EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth was still none too eager to think about the possibility that Janius was suggesting. "He had better not do anything with that girl. I don't care if it's what we ended up doing, I want our son to be better than we were."

After a moment, Kaleeth shrugged. "But, maybe he is not even thinking about that. I might just be, um, how would I say it...putting my own worries onto his situation. They are two young and attractive Argonians, yes, but they really just met. They might realize in a few days that they have nothing in common at all. Even we spent more time together than that before we decided to run away together into the swamps."

It was hard to say that Kaleeth was settled on the topic, but it was not weighing as much on her as before. She took another long look off into the swamp before she was finally willing to change the subject. "You know? I do want to come back here, after everything with Vile is over. Not, um, forever or anything. Or without the pack, necessarily, but I would like to try to convince Meesei to bring us to Black Marsh for a while. If we end up not necessarily having to live in Blackreach anymore, if things get quieter, a change of scenery might be good for us. I would like to be able to come back here occasionally and visit everyone again. Ariel and Rukeewei too, in Thorn. Though, there is still that part of me that wonders if you are really happy being here. I know you say you are, but...is that completely true? It's hot, and wet, and your skin isn't waterproof. I guess you don't have to worry about the diseases, at least. Though even more than you, I'm wondering for how long your beast spirit would tolerate it here. I know werewolves can be found in Black Marsh, but a swamp doesn't seem like a place a wolf would like. How agitated do you think it would end up getting?"

---

One detail that S'nashi quickly took note of was how Calia mentioned that Fendros had left abruptly. From all that she knew of him, his similarities to her daughter were hard to ignore. "So Fendros essentially ran from home as well? My, the two of them really do have a lot in common, don't they?" S'nashi looked over towards the continuing archery competition. "I think Ahnasha got her competitive spirit from her father here. Even if she does...apply it in a different way. Regardless, watching the two of them now does really make me see that they are a wonderful match for each other. I do hope that the time she is able to have with him now will be something he will be able to carry with him for the rest of his years. She already seems to have found a way to give him a beautiful wife for many years on. She is aging much more gracefully than I did. She's yet to tell me her secret. If I find that she's discovered some miracle ointment up in Skyrim, then I don't care how difficult it is or how much it would cost, I would simply have to get some for myself."

Gwindir gave a chuckle. "Something tells me that my coinpurse should feel grateful that our daughter is being so tight-lipped." He added. Although, S'nashi had brought up a point that Calia might not have noticed, as Ahnasha's apparent youth may not have been immediately obvious to her.

Among the group of archers, Ahnasha looked to Monderyn with her arms crossed, but not hiding the fact that she was impressed. "Well, well, I think I'm going to need to start taking this more seriously. I wasn't quite sure what kind of experience you would have, but it seems you will be able to give some real competition. After Rhazii has his turn, I think we should make it a real challenge. We'll focus on speed, but you still need to be accurate enough to at least hit the target, so...it will be one point for any hit on the target, no matter which ring you hit. We will have ten arrows to fire in, say, twenty seconds."

True to her word, Ahnasha's suggestion would be quite a challenge. Having to average at an arrow every two seconds while still hitting the target would be a difficult challenge for even for archers as experienced as they were.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth let out a long breath, turning her head away for a few seconds. "Honestly, I'm still not sure I like it. It just seems that there is a lot of risk in giving him so much freedom being with her. Sure, I want to trust my son but...well, he's a young boy at the age that he's becoming a man, and he's just as stupid as every other young boy his age. I know Juran-Selth does not seem too concerned but...he doesn't know what we are, the risks that are really there."

"But...there are some advantages to the company he is giving her." Kaleeth admitted. "She's going to encourage him every step of the way for his tattoos, without us even needing to ask her to do it. If she tells him that enough, he might actually start believing it himself. It's just...well I know I keep echoing my same worries to you, but are you absolutely sure that he won't end up doing something stupid? I mean, you do remember what we were doing when my father found us, right?" She asked, though he might also notice her grip his hand somewhat more tightly, with a slight grin.

---

The brief silence from Ahnasha's parents was more uncomfortable for them than before, but they did their best to hide it. As she had faked her death in order to run away, Ahnasha's departure from them was not a pleasant memory, and not something that her parents were willing to discuss in polite conversation. For them, it was far more practical to simply answer vaguely and avoid the subject, without outright lying. "Oh...it's been quite a long time by this point. Well over a decade. She was not yet in her twentieth year when she resolved to make her own way through life. But, it all turned out well for her. Perhaps she just needed to get her fill of adventure before settling down with your boy." S'nashi replied.

"Young Fendros must have had something of an adventurous spirit as well to keep up with our daughter, I would imagine." Gwindir added. "Perhaps they helped to temper each other's restlessness?"

