Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was probably because Sabine had not witnessed Peiter do as much, but he was apparently more widely skilled than he had let on. "I do not know much about cooking. Alchemy does not teach that." Having finished crushing her seeds, Sabine retrieved two more ingredients from her shoulder bag; a bluish flower and a handful of different looking seeds. She emptied the oil that she was extracting into a vial and scraped out the husks of what she was crushing earlier, before putting the new ingredients in her mortar and handing it over to Peiter. "Try crushing these together. Look closely at what happens. You might learn something," Sabine suggested happily.

The mix in the bowl would create a magical light from alchemy similar to the spell that Peiter had been trying to cast for a while now. Sabine thought it might help Peiter to better understand what he needed to do, but she also wanted to share the wonder that made her passionate about alchemy.

"You need to be more firm with him," Janius said, walking up to S'ajira and Kaleeth. "Leaps! Heel!" Janius said more forcefully. As trained, Leaps backed off and stayed still and silent. He looked a little sorry for himself. Janius gave a half-smile, "See? Sorry about that S'ajira." Janius glanced to Kaleeth and to S'ajira in turn, "Not that I want to encourage him, S'ajira, but have you tried growling at Leaps to get him to leave you alone?"

Tzirret had not really spoken much to anyone else this morning. He hadn't been talking much for the past few mornings, actually. This time, however, he actually approached La'khay directly. It was strange, as he tended to avoid her while everyone else around, but he was nervous enough that he obviously was still uncomfortable with trying. He sat down nearby to her, barely making eye contact. "Um, La'khay?" Tzirret asked slowly and quietly, "Do you like jewellery? Like, necklaces?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tomorrow's going to be a bit busy. My family does this weird thing each year around this time where they exchange gifts and eat and drink a lot. Can't imagine why.

Anyway, happy holidays to you.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The days that made up the life of the group brought them out of the travelling mindset and into a pure wilderness living mindset. The cities and ships were far behind them, and even further was clan life. For Tzirret, Peiter, and likely Ciinriel, such an extended period away from civil conveniences for such a long time was new. It was not particularly difficult, as they were surrounded by experts, but putting in the extra work for something they wanted, such as something in particular to eat or living without strangers around, was something to get used to.

Lessons with Ra'kalesh became more in-depth with time. Janius found the basics to be fairly familiar when referring to footwork, but the ways in which Ra'kalesh taught to attack and defend was surprisingly passive and flowing. Every part of the body was used in a single movement. It was a contrast to blocking with a shield and parrying with a weapon. Regardless, it became clear after a few lessons that Ra'kalesh was not lying about proper training requiring years of dedication. Not only were the different techniques hard to master except by frequent practice, but they were very precise and required constant refinement to work properly. It was interesting to say the least, perfect for breaking up the monotony of the search.

In secret, Tzirret occasionally spent nights with La'khay when she didn't mind. They kept the nights shorter than before for the sake of sleep. So far, there had been few hints to everyone else as to what was going on, as whenever he spoke casually with La'khay in front of the others, he kept interactions short. Otherwise, for the most part, Tzirret had been standing up straighter and spoke more confidently. Others had attributed it purely to the minotaur. However, as the days wore on, he started to become more and more distracted and antisocial. By this point, it had turned into a noticeable downturn in his mood. His free time was mostly made up of crafting his new horn and processing the hide of the minotaur he killed. Lately, he had been making something new out of pieces of the leftover horn, but it was not clear exactly what he was making.

The routine of the search and the abundance of food for the days following the minotaur's den left Sabine with more free time than usual. When not spending it with Peiter - either teaching each other or just being with one another - she did what she most enjoyed; experiment with alchemy. She had been running through the various effects of all the local flora she could find, as well as some parts of the fauna. Right now, she was crushing the oil out of some kind of seeds she had found. The fragrance rising from them was heady, but surprisingly pleasant. The same as Tzirret's handiwork, it was not exactly clear what it was for.

Though, Sabine's mood was as pleasant as the aroma, though. She wore a smile and gave Peiter a look every now and then. She spoke curiously while crushing the seeds, as it did not require concentration, "Peiter? Did you ever get taught any alchemy?"

