EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though they had managed to group together, the fact that the enemy had refused to retreat meant that they were now surrounded. Following Lorag's orders, groups of lycans moved around behind the enemy, while others followed behind Lorag to push them from the front. Ahnasha followed behind Fendros and stopped for only a moment to resurrect the Cathay officer that Gallus had slain, both for the power of the corpse, and the psychological impact on the enemy. Kaleeth, Janius, and Ra'kalesh were close enough that they could follow behind Lorag pretty much immediately.

Peiter would have joined the fight quickly, but he spotted Sabine as he made his way across the room. Though she had been healed, her wounds were still obvious, and it was enough to break him away from the focus he had on his orders. "Are you alright? What happened, are you hurt?" Peiter asked, stopping in front of Sabine.

Regardless of Peiter's participation, the fight for this room was quickly reaching its end. Despite their perseverance, the enemy was too outnumbered, and in too bad of a position to mount an effective defense. They were fighting desperately, but lacked too many of the advantages lycan hunters usually required to kill their prey. Most of them may have had at least one silver weapon, but without numbers, superior positioning, or a cunning strategy, they had no real way to turn the fight to their favor. Lycans, by nature, were physically superior in melee combat, and had just as much training as their enemy. It was an advantage that had shown itself prevalent throughout the attack. Whatever strategies the enemy had prepared to defend their fortress had been bypassed with the infiltration and concealing mist, so the dominating factor in the battle had been simple combat ability. For this particular fight, it meant the room would be clear within minutes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, she carries a sword and mace now

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius' blade cut deep into the Khajiit's arm, and despite her own pain, Kaleeth was still easily capable of fighting back. While he was occupied by Janius, she gave a thrust from her blade that cleanly cut through all of the layers of cloth protecting his chest, the flesh underneath, and his spine. If he was not immediately dead, he was entirely paralyzed. Meanwhile, Ra'kalesh had taken over with the Redguard and was parrying his strikes with apparent ease.

Despite the overall disorganization of the fighting, Lorag's reinforcements started pushing the fight strongly in their favor. There were a few individuals among the enemy that attempted to make a break for the exit behind them, but the majority of the enemy simply tried to group together for their last stand. Casualties were mounting on both sides, but the enemy was down to only ten healthy combatants, three of which were archers wielding their sidearms.

As Lorag was running to the center of the room, he intended to carry his momentum into the rest of his allies. As hard as the enemy was fighting, Lorag reasoned they could be overwhelmed with an aggressive, coordinated attack to end it quickly. "Come on, with me! One last push to clear these vermin out of this room!" He shouted as he barreled straight into the largest group of the remaining enemy. Lorag actually did take a solid hit to his side from an enemy Imperial's mace that he wasn't able to fully parry, but it did not diminish the energy from his rallying cry. Nor did it temper the raging ferocity with which he fought. Without help, he could be overwhelmed, but he knew his allies would be right behind him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros received an answer quickly to his question, though it was not from Ahnasha. "Just fine." A voice sounded out from the doorway behind them. For anyone looking back, they could easily see Lorag standing at the door, his armor covered in blood. Though, from the way he was standing, very little of it appeared to be his own. He marched into the room, bringing in his reinforcements behind him.

Lorag was, of course, heading straight up the center of the room into the thickest of the fighting. The disorganized skirmishing that the fighting had broken into across the room made it even easier for him to be effective, though it also made it more difficult to prevent allied losses. The enemy were surprisingly fierce, and while they were hopelessly outnumbered, they were still focused on defending the room. It was possible that they were delaying, or that there was something in the room worth dying for.

Peiter was among the reinforcements moving in behind Lorag, and was far less bloody overall. It looked like he had received a hit to the head from the bruising on his face, but he was obviously still in good enough condition to fight. There was no organized formation he could fall into, so he looked around for Sabine as he advanced forward, wanting to know if she was still safe.

