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

[Muttonhawk]

The way Sabine was sitting gave little indication as to her reaction to Meesei's news. However, her shortness of words and pale shock upon initially hearing it hinted at how it affected her. By this point some colour had at least returned to her face.

She turned her head partway to Meesei and Ariel and forced a smile, before returning her gaze to the fire. "I am not sure how I feel," she slowly answered. "Although I have been learning how to look strong at times like these, I have been worried for so long about this invasion. I have been worried that something would happen to you or someone in mine or your pack. I have been worried that I might not see Karl again. I have been...revisiting other memories. I am finding it difficult to worry about other things." She sighed. "When it is one thing, I worry too much. When it is many things, I...lose focus."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei hummed to herself a moment, turning her eyes towards the people moving about the rest of the camp around them. "Many people may be better or worse at hiding their feelings, but I can say with confidence that almost everyone else here feels the same way. Invading Oblivion, well...there is a reason that Vile will not be expecting it. I am proud of all of our warriors for being brave enough to go through with this plan, despite their fear. You do have every justification to be afraid, Sabine, especially considering our role as the spearhead of our assault. But, you are also far more capable than almost anyone else in any of the armies here. You wield a kind of power that would make you the equal of the archmagisters of most magical guilds and societies. All these years, all of your effort, your dedication...it has certainly not been wasted."

Interrupting herself briefly, Meesei put her arm around Sabine and moved closer to her. "I wish I did not have to add to your worries, and I am sorry that I have. I stayed up half the night last night wondering if I was making the right decision, but...this is not a secret I could keep from you. It would not have been right to do so. And I know that, when it comes time for it, you will be able to focus. You are very experienced, Sabine, and we have fought together for so long that it will seem easy when the Daedra are right there in front of you. For now, it is okay to be worried; it is only natural."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine nodded, but did not look up. She took a moment to form her words, as though it was a more complicated set of thoughts that had assailed her.

"I remember when you almost died," Sabine said. "After your fight with Rhajul when you were dying in front of me and I put all of my magicka into trying to keep you alive. I knew I did not have enough power. You only survived because of actions afterwards. But it was painful to not know if you were going to be okay. Even for the months after. Now you are stronger than you have ever been but I am feeling the same way again."

She scrunched her eyes shut and cringed her shoulders in. Small tears fell from her bowed head as she leaned into Meesei.

"I know I do not have enough power," she sobbed.

Ariel leaned in at this point, looking sympathetic. "I'll tell you what I think, Sabine," she began. "I am always amazed at the things you tell me. I think with all the trials you have all been through, with all that you have overcome, even when weakened or brought to the brink of hope, you overcame. With how things are now, with all of this around us, you have a better chance than before. It may not be easy, but I believe in all of you."

[EliteCommander]

"I wish I could say with honesty that there is no reason to have that fear, but I fear what might happen as well. But, you are wrong about your power. You are closer to me than you think, Sabine. If there is one fault I can say you have, it is that you are too quick to underestimate yourself. Your sister is exactly right: we can overcome." Meesei remarked, pulling Sabine into a quick hug. "And besides, this is not over yet. You, Ariel, Ahnasha, myself, Hal-Neesa, we will all be lending our skills to finding a solution before the invasion. I know it may only be a few days, but could we truly ask for a more qualified group to try and meet that challenge?"

While it was mostly the rest of the pack around them, they were not entirely in private. There were plenty of others in sight, and several moving to and from their group of tents. Meesei was not paying too close of attention to them, until one quite obviously took notice of them. There was a female werelion that stopped nearby, staring curiously for a few seconds before her eyes seemed to light up. "Champion? Sabine? This one thought that was you; it's so good to see you again!" She exclaimed. The werelion started to approach with arms outstretched, looking as if she wanted to hug Sabine in particular. For Meesei, there were far too many people around to discern any scent in particular, and she did not quite recognize who this person was in her transformed state.

[Muttonhawk]

The way the werelion spoke brought Sabine's eyes up rather suddenly. She wiped her tears away and sniffed back her running nose to look halfway composed, but as she stood up to receive the werelion, she was still at a loss.

"I..." She received the hug a little awkwardly, trying to at least discern who it was by scent. "I know a few werelions but not all of them I have seen transformed," she said, smiling. "I apologise, it has been a long time. Your name is...Mmm..." She struggled to dredge it up.

