Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine and Tzirret went along with Peiter as well. It wasn't as if there was anything to do while they waited.

The quartermaster himself was writing notes on a table in the kitchen with a comically small quill for his hands. He peered up at Peiter and the group with an unimpressed look. "Drink is for crew. Dartan gives none to passengers." He waved his quill hand to shoo them, "How little Breton say in Cyrodilic? Bugger off."

Before saying any words, Sabine upended her purse into her hands. She had about twelve gold. Tzirret did the same and added another fifteen. This caused the quartermaster to squint and crane his neck forward in interest. One of his ears angled upwards slightly. He asked slowly, "How much coin little people carry?"

Sabine looked up suddenly. It might be that they would need to bribe the quartermaster more than simply purchase from him. Sabine looked to Ciinriel and Peiter, "How much do both you have?"

Fendros and Janius both darted and leaned to one side to get a better look as Kaleeth brought the Altmer to the ground. The last few moments were brutal, but it was clear that Kaleeth was the stronger fighter. When the Altmer yielded, Janius pumped both fists this time, letting out a triumphant "Yes!" Fendros was more enthusiastic, breaking out into a big laugh and clapping his hands together. There were only a few among the crew who had a similar reaction, the rest were shocked speechless.

As Fendros and Colours went to collect their winnings, Janius approached Kaleeth and gave her a pat on the back. "Feeling better now?" he asked with a grin.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was no protest to Ciinriel's suggestion. Sabine gave a nod, but didn't speak to volunteer herself to ask. The one they would have to talk to was the quartermaster; a grumpy, impatient, and imposing brown Cathay who had heard every trick and excuse imaginable. Tzirret and Sabine's eyes both went to Peiter, staring expectantly.

Fendros didn't bet any more despite the book keeper's comment. The real reason that he didn't bet more was because he didn't actually have much more coin on hand. He shook his head and walked off with a "We'll see," before turning to rejoin Colours and Janius to watch the fight.

The beginning of the fight marked the end of Janius' relaxed demeanour, but not entirely out of concern. He kept whispering under his breath in a similar manner to the sailors around the ring, giving encouragement and tips as if Kaleeth could see. Fendros ended up getting invested as well, given that he had made a bet.

The Altmer was indeed very skilled, and likely would be frightening to fight if not a lycanthrope, but Kaleeth was holding her own. Janius pumped his fist and grinned when Kaleeth landed a blow on her opponent's stomach, then swiftly winced as Kaleeth took a similar reprisal and then some. "Come on, get in there!" Janius transitioned from a whisper to a speaking volume. He could see the determination on Kaleeth's face.

Fendros was no longer leaning on the railing. He had his fists raised and was actually bobbing and weaving slightly as if he was the one fighting. In reality, he was just enjoying the suspense.

The Jade Stream

Name: Chu Kyang
Gender: Female
Age: 18

Appearance:

Appearance

Without looking closely or regarding her hair or face, Kyang's state of dress would suggest that she is a young man. Her build, though slighter than an average soldier, holds strength and skill to hold her own in a fight. Her clothing reflects this intent. She wears a coat of metal scales that covers her body and arms, over a long, vibrant blue robe. Grey foot wrappings and sandals cover her feet and a plumed, hide and steel skullcap with leather skirts that cover the neck sits under her arm wherever she is out of a fight. On her back is a knapsack with a few mementos and up her sleeve is a dagger, but her most precious personal item is the Chu family's polearm, the Dragon Ship Tiller - a glaive with a broad reclining blade, a circular hilt, and a tassel. The base of the blade depicts the head of a boar in bronze.

Kyang's grey eyes tend to glint with what could either be daring madness or simply knowing something that others do not.

Can Manipulate Qi/Ki?: Nope.

Abilities (if any):

Abilities

Combat Training: Much to the chagrin of her family, Kyang practices her martial arts forms regularly. The original rationale was 'self-defence', but it has since grown to the point where mere muggers or kidnappers are the least of her worries. Her hand-to-hand and knife fighting techniques are rudimentary, while her real skill lies in polearm techniques.

