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

[EliteCommander]

Smiling back at his father, Julan took the blade, then took his place in the clearing. He had a few minutes before his opponent joined him, which he spent examining the blade and taking a few practice swings. It was a longer weapon for him proportionally, compared to his father, but he was still more than strong enough to wield it with ease.

Rhazii's opponent, a man by the name of Argrei, while young compared to more experienced hunters, was still very much an adult. He had plain, dark brown scales and bore the marks of the viper, like the majority of other hunters. However, he also was wearing thick, rugged leather armor protecting his chest, legs, and some of his arms, which was likely made from the tough hides of local beasts. Along with the spear he was holding, it was an advantage that Julan was not certain that he could deal with. By contrast, the only garment Julan was was a thin, tattered loincloth. However, his opponent was also quick to notice the imbalance between them.

"Did you not wish to wear your armor for our duel?" Argrei asked.

Julan looked down, almost seeming ashamed. "I don't have any armor to wear." He answered plainly.

Argrei crossed his arms. "Hmm, a hunter of our village is expected to craft and maintain their own armor from the spoils of their own kills. It is a part of the rites as much as fighting ability." He explained, though he soon let out a sigh, then gave a light smile. "But, let no one say that I am not honorable."

Momentarily setting his spear aside, Argrei started to unstrap and remove all of his armor, piece by piece, until he was down to the same attire as Julan. They would still be fighting with different weapons, but without armor to further divide them, their fight would be more of a test of skill than equipment.

---

Ahnasha was stunned speechless. For the first time during their fight, she had no response, and no quick reaction. Rhazii's reply had been far too lucid to be purely the work of his beast spirit, though the wolf was certainly still influencing him to some degree. Now confused and increasingly worried, Ahnasha walked after him, easily keeping pace with his crawling. "Rhazii, I...what do you mean? I don't understand. You...you lost control, but now it's over. Now we can heal you up and get everything back to normal."

Finally, Ahnasha knelt down next to Rhazii, turning him over and staring straight down into his eyes with tears in her own. "Rhazii, please talk to me. I want to help you, but I don't know what's going on. Please, Rhazii...please." She begged.

[Muttonhawk]

While Janius was heartened by the gesture of Julan's opponent Argrei, he had reservations as well. Julan would have to be careful that none of his blows against Argrei's torso would be lethal either. Julan's strength was already proven and Janius never let his weapons dull. Janius' worry began to show on his face as the duellists squared up. He remained wordless, knowing he would have to stay back and trust Julan's skills.

---

"No! Stay away! Stay away!" Rhazii's cries turned to sobbing as Ahnasha caught up. Even as he was turned around to face Ahnasha, Rhazii kept his arms up to shield himself, cowering. One of his hands swiped ineffectually at Ahnasha's hand two seconds after she made contact.

Rhazii gave Ahnasha the only answer that his panicking mind could find. "I'm not going with you!" he shouted. "You're a monster!"

[EliteCommander]

As the fight was about to begin, Kaleeth shifted herself closer to Janius, though it was clear that she was far from relaxed. For the most part, she was just looking for some comfort. "I didn't think I would be so nervous about it." She commented. "I never went to one of these rites, and never even though about trying to challenge someone in one. This was a rite for skilled fighters, and I wasn't. I guess I really should be proud of Julan for being good enough to try, but it does all make me nervous. If I knew we were going to be doing this, I would have brought armor for him with us. It would take just one...unlucky mistake for something bad to happen."

Once Master-Hunter Juran stepped in between the two fighters, the crowd quieted down without so much as a word to silence him. He was adorned in ceremonial attire, his armor covered in bones, horns, teeth, and other trophies from all of his notable kills. "This rite, performed in the presence, and in honor of the Hist, gives this young warrior the opportunity to join the ranks of their protectors. Their hunters. Kaj-Julan has announced himself as a warrior beyond any average ability, and shall now prove his claim in battle with one who has already been deemed worthy."

