EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nytala shook her head. "There were no coincidences there. I took up my studies into lycanthropy as a direct result of learning of your future bond with Meesei."

Pausing a moment, Nytala lightly chuckled. "I admit, I was...surprised, at first, for a multitude of reasons. I would not say there is as much of a stigma against lycans, vampires, and the like here as there is in Tamriel, but I realize now it is not something I truly understood. The connections that such conditions give to various Daedra are not...preferred among Psijics. I admit, it is still a matter of concern for me now, but I have come to find the condition of lycanthropy to be simply intriguing. Your soul is bound to a Daedric vestige, and although Hircine could bind a Daedra with far more control of your mind, he allows you a chance to learn control yourself. And the transformation itself...I have been trying to work out the actual magical process through which your affliction transforms your body, and how it protects your life in the interim. It is not immediate, so there has to be some mechanism for the affliction to tether your soul, at least for a moment, to your physical form. Although, I have not been able to make proper observations on those processes without an actual lycanthrope to study in person."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, but what you describe is likely the easiest method." Nytala answered, her voice taking on a more even tone befitting a "scholarly" discussion. "The Hist are particularly in tune with the bodies of their creations, and they can effect that transition quickly and seamlessly. And back again, I might add. Although, there exists magic that can transform the bodies of any race in such a way, in either direction. I have known individuals who have lived centuries as both men and women. I would not look so surprised at that knowledge, my dear. Your soon-to-be wife can transform her body to be multiple times her own size, into a giant wolf. I would say that goes several steps farther than simply becoming an Argonian of the opposite sex."

Meesei cleared her throat, fairly nervously. Although the idea of having children of her own by itself was not something she inherently opposed, what Nytala was describing made the concept seem alarmingly possible. "Well, that is not something I have ever...considered before, I can say. I am not entirely sure how to feel about the idea."

Perhaps as a way of "encouraging" the pair to consider the idea, Nytala quickly moved past Meesei's hesitation. "I am sure it is not nearly as drastic as it may sound to you. It is possible there may be a way to use magic to take one's essence and use it to impregnate another, but I am not sure. That would not be my area of expertise."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Based on Nytala's reaction, she simply accepted Lunise's answer, or was undeterred by it. In either case, she did not seem to be disappointed. "Oh, certainly. I do find that I have such respect for your people's approach to family, Meesei. Even the orphaned and the spurned can find the love and comfort of a new family. It does sadden me that I will never be able to meet Sabine in person."

"Sabine is a daughter to be proud of, without a doubt." Meesei replied. She had been briefly distracted by the thoughts swirling through her head on how Nytala could have possibly intended for her to have children, but the subject of Sabine was one that could quickly draw in her attention. "She is really the pride of my life. It is hard to even imagine her as the frightened little girl she once was. Although...I will say that it sometimes also hard for me not to see her as my little girl. And instead as the woman she has become. She did not truly start her magical studies until I started teaching her, where as I was trained since I was a hatchling. Yet, she has grown into a more powerful mage now than I was when I had the same number of years of experience. I have taught her all I know, shared with her all of the different, new forms of magic I have discovered. Even the Psijic magic I have learned, I am sure she is making good progress on studying. As a mage and a scholar, I look forward to seeing how she injects her own creativity into her research, and eventually seeing what she may be able to teach me. As a mother, I also look forward to her perhaps having her own family. She is already forming her own pack, and it may be that I will be the one looking forward to grandchildren soon. Just...my own guess."

Meesei had almost forgotten that he was still present, but Zyausak made enough noise standing up that she still glanced over to him before he spoke. "I feel I should stop intruding on your family bonding any further. Though, if you feel you would like to talk later, I would certainly like to. I do have some...ideas that might be of some small use to you with this matter of your soul, Meesei. And I am reasonably sure I would be allowed to share them." He explained before quickly looking to take his leave.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As amusing as the conversation had been to observe, Meesei's laughter quickly subsided as Lunise's tone became more serious. For Meesei, Lunise's question was not as emotionally difficult for her as she might have expected. The bonding between mates that Meesei was accustomed to among her clan was just as meaningful as a marriage, and she was already resolute in the knowledge that she wanted to be Lunise's mate. To call herself a "wife" was just putting another word on how she already felt.

Meesei placed her arm around Lunise. "As long as it is physically possible for me to do so, I will make my schedule free, my love." She said, punctuating her answer with a brief kiss.

