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

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth shook her head. "No, I am not brave. I have resilience, I have been trained well and know what I am doing, but I am afraid. I am always afraid. I barely brought myself to stab the wamasu. i almost did nothing when Father was hitting you. I just...I get so afraid I stop moving. I not always able to get past it. Other hunters think I am weak, they think I will...get them killed if I get afraid and freeze up. They do not think they can trust me...and they are probably right. I wish I could be brave."

Kaleeth's voice was obviously saddened, but she tried to keep her spirits up. Sitting and relaxing in each other's arms with Janius was certainly helping. "You, though, you are brave. You stood up to the wamasu alone when I just screamed. I would have died without you. You are strong. If I was that strong, maybe I would not have as many reasons to be afraid? Maybe...no, I trust you. You say being werewolf would not be good for me, and you know more about it than me. I should not want it." She said, trying to erase the temptation from her mind to ask to receive the condition herself. She knew it would not be a good idea to sleep out in the marsh all night, but she wanted to stay just a bit longer to relax.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius was glad that he was able to discourage Kaleeth from becoming a lycan on whim, but her view of her courage made him stop to pause. Sure, in comparison, Janius was brave, but he also got terrified by the wamasu. What was different? On the surface, he simply acted as he needed to. He found options under pressure and he took one that he thought was the best in the few moments he had to decide. Kaleeth might have been so full of panic that she was frozen, but why does that happen to her?

"Kaleeth, have you ever thought about why you might be afraid?" Janius stared to think out loud, so he clarified, "I mean, apart from the sense that there's danger, that's normal. But, when you lose control, what is it really? Are you afraid of pain? Loss? Death, maybe? Or are you afraid of what might happen? Going back to the wamasu, what made you freeze then? And what made you act? Tell me as much as you can remember."

Even though he wasn't quite sure whether or not he could help Kaleeth with her bravery, he wanted to try. Not only that, but he was curious about what was different between the two of them to cause it. When did Janius become brave? He was sure it was before he turned, otherwise he would not have survived the spiders that served as his impromptu trial.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth seemed confused for a moment. It seemed obvious to her why she would be afraid, and she really did not understand what he was going for, but nevertheless, she answered as best as she could. "I...don't know what to say. I was afraid of wamasu because I did not want to die. I did not want you to die. It was big, strong, tough, and I did not think I could fight back. I thought...I couldn't do anything no matter how hard I tried. I just attacked because I saw you were calm. I though...maybe you could get around it and get away. If you were not a werewolf, it might have killed us. I was afraid of father because I know he is strong, and skilled. I thought he would hurt you, or worse. And I did not know what I could do, I...could not fight my father. I am glad he hit be, because it made him stop and regret it. I don't know what else to say. I get really afraid, and sometimes I can't think enough to do anything."

[Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, okay." Janius thought about it some more, then after a short while he believed he might have come upon the difference. "And... I know it might be uncomfortable, but... what if the wamasu had killed us? What if your father and I hurt each other more? What then?" Janius' tone became more confident, "There might have been a point where you regretted not trying something else, but you couldn't have known. And when you're in the moment, it's often beyond the point of preventing unless you find something at the last minute. I think I might understand it now."

Janius repositioned himself slightly and placed his hand over Kaleeth's neck, "There have been a few times where I've almost died. They weren't all like the wamasu, where I had at least some form of control. Sometimes it was one of the pack that saved my life at the last moment, sometimes it was just plain luck. The first time, though, was before I became a werewolf." He began to lightly stroke his thumb over Kaleeth's neck as much to comfort himself as her. "I was with a group of fighters from a guild that I worked for, we had to clear out a cave that had some bears in it, but there were three fundamental things which went wrong. One, the cave bears were dead, eaten by a large nest of giant spiders. Two, the cave turned out to be larger than we thought. Maze-like. Three, the mouth of the cave collapsed and trapped us all. We all fought but eventually all of my companions were poisoned, killed, dragged away. You could hear their screams for but a moment before the venom swelled their throats and choked them. The only reasons I survived were, like before, I had magic, but also because after fighting for long enough something changed. I accepted that I was going to die." Janius tone was trying to remain stern, but it had shakes in it indicative of bad memories, "There was no escape, no chance. Once I accepted that, everything became clear again. I was still afraid and thrilled, but not of death. Without having to worry about that, I was able to focus and avoid the spiders. Eventually I slew them all. Not without injury, but I was alive."

