Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Heh, yeah. He's decided to leave that issue to later I think.

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros looked down, it didn't make much sense to him. That a child's appearance could be influenced by the moons was hard to fathom. Accepting it for the moment, Fendros resumed his previous shot. Again, he took his time. This time, he landed it closer, but still wide. So the child may turn out to be a housecat. This continues to get stranger, Fendros thought, perhaps it might even be born a werewolf. I shudder to think how to deal with that. Perhaps Meesei will know more about that.

Slowly, Fendros' thoughts had become too distracting to keep shooting. He sat down next to Ahnasha and placed his bow on the ground beside him. "Ahna, what you said about not knowing how to raise a child," Fendros said not looking at her, "I admit I have no idea either. I would have had plenty of years to learn, I had thought." Fendros looked Ahnasha in the eye, "I was thinking, since it's going to be Khajiit, perhaps it might help to think in terms of your people. Do you remember much about your own mother? Or, perhaps, any mothers you might have known before joining the pack?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded, Ahnasha's words answered one of his questions, about whether it would be Dunmer or Khajiit. He aimed his next shot, but lowered his bow upon mention of moon phases. He turned his head to Ahnasha where she sat. "The moons?" Fendros asked. He was aware that the moons were significant in Khajiit culture, but did not know what bearing they would have on a child. Perhaps it was similar to being born under constellations?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Much the same from here, Fendros thought as Ahnasha responded. He was about to mention as much, adding that he was probably the youngest Dunmer to sire a child since his ancestors were Chimer, but Meesei spoke up first with some reassuring clarification. They would certainly have the support they need. Fendros nodded to Meesei in regards to training, being a werewolf seemed a lot smaller a problem all of a sudden. Maybe it helped to say goodbye to his old life yesterday, maybe recent events just took the forefront of his mind.

"That sounds good," Fendros said, agreeing to Ahnasha's offer. Maybe now that the word was out they could both calm down a bit. Fendros had a few questions he wanted to discuss with her.

After finishing his meal, Fendros spent a moment retrieving his bow and finding a replacement string for it, along with arrows and his quiver. After he strung his bow and slung his quiver on his back, Fendros proceeded to find Ahnasha where she was shooting targets with a ghostly bound bow. Judging by the distance from where she was standing and the pile of painted bags of soil that served as the target, as well as the first arrow she loosed having apparently hit the target head on, she certainly wasn't short of skill.

Fendros waited until Ahnasha had loosed the arrow she was currently aiming before approaching her. Again, she hit her target head on, not far off where her previous shot landed. "Hi," Fendros said, trying to emulate a casual demeanor, but just ending up looking unsure as he had been earlier. He stepped up and notched and arrow to have a try himself. From this angle, Fendros almost laughed at the shots Ahnasha had placed, "I think you might have me with your consistency there." Fendros took his time with his first shot, trying to assess the shot and his surroundings to place it. He loosed, the arrow flew, and landed low and to the left of the target. Fendros breathed out. Overcompensated, he assured himself. Fendros had questions to ask Ahnasha, but seeing as she invited him, he waited to see if she had anything that she wanted to say first.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The silence was resounding, save for the crackling of the fire in the middle of it all. It was as if they had all come under some foreign plane where speech no longer existed. Janius scuffed his foot on the ground, avoiding eye contact. Sabine kept eating as if she knew all along, which likely wasn't far from the truth. Fendros took in a shallow breath, he wasn't exactly sure what to say, or whether or not he should be ashamed. He knew that he had imposed a burden on the pack and it was his fault. Barely three days in and still you're lowering yourself further, Fendros thought to himself, staring at his feet.

After the fact had settled in, Janius broke the silence by slowly looking up at the pack and cocking an out of place half-smile. "Well. This is not a suitable mood for such an event." Janius' tone was strangely upbeat, "I don't care if I'm not in Imperial culture anymore. Where I was raised, conceiving a child is a cause for congratulations."

Janius sat up straighter, Fendros looked up at him and found the turnaround refreshing, but was still unsure if it was appropriate. "The way I see it, the pack is going to get a new member in a few months," Janius continued, "I for one am looking forward to the challenge. You know-" Janius leaned forward and raised a finger, "if I hadn't become a lycan -well, I would probably be dead- but if I had lived and returned to my home, my father would have forced me to marry at some point, without considering love, produce a child, and then hand the creature over to nannies and educators until I was old enough to be disappointed in him. But this-" Janius gestured to Ahnasha, "-is an opportunity I would never have had."

