EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Before Ariel had too much time to wonder what Sabine was whispering about, Meesei gave a nod. "Agreed."

Looking back up to Ariel, Meesei transitioned into a more serious demeanor. "While it has been wonderful to simply catch up with you, I do feel that I should not go too long without telling you why we have come here. We actually traveled here specifically to speak with you, Ariel. There has been a...development in our struggle against Vile. I am sure you remember the suppression gas. It has been re-created by the enemy, likely with a slightly different formula since your old antidote no longer works. But, that is only a small portion of the troubles we face. The real threat is that our enemy has managed to modify the gas into a more deadly concoction. They call it the soul-tearing gas. It rends any soul with a bonded beast spirit straight from the body, killing almost immediately as soon as the lycan has inhaled a lethal dose. We have been doing everything we can to research this foul creation, but given the magnitude of the threat, I felt it would be irresponsible not to come to you."

---

Yizan turned his head away slowly, looking down out into space at the foot of his bed. Hearing even an edited version of Dar-Tzesa's final days did nothing to improve his mood. In fact, it served to bring tears to his eyes the more he thought about what he had said. "She...died from you capturing her. Y-you killed my mother. I..."

Needless to say, Najan-Ja was not pleased overall, and was especially irritated when Gallus asked to speak with him and his wife separately from Yizan. His wife actually started to stand up from her chair when Gallus made the request, but Najan raised up his hand to signal for her to stop. "No, I'm sick of these delays and vague words. If you have a cure, or solution, or whatever word you want to use for it, then just tell us. Yizan-Lei's struggles have turned him into a fine young man, and he can hear you just as well as we can. No more context or questions, just say what you came here to say."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded. "Yes, it is a general rule to keep them away from any glassware unsupervised. Especially if they also have Leaps with them. Part of me is reluctant to want them to teach him any commands. I imagine the trouble they could get into with a tamed, trained wamasu would be...magnified."

Pausing a moment to finish off the last of her tea, another thought crossed Meesei's mind. "I do not suppose you have gained any pets over the last few years? We are always careful to keep Leaps away from any potential prey animals that we would like to keep alive." She commented. At the same time, she was also starting to wonder at what point it would be prudent to bring up their reason for visiting Black Marsh to begin with. For the sake of secrecy, none of the letters to Ariel had mentioned that they would be there specifically for her.

---

It was difficult to say how Yizan was taking all of the information that Gallus was describing to him. as it was difficult for him to be expressive in his condition. Even some of the muscles in his face had started to atrophy from his malnutrition. "So those people...didn't have a cure at all? And my mother, she acted like your leader to help the cultists take your souls? That sounds horrible; mother would never want to be a part of that. But if they had a cure then...well you were able to stop them, right? H-how did mother die?"

Seeing the fear start to form on Yizan's face, Najan interjected in a less hostile, but still firm tone. "Outsider...Gallus, I want to know what happened to my sister, I really do, but please do not force my nephew to wait any longer for the news he has been awaiting. If you have a way to help his condition, please just tell us."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a light, amused huff. “Sabine has certainly matured quite a lot over the last few years. Hircine knows I had to deal with that realization very quickly. Regardless, I am nothing but proud of her.”

As the conversation moved on to the children, Meesei was curious how Ariel would react to seeing Rhazii again, and Newt for the first time. “Oh, Rhazii and Newt have grown quite a lot. Rhazii may actually be bigger than you might have expected. He is a Cathay, so he is larger than your standard Khajiit. Honestly, I’m not sure if he will remember you, given how young he was when you saw him last. He is an outgoing child, though, so I am sure he will love to meet you. A consequence of living in such a large clan is that he meets new people quite frequently.”
---
Yizan-Lei was both immediately interested and somewhat confused when Gallus said that she had “perhaps” found the cure. He was not sure what kind of shades of grey could exist between finding or not finding a cure. Regardless, he answered as best as he could. “It…does a few things. It stops my scales from having…pigs? Pig-ments? I think that’s the word. But the worst is that it keeps me from eating. No matter how much I try, no matter how hungry I am, I just can’t eat. It just…comes right back up. I could eat some at first, but it’s got worse. I can drink some, and the alchemists made me something that is kind of like food, but I…can’t drink enough of it. They said I’m going to be able to live on it for a few more…months…maybe…”

Yizan seemed to have trouble continuing. Meanwhile, his uncle had his eyes on Gallus. His gaze made it very clear that he was critiquing every single thing that Gallus was saying and doing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's expression remained just as encouraging as it had been when Sabine had broken down back in Cheydinhal. "Your sister is completely correct. Personally, I believe Ariel could have some good advice for you. Honestly, I think siblings possess an extra sense devoted to helping each other."

