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

[Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth's reminder to everyone to stop and just take everything in did some work to sway the pack. Sabine was the first to reply as the others took a moment to decide. "I agree. We do not need to rush."

Janius sighed. "I suppose a break would not be too much to ask in a place like this."

Opting to act rather than answer, Fendros was already reclined with his back across Ahnasha's lap. His eyes were almost closed already and his nostrils flared quietly at the end of this snout.

"If Fendros here is so decided, only Meesei could overrule us now!" Janius laughed and ran for the river, leaping in body first.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei examined the horn she was holding for a few moments longer, but even with access to her own magic, she could not feel anything particularly exceptional about it. She tossed it aside, among the pile of Indrik bones, then laid herself down on her side in the grass as well. "I do not think I will be overruling anything. I would not mind some more...peaceful time together. I think tomorrow will have plenty of excitement for all of us."

Kaleeth, though slower to decide, did follow Janius' lead once he went for the water. Rather than dive in as he had, she slinked in under its surface quietly, for a creature of her size. She stayed under far longer than it took for Janius to surface, perhaps just enjoying the water while she waited for the soreness of her tongue to fully subside. Since they were staying put, Lorag decided to linger around the bones of the Indrik, occasionally taking one to clean off the remaining scraps of meat while they spoke. Ahnasha, meanwhile, laughed subtly to herself, leaning herself over Fendros and holding him tight, while using one hand to rub his stomach as one would pet a dog.

"So, Sabine..." Meesei began. "...have you had any thoughts on the final members to induct into your pack, or have you been saving those thoughts for after the battle?"

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine found a spot to sit and lean her chin on her knuckles. "The time between preparing the portal and now has been so busy. Growing my pack has not been on my mind. Hal-Neesa is very demanding and..." She sighed. "The clans I visited left me with many people to narrow down. My two packmates are skilled, but I chose them because it felt right. It has been difficult to...test for that."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei moved herself next to Sabine to sit. "I think you have had a more difficult task than I did building my pack. Indeed, I think Hircine did much of the work for me. He guided me to those with potential, or guided them to me. He does not do that for every pack alpha. Nevertheless, I do trust your judgment, and all of the time and patience you wish to put into it."

"At least after this, you won't need to build a pack for war." Ahnasha commented, still gently rubbing Fendros' stomach. "And if you don't have to worry about that, then you can feel free to pick people that you feel you could see yourself calling family one day. Maybe Karl? It's obvious how much you care about him." She suggested.

Especially in the low-light of the evening, it was hard to see down underneath the surface of the river in the slower, murkier sections. Kaleeth, in contrast to her cumbersome nature on land, could move almost entirely undetected to someone swimming on the surface. For Janius, the only hint he had as to any presence around him were the subtle appearance of two eyes and a hint of a crocodilian snout just barely above the water near the far shore.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine smiled softly. "We have spoken about that at times. I feel guilty about keeping him away from his sounder, but he keeps saying he does not mind."

"Here is what I think," Fendros finally grumbled from his recline, eyes shut and blissful. "You should have Do'rhajul and...your new packmate from Thorn help you select people. They will be family to whomever is lucky enough to join you as well."

Janius had been happily swimming and soaking in the cool waters around him. It was not until he surfaced to catch his breath that he looked around and found Kaleeth nowhere to be seen. Dismissing it for a key moment, he called out to shore. "Is anyone else coming to cool off?!"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei nodded in agreement with Fendros. "That is a fair point as well, and I would say it applies to more than just your pack selection." She said, leaning forward towards Sabine and placing her palm on her chest. "You may take it from me: it is a mistake for any leader to try to take on all responsibility for all decisions. It is good to surround yourself with people you trust, because if you trust them, then you can lean on their support to help you make your decisions. Be confident in your skills and experience, and always acknowledge that you are the final decision-maker in your pack, but do not be afraid to ask for their advice."

As Meesei was giving Sabine a pat on her shoulder, she soon turned her gaze towards Janius in the river. She did take a few moments to think, but eventually left the circle everyone was sitting in around the bones and approached the riverbank. Meesei touched her toes just slightly into the water, then shifted herself back into her Argonian form. "Well, if you insist, I think I could be persuaded into a nice swim."

Meanwhile, the crocodilian eyes breaking just slightly above the surface moved ever-so subtly in Janius' direction, as if they were just floating lazily with the current.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine paused for a moment before nodding quickly. "I will take your advice, both of you," she said. "Thank you."

