Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Harriet was to initially keep the conversation going, if only to satisfy that the clan would be left in good hands with Meesei, but being reminded of Meesei's desire to see her confess made her brightened eyes dim and look to the floor again. "Look, Meesei, things aren't lookin' so bleak for the clan's future any more if you're serious about this plan of yours, so I think you've gotta know this..." Harriet rolled a shoulder uncomfortably, causing her chains to clink softly. "I had some ideas about expanding the clan, to prepare for this war and to secure our future. It was mostly to do with setting up outposts to bring about some trade wealth, but also to procure some choice land to farm. The others, though...they didn't like it. They shut me down each time. It was too big a project. I got real frustrated, and Galsek convinced me that the only way to get the clan to survive was to eliminate the opposition and take power. That was naive, but I was too angry to think it wouldn't work once it was planned out. I'm sayin' this to you so I can explain that all this wasn't just a grab for power for the sake of power, nor was it to try and rip the clan apart, even if that was Galsek's plan in getting me to do somethin' so stupid."

With a pause, Harriet rolled her other shoulder. Clearly the bindings were bothering her now that she was actually moving somewhat. "By the time it got to the trial, I knew I wouldn't get away with it, so I wanted to save face. Challengin' you was my way of at least being remembered as somethin' other than a connivin' little drink spiker. If I have to confess, I'd rather it be just to my alphas, with the chance to explain why I did it. I at least know they'd understand. As much as I love this clan, I can't say the same for everyone else. Will that satisfy you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Harriet listened, giving Meesei her considered gaze. Most of the time, her eyelids were low and cynical, but other points made her raise an eyebrow.

"If you can get past the politics required to convince the leadership to do that, all the more power too ya. Especially taking more of the ruin. Darahil'll hate that." Harriet said with unhidden scepticism, "About your last point, though...you're going to have people from the clan come back from the dead to reclaim their land?" She shook her head, "Nah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's too much heat." Taking a turn, Harriet started engaging with some more enthusiasm, "If you really want to expand above-ground, you'd have a better chance pooling resources and buying up new land for people to work. And you'd have to be real careful about picking who to go out. Not many people are confident around towns in this clan. At least, for an extended period. They would also have to be near hunting grounds where they aren't likely to run into poacher boys or Imperial foresters. No one cares about us up here under this rock."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Another sigh came from Fendros. "Yes, hopefully he calls for us at some point. I don't know what he'll do, but I'm willing to try anything at this point."

Now more recovered, Fendros brought his hand around Ahnasha's back, up to her neck and shoulder, and gently drew their heads together. He did nothing more but close his eyes and let some of the tension drain from him.

---

"You'd be amazed how easily people can act like wolves once the supplies start to run short, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Harriet's tone was slightly condescending, "What's this solution of yours?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even though Ahnasha's closeness was comforting, he wiped his eyes with his thumb and forefinger with a sigh. "I've not hunted for a while now, it was bound to happen. I have had a few small troubles while we've been here, but I was easily able to keep control. Then...I don't know." Fendros reached up and held Ahnasha's hand at his shoulder. "I think it knows when I'm panicked. It lashes out. When Galsek described the fate of Caleb's mother, I just..." Fendros huffed angrily and let go of Ahnasha's hand, "It's cowardly and pathetic, I know. I won't let it happen again." Fendros stole a glance at Rhazii and only found more shame in his emotional state.

---

Harriet broke into a small chuckle, short lived as it was. Her grin did not come from happiness. "Yeah, redemption. Good joke, dad. You're gonna need more than a public confession to fix this clan." The grin faded, "And I'm going to need more than that to redeem myself. At least Vera's bein' nice. She was always too nice for her own good."

There was a moment of thought where Harriet curled her lips in consideration. Then, with a quiet jingling of the chains as Harriet slowly raised her head to look Meesei dead in the eyes. Her face held only as much emotion as her cold tone. "I wanna make sure you know as much as I think you should, Meesei. What happens to a pack of wolves that gets too big?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The side that was winning control over Fendros had a sudden moment of submission after Ahnasha lashed out. Fendros' ears folded backwards and in lieu of any conscious motion, he slid across the wall onto the floor on his side. His beast spirit gave no further protest except to whine quietly.

