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

[EliteCommander]

This time, Kaleeth's answer was actually more reassuring for Julan. "Of course, no one could make you do it. Even if someone forced you to drink the sap and say the words, the Hist still wouldn't change you if you didn't really want it."

Leeus crossed her arms with an exaggerated look of offense at Julan. "Well, I don't know what you think is so bad about being a girl, but..." She began before, quite suddenly, pulling him in with one arm for another hug. "...at least you're still going to be able to become a hunter before you leave."

"Yeah, I...guess I will." Julan replied flatly. The idea of covering his body with tattoos was still not particularly appealing to him, but with his mother, father, and now Leeus all encouraging him to receive them, he did not feel that he had any way out of it at this point.

---

Ahnasha gave a quick shrug. "I don't think I can argue it. I didn't think the merchant's life suited me. For the most part, just doing the same things day after day, going to the same places and talking to the same people. I'm a person who really likes excitement, and doing new things. I like to improve myself; make myself stronger. I still hunt, and I would wager that I am the best shot here." Ahnasha grinned confidently.

Shevari, meanwhile, had cleaned up enough bowls to start serving the rest of what she had prepared. Small fires had been keeping the various dishes warm, or at least those that required it. The scent of the roasted kagouti had already been quite obvious since everyone had arrived, but all of the other dishes that Shevari was now bringing out also had their scents filling the air. Shevari's special stew was particularly aromatic. True to the theme of Shevari's own restaurant, there were plenty of options, both familiar and new to everyone. Even Ahnasha and Fendros, who had traveled extensively to quite literally every province in Tamriel, could find something new to try.

[Muttonhawk]

While Janius knew he could not change the situation, he smiled and tried to console Julan as well. "Look, I know it might sound embarrassing or daunting, but...perhaps try to think of it as the villagers do. These marks make you a peer to the men, no longer a child. You'll get used to them eventually." He tilted his head. "You may even come to like the look, once all is said and done."

---

Llarasa lifted her hands. "No objections here. Bowstrings make my fingers hurt."

Fendros' ears prickled from across the circle. He quickly caught Ahanasha's eye. "How much would you wager, Ahna?"

Rhazii breathed a laugh out his nose and let his head fall into his hand.

"What is the matter, Rhazii?" Calia asked.

"Oh, nothing, they just do this all the time." Rhazii lifted his head and opened his hand. "Have competitions and things."

"Well, perhaps we might make a game of it," Calia said, straightening taller. "Monderyn, set up a target. Let everyone see how they fare."

"Are you sure you want to do that, mother?" Monderyn asked quietly as he stood up.

Calia waved forward. "Not me, no. I would not trust myself to avoid shooting a passer-by with my eyes. But everyone else needs waking up from our droll talk of products and deals."

[EliteCommander]

"Yeah, I...hope so." Julan replied with a distinct lack of confidence. Although, Leeus was either not picking up on Julan's uncertainty towards his marks, or simply did not care, since it was still excitement that dominated her demeanor.

Leeus placed a finger on Julan's chest, then traced it around to his back. "My father's marks show its head here then it wraps around his whole body. Leviathans don't actually do that. Wrap around things that is. They're not like snakes. The marks are just, um...what was the word the Treeminder used? They're, um, made in an old style, back like the ancient Argonians used to do things. I guess that makes sense; the marks come straight from the Hist for their design."

"So...my marks may look something like your father's? I thought he had tattoos of a dragon when I first saw him." Julan remarked.

Leeus tilted her head slightly to the side. "What's a dragon?"

Julan almost appeared equally as confused. "You don't know? I thought everyone did. They're really, really big lizards like a leviathan, but they don't have a spine on their back. Oh, and they have wings and can fly. And breathe fire."

While still confused for a moment, Leeus soon crossed her arms and scoffed. "Really? Come on, Julan, stop making things up. You're not that good at it. That all just sounds ridiculous. Nothing as big as a leviathan could fly."

"No, it's true!" Julan exclaimed. "They're real; I saw one myself. Well, a dead one. Two dead ones, actually, but one was just a skeleton. The other one had meat and scales and everything on it though. We ate it!"

Julan's gaze darted back up to his parents, seemingly ignoring all of the worry that had been dominating his demeanor mere moments prior. "Tell her it's true!"

---

Ahnasha lightly laughed for a moment. "Well, I cannot call my son a liar. I do quite love a good competition."

