EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan was not given much time to think about his apparent success with Narsi before he himself started to get questioned. He turned his head back towards Rhazii briefly, then glanced down at the scar on his leg. Thanks to his body's capacity for healing, it was rather thin, but still visible if he looked closely enough. "Yeah, that was a part of my trial. Or...um, well, getting stabbed wasn't a part of the trial, I mean. But, um, it did happen because of it."

Julan turned to the side so that both Rhazii and Narsi could see his tattoos. "I met my grandfather for the first time when we went to the village. He wanted me to do the trial. See, the trials are like a, uh, test to see if an apprentice can become a full hunter in the village. I know I'm not from the village, but as long as I passed one of the trials, then I'd still be one of the hunters. Officially, I guess. I think my grandfather really wanted me to be a part of the village; I know he wanted me and my parents all to stay, but...I just ended up doing the trial. They have four of them that you get to choose from, and I chose the trial of might. It's pretty much just a duel, but with real weapons. Not to the death or anything, but it has to be against a full hunter. Someone who is supposed to be bigger, older, stronger, more experienced, and all that. It's apparently a rare trial to pass. I know I probably had an advantage as a lycan, but it was still hard." Julan explained, running one of his claws over his scar. "These tattoos are the marks for the trial of might. They show a swamp leviathan, which is apparently one of the most dangerous monsters in all of Black Marsh. They represent, uh, well...strength."

---

Given that Fendros had given several suggestions at once, Ahnasha went about thinking on them one at a time, and some for longer than others. She hesitated for a few seconds, leaning back in thought in her chair. Rather than keeping her hands idle, she reached out and grabbed the pot of tea that Fendros had prepared, though stopped short of actually pouring any more into her cup. "Well, I can still say with confidence that you do know me very well...because I hate the first idea. Probably at least the second worst choice we could make. As for the second...I can at least see where you got the idea from, but I'm really doubting that would work. There's a pretty huge difference between a priest of the Eight and a priest of the Reclamations. Very, fundamentally different. You must really not have much experience with priests of the Eight if you think they have any sort of tendency for open-mindedness towards the Daedra, of all things. Besides...whose sermons do you think gave my mother her beliefs?"

Rather quickly, Ahnasha's trend of dismissiveness came to a rather sudden halt as she worked through in her mind on Fendros' final proposal. Initially, it did sound like a horrible idea, but it did not take too much thought for her to realize what it might accomplish. There was some actual potential for it to turn out well, as long as she took care in ironing out the details of how exactly to present it to her family. It was, of course, much less ideal than if they simply accepted the story she had told them, but there was some possibility to salvage an actual, positive relationship with her family if they did not. "But that third one..." Ahnasha began, setting down both the pot of tea and her empty cup. "...I can't believe I'm saying this, but there might actually be something there. Maybe. If I could put the story together right. Then it becomes almost like a...noble sacrifice on my part. Trying to save the soul of a wild beast. Still, not something I would want to tell them unless I'm sure they didn't buy the first story, but...I can't say it's a bad idea."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, I don't know anything about all of that. Uncle Lorag doesn't talk about those kinds of things very much." Julan answered, lightly shrugging. "I just know that none of that should make you think you can't be happy here. I mean, you're not going to be with your mother forever, right? I know when me and my brother grow up, we're not just going to be with our parents all the time. We'll be working on our own joining other packs, having families of our own; those kinds of things. We can still be around, we don't have to leave them or anything, but...I know that children do have to grow up and have lives of their own. Don't you do it the same way in the city? You'll have to have your own life too, and even if your mother got kicked out, that doesn't mean you can't live here. Or in another clan. And it probably wouldn't be hard to visit and stay close with her, with the propylon chambers. You know, teleporting."

Julan was worried that he was not wording his advice properly, or that there was more he could say, but it was also true that Narsi was acting a fair bit differently than she had been thusfar. She was, at least to some extent, opening up to him. "So...you don't have to act like an outsider. You can just let yourself enjoy being here And besides, if you really want to beat up Lorag, then you're going to be training here for a very long time."

