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

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros was somewhat satisfied with Meesei's answer. As long as I'm not ordered to pass such judgement on someone in a ruin, I don't think there will be problems, He thought.

The invitation to explore one of the ruins made Fendros pause to consider it. The ruins, whether they be old Imperial forts or Ayleid, were areas that Fendros had previously steered clear from due to bandits, creatures, or worse residing within. He himself did not know much history beyond what his parents had taught him about Morrowind, but his curiosity was piqued. "I think that would be quite interesting," Fendros said, purposely not revealing any previous desire to become an adventurer, "I think I'll take you up on that offer." Fendros looked up and saw a hawk circling above. "I think we are going to attract mountain lions if we stay for much longer. Did you have any more questions, or should we start butchering the corpse?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei laughed. "Attracting a mountain lion would just mean more meat for us, but yes, we can get to dealing with this ogre. Come on, let's get started." She said, giving him a pat on the back before hopping down off of the boulder and approaching the corpse. She conjured a bound dagger in her hand, then knelt down beside it.

"My original plan was for us to drag this corpse back to camp so you could participate, but that would take a while, and since you already have some experience with skinning, you can just observe for now. I'm sure there is a lot you can pick up from my technique. I wish I could give you my dagger, but sadly, bound weapons do not work that way. Now, watch closely how I do this..." She said as she began cutting into the creature with her dagger. With each step, she explained clearly what she was doing and why she was doing it, as well as giving suggestions on how to improve on the basic technique she assumed he used. Given the size of the creature, it took quite a while to separate its hide from its body without damaging it. The area around the stomach had of course been damaged rather heavily, so she used that area for hide strips that would be useful on the way back. They could use the ogre pelt as a makeshift sack to hold cuts of meat from its body, with the hide strips holding it all together .

Eventually, Meesei, separated the skin from the body in as solid of a piece as possible and set it aside. "Now, we won't be able to carry all of the meat back with us, so I'll show you what cuts of meat to chose to get the most out of the kill. The best course of action is still to bring the entire creature back to camp, but for one as large as this, that isn't always practical. Just like with the skinning, I want you to pay close attention. Feel free to ask questions if you have any." Meesei continued cutting into the creature, placing each slice of meat on top of the ogre's own pelt. By this point, she was covered in blood to an even greater extent than before, but it did not phase her in the slightest. She simply continued to pile more and more meat onto the ogre's pelt.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros stepped off the rock and followed Meesei to the ogre. The effortlessness she demonstrated in pulling her ghostly bound dagger into Mundus gave him a slight pang of jealousy, but he remained attentive while she skinned the corpse. Understandably, the ogre hide was thicker and much fattier than any creature Fendros had skinned, and the smell of the already torn entrails was atrocious. Nevertheless, Fendros found a slightly macabre fascination with the creature's anatomy, balanced almost perfectly with the slight revulsion of how similarly the humanoid shape of the ogre was to other people when the job was done. On occasion, Fendros was stop Meesei and ask a question to clarify things or to satisfy his own curiosity, and throughout he drew all the knowledge in like a sponge.

After a while of pondering the creature's similarities to other humanoid races, an almost sudden, and particularly dreadful, thought dawned on Fendros. "Uh, Meesei. How similar exactly are ogres to people?" He itched the back of his neck as he wondered whether he should be assuming this, "I just wonder where the line is drawn with cannibalism, now that we seem to be eating any kind of meat."

[EliteCommander]

"Well, ogres are much larger, obviously, but other than their basic form, there isn't much to relate us to them. They have rudimentary intelligence similar to goblins, but still are not very complex creatures. Their meat contains a lot more fat than that of humans. Some people find that desirable, but I prefer the latter, personally. At the very least, you can get a lot of meat out of a kill." Meesei said as she finished cutting away the meat and dispelled her dagger, subtly acknowledging Fendros' point about cannibalism. He would need to get over that taboo eventually, though she knew it was a rather deep-seated one. It would have been so much easier if he had been a Wood Elf instead of a Dark Elf.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded, then shook his head with a worried look, "Hold on, did you just say 'the latter'?" Under no impression that Meesei would correct herself, Fendros turned away and placed a hand over his face. "Oh, by Azura," Fendros' muffled voice said, his skin becoming pale. "Meesei, it's one thing to kill, but I'm not sure I could handle eating human flesh," Fendros declared, trying not to feel sick.