Fendros cranes his head up to look at Sabine properly. "Another thing. Don't feel under pressure to make a pack as big as ours or bigger. You've seen packs of four before. Nothing wrong with that, necessarily."

"Mm," Sabine agreed. "I must be honest. With how close I still am to all of you, I fear growing my pack too much may cause me to drift away from you."

Janius was happy to see at least one person coming to the water, even if his face expressed it less in his current form. "Persuaded? Well, I dare not need to overstate how refreshing it is to get all the drying gore off. Indeed, Kaleeth is so enjoying it that she hasn't yet surfaced-"

He caught her wake out of the corner of his eye.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei waded out into the water, though to make sure she could still hear the others, she did not dive under. For now, she simply washed her face in the river. "Well, with you leading them, Sabine, I am sure you will bring out the best in whoever you choose." Meesei remarked. "If I had to make one request, though...make sure you find someone to pass on your knowledge to. Pass on my teachings to. A member of your pack, a bright young apprentice, maybe a child of your own...I am sure you will have plenty of options."

Lorag chuckled for a brief moment. "Mages and their legacies..."

Ahnasha tilted her head towards Lorag. "You're one to talk. Your teachings have been drilled into every single warrior that's ever been trained by our clan. Your legacy might never end, at that rate."

"Hmph, well, that was Imperial training, through and through...Do'rhajul's training." He answered before he started to laugh more outwardly. "Ain't that ironic? The training that gets passed on through all those lycan warriors comes from Vile's general."

Since they had already sated their beast spirits, Ahnasha decided to allow her beast to rest for the moment, in case she needed it the next day. If they went on another hunt, she could easily do so in her Khajiit form. She shifted herself back into her normal form, though with Fendros laying across her lap, his weight did end up pinning her down afterwards. Regardless, she grinned over at him, reached out her arm, and started to scratch behind his ears.

[Muttonhawk]

"Oh! There you are, my lovely crocodile." Janius paddled his way around Kaleeth as she passed, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her chin with his other hand.

Sabine grinned and grew abashed at the mention of taking an apprentice. "Well, I might..." she said, trailing off.

Lorag's words filled in the gap.

"He has been a surprising help to us all, then," Sabine responded regarding Do'rhajul. "I only wish he saw it that way. He still has a family from before he was turned. Even in my pack, he is too ashamed to be part of any family anymore."

Fendros arched his head back into Ahnasha's hand and let out a low, happy grumble. "You know I can't move when you do that, Ahna." Saying so never stopped her. "If you bring back any more memories I might have to challenge you to a race soon."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha took a few moments to squeeze out from underneath the weight of Fendros' lycan form, mostly so she could pull herself up closer to his head. She continued to scratch behind his ears with one hand, his stomach with the other, and planted a kiss on the end of his snout. "Hmm, well I would take that challenge, but...I don't think Rhazii needs any more siblings right now." She started to laugh.

It was tempting for Ahnasha to occupy herself entirely with her attention to Fendros, but she did still pay attention to what Sabine was speaking about. Though, it was Lorag that first had a response for her concerns. He sighed, thinking back to his old mentor from a lifetime ago. His history with Do'rhajul did give him some understanding for why he had gone down the path he did, but Lorag was also one who was skeptical that most of the members of the clans would ever truly become accepting of that. "Well, not everyone can move on from the past so easy. Might be that he can never really become family with any of us. If he still has his own family...might be best just to cure his lycanthropy after all this is over. Give him the choice to go back to that family of his. That's why he took Vile's deal in the first place. I figure he'll have earned it at that point, if he helps stop Vile."

"As long as word does not spread that we were responsible for curing him, that would be a viable option." Meesei weighed in.

Kaleeth was fairly silent towards Janius' affection, though in fairness, most of the sounds her crocodilian form was capable of making felt immediately threatening. For her, she felt she could communicate her feelings better by rubbing her head gently up against his chest. Though, when she went to put her arm around him as well, she ended up pulling him underneath the surface.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros laughed along with Ahnasha. "Are you sure?" he responded more quietly. "Just because we are accidental parents, doesn't mean we couldn't do it again."

Sabine lit up a little at Lorag's suggestion, but she was still unsure. "I know the cure is not easy. That is all I really know about it. Perhaps he might still consider it if I try to convince him." She sighed again. "But I should not distract him so much until after the invasion. Let us talk about something else. Lorag, how is your daughter taking to training with Rhazii and Kaj-Julan?"

