[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[EliteCommander]

As Lorag awoke, he carefully moved himself closer to the fire to have his own breakfast. With a broken shin, he couldn't do much in the way of moving around, which greatly annoyed him. He despised showing any kind of weakness, so he of course tried to play down his injuries. Despite the piercing pain in his leg, he did his best to hide any form of suffering on his part. Meesei knew him too well, however, and saw through his facade. His slight grunts and shaky movements gave away the fact that he was hurting.

Meesei nodded to Sabine in thanks when she gave her the healing, then glanced over to Lorag. "Sabine, could you get a healing potion for Lorag as well? And do not leave him alone until he drinks it. I'll not have his stubborn pride give him a permanent limp." She requested, shooting Lorag a teasing look. "At any rate, Fendros, Hircine did say too much else, only that he will let us know when it is time to act. For now, he simply wants us to keep the pack strong. Your training will continue once we are all well, which, unfortunately, might be a while. There is no way I am going to be able to move out of these caves for a few days, at least."

Once Ahnasha finished her breakfast, she went over to the pile of their belongings and grabbed her clothes and jewelry. Much like her own fur, they were covered in blood. Now that she had eaten, she decided to head over to the pool of water on the other side of the chamber. She set down her belongings beside it, then tested the temperature with her foot. She expected it to be cold, but surprisingly, it was actually warm, perhaps even hot. It seemed almost like a hot spring, except there was a stream feeding into it. Being that they were on a volcanic island, she supposed that stream itself could be heated by some unseen source. Regardless, it was a pleasant surprise. Slowly, she lowered herself into the water, which seemed to melt away all of the tension in her body. She had been scared out of her mind the night before, wondering what would become of her friend, but now, it actually seemed everything would be alright. Sure, Meesei and Lorag were hurt rather badly, but they could be healed. They were going to heal. Now, she was part of a pack that contained the Champion of Hircine herself, an honor she never could have dreamed of years ago when she first began to worship the lord of the hunt. After all the tension and fear from yesterday, everything just seemed...good.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine nodded, then took a potion to Lorag as requested. Having heard every one of Meesei's words, he gurned and snatched the potion from Sabine as she held it out. "Yeah, yeah, I can take a hint." he said before drinking the potion down.

Even with everyone who ate their meat raw finishing their meal before him, Fendros took his time with his breakfast. The mood had completely turned around through the entire pack now that Meesei was no longer under serious threat. He felt as if the wish he had made when cleaning his face and hands last night had for the most part come true. After breakfast, he ran down a list in his mind of what he needed to do today. There were a number of things; searching the cave for anything useful, fletching some more arrows if he could not find many more amongst the dead hunters, searching for alchemical ingredients for Ahansha's medicine, though now that search might encompass remedies for Janius, Lorag and Meesei's wounds as well. For now, though, he wanted to clean the dirt and grit off of his clothing and equipment.

Janius began to rise along with Fendros after his meal, now that he was fully awake. "I'll see about building a pyre for the bodies that we can't preserve, no use in them rotting in this place."

Fendros carried his various belongings up to the edge of the pool to start cleaning them when he spotted Ahnasha soaking in the middle of it, looking so relaxed it was as if she had just taken moon sugar. Fendros smiled, he hadn't really thought to bathe, probably because he wasn't covered in nearly as much blood as Ahnasha was by the end of yesterday. "Is the water nice?" He asked her while squatting and washing blood spatters from his vest.

[EliteCommander]

"Very. It's warm, like Red Mountain itself is warming it...which it probably is." Ahnasha answered, turning her head to look at him. She smiled, obviously in a good mood. She let her eyes wander across his body. For any lycan pack, seeing each other in any state of dress or undress was so common that it became normal, but given her feelings for him and the relationship they had formed, she had started to look at him in an entirely different way. His appearance was something she would have to get used to. After all, she was Khajiit, so the features she naturally found attractive he did not possess. He had no fur, no mane, though she had been debating on whether or not to try and convince him to grow a beard. Regardless, he could become terribly and hideously disfigured and she would still remain by his side. She cared for him on a far deeper level than simple appearances. Still, he was close enough to Khajiit that she could appreciate his features. She continued to look him over, making no effort to hide her stares.