Ahnasha gave Fendros two pats on the shoulder, though with a grin that betrayed her pride. "Come now, I know you can do better than that. Why, perhaps Rhazii should join us as well to finally show up his father in one of these competitions? Though I suppose your brother should go next."

Ahnasha turned and took a long look towards the tree, contemplatively. "Hmm, now how to make it more difficult? Perhaps speed shooting, but...we would need something to time it, and I doubt any of us have an hourglass on hand."

"Oh, um, I do, actually." Shevari's voice chimed in from nearby. She had already served the main course for everyone, so she had returned to watching them compete while she ate. "I always use one, especially if I need to be precise with how long something needs to be cooked. Actually, I have three of them of different sizes, for different timings."

"Oh, well, I suppose that is an option, then." Ahnasha commented.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I don't think I can make any guesses at how the Hist are going to think or act." Kaleeth remarked. "They are like gods; I don't think we can understand them like normal mortals. I've never known the Hist to not give someone any marks, though. It's...tradition. I think we should try not to worry about it too much, though. I'm sure Julan will come to respect his own people's traditions. Who knows, maybe the Hist will even help him do that?"

As they walked along further from the village, Kaleeth leaned herself closer to Janius, walking arm-in-arm with him. "All this stress has been a lot for me, but at least it does seem to be getting a bit better. Julan impressed my father, and people are as accepting of us as much as I guess I could have reasonably hoped. It was probably too much to hope that everyone would be happy to see us, but I can at least have some hope that this will all turn out well."

---

Gwindir and S'nashi shared a quick glance between one another, with S'nashi's expression betraying only a brief moment of discomfort before she started to respond. "I...don't think I would describe either of our children as 'black sheep'. Ahnasha was, um, different from Vasiq, but still our daughter all the same."

"We wouldn't have forced her into the merchants' trade. Though, I will admit I'm personally glad she ended up there. Regardless, I just didn't want her to be in danger." Gwindir added.

Ahnasha, meanwhile, took a hold of the bow from Fendros. "You want me to set the bar first? Are you quite sure about that. I would like to leave at least some suspense for our audience." Ahnasha smiled. Her playful confidence was not something that she showed as often now as she had in the past, but competitions and the like could still draw it out of her.

The targets that Monderyn had carved into the trees were not terribly far away, nor terribly small that Ahnasha's confidence was not well-founded. Shooting stationary targets was trivial in comparison to shooting in a real battle, and she did not expect either herself or Fendros to have any trouble with it. "I actually think we should make this harder. Maybe stand farther back somewhere? Or time it?" She suggested, pulling the bow to full draw regardless. For anyone familiar with archery, there could be no flaw found in her technique. She did not fully grip the bow with her hand, but instead left the hand open as the bow rested against her palm and inside of her thumb. Even with the draw weight of the bow, her hand was almost completely still until she loosed the arrow, which flew straight into the center of the target. At the current range, it was not too much of a challenge, as long as she gave proper focus to her shots.

Since she was not currently in any particular rush, Ahnasha took her time and did not take advantage of any techniques to improve her rate of fire. She simply drew her arrows leisurely and took her time to place them consistently on the target. She had a tight group of arrows in the middle of the tree, though her last arrow was possibly in the very inner edge of the middle ring. She could not quite tell from where she was standing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though somewhat slow to respond, Kaleeth eventually shook her head. "No, I think we have it all sorted. Now that you understand the honor and...obligations of the marks, Julan, I think you will really appreciate them."

Kaleeth looked over and took Janius' hand. "I think...we should go on a walk. Just for a little while before we go to bed."

Kaleeth had been doing her best to hide her worry as they had been trying to persuade Julan to get his marks willingly, so when they did walk away out of sight, she was also free to show her relief. "I think that was as painless as we could have hoped for. As long as he gets his marks, and doesn't stir up any problems, everything should be okay."

---

The time it took for Llarasa to examine the bow was enough for Ahnasha to start thinking up an explanation that at least sounded reasonable. Though, she still laughed for a few seconds to settle on her thoughts. "Not quite dragons, but have you seen even the game animals in Skyrim? They are made of sterner stuff than the beasts of Cyrodiil. Even the deer are more robust, and if you were to encounter a bear...a light bow probably would not even ward it off."