Fendros himself gained ground in controlling his body, but he was coming down from extreme panic. Even though he wasn't cold, he began to shiver uncontrollably. He brought his knees up to his chest and laid for another half a minute before he finally slid his hands from his head and propped himself into a sitting position again. He was sore, still shaking, but he was regaining his wits. Finally, he reverted to Dunmer form on the floor.

Fendros swallowed while chattering his teeth briefly, then spoke, "Right then. I apologise, Ahna. I didn't mean that." Fendros couldn't look at Ahnasha directly, but this time it was out of shame. "I panicked. I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

---

Harriet released a derisive snort at the mention of her mind being manipulated. As for the rest of what Meesei had to say, her eyes flicked up to look at her legs momentarily, but she still did not move her head. She sighed heavily. "Meesei, I don't want to insult your intelligence, but I need you to look at where you are. We fought, you beat me, I'm chained up, and all I have to look forward to is a brief period of relief from these fetters before I breathe my last breath. Even if there was honour or respect, none of what you mention even matters now." Harriet moved her head to one side, "But in case you're wondering, I've always been a warrior. I'm not like Galsek."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"No," Fendros moved his hands to cover his eyes as his feet instinctively tried to back away. All they succeeded in doing while still backed up against the wall was slide against the floor. "I...I can't stand to look at you!" Fendros' growls went louder than Rhazii's crying, "You keep dying in front of me! Go! Leave!"

---

Harriet didn't even bother looking up from her completely slumped and defeated position. It took a few seconds after Meesei spoke for her to even acknowledge the question. When she did respond, her voice was strained with the damage to her throat. "This don't look like the eternal hunting grounds to me, champion. I could have sworn we agreed to a duel to the death." Her eyes sullenly opened a sliver, "How about you fill in some details for me; why aren't I running from Hircine's greatest hounds right now? Why aren't I dead?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Galsek might have responded, but Meesei's attempts at intimidation were successful in silencing him at least. He did not have much on his person that wasn't already taken by Lorag when they disarmed him. He had a few gold septims, a full waterskin that had been freshly filled from the canal, a slice of hard bread that had been hastily stuffed in one pocket, and in his only belt pouch was a slurry of crushed leaves and fungus that Meesei knew to be a common sleeping poison.

Even on his knees, Fendros hated his sadness and pain. The flashbacks were beginning to subside, but he still shivered in place. He could think of nothing to do with his anxiety but funnel it into his hate. He thought he could overcome it with willpower and anger, but funnelling it all into his anger simply stirred his beast spirit. Whatever tenuous point of balance he struck quickly fell over and he began to transform.

Fendros did not stay in one place during the process. In attempting to deal with the trauma and suppress the transformation all at once, he yelled and flailed about the room. As his shouts became roars and growls, he made marks in the ancient stonework with his claws. He raged about, attacking every surface he could find until he leaped for the exit, trying to escape. He had almost completely lost control until he halted suddenly in front of Ahnasha and Rhazii. His quick and shallow breathing could be felt on Ahnasha's front, but he tried to keep control with the incentive of not attacking her packmate. Fendros gently leaned his head forward to sniff around Rhazii, but spotted Ahnasha's scar and backed away, panicked again. He ran his back into the wall behind him and slid down onto his haunches. "Stay...away..." he managed to say, scrunching his eyes shut. Even without seeing Ahnasha, he could see her opened up again. He brought his claws up to his head and grabbed hard enough to cause himself pain. "Stay...away!"

Though deceptive by nature, Galsek was at least honest in saying that any physical evidence of his plan had already been found. All items that were found in his austere sleeping nook were mundane. The supplied in the sack that he was trying to escape with included tools needed to survive in the wilds, but nothing more.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"As you wish," Galsek said, enjoying the reaction he was goading from Meesei. "I believe it was before the conflict began between our Daedric lieges. Back in the time before this clan found their home in this ruined hole. Caleb was only five years old when werewolf hunters tried to detain her mother. Fathia was her name. She was trying to purchase supplies in Bruma and caught the ire of a noble with a silver axe to grind. I do not recall how they did it, but it was creative. Nets with little barbs I if I was told correctly. Made to be very strong. In any case, she was captured and detained. Now, this group of werewolf hunters each were inflamed by the most blind of rages. They must have squabbled as to the best method to make her suffer into death, but they came up with a torture that even Molag Bal would be proud of." Galsek squirmed his shoulders as he failed to move his arms. He was disappointed to not be able to gesture in demonstration of their actions, but he made do. "They chained her upright next to a furnace far outside of the city and began to melt silver in an open crucible. When it was molten and flowing, they took the silver pot with a pair of tongs and relished as they poured drips of the liquid metal over her skin. They feasted too greedily on her screams, however, and Fathia was loud enough to call for her pack, who were already searching for her." Galsek showed his grin once more, "Hircine didn't save Fathia, her screams silenced before the sprinting pack could reach her. Jerrick slaughtered and cast all off the hunters' bodies until they decorated the dirt with their shattered bones. I don't blame him after he found the last thing they did to her."

