EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After a while with no response from Rhazii, despite his clear intention of trying, Julan gave a huff. "Hmph, too much like a big dog I'd say."

Julan cocked his head to the side and started to look Rhazii over both curiously and critically. Naturally, he had been taught about all aspects of lycanthropy for as long as he could remember. He understood that there was another being inside of them; a Daedric "vestige," as his Aunt Meesei described it. He understood that, when it first started to wake up, as it had in Rhazii, it could be hard to control. Particularly during full moons. He had been told that Rhazii might not be entirely himself tonight, though he did have a difficult time really understanding how different he was or was not. Regardless, it was clear they were not going to be having any conversations for a while. "Well...can you still play or something?" He asked.

---

Normally, it was not too long after a kill and subsequent meal that the pack was able to bring themselves to revert forms, but even for experienced lycans, the full moons delayed them. They waited by the water for a time, resting after their hunt. Kaleeth eventually emerged from the water and curled up on the riverbank, and after a while, Julan laid himself down, leaning against her to rest after he exhausted himself playing in the river. Among the pack, only he and Janius were truly comfortable spending any extended time in such close proximity to Kaleeth during the moons. With the exception of her mate and her child, she had complained in the past that her beast grew agitated whenever it felt like it was being crowded. It was highly unlikely that her beast spirit would be able to compel her to do anything violent towards anyone else in the pack, but they gave her space regardless, at the very least for her own comfort.

Ahnasha had been able to transform back before Rhazii, so she was simply waiting for him to be able to follow suit. She would give him some time to recover and regain his normal state of mind, but she would need to speak to him about the hunt.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Altogether, the pack had collected a fair amount of meat for them. Chaurus were not as fast as werewolves, and the insects had been outnumbered, so there was not much of a chance for them to escape. The pack could certainly eat more than what they had, but it would be enough for everyone to have something. Certainly, it would satisfy their beasts enough to allow them to rest and transform back after a while. All apart from Kaleeth collected their kills together on land, while Kaleeth herself was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, she was under the surface of the water with her kill.

Despite the massive size difference between them at the moment, and the insect blood currently coating Rhazii's fur, Julan had no inhibitions about approaching Rhazii. Whan Rhazii started to sniff at his face, he laughed and reached up to scratch him behind his ears. "Heh, you are a big cat-dog." He grinned. "You pulled that thing open! What did it taste like? Did it get its pincers on you? How hard is it to keep running around like that after that ghost lady hit you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While it was not the cleanest of kills, Rhazii had the natural instincts of how to attack the creature. Something like a deer would have been easier for him, since it had a less well-protected neck, but it was dead regardless. The rest of the attack was going as well as expected for the remainder of the pack. Some of the chaurus had fought back, while others had fled into the water, but the result was the same in both cases.

For the sake of Rhazii, Ahnasha was able to forego the usual order for eating their kills. Chaurus, with their hard shells, could be more difficult to eat than normal prey. Not to mention, Rhazii would need to avoid the venom gland. He had spoke about it before, but it was a different matter to be able to act on those rational thoughts during a full moon. Fortunately, his beast spirit would also naturally want to avoid any questionable meat, and the venom gland was particularly acidic. Once Rhazii had been eating on it for a while, Ahnasha did intend to join in as well. She did not expect him to put up any protest, given that his beast spirit was likely well-aware of its place in the pack, but she had to make sure that he was not prone to fighting against higher ranked members of the pack. In particular, she did not want him trying to steal any of Kaleeth's meals.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Nar Shaddaa, Veenra|~

~|Day 3, 6th Hour|~

---

Fa remained just as calm as she had been at any point in their conversation thusfar. Though, perhaps contrary to what Zora might have been expecting, she also became seemingly even more relaxed through Zora’s answer. Fa needed the information she had, so she had to adopt a strategy that Zora might respect, and would likely not expect from a Jedi.

“I think you may be pleasantly surprised by what I have to offer.” Fa responded. She did not hesitate for a moment in her response, and through at least her body language, showed confidence in her words. “One of the reasons you Sith are fighting the Republic is because you view it as weak, with politicians that work for their own gain through subterfuge and corruption instead of merit. I disagree with that sentiment, in general, but certainly you must admit that there are politicians or military commanders that would be more than willing to pardon a lowly Sith Apprentice in order to claim a prize as tempting as Darth Nyiss herself. Indeed, as a Jedi Battlemaster, I personally have the authority to grant you amnesty, though my motive is not political advantage. It may harm your pride to admit it, but I think you can recognize that Nyiss is far more important, politically and militarily, than yourself. I personally have hope that you can come to see the light after your second chance, but I also see the harm that can be prevented by stopping that menace.”

Fa gave a brief shrug, intent on making herself appear relaxed. In reality, if Zora did anything violent, Fa was ready to respond with what would likely be the most powerful burst of telekinetic energy that Zora would have ever witnessed in person. ‘And it is not as if I am suggesting to bring you to Coruscant in bindings. In fact, you do not have to come to Coruscant. I can offer to give you transport to a planet in Republic space with far less Republic influence. Or you could just stay here if you really wanted to, after you share the information you have. I imagine you want to stop living like a rat in this refuse pile of a moon, but I truly do not care where you go. I just want Nyiss.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite the experience the pack had in their beast forms, the moons enhanced the strength their beast spirits had in their minds. They could still follow their plan, but the anticipation of the kill was even more intense the closer they approached. They weaved between the glowing mushrooms to get in position as close as they could, though the mere fact that they were glowing meant that they would have to start their charge from further back than usual, since they were more visible in the mushrooms' light. Fortunately, they had the numbers to close in around their prey from all directions.

