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

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil showed little reaction to Janius' outburst, other than with a glare. When he and Fendros went back into the common hut, Zharanthixil stepped forward and focused his attention on Meesei. "Come with me." He said in a demanding tone as he walked into the common hut behind the other two. Meesei was not one who would respect orders from one like Zharanthixil, but she sure was not going to let him talk to Janius right now without her being present.

Meesei entered the hut to see Zharanthixil standing over Janius with his arms crossed and a resentful glare. It was clear he blamed Janius for his daughter going missing, but at least he was not being violent at the moment. After a few moments to allow Janius to notice him, he finally spoke up with a contempt-filled tone. "While you wallow in your own self-loathing, my daughter is out there missing, or dead. Although, I would say you deserve the hatred you are giving yourself. It is because of you that she is in this situation. It was not enough that I had to lose my own son, but not months later, you had to come along and take my daughter as well. She is a sweet, innocent, albeit naive, soul that you had to come along and take away. You have caused me more pain than I believed I could ever feel. You deserve far worse pain than what you feel, but now...you are going to help set it right. I have not been sitting on my tail doing nothing the past few days. I intend to find my daughter, but unlike you, I am not a fool who would storm out into the marsh with no trace of where to go. No, I have a plan, and if you ever want to hope of having a shred of a chance to redeem yourself of what you've done, I demand you help to follow it through."

[Muttonhawk]

Once Janius detected Zharanthixil in the common hut, he rose to his knees. What was he doing here, come to torture him further? Come to fight, as if hurting him was going to bring Kaleeth back? Janius was so angered by his presence that he was close to shouting at him, but he listened for long enough for that thought to fade.

Janius' expression changed from pitiful to surprised. Zharanthixil may have been a petty and scarred individual, but he had no reason to lie. Here, he was saying he had a way to find Kaleeth, and Janius latched onto that hope with everything he had. His breathing levelled and he rose to his feet, staring at Zharanthixil with obsessive eyes and a slightly open mouth. "Tell me your plan," Janius said with confidence, but still a hint of desperation.

Redeeming himself in Zharanthixil's eyes was something he could not care less about, but if there was a chance that he could see Kaleeth safe again, he wanted to hear how.

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil's expression did not change at all, as Janius' quick acceptance likely only served to stop him from growing angrier. "As I said, I have not simply been doing nothing the past few days. While on our hunts, myself and my hunters have been scouring the area, especially in the direction my daughter left. Any trail she left behind was likely washed away, and my hunters have at least confirmed that she is not in the most likely areas surrounding the village, but I know this place. I was raised in this part of the marsh, I trained here, I hunted here, I have thrived here. This marsh is my home, and I know it better than any other but the Hist themselves. The marsh is a vast area, and she could have traveled far in the time she has been gone, but if everything I learned hunting in the marsh holds true, I know how to find her. We cannot follow her trail, but I can make a guess at her behavior. When in danger and under stress, people do not behave very differently from creatures. If she is still alive, and she is merely lost or confused, I can take a few guesses on where she could have gone. If she lost her bearings, she would have tried to follow the river back here. If she followed the wrong river, however, it would have sent her away from the village. There are only a few places where it would make sense for her to make that mistake in that area. If I am right and she did not veer away from her chosen path after following it, then there are not too many places she could be."

Zharanthixil's eyes moved over each of the pack members, his eyes silently judging them. "I am going to send several teams to each location I suspect she could be. All of you are going to join them. Except for the cat; Thorantilth insisted that she be able to stay behind. And you..." He said, turning his head to Janius. "...are coming with me."

[Muttonhawk]

Janius looked away and to the ground. The Master-Hunter's plan was not a certain one. He didn't like that. Right now though, there didn't seem to be any alternative. Janius took a deep breath, closed his mouth, and straightened his back. "Master-Hunter, we loath one another. However, if bringing Kaleeth home safely requires that we cooperate, so be it." He sniffed and brought on a determined face, "Lead on. We're wasting time."

Fendros was similarly relieved to hear that there was a plan of action, even if it was from Zharanthixil. Silently but quickly, he donned his quiver and sword, and took his bow in hand while Janius accepted. He walked briskly out of the common hut, "I'll get Sabine and Lorag, and let Ahna know."

