EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei hummed for a moment in thought. "You can say it is not about protecting me all you like, but I know you would not be doing this for many others. Still, you may be right. With you, me, Sabine, and the Staff of Magnus, even those vampires would not be able to so easily harm us. Ideally, though, this will end peacefully, and with an empowered Axe."

Eventually, Meesei sat up entirely on the edge of the bed and gave a brief sigh. "At any rate, I wish I could just lay back down here with you for the rest of the night, but I believe I should at least be seen returning to my chambers for the night. I doubt anyone will jump to any accurate conclusions, but I would not want anyone suspicious to think that I am scheming with the Dominion all night. Particularly Marod. Still, after an hour or two, I think I would be safe to teleport back here for the night. Perhaps give you a nice, warm, furry blanket to wrap your arms around." Meesei grinned.

Standing up, Meesei stretched out her muscles and glanced towards the door. Having not been dressed to begin with, she did not have anything to gather before leaving. "After this business with the vampires is dealt with, we should most certainly take a nice, long break. In the lower levels of the city, we have these large pools of water that are heated by the Dwemer steam machinery. It is similar to a solution we devised to keep the water warm with magic back in our previous home, except the steam here can heat the water much like a hot spring. It is...supremely relaxing, and it would be a travesty if you did not get to enjoy it while you were here. As long as you can handle being in a public bath, of course." She said with a smile.

---

As the conversation shifted back to their duty, Do'rhajul dropped any hint of discomfort and nodded. "Of course. I would be glad to apply my expertise for you. Aside from my knowledge on Vile's cult, I would say it is the largest reason any of the others would want me alive. Although, I do believe that it would be wise for me to have help. Whoever you might trust for matters of strategy. I am intimately familiar with commanding soldiers, but I have never commanded lycanthropes. There may be details about which I am unfamiliar. Strengths and weaknesses I may not consider. Your General Ri'vashi would be the most qualified, but...it would not be wise to ask her to work so closely with me. Would you say Captain gro-Konesh, or Lorag, rather, has the relevant knowledge?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei lifted her head up as well, supporting herself with her hands. "She was silent for a few seconds, and seemed hesitant even when she did speak. "I...well I shall not stop you. And I certainly appreciate your support more than you can know, truly. But...you do not need to protect me, Lunise. If anything, I should be doing everything I can to protect you. Not just because of how much you mean to me, but because of the fact that you are much more important than me. If anything happens, promise me that you will keep yourself safe over anything else, okay?"

---

Do'rhajul was glad to see that Sabine seemed to have relaxed, at least mostly. He was also appreciative for her promise of help, should the future call for it. The invasion of Oblivion would be exceptionally dangerous, but it was not as if he intended to throw his life away without cause. He could survive, and if that happened, he knew it would be best for Sabine if he were to simply disappear. Although, her next question prevented him from relaxing entirely.

"I hold resentment towards those who who have wronged me. If I were to meet the lycans who slaughtered my patrol all those years ago, I would want to see appropriate justice. Not that I would ever have a way of identifying them. But those who have wronged me the most are in the service of Vile. I do not appreciate being tricked, and I especially despise being tricked into harming those who do not deserve it. I know you desire peace, but our enemy is dangerous, deserving of our blades, and devoted to a cause from which they will not relent. They will fight us to the death, and we will need to be ready to give that to them."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I would not say impossible, not after what I saw." Meesei replied. "I do not know a great deal about the Dunmer, but his wife, Hal-Neesa, spoke to me at greater length. And I saw her fight. They...are not normal vampires. Not like most of their cult. From what I learned afterwards, they are vampire lords. They have a more, I suppose 'pure' form of vampirism that allows them to transform into a more powerful vampiric form. Large, winged, and with unique magical abilities straight from Molag Bal himself. And that is not to mention her normal magical talent. I engaged in a brief magical duel with her and...well, she quite literally tossed me around the room. There was nothing I could do to resist her. Of course, it has been many years since then, but I still do not know what kind of power she truly has."

Meesei's face formed a brief, uncomfortable expression as she glanced away from Lunise. "I also do not plan on asking Fendros or Ahnasha to join me. That was the place where Rhazii received his burns. It was during that task that they were captured and tortured. Molag Bal's cult was not responsible for it, but all the same, I do not want to force them to revisit those memories. But, I do plan on bringing the Staff of Magnus with me to at least give a way to guarantee our escape, should something happen. The staff is said to be able to contain the power of a god, so I do not think Hal-Neesa or her husband will be able to overwhelm it. What of you? Or Marod? Do you think the Dominion or Empire would want their representatives to attend this meeting, given that whatever terns we strike may affect your people as well?"

