Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With Ahnasha's reassurance, and Fendros holding the sword out just a little further to encourage him, Rhazii carefully took it in both hands. When his eyes turned up to Fendros and Ahnasha, they could both see the beginnings of tears that he was clearly holding back. He pulled the sword two inches from its old, travel-worn scabbard in an effort to distract himself. It was not by any practical sense a special sword for the likes of his pack. Finely made steel, to be sure, but when compared to the equipment they were headed into battle with, it was a mantlepiece ornament.

The symbol of it caused a tear to fall from Rhazii's cheek. He might be the next in line to do all that his father did and more. He did not feel ready.

"Here," Fendros said, drawing his son's attention. "The worst rarely happens. But, should it occur, know you can take on anything in the world. We are proud of the young man you have grown into. You will surpass us. You and your brother and sister."

Rhazii's eyes scrunched closed. Fendros took his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. He soon let go of one side and invited Ahnasha into the hug.

Janius roughly lifted the visor from his dragonbone helmet before Julan had said a word, revealing his wolfish head with the fur depressed into the shape of the helmet's interior. His ears perked and he let out a low, rumbling laugh. "No steel or metal will have an easy time of breaking this. And it does not dent either. Want to touch it?" He offered his opposite hand and held the affixed axe behind him.

When Janius approached further, Janius held his head lower, kneeling down. "How are you feeling, son?" he asked.

Narsi was on the defensive the entire time, arms firmly crossed and eyes avoiding Lorag's. "...Mm," she responded, surprisingly nervous. She mumbled something under her breath. Lorag was barely able to hear some of the words. "...Y' said y'd teach me. C'm back alive."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros nodded, just as intrigued as Ahnasha was. "You've done a great job, forgemaster. I wish I could express my gratitude more, but beyond Ahna's jealousy here, I will have to settle for slaying our enemies with it." He laughed and held the blade out to one side, testing its weight. "I could give it some easy name like 'Vile's Thorn' or 'Banisher', but I feel a better name will come about in its first battle. Thank you again." He took the forgemaster's hand in a firm, appreciative handshake.

Leaps' appearance drew a broad grin from Fendros and Janius both, though Fendros was in a better position to comment. "Look at you! All dressed up." He thanked the Bosmer similarly to the forgemaster. "You have done a job I did not think possible."

"Leaps-On-Daedra!" Janius called through his snout, giving Leaps a pat on his armoured head.

Fendros turned rather than immediately mounting up. "Before we go," he smiled and beckoned Rhazii forward. "Come here, little one."

Rhazii suddenly grew nervous from the attention. He peeked side to side and then paced forward.

Fendros, sheathed the dragon bone sword, unfastened his family sword from his belt, and then held it out by the scabbard. "It's may be small for your hands, but I need you to take care of this while we're away. It has a lot of history. It's part of who we are as Avaruls."

Rhazii hesitated as if he was afraid to take it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Narsi, with her arms crossed, scoffed at Julan and Rhazii's game. "I don't care which one of them makes 'em come back. They'd better come back either way."

Narsi's grumpy tone belied what they were all worried about in the first place. Rhazii had no response except to curl in his lips and cross his own arms.

When the forgemaster presented the sword, Fendros shouldered his bow to grant his full attention. He reverently pulled the weapon from its scabbard with a dull scrape and held it up vertically. His eyes transfixed on the middle of the blade with a deep fascination.

"How did you do this?" Fendros asked rhetorically. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen." After a short moment testing the sword's weight in his hand, Fendros lowered his eyes to the Nord that made it. "You honour me with this creation, forge master. Does it have a name?"

Fendros' other hand was on his family sword at his waist. He had an idea for what to do with it already.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was a giddiness in the air for everyone, and not just in the pack. The upcoming mission made sure of that at the least. However, the new equipment left a jump in the pack in particular. The way they felt, the way people looked at them, the way they moved in their hopefully final suits of sour in their lives -- it made them feel all powerful.

Fendros stepped up in his Dunmer form, though he could have been mistaken for some sort of small humanoid dragon, clad head to toe in broad rows of near-impervious grey and blue scales. Behind his full helmet he could hear and see just as effectively as if his head was bare, and better than before at a distance. His upper body had segments lightly shimmering with a green sheen as he tested the draw of an unusually heavy ebony bow. With the special arrows he requested and the impossible draw weight in his arms, he doubted there was anything he could see that he could not wound.

