EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei grinned, practically jumping onto the bed and laying down on her side, within arm's reach of the plate of food on the nightstand beside it. "Now that, I can agree with. We have not really had our chance to have our day alone together, have we? I admit, I probably brought up the idea of coming here a bit too early when we were on the beach, and I spent most of yesterday wallowing in self-pity. There was a whole list of things I wanted to do with you yesterday that I never got to."

Reaching over, Meesei grabbed the comparatively small cup of tea carefully in her hand. Just as Lunise had guessed, it was cold, though one could see the slight glow of magic surrounding it as she started to heat the cup. "Granted, half of that list was taking you around to some interesting sights and destinations I have seen over the years. But, I would say Artaeum is perfectly good for now. I did have something I wanted to give you, but...well I am honestly not even sure it makes sense to give it to you anymore."

Meesei put down her cup and climbed out of the bed, over to her belongings. She took a few moments to sort through one of her smaller pouches and retrieved a small object, which she soon handed over to Lunise. It was a small, opaque vial that was cool to the touch, though interestingly, it was made from metal, rather than glass. "Do not open that. Just, um, let me explain what it is. I, well, this was always going to be sort of difficult for me to give you, and now this whole thing has made it even more complicated. Just try to keep in mind that this is meant to be a gift, and from my perspective, it is far more romantic than it will probably seem at first. It is a vial of blood. My blood, specifically." Meesei explained, already showing herself to be nervous in her tone.

"Now, you know that I would never force lycanthropy upon you, and that is still true. I have never asked you to do it, never tried to pressure you into it. I know very well what it means to be a lycan, what it does for you, and what it demands from you. And I completely respect your, and everyone else's right to decide that for themselves. But...I love you, Lunise. I love you, and..." She began. For the second time today, Lunise would be able to witness a crying werewolf, albeit for drastically different reasons. "...I am completely confident in saying that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If I make it through this invasion, my life is going to be substantially longer than the average Argonian lifespan as well, I assure you. We very well could grow old together. But, something could always happen. I may well die before you, and we both know that our souls are not bound for the same place. That vial is enchanted to preserve the blood inside essentially indefinitely. If I were to die and...assuming my soul does not split into pieces and destroy me, you decided that you too wanted your soul to spend its eternity with me, then I wanted to make sure you have that choice available to you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well...as much as I do not want to disappoint her, I am afraid the concerns of the people I love have to come before her. Perhaps next time I figure out how to breach Artaeum's defenses, I will throw a few relevant notes through the portal for her." Meesei replied. She leaned her head down, pressing her snout to Lunise's lips. What Lunise received from Meesei could not exactly be described as a "kiss", but her tongue could certainly make it feel similar to her.

While a kiss from Meesei could be somewhat awkward in this form, it could not be said that she did not give a pleasant hug. Meesei herself felt like she could simply hold on to Lunise for hours. She was under no illusions that Lunise had not just prevented her from falling into a potentially dark place in her life. She had fallen even farther in the past, and there was no guarantee she would have been lucky enough to come back from it this time. "I know this visit has not gone...exactly as I expected, but I am still glad we came. A few days here with you is worth all the bad news they could possibly give me."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei returned Lunise's gaze. "Yes...it would be." She replied, somewhat slowly. "It would be hard not to admit that it is a tempting offer. For most mages, it would be a dream to be able to practice their craft here. Perhaps I would be able to solve this problem in a few years and return home quickly...or perhaps not. More likely it seems that I would have to live this life for quite a long time. And, perhaps there is merit to that. Perhaps people like your mother have reasons for being here that are not purely selfish; something that neither of us have yet seen and that we lack the perspective to understand. But...I do know the merits of the life I live. I know what I do for my people, for my family. I know what they mean to me, and, thanks to you, I know how much I can still do for them."

Meesei's muzzle soon started to show a distinctive grin, and she made a sound reasonably comparable to laughing. "And I do believe you are right, I am the greatest mage to have graced the shores of Artaeum since the days of Galerion. If there is anyone in Tamriel who can do this, it is me...perhaps with the help of Ahnasha, you, Sabine, and everyone else I have come to rely on over the years. So, yes, I know I will have help, even without the aid of the Psijic Order. And I am not going to abandon them all. Besides, I have already done the impossible so many times already, what is once more?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei listened closely as they headed inside and started making their way down back towards their room. While he had heard the words Lunise had been speaking for the past day, she realized she had been ignoring, or at least dismissing any of her meaning. The least she could do now was to listen with an attentive ear.

Initially, Meesei's response might not have been encouraging. As they were heading down the stairs, Meesei hesitated to answer. Although, she was mostly having difficulty finding the words to express what she wanted to say. It was not until they had made their way back into their room that Meesei gave a definitive, unmistakable answer. She threw her arms around Lunise and pulled her, rather suddenly, into a tight hug. Given the difference in size between them, Lunise was essentially enveloped in muscle and fur. "I do not think I can really overstate how much I appreciate you, dear. Even when I am being an undeserving, stubborn cloaca, you just do not give up. You are too good for me."

Meesei released her grip on Lunise and took a step back. Once again, she cast a dispelling chain even more intense than the last. "You are right, and I know you're right. There is no way I can reasonably deny it without just making excuses. I learned Teroiah's spell over the course of minutes. An inefficient version, granted, but still. This was her spell. No Argonian has ever cast this before me, and no divine intervention helped me do it. This werewolf form...I have mastered it in a way no Argonian ever has. If I was smart enough to listen to you, I would have realized yesterday that I am more than these...memories."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The other Altmer's answer was not dissimilar to the Orc's, though Meesei well understood Lunise's point by then. They bade farewell to the Psijics, and Meesei remained close to Lunise as they were walking away. Meesei was still not confident that it was a terribly good idea to remain in her werewolf form in such a setting, but they at least were not likely to run into too many others on the way back.

