Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus took a breath, bringing his head up straight again, "Well then. If we are in agreement, we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's gather the clan up and make and announcement."

"Actually, Tzirret has cut up animals before. Things he has hunted." Tzirret seemed to lighten up, "It is not the same as a human or a Khajiit, but he remembers seeing many things. Gallus could name all of the organs, but Tzirret never remembers what they all do." Tzirret tilted his head, "This one does not know the next time he will do so, but maybe you could teach him when he next butchers a quarry? The animals would be similar, wouldn't they?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The answers seemed to settle Gallus somewhat. He curled his lips and nodded. "Very well, as long as they don't go looking for the bodies, or try to retrace the warrior's trail - oh it'll probably be cold by now."

Gallus straightened up and addressed everyone a little more clearly, repeating what was discussed. "So, that will be the plan? We are to pose as slaves, most of us from a desert tribe. We were rescued by Ra'jorr's forces on the banks of the Larsius, stayed there for a day, then packed up and set out for Orcrest." Gallus looked to the ground, "Okay, this sounds reasonable enough. We may work out details after this, then propagate it amongst everyone." Gallus' eyes went up from the ground, glancing to each person present, but his head was still bowed, "Are there any more details? What happens if they try to steer us elsewhere despite our insistence?"

What Ma'tanza described was something that Tzirret had never heard of before. "A tube that bursts? And it does nothing else?" Tzirret looked sceptical for a while, but he could not admit to knowing better. "How strange," Tzirret remarked, flicking up his tail to one side almost unconsciously, "Maybe it is where their tail is? Tzirret has always wondered about that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Gallus had actually been referring to the Senche Khajiit amongst the soldiers, once again the miscommunication between himself and Meesei brought up other important details to consider. "Right, this is...this is getting more complex than I would like. If it is the case that Ra'jorr and his friends could pose as part of our escort, he should be present with Ri'nakhad when the soldiers arrive. But..." Gallus growled to himself slightly, annoyed at all the angles, "...How did these warriors go out to see and find us? What are the details? I should think that it would make the most sense that they were set upon on the southern coast, similar to how we did it. But that means we still stole ships..." Gallus looked to the Elsweyr natives, "How ardent are the Dominion about cooperation with their authorities? Would we be blamed for commandeering the slave ships for ourselves? Would that be grounds for them to apprehend us?"

Tzirret paid close attention to Ma'tanza. At first, he was a little confused, but he nodded heavily and made a silent "ah" once he realised that arteries were like what he knew to be veins; the vessels that carry blood in the body. While it was a technicality that veins and arteries were different, Tzirret was ignorant of that fact.

"So, they branch out from the heart into smaller ones? Like little rivers?" Tzirret asked to clarify. He was finding this interesting already, especially as Ma'tanza pointed out where the big arteries were in his own body. "This one always wondered if there was a pattern to them. They do not seem consistent under his own skin, and on the skin of humans and elves." Tzirret pulled a quick smile when he found the pulse of the large artery under his arm. He looked to Ma'tanza curiously once she was done pointing them out. "Is it the same for Argonians? You said they are different."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Alright," Gallus agreed, though still with some distress, "We have our story. I think it best that Ri'nakhad tells it. He is most likely to be the leader of a wandering tribe." Gallus paused to take a deep, slow breath and forcefully release it through pursed lips. "If they do not believe us, I think the worst that could happen is that we try to capture them. They will come in force, but I believe we have the numbers to force surrender. Killing them outright would not help us any further, but...I do not know. If it comes to that, I think we will be well and truly compromised. This will hinge most closely on our explanation."

With a huffed laugh of dark humour, Gallus had a thought. "If the werevultures can carry Senche, perhaps we can just make them fly away a distance."

