Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret sat down beside Ma'tanza cross-legged and listened to her answers. He found it strange that Qa'habi would just up and call off a relationship with her without saying why, but he must have had his reasons. Unfortunately, it would be incredibly rude to presume to ask Qa'habi out of context, given how long Tzirret had known him.

When Tzirret breathed in to answer, he was interrupted by the increased movement around the clan. He became a little uneasy in the stomach, but smiled to Ma'tanza and tried speaking in a reassuring manner to keep her spirits up, "Come. Let's find the others." He stood up and held out a hand to help Ma'tanza up. He didn't know how much time they had to find their friends, but they could have a quick look around. In any case, Tzirret wasn't going to let Ma'tanza be alone for this.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, I would assume so. He would probably have to find Ri'nakhad or one of the lieutenants who are running the show.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus pulled an impressed frown and nodded. If Urob was telling the truth, even if the ship was laden, they could probably get up the Rumare in no time at all compared to travelling overland.

The navigator did not respond when they entered, so Gallus smiled and introduced himself, "Greetings. I am Gallus, what is your name?" Then, he did not give much of an opportunity to respond before getting down to business. He stepped up to the nearest chart of Senchal's peninsula and traced his finger along the southern coast. "Now, Colours and Meesei, you probably had a better point on us, but I believe we were camped about here?" Gallus asked with his finger at a particular point along the coast. "We can load the cargo there."

---

"Oh, right...polite. Yes." Tzirret actually began to calm down and finished laying out the chains he had. When he stood up straight again, he looked at Ma'tanza in front of him for a moment and looked away with a short, relieved chuckle. "Ma'tanza must get such comments a lot," he reasoned, bringing his eyes back to hers.

It dawned on Tzirret that Ma'tanza was probably used to more explicit advances on her. It made Tzirret want to tread more carefully so as not to offend her, but he would not give up completely. "Um..." Tzirret took a breath in and out, "Tzirret is curious. If he may ask...has anyone...won Ma'tanza's heart before?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The ships themselves seemed fine enough at a glance. The fact that one was highly decorated suggested to Gallus that it might have been stolen, but that much as not beyond his expectations. The real concern he had was the size. From what he understood of Colours' descriptions, slaves were normally packed shoulder to shoulder in ships like these. If what they were transporting had truly been slaves, then the clan would fit easily, but even when they were all released, the conditions aboard would not leave much space.

Whatever his concerns internally, Gallus did not voice any of them. He merely held his hands behind his back and looked about curiously as they walked to the navigator. "Orub, how fast are these ships, exactly?

---

Tzirret froze up completely, the shackles still in his hands as Ma'tanza's head remained in contact with his shoulder. He didn't seem to register that Ma'tanza could actually see his face, so his wide eyes and panicked frown remained. "T-trying what?" Tzirret stumbled over his words, "There is-...he is-...Tzirret was not trying anything! What is Ma'tanza speaking of?"

This was a bit sudden in Tzirret's mind, but how it couldn't have been sudden in any amount of time was not defined clearly to him. His denials, however inneffective, came from hope that Ma'tanza was not about to tell him to stop thinking of her with the interest he did.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sure thing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I have to head off in about twenty minutes. Probably no bonus post this time, so g'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus tightened his lips and nodded. "Very well," Gallus said, turning around, "Fendros, do you reckon you could head back and tell them to get our stock lined up? We will load up and leave as soon as we can."

Fendros unfolded his arms and nodded, but did not change his visage.

Before motioning to leave, Gallus smiled and extended a hand to Urob. "We can't be skipping traditions, now. Let's shake hands now and part ways rich, hm?"

From what Gallus could tell, these slavers didn't suspect anything yet. As long as these ships were big enough and in good shape, all would be going as planned.

---

Though Tzirret was thankful for Ma'tanza's comfort, he held his breath while he returned her hug. The less comfortable parts of his past felt far behind him, so his emotions were in check. At least, excepting the nice ones elicited from hugging Ma'tanza. He reluctantly let her go as she explained her ease in making friends.

