Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sounds good.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nice.

I'm going to be busy this afternoon anyway, so my next post will probably be the last for today.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Whoops, forgot about the fight. One moment.

EDIT: There we go.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, of course," Tzirret started to chuckle along with Ciinriel, and then began to laugh harder and harder. It eventually died down after he rolled on the floor for a moment.

Sabine accepted the bottle and took her last portion of the drink, now so desensitised that she didn't react to it at all. She placed the bottle by Ciinriel, and then leaned into Peiter. Her eyes closed and she let out a satisfied sigh, her forehead against his neck. "That was a good game."

By the time the bottle got to Tzirret after Ciinriel, he could hardly keep himself from swaying side to side. He managed to get down the rest of the bottle, but once he put it down, he sat very still. His eyes widened and he tried to breathe carefully. A few seconds later, he stumbled up to his feet and frantically sprinted for the stairs, clambering up them with hands and feet. He retched and a few yellow drops spilt from his mouth at the top of the stairs. The sound made Sabine open her eyes and look concerned. Tzirret disappeared from sight, but there was the distant sound of him emptying the contents of his stomach somewhere on the deck above them.

"We should help him," Sabine said, reluctantly separating from Peiter and trying carefully to get up, holding onto Peiter's hand. The ended up keeping her balance half way, but stumbled and fell hands first against a support. Trying to get up the stairs was a hands and feet affair for her as well. She found Tzirret with half of his body sticking out of a porthole, as she suspected, regularly tensing with his gagging and retching. It was not a pretty sight, but Sabine went up and rubbed his back while he purged, ready to hold onto his shirt if he overbalanced, not that he had the space to. "I think that drink might have been a bit too strong," Sabine commented. Tzirret only groaned in return.

Janius and Fendros continued to call out conflicting advice and sustained encouragement as Kaleeth approached the end of the round. She knew what she was doing and victory could be seen. Her opponent eventually submitted and the winners of the bets cheered.

As the bets were handed out again, Fendros did notice the suspicion of the crew rising. Before he could address it, Ra'kalesh gave his own suggestion.

Janius didn't give a clear answer, he just shrugged and motioned towards Kaleeth. "You'd have to ask her. Come." Janius walked up to Kaleeth and gave her another hug, "Well done, love!" Janius pulled away so he could talk to her bruised face with a smile. "You're earning Colours a lot of money," he laughed, before looking to Ra'kalesh and allowing him to speak.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even though it was Peiter's turn to deal, Sabine returned his smile and clumsily threw herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Sitting is boring. I like hugging more," Sabine murmured, giving Peiter a kiss on the cheek in spite of everyone watching.

They had barely gone through two thirds of the bottle and everyone was starting to fall over in their seats. It probably wouldn't be long before they either felt too sick or too drunk to play the game at all. Nevertheless, Peiter dealt the hand.

Tzirret looked up at the ceiling with his mouth open, curious at what Ciinriel might be looking at. "Eh, Tzirret wishes he could look up to see stars again. This wooden ship is too dark."

"Careful, careful!" Janius called out, "Oh!" He winced when Kaleeth was hit across the face, allowing her opponent to briefly escape her pin. "Wait- Yes!" Kaleeth managed to get back on top of her opponent.

Janius and Fendros both had their eyes so locked on the fight that they didn't notice Ra'kalesh until he spoke. "Hm?" Janius turned to Ra'kalesh, "Well, Kaleeth is just in it for the stress relief, but we're participating in a few small bets, yes." Janius glanced over to Colours briefly, "Well...Fendros and I are, Colours is a little more invested."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret looked more confused than insulted by the notion that he would smell like a dog, but he didn't have time to respond before being hugged. The gesture caused him to half-shriek and laugh in surprise. Given how his arms were now constrained, the best he could do to return it was to pat Peiter on the arm with one hand. "Ahaha, I love you too, brother...Oooh, you have pair of queens?" Tzirret's eyes lit up at seeing Peiter's hand. He did not have the mental restraint left to keep Peiter's mistake a secret.

"I fold," Sabine said abruptly with a wide smile, failing to stifle a snort and a laugh. She had spotted Peiter's subterfuge as well, and commented to Ciinriel, "Looks like you are the only one left in this round who can keep your hand secret."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Mkay, g'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Meesei teaches me magic as well. It is hard, but I think it is interesting." Sabine responded before Peiter won the hand. When the round ended, she sighed as if frustrated, but had a good natured smile. She took another sip and actually found the drink to be not quite as bad as before. It was probably the alcohol dulling her senses. Once she put the bottle down, she ran a hand down Peiter's arm and let out a giggle, "You're mean!"

Tzirret responded to Ciinriel's comment. "Maybe they just..." He stopped to hiccup, making his shoulders jolt, "...maybe they had reeeally nice clothes. Tzirret would play games for nice clothes. Khajiit hears silk is good in this weather." He gave a small laugh for no discernible reason, probably some vague joke he came up with in his drunken mind. His language was, again, regressing in the process.

The next round wrapped up with Sabine winning. "Hmm..." She narrowed her eyes at everyone, almost settling on Peiter, before turning around to Ciinriel, "Your drink!"