Rather than continue to question Meesei's life choices, Fendros took the opposite end of the ogre hide to help tie the makeshift sack up in preparation of hauling the meat back. Thankfully, Meesei's words had at least convinced Fendros that the ogre meat didn't really count in this circumstance.

[EliteCommander]

"We use whatever we can from the things we kill. To do anything else would be wasteful. I know cannibalism has a certain taboo about it in your culture, but it is not as if we are the only ones who practice it. The entirety of Valenwood falls under a pact that compels its citizens to cannibalism, and they have a civilization much like your own." Meesei commented. Hopefully, the fact that an entire nation regularly practiced cannibalism would help him see that it was not as "evil" of a practice as he had been taught. Before Fendros tied up the sack, Meesei threw a few of the ogre's teeth in the sack as well, as they could be used for alchemy and other purposes.

They had packed as much meat as possible into the hide, so it did have significant weight by this point. Fortunately, it was nothing a simple spell couldn't solve. Meesei placed her hand on the sack and charged a spell of feather into it, drastically reducing its weight. As it was Fendros' kill, she allowed him to carry it. "At any rate, we should head back. I could use a swim to wash this blood away, though it will take a few hours to get back."

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros shuddered when Meesei tried to justify the practice of cannibalism my referencing the Bosmer of Valenwood. Just because those stunted wildlings eat each other, it doesn't make it right. Fendros thought to himself. The magic that Meesei imbued onto the hide sack took Fendros by surprise as he hoisted it over his shoulder. "I almost got used to the smell of blood everywhere, up until you mentioned washing it off," Fendros remarked, "now the drying blood is starting to itch." And so began the hike back to the encampment, with a disproportionately large sack of ogre meat.

Fendros still felt rather uncomfortable as he continued to stride back. He felt as if he had more control now that his beast was sleeping, however there were still anxieties running through his mind. Would he be able to keep the values that he believed in, or would he be forced to change? Would he be cast out if he couldn't change? Where is there to go? He couldn't go home, he had fully convinced himself of that as he he first tore open the ogre's stomach. He was mostly worried about his parents searching for him. After a while of walking, Fendros asked Meesei about it, "Meesei, if you remember me mentioning beforehand, you'll know that I'm the only birth child of my parents'." His tone was quite serious as he spoke, "Dunmer are incredibly lucky if they conceive a child more than twice in their entire lifetimes. You must understand that parental grief is far more pronounced among my people. My mother and father are likely pleading to the count to send out a search party by now. I never stay away for this long, you see." Fendros sighed, "if they find us, might I try to talk to the guards, or at the very least leave a note? It will at least give my parents some closure if my words are forwarded to them."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei nodded, understanding his issue. When she ended up leaving her own village, she made sure to make them believe she had perished, as she preferred they believed her dead than having abandoned them. Ahnasha had done something similar, so it was far from a rare desire. She recognized that it was important to him to give them closure, so she was more than willing to help. "I understand. I faked my death upon leaving my village to give them closure over my fate. It would not be too difficult to give them a message, but you need to decide what kind of message that will be. Do you think it would be better if your parents thought you were dead, or that you had become something that, in their eyes, is a monster? It would be easy enough to create a convincing death scene using some of your belongings where the guards might find it. I think we even have some cuts of meat from a Dunmer highwayman back at camp that could be useful, and Lorag could easily make replacements for anything of yours we use. You could also give them a message saying you are leaving, without mentioning your lycanthropy, though that may make your parents more upset than if they simply thought you were dead. You know your parents better than I, however, so it is up to you to decide which option to take. I just ask you to understand that you cannot return to them now. In your current state, you would end up hurting, or even killing them eventually. You need far more experience before you can exist among normal mortals for any extended duration."