The Master-Hunter stepped back from between the two participants. "Begin!"

Both Julan and his opponent already had their weapons drawn. Julan has his father's sword held in a proper defensive posture, as well as his knife in its scabbard, tied around his waist. Argrei, of course, had a spear leveled towards Julan, along with a long knife, carved from bone, hanging from his leather belt. Argrei was quickly stepping forward to move in range of his spear, but despite needing to advance farther to get in range of his own weapon, Julan was staying still and remaining defensive.

---

Ahnasha could hardly believe what she was hearing. He had been acting as if he was losing control, yet his words could not have been coming from a simple beast spirit. She was at a loss for how to respond beyond tears. Those few words had caused her far more pain than he ever could have inflicted physically. "Rhazii, I...don't understand. You're not making any sense; I'm not a monster, I'm your mother. I love you, son, and I...didn't want to hurt you. I'm so sorry for hurting you, I promise I never wanted to. But...I had no choice. You lost control, and I can't let a feral werewolf go running off into the city. You could get hurt, or end up hurting someone innocent. I had to stop you."

Ahnasha let out a deep breath, then allowed her body to revert back to her Khajiit form, even though Rhazii had not yet reverted as well. She wanted to avoid her beast spirit clouding her thoughts, and to give Rhazii the more familiar face of his mother to look into. Despite the not-insignificant risk in doing so, she knelt down and hugged him tightly. "I love you, son, and I'm not letting you go."

[Muttonhawk]

"I was just thinking the same thing," Janius said quietly. "An accident could cause harm. But I think they'll both be more cautious without armour. They're not trying to kill each other."

Janius watched Julan's stance closely. The still defensive stance may not have been the best approach; Julan needed to be unpredictable to avoid the quick jabs of his opponent's spear in advance. Then again, if Julan planned to spring quickly, he could end the fight decisively, or at the very least put Argrei off balance. It all depended on his footwork on the damp soil below them.

---

When Ahnasha embraced Rhazii on the forest floor, she could feel his heart pounding. She could hear him hyperventilating. Unlike every other time she had hugged her son, nothing about him relaxed with her touch. She perceived this all in a blink before pain shot through her bitten arm and Rhazii roared down at her -- though it was more of a scream than that. With an iron grip, Rhazii pried Ahnasha's arm off him, leaving scratches from her claws.

As if some last shot of fear dulled the pain in his limbs, Rhazii scrambled up to a limping run a few paces from Ahnasha and stopped. He turned his head to face her. He still had a panic in his eyes and his ears held flat. "I'll never kill like you do! Never!" He said, before running away on all fours as fast as his limp could take him.

Rhazii's mind might have still been clouded by his beast, but his words left much less doubt as to which was the true source of his turmoil.

[EliteCommander]

Perhaps Julan was intentionally playing off of the perception that he was inexperienced, or perhaps he just thought up a clever idea, but he started the fight by trying to do something unexpected. As Argrei advanced, Julan charged and launched a small fireball at him. Argrei had a longer weapon, but with the ability to use magic on his side, Julan did have a ranged advantage.

Unfortunately, Julan's response could not be entirely unpredictable. Argrei could see the fire forming in his hand, and Julan was not a skilled enough destructionist to be able to launch it before Argrei could reasonably react. He saw where Julan was aiming and sidestepped the fireball, but it allowed Julan to take a swing forward and get in his own weapon's range. He was aiming for Argrei's arm, but he was a fast enough opponent to parry with the haft of his spear. The sharp edge of Janius' blade bit into the wood, but it was nowhere close to breaking through. Julan would have to apply an unnatural level of strength to accomplish that feat in the midst of the battle.

During the exchange, Kaleeth spoke, not at a whisper, but soft in comparison to the rest of the crowd. "I almost forgot about magic. How has he been taking to those lessons? Do you think it's enough to give him the advantage?"

