Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Being in such deep thought, Fendros almost forgot his own sense of position when he walked into camp, only to be snapped back into reality with pats on either shoulder by the other members of the pack. Fendros nodded and feigned smiles to receive their congratulations, but between trying to compose a message in his mind and his own conflict about horribly mutilating a creature as an achievement, he couldn't bring himself to their mirth. He did as he was told and set down the sack, before beginning to walk to the water with everyone.

"Hold it, Dunmer," Lorag's voice stopped Fendros in his tracks, "I've got a gift to celebrate your first kill." Fendros raised an eyebrow and started turning around when Lorag shoved a metal item into his chest, Fendros grabbed at it with his hands just in time to stop it clattering to the ground. He looked down and found his sword, scabbard and all. Fendros pulled a length of the sword from the sheath and beheld the blade, polished and sharp. It's better than new, just like he promised, Fendros thought, smiling in surprise and sighing a laugh. Fendros put the sword back and looked to Lorag, "Thank you, Lorag. I haven't seen it in this condition since-"

"-good, I'm glad you like it," Lorag said, returning a grin and placed a hand on his shoulder, "but you stink again, wash up." In an unexpected and deft movement, Lorag snatched the sword from Fendros' hands and shoved him backwards. Fendros stumbled backwards, his hands flailing to grip Lorag, but out of reach. His stumble stopped as he fell over into the river behind him. Fendros sat up suddenly from the riverbed and shook the water from his hair, glaring back at Lorag, who had his fists on his hips and was laughing heartily.

"Don't worry too much about it, Fendros. It's his way of showing he likes you." Fendros heard Janius' voice behind him. Turning his head around, Fendros spotted Janius wading in the water nearby. Janius wore a friendly smile, but Fendros was skeptical. "So what did you end up catching? Looked like a big one, judging by the size of the skin bag."

"Oh, er..." Fendros looked about, as if trying to find the answer in the water around him, "It... it was an ogre-"

There was a splash on the water between Janius and Fendros that made Fendros jolt in surprise. Ahnasha had surfaced seemingly out of nowhere, "You caught and ogre!?"

"It was just a small one, juvenile I thin-" Fendros began, but was interrupted again.

"-Well, Hircine has blessed you today. An ogre could crush the skull of a new lycanthrope like you." Ahnasha smiled just like everyone else, and Fendros couldn't help but mirror them in some part.

It was at that moment that Fendros reckognised the maroon pigment dissipating into the water was the ogre blood that had since dried onto this skin. He began to try wiping off the blood, but was probed further about the hunt by Janius, "so, tell me about how it went. Was there more than one ogre? Did you have to fight, or did you get 'im by the neck in the first moment?"

Fendros found himself a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, especially for something he didn't feel he should be proud of. Nevertheless he indulged them with a recount of the hunt from where he could first remember, "After transforming, I followed Meesei through the woods, she kept a fast pace, and I was a little distracted with all the different smells, but I kept up most of the time. We stopped at a leaning tree and Meesei climbed up to find a scent. That's when she pointed out the ogre scent that was, well, it was right under my nose. I don't remember much about tracking it, I think the beast was in control for much of the time. Eventually we found it, the ogre was sitting on a rock on its own..."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's alright, in fact it was good timing. My grandparents had just arrived.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded again, "Thank you." His mind ticked into slight frustration as Meesei mentioned the pack's willingness to help, as they would not likely be able to relate to his parent's in particular. The frustration was quickly overwhelmed in trying to construct an explanation that wouldn't cause his parent's to become unhealthily grief-stricken, but at the same time not so determined that they continue searching for him.

Fendros remained deep in thought and speculation all the way back to the encampment. He had a feeling that the note he would be writing would be as much closure for himself as his mother and father. He could feel the grief welling up in his chest again, making it harder to concentrate.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Opting to be silent, Fendros nodded. He was originally going to tell the guards the truth, but with the options presented to him, that may not be the most appropriate course of action. So far it appeared that just telling his parents that he was leaving made the most sense. How to word it would take some time. "Do we have any tools for writing a note at camp?" Fendros asked. Things were less likely to go wrong if the search party brought back a note to show to his parents, and the option was also open to leave the note somewhere where they would find it, rather than risking the guards finding out that he was a werewolf to Fendros', or their, demise.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros shuddered when Meesei tried to justify the practice of cannibalism my referencing the Bosmer of Valenwood. Just because those stunted wildlings eat each other, it doesn't make it right. Fendros thought to himself. The magic that Meesei imbued onto the hide sack took Fendros by surprise as he hoisted it over his shoulder. "I almost got used to the smell of blood everywhere, up until you mentioned washing it off," Fendros remarked, "now the drying blood is starting to itch." And so began the hike back to the encampment, with a disproportionately large sack of ogre meat.

