EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag pulled out one of the potions and stepped up to Kaleeth. "Yeah, and from what I remember, some of those cuts came from silver too.' He commented as he handed off one of the potions to her. She was somewhat reluctant to take a potion that someone else might need, but upon the insistence of the others, she accepted it.

Since Kaleeth had a potion, Ahnasha was the one other than Meesei that Sabine would want to help. She rubbed her injured shoulder lightly for a few seconds after Sabine made the offer, then nodded. "I should probably get your help, actually. A Senche trampled, me, dislocated my shoulder. I'd like to be able to use a bow as soon as possible, in case we need to defend the camp."

Meesei did not give much of an outward reaction to the news of Do'ajee's death, though that was mostly because the many other tragedies they had faced in the attack had been dulling her to the pain of the losses.

A few moments later, another individual stepped into the tent, this time a Breton woman. Surprisingly, she did not appear uncomfortable to be walking in on a pack potentially giving their goodbyes to their leader, but she was at least polite. "Forgive me. I am Marcaille, the clan's lead Restorationist. I know I am probably intruding, but I want to stay with the Champion for tonight. Remain with her, try to help her survive as best as I can. Even if the chances aren't good, I would rather try than not." She explained. Oddly, the other healer had described Marcaille as an old Breton, but she appeared to be reasonably young.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hopefully so." Ahnasha commented, regarding the gas. "With that kind of weapon, this war could become a lot shorter if we can develop no way to fight it. Any clan relying on strength instead of secrecy to defend itself could be wiped out almost without effort...like Bruma."

Kaleeth shifted uncomfortably as the conversation moved to the gas. She had not seen its effects firsthand, but Meesei's description of it was utterly terrifying to her. "Do you...think they have much more of it with them? There are still a lot of us here to defend the camp, but with that gas...would they really need a lot of soldiers?"

Meesei thought back on her memory of the attack as she considered Kaleeth's concern. "It is possible, but they did use quite a lot of the gas as we were escaping. They attempted to bring down the entire keep and fill it with gas. Then, tried to trap us in the courtyard and gas it as well. If we are fortunate, their supply will be low."

"Hopefully." Ahnasha said once more. It was just another concern to add to their list of worries. "What about that shield? Does it mean that Peryite has sided with Vile?"

"Possibly, but there is no guarantee." Meesei answered. "Peryite could have gifted it to him as a part of an alliance, but there are many other ways he could have come about it. He may have simply performed a one-time task for the Daedra and received it as a reward. Or, he simply could have had it recovered through conventional means. Daedric artifacts do frequently change owners without the intervention, or even knowledge, of the Daedra. While powerful, many of them are still physical items like any other. They can be lost, stolen, sold, and so on."

Shortly afterwards, Lorag returned from outside bearing a small sack. "Okay, so I have potions, but there's one problem. Healing supplies are apparently runnin' a bit thin right now, with all the wounded and such. Healer said that only people who are badly hurt, or have silver wounds should take potions for now. Anyone else'll have to suck it up, deal with the pain, and let their regeneration handle it."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Shortly after Lorag left, the others began to settle in as best as they could. The tent was somewhat cramped, but it was not the lack of space that was making most of the pack uncomfortable. Meesei was not sure what she could say to calm the minds of her family, and was glad when Fendros gave them something to at least converse about.

Meesei nodded. "Yes. The enemy was not expecting me to cross the gap, so it was easy to remain undetected once inside. I fount my way upstairs, and followed the sound of fighting to Ra'jorr, and Do'rhajul. The General was leading the defense himself; he wore Imperial-styled armor, carried a silver longsword, and bore the legendary shield, Spellbreaker. It was the last of those which spelled my defeat. The fight started out well at first. In that chamber, Ra'jorr's forces greatly outnumbered those of the enemy. Do'rhajul commanded his soldiers quite competently, but there was simply no way they could hold against us. We steadily pushed them back, with myself and Ra'jorr fighting the General directly. But, he was an exceptionally skilled opponent. Even with me keeping his attention with a spell, he killed Ra'jorr outright. Even so, we still would have been victorious. We pushed them back to the far end of the chamber, with only a handful of soldiers left to defend the General. Then...the gas arrived."