S'nashi did not quite look upset, but she did have some surprise in her expression looking at her daughter. "I thought you had settled down in the city, dear? I didn't think you would still be going out into the woods, shooting things."

Ahnasha rolled her eyes, though still continued to smile. "Just because I've settled down doesn't mean I can't still do the things I enjoy. It is a hunting shop, after all, and I do still love to hunt. Don't worry, mother, I'm a much more responsible person now than I used to be."

At the very least, Ahnasha's remark was partially true. Hunting was very much a pleasure for her, even outside her lycan form. Although, after she had taken up necromancy, her continued training with a bow did fall by the wayside. She could no longer reasonably boast to be the best shot in the clan, and Fendros' continued improvement over the years meant that she could no longer be honestly confident in her ability to consistently best him in any contest of archery. No matter how much she claimed otherwise.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius saw no reason to lie. "It's not made up," he said. "Dragons are old, magical beings. There used to be a lot more around, but that's a long story. You sometimes hear them roaring or flying between the tall rocks in and around Skyrim. I believe it was before you were born that we last came to your village -- an aunt of Julan's, Sabine, she was just a girl when we brought her here to get help from the Hist. Sabine was the one who hunted and slew that dragon Julan is talking about."

---

"She's telling the truth," Fendros remarked. "Ten years ago, a challenge like this would pit me against her in finding and shooting the first and largest deer in the area."

He rummaged through their belongings while he spoke and lifted his quiver of arrows and his bow, each made with yellow Dwemer metal. "We can get at least a round in before the next course. Who wants to shoot? Maybe one of the guests, first?" He peered to Ahnasha's family with an encouraging smile.

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm...well it still sounds crazy." Leeus replied, though she was no longer actually denying the claim.

Julan looked to be in better spirits, but it may have just been because they were no longer directly on the topic of his tattoos. It was hard to tell if Leeus and his mother had changed his mind, or if he was just resigned to put up with something he knew he was going to end up hating. Kaleeth, in truth, was not thinking terribly far ahead on the topic, and just wanted to make sure not to anger the village, or especially her father. "So, um, is that all there was to talk about? I guess the tattoos might end up looking good. Hopefully. I'm glad you think they'll look good, Leeus. We're...probably going to end up leaving not long after I get them, though." He added with a sad look.

Leeus' arm was already around Julan, so she pat his shoulder encouragingly. "It's fine, Julan. We'll just have fun in the meantime. Can we go back to swimming, or...do you need me to go so you can talk to him alone, again?" Leeus asked Janius and Kaleeth.

---

S'nashi waved a hand towards Fendros. "Oh, I don't even think I could pull back the string to begin with. This is probably a contest best left to youth."

Ahnasha stood herself up to her feet and stepped up beside Fendros, wrapping one arm around him. "We have these sorts of contests all the time, and I know how I compare to my husband. For me, personally, I find myself rather curious how Fendros' skills have shaped up compared to his brother. I would love to see you two compete before it is my turn to knock my dear husband right out of the competition."

Gwindir, meanwhile, was more focused on the bow itself. The metal, recurve bow shone like bronze in the sunlight, though it was a far stronger metal. Even though he did not deal in weapons, Gwindir could naturally see the value of it. "My, is that bow actually Dwemer metal? That is quite rare, and not to mention valuable. Far moreso than any hunting bow I have seen."

It would be rather easy to give a reasonable excuse for the value of the bow, though there was another thought that came into Ahnasha's mind. Leaning somewhat closer to Fendros, she whispered to him. "Say...we use a hundred and twenty pound bows. Do you think your brother can actually, you know, draw it to begin with?" She questioned. Their strength gave them the luxury of using powerful bows rather easily, but normally, such a draw weight would be reserved for war bows, and the strong, professional soldiers who wielded them.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius shook his head. "No, I think we covered just about everything," he said. "We'll let you be now. Don't stay up too late." He stood up and looked to Kaleeth. "Unless there's anything you wanted to bring up?"

---

"Oh, uh, yeah, I...won it in a competition," Fendros improvised. "It's heavy but I'm rather fond of it. Dwemer metal is more abundant in Skyrim with the ruins clustered around but...excuse me."

He leaned in to hear Ahnasha when she caught his attention. Fendros pursed his lips. "I think so," he whispered back. "Not too many times, unfortunately."

