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

[Muttonhawk]

Listening to her account intently, Fendros quickly realised that he would have to train to far beyond his current capabilities in order to try and commune with Hircine and question the lord of the hunt about why he was chosen for the pack. Beyond training and hunting, Fendros figured that it would only be with luck that he would be directed to hunt a challenging beast and get an audience with the Daedra that had caused all of his troubles. With that kind of objective, it's almost as if I'll be worshiping with spite. What a novelty...

"That is very impressive. I've only seen minotaurs in pictures," Fendros replied, "I hope one day I'll get to talk to Hircine. Perhaps I could get some answers out of him."

"Hircine? Talk to you?" Janius raised an eyebrow, "well, it's as well meaning an objective as any I suppose. You Dark Elves have more experience with Daedra, if I'm not mistaken."

"Mmm, that's not necessarily true. We're taught the lore of some of them, but they aren't like Hircine from what I gather," Fendros said to Janius, "and they aren't very keen on talking to everyone, either. Not only that, but fewer and fewer Dunmer practice such worship of the Tribunal and such in Cyrodiil. Between the Stendarrites that barge in and smash up shrines and the general taboo of Daedra worship." Fendros recounted what his parent's told him of their experiences in Skyrim, with the xenophobic Nords tipping off the Vigil of Stendarr in a particularly hairy incident. "I could just as well assume that you Imperials listen to the voices of your Divines all day long."

"Okay, touche, Dunmer," Janius snorted.

"I don't suppose anyone else has had an audience with Hircine, here?" Fendros looked around. Janius shook his head.

It wasn't until he looked around that Fendros noticed Runt in his peripheral vision. She was sitting by the shore staring at them all. Despite probably hearing the question, she did not react.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei continued to lay floating on the surface of the water, both enjoying the sensation of the water around her and basking in the sun's heat. "In Black Marsh, it is uncommon to serve either the Aedra or Daedra. For Argonians there is usually only Sithis, and the Hist themselves. Mostly the latter. Of course, none of us are here to worship the 'standard' gods of our people. I acknowledge that many Daedra, and even the Aedra have their own power, but I find only Hircine being truly worthy of my devotion. The Hist have my utmost respect, and there are a few Daedra I would have no issue allying with, but I shall only serve Hircine. I hope you will come to see the reason for that in time, Fendros. I still get the feeling from time to time that you are uncomfortable around us, but I hope to prove the sincerity of our words."

Lorag approached Fendros and threw his arm over his shoulder, pulling him close and patting his back. "Yeah, we're nothing if not honest. Except to strangers about our beast blood, but that only makes sense. You don't need to think about yourself as a stranger, or even an ally, you need to think of yourself as family. Come to think of it, we should have a bit of a celebration, somethin' to welcome you home. You know how to make wine, right?" He said jovially.

Ahnasha waded over from the other side, putting her arm around his shoulder as well. "Yeah, just tell us something you do for fun in that city of yours; I guarantee we will make it twice as good." She added, trapping Fendros between herself and Lorag. They both looked at him with a smile, and both were genuinely trying to make him feel accepted, but if he suggested anything even remotely competitive, it was pretty much a guarantee that all of their focus would shift to trying to best the other one.

[Muttonhawk]

"Uhm, well, ok," Fendros struggled for words between the two. Lorag has such strength that his arm felt like a rock, and Ahnasha's fur was of course sopping wet, like a cat. Or a dog? Fendros considered. "Well, I didn't get very many opportunities to... celebrate," Fendros said, "but when the opportunity arose, my brother and I would sneak out occasionally to drink. We would gamble and sing with the tavern patrons." Fendros raised one hand up to his eye level and pointed upwards for emphasis, "if there is drink, I remember a few games that didn't require septims, but were still highlights, especially as the night wore on." Fendros looked over to Meesei, still floating in the water, for confirmation, "We might try playing?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei brought herself upright once more and looked at Fendros with a grin. "I don't think I would mind joining in on this little celebration. We do have a supply of septims, but those are strictly for essential supplies we cannot make ourselves, like most smithing materials. If you know where to find some, though, I think Lorag here would go to Oblivion and back to find it."