Janius took a deep breath again to try not to get worked up about it. He looked at Kaleeth's tattoos again. "I have a feeling that, even though it was over a longer period of time, something similar might have happened in your trial. Having nothing in the middle of nowhere would panic many people to a freeze, but there had to be a point where you accepted what you couldn't control and focussed. These tattoos aren't just about resilience, Kaleeth, they're about overcoming the unknown. That's all bravery is. Do you remember when you overcame your fear during that trial?"

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth could easily believe that Janius had lived through close encounters with death before. With the way he handled himself during the fight with the wamasu, it was easy to tell that he knew what he was doing. She understood what he was trying to say, but she didn't think words could help her overcome her weakness. "Yes, I remember. I know I have got better since I started becoming a hunter. My father's training has helped. It has given me a way to...react when I don't know what else to do. It's just...I don't always react like I did with the wamasu, or father. Many times, I just...stand there. I can't think. I don't even think about getting hurt or killed, I just think about...nothing. I am not able to move or act. Someone else has to always help me. It did happen with the wamasu. Before I attacked, I froze up again and just screamed. You were calm enough to act and give me time to start thinking. And maybe father would not have even hit you if I would have said something sooner.

Looking up at Janius regretfully, Kaleeth nuzzled her snout against his neck. She wanted his advice to work, but talking about danger was far different than experiencing it. "I understand what you saying, but...it is not really a problem when I have time to think. I can...rationalize as you suggest. I can accept that I might die and try to change it, but that is only when I can think. I can't...practice for the fear of real danger. I always do fine in training, but real danger causes me to freeze. You did help though, being there both times. You gave me something to focus on."

[Muttonhawk]

Despite it not being a solution to her problem completely, Janius smiled. Hopefully just talking about it could have put things in perspective for her. "So you are getting better. Hm, maybe you just need more practice in near death experiences." He almost laughed, but kept himself from doing so and simply shook his head, "No, that's unfair. I understand what you mean. Panicking, all that. Still, I don't think you are as bad as you make yourself out to be. Perhaps it might help you when you have spare moments to try your best to imagine a situation where you're in danger. It probably won't stop you freezing completely, but it might help you to recognise when it happens and act accordingly." Another thought caused him to chuckle properly, then switch his tone to one more sarcastically self-centred, "Or, you could just think of me when you're scared."

The conversation had shifted Janius' mood to a better one. He shifted himself and Kaleeth away from each other slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "Or maybe it'll just be as simple as knowing that everything will be alright in the end." With that, he leaned forward, brought his hand around to the back of her head, and kissed her deeply.

[EliteCommander]

The next morning, just like the previous, began fairly early, with most of the village waking up just after dawn. Kaleeth and Janius had eventually made their way back to the common hut so they could sleep safely, though what Kaleeth found upon awaking was not what she had expected. She stood over Janius and nudged his shoulder with her foot until he started to stir and stared at him blankly with a slightly confused expression. In her arms was a strange-looking lizard, about the size of a large housecat. It had been restless when she first picked it up, but by this point it had calmed down and was just observing its surroundings.

"Wamasu egg hatched." She said plainly as soon as his eyes opened. She really did not know what to do with the creature.