---

"I...appreciate that." Ahnasha answered, though with the long breath she let out and her emotionless tone, it was hard to tell if she was being genuine. "But I wasn't lying about them being busy. They weren't starting their day quite as...early as I might have implied, but now that I've come all the way out here and we took our time eating our breakfast, there probably isn't enough time to catch up with them. We're just going to have to deal with this in the long term. Maybe we'll have time before the invasion to squeeze in a short visit to Leyawiin."

Ahnasha sighed, not looking particularly hopeful. "But I guess I did ask you to think on it, so...what are these ideas?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Narsi's answer was certainly a lot to unpack, but it did finally give Julan some much-needed context as to why she had been so insistent on pushing people away. He still did not have much of an idea of who her mother was, but he knew he did not have any obvious answer to just solve her problems. Still, he did feel that he could help her understand some things in a way that could shift her attitude. Slowly, he shook his head, now speaking more softly. Given the subject, he was worried that he could end up angering her again. "No, I don't think it's true that he just...didn't care. I know I can't read Uncle Lorag's mind or anything, but he's been very busy. Our parents have, our whole pack has. They always have to give their everything to fighting the war."

Julan hesitated, showing some uncertainty in his expression in the few silent moments it took for him to think about Narsi's perspective. "Has...anyone told you about the war yet? About what our pack has been fighting? What all the clans have been having to fight? It's another Daedra, and his followers. Clavicus Vile. They've been literally hunting for our souls for our whole lives. At first it was just fighting like you normally think of, but then they had this...gas. It, well, just ripped lycan souls out of their bodies. Just like that. It could just kill us as soon as we breathed it. It was terrifying to know about; to know what...could happen. There were some clans that were found and attacked with the gas, and it just...killed everyone. There was no way to fight it, we just had to hope that we would be hidden. I remember having so many nightmares..."

Julan's discomfort was showing through quite obviously, so he was quick to interrupt himself and continue. "There's an antidote now, though. Aunt Sabine and her sister were able to figure one out, and things have gotten a lot better since then. For a while there wasn't really enough for everyone, but now our parents say we have enough to keep everyone safe. Everyone isn't so afraid all the time, and apparently we're winning the war. I...well, like I said, I guess I can't really say for sure what Uncle Lorag was thinking, but...maybe he thought it would be better for you if you weren't here back then? And maybe he thinks things can be different now?"

---

"No, it wasn't." Ahnasha answered dryly. She stared out the window rather than at Fendros, but her tone made it seem as if all of her emotion had already been drained from her. "You could have been right, or wrong, but that was the one thing you really needed to understand. I just wish you would have realized it much sooner."

Finally, Ahnasha brought herself to make eye contact with Fendros once more. "I still don't know if my family really believed what I told them. Our goodbyes this morning...they just felt like superficial words to me. They might still doubt me, but were too nervous to say anything. There was no nice, neat resolution, if you were hoping for one. This will probably be hanging over my head for the next few weeks, maybe months, until we start exchanging letters again."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Um...no, not really." Julan answered. Unlike the adults of their pack, he did not know who Narsi's mother was, and even if he did, the name "Harriet" did not mean much of anything to him. Her treason was not a tale that had been told in great detail to him. He was aware that Vera's husband had been the former alpha of the clan, and that he had been killed by a traitor, but that was the extent of Julan's knowledge.

Julan rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean...I did wonder about it. I do think it's strange that you would live in a city instead of a clan. But...if you're here now, then surely there's no problem with you living in a clan? Does your mother not like Lorag much anymore? There are other clans, if that's the problem."

---

Complete silence was not entirely Ahnasha's intention, but she also did not intend to bring up the issue at hand in front of Fendros' family. She was not sure if Fendros would be stubborn enough to remain supportive of his own actions, or the time they had apart to cool down would have made him acknowledge the possibility that he made some mistakes. Regardless of her outward demeanor, she did not actually want to be at odds with him, and was hoping that he would be willing to admit to some mistakes once they finally did have a chance to speak.

