Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I'll come with you," Sabine said. She padded on all fours to catch up before striding on her hind legs behind Meesei's imposing form. She wanted to know how it felt to simply stroll around in this controlled form.

Transformed lycans were nothing uncommon in the Silent City. What drew eyes to the pair was Meesei herself. Still, Sabine couldn't help but feel that it was foreign to walk around in this form without the normal purposes; either hunting, training, or just heading out of the city complex. Her self-consciousness was at least somewhat offset by the freedom her mind had to sense through her werewolf eyes, ears, and nose. She was no longer constantly distracted or limited in cognition. Everything smelled and sounded nicer.

The stroll ended back in Meesei's chambers. Sabine had not requested anything particularly complex to cook. Merely a flat cut of goat meat rubbed with a mix of spices and seasoning.

Sabine ground the spices with a mortar and pestle, but not without some difficulty. Meesei was right that her hands did not move with quite the precision of human hands. Conversely, she was also correct about how precisely Sabine could smell the mix. Sabine was able to balance the spice mix down to the last peppercorn before lathering it on the uncooked goat meat. She then roasted the meat over the flames. It would not take nearly as long as normal, as they could consume it undercooked. Indeed, they both preferred it.

Wiping her beastly hands on a rag, Sabine sat down next to Meesei and watched the flames lick at their meal. She licked her nose and up her jaw in anticipation.

"It could be nice to be transformed for a longer time than usual," Sabine thought out loud. "If it were not for the magic and the coordination." She turned her face to Meesei. "Has any champion ever stayed transformed without turning back?"

---

Even if Rhazii couldn't see it, Fendros nodded along with Ahnasha's offers.

Rhazii's voice levelled. "Thanks mother," he said, still with a blocked nose. The encouragement gave him some more confidence in his voice, at least. "It's just...hard, okay? It's hard not to think about all of you fighting Do'rhajul." He tried sniffing and only partially succeeded.

"We know," Fendros responded. "And that's okay. It just means you care about your family, and we are proud to have brought up a boy who is so caring." He tilted his head. "If it helps, remember that have been doing this for a long time. Longer than you have been alive. We've gotten good at taking care of each other, your mother and I, and the rest of the pack. While we had a close call today, we still all made it out alive because of all the things we've learned over the years. And that ambush was most likely the worst they could have thrown at us. You can rest assured, Rhazii, we'll be okay."

A moment passed. Rhazii lowered one hand, rubbed his fingers across his forehead with the other, and opened his teary, red-iris eyes. "Alright," he reluctantly accepted with a frown on his face. "So you'll make sure you and the others won't get killed? You won't take big risks if you don't have to?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine found herself at a short loss. She was happy to sit down and continue talking as they were. At the same time, she liked the control she had with the Ring on. She wanted to stand a little taller for a while.

"This may sound strange," Sabine began slowly. "But...I feel like doing something in this form. Something I could not do before. Like...cooking a meal for us." She raised a hand. "Um, but only if that is okay with you! I can give the ring back now if you like. It may not be appropriate."

---

Again, Rhazii took a while to answer. His calmer mind evidently had to give the options some thought. After a couple of sighs and nearly a minute of patient waiting, he lifted one fist from his eye to his forehead. Ahnasha could just see that he was keeping his eyes shut. An answer quietly came from him.

"I can fight with a sword. I could do that." He paused. His nose was blocked. "And I enjoy learning magic. I want to keep doing that. But, I do not know if I want to focus on magic to fight with, like uncle Janius."

Fendros grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "It's still a useful set of skills to focus on. I'm sure there are plenty of places in the militia for someone who can do those."

"Mm," Rhazii hummed, unconvinced. Fendros suspected that he was still unhappy about being left behind. Not that it could be helped. However, Rhazii's next question was not something Fendros predicted. "What about Julan? If I go out on missions, he'll be home alone."

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

@Cyclone Happy to keep you on, man. You still reserve the right to attend to RL matters as always, but I appreciate you sticking around to do your contributions justice.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine had been impressed enough the first time Meesei demonstrated using magic in her beast form. However, the circumstances she put herself under was a new level.

"That is amazing." Sabine could not describe it any other way. "I could not begin to fathom doing that without the control of the ring." She turned one ear. "Although, you will at least have the ring normally. So using magic in lycan form will remain practical for you, right? You will not have to do it the difficult way like you just did."

---

Fendros sat down on the other side of Rhazii and craned his head forward to try and see his face, covered with his hands as it was. As Rhazii did not respond to Ahnasha, Fendros decided to weigh in. "Yes, mother and I thought it would be a good idea for you to get some practical experience if you wanted to work your way up to working with us. We know you can handle yourself in the wild and in Blackreach, and Ri'vashi has told us that your fighting skills are at a ready level for such tasks."

Rhazii curled his hands into fists in front of his eyes but did not turn to either of his parents. He let out a shaky breath. "How long would it take for me to get enough experience to help the pack?" He said quietly. If all the other signs that he had been crying were not enough, his voice was a tired grumble as well.

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

My Divinus activity today: Pulling woefully unqualified speculative biology out of my arse to make the hain wiki page section on their exoskeletons sound smarter.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I know what this form can do," Sabine said. "It is not confidence in my limits that I am missing. It is confidence in fighting." She lowered her voice and hunched her shoulders. "Getting hurt by silver still makes me feel tense and sick. More than just the pain it gives all of us."