---

The rest of the pack awoke around the same time and, while at least most of them were curious about both the creature, and what had happened to Janius the previous day, they were at least going to take a few moments to wake up before questioning him. While she was concerned about Janius, Meesei still devoted most of her attention to Sabine. Once she was awake and alert, Meesei sat down beside her. "How are you feeling, Sabine? Are you well-rested? I saw you training with Lorag yesterday. I am confident you will do well, but if you need any last minute advice or help, I will do what I can."

[Muttonhawk]

Having stayed up late the night before, Janius at first tried to lazily swat away whatever was nudging him without wanting to wake up. He thought it was Lorag waking him up just to get a rise out of him, likely suspecting that his activities the night before would leave him in a less than well rested state. When his hand felt that the foot was rougher, like scales, he woke up fully. Taking a deep breath, Janius squinted up and found Kaleeth. He lay still for a few moments, blinking and processing what exactly she had said. "What hatched?" Janius grumbled in disbelief. He didn't even get the chance to greet her good morning.

It wasn't until his vision cleared that Janius realised what dark shape in her arms was. The wamasu hatchling sounded a small tweet and moved its head and Janius' curiosity was piqued. He stood up, craned his head to one side and looked down at it with his mouth open, astonished. "My goodness..." He breathed, reaching out a finger to touch it. Janius pulled a grin. "It's a cute little thing, isn't it? What's its name?"

When Fendros awoke and saw what Janius and Kaleeth-Rei were paying attention to, he placed a hand on Ahnasha's shoulder and whispered to awaken her while he looked on from a distance, "Ahna, look at this." It looked like a small, spiny crocodile. Perhaps it was one of the smaller, more timid swimming lizards that Fendros had spotted in the marsh. There was of course the question of what had got Janius in a sour mood yesterday, but there seemed to be no trace of that this morning.

Sabine took a little while longer to wake up than she would have liked. Whether it was anticipation for the next trial or making sure she would give herself the best chance, she had spent some extra time the previous night preparing a potion to sharpen her mind and coordination with an effect of temporarily boosting her skill with weapons. It was a tricky recipe, one she was not completely sure of herself. The tricky part was leaving some very light suspended sediment in the liquid to settle overnight so she could decant the final mixture this morning. Sabine was of course attentive to Meesei and nodded to her in acknowledgement and affirmation, but was eager to check on her potion that she had left in a bottle on a makeshift tripod next to her bedroll. She turned around and carefully picked up the bottle. Holding it up in front of her head to check it.

Turning the bottle in her fingers, Sabine's expression started to change. Before, she betrayed relatively little in her face, but her brow slowly started to tense into worry. In a sudden movement, Sabine placed the potion back onto the tripod with a clink and quickly leaned forward, burying her face into her hands. By the way the liquid moved, it was clear that some foreign body had caused it to thicken or charge such that the sediment would not settle. It might have been a fungus of the marsh, a mistaken ingredient, a property she didn't previously know about, or perhaps just fatigue and worry causing Sabine to make mistakes. In any case, the potion would not work, and she didn't have time to make another one. Sabine quietly started to sniff and wet her palms with her tears.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha yawned as she awoke, sitting up in the bedroll and stretching her muscles. As her vision started to clear, she looked at whatever it was that Fendros was pointing out. It was fairly large for a lizard and was not something she recognized, nor was she really sure why Kaleeth was holding it. Still, it was an interesting little creature, and she was curious about it. "Say, what kind of lizard is that?" She asked.

"Is wamasu." Kaleeth answered. It seemed to grow restless again, so she placed it down on the floor beside her, at which point it scurried over to Janius and climbed up on his lap, raising its nose in the air to sample his scent. "We found wamasu eggs yesterday. I took one to eat, but then it hatched. I don't know what to do with it."