Monderyn did not have much of a target to set up. Most of the time was spent picking a tree that faced an upward ridge safe enough to fire into. He carved out a few circles in its bark with a knife.

"Do you mind if I try?" Llarasa spoke across to Ahnasha and Fendros. "I've never touched any Dwemer metal outside of jewellery. I'm curious to know what a bow made of it is like."

Fendros took a second to get over his surprise. "You can take a look if you like. Just don't pull too hard."

Llarasa was already on her feet and hiking up her dress to walk up to them. "Why? Is it an antique?" She asked as Fendros handed it to her.

"Yes, but it's not that, it's..." He trailed off at Llarasa's attempt to test the bow's draw.

She audibly struggled to pull it more than two inches. She undrew it with a wince, shaking off her fingers. "Are you hunting dragons with this, brother?"

[EliteCommander]

Though somewhat slow to respond, Kaleeth eventually shook her head. "No, I think we have it all sorted. Now that you understand the honor and...obligations of the marks, Julan, I think you will really appreciate them."

Kaleeth looked over and took Janius' hand. "I think...we should go on a walk. Just for a little while before we go to bed."

Kaleeth had been doing her best to hide her worry as they had been trying to persuade Julan to get his marks willingly, so when they did walk away out of sight, she was also free to show her relief. "I think that was as painless as we could have hoped for. As long as he gets his marks, and doesn't stir up any problems, everything should be okay."

---

The time it took for Llarasa to examine the bow was enough for Ahnasha to start thinking up an explanation that at least sounded reasonable. Though, she still laughed for a few seconds to settle on her thoughts. "Not quite dragons, but have you seen even the game animals in Skyrim? They are made of sterner stuff than the beasts of Cyrodiil. Even the deer are more robust, and if you were to encounter a bear...a light bow probably would not even ward it off."

Ahnasha walked over to Llarasa, though did not take the bow. Instead, she pointed to the bow and started to trace her finger along it. "You see the shape? It is a recurve bow, which allows it to be smaller than a longbow, but have the same draw weight. It was probably intended to be a war bow, but it is still perfectly suited to take down large animals. Now, we don't actually think it was an original Dwemer bow. Most Dwemer weapons or armor that you might find for sale are actually just reforged from scavenged and smelted Dwemer metal. I've, um, seen one or two come through our shop. Since all Dwemer metal is identical in quality, you could melt down a bunch of spoons into a high quality bow, or sword. They could be forged in a Dwemer style, but genuine, original Dwemer items of any kind are quite rare and valuable. Of course, the material itself would make this bow valuable still, and it is no less effective from a practical standpoint."

[Muttonhawk]

"Right," Janius agreed. "I'm glad it was just disappointment and not...outright rebellion. It was fortunate Hal-Leeus gave her opinion, too. Even if he wasn't smitten, boys his age tend to hold the opinion of pretty girls highly."

Two steps later, Janius lowered his brow at something. "Just wondering, you mentioned both Julan and Thorantilth will drink sap before the tattoos are etched in. Does that mean the Hist might notice that Julan isn't as eager to get his marks?"

---

Llarasa smiled sadly. "Well, I can see why it's valuable. It's a beautiful item, too. But I would need to do much harder work than little art pieces in my free time if I'm to have any chance of launching an arrow with it. Here." She held the bow forward in two hands.

Fendros smiled and took the middle of the bow. "Very well. Are you ready, brother?" He called out to Monderyn walking back towards them.

"Yeah, yeah," Monderyn said. "Maybe I haven't lived long enough but it feel strange doing this after so long."

"Who's going first?" Fendros asked. "How about you, Ahna? Let's do three shots each."

While the first shot was being lined up, Calia angled her head to S'nashi and Gwindir as she looked on. "I can relate with your experience of a black sheep child. Fendros was, in fact, the least talented mage in the family for generations. He hated every lesson. 'Twas shameful, in truth, even if magic is less necessary in our current circumstances."

[EliteCommander]

"I don't think I can make any guesses at how the Hist are going to think or act." Kaleeth remarked. "They are like gods; I don't think we can understand them like normal mortals. I've never known the Hist to not give someone any marks, though. It's...tradition. I think we should try not to worry about it too much, though. I'm sure Julan will come to respect his own people's traditions. Who knows, maybe the Hist will even help him do that?"