[Muttonhawk]

Opting to be silent, Fendros nodded. He was originally going to tell the guards the truth, but with the options presented to him, that may not be the most appropriate course of action. So far it appeared that just telling his parents that he was leaving made the most sense. How to word it would take some time. "Do we have any tools for writing a note at camp?" Fendros asked. Things were less likely to go wrong if the search party brought back a note to show to his parents, and the option was also open to leave the note somewhere where they would find it, rather than risking the guards finding out that he was a werewolf to Fendros', or their, demise.

[EliteCommander]

"We do have some writing supplies, but not much. You may make use of them, just be conservative. Like I said before, I understand your pain, so I would like to help you as much as I can. If you don't plan on telling the truth, just ask if you need help coming up with something convincing. Remember, you are family now, so do not hesitate to ask your fellow pack members for assistance with anything you need." Meesei responded, trying to be as supportive as possible. It was hard to tell how he would take it, but the sentiment was genuine. She remembered that Janius was rather suspicious at first, and it was possible that Fendros would be the same way. Those from Imperial cities often had trouble understanding how pack members could be so open with one another, and how they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice their own well-being for their brothers and sisters. Even the most charitable in the cities seemed downright selfish by comparison.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded again, "Thank you." His mind ticked into slight frustration as Meesei mentioned the pack's willingness to help, as they would not likely be able to relate to his parent's in particular. The frustration was quickly overwhelmed in trying to construct an explanation that wouldn't cause his parent's to become unhealthily grief-stricken, but at the same time not so determined that they continue searching for him.

Fendros remained deep in thought and speculation all the way back to the encampment. He had a feeling that the note he would be writing would be as much closure for himself as his mother and father. He could feel the grief welling up in his chest again, making it harder to concentrate.

[EliteCommander]

It took a few hours for the pair to make their way back to camp, with Meesei being particularly attentive to their surroundings the entire time. The scent of fresh meat had the potential to draw scavengers or even predators, and while she had no doubt she could fight off anything that threatened them, she didn't particularly want to be ambushed. She did notice a few creatures tailing them while they were walking, but fortunately, they seemed to identify their scents as being lycans and kept their distance, eventually losing interest.

As they made their way back to camp, they were greeted by the rest of the pack, with Lorag and Janius making a special point to congratulate Fendros on his first successful hunt, though they quickly returned to what they were doing before. Between her transformation and the long walk, even Meesei was beginning to feel fatigued, though Fendros likely had it much worse. "Just set the sack down near the campfire; we will have plenty of time to deal with preserving it all. For now, I feel it is a good time to rest, perhaps go for a swim, if you would like to join?" Meesei asked. A few of the others also seemed to take interest in Meesei's plans, perhaps desiring to join in as well.

[Muttonhawk]

Being in such deep thought, Fendros almost forgot his own sense of position when he walked into camp, only to be snapped back into reality with pats on either shoulder by the other members of the pack. Fendros nodded and feigned smiles to receive their congratulations, but between trying to compose a message in his mind and his own conflict about horribly mutilating a creature as an achievement, he couldn't bring himself to their mirth. He did as he was told and set down the sack, before beginning to walk to the water with everyone.

"Hold it, Dunmer," Lorag's voice stopped Fendros in his tracks, "I've got a gift to celebrate your first kill." Fendros raised an eyebrow and started turning around when Lorag shoved a metal item into his chest, Fendros grabbed at it with his hands just in time to stop it clattering to the ground. He looked down and found his sword, scabbard and all. Fendros pulled a length of the sword from the sheath and beheld the blade, polished and sharp. It's better than new, just like he promised, Fendros thought, smiling in surprise and sighing a laugh. Fendros put the sword back and looked to Lorag, "Thank you, Lorag. I haven't seen it in this condition since-"

"-good, I'm glad you like it," Lorag said, returning a grin and placed a hand on his shoulder, "but you stink again, wash up." In an unexpected and deft movement, Lorag snatched the sword from Fendros' hands and shoved him backwards. Fendros stumbled backwards, his hands flailing to grip Lorag, but out of reach. His stumble stopped as he fell over into the river behind him. Fendros sat up suddenly from the riverbed and shook the water from his hair, glaring back at Lorag, who had his fists on his hips and was laughing heartily.