Historical and Military Knowledge: Kyang idolises her great grandfather, the renowned general Chu Chihun. She has not only poured over the historical documents that made up his career, but has expanded her voracious reading to military doctrine and the international histories of Kanami in general.

Unflappable Cunning: It is difficult enough to surprise Kyang, but if she shows any fear at all, she is almost inhuman in her ability to obscure it. She is instead resourceful and tries to plan on her feet in clever ways.

Personality:

Personality

Kyang tends to be blunt and vocal about most things, but could not be described as prideful or impatient. Arrogant, maybe, but she likes to deliberately get a rise out of those who act serious in particular. That said, she is not this way out of ignorance for common decency, she just prefers open honesty rather than unnecessary subtext.

The two things that frustrate her the most are people who overcomplicate things and those that doubt her abilities. She is fiercely independent after travelling for so long and is insulted by people who presume to do things for her. This, in turn, makes it difficult to admit that she needs help when such occasions arise.

Despite her banter or her gripes, Kyang is a loyal friend and an encouraging presence. Her loud, confident, and direct nature lends a sort of courage in the face of adversity. As well, her quick plans, whether they are sound or not, give an aura of certainty about her.

History:

History

In the last war of significant scale taken part in by Daeyang-Gug, few versed in its history could pass over the exploits of the legendary general Chu Chihun. On record for winning countless battles, breaking daunting sieges, and commanding the defence of a city against a force twelve times his garrison's number and still achieving victory. His name became immortal and his family was well rewarded.

Three generations later, the Chu family's military legacy has changed forms. Their calling has instead been edged into the realms of politics to remain relevant the prevailing peacetime. The current head of the house is indeed still relevant, being a high ranking governmental official and only two degrees of separation from the king. The family's youngest adult daughter, however, was never a flatterer.

Kyang grew up in a stifling, cloistered childhood amongst her family. The only friends she could have were delicate flowers of young girls, brought to tears by the mildest of chilly winds. She grew up with her family's intention to marry her off and slot her into the role of a lady of the house. Unfortunately, Kyang was more interested in watching the guard drills in the courtyard than learning to pour tea. She liked their dances more than any others. With not much to do but study and practice etiquette, Kyang spend her free time reading, eventually becoming entranced by the stories of her great grandfather.

Age granted Kyang more freedoms, but she was still tied to the family. Whenever she could, she slinked away to find libraries of friends’ houses or kingdom records for more material to worm through, she found herself a tutor to teach 'self-defence', and she would disguise herself and train with the household guard at times. Their cameraderie and blunt nature rubbed off on her. By the time she approached her adulthood, she could never resemble the noble lady that her family needed her to be.

It wasn't even Kyang's eighteenth birthday before she was informed that she would marry a man she had never met. While living with the conveniences of her family was manageable, Kyang knew that she would have fewer freedoms and more responsibilities in matrimony. She knew she had to leave without notice.

What was to be a birthday feast in Kyang's honour found her absent. She had taken the family glaive (disused for decades by this point), a guard uniform, a fistful of coin, and a few personal items, and then disappeared in broad daylight. No one spotted her leaving and no one searching found her since.

Kyang's plan was to head to Mingdu and assume a new identity. If she could, she wanted to become a librarian, or translator, or a scribe, or something similar. If all else failed, she supposed that she could become a nun. Her primary objective was to avoid the stifling and stilted lifestyle she left behind, instead gaining more independence.

There was no chance of Kyang getting a career in the military, which was what she really wanted. She considered trying to cross-dress her way into an army, but she didn't believe it would work like that one tragic story from Yunshou about the girl who took his sick father's place in the draft.

She reached Mingdu within the year, for better or for worse.

Other:
Legends suggest that Dragon Ship Tiller, the Chu family glaive that Kyang carries, holds the soul of a powerful patron creature or ancestor. While it is an exquisite weapon in and of itself, there does not appear to be any outward power imparted by it. However, more than one historical source has attributed General Chu Chihun's tactical prowess to the powers of the glaive, which may explain Kyang's quick thinking.

The Jade Stream

Oh, so that's who the picture is of...whoops. Oh well!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Maybe we can buy from them?" Tzirret suggested unsurely, then looked down, "But, I do not know if they would sell them."

