EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While not quite as inebriated as Gallus, the wine was taking its toll on Ri'vashi as well. Of course, her response to Gallus was about the same intoxicated as it would have been while sober, except that her stammering lasted a few seconds longer. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and refused to make eye contact for a few seconds. Regardless, after enough time allowing her mind to settle, she managed to think coherently for long enough to make a decision.

Looking to Gallus once more, Ri'vashi reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are the closest friend Ri'vashi has had in a long time. She remembers what you said about the women back in Bruma, but...she doesn't care. The Gallus that Ri'vashi knows doesn't seem to be a person who would do that. If you did do that, then you must have changed since then. If you have changed...maybe you should pick someone who appreciates who you are now?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi sighed, grabbing the bottle, though not yet taking a drink. "Ri'vashi's answer to that question would change depending on the point in her life when you asked it. Back when she was a cub, she hardly thought about it at all, but that's normal. When she got a bit older, the thought was certainly in her mind. She wondered what it would be like to have someone to be close to, like some others she knew. Unfortunately, this one knew few people that were even around her age, and none of them were Khajiit. Ri'vashi would not care if her mate was her race or not, but...they did. At least, none of them showed any interest in a Khajiit. After that, when we came to Anequina, plenty of Khajiit joined us, but Ri'vashi's priorities had shifted. She was focused on her duty, and improving herself as a warrior. It did not help that Ri'vashi was terrible at getting to know new people. Having a mate was just never something Ri'vashi was able to do."

"As for right now..." Ri'vashi started, but she paused as she looked over at Gallus, staring for enough time to be awkward before turning her head away again. From her silence, it seemed she forgot to continue her thought.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi turned her head, though she was staring off at nothing in particular. She just looked off into the empty space on the walls of the tent as her increasingly dulled mind wandered on the topic. After a few moments, she sighed and shook her head. "As she said, Ri'vashi has always just focused on duty. Those thoughts have crossed her mind before, but the 'now' always seemed more important. Back when she was younger, it was after she became a warrior that she could make a life of her own. After she became a warrior, it was after she attained her ambitions to lead the clan's warriors. After she became clan leader...well honestly, Ri'vashi has not been thinking that far ahead over the last two years. The war has been a great distraction, in that regard."

As she continued through her own memories, Ri'vashi started to smile. "This one remembers her father speaking to her about grandchildren before. Then, he quite literally slapped himself for sounding like such an old man. Still, Ri'vashi knew he wanted to see that his family would go on. He loved Ri'vashi enough that the fact that she was not his daughter by blood was never even an issue in his mind. At least, not after the first few years. But, this one having a family of her own was never very likely..." She began, looking down and turning her head away slightly in embarrassment. "Especially for someone who has never had a mate."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi did not hesitate to take another drink. She would need to drink more than Gallus to attain the same effect, though there was certainly enough for both of them in the bottle. "Sure, Ri'vashi thinks about her future all the time. Of course, it always revolves around the clan, and what she is going to do to lead it. She has thought about how to direct our expansion, places we might move if we ever grow too large. She has thought about what members of her clan would be the best replacements for different council members if any of them happen to retire or...pass. Ri'vashi plans ahead all the time, but...that is not what you want."

Letting out a sigh, Ri'vashi passed back the bottle. "You want to know if Ri'vashi ever thinks about her own future. Before her father died, she always saw herself being a proud warrior. Afterwards, she looked ahead as the leader of the clan. This one's identity has always been defined by what she does. But..." She said, making eye contact with Gallus. "...maybe there is more for her to think about?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"The same can be said of most any place, really." Ri'vashi commented. She took her drink, then held the bottle close to her chest for a few seconds as she was absorbed in thought. "This one can not blame those outsiders completely, she supposes. There is the hint of truth in those stereotypes. Moon sugar can be addictive, especially if taken as skooma. Some lose their minds to it. And our culture is not always quite as...strict as some others in terms of physical pleasures, but there are some like La'tahne that take that too far. Those are things that outsiders can latch onto and focus on, but there is just so much more to Elsweyr, and the Khajiit."

With a smile, Ri'vashi reached over beside her and handed off the bottle back to Gallus. "Ri'vashi is not sure she agrees with you on the weather, though. The heat can be annoying, but it won't kill you as quick as the cold. This one does not know how you deal with living in a frozen mountain. From what Ri'vashi has heard, Bruma is even colder than where this one was from in High Rock."

For Ri'vashi, she could feel the effects of the wine as well, though not as strongly as Gallus was. Being both a Cathay and a Khajiit, it would take longer for both the alcohol and moon sugar to get to her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi shrugged her shoulders. "This one guesses it is simply part of us. Moon sugar has been a part of our culture for as long as our people have been keeping records. When every member of every generation of your family has had a preference for the sweet taste of crystallized moonlight...well, maybe the taste for it is hereditary. We enjoy any kind of sweetness, but moon sugar is usually preferred."

