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

[EliteCommander]

Julan gave a nervous look around at the others. He did not actually want to fight a stranger in a foreign village, mostly out of fear of accidentally hurting someone, or doing something else to get himself in trouble. Keeping to himself seemed like a good way to be safe, though he was at least glad that they had quickly moved on from the topic of marriage. "I, um, don't know if I should be fighting anyone." Julan replied, looking away.

Almost on cue, the boy chimed in quickly with his unwanted remarks. "Like I said, softskin-raised like you wouldn't stand a chance anyway."

The violet-scaled girl finally broke her attention away from Janius and Julan to look at the tan boy. "Well, Vaarkai, if you really think that, then why don't you spar with him?"

Finally, the boy had nothing to say, at least for a few moments. Although he was slightly taller than Julan, it was plainly obvious to anyone who could just look at the two of them that Julan was much stronger. In fact, it was obvious that none of the other young Argonians present could match him. The boy, Vaarkai, had evidently not thought far enough ahead to avoid having to back up his goading in any convincing fashion. "I...well there's no point in me fighting him. It would be a waste of my time. It would just be too easy."

The girl stood up and approached Vaarkai, leaning in with a grin. "Oh really? Well I think you're just afraid of losing to an outsider."

"I...just...shut up, Leeus!" Vaarkai shouted, shooting up from the log he was sitting on and shoving the girl, knocking her flat on her tail.

---

Ahnasha held firm with the confidence in her voice. "Rhazii, I selected our targets well, you don't have to worry. You can trust me, those specific people we just killed did deserve it. They were bandits, and I am certain of it. Hunting someone down was the only way to give you the experience you needed, but it is not as if that is something we do normally. We don't hunt people just because we can; we're not ferals. The only people we hunt are the servants of Vile, and you don't have a problem killing them, do you?"

[Muttonhawk]

The boy, Vaarkai's, outburst caused Janius to flinch. However, it was not the same as Deerz's violence. It was childish roughhousing, not the vicious anger from before.

Still, Janius did show some concern. "Easy, now. No need to come to blows over it, you two." he said.

Janius stayed back to see how the moment would progress.

---

"I'm sure I wouldn't, but..." Rhazii let out the rest of his breath a second later. "You said before you've killed a lot of people. Did you ever kill anyone you think you shouldn't have? I don't know what to do if that happens to me. It's..." He snapped his fingers in the air. "Like that. Once it's done, it's done. That makes me afraid."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth held out a hand to Janius' shoulder, lightly holding him back and speaking softly to him in Cyrodilic. "You probably shouldn't get involved. Hunter apprentices have to fight their own battles, and I think she's one of them. I think most of these children are, actually. They look strong enough for it."

The girl, Leeus, quickly scrambled up to her feet, apparently unscathed. Their scales were good at protecting against minor scrapes, which could easily become infected in the swamps. While their bodies were usually good at dealing with infections regardless, it was just another defense they had against their environment. "Hmph, cheap shot Vaarkai. Still doesn't make you look any less afraid."

Vaarkai stood up along with Leeus, and Julan was not sure what he should be doing at this point. He did not feel like he had done anything to cause a fight, yet this all was clearly about him. He was not sure if he should get involved, or how to calm everyone down if he did. Unfortunately, Julan's lack of a plan did not stop him from speaking before giving himself time to think. He stood up along with them and held up his hands in front of himself. "Hey, there's no need to fight each other. I don't mind sparring, if you want. I mean, if you don't want, that's fine too. I just really..."

Vaarkai may or may not have listened to everything Julan was trying to say, but he was getting upset, and Julan was the most recent person to speak to him. He growled between his teeth between his words. "Fine! If everyone wants me to fight so bad, then I'll fight!"

Quickly, Vaarkai lashed out, delivering a surprise punch straight to Julan's snout. He stumbled back holding his hand over his nose, though more out of surprise than the actual force of the blow. The other children started to gather around them in a circle, clearing out space between them and cheering on one combatant or the other in their impromptu sparring match. Julan was still looking down at the ground with one hand over his head, but the other was clenched tightly into a fist. If Janius looked closely enough, he could see Julan's teeth, and the intensity in his eyes. It was a familiar sort of rage for one who had spent well over a decade living closely with a werecrocodile. Even when they were in control, they could be quite volatile with the right provocation.