Lorag gave a hardy laugh and gripped Fendros even tighter. "Indeed, I won't deny it. We don't have any alcohol here, unfortunately. We did end up finding some the last time we raided a bandit camp, but I, uh, drank it all...at once. I don't suppose you have a stash somewhere nearby we could partake of, do you?" He asked, staring at Fendros intently. The expression on his face strongly hinted that he really hoped the answer was yes.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros inhaled slowly, considering for a moment. "Yyyes..." He said slowly, "there are several bottles of Avarul wine that my brother and I kept hidden. The hiding place is close to Cheydinhal, however. Hidden beneath an outcrop about three hundred paces east of the north-easternmost vineyard of the winery. It's heavily wooded, so as long as no one is passing through that way, we shouldn't be spotted." Fendros wondered whether it would take too long to travel out that way, but if his sense of direction did not fool him, a good pace should only take about two or three hours to pick the cases up and take the wine back.

"Actually... before we rush off..." Fendros' expression turned solemn, "I think I would like to write a note for my brother. My family does not know my whereabouts, and I've yet to decide how to let them know that I'm not coming back." Fendros addressed Ahnasha, "I have a feeling that staging my death like you did would be sufficient, but my brother would not likely believe it. He might come looking for me. If I can leave a note that only he would read, perhaps I can stop any harm befalling him."

[EliteCommander]

For once in her life, Meesei left the water before all the others and laid down on the shore next to Sabine, taking in the heat of the sun to dry her. Both Lorag and Ahnasha finally released their hold on Fendros. Janius and Ahnasha joined Meesei on the shore to dry themselves, while Lorag remained in the river a moment longer.

"Eh, if you want to sneak around, maybe I should stay here. Besides, I don't know how well I'll be able to control myself if we pass by a winery. That place would have tempting prey of an entirely different sort." Lorag responded.

Meesei raised her head off of the ground slightly, holding her hands behind her head as she looked down at Fendros. "I think I am going to get the ogre meat ready to be smoked and salted. How about you and Ahnasha go to get this wine? After you get that letter written, of course. Just make sure you know what you're going to write before you start putting ink to the page. Ink is easy enough to make, but we do not have many spare parchments, and I doubt you want to leave your message on a patch of leather." She said, turning her head to look at Runt next to her. "Sabine, could go get the writing materials for Fendros?"

[Muttonhawk]

Without a sound, Sabine scurried off back to the encampment. Fendros nodded and followed the others out to dry himself. By the time he redressed, Sabine returned with a scroll of parchment, a quill, a board of wood for writing against, and a small bottle that held ink. Sabine handed the materials to Fendros and went back to where she was sitting beforehand. "Thank you, Sab-... Runt" Fendros said as she walked, the only reaction she seemed to have was to pause for a moment at Fendros' apparent indecision at her name, but she just as quickly resumed her hunched stride.

"Do you know what you're going to write?" Ahansha asked.

Fendros cocked his head to the side, biting the inside of his cheek, "I have an idea of what to write, yes." Despite his own words, when Fendros sat down and leaned his back against a tree, he had to sit for a while longer than he had hoped, composing the words together. After a few minutes, he began scratching the ink onto the page.

Dear brother Monderyn,

If you are reading this, then efforts to try and find me have resulted, or will result, in finding my remains in the great forest. While it may give comfort to mother, father and Llarasa to know that my fate is known, you are likely to believe as well as I that those remains do not belong to me. I know that you are probably confused, maybe even angry, but you mustn't show this letter to anyone else. Herein, I am sharing with you the truth for your own safety, rather than have you come after me in denial of a staged death.

