Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Calia swallowed and turned her head away slightly, clearly not fond of the memory. "There was so much flesh scattered about that no one could rightly tell which belonged to Fendros, his horse, or the beast itself. The guard suggested that either Fendros had run off, for which there were no tracks or blood trails, or he had been eaten by the beast before it succumbed to its sword wounds. Both scenarios were unlikely, but as the forest was searched further, hope of his continued life waned." Calia closed her eyes in a long blink. "Monderyn went out after the guard had given up, searching and ranging further. He had no luck either."

Trying to move on, Calia raised her head and faced Meesei again. "Regardless, I am happy to hear that Fendros has realised his talents. We had always tried to teach him magic, but he never enjoyed the drills and practice without being able to regenerate his magicka on his own. He said the potions made him feel sick when he consumed too many." Calia raised another small smile. "I am told you are a talented mage yourself. Was yours a traditional education or..." Calia breathed in to censor herself and think of an appropriate description. "...learned from your own people?"

Monderyn gave Ahnasha a small grin for once. "I think we have common ground on house cats. I have tried to tell Llarasa as much as you have said, but she sees something in it that I do not."

"What did you want to do with a bird?" Fendros turned his head to Ahnasha. It took him a moment after asking to realise that Ahnasha might have been talking about hunting birds rather than the dainty canary that originally came to his mind. Still, he was curious.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Calia frowned. "That would explain the scene we found in the woods." Her shoulders rose and she let out a breath through a pout. Given what Meesei had seen, adding several hours of rotting to the eviscerated horse and bleeding lycan would have reasonably made the likes of Calia nauseous.

"Has...Hircine given any further details on Fendros' potential?" Calia asked. "Has anything you have seen suggested what that might be? Has he fulfilled his potential with your...pack?"

Monderyn looked down and forced a smile. "By the way you describe it, I think I could handle life without encountering this creature. Or any of its kind, for that matter."

"He's friendly," Rhazii said. "You you have any pets?"

Monderyn's eyes lit up slightly and he responded to Rhazii. He had more sincerity than before. "Actually, we have a couple of hounds and a cat on the vineyard. We put the dogs in their kennel before we returned to the house yesterday, but their still alive, Fendros. Jenny and Racer might even remember you."

Fendros was quietly surprised. "They must be getting old now. Although..." He thought back to other times that dogs reacted to anyone in the pack. It was never friendly. "I am not sure I smell the same way to them."

Rhazii smiled and bounced in his seat. "What is that cat's name?"

"His name is Ankle. He was fond of scratching ankles when he was a kitten," Monderyn chuckled. "Now, not so much. Not since father started carrying a bottle of water around."

Fendros narrowed one eye. "The cat is new. Has there been a mouse problem?"

"It's Llarasa's."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Thank you," Calia held up both her hands and carefully searched for Meesei's fingers and her ring. She did not pull it off, but she ran her fingers over the surface for a moment. At this proximity, Meesei could feel the subtle magic flowing through Calia's fingers in order to probe at the ring in more ways than touch, though it was easily identifiable as nothing that would harm the ring.

After a few moments, Calia let go of Meesei's hand and assumed a similar pose on her seat as she had when speaking with Ahnasha. "That is indeed no ordinary ring, Meesei. I would say that I am relieved to hear that I have not been lied to or spoken to by anyone deluded, but the implications are...not trivial." Calia smiled and exhaled through her nose in embarrassment. "But I am being rude. I need not be as much a concerned mother in front of you, Champion of Hircine." Calia held her head forward slightly. "Now, I am told you were the one who recovered Fendros in the forest. Could you perhaps recount those events to me? With whatever surrounding details are necessary. I like to hear it from the lizard's mouth, as it were."

Calia seemed almost too comfortable to let a racially insensitive turn of phrase slip her mouth. It was unclear in her expression if it was innocently accidental or deliberate.