---

Ahnasha looked ahead, silently contemplating for a few seconds. "It's been a long war, and I've killed a lot of people, but I can't think back on any kills that I regret making. If I don't think someone deserves to die, then I don't kill them. It's really as simple as that. If you're asking if I've ever killed anyone in battle and learned something about them later, well..."

Ahnasha gave another look out into the forest, though her mind was looking back into her past. "I saw the aftermath of one of our enemy's gas attacks. You were still pretty young when Ariel came up with the antidote, so you might not remember what it was like: the fear. We lost whole clans to an enemy we couldn't even fight. We just had to run, hide, and hope not to be found. We moved to try and help some refugees who were fleeing from one of the clans that got hit, but we didn't get there in time. They gassed them too, took anything valuable, then just left the bodies. Men, women, everyone from the elderly to little infants. They weren't just dead, they were like husks; they had their very souls stolen from their bodies. If that's the enemy that I'm fighting: an enemy that is working to steal the souls of myself and everyone that I love, then I can't go worrying if the random soldier I'm fighting may or may not have any 'redeeming qualities'. Some of our enemies may have just made mistakes, but if those mistakes end up with a mass grave full of souless husks that used to be children, then there is still a price to pay for that."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius nodded upwards towards Kaleeth in understanding. He stepped back to let the young hunters work the situation out themselves. He still flinched when Vaarkai turned on Julan.

For a fleeting moment, Janius was tempted to pull Julan away and put an immediate lid on what could turn into a violent tantrum for his son. He decided to stay back and cross his arms instead. Julan was young, but Janius trusted him. He was curious to see how Julan fought his own battle, to borrow Kaleeth's words. All the same, Janius readied himself to declare when enough was enough.

---

Rhazii stared at his clasped hands with little obvious emotion. He stared and mulled over Ahnasha's story, only showing a hint of paying attention to the rest of the world when his ear turned at the sound of a nearby bird.

"The other thing I wanted to talk about," he said. "It's not so much a question. I just want to say something now that I know what you went through." Without looking at Ahnasha, he brought his fingers up to the uneven, scarred area of fur on his head. "I don't remember any of the fire. Not really. Frankly, the worst part about my burns is just people talking behind my back. I know people think it's ugly or unsettling, but no one bothers me about it. Probably because I've always been bigger than the other kids." He glanced up at Ahnasha briefly. "I've still got friends. I've still...well, I kissed a girl. Point is, I never really wished I didn't have my scars, so...you don't have to keep being guilty about it." He lowered his voice. "I don't want to be that reminder for you. It hurts."

[EliteCommander]

Julan was growling softly, glaring through one eye at Vaarkai. His insults and overall rudeness had been agitating Julan, but being directly attacked, and with another cheap shot at that, had him feeling an almost instinctual desire for payback. His beast wanted blood, but his more reasonable mind could compromise just for some pain.

Since they all had first started talking to him, Julan had mostly been passive towards insults, and somewhat awkward overall. He was still holding his hand over the spot where he had been hit and had backed a few steps away, so Vaarkai was outwardly confident. Despite Julan's appearance of strength, he had not yet given Vaarkai a solid reason to be afraid of him. He marched forward at Julan with his hands clenched into fists, but without them raised into any proper defensive posture. "What, aren't you going to fight me? It was your own father's idea. Or maybe you're just as weak and useless as your mother. Yeah, my parents told me about her. Kaleeth-Rei. They said she was the most worthless hunter they'd ever seen, and I-"

Vaarkai's words only helped to further encourage Julan to retaliate, and he was, as Vaarkai soon discovered, far quicker and stronger than expected. Julan's free hand shot up and struck a clean hit straight to the side of Vaarkai's head harder than Julan honestly felt he should have hit him. There was not as much of a question of if Julan had broke something, as what he had broken. Vaarkai stumbled back, wide-eyed and dizzy, and only avoided falling entirely because he backed into one of the onlookers, who helped steady him. His eyes could not seem to focus, and each step he tried to take forward was less coordinated than an intoxicated beggar. "I'll kick your..." Were the only slurred words he managed to utter before falling forward flat on his face. He had been knocked out cold, and the best that could be said about him at the moment was that he was clearly still breathing.

