Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Huh," Gallus noted how the rock faces bounced his voice back at him subtly, "I seem to remember Khajiit buildings being more...conspicuous." Open-mouthed, Gallus angled his head upwards, as if he might spot some towers protruding from the tops of the hills.

"A crevice built to fit a Senche-raht..." Uthri repeated. She was looking more closely at the rock formations nearer to their altitude. "Those are the biggest Khajiit, right? That doesn't sound too hard to spot."

Fendros was carrying his shield in his hand now, prepared to raise it at a moment's notice. He was not particularly worried about an ambush, but he thought it prudent to stay alert. While they walked, he addressed a question to Meesei. "Were there any representatives of this place you met? I mean, there is the ring, but it would help to have someone who could recognise you."

The revealed portion of Sabine's face tightened up, almost defiantly. "I thought we would be with the Orcrest clan by now. I thought I could manage, but I did not," Sabine complained, "I do not know how long it will be before we reach the Orcrest clan. I am just...I do not want to disappoint everyone. I cannot heal everyone like I heal you and myself, Peiter!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Uthri was the first to speak up. She was surprisingly chipper considering her burns, but she was used to the pain by now. "I am actually quite excited to see what this clan has in store," she commented with a smile, "Let's get moving."

"Are we expecting any trouble?" Fendros asked, evidently feeling more cautious than Uthri.

Gallus answered as they began to move as a group. "Ideally not. However, there is still the slim chance that they have been attacked by Vile's forces. We need to tread carefully." Gallus waved a finger up, "At the same time, we don't want to give them a reason to open fire before we see them."

Fendros readjusted the shield over his shoulder. The situation was not as simple as his initial impression.

Sabine did not seem to object to Peiter's words. As for his touch, she had healed herself of burns as usual. A barely audible grumble escaped Sabine's mouth in response, obscured by her wrist. "No one here can help." Despite her cynical tone, Sabine did reach her free hand around to hold onto Peiter's on her shoulder. She let out another low grumble and mumbled on, "Everyone is going to come and ask for balm. We have run out. I have run out of ingredients for them." Sabine sighed, sounding frustrated with herself, "I should have rationed it better. Now everyone is going to be angry."

It was true that the reduced frequency of desert plants had correlated with the dip in Sabine's mood.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's reasoning was sound. Given that she didn't confirm whether or not the Orcrest clan was in the hills, Gallus assumed that what he had suggested was true. "Very well. I'll be there in a moment," Gallus said to Meesei with a nod and a small smile.

Gallus' first stop was at Uthri's tent. She was applying balm to her face and shoulders painfully. As it turned out, pale Nord skin did not tan easily and she suffered burns worse than most. Gallus restrained himself from giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he ordered her to get ready, despite the amusement that the thought gave him. Gallus collected Irenya as well, who would undoubtedly have appreciated a distraction from the menial tasks she had been undertaking during most of the trek. For a while Gallus thought it might be good to get Tzirret and Peiter out as well, but Meesei didn't seem to want too many people on the party. Instead, he came by their tents and simply informed them of the situation.

After getting equipped himself, Gallus made his way to Meesei's tent and met Uthri and Irenya once more.

Sabine was laying on her side with her eyes open and a frown on her face. She just wanted to sleep for a while, but she was too anxious and the sun was too bright through the tent fabric. In response to Peiter, Sabine flicked his eyes to him, then back to the tent wall. She let out a small groan, curled her legs slightly and brought a hand up to cover one side of her face. She couldn't bring herself to lie to him to get him out of her hair, but she was too nervous to say anything else. Then again, she didn't tell him not to come in either.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Haha, no problem. I got some work done on my own projects in the process.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus gave a nod to one side. He had suspected that the Orcrest clanhome was as Meesei explained. As for the soldiers, Gallus pulled a tight smile. "We'll see, Meesei," he responded, "I just hope that no one gets too curious about the behaviour of our makeshift desert tribe here."

The next few days of skirting around the city of Orcrest itself came up with no further sightings of soldiers. The distance they kept meant that no one saw the city, but the trails of caravans heading in and out along the sands gave evidence of its location. During this time, the the true sigh of relief from leaving the soldiers behind left the clan very slowly. There were no sandstorms over those past days, only isolated pockets of wind that shifted the sands around and bit into uncovered eyes and mouths. Thankfully, it was all they needed to cover their tracks.

During this time, Tzirret had shifted his focus in learning healing such that he learned first aid from Irenya rather than forcing magic. He had a much easier time learning the easy techniques to save or preserve a life, while at the same time began to scratch the surface of anatomy. Again, it was a lot to learn, but it felt better to have tangible progress rather than pursuing something that required as much time and focus to break into as magic. It helped his learning immensely to also be able to revise what he had learned with Ma'tanza during the day.