---

Ahnasha held on as tightly as she could, but no amount of grip she could have would have been able to resist the sheer force of a werewolf. Her arm bled through re-opened wounds, and she struggled to climb back to her feet. The pain was starting to show through the adrenaline of the fight, but she was still solely focused on Rhazii. He was getting away slowly, but she still could not catch him. With her uninjured arm, she gathered her magicka. She could still cast a spell before he escaped, but she was faced with a choice of which to cast.

The first option played perfectly to Ahnasha's skillset, and she knew it would stop him. She knew her son, and though her mind had still not caught up to the truth of what was upsetting him, she knew what could petrify him in place. Three flame atronachs: she could place one on every side of him. They could swirl an inferno around him, trapping him in place, like in half of the nightmares that had kept him awake at night since he was just a cub. It would horrify him beyond reason, and finally force him to submit.

Ahnasha actually started to shape the spell in her hand when an image took over her mind: her son's wolven face in terror. Horrified in ways that she never wanted him to experience. The image sent a sharp pain through her heart, not just because it was about the suffering of her son, but because it was not just some hypothetical imagining. It was the face she had seen moments ago, as he was fleeing from her. It was not the act of killing that had so harshly affected him, it was her.

Ahnasha's mind was still panicked enough that she could not piece together all of the details, but she knew she did not want to hurt Rhazii any more. She would have to do something else, anything else. Instead of conjuration, the spell she formed was one of illusion: a calming spell. She was skilled in illusion, but no master like with conjuration. She could not just force him to become placid and docile, but perhaps she could take the edge off of his fear? Perhaps just giving him a clear mind with which to think would be enough to allow him to listen.

"Rhazii, please stop! You don't have to kill anyone, I promise! I'm...confused, I'm...broken. Something I did hurt you, something terrified you. If I caused this, then something is wrong with me!" As she pleaded with Rhazii, she released her calm spell onto him. "Please...help me."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius showed his teeth and barely stifled a shout of encouragement. Julan's attack was not perfect but it was enough to give him the initiative.

"It could," Janius answered Kaleeth just as quietly. "It's taken hard work but he has mastered a few basic spells that can give him some options. The question is if he's practiced enough to use them in the rush of a fight."

He couldn't give any further details while the fight carried on.

---

Rhazii's shamble did not stop from any of Ahnasha's words. The calming spell struck and he slowed. He slowed to a limping walk. He stopped with his back still turned to Ahnasha. His chest rose and fell more evenly.

He half-turned to look over his shoulder. Whenever Ahnasha tried to move towards him, he would stumble back an equal distance, but he did not run further away. He looked brought to the brink by a mix of fear and sadness, perhaps barely contained by Ahnasha's spell. He took a long silence to even say anything.

"You...You didn't even react when you...crushed that woman." Rhazii whimpered loud enough to hear. "She was screaming. You didn't even flinch. You were looking forward to it." He raised his voice. "You say all this stuff about them deserving it. I don't believe you, mother! No one deserves that!" His head sank. "You're just cruel. I'm...I'm scared of you. I don't know how to help."

[EliteCommander]

Julan tried to angle his blade around his opponent's spear, but unfortunately, he focused too much on Argrei's weapon to notice his foot delivering a clean kick to Julan's stomach, knocking him onto his back. Argrei was quick to lunge forward, thrusting his spear towards Julan's leg, but despite having the breath knocked out of him, Julan was fast and aware enough to deflect the spear to the side with his blade.

Argrei stabbed the spear into the ground, and Julan quickly shot out a hand to grab it. Much to Argrei's surprise, trying to jerk the spear out of the ground was fruitless with Julan's iron grip. However, Argrei proved capable of thinking and adapting quickly, as he did not waste time trying to wrestle over his spear, and instead just pulled his bone dagger from his belt.

Julan realized that he was not in a great position, and instead of trying to deal with Argrei's dagger from the ground, he decided to make the safe choice and roll to the side, out of its range. While Argrei was working to get his spear out of the mud, he got back up to his feet and raised his guard once more.