About half of the onlookers were speechless, while the other half could not stop talking or laughing at Vaarkai's expense. All of them had obviously expected a fight that would last longer than one blow, and honestly, so had Julan. He stood still, speechless and confused, with a sore hand and a blank stare.

---

"I...understand what you are saying, Rhazii. I understand why you feel that way, but you shouldn't worry about me." Ahnasha replied. She looked away for a brief moment, but made herself return eye contact with him to avoid seeming like she was trying to hide her feelings. "I do think I need that kind of a reminder, honestly. I should never forget the stakes of what it is I do. The past can't be changed, but this whole little outing we're having right now is because I know I can still influence the future. I can make sure you are prepared to face your own challenges, and make sure I don't make the same mistakes I did before. Pain and regret can be debilitating to some, yes, but they can also become valuable lessons. You drive me to be stronger in many more ways than one, Rhazii. I want to make the world a better place for lycans, so that it can be a better place for you. I want to give you the chance to become as strong, or stronger, than me, but without the danger of having your soul enslaved by a power-hungry Daedra. I know some of the others say they want their children to be able to live their lives in peace, but...I mostly just want you to be able to live like you want to."

There was another pause from Ahnasha, and this time, she actually looked noticeably nervous before continuing hesitantly. "And, speaking of your life...I have been wondering something. How, um, long do you think you want to live, Rhazii?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius craned his head forward after Vaarkai received Julan's blow. He recognised his disorientation immediately. Once Vaarkai lost consciousness, Janius calmly stepped forward and knelt beside the boy. He placed a hand on his head and cast a spell to inspect his injuries. Vaarkai was probably not in grave danger but Janius wanted to make sure to prevent any permanent damage if at all possible.

While he knelt, Janius peered up at Julan. It was hard to read Janius' exact thoughts. "You okay, Julan?" he asked plainly.

---

Rhazii did not have much with which to respond to Ahnasha's convictions than a small nod. However, the change to her demeanour afterwards made him perk up curiously, if worriedly. The following question made him go still and dart his eyes around in confusion. "Uhh...I don't know. Eighty, maybe ninety years? Being very old never really looks enjoyable. Why do you ask? Is it about how you stay young?"

[EliteCommander]

Julan appeared lost for a few more seconds, looking down at his hand. "Um, yeah, I guess. I didn't mean to..."

Julan was not able to say any more before he found himself crowded by their onlookers, or at least some of them. Those who had already been curious about Julan, or at least uncertain about him, were now all smiling and congratulating his quick victory. one boy gave him a playful punch to his shoulder, followed by an encouraging pat on the back. "Well, that was about as clear as it could be. I guess everyone really should be afraid to talk bad about you, or your mother."

"Oh, well, I don't really want to make people afraid..." Julan began, though he stopped mid-sentence once the girl, Leeus, caught his attention. She approached him, smiling in a way that made him just want to smile back.

"One punch. Guess that's all you needed. I would apologize for dragging you into all that, but I guess you had it all under control. You were so fast, and...those muscles aren't just for show." Leeus grinned.

Meanwhile, those who were already suspicious about Julan were not dissuaded by the fight, but were preoccupied with Vaarkai. Two of them, likely friends of Varrkai since they had been sitting together, rushed over to him after they got over their shock from watching the fight. "Hey! Get away from him, softskin. Stop touching him!" The girl growled as she ran over to check his breathing, then pointed to her other friend. "We should get him to the healer; get his legs, I've got his shoulders."

