EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ah, I'll post now. And he is fine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, I'm in PVP with Leon at the moment anyway, so I'll just wait until we are done to post.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Perhaps Meesei and Ariel could go to the surface for a scouting run alone once she has recovered?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite the previous day's events, Sabine still seemed to be nervous about talking to Ariel, which made sense. It wasn't as if meeting her sister would suddenly cure years of social anxiety. Sabine really had not changed from when they found her, though she may have changed considerably since Ariel last saw her. There was no telling how she acted before the torture scarred her mind.

"Well, we're all a family." Ahnasha commented between bites of what was likely a Dunmer's leg. She was eating even more than Lorag, which was saying quite a lot. "Really, we're like the closest family you could ever imagine. Run-Sabine does an important job, and even if she didn't, we would still take care of her."

"Yeah, like catdog said. We're a family that occasionally likes to go around killin' things with our teeth. The best kind of family, really." Lorag said with a hardy chuckle.

Meesei was too far from everyone to naturally become involved in the conversation, but she listened in with interest. It had been quite a long time since they allowed a non-lycan into their camp for any real length of time, and they had never had a guest overnight. It was likely that Ariel would not be used to many of their customs, and it would certainly be interesting to see how she reacted. The fact that Lorag still hadn't dressed himself could prove...distracting for her. It seemed Janius had thought ahead and given her a meal from the hunters' provisions. Most of the pack preferred fresh meat to something that was dried and salted. Eating other mortals wasn't something Meesei was ashamed of, nor would she deny it, but there was no reason to bring it up. Beyond that, seeing how close knit their family was, and how willing they were to help one another, could potentially change her overall outlook on lycans. Too many saw them as brutes or savages and ignored how caring they could be for one another.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha rubbed her stomach as Fendros poked at it, moving herself a bit closer to him. "Honestly, I think we're stepping into the fire with this coven. Still, if Ariel can make us something to resist that gas, then maybe we can surprise them. It couldn't be as bad as fighting that Orc. There are probably still marks on my throat under my fur from where he tried to strangle me. We should probably get some rest, though. No sense in getting excited about it now." She said, closing her eyes and quieting down in an attempt to get to sleep.

The next morning, or at least they all assumed it was morning when they awoke, proceeded mostly normally. Ariel had not killed anyone in the night, which was a good sign. As per usual, Janius started preparing a breakfast for those who preferred their meats cooked. He made sure to prepare one specially for Ariel which consisted of the hunters' preserved provisions, in case she wasn't too keen on eating meat from Humans or Elves. By this point, Meesei had improved even beyond her condition the previous night. She now felt strong enough to walk around the cavern with no issue, though she could still easily feel the effects of her internal injuries. Meesei grabbed some raw meat from the bag by the fire, then went over and set it down next to the pool, as she finally felt well enough to wash the dried blood from her scales. Unraveling her bandages, she saw obvious discoloration on her scales due to internal bleeding, along with a prominent scar on her abdomen. The discoloration would fade in time, but she wasn't quite sure if she could rid herself of the scar. Fortunately, all of her other wounds had healed over without a trace, at least. She slowly and carefully lowered herself into the soothing water, allowing it to wash away the thick, caked on blood. While she bathed, she tried to eat as much as she could of her breakfast, despite her distinct lack of appetite. Lorag had healed enough that he could limp around as long as he did not put too much weight on his leg, so he was easily able to join the others around the fire for his breakfast. Ahnasha's meal was notably larger than normal due to the particularly voracious appetite she had gained recently.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei understood that Sabine would have a hard time deciding at the moment, especially after all she had been through, so she allowed her to retire for the night. Meesei was about to do the same, but first waited for Janius to return to head back to his post, as it was still his watch. Once Ariel laid down, Meesei walked across the chamber to Janius. "I know I've invited her here, but I want you to make sure to keep an eye on Ariel, just to be safe." She whispered, safely out of earshot of the others. She then bid him goodnight a bit more loudly, then made her way back to her bedroll to get some much-needed rest.