For Ra'kalesh, the outcome of his fight was decided as soon as he got his hands on the Bosmer. He knew exactly how to twist her arm, and where to strike in order to break the arm beyond use. From there, he kicked her down to her knees and got his hands around her head to snap her neck. Kaleeth, meanwhile, found the opportunity to quickly slice her blade across the thigh of Janius' Redguard opponent after he narrowly evaded one of Janius' attacks. Unfortunately, Kaleeth underestimated how quickly her own opponent would be able to take advantage of the opportunity. The Suthay-raht had been watching Kaleeth fight, so he had started to pick up on her form. She had slightly overcommitted to her swing on the Redguard, so she was not able to parry the Khajiit's blade in time. His blade came straight for her head, and while she did save herself by ducking, his sword came far closer to killing her than she ever would have been comfortable with. It sliced straight through the membrane of the fin on the right side of her head, and cut a thin gash across the top of her head.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth stayed close to Janius to fight them off by his side. With how often they trained together, she knew quite well the majority of his fighting style, as he did for her. She could guess how he would respond when the enemy approached, so she tried to do what she could to support him. Given that he had more experience, she felt it would be best for him to take the lead in the fight.

Both Janius and Kaleeth had one of their opponents attempt to hold their attention from the front, while another moved around to flank Janius. But, before they could do any damage, Janius’ call for help was answered in the form of Ra’kalesh moving up to Janius’ left flank. He deftly parried the Bosmer woman’s silver sword with one of his vambraces, then grabbed a hold of her wrist and started to twist it back. Janius could use the opening to land a killing blow, but with Ra’kalesh’s martial arts experience, it would not likely be necessary in a grapple.

For the mage, there was little else he could do in time to save himself from Fendros. He could not resist Sabine’s strength, and with her hands grasping his arms, he could not even run. The cold from her spell merely added to his pain and sense of desperation. He managed to angle down the dagger to cut Sabine’s arm slightly, and he was able to use his knee to strike at her stomach and groin, but in the seconds he had to react, he did little of consequence to stop Fendros.

As Gallus expected, the officer could not react in time to save his own life. Unfortunately, his death did not cause near as much disarray in the ranks as he might have hoped. Another of the enemy was already giving orders, and they were overall not backing down. The enemy had already lost a little less than half of their soldiers holding the room, but so too had some of Gallus’ warriors fallen. Apart from the ambush from the elite soldiers in the courtyard, this was the most intense fighting they had encountered yet. The enemy wanted to hold this room, and it would be a fight to clear them from it.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak grinned. "And I must say, I am quite fond of carrying you. I want to take you higher than before; to the limits of where my wings can carry us. At that height, buildings can be like specks of dust on the landscape beneath you. Being above the clouds, you can watch them pass by like mountains in the sky. There is a point, far above the ground, where the horizon itself starts to bend. I do not believe I could take you there, but...I think you will enjoy it regardless."

With their plans decided upon, the pair started making their way towards the building's exit, but Ssarak still had Meirin's scent on his mind, and did not want to pass on the opportunity to compliment her on it. "I would also like to say, your scent is simply wonderful. It is bold, but not overbearing. It is sweet, and exotic...well, to me at least. It flatters me that you would wear it for our time together, and makes me regret that I did not do the same for you."