Meesei could tell through Sabine's reaction that something had gone wrong with the potion. It seemed to have particularly affected her, perhaps due to the stress of the final trial. Meesei reached over and placed a hand on her back, attempting to comfort her. "Something went wrong, I assume? Do not fear, Sabine. You are a strong young woman, and you have more talent than I believe you realize. This fight is not meant to be impossible. It sounds difficult, and it will certainly not be easy, but I believe in you, Sabine. You have grown stronger ever since we first found you, whether or not you realize it. As for this potion, even if it failed, that is no reason to give up. There is still a few hours before the trial is set to begin. Think, what can you make in that time? It doesn't need to be a very advanced potion, even something like a simple stamina potion can turn the tide of a battle."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius held his hands up when the creature decided to crawl on his lap. It had small sharp claws that felt like needles. "Well, don't ask me, this is the first time I've even seen a wamasu hatchling before," Janius laughed. He slowly tried to pick it up and hold it in his arms and it didn't seem to put up any resistance. Perhaps it liked his body heat. Janius looked up at Kaleeth-Rei, "Do we need to see the village leaders about this? It'll probably die without a mother, but raising it might be difficult."

Even with Meesei's words, Sabine was distraught that her gambit had gone wrong. It took a minute to gather herself, but she decided to start laying out her ingredients to see if there was anything else she could do. She remained somewhat upset throughout. She breathed through her mouth and her expression far from composed. However, once she had it all in front of her, she noticed a few options. With a constrained sniff, she saw that there were a few quick stamina potions in her materials. Also some fatiguing poisons, but she doubted that they would be possible to administer with practice weapons. What else though? Skin irritant? Not worth it. Medicines? She wasn't sick. Cures? She wasn't allowed to counteract the poison. There was a weak strength tonic she could make. Perhaps that and a stamina potion would have to make do. "I'll try," Sabine said weakly to Meesei, putting aside what she needed and making preparations.

Though she glanced over her shoulder a couple of times, Sabine was too busy to show much interest in the wamasu hatchling.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth shrugged her shoulders and gently stroked the wamasu's back. She had seen grown wamasu before, or course, but never one so young and...peaceful. Apart from drawing a bit of blood, it really couldn't hurt anyone yet, so it was not a threat to anyone. "I am not really sure what the village leaders will think. I...really do not want to give it to father. I kind of like it though, it is...cute. Not like the big one that almost killed us."

The wamasu curled up in Janius' arms quite readily and seemed rather content with where it was. It looked around at its surroundings and continued to sniff the air, letting out small chirps periodically. Kaleeth did not know how many of a wamasu's behaviors were instinct, and how many were taught, so she had no idea what it would be like to raise one. After a few minutes, Ahnasha finally climbed out of her bedroll and approached the pair. She knelt down beside Janius and ran her hand over the hatchling's back. "Let me see it a moment." Ahnasha said, but as soon as she put her hands around it and the wamasu recognized she was trying to pick it up, it projected a static shock into her hand, not quite large enough to cause any real pain, but enough to surprise her. It was happy to stay right where it was.

"Ow!" Ahnasha exclaimed, pulling back her hand. "Did not think a hatchling would be able to use lightning."

Kaleeth chuckled and continued to rub the part of its back without spines. "It looks like it likes Janius."

Meesei decided to leave Sabine alone while she worked, so as not to disturb her. Instead, she went over and sat down by Janius and Kaleeth as well. The wamasu was certainly a curiosity, but what was on her mind was Janius and what he had happened to him the previous day. If it pertained to the safety of the pack, she needed to know about it.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros pulled on some clothes before following Ahnasha up to the wamasu hatchling. The loud tick of the shock it caused Ahnasha made him flinch as well, but he grinned in surprise. It was a feisty one by the looks. A fraction of a second later, what Kaleeth mentioned about the comparison to the real one finally processed in his mind, "Wait, you two ran into a wamasu?" Fendros asked, eager to hear more, "Was it this little one's mother?"