"Shock? What do you mean?" Monderyn asked Ahnasha.

"He gets you," Rhazii held up one finger and poked Monderyn in the upper arm, clacking his tongue to imitate a small shocking arc.

Fendros, not wanting to frustrate Monderyn as before, gently took Rhazii's arm. "Not so rough, Rhazii," he said firmly.

Monderyn rubbed the prodded area, but did not seem surprised or disgusted this time.

"Wamasu's, when grown to a size, have the natural ability to arc a sort of magical lightning from their mouths," Fendros explained. "It can be dangerous, but Leaps is careful with it. We were once waylaid by highwaymen a while ago and Leaps shocked one of them in the back with more force than we had seen before. I suppose that's also like a dog; they can bite incredibly hard when attacking or threatened, but there are playful nips every now and then that aren't meant to do harm."

"Do you have a wamasu, too?" Rhazii asked Monderyn.

Monderyn raised his brow and shook his head. "I think I would have noticed by now, Rhazii. I do not."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Monderyn appeared confused by Meesei's words for a while, but Calia approached before he could ask further.

"And you must be Meesei, whom I have heard much about by now. Greetings." Calia let go of Ahnasha's hand and extended her own to Meesei to greet her. Her demeanour seemed cordial as she searched for and took a seat next to Meesei, but she did not seem uncomfortable. "I heard you are the leader of this group that Fendros has been with? I apologise for being forward, but might I inspect your ring?"

With Meesei now speaking to another, Monderyn turned his confused look to Fendros. "What kind of dog breed is a 'wamasu'?"

"Leaps is a big lizard!" Rhazii pealed. "He plays with us."

"Leaps-On-Elves is not exactly a dog," Fendros explained. "He's an orphaned animal from Black Marsh. Kaleeth and Janius found him as an egg and he hatched before they could eat it. His mother was dead, so we've kept him around. He's growing big as well, but he's loyal and intelligent." Fendros shrugged, "It's good to have something close to a guard dog that isn't frightened by the likes of us."

Monderyn itched at his forehead, trying to take everything in. "The wonders never cease today."

Rhazii continued his input. "Uncle Janius and dada trained him to protect us. Me and Newt like to nap with him."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Calia stood herself up, her dress making silken slides as it lengthened to near the floor again. "That will not be happening again, I can assure you of that," Calia said severely. "It takes being pushed to the utmost limit for Rossarm to become violent, and when he does, I am just as infuriated as you, if not more. Though adopted, Llarasa is our daughter, and she is not for Rossarm to strike. Even if Fendros' arrival affected him so deeply as to lash out, he has no excuse. I have spoken to Rossarm personally regarding the matter and he conceded as much. Unfortunately, he did not extend any concessions to Fendros."

Meesei had spoken nearby, but Calia could only face in her general direction. Holding Ahnasha's hand aloft, she spoke. "Would you mind leading me to Meesei, Ahnasha?"

Though Calia spoke casually enough that it could have been overlooked, she had placed Ahnasha with a small degree of trust in her request.

Rhazii grinned back at Meesei. He was enjoying all the attention.

"It will be challenge regardless of his transformations, I should think." Fendros ruffled the top of Rhazii's head. "You're already a mischievous child as it is, Rhazii. Being a teenager will be an adventure for everyone."

Monderyn held a neutral, if curious, look. "How large to these...Cathay grow?" he asked.

"About..." Fendros stuck out his lower lip and raised a down-turned palm above his head. "...A head and a half taller than me? I've seen a few myself. Not the most imposing of all Khajiit, but Rhazii here will be bigger than both of us by the time he turns fifteen."

"Hmph," Monderyn acknowledged. "Looks like you'll keep the edge over Newt on size, then."

