Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros laughed too at the thought of Ahnasha setting roots. He conceded the point with a tilt of his head.

The turn to Sabine made Fendros smile somberly. "It's still somehow hard to think of her as anything but the quiet little alchemist following along our tracks. But, I can say she's already an amazing woman, thanks in no small part to your love, Meesei. I hope Ahna and I can be as successful a guardian as you were."

He craned his head forward. "I cannot remember if she said as much or if I simply am guessing, but her and Karl may be planning on having a child now that peace is here. That child will grow up hearing stories about you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, Rhazii and Julan had smiles once the tears of relief had abated," Fendros recalled. "I can understand, though before then I had not put in my mind that they were scared for the worst."

He exhaled and cast his eyes down.

"But the future...yes, well, Ahna and I had spoken hopefully of it during the war. Now we shall see how much of it comes true." He smiled. "We will be seeing firstly to Rhazii's future. We'll keep teaching him, though he will need a tutor. Not just because of General Ri'vashi's sacrifice. The opportunities for a warrior in the next decade...I would rather not those be the only opportunities my son has."

He clasped his hands together.

"As for Ahna and I. We have many years together now. I do not intend to waste them." He looked at Meesei. "I will be busy, but we shall have more time together to spend peacefully. I want to build a home with Ahnasha. I want to experience passions with her, the activities that fascinate us. I want to hunt with her and travel with her and...all we can." He chuckled. "And perhaps open a hunting supply store in Skyrim to throw off her wonderful family, we'll see. I hope my family can get closer to her and Rhazii as well."

Finally, Fendros looked up into the canopy.

"The rest of the pack remains my family too. Even Sabine, after her independence. They are my best friends. If we can live a life we can be proud of, if we can provide for our children, I would call that a good future."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The tears ran down Fendros' smiling face so fast that he only now thought to wipe them off with his forearm. That was when he remembered to put away his weapon. The entire situation had him feeling clumsy. Not a desired impression he wished to give as the new champion. But Meesei remained a friend and packmate. He gave up and sat down mext to her, holding up his knees with his elbows.

"I won't pretend it'll be any easier," Fendros responded. "I won't let you shirk the credit you are due, however. You saved us. You saved all our lives. Over and again." He looked at the grass in front of him. "And those you saved, I'll be relying on their help. We shall do our best."

Fendros glanced out of the corner of his eye. "How much do you know about what happened after you...well, after you cast your final spell in the battle?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros could not call himself informed enough to truly understand what Meesei had done. However, he started to lower his guard. He did know Meesei well enough to feel her reassurance.

"This...has me at a loss." Fendros' sword loosened in his hand. "This past few days, you were dead."

All of a sudden, the weight of it all pressed against Fendros' eyes. He could not stop two large tears running down from his eyes at once. He tried to breathe in and found himself shaking. He breathed a laugh. "You would think I should be used to seeing you return from certain death by now."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros brought his sword up the instant the werewolf appeared. He noticed his limbs were slower to do so than usual. But, Meesei's appearance made him lower his guard, instead settling into a kind of stunned silence.

He did not have a quip to retort with. His mouth instead hung open for a moment. "...Meesei?" Was all he could muster before he felt his eyes starting to well up. "How could...? What is the meaning of this?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros' life was not one free of particularly vivid dreams. Even as far as a lycanthropic nightmares took him, his own experiences filled his nights with strong recollections of terrible moments. Even the one he found himself in now.

Only this was not like those dreams. It was still. Peaceful, even. And he felt an conscious awareness the likes of which was usually overpowered by dreaming.

He nudged at the werewolf corpse with his boot. It was heavy and dead. He felt his face and found his facial hair and marks of age missing. He was at a loss. A dreadful loss missing his pack.

And the urge was there, guiding his eyes and his feet. He found his sword on the ground nearby. His family sword he had given Rhazii to take care of. Holding it tightly, he cautiously headed into the forest.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

So, the more I think about tying up loose ends, the more I think I can just leave most of them for a gathered epilogue. We can do any scenes you would like but I don't have any more to add right now.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros' relief at the crowd's response was quickly overtaken by the infectiousness of their elation. He couldn’t help but purse his lips and breathe carefully to stop himself laughing. These people, his people, could finally be happy.

The chanting that followed was less than expected, though Fendros could not think how to accept it. A subconscious desire made its familiar presence known in Fendros' mind. It knew how to call back to the crowd. He glanced to his ring, nodded to himself, and let his transformation quickly take hold.

Fendros grew taller than he expected, even on the outcrop, as his fur grew and his face stretched to that of a werewolf. He spread his arms and let out a victorious roar up at the distant cave ceiling.

Godhunter. Fendros had changed one more time.

Halo: Aegis Team

Yalu 'Suumko

Those are many civilian buildings going up, Yalu thought to himself. The first line of them had little warning. Would the others have time to get out of the line of fire?

There was no time to act on it now. Enemy aircraft were showing up on his motion sensor before his eyes caught them through the poor visibility. They could see him and his wingmates. Yalu dove to gain speed and lined up a close shot on one banshee to the left. A few plasma bolts flew out to force evasion. The enemy rolled to one side -- a manoeuvre not easily interrupted. Yalu mouthed a prayer and lead a fuel rod into its path.

The sky lit up for a second. Yalu figured something out.

"Air, pull back towards the blockade runner," Yalu said over comms. "Do not cover me."

It was a relatively straight path to the kaidon's palace from the breach in the wall. A wide, main parade street at that. Yalu swung around and dove for the street level at full boost, trailing lines of bright plasma and several enemy banshees behind him. He levelled roughly thirty metres from the ground and kept going at full speed. He would be below the anti-air batteries and very much in view of any civilians left in the area. Hopefully his risky flight path would give them notice enough to evacuate under the pretence of leading the enemy away.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm not sure I can remember enough loose ends to tie up to make 8.5k, Catharyn :P

Anyway, it's late here, but I wanted to punch out that speech. I think it covers the essentials.