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

[EliteCommander]

Though nervous, Julan did not take as long to reply now that he had finally admitted to the real issue. "Her name is Hal-Leeus. We spent a lot of time together yesterday, after I picked my opponent for the rite. She's...curious, I guessed. Asked me a whole bunch of questions about other places I've been. I don't think the people here get to see much from the outside. Just some rare travelers, and a few books that some of them have traded for. Only a few people can read Cyrodilic, though. Like the Treeminder."

Julan was sidetracked for a few seconds as he watched Leeus. "Anyways, she's...nice. She's a hunter apprentice, so she explained a lot about their training. They're supposed to be really good at fighting in the swamp, against animals or people. They're meant to be fast, quiet, and all of that. I think she was explaining more detailed things too, but I, um, got distracted. I just start feeling so...strange around her. I don't know why; I'm friends with plenty of girls back home, and I don't get that way. It wasn't like that at first, but then we were alone just talking, joking, and I started looking at her, and..." Julan turned his head to Janius, looking confused. "...I don't know why she's so different."

---

Ahnasha had already left her dress behind, so she just had to drop her bag with the rest of Rhazii's belongings before transforming herself. The point of the hunt was for Rhazii's benefit, but with her beast spirit front and center in her mind, its instincts still informed her decisions. She was higher in rank, so she grunted sternly at Rhazii to follow, then briskly ran back to the bandit camp.

Again, being the current ranking pack member, Ahnasha did not hesitate a moment to begin her feast. The closest body to her was one of the imperials, so she ripped away his shirt, jammed her claws into his ribs, pried them apart, then sank her teeth into one of his lungs. She mostly gave her beast spirit freedom to act as it willed, but Ahnasha still kept out an alert eye around the camp between bites, and her conscious mind was still present enough to notice that something was missing. Namely, there was no Khajiit body where they had left it. Ahnasha's arrow only hit her in the stomach, so it was not an immediate or guaranteed kill.

Ahnasha growled briefly. "I think the Khajiit survived. Probably got away. I don't see a blood trail, though. Might have taken a potion, bandaged herself."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius smiled warmly. He looked up to the treetops and reminisced quietly. Although, he remained brief with his words for a few reasons. "I think you know what that feeling is, Julan." He turned to face Julan. "Does she know how you feel?"

---

Rhazii's transformation was over before he knew it. He opened his eyes and immediately listened out, scanning through the forest for any movement. His beast was tense and holding back in an exaggerated expression of his own previous anxiety. Nevertheless, he followed along with Ahnasha.

Somehow, Rhazii managed to wait patiently for Ahnasha to eat. He paced here and there but did not spot the detail Ahnasha pointed out regarding their missing khajiit quarry. Rhazii's ears flattened and he stared at the ground. Inwardly, he wanted to rake his claws over his face to try and distract from continued the killing. Though, there was no stopping his mother. They had a job to do, and Rhazii's beast unconsciously sniffed the air and the ground for signs of a trail.

[EliteCommander]

Julan shook his head. "No, I didn't say anything. I'm not sure what she thinks about me. She's just been nice. I just haven't felt this kind of...thing before. Is it because she's also Argonian? I didn't think that was supposed to matter, like with you and mother. There, um, aren't really any Argonian girls my age back home, but I didn't think it would be anything special. Is it wrong for me to like her that way?"

Julan did not hide that he was now watching Leeus, at least not from Janius. "She really wanted me to join the game."

---

Ahnasha too dropped what she was doing to search for a scent, though after scouring the camp and having that search go on for far longer than she expected, she realized that there was no trail of a Khajiit leaving the camp. "Hmm, odd. I can't seem to find a scent. That could mean magic is involved, unless..."

Ahnasha's voice trailed off as she started to look around and listen more sharply to her surroundings with her other senses. She remained completely still, and completely quiet until, finally, her ear twitched and her head turned towards a small tent close to the center of camp. She walked towards it with as slow, soft steps as her wolf form would allow, then quickly tore away the tent flap. There was a shrill, terrified scream, followed by Ahnasha dragging out the Khajiit bandit by her leg and throwing her into the middle of the camp. The bandit screamed in panic and terror, not so much trying to fight back as just trying in vain to run from Ahnasha. But, despite her tears and overall helplessness, Ahnasha did not falter. She kicked the Khajiit down to the ground again, then stomped her foot down on the bandit's skull, crushing it near-flat almost instantly without hesitation. Without feeling.

