Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret did not have time to register the sensation of Ma'tanza's body pressed up against his in that moment; he was too busy trying to fight. While on his back and with his arms locked to his torso, there wasn't much that he could do except fidget and try to throw his weight around at first. Trying that initially did not do much - he knew he had to escape. Thankfully, by sheer brute strength, he was able to lift his right arm back and free of Ma'tanza's grasp. With that, he propped one side of his body at an angle where he could kick his foot off the riverbed to flip them both around.

Ma'tanza was sent rolling onto her back with Tzirret on top of her. The tides were turned. His free arm came around to pin Ma'tanza's elbow while he attempted to wrench his other arm free to do the same with her other elbow. Currently, that side of her body was essentially pinned by Tzirret's torso. It was only in that pause, face to face and in full contact with Ma'tanza, that Tzirret hesitated. His mouth was agape as he spent a fraction of a second with confused thoughts about the position he was in. He perhaps would not have had the thoughts at all had he not been attracted to her. In fact he would have preferred to completely ignore them. However, in a fight such as this, those thoughts only needed a fraction of a second to influence the outcome.

M'ibasa essentially had a window to do whatever he pleased.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Widening his eyes and looking more fearful, Tzirret held out a hand each to Ma'tanza and M'ibasa, trying to stand them down. "I-is this needed? Tzir-, ah!"

Tzirret was attacked in the sibling's pincer manoeuvre. He attempted to step back to avoid them, but could not dodge through the waist-high water. He had to try and brace to keep his balance, and the biggest impact on his centre of balance came from Ma'tanza. He was not taken by surprise as before, so he was not upended this time, but he still had to put in some effort to resist Ma'tanza's tackle. He stood with his upper body arced towards her, pushing against her. His hands were on her shoulders, but his legs doing most of the work. He tried shifting to throw her off or get more leverage, but that is when M'ibasa's actions came into effect. Tzirret could not employ any effective footwork with the younger brother pinning his legs. The match seemed a stalemate for a short moment, but the first time Ma'tanza shifted her body weight to counter Tzirret's force, he was toppled into the water easily.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Cool.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Would you feel like playing out the interaction between Gallus and Colours, or should we just summarise that? If we do decide on a summary, what would be the outcome of their discussion?

EDIT: Also, I'm going out for dinner with my family in about half an hour, but it's probably getting late over on your side anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It was fine," Sabine said, grinning, "We just had a quick talk. Meesei is a great mother." Receptive to Peiter's touch, Sabine gave a quick kiss to Peiter's lips and slowly repositioned to wrap her legs around his waist, pressing close again. "I will tell you what she said later. For now, just...keep doing that..."

Soon enough they were resuming where they had left off, but it was the last time that Sabine felt she could do any physical activity that day. She was exhausted.

---

Tzirret was relieved to see that he had not injured M'ibasa, but he still felt bad for not going easy on him. At the challenge from both siblings, Tzirret glanced down and up again, before looking more nervous and raising his hands. "Oh, this one is n-not so sure," he stammered, more nervous about physical contact with the lovely Ma'tanza than the challenge itself. The last thing he needed to do in front of these people was humiliate himself. "He, uh, he might injure someone! Yes, he does not want to...um, hurt Ma'tanza."

It never occurred to Tzirret until afterwards that his excuses might have been construed as overconfidence, but even he knew that he was probably about to get tackled again regardless. He braced himself on the soft, silty river bed for just that eventuality.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I will. I do not think we will keep going for too much longer," Sabine said with a laugh, "I will see you at dinner? We can talk then, if you like." Before she motioned to leave, Sabine hugged Meesei once more for a few moments. "And, thank you again."

With that, Sabine wiped away her remaining tears, let Meesei go, and walked back into her and Peiter's room, gently shutting the door behind her. When she turned to Peiter again, she smiled widely and walked up to him without a word. Facing him, she placed her knees on the bed either side of where he sat so she could sit on his lap. She then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him once more, interrupting any questions he might have. She would answer him once the kiss ended.

---

"Er-Wha-oof!" Tzirret stammered and widened his eyes as M'ibasa charged. Tzirret was so surprised that he was actually barreled over by M'ibasa into the water behind him. Those on the surface saw both pairs of feet pointing up into the air through the splash before they sunk.

In the struggle that followed, M'ibasa proved himself to have a strong grip, but not only was Tzirret better trained, he was physically stronger as a werewolf than whatever M'ibasa was - Tzirret did not think to identify him. There was a series of splashes, grunts, and the flailing of limbs, churning bubbles in the river water and marking their brief bout. After several seconds, Tzirret stood up straight out of the water with one hand under M'ibasa's armpit and another under his knee. M'ibasa was lifted out of the water a short distance before Tzirret grit his teeth, let out a shout, and threw him, upside down, back under the surface in the same movement.

