EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan was surprised to hear how Janius was speaking about his family. He had, of course, heard his father describe before how his parents were often absent from his life, but his words then had not carried the tone of resentment that he had now. Although, having met his grandparents, and hearing how they treated Aurana, Julan was not terribly upset about that. He had never thought that there would be people like that in his own family, but he supposed he could handle that. What was really starting to upset Julan was the fact that his father was refusing to do anything to help Aurana. He had only known her for a short time, but everything that he had seen of his aunt so far just showed that she was a nice person who was being treated much worse than she deserved to be. The fact that his father did not want to help her frustrated Julan enough that he clenched his fist in anger and started to show something in his expression that was a bit rare for him: defiance.

"That's...that not fair! It's...not right." Julan shouted. He could not bring himself to make eye contact with his father as he spoke, mostly out of fear. "You help people all the time; it's what you do. All the work that aunt Meesei and the rest of you do, it's to help, um, our people. That's what you always say. That you are always trying to make sure we have happy and safe lives." Pausing a moment, Julan tried to think of how to say what was on his mind in vague enough terms so as not to make Aurana suspicious. Although, with how sheltered she was, there was no guarantee that she had even heard of a lycanthrope before. "You've said that we're not, um, treated fairly by most people in the world, so you have to do dangerous things to keep us free and safe. You fight people that want to hurt us, so you can help your family. I know you don't talk about it much, but...I'm not stupid! I know what fighting is and I know what can happen. I know you could leave to fight one day and...never come back."

Julan's gaze was on the floor, but even at that angle, Janius would be able to see tears in his eyes at the mere thought of losing his parents. "You could die doing all the things you do to make our lives better, but...Auarana is your family too! It's not even dangerous to help her. All you have to do to help her is talk to someone you don't like!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan started to grow mildly upset as Aurana described the reasoning of her parents for why she was kept so restricted. Or at least, her perception of their reasoning. If there was one trait that he had taken from his mother, it was empathy. He felt his emotions strongly, often feeling for others just as much as himself. And, as a child, he did not tend to keep those emotions contained. "That doesn't sound fair. You didn't do anything do deserve that, right? You should be able to go out and play, and...have friends and everything. Father said he could do those kinds of things when he was young, so I don't see why you can't. I know this city is supposed to be dangerous, but it can't be that bad. If it was, then you could just learn magic or something, but they won't even let you do that."

Julan frowned, or at least gave the equivalent for an Argonian. "Can I help you? Are there any things you want to do?"

While Kaleeth's reaction was more tempered than Julan's, she too felt for the girl. She would certainly have liked to do something to help her, but unfortunately, she did not know if that would be possible. It was sounding more and more that they were being overprotective of her because of what happened to Janius. If that was the case, then the only thing that would even have a chance of changing her parents' attitudes would be talking to Janius himself. She knew well that he would not want that. "I...have seen this kind of thing happen before. It's how some families deal with loss; to protect what they have left, that is. For what it's worth, it does seem that they really do love you to want to protect you like that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan was not about to try to argue with his father over punishment. He knew things could be much worse, an as far as he was concerned, anything that could get them off the topic of their actions that night was a good thing. He simply nodded in agreement and hoped that it would put a rest to the topic.

Kaleeth had no objections to the punishment. For the most part, she was inwardly preoccupied with her own thoughts about Aurana. Being the compassionate soul that she was, Kaleeth was surprised about how Aurana described her own life. It had been mentioned a few times, by both Aurana and Julan, that she was hardly allowed to leave her house. Provided that was true, it seemed that, on the surface, Aurana's parents were fiercely overprotective of her. Kaleeth could hardly imagine what it would be like to be confined in such a manner, and it made her understand why she would risk sneaking out of her house against her parents' wishes. Otherwise, Kaleeth would have felt it responsible to inform her parents that their child had misbehaved.

As sympathetic as Kaleeth was, what concerned her the most were the possible reasons for how restricted Auruana's life was. During her childhood in her village, she had lost friends to the dangers of the marsh, particularly as an initiate hunter. She had even lost her own brother. As the master hunter, her father had resisted the urge to become too protective of her, but she remembered times when grieving parents of other initiates had lost a child, then tried to shelter their surviving children from any danger. She wondered if the same was happening now with Aurana.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan had precious little time to get his own story completely straight in his mind. He had no choice but to change it at least slightly from what he originally intended. He had heard Aurana tell his father that she had come after them, so saying that they happened upon each other by chance would be an obvious lie. And since Aurana was not allowed to leave the house, there would have had to have been a reason to make her leave it. They would have at least had to have passed near the house for her to have seen them. He just hoped there was not something else he was not thinking about. If so, he would have to think on his feet.