Ahnasha walked over to Llarasa, though did not take the bow. Instead, she pointed to the bow and started to trace her finger along it. "You see the shape? It is a recurve bow, which allows it to be smaller than a longbow, but have the same draw weight. It was probably intended to be a war bow, but it is still perfectly suited to take down large animals. Now, we don't actually think it was an original Dwemer bow. Most Dwemer weapons or armor that you might find for sale are actually just reforged from scavenged and smelted Dwemer metal. I've, um, seen one or two come through our shop. Since all Dwemer metal is identical in quality, you could melt down a bunch of spoons into a high quality bow, or sword. They could be forged in a Dwemer style, but genuine, original Dwemer items of any kind are quite rare and valuable. Of course, the material itself would make this bow valuable still, and it is no less effective from a practical standpoint."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Kresst allowed himself a few moments to consider Mach's request, and its potential ramifications. There were some concerns that he did need to weigh in the situation, like the psychological effects such a recording might have on Mach. Clones, bred for war as they may be, were still people, and were still susceptible to mental trauma. But, his squad were his brothers, and he did have a right to know what happened, regardless.

With a long breath, Kresst tapped a claw rhythmically against the table, eyeing down Mevenn's helmet. "There is no good reason for us to deny you that request. Whatever that order was would not have been caught by Mevenn's helmet, so it should be safe. I would say, Mevenn, that you should upload the relevant footage to the ship for Mach to view, if he so chooses. But Mach, I would make sure that this is truly what you want. If what Mevenn says is true, that they attacked and she had to...defend herself, then it will not be easy for you to watch. You should take care that your mind is in the right state to be able to handle it."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm...well it still sounds crazy." Leeus replied, though she was no longer actually denying the claim.

Julan looked to be in better spirits, but it may have just been because they were no longer directly on the topic of his tattoos. It was hard to tell if Leeus and his mother had changed his mind, or if he was just resigned to put up with something he knew he was going to end up hating. Kaleeth, in truth, was not thinking terribly far ahead on the topic, and just wanted to make sure not to anger the village, or especially her father. "So, um, is that all there was to talk about? I guess the tattoos might end up looking good. Hopefully. I'm glad you think they'll look good, Leeus. We're...probably going to end up leaving not long after I get them, though." He added with a sad look.

Leeus' arm was already around Julan, so she pat his shoulder encouragingly. "It's fine, Julan. We'll just have fun in the meantime. Can we go back to swimming, or...do you need me to go so you can talk to him alone, again?" Leeus asked Janius and Kaleeth.

---

S'nashi waved a hand towards Fendros. "Oh, I don't even think I could pull back the string to begin with. This is probably a contest best left to youth."

Ahnasha stood herself up to her feet and stepped up beside Fendros, wrapping one arm around him. "We have these sorts of contests all the time, and I know how I compare to my husband. For me, personally, I find myself rather curious how Fendros' skills have shaped up compared to his brother. I would love to see you two compete before it is my turn to knock my dear husband right out of the competition."

Gwindir, meanwhile, was more focused on the bow itself. The metal, recurve bow shone like bronze in the sunlight, though it was a far stronger metal. Even though he did not deal in weapons, Gwindir could naturally see the value of it. "My, is that bow actually Dwemer metal? That is quite rare, and not to mention valuable. Far moreso than any hunting bow I have seen."

It would be rather easy to give a reasonable excuse for the value of the bow, though there was another thought that came into Ahnasha's mind. Leaning somewhat closer to Fendros, she whispered to him. "Say...we use a hundred and twenty pound bows. Do you think your brother can actually, you know, draw it to begin with?" She questioned. Their strength gave them the luxury of using powerful bows rather easily, but normally, such a draw weight would be reserved for war bows, and the strong, professional soldiers who wielded them.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yeah, I...hope so." Julan replied with a distinct lack of confidence. Although, Leeus was either not picking up on Julan's uncertainty towards his marks, or simply did not care, since it was still excitement that dominated her demeanor.

Leeus placed a finger on Julan's chest, then traced it around to his back. "My father's marks show its head here then it wraps around his whole body. Leviathans don't actually do that. Wrap around things that is. They're not like snakes. The marks are just, um...what was the word the Treeminder used? They're, um, made in an old style, back like the ancient Argonians used to do things. I guess that makes sense; the marks come straight from the Hist for their design."

"So...my marks may look something like your father's? I thought he had tattoos of a dragon when I first saw him." Julan remarked.

Leeus tilted her head slightly to the side. "What's a dragon?"

Julan almost appeared equally as confused. "You don't know? I thought everyone did. They're really, really big lizards like a leviathan, but they don't have a spine on their back. Oh, and they have wings and can fly. And breathe fire."

While still confused for a moment, Leeus soon crossed her arms and scoffed. "Really? Come on, Julan, stop making things up. You're not that good at it. That all just sounds ridiculous. Nothing as big as a leviathan could fly."

"No, it's true!" Julan exclaimed. "They're real; I saw one myself. Well, a dead one. Two dead ones, actually, but one was just a skeleton. The other one had meat and scales and everything on it though. We ate it!"

