EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, I don't know that I want to go completely into all the details, but..." Ahnasha began as she turned her attention to Rhazii. "Let's just say that your father has a particular sensitivity to moon sugar. You already know how Khajiit are very tolerant to it compared to the other races, but Fendros is especially, say, vulnerable. It only takes a little to affect him in a pretty bad way. I don't really know why, honestly. I was just joking with him; I wouldn't want to give your father any of it, especially without him knowing. It could be pretty unpleasant. Moon sugar is something that can have some bad effects, even for Khajiit, if we have too much. Do you remember that stuff that we told you to avoid if you ever were to find it, skooma? It is made from moon sugar, but is much more dangerous. Even Khajiit do not have that much of a tolerance for it. Your uncle Janius could tell you some pretty horrible stories you probably wouldn't want to hear about it."

Meesei gave a wide, somewhat prideful smile towards Sabine. "Indeed, before she had any real knowledge as a mage, Sabine was already an accomplished alchemist beyond her years. I started her training as a mage, but she learned her alchemical knowledge as a part of her upbringing before joining the pack. She still makes all of the potions we use, and has been able to make some rather creative concoctions, I would say. Have you had any progress on any new creations as of late, Sabine? I know that alchemy, despite not using one's own magicka, is still a magical discipline at its core. Have the more exotic forms of magic you have been studying recently given you any inspiration?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha gave a nod. "That is fine. Most of the pack does not take it with their meals either; I just thought I would ask. Apart from me, no one really has a tolerance for it." She said, turning her head obviously towards Fendros. "Especially not my husband." She added with a chuckle.

Lorag laughed for a moment. He had already drank a full mug of ale, and yet still did not seem to be any more affected by it than his packmates who had drank only half that. "Yeah, better hope the enemy don't start tipping their arrows with moon sugar."

Grinning, Ahnasha gave her attention back to Fendros. "Oh, that is a good point. You sure you don't want to try to build up a tolerance, my dear? You know, for safety." She chuckled as she held out a moon sugar-laced sweetroll out to Fendros.

Meesei, meanwhile, had been glad to know that Lunise had been speaking to her pack in her absence, but she also wanted to join in the conversation as well. Fortunately, Meesei had in mind a topic that might interest her. "Did I mention, Lunise, that Sabine helped me to improve the efficiency of my portals recently? When she was practicing her own portals, she figured out that folding over the alteration magicka into itself three times to create the link to the destination is entirely unnecessary. Folding it twice works perfectly fine, an considering how much magicka that part of the process takes, it saves a fair amount for the whole spell. I have always had enough magicka myself to simply force my way through it, but she found an easier way."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Some of what Ahnasha was making took time to complete, so she decided to occupy Leaps with a few helpings of raw meat to keep him from being too curious about the campfire. Being such a large predator, he could eat a rather startling amount of meat in a day. Combined with his water requirements, it would make him far too much of a liability to bring into the desert, were the pack not able to re-supply themselves from Blackreach whenever they wished.

By the time the last piece of their meal had finished cooking, they had a fair amount of variety in their dinner. It was perhaps not a "common" Rimmen feast, since there were dishes that would not usually be paired together, but the ingredients they had on hand had required them to be creative. But, befitting the importance of the occasion to Meesei, they did have a full, three-course meal ahead of them, complete with appetizers, a main course, and sweet desserts. Meesei had even brought mugs to go along with the wine and ale had gathered. Most were Nordic or Breton in origin, but Meesei had found a single bottle of a Khajiit wine. She was not sure from what part of Elsweyr it came from, but her options had not been limitless, even in Blackreach.

As Ahnasha started to serve their dinner, Meesei sat close beside Lunise, leaning up against her. Her entire pack was gathered in the circle around the campfire. Julan had returned to his Argonian form while Ahnasha had been cooking, so he could join with the rest of the pack as well. It was everything Meesei had wanted, and it showed in every part of her demeanor. She had a constant, warm smile, and was completely relaxed and content. Lunise was still not the most sociable of people, but she did not need to be. Even without the Justicar facade, that was not the person she was. Meesei had merely wanted her to feel like she could be comfortable with her pack, and at the moment, Meesei at least felt that was close to being true.