There was clear discomfort in Meesei's expression from her recollection of the gas. The screams of the unfortunate lycans who had their souls ripped from their bodies were still vivid in Meesei's mind. Even if she did not survive the night, she was thankful she had not shared that fate. "A pair of soldiers brought it up in a barrel. It spread rapidly once Do'rhajul released it. Upon breathing it in, every lycan began to scream in pain. They collapsed to the ground, terrified. It...seemed like their very souls were being ripped from their bodies. All except for myself, and Do'rhajul. He drank a potion before releasing the gas, likely an antidote. As for me, I believe it was Hircine's Ring which protected me. Both the suppression gas and this new weapon target the combined soul of a lycan and their beast spirit. Since the Ring grants complete control over that soul, I believe the Ring's magic overpowers that of the gas."

"As for the fight after the gas was released, the General dismissed the rest of his soldiers. He did not seem to think they would be able to help him against me. I fought him alone, but...he was too strong for me." Meesei explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei shook her head towards Janius. "No, the thought has not really crossed my mind. One of the prominent attributes of eternity is that there will be quite a lot of time for me to think of questions...when that day comes. For now, I am more concerned about this moment; I foresee myself maintaining healing spells for quite a long time tonight. And of course, I would much rather spend my time talking to you than speculating on my future."

With Meesei's insistence that the others deal with their own injuries, there were a few who actually started paying attention to them for the first time. Ahnasha had been favoring one arm since being trampled by the Senche, and when she rubbed the back of her neck, her hand returned with fresh blood. The wound she had received at the beginning of the attack had not been severe, but it had been closed by her regeneration and reopened a few times as she moved around during the fight. Kaleeth, meanwhile, had even more obvious wounds. She had picked up a few bruised, and some superficial cuts from the time she spent transformed, but her largest wound was received when one of the enemy thrust a steel sword straight into her abdomen during their escape. Since it lacked silver, the blood had already clotted; however, the wound was one wrong movement away from reopening. Lorag had received his own set of bruises, but his armor was hiding any trace of them. He was still having a difficult time facing Meesei, so he let out a sigh and looked towards the exit of the tent. "I'll, uh, go see about some potions or somethin'."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei closed her eyes for a few seconds and allowed herself to simply breathe for a few moments, and focus her healing magic onto herself once more. Opening her eyes again, she addressed Fendros first. "You can tell anyone that might want to speak to me that I am awake. I will speak to anyone who comes to me, but I do not want to compel anyone to come to me if they do not desire it. I understand situations like this can be...uncomfortable. Otherwise, try to get some rest, and tend to your own health. I can see a few wounds on you all that look to have been left alone. I know you worry for me, but consider it my request that you worry about yourselves as well."

For Sabine, Meesei gave her a comforting hug. She spoke softly, in that distinctly motherly tone that tended to surface during their more tender conversations. "Sabine, you can help me in whatever way you feel is best. If you want to spend this night with me, I will enjoy your company. But, my advice to the others applies to you as well. Before you worry about me, you need to tend to yourself. I do not need magic to see that you were hurt in the fight. Your face was bleeding, broken nose, perhaps? You took a few more heavy blows, at least three to the chest, a few to the stomach. Nothing made with silver, but that just means it should not take too long to tend to. You treat yourself, then I will let you help me however you like."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag had been standing in the back of the group in silence, but having spoken to everyone else, he did not escape Meesei's sight for long. "Lorag." She said simply, calling clear attention to him.

In a truly rare display of weakness, Lorag appeared to be nervous as he stepped between the others to approach the table. As a soldier, he had dealt with death many times before, but his demeanor now made it seem as if he had never even seen a corpse before. The notion that Meesei was likely to die broke down most of the barriers he placed between himself and others. He was not in tears, by any means, but a keen eye could spot his hands quivering as they spoke. "Alpha, this...you can beat this. If there's anyone in this gods forsaken world that can beat it, it's you."

