EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Wait, you kissed her? Why would you kiss her? I thought only mates did that?" Julan remarked, not even thinking about the prospect of infection before Rhazii mentioned it. Although, once Rhazii did say the word, it quickly became all that Julan could think about. At his age, he had been given at least a basic education about what his body would be going through at his age, and how it related to more romantic matters. For lycans, it was particularly important for them to understand, as biting someone was far from the only way they could inadvertently spread their condition.

"You just kissed her, but...you smell a lot like her. And lycanthropy can spread through, what is it...saliva. What if she had a cut in her mouth or something? What if she did get infected? If...if that happened, she'd transform. She wouldn't know what to do. She'd kill my aunt, she'd kill my grandparents. She'd kill them all." By this point, Julan looked as if he was on the verge of panicking. He looked almost desparate as he turned his head back to Rhazii. "Are you sure she isn't infected?"

---

Meesei chuckled. "Oh, I don't think you need them." As much as she enjoyed being dressed so intimately by Lunise, it did signify that their evening together was coming to an end. Meesei decided to return the same favor to Lunise and "help" her with her clothes, though her Thalmor uniform did not take quite as long to put on as Meesei's dress. While it was proper and stylish, the uniform was also designed to be a functional, practical garment. The enchantments it carried made it into just as much of a tool as it was clothing.

After they were both dressed and had collected their belongings, Meesei started her work on their portal home. They had spent most of their time together in the water, so their scents were not too strong on one another. At least no more than one might expect from two people who had spent the day in close proximity. Of course, Meesei was not terribly concerned about either her pack or Marod discovering the truth, since the truth would be the very last thing that any of them would have suspected they had been doing for the day. If Meesei said the truth out loud to them, they would probably assume it to be a joke at first.

This portal was no less magicka-consuming than the first, but fortunately, Meesei had been given plenty of time to recover from the last one. When the magical charge in the air reached it peak, Meesei ripped open the portal. It was bright enough to light up the whole beach in a deep red glow, and just as before, Meesei could only keep it open for a short time. As such, she grabbed Lunise's hand and pulled her through with her.

Meesei had taken Lunise back to the castle in Bravil, though not to the exact same spot they had left from. Instead, Meesei had opened the portal within the room that Lunise had claimed. Just as Meesei had expected, there was no one else in the room when they arrived, so Meesei did not need to worry about putting on any kind of act.

Obviously fatigued, Meesei did not take long to take a seat on the edge of Lunise's bed. Even now that they were back, Meesei was still not in a hurry to leave. She assumed that the door was locked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth leaned herself slightly against Janius as they walked. "You don't have to put on an act to be strong like that. It's just who you are. Strong, firm when you need to be, nice when you need to be. As a father, you are fair and compassionate. As a warrior, you are fierce and frightening. As a mate, you are loving and supportive. I was nervous and uncertain going into that meeting with them, but looking back on it, I don't think there's any other way it could have gone. It didn't really matter if you were or weren't part of some special Imperial group, he was proud of you because you became someone to be proud of."

Given how close he was walking to Rhazii, Julan was able to make his whisper soft enough that only his sharp, lycan ears had a chance of understanding him. "Well, I want to know why you were acting so weird back there. The both of you. Apparently it was something you can get in trouble for? And why do you smell so much like Jatinha? You know, the rest of the pack will definitely smell that if they start paying attention to it."

---

Meesei shook her head. "No, you do not look much like an Argonian. It is interesting to think of how I must look just as exotic to you as you do to me." In the aftermath of their kiss, they were holding each other quite close, as they had been for the better part of the last few hours by this point. Whatever physical differences they had between them, they certainly did not drive them apart in any sense of the word. "And I would not downplay the passion that you bring to a kiss, among...other things. That fire of determination you have in your professional life still burns strong in anything else you do."

"And I...appreciate you giving me a chance, Lunise. I have been around Altmer long enough to know what this can mean for you. With how they see me, with how they would see us, I know how severely this could destroy your life, without even considering what the Thalmor would do. With how lycan clans bring together so many different types of people, bonds between races are not terribly uncommon. I would not face the same shame they would place onto you. There is a part of me that feels guilty for placing this burden on you. And an even greater part of me that finds it exceptionally romantic. It is one of the many reasons I have discovered to admire you, and no small part of the reason that I am attracted to you. You certainly have your appealing physical features; your wide hips, smooth skin, your shapely breasts. But, between Argonians, attraction carries a distinctly spiritual element. Our minds are linked on a basic level by the Hist, so we can feel each other's minds on an instinctual level. That becomes just as strong of an element of attraction than one's physical form. You may not be connected to the Hist, but through your actions and your words, you could say I have seen into your mind. I have seen the person you really are, beneath the deceptive facades that your profession has cultivated. What I have seen is beautiful. You say I was exaggerating before, but when I look at you, I really do speak truly when I say that you are one of the most gorgeous women I have ever laid eyes upon." Meesei said with no hint of hesitation.

