Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fair enough. Where are we going to end up?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We can afford to take our time in Thorn, there's no need to rush anything." Fendros said, pausing just too look at Ahnasha for a moment. After a few seconds a thought came to his mind, "It might be a shot in the dark, but does Ariel know anything about pregnancies?" Fendros raised an eyebrow, "I mean, she's only an apothecary, but... I don't know, it might be worth asking her about this sort of thing while she's around."

Ariel followed Meesei's eyes to the crew, paying more attention to Meesei's words than Fendros or Ahnasha's. "That would be good, thank you," She said with a smile, pushing off the balustrade and turning to proceed below deck. "I have to admit I don't think I've even heard a word of Jel in my life," Ariel continued as she reached the steps to climb down, "but I've heard similar things about it to what you say. I can't know for sure whether I'll be able to speak it unless I try of course."

"Oh, Meesei," Janius said as Meesei and Ariel passed by, not looking up from his book, but half-smiling, "Happy hatching day. I'm sorry, we left in a bit of a rush before I could get you a gift."

The noise of the wind and water was far more muffled below the deck. When Ariel spotted Lorag rocking side to side in a hammock with a bottle of something likely alcoholic and a crate of similar bottles settled below him, she hoped that his behaviour would not wear their welcome thin. Meesei was around to stop anything going wildly wrong though.

Once out of the way, the lessons began. Ariel thought she would be at an advantage, already knowing Cyrodiilic and Dunmeris, and for the first couple of words it seemed okay. Once they got to the first phrase, however, she was immediately thrown off by the subtle noises that were in the pronunciation. She didn't even know if she could make such noises with her mouth. The pronunciation was especially difficult to instruct as Meesei could only relate the way she was sounding things out with her Argonian mouth. With perseverance, Ariel started to get a hold of some of the stranger syllables. Even though she felt a little gratified and proud of herself for doing so, they hadn't touched on the grammar yet.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel leaned against the balustrade with both hands. "Sithis, now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. That there's a connection with the Hist is interesting. Well, I suppose I have some studying to do, hmm... perhaps I should have bought a book in Vos about Black Marsh before we left. Oh well. Um, Meesei," Ariel looked up at Meesei with a reluctant expression. She didn't want to be a burden, she had been given so much by the pack already. "I don't suppose, where there are spare moments, you could instruct me with Jel and the history of the Marsh? I don't know how much there is to learn, but I've not looked into it much myself."

"Huh, that didn't cross my mind," Fendros replied guiltily at his insinuation towards Ahnasha's weight, "I guess I got a bit excited." Fendros moved to slowly bring both his arms around Ahnasha's shoulders and face her directly. "Hmm, if they are shorter pregnancies, then when would you expect to start showing about now? Surely if it wasn't now, then it would be soon, right?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, now that you mention it, are there any taboos I should avoid? Apart from harming a hist tree of course. I don't want to give a sour first impression." Ariel asked, looking down into the water. It would be a long time before they actually came upon Black Marsh, but she figured she would ask Meesei while the question was fresh in her mind.

Fendros put his arm over Ahnasha's shoulder and held her close. He looked into her eyes, then glanced down at her stomach. Smiling, he ran his other hand over her stomach, curious. "Ahna, I'd been wondering about it all day, but I think you're beginning to show." He said quietly into her ear. It was difficult to perceive at first, but Ahnasha's navel had the slightest change over the course of the past day and night. A slight bulge uncharacteristic to her normal figure. Even if he had accepted the fact in his own mind, the physical presence of the child was quite another feeling in Fendros' mind. A buzz ran over his brain that he suppose he would describe as excitement.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Venturing through the city was a bit less tense than the time they were tracking the Orc. The group still turned heads, but the majority seemed to be from giggling young women that Janius winked and smiled at. It got to the point where it started to get annoying, but it struck Fendros that perhaps 'a strapping Imperial and his touring entourage' was a much more likely story than 'an out of place group of a variety of races'. Whether it was the main objective or whether Janius just liked the attention was not apparent.