Nytala, at this point, was grinning practically from ear to ear. "Oh, you two are just so...cute together as well. It almost melts my heart seeing you so smiling and romantic with one another. Not to mention that it renews my hope in grandchildren."

Naturally, Meesei was understandably confused by Nytala's comment. She had once before made a comment about grandchildren, and it made no more sense now than it did then. This time, it was Meesei with the awkward and hesitant tone in response to Nytala. "Um, well I would normally consider this to be an obvious conclusion, but...it is quite impossible for us to have our own children together."

"Oh, come now Meesei, I am sure you have strong enough knowledge of the depths of the arcane to know that is not strictly true." Nytala replied, rather vaguely.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nytala listened to Lunise calmly, even as her smile steadily grew. She moved one hand up gently to Lunise's cheek. "Oh, my dear, even after all this time, after all both you and I have been through. After how much the both of us have changed, there is one thing that has stayed the same about you since you were just a babe."

Suddenly, Nytala grinned, pinching Lunise's cheek between two of her fingers as if she were a small child. "You are just so wonderfully cute when you're flustered." She began to laugh, and even Meesei could not help but to start laughing along with her.

"Well, if you two are to marry, then you simply must tell me when and where the wedding will be. I may not be allowed to attend in person, but I would at least like to be able to see you on that day." Nytala added.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Again, Nytala did not hide the regret in her expression. "I am afraid there is not much progress to share. I have been working with her closely. The work is exceedingly difficult without the ability to examine Meesei directly, and we are not completely certain how much easier it would make it to have her here with us. The most we have is promising theories, some possible avenues of research. Honestly, I do not think the council would give too much resistance to us releasing that information to you. Again, I just do not know how much help it will be to you."

Nytala had the beginnings of tears in her eyes and, for a few moments, struggled to keep eye contact. However, after a few seconds, and a brief flash of determination in her expression, she reached out and took a hold of Lunise's hand. "But...perhaps it would not be too much to ask for us to try and put this behind us for now? I accept your decision, and there is no reason to dwell on it. And now, you still have a few days left to remain here. It is not as if we are going to force you off the island now. I honestly do now know if I will be able to see either of you again in person after you leave; that is just the...reality of being a Psijic. But, I would like for us to be able to part ways with pleasant memories. I want to hear all about your family, your plans for the future. I want to get to know my daughter-in-law, or...perhaps get a sense of when I might call you my 'daughter-in-law' officially?" Nytala remarked, passing a grin to Lunise.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I understand why you feel the way you feel. Just...please do not be too judgmental of Inelwen. She can be brash, passionate, and uncompromising, but her heart is in the right place. She only wishes to do what she feels is best for Tamriel. I find that she...expects others to make the kinds of sacrifices she is willing to make herself. Please do not mistake my own intent, as I am not trying to make you feel guilt, but she was the first to volunteer to abandon every project she had to help find a solution to this matter of Meesei's soul. She has already been working on the problem for the last few decades. I just do not want you to leave this place with the wrong impression of her, or the order."

Nytala stood up and approached the pair, her hesitation at least slowly fading. "But really, I feel I should be apologizing to the both of you. It was unavoidable that your time here would be stressful, but I fear I have only added to it."

"I understand why you wanted me to remain, and you do not need to apologize for trying. As long as my choice is being respected, I cannot fault you for it." Meesei answered reassuringly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nytala responded somewhat hesitantly. "I...am afraid I cannot give too many details on that question. But, I suppose I can say that we have reason to believe that a certain Argonian's memories may have been included among those latent memories you now posses. Specific histories, and forms of Daedric magic, that are not privy to us may be hidden in your memories. Needless to say, these are secrets we believe may be useful in the times ahead."

Inelwen looked as if she had somewhat calmed down, though by her tone, it was more likely that she was simply making more of an effort to hide her frustrations. Regardless, she stood up and spoke, though looked at no one in particular. "If there is nothing more to be accomplished here, then I have other matters I should go deal with."

Inelwen did not leave any opportunity for a response before she marched out of the room. Nytala, giving a soft sigh, glanced to the others. "Taryenar, Marcaano, you should go...tend to her. I will finish up here."