Meesei finished up her own breakfast, though she did not have much of an appetite. Her intestines were among the organs damaged, so perhaps eating too much would not be wise anyway. She looked to Janius after giving his recommendation for what to do with the bodies. "I would prefer to take them outside to bury them, personally. Allow their bodies to fertilize the soil of this desolate land. Perhaps we can burn the Dunmer; I know it is within their culture to burn their dead, to 'return them to ash', or something along those lines. These hunters may have been our enemies, but they were still hunters an deserve some respect."

After a few moments, Meesei turned her attention from Janius to Sabine. Now that they had defeated the Orc and his hunters, she found herself wanting to resolve the next order of business. "Sabine, could you come here a moment? I do not have need of anything else, I would just like to speak to you for a moment."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius paused for a moment, weighing up how long it would take to dig enough graves as apposed to building pyres. He figured that it would take most, if not all of the day anyway, so his pause ended a quick "Very well" before he walked off to begin.

Meesei's next order came as one that made Sabine inherently uncomfortable, though the only way she showed the discomfort was to nervously glance to one side for a moment. This was not the first time that Meesei had tried to get information about her, but she had not had one of these talks for a long time. This was probably going to be about the apothecary. Sabine suddenly wished that she hadn't told so much already.

Down by the water, Fendros almost finished rinsing his leggings before he noticed Ahnasha's staring. It was a little odd to Fendros. Last night, the message was clear in her face that she wanted to be comforted, but here Fendros just felt like he was being... inspected. It was not malign by any means, but it was still strange. Holding his laundry still, Fendros squinted his eyes and chuckled, "Ahna, what are you staring at?"

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha returned Fendros' chuckle and gave him a grin. "You. And different...parts of you. You know, you're pretty handsome for a Dunmer." She said. Reaching up with her hand, she was just able to touch his chin. "Maybe a bit better with a beard, but still. I see why I went after you in my drunken mind." She said, continuing her stares.

Despite Sabine's discomfort, Meesei continued to look at her with a warm and friendly smile as she approached. "I want to thank you for helping to take care of me. After we encountered that gas and were forced out of our lycan forms, I know there wasn't much you could do. I just don't want you to think you were useless. Your own role is an important one. I don't think I could make it through this without you. We are going to have to stay here for a while, though, longer than we originally planned. Depending on if we find the proper ingredients here for you to use, some of us may also have to return to Vos to purchase them." Meesei reached out an lightly placed a hand on Sabine's shoulder, looking at her with a compassionate expression. "Sabine, I love you like one of my own. You're like the daughter I never had, and I do not want any harm to befall you. We may be forced to come into contact with that apothecary, so if there is anything you can tell me about her, anything at all that will help me understand who she is and what she can do, please tell me. You can trust me."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine listened to what Meesei had to say. She came at it indirectly, like she normally did. Sabine could at least appreciate the reinforcement that she was family, even though she felt no need to be appreciated for her actions if she herself deemed them to be useful anyway. Regardless, Sabine's prediction was correct, it was about the apothecary. She shifted in her seat and bit lightly on the inside of her cheek, thinking. The last time that she described the apothecary, Sabine was panicked, but now she could think clearly and she wasn't sure how much more she wanted to divulge. "She is..." Sabine began, then stopped, looking to the ground, then back up to Meesei, "... she is like me, alchemy, enchantment, but better than me. She is a mage as well, I don't know all that she knows, but she is powerful and... creative. She is dangerous."

"...Thank you." Fendros replied with a smirk in response to Ahnasha finding facial hair attractive. "Remember you weren't the only drunken mind who found attraction that night," Fendros breathed a laugh as another thought came across his mind, "I'm not going to tell you to shave, though. I've seen a shaven cat once before and I daresay that a Khajiit version would be even more disturbing." As Ahnasha swam close, Fendros found himself eying her own features. it was really only the head and the fur that separated her from any other woman. It was those features that Fendros had initially found off-putting about Khajiit women, but with Ahnasha he felt as if he had grown accustomed to it. Even the fur was more of an exotic feature than anything else.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha laughed. "I would say you are right about shaven Khajiit. When I was a child, I remember one of my neighbors, a Khajiit boy, had an infestation of lice in his fur. The only way to be rid of the parasites was for his parents to shave him completely. He never quite lived that one down." She explained, moving over a bit in case he wanted to join her. She then eyed him again with a sly grin. "How much of that night do you remember, anyway? Do you recall any of the more...interesting details? We were both fairly intoxicated; my own memory is rather spotty."