"That's a relief. Would have been dangerous having someone like that out there, maybe wanting revenge. Not to mention, I was really looking forward to eating this one." Ahnasha commented, now grinning towards Rhazii. Despite the blood caked in her fur and staining her teeth, she was practically upbeat. "I'm not sure if you've had the pleasure of trying Khajiit in recent memory, but our livers are just divine. Anyways, we can relax now, and have our fill."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius pondered for a moment. Several trails of thought lead through his mind until he stood up and beckoned Julan. "Let's take a quick walk. Don't worry, you'll have time to play later."

Once Julan was following, Janius took him in no particular direction. He started around the edge of the village.

"That the girl is Argonian may be part of it but I doubt it's all of it," Janius explained. "All it takes is someone special. That clinging in your chest? That paralysis? It's all natural. It's not wrong at all to like someone that way, no matter the race." Janius gave Julan a glance. "To be frank, me, Kaleeth, not to mention Fendros, Ahnasha, Meesei, and Lunise, we're exceptions more than rules."

Janius' tone shifted lower after another few slow paces. "Your mother and I told you how we first met, didn't we?"

---

Ahnasha did not look up to see Rhazii eager to eat. The first she heard was low growling. Rhazii backed another pace away from Ahnasha with every physically threatening posture he had. His neck bristled, his teeth bared and he held his claws down, ready to pounce. In his eyes was a fresh panic overwhelming him.

He did not speak, only bayed and barked.

[EliteCommander]

Julan followed alongside his father, looking at everything he was looking at and listening to him in silence. He was reassuring him that his feelings were natural, though it did not explain why he was feeling them in the first place. Julan had only really just met Leeus, and even he knew that he did not really know her.

Julan scratched his head and shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. You met in this village, when you were coming here to help aunt Sabine. She said she was curious about you and started talking to you. Is there more than that?"

---

Ahnasha had to suppress the instinctual reaction of her beast spirit, which was far more aggressive than she wanted to be towards Rhazii. She stood up tall, taking on a less bestial stance towards Rhazii, despite his apparent threats. "What is getting into you, Rhazii? Are you losing control to your beast? Hmm...emotion can weaken control, and you are not yet used to dealing with them. Just take a moment, breathe, focus. Your beast has its desires, but you are still the one in control. You know you don't want to attack your own mother."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius nodded at the ground. "We didn't just talk. We laughed, we spent time sharing what our lives were like. We went on a hunt, which turned out to be more than we bargained for. We grew close very quickly without knowing exactly why. Perhaps we did not want to think about it." He gave Julan a smiling glance. "Mind you, we were several years older than you are now. However, then and now seem very similar, with what is beginning with you and Hal-Leeus."

His eyes went to the ground again and his smile faded. "Now, were you ever told how mother was turned?"

---

If Rhazii was listening, he made no indication. He kept his distance and continued gnashing his teeth and growling. Ahnasha had never seen him like this before. In truth, he had never fully lost control of his beast spirit before. Before Ahnasha was a wild animal.

The first movement Ahnasha made could not have been slow enough to avoid provoking Rhazii further. Rhazii lunged forward to snap before immediately turning and bolting away into the forest. The threats were just a response to his fear, empty but just flinching enough to make his escape.

[EliteCommander]

Julan was still not sure what Janius was intending with his story, but he supposed he did see the parallels with him and Leeus. Still, he was not sure what to say and just nodded along with faint uncertainty until Janius questioned him again.

"Um, well, not really. I know she said she agreed to it, but she didn't say how. I asked how and she just said: 'I don't know'. Is it some big secret or something?" Julan asked.

---

Ahnasha was now quite legitimately worried. For whatever reason, Rhazii's emotions had gotten a hold of him strongly enough that he had actually lost control. This was not something she could just be patient with, or talk him down from. Without control of his beast spirit, he was, at the moment, no different from any feral werewolf. If left unchecked, he could be hurt, or do something he would regret. Ahnasha had to act, and everything she did, everything she said, would have to be directed towards the beast spirit itself. Not Rhazii. It was no longer him that she was dealing with.