While she could sense a little impatience in the rest of the pack, Ariel was understanding and patient with the other merchants as they sold off a few of their silver weapons. At first, she was caught off guard at the question of silver content in the blades, but after honestly sharing that she didn't know exactly, she was able to quickly cover herself by bluffing that the weapons were bartered in exchange for potions by some customers who didn't have any coin. Some merchants that were more familiar with Ariel asked about her knapsack and the group following her, and she replied saying that she was going on a trip to the mainland with a few old friends from out of town. As the morning progressed, the cover story became more and more comfortable and believable. There were a couple of merchants that they came across who were genuine friends of Ariel, and while Ariel didn't disclose the nature of the pack or the coven, she did mention that she was leaving Vvardenfell for personal reasons. In those cases, more sincere farewells were exchanged. By the time they had visited just about every merchant in the city that Ariel could think of that would buy the silver, Ariel and the pack carried more septims than she ever could have expected to leave with if she didn't have the pack's help.

By the late afternoon, they had found a boat to take them to the mainland. After they deposited luggage, now a bit lighter thanks to their dealings, the pack settled in for the short voyage across the straight. To pass the time, Janius found a place to sit down and read a book that he had borrowed off one of the sailors. Sabine was difficult to spot, but could be seen comfortably holding on to one of the rope ladders that lead up to the mast with a better view, looking over the island in her own way. Ariel decided to join Meesei and Ahnasha, if only to say farewell to the city she had called home for nearly two years. Fendros walked up and joined them as well. It had not been a lengthy stay on Vvardenfell, but not one that he would have traded away. They had all forged memories in this place now.

"This will be the first time I've been on the mainland since taking Sabine there. It might be the last time I see Vvardenfell as well." Ariel said. She sighed longingly. "I hope Thorn will be welcoming."

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

I could post, maybe. I kind of wanted to wait until Tyme responded to the chiding from Mal.

I'll give it another half a day I suppose.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I think I spent quite enough time last night figuring out what to pack," Ariel said through a small laugh, hefting her bulging knapsack over her shoulders, "Unless there's something that anyone else might need, I can't think of anything. I had thought about perhaps handing in the deed to the shop, but last night while trying to find it, I remembered that there technically isn't a deed. Another one of the coven's deals with the nobility, you see. Thankfully the silver should make up for it."

With what the hunters had left behind, and the clothing that Ahnasha and Fendros had rifled through a few days beforehand, the pack didn't have too much trouble finding clothing for the city. Fendros wore the same clothing he had used for the last time he was in Vos. Sabine managed to find a small set of trousers and a shirt her size, thanks to one of the deceased hunters being Bosmer. Janius was pickier than he really should have been. In the end, he donned a clean, gaudily frilly white shirt, a pair of probably the most comfortable black cotton trousers there were to choose from, a pair of boots with bright buckles and even an embroidered wide-brimmed hat. How he had managed to assemble such a suit was beyond anyone's guess, but no amount of payouts from the rest of the pack was deflating his ego.

They set off into the daylight feeling fresh and ready for the road. This time, they weren't in any particular hurry, and there were no directly impending matters that they needed to worry about. It felt as if it had been a while since things were back to normal. Comparatively, anyway.

Each member of the pack carried their own supplies, as well as some of the wrapped silver weapons. With the bulk and shape of the weapons and the way they were wrapped, Janius observed a useful detail. "You know, I'd bet to the untrained eye, these silver weapons would look more like wrapped up tents. Perhaps that's a good thing. If we go to a number of vendors in the city to sell these things, people probably won't add things up until after we've already left."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Take your time, I'll be heading to work soon anyway :)

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Stamina? I thought you were wearing me out." Fendros grinned, "If you're wondering though, any one of those things sounds worthwhile." Fendros put his hand on the side of Ahnasha's neck, "If you have to choose, I would probably think about where you would be needing some help most often." Fendros chuckled, "If I'm honest, I don't know enough about enchantment to really know all of the different things that could be put into that pendant." Fendros brought his hand from her neck to the pendant and held it up to look at it, "You might like to have a talk with Meesei, or... if you can get anything out of her, Runt, even. Where do you think you would need a boost?" Fendros smiled and kissed her on the lips. "I'll get to packing up the food," he said, before letting her go and moving to the food stores.