Janius stepped up, heralding his presence in his werewolf form by slamming a curious large gauntlet made from dragonbone on the ground. Protruding from its fully hand-covering design was a huge axe blade aligned with the point of where his claws would normally be. The rest of his dragonbone plate held a similarly terrifying visage to Meesei's, if more likely to cut a swathe through ranks of enemy daedra than to be a storm of magic. His enchantments made him fast and resistant to whatever might come his way. A hammer to the anvil that was his wife Kaleeth-Rei.

The least physically imposing of them all was hardly the least noticed. Sabine emerged with a functional design for her dragonscale armour. In her Breton form, she waylaid all pushes for extravagance and replaced it with as much alchemical equipment and enchantment as she could practically manage on the battlefield. The air silently thrummed with precharged magical power that could turn into virtually anything. And in both hands was her primary weapon: The Staff of Magnus.

"Look closely, siblings," Rhazii said. "That's why they'll come back."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine nodded. "I promise I will. And I do want to help." She stepped back and held Meesei by the upper arms. "I want you to be there as well."

Aware of the time they had left, Sabine looked to the exit as well. She took a long breath in through her nose. "If there is nothing else, I should get ready," she said sadly.

---

Fendros stifled a laugh at Ahnasha's answer. "Maybe we should," he said, stepping up and taking her hand with a smile on his face. "But first..."

He took Ahnasha's shoulder and kissed her one more time for a moment neither of them hurried, and then motioned to leave with her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

This was not the first time Meesei had expressed similar sentiments to Sabine. But each time brought tears to her eyes, and now was no exception.

"I will remember that," Sabine managed to say, before throwing her arms around Meesei and hugging her tightly. "That is what you do. Improve everyone's lives. I have always wanted to be like you in that way."

---

Fendros guffawed louder than he expected to. "Where have I heard that before?" he laughed, though he quickly returned Ahnasha's embrace and lowered his voice. "Ahna, I could not imagine doing half the things I do without you by my side. I don't care if either of us becomes champion. As long as we can do it together."

He kissed her gently and deeply. The moment lasted long enough for Fendros to have a different look on his face when they pulled away.

"Can I ask what new tricks you have learned? Or...will I have to wait?" he asked suggestively.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The red flush on Sabine's face had begun to fade by the time she was addressed. She cleared her throat and held a hand against the side of her neck awkwardly. "I understand," she said. "It was just a surprise."

In spite of the repeated praise, Sabine was keen to move on.

"Well, I still would not be here without you," she responded. "You already know how grateful I am."

---

Fendros squeezed Ahnasha's hand. "This is all sounding like you are at your most powerful now." He raised his brow. "But you know I am afraid as well. But more than that, I'm confident in us. Unless there is something else, that might be easier to focus on."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise barely retained her bearings enough to catch her hand on the chair she had been run into. She did give Sabine a look with the side of her eye, but ultimately she let herself fall into the moment without confirming whether they had been taken out of time.

All the same, it was possibly the last time they would have such a moment together.

Lunise put on a strong, if struggling face in response to Meesei's tears. She held her by the shoulders and spoke clearly, with a quiver to her voice. "Thank you, Meesei. I love you. I will see you on the other side. Wherever that may be."

---

After Fendros realised the subtle signs, he waited for his moment. Instead of getting up or encouraging Ahnasha's mischief, he gently cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"Ahna," he said sweetly with a small smile. "Something else is bothering you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh..." Sabine wished she could interpret Meesei's friendly offer without the risks of their mission, but the ominous implications echoed in her response. "Thank you. That is kind. I should...I should be interested to see what they say."

Ever mindful, Lunise looked up from the last knots and ties in her uniform with a smile. "And when you have made your interpretations, Sabine, I am sure Meesei should be just as interested in your notes."

Sabine returned the smile. Resolved, she gave a firm nod.

---

Fendros was only just able to hide the rushing realisation up the sides of his face. He breathed out a soft laugh and looked at Ahnasha from the side of his eye.

"What, for all to see and hear?" He asked. "Or have you figured out that trick with invisibility magic you joked about?"

He was sure today would be a good day either way.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Dew

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