Immediately, Ahnasha chased after Rhazii into the forest. Though the Cathay-raht werewolf was stronger, Ahnasha was still faster thanks to her training, control, and experience. Not only could she best him in speed, but she could quickly and deftly avoid every tree, root, or other obstacle between her and her target. It hardly took much time at all for Ahnasha to catch up to him. Even a feral beast could notice that she was close, and it tried to avoid her, but it was a predictable opponent for Ahnasha. She pounced on him, but without the desire to harm him, she did not use her claws or teeth to latch on and drag him down to the ground. So, both of them ended up tumbling head over heel. But, for Ahnasha at least, she was expecting it enough to be able to recover quicker.

Ahnasha marched towards Rhazii as he was scrambling to his feet and struck him across the head, though with her fist closed to avoid using her claws. "Stop and submit, wolf! You do not command Rhazii; you listen, and you follow. Now, submit, and kneel to your superior!" She barked towards the beast.

[Muttonhawk]

"Is that how she worded it?" Janius showed a little surprise. "Hm. Well, I don't know if it's much of a secret because I think only Hircine knows what really happened to actually turn her. The circumstances surrounding it all is worth mentioning, because she didn't exactly plan to get turned. I could not stay with her in the village, but she...wanted to commune with the Hist and Hircine in turn to know what to do. She was not exactly decided on leaving her village, her family. Hircine made the choice for her."

The joy was diminished almost entirely from Janius' face. "What followed was a most difficult time for her. She was torn away from everything she knew and loved, save for some young man she had only met a number of days prior. We, of course, made things work in the end. We have experienced such a joyous time that we would not take it back, even if we just made so many huge, youthful mistakes. But...she never really did fully heal from leaving so suddenly. Coming back opened those wounds, which is partly why she has been...well, you've seen it."

Janius stopped and faced Julan. "Listen, you are not me. Your situation could be so different that none of this turns out to be relevant. But know this; the suffering your mother went through is not something you need on your conscience. So don't do it to anyone here. Understand?"

Rarely did Janius speak so firmly to Julan about anything unless it was to point out present dangers.

---

Ahnasha's strike staggered Rhazii back. He fell back and pushed himself away on the ground in a scramble. Though he avoided eye contact and almost looked to be heeling, he barked out immediately after Ahnasha's command with a vaguely understandable "NO!"

He spun and galloped into another sprint on all fours, renewing the chase.

The reaction shed some light -- Rhazii had just enough control to disobey.

[EliteCommander]

Julan only started to understand the point that Janius was getting to at the end, though it was hardly an encouraging message. "Oh." He said, lowering his head and letting out a long breath. Although, he quickly thought to make at least some attempt to defend his intentions. "I mean, I didn't want to...drag her away with us or anything. That would be crazy, I just..."

While not close to tears by any means, Julan did look defeated. "I wish there were Argonian girls back home. I like having someone to feel that way about. The only ones I've ever seen just visit for a little while, and I'm not allowed to use the propa...propyl...teleporting stones to go to other clans."

---

Ahnasha paused in place, though only briefly. Now, she was not sure what to think. Was the beast in control, or somehow influencing him? In any case, she was not sure what would cause him to have such a harsh and sudden reaction. She had expected him to perhaps be uncomfortable, but she genuinely could not make sense of what likely would have been obvious to most others.

Just as before, Ahnasha quickly chased after Rhazii, and it proved equally as fruitless for him to attempt to flee. Even if he could have managed to work up a faster sprint, the skill with which she could maneuver through the trees made catching him an inevitability. When he tried to turn sharply around a tree, she ended up turning on the other side and pushing off of it to launch herself at Rhazii, tackling him once again. This time, she did her best to try and hold him down. Rhazii was the stronger of the two of them, but in their beast forms, the difference was not as pronounced.

"Submit, wolf!" Ahnasha demanded, though her expression quickly became more pleading. "Rhazii, if you really are in there somewhere, talk to me, please! I'm begging you; I can't help you if you won't talk to me."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius' face softened. He stepped up and put a hand on Julan's shoulder. "I understand. It is an astonishing and wonderful feeling. Coming out if it, it can sometimes feel like there will be no one like that available to you. But remember you are young. There will always be someone out there. It's just a matter of time and helping opportunity."

He drew back slowly. "And as you get older, you'll earn more independence. You might strike out on your own journeys then. There are plenty of Argonian lasses out there, even like us." He put a hand on his hip. "Now, unless you had any further questions, you'd better find Hal-Leeus a nice flower to gift her."