Do you remember about seven years ago, when we found that dusty tome on father's bookshelf? Within, it had a lot of words we couldn't read, but it had descriptions of Daedric princes. It had them all, from that strange one that had crab arms attached to a blob, to the little one with the horns and a pet dog. There was one that had a great antlered beast's head and carried a spear, its name was Hircine, lord of the hunt.

As you know, I left to go hunting after I had another argument with father. I had had only intended to stay in the woods for one night, but I wandered until the late afternoon of the second day. That afternoon, I was attacked by a beast I had never seen the likes of before; a great wolf with huge claws, faster than a mountain cat. It killed Josey,-

"Who's Josey?" Fendros was so startled by the voice behind him that he nearly put a line of ink across the entire page. Janius was looking over his shoulder at the letter. "Lay off!" Fendros said, waving his hand as if warding off a fly, "Josey was my horse, now please leave me alone. This is private, ok?" Janius put both hands up and walked off, "okay, okay, just wondering."

-but I killed it before it could finish me off. In the process, I was infected by an illness that turned me into one of them. I have since found out that it is likely that the event had been premeditated by Hircine himself. For what reason, I know not. I only know that this illness has cursed me to be the host of a savage and dangerous beast that would kill anyone to sate its hunger, if I do not control it. This is the reason I cannot come home, I have become a danger not only to the family, but anyone living nearby, as well as myself.

If it were up to me, I would never think to abandon you, Llarasa, or even mother and father, but this decision was not mine. Know that for now I am well, and I am going to put in as much effort as I can to finding out why Hircine has transformed me into this monster, and if possible, find a way to release myself from this curse. Under no circumstances should you try to come and find me, or let anyone else know about this letter. To do so would be to put yourself and others in mortal danger.

You must now become the heir to the family. Father may wail on about how you are not of Avarul blood, but his wailings are of days long passed. You are my brother in blood as much as any family member, and I believe that you are as capable as I, if not more so. I hope that the circumstances that we may be reunited upon are among our ancestors.

A pale finger came into Fendros' view, pointing to the sentence that he just wrote. Fendros, already feeling sensitive at the difficulty of writing the words down, was about to explode, infuriated that he wasn't been given the space he needed. He beheld Sabine standing over his shoulder, looking at his letter. "You will not meet him there, you will join Hircine in his hunting grounds." Sabine's words were quiet, but deadly serious. Fendros, a sense of reason coming over him again, changed his expression from fuming to one of dread. "What did you say?" Fendros muttered. Sabine looked at Fendros directly, her blank face communicated that she knew he heard every word. "What do you mean?" Fendros said, "Runt?! What are you talking about?!" Sabine turned and walked off. Fendros looked back down at his page, processing the information. Sabine's eyes didn't lie, as always. Reluctantly, Fendros struck through the sentence about Monderyn and he reuniting in the afterlife and pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes shut to hold back tears. The more I look back to home, Fendros thought, it seems that I see more of it that Hircine has taken from me.

He sat for another minute to compose himself, before sniffing and opening his sore eyes. Fendros' hand was now shaking, he wiped away another tear forming at the corner of his eye and took a deep breath. Once he had slowly finished exhaling, he continued writing the final passage, continuing from the lined-out sentence.

We are unlikely to meet again, in this world and the next. I wish you a long and prosperous life.

Goodbye,
Fendros

Fendros wiped the quill clean and read over what he had written. It all seemed in order to him. He had no doubt that the other pack members would know most of the letter's content, but he would not show it to them. Once the ink dried, Fendros went to his belongings and equipped his sword and shield, his skinning knife, his quiver of arrows, and his bow. He didn't know what would be out in the forest to surprise them, but he didn't want to have to resort to transforming this time. Out of his quiver, he took out a single arrow, one recognizable as one his brother had fletched for him, and rolled the letter around it to prove its authenticity. With his eyes still red around the edges, Fendros found Ahnasha. "I'm ready, let's go."