Janius laughed again at the hatchling's antics, then looked up at Fendros. "Yes, quite a story. I'll let Kaleeth recount that one, it was a proud moment for her," Janius paused to to crane his neck and look around, "as long as no other villagers that know Cyrodilic are around. You could get the full... story..." Janius' search was halted when he spotted Meesei sit down by them. Remembering what he needed to tell her, his expression turned more serious and nervous. He would have wrung his hands or itched at the back of his neck if his arms weren't already occupied. "Ah, right, Meesei, speaking of that. I need to talk to you." Janius took a slow breath, "It's the Master-Hunter. I, uh... upset him. Kaleeth told me why he doesn't trust us in the first place, and I don't blame him for it after hearing it, but..." Janius curled his lips and looked at Kaleeth, then to Sabine, then back to Meesei. He kept his voice down so he wouldn't alert Sabine, but he doubted he was ever out of earshot of her. "He's going to talk to the treeminder and the elder again. If he gets the agreement of one, then we will be removed from the village." Janius couldn't quite look Meesei in the eyes as he spoke, such was his guilt, "I'm going to try to talk to him, for whatever help it will do, but you needed to know first."

Janius would have confided the full recount of the previous day to Meesei, but he felt guilty enough about it that he wanted to keep the details private in case the rest of the pack would think less of him for his selfishness. Meesei might have an initial course of action, but Janius expected that she would request more information.

[EliteCommander]

"I really do not think Thorantilth or Reanaseer would make you leave. They know about father's...bias, I think is the word. They know he does not like Imperials, so they might not even believe anything he says about you. I do not know if father would try to bring it up with them, but...he might try to find another way to hurt you." Kaleeth said, trying to reassure the others. Reanaseer was old, wise, and knew her father well, while Thorantilth followed closely the teaching of the HIst. She did not believe either would be quick to pass judgement, even based on Zharanthixil's word. Still, her father was the Master-Hunter, and she was sure he could find some way to make Janius' life more difficult. Kaleeth held off on explaining the story with the wamasu until they had talked about what to do in regards to her father, as it seemed more important. After all, she knew she was not going to tell anyone about the werewolves in their presence, so that was not a danger.

Meesei did seem to be cross with Janius over the situation, though Kaleeth's reassurance did help somewhat. Still, she was concerned and upset that Janius did not appear to take all necessary precautions to avoid upsetting the villagers. Granted, the Master-Hunter seemed to already be predisposed against Imperials, so she could not blame him too heavily, but it was still something they had to deal with. "This is rather upsetting. I did not expect any sort of welcome from the Master-Hunter, but I had at least hoped to stay here without troubling him, or being troubled by him. Even if we are not forced to leave, this could cause some problems for us. What did you do to upset him to such an extent, Janius?"

[Muttonhawk]

"...Actually," Janius began, glancing at Ahnasha and Fendros, "I would rather tell you that in private." Being careful to startle the creature, Janius handed the wamasu hatchling back to Kaleeth-Rei. It sounded a chirp of protest while it was being held out but didn't shock anyone this time. "Oh, Kaleeth, all my friends here know about my condition, so if you wanted to tell them the full story of the hunt, go ahead." Once the wamasu was secure again, Janius stood up and started to walk outside while looking to the ground in guilt. He thought for a moment exactly how to tell Meesei, but he figured just recounting from the beginning would be the best idea. That was, if Meesei allowed him to tell it in private at all.

[EliteCommander]

In general, Meesei did not like secrets in the pack. She felt they were overall destructive to the group as a whole, but in this case, she would at least let him speak to her before making a decision on whether or not he should tell the others. She followed Janius out of the hut to a secluded spot so he could speak.

"You know I do not like secrets among the pack, Janius. What is it that happened between you and the Master-Hunter?" Meesei asked.