Another, somewhat mischievous grin came across Meesei's face. "I will not mince words. The only reason that I do not tackle you to the ground right now and mate with you under the moonlight for another two hours straight is because I acknowledge that we do have to return to Bravil somewhat soon."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth smiled, though she actually looked somewhat embarrassed at Janius' complement. "Well, I've learned a lot about keeping up an act over the years. I've had plenty of examples to go on. You, Meesei, Ahnasha. I even took that Justiciar, of all people, as inspiration. It just...didn't seem like your father would respond to someone being passive. He seems like the kind of person who likes to be in charge of people. Not too different from my father, really. You have to be able to stand up to him, or he'll just walk all over you. I'm just glad we didn't have to stay so hostile forever. I'd much rather get along than act like some heartless Imperial agent."

Julan was not intent on allowing Rhazii the chance to get out of living up to his word. After they got back to the keep, they would probably be heading straight to bed, so he saw talking to Rhazii now, while his parents were distracted, was as good of a time as any. He walked up close beside Rhazii and looked up to him, silently but expectantly.

---

Meesei chuckled lightly. "I have learned not to underestimate your creativity, certainly. Strangely enough, that was not a form of Altmer magic that was mentioned too frequently in the texts I have studied. Though, do not think you have exhausted my particular cleverness. I have some tricks of my own that you might find...interesting. Hmm, you know, I expect quite a few challenges between us in the future. Friendly ones, of course. We are two mages who simply do not like to be outdone. Granted, it is not only magic that I have experience with. I would say that my lifestyle has given me a connection with the more carnal elements of life. I have complete control of my mind, of course, but there is something about pure, raw instinct that is...captivating. Invigorating. I think I might find a way to share that experience with you, even without you being a lycan."

"Personally, I find myself curious of the opinion of a Justiciar on having an Argonian mate. It would not surprise me if you were the first. I know for a fact that you are pleased with it, so do not even try to downplay it. I can, in the most literal sense, smell it on you." Slowly, Meesei wrapped her tail forward around Lunise's left leg.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was not the first time in the evening that Aurana had given Kaleeth an emotion-filled hug, but she returned it all the same. Any hint of anxiety was gone from Kaleeth at this point. They had all been getting along quite well for a few hours now. Though, Kaleeth had to admit that she was becoming at least mildly agitated by Aeramina's endless talking. It was not as if Kaleeth did not enjoy being sociable, but there was something about the topics that she chose and the way she talked about them that could not hold Kaleeth's interest. She supposed it was because their drastically different backgrounds meant that they had little in common. Regardless, Kaleeth maintained her friendliness towards both Aeramina and Remus through their farewells.

Aurana's hug prevented Julan from paying close attention to Rhazii and Jatinha, as he had been doing since they left her room. He did faintly hear some words of Ta'agra, but did not understand them. It was not a language he had been taught, so he could recognize only a handfull of words he had heard Rhazii use in the past. Nevertheless, he refocused back on Aurana. "And I'm really glad it all worked out right. If I ever get to come back and see you, I'm going to teach you how to swim." He said with a smile.

---

Meesei nodded down at Lunise. "Indeed, my first non-Argonian partner, in fact. I have been alone for, well, the majority of my life, in terms of romance. I would not say I have truly had a partner since before I left my village. The last was an Argonian woman, and the person I was considering marrying for a time. No doubt my life today would be unrecognizable had I accepted that offer."

Acknowledging that they did have to leave the beach eventually, Meesei finally stood up to her feet and extended her hand down to help up Lunise. Though, Meesei still could not help but to remain close. As soon as Lunise was on her feet, Meesei had her arms around her, with her hands resting low on her hips. "Overall, I cannot say I am disappointed. Your skin is soft, your body nice and warm. And you may not be a lycan, but you are certainly in good shape. Hair is...new to me, but not unwelcome."