"Lorag," Janius put a hand on Lorag's large shoulder, "it looks like we're going to become uncles."

Fendros wasn't quite sure what to make of Janius' speech, but the show of support was very heart warming. Fendros couldn't help but show a grateful smile.

The Gods are Crazy

ASTA said The khari in the mountains---I don't know about them. What are they like both culturally and socially?

They do not have the rank and file, centralised system and most of the cultural philosophies of the Federation, but they are tied together by a very-much-up-to-interpretation oral law between each tribe that has been used for a long time. Some of them might practice druidism. Other than that they would probably just live day by day and wouldn't be bothered with things beyond their own holdings. Except for the odd khari male that might leave a tribe to join another to find a mate. They would share similarities with the Azu, but probably not with burning hatred for wide-sweeping concepts as they are probably ignorant of them. Treat them however you like.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sure.

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"So what exactly transpired in tracking down our tipsy alpha?" Janius inquired.

Fendros hesitated, his mind immediately going back to Ahnasha. After an awkward pause, he laughed uneasily, "well, let's see... we eventually found her tracks. She had obviously been meandering around a lot, it was difficult. At one point we had to follow troll tracks for a bit." Fendros shot a glance over to Ahnasha, unsure.

Janius looked at Fendros sideways skeptically, "wait, troll tracks?"

"Yeah, from what we found, we think she jumped on top of one from a tree and held onto it for a ways while it ran. We found its charred body further down." Fendros curled his lips, "come on, let's get some food. None of us have had any lunch yet." Fendros said, postponing the situation.

"Alright," Janius agreed with a laugh, "Meesei, how on Nirn did you get that smell on you? Did you share the rest of your drink with a bear family or something?"

Fendros sighed through his nose as he turned to get himself some meat to cook. He doubted he was guileful about the situation, not that he would be able to keep that up for long. He considered pulling Ahnasha to one side to consult her about what to say, but he decided to wait until after a meal. He could hardly think.

The Gods are Crazy

ASTA said
Unsure at the moment. It's safe to assume that, since both our factions are near the lake, that some form of interaction was had between the azu and the kharis in the past. What would be the Uraka Federation's method of interaction with the azu upon discovering their presence?

Hmm... well if they crossed paths greater than a century ago, they probably would have outright ignored them unless they encroached upon their land, at which point they would probably kill them without blinking. That there's a buffer between their territories along the coast of the lake, there might have just been an unspoken agreement between the two cultures to have that as a no-man's land if the Uraka offed enough of the approaching Azu or if the Uraka got a little to righteous in driving them out and end up taking losses themselves. Given Azu culture, the Uraka's impression of them would probably be limited to seeing them as bandits and warlords, much like other neighbors.

So, nowadays, that stereotype is probably still in amongst the Uraka Federation. However, given that they've started to open up, they would probably be willing to listen to an envoy of some description (if there is one amongst the Azu). The point at which the Uraka might be convinced to not hate the Azu would probably take an event like, say, an invasion from Ordov.

As for Kharis in general, the Azu may have come across unaffiliated Khari tribes in the mountains. Reactions there would probably vary. Could be anything from 'cat men bad, cat men kill' to 'cat men say they will feed me and give me booze if I fight for them'. Pretty much a standard reaction for Khari tribals regardless of the culture encountered.

Attila said
Thanks Mutton, that has been very valuable! :)I'll definitely think on it further, but I'll wait until AaronMK places me on the map first. Until then, I'll just keep filling my NS out.EDIT: People also need to see this. I think it's a perfect summary of the Azu.

Now I'm imagining a fursuit version of Rage Against the Machine. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha's smile was somewhat of a comfort, as was Meesei's assurance that the entire pack would help. Bringing about the decision to get moving again also released some tension. It was something else to think about for a while.

They all proceeded back towards the camp, thankfully their sense of direction was not completely gone. They were all still in a mostly solemn mood for the most part, but with some time, the effects dwindled to the point where Fendros satisfied his mind to take the new situation as it came. With that, other things came back to Fendros' mind, namely what they witnessed on the way out here.

"Uh, Meesei." Fendros started, rubbing the back of his neck, "how much do you remember about last night? We ran into tracks which looked like you... tried to ride a troll for a while." Fendros' voice harboured as much concern as it did curiosity. He had a feeling that it would be something to laugh about later, but he wasn't in the mood right then and there.