Ahnasha did make an effort to be friendly with Fendros' family through breakfast, and even Fendros himself as long as they were talking about anything else. Once they were finished eating, Ahnasha decided not to make any effort to avoid a private conversation, if Fendros was ready for one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Sure you are." Julan responded, tilting his head towards Narsi. "I mean, no one's going to stop you. That's what clans are supposed to be; they're safe places, where lycans can be happy. Out there, there's people that hunt us, guards or townsfolk that would try to kill us, but not here. Every lycan is supposed to be able to be happy here, or in other clans. Part of what our scouts do is try to find lone or, uh, feral lycans and try to bring them in."

Standing slowly, Julan took a step towards Narsi, though she just seemed focused on staring into the fire. He still had little idea what was going on in her mind, and mostly just felt that he was guessing. All he felt fairly sure about was that she was still hiding something, and he probably could not trust most of what she had actually been saying so far. Still, for as difficult as she was being with them, he still felt some sympathy for her. He did not understand her, but he could at least imagine how he might feel in her situation. And his guesses might not be entirely wrong. He spoke hesitantly, but placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm guessing...I mean, I suppose you've probably been kind of alone for a long while, especially if it was just you and, I'm guessing, your mother in that city. I get that you're probably not used to this kind of thing, but you don't have to always be alone. Even Orcs don't spend their lives alone in the woods; they have strongholds, and all that. There's no rule keeping you from talking to people and making friends."

---

"Morning, Fendros." Ahnasha replied to him perhaps frustratingly simply. She did not give away many hints in her attitude to him, or anyone else. She did not seem warm towards him, nor distant, and did not give many words to allow for interpretation to begin with. If anything, she might have been distracted by her breakfast.

Regardless of how she had answered openly, Ahnasha could easily see what Calia was doing. Evidently, Fendros had given enough away to suggest that there was something going on between them, but Ahnasha gave no comment on it. If there was anything that might have been surprising to Fendros, it was that she actually bothered to speak up again before being prompted. "I spoke to my family before I left, said my goodbyes. They're probably going to be fairly busy for the rest of the day." She explained. Again, she gave few details, but it did confirm that she had spoken to her family without so much as inviting Fendros to join.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Only the second?" Julan laughed. "City life must actually be pretty boring. There are all kinds of exciting things that happen around here. We ate a dragon not all that long ago. Aunt Sabine killed it. They had the skeleton on display in the main hall for a while, but they took away most of the bones after a week or two. Not sure what they did with them. Now it's just the skull displayed there, though you might not have noticed it. It's kind of high up, above the door when you go in." He commented as he walked up to the burning cluster of mushrooms. Julan himself would dry off rather quickly regardless, but everything he was wearing could benefit from the fire. He undressed and laid out his clothes, pouches, and scabbard carefully a safe distance from the fire, then sat down himself.

"But you know, I'm sure you could enjoy it here if you just let yourself enjoy it, Narsi. You don't have to pick fights and yell at everyone you meet. Things are different here. This is the kind of place where lycans are meant to be. I mean, just think back to where you're from. I'm sure you couldn't tell anyone about what you are back in Cheydinhal. You couldn't talk about being a werewolf, and no one there would've understood what it was like, even if you did. And you couldn't hunt with other lycans, except your mother I guess. Now, it's no secret. Now you can talk about it as much as you want, or even just transform whenever you feel like it. Surely that has to be better than having to worry about staying hidden all the time? I hate having to think about everything I say or do when we visit cities."

---

Perhaps to Llarasa's relief, Ahnasha was perfectly pleasant towards both her and Calia. Although, if she suspected that there was something wrong between Ahnasha and Fendros, that would not be settled until he arrived as well. Regardless, Ahnasha hugged Calia as she answered. "Oh, I am quite alright. I just finished saying my goodbyes to my family. They have more business to tend to in the city, so I decided to talk to them early, before they got too busy. Meesei is going to be arriving around noon to take us back, unless something delays her. I hope you don't mind if I join you for breakfast." Soon after, Ahnasha moved to offer Llarasa a hug as well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hey, the water's not that cold." Julan replied, though his waterproof scales may have been altering his perceptions. "And I thought he would be able to get over it. I've seen him jump that stream before, though...I guess there was no one riding him then." He added with a light shrug.