Given the context of the scents Meirin was wearing, Ssarak once more started to think about the dress, but from a different perspective. He never would have known her to wear something so restrictive, but she had also used a scented oil or perfume for the first time since he had known her. He understood the meaning of perfumes, and could not help but to wonder if her sudden change in attire was for the same reason. Reflecting on how he had responded to the dress, his expression quickly turned to regret. "Oh...wait, did you wear the dress for...me as well? I am so sorry, I did not realize...I of course appreciate you doing such things for me, but..." He stammered, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "It is just, in my village, we never used clothing in that manner, or many other purposes that were not strictly practical. We were usually either nude, or just wore simple loincloths, pouches, and such. I never knew clothing was used in so many ways in Human lands. I am still sometimes learning what is appropriate or expected to wear in what occasions. I truly hope I did not offend. Should I be wearing anything different right now?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I may not be able to post tonight. I'm home, but I'm pretty tired from this day of moving.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It had only taken a moment’s distraction for Janius to be able to follow through with an attack that was unquestionably lethal. The axe cleaved through the Suthay’s neck and shoulder, and severed her body’s largest artery. The bleeding was enough to render her unconscious in seconds, and dead soon after. Unfortunately, where one fell, two joined the fray. The opponent Kaleeth had injured had again recovered, and now there were two swordsmen beside him. They were already advancing to attack the pair and make use of their numbers. Though, some of the other lycans were also fighting their way through the enemy on the right side of the room, and could potentially be in a position to flank shortly.
Sabine’s wild punch was indeed easily blocked for the Khajiit mage, though even a blocked strike from Sabine hit harder than he was prepared for. She came close to fracturing a bone in his forearm, but regardless, he was too absorbed in the fight to pay attention to the pain. He managed to land a punch straight on her nose before she could guard her head, then clawed at her armed twice before he switched to striking at her torso. He landed two solid blows to her chest, then to her stomach, then decided to tackle her to the ground.

The Khajiit was going to start trying to claw at Sabine’s neck when he noticed her dagger. Because Sabine was panicking in the melee, she could not grab it before he did. Since her hand was right next to the blade, he stabbed it straight towards her palm.

Overconfident as he might have been, Gallus’ attack was nevertheless effective. A Cathay was a hard target to topple, but the pain he was in from his broken ribs meant that he was not as focused as he could have been. As such, he overcompensated when Gallus pulled at his leg and ended up falling to his right. He was certainly not in an advantageous position against Gallus, but that would not keep him from trying to fight back. Already, the Cathay was taking a swing at Gallus’ ankles while on the ground.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'll have to respond tomorrow, if I can. I don't think I'll have time tonight. Goodnight.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak was quite patient in the hallway for Meirin to return. He understood that she would want to clean up after a bout of what he assumed to be training, though he did start to notice that it was taking a bit longer than he would have expected. Nevertheless, he did not even think of moving until she returned. Mostly, his thoughts were filled with brainstorming on where he could actually take her. He had made the decision to spend the day with her not long ago, so it occurred to him that he did not have many specific ideas in mind.

When Meirin finally emerged, Ssarak found himself surprised for more than one reason. Given how Meirin usually dressed, he did of course notice her new attire, along with the attention she had put into her hair. It was green, with a floral design on its lower half. It had quite a large bow tied around her midsection, and seemed more loose than her usual garb. Overall, it did not seem nearly as practical as what she usually wore, which struck him as odd. For Ssarak, he had no concept of what it meant to "dress up." In his village, both men and women certainly had ways of improving their appearance for those they wanted to impress, but they did not use clothing to accomplish it. As such, the meaning of her new dress was lost on him.

Certainly, though...I have to admit, I am not entirely resolute on what we should do. I only learned I would have this free time recently, so...I am making up my plans as we go along." Ssarak chuckled. "But, I think we have plenty of options. We could take a walk around the gardens, or perhaps the forest, we could go for a swim, or fly up to the rooftops and have a nice dinner as we look out over the landscape. Or, now that your magic can allow you to fly yourself, I would feel more comfortable flying you up to the highest altitude I can carry you. The world looks so much different from up there. For me, I have no preference. I am just happy to spend the time with you."

As Ssarak allowed Meirin a moment to think, he took a look at her dress once more, this time with a curious expression. It was unusual enough that he could not help but to comment. "You know, you look different from usual. That dress is not like the clothing you usually wear. It is...lively and flowing, like the waves on a lake. But, it does not look easy to move around in. I am surprised you would want to wear it."

A few moments later, now that Ssarak was paying close attention, he noticed the scents of the oils Meirin had put on herself. They smelled sweet, like the flower he had given her. It was quite pleasant, and for Ssarak, it was something he could understand. While those in his village did not dress themselves to impress their lovers, perfumes were something they did use. The scents they had access to were far different from what Meirin was wearing, granted, but they were still pleasant, and he understood the intent behind it. He quickly started to smile upon the realization that she seemed to want to impress him.