With a relaxed expression, Ri'vashi leaned back in her chair, and even put her feet up on the table in front of them. She ended up pushing aside a few of the documents onto the floor of the tent. Even in her most casual of states, it was not something she would normally do, but in this case, all of the documents she had been working with were now essentially useless, since none of her attempts at an alternative plan had been successful. "From all your time in Elsweyr, seeing it from one corner to the other, what do you think of the Khajiit? Some outsiders think we're primitive tribals, others see us as drug addicted outlaws. Some, usually religious, outsiders see a few of our practices as hedonistic. Others enjoy our different lifestyles, and end up never leaving. Really, the biggest mistake Ri'vashi thinks some outsiders make is assuming all of Elsweyr is the same. One of them might visit a city in Pelletine and assume one in Anequina must be the same. You, though, have seen all different parts of our lands."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi chuckled as Gallus sat down in her chair. "Ri'vashi rarely drinks with others, true, but even she needs something to calm her nerves from time to time. Well...you probably already knew that rather well, actually."

Grabbing the bottle, Ri'vashi uncorked it with her claw, then sat it down on the table in front of Gallus. She pulled up another seat beside him, rather than across from him. "Just be careful with it. It is on the strong side, and it does contain moon sugar. Ri'vashi is sure someone like yourself can handle it, though. From all she knows about you, you do seem like someone who knows how to enjoy his self."

---

Peiter scarcely pulled away from Sabine at all as he spoke. His forehead was pressed against hers, and he was still holding her tightly enough that he could feel her heartbeat. "Honestly, I don't think the words do it justice." He said before continuing his kiss and pulling both her and himself down onto the bedroll. Between his intense feelings of both love and fear for the future, he was motivated to express his affection with greater passion than he had at any point in their relationship so far.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi made sure to close up the tent behind them after they entered, then started going through one of her bags in the corner next to her bedroll. "Well...this is a bit unconventional for Ri'vashi to have, she will admit. She really wasn't sure at the time why she was even bothering to bring it, and if you mention it to anyone, Ri'vashi will say she confiscated it."

From the bag, Ri'vashi produced a tall, unmarked bottle of what appeared to be wine. She brought it over to the table and cleared out a space to set it down. "Ri'vashi has two bottles. She proposes that we split this bottle right now, and the other after we win this battle. She would wait until right before the fight, but if we drink it now, it will have worn off completely by then."

---

Silence was Peiter's first reaction. For a few seconds he sat, staring down at the ground with uncertainty dominating his demeanor. When he finally looked up, it was with some reluctance. "It's not...easy to think that way. I want to, I really do, but those fears are always popping back into my mind. No matter what I do, or how I try to think, they're always there. Though I...guess it's probably the same for you. I don't see how anyone could forget them."

After another, brief pause, Peiter tightened his arms around Sabine and pulled her into his embrace to give her quite a long kiss. "At the very least, no matter what happens, I can be here right now, with you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi smiled and gave a slight huff. "Well, to be fair, Ri'vashi has mostly just been social with you. Some of the others this one has been speaking with have found her sudden outwardness a bit odd. They haven't said so, but Ri'vashi can tell. Relaxing with you, though...Ri'vashi will admit it has been nice."

As soon as the pair reached Ri'vashi's tent, she opened the flap and stepped inside. It was one of the larger tents, with standing room even for a Cathay. At its center was a small table with an array of neatly arranged documents and maps, though the markings she had made on the maps were far more haphazard. Evidently, she had been trying to draw up some alternative battle plan for the attack, but by the fact that she had not mentioned anything during the meeting, she had been unsuccessful. "Since we have some time, Ri'vashi has a proposal for you." She said as she motioned for Gallus to join her in the tent.

---

Peiter stared into Sabine's eyes for a few, long seconds before closing his own. "I...don't know." He said. He opened his eyes again, this time with a hint of a few tears. "That's the problem. I don't know what is going to happen to us. I know everything could go just fine, and that we have really powerful friends. My pack is going to be with Ri'vashi, who moves like some supernatural force, and you're going to be with Meesei, who is powerful like something out of a legend. But what if I get unlucky? What if you get unlucky? Or anyone else we care about? Our friends, the people we trust and that we'll be fighting with, they're not perfect. As strong as they are, as much as they can do, they can't see everything. They don't know everything that's going to happen. All it would take is one unlucky arrow out of a volley that they aren't able to protect us from."

Turning his body to face Sabine, Peiter pulled her into a tight hug. "I don't want to lose everything we have, and there are so many ways I can think of where that could happen."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Ri'vashi certainly would not mind relaxing, even just for a short time. Though, perhaps what she needs right now is just to sit down and talk. About something entirely unrelated to the attack or this march, preferably. Perhaps you want to sit down with this one for a while?" Ri'vashi asked.

Stepping away from the tree, Ri'vashi started walking in the direction of her tent. It was unlikely that any amount of encouragement or reassuring words could truly stop her from worrying about the impending attack, but that was understandable. At the very least, she could distract herself to prevent herself from thinking about it constantly.

---

Though he had been distant for the past few hours, Peiter did not reject Sabine's show of affection, but rather, embraced it readily. He reached one hand up and placed it on Sabine's cheek, then gave a soft smile. "The attack, naturally. It's all anyone's thinking about in camp. I didn't expect it to be this bad; the stress and anxiety that is. I mean, I've thought about it before in the march, and even before we found the Orcrest clan, but now it's just so...close. I'm afraid, enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. These massive battles between armies were always fun to hear about in stories, but thinking about everything that could go wrong is just too much. What if I end up fighting an opponent better than me...or just get unlucky with an arrow or spell? Everything could be over in an instant for me, and I might not be able to do anything about it. What's worse, I won't even be able to fight alongside you. How do I deal with the idea that tomorrow could be my last day on Nirn?"