Janius was a little surprised by the swiftness at which he was taken underwater, but he knew her for long enough to notice when she was just being affectionate. He tried to struggle out playfully, at least at first.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha grinned, giving a few more kisses down the side of his snout to bring her closer to his ear. "Hmm, I suppose that is true. You know, I would have thought, at my age, that the idea of raising more cubs wouldn't be too tempting. But, I guess the near-eternal youth might have changed some things. After this is all over, I might just take you up on that."

"The girl's stubborn, headstrong, and won't admit she still can't best the boys in a fight. So, pretty good overall. Don't matter what me and her traitor mother do or don't agree on, she'll never give up 'till her delusions about what she can do actually become true. Even if I die tomorrow, I know she'll stick with it. Now that she's had a taste of what she could be, she won't settle for bein' anything less than the best." Lorag answered.

Kaleeth quickly dragged Janius to the riverbed, kicking up a cloud of mud and dirt that obscured the waters around them. Though, he could still certainly feel the crushing strength of her arms wrapped around his body. She did stop short of actually hurting him, but even if he had been genuinely trying to escape, he would not have been able to resist her. Even for a being as powerful as a werewolf, the strength of her muscles was simply immovable. When they sparred on land, Janius had many times maneuvered circles around her with ease, but if her prey allowed itself to be caught in her grasp, under the water, then its death was a foregone conclusion. Janius could certainly count himself fortunate that she was merely being playful.

Eventually, Kaleeth did allow Janius to surface for air. Or forced him to, more accurately. She swam closer to the riverbank and rose up out of the water, holding Janius in her arms as one would hold a small child. Yet, this "child" was a fully grown, transformed werewolf. He was the kind of beast that would send most mortal men fleeing in terror, a kind of lycan that would be an alpha in any other pack, and he was being held like a playful puppy in Kaleeth's arms. It was a kind of absurd imagery that made even Meesei start to laugh just by watching.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros shifted his head across to look deeply into Ahnasha's eyes for a moment long enough for both of them to get lost. Then, abruptly, he licked her straight on the nose to break the tension. "Love you, Ahna," he murmured.

Sabine nodded with a tight smile at Lorag's response. She supposed it was positive given Lorag's attitudes. "I am glad things are working out. I have seen her and the boys getting along. I know you...were surprised to hear about her existing." Sabine was as careful with her words as she could be.

Meesei was not the only one to laugh at Kaleeth and Janius' emergence. Fendros' eyes were drawn to the sudden noise and immediately started to chuckle. Sabine covered her mouth and cringed into a quiet laugh herself.

Janius wore it. "My heroine!" he said with his hand theatrically sweeping up to his forehead like a swooning princess.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth's laughter was harder to recognize than most of the others, but Janius certainly knew her well enough to recognize that she was just as amused as the others. Not to mention, she almost lost her hold on him and nearly dropped him back into the water. Though, she was soon holding him even more tightly.

After enough time had passed that Ahnasha could stop grinning, she leaned in and gave Fendros' snout another quick kiss. "I think I might join them in the water for a while." She said quietly to him. Most certainly, they were going to have plenty of time together later that night, but this would be their last chance to relax in peace with the rest of their pack before the battle. If there was anything they wanted to do, or that they did not want to leave unsaid, this evening would be the last chance to do it.

Ahnasha finally unwrapped her arms from around Fendros, then joined the others in the river. Seeing as it was what the others were doing, Lorag moved in that direction as well, but still stayed on land for the moment. "I was surprised when I learned about her, but that's been a long time." Lorag glanced back over his shoulder towards Sabine. "Now...I don't know. I guess it's just about bein' fair to her. Livin' out in the middle of nowhere with just her mother, no clan or stronghold? That's not the right way to raise an Orc. Especially not my own blood. Maybe she'll still end up worthless like her mother, I don't know, but at least this way she'll get a fair chance to make something of herself. Who knows, maybe she will make herself good enough to kill me? She had just better do it before I get too old to give a decent challenge."

[Muttonhawk]

Lorag's words were suitably dour, but Sabine eventually smiled. Something told her that Narsi would not be slaying her father in the end.

Sabine stood up and walked up to the edge of the water as well. She took a deep breath from the fresh air of the hunting grounds. This family, even herself, had become so much more than the initial sum of its parts.

