Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's mouth twitched into a smile for a moment. She couldn't imagine being in the same position as Meesei now, with so many people depending on her, but she was glad that Meesei was willing to say what troubled her. Sabine had to think for a moment to respond, but she decided not be be complicated with it all. She shuffled forward and gently brought Meesei into a hug. "You're strong enough to do this. I know you are."

---

"Indeed. Your alpha has taken on many tasks since she has arrived. A time of war is nothing if not busy for the champion of Hircine." Najirra said before taking another sip of tea. Even though he was only halfway through his cup, he placed it down on the table in front of him and weaved his hands together on his lap. "Now, we will turn to the furthest past next, in order to know you two better. Tell me, briefly, what your life was like before you were both turned into lycans. If you were born with the gift, tell me of all before your first turning. Give me descriptions, and do tell me what brought you to being a lycan and joining your pack. Fendros, you may start first."

Why Najirra needed to know about their pasts was not immediately obvious to Fendros. He supposed it might help to know the experiences that shaped them, but something about the question right after the seemingly inconsequential one before was off-putting. Nevertheless, Fendros gave an answer. "It was happy enough, my childhood, my adolescence. I lived with my family in Cheydinhal. My parents were immigrants from Morrowind, so they were strict people, but we all took care of each other. My adopted brother and sister kept me company even though we weren't encouraged to go out and interact with other...lesser races, my father would call them. I liked to hunt, I liked to fence, I was in the Fighters Guild for a time. My life ahead of me was to make wine on my father's vineyard. It was stifling sometimes, though. I would strike out on my own to go hunting in the woods. During one hunt I was attacked by a feral werewolf and infected. I killed the creature, but was gravely wounded. Meesei found me and I joined her pack after that. I didn't really have any choice, but it had benefits," Fendros gave Ahnasha a smile. "That was one and a half - maybe two - years ago now? I haven't been keeping close track of time."

"Are there any points in that time that spring to your mind? Any good or bad experiences that come back at odd times?" Najirra probed further.

"Well, I've always had the attack in my mind. I thought I was going to die, but it's not something which comes up in my mind, not really." Fendros thought for a second, "Well, my father would shout when I had done something wrong. When I was a child, he would even beat me if I had done something particularly bad. That memory comes up when I've done something wrong, but not...I don't know, it doesn't seem important."

Najirra simply nodded, "It is all important if you remember." His head went to Ahnasha again, "Ahnasha, tell me of yourself. Include the memories that come up at odd times." His eyes flicked to Rhazii, "My daughters can care for your cub during our conversation if you wish. It is not the first time they have done so."

---

When the demand to see Kaleeth transform escalated to a certain point, Janius pushed off the table he was leaning against and intervened. "Enjoying a reputation, are we?" Janius strode to Kaleeth's side and put an arm around her. He addressed the children directly, "I'm not sure you urchins are brave enough to behold a werecrocodile. You would all wet your little breeches!"

As expected, the reaction from the children was protest. Janius was deliberately riling them up.

Janius murmured to Kaleeth's ear more quietly. "Do you want to try transforming in the main chamber? You can just break a few things in your mouth, you'll have much more control this close to a hunt. How do you feel about it?" Janius would understand if Kaleeth was not comfortable with it, but he thought it might be a good confidence booster.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Huh, thanks. I didn't know I had put my birthday there. It must have taken it from Outlook or something.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine stepped out from behind the doorframe as Meesei spoke. When she was done, Sabine proceeded to walk over and sit down on Meesei's bedroll opposite her, mirroring her posture. Sabine didn't look as shocked as when she had found Meesei, but she was not leaving her alone so easily. "Are you scared of something?" Sabine's eyes told that she was seeing right through Meesei's attempts to brush her off.

---

As much to comfort himself as Ahnasha, Fendros put an arm around her and pulled her close while they walked, giving her upper arm a quick rub. They followed Vharei into the chamber and found it relatively unchanged from the last time. Some supplies and bedrolls were scattered about. Vharei's very similar looking sister, Saraya, looked up from a scroll she was reading in one corner. Her tail moved in controlled flicks when she saw them all, but she didn't pay any further mind. One doorway to one side had a curtain drawn over it. The smell of sweet tea was in the air here.

