Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's smile grew a little wider out of amusement, but she closed her eyes and stayed silent.

For while longer, Sabine sat by Peiter and rested. It wasn't until she caught herself about to fall asleep that she forced her eyes open and stood up, leaving Peiter's waterskin on the ground behind her. She walked up to the tree with the climbing ropes and bent her head backwards to look up to the top.

Considering for only a moment, Sabine hovered her palms near one another and began to let magical stamina flow through her body in a golden, sunny stream. The spell stopped after a few seconds, leaving her feeling invigorated enough to feel confident climbing the tree. Before she began, she turned back to Peiter, "I am going to ask if there are any places to swim nearby." With that, she grabbed onto a rope with both hands and climbed all the way up to the platform.

Once at the top, she did as she said; finding one of Ra'maranja's pack and asking about places to swim and if they were safe.

---

Gallus angled his head back and to one side, regarding Irenya and her answer. He thrust one finger into the air and motioned his hand forward as if hitting his finger against a door or someone's head, "Close! Very close!" He lowered his arm, "A master requires a servant to be obedient, but you? You are a pack mate. An alpha needs something more. You are not a servant, per se," Gallus placed his hand on his chest, "-and I am not a master in the exact sense. What I need from you, dear Irenya, is to trust your independent decisions."

Gallus' tone shifted to being closer to a superior officer than a negotiator as his posture straightened and lost the previous flippancy again, "I need to trust you to protect the lives of the champion and her pack as if they were your own family. I need to trust you to work alongside them without your personal feelings compromising anyone, including yourself. Most of all, I need to trust you not to make situations where a rift of distrust and isolation pervades between anyone amongst us. Do you understand?"

If Irenya decided to let go of her pride here, Gallus intended to resolve the rest of the situation with her cooperation. If not, he would have to become exceptionally harsh. Irenya might be much older, but she was acting like a child, and Gallus was still in charge.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine accepted Peiter's waterskin with a small "Thank you," and took a few more sips, but she didn't drink much more. She already felt like she needed to burp from drinking her own water so fast.

In response to Peiter's encouragement, Sabine let her head loll back against the log and laughed breathlessly with a wide open grin. She had to scrunch her eyes shut to keep the sweat from flowing into them. She breathed in and rolled her head to look at Peiter, "You are much kinder than Lorag. Long lesson or not."

As for the suggestion to find a water body to cool off, Sabine's face went tired again. "I do not think we should wander away. We might ask Ra'maranja or his pack, but first..." Sabine curled up her legs and strained as if stretching, "...I want to sit for a moment," she grumbled, before breathing out and closing her eyes, relaxed.

"Peiter?" Sabine lifted her eyes up again, "Thank you for the lesson."

---

At this point, Gallus became dismissive. He closed his eyes and held one hand forward, allowing Irenya to air her opinions, but once she was done, his hand waved in front of him, palm down. He opened his eyes and responded flatly, "All I am hearing is your frustration. I need you to answer my question, confirm to me that you know. What do you think I need from you on this mission, most of all?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The swordfighting lesson went on for a good while longer. Unlike the crash course that Lorag gave Sabine for her trial, the time and space that she and Peiter had offered plenty of time for practice. It didn't take Sabine too long to get a hang of the footwork when it was the only thing she had to concentrate on, but she still faltered often when sparring. The practice and teachings helped to solidify Sabine's technique a little in the end, but she was nowhere near a competent fencer.

The lesson went on until the sun was painting the rain forest in orange speckles. It wasn't set, but it was getting dark due to the foliage. They might have put in some more time, but both of their techniques were sloppy at this point; they were exhausted. Sabine's mood was starting to dip into frustration. After another drill at a simple overhead cut, Sabine nodded her head forward and put up her hand.

"I do not think I can get this right, let's stop," Sabine said, before walking over to the fallen log and retrieving her waterskin. Once she put the wooden sword down, she sucked down the last of the water within her skin and half-lowered and half-fell into a seated position with her back to the log. With her droopy-eyed and frowning face, it was hard to tell whether she was feeling any enjoyment through the fatigue.

---

At that, Gallus actually laughed lightly and shook his head. Irenya claimed that she was no bigot, but old habits die hard, especially with the long-lived. "Oh, please do not tell me that it's because she's an Argonian, is it?" Gallus said, "She earned her position like any champion. You're right, though," Gallus gestured to Irenya with one finger, "She's in charge. You don't have to like her to acknowledge that. Now..." Gallus moved on before Irenya could challenge his words. It didn't sound like tensions with Meesei were going to be a liability at this point, so long as Irenya was not lying. "Back to Fendros and Ahnasha..."