[EliteCommander]

The werelion looked briefly confused, but gave a sound similar to a laugh after a few seconds. "Oh, apologies. This one doesn't think she ever actually transformed in front of you back then. One moment."

Taking a step back, the werelion shifted herself back into her Khajiit form. Even then, with all the years that had passed, it might have taken a few seconds to recognize her face, but Sabine would inevitably be able to recognize her as Ma'tanza. Meesei, during their time in Elsweyr, had not had much of a chance to get to know the friends that Sabine had made, but she still recognized her regardless. Meesei was not sure that it was the best time for reunions with the issues they were struggling with, but the fact that they had been keeping quiet and trying to be subtle likely meant that she did not notice Sabine's mood from a distance. Although, being closer now, the signs were more obvious. Still, perhaps some old, friendly faces would do something to improve Sabine's mood.

"Sorry, is this a, um, bad time? Khajiit was just excited to see you; she wasn't sure she would get to speak to you again." Ma'tanza asked.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine's eyes lit up as soon as she made out the werelion's face. "Ma'tanza!" She hugged her again, this time with more enthusiasm. "Hello! You surprised me." She pulled away with a laugh and sniffed again. "It is okay. I need to think about other things right now anyway. How are you?"

Realising herself, Sabine stepped aside and gestured with a glance to her sister. "This is my sister Ariel. Ariel, this is Ma'tanza. She is a friend from Pelletine."

Ariel stood up wearing a friendly smile and bowed her head. "Greetings, Ma'tanza. I believe Sabine mentioned you in some letters. It is wonderful to meet you."

[EliteCommander]

For a few moments, Ma'tanza appeared slightly embarrassed. "This one is doing quite well, though...she does not go by that name any longer. She finished her apprenticeship. This one is Ko'tanza, now. She is a healer, which is why Ko'tanza is here now, actually. Khajiit just finished up her first shift working on setting up our infirmary."

As she finished explaining, Ko'tanza started to give an even longer, more curious look towards Ariel. She smiled and bowed her head in response, but slowly started to look more and more like she was becoming nervous. "And you are Sabine's sister? That means...well, that means you are the Ariel, yes? The alchemical genius and savior of our kind? Ko'tanza is sorry, it is just such an honor to meet you. You are a true heroine."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel was naturally abashed, placing her fingers on her collar and grinning. "Oh, I do not deserve all the credit, but thank you. It still feels odd to be called such things. Congratulations on your graduation, Ko'tanza." She offered a hand to shake.

"Yes, congratulations!" Sabine said. "How have things been in your clan? Are you here with anyone else? Your friends and family?"

[EliteCommander]

After getting over her initial surprise, Ko'tanza gladly shook Ariel's hand. Although, after just a moment's hesitation, she gave into giving Ariel a tight hug as well. "You do not need to be humble, Ariel Montgrave. Just look around you. Without your antidote, there is a good chance half of the people you see would not be alive today. Ko'tanza included. She has breathed deeply of the soul-tearing gas before, and was saved only by the fruits of your brilliance."

For Meesei, she simply chuckled to herself for the moment. She supposed she should have expected some sort of reaction should anyone actually recognize Ariel. Given the importance and life-saving nature of Ariel's antidote, she now had a reputation that spread across nearly every lycan clan in Tamriel, whether she wanted it or not.

Eventually, Ko'tanza did pull back from Ariel. She had a few hints of tears in her eyes and seemed partially choked up, as she had to clear her throat before answering Sabine. "But, anyways...things in the clan have been getting steadily better and better. We used to be pretty much on the front line of the war against Vile, but his followers' presence in Pelletine has waned almost completely. Khajiit hears there is even talk of maybe establishing a new clan in Anequina once again. That will probably be a few years off, though. For now, there are plenty of us from Pelletine here, ready do help however we can. We have been closest to the war for so long, a lot of us are tired of the fighting, but also oh so eager to finally end it once and for all. If you want to catch up with some of the others too, Ko'tanza might be able to help find some of them. She was actually looking for Tzirret when she saw you. He has become a healer too. He was just looking after the little one while I took my shift working on the infirmary."