"I remember when we swam at virtually every opportunity," Fendros said, walking up beside Sabine and Meesei. He planted his hands on his hips. "I was getting sick of it. Now, it's a precious time." He sighed.

"We are lucky," Sabine added.

Fendros shook his head. "We have our own problems. We've learned enough to overcome most of them. We're getting good at it. Your pack will follow this path as well, Sabine. I'll bet on it." He then dove into the water.

Sabine breathed out a laugh. "I shudder to think where I would be without all of you."

"Trust me, we all dislike how things could have been for ourselves," Fendros retorted.

Janius managed to talk over being lovingly squeezed. "You can talk! I would be dead in some cave!"

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha was slower to get into the water than Fendros, wading out near to Meesei. She looked up at Janius, still in Kaleeth's arms, and laughed. "Oh, but how many baby spiders starved because they didn't have your body to feed on, hmm? Never thought about that, did you? How selfish." She teased. After a moment, she leaned herself back in the water, to the point that her head was just barely above the surface. "But yes, I know what you mean. I might not have died without the pack, but just going through a monotonous, boring life in Leyawiin doesn't sound like much of an improvement."

With enough of the others joining in, Lorag dove in after Fendros. "Doubt the wilds could've killed me, even alone." He chimed in after he surfaced. "Still, much better to actually have a purpose. To fight for something. And now, I get to go hunt a god. If that axe ever starts weighin' you down, Alpha, I wouldn't mind making that killing blow."

"I'll keep the offer in mind." Meesei answered.

Kaleeth eventually let Janius down, but stayed close beside him, near enough to the riverbank that they could sit and keep above the surface. She held her arm tightly around him and pulled him up against her. Even if she was trying to be gentle, cuddling with a werecrocodile invariable involved some amount of squeezing.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius didn't mind Kaleeth's hold around him. She was better at not hurting him than in the past and there was something soothing about the sureness of it. "So what does everyone want to do after the invasion?" Janius asked. "After the wild celebration and fanfare, that is."

A few seconds passed before anyone answered. Surprisingly, Sabine answered first, and with more confidence than usual. "I'm marrying Karl."

Just about everyone voiced approval.

"...and then establishing my pack," she continued.

"I expected as much," Fendros said. "You two have an easy time together, I can see that much." He turned to Janius. "We have children to raise. I may help with the clan for a while, but...Ahna, Rhazii, and I may take some time together somewhere."

[EliteCommander]

After Sabine spoke, Meesei paid little attention to anyone or anything else. Of course, the news did not exactly come as a surprise to her. Compared to how overworked she had once made herself, Meesei had become much better about balancing her responsibilities against her time with her pack. She and Sabine could not have been closer, and she could see plainly how much Sabine cared for Karl. Still, to hear her announce her plans openly showed that Sabine was confident in them.

Mere seconds after speaking, Sabine would find herself being hugged perhaps more tightly than she had ever been by Meesei. Lycans did not always regard the formality of weddings and marriage as being important, but Meesei could certainly be happy with seeing Sabine finally be able to have a family of her own. "Sabine...you do know how to make me happy, don't you? I may not know much about weddings, but you will have everything I can do for you or give to you to make it perfect."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine's initial surprise fell away quickly as she returned Meesei's embrace. "Thank you, Meesei," she said. "Neither of us know much about weddings either. We just know we want one. I want everyone to be there."

"It would be an honour," Janius said.

Fendros, after finally deciding to transform back into a Dinner, added, "I will be there, just as you were at our wedding, Sabine. Congratulations."

[EliteCommander]

While difficult to notice from the fact that she had been in the water, Meesei started to tear up slightly from the news. "There is nothing that could stop me from being there. Wherever you want that to be. Any province, any city, any forest, any...plane of Oblivion; I will make sure you can have it however and wherever you like." Meesei smiled, hugging Sabine once again.

Even after Meesei finally released Sabine, she would not have much of a reprieve before Ahnasha came around alongside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Congratulations, Sabine. Truly. Seeing you now...it's hard to imagine you as the little runt we first found in the woods. A powerful mage, and now you're getting your own pack and your own family. Just don't stress yourself too much about the wedding itself. The day is a celebration for you, and it's good to treat it like that. If I could have a pleasant wedding in the middle of the city, with Fendros' father still in the area, then your special day should be simple by comparison."