"You know, I do not think all of this was necessary." Meesei commented, nudging Lunise's elbow. "Really, I understood you when we were back in the room. I...know what point you have been trying to make."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Orc looked confused for a few moments, as if she was not entirely certain she had correctly understood the question. "That...is a difficult question to answer. If a spell is simple, I could learn it in minutes, but this one is not. The idea weaves together several magical disciplines. Not to mention the fact that it takes a type of magic that is inherently chaotic and forces it into a distinct, ordered form. I am honestly not certain how much experimenting it would take to figure out how to weave it properly. I personally don't have much experience making discretely shaped magical entities. It might take me a few days, longer if I run into something unexpected. Though...Nurellin." She began, turning her head and gesturing towards the Altmer man just to her left. "You have a bit more practice with that, right? I remember you weaved some alteration into those illusions to help train Vanelienne's pigs last year. Does that have any similarities to this?"

"More than you would think, actually." The Altmer man answered. "Instead of an alteration weaved illusion, though, it weaves with mysticism. Illusions are just as resistant to coexisting with more solid forms of magic, perhaps even moreso, than dispel. It would not be identical, of course, I would have to overcome an entirely different sort of dissonance, but if I were to wager...I would say I could do it in a few hours. If I really put in the effort." He answered confidently.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

What the Orc had to say was at least of some interest to Meesei. Evidently, Nytala believed that Meesei's method of attaining enough mental clarity to cast magic in her beast form could also be adapted to improve some Psijic meditative techniques. Meesei, in truth, was not sure if she would be able to help them, as she had not yet attempted to expand upon that particular technique. But, she supposed the logic was there to at least make an attempt worthwhile. Regardless, Lunise did have certain intentions for bringing her here, and even if the Orc did not notice her stare, Meesei did.

Meesei held up her hand somewhat, calling more attention to the dispelling chain. Eventually, the Orc did glance down and was reminded of Lunise's question. "Oh, yes, right. You wanted me to try to replicate a spell, yes? That is...well, that is interesting. I have not seen that spell before. It forms magicka into a discrete shape, but it is quite a disruptive form of energy. Dispelling magic, yes?" The Orc brought her hand up to her chin, contemplating as she continued to observe the spell. "That actually makes some sense. Where as common dispel magic tends to envelop an object to disrupt its magic, this would concentrate all of that arcane entropy onto a smaller point. Most of the target magic would be unaffected by a strike, but most enchantments or magical defenses would still be broken if one part of it was sufficiently disrupted. It would break the patterns. Clever. And you want me to replicate it? I suppose I could do that; how many days do you have for me to study it?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei was now seeing where Lunise was going with this little excursion, but nevertheless, she decided to oblige her request. Meesei charged her spell and gave her magic its near-physical form, creating the dispelling chain in one hand and allowing it to hang down close to the ground. Right away, the spell caused some visible surprise from the Orc and both of the Altmer, though perhaps not for the same reasons as Lunise was intending.

"My word, I had heard the rumors, but to see it for myself..." The Orc began. She observed Meesei's spell, though looked even more closely at Meesei's werewolf form. "I've read Sage Nytala's dissertation on lycanthropy. The amount of mental barriers and very real magical barriers one would have to overcome to be able to channel magicka with such an entropic spirit bound into your mind...Nytala has not even come close to determining how you achieved that. You know, there could be quite a few benefits, even to non-lycans, to learning from your methodology. Nytala has theorized that your techniques could help improve some of our meditative techniques, which in turn could allow us to..."

The Psijic's academic curiosity, it appeared, had gotten the best of her. She had strayed away from Lunise's request, and did not look like she was going to be stopping on her own for some time.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although everyone on the island had no doubt been informed of their visitors' arrival, the sight of Meesei in her current state was not something that most could simply take without reacting. Even among Psijic monks. They had not run into too many others on their way outside, but there were a small group of three Psijics practicing in the arena. As Zyausak had explained to Lunise the previous day, the location was known as the "Colosseum of the Old Ways". It was, in his opinion, a rather grandiose name for what amounted to a small stone arena primarily used to study atronach skirmishes and carry out magical exercises.

The woman who turned to address Lunise was an Orc and, fairly predictably, was briefly startled when she turned around. Neither her nor the other two Altmer were anyone they had met since arriving, but they all calmed down quickly enough that they were likely already knew who they were. "I...sorry, I knew we were getting visitors, but I didn't expect you to be walking around like...that. I thought Sage Nytala was in charge of you two? Is there...something wrong?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sarcastic as she might have been, Lunise's point did resonate within Meesei's mind nevertheless. To have learned Teroiah's dispelling chains, a spell that may very well have only been practiced by Teroiah herself prior to that, in the midst of a battle was a feat for which Meesei had no answer. At the very least, no Argonian had ever cast that spell before. Although, while Meesei had been distracted in her thoughts, Lunise's new suggestion was both surprising and confusing enough to alarm her, to an extent.

"I...are you sure that is a good idea?" Meesei replied, slowly standing as Lunise dragged her to her feet. At this point, she genuinely was not sure what Lunise was intending, or what wandering Artaeum like this would accomplish. Ultimately, she did trust Lunise enough to follow, but her hesitation was apparent.