Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

This week is looking full on for me all of a sudden. Posts may be slow, unfortunately.

The Depths of Deception

Anyone have any pranks for sleeping Rareth?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That's..." Vera turned her head to Kaleeth, "That's rather peculiar. It sounds as if you either killed a werecrocodile, which is most impressive, or...Hircine may have had a direct hand in your turning. Have you ever thought, perhaps, that there was a reason why you might have been turned? You might have a role to play, more than you might think."

"That's right," Harriet gave a single nod. "I talked to Vera about her son, Caleb. Just how he was doing. Vera keeps coddling him, being all disapproving when he comes along to join my pack's training sessions. Now, I work my boys and girls hard, but I don't let anyone get crippled. He can stop joining us whenever he likes, he just wants to get a little tougher is all." Harriet's eyes looked to one side and the volume of her voice lowered slightly, "At least Jerrick understood that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Vera looked at the table in front of her and held one hand in the other. "That must have been hard for you," she said, "Estrangement from family is a part of lycanthropy that often weighs heavily." However much sympathy Kaleeth expressed, Vera seemed to relate to her in a way as well. She decided to keep the conversation going, if only as a distraction this time. "I'm curious, you say that you turned when the champion's pack was in your village, but they are all werewolves, and you have the scent of a werecrocodile. There is no mistaking it. What happened?"

Harriet took a slow breath in through her nose before answering. "Pretty sure Oswall was first. He wanted to hear that story that everyone was talking about from you. Darahil and Jerrick went out next. I had a quick chat with Vera before following them out. Vera must have come along eventually as well."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At first, Vera's response to Kaleeth was a dismissive silence. It didn't seem like Kaleeth could relate. However, after a few moments, Vera considered that it might have been relevant and Kaleeth was just being modest. She did seem nervous after all. Vera turned her head to Kaleeth and asked directly, seeing as drawing comparisons to the current situation would not be appropriate in public. "What was it that your father did? Who was he to you?"

Harriet's posture as she sat down opposite Meesei seemed mostly relaxed. She was leaning back on her outstretched arms behind her, sitting on the same crate that Vera did. She had her legs crossed casually, but her head displayed an attentive frown as it angled backwards slightly.

Harriet considered Meesei for a few moments after her question. She began by raising her brow and shrugging, "I saw him doing his lesson in the main chamber on the way to the meeting. He was in his wolf form, though. I didn't see him drinking then." Harriet shifted slightly and looked at the wall above Meesei, "As for your investigation. I don't know what to tell ya. He was poisoned, yeah? I guess you'd have to have a look at his meals. With what you mentioned, I'd only think Oswall would be both stupid and stubborn enough to knock off Jerrick even if it put the whole clan at risk. Darahil's too preoccupied to care and Vera was his wife for Hircine's sake. Unless something went on behind closed doors, but you'd have to ask other people about that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was no protest or hesitation from Vera as she wrote down the names of those she had mentioned and where they might be found to the best of her knowledge. Truthfully, not even she could know the movements of all clanspeople, so some of the names were annotated with the direction to ask their alphas, which were more accessible figures that Vera indicated to locate.

Vera left the storage room where the interview took place with an expression that wasn't exactly sullen, but she had her gaze cast low and she didn't look as if she was fully aware of everything. It was thought, Sabine concluded upon seeing her. It lasted for the entire time that she sat patiently in the pack's room waiting. Meesei's voice was able to snap her out of her contemplation. "Ah, very well. I'll do that," Vera responded while standing up. Kaleeth was waiting in the hallway, so Vera left without anything more.

The speed at which Harriet ate her food almost left her teeth obsolete. By the time Harriet and Kaleeth entered the dining hall, she was already half an hour into and arm wrestling tournament with her alphas. A jeering circle of clanspeople, one in lycan form for no discernable reason, egged her and one of her alphas on as they grit teeth with hands locked. The their arms stayed in the centre for a long time and Vera opted to stay back until the bout was over. The tensed arms began to quiver and Harriet slowly overpowered her opponent, much to the merriment of the crowd. It was then that Vera stepped forward.

"Harriet," Vera said firmly to speak over Harriet's followers loudly talking around her.

Harriet spun slightly in her seat to look over her shoulder at Vera, grinning from her victory. "Oh, hey Vera. Whaddaya need?" Harriet said in a chipper tone. Her previous mood was all but forgotten.

Vera smiled, grateful that there was still goodwill, at least in public. "The champion needs to speak with you as soon as you can. She's in her chamber."

"Oh," Harriet's grin faded and she looked away. She nodded to one side in acknowledgement of the situation. "Alright, I'll be right up," Vera brought her hands to the table and the back of the chair she sat upon and stood herself up. She turned and pointed to the lycans gathered. "I have some business to take care of, you guys had better not dole out the bets without me. I'm still in this competition, you hear me?" Some muttered agreement interspersed with chuckling as she walked off, looking back only to confirm that 'Big Boy' was following.

Vera took a little while to get moving to find a seat herself. She was incredibly distracted, more so after speaking to Harriet. Searching for any solace, she looked to her watcher. "Kaleeth, have you ever had reason to doubt your best friends before?"