Fendros still felt rather uncomfortable as he continued to stride back. He felt as if he had more control now that his beast was sleeping, however there were still anxieties running through his mind. Would he be able to keep the values that he believed in, or would he be forced to change? Would he be cast out if he couldn't change? Where is there to go? He couldn't go home, he had fully convinced himself of that as he he first tore open the ogre's stomach. He was mostly worried about his parents searching for him. After a while of walking, Fendros asked Meesei about it, "Meesei, if you remember me mentioning beforehand, you'll know that I'm the only birth child of my parents'." His tone was quite serious as he spoke, "Dunmer are incredibly lucky if they conceive a child more than twice in their entire lifetimes. You must understand that parental grief is far more pronounced among my people. My mother and father are likely pleading to the count to send out a search party by now. I never stay away for this long, you see." Fendros sighed, "if they find us, might I try to talk to the guards, or at the very least leave a note? It will at least give my parents some closure if my words are forwarded to them."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Heheh, just don't tell him...

Gute nacht!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded, then shook his head with a worried look, "Hold on, did you just say 'the latter'?" Under no impression that Meesei would correct herself, Fendros turned away and placed a hand over his face. "Oh, by Azura," Fendros' muffled voice said, his skin becoming pale. "Meesei, it's one thing to kill, but I'm not sure I could handle eating human flesh," Fendros declared, trying not to feel sick.

Rather than continue to question Meesei's life choices, Fendros took the opposite end of the ogre hide to help tie the makeshift sack up in preparation of hauling the meat back. Thankfully, Meesei's words had at least convinced Fendros that the ogre meat didn't really count in this circumstance.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros stepped off the rock and followed Meesei to the ogre. The effortlessness she demonstrated in pulling her ghostly bound dagger into Mundus gave him a slight pang of jealousy, but he remained attentive while she skinned the corpse. Understandably, the ogre hide was thicker and much fattier than any creature Fendros had skinned, and the smell of the already torn entrails was atrocious. Nevertheless, Fendros found a slightly macabre fascination with the creature's anatomy, balanced almost perfectly with the slight revulsion of how similarly the humanoid shape of the ogre was to other people when the job was done. On occasion, Fendros was stop Meesei and ask a question to clarify things or to satisfy his own curiosity, and throughout he drew all the knowledge in like a sponge.

After a while of pondering the creature's similarities to other humanoid races, an almost sudden, and particularly dreadful, thought dawned on Fendros. "Uh, Meesei. How similar exactly are ogres to people?" He itched the back of his neck as he wondered whether he should be assuming this, "I just wonder where the line is drawn with cannibalism, now that we seem to be eating any kind of meat."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros was somewhat satisfied with Meesei's answer. As long as I'm not ordered to pass such judgement on someone in a ruin, I don't think there will be problems, He thought.

The invitation to explore one of the ruins made Fendros pause to consider it. The ruins, whether they be old Imperial forts or Ayleid, were areas that Fendros had previously steered clear from due to bandits, creatures, or worse residing within. He himself did not know much history beyond what his parents had taught him about Morrowind, but his curiosity was piqued. "I think that would be quite interesting," Fendros said, purposely not revealing any previous desire to become an adventurer, "I think I'll take you up on that offer." Fendros looked up and saw a hawk circling above. "I think we are going to attract mountain lions if we stay for much longer. Did you have any more questions, or should we start butchering the corpse?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Perhaps she had a respect for archaeology before she turned. She probably still does, Fendros thought, still, I wonder. Adventurers come in all different forms, so...

"Have you ever mistaken a scholar for an adventurer before?" Fendros asked. There was not animosity in his words, rather a curiosity that probed the boundaries of Meesei's opinion. If Fendros thought of adventurers so differently, then surely things cannot be so clear-cut as Meesei had claimed.