"So, would you like servings with or without moon sugar?" Ahnasha asked as she reached Meesei and Lunise in the circle.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We raised him from an egg, and neutered him at a young age to curb his more aggressive tendencies." Meesei explained. She was sitting next to Lunise, so she was able to reach out and rub the side of Leaps' head. "I will say, he is a creature that demands respects. Northern men have considered wamasu to be 'dragons with lightning for blood', and that description is not too far from accurate. Leaps is not quite fully an adult, but he is still a massive, powerful being. He is now old enough to be used in battle, and we have done so a few times. But, I still see him as akin to a faithful hound, you just have to respect that he can accidentally harm you."

Kaleeth also chimed in, her tone more encouraging than explanatory. "He is always curious about new people, but he is also smart. He can tell if a new person is a friend just by seeing how we act towards them. I definitely wouldn't want to make him mad, but we've taught him how to behave. He likes being rubbed right under his jaw; just, um, remember that you will get a static shock if you touch him. Every time."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a quick glance to Janius. "Well, no point in doing something only halfway..."

It took a few minutes to sort through everything that Meesei had brought. There were some ingredients that would not be terribly useful, and another few that were missing, which forced them to make some modifications to the meal they planned to make. However, they had enough available to them, according to Lunise, to at least potentially make a recipe in the Rimmen style. Whether or not they would succeed would depend entirely upon their execution of said recipe.

After Lunise had given her instructions and they had started cooking, there was not too much to do aside from let it cook over the fire and hope it turned out properly. They would need someone to keep the flame warded to prevent the heat from escaping, which ended up being a perfect opportunity for Fendros to practice his wards under Sabine's instruction.

Since Lunise had arrived, Leaps had been resting after playing with Julan, but the smell of food in the air caused him to stir. His large, lumbering form slowly strolled over closer to the fire, but as he drew too close, Kaleeth reached out and gave him a somewhat forceful tap on the end of his snout. "No Leaps, that's not for you. You'll get your own dinner, don't worry." She said in a firm, commanding tone.

As strange as it might have seemed to an outsider like Lunise, the massive, powerful wamasu slinked away from the campfire compliantly, almost timidly. However, Leaps did quickly find something else about which to be curious. Even in the sand, Lunise would be able to hear his heavy footsteps walking up behind her, followed by the heavy breaths of him taking in the new scents provided by their camp's visitor.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

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

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

Fa’s expression towards Zora turned to a toothy grin. “See, now we have an understanding. Once I have the information I desire, you can go on your way. In short, I agree. You tell me the planet on which you would like to be released, and provided it is not a Sith stronghold, we will take you there. Then, I will release you, you will share your information, and then you can have your belongings and go.”

---

Fa-Val-Kuul was, if nothing else, honest with her word. Though trickery and deceit was nothing new in her line of work, she did at least honor the agreement she had made with the Twi’lek. It was, of course, not particularly comforting to release a potentially dangerous Sith, but Zora was nothing next to the immense threat posed by her target. Darth Nyiss was her assignment, her prey, and if some sacrifices had to be made to reach her, then Fa would do what she must.

Zora’s information was not as comprehensive as Fa might have hoped, but it was at least everything that she needed to finally begin the operation. Fortunately, Fa had informed the Republic ahead of time that she was pursuing a promising lead, so they were ready to move quickly on the information. At least one of Zora’s warnings had rang true: Nyiss was not stupid. Hesitate for too long to act, and they might just lose their chance altogether. Fa had her Republic support, her supplies and equipment, and even a captured Imperial shuttle to take them into the firmly Sith-controlled space.

Within a few days, Battlemaster Fa’s strike team had mobilized to their destination: Feena. Initial reconnaissance did confirm a Sith presence in the system, but they did not have too much of an opportunity for scouting before they had to make their approach. Even using their captured shuttle for transport, loitering for too long in one place would certainly arouse suspicion.