Kaleeth took the wamasu in her arms, then sat down where Janius had been. By this point, all of Janius' friends were awake, so she supposed she might as well tell the story. "Well...I suppose I can tell it. Janius told me not to tell anyone in the village, so I wanted to be careful. We went out to hunt so he could help me learn. We tracked an ogre to a cave, but when we found it, it was already dead. Killed by wamasu. We found its nest with all its eggs. Even worse, the wamasu followed us in. It was very frightening, nowhere to move. We tried hiding, but it found us. Janius saved me from its lighting with magic, then turned into a werewolf to hold it so I could kill it. It was frightening, and I was confused, but I managed to stab it in the top of its mouth with my spear. Janius had to explain what a werewolf was, and he told me not to tell anyone in the village, so I have been careful. I do not understand why people hunt werewolves like Janius said they did; there does not seem to be anything bad about him. It confuses me."

Ahnasha crossed her arms and held an expression that was not quite surprised, but concerned. "Wait, so you know about the whole werewolf thing, then?"

Lorag gave a gruff laugh. "What, did you expect him to do anything different to a woman he fancies? I'm starting to think he and Fendros here should switch nicknames."

"True." Ahnasha responded with a small chuckle.

[Muttonhawk]

"I know, I know. I just... I think I really made a mistake and... well, it might have been avoided- but," Janius tried not to let himself babble further and closed his eyes and held up his hand. He lowered his hand and took a breath, forming words to explain.

"So, Kaleeth and I went on our hunt, we ran into some trouble and ended up getting trapped in a cave with a wamasu between ourselves and the exit. We were able to kill the beast together, but I had to transform and pin its neck to the floor to allow Kaleeth to get it in the mouth where her spear could fell it. Everything else was covered in scales that we couldn't penetrate. I explained to her about werewolves and she promised not to tell anyone, but that's not the problem. We..." Janius stopped for a moment and swallowed, no tangents, "...we realised that we were attracted to one another, but from beforehand I had started to feel something more. It was... she was... friendly, talkative, fun..." Janius shook his head, "I was denying it beforehand, but I had fallen for her. I fell badly. I... I didn't want to make a mess of everything before Sabine's ritual so I spurned her in that moment. I claimed that we couldn't do the deed on that spot because-" Janius motioned to Meesei, "-I remembered before when you and Ariel mentioned the thing about catching lycanthropy. When we walked back, it was silent, awkward. I actually consciously knew that I had fallen in love as soon as I realised that I had hurt her. So..." Janius nodded, "...that's why I wasn't in a great mood yesterday evening." Janius looked away at this point.

"That night though, Kaleeth came and saw me by the river where I had fallen asleep. We talked. Having spent the night wallowing in regret beforehand, when she told me she felt the same way about me as I did of her, well... she wasn't discouraged. She had found some potions for herself that would resist and cure her of lycanthropy before it could set in. That's when things went wrong." Janius ran a hand through his hair and scrunched his eyes shut for a few moments as he spoke, "The Master-Hunter obviously had suspicions, he came looking and he found us in the act. I found out then that Kaleeth-Rei is her daughter. In his fury, he attacked me. He might have killed me or brought out my beast spirit again if Kaleeth hadn't intervened. He hit her as she tried to pull him off me, probably an accident in hindsight. He stopped then and I got up. I was angry at that point, so I shouted at him, 'why did he hit his daughter? What was wrong that he hated me?' He said I didn't deserve an answer and tried to get Kaleeth to come with him. She refused and he stormed off." Now that the main confession was over with, Janius became visibly less tense while he explained other details.

"Kaleeth and I sat for a little while and we comforted each other. She told me that her father had a... storied impression of Imperials. Some traumatic experiences on his childhood. A lot of loved ones killed by slavers. You see, his village was tricked by a small group, similar to ours, to lead the hunters out of the village, then the group came back with a force and killed and fettered everyone. Zharanthixil himself was beaten and abused, he had to watch his mother die, and had some toes cut off. The leaders of the slaver group were an Imperial couple. These slavers were killed by hunters from this village, and he's been with them ever since. Apart from all the hate directed towards us, he's apparently a wise and loving man according to Kaleeth. Somehow I feel as if he would benefit from doing Sabine's ritual with such mental scars, but anyway, that explained his impression."

