Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With what the Bosmer said, and the flower on the mantlepiece, everything fell comfortably into place. Fendros decided to evade confirming when Ahnasha left Leyawiin for now.

"Yes, this little troublesome Cathay is my son, Rhazii," Fendros ruffled Rhazii head fur with a smile. Fendros then nodded his head to Newt in his other arm, "This here is my friend's son. He hasn't had his name day yet, but we call him Newt in the meantime."

"Dada, can I have the sword?" Rhazii asked hopefully.

Even just looking at it, Fendros knew that he couldn't afford it. It was a dwarven blade set with many little jewels. Probably ceremonial. "I'm afraid not, Rhazii. It's a bit dear for us."

Rhazii groaned in disappointment, but he knew by this point that there was no compromise when something was too expensive.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I couldn't imagine losing my child," Fendros said politely. Given the grim subject, however, he shifted tone. "What is it like raising children here?" Fendros asked the Bosmer, "This seems a very peaceful city. As I know it, there is quite the vibrant local Khajiit community." The last sentence was a slip up by Fendros, as he hadn't directly met Ahnasha's mother or brother, but thankfully it could be construed as something other than referring to the Bosmer's family in particular.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

If you did, I can't remember them.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, it, uh..." Fendros scratched at the back of his head nervously. The Bosmer must have been Ahnasha's father. Fendros decided that a white lie would be best for this situation. "...my partner told me about it, actually. She grew up in Leyawiin, you see. Said you were lovely people." Fendros was caught looking around for something that he might buy for the excuse of staying around, but was instead saved by the scraping of a something against the floor. He turned around to see Rhazii dragging a chair toward the display case. "Rhazii! Leave that chair alone. It's not yours to move around," Fendros said, being sure not to shout.

Rhazii stopped and let the chair go, looking up at his father. "But Newt can't see the sword, dada," Rhazii protested.

Fendros looked at the display case and realised the issue. He turned his head to the shopkeeper with an apologetic look. "I am sorry," Fendros said. He turned and stooped down to pick up Newt in his arms so he could look into the display case for himself. "At this age they are very curious," Fendros commented to the shopkeeper.

Still excited, Rhazii resumed his position up against the display cabinet. "It's pretty!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Good day," Fendros said as he walked in and surveyed the room. Trusting the children to be respectful with the store's wares, he let them go and walked up to the counter. "I was showing the children around town and I was just wondering about this place. I was told of a shop that was here several years ago. Topal Goods and Trade. Do you know it? Have they moved?"

Rhazii was curious about the various wares around the place. In particular, he stood on his toes to look into one of the longer display cabinets. He was just tall enough to look inside at the ornate sword that was laid across a silken sheet. "Newt, look!" Rhazii said, not remembering that Newt would not quite be tall enough to look inside.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ah right, I'll edit.

Done. Basically the same actions taken anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It took a few moments for Fendros to answer. He looked away in thought, almost just declaring that Ahnasha's family didn't have control over, because she was an adult now, unlike before she left. Fendros thought better of it this time; Ahnasha already had an independent spirit, which meant that perhaps there was something to this family that he couldn't know without meeting them.

"Very well, Ahna," Fendros leaned in and put a hand around her head, pulling her in to kiss on the cheek. He stood up and spoke more clearly, "We're going to be here for a while longer, I think. You can always change your mind until then. I'll see you later." Fendros walked out and almost closed the door behind him. Before doing so, he leaned his head through again. "Love you," he smiled, before walking out.

To say that Fendros convinced Kaleeth and Janius to take care of Newt for a while would imply that there was any persuasion at all. At this point, lending the children between the two couples was becoming routine. Neither Newt nor Rhazii had seen Leyawiin as far as they could remember, and they were keen so see something other than the ship and the water.