---

Ahnasha nodded. She did not generally find the subject uncomfortable to talk about with friends, but speaking about it with Rhazii, in this context, did have her slightly nervous. "Yes. By now, it is something of an...open secret that I no longer age. Or at least, not very quickly. It was something I pursued because I want to follow your father into old age together, which would be hard when he could outlive me by over nine hundred years. I worked hard, trained, and eventually learned what I needed. But, if I am being honest, the thought of me living on in youth while you slowly grow old in front of me is...frightening, I guess would be a way to put it. I don't want to have to leave you behind...but it doesn't have to be that way. Extending a life isn't too difficult, once you have the knowledge you need. It would not be hard for me to help you."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius stood up and gestured to let the Vaarkai's friends tend to him, though they were on the job before Janius was even fully upright. He could not detect anything life-threatening, though Janius had no doubt Vaarkai would feel Julan's surprise hook for some time.

Not wanting to interrupt Julan's moment of victory, Janius strode back to Kaleeth's side with a small smile. "At least we don't have to worry about our son getting pushed around," he commented to her quietly.

---

Once again, Rhazii had no immediate answer for Ahnasha. He mostly looked contemplative, with his eyes and mouth occasionally twinging tensely.

He responded carefully. "Can I...take some time to think about it, mother? I never considered this kind of thing before. It got complicated in my head really quickly."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth did not look as upbeat as Janius, but she did eventually return a grin. "Maybe. I guess it depends on how stubborn they are. If nothing else, the second or third time might be enough to make that point." She said, though she soon looked away with a soft sigh. "It also seems that people do remember me. Even if it isn't fondly."

Nearby, Janius' acute hearing would also be able to listen some of the children talking, away from Julan, but certainly about him. Even after the short fight, some of their opinions were still rather mixed. Julan being an outsider, and the son of a Human, were not details that were going to be easily forgotten. But, it did seem that more were open to outsiders than not. Some described him as strange, but obviously skilled, while others were skeptical that he would fare as well during his rite. Janius would have a hard time hearing everything they were saying, especially outside of his native tongue, but of the words he could hear, the insults were outweighed by words like "strong, nice," and even a few variants of "handsome." Unfortunately, those few with an already-negative opinion did not appear to be easily swayed.

---

"You can take as long as you like, Rhazii. But, I do want to reassure you that it is not nearly as complicated as you probably think it is." Ahnasha explained. Now that she had moved past the barrier of bringing up the topic, she was more relaxed about discussing it. "It takes some preparation, some...materials, but once you have those, it is just a ritual with a few spells. And it is not a permanent change either. One ritual is not suddenly going to make you live for a thousand years. I do wish it were that simple. No, you do have to maintain the magic every decade or so. If you were ever to change your mind, you would not have to take your own life to avoid living hundreds of years longer than you want."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius put a hand on Kaleeth's shoulder. "It's not all bad," Janius said. "Things have changed. Not all of the changes are negative." He looked across the people around them. "Hear what people are saying? We raised a good child. They ought to remember that, right?"

---

"Okay," Rhazii said. He was not reassured, likely because of Ahnasha's choice of words. He lowered his knees and sat cross-legged. He leaned back on his hands while he spoke. "Living longer sounds nice, don't get me wrong. I...I don't like the thought of outliving everyone else, though. Julan is my best friend -- he would get old. All of my friends would get old. The rest of the pack would get old. I don't have a partner, but she would get old. I mean, it's the whole reason you said you did it, right mother? To be with father. I don't know if I have anyone like that. And if I do later on, she might not even be an elf. I don't even really feel attracted to elves." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm just thinking out loud."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth let out a sigh. "Let's hope so. Most of them seem friendly enough to Julan for now, but our visit isn't over yet. And, well, it's our first day here, and Julan has already got into a fight."

Kaleeth did feel that she had plenty of reasons to worry about how this all was going to turn out, but despite those worries, she did finally bring herself to smile. "If you could call that a fight. Maybe we should just leave him to try his hand at making friends, and try to avoid embarrassing him?"

---

"Hmm, but that is something that all Elves end up having to deal with, isn't it?" Ahnasha pointed out. "Entire races of people who have to deal with the fact that they will far outlive most not of their kind. And yet, they all find a way to make peace with it. Of course, they usually do not outlive their own families, which is why I am sure you are having these reservations about it. Believe me, I understand the way you feel about your friends, about Julan, or this hypothetical future wife. If you think about how you would feel about them, well...that's how I feel about you."

