Muttonhawk

The Depths of Deception

You might be able to write some of the post up in advance and make adjustments later if needed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius caught himself smiling at Kaleeth when she tested her own strength. She wouldn't have done that if it was only the beast spirit in charge. He stepped into clear view and sniffed at the air in front of him, before speaking up. "One more lesson. Follow." Janius turned and started to move along the riverbank.

It took a few minutes, but Janius eventually found a suitable place. With a slight run up, he clambered up a tree beside the river until he was perched on a bough high enough from the ground that Kaleeth could not reach him. The tree itself didn't have many holds along its trunk and was impossible for Kaleeth to merely climb. At the same time, there was what appeared to be an old standing stone nearby that looked movable, as well as some strong branches overhanging the river itself. Janius looked down at Kaleeth, "Your quarry is now me. Find a way up the tree."

Even if it was simple, the purpose of the lesson was twofold. Firstly, Kaleeth needed to keep in control enough to think laterally while at the same time utilising the abilities of her form, with its limits in mind. Secondly, she had to trust that she could stop before hurting someone. Janius trusted her, but if it turned out to be too much for her to yield her hunt, then Janius was confident that he could get away quickly enough. In that case, he would just have to hunt until he found enough game to sate the beast completely. In the end the objective was building confidence in Kaleeth.

The Depths of Deception

cqbexpt said
Stupid website. Anyways the reason the average person hates rebels is due to them being counter-intuitive to their own goals. They realize the Soveriegnty will look after them and their kin.

Phew. Cool beans. That'll work fine for Shiva's backstory I think.

The Depths of Deception

To each August and the other quiet Rothian, Srath, Shiva raised her hand. "Good morning," she wished them both in a tone upbeat enough to completely defy the hungover state she was in a few hours ago. For the times that August and Shiva crossed paths, he seemed to be a reasonable individual, if always tripping over himself. It was only recently that Shiva found out that he was something of a celebrated mercenary, a term she believed was an oxymoron until she saw the magazine covers. More than anything it was confusing, but she played it off as a cultural difference. Srath, on the other hand, seemed to either not be there or was completely withdrawn. Not in a bad way though, he didn't seem particularly unhappy or suspicious by the looks, not that Shiva was any good at reading Rothians. Srath was just distant. It came as a surprise that he would be wishing them good morning at all.

When Shuo emerged, Shiva froze like a deer in headlights. He was in his dress uniform, which meant that Shiva was probably meant to be in hers. Shiva felt a familiar sensation of her ears closing in preparation for being chewed out, but then there was nothing. Short of a passing comment, Shuo didn't look like he cared at all. That was a relief. A very unfamiliar relief, but a relief all the same.

"So...how are everyone in the other suites this morning?" Shiva asked.

The Depths of Deception

cqbexpt said
Also a thing: the sovereignty dosent really censor media they also make a point of not trying to control it. Granted the sov based ones are going to be favorable toward them cause you know they live there.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on a moment.

Damn, shame on me for not seeing this earlier, but I'm a little confused by this. If they don't regulate their media at all, wouldn't there be a lot of defamation, lies, outside influence and dissent screaming over the airwaves? I mean, I understand the average sovereignty citizen's mindset being on a generally uniform wavelength, but wouldn't it cause trouble if someone decided to say something like 'the government are breaking their own laws,' for instance? Surely there would be enough people in the sovereignty that believe whatever is said that it would cause an issue.

My character's backstory might be on the line with this. I'm a little worried.

Also, minor correction from what you said earlier. Shiva is technically still serving her sentence. She's still a convict.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A few ripples on the top of the water grabbed Janius' attention. There was a splash of what looked like a crab's claw breaking the surface for a fraction of a second before disappearing. A few seconds later, Janius barely observed a streak of red mixing with the water from one point in the river. Kaleeth's emergence was not quite as sudden this time, But Janius' head still snapped to look at her with the dreugh in her mouth. Janius had never seen a whole dreugh before, even if this one didn't quite count with its mutilation, so he was as much curious about what Kaleeth had caught as how she caught it.

