EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth held her head just above Janius', grinning down at him. "I didn't know my stubbornness was so, um...endowing? Or, no...endearing, that's the right word." She replied, stumbling briefly over her words. Kaleeth had been speaking Cyrodilic almost exclusively since leaving Black Marsh, but since she had learned primarily through conversation, there were still the occasional, rarely-used words that could catch her. Sometimes amusingly.

---

"Yes, and it helps to have friends, especially back when Rhazii was young." Ahnasha added. "Even so, I've had a lot of full days these past few years."

Though S'nashi was outwardly smiling, Ahnasha knew her mother well enough to notice some of her apparent concern, or at least uncertainty. Her next question was just about what Ahnasha was expecting. "I didn't really think you would still be studying magic, of all things. We were just talking about it, and Calia mentioned that you would have to be quite skilled. It's just...well it sounds dangerous, doesn't it? Dealing with your own soul and everything?"

Ahnasha managed to chuckle convincingly. "It's not dangerous, mother. I knew you'd just worry. It's difficult, and can be expensive, but I know what I'm doing. It takes some, uh, strong creature souls. And gems to trap them in, of course. Mammoths are something experienced teams of hunters can take down reliably, and they work. I, well, I'd like to explain it all in detail, but that would probably take a lot of time, a lot of background, maybe a few diagrams."

Vasiq had been mostly quiet so far, but the current topic was evidently enough to rouse his interest. "But you will actually be able to live longer?"

Ahnasha nodded. "Yes, ideally. These things are not always too precise, but I hope to live as long as Fendros."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With Janius' size compared to Kaleeth, she practically had to crawl up his body after he pulled her down with him to get her head on the same level as his. "Lively? I guess I am. This has all brought back a lot of memories of my last few days in the village before we left, all those years ago. Mostly, they're memories that just have me worried about Julan, and him making some kind of huge mistake with Leeus. Or accidentally offending the whole village. That's nothing you didn't already know."

For a moment, Kaleeth allowed her head to rest on Janius' shoulder as she looked into his eyes. "But there are good memories there too. I don't think I could ever forget how I felt being around you. Even though I had a hard time understanding half of what you were saying most of the time, you still made me feel just...good being around you. You were so much nicer to me than a lot of the hunters, and I was really just happy to be with you. Learning what you were did frighten me, but at the same time...it just didn't matter. I still remember how you willingly helped me on a dangerous hunt, then bravely protected my defenseless hide against a full-grown wamasu. When I looked at you after that, you were like a hero out of one of the Treeminder's stories."

Kaleeth lifted her head up, then interrupted herself by planting another, long kiss straight on his snout, evidently not impeded in the slightest by his werewolf body's size or proportions. If anything, his head was now closer to the shape of an Argonian's. She ran her fingers through the fur on his head, and again started to rub him behind his ears. "I honestly don't know what ever attracted you to me back then. I was so pathetic compared to what I am now." Kaleeth added, though still in a distinctly positive mood.

---

While Shevari was carefully focused on timing Rhazii, Ahnasha was brainstorming internally on how she might insert herself into her parents' conversation without it seeming too convenient, or otherwise drawing attention to the fact that she certainly did not want them discussing the topic. Unfortunately, there were no good ideas that came to her mind, but at the very least, it was also true that Calia's explanation was not outright harmful to Ahnasha either. She was painting her as a skilled mage, not a blasphemous one.

"Well, that is...not something I expected at all." S'nashi replied, her expression showing just the same surprise as her words. It was surprising enough to hear that she had made it here so quickly with the spells of her mage friend, but that my daughter is actually a skilled mage herself...I don't know how she finds the time for so much work with having to run a store at the same time."

Gwindir nodded in agreement with his wife. "I never would have thought that to be something normal people could accomplish."

Ahnasha nudged Fendros slightly, still whispering. "Maybe we should try to slide back into the conversation? Sit down to eat, or something?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth did not so much as flinch with the water being sprayed onto her, and the mud would be dealt with in short order as she waded out into the water with Janius. The water came up only to just above her waist, and even less so for Janius' larger werewolf form. She approached him, running one hand through the still-soaked fur hanging down from his head with a wide grin, then planting a kiss on his snout. "Sorry, but you just look so funny like this. With all that fur drooping down like that, instead of sticking up straight, it almost makes you look small. As small as a big, overgrown wolf can be, I guess. It would be more cute if it weren't for the wet dog smell, but...nothing's perfect."