"Thank you." Meesei responded, but she was not finished with her line of questioning. "I have to ask, though, how do you know this? Who is this person to you that you know so much about her? I have never pried into your past before, unless you wanted to speak up, but I believe this is important. We did not find you in Morrowind, so I find it strange you know so much about someone who owns a shop all the way in Vos."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros placed his clothing onto a crate nearby, he would wring them out later, but the water was very inviting. "Well, it was a while ago," Fendros said, "it was a very hazy memory, but I remember enjoying it." He carefully stepped into the pool, the warm water felt a little too hot at first, but it very quickly became incredibly relaxing. Fendros closed his eyes. Maybe this is what moon sugar is like. After slowly drawing a deep breath, he opened his eyes and continued. "I do remember you saying some very amusing things." Fendros put his arm around Ahnasha's waist, "doing some very... foolish things."

"I don't..." Sabine started wringing her hands together and avoiding eye contact with Meesei. She didn't want to bring up those memories again. There was too much pain and anger. "She is..." Sabine paused again, trying hard not to run away, "She is my elder sister..."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha allowed Fendros to settle in beside her, then wrapped her tail around his waist as he put his arm around hers. "Nonsense...you aren't a foolish thing." She joked, nudging his elbow. "Still, who could have guessed where it would lead? I can't remember the act itself clearly, but...maybe we could rectify that at some point." She said, giving him a suggestive smirk before continuing. "Something that started out as a drunken mistake has turned into a blessing. I look forward to bringing our child into this world...well, maybe not the birth itself. I hear that's painful, but the idea of it is wonderful to me. Maybe living in our pack won't be the safest existence for it, but I can think of no family more loving than this one. Not to mention how it has brought us together."

"I see." Meesei responded to Sabine. By Janius' description of the apothecary, she had guessed that might be the case, but it was good that Sabine was willingly sharing. "If you are so strongly opposed to any of us seeing her, then I assume you did not have a good relationship. I know it hurts to think about family, but what is dangerous about your sister, other than her capabilities. Is the reason you do not want her to see us because she has a particular issue with lycans, or because you do not want her to find you?"

[Muttonhawk]

"Ahna, I couldn't agree more," Fendros said slowly and sincerely, taking in the warmth of the water. "That reminds me," Fendros' eyes awoke a little, "we don't have a name for it if it turns out to be a boy." Fendros shifted a little to address Ahnasha more directly, the water making small lapping sounds in response to his movements. "Did you have any ideas?"

Sabine shifted her hands to hold onto her opposite arms, as if she was trying to warm herself. "It's... she... it's... I don't want her to find any of us." Sabine slowly shook her head. Her words were becoming unsteady as her breathing became short and slightly strained. "She did terrible things..." Sabine stopped for an instant to breath in and it sounded constricted. It was a completely overwhelmed kind of upset, the kind expressed when one's best efforts are never enough. "she... she beat away my beast with her magic and... forcing it back..." a tear dropped from Sabine's nose where they were previously hidden by her bowed head. "She was trying to kill the beast, but she couldn't... each time... she would beat it harder and harder..." Sabine lifted her face to Meesei and revealed her completely reddened eyes and tensed face. Glistening tears streamed down her nose and now more were flowing directly down from her eyes. "Each time... the beast would come back... each time it would be angrier... but I would be trapped in a cage... trapped with the beast spirit... raging... no escape... if you tried to escape, she would hurt..." Sabine had told about as much as she could bear to with her words. She Brought her knees up to her chest and started crying into her arms quietly with the same constricted inhalation.

