Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmph!" Lunise called, looking as incredulous as she sounded. "Now that you speak of it so lowly, I cannot help but agree that learning a spell that took decades of work to make practical in combat in the span of under two or three minutes is simply...plagiarism! Derivative! I'm sure requiring no creativity or skill whatsoever." She stopped to scoff before her sarcasm grew any more crass to her own ears. Still, she continued with her head moving in exaggerated sways to punctuate herself. "You are so reliant Meesei, that I am sure that anyone here at the Psijic Order could just the same thing if they wanted to. Actually..."

Lunise sprang up standing beside the bed and picked up a wedge of nectarine, stuffing the whole piece into her mouth. While she chewed, mouth closed, she gestured for Meesei to get up as well. She even went as far as to tug at her hand to hurry her.

She kept speaking as soon as she swallowed her mouthful. "Come, we are going on a walk right this moment. Stay in that form, you can fit through the doorway if you take your time."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"And like I said, I would not be so sure of that," Lunise responded patiently.

Without an immediate response, Lunise tried to think further on how to lift Meesei from her depression. There was no easy solution. Going out to do something -- anything -- perhaps to get fresh air and distract her mind, could help in some small measure. Not much else arose while she looked on at Meesei's little spells.

The lingering on the dispelling chain caught Lunise's eye. She tilted her head. "That reminds me of commander Teroiah's brand of spells," she commented. "I remember the duel between you two. I had never seen her so indignant. She may be many years my elder but she never did grow out of her temper."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise gently stroked her hand over the back of Meesei's head in her lap. "Meesei, no one can be certain of what they are capable of without trying. It is a fact of life. Even if the templates helped you to cast magic as a werewolf, it would follow that they could help you find an answer here. Whether it is yourself or your templates, there is no reason to believe you are incapable. In that, I do not believe it is a useful thought to try and separate yourself from your templates in such a way."

She stopped petting Meesei's head and leant to look at her eyes. "As for disappearing, that is a possible future. It does not have to be your fate. Take this chance and see where the future lands. I wish I could say otherwise but you have no more control over it than that. None of us do."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise slowly drew back the plate and tea. Again, she fought back a wave of her own sadness, but she was still ready for comfort. She placed the tea and plate on the nightstand beside the bed and sat on the bed, her upper body turned toward Meesei so she could put a hand on Meesei's large wrist.

"'If,' Meesei," she began. "It does not have to be."

All of a sudden, Lunise had to stop and think again. The short while Meesei had to weep may have given some catharsis, depending on the nature of Meesei's thoughts, but Lunise did not leave her side.

By the time Lunise caught Meesei's eyes again, she was surer of her words. "Listen, I would wager very few people go through life without periods of intense self-doubt. Myself included, on a number of occasions. I have learnt during those times that circumstances differ, thus advice to help Lunise after her comrades died in the Battle of the Red Ring may not be as useful to help Lunise after her first lover secretly betrayed her for another for a year before she found out." Lunise's tone made light of the issues in spite of their implications. "It remains that each time I emerged from those...chapters, I learnt little things that helped me rise more powerfully the next time. Think back, for a moment. Was there a time before this one where your thoughts spiralled you down like this? What did you have to do to emerge?"

Lunise reached to take the plate of food and offered it again. "And eat while you think about it." It was a calm demand, rather than a suggestion. "It will help, and you need to keep your strength maintained."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise blinked her eyes down. "I will. And...I appreciate the risks you are taking." She almost turned around. "If your counsel can extend far enough that we might perform the tests for ourselves, we..." She stopped. "No, I have been unreasonable enough. We shall speak later, mother. Thank you."

There was a pit in Lunise's stomach as she walked back towards their quarters, and it did not come from hunger. She had to hold back her emotions not to stop and shed tears onto the tray she carried. The pastries, fruit preserves, and cured meats were too perfectly prepared for her to sully them with the sad thoughts in her head.

She stopped one pace into the bedroom, momentarily startled by Meesei's werewolf form. She was far more used to it than the first time, but the unexpected sight of a giant wolf-like beast never failed to elicit some form of jolt. "Oh...Meesei, I did not expect..." She started. "Never mind. I forget that this a place both of us can be completely open."

After closing the door behind her, Lunise strode over to the desk to lay down the tray at the nearby desk and poured two cups of tea. "Mother spoke to me while I was serving breakfast for us. She is still adamant that you join the order." She took a careful breath. "One piece of good news, that she asked me to share only with you rather than spread around, is that one can leave the Order whenever they wish, but they may not return thereafter. Though that assumes nothing about the time it would take to find a solution for your soul."

Lunise picked up a plate of food and a cup of tea and brought it towards Meesei. However good the news was meant to be, Lunise did not appear to see it with that description.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise took a moment to respond. She could not bring herself to be angry with Nytala, in spite of whatever philosophical objections she personally had to her reasoning. "Mother, I am beginning to think you should be the one speaking with her if your perspectives are more pertinent here. Do not take this the wrong way, but you are speaking as if time has no value. That is not something I can relate to." She sighed. "The way I see it, none here know how long 'curing' Meesei's soul could take. In honesty, the way I interpret what you have told me is the very composition of her soul is explained by theory rather than any confirmation at all. Perhaps, if there is some way to find more information about her soul while we are here, in this short time we have, might Meesei better inform her final decision? Some kind of test or inspection?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's reasonable to assume. Thanks!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'll admit, I'm assuming Lunise knows the general mechanics of souls getting destroyed, but I'm not super clear on it. Could you explain it to me OOC?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise gave Nytala a confused look when she paused to check their surroundings. She did not reach the point of protesting by the time Nytala continued, thankfully putting the extra detail in to bring sense to her statement. Unfortunately, it only converted it from impossible to unlikely.

"Mother, there are a few things I must make clear." Lunise closed her eyes to renew her temper. "We are aware of what will happen should the worst occur to Meesei's soul. Additionally...I do not know if it is your time in this place warping your sense of progression or whether you rarely interacted with non-mer mortals on Tamriel, but a century makes the world unrecognisable for the short-lived. Meesei would not be returning to her life as if nothing had changed. Most people she knows would have disappeared. The community of lycanthropes she had been fostering would have transitioned by several generations." She hesitated. "...And one hundred years is more than enough time for both her and I to change as well."

Lunise's eyes turned resolutely back to serving herself breakfast. "I appreciate you telling me all the same. Personally, I am hopeful that there are people on Tamriel that can assist in this matter as an alternative. Meesei is surrounded by extraordinary people -- I am certain there is something to be done about it."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise was not at all joyful about Nytala's questions. Placing food both Lunise and Meesei would enjoy to share helped to keep her thoughts moving. She avoided eye contact and took a moment to put the right words together.

"I placed before her all that we know and all that we do not know," Lunise explained. "But...I do not deem this an excuse as much as a fact of the matter: To convince Meesei to join the Order for a chance at saving her soul requires that I ask her to abandon everything on Tamriel she had been building and caring for. Even without me in the scenario, I cannot ask her to sacrifice all of that and expect her to do so. I trust her to make decision that is right for her. To do otherwise would be to lower her to the level of some political mission of mine, and she means too much to me for that."