With his spear in hand once more, Argrei eyed Julan down, staying just out of range. "Hmph, you're strong for a boy."

"Yeah, and...I can be even stronger." Julan replied, a potentially clever idea coming into his mind. At least, he had not thought of any potentially harmful consequences in the few seconds he was able to think about it. For a moment, Julan's hand glowed with a yellow light, which he cast upon the rest of his body. It was just a basic healing spell, even though he was not injured, but his opponent did not know that. All he would see was that Julan had cast a restoration spell on himself, and Julan knew that there were spells in that school that could enhance a person's strength. He did not know any of those spells, but again, Argrei did not know that.

Zharanthixil had been mostly quiet since they had all came outside together, but the fight was enough to coax the occasional comment from him. In this case, it was even a compliment. Technically. "Well, at least you taught the boy some actually useful magic."

---

"Cruel? I don't...understand. I didn't torture, I didn't make her suffer. I killed her quickly, I..." Ahnasha began, but her excuses started to fade the more she looked into Rhazii's eyes. Even out of his Khajiit form, she could still read his expression, and still read the fear it held. It was true, genuine fear of his own mother, and it was the first thing in years that had made her think twice about the path through life she had taken. About her killing, about her uncompromising ruthlessness towards her enemies. She had always thought it unpleasant, but necessary, and perhaps it was...towards their actual enemies. But, now, Rhazii had planted a seed of doubt in her mind about her own judgement, and that doubt was spreading through every part of her. She had become convicted with her sense of right and wrong. Fendros had challenged her before, but she had always talked him down. But Rhazii had not backed down, and even with all of her authority, and even fighting ability, bearing down on him, he had lasted long enough to give her a moment of genuine, unfiltered self-reflection.

"I didn't know her. I guessed. The guess is probably right, but I...killed just on 'probably'. Maybe...I should..." Ahnasha hesitated, then dropped down onto her knees with tears welling in her eyes. She stared down at her hands, which were shaking visibly. For a few seconds, she closed her eyes and sat in silence before continuing with a defeated tone. "I wasn't looking forward to it. It wasn't that; I didn't enjoy it, it was just...nothing. I felt nothing. I used to, long ago. I didn't like the killing. Not people. But the war, it just...it just kept dragging on. There was never any end; just every day, fighting for our existence. Fighting an enemy that wanted to kill us in the most horrific way just for what we are. For the power in our souls. No choice, there was no choice but to fight; we'd all die if we didn't. But, I think...it changed me. I didn't even notice that girl's screams. I've heard those screams so many times, killed so many who were afraid to die, that I just don't hear them anymore."

Ahnasha looked down at her hand again, which glowed briefly with the aura of conjuration magic. "Then I started studying life and death, and it just...all seemed like it didn't matter anymore. When I kill now, I just...don't feel. Rhazii, I never wanted to hurt you. I didn't want to frighten you; I wanted to keep you far from this life. But I did frighten you. Your own mother shouldn't be terrifying to you. I shouldn't be like this, but this war broke me...and I don't know how to fix that."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius released his held breath when Julan got back to his feet. A close call. The spell left Janius momentarily puzzled, but Zharanthixil's comment helped him realise what Julan was doing.

"Just passing on what we know how to do," Janius remarked. He hoped no one in the tribe noticed Julan's bluff, let alone Argrei.

---

Rhazii stepped to one side and leaned a hand against a tree to put weight off his wounded foot. He could not bring himself to look at Ahnasha.

"I knew you as being kind and warm," he said. "You helped me when I cried. You were happy with me and father, and the pack. You still feel that, right? You didn't stop feeling that as well, didn't you?"

[EliteCommander]

For the next minute or so, the fight proceeded slowly, with both fighters mostly just testing their opponent's defenses. However, as they became more aggressive, it also became clear that Julan was on the backfoot. Beyond a few clever moves, his tactics were mostly predictable, and he had not been able to put himself in a position to take advantage of his superior strength. By contrast, Julan had a hard time predicting Argrei, and was relying on quick reactions to protect himself.