Janius carefully approached, but didn't get too close. He had to admit that he was starting to salivate at Kaleeth's kill, but his beast spirit was still not willing to fight her for it. There was another detail though, something wrong. Kaleeth was successful in her hunt, but this creature wasn't very big and didn't look particularly threatening. Janius had hoped that Kaleeth would find something bigger to kill so that she would be forced to help her beast spirit in working out how to take it down, but this was probably too easy. It got Janius thinking about what they could possibly hunt in these conditions that would help her hone her control. He was at a loss. He was out of his element here. Oh well, at least this might sate her beast spirit for now. Janius settled to give her some encouragement, if she could hear him at all, "Good work. We will discuss this further back at camp. Now eat your fill."

While Kaleeth feasted, an idea formed in Janius' mind. A stupid, risky, dangerous, inadvisable idea, but perfect for teaching her control. He waited until Kaleeth finished feasting before he would decide to execute this plan or not. She could either still be hungry, but more lucid after eating, making her mental condition ideal for the lesson, or she could transform back on the spot, meaning that Janius would have to leave it for next time.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Almost a minute passed where Janius stood silently, wishing he could see past the murky surface of the river. Janius understood that they may have to be patient, but at the same time he grew restless. They needed to catch something before it rained any further or they might be cut off from the hill on which they made camp.

Under the river's surface, an almost inaudible chittering and clicking joined the whirr of flowing water. Through the murk, the smell and sight of three swimming dreughs came forward. With how still Kaleeth was and the fact that she was downstream from them, they hadn't noticed her imposing form yet. These creatures seemed to be merely searching the riverbed for morsels and catching small fish in the current. They would be less aggressive than their land-walking siblings undergoing karvinasim, but they could still swarm any threats to drive them off. By their smell, the creature that Kaleeth and Janius were originally tracking was on their claws and mandibles. Another dreugh came into view and still held onto what was left of the corpse of their original quarry. It was a hackwing, probably injured and caught in the river currents. The four dreugh seemed oblivious as they wandered into the danger of Kaleeth's reach.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The two continued to wander, but even Janius would admit that he was rapidly losing track of the scent they were following. The trail they followed seemed to halt by a river, wide and obviously breaking its banks. With all of the rain hitting it and the mud churning through and clouding the water, it seemed calm on the surface, but Janius wasn't fooled. This river would drag him away if he tried to jump in, even in this form. Kaleeth, however, seemed to be restraining herself from entering it as though she wanted to swim. She was standing closer to the edge and staring.

Janius couldn't be sure, but if Kaleeth's werecrocodile form was as strong a swimmer now as it was when she caught the crocodile a few days ago, then she might just be able to navigate this river. It would probably be a better hunting environment for her anyway, even if it would still be a difficult one. With the scent fading further, Janius decided to let Kaleeth do her thing. He looked at her, pointed to the water, then stepped back a few paces and waited. Once she would disappear under the water, is was all Janius could really do. Janius even added some speech over the rain, in case Kaleeth could hear her, "If your beast spirit is telling you to swim, do it! You may trust in its knowledge of your capabilities!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once again, Janius had to hide his fear in the face of Kaleeth as his head tracked hers up and up until she was standing taller and bulkier than he. He stepped back a couple of paces, out of reach of her clawed arms, then stood poised to act for a few moments. Thankfully, Kaleeth was successful in keeping control by the looks. She wasn't attacking Janius and he still held her attention. Most importantly, she didn't run off this time. Janius turned his head, still keeping his eyes on Kaleeth, and sniffed at the air. There was nothing he immediately found on the wind, but perhaps they could find something if they moved around a bit. It might help Kaleeth to get used to controlling this form to start out with the basics anyway.

Janius stepped back a few times again and motioned Kaleeth to follow. He wasn't sure whether she could read werewolf body language, but he couldn't guarantee that she would understand him if he spoke either. Given that he was having a hard time reading her body language in her form, Janius tried non-threateningly to wave his hand towards himself in a more humanoid beckoning. Then, he turned and started to run. It wasn't a sprint, but closer to a swift trot so as to allow Kaleeth to keep up and to hide his beast spirit's fear. Every so often, he would look back to make sure she was still following.

After a few minutes of moving around, Janius stopped and stood up, sniffing as high as he could. He then turned to Kaleeth again, touched his nose with one finger, then pointed in the general direction of where he smelled prey. It was difficult to communicate with a beast which didn't share exactly the same instincts, but Janius hoped that Kaleeth would get the message. As soon as she smelled the creature in the distance, her beast spirit may try to convey the same message that Janius was trying to deliver anyway.