Regardless, Julan stopped them in place, which would give Rhazii another chance to close the distance. He looked around for a few seconds until his eyes settled onto a cluster of glowing mushrooms, which caused a grin to come across his face. "Well, if it's bothering you so much, then maybe you can just dry off by the fire."

Julan's suggestion came with the obvious problem of there not actually being a fire anywhere around them, but he was quick to offer a solution to that issue. He pulled on the reins such that it applied pressure to a certain spot under Leaps' chin, while also pointing his wooden staff straight at the tallest glowing mushroom tree in the cluster in front of them. By Julan's command, Leaps charged himself with lightning that danced all around them, and only avoided electrocuting them by virtue of the saddle they were on. The lightning collected particularly in his mouth, then shot out as a spectacular stream of electricity straight at the mushroom tree. The heat alone from the fully-charged blast was enough to burn straight through the glowing mushroom tree and light it ablaze. After only a few seconds, it collapsed down to the ground and ignited more of the mushrooms around it. The fire was already burning out of control and would certainly consume the entire cluster, but with a stream on one side and rock on the other, there was nowhere else for the fire to spread to once its fuel was depleted.

---

Much like Monderyn, Ahnasha's attitude did not suggest that much of anything was wrong. Though, regardless of how much anger she may or may not harbor from the previous night, she would not have taken it out on Fendros' mother or siblings. She smiled at him and gave a slow nod. "Yes, thank you. I have not actually eaten yet."

Ahnasha followed Monderyn's direction and headed inside. If she did see Fendros, then neither her appearance nor behavior would give him much to go on as to how she was actually feeling, apart from the fact that she would not be too enthusiastic in greeting him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At first, the ride on Leaps was rather tame, if only for the fact that they were still in the city. All of the people moving between the buildings meant there was not much open space, so they went along at a fairly leisurely trot towards the front gate that allowed Rhazii to easily keep up alongside. Leaps walked somewhat awkwardly while on the staircase, especially since they were heading downwards, but it was nothing that made it too difficult for the two of them to stay on his back. That was only challenged once they were finally out of the city.

Almost as soon as he was able, Julan took Leaps' reigns and set him out in a sprint straight away from the city. While not as fast as a horse, he still managed to be an even rougher ride. The way a wamasu moved, especially when running, meant his body moved more, vertically and horizontally, as well as being less predictable than a horse. Still, the saddle itself helped them to stay on his back, and it was not as if Leaps was trying to throw them off.

Unless he wanted to transform, Rhazii would not be able to keep up outright, though Julan did not take them in a straight line. He kept directing Leaps to make tight turns, dash between clusters of mushroom trees, climb rocks and hills, and anything else he could think of to make it more exciting, so there were some opportunities for Rhazii to close the distance. Eventually, Julan had Leaps running as fast as he could go, then tried to get him to jump clear over a section of one of the rivers that flowed through the cavern. Leaps was perfectly willing to make the jump, though Julan may have overestimated the kind of distance that Leaps was capable of. While the wamasu did make it about three quarters of the way over the river, he did still end up splashing down straight into it regardless. Both Julan and Narsi ended up entirely underwater for a second or two, but as wamasu were quite strong swimmers, Leaps ended up climbing out of the water on the other side just as quickly.

Julan, naturally, was not phased in the slightest by being completely soaked. He simply glanced back at Narsi behind him, laughing and smiling all the while. "See, isn't Leaps just great? There isn't a more amazing pet in all of Tamriel."

---

There was not a word from Ahnasha as Fendros was leaving, and in fact, he would not hear anything from her for the rest of the night. Whether it would be good or bad for them in the long run, Ahnasha wanted to have her time alone for the moment. The silence gave her plenty of opportunity to think, and though she tried to lay down for some sleep shortly afterwards, she was up for hours doing just that.