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm, I have been thinking about that a little, actually. I have no family traditions to go by, and if I did, I probably wouldn't follow them. I had one idea: Rhazii. It means "ash." I know Dunmer usually take their relationship with their ashen homeland with pride, and since his father is Dunmer, I thought it might be fitting. What do you think?" Ahnasha asked.

"It's alright, Sabine. You need not explain anymore. I understand. Unless it is your will to confront her, we need not seek her out. I know well the terrors magic can cause in the wrong hands. We will avoid her if at all possible, and if we are forced to purchase something from her store for your potions, you will not have to be present. Just know that if you ever desire to confront her, we will all be at your back. You will not fall into her cage again." Meesei said. Despite the weakness in her body, her voice carried with it force and certainty.

[Muttonhawk]

"Rhazii, huh?" Fendros looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. After a moment, a smile widened across his face, "I like it. A lot actually." He said, before looking to Ahnasha again, "And so within forms, little Mirasi, or little Rhazii. Both if we're especially... blessed." Fendros let out a laugh that sounded almost nervous at the prospect of twins. Come to think of it, he hadn't encountered Dunmer twins before, but he had heard of cases. He was sure that Khajiit twins would be more common. It wasn't an important thought though.

Sabine continued to weep for a little while longer. Meesei's words were something that she needed to hear, and after a time she was able to calm herself to a strained breathing and eventually just holding her head in her arms. "Thank you," Sabine squeaked from behind her arms and legs.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha chuckled. "That might be more likely than you think. Multiple births are common among Khajiit, though...I don't know if that holds true with a Dunmer for a father, considering how few children you have. I suppose we will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I think I'll just be happy enjoying your...company." She said, leaning over and giving him a kiss. She had been in the water long enough that she had been able to wash the blood from her fur, and while it was quite relaxing, she had other plans in mind. Standing up, she climbed out of the pool. While she could have easily got out without disturbing Fendros, she decided to intentionally climb over him. Once out of the water, she looked back down at him. "One of the few disadvantages of fur is that it takes forever to dry. I think I am going to go up to the surface and find a nice secluded spot to dry in the sun. All alone. Away from anyone else. Now, if you were to come up after me, well, I wouldn't complain." She said with a wink before walking away.

Meesei wanted to get up to go comfort Sabine, but she really didn't need to take any chances with her wounds. While Hircine seemed to think she would recover, she wasn't about to tempt fate. "I'll not make you relive any more old memories, Sabine. You can go work on your potions if you like, or just take some time for yourself. Myself and Lorag will be fine for now."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros would be lying through his teeth if he were to proclaim that Ahnasha's offer wasn't tempting after kissing her and seeing the length and breadth of her. There was plenty of time today, so Fendros saw no harm in in taking Ahnasha up on her proposal after relaxing for another half a minute in the warm pool.

Slowly nodding, Sabine wiped her face of tears and went over to resume brewing more healing potions. She was still bleary eyed from crying, but Meesei's words had helped to calm her down. Later, she would need to look out for ingredients, but for now she had what she needed for about three more of them. She also wanted to be around should Meesei or Lorag need anything else.

The rest of the day was a mix or rest and recovery and settling into their new temporary home. Janius eventually found a mattock and a shovel inside which made his job of digging shallow graves for many of the hunters much easier, while building the pyres for the Dunmer fallen was assisted by the firewood piles that the hunters had kept, as well as some oil to help light it.

Fendros managed to finish most of what he had set out to do, even after fooling around with Ahnasha in the morning, but found he that when he tried to scavenge arrows that all of the hunters' arrows were silver headed. Unsuitable for him to handle. He would need to buys some more in town or make some more arrowheads.

After a quick reagent hunt in the afternoon, Sabine found some more ingredients suitable for healing potions, but not for regeneration potions. Unable to brew the regeneration potions as she needed, Sabine finished reading through the journals she had found. Once she found where the hunters had procured the purple gas, from commission from an alchemist hailing from an organisation known only as 'the Coven', Sabine's initial suspicions were confirmed. She looked over to the flask of swirling purple transforming gas and wanted to shatter it against a wall and get rid of it immediately, but she had to know how it was made. Using every trick she knew, Sabine took samples of the flask's contents and tried to test its reaction to various substances to try and work out what was in it. It was a complicated brew, and even after analysing it for most of the night, there were not many conclusive results by the end of the day.