Gallus began to pace again, this time he pressed his hands flat together while he pondered. He turned to face Irenya and pointed the fingers of his pressed hands towards her, "It is perfectly fine to keep in touch with one's culture, but whether you think him a boy or not, he is still an adult, and a father to boot. He as an individual can be as traditional as he likes. I know that you are as well, else your beast spirit would be far less acceptable to you, I don't have to be a Dunmer to know that much. There are ways, I think, everyone can approach from level ground...But enough dancing about," Gallus weaved his fingers together and looked at Irenya with his head forward, "You know our mission. Do you know what I need from you to accomplish it?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Well, I'm doing other things on the computer. I'll probably check in every hour or two.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I have a few things to do this afternoon. Posting will not be guaranteed :P

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As much as Sabine may have thought otherwise, she was tired and under-practised with a sword. She tried her best to deflect Peiter's sword, but she didn't react quickly enough. Her sword moved up and to one side, but not before Peiter managed to get her in the shoulder. She took a sharp breath in from the surprise, but it would be unlikely to leave more than a small bruise. "Sorry," she said without good reason, stepping back and looking a little ashamed.

When she stepped back in to try again, she was more alert. She tried attacking by taking a quick step forward and swatting Peiter's wrist. She was quick, but she didn't keep her stance very balanced.

---

Gallus turned to one side and took exactly two slow paces, looking at the ground. "Well, that's a relief that there are no problems between you and Meesei. I would hate to have any attitude compromise our ability to all work together. Our mission will depend on it, after all. Perhaps you should talk to her more," Gallus looked sideways up at Irenya and smiled with mischief, "You might find that you share more interests than you think. There's no reason to be intimidated by her."

By putting words in her mouth, Gallus intended to coax Irenya into correcting him and giving a proper answer. He really preferred honest discourse with his pack mates, but he knew Irenya to be proud, which meant that getting through to her always required a bit of vocal sparring. He intended to get back to Fendros and Ahnasha once he had his answer.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine took a slight step back when Peiter waved his shirt around. She was used to seeing nudity, but it didn't make the smell any more pleasant. Of course, she couldn't speak for herself in that regard. "You will get used to the heat," Sabine reassured him as she set down her waterskin. It was the only baggage item she didn't leave with whatever else that was going to be lifted up to the outpost.

Being that she was ready to start, even if it would dirty her city clothes some more, Sabine walked over to the wooden practice swords and picked one up by the handle. She lifted it close to her face and gave it a quick look over before stepping back and trying to assume the guard position that Lorag had taught her years ago.

---

For a moment, Gallus thought Irenya was going to belligerently hold back the reasons for avoiding Fendros and Ahnasha. Thankfully, she eventually got around to explaining herself. He brushed off her comments questioning his decisions, knowing he was above it and Irenya was just frustrated.

"So it is a question of tradition?" Gallus asked rhetorically, "Hmm, it seems like your problem is with Fendros more than Ahnasha. I can understand that." Still keeping his hands behind his back, Gallus curled his lips and breathed in through his nose while looking up at the canopy. He decided to get the full picture before trying to convince Irenya of anything. After a pause, he looked to Irenya again, "Is that all there is? I have noticed that you aren't comfortable around Meesei, either."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

In the time Peiter took to calm down and get up, Sabine had already lifted Janius and Newt partway up the height of the tree. The nature of the crank meant that Sabine did not have to put too much strength into turning the wheel. She just had to turn it fast if she wanted to get the platform up in any fast measure of time. The speed made up the effort lost by the weight, so Sabine's already ragged hair was dripping and clinging to her shoulders with the sweat.

"Okay, we can do a sword lesson. Could you please help me with the platform?" Sabine didn't talk for a short while, instead focussing on breathing and turning the wheel on the lift. After Janius and Newt were almost at the top, she spoke again, pausing for breath often, "The only way...to help heat...like this...water...a pond or creek...a beach...swimming..." She swallowed and the wheel suddenly refused to turn any further. A catch had reached the crank that stopped the platform just as it reached the top.

Janius carefully stepped off the platform with Newt onto the stable surface. "Thank you, Sabine," Janius remarked.

Down below, Gallus raised his brow and nodded to Irenya. With how slowly the platform operated, it would be a short while before all others were up in the outpost.

By this time, one of the more practised members of Ra'maranja's pack had climbed up to where Peiter and Sabine were and offered to take over operating the lift. Sabine took a moment to catch her breath again and admire the views offered by the treetop outpost before heading down with Peiter again to start the lesson.

---

Once everyone had either climbed up the ropes or taken a ride on the lift, Irenya and Gallus made quick work of the baggage and Gallus took Irenya slightly out of the way to speak with her privately. They didn't go far, just out of earshot of Peiter and Sabine's lesson.

Gallus took a few moments to pace around as he usually did, crunching old leaves below his feet. Once he had formulated the words properly, he regarded Irenya with a serious look. "I apologise for pulling rank here, Irenya, I prefer to keep things friendly, as you know," Gallus spoke with sincerity, but also with confidence in his position, "Unfortunately, there are times where I have to bring the objective to the priority. We're here for a reason, all of us. From this standpoint, that little scuffle you had with Ahnasha brings up a risk. We don't know what we're heading into, which means you two might have to trust each other at some point. I won't insult you by asking you to simply drop whatever problem you and her have, but it is my responsibility to make sure that it is not a problem for the rest of us, and to do that, I need to know what it is." Gallus clasped his hands behind his back, now frowning. The game player who was juggling two romances at once had been replaced by a genuine alpha. "So, let's hear it."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sure thing. You're up pretty late, haha!