"We might try anyway," Sabine said, before turning to Ciinriel while they played, "What do you normally play for?"

Janius kept his eyes on Kaleeth and her opponent, giving Colours a lazy gesture with one hand. "I don't want to be too unfair. There's a fine line between gambling and stealing-"

"I'll put in five gold," Fendros interrupted, already frantically fishing out some of his few coins with a series of clinks. He pushed off the railing and walked up to the apparent book keeper and placed his bet on Kaleeth-Rei without hesitation.

"Well, I guess the line is different for everyone," Janius commented. It was then, scrutinising the challenger, that he faced Colours and leaned to ask him more quietly, "What's this Altmer like? Have you seen her fight?"

The Jade Stream

Alright, I've had a fish around and I found a picture that fits Kyang. It's not exactly the description I had originally, but it still fits the attitude. Who am I to be picky?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Okay," Sabine nodded to Tzirret, who began dealing out the cards that he had just collected up. "Do you mean play for as in bet? We do not have much to gamble with. We do not get the chance to gamble most of the time. We tried playing for drinks recently, that was fun."

"They made this one drink the most," Tzirret said while still dealing.

Sabine giggled, "It is something we want to try again. We would need drink, though."

Tzirret, after spending time conversing with the pride yesterday, was a bit more comfortable with Ciinriel than he would normally be with new people. He was the one to initiate proper conversation, "So, how are you feeling today? Everyone in the pride has been looking better with each day."

"Hmm, well..." Janius rubbed his chin. Especially after their conversation yesterday, Janius didn't want to go around discouraging all her ideas. Regardless, he believed Kaleeth could be trusted here. She may be tense, but she wasn't one to kill people without good reason. "I would be more inclined to let Colours to the betting on you. I would feel like it was stealing if I did it." Janius leaned closer and lowered his voice, "And...perhaps go easy on them, at least at first."

"Are you two sure about this?" Fendros said dubiously.

Janius turned to Fendros and dismissed him with a smile, "Ah, what's the worst that could happen?"

Fendros went back to leaning on the railing to watch, frowning and raising his brow in an expression that didn't give confidence.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I have to head to work now. G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It is no matter," Sabine said with an encouraging smile, "We can play any game, really. We could teach you what we are playing now, or if you know a new game, we could play that. We have played the same games for a long time, anything new helps on this ship."

Tzirret gave a smile as well. He had just finished dealing, but he didn't mind gathering up the cards or giving a new hand to Ciinriel.

If Meesei could hear Kaleeth-Rei, she would probably disapprove for the sake of protecting their identities, but the thought actually caused Janius to laugh slightly. "If there's coin in it, I doubt they would have too much of an objection," Janius answered, "Unless of course that 'any one' beat them to a pulp because she's the probably strongest person on the ship."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The boredom of a ship was played down a little by two things that the group had. First of all, there was still socialising to do with the pride. While Sabine was deprived of private moments with Peiter, she actually got the opportunity to meet them and get to know them. As well, the regular pastimes that Peiter still had on their journey to Senchal would tide them over. The second major thing that alleviated the boredom was not as positive, as it revolved around a distrust of the sailors themselves. They avoided contact either way most of the time, but there was an underlying worry that they would try something nefarious, such as steal something or provoke violence.

As for Sabine and Peiter specifically, Sabine had no qualms about being open about her new relationship. She stayed near Peiter most of the time, in some kind of contact, often holding hands or talking amongst themselves. They even shared a hammock, despite the fact that they did not have the privacy to pursue further intimacy. Sabine wanted to wait on that anyway.

Time was in abundance, and the younger members of the group gathered to play a card game while Fendros, Janius, and Kaleeth went above deck. Sabine held a napping Leaps on her lap while Tzirret dealt out a new round. At this point, Ciinriel hadn't joined them in their games, but Sabine was curious to get to know her better, so she waved her over. "Ciinriel, would you like to play with us?"

Out in the sun, Janius was leaning back against the rail with Kaleeth and Fendros either side of him. His eye caught the boxing as well. "I guess you could call it that," Janius responded, "I think they're more interested in gambling than getting better, though."

Fendros chuckled, "What makes you say that? If they get better, they'll win more gold, no?"