---

"I think it's about time, yes," Fendros said. "Perhaps you had better start, just in case he's angry with me for shouting at him."

The pair walked to Rhazii, hand in hand.

Rhazii's ears were still flat. There were a few droplets that had fallen from his covered face onto the floor below. His breathing was relatively even in his leant-forward position, so most likely he had been crying quietly and was only just now recovering. He did not react to his parents' approach.

Fendros squeezed Ahnasha's hand and let it go as they slowed to a stop.

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

ooooo. ooooooo. ooooooooooooo.
I wanna make another charrie based on a charrie in a book i'm writing. It was inspired by this piece i wrote for creative writing.

@IrishAngelQueen

For this RP? It's a nice description. Go ahead and fill in a character sheet if you want and we can have a closer looksie.

Listen here you little shits, be active

@Lauder

Hey, my post is in progress. My head doesn't bash itself against my keyboard. It's a delicate bludgeoning process.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I can understand," Sabine said. "It is not just the ferocity that helps. It is the confidence. I have never been as confident in a melee as my beast."

She shivered briefly at Meesei's magic. She might have been less comfortable if she didn't know exactly what Meesei was doing. To test a spell, Sabine held her hand up and tried to cast a magelight. It was a simple enough spell that she was visibly off-put when it did not manifest. Magicka did not flow at all through her. She tried again, concentrating this time. All her bodily responses to making magic flow simply did not work.

Sabine looked at her furred hand. "It is like I am trying to lift an arm I have slept on."

---

Fendros ran his thumb over Ahnasha's hand. "I can't disagree with any of that. I can see all this is frustrating him. As for making use of his initiative, well..." Fendros tilted his head. "you saw what happened when you told him to train with Ri'vashi. He gave it his all. Maybe a more realistic goal would be healthy for him."

Taking a step to one side, Fendros changed his tone. "You know, I wonder if we should allow him missions with the militia, or with the rangers. With what Ri'vashi said, and with what we just saw, he's no longer a child playing with wooden swords."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine walked carefully over to Meesei on all fours and stood up straight again. While she was being examined, she looked at her upper arm and ran a hand slowly over her dark fur. She had never thought to simply feel its texture before.

"It is so strange to be able to think like this. Observe everything. Feel it all." Sabine opened and closed her hand over and again. "I could mix a potion in this form. I can talk so well. I..." A thought distracted her. She looked aside. "I think I might still fight better without the ring," she said with less excitement.

---

Fendros looked at Ahnasha's bandages, looked back to Ri'vashi, and nodded once. "We shall inform you of our next meeting to make plans. Until then, take care."

With Ri'vashi walking away, Fendros closed his eyes, sucked in a breath through his nose, and held it. Ahnasha could physically see the rapid throbbing of Fendros' heart against the base of his chest. His breath escaped between his lips so slowly his exhale was silent.

When Fendros' lungs were finally emptied, he opened his eyes and caught Ahnasha's stare. "I was afraid that wasn't going to work. I've never spoken like that to a council member."

Fendros stooped to pick up the cracked waster that Rhazii had dashed on the tiles. He looked at it, and then turned his eyes to Rhazii. "If only all reasoning could be so brief," he said, turning to Ahnasha. "What do you think we should do, Ahna?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine only nodded. She kept looking at the ring with a small frown. Once her clothing was neatly folded and placed to one side, she stood in the centre of the room and slid the ring over one finger. She held her breath as if expecting an immediate effect. There was nothing.

"Okay," she breathed out. Once she closed her eyes, her beast spirit leapt into the forefront of her mind as if dragged by ropes. Her transformation felt the same as always at first -- limbs cracking, elongating, and realigning as usual. But as it slowed down, she opened her eyes and blinked twice. She thought it had stopped early. Her mind was not dominated by the usual notions of sniffing around or looking for something to eat.

She looked down at her hands and found not the ring, nor her Breton hands, but her fully formed werewolf claws. She peered up at Meesei with a surprised look that resembled Sabine's manner more closely than any time she had been in such a form. "You are right," Sabine said. She hesitated at how articulate her voice sounded, despite its deeper and rougher tone. "I feel like it is..." Sabine searched her mind. Her beast spirit was still present, just quiet. Docile. "It is just watching patiently."

---

Fendros let Ri'vashi go and straightened. "Right now we are only confident on two of Do'rhajul's team. One is a zealot of Vile and may try to undermine our attempts to convince the others. She will likely have to die before the end. The other is a Nord hermit with...an interesting set of skills. He has displayed disapproval in fighting us, we think when he realised that we had families and children. We have reason to believe that he also saved Kaleeth's life during the fight. The others, we are not so sure on."

After a glance at Rhazii, who was still moping on the nearby stairs, Fendros spoke more quickly. "Currently we are planning to plant evidence of Vile's lies amongst the team. The exact plan will depend on where and when we find them. If you have any ideas or anything else to add, we should probably leave it to a meeting with the rest of our pack." Fendros raised his brow and peered to the ground. "As for extra men or resources, that is definitely possible. However, if our plans require stealth, we could only take on a small number. And even that small number may be viciously outmatched by Do'rhajul and his team. They are incredibly powerful. Such a thing would only help us if we had a full warband at least."

Fendros wanted to provide Ri'vashi with the information he wanted, but his deliberate withholding of details was evident from the public setting. And from brevity. If he didn't ask to talk this through later so they could see to Rhazii soon, Ahnasha would.