"Mama and dada say I shouldn't play fight with Newt too much because I am too big," Rhazii chimed in. "He can run just as fast as me. We play tag instead."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Calia sighed and set herself back into her seat. "Time will tell. Rossarm is not one to renege words such as what he said, I am afraid. To him, Fendros is disowned and nothing will change that in any short amount of time." Calia offered at least a little hope in her voice as she continued. "There is a chance that he will forgive Fendros, though it may take as long as a century or more. It is an elven matter that will be solved in elven time."

With a sad smile, Calia offered a hand. "Receiving letters from you and Fendros would be much appreciated, all the same."

Rhazii traded a look with Fendros before looking at Monderyn again and shaking his head.

"Six years," Monderyn said. "He was bigger than me for most of our childhood. He would keep an eye on me, because I was the youngest between Fendros, Llarasa, and me. Even if Llarasa was only older than me by a year." Monderyn's smile became more genuine from his reminiscing. "Though Fendros was always the one who got to pick the fresh pastries first because he could run faster."

"Didn't stop you trying to filch them from me anyway, I remember," Fendros retorted with a similar smile. He peered around to Rhazii. "You and Newt are pretty similar like that sometimes, aren't you little one?"

Rhazii nodded deeply and spoke with his high voice. "Newt tries to take my sweets all the time. Uncle Janius makes us share." Rhazii breathed in and widened his eyes. "I look after Newt as well. He wanders around sometimes and I give him a hug if he falls over."

"That's kind of you," Monderyn gave.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I realise that doing conversations between Monderyn and Rhazii will probably make for lengthy posts. Will Meesei, Newt, or anyone else be joining that?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yes, I will have to talk with him further." Calia seemed to relax her shoulders slightly. "Well, Ahnasha, this lycanthropy matter is all very vexing, but...although it has brought you and Fendros into situations that I might disapprove of for raising a family, I count it as fortunate that this early chapter of his life has been far less than disastrous. Though you are Khajiit, you are cleverer and more determined than I had granted you credit for." She shuffled to the edge of her seat in preparation for standing up. "Do you have anything else you wish to ask me? I am in no rush, but I intend to speak with Meesei before we part ways today."

Janius cradled Newt on the pew for as long as he needed to. Even if Newt ended up falling asleep, Janius was not adverse to carrying him back to camp after things wrapped up in the temple.

With Janius so occupied, Monderyn could not simply strike up conversation with him again to avoid interacting with Rhazii. He stood in place and let out an exasperated breath. He raised one arm to his neck and caught Fendros' eye. This, whether Monderyn liked it or not, prompted Fendros to approach with Rhazii in tow.

Fendros sat down with Rhazii on a closer pew to Monderyn and called out. "Come and sit with us, brother! Why don't you tell Rhazii what it was like between us when we were growing up?"

"I have no choice, don't I?" Monderyn mumbled just loud enough for Meesei to hear. "Okay," he answered. A few paces took him to a seat on the pew. Rhazii sat between Monderyn and Fendros, looking up at Monderyn with his big red eyes. Monderyn tried a smile and began. "Well, you must be, what? Less than four years old, Rhazii? Let's see, it was a long time since Fendros and I were so young." Monderyn stopped to think for a second. "You are bigger than Newt, I can see that. I think Fendros and I were similar. Do you know how many years older than me he is?"

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

"Logos! Amarty is throwing potatoes at me again!"

"Kinesis, when are you going to get yourself a nice man?"

"Ilunabar, she is too busy helping me around the house to go chasing boys. Harrumph."

"Vestec! Get out of the kitchen! I don't want your help!"

"Come on Toun, I just want to put in my pumpkin pie! It's got a surpriiiise..."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Toun, let Jvan help you, you're too stressed."

"THE TURKEY IS RUINED!"

"Oh, your turkey is always dry anyway, what's wrong with a few extra succulent drumsticks."

"Are you growing tentacles from the food again?"

*Lifprasil leans on one hand and forks at his broccoli* "Every damn year."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Some things are keeping me busy this afternoon. I'll probably not be able to post until after you head to sleep.