Janius looked up at Meesei with resignation, "Anyway, that's about it. In summary, I acted selfishly, wrong place, wrong time, wrong girl. I know I did the wrong thing, and I'm willing to make up for it. Like I said, I'm going to try to talk with him once he's calmed down. Whatever else you think I should do, fine, I expect some kind of punishment. I just don't want the pack to think I deliberately wanted to deny Sabine her ritual. Also, I didn't want to put any extra pressure on Sabine in particular. This... thing. It just happened. I'm sorry."

---

Fendros had to laugh at that, "Well, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Not sure how much 'city-boy' really suits me nowadays, but it's less annoying than before." Fendros looked to Kaleeth again, "So, that large corpse that the hunters hauled in yesterday, it was you and Janius that took it down? Haha, now we're going to have to go out and find a wamasu for ourselves. We can't have him have all the glory now." He looked down at Ahnasha's stomach and corrected himself, "Perhaps in a month or two though." With a smile, he looked at Kaleeth again and pointed to her with his head forward, "But, we'll keep in mind that there's a weak point in the mouth. That's good to know." He lowered his hand, "I bet your parents are proud of you."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei sighed and shook her head. "Above everything, I am glad you are safe. Wamasu are not threats to be taken lightly, and you very easily could have been killed. For Kaleeth, at least you made sure not to pass on your gift. With potions, the chances of an Argonian like her to contract it would be basically nonexistent. Even so, very little about this is good. I expected you would try to court local women, but I did not expect you to court the daughter of the most anti-Imperial Argonian I have ever seen. And what you mentioned, about falling in love with her...I do not know what you expect here, Janius. You know we are going to leave here soon, and it is not as if we could take her with us. I would not expect this to end painlessly for you two. I will say, she does seem like a respectable person, especially since she agreed not to betray our secret, but that does not change he fact that she has responsibilities here, and you with us. I...I wish there was another way, truly. By no means do I want you to be hurt in all of this, but this situation is not an easy one. Just...do all you can to remedy the situation. Kaleeth may be able to help you deal with her father. "

---

"Both mother and father were proud that I killed it, but father was upset that I killed it with Janius. He distrusts Imperials more than any outsider, and he was very angry to catch me with Janius. Still, killing the wamasu means I can become full hunter. I have a part of its hide, I just need to make the armor for myself. Father taught all initiates how to do it, it will just take a while. I do not know what he will think about the wamasu though. I just took the egg because I wanted to eat it. They taste very good. I do not want to eat the hatchling though." Kaleeth explained. She set down the wamasu to let it walk around. As the others were warmer than her, it walked over to Ahnasha and Fendros to investigate them. Since it shocked her, Ahnasha was a bit hesitant to pick it up, but she observed it and laughed as it tried to climb on Fendros.

[Muttonhawk]

"I know it's not going to be painless." Janius looked down and breathed a shallow sigh, "I didn't really expect to be with her for very long anyway. It's just how things are." Janius glanced up and began to walk back. "Thank you for understanding, Meesei."

Walking back to the common hut, Janius tried hard to think of how to approach the Master-Hunter. He would have to pick his words very carefully. The man would not trust him, and may never fully trust him. The only way that Janius could think to make peace with him would be to prove that he cared as much about Kaleeth-Rei, and the safety of the village as a whole, as he did. He needed to prove that he and the group he came in with meant the village no harm. How would that be possible, though? He wasn't going to believe any word that came out of Janius' mouth. No, Janius would have prove himself through an action. What that action would viably be, he had no idea. It's not as if anything is going to attack the village any time soon. All Janius could think to do for now was to offer his apologies. Perhaps Kaleeth-Rei would have some idea of what to do.