---

After nightfall, a robed female shadow strode along the barely visible path that lead up to the hunter's cavern. She held a vial on a short length of rope, hanging the vial close to the ground. The vial itself was pulsing with light as she followed a particular path, then faded if she strayed from it. The vial's light seemed to be guiding her. Warily, she entered the cave in front of her, being extra vigilant for traps or ambushes. She seemed to slow her pace as she walked through the empty, battle-ravaged rooms that still had stains of red where blood had fallen. She looked more and more apprehensive as she continued.

Detecting the crackling sounds of a fire ahead, she put away the vial and prepared a spell in her hands. An illusion spell to mask any traces of her as she entered the chamber. Janius was on watch at that point, and had detected an somewhat familiar smell approaching, but he couldn't quite place where it was he recognised it from. It didn't seem to be coming any closer as far as he could tell, that was until he processed what the green light that was flying towards him was all too late. Janius didn't recoil, he just completely froze up, barely even able to breathe, let alone raise an alarm. He watched the spell's origin step into the firelight. In a dark robe, the apothecary Ariel approached with a worried look.

Ariel's gaze panned the camp they had set up until she found Sabine sleeping peacefully near to the fire. Ariel kneeled down next to Sabine and tried to nudge her awake. "Sabine, awake dearest," Ariel whispered. Sabine groaned and stirred. "Awake sister." Sabine's eyes slowly opened, then she threw up her arms in panic, hitting away Ariel's hands and scrambling back off her bedroll and away from Ariel. She started to hyperventilate in sheer terror and eventually managed a scream that took Ariel completely off guard and woke up everyone. Sabine, whether it was voluntary or not immediately began to transform into her wolf form in front of them all, but before she could finish, Fendros and Ahnasha were up and armed, directing their weapons to the apothecary. "Don't. you. move." Fendros said, his sword pointed forward.

The spell on Janius was released and he slumped and exhaled, trying to regain his balance, before drawing his axe and threatening the Apothecary. "Ah! Paralysis! I hate being paralysed."

"I-I-I'm unarmed, please." Ariel pleaded, her face and her scent showing fear.

"Wait, you're the apothecary, the one I saw in Vos." Janius said, "what are you doing out her-?"

Janius was cut off by a dreadful roar from Sabine. She had fully transformed and was about to attack.

Ariel, utterly terrified and apparently unthreatening, pleaded louder. "Hold on! Please, please! Sabine! Just listen!"

[EliteCommander]

"Sabine, hold!" Meesei commanded as soon as she figured out what was going on. Even if Sabine didn't want to listen, her beast would bow to the commands of its Alpha. Meesei brought herself up from her bedroll, shakily standing to her feet. She still wore only the bandages which covered her wound, but she had made great progress since that morning. Her lycan regeneration had been negated by the silver wounds, but between her Argonian regeneration, Sabine's alchemy, and her own magic, her condition had improved enough that she was not in immediate danger of dying. She could still barely move around, but standing was within her capabilities. The others had awoken immediately as well, and each had about the same reaction. Ahnasha, now in her recently-cleaned clothing, had her bound bow aimed squarely at the intruder, Fendros and Janius threatened her with sword and axe, respectively. Lorag could not stand on his leg, and he had no ranged weapons, but he was able to pick up another rock.

Meesei glared at the Breton, her resemblance to Sabine leaving little question as to who she was. "You, Breton, drop anything you are holding and stand perfectly still. If you try to go anywhere, you will die. If your hands make a move for anything you will die. If I feel the faintest hint of magicka swell up within you, I will give the order, and you will die. Disobey any of these commands, and my companions will not hesitate to kill you." Meesei threatened. In addition, she charged a spell of detect life in her hand, just to make sure there were no more surprises.

"Now, you decided to sneak into this cave unannounced, assault my friend with magic, then surprised Sabine, who you have already tortured so thoroughly. Give me one good reason why you should not be dead. You have permission to speak." Meesei said, her tone commanding.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine backed down, snapping and growling at Ariel, fuming.