---

Rhazii did not submit. His claws flew and his teeth snapped wherever they could. Ahnasha had to react to every movement to prevent injury to herself and simultaneously pin Rhazii down. He struggled as if fighting for his life.

Rhazii cried out in a broken voice. "GET...OFF!"

He slipped a shoulder free and bit down hard on Ahnasha's forearm. He thrashed to try and escape.

[EliteCommander]

Julan paused in place and scratched his head. "A flower, but...wait, I thought I wasn't supposed to do the same thing you did with mother? Wouldn't that make her like me more? I'm...this is all just so confusing." He replied, his shoulders sagging down along with his mood. "Maybe I should just focus on the rite or something."

---

Ahnasha let out an enraged growl, and every part of her beast spirit wanted to act on it, but she reined herself in. Although, that did not stop Rhazii from immediately receiving a hefty blow to the side of the head in return. Unlike Rhazii, Ahnasha was controlling the force she used and ended up dazing him long enough to wrestle her arm free from his jaws. His teeth had ripped through even her thick, werewolf hide and blood now covered her arm, but adrenaline helped her to fight through the pain for now. She struck him again with her now-freed arm to give her enough time to climb off of him, staying close enough to pounce at a moment's notice.

"You know I can't let a half-feral werewolf rampage across the countryside, Rhazii. If I have to fight you into submission, I will! You know you can't escape me. Whatever part of you that still has some shred of sanity left needs to take back control and back down." Ahnasha shouted at Rhazii.

[Muttonhawk]

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

---

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

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

[EliteCommander]

Julan was still at a loss, and ended up just standing with his mouth half-open for a few seconds before he realized he needed to say something. "Father, you're...confusing." He said, but eventually he started to laugh only slightly uncomfortably.

"I...guess I should just try to make friends. I do understand the game they're playing, so maybe they're still playing it back there. Leeus told me it was 'like hip-and-tail ball, but in the water.' I don't know what that is, but the rules didn't look too complicated. I would have joined, but...she was showing me how to hit the ball right...and she said to watch her hips, and..." Now that he was thinking back, Julan suddenly looked away, visibly embarrassed. "...I just had to get away for a few minutes and think about things. I don't think I made her mad."

---

Ahnasha had, for a while now, been complementary of Rhazii's fighting ability. She had praised his progress, and encouraged him to push farther. That might have given him a fair amount of confidence, but here, in this fight, the gap between them would be fully on display. Rhazii was fast in his attack, but Ahnasha saw it coming easily, and reacted effortlessly. She saw him reaching for her arm, and instead grabbed his, jerking it suddenly in the direction of his own momentum. While he was off balance, she pushed him past her and raked her claws across his back to make a shallow would, though one which still drew blood. However, her hands were only a distraction for the true point of her attack, which was to jam one of the claws on her foot into his ankle. Despite Ahnasha's growing anger, her goal was not to cause Rhazii serious harm. She just needed to get him to stop fighting.

"Submit, wolf! You do not command my son! You obey me!" Ahnasha shouted. Regardless of the fact that Rhazii was not acting exactly like a feral, she simply did not believe that her son could be responsible for what he was doing. Not entirely.

[Muttonhawk]

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

---

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

[EliteCommander]

It was hard to say right away what effect Janius' advice had on Julan, since he went off on his own to return to his friends right away, but it was only a few hours later that Julan's rite was set to begin, so their games could not have lasted too long. Kaleeth had stayed with her father most of the morning, so they headed out to the center of the village together. The terrain was not perfectly even, nor clear grass or mud, but the area near the base of the Hist tree was the most open in the village, at least on one side.

In general, village life would go on as normal during a rite, except for those particularly close to the participants. However, according to Zharanthixil, Julan's rite had attracted a bit more attention than usual. There was more of a crowd gathering, especially among the hunters and apprentices. Fortunately, Julan did not know that the attention was unusual, else he may have been even more nervous.

Kaleeth, her father, and Janius had found a comfortable place to sit underneath the Hist tree, on one of the floor mats from Zharan's hut. Kaleeth was finally feeling comfortable enough to leave her weapons behind and get out of the chitin armor she had been wearing for most of the past few weeks, and was instead just wearing a simple loincloth like many of the other villagers. At the very least, she looked like she fit in.