Tzirret looked at Ma'tanza blankly for several seconds. He was desperately trying to scrounge through his knowledge, but was drawing nothing. Giving the front length of Ma'tanza's body a quick look over didn't help his memory either. In futility, Tzirret rubbed one eye as if covering himself. He spoke softly, a little ashamed, "This one does not know what that is. He only ever learned very simple things about the body."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a while, Gallus didn't say anything. He pressed his fist to his lips worriedly as he tried to think through what could happen. After a few moments and some involuntary pacing, he slid his fist under his chin and responded. "I guess...we could explain away to ambush that drove them off the first time. We could say that was nothing to do with us. As for when they get here...hmm."

Gallus brought an arm up near his head and spun his hand an a gesture of hurrying thoughts as he continued to pace. "I am just trying to think what they would do with the story we give them. I can't see them just walking off. If they were soldiers, with officials, they would more likely order us to move elsewhere so we don't get caught in the desert, or try to keep us camped in one place so they can work out what to do properly. They might even spread the news to Orcrest. If we're lucky they might even escort us there-...this is a mess."

After another three paces, Gallus spun and pointed a flat hand at Meesei, "How about we justify why we are going to Orcrest? Along with the other people in the slave ship - explaining the abundance of other races - most of our group used to be a wandering tribe here? There is less of a chance that they will question that."

"Uhm..." Half of Tzirret's face soured up and he ran a hand over his head. His ear flattened and sprung up again under it. He wasn't looking forward to a dump of information about anatomy so soon after a similar amount about magic from Irenya. Nevertheless, it seemed necessary. "This one would not know where to start," Tzirret admitted, "It all seems like so much." Tzirret's face relaxed and he faced Ma'tanza curiously, "Is there not a...set of techniques, just to start with healing? Just simple things that do not require Tzirret to know everything?"

Tzirret was just drawing parallels to how he started to learn spear fighting, so he was willing to accept that the learning approach would not be the same with healing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The shorter ranger responded this time, pointing a thumb to his chest. "Aurg'ta got a good look at them. All had uniforms of Anequina soldiers, probably a border patrol."

"And how fast were they able to move?" Gallus asked, "Do you know how long it would take them to report this? How much time we have until they respond?"

"Like we said, desert horses, and the Senche can keep up with them. There aren't many guard posts this far out as far as we know, so it might be a day or two before we spot anyone else." The ranger shrugged, "That is Aurg'ta's best guess."

Gallus clenched his teeth for a moment, "As I thought, they'll be able to outpace us easily." He then looked to Meesei and Ri'nakhad, "If we do not find a sandstorm, if they catch up to us, what then? I agree we cannot attack them, but a colony of mostly unarmed mixed races coming in from the Empire...with few enough clothes to boot...Ra'jorr?" Gallus looked up, "Do patrols tend to check up on wandering desert groups?"

A few possible solutions came up in Gallus' mind, but he was not confident enough in them for now. He stood thinking and waiting for other input.

Although he returned the hug, Tzirret sighed forlornly, "You are probably right. It's just that...Tzirret stayed up late practising this last night and he managed to make a light then. He must have just forgotten how." Tzirret's glum face did nod to one side with acknowledgement, "Those other things sound useful. Perhaps he should try those before pursuing healing magic so much."

There was a murmuring that spread across the clan at that moment. All the walking had stopped. There was no cry of alarm, so perhaps one of the Senche's had accidentally slept in? Tzirret could only guess, but he tried not to be too bothered by it. Instead, he continued talking to Ma'tanza. "How long did it take Ma'tanza to cast a spell for the first time?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sure. G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There are a few important typos that I just spotted and edited. You may want to refresh and reread quickly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The night fell quickly, allowing less time before sleeping than everyone suspected, though there were few people who were not tired by the end of a day of travel anyway.

Sabine managed to get all her balm done with Ma'tanza's help. M'ibasa did end up watching for a bit and even helping out, but a combination of fatigue and boredom sent him to his regular scurrying and eventually to his bed.