Once he started getting worried, Julan finally took his father's advice to heart and tried to end it quickly. He swung towards Argrei's shoulder with the intent of just using brute force to push through his defense. However, Argrei parried with his spear's haft, deflecting the force of the blow off to his left instead of trying to absorb all of the force directly. In fact, the force of Julan's blow only assisted in swinging the blunt end of Argrei's spear directly into the side of Julan's snout, followed quickly by Argrei jamming the haft hard into Julan's abdomen.

Julan had a bloody nose and bruised stomach, and was certainly not at the advantage, but Argrei too showed himself not to be a perfect fighter. Seeing his opponent off-balance, Argrei wanted to push his advantage, but the act of spinning around his spear to bring the point to bear on Julan took far too long. It was enough time even for Julan to charge and launch a fireball straight at Argrei's chest. Given the nature of the fight, it was not a deadly spell, but it still left its burns.

---

"That never stopped." Ahnasha replied, slowly shaking her head. "I love you, son. I love you, always have loved you, and always will love you. Nothing in this world, or any other, could ever change that. And...I have been ready to slay anyone who would try and take that away from me."

Ahnasha brought her gaze up towards Rhazii once more. "I don't know how to start feeling again for the people I kill, but I need you, Rhazii. I want to make you happy, and I want to make sure that I never terrify you like this again."

[Muttonhawk]

Julan landed a solid hit. He did well to exploit Argrei's mistake, though he was unlikely to make the same mistake again. More concerning was Argrei's skill and control. Julan may have been strong but he was clearly not Argrei's first strong opponent.

"Argrei's armour might have helped Julan," Janius quietly thought out loud. "It would have given him better purchase to grapple. With Argrei's control, a grapple from Julan is probably the best way he could end this."

---

Rhazii rose halfway out of his hunch and looked back at Ahnasha. He tried speaking and whipped his gaze away instead.

"Mother, I..." He sobbed. "I can't think. I'm..." He tried to step towards Ahnasha and recoiled. "I don't know what to do. I want to go and...be on my own for a while. I'm not leaving. Don't follow me."

Rhazii pushed off the tree he leaned in and lumbered away sadly.

Before he left, he halted and shouted behind him "I believe you, mama. I love you, too."

[EliteCommander]

Whatever brief advantage Julan had, he did his best to push. He made a jab towards Argrei's hand, but it was deflected. He tried to push closer to be able to reach Argrei's body, but the reach of the spear forced him back. Ultimately, Julan was having a hard time getting any sort of opportunity to strike his opponent without exposing himself far too much. Although, for much of the crowd, it was making for an exciting fight. There were cheers from some, and gasps from others each time their weapons came close to connecting for a significant wound. They did both pick up a few scratches: some surface cuts on Argrei's right arm and one shallow jab into Julan's upper thigh, but it did seem like the fight could go either way.

Eventually, Julan did see what looked like an opening. Argrei over-committed into a thrust that Julan sidestepped, and it allowed him to step past his weapon, with nothing between him and Argrei's unarmored body. He thrust down towards Argrei's thigh muscles, though in a real fight, any number of lethal blows would have been possible. However, either as a display of adaptability or planning, Argrei was ready for it. Taking one hand off of his spear, he managed to grab a hold of Julan's blade without any major injury to his hand and pushed it just enough to the side to avoid being hit. At the same time, while Julan was focused on his own sword, Argrei managed to pull back his spear, then thrust it straight into Julan's left leg, almost hard enough to go clean through his calf muscles.

There were a few cheers, and a few sympathetic gasps, from the crowd as Argrei pulled back his weapon and stepped back into a ready position. Julan did not yet feel the pain, but he quite involuntarily fell down to one knee.

Zharanthixil let out a sigh. "Well, at least the boy fought well..."