Meesei hesitated a moment as a thought came to her mind. "And speaking of lycanthropy...it would be quite unlikely for the condition to spread between two women in such a manner, but seeing as you have just bedded a werewolf, I feel I should make sure you have not contracted the condition. There is no need to worry, even if you have. Unless one drinks, or otherwise contacts, a large amount of infected blood, then it takes about three days for the condition to set in. In that time, it is as easily curable as any other common disease."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan had remained attentive to the conversation, but he was also particularly eager to leave when Aurana mentioned it. Although, he tried to make it at least seem like he was not that eager. "Oh, yeah, we probably should get back. It's, um, getting late. I'd...love to stay as long as we can, but I don't know how long my parents want to stay here."

Julan had already been standing, so he walked out of the cramped room and into the hall. For the sake of his brother, he tried not to act suspicious in any way that would make it seem like he wanted to leave. Whatever happened, it was apparently something that could get Rhazii in trouble, though Julan was still trying to figure out what that could be. Julan gave Rhazii a short look as he stepped out of the room. He hoped that Rhazii would pull him aside soon to explain everything.

---

"Oh, I know precisely what it takes. Ahnasha conferred with me over the years enough that I was able to keep up with what she was doing." Meesei explained. "It requires souls, is the short answer. Most associate the practice with the black souls of mortals, but from my understanding, strong enough white souls of powerful creatures serve the same purpose. They are simply more difficult to acquire. But, you are correct. Until Vile is dealt with, there is no point in setting such long-term goals. If I manage to survive that task, then it will take much longer to deal with the Thalmor. Perhaps then I will actually have the time to go mammoth hunting."

Meesei gave Lunise another, quicker kiss, with her hands on both of Lunise's cheeks. "I will just be glad to have you for as long as I can. I am going to devise a way for us to stay in regular, close contact. I believe all of the knowledge I have on teleportation should be enough to give the answer. Perhaps an enchantment of some sort; something to...connect us over any distance."

Meesei finally decided to pull away from Lunise so she could sit up straight, giving a quick glance around the area. The only sources of light were the stars and the moons above, though Meesei's natural night eye still allowed her to see Lunise quite clearly. It was certainly late, and as much as Meesei would have wanted to stay on the beach with her for the rest of the night, they would have to get back eventually. Still, they were at least not in an immediate rush. Meesei was sitting with her knees on either side of Lunise's hips, looking down at her with a grin. For a few moments, Meesei made it quite obvious that she was admiring Lunise's body. With one hand, she started to lightly rub Lunise's stomach. "You are like an Elven goddess, you know that?" Meesei complemented. She had no doubt that it was an exceptionally rare event not only for someone to outwardly admire Lunise's appearance, but to directly comment on it as well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Just realized I did not answer you four days ago. I imagine they would, at minimum, be in communication with both Marod and Lunise throughout the search. Whether either would be involved directly would depend entirely on what they or their superiors would want them to do.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"The Imperial City is nice, but very big, and very crowded. Really, there are just...SO many people, everywhere. A lot more than in Bravil. I hope you like it there, just be ready to always have strangers around you." Julan commented, though his eyes kept glancing between Rhazii and Jatinha. He had agreed to wait until Rhazii explained everything before doing anything, but it was clear that his curiosity would not be sated until that happened.

To Jatinha, Julan smiled in response to her thanks. "You're welcome. I'm glad they were able to help. I wasn't really sure it would work at first, especially once Remus started yelling. But I guess he is different now than my father remembers. I hoped he would be."

---

Once more, Meesei's mouth turned to a grin. "Lunise, I have spent every day of the last sixteen years in danger. I have lived just on the edge of death enough times that I likely should start paying for room and board in the Void. I have been stabbed, shocked, burned, and sliced. I lived for most of a decade with silver shards quite literally burning through my heart, and my first act as Champion was to recover from being impaled by a silver spear. Were it not for my natural regenerative traits, and skill with restoration, my...beautiful and seductive Argonian body would be mangled by those scars. There is a literal god in Oblivion that wants me, specifically, dead. If us being together somehow brings up more enemies that would see me dead, then, well, they will simply have to wait in the queue."

Meesei rolled herself over on top of Lunise again, though this time, she simply intended to wrap Lunise more completely in her loving embrace. "My point being: the risk is not enough for me to want to give this up. I think we are both intelligent and creative enough to make this work. I would think that a werewolf and a Thalmor Justiciar should be two people who are more than accustomed to keeping secrets. And it may not be that we have to keep the secret forever. It depends on how successful we are in our goals. If we are able to reform the Thalmor, then perhaps we would not have to be afraid to show our affection?"