Behind Meesei, Fendros' face began to clentch angrily. He brought his hand up to his eye and grit his teeth, but he had to leave the room. He did so with such haste that anyone might have thought he was about to empty his stomach.

"...they clamped her mouth open, and poured the remaining liquid silver down her throat." Galsek drank in the reaction from everyone present. "How do you think she died first? Drowning? Burning? Or silver poisoning? Which would be more painful? It is something I pondered. Caleb was spared from seeing the body, fortunately for him, but the sudden loss of a mother is enough to warp a young boy to melancholy and sadness regardless of the nature of the death. Fathia's still vermeil corpse was buried under a pine sapling somewhere in the lower Jerrals. I also ponder if the needles glint with more than frost and dew in the mornings."

Outside, Fendros had stomped away with his hand to his head, striding aimlessly until he found an empty room out of earshot. Once there, he slowed to a stumble and fell to his knees. He broke down as Ahnasha's torture came flashing back in graphic detail. He was paralysed but for his sobbing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a moment, Galsek didn't dare move but for the twitching of his eyelid involuntarily as the blade hovered over it. Once he processed the question, however, his fearful gurn twisted into a grin. He evidently found something absurd about the question. "Meesei, you are a talented mage, but a poor social tactician," Galsek wheezed mockingly, "dear Vera...she is not Caleb's natural mother. I thought you would have known..." Galsek arched his brow forgivingly, "Granted, they are as close as step-kin can be, but the fate of Caleb's poor mother was a painful one." He paused for a low laugh, "Anyone in the clan could answer you that, it was a long time ago, but I would be the only one who would enjoy telling you. Are you sure you want the story second-hand? From my wormish tongue?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's claws caused Galsek to shriek in pain as they scratched across his face. That much at least silenced his laughter. He stared into space with wide eyes for a few moments and caught his breath. Meesei's words did not elicit any particular reaction, but he did look at Meesei after she was finished. His doe-eyed look hinted a flash of consideration.

"I was ordered by vile to cause Harriet to kill Jerrick and try to take power. I was to do all I could to disrupt this baying pit." His voice was low now. His eyes shortly drifted to look at the floor again. "A short while ago, my companions and myself were meant to be attacked by Harriet and one of her packs as they patrolled the territory, with only some of us getting away. We were in masks. We were meant to infect ourselves so we could get into the clan. I was the only one who survived the turning. Once a lycan, I could easily admit myself into this retched hive out of desperation. I knew exactly how to approach Harriet, find a point where she and Jerrick disagreed, exacerbate it to the point where reason was lost, then hand her the means to remove Jerrick altogether; the poison. At that point she knew I was an agent of Vile, but she would do anything to get into power." Galsek narrowed his eyes, "That's what made her...malleable."

Galsek looked up at Meesei again, the tears on one side of his face were replaced by rivulets of blood. "If you have myself, Harriet, the vial, and Jerrick's corpse, you have all the physical evidence there is. The plan was nothing more than that, except some...adaptations to try and throw you off in enough time for the clan to fall. Convincing the traumatised son to kill his elder." He chuckled malevolently, "It is amazing how easy it is to shape a young brain, especially where both parents were tragically murdered." Just as easily, his grin disappeared, "Of course, you were too organised, too clever." He released the rest of his breath through his nose, "That is all, you mutts. Now will you let me free, or demonstrate that you are cleverer still?"

Fendros spoke through clenched teeth. "We can't just let him free. He's too dangerous." He looked at Meesei, "He's a traitor too, just execute him as well and be done with it."