After taking such an injury, Zharan, and most of the crowd, clearly expected Julan to conceded. Most combatants in such a duel likely would, but to the visible and audible surprise of many, Julan slowly stood up, gritting his teeth in determination, despite the blood pouring down his leg. As a werecrocodile, he could endure more pain and injury than even most lycans.

---

"Wait!" Ahnasha shouted back, though she was quick to continue before Rhazii could have time to get upset. "The spot where we left our things, go there and find my bag. There are healing potions inside. Take them and heal yourself; I won't follow you, I promise. I just don't want you to suffer anymore. I'll...go back to the bandit camp. Stay there a while; maybe...clean up the bodies. If I don't see you for a while, I'll go back to Cheydinhal. To the inn."

Ahnasha winced as she looked away from Rhazii. The pain of her wounds was starting to catch up to her, but she would survive. Neither of their injuries were particularly threatening to a regenerating, disease-immune lycan, but she wanted to at least let Rhazii get rid of his pain. For herself, she felt she might deserve it. Regardless she started her slow walk back to the camp with a great deal to occupy her mind.

[Muttonhawk]

The certainty came over Janius as the fight dragged on that Argrei was indeed the better fighter. His confidence in Julan prevailing shrank, though he knew Julan still had a chance.

Janius noticed Argrei's trap an instant before Julan's sword was grasped. The spear going into Julan's leg caused Janius to show perhaps more pain on his face than Julan was. However, Julan did not give up. At that point, Janius half-turned his head to Kaleeth, still keeping his eyes on his son.

"Kaleeth," he murmured. "He's got your resilience. You know it better than I do. I need you to judge when to call for Julan to forfeit."

---

Rhazii at least stopped to give Ahnasha another moment. He only responded with a few small nods before he turned and left.

Ahnasha had all the time she could have wanted in the bandit camp. Enough to heal her wounds, butcher and dispose of the bodies, loot whatever could have been useful, and even look over the last mementos the bandits left behind to hint at the lives they were leading. Rhazii's clothes and her bag of potions were no longer present amongst her belongings when she went to retrieve them, but Rhazii did not return before she would decide to go back to the inn. Fendros probably would have returned by the time she got back.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth did look worried, though perhaps not quite as much as Janius. "I don't know. I...want to trust him. Hopefully."

Argrei was equally as surprised as the crowd to see Julan stand once more, though he could also see that he was concerned. Argrei did not yet make any move to attack. "You...can't be serious. You're just going to end up hurting yourself, boy. Just concede. Even the Master-Hunter didn't do it on his first attempt."

Julan did not respond, except by taking a few, uneasy steps forward, looking for an opening.

"Master-Hunter, he's injured. Surely you can call this fight?" Argrei asked, giving a brief glance over to Juran.

Though Juran surely held his own judgments about the fight, he did not give away anything with firm, but neutral tone. "You did not have a clear opportunity for a lethal blow. It is his choice to continue on injured."

Julan made his choice abundantly clear by opening up the fight once more, trying to force the opening he wanted.

Meanwhile, Janius might have notice some movement to his left, only a short distance away from him. The unpleasantly familiar face of Deerz had taken up the space just beside Janius. It was unclear why he would want to observe the fight so close to those he so clearly despised, but he did not yet acknowledge Janius, or any of the others.

---

For a while, at least, Ahnasha was able to focus her mind on the effort needed to hide her wounds. There was plenty-enough cloth at the bandit camp with which to make bandages, but she had to clean her fur thoroughly before putting back on her dress. With all that had happened she was not sure how much time had passed. It was still daylight, and it looked like it would be a few hours before evening, at least.

There were no distractions on the way back to Cheydinhal for Ahnasha, which made the walk seem all that much longer. She felt lost, and confused about her own basic judgment. Even she knew that she had a reputation for being harsh, but it was warranted, was it not? They were, after all, fighting a war over their own existence, and failure would result in a fate worse than death for them all. A part of her wanted to tell her that Rhazii was just being naive, or idealistic. In reality, their situation did not afford them the luxury of avoiding tough choices. And yet, something about the way her son looked at her made her feel like she was as much of a monster as he thought she was. She had always thought her emotional detachment was an advantage: something a person should want to have, but now, she had nothing but doubt.