[EliteCommander]

Everyone had dried enough to dress themselves by the time Fendros had went to write his letter, other than Ahnasha, who generally took much longer than everyone else to dry out her fur. While the Dunmer drafted his letter, the others each went about their own tasks. Meesei took the meat from the ogre and began hanging it above the fire to be smoked, while Lorag took the hide and began shaving it in preparation to be tanned into leather. Ahnasha decided on a bit of archery practice with quite distant targets, and Janius and Runt seemed content hanging around Fendros.

Meesei took stock of the supplies they had. while she was preparing the meat. Though they now had an ample supply of food, they would need to restock their supply of salt soon enough, which usually meant going into the cities. While they could not actually catch diseases from rotting meat, its taste was atrocious enough to almost induce vomiting on its own, so it was well worth it to keep it preserved, even if the smoking process did end up cooking it a bit. Meesei did make sure to keep some of the meat away from the fire, so it would be completely raw for their celebration later that day. She was indeed looking forward to it, if only because she believed it would help bring Fendros closer to them. It had been a while since she had drank, though she doubted he would actually have a bottle of alcohol capable of intoxicating an Argonian.

Ahnasha had finished drying enough to dress herself by the time Fendros finished his letter. She was sitting on a rock by the river and looked up at him as he approached. She nodded to him, stood up, and began walking with him east toward the city. "I know the area well enough to get us close to where you described, but you will of course need to take over once we are close enough. Just be careful not to be detected. The furs and leather we wear make us look close enough to bandits that guards and other locals tend to get suspicious." Ahnasha advised. "At any rate, I have to say I am looking forward to this. Just be aware that, if Lorag thinks you can get him alcohol, you will quickly become his favorite person. He is entertaining enough while drunk, at least. Last time we had a crate of ale, I could have swore I heard him purring like a kitten, though he insisted it was me. I don't know, I was pretty drunk too." She said with a chuckle.

[Muttonhawk]

Smiling at the amusing mental image that Ahnasha placed in Fendros' mind, he followed her out towards Cheydinhal. "I don't think I would like to continue the habit of pilfering drinks from the winery. Beforehand it was just my brother and I putting aside discards, or entering a lower number in the ledger here and there," Fendros said, "I would also like to keep away from the winery, in general, as much as I can."

The two kept a fairly consistent pace through the woods. Brisk, but not hurried. It wasn't long before they reached parts of the woods where Fendros began to find his surroundings familiar. "Did you have any brothers or sisters, Ahnasha? Before you were turned, I mean." Fendros asked to make conversation.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha nodded. "Yes, an older brother. He found more interest in the family business than hunting, though. I wouldn't say we didn't get along, we just had nothing in common. Still, I am grateful to him, in a way. Were it not for him, my parents probably would have stopped me from going off on my own into the wilds so much. As long as he was there to learn their trade, it mattered little what I did. I gave them all of the pelts I collected for free; I cared little about gold. Still don't."

The Khajiit smiled, thinking back fondly on some of her old memories. "I still remember those times, when I was out of the city. Even when I wasn't hunting, I loved every minute of it. I remember laying down by the water in the forest, closing my eyes and taking in all the sounds and scents around me. I remember listening to the songbirds chirp away around me while I took in the sweet scents of the flowerbed I was laying in. Sometimes I would chase around dragonflies, or see how long I could hold my breath at the bottom of a pond. It was simple pleasure, and I didn't have a care in the world. With my hunting skill, I could have survived in the wilds even as a cub. Then, I would return home only to hear my parents bicker over gold or business deals. Over time, I started to wonder...is it all even worth it? I mean, these 'civilized' people spend their entire lives worrying about gold and work and all that, and for what? A bigger house? More stuff? What does all of that even really mean in the end? Nature persists far beyond the works of man or mer, and unlike these civilizations, it is already in its own state of perfection. Why spend years working towards nothing when you can live every day for yourself, and your brothers and sisters. And you know what? All those things that I used to do that would make me so happy...I still do them now. There is no one to stop me or judge me. I mean, can you really say the same thing? Can you say you still do all the things you love to do without fear of being judged by 'society'?"

