Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus pursed his lips awkwardly. Either this bandit was a fantastic actor, or it really was nothing more than her entire life slain with her friends over by the shore. He looked up at the stars forming in the sky and paced around in thought for roughly half a minute. With a final sigh, he lowered himself to be seated right up next to the bandit, whether she would mind her personal space being invaded or not.

He looked ahead rather than right at her and gesticulated as he spoke with the dagger still in his hand. "You know, I must confess that this is a dilemma for me. Normally, when we encounter those that know of our nature, we have to kill them because they would sooner run to the legion in terror and the legion would send out a party to hunt us down." Gallus grimaced and grinned, sucking in a breath through his teeth, "It's not the best situation, as I am sure you understand, being a thief and all. But, you being a criminal brings up something I've yet to consider. If you've been a highwayman...woman...on these roads for long enough - and not wearing a mask to boot - then you're not likely to run off to the guards, right?" Gallus poked out his bottom lip and shrugged, "Then again, we're on a very important mission, all of us. We have enemies that are either so dangerous that you cannot fathom, or that you are familiar with," He faced her and poked her on the shoulder, "because you could be part of them." Gallus looked ahead again and took another deep breath in through his nose. The tirade was not nearly done yet, "This had me thinking that we would just outright kill you, but that would make no sense! Our enemies would not send five clueless ruffians to merely rob us. I would be lead to believe that even if you were affiliated with our enemies, you would have no clue what you were walking into here. Unfortunately, with your intentions now set, my thoughts wander to the tragic fate of your friends." The previously matter-of-fact tone turned solemn, "I can see they were close to you. I have similar friends amongst us. If I were to simply let you go now, force you to run off, you might pick up a shiny new sword and start hunting my kind. It would be remiss of me to allow that to happen. Too many fall into hate and sadness down that road, losing their minds."

Seemingly done with putting forth his entire thought process, Gallus got up and shifted to a squat at the bandit's eye-level. "As sincerely as I can give it, I present my full apology for the loss of your friends. I cannot bring them back, and I cannot guarantee your freedom, for it is not me who is in charge." He pointed the dagger tip at the bandit, "I would like to give you a choice, however. In the morning, we untie you, give you a shovel, allow you to bury your friends, and we'll be on our way. If you like, I can direct you to where you might have a better life, free from the legion, and much better than stealing pittances on the road. Or, if you truly believe that there is nothing else for you, I can kill you quickly and painlessly. In either case, you will likely never see us again unless you take up my offer for a new life. I know as well as you do that you are no longer a threat to us, so this much I can allow."

Now finally finished indulging the sound of his own voice, Gallus looked at the bandit with an expectant smile. "What'll it be, my dear?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine was a little surprised by Peiter's hug. It caused her to tense up slightly, then return to how she was. There was no other outward reaction, but inside, Sabine was grateful for the comforting words and gesture.

After a while, Rhazii's crying began to slow. He shook his head at Ahnasha's suggestion. He spoke, but he still didn't lift his head from his mother's chest. "I'm cold, mama," he said. Indeed, he was beginning to shiver. It was probably a combination of coming down from the shock and the fact that night was falling.

"I'll go get your clothes, Rhazii," Fendros responded as he let Ahnasha and Rhazii go and proceeded to where they had all put their belongings before swimming.

---

Over by the tree where the bandit was tied up, Gallus seemed indifferent to her initial answer. "Mhm, mhm," he lifted his eyes to hers, "What's your name, thief? How much did you know about us?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yes, Meesei," Gallus said, glancing to Lorag and getting to work tying up the bandit leader under Fendros' watch. It was without any pomp or ceremony that Gallus pulled out the dagger sticking out of her leg afterwards. "You should pick your marks more closely, thief," Gallus said to her as they lead her to a tree they could secure her to, "Five against thirteen and a juvenile wamasu? One could be driven to assume that you were planning to get killed..."

Janius jogged after Kaleeth a short distance to the water. He stopped and put his hands over his head with anxiety when Kaleeth dove under. Kaleeth returning with Newt caused a weight to be lifted from his shoulders. He embraced them both tightly, "Thank the eight. It was fortunate that you were both under the water." He walked back to the others with Kaleeth and Newt, "It looks like it was only Leaps that was hurt. I hope he's alright."

Leaps was not alright, but he was getting the care he needed. Without too many words, Sabine was eventually relegated to weaving spells to suppress Leaps' pain. Irenya needed the space to treat the wound and remove the arrow. It was just as well; Sabine's hands were shaking too much to give precise treatment.

