EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha readily returned the kiss, glad to have Fendros to comfort her. She laid by his side, wrapping her arms tightly around him and enjoying his warmth for a while as she slowly drifted to sleep. Meanwhile, Meesei found comfort in a different presence.

Meesei was in the middle of a swamp, much like the marshes of her own homeland. Her body still appeared as it did before, with the bandages over her abdomen and smaller cuts across her body, but she felt perfectly fine, as if nothing was wrong at all. And, of course, she had the Ring of Hircine on her finger. She was up to her knees in the waters of the swamp as she moved, drawn towards a presence just beyond the brush. She pushed through some vines hanging from a tree into a clearing, which consisted of another pond with a small island in the middle. On the island stood Hircine's glorious form. He appeared as a man nearly twice Meesei's size with a deer skull as his head and a great spear in his hands. Meesei kneeled before him and bowed her head.

"My Lord, I am humbled by your presence. I and my pack slew the blasphemous Orc who allied himself with your enemies, as you commanded." Meesei said.

"Rise, my hunter, for you have performed well. You have killed the one who slew countless of my hounds. You have recovered my Ring and brought glory to the hunt. You have more than earned the chance to become my champion." Hircine said, his powerful voice enrapturing Meesei's mind.

"I would like nothing more than to have such an honor. What must I do, my Lord?" She asked anxiously.

"To claim your rightful place as my Champion, there is only one more thing you must do to prove yourself a true hunter. When you awaken speak to your second and confer to him the title of Alpha, for you will be joining me at my side, in my realm. From there, I will place you wherever I require you to serve my will." Hircine explained.

Meesei's response was not immediate, nor one of excitement, but rather shock. To become the Champion of Hircine had been her dream since she first gained the gift of beast blood, but to abandon her pack...it was unthinkable. She stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, with conflicting thoughts racing through her mind. Eventually, she collected herself enough to form to form a hesitant response. "My...my Lord. I am beyond honored to be given this opportunity, but my pack...I could not have done this without them. I have hunted with them for years, I have trained them with all of my skills, and learned everything they had to teach me. I have lived with them, and lived for them. I love them with all that I am...and I cannot abandon them. If leaving them is the price to be your Champion, then it is a price I cannot pay. I am sure there is another who can take my place at your side.

Hircine did not have a face with which to smile or scowl. His only visual reaction to Meesei's answer was to grip his spear in both hands and lightly tap it on the ground. Once he spoke, however, his tone showed he was pleased. "You are a credit to your pack, mortal. A hound always stays with her pack, until the end, if necessary. Your heart beats with fury and dedication worthy of my greatest hunters...my Champion. Your pack is a reflection of your successes. Each will have a role to play through the coming years, a destiny to fulfill. It is your responsibility to see that they succeed. The Orc's death has sent ripples through our enemy's ranks, but now is not the time to exploit them. Go, strengthen your pack with my blessing, my Champion." Hircine ordered.

Meesei watched as Hircine disappeared, and the world around her unmade itself. For a few moments, she found herself in complete darkness before her eyes finally opened and brought her back into reality.

Meesei awoke in the cave, then slowly and painfully brought herself to sit up. She still felt like death. Nothing about Hircine's blessing healed any of the intense trauma her body had been through. That would take spells, potions, and time, but Meesei was now confident she would recover. Hircine's words had put her at ease regarding her own survival, as he had not even mentioned the possibility of her dying from her wounds. She had no idea what time of day it was, as there was no sunlight in the cave. Lanterns hanging on the walls still illuminated the caves, though they would need to be sure to refill their oil, as there was almost no chance she would be well enough to move for a while.

As the others began to stir around her, Meesei could not help but to smile. Although she was the Champion of Hircine, their importance could not be denied. They had their own destinies to fill in the coming war. To Meesei, her role as Champion and as Alpha was not to serve as some hero in the fight against Vile, but to serve her pack in their journey. They were everything to her, and she did not intend to disappoint them.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

This one may take a bit to write anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'll expand on the dream once everyone is asleep and I can skip to the next day.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After a while, it seemed as if most of the group was growing weary. Lorag and Janius found bedrolls for and pulled them close to the fire, while Ahnasha found a fur blanket and laid it down at a safe distance from the fire. She laid down on the blanket and watched the flames dance back and forth for a few moments. Her fur was still covered in blood, and she could have really used a bath, but she was too tired to deal with that at the moment. For now, she simply wanted to rest. Rolling over onto her back, she looked over to Fendros. She said nothing, but instead simply looked at him with a pained expression, wanting the comfort of his embrace again.