"Father is waiting for you inside," Vharei opened the curtain that separated Najirra's personal chambers from the rest of the room, "I can mind your cub if you wish."

"Thank you, we should be fine," Fendros said. He took a deep breath, then pushed the remainder of the curtain aside and stepped inside.

The first thing Fendros saw was the frail old man, Najirra, with a sweet smile spread across his face. Unlike his daughters, he was an Ohmes Khajiit, so his appearance was more like a Bosmer than any Khajiit that Fendros knew. He was sitting cross legged on a pillow in front of a small raised table. "Ah, I am glad that you have arrived. Please, seat yourselves. This one welcomes you into his domain."

There were two other pillows around the table, Fendros lowered himself onto one of them and put his crutch to one side. The rest of the room was strangely warm and relaxing. There were tapestries on the walls depicting flags of some distant culture, though there were one or two Dunmer flags that looked familiar to Fendros. The small table had a glowing heat stone beside it, and on top of it were implements for serving tea. The steam rising from the pot and the smell it exuded confirmed that it was freshly brewed. Very subtly, Fendros felt a charge of magic in the air, but for what purpose, he didn't know.

"Now, Ahnasha, Fendros, you both know me; I am Najirra. Though, I am different today than from when I was a judge. My role is different now. I hope we can begin anew so that we might have the best chance of helping you." Najirra began to pour the tea from a tall pot into three small cups. "Let us first drink some tea. I have found it is best for calming the nerves." Najirra put down the pot and picked up his own cup in two hands. He closed his eyes as he sipped the steaming water.

Fendros carefully took a cup for himself and looked inside. The tea leaves seemed benign enough. "I don't want to sound rude, but did you put moon sugar in this tea? It...doesn't agree with me."

Najirra looked up and raise his brow, "Hm? Oh, no, moon sugar addles the mind too much for this. This is just black tea and beet sugar."

It wasn't clear what Najirra had in mind, exactly, but Fendros hesitantly sipped the tea. It was sickly sweet and piping hot, but the sensation of warmth that branched out from his oesophagus made his chest involuntarily relax. His uninjured shoulder twitched in response.

"Firstly, how has your day been? How have you found life in the clan to be since you arrived?" Najirra still held his cup in both hands.

Fendros glanced at Ahnasha. Did he really summon us for small talk? "I'm sorry, Najirra, we were under the impression that you wanted to talk to us about other issues-."

Najirra raised his hand to interrupt. "We will hunt our game one footprint at a time, we shall start with the small things and follow them to the larger things."

"Okay..." Fendros was dubious, "It has been different here, but very stable compared to outside. We have been faring well."

Najirra then looked to Ahnasha.

---

Janius wandered around for a short while until he found Kaleeth again. He certainly didn't expect her to be surrounded by excited children, much less observing how calmly she seemed to be talking to them. Janius was curious to see how she would take the attention, as well as what tales the children had weaved of her deeds. He leaned against a table nearby behind her and watched on, listening. He smiled to hear Kaleeth take a prouder stance to her beast form.

"So what!? My brother says that Tola could snap a shield with her bear hands!" One of the more loud boys boasted.

Another boy became cross and turned to him, "Shut up stink-face! Kaleeth could squash Tola flat!"

"What about Lorag? I heard he fought a hundred hunters in a little corridor."

"Do you shink you could beat Lorag in an arm wrestle, Kaleesh?" One of the younger boys with a lisp asked.

Behind Kaleeth, Janius was trying desperately not to laugh. He had no doubt that Kaleeth could best Lorag in a feat of strength again, but if he could hear this, he would be livid that Kaleeth was getting more praise.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With Fendros and Ahnasha leaving, that would just leave Lorag, Kaleeth, and Janius. If you wanted to start a scene with Kaleeth, go ahead. They'll probably have loose plans do some training or something that afternoon, but do what you want.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I don't doubt that she'll be able to work it out but...Meesei's been pretty quiet and tired lately." Janius added, "I daresay that all these new responsibilities are pushing her to her limit."