"Don't worry too much about it, Fendros. It's his way of showing he likes you." Fendros heard Janius' voice behind him. Turning his head around, Fendros spotted Janius wading in the water nearby. Janius wore a friendly smile, but Fendros was skeptical. "So what did you end up catching? Looked like a big one, judging by the size of the skin bag."

"Oh, er..." Fendros looked about, as if trying to find the answer in the water around him, "It... it was an ogre-"

There was a splash on the water between Janius and Fendros that made Fendros jolt in surprise. Ahnasha had surfaced seemingly out of nowhere, "You caught and ogre!?"

"It was just a small one, juvenile I thin-" Fendros began, but was interrupted again.

"-Well, Hircine has blessed you today. An ogre could crush the skull of a new lycanthrope like you." Ahnasha smiled just like everyone else, and Fendros couldn't help but mirror them in some part.

It was at that moment that Fendros reckognised the maroon pigment dissipating into the water was the ogre blood that had since dried onto this skin. He began to try wiping off the blood, but was probed further about the hunt by Janius, "so, tell me about how it went. Was there more than one ogre? Did you have to fight, or did you get 'im by the neck in the first moment?"

Fendros found himself a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, especially for something he didn't feel he should be proud of. Nevertheless he indulged them with a recount of the hunt from where he could first remember, "After transforming, I followed Meesei through the woods, she kept a fast pace, and I was a little distracted with all the different smells, but I kept up most of the time. We stopped at a leaning tree and Meesei climbed up to find a scent. That's when she pointed out the ogre scent that was, well, it was right under my nose. I don't remember much about tracking it, I think the beast was in control for much of the time. Eventually we found it, the ogre was sitting on a rock on its own..."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei was glad the others seemed keen on joining them in the water, as it was a good chance for them all to get to know one another. Relaxation and conversation were probably the easiest and best ways to help Fendros feel more accepted by the group, a fact the others were likely well-aware of. Just as he had promised before, Lorag had finished sharpening his blade to the degree one would expect from a fine Orc smith such as he. Fendros seemed impressed, though he wasted no time in snatching back the blade and pushing the Dunmer into the water, an act that was of course followed by a round of laughter. Each of the others undressed and waded out into the river, with Meesei getting in behind them.

Meesei listened to their conversation, though did not join initially. First, she did her best to wash away the dried blood from her scales. Unlike fresh blood, its scent was not exceptionally pleasant, and while knowing its scent could be useful for tracking, she didn't especially want to be covered in it any longer. Once she was satisfied that she had washed away at least the most stubborn blood stains, she decided to chime in. "I let Fendros take the lead in both the tracking and the kill. It took him forever to find it and he attacked the thing like a rabid dog, of course, but he was successful without my help. He just needs some training to realize that potential."

"Ha! Well we'll be gettin' plenty of that, wont we?" Lorag said with a laugh, wading over to Fendros and giving him a few hard pats on the back. I can train you in just about any weapon there is. Need to get some muscle on you first, though. I can't be training some scrawny kid." Lorag commented, looking Fendros over and squeezing one of his biceps. While the Dunmer was not really a small or weak individual, he certainly looked like it standing next to the overly-muscular Orc.

"Please, what good is all that force if you can't hit anything? I've seen his bow and sword; I'm sure you respect accuracy and agility far more than brute strength. I can teach you how to shoot an arrow wherever your heart desires, and to wield a blade like an extension of your own arm." Ahnasha interjected, swimming a bit closer to Fendros.

"Hmph, there's as much skill in strength as there is in any bow. Besides, you can't tell me you don't want to look like this." Lorag said confidently to Fendros, crossing his arms over his chest in a way to accentuate his muscles.