As for interactions with Ma'tanza, Tzirret had been slowly getting over an awkward apprehension brought about by the start of their relationship, but the mix of breaking the ice with talk about healing and the sheer amount of time they got to be in contact meant that he was feeling much more comfortable around her again. Tzirret only regretted not really having much of any time alone with her, as it was only then that he felt completely open in expressing himself. There was always either M'ibasa, or S'nishi, or one of her friends around. He thought perhaps the Orcrest clan might be different, if only he knew what to expect.

After learning of Kaleeth's state, Janius decided to try something risky and experimental the next day. Normally, after setting up camp, they would spend a short time under Ra'kalesh's instruction, practising the techniques he had taught them. Most of the time, progress was slow, as precise drills were required to learn the proper movements. However, after their lesson, instead of going straight to dinner, Janius offered a short bout of contact hand-to-hand sparring. He kept it brief, unlike the ship fights, if only for the sake of not being beaten to a pulp. However, he hoped that regular little releases of energy and aggression might help Kaleeth's situation. At the same time, he got to try out and home his own attempt at Ra'kalesh's techniques, to varying degrees of success.

As the clan travelled, they came into sight of a ridge of low, red-brown, rocky hills. Hills and mesas such as these were common while they travelled the desert. Gallus was glad for the sight of them as landmarks of progress, as he had imagined the never-ending sea of dunes south of Orcrest to be a disorienting nightmare. These hills, however, were special. As they came close, in the middle of the day, Meesei ordered the clan to stop and set up camp. She recognised the formation as close to their destination.

"So, are they in caves up there or something?" Gallus asked Meesei, nodding up at the hills. Everyone else was excited to be so near the end of their journey, but Gallus was keeping himself contained, standing with one hand on his hammer and squinting at the hills ahead. "If they are up there, why have we still set down here in the desert? We have time to get closer." Gallus turned his head to Meesei, "Are we going to be part of an advance party to check the place out?"

Gallus honestly wished he had thought to discuss what Meesei had in mind to do upon their arrival earlier.

Sabine had kept up a busy routine these past few days; waking, eating, travelling, mixing balm, sleeping, and so on. This began to change two days after the soldiers left; there was a creeping worry brewing over her, but she had yet to tell anyone why. Her anxiety made her terse in speech, visibly stressed, and apparently on the edge of her temper. This was especially bad today - as soon as they set up camp, Sabine retreated into her and Peiter's tent and just laid down, out of sight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sure thing.

The Jade Stream

I have no protest.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Quite right," Gallus said. Although it was a relief to see the back of those soldiers, he did not seem quite as joyful as Meesei. He had a strange feeling that this was not the last they would hear from them, if only because the movement of the clan had been secretive until they arrived.

Still, it served no use to be worried about it now. As Gallus turned to follow Meesei back into camp, another question came to mind. "Wait a minute, if the Orcrest clan is easy to find, then how do they stay hidden?" Gallus leaned forward to look as Meesei curiously.

Though Gallus paid it no need, both Meesei and he passed by a Khajiit woman who was looking off into the distance after the soldiers. She appeared to have a sad expression. It was likely that the soldiers had made some connections after only a few days, whatever circumstances there had been.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm going to be a bit busy today. I won't be home until late.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"As she wishes," Qito said flatly. He unfolded his arms and looked to the increasingly uneasy soldiers behind him. "Stand down! All of you!"

"Sir? We're surrounded..."

"He said stand down!" Qito bellowed, "We are leaving. Get dressed and start breaking camp. You have ten minutes!"

"Yes sir!" All of the soldiers said in unison. They all discarded their arms and got to work quickly, though somehow they still managed to make themselves look reluctant in the process. This was obviously a new experience for all of them.

Qito himself wasted no time in donning his own armour and helping to pack things away. He did not give Meesei another word.

While the tents were being packed away, Gallus looked to a couple of the warriors that he had talked to earlier that morning. Gallus stuck his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and whistled them down, giving a beckoning wave. The warriors nodded and brought out a few small skins of water and some pouches that smelled like preserved food. The soldiers took the supplies carefully once Qito ordered them to.

Within ten minutes, all of the soldiers were as they were when they arrived; armed with shields and lances, armoured in pale golden bands, and astride their horses, rearing to move. Qito gave some parting words to Meesei, reiterating what he had warned. "Meesei and tribe are criminal now. Bear choice as you believe best. Farewell, and thank you for men spared."

Qito was about to order his soldiers to move out, but there was a moment for a final comment.

After all was said and done, Gallus walked up beside Meesei to watch the riders disappear in a cloud of beating hooves. "Well," Gallus put his weapons away, "That went as well as could be expected, didn't it? Hm?"