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros looked up in thought. It seems that Ahnasha was more suited to this lifestyle from the beginning, he mused. "I think I was judged for different reasons," Fendros answered, "but I was just beginning to find my own place in that society until I ended up here. It was something of a comfort, to be at peace with fate." Fendros' mind whirred considering the differences that they had, "this... this is really just another society I think. I have to accept my fate all over again. It sounds like it was easier for you."

Trying to keep the tone more upbeat in his mind, Fendros opted to try and find common ground in discussion, "So, when did you first start hunting? My father taught me, I didn't catch so much as a rabbit until my third trip, but I persisted. Eventually it became one of my favourite pastimes."

[EliteCommander]

"My brother took me out hunting for the first time, but as I said, he was never really into it. I also had a few friends around the city that would go along with me sometimes, but...they were terrible. I was more worried about them hitting me than anything else. Eventually, I just started going out on my own, but that suited me just fine. I borrowed my brother's bow until I could afford my own, then I just learned to summon one once I got into magic. A useful skill, that. It is so much easier to maneuver if you do not have to worry about carrying something so long and bulky as a bow. It makes acrobatics much easier as well." Ahnasha replied, a grin coming over her face as a thought popped into her mind. "Tell me, how quick would you say you are? Are you light on your feet?"

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros breathed through his nose and smiled at the reminder of Ahnasha's aptitude with magic in comparison to his. The question of agility was interesting though, Fendros could run fairly fast and had good balance and coordination, but he was no acrobat.

"I would say so, why?" Fendros asked, a little unsure.

[EliteCommander]

"Oh, no reason. I just thought I would bring up a little game you probably played as a child." Ahnasha responded, chuckling to herself as she stopped in front of him and slowly extended her hand and poked his shoulder.

"You're it." She said with a laugh before taking off in the same general direction as their destination, running with the impressive speed one would expect from an agile Khajiit. She dodged and weaved between trees and jumped over fallen logs and other obstacles like a professional, though she made sure to glance back and make sure Fendros was at least keeping up. Her entire melee fighting style revolved around quick movements and acrobatics, so she was well practiced in running, and any movement that required quick reactions. Khajiit had a natural advantage in such things, but it was really her constant practice that gave her such abilities. Ahnasha ran miles every single day, followed by archery practice and meditation, mostly on illusion magic. She also made sure to practice her acrobatics on her runs, a fact that was evidenced by her effortless movements through the dense forest. Eventually, once she had gone far enough, she spotted a tree that had split down the middle and had grown in two separate directions. Seeing an opportunity, she directed herself at the tree and practically ran up the middle of it to its branches. She continued on, leaping between a few trees to display her balance before finally stopping above Fendros. Using her legs to hold on to the branch, she dropped down and hung upside down from the tree, her face directly in front of Fendros, giving him a satisfied smile. Part of the reason went through that entire show was to demonstrate how they could be lighthearted and friendly, but it was mostly just because she wanted to show off.

[Muttonhawk]

"What? Hey!" Fendros took a second to process what was going on. That's all it took for him to nearly lose sight of Ahnasha altogether. He had to sprint to keep up at first, trying his best to imitate the ways that she navigated various obstacles and receiving a few splinters for his efforts. When Ahnasha disappeared up a forked tree, Fendros slowed down and stopped at its base by pushing against the trunk and trying to look up at Ahnasha's feet, just in time to have dirt drop onto his face.

Fendros turned around and tried to wipe the dirt from his eyes, and raised his head to see Ahnasha's smiling face upside down no more than five centimetres away from his face. Startled, Fendros shot back and got his heel caught in a root, causing him to stumble onto his back. "Ow..." Fendros sat up, Ahnasha was still hanging from her branch by her knees. Remembering the game, Fendros paired a smile with a glared and decided to play along. He quickly raised himself up on his feet and tried to reach out to tag Ahnasha where she was.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha couldn't help but to chuckle at Fendros' fall, though she was glad he seemed to be playing along. As he got up, she remained where she was, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for him to approach. She did nothing as he ran at her and tagged her head, instead waiting and giving him a mischievous smile after she became "it."