Sabine's magicka ran short by the time Peiter spoke up. The way he reminded her of Leaps' sacrifice, as well as the assumption that Leaps would be okay, brought Sabine's emotions to a tipping point. Her eyes welled up and she let out what sounded like a cough. She leaned down and put her arms around Leaps' neck. With shuddering sobs that let forth the built up tension and worry, Sabine cried into the wamasu's neck. "I thought I was going to die..." Sabine said between strained breaths, her voice muffled by speaking into Leaps.

At this point, the bandit leader had been taken care of and Ahnasha had found Rhazii, so Fendros padded around briefly to sniff at the air for more assailants. After finding no traces, he approached Ahnasha and Rhazii and transformed back into Dunmer form.

Rhazii was crying from the terrifying experience still, but he was beginning to settle in Ahnasha's arms. He said some words, but they seemed to melt into one another as he spoke while crying. "Dada shouted and I stayed, but I looked and there was fire and I got scared and people were getting hurt..."

Fendros put his arms around them both and rubbed his thumb over Rhazii's head. "There, there, little one. It's over now. The only fire is the camp fire now." Fendros wished that Rhazii hadn't peeked around the rock in the first place, but it was unfortunate that he was spooked further by Sabine's fire. It may have saved her life, but Rhazii's phobia had been with him almost all of his life.

After tying the woman to a tree, searching her, and tying her ankles together, Gallus stood in front of her with a knife in his hand. He felt its edge by looking down and pinching the blade with his other hand. "Your friend didn't end up killing Sabine, so I'm feeling magnanimous," Gallus' voice was back to its usual egotistical confidence, "All you have to do to live is answer my questions, understand?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Cool.

It's weird that they don't give the weight. I don't know why they wouldn't have kept that feature from 3 and New Vegas.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret's turning was not with the best of control. The bandit he felled did not solve the fear that urged his spirit to fight. There were others, the driver and her son, running temptingly. Tzirret began to bolt after them mindlessly.

"Tzirret! Halt!" Gallus' voice rang out in a more forceful tone than any in Meesei's pack had heard. The command forced Tzirret to kick up dirt in his effort to stop, before drooping his ears and lowering his head. Now that Tzirret was pacified, Gallus returned his attention to the leader.

Fendros' pursuit of the leader ended in the same second that she shouted to surrender. Fendros held both her arms to the ground and roared at her face. He would have killed her then had he held less control.

Gallus increased his pace, but he was glad that Fendros did not immediately rip her throat out. "Let's keep her alive, Fendros. Perhaps she knows something. Bring her back here."

With a slight twist of an ear at Gallus' words, Fendros leaned up, licked his lips, and grabbed the leader by the lapel. As if she were a scarecrow, Fendros pulled her to her feet and threw her in the direction of the pack, forcing her to stumble and fall towards them, surrounded. Gallus retrieved her sword before approaching.

Though he knew that the Bosmer was not as strong, Janius was appreciative of Irenya's help in dispatching him. He gave her a nod, pushed up off the limp corpse, and then walked to Kaleeth. "Kaleeth, are you alright? Where's Newt?"

A small rising series of sobs and cries could be heard from Rhazii as he peeked around the rock despite Fendros' instructions. His face was painted with fear and anxiety. "Mama..." he said through his crying as he reached out in Ahnasha's direction.

The moment was just about over. Sabine stood with her mouth open, staring at the dead bandit that almost ran her through. She wasn't bothered by the gore, but being so close to death had put her into shock. When Peiter grabbed her, she stared at him, wide-eyed. "I don't..." Sabine dabbed a pair of fingers to her throat where the dagger had touched. It still felt cold from the metal. When she held her fingers in front of her and saw no blood, she swallowed and nodded. "I am unhurt," she said finally.

A familiar croak brought everyone's attention to the one casualty of the fight. Leaps was still prone with an arrow in his side, bleeding.

Sabine was the first to look at him. She fell to her knees beside him and began breathing faster. She didn't say a word, but her faced was strained with worry. She immediately began trying to assess the wound with a magical yellow glow from her palms. Despite the fact that Meesei had only taught her humanoid anatomy, she knew that the principles would mostly be the same. She tried to treat Leaps without asking for help, but she would probably need it.

At this point, Gallus had reached the spot where Tzirret was cringing nearby. He slid his hammer back into his belt and put the vacant hand on Tzirret's shoulder. "Alright, Tzirret, time to turn back. Remember what I taught you. Focus on the image of the apple in your mind, clear it of all else." Tzirret hadn't mentioned exactly how Gallus had taught him control, but after roughly ten seconds, Tzirret's body began to contract and revert to Khajiit form.