Though Meesei was asleep, her mind was not entirely at rest. Through her beast spirit, an the Ring of Hircine, the Lord of the Hunt had access to her mind.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I'm still kind of trapped in limbo with my collab. In case Leon turns out to be too busy, what else is everyone doing?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha put her arm around Fendros and held onto him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder as she continued to keep her eyes on Meesei. "I know she is strong, but...I'm afraid. Meesei has been more like family to me than my own flesh and blood had ever been. I know it is Hircine who I follow and revere, but...I feel like Meesei is the one who really gave me this life. She was the one who gave me the gift of beast blood, she trained me and remained patient with me through all of my many failures. She had been my mentor, and so much more. I know she is pretty young herself, but she had been more like a mother to me than my own ever tried to be. Meesei cares about us all dearly, and she would give up anything and everything for us. I just...I just hope she doesn't have to."

Ahnasha wished there was more she could do, but she was no healer. All she could do was wait. She closed her eyes as tears started to form in them, but the fear within her was obvious. For now, she simply tried to find some comfort in Fendros' embrace. She felt fatigued, as the fight had been exhausting on everyone, so perhaps getting some sleep would be the best option for her at the moment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unfortunately, I need to go to bed now. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei drank everything the others gave her, not particularly paying attention to their contents. The magicka potions reinvigorated her magical energy, while the health and regeneration potions at the very least picked up where her adrenaline was leaving off in terms of painkilling. Her lycan regeneration was ineffective against silver wounds, but the potion Sabine had given her was another matter. It would help her chances, if nothing else. As the others were preparing bandages, she poured as much restoration energy into herself as she could muster. Her focus was first on stopping the bleeding, but she could not truly do that until they had dealt with the spear wound.

"Okay, Sabine, I want you to get ready to pull the rest of the spear out of me. Just pull it quickly out of my back so the spearhead doesn't get in the way, and be careful not to touch it yourself." She said with an almost uneasy level of calm. Once Fendros had finished soaking one of the bandages in a healing potion, Sabine obeyed the command and slid the spear out of her Alpha's body. Meesei could not help but to cry out briefly in pain, despite the numbing sensation brought on by the potions. Blood quickly began to pour from the wound, which prompted Ahnasha to take the soaked bandages and wrap them quickly and tightly around Meesei's abdomen. There were other wounds across her body, but they were barely scratches by comparison, and most of them had already stopped bleeding.

At this point, physical exhaustion had caught up to Meesei. She had been pouring as much healing energy over herself as she could muster, but her wounds were not something that could be mended in only a few minutes or hours. With full alchemical aid, it would take days for her to recover from her grievous internal injuries, if she could even recover at all. Her chances were better than they had been five minutes ago, but there were still no guarantees. For now, getting some rest was likely her best option. Lorag was experienced enough with injuries to know this as well, so while the others had been bandaging her, he had limped over to the other side of the room and drug back a bedroll for her.

"There's no way she's going anywhere. We'll be staying here tonight. Get her on that bedroll, let her rest. She's healed herself as much as she can, and we've given her the potions. Resting would be the best thing for her now." Lorag said before going off on his own to deal with his own injuries. Ahnasha and Fendros slowly and carefully moved Meesei to the bedroll beside her, and it was not long before she drifted to sleep from exhaustion. While Janius and Lorag went to deal with their own wounds, and Sabine went to take stock of the available potions and ingredients, Ahnasha sat with her back up against one of the cave walls staring at Meesei's unconscious form. Her legs were drawn in close to her and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Looking closely, one could see the faint hint of tears forming in her eyes. Her entire body felt sore from the fight, but nothing the Orc did to her could compare to her emotional suffering. She was afraid; afraid for the safety of her friend and mentor, of her Alpha. She wished she could just know what was going to happen one way or the other. It was the uncertainty that was killing her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's surroundings seemed somewhat...faded. She had a hard time concentrating on anything, but she had to try. She focused on the haft of the spear jutting from her abdomen. Wrapping her hands around it, she focused what shrivel of magicka she had left into her hand, specifically into a spell of destruction. It was a pitiful display of magic fit for a child, but it was enough. The disintegration spell caused the wood to become brittle, enough that she was able to snap it with only a small amount of force. Now, only a short portion of the spear remained impaled through her, which she had no intention to remove. It was somewhat of a mercy that the silver spearhead had pierced all the way through her, as it was no longer harming her, and the haft itself was plugging the wound and preventing a lot of extra bleeding.