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel graciously accepted the hug in spite of Ko'tanza's overwhelming praise. "I am...humbled. I always knew that lives depended on that particular project, but I suppose I never fully fathomed the effect."

Sabine let herself have a small stifled laugh with Meesei. Though, she was very interested to hear what Ko'tanza said.

"Is your little brother still seen as..." Sabine trailed off as it dawned on her. She drew a little gasp and held her hands over her mouth. "Did you and Tzirret have a child!?" she whispered excitedly. "Oh, Ko'tanza!" she gave Ko'tanza another quick hug. "What is their name?"

[EliteCommander]

Ko'tanza was, by this point, grinning widely. "Our daughter's name is Miruza, and she is just the most precious little thing with the cutest green eyes you have ever seen. You simply have to come see her. As Khajiit said, Tzirret should be somewhere in this group of tents. We could look for him together...if you do not have anything else you are doing, of course."

Meesei stood to her feet, her smile mirroring the mood that Ko'tanza had brought with her. "I will stay and speak with Neesa when she returns. You can feel free to catch up with old friends if you like. Ariel, I will make sure to have quarters arranged for you, if you want to take the opportunity to spend some more time with your sister in a more...relaxed setting."

In any case, Ko'tanza was eager to go find Tzirret. Though, the others might have been surprised to see that the Khajiit girl that Tzirret was looking after was very much a little one. Their daughter, wrapped up snugly in her blanket, was still an infant, no more than a few weeks old. It made it rather more surprising that Ko'tanza was already up, moving around, and working so soon after giving birth. Even with a lycanthrope's robust vitality, she had to still be recovering from it.

[Muttonhawk]

Ariel breathed out an uneasy laugh. "I do love children and, of course, any time with my dear sister is a blessing. But...I feel as though I should wait to hear Neesa's piece rather than fall behind on matters." She turned to Sabine and Ko'tanza with a wry, endeared smile. "I will catch up with you later. Say hello to little Miruza for me."

"We will," Sabine said with an understanding nod. "I will see you later."

---

Tzirret was eventually found with a methodical search across the tents of lycanthropes from the clans of Elsweyr. Even with the separation between the three present armies, the lycan clans camped in culturally delineated clusters. There was little to no isolation between them, thankfully, but such was a natural product of their differences.

They first heard Tzirret's voice before they saw him. He sat by a campfire in plain silken robes that leapt from his grey fur. Hunched over a bundle in his arms, he softly sang a Ta'agra lullaby. His words cut short when he noticed Ko'tanza and Sabine's approach. He turned his face up to reveal tired eyes, a dishevelled visage, and yet a warm smile that only brightened when he saw the two in front of him. His face had matured in the intervening years, not only with a distinct happiness but also a noticeable lack of his usual outward fear.

"Hello!" He whispered over the noise of the evening camp. He stood up first to lean to Ko'tanza for a quick kiss. "Hello, moonlight," he murmured, before looking to Sabine. "I see we could not hide from you forever, Sabine. Greetings. It's, heh, been a long time."

Remembering her experience when Rhazii and Julan were both babies, Sabine followed Tzirret's example and spoke quietly, though not without closing in with a beaming grin and a warm hug. "Tzirret! It's so good to see you again as well," she whispered.

The next order of business made herself known with the tiniest sound of struggle. Tzirret turned the bundle he held to reveal a kitten-like feline face with eyes scrunched shut and her head squirming just the tiniest amount in her swaddling.

Sabine took in a breath of wonder, bringing a hand to her own cheek. "She is so cute! Ko'tanza, you did not lie." She glanced up at Ko'tanza and Tzirret. "How old is she? What was the moon phase she was born under? I remember Rhazii being bigger, but he is a Cathay."

[EliteCommander]

The return of Hal-Neesa was one that did bring some attention with it, not the least reason being that she was carrying a stack of thick tomes telekinetically alongside her. Even besides that, the way she dressed and carried herself, along with the fact that she made no effort to hide her vampiric nature, made her far from subtle. As soon as she approached, she practically shoved the tomes into Meesei's arms. Neesa briefly acknowledged Ahnasha and Ariel when they all gathered together, though not with any sort of polite greeting.