---

Do'rhajul shook his head, not as an answer, but in disagreement. "Your people are certainly skilled hunters, but as long as it is not your spymaster hunting me, I still believe I can disappear. Tamriel is quite a large place, and there are many ways to fade away. I can take a new name, avoid stirring trouble. If you can teleport me to a destination, then they will have no trail to follow. Or, perhaps I could visit a face sculptor to complete my change of identity. I could even, say...join one of your clans. With a new face and a new name, I could hide in the last place they would expect to look."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei let out a quick, halfhearted laugh. "Concerned? I expect it. We have been technically 'allies' in this war, insofar as one can call someone they distrust and actively dislike an ally. Our treaty was formed early in the war, and to their credit, I suppose they have not betrayed their word. Still, I would not call us close friends by any means. We occasionally give each other information to help make strikes against Vile's people, but otherwise, we do not work together or coordinate in any close sort of way. I have only met one of their representatives a small handfull of times since we formed the alliance."

Meesei sighed. She closed her eyes and, with her ear pressed up against Lunise's chest, spent a few seconds just listening to her heartbeat. "I do not like Molag Bal, and were it not for the fact that Hircine himself directed me to do it, I would never have approached his servants. He is no Daedra of honor. His existence is dedicated to the domination and corruption of mortals. Although, I suppose that would also explain his willingness to prevent Vile from gaining so much power over him. Or from eliminating his source of mortals to corrupt. We do have a mutual enemy, but we will be asking him to fuse his own power into that axe. That is a kind of direct involvement that he may loathe to give. So far, it has just been his followers doing his bidding. And they are no kind souls either. Their leaders are an Argonian woman and her Dunmer spouse, both ancient vampires. Exactly how ancient I do not know, but from what I remember of speaking to them, I think they are far older than you or me...or your family...or the whole Empire. Not to be underestimated, certainly."

---

A slight smile appeared for at least a moment on Do'rhajul's face. She was making some progress, at least. He did not wish to try and force her to become something she was not, but her devotion to the safety of her people did make it easy for him to determine what she would ultimately choose to do. If putting on an act would help them, he was confident she would do it. Although, he could not say that her concern for him was illegitimate. In fact, he agreed with her assessment pretty much exactly. Regardless, it was not something that actually worried him.

"Well, if that is your fear, then perhaps I can simply remove the source of the problem once it is all over: myself. And before you get that look on your face, no, I am not suggesting anything that would spill my blood. If, by some chance, I do survive the assault on Vile's realm, then I can simply leave. I can remove myself from your clans and go my own way. Perhaps build a cabin by some isolated river in some foreign land and live out my retirement in peace. You would neither have to worry about me, or about losing your place in your clan." He suggested.

Star Wars - Lawless Galaxy

I recently learned that Enalais is dropping the RP as well, which does make things a bit more difficult on me. I would have a difficult time taking over for him on plots that I don't know that much about. For those not in the Discord, we have been talking over perhaps doing a reboot on this RP. The setting would be the same, and you could use the same characters if you wish, perhaps some of the same events, depending. I do want to keep some of the freeform style that the RP began with, but I would want to focus on a smaller number of plots to prevent this from happening again.

I was wanting to ask everyone's opinion on if they would prefer to reboot this RP, or attempt to move ahead with what we have currently?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It had not been terribly close to nightfall when Meesei and Lunise had stepped into her room together, though it was getting close by this point. There may have been no sun in Blackreach, but they still followed its schedule as closely as they could. Meesei was in the bed beside Lunise, the blankets thrown haphazardly onto the floor alongside Lunise's clothing. The bed was stone, but padded with enough straw and cloth that it was quite comfortable, even moreso with Meesei holding Lunise so tightly. Meesei was laying on her side, her head resting on Lunise's chest, and her legs wrapped around her. She had one hand resting on Lunise's stomach, with one finger absentmindedly rubbing her navel.

"Hmm...softskins are so...wonderfully warm. I wish I could just come back here tomorrow and stay in your arms. I have to go to the Imperial City tomorrow, then after that, I will have to take the axe and head to Black Marsh. I am not at all looking forward to dealing with Molag Bal."