Thinking for a moment, Meesei gave a light chuckle. "You know, I believe I now understand why Ahnasha went through such trouble to extend her own life to be with her mate, Fendros. Perhaps after Vile is stopped, I might do the same."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Get in trouble?" Julan repeated, immediately confirming his suspicion that there was something wrong. Already, he was going through his mind to try and figure out what it could be. He had a strong suspicion that Jatinha's "condition" was just a lie to cover it up. Regardless, if Rhazii was being honest about telling him what was happening, then he supposed that there was no need for him to try and figure it out himself.

"Okay...as long as you tell me." Julan whispered back to Rhazii, glancing back towards Aurana and Jatinha. "Let's just...find somewhere private soon and you can say it, okay?"

---

Meesei's expression slowly adopted at least some of Lunise's severity. "I will be entirely honest, this would be much less of a risk for me than it would be for you. My authority would not be removed by me taking on a Justiciar as a mate. Some may disapprove, but I have done more than enough in my time as Champion to prove my loyalty to Hircine. Even my opponents do not question it. Only Marod would pose some risk if he learned, if he felt that I was not going to be impartial between the Empire and Dominion. But, it would also be easy to hide it from him. No, my concern would be your well-being if you were discovered. But, I also do not expect it to be difficult to hide our relationship from your superiors. You work independently, most of the time. There would be plenty of opportunities for me to teleport you away to an exotic, isolated locale. Or my bedchambers, depending on our mood."

Meesei reached one of her hands up and placed it gently on Lunise's cheek. "But, even if it were more risky, I still would not wish to give up on us. It may not be comfortable to think about, but...it may be the case that neither of us is going to live through an entire Argonian lifespan. What we face, Vile, the Thalmor, they want to end our world entirely. Kill everything. We are going to fight to the last to stop them, but it will not be easy, and there is a...significant chance we will fail. If that is true, and our days truly are numbered, then I want the life I have remaining to be one I was glad to have lived. For me, that means staying with you, for however much time I may have." She explained, punctuating her speech with another kiss.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Interstellar Space, near the Y’Toub System|~

~|Day 3, 7^th Hour|~
Fa-Val-Kuul

---

Fa’s expression revealed little in the way of her actual emotions, not that Zora would have any way of discerning what her reptilian facial expressions actually meant. Fa simply remained calm, but unquestionably firm in her gaze at the Twi’lek. She listened quietly to Vebra’s response, deciding that she could build off of what he said.

“Indeed, had you allowed my friend here to join us like I asked, then I might have been able to communicate my intentions to him. Once the…hostilities had started, I was obliged to intervene, lest you harm an innocent in the struggle.” Fa said before slowly uncrossing her arms. “But, any argument over what happened before is purely…academic. You are here now, you are our prisoner, and that is not going to change. I would prefer that you not attempt to escape, since I would like to avoid causing you any further bodily harm.”

Fa made sure that she remained the closest person to Zora. With how well she was restrained, It was unlikely she would escape, but she wanted to be ready to deal with any trouble regardless. “Now, to my question. It is the same one I asked before. Where can I find Darth Nyiss? It is my current task to remove her as a threat to this galaxy. I do not care about you. I am going to be incredibly generous and offer to uphold the initial deal I offered you back in the bar. Tell me what I want to know, and you are a free woman. Refuse me, and you will have, at minimum, a life sentence in a Republic prison. Depending on how sympathetic you are to your judge.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rhazii's attempts to explain the situation to Julan did little to placate his doubt and curiosity. While Aurana and Jatinha were conversing with each other, Julan continued to speak with Rhazii. "Something in her lungs? Like a...disease, or wound or something? Well, if that's true, shouldn't we take her to aunt Sabine or aunt Meesei? They must be some of the best healers in the world; surely they could do something to help her? She would have to love it if you were able to help heal her."

At that point, Julan picked up on the odd scents on Rhazii. Specifically, he noticed that the smell of Jatinha was not only coming from Jatinha. Julan did not even attempt to hide what he was doing when he leaned forward and started sniffing Rhazii.

---

Meesei hummed lightly with Lunise's touch. A part of her wanted to just lay with her for the rest of the night, enjoying the feeling of her smooth skin against her scales. However, Lunise did have some serious questions that they needed to address. "What it means for us? I do not think I can answer that by myself. It means what we want it to mean. For me, well, I think I have figured out that you are someone special to me. You have a passion about you, a...determination that is undeniably attractive. You are unique, and...well I suppose it is difficult to put it all into words. There is just something about you that makes me not care if it makes me vulnerable. I...do not want to give this up, Lunise. I do not wish to just bed you once, then go our separate ways. I think...I want us to be together. I know that is going to be difficult in a myriad of ways but..."

Meesei's expression became somewhat lighthearted as she shrugged her shoulders. "...well, I can teleport."