"Here are the tomes. We likely will not have time to review them all, but they may yet be of some use. In the interest of not wasting time, I am going to assume the Breton you recruited has some actual degree of competence. I am also going to assume that, between all of you, you have already reasoned out the basic approaches we could take. That much should be obvious, though I think the solution itself will be anything but. Even in all my years, I cannot claim to have dealt with this issue before. I have never known the Hist to craft such a soul, though I suppose I also have not searched for one like you. Now, to begin, we should not bother considering any long-term solutions. If you manage to survive this suicide mission you have volunteered for, then you may think about them. We should focus on finding an answer that can be implemented in the next few days." Hal-Neesa recommended.

---

There was some delay to Ko'tanza's answer as she took the time to, carefully and quietly, take Miruza from Tzirret's arms into her own. With no sudden or unnecessary movements, she managed to sit down next to the fire as Tzirret had been without waking her. Regardless of how young Miruza was, it seems that was a skill that the couple had learned quickly.

Ko'tanza resumed gently rocking Miruza in her arms, just as Tzirret had been. "She is three weeks old, and she is going to be Suthay-raht, just like us. She is just so precious and wonderful and...loud, and exhausting..." Ko'tanza answered, giving a light, amused sigh. "...but still wonderful."

[Muttonhawk]

Only now did Ariel fully feel the force of Hal-Neesa's personality. While initially shocking, the directness did kick everyone to attention. More shocking to Ariel was the kind of magic she was using so effortlessly.

"Very well," Ariel said, as much to ground herself as to not seem petrified. "I think, perhaps, we might start by framing the problem such that we have the same understanding of the effects we are working on. The stigma against necromancy, without getting into the ethics of it, has sadly left its terms and concepts...less standardised than other areas. We may need to record some notes of our own while we are here."

---

Tzirret closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. "All of those things," he said with some gravel in his voice. "I think she has changed both of us already. Er...in good ways, of course."

"Only three weeks?" Sabine asked as they all sat back down by the fire. "But that would mean you gave birth not long before you came here! And set up an infirmary, too." She knitted her brow sympathetically. "Ma-...Ko'tanza, are you not...exhausted?"

[EliteCommander]

Though Ahnasha was about to speak up, Neesa immediately interrupted. "The problem itself is simple to conceptualize. The Champion's soul will fracture without being bound to something physical. The solutions are to strengthen the soul so it can exist on its own, or find a way to bind it to something else upon death that can keep it stable. It does not require necromantic jargon to understand that. And unless you intend to become a lich, Champion, I doubt we will be animating dead flesh. The closest we will likely come is in manipulating your soul, though working with souls is not inherently necromancy. If you have any knowledge of enchanting, you can likely understand it. You are meant to have specific knowledge of lycan souls, yes Breton? Then your time would be best spent on informing us how the presence of the Daedric spirit may interfere with, or aid, our efforts."

For Meesei, she was somewhat surprised that Neesa was even admitting to the fact that there was something she did not already know, much less that Ariel might have expertise beyond her own, even just in a small way. She supposed that Neesa was taking this seriously enough that she did not care for keeping up her appearances of superiority. "We can all meet tomorrow in the scholar's loft back in the Silent City. I will make sure we have a room to ourselves." Meesei remarked.

---

Ko'tanza let out an obviously exaggerated scoff. "Hmm, now you're sounding like Tzi!" She laughed, nudging Tzirret's leg with her foot. "But yes, Khajiit has felt a lot like death recently. It is hard to keep moving around and exerting herself like she is, but it is this one's duty. Ko'tanza is a healer, and this invasion will be the most dangerous thing she can imagine. She could never forgive herself if someone she cared about died because she was not there to help them. If Ko'tanza has to suffer for a while to save lives, then so be it. But...Khajiit has agreed to return to resting for the next few days, at least. She just wanted to make sure her part of the infirmary was set up the way she was familiar with. But do not worry about Ko'tanza, she will be fine. How have you been faring, Sabine? How has everyone been faring? We both would love to catch up with everyone."

[Muttonhawk]

"Hinder or aid," Ariel echoed with a nod. "Both will be very relevant here. I mentioned some possibilities to Meesei and Ahnasha just a short while ago, but I may be able to do justice to the concepts now, with some more thought."

Meesei's words caused Ariel to show some surprise. "Oh? Well, if we are adjourning, I could use some time to collate some notes of my own. But before that, Ahnasha, did you have any thoughts as well?"

