Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The rules for the collar sound reasonable enough with those constraints. As for Lorag's search outside, there had been so many lycan tracks along that patch of ground during that time that picking out Harriet's would be nigh on impossible as long as she would retrace their steps. There wouldn't seem to be any more of her tracks branching from it in the local area, so Lorag could deduce that Harriet would indeed have taken that angle.

I don't think Kaleeth and Janius would be too far behind. It depends how long Kaleeth would have spent not talking.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Giving a nod, Janius put both his hands on the table. "Kaleeth, you might be afraid of yourself now, but I want you to try something. Come here..." Janius shifted to sit on the table and carefully tried to lift up Kaleeth's upper body until she was sitting up, trying his best not to hurt her. He craned the side of his head near to the side of hers and swept his arm over the entire dining chamber so that she could see was he saw. "It wouldn't be so easy to see for just our pack, but everyone here, they lived through a point in time where they didn't trust themselves. Many here are probably still scared that they would lose control at some point and do something horrible. Like everyone else, they'll learn how to control themselves, but in the meantime, what do you think keeps them from running away? From isolating themselves so they can't be a danger to anyone?" Janius gave a half-smile and turned his eyes to Kaleeth, "I'll give you a hint, it isn't just the food and shelter."

---

The boy that Meesei had picked out to fetch the lieutenants obeyed Meesei, though outwardly it seemed to be more out of fear than anything else.

Vera was the first to arrive as she was directing the actions of the infirmary. She had taken off her armour, but she was still covered in blood from the battle. If it weren't for the resilience of lycans, her sanitary practices might have doomed whoever she helped to treat. "Hello again," Vera gave Meesei a nod. She was back to her regular, softer self, but she was visibly running on a high of activity that belied the dark rings forming around her eyes from fatigue.

With some hide clothing and patches of sawdust on his leggings, Oswall arrived next. He seemed mildly frustrated, probably from being interrupted in his large task of barricading and fortifying the gate. Such a task would have taken all night anyway. "Meesei, I assume this is important," He said, crossing his arms.

It was another half an hour before Darahil arrived. His reason for being unusually late was immediately evident in his stride. He was leaning heavily on a crutch. A dried, blood-stained welt on his robe curtained down from one hip. A sharp eye would spot the small frayed hole where an arrow or crossbow bolt may have struck him. "I am sorry for delaying," He hissed through his teeth, "I could not walk until I had seen to my wound. Even numbing the pain is difficult where silver is concerned and restoration is...not a focus of mine."

---

Fendros sat up quickly, letting his wounded arms hang loose. "They don't mean nearly as much to me as you do!" The words came so instantly to Fendros that he didn't bother lowering his voice. He caught the eye of some other people nearby who had looked over to them in the commotion and it seemed to bring him down somewhat. He let out the rest of his breath and closed his eyes, "It's not...your words aren't meaningless to me Ahna." Fendros' tone had turned away from his anger, "I was scared for you. There, I admit it. I'm sorry." Fendros was not exactly enthusiastic to apologise, as if he was a child who was forced to say it, but enough of him wished that he hadn't shouted at Ahnasha that it was sincere.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag can take as long as he likes, there will be no trace of Harriet around.

Also, I'm starting to wonder how long it's going to take for Ahnasha to give Fendros a slap across the face.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Nord watched Meesei leave the room until she was out of sight. The guards were disciplined enough not to complain about keeping watch so soon after the battle, but leaving them in the cold corridor without any clothing or weapons made them look out of place.

---

Janius looked to Kaleeth for a short while, trying not to looked as saddened as her words made him. It took him a few moments to get his senses back together and realise how selfish his thoughts were. Naively, he had assumed that Kaleeth wouldn't think about a cure. It was only natural, though. Janius had thoughts about a cure a long time ago, shortly after he was turned and at odd times afterwards. He leaned the heel of his palm on his chin and thought of how to respond. While Kaleeth was so upset, she would not easily accept her current situation, but Janius could at least try to sow some thought.

"Kaleeth...if you woke up tomorrow morning and you were no longer a lycanthrope, what would you do?" Janius asked without any accusation.

---

"Well if I'm so forgetful, I may as well have forgotten that those hunters had pushed you all the way back into the ruin from the gate." Fendros said quickly and defensively. Ahnasha's advice to think didn't seem to register. "I may as well have not trained at all for all the trust you now have in my abilities. How about I just give up now? There is plenty of silver from the enemy soldiers, I could just crawl over to a blade and cut my arms off. Does that sound preferable?"