The landing on Feena had been tense, but ultimately successful. Although, it still did not come without its complications. Most immediately obvious upon their approach was that their sensors were surprisingly ineffective, as if they were being scrambled to a degree. It was a development that was both restricting and enabling to them, in different respects. Fa had initially planned to set up their forward base fairly far from the Sith base, for their own safety, but in order to get any use at all out of their own sensor arrays, they would have to be closer. Fortunately, this also gave them more freedom to search the jungle for a suitable landing zone. Once they had reached the surface along their initially planned path, Fa made the call to scan an area closer to the base for a suitable site for their camp. They had kept their shuttle just barely above the trees, and made sure to remain far enough from the enemy base to avoid being spotted by patrols.

The landing zone had eventually been found in the form of a cavern within a valley that would be both defensible, and hidden. They had spent much of the night setting up their equipment, and masking any sign of their presence. They had their shuttle covered in a camouflaged webbing within an hour, and their generator and sensor array set up within two. The manpower they had available made it a relatively painless process. Although, much to the chagrin of Fa, she received orders to send the shuttle back for some other purpose, so they had to turn around and uncover it immediately. For this mission, they had called in the best they could get their hands on in the time they had. Half of their force was comprised of specialized Sith-hunters, personally trained by Vebra. They were elite troops, well-equipped and trained to deal with force users, and this was the most that Fa had seen deployed in one place, at one time. It spoke to the threat Nyiss posed, and the importance of stopping her.

---

~|Strike Team Base of Operations, Feena|~

~|Day 6, 13^th Hour|~
Fa-Val-Kuul

Fa looked up at the clear sky above, taking in a deep breath as the sun warmed her scales. She walked along the edge of the river nearest their camp, taking in the sights of the environment around her. It was a sight that she expected to have to get used to, as this mission was not appearing as if it would be a quick one. As much as Fa wanted to make their attack sooner rather than later, they were facing far too much of a deficit in information to take such a risk. The intelligence Zora had on the Sith base itself was woefully imprecise, and there was no guarantee even that much would be accurate. They had to perform their own reconnaissance, and make their own plans based on their own observations. That was something that would take time, especially if they wished to avoid being detected in the process. So, they had to prepare to settle in. Fa knelt down at the riverbank and carefully filled up a small vial with a sample of the water. They would need to test to make sure it would be safe for their use.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha stifled a chuckle towards Lunise as she was following her instructions. "You know, the way you say that, you make it sound like a challenge. I would wager I can get through this without a sneeze." She said, though in response to Janius afterwards, she gave a more pronounced laugh. "I don't think I'd go that far. Or anywhere close to that far. I think I will be lucky to get this one dish right."

Meesei approached the pair by the fire and, one by one, placed her bags down on the ground gently. She had gathered every ingredient on Ahnasha's list, along with a few more that had caught her eye. The kitchen staff saw her requests as odd, but there were no arguments from them. It was far from unreasonable to think that the Champion might need to host a formal meal with a contact as a part of her duties.

Meesei leaned in towards Lunise and gave her a quick kiss on the lips as a greeting. "It is good to see everyone getting along, I would say. And it seems our dinner will be more impressive than I had expected."

"Yet Lunise claims not to be a chef." Ahnasha remarked with a shrug. "Could have fooled me."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For someone who claimed not to be a chef, Lunise seemed surprisingly knowledgeable to Ahnasha. Even her short descriptions showed that she was familiar with the Khajiit cooking methods in a fair amount of detail. "Hmm, I'm certainly willing to try to learn. You will have to walk me through it, though. I find I learn best through practice. I gave Meesei a long list of ingredients, so hopefully we have what we need to make something. I don't think I'd want to send Meesei all the way back to the clan after just having made the trip. I know we don't have all the tools here, but...maybe we can just get creative?"