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil left the hut and started preparing immediately, though it was about half an hour before all of the teams were ready. With how important this was to Janius, Ahnasha wished she could come along, but she agreed with Thorantilth that it would be best for her to stay behind, something she had become all too used to. Each of the teams were going to be traveling in groups of two or three, with everyone in the pack, with the exception of Meesei and Sabine, split among different teams. As much as he hated it, he had to admit this group of outsiders were experienced hunters, even in a land that, for most of them, was not their own. His intention was to spread them across as many areas as possible so they could lend a unique perspective to the search that his hunters may not recognize. He could have picked anyone to go with him, though he selected Janius for a reason, even if it was a reason he was being very silent on.

"Alright, you all know why you are here, and where you are to be searching." Zharanthixil said in Jel as they were all collected near the center of the village, not caring that most of the pack could not understand him. "It is not often that I ask you all to help me, instead of the village, but if I was only ever able to ask one thing of you all for all my life, it would be this. My daughter, a caring member of our village, and an individual close to my heart, is missing. If I could ever ask you to give all of your effort to one task, it would be now.. Use these...outsiders to the best of your abilities to help find her. To all of you who are so willing to help me now, I owe you more than I could ever express. Now, let us be off, and may the Hist guide you all."

Turning his gaze from his men to Janius, his expression sharply turned more harsh. "Come, we're leaving." He ordered, walking off into the marsh without so much as checking to see if he was following. It was about another half hour of a walk just to reach the area they were going to begin searching, but the uncomfortable silence between them made it seem like it was taking even longer. Nothing about Zharanthixil's disposition suggested he actually wanted to be around Janius, but they were going to be stuck together for quite a while.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros understood enough of what Zharanthixil said to know how much this meant to him. Even if he didn't know, he expected that putting aside his hate for outsiders to enlist their help to find his daughter showed how far he was willing to go. There was a voice in Fendros' head that suspected that it could be a trap to get rid of the pack, but Zharanthixil would not likely be so underhanded when Kaleeth's life was at stake. Not that two Argonian hunters would be quite enough to take down a werewolf in the first place. For now, Fendros followed along with the pair allocated to him, swapping names and exchanging which details to look out for.

On the other hand, Sabine had to communicate via Meesei, but she was used to not talking much anyway. As they progressed, Sabine kept her nose up and eyes peeled. She would readily admit that she was worried for Kaleeth. She was glad to find that it wasn't overwhelming. Being focussed seemed to help with that.

Janius rested his hand on the top of his axe on his belt, its blade still sticky with sap. He was in a similar talking situation to Sabine, having little knowledge of Jel. However, communicating with Zharanthixil was something that neither of them were particularly interested in unless it was absolutely necessary. Janius reflected Zharanthixil's demeanour, describing their desire to be away form each other, but their silence and focus held an acceptance that this was required. After an eternity of navigating the marsh to the allotted search area, they arrived seeing no immediate evidence of Kaleeth's passing. Nevertheless it was only the beginning. Janius tuned all his senses to any trace of Kaleeth and stood ready to follow the direction of Zharanthixil to begin the search.

[EliteCommander]

Once the pair reached the area they were supposed to search, Zharanthixil stopped and silently observed his surroundings for a few moments. He took a few sniffs of the air and paid close attention to the riverbank, looking for any trace of footprints. He did spot one print, but upon closer inspection, it looked to be just a large crocodile. Finally, he looked back to Janius and spoke up, his tone suggesting that he was doing so only because it was required for the situation.

"I have been told you and your...friends are skilled hunters and trackers. You helped my daughter to kill a wamasu, so you cannot be completely useless. Water will be key for tracking her. I have trained her, and all my hunters, to stay by the rivers if lost. They are purer than the marsh's standing water, so villages are usually settled along them. She may be trying to follow the river to our village, not realizing it is the wrong one. We will continue to go along the river, but be aware that she could have left the river to hunt. Look for any signs of her presence, footprints, ashes from a fire, anything." Zharanthixil ordered.

[Muttonhawk]

"Yes," Janius nodded firmly.

As they progressed alongside the river, Janius' mind was cast back to the last time he was in this situation. It was a different Argonian this time, but Janius could only hope it ended with as much relief.