Sabine's face began to soften and her shoulders relaxed. Being goaded to anger before meant that she didn't react to Meesei or Ahnasha's support, but now her previous thoughts were being replaced.

Fendros responded, "She doesn't have to do everything. I wish she would remind herself of that."

Partly out of worry and partly out of procrastination from her own issues, Sabine got up and left the pack to their meal. She didn't say a word and didn't look back.

"Hey! We didn't mean to upset you, Sabine! You don't have to run off..." Fendros' voice faded out as she left the dining hall.

Sabine didn't care about Fendros or her friends right now, she wanted to know why Meesei left so suddenly. From across the main chamber, Sabine spotted Meesei's back as it headed towards their pack's living quarters. Sabine quietly followed Meesei to her destination and peeked her head around the door frame. She found Meesei seated on her bed in a position all too familiar to Sabine. Meesei looked so vulnerable that it was confronting.

"Meesei?" Sabine said almost silently from the door frame. There was a look of wide-eyed worry on Sabine's face. "Why are you hiding?"

---

"Calm down, Fendros, she's probably going to talk with Meesei." Janius said, placing the last of his meal into his mouth.

Fendros waved a hand in front of himself, giving up, "Whatever. She'll speak when she needs to."

Idle chatter went on for another while. There wasn't much else of note, mostly swapping details about the odd occurrences during their tasks. It was different to their regular lives in many ways, but they all had no doubt that it would become bland before long.

After a time, most people began exiting the dining hall to go about their business for the rest of the day. The pack had all but finished their meals. The last to finish eating was Ahnasha, but the very moment she swallowed her last mouthful, a voice sounded from next to the pack. "Fendros and Ahnasha?" It was a familiar Khajiit woman, standing straight with her clasped in front of her. Her accent was Imperial, with an inflection from Elsweyr. She was looking directly at who she named. "You might remember me, I am Vharei, Najirra's daughter."

Fendros was slightly startled as he hadn't noticed Vharei approaching. "Greetings," he said cautiously.

"My father wishes to see you both. You do not have any other plans, I trust?" Vharei was strangely stiff, but not nervous at all.

It was noticed quickly by Fendros that Vharei's appearance coincided rather well with their absence of plans for that afternoon. With the power Najirra wielded, it wouldn't surprise Fendros if he knew more than Vharei was letting on. Fendros shook his head.

Vharei's lips curled into a friendly smile, "Good. If you could come with me..."

Fendros began to stand up and looked to Ahnasha for confirmation. He had been meaning to see Najirra for a long time in the hope that the old man could help them both, but he couldn't kick a certain nervousness.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, that was a doozy. Let me know if there is anything that I missed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The meeting that night was a long and fatigued one, but the number of immediate issues that needed to be addressed and prioritised demanded such. Everyone left with a list of responsibilities that they had to deal with, starting from the very next day. In light of Meesei's desire to try and find Harriet, Oswall opted to take responsibility for guarding her prisoner for the foreseeable future. One of the more important points, one that took much of the discussion, was picking new lieutenants.

In his physically weakened state, Darahil had taken it upon himself to assess the competence of various promising alphas in the clan. His short-list was mercifully few, but Darahil was nothing if not thorough in his analysis. By the end of it all, any political agenda Darahil might have had was completely rebuked by his well-rounded and scathing criticism of those he deemed worthy. Discussion went on and on, eliminating one or two contenders before calling the remainder into the meeting room to ask questions of them. The final two were eventually selected after more private discussion amongst the council. The general consensus was that the best would be the ones to cover the weaknesses left by the loss of Jerrick and Harriet, while at the same time bringing their own passion, creativity, and aptitude to the table.

The first was a stout Breton woman named Pierrette Mousara, an alpha with skills and experience primarily in farming and logistics. She had a keen foresight, especially where supplies and treasury were concerned. The second was an Imperial-raised Nord warrior, Tola Corvus, who had been instructing martial arts alongside Harriet for years now. She had a knack for establishing rapport with others and would be a fine negotiator as well as a skilled fighter.