Uthri was sitting and watching the children while whittling something with a dagger and a lump of wood. She had garnered the attention of Rhazii and Newt with the interesting things she carved. Their rapt attention made them surprisingly quiet. It seemed a peaceful sight in comparison to S'ajira, who was currently dealing with Leaps' continued demands for attention and playtime. The body shape of the Pahmar was more similar to Leaps, which meant he probably thought she was a fuzzy wamasu.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm going to be busy for a couple of hours. My next post might be a while.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, cool.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I was wondering what the scene would be. Would the clan be found yet?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Mkay. When are you going to skip to?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine had returned Peiter's smile, "It is worth it until there is too much sweat. Then I push you away."

After taking in a deep, tired breath in through his nose, Tzirret thought of how to respond. "Mmmno, this one did not sleep well last night," Tzirret grumbled, "The heat made me wake up many times."

"I thought you said that you were getting used to the heat," Sabine said, confused.

Tzirret had forgotten about that, so he looked around nervously for a moment. "Um, I was wrong, yes."

"Well, while you stay back this time, you can get in a nap and catch up," Fendros said, before turning to the others, "I can stay back to take care of the children this time, if it's no trouble."

Gallus gave a wave as he chewed and swallowed a mouthful of his breakfast, "That'll be good, Fendros. You can take my spot. I'd like to keep searching today."

With a sigh of relief, Tzirret was glad that the events of last night were not pursued by the conversation. He would probably take Fendros' advice and nap that day, but he also wanted to see what he could make out of the horns and hide of the minotaur. Not to mention, he felt like spending time with La'khay.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It was only some bruises!" Gallus protested, "I can do some more searching tomorrow if someone else wants to stay."

Who would or wouldn't be staying would be worked out later. The rest of the night was short for most as everyone enjoyed their dinner and company. Everyone retired to bed eager to continue tomorrow. All except for Tzirret.

Tzirret couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. Between the anticipation of being with La'khay and the excitement of having temporarily defeated his cowardice that day, he had more than enough energy to sit awake for a while. It was not bodily energy - he felt as though he could sleep easily, but it was an anxiety. Once enough time had passed, he approached La'khay as he had the previous night.

With his feelings building upon themselves throughout the entire day, Tzirret was more determined this time around. Once he started kissing La'khay, he did not stop to ask questions. It went without saying that he didn't run off crying that night, despite taking a moment to get over residual nervousness and continually fumbling with inexperience. At any rate, his faults did not include lack of enthusiasm.

After all was said and done, Tzirret then opened up conversation with La'khay. They talked under the moons for a long while into the night, with Tzirret holding onto her with his arms and tail. As promised, the conversation included lessons on mating and with further depth into relationships and women in general where La'khay could help, but it also included getting to know one another on a more personal level. Tzirret in particular confided in La'khay his own secrets, filling the gaps in his past and how he was turned. It gave more context to his timidity. Later on, after a rest, the previous lessons even became more practical. Their tryst ended in the early hours of the morning, with Tzirret making a more appropriate compliment on La'khay's beauty out of nowhere. He commented on her kindness and her eyes. He claimed that it was just practising, but as they found their own bedrolls before sleeping, Tzirret wished he could stay holding onto La'khay for the entire night. The regretfulness showed in his expression.

---

Fendros had awoken early as well this time, taking breakfast with Meesei, Lorag, and Do'ajee. Rather than eagerness, it was a mix of a full bladder and a nightmare that woke him. He didn't disturb Ahnasha while she was still sleeping, but it was not as if she would be long out of bed anyway.

With Peiter's kiss, Sabine woke up from one dream to another. She opened her eyes for only a moment before she brought her arms around Peiter and returned the kiss in full. She didn't care who was watching, but after Janius gave a "'Morning, you two" as he passed by, Sabine pulled back and gave Peiter a wide smile. "Good morning, Peiter," she whispered.

Soon enough everyone was awake and eating. All except for Tzirret. He was sleeping in after staying up so late. He was even sound asleep through the noise of the morning.

Gallus noticed Tzirret and poked him with the toe of his boot. "Time to wake, Tzirret. You'll miss breakfast."

Tzirret groaned and tightened his closed eyes.

"Come on, kid, what's got you so tired?" Gallus started to lean down and caught a certain scent on Tzirret. He raised an eyebrow and stood up straight, looking confused. A possibility crossed his mind that made him chuckle, but it couldn't have been true.

Without words, Tzirret slowly sat up and opened his baggy eyes. He looked exhausted, but his ears were up, listening to everything. He was the last to join everyone for breakfast. It was clear to everyone that his grogginess was worse than anyone else's.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sounds good.