It took almost an hour and a half for anything to be found, but Janius' hope perked up when he smelled something distinct in the air. Without a word, he ran ahead a short distance, then stopped to pick up the scent again. It was slightly away from the river. He turned and walked briskly, his eyes darting around the ground. He seemed to be checking around randomly, but it wasn't long before he found the source of the smell. On the ground was a seemingly unremarkable portion of dirt, smoothed by the rain, but with flecks of white through it. Janius walked up to it, squat down, and dug away at it with his fingers. Lying just under the surface of the dirt were some sharp shapes. Janius pulled them out and brushed the mud from them to find lumps of charred twigs and a fish head with the spine still attached. The mud was laden with some remains of wet ash. "Zharanthixil!" Janius called out.

Janius sniffed at the fish remains. There was no definite trace of Kaleeth-Rei on it, but this might have been evidence of her passing if they were lucky.

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil was legitimately surprised that Janius managed to find something so subtle. He did not think that Humans had such an acute sense of smell. Neverhteless, while his daughter's life was on the line, he was not going to question a lead. Without a word, he took the fish skeleton from Janius and examined it himself, both visually, and by scent. Unfortunately, his nose could detect nothing more than Janius'.

"Hmm, I can't quite smell Kaleeth's scent on it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. By the decay, it is a day or two old. Most notably, it doesn't exactly look like it was a creature that killed it. It's possible that it was the decay, but it looks like bones are too clean to be left behind by another creature. It seems like someone cleaned all of the meat off its bones. It is a start, at least. We might be heading down the right path." Zharanthixil commented before tossing aside the skeleton and looking at Janius with a bit of curiosity. "How sensitive is your nose, exactly?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius stood up once he had handed Zharanthixil the fish remains. He couldn't detect anything definite either, but his observations confirmed Janius' suspicions that this was a spot where Kaleeth could have stopped. One thing that Janius didn't notice was how decayed Zharanthixil had observed the fish to be. Janius thought that it would have taken longer to get to that state. He guessed he was still not used to how fast things rotted in this marsh. This was a good thing though, it meant that they were closer than Janius had initially thought.

When Zharanthixil asked Janius about his smell, he blinked a couple of times and swallowed nervously. Fumbling a bit, he made up an excuse on the spot. More of a white lie as it turned out. "Um, more than most humans," he turned to continue to the riverbank, "It's a... I-It's a gift I have. My nose is a bit like a hound's."

Janius hoped that they could continue the search without Zharanthixil probing further. He was so focussed on finding Kaleeth that he hadn't even bothered to hide his lycanthropy, much less think of a cover story for it.

[EliteCommander]

"Hmph, well, if you can find my daughter, maybe I won't have such a strong urge to break it." Zharanthixil commented. Standing back up, he took the lead once more as he walked along the riverbank. He kept an eye out for any tracks or other signs of Kaleeth's presence, but it was not an easy task. There were a few times where they stopped to investigate something interesting, but each time it just ended up being evidence of some kind of animal. It was proving difficult to find anything related to Kaleeth, but there was still the hope that she had passed by there.

With Zharanthixil's constant, stern expression, it was difficult to tell if he still had hope of finding her, but they continued on nonetheless. After another hour, Zharanthixil stopped suddenly in his tracks with his nose to the air. "Wait...do you smell that? I...can't quite tell what it is. It is not like any creature's scent I have encountered before, but it is not exactly like Kaleeth either. Still, it is...familiar. See if you can determine a direction." He said, trying his best to find the source of the faint scent.

[Muttonhawk]

With Zharanthixil's back turned to him, Janius put on a confused expression at his comment. There was of course part of him that was relieved that his cover had worked, but still, that was more of a childish threat than anything. Something that one would say in annoyance rather than hate. Maybe there was more to Zharanthixil's thoughts past his serious face, or perhaps it was simply an Argonian mannerism that Janius didn't pick up on.

More time passed and Janius began to worry that his hopes had risen too high by finding the campsite earlier. By the time Zharanthixil stopped and sniffed the air, Janius didn't expect much more, but his comments held something different. If the Master-Hunter himself couldn't recognise the scent in the air, then it had to be something of note. Janius tried to discern what Zharanthixil had detected, and found that his own mind drew up a blank as well. Perhaps he would know what it was if he saw it, or if got a better whiff of it, but as it stood he was having just as much difficulty as Zharanthixil.