Ahnasha laughed. "And you say I have an ego..." She said before quickly casting a spell to conjure up a bound bow. With lightning fast speed, she nocked an arrow and aimed it at the apple tree overhanging the river just upstream about fifty feet away. She loosed the arrow, striking the a branch in just the right place to drop one of the apples into the river beneath it. She dispelled her bow as she waited for the apple to float downstream, then plucked it out of the water and tossed it to Fendros. "Here, have an appetizer." She waded over to Fendros and stood just opposite Lorag next to him. They both stood silent, seemingly waiting on Fendros' response for his opinion on the matter.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros caught the apple in both hands and looked down at it. He was at a bit of a loss, they both seemed to be quite skilled individuals. Besides, he didn't feel particularly hungry right then and there, what was he going to do with the apple? "I usually... I think that I could learn from both of you," Fendros said "I mean, I fight with a sword and shield and shoot well enough, but you two both seem more skilled than I. It might be a matter of taking turns."

Fendros heard Janius chuckling behind him, he turned to face the Imperial. "What is it?" Fendros asked.

"Oh, nothing really," Janius said innocently, "it's just that they have enough trouble sharing inanimate objects. Excepting of course, their burning passion for each other." Janius shielded his face from a splash of water cast from Ahnasha's hand. "There's a desire for burning, that's for sure, Janius!" Ahnasha retorted. "Maybe a good place to start would be to explain to us where you learned to fight. I don't think it's purely luck involved when someone slays a werewolf and lives. Even Lorag-" Janius gestured to the orc, "-was a legionnaire, and he had a... similar turning from what I remember him telling me."

Lorag thumped his fist on his chest, "Damn right, remind me to tell you about that sometime."

"Yeah. So, what about you, Fendros?" Janius asked.

"Well, the past few years I've been involved with the Fighters Guild. They and my father taught me most things about fighting," Fendros replied, "the bow was mostly self-taught."

"A fellow guilder, eh? Fancy that," Janius beamed, "I myself was a Journeyman at the Bravil branch. Many a noble soul in the fighters guild."

Lorag snorted, "As long as they're not breathing down our necks."

"Oh, when was the last time that happened, Lorag?" Janius said, "Besides, what could they do to us that we couldn't do to them first?"

[EliteCommander]

"The Fighter's guild is about as much of a threat to us as the Legion, which is to say a lot if we're not careful. Still, as long as you all are still following my lead, you'll have nothing to worry about from them." Meesei commented, floating on the surface of the water nearby while using her tail to push off on a rock beneath her to prevent herself from floating downstream. "A few weeks ago, we even had the...pleasure of having one of their members stop by our camp. We were set up a bit closer to the road than usual, and he must have thought it to be a traveler's camp. He sat by our fire for about an hour talking to us.. Although, I suspect he may have thought us to be bandits by some of the questions he was asking. Must have been an arrogant one if he thought he could handle a camp full of even lowly bandits; the quality of his equipment certainly didn't seem to suggest that he was exceptionally experienced. He never caught on to what we are though."

"Yeah, though that might not be true had Lorag kept hinting at it." Janius commented.

Lorag held his arms out wide and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, you can't blame me for that. The guy kept setting me up perfectly for those lines. There's no way I could just pass that up."

"They were a bit funny." Ahnasha added as she swam backwards in circles around Fendros.

"See? Even Catdog agrees with me." Lorag said with a laugh.

Ahnasha let out a long sigh, still maintaining her backstroke. "For some reason." She muttered.

[Muttonhawk]

"Well, yeah, there was that one guy. He wasn't too smart, I don't think," Janius said.

With that thread of conversation apparently resolved by a moment of time where no one had anything else to add, Fendros tried to think of another talking point. "So, Lorag was in the legion, Janius was in the Fighters Guild, Meesei was a shaman," Fendros began, "Where did you learn your skills, Ahnasha?"