Ahnasha returned to the inn, not sure of what to say to whoever she might first encounter. However, there was one certainty in her mind: her family troubles were trivial compared to what was now weighing on her shoulders.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius' lips thinned. "I want to trust him, too. Just don't let him...take it too far."

The Master-Hunter called for the fight to continue. Janius took a quick glance to his side, focussing mostly on Julan. Two seconds passed before he noticed and took another look, recognising Deerz.

He ignored him for a long moment while the combatants fought. His silence eventually made Janius speak first. "What do you want, Deerz? If it is trouble, we have no need of it."

---

Cheydinhal and its inn had apparently not changed in the past few hours. A few wealthy looking young men shared an afternoon drink at one table, playing some board game. A barmaid wiped down another table with a cloth. Up the stairs and into Ahnasha and Fendros' room, Ahnasha found her husband folding and putting away the garment he had been trying to repair earlier that day. He turned around with a small smile that faded quickly.

"Ahna? Are you alright? You look exhausted." He approached her and held her hand up. "And what happened to your arm?" He glanced over her shoulder. "Is Rhazii with you?"

[EliteCommander]

Deerz was slow to remove his gaze from the fight and give even a glance towards Janius, as if he were trying to take as long as possible. His words did not harbor as much emotion as the last time they spoke, but his tone was far from kind. "I said nothing to you, Human. Do not accost me with your assumptions. Besides, you should be focusing on your son..." He began, taking on a rather sinister grin. "...while you can."

In the fight, Julan, through his anger, looked to have a renewed vigor. He was still having trouble dealing with the spear's reach, especially with his now-slower footwork, but he was taking a sort of aggression that was taking Argrei off-guard. In all likelihood, he was expecting Julan to be more severely affected by his injury. Regardless, Julan managed to feint a swing towards Argrei's side, then quickly reach out and grab his arm, twisting it back as best as he could with the leverage he had. Julan's strength was not at its full height, given his age, but he still managed to get Argrei's arm near to the point of breaking before he managed to grab his bone dagger in his other hand and slash Julan's arm.

Julan backed off with a fresh laceration, though not one as serious as his first injury. While Julan was often getting the worse end of the fight, the exchange did show a potential path to his victory. Argrei was more skilled, but Julan could endure far more than him. If Julan could inflict even one of the injuries he had already taken, it could end the fight.

---

Although Ahnasha knew she needed the support of others, she was not particularly enthusiastic to talk about her experience. She did not reply immediately, instead sitting herself down at the edge of the bed and looking down at the floor in silence for a few seconds. "I am fine, it will heal. Rhazii wanted to be alone for a while, though I think he might benefit from your company. Much more than mine, at least. Maybe you should go find him. Might be able to find his scent at the front gates." She suggested with virtually no emotion in her voice.

[Muttonhawk]

"I'll pretend I did not hear that from you," Janius responded during the next brief pause in the fight.

There was no telling exactly why Deerz was near them. He put a pit in Janius' stomach, but he was right; Janius needed to focus on Julan.

Julan was tenacious in the face of his wounds, but Julan feared his brute power might not be enough. Argrei was fighting Julan like a bull. Though Argrei was not perfect, he was wearing Julan down. Julan needed to force Argrei to make an error.

---

Ahnasha was acting far too strangely to shake Fendros off that easily. He stared at her with his head slightly tilted. His moment of thought and worry ended with him sitting down beside Ahnasha. He took her hand between both of his and rested them between them. He looked directly at her lowered eyes.

"I need you to tell me what happened," he said.

[EliteCommander]

"Pretend all you want; it will not change reality." Deerz replied, speaking only just loudly enough that Janius could hear him. "It will be your last moments seeing him alive, so enjoy it. Argrei, you see, is...like-minded to me. This rite is an affront to this village, and the Hist. An outsider has no place taking part. The fighters are not meant to kill each other, but...accidents happen."