Even without their equipment, one would not assume that the Orc would be able to stand against three lycans at the same time, but there was a reason he was Clavicus Vile's champion. He threw Lorag off of him and scrambled quickly to his feet, drawing one of his shortswords. The Orc blocked Janius' spear with his shield, then twisted his arm around and grabbed a hold of the haft. At the same time, he predicted what Lorag would do next and swung his shortsword backwards, slicing him across his arm as he approached. The Orc yanked on the spear to pull Janius closter, then struck him with a bash from his shield and shoulder to throw him off balance and cause him to lose his grip on his weapon. He took another swing at Lorag , who ducked under the silver blade, but that provided the Orc with the opportunity to bring up his knee into Lorag's face.

In a display of near omniscience, the Orc recognized a faint glimmer in the air nearby and jumped back in time to evade a slash from Ahnasha's daggers. She appeared in front of him and tried to go for another slash, but he was able to sweep her legs and send her to the ground before she could. Janius had recovered by this point and responded with a destruction spell, this time an ice spike. With his lightning fast reflexes, the Orc was able to block it with his shield again, but this time, it shattered the battered shield into two pieces. Undeterred, the Orc grabbed a dagger from his bandolier between two fingers on his other hand while still holding his sword, then tossed it at Janius in a single, rapid motion. The dagger stuck into Janius' side; not a lethal hit, but the silver blade required his immediate attention. Almost on cue, Lorag managed to land a solid blow on the Orc's jaw, with his sheer strength stumbling him backwards. Lorag tried to grab for one of his knives while he was off-balance, but even while staggered, the Orc was able to attack. He delivered a kick to Lorag's shin that bent his leg back at an unnatural angle and broke his kneecap.

Ahnasha had brought herself back up to her feet, but just as before, the Orc saw her coming. He had an almost unnatural level of spacial awareness that allowed him to react quickly to his opponents' actions. This time, Ahnasha was actually able to slice into his arm with one of her daggers. The Orc lost his shortsword as a result, but that certainly did not mean he wasn't still deadly. The Orc delivered a kick to her chest, which pushed her back against the wall of the cave. While she was off balance, he grabbed both of her hands, then, using his superior strength, forced the two bound daggers from her hands. Once she was unarmed, he headbutted her, then grabbed her by the throat with both hands and pressed her against the wall. Ahnasha instinctively brought both of her hands to her neck to try and pull the Orc's hands apart as he was suffocating her, but she could not match his strength. She struggled and kicked at him, but she was getting nowhere. It seemed as if she was going to be strangled to death when she saw the strange, red-tinted glint of metal start to protrude from his chest, stopping just shy of her own fur.

The Orc released his grip on Ahnasha's throat, allowing her to take in a much-needed breath. The Orc had not expected Meesei to still be alive, let alone conscious. He had not thought to look at her during the fight, so he did not see when she slowly brought herself to her feet. He did not see when she nearly collapsed trying to pick up his silver longsword, only to press on through sheer force of will. He did not see her stumble towards him with his blade dragging across the floor behind her. He did not see when she impaled the blade through his spine, and due to his newly-acquire paralysis, he did not feel it either. The Orc collapsed to the ground, with Meesei dropping down to her hands and knees beside him. She rolled him onto his back to look into his eyes, then grabbed his hand and held it up in front of him. The last thing the Orc saw was Meesei slipping a ring, which bore an intricate carving of a wolf, off of his finger, then putting it onto her own.

Meesei collapsed beside the Orc. Despite their own injuries, the others gathered around her. She was still alive, but was barely hanging on by a thread. Even with the haft of the spear plugging her wound, she had lost a lot of blood. Without magical or alchemical assistance, her death was guaranteed, and even with it, survival would not be certain. Miraculously, through all the suffering and pain, Meesei was retaining consciousness. She started to speak up with a voice that was obviously weak, but despite her condition, despite how seemingly improbable her survival was, it carried the same firm confidence with which she always spoke. "Those...Dunmer mages should have...magicka potions. Bring them to me. Ahnasha...tear some cloth from these hunters' clothes to make...bandages. We will need them."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Still writing, it's just taking a while.