Fendros knew hardly anything about the Khajiit in general, apart from the pickpockets and hawkers that turned up outside the gates of Cheydinhal. His impression of them was that of opportunistic conmen that were expatriates of a barbarian nation that was out-conned into servitude by the Aldmeri Dominion. To call himself an expert would be a blatant lie, he could admit that much.

[EliteCommander]

"I taught myself, though I have heard others describe me as a natural archer. I have been training with a bow since I was just a cub. My parents were merchants in the city of Leyawiin, a boring life if there ever was one. I took to the forests as often, and for as long, as I could. Hunting was my life; Every time I found myself in our home, I longed for the wilds, and as long as I kept bringing back pelts, my parents had no problem allowing me to do so. At first I was a hunter simply for myself, but it was only a matter of time before I found Hircine. Our lord gave me a purpose far beyond anything I could ever expect from being a merchant's daughter. I spent almost every waking moment honing my skills so that I might serve him better, until he eventually deemed me worthy to join Meesei's pack." Ahnasha explained.

The Khajiit waded over to Fendros and stood in front of him, looking him over. "I spent years training for the privilege to join the pack. Lorag fought for years in the Legion, and survived for a few more years as a lycan in the wilds. Janius survived an onslaught of giant spiders, but you...you are simply killed a single werewolf. Impressive, but it isn't truly too much of a feat. Not to mention your youth. There really must be something special about you for Hircine to take notice." Ahnasha observed. Her tone was not insulting or chiding, but rather genuinely curious. Indeed, it did not seem like Fendros had done too much to earn Hircine's favor, though a Daedric prince could see far deeper into a man's soul than mere mortals.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros looked back at Ahnasha rather blankly, not knowing exactly how to respond. It was enough concern that at least another of the pack was a Hircine devotee, though Fendros knew he should have expected as much. To think that everyone else presumably earned their place by Meesei's side by very evident means caused Fendros to perceive the others seeing him as a threat. At least, that's how he saw it through Ahnasha's words. Perhaps the friendly veneer isn't so transparent, Fendros thought.

"I had been wondering about that myself, actually," Fendros admitted, scratching one shoulder to occupy himself, "perhaps I'll find out someday." I'll find a big stag and try to talk to him like... that's right, Ahnasha did that, Fendros remembered, and suddenly his demeanour changed to coincidentally reflect Ahnasha's own curious look. "Ahnasha, Meesei told me you once spoke to Hircine directly when you were shown to the pack. Could you tell me more about that?"

[EliteCommander]

"Indeed, it is my proudest moment as a hunter." Ahnasha responded.

Lorag let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I can confirm that's true. She talks about it constantly."

Ahnasha glared at the Orc, but quickly returned her attention to Fendros. "As I was saying, My final test to Hircine was to slay a minotaur lord which was living just to the east of Bravil. It was the first time Hircine had ever directed me to kill a specific creature, and given that it was one so strong, I knew my life was about to change. I gathered up everything I owned, which wasn't much, and left Leyawiin for the last time. I faked my death to keep my parents from searching for me, and so they would remember me with only fond memories, instead of ones of abandonment. As little as I cared for the life they wanted for me, they were still my parents, so I felt it only right to give them some closure. Anyway, the beast itself was not hard to track, but it was just as tough as you would think. I hit it with arrow after arrow, but it was not keen on going down. A single swing from the large stone club it was using would have been the end of me, but I remained evasive and kept it guessing. Fortunately, the beast did not have the mind to see through my illusions, and I found an opportunity to put an arrow through its throat. I cut off one of its horns as a trophy, then cut out its heart and offered it as a sacrifice to Hircine. Needless to say, he was satisfied and graced me with his presence, taking on the spectral form of the beast I had just slain. A powerful sight indeed. I was too overwhelmed to speak, but I did not need to. He congratulated me on my kill, then gave me my next task. Upon his word, I sought out Meesei, who had been informed of my coming by Hircine through a dream, as she explained it. She gifted me her beast blood, and I have been here ever since. There are things I still wish I would have said to him when I had the chance, but I suppose it was not necessary. I do not think our lord questions my devotion." She explained, all too eager to recount the tale she took such pride in.