Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret glanced at Peiter, then responded to Jo'rashaad with a curled-lip frown and a shake of his head. He didn't think either of them had been to Valenwood. "What has Jo'rashaad seen of the trees there?" Tzirret asked.

The response from Sabine to describe what she and Peiter had still not done yet was simply a short, embarrassed laugh. She tried to remain silent and continue cleaning herself. It was a private matter under normal circumstances anyway, she hoped that La'khay would respect that for now.

When they were finally done, Sabine felt like nothing she had ever experienced before. Where she had originally only intended to try and straighten her hair out that day, La'khay had taken the opportunity to make her look and feel like an Aedra. Sabine looked about herself with a fascination and a giddy excitement. She knew it would only be temporary, but she would enjoy the new look while it lasted.

Sabine tread some large strides through the shallow water to La'khay, utterly beaming. Once La'khay was in reach, Sabine wrapped her arms around La'khay tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much, La'khay! I never could have worked this all out myself." Sabine took a step back, nearly jumping, "I cannot wait to see Peiter's reaction! Let's go."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret turned his head suddenly to Jo'rashaad. "Oh!" Tzirret raised his brow, then glanced to Peiter and Shanja each, "He guesses..." He had almost forgotten that Jo'rashaad was in the water with them.

Shanja had written his next question by then, so Tzirret turned to read it. "Do we like Pelletine?" he repeated. He stared at the words and took a deep, forlorn breath. "Pelletine is..." Tzirret rubbed his upper arm timidly and tried to keep other thoughts out of his mind. He instead went to the obvious, "...hot and humid. The jungle is loud and thick. And, Senchal was full of skooma drinkers." Tzirret's eyes twitched from the words to Shanja and back with nervousness. He swiftly added to his answer, "Er-...but, the clan is nice? And this one got to kill a minotaur, that was...new."

Eager to get attention off himself, Tzirret looked to Peiter, "What is it that Peiter thinks of Pelletine?"

"Of course you can have some," Sabine nodded to Ciinriel, "It is not too much trouble at all. I will also write a recipe so you can show an alchemist once your hair grows more."

La'khay's comments made Sabine pause in washing herself and face her with an excited grin. "Do you think so?" Sabine asked. She gave a small laugh, "He makes a face when he is that bewildered. It will be funny to see." Sabine closed her mouth and resumed her cleaning, but kept speaking. "I think being a priestess of Dibella would suit you. You are very kind, La'khay, with all you have done. Thank you."

After a moment or two longer of scrubbing, Sabine gave La'khay a smile and a curious squint. She asked a question that might have seemed strange, but she did not carry any ill-intent in her tone, "Why are we good as mates in your eyes?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

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

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret nodded, "So you were born a werewolf. Tzirret thought so. He thought that even a werewolf would pause before attacking you."

The next words were ambiguous at first. Tzirret scratched his head and thought that Shanja was from where he was from as a statement, but he quickly realised that it was meant to be a question. He breathed in once he realised, "Oh, where are we from? Well, Tzirret and Peiter are from the clan in Bruma, up in northern Cyrodiil. This one was a child in a caravan before he was turned."

Sabine was reluctant at first, but decided to trust La'khay to perform what she knew. Sabine was grateful that it was La'khay helping her, or else she would have no idea what she was doing. Still, being pedantic about so many little hairs seemed like too much effort to Sabine. She did not think she would be trying this herself.

As La'khay scrubbed Sabine's shoulders and back, she was caught by Ciinriel's staring eyes. Ciinriel's comment reinforced Sabine's elation with her hair, causing her to smile. "Thank you. The stripes are like that, are they not? You are good at this, La'khay." Sabine ran a hand under the side of her hair carefully, "I could make you some oil for your hair if you wanted, Ciinriel, if there is not enough left. The soap smells good on you, though." Sabine ran a hand down Ciinriel's upper arm. "You look shiny," Sabine said with a giggle at her own lack of a better description.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret's reaction was similar to Peiter's. He was about to call out an apology to Shanja, but stopped when he observed him writing. Tzirret swam up alongside Peiter to read the words. "It is the same size?" He glanced at Shanja to confirm, and then looked to Peiter. "That makes sense, Tzirret would guess."

Now that Tzirret was not restricted to yes or no questions, he tried asking something more elaborate. "Were you born a lycan, or turned?"

Before looking at her reflection, Sabine held some of her hair in front of her eyes with her fingers. It had a strange texture with the oil, but having it so straight and precise, not to mention so shiny, was a new experience. She gained a small grin, fascinated. Without words, she strode out to where La'khay had pointed in the water and leaned to look at her reflection. The waves and colour of the water did distort the image reflected back at Sabine, but she could discern the shape well enough, and it sent a tingle over her skull. She almost didn't recognise herself at first. Her hair was no longer a wild shrub reaching out in all directions, but was flattened and lined up, framing her face in a new and charming way. Her grin widened.

Sabine straightened and looked back. "La'khay, this is beautiful!" She strode back over to La'khay and gave her a quick, tight hug. As for the other suggestions, Sabine was not entirely sure. She knelt down in the water again, but did not give consent at first. "I am almost afraid to put my hair in the water again, though. And...trim my body hairs?" Sabine seemed confused, "If it will help, then I will do it, but...I did not know that would make someone prettier."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"This one thinks it might be rude to talk as if Shanja is not..." Tzirret was interrupted in his words by the sloshing of water caused by Shanja taking the initiative to approach them both himself.