---

"Well, as long as you are okay," Sabine answered.

Tzirret reacted with a smile. "Your duty is much better at bossing you around than me or Miruza, but at least we can bargain you back to resting for a little while."

He did not linger on it before turning his attention to Sabine.

Sabine looked up and took a deep breath to give her time to recall enough to talk about. "Everyone is still alive," she said definitively. "So much has happened, even just over the past year or two. I am sure everyone would have a tale for you. Even Rhazii and Kaj-Julan, all grown up. Almost."

"Oh! The children of your packmates, yes?" Tzirret recalled.

"Yes," Sabine continued. "Rhazii is taller than everyone now. And Julan is getting close to being second-tallest. Even Lorag has a surprise daughter named Narsi. But...well they are still family to me, but they are not strictly packmates anymore." Sabine lowered her eyes, glancing up tensely. "I do not know if you heard..."

Knowing Ko'tanza's experiences in particular made Sabine wary of elaborating on the members of her new pack.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha shook her head. "I don't think I have more to say that Hal-Neesa hasn't already. We have a firm goal, and a few good ideas to go about it. As you said, it might help for us all to take the time to get our thoughts in order and bring up any ideas or questions we can think of tomorrow."

With her arms crossed, Hal-Neesa gave something of a light scoff. "If you must." As she had before, Neesa did not bother with farewells and simply walked away as soon as she saw fit. It did seem that they would not be doing much more for the evening, though Neesa did not bother making sure of that.

"Hmm, well she is being kinder than usual." Meesei remarked after Neesa left, smiling subtly.

---

For a few seconds, Ko'tanza laughed intentionally quietly. Miruza had managed to fall asleep amid the noise and activity of the camp, but she still wanted her to stay that way for as long as possible. Her soft voice made her tone somewhat harder to read as she started to answer. "Oh, Ko'tanza has heard many stories. There are so many fantastic and absurd versions of these tales, it is hard to find the truth. Young ones are always asking us about 'Sabine the Dragonslayer'. The one who wields Magnus' power, the one who tamed our most dangerous enemy like a dog. Personally, this one does not know how you handle all the attention of your heroics. One of the bards in our clan tried to write a song about you. No one liked it, though. Not...because of you, or anything. He is just a bad bard."

"But..." Ko'tanza began, her voice becoming as hesitant as it was quiet. "...what are you going to do after the invasion, if the General survives? Having him die in service to Hircine would make a good ending to a ballad, but if not, then surely you won't let him go unpunished?"

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine looked ahead and smiled softly. She would not quite admit to Ko'tanza and Tzirret that the legendary twisting of the story helped make the true events less present in her mind, but the matter of Do'rhajul was something she felt the need to answer. She spared a moment of quiet to think.

"I know a lot of people want to see him dead," she eventually said. "Some of those want to see him suffer horribly. They want revenge. I know those feelings, but he is part of my pack now. I do not want him to die." She rubbed her own shoulder nervously. "He realised what he did was wrong. It is torturing him already. He has been in pain ever since and I did not even need to poke him. It is...more than I am comfortable inflicting. But instead of ending his life, should he survive, I want him to help rebuild. I do not expect him to be forgiven. But I do not like revenge and the pain it makes. Lycans already have more than anyone needs."

At that, Tzirret frowned and looked into the fire, thinking uncomfortably.

[EliteCommander]

"Sabine..." Ko'tanza began, though she hesitated with much the same uncomfortable look as Tzirret. "...you are Khajiit's friend, but that is not an answer many will like. Some might not want blood, but enough do. Ko'tanza does not take lives, she heals them, she saves people. But Elsweyr...Elsweyr expects Do'rhajul to die. And if the invasion succeeds, there will no longer be the war holding us all together."

Eventually, Miruza did start to stir in Ko'tanza's arms and took some of her attention. She looked down, smiling at her daughter and rocking her gently in her arms, though she still continued speaking to Sabine. "But...this one thinks you probably don't want to talk about that. How has everything been for you besides being a legendary heroine that people write songs about? Do you have a family of your own too? Ko'tanza would love to know if there is any man brave enough to court the famed Dragonslayer." She laughed, somewhat teasingly.