As they walked along further from the village, Kaleeth leaned herself closer to Janius, walking arm-in-arm with him. "All this stress has been a lot for me, but at least it does seem to be getting a bit better. Julan impressed my father, and people are as accepting of us as much as I guess I could have reasonably hoped. It was probably too much to hope that everyone would be happy to see us, but I can at least have some hope that this will all turn out well."

---

Gwindir and S'nashi shared a quick glance between one another, with S'nashi's expression betraying only a brief moment of discomfort before she started to respond. "I...don't think I would describe either of our children as 'black sheep'. Ahnasha was, um, different from Vasiq, but still our daughter all the same."

"We wouldn't have forced her into the merchants' trade. Though, I will admit I'm personally glad she ended up there. Regardless, I just didn't want her to be in danger." Gwindir added.

Ahnasha, meanwhile, took a hold of the bow from Fendros. "You want me to set the bar first? Are you quite sure about that. I would like to leave at least some suspense for our audience." Ahnasha smiled. Her playful confidence was not something that she showed as often now as she had in the past, but competitions and the like could still draw it out of her.

The targets that Monderyn had carved into the trees were not terribly far away, nor terribly small that Ahnasha's confidence was not well-founded. Shooting stationary targets was trivial in comparison to shooting in a real battle, and she did not expect either herself or Fendros to have any trouble with it. "I actually think we should make this harder. Maybe stand farther back somewhere? Or time it?" She suggested, pulling the bow to full draw regardless. For anyone familiar with archery, there could be no flaw found in her technique. She did not fully grip the bow with her hand, but instead left the hand open as the bow rested against her palm and inside of her thumb. Even with the draw weight of the bow, her hand was almost completely still until she loosed the arrow, which flew straight into the center of the target. At the current range, it was not too much of a challenge, as long as she gave proper focus to her shots.

Since she was not currently in any particular rush, Ahnasha took her time and did not take advantage of any techniques to improve her rate of fire. She simply drew her arrows leisurely and took her time to place them consistently on the target. She had a tight group of arrows in the middle of the tree, though her last arrow was possibly in the very inner edge of the middle ring. She could not quite tell from where she was standing.

[Muttonhawk]

"Yeah. This visit has already been much better than expected." Janius ran his thumb over Kaleeth's hand. "It was very brave of you to follow through with it. You were so worried. I was, too, even if I tried to hide it."

Janius almost started reminiscing and opened his mouth to speak, but another thought came to mind. "How are you feeling about Julan and Hal-Leeus?" he asked. "I almost thought we would all talk about the matter more before...well, Leeus' comments took us somewhat off topic."

---

Calia only had an amused smile in response. "Oh, I would not dare claim a lack of love in either of you. Your hearts are far too big for that, I can tell." She placed a flat hand forward. "It is just a trifle matter of frustration. And, in my family's case, tradition." She turned back to the competition. "Tell me, how long has it been since your child left your household to live elsewhere?"

"Excellent shooting, Ahnasha!" Llarasa clapped for her.

Fendros cocked his head to the side, peering over at the target. "Not bad, but don't get too lazy, Ahna." He took the bow from her and rolled his shoulders. "We can change the rules when you demand a rematch."

He took his time, just like Ahnasha had, lining up his shots with a well-practised technique. Two of the shots landed so closely to Ahnasha's that the arrowheads stuck into the tree in contact. However, the third arrow landed just noticeably further away from the centre to Ahnasha's furthest arrow.

"Damn," he breathed. "It would be easier if it was moving."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth let out a long breath, turning her head away for a few seconds. "Honestly, I'm still not sure I like it. It just seems that there is a lot of risk in giving him so much freedom being with her. Sure, I want to trust my son but...well, he's a young boy at the age that he's becoming a man, and he's just as stupid as every other young boy his age. I know Juran-Selth does not seem too concerned but...he doesn't know what we are, the risks that are really there."

"But...there are some advantages to the company he is giving her." Kaleeth admitted. "She's going to encourage him every step of the way for his tattoos, without us even needing to ask her to do it. If she tells him that enough, he might actually start believing it himself. It's just...well I know I keep echoing my same worries to you, but are you absolutely sure that he won't end up doing something stupid? I mean, you do remember what we were doing when my father found us, right?" She asked, though he might also notice her grip his hand somewhat more tightly, with a slight grin.

