Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine returned from poking her head around the other wall and gave Marcaille a smile. Ariel, on the other hand, appeared uncomfortable with her smiling exterior while Marcaille addressed her. "It's good to finally meet you, Marcaille," Ariel said. She hesitated to answer further, but the question towards Rukeewei gave something else to say.

"Oh, this is my husband." Ariel turned her head to Rukeewei. "We both came here from Thorn."

In case Rukeewei was nervous to the point of silence, Ariel nudged him with her elbow and nodded to Marcaille while looking at him. She didn't want to introduce him on his behalf, even if the sight of a witch in her natural habitat was intimidating.

---

Janius had his arm around Kaleeth and was watching Newt when she spoke. He nodded and hummed with her words, though her last sentence made him turn his head and raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Have you been talking with a blacksmith?" He asked. "Well, a new set of armour is never a bad idea, especially where we might end up. What kind were you thinking? Did a blacksmith offer to make you a new set?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hello Marcaille!" Sabine called into the chamber as they carefully stepped in. "We are back. Come and meet my sister Ariel."

Ariel peered at the various implements with recognition. The movement of the raven caught her eye. "Sabine," she asked. "You never mentioned that Marcaille practiced witchcraft."

"She is a witch," Sabine confirmed as if it was a minor detail.

While not exactly concerned, Ariel hummed a high acknowledgement. "Some things in this place I have not seen the likes of in years."

Sabine stepped over to look behind the wall of the enchanting chamber in search. Ariel stayed put near the door with Rukeewei and clasped her hands together.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine smiled and nodded quickly. She was visibly excited to give Ariel and Rukeewei a tour, even if they may have been nervous about this new place.

"We should probably unpack and get settled," Fendros said, taking Rhazii by the hand. He addressed Ariel and Rukeewei before making any motion to leave. "Our rooms are all relatively close to one another, you two. Stop in and we'll get you a hot drink."

Janius chimed in. "Indeed, I doubt we'll be moving around too much for the rest of the night. As for who you stay with," Janius gestured one hand. "We have some room, as much as anyone else. It's your choice. At any rate, it shouldn't be too hard to secure a room for yourselves."

"You could stay with me if you want," Sabine added.

"Or us as well, if you don't mind Rhazii waking up from a bad dream every now and then." Fendros said with a grin. "As Janius said, it's your choice."

Soon enough, the pack separated to go about their various tasks. Newt and Rhazii were no doubt looking forward to meeting their friends again. Sabine was in a similar position, though seeing Peiter again gave her a twinge of anxiety. Giving her sister and her husband a tour was a distraction she was happy to pay more attention to.

The three of them started with the basic ameneties; food, water, bathing, clothes washing, supplies, and the like. The clan was growing, but it was still hardly larger than a sizable village and as such, the living conditions were still very communal as in Bruma. Food was rationed, tasks were rotated, and people helped each other. Ariel wasn't sure what to make of the interdependence everyone shared. The city was a contrast in that regard. They moved on to the particular people that they could see for specialist help, such as the blacksmiths and the healers. Ariel tried to put on a brave face when meeting the new people, though most of them were friendly enough. Non-lycans weren't an unseen sight in the clan these days. Not to mention, Sabine's attachment to the champion gave her endorsement more weight than usual.

The time eventually came to show Sabine's primary workplace and what would soon be Ariel's as well; the alchemy lab. Technically, it was an annex of a multi-roomed building complex that had been claimed defacto by Darahil and the previous occupants of the scholar's loft in Bruma, though the greater area and separating walls meant that disciplines of magic and research could have their own spaces now. The Dwemer scholars had their own rooms, as did the magical scholars, the historians of Falmer and Ayleid, Darahil's private office, and of course the alchemists. It naturally followed that the scholars themselves would pick living quarters nearby.

The tour of the other areas would come later. Instead, the door to the Marcaille's chamber stood before them, bronzed as any other Dwemer metal door in the city. Sabine had come to befriend Marcaille in their hours of work together, and wanted to introduce Ariel in any case. Meesei's recommendation was secondary.

Ariel leaned down slightly to Sabine. "Remind me, Marcaille is the leader of the research into the cure, yes?"

"Mm, Darahil is the leader of the scholars," Sabine answered. "But, Marcaille knows a lot about alchemy, more than Darahil, so she is the leader for the cure. It is not written down that way, though." Sabine turned her head and smiled at Ariel. "She is nice. And really smart."

Sabine stepped forward and knocked on the door three times.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While there was the occasional chatter from the other members of the carriage, Ariel and Rukeewei spent most of their time in silent wonder at the colossal fungi and luminescent features of the cavern around them. There were so many sights and sounds around them that Ariel commented that it was like Vvardenfell all over again, but like a dream. Other questions arose about the city they would be heading to, mostly filling out the extra details that Ariel had not been prepared for when they first laid eyes on the cavern. Though, there were also other things, like how they managed to convince horses to come down to such a foreign place and serve lycans. To that, Sabine told of the skilled Bosmeri tamers that had come to settle with them. That inevitably lead to mention the chaurus, which Ariel was surprisingly curious of. She was quite familiar with chaurus eggs but had never actually seen one before.