"Well, maybe...Tzirret could meet them as well?" Tzirret thought out loud, "He has had better luck making friends here than at home." He then smiled and laid out the last set of shackles, "And...thank you for being Tzirret's friend, Ma'tanza. You are a very beau-...um...kind person." Tzirret was glad that he was bent down and facing away from Ma'tanza. His neck burned and he stammered, "V-very kind."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Pausing to pose for thought, Gallus looked at the table and stuck his tongue between his cheek and his upper back teeth. He slowly rotated his head to Colours, then to Meesei, and then to Fendros, not saying a word. Fendros felt it appropriate to give a small nod through his condescending silence.

"Okay," Gallus stood up from the table and looked to Orub, pretending to be disappointed, "Fifty percent it is."

---

With a nod, Tzirret returned Ma'tanza's gaze and spoke, "Tzirret had Gallus teaching him, and he helped, but he was never a father. This one was a part of his pack from when he joined the clan. Peiter has always been a brother as well, but it took a long time for this one to even...stop feeling lonely around them. Tzirret was too scared to make other friends on his own, so they were all he really had until Gallus split from his family's pack to form his own. That was two and a half years ago. And then we started this journey with the champion's pack. They are mostly very nice as well." Tzirret tried not to focus on his own misery and attempted to brighten his voice, "The rest of the Bruma clan is like Ma'tanza's, though. People help each other. It was not as easy to find help before Meesei came along, because of the factions, but for the most part, as long as you did your fair share of work, you never wanted for much. Things were very structured. It kept Tzirret...together. Also, there was Najirra, he helps everyone with wounded minds in the clan. He helped Tzirret to learn how to manage his fear."

In some acceptance of the comfort, Tzirret brought his hand up and placed it on Ma'tanza's upper arm, giving it a small squeeze and letting it go. He grinned for a second at a thought and then closed his mouth. "This one does not think Ma'tanza was as bad as Tzirret at making friends. How long has she known the others?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The corner of Gallus' mouth twinged upwards. Orub had gone straight for their agreed maximum percentage. They could have shaken hands there, but Gallus did not want this deal to look too good to be true. If Orub was stubborn and stayed at fifty, then they would settle for that, but they could stand to try haggling down further.

"Are you sure we cannot try...forty-five percent? That's ten percent more than what we put forward, nothing to sniff at," Gallus narrowed one eye inquisitively, "We need these ships, but we're trying to make some gold as well."

---

At the time that Tzirret was taken into the Bruma clan, the lack of child initiates found in the wilderness meant that he was just given a mentor. In many ways, Gallus was like a father, but he never really felt like a parent, he was more like an older brother or an uncle. Tzirret was taught many things, but he certainly did not feel ready to be an adult by any stretch of the imagination. To think that Ma'tanza lost two sets of parents in her life was heartbreaking.

In an immediate response to Ma'tanza, Tzirret returned the smile half-heartedly. "That would be very nice to have," he said, somewhat regretfully, "What was it like? That...growing up in the Senchal clan. Tzirret never had new parents."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Right," Gallus put one hand on his hip and leaned his other hand against the table to mirror Orub, "Our opening offer is for thirty five percent of the price of all stock that survives the voyage, to be paid on arrival in Morrowind. As you would understand, such a large sum of gold is not an amount that we could carry with us for this entire time. How does that sound?"

As planned, Gallus was prepared for counter-offers, all part of the ruse. As long as there was not an unmanageable down payment, all deals could be plausible.

---

Tzirret broke eye contact. "This one is sorry," he said out of politeness. In a neutral tone, suppressing his own memories, he continued, "Ma'tanza was lucky that she had her brother and sister. This one knows that he would have died or become feral if he was not found by Gallus." The lonely cold of those times actually caused Tzirret to still himself and shiver momentarily, despite the heat of the jungle.

Perhaps not being as tactful as he could be, Tzirret remembered something curious and spoke up about it. "Wait, didn't Ma'tanza say that her father was teaching her magic and was killed in the attack? Did you mean when you were turned, or...oh, it might have been a foster father." Tzirret bowed his head, ashamed of himself, "Tzirret apologises, he should not speak of such things."