"I should give you a stupid name, Peiter," Tzirret slurred as he leaned to one side and pointed to Peiter, his other fist on his knee, "As Tzirret is cloudy-cat, Peiter will be..." Tzirret's finger curled closed slowly as a look of intense thought dominated his face. His ears perked and his eyes widened when he came up with something, "...stinky-pig!"

Sabine ended up bursting into such laughter that she leaned forward and struggled to keep her cards hidden. It was such a silly, childish name, but Peiter was right when he said a drunken Tzirret was hilarious. It also helped that Sabine had drunk enough that she was liable to laugh at almost anything.

"What? Your skin is pink, and you stink with sweat in this place!" Tzirret wasn't sure whether everyone's reaction was from his own humour succeeding or failing.

As Janius had thought, the Khajiit was indeed more skilled. His moves were smarter and more thought out, not like the wild strikes of the Altmer. Janius and Fendros still called out encouragement to Kaleeth, but he showed some concern as she was outmanoeuvred and pinned to the ground. It seemed like she would lose the fight, but just as it looked like there was no recovery, she brought out more of her strength. The Khajiit was thrown with what could be considered superhuman force by Kaleeth. Janius wasn't sure whether it was a good idea, but he cheered anyway, caught in the moment.

Fendros didn't show any sign of regret. He cupped his hands around his mouth to shout encouragement, "Go! Keep him on the floor!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Can I?" Sabine reached for the bottle in Peiter's hands. Once she had it, she brought it to her nose and took a smell. It was strong, incredibly strong, but there was something else to it as well. She curiously took a sip and actually shuddered after swallowing it. It was so strong that it burned down her throat, but it was fruity at the same time.

"What is it?" Tzirret asked, amazed that a taste actually got a sour reaction out of Sabine for once.

Sabine's voice was weakened as she responded, "I do not know. It tastes like fire...and oranges." She placed the bottle carefully in the middle of their circle.

Tzirret pulled a confused face. "Does it have moon sugar in it?"

"No," Sabine shook her head, clearing her throat. "I do not think so. I do not think this is from Elsweyr."

The next few minutes were spent playing some practice rounds to get Ciinriel familiar with the game. Before long, they were starting to force drinks upon one another. The punishment of having others drink was a bit more immediate this time, given the strength of the spirit they had been given, but it also meant that it was affecting them much more quickly. It was barely a few rounds in and Sabine was getting red on the face. Tzirret was doing better this time, winning more rounds, but even he was tipsy.

Idle conversation and laughter started between them while they played. Sabine turned to Ciinriel during the latter half of a round. "Ciinriel, what are Jo'rashaad and S'ajira like as parents? Is it hard to speak with S'ajira?"

Tzirret's next turn had him pick up a card that made him smile victoriously. "Aha!" he put down his cards to reveal a winning hand and pointed to Peiter, grinning widely, "I win, you drink!"

"Right, heh, why should I have expected any less?" Fendros commented to Colours.

When Colours approached Janius about the next fight, he put on a faux defensive face. "Hey, it wasn't about confidence, it was about fairness. Although..." Janius angled his head to the side and took another look at the challenger, "...That one got to see what Kaleeth is capable of, I suppose a friendly bet would be sporting enough."

Janius approached the book keeper with a bet of fifteen gold, as did Fendros with the same amount. The payout would probably not be as big as before, but Janius was in it for fun, just as Kaleeth was.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Ale?" The quartermaster's lips curled up into a grin, and then he threw his head back in a hearty laugh. It was strange coming from a man who seemed so serious previously. "Ale is cheap! Ale is for surviving when water goes bad. No, Dartan thinks you want to drink!" Putting down his quill, the quartermaster beckoned towards him with both hands. "Let Khajiit see coins. Put on table."

Sabine and Tzirret poured the thirty gold onto the wood of the table next to the notes. Dartan immediately began counting them with surprising speed and dexterity. Before their eyes, he had sorted the coins into neat piles in seconds, before sliding them into his own purse. "Wait for Dartan," he said, becoming serious again and standing up.

Dartan the quartermaster did not have to go very far, he just had to walk a few paces to a locked door behind the kitchen and fish out the right key. He barely took two steps into the dark pantry that he opened before he stepped out with a glass bottle. It was proportional in his hands, but it was rather large, one and a quarter litres perhaps. The glass was a deep green, so it was hard to see what was in it in the dim light. After locking the door behind him and pocketing the keys, Dartan pushed the bottle into Peiter's hands. "This is yours. You brought it onto ship with you at the dock and did not even talk to Dartan." Dartan's suspiciously helpful demeanour suddenly turned as he shooed them similarly to before, "Now, bugger off."

A mix of curiosity at the drink and a lack of desire to stay in the quartermaster's presence urged Sabine to begin turning to leave.

Fendros wore a satisfied smile as he counted out his twenty gold. He wondered if lycans grifted fighting pits more often. He was amazed at the bulbous sack of coins that Colours now had, though. "By Azura, how much did you put on her?" he asked with astonishment.

The suthay-raht that approached Kaleeth and Janius seemed to be a little more level-headed than the Altmer. To Janius, that meant that he was probably more practiced in fighting. Indeed, he was just as imposing as the Altmer, if a little shorter. Kaleeth wouldn't have the element of surprise this time, but she would probably still have strength on her side. As well, she was just fighting for fun and stress relief anyway. Janius gave her an encouraging smile. "Go on," he said.