"We did go down to the canal to have a bath, yeah. Aurana was the one that came to us, like she said earlier. I didn't ask why; I guess she saw us out the window or something when we were near the house? But it was easy to tell we were related, since her name is Aurana Aetius. That's your family." He explained.

Julan desperately wanted to get them onto a different topic. He was interested in hearing what Aurana had to say about her family, and how they felt about the past. Janius' parents did seem to care quite a bit more about him than he thought they did. Even the opinions of Julan's grandfather were not as nice as he was expecting, he still definitely cared. But, Janius also did not seem to be enthusiastic to talk about the past, and Aurana was probably as just as curious about them. "I know she probably has a lot of questions about you, and all of us. I'm curious about her too. Why is it that your parents won't let you do anything, Aurana?" He asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha took only a few moments to think as she looked Jatinha over. She had no reason to believe that the Khajiit had any other motivations aside from what she had been told. It was not as if they were going to be discussing any dangerous topics, and it did not seem as if Jatinha would argue if Aurana and Janius wanted to speak privately, so Ahnasha did not see any risk in allowing it. "It would be easier for Jatinha to escort Aurana back home quickly if she is already with us, I suppose. I see no harm in it." She answered to Rhazii, before turning to Janius and Kaleeth for confirmation. Kaleeth nodded in agreement, and with no arguments otherwise, the group continued on to the castle.

Since Aurana rarely left her home, it was unlikely that any of the castle guards would recognize her, but they still made an effort not to bring any attention to Aurana or Jatinha. If they were going to attempt to get Aurana back without her parents knowing she was gone, then it would be best if no one remembered seeing her. Although, they still decided not to bring her directly to their room in the barracks, since Lorag, Sabine, or Meesei could be asleep, and even if they were not, they were not likely sleeping in a state that would adhere to Aurana or Jatinha's sense of modesty. Instead, they wandered for a few minutes until they found a dining room that would be suitable for them to use to sit and talk. It was more than late enough at night that no one was using it, and it would not be used until early next morning. There was also a fireplace that they could use to help Aurana warm back up and dry off.

They pulled up a few chairs next to the fireplace while Ahnasha gathered up some firewood, though Julan was not sure if he should be sitting down, or doing anything else. He was not yet sure if he was in trouble, as his father had been mostly silent for most of the walk to the castle. It made him nervous, but at the same time, he really wanted to stay and talk with his aunt, after having been denied the chance to have any kind of long conversation with his grandparents.

Julan clasped one hand nervously over the other and spoke up in a hesitant, somewhat awkward tone. "So, um, you said your parents haven't told you much about father? What did they tell you about him?" Julan asked Aurana.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Upon being instructed to do so, Julan managed to collect himself enough to get dressed in the rest of his clothes. He was glad that they were not going to just take Aurana back to her home immediately, since it meant that she had a better chance of being able to ask his father whatever questions she wanted. Julan just hoped that he would be willing to answer.

Once everyone was ready, they started to head up the embankment, then towards the castle. Julan needed to answer Janius along the way, though his neutral tone was almost making him more nervous than if he had been just outright angry. Julan was not sure what kind of reaction to expect from his father. "Well...like I said, I told her that you're with the Penitus Oculatus, which is why you had to leave all that time ago. She knows you're her brother, I'm your son, and my mother is Kaleeth. Um...I mentioned that we visit a lot of places, but I've never really been to Black Marsh except when I was real young. I don't think there's anything else important. We haven't really been talking that long."

After a moment, Julan's expression turned somewhat more pleading as he looked up to his father. "She just wants to talk to you and learn more about you and everything. She says her parents won't let her do many things. She can't learn magic, she can't leave the house very much, and she can't be on her own until her parents pick someone for her to marry. I was going to try to teach her to swim, since she doesn't know how., but there wasn't time. Please talk to her, I want to help her do some of the things she wants to do."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan was just about to start getting dressed when Janius asked him to give Aurana her cloak. It has been surprisingly easy for Julan to avoid laughing when Aurana had fallen into the water, as the presence of his parents made any of the natural comedy of the situation seem much less important. He was also nervous about what Aurana had said so far. It was not the story that Julan had wanted to tell, but there was no going back at this point. He offered his cloak to Aurana, then just ended up standing around somewhat awkwardly and nervously. He was cold as well, but since his scales were waterproof, he was not as cold as any of the others. Rhazii would certainly need to start trying to dry off, since his fur would hold in the water.

"Yes, um, she really wants to meet you and talk to you. She never gets to do anything since her parents don't let her. I've already told her how you're here in Bravil with the Penitus Oculatus, and how you ended up with them all that time ago after the cave with the spiders." Julan explained as a not-so-subtle way of informing him of the cover story he had made up for why he had not come back home. He hoped his father would be happy of the fact that he had come up with a good story for him.