Harriet's approach to Meesei's pack's chamber was a little less ravenous than before. She at least peeked through the window of the gate and raised her knuckles to knock. She stopped short of that, however, once she spotted that Rhazii was fast asleep. She gave that favour to Ahnasha at least.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Vera was as forthcoming as ever behind her ebbing and flowing nervousness. "I only caught the end of their conversation. I had actually asked Jerrick what they were talking about, and he said that it was regarding you and your pack. We had discussed the matter in the meeting and agreed to trust you for then. However, I think Jerrick wanted Darahil's council away from the ears of the rest of us. Harriet and Oswall tend to be...reactive to some of the things that Darahil says, which sometimes suppresses his honesty, despite his wisdom. Even I have been concerned by some of his viewpoints, but he is too valuable a mind to push away. He never means the clan any real harm overall."

Vera paused to take a slow breath, getting back on track. She was keeping still, but only through tension. "People would have seen us on the mezzanine. Darahil remained there a while longer while we walked away. About halfway to the dining chamber, Jerrick realised that he left his waterskin on the meeting table and rushed back. I waited for him in the main chamber. He was only a few moments, but I just laughed. He always forgot his waterskin in meetings, without fail. I always kept telling him to keep it on his belt, but he said it was uncomfortable while sitting down for so long on the meeting chairs." Vera gently wiped at her eye with one finger, but remained still otherwise. "I'm not sure that there was anyone in the main chamber except a couple of young boys sparring. I didn't see their faces clearly. Everyone saw us in the dining chamber, of course. My students were present for my class, I can give you their names if you like. Dinner, again, was in the dining chamber. Grolak, the man in charge of rations, he saw me gather food for Jerrick and take it up to him via the mezzanine, and he'll never forget anything to do with the clan food supply."

Talking about other people loosened Vera's demeanour somewhat. "As for everyone else...the pack that brought back the kills that Oswall helped butcher would most certainly have joined him for that, I believe I remember which one. Harriet, if she was at the forge, would have definitely ran by the furnace master." Vera glanced up at Meesei, realising that she may not know who she was referring to, "The furnace master is in charge of the forge. He is an alpha of one of Harriet's packs; a large Redguard named Xander. He lives and breathes fire and metal and keeps the forge and smelting fires maintained. If anyone wanted to smith anything, they would have to have Xander allow it."

Vera moved her head to another angle and furrowed her brow somewhat. "Darahil...like I said, I don't know exactly what his activities were, but if he was with his research, his packmates would have seen him. There is rarely no one at the scholar's loft except during mealtimes."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I left the meeting to and stayed by Jerrick's side for a short while. We wandered to the dining hall, where he asked to speak with you. I proceeded to teach a class in writing for the rest of the afternoon, and I expected to see him before dinner." Vera ran a hand down her face, "Apart from speaking with you, I believe he mentioned that he was planning on dealing with some administrative issues. Those were normally manners of storage and resource allocation, but it might have also been about the hunting schedule of the packs. The only other time I saw him was when he was looking over the accounts and I brought him his dinner. That was the last I saw him alive."

Considering how distraught Vera was the night before, she was speaking in a surprisingly level and monotonous tone. It was clear that it was a deliberate effort to keep her feelings in check, though. As it had been all day. She only left a short pause to think about the movements of the other lieutenants.

"Oswall, I believe I remember him being set to assist with butchering some kills from the previous hunting party, but I didn't see him between the dining chamber at lunch and when you awoke us and gathered us. Darahil and Harriet, I'm afraid, I didn't hear of their movements myself either. Darahil normally keeps to himself and his packs up in the scholar's loft. No doubt he wanted to look over his findings from his expedition. I heard the commotion that Harriet and your packmate, Lorag, from my classroom, though. From all accounts that was an entertaining bout. However, I think all she had planned for that afternoon was to work at the forge." Vera clasped one hand in the other tightly, "She's a stronghold Orc, so she was raised as a fine smith."

Vera tried to think of anything else, but her silence following indicated that she was done.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Vera swallowed, though it was not clear whether it was wrought of guilt or grief from reliving such a horrible day. She couldn't quite bring herself to make eye contact with Meesei while she answered. "Yes, quite. I believe it was...Oswall first, I remember he wanted to ask of you your tale about the Orc Lycan slayer. He was fidgeting all of the second half of the meeting like a boy needing the privy, he was so excited. Though, he didn't show it in his face." Vera glanced up and moved her eyes nervously, "Oh, um, sorry, I'm getting off track." She cleared her throat and resumed. "After Oswall, Darahil and Jerrick left the room and Harriet and I spoke for a while. I cannot remember exactly what it was we were talking about, I believe it was just an idle conversation about Caleb, now he was faring and such. I was getting peckish and I had some business with my packs, so I left before Harriet. I didn't spot anyone so much as touching Jerrick's waterskin before I left."

With the thought at the forefront of her mind now, Vera looked up at Meesei with her head angled forward. It was a curious expression, rather than a threatening one. "Do you believe Harriet might have placed the poison after I left? I don't know why she stayed behind, I just assumed she had further business to take care of."

The Depths of Deception

While chewing and swallowing quietly, Shiva listened on to the ramblings of her teammates with a small smile. They were all of course extremely professional, and it was amusing to see that bubble through even when they were getting their rocks off and drinking. Rareth's trailing off was met by a short silence. Shiva even leaned forward to double check that she had actually fallen asleep.

Shiva glanced her eyes to Shuo and Telmeck in turn. "Well, she's out," Shiva remarked, regarding the states of Shuo and Telmeck as well. They weren't far off either. Mischief gleamed over Shiva's face for a moment as she took on an inspiring motivation to have Rareth realise her own advice, but it was an excitement not often exercised. She was like a dog that never learned to hunt and finally caught a bird. She didn't know what to do. "Do you two have any ideas before you fall asleep in your seats?"