Tzirret let go as he threw, holding his open hands up, ready for M'ibasa to recover. His dripping torso rose and fell quickly as he caught his breath. Tzirret wore an exhilarated look, he did not normally win against Peiter in these situations. In that, he quickly realised his overzealous approach and suddenly took on a sincerely fearful and apologetic look, his hands turning down. "Uh, Tzirret apologises!" he said quickly, "He would normally wrestle with his pack-brother, who is stronger than he is. Is M'ibasa okay?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine emitted an uneasy laugh and ran a hand through her hair nervously. "We have been taking breaks," Sabine assured, "And we did stop to eat lunch. We've just been experimenting. It hurt a bit the first few times, but not any more." Sabine curled her lips and thought to herself, but she did not come up with any immediate questions for Meesei regarding the act itself. She actually felt simply like rejoining Peiter.

However, there was one thing that Sabine thought a little strange and kept her around. "If I think of anything, I will ask you, but...Meesei, you have spoken to me about uncomfortable things before, but you were never frightened. Or, you did not sound like it. Why are you nervous about mating?"

---

When Bheja mentioned his father's punishments, Tzirret winced and sucked in a breath in sympathy. His wince turned into a look of surprise when M'ibasa ambushed Ma'tanza from under the water. Tzirret paddled back, out of the way of the splashing. He actually managed to chuckle at the rough housing, as it was obvious they were having fun, but the magic Ma'tanza weaved actually made him curious.

Tzirret stood up as well and stepped up, leaning to one side to see the frozen form of M'ibasa. "You made him freeze? That is amazing..." Tzirret commented, before curling his mouth into a smile as the spell wore off. "Is this a common thing you do to your brother, Ma'tanza?"

At this point, Tzirret was actually starting to relax. He had a paranoia that if he opened up too much, he would say something stupid and be ostracised, but thankfully he had not had too many opportunities to do so. It also helped that he was not getting picked on, but these people were not aware of the full extent of his anxiety, it seemed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was a few nods from Sabine in response to Meesei's recount. Sabine still felt that Meesei did not need to know about the true reason that her relationship with Inderal went downhill, but she had worked through that issue on her own, with Peiter's help.

Meesei's question made Sabine's eyes shoot up to hers, confused at first. "Oh, well, we..." Sabine went red for a moment and looked away, "When you interrupted, it was...not the first time we mated today," Sabine explained slowly. She saw no sense in not being open and honest with Meesei at this point. "We actually have been doing it a lot today. It was the first time ever between us down in the river this morning."

---

Tzirret's face actually lit up at Bheja's words, but he waited for a chance to speak. Ma'tanza floated by with a question that prompted his the words he had anyway.

"Tzirret fights with a spear as well, actually, but he...um..." Tzirret paused and kept his eyes up for now. They float, he stated in his mind, obviously. "...he used to carve bone and whittle wood. He has not done so for a long time until recently, but he wants to do it more. This one likes making jewellery, mostly, but he can also make tools. Sewing needles, signal horns, hair combs, clothes pegs, little things like that."

Stepping back a bit, Tzirret lowered himself into the water up to his neck. It was a relief as always, and now he felt a bit less stilted than he did compared to everyone else as they waded and swam. He decided to continue with the commonality he had with the majority of the group, "Anyway, how have you all been finding training? Are your instructors good?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine smiled, on the brink of laughing at Meesei's fussing. "I took it this morning, shortly before noon. I remember how long they last, Meesei. I made them." Sabine said reassuringly, although she unwittingly hinted how long they had been at it that day. "And..." Sabine flicked her eyes down and up, "I love Peiter very much. I...even had the courage to tell him today."

---

While Tzirret internally cursed at his less-than-charismatic line of dialogue, he was glad that they were still accepting as they all entered the water.

As Ma'tanza was the first to answer, Tzirret turned to look at her, though he paid less attention to her words than he should have. His eyes kept flicking down from her face and he had to employ some focussed mental discipline to stop staring, let alone attempt to remain unnoticed in his glances. Ma'tanza's body had the largest...proportional differences that he had ever seen. Tzirret counted himself grateful for taking the time to lay with La'khay earlier. If he hadn't, other parts of his body than his eyes would reveal his errant thoughts.

The point about Ma'tanza's father dying was thankfully a signal for Tzirret to snap out of it and actually listen. He took on a more appropriate sombre tone in his response to her, "This one is sorry to hear of your loss."

Thankfully, M'ibasa plugged the gap in Tzirret's attention when he spoke. "Oh, learning magic? This is a good thing to do. Tzirret has friends that are doing the same, but it looks difficult."

In an attempt not to face Ma'tanza too much, Tzirret turned to Bheja and Qa'habi to hear their answers, "What of you two?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Pft, okay, now you're just being mean to Tzirret.