The two Altmer quietly agreed and took their leave after Inelwen, leaving Meesei and Lunise with Nytala and Zyausak. Though, Zyausak remained silent in his seat for now. While it did now seem that Nytala had accepted Meesei's answer as final, she seemed to have trouble determining what to say next to her daughter, or Meesei.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Inelwen had likely prepared for how this meeting might go, but she was certainly taken by surprise with Meesei's sudden intrusion. She did not have an immediate response for Lunise, and Meesei did not allow the silence to remain long enough for her to think. "I am more than the sum of my parts; more than...lost memories to be recovered. Perhaps you do have a perspective I simply cannot see, but if I may be so bold, I would say there are perspectives you have forgotten in your centuries here. To completely detach one's self from the mundane concerns of Tamriel, from its society and people, is not something everyone can do. Nor something everyone should do. I will not dismiss the value of the Psijic Order's work, but there still need to be people like myself, like Lunise, like my pack, who care for the concerns that you have to overlook. That is my place, and I choose to take all of the risks that will come with that.

"But if you knew the stakes...if you truly understood what will happen if you die..." Inelwen began, but Meesei quickly cut her off.

"I do know, Inelwen. My soul is an unstable patchwork of far too many ancient memories. I may well simply cease to be if I die, should I not find a solution beforehand. Lunise explained everything well, but my decision is still the same." Meesei answered confidently.

Inelwen turned her head towards the other Psijics, with both her expression and tone demonstrating hints of desperation. "Surely you can see the benefits she could have to us?"

Marcaano leaned forward and lightly shook his head. "With respect, Inelwen, our concerns are not the only ones that matter. It may be that she would do more good here, but it cannot be denied that she will benefit our goals regardless, from Tamriel. It could be that she will do more good there. We cannot know for sure if she has the specific memories we think she does. She has obviously already been informed adequately, and it is her choice to make."

Finally, it seemed like Inelwen was relenting. She said nothing further, though she sighed deeply and her spell taking them out of time faded around them. With Meesei intruding as she had, it was not as if it was serving a purpose anyways.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Inelwen was, at least, polite enough not to interrupt Lunise, though that would not prevent her from being dismissive of her response. At the very least, she did answer Lunise's final question directly. "Because we, apart from Zyausak, are the ones who the council has tasked with keeping track of the situation with Clavicus Vile. We have been observing his actions, and giving our recommendations to the council on if or when it may become necessary for us to interfere directly. Over the course of our task, we determined Meesei to be a promising candidate to join the Order. Her latent memories may well contain secrets lost even to us, and her abilities may be uniquely useful to further our cause. To protect the existence of Mundus as a whole. She is not vital to us by any means, but she would still be an advantage I would prefer to have."

"Inelwen..." Nytala spoke up, albeit hesitantly. "...are you quite sure this is necessary? There is no need for this sort of aggressive approach. And my daughter may be right, perhaps you should just end this spell, and we can discuss..."

This time, Inelwen did not hesitate to interrupt her fellow Psijic. "Nytala, we tried it your way. Your daughter does not have the correct perspective, and she is clearly too emotionally biased to make an objective decision. Like you said, this is for both her, and Meesei's own well-being, regardless of whether they understand it in the short term. We need to find a new approach to convince her."

"I think your passions may be getting the best of you again, Inelwen." Zyausak finally spoke up. By this point, all of the Psijics were focusing on each other enough that they were entirely ignoring Lunise or anything she might be doing. Inelwen was hardly amused by Zyausak's interruption, but he did not seem too worried about upsetting her. "We are not talking about a child , or a pet, or just a...collection of memories, Inelwen. We are talking about a person, and she does have a right to her own decision. Even if it turns out to be a bad decision. And I may not be the most social person, but even I realize it is rude to be talking about this without her."

Inelwen looked noticeably more irritated, though the feeling was perhaps directed specifically at Zyausak. "If we cannot be sure that she had been given a fair chance to make an informed decision, then how can you accept her answer? And you are not part of this committee, Zyausak. We were kind enough to allow you to sit in on this meeting, but you said you wanted to help. If you do not intend to assist in persuading Meesei, then perhaps you should wait outside."

"No...I concur with Zyausak." Another voice suddenly interrupted; one that immediately demanded everyone's attention. All eyes went to the seat beside Lunise, and all voices were silenced. Meesei looked down to her hand, which was swirling in a brilliant yellow-orange glow. It enveloped her briefly, then faded, but she could still clearly move.

"Oh my..." Nytala softly gasped, but based on the stunned expressions of all of the Psijics present, including Inelwen, none of them had been responsible. Through whatever unknown means she had accomplished it, Meesei had managed to pull herself out of time with them.

Meesei stood up from her chair, keeping her eyes focused on Inelwen. "I prefer to speak for my own life..." She began, giving a brief, subtle grin to Lunise as she reached over and rested a hand gently on top of one of hers. "...alongside those I share it with."