---

When the hatchling took interest in Fendros, he wasn't quite as passive as Janius was. Even though the creature was interesting, he didn't really want it climbing on him. At first, Fendros tried to block its path with his arms. Undeterred, the wamasu simply started to climb over them as Fendros tried to stop it. Fendros eventually reached the point where he just let it climb, and it scurried up his arm to his shoulder. The claws digging into Fendros' skin weren't so bad, but Fendros soon changed his mind about letting it climb. "Ah!" Fendros winced and closed one eye as the creature nipped his ear. In a hurry, he snatched the creature off his shoulder with both hands and held it still in front of him. The wamasu looked around and chirped innocently. "I think it might be hungry." Fendros said slowly with a bewilderment. He looked at Kaleeth, "Shall we take it to breakfast with us?"

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth reached out and grabbed the wamasu, since Fendros did not seem to want it. She held it tightly in her arms, which seemed to be good enough for it for the moment. "I think I will keep it with me until I know what to do with it. I don't know if they can survive alone. I guess it eats meat, so I can take it to eat at breakfast."

It was not long before Meesei and Janius returned inside. Most of the village was already making their way outside to gather for breakfast, so they had mostly just returned to collect the others. Meesei supposed Sabine was going to stay inside to finish her alchemy, so she intended to collect breakfast for both of them, then return to the common hut to eat with her. Since the private conversation was over, they all went outside and gathered near the Hist tree for their breakfast. As usual, it was mostly meat with some of the native plants the village grew. Meesei reminded the pack of which ones were poisonous, then they found an empty spot to sit together, apart from Meesei.

Most of what was being served was the meat from the wamasu she and Janius had killed, but Kaleeth made sure to get a small portion of hackwing to feed to the hatchling. She would not feel right trying to feed the hatchling meat from its own mother. It enthusiastically tore away at the hackwing meat she provided, though at its young age, it took quite a while for it to rip the meat into small enough pieces for it to eat. Meanwhile, Lorag turned his attention to Janius, deciding it was time to bother him about all that had been going on. "So, you going to tell us about what you and Alpha talked about, or are we not good enough to hear it?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius stopped chewing on his breakfast and looked back at Lorag for a few moments. He still felt guilty about it all, but he should have known that the pack wouldn't like being kept uninformed. "Hmm, you're going to keep going on about this, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically with resignation. Well, he didn't have to tell everyone the full story just yet. He looked around quickly to see if anyone who spoke Cyrodilic was in earshot, then responded to Lorag without much emotion, "I mostly didn't want to give Runt anything else to worry about before her ritual, so I suppose I could tell you." Janius threw a glance beside him at Kaleeth-Rei and the wamasu she fed, then looked back at Lorag, "Zharanthixil, the Master-Hunter, is Kaleeth's father." Janius looked down at his food, "He caught us... by the river last night. He caught us being close. He proceeded to almost kill me but he stopped. Now he might be trying to convince the other leaders to throw us out, or try something malign towards myself."

Frowning mostly in worry, Fendros spoke after a short moment. "Is there anything we can do?"

"No, no, I don't think so." Janius gestured to Fendros dismissively, then rubbed one side of his face in his own anxiety. "I'm... going to try and talk with him. I haven't worked out much to say except 'sorry' at this point. I don't think he'll want to believe anything I have to say."

Once again, Tunxeek looked across to the outsiders to see if Sabine was with them. He wanted to give her some encouragement before the next trial, but he was too busy yesterday. However, she was nowhere to be seen. Given that most of the outsiders were outside having breakfast, Sabine's absence caused him a no small amount of worry. He decided to finish eating his portion of wamasu quickly, then proceed to the common hut.

Tunxeek poked his head between the doorframe and the curtain to the common hut to peek inside and found Sabine and Meesei having their breakfast inside. Sabine was working wordlessly with alchemical apparatus, and barely eating at all. Tunxeek approached them both with a concerned look and let out a quiet, "Good morning."

Sabine didn't even acknowledge his existence as she worked.

Nervously, Tunxeek sat down beside Sabine and glanced between her and Meesei. "Is everything alright?"