The healer counted it a mercy when he finished tying off Fendros' wound. He was able to slink away from the drama to tend to more peaceful patients.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Nord flinched at Meesei's magic, but understood its purpose soon after. What made her uneasy was the request to be searched. She looked at the makeshift guards that Meesei had brought along and narrowed her eyes. Even if they themselves were not wearing anything, or even leering at her or Meesei's bodies, they were male. The Nord looked back to Meesei. "Can I at least have some privacy from them?" She said, nodding in the guards' direction at the end of her question.

One of the guards nudged the other and they both turned around away from the prisoner. Their curiosity was mostly at what Meesei was going to with this prisoner, but they were meant to be keeping watch anyway.

It was only then that the Nord began to remove her clothing, handing them off to Meesei and keeping a close eye on the guards at the door. Searching the Nord's belongings revealed a steel dagger in her boot, a handful of septims, and some personal affects. There didn't appear to be anything that could realistically compromise the lock on the gate to the room.

"You aren't just saving me to eat later, are you?" The Nord asked Meesei darkly.

---

Janius wished it were as simple as Kaleeth implied it was. He could only reply honestly. "Most of the time it isn't a choice, it's one thing that the beast spirit doesn't suffer to be denied; its prey. Whenever anyone tries to stop their beast spirit in that regard, whether it be a humanoid or an animal quarry, there's no stopping it on your own." Janius took a deep breath, "Meesei likes to justify it by saying that we will not ever eat or kill innocent people, but really, the beast is part of who we are, along with everything it does. There's no use in being ashamed of it anymore."

Being forced to confront a morality of this nature after ignoring it for so long was making Janius feel ambivalent. While Kaleeth was upset, he felt that he needed to distract himself for a moment. He stood up from his stool and let go of Kaleeth's hand. "I'll fetch us some water," he said as he turned and walked away with his head hung low.

Janius was away for a few minutes, giving both himself and Kaleeth a moment to calm themselves slightly and think. He returned with a full waterskin that he swigged from before holding it out for Kaleeth to take. "Have a sip, you'll feel a bit better, I promise."

---

Fendros was taken aback by Ahnasha's escalation. It was the familiar serious side of herself that she was showing. However, this was less fortified. The veneer began to break down as she continued. Seeing the tears form and her tone waver made Fendros' own eyes burn in empathy. Overwhelming that, unfortunately, was a confusion. Fendros thought he was doing what was right, even if it put himself in mortal danger. As was too often a habit for Fendros, his confusion bred anger.

"You could have been in that fight beyond the corridor, Ahna!" Fendros lowered his brow as he tried to assert himself, "Your life matters, Rhazii's life matters! I did what I knew I needed to do." A twinge of self-awareness alerting to Fendros' rash behaviour crossed Fendros' mind, but not his bull-headedness.

The healer who was bandaging Fendros had just finished tying off his arm. He looked to both Fendros and Ahnasha and tried to take a diplomatic tone. "Brother, sister, please. There are others trying to rest."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You're the leader then? You sound like you're the leader." The Nord spoke while she walked. She was still tense enough that she didn't feel safe, but this was likely not what she expected would happen. "If you're offering to let me go if I talk, I'll answer your questions. I'm the only one left in my mercenary band unless you found others. It's not as if I'll be doing much more in your...little war, I guess." The Nord paused for a moment, thinking. "We were told that you were a large bunch of werewolves that were ravaging the countryside, just savages. The werewolf hunters they brought in, they trained us to fight you with silver, they said you were just animals, but...this looks more like an underground village."

---

Janius looked up to Kaleeth's eyes when she spoke. Janius had thought that Kaleeth's emotions were mainly to do with killing and being injured, but the cannibalism took him slightly off-guard. He had taken the issue for granted for so long that he assumed Kaleeth had accepted it. He felt stupid for not realising it.

For a short moment, Janius considered trying to reason cannibalism with Kaleeth. He thought that he could make her think about the act not as an abomination but as the natural instinct of the creature inside of her. That would have been an idiotic thing to do as well. Distraught as she was, it was unlikely that she had any room in her mind for deep thought. Janius thought hard enough that he decided to shift back to his human form in order to properly consider the situation. He didn't let Kaleeth go while he transformed.

After another moment standing still, Janius collected a stool from nearby to sit down on. He thought he had found something appropriate to say. The fatigue of the battle had grasped Janius at this point, making his tone croaky and quiet, "I understand, Kaleeth. It's confronting to eat humanoid flesh, especially when you are not in control. All us lycans go through the same feeling that you are going through now. I can't force you to accept it, all I can say is that it doesn't make you a monster. Not while you're still a thinking, feeling Argonian that you are now. Not while you're in control." Janius' eyes flicked down, then up again, "Though, no matter what happens, I still love you. I always have. I won't ever leave you to die."

