Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I will not keep the champion waiting," Darahil spoke over Ahnasha and Fendros' reunion before turning on his heel and starting towards the exit of the dining chamber.

Fendros looked at Darahil when he spoke, before turning back to Ahnasha and giving her a smile. "I'll leave you to your task. See you later." Fendros let Ahnasha go and jogged to catch up with Darahil's long stride.

Oswall grunted in compliance with Meesei, but didn't seem particularly frustrated by the prospect of waiting. Janius waved to Oswall before he followed Meesei.

"The mezzanine? Um, I wasn't paying particular attention to it. I saw Jerrick and Darahil talking at one point. I think I saw Harriet leaving later on, but it was just Darahil on the mezzanine looking down. Jerrick had moved on." Janius understood the urgency of Meesei's demeanour, but his voice was fairly casual. He even let out a chortle before continuing. "As for today, it has been interesting. There was not much in the way of suspicious activity in the morning. Oswall spent most of his time checking on his packs, making sure everyone had everything they needed. A few of them had a wilderness patrol duty, but the rest were either training with Harriet's packs or working on the crops. Oswall's packs seem to have a certain good humour about them." Janius' smile began to fade, "That proved true during lunch, but that's when Oswall's behaviour seemed to change. There was not anything which seemed enough to warrant leaving him alone and telling you immediately, but he hinted various things while he spoke to people." Janius raised his hand to stop any assumptions, "He didn't speak anything of Jerrick, but he seemed to speak of the other packs as...plotting. He said to his packs that they should be on guard, and stick together in case of trouble. He even mentioned quietly to some of his most trusted to ask around and see if they could find out any betrayals." Janius raised his brow, "I tried to tell him not to get in your way, and that you were the one doing the investigations, but he just waved me off and said 'I am still responsible for my packs.'"

Janius looked down, "I don't know what his motives are exactly, and he didn't incite any violence, but he does not trust you completely. That much is clear." Janius looked up again, "The rest of the day was made up of inspecting the armoury and checking inventory there, and then he spoke with length to this grave sounding Bosmer bowyer woman about specifications for a new bow. Apparently he was dissatisfied with the one he had."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Ahnasha went to pick up Darahil, Fendros stopped by her to kiss her on the cheek and kiss Rhazii on the head. He had a look of relief about him. "Ahna, it's good to see you again. How did the journey to the city go? And how goes the investigation? I've been watching over Darahil all day."

Darahil was prickly as ever, but at least he appeared to be willing to wait patiently for a moment. He held his hands clasped behind his back while Fendros and Ahnasha spoke.

Being brought back into the reality of the crime shocked Vera out of all speech. She stood with her mouth slightly open and her brow creased in worry as possibilities became probabilities. Ones that she would rather not have come to pass. It took a few seconds for her to register that Meesei had asked for her weapons, but she removed the dagger she carried without hesitation and handed it over once the message came through. "I-I don't believe it," Vera ran a hand down her face, "How could she? No..."

Down the hall, Oswall and Janius' footsteps were beginning to sound their approach.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, actually..." Vera paused to laugh quietly while she tied the last cord on her dress, "...that's something that another member of the clan worked out. Her name is Frangelica, she was a dressmaker before she-" Vera paused as she was interrupted by Ahnasha's approach. Her smile faded as the seriousness of Ahnasha's expression was conveyed. Vera stood up and responded in kind, "Of course. I'll be right up." She turned her head to Kaleeth, "I suppose we'll have to resume our conversation, later."

Out of the corner of Ahnasha's eye, she spotted a few of Harriet's packmates whispering amongst themselves. The atmosphere over where they sat certainly smelled of something amiss.

A few minutes later, Vera turned up at Meesei's chamber again. Seeing as the other lieutenants were in the dining chamber still, they would not be difficult for Ahnasha to send up. Harriet was strangely quiet while confined. She simply stared through the balustrade of the pack's chamber from where she sat by the wall, occasionally flicking her eyes over to where Lorag held her sword.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Okay, so hopefully posts will rev up to the usual pace. This week was intense and I am glad for the weekend...and the autumn break.

I also added a quick foreword in a hider on the original OOC post, seeing as a bunch of people might be taking a quick look at the threads with 2,000+ posts in this section. Let me know if you would like me to change anything.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Vera began the process of dressing herself, retying the cords that slipped free to preserve her dress. It would take a few minutes, but she was still able to answer Kaleeth. "Most lycans have done that before, whether they be young or experienced, but mostly when they're young. The danger of accidentally transforming never completely goes away, but it is incredibly unlikely as long as you practice proper control. Beast spirits are like young children; they need an outlet for their energy. If you keep it locked away too long, like that girl had, it breaks out. Sometimes it reacts to your own personal anxiety and stress..." Vera slowed down, realising that she was explaining perhaps further than she needed to. "...I assume your friend Janius would be teaching you all of this."