"I will do my best, Lorag. But, if the worst does come to pass, I will rest easy knowing you can keep everything together. You are a rock, in more ways than one. Perhaps you are not the most eloquent or outgoing individual, but you are inspiring. You possess a strength that any soldier can recognize. More so than my own, in many ways. Magic can inspire awe in the average person, but for those who are not mages, it is not something they can relate to. Your strength comes from your deadly skill and iron will. If there is someone behind whom Tamriel's lycans can rally, it is you." Meesei responded. Though her words were entirely confident, there was still a certain sadness in her expression, especially as her gaze turned back upon Sabine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even seeing that Meesei and Fendros were trying to have some humor about the situation, Ahnasha was having a hard time reciprocating. The whole situation, everything Meesei was saying to the others, nearly had her in tears. When she finally did give a response to Fendros, her levity was obviously forced. "Not on your life."

"Hmm, true, I will admit that you are still like a thunderstorm, Ahnasha." Meesei commented. "It is just, you used to be a hurricane. Do not take it as criticism, of course. I think we can both agree that your life has been improved by some stability. You have a son, more time to relax, but...well, I know you are not going to let Fendro's life become boring. Just try not to cause too much trouble for them."

With some hesitation, Meesei began to look at Ahnasha more seriously. She leaned slightly closer, and spoke more softly. "And Ahnasha...I understand why you are doing what you are doing. I cannot begrudge your decisions, but please, promise me that you will not allow yourself to fall down a dark path. Just...take care."

"Of course...Alpha." Ahnasha answered meekly. She held her head low, and despite her best efforts, could not hide her shame as she glanced to Fendros.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You will both be excellent parents." Meesei responded, smiling at the pair. "Admittedly, even I still have a hard time imagining you settling down as a family man, Janius. But, that seems to be closer and closer to reality. I am just hoping that you continue building your magical knowledge, and perhaps pass that along to your son, if he has an interest in it. You know how I love to teach others of the arcane; perhaps you might enjoy it as well?"

Moving on to the other members of her pack, Meesei's eyes settled on Fendros and Ahnasha. "Of course, I do not want to diminish your parenting skills. I think you have all been learning from one another. I know I have not given you as much advice as I perhaps should have, but you have all done quite well regardless. Four years ago, back when you were still living at the vineyard in Cheydinhal, I do not think you could ever have imagined were you would be now. Hmm, I must admit, even I underestimated you. I did not expect you to be able to calm the raging tempest of passion and pride that was Ahnasha."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei managed to give a chuckle. "My plan is not to die, but..." She began, her voice trailing off. "I love you, Sabine." Though it took considerable effort on her part, Meesei managed to lift up her upper body enough to wrap her free arm around Sabine to give her a hug.

Kaleeth, meanwhile, slightly jumped upon hearing Janius' voice. The mixture of intense sadness and fear she was feeling had kept her entirely stiff and silent, so the nudge from Janius had been necessary to get her to do much of anything. Even so, she stepped up to the table slowly, and with rapid breaths.

"M-Meesei. I...this is yours; you should have it." Kaleeth said quickly, only scarcely holding back tears. She reached out and placed the Ring firmly in Meesei's hand, and made sure she had a good grip on it before letting go.

Meesei grinned, then carefully slipped the ring onto her finger. "Thank you, Kaleeth. You have been a good caretaker for it. You used it well during our escape. I know you were brought into our world, this...existence of struggles and war, without really understanding what it was you were getting into, but I have been glad for your company over the past few years. You are among the most kind and caring people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And, while I know it may be hard for you to see at times, I have also seen you become strong. Capable. Whatever life you choose for yourself when this is all over, I think it will suit you well."

Shifting her gaze to Janius, Meesei continued in a voice that at least sounded upbeat. "And Janius...despite all odds, you have grown so much since we first met. Due in no small part to a certain crocodile, no doubt."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Still here, flying into clouds and stuff.