Kaleeth had some concern in her eyes as she looked at Aurana, which made her somewhat conflicted as to what she wanted to do next. "It seemed like that Khajiit woman wanted to bring back Aurana without anyone noticing she was gone, but now she's soaked. Maybe we should try to dry her off first? Does anyone have any magic that could help?" She suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha crossed her arms. "Depending on what they did, we might have to do more than that, but I guess we'll just have to see. Let's just go down there and get them."

Julan had been sufficiently perplexed by Aurana's description of her life so far that he was not as surprised as he could have been when she said her parents were going to choose who she married. Her life seemed to be just so different from his own, and not in a way that he thought he would like. Regardless, he wanted to do something for her now, if he could. "Embarrassed of what?' Julan asked, equally as clueless as Rhazii. "You don't need to be embarrassed that you can't swim, I don't think."

The trio did not have much time to continue their conversation before their parents started to descend down the embankment towards the edge of the canal. They caught their scent in the air before they heard their footsteps, so there was little question as to who was approaching.

Kaleeth did not begin with an angry tone, but she was certainly not pleased with the trouble their children had put them through so far, particularly Janius. "Kaj-Julan, what is going on here?" She asked firmly.

Fortunately for Julan, he had already been thinking about what he would say when their parents found them, so he did not hesitate too much. "Oh...I didn't think it had been too long. We came out to take a bath. We couldn't find any water in the castle that we could use." He began, looking to Aurana before motioning towards his parents. "These are my parents, Kaleeth and Janius."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, I thought you were older." Julan commented, though it did not completely rid him of his confusion about how Aurana's parents treated her. It seemed like they did not allow her to do anything, as if she was always being punished for something.

Julan cocked his head to the side as he looked up at Aurana. "How are you going to marry anyone if you don't know anyone? Do they want you to marry Jatinha? It doesn't make sense." Julan repositioned himself to be upright, then swam up closer to the dock she was sitting on. "I'd hate to be stuck inside a house all the time. That's what our parents make us do when they punish us. You should be able to go out and do more things. What kind of things do you want to do? Maybe...we could try to teach you to swim?" He suggested.

---

As Rhazii and Julan were not experienced enough to hide their trail, or had not attempted to do so at all, the group had little trouble following their scent through the city. Fortunately, Janius' fear that the boys had crossed the canal into the rest of the city did not end up becoming reality, but that did not mean there was not still cause for some concern.

The group had come out of an alleyway to a spot overlooking the canal, and had been moving quietly enough so as not to be easily detected. They no longer needed to follow any scents, as there was a weak candlelight spell illuminating part of the canal just upstream, which made it quite easy to see the boys swimming in the water near a girl about their age who they did not recognize. Ahnasha stepped forward slightly, with footsteps that were barely audible even at close range. She peered around the corner of a building to get a good look down into the canal, then looked back and whispered to the others.

"It's them. It looks like they're swimming in the water, but there's also someone else with them. A girl; she matches the description of the girl the Khajiit woman mentioned. How do you think we should approach this? I doubt she'll recognize you, Janius, since she's never met you." Ahnasha reasoned.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan shrugged his shoulders. His long term plans for his life was not something he often thought about, nor had he come up with a lie about his plans to tell his grandparents if they had asked. "I don't know, really, I guess so. Most of the things I'm being taught would be for that kind of thing, I guess."

Julan leaned back to float on the surface of the water, his arms outstretched and his tail keeping him from floating away. "We do a lot of exciting things. Our parents can't always bring us along, but when they do, we travel all over. I've been to, let's see...Cyrodiil, Skyrim, Elsweyr, High Rock, uh...oh, we visited Valenwood last month. I'd like to be able to go to Black Marsh. I think it would be weird to have so many Argonians like me around. Though, I did see that there are more Argonians around here in Bravil than where we come from."

Turning his head towards Aurana, Julan showed some curiosity about her. "What do you want to do when, well...I guess you are already kind of grown up. You are grown up, aren't you? You look like you're older than us, I think. It's sometimes hard to tell with Humans. Can't you just do the things you want to do now?"

---

Kaleeth stood with her arms crossed, staring off in the direction that the Khajiit had walked. "You did say earlier that your parents might want another heir." She commented to Janius. "If you don't recognize the name, then they might have had another child. Or, well, I guess it could also be a cousin. Did you have any aunts or uncles?" Kaleeth asked, though ultimately, she did not want to keep pressing her questions for too long. She could already tell that Janius was uncomfortable talking about his family.

Ahnasha gave a sigh, then spoke somewhat softly on the off-chance that anyone might have been listening to their conversation. "So, our children sneak out of the castle on the same night that someone from your family just happens to also sneak out? Something tells me that may not be a coincidence. Do you think that the boys could have encountered Aurana at some point during your tour of the city earlier, without you knowing?" Ahnasha asked.