Meesei chuckled. "Last time we spoke about this, Sabine turned the tables on me and started questioning me on my romantic tastes. You are clever like that. I do not think that will work on your sister, though. It is already established that she has a taste in kind, handsome Argonian innkeepers." She said as she turned her head back to Sabine. She was keeping her tone light to preserve levity in the conversation. Meesei felt that the more times Sabine could approach this type of conversation lightheartedly, the easier it would be for her to move past Peiter completely.

---

Najan's irritated expression gave Gallus a very clear answer to his uncertainty. "Do not draw out his feelings any longer than you have to."

Quickly shifting to a much more solemn tone, Najan brought his hands together and looked down at Yizan. "According to this man, your mother perished on her quest. I am sorry, nephew."

"I know she did the very best for you." The Argonian woman at his bedside added. She was obviously affected by the news as well, but as Najan had said before, they had already come to terms with her fate.

Yizan could not bring himself to make eye contact with either Gallus or his uncle for at least a minute straight. He was silent for a while before finally speaking up weakly, but clearly. His Cyrodilic was accented, but better than that of his uncle. "Did she find the cure?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei rubbed her chin. "Hmm, it is hard to say if their motivation truly is the rumors of your magic, or if it lies with you being non-Argonian. Not without knowing them. In either case, you may yet be able to warm up to them. Argonians do have the reputation to be slow to trust, but very loyal to loved ones. Once you do gain their trust, you would have to do something very drastic to lose it. I have to resist the urge to offer my help, as I know it is a personal matter for you and Rukeewei. I would not want to involve myself where it would not be appropriate."

Looking over to Sabine beside her, Meesei put on a smile and placed her hand on her shoulder. "I think I shall focus my efforts into giving Sabine here all of my advice on love. She has had some setbacks recently, but I think she is beginning to look ahead to the future."

---

While he was startled at the number of weapons Gallus possessed, the Argonian did calm down noticeably once the weapons were in his possession. "Yes...well you may call me Najan-Ja. Dar-Tzesa was my sister. If you are going to speak about her, I ask you be sensitive to her son. The rest of us accepted her likely fate long ago, but...he has still been holding hope. Just...come in."

As Najan allowed them in, he guided them to a small room just to the left of the entrance. Inside, there was only a single table, a chair, and a bed, on which lay Yizan-Lei. If Gallus had any preconceived notions of what he was like, the reality was probably as bad or worse. Yizan was wearing only a simple pair of worn cloth trousers, so his overall condition was readily apparent. His scales had lost most of their color and were actually slightly translucent, much like an elderly Argonian, although he was only an adolescent, perhaps slightly younger than Sabine. Additionally, he scarcely had any muscles left on his body. His arms and legs were little more than bone, to the point where it was questionable that he could even stand, and his ribs were plainly visible above his seemingly malnourished stomach. Beside him in the chair was a dark-scaled Argonian woman of the same age as Najan in a plain cloth dress.

"This man is here with...news about your mother, Yizan-Lei." Najan-Ja announced.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei was chuckling internally right along with Sabine upon Ariel's reaction. Eventually, Ariel regained her composure enough to continue her questioning. "His father is a staunch traditionalist, from what I heard." Meesei answered. "I never met him myself, though I imagine I would have liked to. I have to admit that I get some personal enjoyment over proving my magical prowess to those who doubt me. Especially if they are doubting me for being Argonian. Regardless, the majority of Fendros' family were eventually glad to see him, so I believe Ahnasha and Fendros found the wedding to be a success."

"Have there been any troubles for you here?" Meesei continued, looking curiously at Ariel. "I know you are with Rukeewei; has his family been accommodating to you? Or does he have family in the city, other than his brother? Are there any people in the city who have mistreated you because of it? Thorn does have more outside influence than a lot of Black Marsh cities, but I know well how isolationist Argonians can be. Luckily, Black Marsh has never had anything specifically against Bretons, being on the exact opposite side of Tamriel from High Rock."

---

Again, the Argonian took a while to respond. He looked Gallus and Cuts over from top to bottom, the suspicion never leaving his eyes. Obviously, he was having difficulty resolving what to do about the information that had been thrust upon him, let alone Gallus' insistence to come inside. "Outsiders have caused nothing but pain ever since they have stepped into our lives. If my nephew's sickness wasn't enough, they come and take away the only parent he had left. But, if you really are their enemy..."