Even with all the descriptions, the orb above the Silent City held Ariel's gaze for their entire approach. As more and more of the city was revealed, she even let out a small laugh. "It's beautiful."

"It's home," Sabine confirmed.

---

While Gallus did show a small smile at Ri'vashi's humour, he lowered his eyes and gave her question some thought. He eventually shook his head. "Some people could do some things better than me but...as much as I dislike stroking my ego, I don't think they could do everything." He nodded his head sideways towards Ri'vashi. "I suppose you're right. How our situations have reversed since then, at least with self-confidence. I think I owe you this, Ri'vashi."

Gallus held his hands to his knees, stood up, turned to Ri'vashi, and threw his arms around her neck where she sat. The difference in their heights made the tight hug at eye-level, despite Ri'vashi sitting down. Gallus held her silently and still with his eyes closed and his nose to her shoulder for a long, tender moment.

He didn't have any words. Given the similar gesture that Ri'vashi had shown him in Orcrest when given similar support, there was not much that needed to be said.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's all good. I've been doing other stuff today anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel ran her hand over Rukeewei's back and placed her chin on his shoulder. "Of course. I'll always be here, my love."

They were in each other's arms for as long as Rukeewei needed. As soon as Ariel perceived that he was calming down, she carefully pulled away and took Rukeewei gently by the hands. "Come," she said quietly. "Let's see if we can get some sleep. At least we won't be as cold this time."

---

Gallus was still upset, but he spent a few moments after Ri'vashi finished to try and level his breathing. He brought a hand up and back over his shoulder and squeezed his fingers around Ri'vashi's large arm. "I don't doubt that he does," he said through his unsteady breaths and blocked nose. "I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling the pressure, at least."

After a few more moments, Gallus sniffed hard, swallowed hard, and audibly exhaled. "How is it..." he turned his tear-streaked face up to look back at Ri'vashi again. "How is it that you cope, then? Other than..." Gallus' eyes went to the heavily splintered training dummy that he had previously been demolishing. "...Training."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We can't know for sure," Ariel conceded, returning Rukeewei's hug. "But, if it makes you feel any better, Meesei came to us because every lycan in that clan needs our help. I don't think they'll want to hurt us as long as that's the case."

Ariel pulled back enough to look at Rukeewei with a smile. "How about we stay optimistic for now and see what it's like when we get there. We can't be sure either way until then. And, Rukee, I'm glad you're here with me." She laid a quick kiss on his lips.

---

Gallus blinked his gaze away. He was quiet for a while, mulling over Ri'vashi's words. When he did speak up again, he didn't sound any more cheerful about it. "I hope you're correct, Ri'vashi. I want you to be correct. I just don't know."

After another quiet sigh, Gallus turned his palms to look at them and curled his fingers. "Perhaps I was being to idealistic about the whole thing. I've never had anything to separate from when I first turned -- I was a lycan from the start. Still, I hated having others suffer because of us. Mostly, it was just people turned by ferals or scoundrels, hence Tzirret and Peiter becoming my charges. This time, it was my own actions I wanted to make up for. I'd played a part in torturing and killing a mother who was manipulated into this conflict."

Gallus let out a hopeless chuckle. "It's ironic that I wanted to help by doing what I hate about the ferals, by turning him. Though at least I was better than them by not following through against Yizan-lei's will. Regardless, I couldn't do anything else..."

He cut himself off and pressed a fist against his forehead. "Sometimes, you can't save anyone. You can't even save your bloody packmates, or have your bloody adopted son keep his bloody arm! Sometimes, there's not much that you can do but be the same bloody monster that you're working against!" He ran out of breath and sucked another in through a constricted throat. "I've not got a good bloody score, Ri'vashi! I'm not doing well." A pat of a tear sounded against the cloth on the floor as it fell from Gallus' chin. He repeated, "I'm not doing well...I'm not doing well..."

It wasn't immediately clear how long Gallus had been holding back his emotions, but they were pouring out now. Even if it was the first time that Gallus had acted this way in front of Ri'vashi, his usually level-headed demeanour meant that she was one of the few to ever see him in such a state.

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

@Slime Well, referring to your question about Reathos' relics, I didn't say anything because I have no idea. As for anything else, I don't think you're being ignored as much as we just might not have anything to add. If you're feeling left out, know that we like your character and appreciate having you here in the RP.

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

@Double Capybara Wait...

The invading angel-like death creatures.

The stolen giants.

The waifus.

It all makes sense now.

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

Ah... Well, I'm not enough of a man to tackle that issue, I'm, in fact, a capybara. So the calendar stuff I'm making is completely useless.

@Double Capybara

Oh no, no you don't. You don't get to back out of this that easily just because you're a rodent! Get out of your waterhole and start with how many days you have in a year! Keep it close to 365 so we don't confuse ourselves too easily, but you can fuck around with it as much as you like after that. I don't care, as long as I get to put date numbers next to things that are meaningful.