"I'll count to five. One, two, three..." She began, her smirk growing with every number.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros was poised to change his movements if Ahnasha had moved and poised himself to dodge any immediate retaliation, so it came as a surprise to him that Ahnasha didn't seem to react to either his approach or being tagged. Was it the end of the game already? The countdown brought Fendros' eyes wide apart and he immediately bolted away through twig and leaf. It was oddly exhilarating to be playing such a game that he hadn't in years.

Breathing heavily, Fendros dared to look over his shoulder to see if there was any trace of Ahnasha behind him. He didn't really consider whether he had a chance of outrunning Ahansha, let alone any khajiit. He just kept running, his shield bouncing against his back.

[EliteCommander]

After Fendros started to run off, Ahnasha pulled herself back up into the tree and began jumping through the branches after him, though it quickly became apparent that she would not be able to keep up that way. He had not been lying, he was surprisingly quick. She jumped down from the trees and ran after him on foot, where she was able to gain some ground. She was confident she would be able to catch up to him, so for a moment, she matched his pace and simply watched his form. He wasn't perfect, by any means, but he seemed to have stamina, and his reactions to the environment he was running through were pretty quick. With proper, dedicated training, he could become a fair acrobat, provided he wanted to. Between each pack member, there were multiple fighting styles he could train, but he would need to pick which one he wanted to master. Perhaps agility and acrobatics did not appeal to him, or perhaps he would find a way to incorporate such skills into his fighting style. Ahnasha was starting to see why Hircine may have selected him. Perhaps it was because he had the capability to learn?

After a minute or two, Ahnasha pushed herself to her best speed and closed the gap between them. Once she was close enough, she leaped forward and grabbed him, tackling him to the ground. She made sure to twist both of them mid-air so that it was her back, and not his face, that took most of the impact. With both of them on the ground, she let go of him and rolled herself to her back, looking up at the trees above them. For a few moments, she simply laughed as the warm memories of her childhood flooded back into her mind.

"I think I won that round; great effort, though. Myself and Lorag usually go running in the mornings, you should join in. We can move it to after your lycan training with Meesei. Actually, pretty much all of us have a training regimen we go through everyday. I think you should take the time to join each of us, see what appeals to you." Ahnasha suggested. "We may all seem very skilled in our own specializations, and we are, but it's nothing you can't do with enough practice."

[Muttonhawk]

When Fendros looked behind him, seeing Ahnasha gaining ground fast gave him one last burst of speed. Or, at least that's how he felt before he was suddenly grabbed by the waist and pulled to the ground before he expected it, at which point he nearly yelped. She must have held back, Fendros thought, chuckling along with Ahnasha. "And I thought I had more room there..." Fendros said, a wide grin across his face as he caught his breath.

The run was invigorating, that was for sure. It made him feel far better than feeling sorry for himself and grieving. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Ahnasha." Fendros said as he sat up and dusted himself off, "Funny... I think I understand what you meant about judgement. I never would have done that in public." Fendros offered a hand to Ahnasha, another thing he probably wouldn't have done in public unless it was to steady some overdressed noble lady out of a litter. "I didn't mean to at first, but I think we've run into a spot I recognise. The winery should be just over this ridge."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha took Fendros' hand and brought herself to her feet. "Indeed, it can be a lot of fun living out here. Of course, it is a lot of work as well, and it comes with its dangers, but I wouldn't trade this life for all the gold in the Imperial City. At any rate, I'll let you lead the way. Do whatever you need to with that letter; I'll help you carry back the alcohol. I think you're going to be in for a treat once we get this celebration started. Lorag is an...interesting individual when drunk. I just wish we had something that would work on Meesei. Stupid poison resistance..." Ahnasha responded, motioning for Fendros to take the lead.