The Argonian gave another look over Gallus, particularly focusing on his blade. "If you both give me your weapons, I will let you into my home."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei shook her head lightly. "I am sorry. I know it is a tempting topic of conversation, but I would rather us not speak of it at all, unless it is necessary. It is, after all, the most important secret we have, and you never know who may be listening at any time. Particularly in a place as crowded as Thorn. That said, as long as we do not physically describe our home, I have no problem speaking about events in the clan."

After another sip of tea, Meesei clasped her hands together in front of her. "Regardless, the others are securing rooms for us in Rukeewei's inn, so we will be heading over there later. I am glad everything has been going well for you. In light of recent events, I believe I have come to appreciate stability far more than I ever have before. The knowledge that your next day will be as safe and prosperous as the previous is comforting, to say the least. Perhaps that is why Ahnasha and Fendros elected to be married."

---

The man did not respond immediately. In fact, it took some time for him to react at all. He lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes as he allowed the silence to hang over them in the air. He breathed out slowly, and at first, only seemed to speak his response as an afterthought. "We had feared this for a while, but that does not make it less...painful to hear."

Looking back up at Gallus, the Argonian started to bare his teeth ever so slightly. "But if you are...if you..." He started before quickly becoming frustrated with Cyrodilic and switching to Jel. "If you are one of those degenerates that used her grief to take her away from us, then I would have you nowhere near my nephew."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei took a sip of her tea, glad to finally be able to relax properly after so long being cramped up within the ship. "The journey itself was mostly dull, fortunately. There were no surprises, just walking and sailing. Though, we did have some...mostly pleasant affairs in Cheydinhal. As for Skyrim, it has been a good home for us, perhaps just because we have been able to find such a wonderfully secluded home within it. I apologize that we have not been able to describe it to you as of yet, but I have taken to being exceptionally careful concerning its secrecy. Our letters may take a bit longer to reach one another, but you can rest assured that we are safe."

Taking another drink, Meesei looked around the room. It was obviously not as decorated as the shop below, but it was more indicative of Ariel's personal life in the city. "It is good to see that your shop seems to be doing well. I heard you faced some flooding damage, though that is nothing uncommon in Black Marsh. Most buildings tend to be built for it. Has everything else been going well in the city? Any interesting stories to tell?" She asked.

---

The mention of Dar-Tzesa's name caused the man to immediately become much more severe, and further strengthened his suspicion. He appeared to be on-edge, but did not yet do anything to distance himself from Gallus. He merely kept his grip tightly on the door as his gaze went down to the feather in Gallus' hand. "I would ask you to explain yourself to me, clearly and...directly."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The first thing Meesei noticed upon stepping into the shop was, of course, the scent. With all of the perfumes and other volatile liquids, the scents were particularly overwhelming for an Argonian lycanthrope. She would not say it aloud, but it was honestly not especially pleasant, though she suspected the perfumes would be much more agreeable when taken individually. In any case, the average Argonian nose would not be as offended, so it was not likely an issue to her business.

Aside from the scents, Meesei was pleased to see the shop in its fully completed state. After all this time, Ariel had no doubt had the chance to get everything just as she wanted to maximize both her business, and personal satisfaction. Granted, Ariel did not have too much space to work with, but the shop did give a sense of her tastes.

Stepping inside, Meesei was of course much less excitable than Sabine, and she did not squeeze the breath out of Ariel like Sabine when she hugged her, but she wore a smile nonetheless. Ariel was one of the first friends she had made outside her pack since she first left her village, and one of the few non-lycan friends she had now. Ariel had made great sacrifices to help them in the past, so Meesei held a great deal of respect and trust for her. “It is good to see you, Ariel. My apologies for the delay in getting here; we had a detour through Cheydinhal that caused the journey to take longer than we initially told you in our last letter. Regardless, we are all safe and in good health. Still, I expect there will be quite a lot of catching up to do.”

---

As Gallus might have suspected, the man’s immediate reaction was one of suspicion. It was a common reaction for the majority of the people he had been questioning that day, but this time, the man took on a more notably defensive posture than usual. He held his hand tightly on the door, ready to slam it shut at a moment’s notice.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to need a more…specific reason why a strange outsider is wanting to talk to my nephew before I do anything.” The Argonian responded.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I've been working on a paper, but I'm just about to turn it in, so I should be able to post soon.