Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pause answered the Redguard's question. None of them could think of why the incident on their way to the tavern would be connected to their contact.

Janius leaned into the conversation. "Uh, we had an encounter with a cutpurse in the markets and caught him before he got away," he said uncertainly. "Has there been trouble we should be worried about? Does anyone else know why we're here?"

Rhazii sipped at his mug, glancing between Janius and the Redguard. He had recently been allowed to drink wines and ales like his family, but he still preferred the sweeter beverages, such as cider.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rhazii's ears stood up. "They would allow that?" He grinned at Ahnasha. "That would be more fun than hanging around in an inn room all day, what do you think, Julan? Maybe we'll get to swing a scimitar around if we're lucky." Rhazii nudged at Julan's side.

"One of us could certainly help you find a fighters guild or something of the sort," Fendros said with a chuckle. "If nothing else, I am sure there would be some warships moored at the docks that could be worth seeing. Would that be something you two want to do?"

"Yeah!" Rhazii said immediately. For generally being the more reserved one between him and Kaj-Julan, there was an appeal to the war machines of great nations that got him excited.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius had his fist clasped in his hand on the table in front of him. His brow lifted when he looked to Meesei. "No, I only had some coins and a pen knife in it. I don't think there should be any concern now that he has been caught." He looked to his hands. "I apologise for the reaction. It was...more than was needed. This hot weather gets under my skin."

Fendros leaned forward, taking a breath to word himself carefully. "Not that anyone necessarily did anything wrong, but what the thief said to Julan...It was insensitive, yes, but I think he also noticed something unusual. He wasn't just slurring hate."

"Even if he suspected something, what would the guards do? Arrest us for Julan's strength?" Janius responded with a small smile. "Anyone with trained footwork can leverage themselves to out-pull people bigger than them. It's not a reasonable suspicion to act upon."

Sabine chimed in as well. "We will not have to worry if we can find the axe quickly."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Let me see," Janius gently said. He turned Julan's head to confirm for himself. While it was no doubt painful, the strike had not broken Julan's lip or left an easily detectable mark on his scales. Janius let out a relieved breath from his nose and let Julan go. "It might just turn into a bruise." He pat Julan on the shoulder. "Just making sure, son."

With the thief commenting on Julan as well, the eyes in the pack hurried Janius along. He half-turned to the man and looked at him with a frown. He opened his mouth to speak.

"We should get going, Janius," Fendros interrupted.

Janius glanced to Fendros and released his breath. After a pause, he addressed the guards. "I assume you saw what happened. Do you need anything else from us, guardsmen?" Janius had a hint of impatience in his voice. The suspicious looks and murmurs regarding Julan were now all too obvious with the thief stating it so blatantly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With an angered grunt, Janius threw the thief's wrists and stood up, picking up his purse on the way up. His face immediately turned sympathetic as he went to Julan.

"Are you okay?" Janius asked, putting his hands on Julan's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

Meanwhile, lucidity prevailed with the rest of the pack. Fendros crossed his arms as the situation died down. He had heard the guard's comment. "It's just a thief Janius, calm down. Julan, are you feeling okay?"

The question was as such inquiring about the pain as it was about Julan's beast spirit. His control had improved immensely since he had started training it, but young lycans were still vulnerable to what their other sides perceived as threats.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The snap against his belt made Janius shoot his gaze down and back. He took barely half a second to process it all. The next second was a lunge to try and grab the man, missing him by a hair. In Janius' stumble, Julan acted. Janius was just out of reach to stop the thief from striking Julan, but the delay allowed Janius to exact retribution.

"Hey!" Janius barked furiously. He raised both hands, roughly ceased the thief by the shoulder and arm, and kicked his ankles from the side to trip him to the ground. Janius knelt down as he fell, twisting his arm and pinning him with his hands. "How dare you touch my son! Guards!"

By this point, the crowd had made space for the altercation before them. While Janius was normally the more level-headed member of the pack, seeing Julan hit across the face had brought him to a red-faced rage.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pack had been to plenty of markets before. Most had hawkers, crowds, and street performers as Sentinel did, but Sentinel's markets were the most demanding they had walked through. There was a sheer variety here that rivalled any other trading hub. The sheer number of people trying to catch the pack's attention was almost overwhelming. Janius and Fendros were glad that their children were now grown up enough that they were less likely to get separated from them and lost.

Regardless, progress was slow. Between the stalls, sprukers, hawkers, and the crowds, thoroughfare was narrow. Narrow enough that most of the merchants had enough time to advertise, including the Breton palm reader.

Janius' eyes lit up as he turned his head to the woman. He didn't know whether to regard her attire as more titillating or absurd. "Ahem, my apologies," he lifted a hand and pointed ahead. "We have a meeting to get to." He attempted to walk onwards.

'Free' services on the street were more often than not a con anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rhazii laughed. "But Hammerfell has a great navy already. They came from across the sea, I read it in a book." He craned his head as if he could see around the huge ring wall. "I wonder if we'll see any warships."

The wait at the gates ended with their admission into Sentinel proper. The main roads were wide enough for several carts to run abreast at once, though the bustling morning had most of the space occupied by people.

Now that they were on the move, Fendros mentioned quietly to Ahnasha next to her. "Did you see the looks they gave you and Rhazii? It's as if they were expecting trouble."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A thought crossed Janius' mind. The corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "She's in charge all the time. Perhaps the bossiness is refreshing for her?" He said jokingly.

The military power on display from outside of the city was somewhat sobering for the pack. All around were strength and equipment that even the Blackreach clan could not match. Though there were no dwemer automata or lycans amongst Sentinel's military, there were enough men, spears, and bristling defences that even a rival nation would be bowed before it. Indeed, the Dominion were not absent by coincidence. The reminder that the lycan clans were still the smaller fish in the sea compared to fully-fledged nations made most of the pack quiet.

Rhazii, in contrast, was amazed. He stared up and around with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. "It's like they're getting ready to go to war," he said.

"They're already at war, Rhazii," Fendros said with more calm reservation than his son. "They have been for longer than you are old. Hammerfell seceded from the Empire when they made peace with the Dominion a few decades ago."

"No joking," Rhazii said. He gasped and pointed up to the walls. "Hey Julan, look! How far do you think those ballistas can shoot those huge arrows?"

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

Hmm, to actually start a Minus post for the first time in several months or to fill in a wiki page? Which do I want to procrastinate on for the other?

This is an odd experience that will probably have me go straight to playing video games in the end.