Ariel had kept her hands where they could be seen, slowly she moved to take out the glowing vial that she had decided to store in a pocket of her robe, the rope attached to the vial was tied around her wrist. "I'm dropping my tracking vial," Ariel said, lowering the vial to the ground and sliding the looped rope off her wrist and onto the ground and shaking with fear. "Just I came to see if my sister was well. I know- I know that she likely has told you of what happened in the Vos Witches Coven, but you must understand, that was not within my control." Ariel nervously said, hoping dearly that the pack would not strike, "I did what I was told, the other witches and I, we were meant to find a cure. At the time we thought it was for the best, but with the suffering it was causing her, I had to break her out of the coven and send her into Cyrodiil. It was the only thing I could do for her." Her words were fast and frantic, she didn't seem at all like the nightmare that Sabine had described, just a witch who was looking for her sister, "I was worried... Sabine has always been an anxious girl. Please, please don't kill me."

With what Ariel said, Sabine's anger in her wolf form seemed to calm. She didn't transform back just yet, but there was a new detail in her mind that she had either previously forgotten or was completely unaware of. If anything, Sabine looked conflicted, even slightly sad.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei continued to scowl at the Breton, not entirely convinced by her words. She recognized that she could be truthful, but she wasn't just going to believe her words immediately. "You could be telling the truth...or you could be lying. One will say anything when on the verge of death. For now, I will not kill you. We can talk about this to get to the root of the situation, but I do not trust you. Sabine told me what you are capable of. Alchemy, magic, all dangerous tools. How do I know you still do not intend us harm? I cannot confiscate your magic, but I want you to disarm everything else. Weapons, pouches, bags, your robes, anything you have that could hide something threatening, I want you to take it and put it on the ground in front of you. Slowly, and carefully."

Meesei looked over to the collection of the hunters' supplies to her left across the room and spotted what she was looking for: an old, worn robe sitting atop a barrel. She reached out her hand and, with a bit of alteration magic, telekinetically grabbed the robe and pulled it towards them, dropping it in front of the Breton. "If you care about your modesty, you may wear that. Just do not attempt any trick or sleight of hand to hide anything dangerous. I am watching you, and I will know if you attempt any magic." She warned.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel nodded. From pockets, both hidden and apparent on her robe, she pulled four different kind of potions, a satchel containing a few ingredients, a dagger tha she had done well to hide up her sleeve but had no qualms about putting down now, and finally a scroll. She had her own shoulderbag, like Sabine did, but it was larger, and when she placed it on the ground, it clinked as if it contained similar equipment to what Sabine used regularly. She hesitated before slipping off her robe, obviously not used to being threatened as such. All that was left were her fur boots, which she took off as well, and her undergarments, which didn't appear to hold anything.

Janius was right, this woman is the spitting image of Runt, Fendros thought, why would she risk coming out here after scarring Runt's mind so?

The robe that the Argonian woman passed her was smelly and bloodied, but if it was the price of gaining this pack's trust, and of her life, she would bear it. After she dressed the robe over herself, Ariel put her hands up again. "I won't do anything, I promise." She said, "I didn't come here to harm anyone." It was then that Ariel thought of something to at least try and convince the leader of the group, "If I intended harm, I would not have come alone. Anyone who knows about werewolves would be dead if they tried to attack a whole pack on their own." Ariel's voice was still fast, but it seemed as though she had calmed herself from the shock of the initial alarm. "Please, with all the werewolves in the city, I thought that maybe Sabine was among them. I had to know."

[EliteCommander]

"Good, now step away from your belongings." Meesei said, looking around for a moment before pointing to a rock that was far enough away from anything dangerous. "Take a seat on that rock, then you can begin to explain yourself." She ordered before turning her attention to her friends. "You may lower your weapons, but be ready to attack if she tries anything."

The Breton obeyed and took her seat. The group circled around her, with Meesei moving to stand beside Sabine directly in front of the woman. Only Lorag remained where he was, though he was certainly paying close attention to what was going on. Meesei's movements were slow, and she stumbled on the way over. As much as she wished she could hide it, her weakened condition was obvious. Her body was in no state for any sort of strenuous activity, though her mind was perfectly healthy. "There are many lycans in Tamriel, so the odds of your sister being among them were slim, though I suppose it did happen. Perhaps fate is playing some role here, though to what end, we shall see. Sabine has told me of what you did to her. Locking her in a cage like an animal and torturing both her and her beast spirit in some attempt to rid her of her blessing. You scarred her in ways that are yet to heal, and indeed may never heal. What explanation do you have for the pain you wrought?"