Ahnasha joined Fendros, laying down beside him. She was tired, but at the same time curious about this rather surprising turn of events. She certainly had not expected to encounter Runt's sister, of all people, as a result of this hunt for the Orc. Her mind was racing with questions, but unfortunately, pretty much all of them would have to wait until later. "So...what do you make of all this?" Ahnasha commented to Fendros. "For once, I'm starting to wish we could just enjoy the sights in the places we visit, instead of stepping into danger," she said, giving a bit of a chuckle, "Hmph, avoiding danger. I think my maternal instincts might be starting to take over."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I need to go to bed, so I'll make a quick one with some dialogue that you can respond to. I don't really have enough time to write up a timeskip.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I am Ahnasha." Ahnasha said with a nod while Fendros was shaking Ariel's hand.

Meesei stayed where she was as well, preferring to avoid excess movement, but gave a respectful nod. "I am Meesei, Alpha of this pack." They all waited a few moments for Lorag to give his introduction, but were only met with the sound of light snoring from the other side of the chamber. Evidently, he had quickly lost interest, and consciousness, after the excitement died down.

"His name is Lorag." Meesei quickly added. "You can change back into your robe and recover your belongings, if you wish. I trust you will not abuse our hospitality. The hunters kept some provisions in the crates on the far side of the room, mostly vegetables and salted, dried meats. There is fresh meat in a bag by the fire, but you may wish to avoid it. The stream that leads to the pool over there is clean, and according to Ahnasha, the pool itself is surprisingly warm and relaxing if you wish to make use of it. Overall, this cave contains far more supplies than we could hope to use, so you may make use of whatever you wish."

Before she returned to her bedroll, Meesei turned to Sabine, having one final thing to speak about. "There is one last thing, Sabine. These revelations about your past, while I do feel sorrow for the pain you went through, there is one way in which this is good news. The struggles you endure, all the pain, the nightmares, the fear, they are not endemic to who you are. You were not born with them, they were forced upon you. Now that I know this, I believe there is something that can be done. The tortures you went through left your mind scarred, broken...but what is broken can be repaired. The souls of my people, the Argonians, are uniquely connected to the Hist. For all Argonians, they are connected to our minds from the day we hatch, but it is not only Argonians who can experience this. With the proper rituals, any mortal can connect their mind to the Hist. In my time as Shaman, I helped a few broken souls through this process. I believe I could use those same rituals to help you. Although I cannot hope to understand the mind of a god, my experience with the Hist leads me to believe they would help you. Your nightmares, all of the pain and fear you experience, it could be erased."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Its overall effects would be your choice, but it would help to undo whatever damage the torture caused. Lycans always have nightmares, but I imagine Sabine's are particularly bad. They would be lessened. It could potentially help her get over a lot of the fears she seems to have. Like I said though, how it changes her would be up to you.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded. "Yes. We need to not only disrupt the production of this poison, but we need to determine if they have given the knowledge of its creation to anyone else. Their communication with Vile's allies may not be restricted to Vvardenfell. I fear Vile's minions may be far more organized than they have been in the past. If Vile is preparing for war, then he very well may have consolidated is forces, so to speak. It could be possible that they have shared the secrets with Vile himself, which would mean all of our enemies will have access to it. We can still go with your basic plan, but my pack can also help to draw the attention away from you. Of course, this will have to wait a few days. As you can see, myself and Lorag are in no condition to step into danger. I would like you to stay here in the meantime so that we may build our plans, and I am sure you and Sabine have much to talk about."

Though cautious, Meesei was optimistic that Ariel's intentions could be genuine. One of the main reasons she had offered to allow her to stay with them was so she could grow more familiar with the Breton, to learn what type of person she really was. If she ended up helping them stop the production of the suppression gas, then that would be proof enough to Meesei that she sought redemption.