Ahnasha turned her head towards Sabine. "Do you think you'd be able to, say, mimic an oven? By that I mean, use something like telekinesis, or wards, or some other magic to try and keep head from an area as big as an oven around the fire. That would essentially be like cooking it in an oven, right?"

It took about ten more minutes for Meesei to finally open her return portal. She stepped through with several cloth bags in hand. With each step she took, one could hear a few glass bottles inside lightly clanking together. Lunise was in the middle of explaining the dishes they intended to prepare to Ahnasha, so the first sight Meesei saw was an encouraging one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth clasped her hands together with a small clap. "Oh, I love weddings. Lycans mates don't usually have a ceremony, but we've had a few in the clan, and even one in this pack. Fendros and Ahnasha had a nice ceremony with his family. It was nice to see them so accepting of it. All that history with the Dunmer and Khajiit made it hard to tell if it was going to end quite so...happily."

Ahnasha had an amused expression on her face. "We are a whole pack of unlikely partnerships, aren't we? A Khajiit and a Dunmer. An Imperial nobleman and an Argonian Tribal. A High Elven Thalmor Justiciar and the Argonian Champion of Hircine..."

Lorag laughed somewhat loudly once more, though at least being somewhat more reserved. "Still sounds ridiculous just hearin' that. Like someone knocked me out and put me in a dream."

Ahnasha had her arms crossed as she looked to Lorag. "Any more ridiculous than you being a father?"

Lorag pointed at Ahnasha. "Hey, there's no proof that girl was mine."

Ahnasha simply chuckled. "Sure..." She said, drawing out the word before turning her attention back to Lunise. "Anyways, it definitely sounds like you made Rimmen your home. It...occurs to me that you probably know quite a lot more about cooking Rimmen-style dishes than I do. Have any advice for me?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha gave a quick chuckle. "I can see why the city would not have been, well, cooperative to start. Just about none of those things are traditional to most Khajiit cultures. Living in Leyawiin, we saw a lot of the people who were firmly opposed to the Dominion's changes. I believe a few of the Khajiit families I mentioned ended up in Leyawiin because they disagreed with them. Though, that might be putting it lightly. The Dominion was a very...passionate subject for them. It's not why my parents left, though. They were just traders following business opportunities."

Kaleeth found Lunise's description of her home to be somewhat odd, almost disconnected. The fact that she was not born in Rimmen, and yet considered it her home, meant that she must have strongly identified with something in the city. And yet, she did not give many specifics on what she actually liked about the place. Kaleeth herself could go on for hours about Blackreach, or her village, or even the old Bruma clan. She had many fond memories of all of them, and Lunise had lived in Rimmen for longer than Kaleeth had been alive at all. Kaleeth joined the group and sat down near Lunise. Julan followed shortly afterwards, laying himself down on the ground next to his mother, who reached over and gently started to rub his shoulder and neck as he started the process of calming himself down to transform back into his normal form. He was still not at the point where he could transform on a whim, so it took some effort for him to revert back.

"There has to be more than those few things." Kaleeth commented. "A home is basically the center of your whole life. No matter how far you travel, it's a place you really...identify with. I remember my first home, my village in Black Marsh. The village always moved with the seasons, so the whole region was really my home. It was a dangerous and challenging place to live, but I was never afraid that our village would get into trouble. Our tribe had thousands of years of knowledge on how to live there among the wilds, and it was knowledge was was taught to me. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone was family, in a way. When there was a marriage, everyone joined the ceremony, when someone died, the whole village stopped to mourn. The Marsh was a place where every tree felt familiar, but yet with plenty of mystery to explore. I remember there was a sunken Xanmeer near one of our rainy season locations. Me and my brother liked to swim through its halls to see what was there. Every year, there seemed to be a new chamber that had opened up with the shifting sediment. There was one year where we got a bunch of our friends together and turned two sides of the Xanmeer into forts, then we had a 'war' with sticks/ My brother's team won."

Kaleeth was already smiling from her reminiscing on her childhood, and she thought it might inspire Lunise to go into a bit more detail with her own stories.