There was a tense moment where Harriet sat completely still, save for her eyes glancing between Meesei's hand and face. Harriet wore a look that would have tore the courage of any lesser person asunder, and for a few seconds the possibility of her lashing out became an ever-increasing possibility. Just before Meesei needed to repeat her request again, Harriet pursed her lips, exhaled sharply through her nose, and then swiftly leaned up straight to unbuckle her scabbard from her waist. She held the scabbard with her slightly curved Orcish sword forward tightly, pushing it into Meesei's waiting hand. "Anyone else would have got a fist to the face for asking that, champion," Harriet said gravely.

Once Meesei took the sword, Harriet stood up and walked out of the room with a narrow eyes and an intimidating posture.

The Depths of Deception

If you wanted to skip to Pax, perhaps the reactions could be summarised.

The Depths of Deception

Hello, Hailfire!

Should we skip now, or was there anything else people wanted to do?

The Depths of Deception

It turned out that Shiva was just tipsy enough to not think that Telmeck and Shuo's behaviour wasn't a horrible idea. She couldn't help but try to stifle her own laughter behind a hand. Shuo's crooked lines drawn on Rareth's face was just too much, though. She had to turn and lean forward to hide her face as she laughed out loud.

Once Shiva recovered and wiped the tears from her eyes, she motioned to Telmeck and Shuo to help her lift Rareth from her spot on the couch while she held onto her legs. "Let's go. Hopefully we won't run into any questioning people."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I am glad to hear it," Vera said gently. "Sometimes I think of my family as well. I was turned when I was sixteen. It has been a long time since I've been in contact with..." Vera stopped abruptly as someone called out her name from the other side of the room. Vera slowly looked at something over Kaleeth's shoulder with a concerned frown. There was the sound of stumbling furniture all of a sudden and Vera shot up from her seat. "One moment," Vera said firmly, striding towards the incident quickly.

What Vera was walking towards was what appeared to be a number of people trying to hold down a younger lycan that was struggling to prevent herself from turning. As opposed to the thrashing and gasping of the youngster, Vera began to turn as she walked. Her shift was so effortless that it was almost calm beyond the loose points of her dress tearing until it fell from her shoulders. Her Lycan form was imposing, similar in size to Meesei's.

The young lycan she was approaching had transformed completely now and had thrown off those trying to restrain her. The young one was barely two thirds the size of Vera, but still stalked around, bared its teeth, and flattened its ears. Vera held her ground close to the young lycan and sounded a low growl. In a fit of savagery and fear, the young lycan pounced at Vera, going for the neck. Vera responded by immediately swatting the lycan to one side and pinning her to the ground. No matter how the lycan thrashed, there was nothing she could do about Vera's might as an alpha of alphas. In this display of dominance, and with a loud clacking of Vera's jaws, the lycan stopped struggling and began to breath at a slower rate.

"Who is this young one's mentor?" Vera's voice carried throughout the dining chamber despite its low rumbling tone.

One of Vera's pack leaders stepped forward without fear. "This one's mentor is at the latrine, I'm afraid. A good thing you were around, Vera."

"Loren," Vera addressed the alpha by name, "Do you know why she transformed?"

"Jenna here has been having trouble laying her fears of transforming to rest. An unfortunate circumstance of her first turning." Loren's eyes shifted from Vera to the young lycan, Jenna. "I'll have a chat to her mentor about this as soon as I can."

"Not yet," Vera responded, "I need you to take her hunting to sate her spirit. Now."

Loren paused and then nodded. "Of course, Vera." With that, Loren transformed on the spot and led the droop-eared young lycan out of the dining chamber.

Vera shifted back just as easily as she had turned and gathered up her clothing before wandering back to Kaleeth. "My apologies."

After a couple of seconds of blinking rapidly, Harriet opened and closed her mouth nervously, and then responded to Meesei's questions. "Uhm...I dunno, the people looking up at the mezzanine? It's not like these floors leave footprints. As for people who saw me after the meeting, big boy-" Harriet pointed a thumb to the door, but interrupted herself, slightly flustered, "-uh, I mean Lorag, he can tell you where I was most of the time. Otherwise I was at the forge that afternoon. Just ask Xander, he's almost always there, hammering away at somethin'."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Vera smiled and closed her eyes in response to Kaleeth's humility. She spoke when she opened her eyes again, "Perhaps your true worth is yet to be revealed, Kaleeth." Vera turned forwards in her seat and brought her fingers up to her face to inspect them. "How is life in your pack anyway, Kaleeth? I am told it isn't always easy for a werecrocodile. Are you happy?"

For a few moments, Harriet was silent. She stared at Meesei with her face turned slightly to one side in mistrust. "I've seen Vera kill with her bare claws, but Jerrick? That's a long shot. Are you sure it was during that point? What's made you think that?"