Although Fendros had told Ahnasha that he would return in the morning, she evidently had something else in mind. It was early in the morning, with the sun only scarcely up over the horizon, when Ahnasha came walking down the path towards the Avarul vineyard. Not only had she left the city early, but she had all of her bags with her, suggesting that she had no intention of going back. Either she had decided not to speak to her parents again at all, or she had already done so without inviting Fendros to join. In any case, she knocked on the door with different greetings in mind, depending on who answered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan looked to Narsi as if she had said something confusing, or even funny. "Yeah, so?" He replied, even going as far as giving a slight grin. "What, are you afraid of lightning or something?" Julan teased, raising up his hand and passing a few visible sparks between his own fingers.

Stepping outside for a few moments, Julan headed around the back of the stable to retrieve Leaps' saddle, which was large and cumbersome enough that he had to carry it above his head. It looked like no ordinary saddle, as it had been made specially for Leaps, based on his rather unique features. It was meant to be able to carry two people, and provided more assistance with stability than a horse's saddle. It had holes and indentations to accommodate Leaps' specific set of spikes, and although Narsi would have no way of knowing, it carried several enchantments, not the lest of which was magic to insulate the rider from lightning.

Although it was a rather complex process to get Leaps saddled up and ready, both Julan and Rhazii had plenty of practice, and Leaps himself did not put up resistance like he used to. Between the two of them, it did not take too long to get the wamasu ready.

Once finished, Julan headed around the side of the stable once more and grabbed a simple wooden staff. A staff, or spear, was necessary to properly direct Leaps with some of the commands they had taught him. He pointed the staff at Narsi, which immediately brought Leaps' eyes to her along with it. "You sure you don't want to ride with me? I didn't think an Orc like you would get scared of a cute little lizard like Leaps."

---

"Hmph, you know, I actually do think you owe me this. I don't feel like letting you anywhere near my parents, but you still were the one to cause this." Ahnasha remarked. "You caused the problem, so you owe me a solution. I do actually want you to think up something. Unless you have no intention of trying to make it right...or even acknowledging that you made a mistake."

This time, Ahnasha turned away from Fendros, towards the door. There were a few long and silent seconds between them before she spoke up, softly. "Meesei isn't going to be back until tomorrow. You remember how I told my parents you were going to go back to your family? Maybe...that's a good idea, for now. Your father is back in the clan, so he won't be able to bother you if you go back to them. Maybe spend the night with them...and let me be alone."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Julan similarly started to rub Leaps in one of the spots behind a spike that he had a hard time reaching with his own claws, something that the wamasu quite obviously enjoyed. Though Julan had to take care not to keep it up for too long, else he might start to inadvertently build up a hefty electric charge.

"This is Leaps-On-Elves. He's a wamasu; we've had him ever since he was a hatchling. I think he's actually older than Rhazii, by a little. Or were you born before they got him? I can't remember. Well, they're both close to the same age, anyways." Julan explained. "I've read all about wamasu. They're from Black Marsh, and even the Argonian tribes say they're dangerous. I mean, I guess they are, but we raised him from an egg. And Aunt Meesei did say she did...something to him to make him less aggressive. Years ago, while he was still a...um, what's that word, a...juva...neil? A child, basically. Apparently they cut something out of him so he wouldn't end up being as aggressive or, um, territorial."

---

"You sure don't. And I don't have any ideas." Ahnasha remarked, though after a few seconds of pacing around behind him, she took in a quick breath and continued. "Or, actually, I did have some ideas. Plenty of ideas, actually. All sorts of ideas on what I could tell them that I thought up these last few weeks. Years, really, in all the time that we've been exchanging letters. I came up with plenty of things to tell them, answers I could give to their questions, ways to keep them happy despite me living so far away. But, you took it upon yourself to decide that I shouldn't use any of those ideas."

Suddenly, Ahnasha placed a hand on Fendros's back. If he turned around, he would be able to see a smile on her face, though it was quite obviously fake. Her anger was far from having left her. "Clearly, you feel you know my family best. Obviously, you know what's best for them and me better than I apparently ever could, so why should I bother? My ideas, my desires, are irrelevant, so why don't you just handle it? You can just solve this problem all by yourself; I'm sure it will be easy for you."