Almost immediately, the new lieutenants were put to work. Ceremony was not something that the clan made a habit of with regards to leadership. Even if they did, it would not be the most appropriate time to do so.

The next day, Meesei was able to treat enough people in the infirmary that she would organise her hunting party the next day with no concerns. Fendros and Kaleeth's wounds were serious enough that they were in no shape to track anything down by that time, but Lorag and Ahnasha were well enough. Meesei was able to find some hunters to pad her numbers easily. Janius opted to stay behind until he was sure that Kaleeth would not transform, but that was more for the sake of Kaleeth's sense of safety than it was for the possibility that she would lose control. Sabine, of course, was left out again, though this time it was because she was virtually depended upon by the alchemists to help brew healing potions and medicines for the infirmary. Rather than complain, Sabine seemed to be comparatively thriving with the routine of it all.

The hunt itself was a gruelling few days. They tracked at a fast pace back down the many tracks of the warband as it had poured back to the clan home. There were no tracks from Harriet that seemed to stand out, at least none that deviated from the original path. The day brought them back to the hurriedly hidden cache of weapons and armour that the warband had left behind, and they found it disturbed. There was a dusting of snow that covered Harriet's movements, but it was clear that she had stolen some warm clothing, weapons and supplies, and then left in a rush. What was left was pocked with the beginnings of rust, but the clan would send some teams to pick it all up before it perished.

Searching around found a faint trail that headed south, then drifted slightly to the east. That trail continued down the hill country for two more days, drifting further east until it appeared that Harriet was aiming for the north-east end of the Lake Rumare if she kept her course. On the end of the fourth day, the decision was made to head back. They were already out of clan territory and the distance they were gaining on Harriet was not worth the effort. It was a bitter defeat, but Harriet would not be a threat to the clan as she was.

Meesei came back to a freshly fortified clan home. The laquering on the new gate and hoardings were being laid on as they approached. It was certainly more formidable looking. Oswall's proud explanation of the improvements confirmed that sentiment.

By that point, much of the crisis driven activity had been resolved, so Meesei's pack found time to relax, train, and integrate themselves properly into life with the clan. Unfortunately for Meesei, her work as an honorary lieutenant was almost endless. Between juggling attempts at altering the clan structure to reduce factionalism and organising envoys to other packs in the region and other clans further out, her days were as full as all in the leadership.

One thing that had to be settled quickly was the Nord prisoner Meesei had taken from the mercenaries. According to the guards, she had been heard crying during the night when no one was looking. She was a resistant prisoner, never trusting any of her captors. By the time Meesei reached her, she was thin, bleary-eyed, and reeked of sweat and body odour. Her name was Arnora, and she was forthcoming with all she knew; she was a mercenary in one of the bands hired to clear out the clan home. Their band was trained by a werewolf hunter and were given silver weapons, preparing for an entire month to attack. Their employer was the regally dressed man who was killed during the counter attack, but there were no leads on his person as to any higher-level orders. The attackers weren't meant to be flanked like they were. They were meant to flush out a hideout of savage shape shifters who wouldn't be prepared for them. That fell to pieces halfway through. She had heard rumours about an informant within the hideout, but was never privy to that information. She was just a soldier. Far from being okay with her situation now, she refused to trust Meesei. The reason she cited was the cannibalism that she had witnessed.

Once all the useful information had been gained from Arnora, the council agreed to release her, but Vera insisted on bathing and provisioning her first. It was a sentiment of forgiveness that was not unanimous amongst the council, given that Arnora was part of the attack against them, but she was the leader and her word was law. Arnora was last seen being escorted to Bruma with fresh clothes, some food and drink, and enough coins to go somewhere. She didn't share with anyone what her plans were exactly, but she did insist that she was done with mercenary work. She waited until the last moment to reluctantly thank Meesei and Vera for their mercy.