---

"Well, you remember the plan you and your Champion made during that meeting, yes?" Do'rhajul asked. "She wishes to paint you as a hero for the sake of your people's morale. Not to mention to make them more likely to accept your decision to keep me alive. You may not believe you are a hero, and indeed, you may not be. At least not by your own definition. The word 'hero' means something different to nearly everyone, after all. But, with your accomplishments preceding you, it would be quite trivial to act like a hero. You already accomplished your feats of skill and daring, in their eyes. At this point, you would only need to memorize an inspiring speech before battle, and act confident in deliver it. Perhaps demonstrate some powerful magic in a sparring match from time to time. I cannot say if such deception is morally right or wrong, but I will admit that high morale can win wars. It would be helpful for your people to be happy going in to this invasion of Oblivion. I just give you a question that you need to ask yourself: is it worthwhile to you to put on such an act to keep your clan happy?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think I will do a bit of a skip to accomplish that.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The closer the pair drew to one another, the more Meesei's smile turn closer to a smirk. "Hmm, now that is where you are wrong."

Meesei did not give Lunise much of a chance to consider her words before she took action. She slung one arm around Lunise's back, and the other behind her legs so that, in one quick motion, she could quite literally sweep Lunise up off her feet into Meesei's arms. The ease with which she scooped up a grown woman and started to walk around towards the bed was just another reminder of her more-than-mortal body. "I certainly plan on taking you...somewhere tonight. Perhaps a few times." She said before quite quickly occupying Lunise's lips with a kiss.

---

It took a moment for Do'rhajul to find a chair that looked as if it could support him, which gave Sabine time to share more of the details of what she was dealing with. Do'rhajul listened, but was unswayed by Sabine's obvious self-doubt. "It sounds like your Champion's duties make her essentially a politician, then. A warrior as well, I suppose, but still someone who is trapped dealing with political maneuvering. That is a kind of leader, yes, but not the only one."

Do'rhajul pointed a finger to his own chest. "Do I look like a politician? I can tell you I am not. I do not care for worrying about appearances, lying through my smiles, and all of that nonsense. I would sooner cut out my own tongue than to have to learn to coat it in silver. If I were to have to attempt to hold your Champion's role, then I would fail. But now I ask, am I not still a leader? I do not need to come up with flowery words to stand as an example to my soldiers. What other leaders think of me does not matter when I can serve my men, and have them serve me with the respect I earned from them. I lead by example, and through my deeds as their general. Not with clever words. You already showed them your bravery, so you do not need to spend your time talking with politicians to be a hero. You just need to be ready, when the time comes, to stand at their lead in the face of Vile with that very same bravery."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Given how rare it was to see Lunise laugh so genuinely, Meesei could not stop herself from joining in with her own deep, bellowing laughter. Being a wolf did not change the fact that there were tears in her eyes by the time she stopped herself. "Hmm...you say that now. You might be surprised on how...tempting it can be when you really think about it in detail." She continued to tease. Although, she did not delay much longer in reverting back to her Argonian form. Just as before, she did not so much as lose her footing for a moment.

"Well, regardless, I can say without a doubt that it is such a joy to see you laugh." Meesei said, regardless of how her laugh actually sounded. "With how superb you are at keeping up appearances, it is sometimes easy to forget the person under the facade. I know you are going to have much to do while you are here, but I cannot begin to describe how glad I am that you are going to be with us for so long. It is going to be torturous to have to keep up an act for so much of the time we are together, but even with that, I think we will have plenty more time together. This cavern is exceptionally large, and the fact that I will be able to teleport to and from this room at will without the smallest sound escaping will help, I think. And I can always just take us to some faraway land like we usually do, if all else fails."

---

As usual, Do'rhajul was patient. He watched Sabine in silence through her tears for a minute or so, allowing her ample time to air out her emotions in full. He did not think it best to try and suppress her feelings, though that did not mean he intended to do nothing. The look he gave her, while somewhat hard to read, was calculating.

"You are wrong; categorically so." Do'rhajul stated boldly. "Your failure with Ri'vashi is not enough to make me doubt your leadership. I could have told you that trying to persuade that woman of anything else was a fool's errand. Even without knowing her, I could see it in her eyes when she looked at me. She hates me with every fiber of her being, and has every right to do so. Convincing her to forgive me would be like convincing a Thalmor to worship Talos. The only think you failed was to accomplish an impossible task. The inability to perform miracles does not make you a bad leader."

Star Wars - Lawless Galaxy

So, I would like to make an effort to get activity going and help move people who are stuck. I unfortunately don't have all of the details on all of the plots that I wasn't directly involved in, but if anyone who is stuck would like to message me, I can probably help to get things moving again.