Nevertheless, Kaleeth soon wrapped one arm around Janius' back, while using the other to rub his belly. Based on her smile, her mood had at least improved substantially.

---

"Yes...maybe." Ahnasha quickly answered to Rhazii, though quickly turned back to whisper to Fendros and Monderyn. "I know that part is good, but...my parents didn't really know about the, um, extent of my magical ability. They're pretty ignorant of magic in general, but I don't know if that will be good or bad for me."

It was difficult to tell how exactly Gwindir felt about the explanation, other than some obvious confusion in his expression. "Living longer? You mean like an elf? I, well...I always thought that was something necromancers made dark deals to accomplish, isn't it? I am not educated in magic, as I said."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, you sure? Usually when I let my beast out of its cage, it has all sorts of thoughts it likes to push into my mind." Kaleeth commented as she stepped up just beside Janius. Though, she did not allow him a response before she reached up and started to scratch behind his ears. His natural reaction would be to tilt his ears towards her, and perhaps close his eyes, so he may not have noticed when she slipped out of the clothes she was wearing as well. "Of course, the parts about the swamps that might annoy your beast spirit aren't what you would get just glancing around for a few seconds. Just one I can think of: you probably need to figure out how your beast feels about being wet all the time..."

Kaleeth had stopped scratching behind Janius' ear for just a second in order to pull back far enough to give herself a running start. Suddenly, she threw all of her strength and weight into shoving Janius towards the river, focusing her efforts onto his upper body. Between her strength and his uncertain footing in the mud, she could muster just enough force to send even a werewolf tripping into the water. When Janius could finally get his head back above water, he would be able to see her leaned forward on the shore, laughing almost uncontrollably.

---

Ahnasha was, perhaps, fortunate that neither of her parents were particularly well-versed in matters of magic. Their knowledge of the magical arts extended only to the general perception of mages and "common knowledge" about magic, which may or may not have been accurate. Nevertheless, they could recognize that what Calia described sounded difficult, particularly with the complements she was giving to Ahnasha because of it. S'nashi was unable to hide her confusion, but was not ashamed to admit that she was out of her element. "I...cannot pretend to know much at all about magic either. I have never had a need for such things, and it is not traditional for us. Though, I didn't know that Ahnasha could still do magic either; she didn't mention it. I do remember that she was always interested in those magic tomes that we sometimes bought and sold in our shop. I think she just wanted to read them because her father told her not to. I suppose she still must read those tomes if she did what it was you said. Strengthening...her soul? I'm, well, not sure I entirely understand what that means."

Gwindir nodded in agreement. "Yes, what exactly would that mean for her?"

Ahnasha was just as quick to lose her attention towards the competition as she had been to be distracted by it. She tried not to show too much concern, but she did lean in somewhat close to Monderyn. "What...do you think your mother is going to say, exactly?" She whispered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I know, I wouldn't want to try to make everyone live here. I think I would like to go to a lot of different places, once this war is over. I mean, I know we've always traveled a lot with our duties, but I would like to go back to those places on our own time." Kaleeth commented.

As they had been walking without too much purpose for a while by this point, Kaleeth finally stopped and sat herself down by the edge of the water, taking a few moments to give a keen look over the surface for any hint of a crocodile, or other predator. The sun had set by this point, and with the thick canopy of trees, it was dark enough that even their lycan eyes had slight trouble seeing. Nevertheless, Kaleeth still looked perfectly comfortable.

"Anyways...we're plenty far enough from the village by this point. Why don't you transform for a moment? Let your beast spirit out of its cage, and see how it really feels about its environment?" Kaleeth suggested.

---

By this point, everyone who was not competing had been served, and Shevari was starting on her roasted kagouti while she waited for the four of them to ask her to time them. S'nashi appreciated Calia's complement, though she could not admit that she entirely understood her meaning. "Oh, thank you. I, well, I cannot say that I know too much about your son's talents, unfortunately, but if they are as good of a match for each other as I think, then he must be just as remarkable."

Gwindir, at the same time, was giving Calia quite a curious look. "I have always known our daughter to be a bright one, though I am curious what talents you are referring to?"

The competition commanded more than enough of Ahnasha's attention for her to notice her parents' conversation, so she gave a nod towards Monderyn while she watched Rhazii. "If I were to give some advice, I would say just not to try to pull it to full draw. It's not needed at this range, and it's not as if you need to pierce anything strong. A partial draw should just make it the same as any other bow for you. Take a few practice shots, if you like. I want it to be a fair competition. Otherwise...perhaps Fendros should set the bar this time?"

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."