Fendros was able to walk again after a week, but he required a crutch. His training was largely restricted to less physical activity for the time being. Kaleeth was not as deeply wounded, so she was able to step out of bed a few days after Meesei's hunting party returned. Her wounds did make her sore for a while, but her recovery was all but complete. Janius had spent the time focussing on meditative and calming techniques. Such things were not useful in a combat situation, but Janius had often turned to them to help with more general anxieties and tried to keep Kaleeth levelled. There had been no word from Najirra to any of the pack as of yet, but further inquiry revealed that many who had lost family in the attack were walking in and out of his chambers. He was probably helping people all day.

Sabine was perhaps the most active of the pack for a change. As soon as another pack was due to rotate into Bruma, she had prepared a letter to send to Ariel with the help of her pack-mates to write it. Working with other alchemists some of the day and making friends closer to her age in the rest of the day had awoken something new in her. She was becoming more confident with her speech, she was picking up pieces of slang that the other teenagers used, and less time was committed to practising the magic that Meesei had taught her. When questioned about her floundering commitment to her training, Sabine became surprisingly defensive. She didn't look Meesei in the eye, complained about wanting to be on her own and always needing to do this, that, or keeping an eye on Rhazii. On one occasion even ended up storming off in a huff. At the time, Janius was training Leaps-On-Elves across the same chamber and remarked with a laugh out of Sabine's earshot that it was about time she was a teenager. Meesei was able to reel her in after that, but her rebellious spirit was not getting any weaker.

---

A full two and a half weeks had passed since the attack. The pack was gathered for lunch in the dining hall. The able-bodied of the pack had been scheduled to some menial labour during that morning, but they were free for the rest of the day. Sabine was a special case as she did so much for the alchemists that she was unofficially giving her full contribution through them, so she had spent that morning with some of her friends. Most of the rest of the pack were chatting amongst themselves or with other packs, but Fendros noticed that Sabine was looking more deflated than usual. She was eating slowly and had her legs drawn up in front of her like she usually did when she was anxious. She hadn't done that for a while.

"Hoy, Sabine, what has got you in such a mood today?" Fendros asked while bouncing Rhazii in his arms to make the cub open his mouth in joy.

Sabine hummed flat a note to herself quietly. She considered her response as she slowly chewed on a slice of goat leg.

"Did something happen with you're friends today?"

Sabine turned her head slightly towards Fendros, but stopped short of looking at him directly. "How do you tell if..." Sabine stopped herself and shook her head. She took another bite from her meal and tried to dismiss the issue.

Fendros thought for only a moment before smiling knowingly and leaning over to Ahnasha. "A boy," he said as if it were boring routine.

Sabine's face scrunched in anger and she cringed further to try and hide. A red flush was creeping up her face.

"Leave her alone, Fendros, I'm sure she has it all worked out," Janius remarked from across the fire they were gathered around.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hmm...mkay, I'll do some summarising and try to initiate a scene that you can play off from. Once the Nord prisoner is dealt with and the clan has properly recovered, we'll have reached the end of my long-term plan, so I'll hand the general future direction to you again. If you feel the need to step into the roles of any unmet clan members, feel free, because...man, it's been an effort to keep up with the sheer number of extra characters in this arc.

Also, Chivalry is that medieval melee game, right? I've been meaning to check that out, but I've not really had much time for games over the past few months.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Mkay, sure thing. I have some study to do this afternoon, so my response won't be up for a while.

As for the Argonians, you're reasoning seems fair enough. We'll go with that.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, I'm afraid Harriet is going to be out of range of the ring. The last signs of her will be bearing roughly south-south-east, but with the head start she gained, she is not going to be found within Meesei's timeframe.

About there being other clans, I'm not sure how that would go. Given that clans have to cover a large territory, I don't think there would be an awful lot around the place. Seeing as other packs are rare enough to come by as it is, what frequency of clans should there be over a landmass? I think it would be difficult for Cyrodiil on its own to support more than three clans over its area and still keep werecreatures out of the public eye.

Also, we're close enough to the big timeskip that we had better make a decision on our canon. Should interracial breeding work where Argonians are involved? This will matter for both Kaleeth and Janius as well as Rukeewei and Ariel.