Leyawiin was how Fendros remembered it; Imperial and prim, but tropical and with many puddles and mud patches. Fendros' work was cut out preventing Rhazii and Newt from happily splashing in too many of them. If they were tracking too much mud, then no store would allow them inside. All in all, there wasn't an awful lot to see without knowing what to look for. Fendros decided to take the children on a short walk before heading to the temple to find Ahnasha's family. He took the time to try and formulate a contrivance for wandering in. He wasn't clear on what they would actually sell there.

The temple, iconic as their designs always were, was not difficult to find. Just as Ahnasha specified, a store was opposite the temple's doors across the cobblestone street. Like the others around it, it was a two-story building with a sharply angled roof. On the sign above the door was written: Tiger Lily Trader. That was odd...Ahnasha had called it Topal Goods and Trade. Perhaps they moved or had a name change? Fendros decided to walk in anyway. If it wasn't Ahnasha's family, perhaps they would know where they had moved to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros didn't quite laugh, but he still smiled at the reversal of roles. "You're beginning to sound like me," Fendros said, becoming serious again, "I'm not sure that you're being fair on your family. They might be upset, but from what you told me, they loved you." Fendros put a hand on Ahnasha's shoulder, "Look, I don't want you to miss this and regret it. I know what I said about the notion of confronting my own family, but I'm happy that I saw Llarasa and Monderyn again. They were the two that I really cared about in my family. Even just being honest to them - even if Monderyn didn't like it - lifted a burden from my shoulders. You said it yourself, you don't want to live a lie, yes?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The first week of the voyage did not have a looming shadow of bandit attack, nor did it bear the need to hunt too desperately. Life went on as simply as it could; Janius, Fendros, Tzirret, Gallus, and others sometimes found time and space to train. Other times were spent watching the children, Leaps, or whatever else looked mildly interesting. Rhazii didn't particularly like the ship, finding the inside stuffy and the outside smelly. Sabine always had something to do, whether it was occupying her time with Peiter and Tzirret, mixing something to help with seasickness when they hit choppy waters, or being coached in magic as normal by Meesei. Uthri always seemed to be able to spot interesting details on the shores in the distance and spent most of her time doing just that.

Before too long, most in both packs were envious of Lorag's deal to work for the crew. At least he had something stimulating to reliably occupy his time. Another change was that Fendros eventually noticed Irenya's behaviour. He assumed that she had been offended by some bad first impression and was planning to confront her about it. For now, though, Leyawiin awaited. Ahnasha had been meaning to meet her family and Fendros wanted to support her.

Before breakfast, Fendros had assumed that Ahnasha was simply enjoying her turn in the double bed and wanted to sleep in, but now it was evident that there was a problem. He brought her some of the salted meats that the Bosmeri crew had been rationing. Their strict diets had made their maritime foods more bearable for the pack. He sat down on the bed next to her and ran a hand over the top of her head. "I brought you some breakfast," Fendros started. He had a sad smile as he breathed in again to speak, "A few years ago, I remember you talking about meeting your family." Fendros faced the wall in the direction that the city was, "We're in Leyawiin. Did you want to try this time?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fair enough. Go at your own pace. I have to cook dinner now anyway, so you can leave the skip to tomorrow.

Keeping interactions in series rather than parallel is fine with me. It can get tiring to keep up with lots at a time. We'll just have to remember to carry them all out if we want more than one over the same in-scene time.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's expression became sly. She could think of one or two dares off the top of her head. She had no doubt that others would come to her mind.

Tzirret and Sabine both followed Peiter above deck. From where the ship was in the docks, there wasn't much to see of the city itself apart from the walls and the top half of the tower. "Big," Sabine answered, stating the obvious, "Not as smelly as the docks. all of the buildings have the same white stone, all two levels or taller. There's a section that is a big garden, which is very pretty. Also a large circular temple, bigger than any city temple. There was an arena, but we did not go inside. There are not many trees or grass areas, just lots of stone. It's crowded too, but you both know that. The palace in the centre is the largest building I have ever seen." Sabine wondered for a moment, "That is what I remember. We were not here for long enough to see it all. That would take a long time."

"I didn't even see its base and the tower is the biggest building I have ever seen already," Tzirret commented.