In the duel, Argrei's style had become more aggressive, though he was focused on taking advantage of his range. With his footwork now more agile than Julan's he was sidestepping and dashing out of range faster than Julan could keep up, though he had to remain conscious off the spellfire that Julan was capable of producing at any moment. He was keeping out of range of Julan's sword, and just looking for any point where he could find a clean thrust. At the moment, Julan did not seem to have an answer.

Deerz crossed his arms, still keeping his grin. "It's good your son is so stubborn. It gives Argrei plenty of time to find an opportunity to make an 'accident' happen. Your son is going to die, Human, and there is nothing you can do about it."

---

Again, there was a long silence from Ahnasha. Her expression was as intense as it was difficult to read, at least at first. She could not easily hide her inner turmoil for long before hints of her despair broke through in the form of tears in her eyes. Her voice was still strong and stoic, but Fendros could clearly see something was wrong. Her answer still avoided giving a clear and direct answer, but if Fendros was perceptive, it would still give him the answer he sought.

"Am I a monster, Fendros?" Ahnasha asked suddenly. "Is a warrior a monster for killing? Or am I something worse than just a warrior?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius' first reaction was a natural fear. Had he been more impulsive, he might have threatened Deerz then and there. But as another moment passed, his brow furrowed sceptically.

"Deerz, what are you talking about?" He said. "Argrei pleaded for the fight to end when he injured Julan's leg. And now you are telling me what is going to happen before the rite ends? What kind of plan is that?" He huffed. "I told you, we have no need for your trouble. Take your venom elsewhere."

---

Fendros was shocked by the questions. "No, of course you're not a monster," he said, putting an arm around her. He held her close. "What put such thoughts in your head, Ahna? I've never heard you ask that before."

[EliteCommander]

Finally, Deerz bared his teeth angrily at Janius. If he was bluffing, it had obviously upset him to be found out. "This is not over, Human." He growled, storming off just as quickly as he had arrived.

While Zharanthixil had been unable to hear Deerz's threats, Kaleeth had watched Deerz nervously the entire time and concentrated on listening to the whispers. She moved closer to Janius, softly speaking as she watched Argrei even more closely than before. "Do you think he was lying? What do we do if he wasn't?"

---

"It was Rhazii." Ahnasha answered painfully. "We went bandit hunting. I thought it would be good training for him; a step above simple Falmer. But...I terrified him."

Ahnasha finally looked up from the ground to make eye contact with Fendros. "How many people have we killed, Fendros? How many lives have you taken, just by your hand alone? For a decade, we have fought, we have killed and will keep killing in every single battle. Do the screams bother you anymore? Do they ever make you hesitate, or make you feel guilty? Am I a monster because I feel nothing for them anymore?"

[Muttonhawk]

"He was lying," Janius answered. "If he wasn't, then we will have to be ready to leap to Julan's aid if he is struck gravely. Julan is a strong boy, he'll be alright. Especially since that spear isn't even metal, let alone...Well, an accident won't do him in."

Janius took a deep breath to try and push the worst from his mind. "If you ask me, Kaleeth, I think Deerz cared about you and simply did not take your departure well. Just because he's angry now, doesn't mean he would do something as horrible as that." He gave Kaleeth a look. "Unless you think he would be capable of it. You knew him better than I ever did."

---

Dark memories came over Fendros' face. He was still occupied in the back of his mind by piecing together what put Ahnasha in this state, but other things flashed into his mind. He averted his eyes.

"I've just learned to ignore it," Fendros admitted. "Most of the time, it's only the memories of my first...truly horrible experiences with killing that have stuck with me. They usually take up my nightmares when the usual ones don't turn up."

Ahnasha was acutely aware of what the 'usual' nightmares were.

"Do you really feel nothing anymore when you kill?" Fendros continued. "What about your earlier experiences. Do they still bother you?"