Ahnasha had been looking down at the ground as she spoke, and by this point, her voice was starting to get choked up noticeably. When she finally returned eye contact, there were tears in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you, Rhazii." She continued, throwing her arms around him. "I don't want to choose between losing my son to old age, or forcing the love of my life to go through the very same thing with me. And you, for that matter. It doesn't have to be just you. I can do it for others too. Not too many at once; that would not be practical to maintain, but...I could handle keeping a few people alive far past their natural lifespans."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius laughed through his nose. "Okay, but only if his popularity doesn't cause his head to get as big as mine when I was his age." Janius took Kaleeth's hand and started a wander to nowhere in particular. "What do you want to do now? Is there anyone else you wanted to visit before it gets dark?"

---

Rhazii was taken by surprise at how quickly his mother burst into tears. Though, he did not hesitate to return her hug. He grew torn while looking over her shoulder.

"Mother...I didn't know you felt so strongly about it." He kept holding her, but he had to think for a short moment. "Look, I don't feel like I know what this'll all mean. I don't want to hurt you but...this is big and complex. Do you think I could talk to grandfather? Your father? Not revealing anything, but to ask him about his lifespan. Maybe father's mother as well. They have lived for a long time, right?"

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth leaned in, resting her head on Janius' shoulder. "Not right now. I've spent all day visiting people. I just want to be with you right now. Let's go see if we can find where we're going to be sleeping."

---

It was two days before Julan's rite was set to take place. On the day in between, Julan selected his opponent for the fight, but since he had no real way of knowing how skilled each of the volunteers were, he did not put much thought into the choice. For the most part, he just focused on mentally preparing himself to perform as well as he could. Although, he did not spend the entire day training. Rather, he was feeling confident enough to try and get to better know some of the other hunter apprentices he had met the day before. Those who did not like Julan had identified themselves rather plainly when they met, so it was not hard for him to avoid them.

Despite being Argonian, Julan still felt like an outsider, and indeed, most of his conversations with the others were about that fact. He spent a lot of time either describing his life back home as best as he could without giving away anything sensitive, or asking them about their lives in the village. He had not been expecting it to be as difficult as it was for him to fit in with others of his own kind. They would often say words he did not understand, make jokes that made no sense to him, or play games with rules he did not know. He had not expected to feel like he would fit in better with bunch of Nord children. But, he could not say that he did not enjoy the experience, for as long as he was able to avoid the more resentful elements of the village.

On the morning of the rite, Julan was outside early, after obviously rushing through his breakfast. The rite was being held later in the day, so for the morning, he was free to do as he pleased. In this case, he was excited to join some of the other apprentices in playing some games after their early-morning training.

When Janius did eventually head outside and spotted Julan near the edge of the village, however, he would find him in seemingly lower spirits than he might have anticipated. As would be expected for an amphibious race of swamp-dwellers, Argonians tended to spend a lot of time in the water, and the children were no different. They were divided into teams, and looked to be fighting over a leather-wrapped ball while swimming at speeds that would leave a Human lost and confused. However, Julan was not involved. Rather, he was sitting alone in the river near its edge, keeping his head down and giving periodic glances towards the others.

---

Ahnasha kept holding on to Rhazii in silence for a short while. She allowed herself time for her tears to subside before she answered him. "I'm...not sure. You can ask them; I'm not going to try and stop you, or anything like that. But, I don't know if they will be able to help you. Their situations are different. My father, I'm sure he has come to terms with my mother's aging, but he has never had the choice I am giving you. Not to mention, he is a devout follower of the Eight. Any application of necromancy is taboo to them, and he would associate life extension with that kind of magic right away. He would be against it right way, just because of that. As for your grandmother on your father's side..."

Ahnasha looked off into the forest, somewhat uncomfortably. "If I am being entirely honest, I'm still not sure how she feels about me and Fendros. She became friendly during our last visit. Sociable, nice even, but I do still wonder if it is just an act. She might not have been expecting me to be with her son for a full, Elven lifetime. She doesn't yet know I have stopped aging for now. I could be wrong; I don't want to assume the worst about her. But, it could influence how she might answer you."