Ahnasha walked past many less fortunate defenders on the way to Fendros. Many of the more grevously wounded people were hanging onto life by a thread, some had succumbed and had blankets pulled over their heads. Most had some form of family or friends around and tears were flowing, both out of worry and grief. It was likely a worse sight out where they were lining up those defenders who had died during the fighting as their loved ones returned from the ruins. There were less casualties out there than there were in the infirmary, but that did not make the prospect any less depressing.

Ahnasha's search for Fendros came to an end when she found him on a table in Dunmer form. His lower leg was wrapped tightly in a long cover of bandages, as was his left shoulder and his right upper arm. His arm was still being dressed by a Breton healer who was channelling restoration magic into it. Fendros' first reaction to hearing Ahnasha's voice was to open his eyes. He had been awake for a short while now, but he dared not move much. "Ahna?" He said with pain in his voice. He was brave enough to crane his head up to see her, "Thank the eight, you're unharmed. Once we heard about the enemy attack, I was afraid the worst would happen."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I've gotta go now. G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Confusion flashed across the Nord's face. Meesei's reasonable tone took her by surprise. "...You're not going to kill me? You..." the Nord regained her aggressive stance, fearing a trick. "You speak like the slimy elf that hired us. You're too pompous to be what they told us you were." She looked down at her silver dagger, "None of this is making sense anymore..." Her eyes looked up to Meesei again as she considered whether she might be bluffing. With a harsh sigh, the Nord put her dagger back in its place and began to strip off her weapons and armour. When she was done, she nudged the pile of metal and leather off the pile of bodies towards Meesei with her foot. "Who are you, anyway?"

Janius stood up and moved to Kaleeth when she transformed back into an Argonian. He knew the mix of pain and fear Kaleeth was experiencing. It wasn't the first time he had witnessed her feeling it. He didn't say anything to her, he simply picked her up in both arms as gently as he could and carefully carried her to where they were treating the wounded. He wished he could do more. He wished he was there to keep her away from the battle.

Once Janius had found Kaleeth a table and laid her down, he sat down on the floor next to her. A familiar guilt kept Janius quiet. He could have transformed back if he wanted to, but he didn't. In a language only he heard, Janius' beast spirit expressed the need to clean Kaleeth's wounds by licking them. He managed to clean much of the blood by the time healers arrived to provide aid and dress Kaleeth's wounds. It felt like odd behaviour to Janius, who was in complete control at this point, but both himself and his beast spirit were sharing worry for their companion.

It would be a while before the healers would be available to treat Janius' arms, as they were not serious wounds. In the meantime, he decided to stay by Kaleeth's side and be there for her. For some comfort, he reached out and lightly took Kaleeth's hand in his own, though the size difference of their forms meant that his fingers closed over Kaleeth's wrist as well.

Though it took a while for the runners to inform everyone who was hiding that the hunters had been vanquished, Sabine and Ahnasha eventually heard. Sabine's pace to get back was as fast as she dared while carrying Rhazii. She had to know whether everyone was alright.

Lorag's scouring of the clan home cropped up a few groups of mercenaries that were likely marauding for loot or other people to kill, but they were dispatched quickly and without any further casualties. The speed of his followers and himself made for quick work. He was done by the time the non-combatants had returned from the uninhabited ruin.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We had best get to work then," Vera said finally. Both she and Oswall walked off to direct their followers.

Janius halted his approach when Kaleeth made eye contact. He searched her expression for any hint that she was still at the forefront of her consciousness. When Kaleeth roared, Janius backed off a couple of paces. He knew that trying to look submissive in order to put her at ease didn't work. Werewolf body language did not translate well to Kaleeth's beast form. He wanted to try and speak, but Meesei interrupted. Janius decided to sit on his haunches a distance away from Kaleeth. She would turn back eventually. In the meantime, he could ward her off hurting others and steer away anyone who edged too close to her.

There was a long moment where the Nord continued to lay still. Eventually, her eyes opened a sliver. She knew her trick had not worked. Her eyes met Meesei's and she began trying to breath properly again. It was pained, however. Slowly, she rolled over to one side and stumbled up upon the remaining bodies below her. She was evidently wounded in some fashion. Blood leaked from her side where a claw had caught her under the cuirass. She clutched at it with her shield hand. The rest of the blood that covered her belonged to other people.

At this point, a couple of other werewolves had noticed her and stalked up behind Meesei, growling. They did not like this one being alive, but they would not get between the champion and her prey.

In reaction, the Nord slowly and shakily pulled out her dagger and held it out beside her. "If you want to eat me, I'm already tenderised." The Nord spoke with a heavy accent from Skyrim, "Go on, come and take me to Sovngarde. Let me meet my ancestors." The Nord's knees began to tremble. It didn't look like she would put up much of a fight at this point, but she wasn't going to give up without one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sounds good.

Also, I only just realised that I had forgotten Janius in my last post. I'll get onto that.