Julan's gaze darted back up to his parents, seemingly ignoring all of the worry that had been dominating his demeanor mere moments prior. "Tell her it's true!"

---

Ahnasha lightly laughed for a moment. "Well, I cannot call my son a liar. I do quite love a good competition."

S'nashi did not quite look upset, but she did have some surprise in her expression looking at her daughter. "I thought you had settled down in the city, dear? I didn't think you would still be going out into the woods, shooting things."

Ahnasha rolled her eyes, though still continued to smile. "Just because I've settled down doesn't mean I can't still do the things I enjoy. It is a hunting shop, after all, and I do still love to hunt. Don't worry, mother, I'm a much more responsible person now than I used to be."

At the very least, Ahnasha's remark was partially true. Hunting was very much a pleasure for her, even outside her lycan form. Although, after she had taken up necromancy, her continued training with a bow did fall by the wayside. She could no longer reasonably boast to be the best shot in the clan, and Fendros' continued improvement over the years meant that she could no longer be honestly confident in her ability to consistently best him in any contest of archery. No matter how much she claimed otherwise.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

What sort of bow does Fendros have? Probably one forged of Dwemer metal?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

This time, Kaleeth's answer was actually more reassuring for Julan. "Of course, no one could make you do it. Even if someone forced you to drink the sap and say the words, the Hist still wouldn't change you if you didn't really want it."

Leeus crossed her arms with an exaggerated look of offense at Julan. "Well, I don't know what you think is so bad about being a girl, but..." She began before, quite suddenly, pulling him in with one arm for another hug. "...at least you're still going to be able to become a hunter before you leave."

"Yeah, I...guess I will." Julan replied flatly. The idea of covering his body with tattoos was still not particularly appealing to him, but with his mother, father, and now Leeus all encouraging him to receive them, he did not feel that he had any way out of it at this point.

---

Ahnasha gave a quick shrug. "I don't think I can argue it. I didn't think the merchant's life suited me. For the most part, just doing the same things day after day, going to the same places and talking to the same people. I'm a person who really likes excitement, and doing new things. I like to improve myself; make myself stronger. I still hunt, and I would wager that I am the best shot here." Ahnasha grinned confidently.

Shevari, meanwhile, had cleaned up enough bowls to start serving the rest of what she had prepared. Small fires had been keeping the various dishes warm, or at least those that required it. The scent of the roasted kagouti had already been quite obvious since everyone had arrived, but all of the other dishes that Shevari was now bringing out also had their scents filling the air. Shevari's special stew was particularly aromatic. True to the theme of Shevari's own restaurant, there were plenty of options, both familiar and new to everyone. Even Ahnasha and Fendros, who had traveled extensively to quite literally every province in Tamriel, could find something new to try.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well yes, obviously." Kaleeth replied, being the only other person present who did not show any degree of surprise within her expression. She seemed to think it was perfectly normal. "All you have to do is ask the Hist and...wait, I guess Imperials don't have the Hist to ask. I guess you would have to..."

There was a pause as Kaleeth actually looked to be in serious thought, before taking on a genuinely curious expression. "I don't think I know what a Human would have to do. Is there really no way for a Human to change their sex? Or...any other race? Is it really only Argonians? All an Argonian has to do is drink some sap, ask the Hist, and they'll usually just change their bodies into a man or woman, depending on what they want. Then there's usually a celebration afterwards."

Julan had at first assumed that Leeus was playing some kind of joke on him, but after his mother's explanation, he looked almost as frightened as if he were about to be attacked. "I, um, well...I don't want to be a girl either, okay? I'm fine just being lonely." He began, giving just a brief pause as his words went through his own mind. "Or, um, I'm not lonely either! I'm just, uh, happy right as I am, okay?"[/i]

---

While S'nashi and Gwindir were finishing up their talk of business, Vasiq gave a quick glance to his sister nearby, who was naturally interested as well, having heard her name. "You mean whenever she was actually in the house? Ahnasha was always a bit of a...rebel, I guess you could say. She never liked being tied down to one spot. As a cub, she would so often end up slipping away from our parents, and it would take forever to find her, since she never ended up in the same part of the city twice. No punishment could deter her from her exploring. And growing up didn't change things too much. It just meant that she had already had her fill of exploring Leyawiin. Our parents taught her the trade just the same as me, but I don't think she ever really enjoyed it. Mostly because she said, loudly and repeatedly, that she didn't enjoy it." Vasiq chuckled. "She liked hunting, and eventually pestered our parents enough to get them to agree to let her do just that. They were happy to sell the pelts, but they did not like the idea of her going out and doing anything risky. The Blackwood forest isn't really the safest of places, in all honesty."