[Muttonhawk]

Being in no position to object, Ariel stepped to the rock and seated herself. All of the eyes of the pack were on her, judging her. With the alpha's first question, Ariel's head lowered and she sighed guiltily. "What you say... It's true." Ariel crossed her arms tensely, "I'll start from the beginning, then. I don't know how many details you were told about."

Ariel raised her eyes to the Alpha, glancing at her dressed wound a couple of times. "Sabine and I, we were brought up in a witches coven in Vos, poached from the orphanage since before either of us could remember and raised by a community of hags. We would often get visits from various groups of people who wanted to commune with higher powers. Daedric princes, to be more specific. When I was sixteen years old and Sabine was ten, a pack of lycans approached us with the desire to talk with Hircine. They were very insistent.

"You know Hircine better than I do, most likely, but our elders knew enough to give no guarantees about getting any response from him. When there was no response, despite the tribute and payment provided by the pack, they protested. They said that we tricked them into paying us, conned them. Then they attacked."

Sabine snorted in her wolf form and twitched her head at this memory.

Ariel took her breaths slowly at while she continued, still shaken by what she remembered. "They... killed five of us before we could subdue and slay them. Injured at least three more. One of the injured was Sabine. She was infected by them, even though she had nothing to do with the summoning deal. She was innocent.

"Sabine was already chosen to be among the coven for life, as I was. She would not be able to survive among us as a lycan, she was almost killed by the elders if it weren't for myself and a few of my friends to protect her. Without warrant to kill all of us, the elders tasked us with ridding Sabine of her curse. I didn't know at the time that it was impossible, but it is a rule that witches of a coven share their own curses amongst them as a way to support each other. It was the elder's cruel way of reminding us of that rule.

"So my friends and I, we had to contain her while she transformed, so we put her in a silver plated cage, and tried everything we knew. Every ounce of alchemical and magical knowledge we had went into two years of trying to suppress and kill the... well the beast spirit, as you described it. Each time we tried to suppress or kill it, it would come back more enraged. It got to the point where he had to keep it back by more physical means while we worked. None of us realised just how much Sabine suffered. Not until it was far too late. I had realised it when I had fallen asleep amongst my research, and was awoken by her screaming in the middle of the night. Her nightmares were part of her torture, we were only making them worse. A week later, I knew I had to do something, there was no way we were going to find a cure before destroying everything else of her being."

Sabine was shivering as the story continued, but kept her wolf eyes on her sister. Ariel couldn't even bear to look at anyone at this point.

"In the middle of the night, I sedated her and took the cage on a covered cart. I was able to sneak her out of the coven disguised as a shipment of potions to send to various institutions that ordered such things from us. I was trusted, so I had no trouble. I got her to the mainland before I stopped drugging her. When she awoke, I scared her off with an illusion spell, but not before giving her a few implements to take care of herself with, including a note telling her where I would be, and not much else. She was so terrified when she ran that I never thought I could forgive myself, but it served her to escape. We were close to Cyrodiil, and she ran for the border, I thought it would be suitable for her to hide in with the woodland.

Ariel looked up again, "After that, I was banished from the coven for betraying them. I put them under threat by releasing Sabine, they said. I still had the deed to the shop in Vos, however, so I didn't lose everything." Ariel took a deep breath, "And that is all. I cannot explain away what I did. I don't expect any forgiveness either. I just want to make sure she's safe."

With that, Sabine scrunched her eyes shut and began to transform back into Breton form. Once she was finished, she looked at Ariel with the same beady stare she always had. She was unsure what to make of it all, knowing that it was her sister all along that had released her, and that she had sacrificed her life with the coven for it. "Ariel..." Sabine said without any indication of judgement one way or another.

Ariel still couldn't look at Sabine. "Sister. I am sorry."