Tzirret ended up trying another magic lesson with Irenya, but did not make very much progress. Unlike Sabine, Irenya's approach to teaching magic piled on a lot more background theory. This was challenging for Tzirret, but it meant that the attempts at practical application were better informed.

Fendros spent a bit of time awake in reflection that night, with Ahnasha and Rhazii sleeping in his arms. It turned out that Kaleeth's notion of living without the danger of the war had not been something he had considered. By the end of it, his duties overtook any desire to settle down. Although, he had found himself caught between the desires of safety for his family and a more exciting life for himself and Ahnasha than bookwork for the clan.

The next morning had Gallus stomping up to the head of the moving clan at a hurried, brisk walk. Behind him were a couple of Khajiit rangers who had come back from their dawn patrol. Despite the severe expression on Gallus' face, he couldn't help but marvel at the good time that the clan was making. He had expected a much slower pace due to the civilian discipline and the elderly and injured, but the Senche and S'nishi effectively gave the clan more beasts - or simply people - of burden that they would not normally have. Also, the clan was getting much better at packing up and moving swiftly.

Gallus became more focussed when he caught sight of Ri'nakhad and Meesei. "Champion, clan leader," he said firmly. If he was not referring to them by name, it said enough about the severity of the situation. Once he had their attention, he turned to the rangers. "What was your name? Dagritta? I need you to tell them what you told me."

The taller of the two rangers seemed slightly out of breath as he faced Meesei and Ri'nakhad while they moved. "Leader...M-" He swallowed, nervously speaking with a thick accent, "Champion. We spotted some mounted soldiers, Elsweyr soldiers, outriders - Khajiit on desert horses and Senche - four altogether. They were following the tracks of the clan. We did not know why they were following us, they just seemed to be following the trail we have left."

The ranger glanced to Gallus, who waved his hand for him to continue with a hurried speed to it. "We did what we could to hide ourselves and lead them away. Warning shots with our bows, not hits. We knew others would come to find them if they went missing. We were able to make them think they were being ambushed, so they fled, but...there will be more. If we do not do something, they will come back in force, perhaps with Thalmor. They stick their snouts in the business of Khajiit when there are strange matters at hand." The ranger lowered his head, "They probably to not know that we are lycans, but they may have been following us since shortly after we left the ships. Such a large number of tracks would not go unchecked from Cyrodiil."

"To make matters worse," Gallus added, still deadly serious, "if they have been following us from the ships, they may have found all the chains, which means they might take us for slavers. I do believe that we will have to confront them in some manner, preferably not kicking the ant nest in the process."

After packing up quickly, Tzirret sought out Ma'tanza to travel alongside during the morning. They would likely gravitate towards the rest of their friends as usual, but Tzirret was eager to see her, even after having breakfast with her earlier. "Greetings again, Ma'tanza," Tzirret said as he approached with a smile. For some reason, he looked slightly tired, having puffy eyes and ears that didn't seem to stand completely. This could have been explained earlier with trying to wake up, but he didn't seem to improve much since breakfast.

Tzirret gave Ma'tanza a quick hug and fell in beside her to begin walking, weaving his hand with hers. "This one wants to show you something," he said proudly, bringing his empty hand up in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to concentrate. Eventually, magicka clumsily flowed out of his hand without doing much of anything, not even making a visible spell. He furrowed his brow and frowned, trying again, but after about half a minute, he released a disappointed sigh.

"Tzirret does not understand," Tzirret bowed his head, somewhat sadly, "He practiced so much last night. He was able to make a light before." He sighed and turned his head away, "Never mind. Tzirret is still stupid."

As Tzirret's magical tuition had been haphazard and brief so far, it was not fair to assume that he would be able to cast a light spell already unless he was especially talented. Still, he had embarrassed himself with a brief moment of overconfidence.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Actually, we're around - what? - five days into the journey from the ships by now? I think I can just play out what I had in mind now. I reckon I'll tack on another casual interaction as well just for the hell of it.