[Muttonhawk]

Julan was not the only one to take time learning more about Kaleeth's childhood home. Janius of course spent time training Julan and talking with him about how he was finding the village to be like, but his remaining time was spent engaging with strangers. More specifically, finding odd jobs to do around the village that allowed him to strike up conversations. There were more than a few polite rejections and outright cold shoulders turned his way, though he was able to find a few willing tasks.

Strangely enough, the people Janius spoke to were just as curious about the world beyond the swamp. The difference was their relative humbleness and politeness compared to the youths. Life in the swamp was hard work, unexciting and repetitive. But none Janius spoke to complained. He caught details of the feel of the village in ways Kaleeth could not have put into words easily. It gave him an appreciation for the place in all its differences.

The second morning, Julan's rite was still in the forefront of Janius' mind. His first thought after breakfast was to see how Julan was faring. The sight of him looking low concerned Janius from a distance, but he approached behind him with an encouraging smile. "Good morning, Julan," he said, before sitting down beside Julan and craning his head to look at his face. He switched to Cyrodilic. "What's on your mind? Feeling nervous about the rite?"

---

"I think I'll try anyway." Rhazii slowly pulled away from the hug. Ahnasha saw the conflict he felt as he avoided eye contact. "Just one more question about this. Life extension doesn't hurt anybody, right?"

The way he asked made him sound as though he was bracing to be dead wrong and rude in his presumptions in spite of Ahnasha's continued patience.

[EliteCommander]

Julan jumped slightly when Janius suddenly spoke up behind him, despite the fact that he should have been able to hear him coming long before he spoke a word. It was obvious that he had been lost rather deeply in his own thoughts. "Oh, um, yeah, I guess." Julan replied, unconvincingly.

Glancing up to Janius for only a moment, Julan returned his gaze back down to the water. "I guess I...really don't know what I'm getting into. I mean, I don't know any of the hunters, so I don't know how skilled they are. I am worried about it." He said, however; his insincere tone, coupled with the fact that he was quickly glancing over at the apprentices playing their game in the river every few seconds, did hint that it was something else which was really bothering him. If Janius was particularly observant, he might notice the violet-scaled girl that Julan was looking at more than the rest.

---

Ahnasha did hesitate, flashing a brief, worried expression on her face as she tried to come up with the best way to word her answer. She had never told Rhazii, or most others, before, but she had used multiple black souls in the spell to extend her life. "It...doesn't have to." Ahnasha finally answered. "The spells in the ritual require soul energy to reinforce the bonds of your own soul to your body. There are many rogue necromancers who do not care about killing innocents, and will use black souls for those sorts of spells. It requires fewer gems, and is easier to accomplish overall with black souls. But, other strong souls can accomplish the same task. Only those that will fully charge a grand soul gem, though. It can be a challenge to collect them, but hunters like ourselves should not be afraid of a challenge."

[Muttonhawk]

Julan was well trained in many tasks. Lying was not one of them, Janius found. In fact, Julan's distraction made it easy for Janius to see what was really bothering him.

"Part of any fight is an unknown element, especially with strangers," Janius explained. "You're prepared, though. We've taught you how to read your opponent..." Janius deliberately timed his words with Leeus' flourishes in the game before them. "...To see how they move. It's like a dance. You must predict what they'll do and make the most of it."

Once Janius confirmed where Julan's attention really was, he grinned. "Honestly, I'm relieved to hear you're just worried about the rite. I thought you might be having girl troubles."

---

"Oh," Rhazii itched his shoulder. "Those are the expensive ones, huh. Right. Well, it's good to hear that it can be done without black souls."

Rhazii was silent for a while.

"Is there anything else I should know about it?" He asked. "If not...I would like to clean this blood off my shirt." He still sounded uneasy just glancing at it.