---

The brief silence from Ahnasha's parents was more uncomfortable for them than before, but they did their best to hide it. As she had faked her death in order to run away, Ahnasha's departure from them was not a pleasant memory, and not something that her parents were willing to discuss in polite conversation. For them, it was far more practical to simply answer vaguely and avoid the subject, without outright lying. "Oh...it's been quite a long time by this point. Well over a decade. She was not yet in her twentieth year when she resolved to make her own way through life. But, it all turned out well for her. Perhaps she just needed to get her fill of adventure before settling down with your boy." S'nashi replied.

"Young Fendros must have had something of an adventurous spirit as well to keep up with our daughter, I would imagine." Gwindir added. "Perhaps they helped to temper each other's restlessness?"

Ahnasha gave Fendros two pats on the shoulder, though with a grin that betrayed her pride. "Come now, I know you can do better than that. Why, perhaps Rhazii should join us as well to finally show up his father in one of these competitions? Though I suppose your brother should go next."

Ahnasha turned and took a long look towards the tree, contemplatively. "Hmm, now how to make it more difficult? Perhaps speed shooting, but...we would need something to time it, and I doubt any of us have an hourglass on hand."

"Oh, um, I do, actually." Shevari's voice chimed in from nearby. She had already served the main course for everyone, so she had returned to watching them compete while she ate. "I always use one, especially if I need to be precise with how long something needs to be cooked. Actually, I have three of them of different sizes, for different timings."

"Oh, well, I suppose that is an option, then." Ahnasha commented.

[Muttonhawk]

Surprisingly for him, Janius' face flushed red at the memory. "I'm abundantly aware. I thought he was going to kill me." His voice shifted higher. "But...I also recall you took all the proper precautions. Julan knows to do that. And, well..." he returned her grin. "We did bring a few remedies with us."

---

"Hm. Possible." Calia folded her hands. "Fendros' temper has certainly strengthened since he left our household. That may just be maturity and experience as well. Fendros left us so abruptly that we thought he went missing for a time. He did come back changed, that much is certain. He changed me and his siblings as well. We did not know he was to be engaged to Ahnasha before he reappeared, and we would not have allowed him to otherwise. He and Ahnasha changed our minds. Perhaps not Llarasa -- she does not have an uncompassionate bone in her body."

Monderyn was unfazed as he took the bow. "A time limit's fine," he said before facing the target. He tested the draw of the bow first and showed more strain than Ahnasha and Fendros, but he was still easily able to being it as far back as he needed.

"Well, I wouldn't mind trying it if we have the tools," Fendros said. He didn't pay attention as Monderyn pulled back his first arrow and loosed it down range. "Thank you, Shevari. Perhaps you would like to be our referee for the timing?" The second arrow was loosed behind Fendros.

"Woah," Rhazii said.

The word caught Fendros' attention. He turned around just in time to see Monderyn loose his third arrow. It flew straight and true into the centre of the target, closer than Fendros' and Ahansha's shots.

Fendros was at a loss for words.

Monderyn let out a long breath through pouted lips as he lowered his arms. He rubbed the inside of his fingers on one hand with his thumb painfully. "This is a really heavy bow."

"When did you get that good?" Fendros asked through a laugh.

"I still hunt, Fendros," Monderyn said. "I'm not a trick shooter, but I can put them straight." He stepped over to Rhazii and offered the bow. "Your turn."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth was still none too eager to think about the possibility that Janius was suggesting. "He had better not do anything with that girl. I don't care if it's what we ended up doing, I want our son to be better than we were."

After a moment, Kaleeth shrugged. "But, maybe he is not even thinking about that. I might just be, um, how would I say it...putting my own worries onto his situation. They are two young and attractive Argonians, yes, but they really just met. They might realize in a few days that they have nothing in common at all. Even we spent more time together than that before we decided to run away together into the swamps."

It was hard to say that Kaleeth was settled on the topic, but it was not weighing as much on her as before. She took another long look off into the swamp before she was finally willing to change the subject. "You know? I do want to come back here, after everything with Vile is over. Not, um, forever or anything. Or without the pack, necessarily, but I would like to try to convince Meesei to bring us to Black Marsh for a while. If we end up not necessarily having to live in Blackreach anymore, if things get quieter, a change of scenery might be good for us. I would like to be able to come back here occasionally and visit everyone again. Ariel and Rukeewei too, in Thorn. Though, there is still that part of me that wonders if you are really happy being here. I know you say you are, but...is that completely true? It's hot, and wet, and your skin isn't waterproof. I guess you don't have to worry about the diseases, at least. Though even more than you, I'm wondering for how long your beast spirit would tolerate it here. I know werewolves can be found in Black Marsh, but a swamp doesn't seem like a place a wolf would like. How agitated do you think it would end up getting?"