Trying his best with what he was asked, Janius meandered for a moment, noting the direction of the light wind and from which direction the scent was strongest. After less than half a minute, he looked across the river with confidence. "It's coming from the other side of the river." Janius started to wade into the river in preparation for diving forward and swimming across.

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil paused to confirm what Janius said, then jumped into the water to cross once he picked up on it as well. The scent was faint, but definitely familiar. Once he crossed, he detected that it was a trail leading deeper into the marsh, rather than a scent on the wind. What was odd about it, though, was that it reminded him of Kaleeth, but it wasn't exactly right. There was something off about it that he couldn't quite place. Nevertheless, it was the best lead they had, so he was certainly going to follow it. Unlike a normal hunt, the quarry he was currently tracking would be glad to see him, so he had no reason to remain quiet.

"Kaleeth! Are you there, Kaleeth, can you hear me?" He shouted repeatedly as he followed the trail, hoping for some kind of answer.

---

Pain, regret, the mud against her scales, it was all Kaleeth could feel. She laid on the ground in no particular place, for no particular reason but to sob to herself. If there was a way her situation could get worse, she was not aware of it. Even death would be a release for her at this point. She regretted almost everything she had done, everything that brought her to this place. To her, she was stupid, her choices were stupid, and she deserved all the pain she felt. She was lost in the marsh, and didn't really know if she would want to return even if she knew where she was. She questioned whether or not she deserved to go home again.

When the sound of the voice reached her ears, Kaleeth dismissed it at first. She dismissed it as another lie, another trick of her mind that would build up her hopes, only to have them crushed again. However, this time, it not only repeated itself, but it grew louder, closer. Its clarity grew until she could discern something...familiar in the voice. Slowly, she stood up and looked out cautiously into the marsh. "Father?" She shouted in response.

[Muttonhawk]

Although he crossed the river as fast as he could, Zharanthixil and the other hunters were clearly faster swimmers than Janius was. He was the last to emerge from the riverbank and jogged to catch up with the others. Zharanthixil began to shout for Kaleeth-Rei, and Janius would have joined in, but something in the scent they were following wasn't right and he didn't think it was Kaleeth.

That was until the scent became strongeras they approached it. Zharanthixil must have picked up the traces of Kaleeth in the scent earlier, and now Janius could smell it as well. Still, there was something else in the air. It made Janius nervous. He held his hands around his mouth and began to help shouting, "Kaleeth! Where are you!?"

Janius was glad that he did his best to keep his ears open, because in the distance there was the smallest voice. An unmistakable voice. He halted on the spot and scanned the direction the voice came from, his mouth slightly open to hear better. Hearing her voice again, Janius turned his head. "Zharanthixil! This way!" Janius beckoned the hunters with one arm and ran in the direction of Kaleeth's voice.

[EliteCommander]

Zharanthixil was again surprised with how sensitive Janius' senses were, but at the moment, he could not care less. Once they started off in the direction Janius specified, he was able to hear her voice as well. He continued to shout out to her, and she continued to respond, growing louder and louder as they drew closer. Eventually, it was clear enough that he could unmistakably say that it was Kaleeth's. The anger, disappointment, and disdain he had felt towards her when she first left had dissipated over the past few days and was replaced with the desire to simply see her again alive. Now that desire was close to being fulfilled, and there was nothing else on Nirn that mattered more to him.

After a few minutes of calling out to one another, the pair closed in on her. Zharanthixil pushed his way through some thick shrubbery until he finally saw her, though she was in quite a different state as when she left. She was naked, unarmed, and covered in mud from the marsh. Everything about her made it seem like she was in duress, but strangely, there wasn't a hint of injury across her body. Just like the trail they followed to reach her, the scent she carried was not quite her own, though the mud caked on her scales was masking most of it.

"Father, Janius?" Kaleeth said in disbelief. While she certainly felt both relief and joy to see the two, she felt afraid as well. Very afraid. Zharanthixil was too overwhelmed to notice it at the moment, her body language was apprehensive, nervous. She did not move as her father ran to her and hugged her, other than shaking slightly in place.