It was hard to say that Julan was not nervous, but he was not letting it show too much. After spending ten minutes talking to the Master-Hunter, Julan finally pulled himself away for long enough to approach his parents. "I, um, guess we'll be starting soon. I was just wanting to ask, father, can I...use your sword? I just have this knife. They offered to give me a spear, but I don't think I would really be as good with that. I have been trained with it, but only really in formations and stuff. You're the one that has been teaching me with a sword."

---

Ahnasha and Rhazii had sparred many times before, all throughout his training, in and out of their beast forms. They had done everything ranging from light sparring with practice weapons, to rather heavy brawls. It would be easy to say that they should understand each other's styles, and that was partially true, but Rhazii would quickly discover that there was still much for him to learn. Ahnasha had always fought better than Rhazii, but she had also held herself back, simply allowing herself to be better and better the more skilled Rhazii became. Rhazii's training required him to fight against more skilled opponents, but Ahnasha had to fight close enough for their bouts to still be instructive. Now, however, there were no limits, other than the lethality of Ahnasha's attacks. She reacted as quickly as she could, left no openings in her defense, and used tactics that Rhazii simply did not have the experience to respond to. For Rhazii, it was his first true glimpse into why the clans held the Champion's pack in such high regard.

Rhazii's quick strikes looked slow in comparison to what Ahnasha could accomplish. It was not only her physical training, but the degree of control she had over her beast spirit in order to use her wolf form more directly, with fewer mental barriers. She could not control herself as perfectly as Meesei with her Ring, but she was as close as she could be without magic assistance. She dodged Rhazii's swipes, feinted attack after attack to keep Rhazii on edge, perhaps even wondering if she even intended to attack at all. Then, she timed a short flurry of attacks in step with Rhazii's limp, jabbing the claws on her thumbs into him three separate times. Two were minor flesh wounds on his bicep, but the other struck the inside of his elbow directly. She sacrificed allowing Rhazii to scrape his claws across her shoulder, but Ahnasha's precision attacks were calculated and effective. He had caused her some bleeding, but she was compromising his ability to move at all, limb after limb. In her mind, if his restless beast spirit would not lose the will to fight, then she would remove its ability to fight.

[Muttonhawk]

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

[EliteCommander]

Although hesitant, Julan did slowly nod in response to Janius. "I know it's hard, and the spear probably had the advantage because of reach and everything, but I just think I would be better with a sword. I don't have enough practice with a spear in duels. Master-Hunter Juran says that as long as the sword isn't enchanted, I can use it."

Julan was looking nervous, though it was hard to tell if it was because of the topic at hand, or the approaching duel in general. "Do you think it's a good idea? Should I try the spear anyway? You know a lot more about this kind of thing."

---

Ahnasha did not waste time, now that the beast had seemingly capitulated. She stood, towering over Rhazii, close enough to pounce quickly should he try anything sudden. Now that she guessed the beast's willpower had been weakened, she spoke more directly towards Rhazii, without her demanding tone or threatening growls.

"Rhazii, I've weakened your beast spirit's will, and pulled it back in line. You should be able to wrestle back control from it. I want you to force the best back inside and transform back to normal. Once you are Khajiit again, it shouldn't be able to influence you for a while." Ahnasha instructed.

[Muttonhawk]

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

---

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

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

[EliteCommander]

"Well...yeah, I don't want to hurt anyone. Obviously." Julan answered. "The Master-Hunter said that the fight will go until one of us concedes, or he judges that a real fight would have been finished. Like, if one of us would have been able to make a killing blow, if that was what we were trying to do."

Julan gave another, quick glance back to the Master-Hunter before giving a final nod to Janius. "I'll take the sword. I think I know how to approach it. I just have to...what's the word...nullify the reach advantage." He commented as he waited for his father to offer him the blade.

---

"It's okay, Rhazii. It's okay." Ahnasha replied immediately, glad to have finally heard something definitely from her son. Her voice in her current form made it harder to convey, but she sounded as reassuring as she could. Even her body language became more passive, making her seem at least somewhat smaller. "It's almost over. I helped make your beast spirit submit. You lost control, so I don't know if you remember anything, but all you have to do is transform back. I wish I hadn't had to hurt you, but if we hurry, I might be able to get you back to my things so I can get you a potion before the pain sets in. We didn't run that far, so it shouldn't take too long."

[Muttonhawk]

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

---

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

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