---

One detail that S'nashi quickly took note of was how Calia mentioned that Fendros had left abruptly. From all that she knew of him, his similarities to her daughter were hard to ignore. "So Fendros essentially ran from home as well? My, the two of them really do have a lot in common, don't they?" S'nashi looked over towards the continuing archery competition. "I think Ahnasha got her competitive spirit from her father here. Even if she does...apply it in a different way. Regardless, watching the two of them now does really make me see that they are a wonderful match for each other. I do hope that the time she is able to have with him now will be something he will be able to carry with him for the rest of his years. She already seems to have found a way to give him a beautiful wife for many years on. She is aging much more gracefully than I did. She's yet to tell me her secret. If I find that she's discovered some miracle ointment up in Skyrim, then I don't care how difficult it is or how much it would cost, I would simply have to get some for myself."

Gwindir gave a chuckle. "Something tells me that my coinpurse should feel grateful that our daughter is being so tight-lipped." He added. Although, S'nashi had brought up a point that Calia might not have noticed, as Ahnasha's apparent youth may not have been immediately obvious to her.

Among the group of archers, Ahnasha looked to Monderyn with her arms crossed, but not hiding the fact that she was impressed. "Well, well, I think I'm going to need to start taking this more seriously. I wasn't quite sure what kind of experience you would have, but it seems you will be able to give some real competition. After Rhazii has his turn, I think we should make it a real challenge. We'll focus on speed, but you still need to be accurate enough to at least hit the target, so...it will be one point for any hit on the target, no matter which ring you hit. We will have ten arrows to fire in, say, twenty seconds."

True to her word, Ahnasha's suggestion would be quite a challenge. Having to average at an arrow every two seconds while still hitting the target would be a difficult challenge for even for archers as experienced as they were.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius contemplated Kaleeth's words, looking up at the trees for a while. "Oh, as long as I have other lycans for company and get to hunt, I'm sure I could manage," Janius answered. He reached over to scratch at his back. "But as for me? I won't lie, the weather is not to my liking and the insects are bothersome and...I've made friends in the Silent City. I wouldn't mind visiting the village, though, for a few weeks, maybe a few months at a time. There are things I like here. But, living here for any longer?" He slowly winced. "I don't know."

He pulled Kaleeth a little closer by her arm. "But I know you and Julan are benefiting here. Sabine wouldn't object to visiting her sister and niblings again, and I think she would enjoy meeting Thorantilth and his apprentice again. Coming back here is something I would enjoy."

---

Calia held back a laugh. "Yes, I felt barely a new wrinkle upon her and saw not a single fleck of grey. I do believe she has found a way to take care of herself, but I doubt it is as simple as some topical remedy." She gave S'nashi a glance. "Ahnasha and I had a talk before she was to be married to Fendros. A very serious one, for mer and beast cannot easily resolve certain realities, such as lifespan. After what she told me, I decided to trust her dedication. She has not disappointed me. You have an astonishingly talented daughter, you two."

Rhazii quietly snapped himself out of his shock and stepped up to take his shots.

"That sounds a fair challenge," Fendros said to Ahnasha.

Monderyn raised his brow. "I'll try it. I don't know if I could do any more than that without my fingers bleeding."

Fendros pat his brother on the arm with a smile. "We don't have to make a day of it. We wouldn't want our food getting cold or dry."

Though Rhazii took his time, having practiced with Fendros' bow many times before, even he could not keep up with all his seniors. One of his shots landed in contact with Monderyn's best shots, but his other two could not beat Ahnasha's shooting.

[EliteCommander]

"I know, I wouldn't want to try to make everyone live here. I think I would like to go to a lot of different places, once this war is over. I mean, I know we've always traveled a lot with our duties, but I would like to go back to those places on our own time." Kaleeth commented.

As they had been walking without too much purpose for a while by this point, Kaleeth finally stopped and sat herself down by the edge of the water, taking a few moments to give a keen look over the surface for any hint of a crocodile, or other predator. The sun had set by this point, and with the thick canopy of trees, it was dark enough that even their lycan eyes had slight trouble seeing. Nevertheless, Kaleeth still looked perfectly comfortable.