Tzirret swallowed and tried not to look fearful of Shanja's imposing form. "Well, Peiter may find out now?" Tzirret cleared his throat, "Shanja, is your beast form larger than you are?"

Sabine's face twitched in pain as each mat and knot was released from her hair, but she had expected as much. Despite this, La'khay's hands were actually surprisingly relaxing upon her head. It a cathartic and purifying, similar to having itches scratched.

Most of the time, Sabine kept her eyes closed so the soap didn't sting them, but she occasionally glanced at Ciinriel or up at La'khay's face. Sabine took a focussed looked at La'khay's fur as she spoke and asked a question in response to her. "Do you have to use soap and oils for everywhere on your body? I have never seen Ahnasha do that much while bathing."

The Jade Stream

The battle for the last bao may have seemed like an awkward silence, but to Torako and Kyang, it was a clash of wills. Each of them tugged as much as they dared without either slipping or causing the bao to rupture. It was a delicate balance that they had to maintain. Kyang's eyes drilled into Torako's as Kyang, in turn, saw the fires of a waking demon flaring in hers. One of Kyang's eyes began to narrow maniacally, trying to hold her nerve. The bao was so strained that it was beginning to elongate, but it did not break.

The clash ended with Torako letting go first, and suddenly. Kyang's mind and body reeled as if she was in a tug-of-war with an opponent that had disappeared into thin air. She came to her senses to find herself leaning back in her seat, at the very edge of her balance. The bao was still in her chopsticks, held by her hand. Her hand, however, had recoiled and extended as far up and away from Torako's reach as possible.

Kyang cast quick glances at everyone with wide eyes and an exaggerated frown, and then slowly shrank back into her original posture, retracting her extended hand in the process. "Ahem...huh, er," Kyang forced a smile to try and play off the incident. "Thanks...Torako..." she said with a nervous stare at Torako as she slowly and carefully devoured the bao. She had the strange feeling that she had started a shadow war with the girl and that comeuppance was in her future.

By the time Kyang had finished her mouthful, everyone had put forth their input into their approach. "So," she paused to swallow, "We either have Liu and Torako go out as bait while we follow them, or we go and find a noble and scare them into telling us something they might know?" Kyang tapped her finger on her lips and hummed in contemplation, "Well, if we go around scaring people, Liu and Torako can't be seen to be involved, otherwise the bandits might be warned of them. I'm more inclined to just go out and bait them now rather than alienate people with guards who might be innocent. Then again, the information we get could be pivotal."

A few more seconds passed before Kyang made her decision. "My vote is with using the bait and cutting them up, but I could be convinced otherwise. Liu? How do you think events will transpire if we kick in a noble's door and threaten them? Also, Xin? Are you sure you want to anger the locals like that? What is everyone else's vote?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret's ears drooped, but he did not refute Peiter on the power of the river. As for seeing a Senche, Tzirret gave Shanja a curious look and responded, "This one spotted two or three in Senchal, but never met one until seeing Shanja." There was a moment where Tzirret considered approaching Shanja, but he stayed back, not knowing if there would be much conversation. He instead faced Peiter, "Why does Peiter ask, anyway?"

While La'khay's musings were a little hard to follow, Sabine tried as best as she could. She looked a bit confused as her face was pushed from side to side. Her expression changed when La'khay described what she had in mind. Sabine smiled at the thought. If it was anything like Sabine had pictured in her mind, it would be just what she wanted. She followed La'khay to begin without question.

Sabine looked to the flask of soap quizzically as Ciinriel asked if she could use some. There was quite a bit there. "Um...I think so? I do not know how much I will need. La'khay, what do you think?" Sabine looked to La'khay.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmf, maybe they do not want you to try it yourself?" Tzirret suggested. He turned in the water and followed Peiter into the deeper water, "Do you think the current is strong in this river? This one does not want to be swept away."

Sabine actually smiled a bit at La'khay's reasoning. This whole endeavour was to look pretty for Peiter, so she liked the idea of surprising him. As for the oil, Sabine explained as best as she could, "I just made the oil from sunflower seeds and added some flower fragrances. All I mixed in afterwards was an alchemical effect to make surfaces it contacts glow with a little light." Sabine looked away, out of her depth, "I thought it might look nice?"

As for which style that Sabine had in mind, she was a little overwhelmed, "I...do not know if I want to cut it. I just wanted to get the knots out and make it straighter, like I have seen other women wearing their hair. Uthri said that the oil helps to shape the hair after it is washed." Sabine looked up at La'khay hopefully, "Do you think I should try something else?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Still a little confused, Sabine stood up as La'khay directed and followed her. "Okay," she answered unsurely. She looked back at Peiter a couple of times, giving him an apologetic look, but she did not know how all of this was meant to work. "I will see you later, Peiter."

Before they had moved too far away, Sabine caught Ciinriel's eye. It was possible that she could learn as well, if she wanted to, but really Sabine was not sure if she wanted to do this alone in case La'khay was playing a trick. "Ciinriel, did you want to come?"

Once La'khay was far enough away, Tzirret actually approached Peiter surreptitiously in the water. "What are they doing, exactly?" he asked.