleep through the next day, and be well-rested for he attack.

Once the scouts returned, Meesei called together a meeting of the same group that had formed their original plan. If there was no new information which would be helpful, this meeting was likely to be much shorter.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think it's about time to skip ahead to the next part, which is the prelude to the attack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi straightened up and started swimming around Gallus, trying to keep her mood more upbeat. "Well, Ri'vashi can think of a lot of bad that could happen if she starts to shirk her responsibilities. Still, if you are so insistent, Ri'vashi supposes now is as good of a time as any to try. Strangely enough, Ri'vashi has had more free time on this journey than she has had in years with the clan. Now that we have our planning out of the way, it is mostly just walking, and since most of us here are warriors, they are fairly self-organizing. It is nice not to have to micromanage everyone."

With a brief chuckle Ri'vashi swam up beside Gallus and put her arm around him, pulling him to her rather tightly. She did not squeeze him hard enough to harm him, but she held him with just enough force to ensure that he could not go anywhere without her releasing him. "Since you are giving the advice, Ri'vashi supposes you are volunteering to spend your time with her. If she wants to see how much being social will help her, she may as well not let you out of her sight."

---

As Peiter started to walk along with Sabine, he raised his brow in response to her. "As single minded as me? You know, love, it takes two to mate, and you always seem to be just as enthusiastic as me." He said, grinning as he rubbed her back. "But regardless, for Tzirret, I think Ma'tanza's opinion on the matter would be the thing that decides it. Assuming Tzirret has the desire and courage to ask, she still might not be as open to it as you or me."