Tzirret was out of breath and sitting on the ground when he finished reverting. He stared at the blood on his right hand. Rather than crying or going on nervously about irrational fears, it didn't appear as though he wanted to talk at all in that moment.

Gallus left Tzirret where he was seated with a pat on the shoulder before walking to the others. "Looks like the drivers found us out," Gallus commented, noting the wound on Leaps and looking at everyone else for injuries, "How is everyone?"

Fendros kept his eyes on the leader and growled loudly whenever she made any motion to get up from where she was.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Awesome. What are your first impressions of it? Is it as good as predicted?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I understand completely, haha!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Still reeling from the ice spike, the crossbowman was charged by Janius, bringing them both tumbling to the ground. Janius tried to pin the Bosmer and choke him, but he had to struggle as he retrieved a knife and almost sunk it into Janius' side. Janius managed to grab his wrist and stop the dagger, but the Bosmer was stronger than he looked. It would take a while to overpower him.

Although perhaps not the best use of her magic, Sabine's flames had given her some space. She stepped back and tried to address the nearest threat. Regardless of the fact that both she and Peiter were unarmed, the man with the sword and buckler seemed to have some skill. Sabine might have been able to hit him with a more powerful spell. She just had to concentrate. She fumbled with a spell in her hands, trying to make a small ice storm spell to weaken him. She might have managed it, too, but the Imperial would not give her reprieve. All it took was a swing for her to jump back and break her concentration. With another step up, the bandit reared to thrust his short sword into Sabine's stomach, but the grey mass of Tzirret's beast form seemed to appear beside him and rake him across the head with large claws before the strike could commit.

Perhaps unbeknownst to the retreating leader, there were more threats than she had accounted for in her retreat. Gallus was not going to let her get away. With a deft movement, he flipped the dagger in his off hand so he held the blade, then pitched the dagger hard at the leader, aiming for one of her legs. If that wasn't bad enough, Fendros emerged from behind the rock that he had placed Rhazii, ears flattened and teeth bared. He could smell the fear of the leader and ran to close the distance to her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Huh, didn't expect you to post this late. Welp, you'll wake up to another.

In other news, I nailed the exam today. The semester is over!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The bright blue flash striking down from the hill was all the signal they needed. Rhazii and Sabine both screamed, one in pain, the other in fright.

Janius flung his arm around and let loose a flying magical icicle at the nearest bowman. It happened to be the Bosmer with the crossbow. He would have to trust the others around him to get at the other one. The ice spike struck the Bosmer in his side with force enough to cause him to recoil. Janius charged at the elf at full tilt, intending to tackle him to the ground. He had to keep him from shooting.

The reaction Fendros had might not have been the most considered, but he didn't hesitate either. He spun and scooped Rhazii up in his arms. He ran to behind the standing stone just nearby and placed Rhazii down. At this point, the frightened cub had tears glistening in his eyes. Fendros knelt down and held him by the shoulders, speaking frantically. "Rhazii, you will stay here, you will stay out of sight, don't make a noise..."

Even if Rhazii wanted to respond with more than a failed grasp at his father and a choked sob, Fendros immediately began the process of transforming. He could only hope that the others wouldn't be harmed at this point.

When the lightning struck, Sabine realised just how much she had underestimated the pain it would cause. Still, her captor had dropped his dagger and slid off to one side. Gentle wisps of smoke rose from the folds of his clothing. Sabine regained her balance and tried to react with more than surprise. She brought fire spells to her hands - nothing nuanced, just a panicked reaction. Certainly not the quick kill she had in mind previously. There were assailants all around her, so she sprayed flames in their general directions as liberally as her hands could cover. It would take a few seconds to regain her bearings and retreat. For now, the flames she conjured were unlikely to cause more than minor burns and a distraction, perhaps even momentary blindness from the light.

Where everyone was fighting, Tzirret was frozen. He had been caught flat footed with quivering knees. It was the truth that he had been trained as Peiter had, but he didn't have a weapon. He was at a loss. One part of his mind found itself in a powerful position from this state. All it took was a wordless suggestion from his beast spirit in his mind and he let it take over. He buckled forward and let the pain flow through his burgeoning body as he began to transform.

The light and sound were more than enough to bring Gallus' attention to the commotion down the hill. He slid to a stop beside where Leaps had charged from and pulled out his hammer and a knife that no one saw him carrying. With a sprint down the hill, he would be in the fray as well.