The others were handling some of the larger chaurus, so Ahnasha focused on guiding Rhazii. She motioned for him to stay close beside him, then led him on a path through the mushrooms that would maximize their chances of remaining unseen for as long as possible. The light was making them more visible, but as long as there was enough of the fungus between them and the chaurus, they could remain hidden. She also made sure to demonstrate the best practices for how to approach prey. She stepped in just the right ways to remain silent, and kept her eyes firmly on the prey ahead of them.

Lorag started their charge the moment one of the chaurus spotted them. All at once, the pack bolted ahead, weaving between the mushroom trees to close in from all sides. Naturally, Ahnasha was much faster than Rhazii, so she could reach the chaurus she had pointed out to Rhazii first, but fortunately, her maternal instinct to teach her child allowed her to avoid the temptation of attacking herself. Instead, she was going to circle around it and try to make sure it did not flee into the water. She would be close to keep Rhazii from being hurt, but she wanted him to make the kill.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We could probably focus on Rhazii's first kill. What the rest of the pack is doing wouldn't be as important.
Edit: You can go ahead and start the hunt in yours.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Aside from the wispmother, the hunt started to proceed as normal. The nearby chaurus were aware enough to relocate as a result of the noise from the fight with the wispmother, but they could not cover their scent effectively enough to prevent the pack from tracking them. As near as Lorag could tell, there were three or four of them that were fairly young. Still, they would provide some meat for the pack, and an opportunity for Rhazii to make his first kill as a werewolf.

When they finally caught sight of the chaurus, they had crested a hill and managed to catch a glimpse of them through the giant mushrooms. They were near a river, which provided them with another option for an approach. Kaleeth decided to move around wide and enter the river, then approach silently from under the surface. If the pack rushed them and forced them to cross the river, then Kaleeth would be laying in wait for an ambush. Against a few juvenile and young adult chaurus, it was entirely unnecessary. But, it provided an example to Rhazii and Julan of intelligent methods of hunting.

While they were awaiting for Kaleeth to get into position, Ahnasha knelt down alongside Rhazii, peering through the mushrooms at the chaurus. She extended forward a claw to point at one of the younger chaurus at the right of the group. "You will kill it. Stay close to me." She said, calmly but authoritatively. She wanted him to gain some experience more than anything from this hunt. After they had their meal, they would be able to rest, then eventually transform back. At that point, she could talk to him about his mistakes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It did not take long for Meesei to determine the extent of Rhazii's wounds, as they were mostly superficial. Instead of performing any sort of targeted healing, Meesei simply charged a quick restoration spell into him to numb the pain, and provide a quick boost to his natural regeneration and stamina. It would make him feel better in the short term, and by the time the spell wore off, his natural regeneration would have handled his wounds.

Ahnasha had not witnessed everything personally, but she knew that Rhazii made several mistakes. At the very least, she saw that he had frozen up and reacted poorly when the wispmother attacked. However, it was also not the ideal time to lecture him. It was questionable if he would even remember most of the night, and even Ahnasha's mind was not entirely her own. She could save her criticisms until after their hunt. For now, they still needed to find a meal.

After dealing with Rhazii, Meesei made her way back to Kaj-Julan. He had hidden himself away behind a rock that he had been peeking around for the duration of the fight, and now that Meesei was approaching, he stepped out from behind it nervously. "Is...Rhazii okay, Aunt Meesei?" He asked.

Meesei gave a reassuring nod. "He will be fine. Such wounds are not severe for a lycan."

Seeing as Lorag looked like he was ready to start leading the pack again, Meesei took a deep breath, then transformed herself back to her werewolf form. She knelt down to allow Julan back up onto her shoulders, then returned to the pack. Provided the chaurus were not close enough to have been frightened away by the fighting, it would not take long for them to locate their next prey.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The wispmother did not last lost through her final attack. Kaleeth attracted her attention with a charge, then Lorag pounced from behind, finally destroying the specter's corporeal form. Kaleeth took another ice spike in the process, but it merely shattered against one of her ribs and left behind a flesh wound.

The pack had made a kill, but that was only half of the satisfaction that their beast spirits required for the night. All that was left behind from the wispmother was ectoplasm, some ethereal wrappings, and some glow dust from the wisps. There was no meal to be had as a reward for their efforts. Even so, Ahnasha's instinct to hunt was readily overcome by her maternal instinct to protect her son. Immediately after the wispmother was killed, she rushed back to where Fendros had dragged Rhazii. As she came up on his wounded, whining form, she started to sniff over his body to in order to search for any sources of bleeding to see how injured he really was.

Since Meesei had the freedom to transform at will, she reverted back to her Argonian form on the way back to check on Rhazii. Based on what she had observed from the fight, she did not expect him to be seriously harmed. But, she could give him a quick magical examination just to be safe. The wounds on the others were easier for her to gauge, and since there had been no silver involved, she had little doubt they would all recover fairly quickly. It was unlikely they would require her attention.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sprinting in from the left, Ahnasha pounced at one of the shades. She growled ferociously and bit down onto its ethereal neck, though found nothing but cold and disappointment as it disappeared in her grasp. Meanwhile, a wave of frost from the last shade washed over Kaleeth, who was too slow to evade. However, she was also perfectly able to take the hit without severe injury. She was bleeding through a few cracks in her scales, but she would be fine.

Meesei ran at one of the specters from the right and slashed into the center of its body. Unlike the others, this one survived her attack, which meant it was most likely the genuine wispmother. Unfortunately, Meesei had to quickly duck away to avoid the ice spike it launched back at her, but the pack now had a definite target.

The wispmother was weakened, identified, and had only one remaining shade. It was likely desperate, which showed in how it started to launch ice spikes as quickly as it could towards the pack. One was in the direction of Rhazii, though it was not perfectly aimed.