"Kaleeth, I...I am sorry. For everything I said, I just...I am so glad to see you alive." Zharanthixil said sincerely

"I forgive you, father." Kaleeth responded in an anxious, somewhat distracted tone. Her emotions were washing over her like a flood, so by the time she pulled away from him, she was breathing heavily. There was definitely something wrong with her.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius was only metres behind Zharanthixil as they pushed past the bushes and found Kaleeth standing, covered in mud and fear. Janius smiled in overwhelming relief as soon as he saw her alive, but Zharanthixil was the first to embrace her. Janius stayed back and let them have their moment. He didn't want to give the Master-Hunter any more excuses to be angry with him.

It wasn't until a few moments later that Janius saw just how distressed she was. She was shaking, her breathing was off, and that smell was still in the air. He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, trying not to be too intrusive to Zharanthixil. "Kaleeth, we were so worried. Are you alright?"

[EliteCommander]

"I...I am not hurt, but..." Kaleeth began. Her breathing continued to speed up as she glanced to her father nervously. "I am afraid."

Perceiving himself to be the source of Kaleeth's fear, Zharanthixil placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with as sympathetic of a gaze as possible. After all that had happened over the past few days, he no longer wanted to worry about acting on his hatred. He still did not like Janius or the other outsiders, and he still hated the fact that Kaleeth was associating with them, but right now, he just wanted his family back.

"You don't need to be afraid, Kaleeth. I am not going to hurt you, I'm not going to yell at you. I just want to take you back home. Get you some food, water, and rest. All I want is my daughter back, Kaleeth. I don't want to be angry at you anymore." He said reassuringly.

Kaleeth could not bring herself to make eye contact, so she instead started looking at the ground. She wished she could just turn back time and take back everything she had done, but the growing feeling inside of her was a constant reminder that it wasn't possible. "No, it is not that. I love you, father. It is just that...I just..." She began, but as the fear and other emotions started to overwhelm her, she stopped and closed her eyes. She could bring herself to do little more than sob, and for the moment, was completely unresponsive.

[Muttonhawk]

More than ever, Janius wished he knew more Jel than the scraps he had learned from Kaleeth over the past week. She looked as afraid as she mentioned, but if there was any explanation, it was for her father as far as he could perceive.

After a moment of Kaleeth sobbing to herself, Janius swallowed, unsure, then craned his head down to try and catch Kaleeth's eye. It was at this point that he began to suspect what might have happened. It was farfetched, but the smell made the possibility greater. Janius' expression took on a realisaiton as he glanced to one side, but quickly switched back to a consoling expression and looked Kaleeth in the eyes. "Kaleeth, whatever happened, you don't have to say anything yet. I'm just relieved to see you alive, we both are. Now, please, let's go back to the village. It's safe there."

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth continued to sob for a few moments after Janius finished speaking, then slowly shook her head. "No, it is not safe, it...it..." She tried to find the right words, but just ended up panting more heavily. She felt wrong in every way possible, and she could feel it getting worse. Eventually, it got to the point where she knew she could not bear it for much longer. She had to go, right then.

"I...I'm sorry." She said before suddenly bolting off deeper into the marsh at blinding speeds.

"Kaleeth!" Zharanthixil shouted, immediately running after her. Unfortunately for him, her surprisingly powerful legs were carrying her at speeds he did not think she was capable of. He found himself confused and desperate in equal measure. He did not know what kind of insanity had overtaken her, but he needed to catch her and find out what was wrong. After days of thinking she was dead, she was now right in front of him, and he was not going to let her go. However, it was clear that both she and Janius were gaining ground on him. At this point, he did not care if it was Janius who caught her, he just wanted her to be safe.

[Muttonhawk]

No, it can't be... Janius shot a fearful look at Zharanthixil before they both sprinted after Kaleeth. She was running so fast, faster than Janius could have ever suspected. They ran for so long that eventually Zharanthixil's voice faded behind Janius into the marsh, but he didn't look back. Janius kept running and didn't let Kaleeth gain so much as a yard. She was scared out of her mind, and Janius now believed he knew why. Her speed and endurance confirmed it. He had to stop her and reassure her. "Kaleeth!" Janius shouted between breaths, "Kaleeth, please! You have to stop! You have to let me help you!"

After a short while of running, Janius caught up to the point where he could leap out and grab Kaleeth, but he waited to see if she would stop on her own. "Kaleeth, I know you're scared! I was too! Please, stop!"