At Meesei's direction, Ariel nodded in response. "Of course," She said, holding the dagger more closely in her hands to inspect it, before looking at Meesei, "I'll get right to it." With her task, Ariel put the dagger she had been handed back in the corner pile, then set to finding as many sizable rags, blankets and cords of rope to wrap the weapons in as she could find. She managed to find a few, but Sabine came along to pitch in, helping in locating more wrappings after finishing with the last of the alchemical supplies. Ariel made sure to keep the weapons clear of Sabine while she handled them, but her sister's help was appreciated as they wrapped each of the weapons up in their own bundles. Through the hour, an organised pile of cloth-wrapped weapons grew near the entrance of the chamber. Once the weapons in the corner were wrapped, their search brought them to other sections in the cave, but it turned out that there weren't too many more that were made from silver. What they had would be plenty enough to sell as it was, however, and Ariel doubted that they would be able to carry many more in the first place.

Lorag and Janius were tasked with the remaining packing duties, from gathering up bedrolls and equipment, to gathering up any other useful materials in the cave. Normally packing was a simple matter in their usual encampments, but having left many things in their previous camp when they attacked, there were a few implements to replace that they had to search the cave for. The stores in the main chamber seemed somewhat organised, and had much of what they needed, but supplies throughout the rest of the cave left something to be desired in their cataloging.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros smiled at Ahnasha, he decided that he should probably retire for the night as well. He wasn't so hungry that he felt like eating anything else, and he was only really staying up to be beside Ahnasha. Before he got up, he glanced over to Janius. It wouldn't do to have him fall to one side and knock his head in the middle of the night, so Fendros shifted over to him and shook him by the shoulder until he grumbled awake. "Hey Janius, it's probably more comfortable in your bedroll." Fendros said quietly.

Janius groaned and clumsily swatted away Fendros' hand. "I've got something cooking, wait a bit," He said, not looking up.

"I think someone might have taken it," Fendros said, looking at the fire and hiding his white lie.

It was then that Janius decided to look up and found the truth in Fendros' words. "It was Lorag, wasn't it? That greedy swine." Janius grumbled, "Ah, damn it all, I'll just eat something raw." He stood up slowly and took a smaller portion from the meat store and started eating on the spot.

Satisfied that Janius wasn't going to doze off in a position that might singe his hair, Fendros stood up and joined Ahnasha, lying beside her. Normally, it was her fur that was warmer as he put his arm around her, but this time he still had some heat from the fire on his skin that mixed pleasantly. He fell asleep swiftly after closing his eyes.

Somewhere near two hours later, Ariel's return became so delayed that it was tense. It was only when the tension bordered on demanding action that footsteps were heard from further up the cave. Ariel emerged into the main chamber with a clean green robe, her regular shoulder bag, and a heavy looking knapsack over her shoulders that stuck out with many different shapes. She addressed Meesei while rather short of breath, keeping quiet upon spotting all of the sleepers, "Hello again. Sorry for taking so long. It took me a while to narrow down what I could bring. I beat a hasty advance getting up here though." She stopped and took off her bags, putting them to one side before stretching her arms and catching her breath. "I had room for one last potion in my pocket, so right before I ran out the door I picked this up." Ariel pulled out a small bottle of green liquid from a pocket in her robe, "I thought I might need it coming up here, but the fresh air was good enough." Ariel extended the bottle to Meesei, "You're on watch, correct? Sipping on this will keep you awake. You may not want to drink it all at once; it'll make your heart race." Ariel glanced around the chamber, "Did anything come up in my absence?"