"Anyways...we're plenty far enough from the village by this point. Why don't you transform for a moment? Let your beast spirit out of its cage, and see how it really feels about its environment?" Kaleeth suggested.

---

By this point, everyone who was not competing had been served, and Shevari was starting on her roasted kagouti while she waited for the four of them to ask her to time them. S'nashi appreciated Calia's complement, though she could not admit that she entirely understood her meaning. "Oh, thank you. I, well, I cannot say that I know too much about your son's talents, unfortunately, but if they are as good of a match for each other as I think, then he must be just as remarkable."

Gwindir, at the same time, was giving Calia quite a curious look. "I have always known our daughter to be a bright one, though I am curious what talents you are referring to?"

The competition commanded more than enough of Ahnasha's attention for her to notice her parents' conversation, so she gave a nod towards Monderyn while she watched Rhazii. "If I were to give some advice, I would say just not to try to pull it to full draw. It's not needed at this range, and it's not as if you need to pierce anything strong. A partial draw should just make it the same as any other bow for you. Take a few practice shots, if you like. I want it to be a fair competition. Otherwise...perhaps Fendros should set the bar this time?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius hesitated. "It's been more or less fine when going hunting." He paused. "Although, maybe I hadn't been paying close attention when it didn't have eating to do. I suppose there's no harm in trying now."

He stepped back a few paces and closed his eyes. After a breath, the transformation process took hold. The familiar bodily warping made his skin feel cloying on top of the other sensations, as it usually did in the swamp. Before long, he stood back up in his werewolf form. His eyes caught Kaleeth's -- he appeared comfortable. After a quick look and listen of his surroundings over each shoulder, he took a step up to Kaleeth and sniffed at her head. His feet pressed into the mud with wet squelches.

Janius stood up straight and looked across his front as if expecting something. "It's warm," Janius said through his snout. "Not getting much else."

---

"Beyond her marksmanship and physical ability? Hmm. How should I phrase this?" Calia asked herself. "Some background is in order. For a mage trained in the tradition of my clan, a trivial skill taught to each of us is how to detect certain magical traces in beings. Servants owned by my family were well behaved, but times arose when we needed to investigate if any had been exposed to magic of various kinds. I detected something in Ahnasha that she had imposed upon herself. Something powerful that I have not detected since meeting an old Telvanni wizard. The subtleties take too long to explain, but it suffices to say she has strengthened her soul beyond that of the typical Khajiit." She lowered her head and looked up at them. "If I were to replicate such a thing, I would need to study with many resources for several decades to even have an inkling for how to attempt it. Ahnasha has evidently performed the feat in a mere few years."

"Yes mother," Rhazii said. He handed the bow off to Fendros, looking somewhat disappointed.

Fendros gave him a pat on the back. "Don't be too bothered. We're just shooting for fun."

Rhazii nodded sideways.

Fendros leant forward. "Now, how about you get the arrows off the target and you can try after me," he said.

"Sure," Rhazii complied.

"Twenty seconds, ten arrows." Fendros glanced at the hourglass, and then to Monderyn. "So, have you caught anything interesting on your hunts?"

Monderyn shrugged. "I think the only thing of note from the past few years has been this buck with antlers bigger than any I'd ever seen before. It was early spring, the wind was good for concealing my scent so I got to line up a perfect shot..."

He started off his story with a pause that allowed Calia's voice to carry over to them for just the last words of her explanation.

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm, you sure? Usually when I let my beast out of its cage, it has all sorts of thoughts it likes to push into my mind." Kaleeth commented as she stepped up just beside Janius. Though, she did not allow him a response before she reached up and started to scratch behind his ears. His natural reaction would be to tilt his ears towards her, and perhaps close his eyes, so he may not have noticed when she slipped out of the clothes she was wearing as well. "Of course, the parts about the swamps that might annoy your beast spirit aren't what you would get just glancing around for a few seconds. Just one I can think of: you probably need to figure out how your beast feels about being wet all the time..."

Kaleeth had stopped scratching behind Janius' ear for just a second in order to pull back far enough to give herself a running start. Suddenly, she threw all of her strength and weight into shoving Janius towards the river, focusing her efforts onto his upper body. Between her strength and his uncertain footing in the mud, she could muster just enough force to send even a werewolf tripping into the water. When Janius could finally get his head back above water, he would be able to see her leaned forward on the shore, laughing almost uncontrollably.