[EliteCommander]

Julan poorly hid a surprised reaction towards Janius' thinly-veiled guess at his true issue. He now forced himself to keep his eyes off of the game entirely and just stared at the water unflinchingly. "Yes...the rite. It's, um, a...really big deal, I think. I need to make sure I...win, since my grandfather really cares about it. And mother. Or, well, I guess, um, mother really just cares that her father really cares about it. I shouldn't let everyone down."

Despite the fact that Janius had not yet responded, Julan was already looking more nervous. He glanced up at his father, and would have been sweating if it were possible for an Argonian. He broke eye contact quickly, just feeling his heart start to beat faster until the silence finally got to him. "I just don't know the rules to their game, okay? That's it." He lied.

---

"I...don't think so." Ahnasha answered. "It's not harmful, painful, or dangerous. I would need to teach you some of the basics of necromancy, just to be able to manipulate the magic in the ritual properly, but I could do most of the hard work. For the most part, though, you don't need to worry about the ritual itself. Just worry about making your decision. The average person might be concerned about hunting enough grand souls, but we're not average. We could go on some mammoth hunts together, or maybe minotaurs or goblins. It honestly sounds like fun."

Finally, Ahnasha stood up, then offered her hand to Rhazii to help him up as well. She was smiling now, despite some of the uneasy topics they had just discussed. "Why don't we go ahead and transform. We can look around for a water source later. Even my beast spirit is starting to get restless, so I have to imagine yours is practically clawing its way out of your mind. I am starving, and we have a whole feast waiting for us back at that camp."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius crossed his arms and smiled all through Julan's excuses. Not even the attempt to shake him off with a new excuse worked. Janius held his gaze for another pause before speaking calmly. "You know you can talk to me about anything, son. I promise not to embarrass you. Come, what's really going on?"

---

Rhazii took Ahnasha's hand and stood to his feet. He looked back in the direction of the camp and frowned for a nervous while.

"I would prefer to find game, if that's alright." His voice lowered. "I need to distract myself."

[EliteCommander]

Julan was quick to snap back in defense of his own excuse. "There's nothing really going on, okay? I don't know their game's rules, and I really wanted to play, but now I can't. That upset me, so now I'm...upset. There's nothing embarrassing, it's just that."

Given his unconvincing expression, Julan focused back on the game to avoid making eye contact with his father. Regardless, he could feel Janius' eyes on him, making his discomfort even more palpable. He tried to ignore it, but ended up watching Leeus again. He had actually understood the rules of the game, so he knew that, from the perspective of the game, there were other players that were being more impactful and would be more interesting to watch. Still, his eyes were on her, at least until he grew anxious enough to look away from everything once more.

"There aren't many Argonians back home. Not my age." Julan finally said softly enough that even Janius would have to concentrate to hear him. "She's very pretty."

---

Ahnasha let out a long breath, this time looking more sympathetic towards Rhazii. "You know we shouldn't waste meat, Rhazii. We are hunters of Hircine: his hounds in this world. It's...I guess you would say blasphemous not to use every part of your kills that you can. You don't want to anger our patron Daedra. Don't worry, if you transform, your beast spirit will help make things easier. Indeed, whenever you fight in your wolf form, you will consume the flesh of your enemies. It is natural for a lycan, and it would be unwise to try and fight it. You just get to choose who you consider an enemy."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius held his head back and his chin down until Julan was done with his outburst. He unfolded his arms, blinked, and rested his elbows on his knees. "Very well," he said simply. He turned his head to the game and watched on. "Maybe we can work out the rules by watching."

In truth, Janius could not very well see the game in the water from where they sat. But Julan eventually opened up. Janius did not react immediately, choosing to keep his eyes on the ball as it was splashed around the swamp water.

"Mm," Janius spoke almost as quietly as Julan, if in a more reassuring way. "The way you've been looking at her tells as much. Tell me, have you got to know her? What's she like?"

---

Rhazii pressed his lips together and exhaled from his nose. "Okay, if you say so. I might, you know, still run around a bit. I don't have to worry about big things like the rest of my life or killing people when I'm transformed. That's all I meant."

As he spoke, Rhazii turned around and found a spot to start disrobing so he wouldn't destroy his clothing.