Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius showed his teeth and barely stifled a shout of encouragement. Julan's attack was not perfect but it was enough to give him the initiative.

"It could," Janius answered Kaleeth just as quietly. "It's taken hard work but he has mastered a few basic spells that can give him some options. The question is if he's practiced enough to use them in the rush of a fight."

He couldn't give any further details while the fight carried on.

---

Rhazii's shamble did not stop from any of Ahnasha's words. The calming spell struck and he slowed. He slowed to a limping walk. He stopped with his back still turned to Ahnasha. His chest rose and fell more evenly.

He half-turned to look over his shoulder. Whenever Ahnasha tried to move towards him, he would stumble back an equal distance, but he did not run further away. He looked brought to the brink by a mix of fear and sadness, perhaps barely contained by Ahnasha's spell. He took a long silence to even say anything.

"You...You didn't even react when you...crushed that woman." Rhazii whimpered loud enough to hear. "She was screaming. You didn't even flinch. You were looking forward to it." He raised his voice. "You say all this stuff about them deserving it. I don't believe you, mother! No one deserves that!" His head sank. "You're just cruel. I'm...I'm scared of you. I don't know how to help."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I was just thinking the same thing," Janius said quietly. "An accident could cause harm. But I think they'll both be more cautious without armour. They're not trying to kill each other."

Janius watched Julan's stance closely. The still defensive stance may not have been the best approach; Julan needed to be unpredictable to avoid the quick jabs of his opponent's spear in advance. Then again, if Julan planned to spring quickly, he could end the fight decisively, or at the very least put Argrei off balance. It all depended on his footwork on the damp soil below them.

---

When Ahnasha embraced Rhazii on the forest floor, she could feel his heart pounding. She could hear him hyperventilating. Unlike every other time she had hugged her son, nothing about him relaxed with her touch. She perceived this all in a blink before pain shot through her bitten arm and Rhazii roared down at her -- though it was more of a scream than that. With an iron grip, Rhazii pried Ahnasha's arm off him, leaving scratches from her claws.

As if some last shot of fear dulled the pain in his limbs, Rhazii scrambled up to a limping run a few paces from Ahnasha and stopped. He turned his head to face her. He still had a panic in his eyes and his ears held flat. "I'll never kill like you do! Never!" He said, before running away on all fours as fast as his limp could take him.

Rhazii's mind might have still been clouded by his beast, but his words left much less doubt as to which was the true source of his turmoil.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Janius was heartened by the gesture of Julan's opponent Argrei, he had reservations as well. Julan would have to be careful that none of his blows against Argrei's torso would be lethal either. Julan's strength was already proven and Janius never let his weapons dull. Janius' worry began to show on his face as the duellists squared up. He remained wordless, knowing he would have to stay back and trust Julan's skills.

---

"No! Stay away! Stay away!" Rhazii's cries turned to sobbing as Ahnasha caught up. Even as he was turned around to face Ahnasha, Rhazii kept his arms up to shield himself, cowering. One of his hands swiped ineffectually at Ahnasha's hand two seconds after she made contact.

Rhazii gave Ahnasha the only answer that his panicking mind could find. "I'm not going with you!" he shouted. "You're a monster!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Very well," Janius said. He pulled his sword from his scabbard -- a reforged Dwemer metal blade picked for its resilience in the swamp -- and held it out horizontally to Julan. "Do your best," he said with a smile. "Good luck, son."

---

"No!" Rhazii shouted. "I won't turn back!" His breathing quickened. "GET AWAY FROM ME! STAY AWAY!"

Though injured, Rhazii still tried to push himself along the ground away from Ahnasha.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius looked down and held his chin. "Then you are lucky my sword is not enchanted. Here is my advice. There is a chance your opponent does not know how to fight against a sword, but that advantage will not last long. You must choose on the weight of your skill and your ability to fight against the spear. Additionally, if I am to hand you my sword, you will first promise not to commit strikes against your opponent's head or neck. I taught you to end fights quickly but you are not here to kill." He put his hands together. "What is your choice?"

---

Rhazii's snarling eased into a kind of laboured breathing. His outward breathing came out with hints of whining. He neither moved from his position nor transformed back into a Khajiit.

"...Stop," he barely said. "You're scaring me, mama. Stop!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius left Julan to his new friends' game. Though Julan might not have fully understood everything, Janius was confident that it would become clearer as he went. Besides, Julan had been taught very clearly how to avoid the worst outcomes, such as infecting people with lycanthropy.

The hours passed and Janius saw them through both by spending time with Kaleeth and Zharanthixil and by finishing the tasks he had left over from the previous day. As the rite approached, he put on as calm a demeanour as he could. He did not care whether the crowd was usual or not, for it made him nervous to see it.

He tried to ease his fears by chatting with Kaleeth, but he stopped and smiled when Julan approached.

The question he asked did not make his smile fade, but he did stop to think. A few thoughts came to his mind, and few of them were positive.

"If you feel most comfortable fighting with a sword..." Janius glanced toward the Master Hunter. "You remember how to fight against a spear with a sword, right Julan?"

---

Ahnasha left such jabs and gashes in Rhazii's arms that he was left not only unable to cleanly strike but unable to effectively defend himself. The speed of the bout did not leave enough time for him to regenerate from his wounds. Ahnasha was left facing a sadly limping Rhazii, barely able to lunge and snap at her with his teeth with any threatening speed.

The fight effectively concluded with Rhazii dropping to the ground and curling up, covering his head with his arms and softly snarling through his still bared teeth. He growled whenever Ahnasha reached anywhere near his where he could see.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That much did make Janius guffaw. "Now you're starting to understand that talk mother and I had with you a few years ago, hmm?" He pat Julan on the back. "Go along and have fun. Remember, if you want to talk about absolutely anything, your mother and I will always be there."

---

Ahnasha's claws inflicted enough pain for Rhazii to roar out once again. He still did not submit. Now with a fresh limp, he lashed out in quick strikes to try and damage Ahnasha's hands and arms further without committing any more than he needed to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Got it. I'll put in one more post before bed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, so now that I've finished laughing, quick question: Kaleeth and Janius have given Julan 'the talk', right?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius stifled a laugh. "I did say you're not to do the same thing your mother and I did, you're correct. But that does not mean you should just stop talking to her and wonder 'what if.' You will both require the understanding that it will not last. Beyond that, you are free." He lowered his chin and spoke less casually. "The important detail is what you will be walking away from. Either nothing happens and you regret it, or something is there and you can keep it as a memory. This, of course, depends on how she feels about you as well, but there will be no chance unless you find out."

---

Rhazii scrabbled away a short distance but did not have the balance to keep running before Ahnasha spoke. In response, he turned and roared in her face. Running had not worked, now Ahnasha forced him to fight.

Rather than pounce straight for the neck as an untrained feral might, Rhazii stepped in to grab Ahnasha's arm and throw his claws through to rake her across the middle.