---

Ahnasha was, perhaps, fortunate that neither of her parents were particularly well-versed in matters of magic. Their knowledge of the magical arts extended only to the general perception of mages and "common knowledge" about magic, which may or may not have been accurate. Nevertheless, they could recognize that what Calia described sounded difficult, particularly with the complements she was giving to Ahnasha because of it. S'nashi was unable to hide her confusion, but was not ashamed to admit that she was out of her element. "I...cannot pretend to know much at all about magic either. I have never had a need for such things, and it is not traditional for us. Though, I didn't know that Ahnasha could still do magic either; she didn't mention it. I do remember that she was always interested in those magic tomes that we sometimes bought and sold in our shop. I think she just wanted to read them because her father told her not to. I suppose she still must read those tomes if she did what it was you said. Strengthening...her soul? I'm, well, not sure I entirely understand what that means."

Gwindir nodded in agreement. "Yes, what exactly would that mean for her?"

Ahnasha was just as quick to lose her attention towards the competition as she had been to be distracted by it. She tried not to show too much concern, but she did lean in somewhat close to Monderyn. "What...do you think your mother is going to say, exactly?" She whispered.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius might not have been able to react differently if he wanted to. He turned his head and leaned into Kaleeth's hand behind his ear.

"I meant...nothing unusual. Not that I was thinking nothing." Janius said. "I'm not even that w-"

He flailed and stumbled into the water with a series of growing splashes. He only processed the event by the time he sat up and looked back at Kaleeth. His fur clumped and dripped around his narrowed eyes, but he couldn't help but chuckle with her.

"You want to know how we deal with being wet?" He stood up and did just as his instinct told him; by shaking himself from head to legs, spraying Kaleeth with whatever mix of water and mud he picked up in the fall.

---

Calia did not hesitate. "A few effects. Most prominent is that she will live longer. Again, you are very justified in your pride in her."

Unfortunately, Monderyn took a moment to catch up on the context of the conversation. "Uh, that? I didn't know those details either but it sounds like mother knows more about it than I thought. Is that a problem? She sounds proud of you."

Rhazii returned to a far different look in everyone's eyes. "I got the arrows, father. Is everything alright?"

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth did not so much as flinch with the water being sprayed onto her, and the mud would be dealt with in short order as she waded out into the water with Janius. The water came up only to just above her waist, and even less so for Janius' larger werewolf form. She approached him, running one hand through the still-soaked fur hanging down from his head with a wide grin, then planting a kiss on his snout. "Sorry, but you just look so funny like this. With all that fur drooping down like that, instead of sticking up straight, it almost makes you look small. As small as a big, overgrown wolf can be, I guess. It would be more cute if it weren't for the wet dog smell, but...nothing's perfect."

Nevertheless, Kaleeth soon wrapped one arm around Janius' back, while using the other to rub his belly. Based on her smile, her mood had at least improved substantially.

---

"Yes...maybe." Ahnasha quickly answered to Rhazii, though quickly turned back to whisper to Fendros and Monderyn. "I know that part is good, but...my parents didn't really know about the, um, extent of my magical ability. They're pretty ignorant of magic in general, but I don't know if that will be good or bad for me."

It was difficult to tell how exactly Gwindir felt about the explanation, other than some obvious confusion in his expression. "Living longer? You mean like an elf? I, well...I always thought that was something necromancers made dark deals to accomplish, isn't it? I am not educated in magic, as I said."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius couldn't help but laugh a Kaleeth's antics. "When did you decide to get so lively all of a sudden?" He turned and took Kaleeth by her sides, falling back into the water near the shore such that his head could still be above water. "Nothing is perfect. You're close enough to perfect for me."

---

Calia responded somewhat dismissively. "Oh, no, extending one's life need not be by such a shortcut as speaking to evil daedra. They are more likely to destroy your life before giving you immortality. Ahnasha is too smart for that and...well, I know why she would not take that route either way and I believe that is a reason she would need to tell you herself. No, Ahnasha will have performed it from her own hard study and determination."

Monderyn whispered back. "I wish I could tell you more, but it sounds like this is more about your parents than mine. I don't know them like you do."

With Fendros taking an interest as well, Rhazii was left confused and frowning. "I'm...just going to take my turn then. Shevari, could you tell me when to start?"

Fendros numbly passed off the bow and Rhazii took his shots as fast as he could.