Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06

"No, but once your in you can just clear your throat and wait down stairs like a gentleman."

He smirked and saluted. "Aye, aye. See you 'round."

Ina waited until she heard the sound of the door being softly closed then turned to Feric. "Well...that was mildly annoying...but it's a new lead. At least I have something more than D to give Des. Hey, D for Des, hehe, think she did it?" Feric's expression remained neutral. "That was a joke." Still neutral. "Do we need to talk about this?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Well...we're up, and dawn will be along shortly...let's go downstairs and talk."

A few minutes later he had the fire going and she had come back downstairs with a large bowl of random food items. He cocked a brow at her from the fireplace and she just shrugged back. "I suck at cooking." She really did. Balanced on top of the pile of bread and fruit was another bowl, one full of a wet flour paste. There was one thing she could usually make without ruining. She joined him at the fire and shuffled closer with the smaller bowl, pulling out an almost round and very thin stone plate attached to a bone handle. He picked out an apple from the bowl and reclined next to her to watch her work.

"Why do you bother putting it over the fire? Couldn't you just use your own?" He noted as she slid the heated stone back out from under the coals where it had been sitting as they silently watched it.

"The fire gives it the right flavor. My fire doesn't taste like anything."

"Cinnamon."

"What?" She blinked at him, not sure if he'd just said what she thought he said. He swallowed another bite of apple before answering.

"Cinnamon. It tastes like cinnamon."

She stared. "Cinnamon." He nodded. "My...are you saying my fire is cinnamon flavored?"

He shrugged. "You are...I think part of that is the fire."

She gave him a lopsided gin, the stone momentarily forgotten. "You think I taste like cinnamon."

"You do."

She laughed. "Ok...I have never meant anything more than I mean this: you say the absolutely best things. Ever." She turned away, shaking her head and chuckling over the pan as she poured out a portion of the thin batter working it over the hot stone with the tips of her fingers. "Cinnamon."

"I'm serious." he muttered through another bite of apple.

"I know. That's what makes it so great. No one has ever told me I had a flavor before though, so it might be in your head."

"No. Definitely cinnamon. I have a better sense of smell than most, clearly." She looked up and grinned at him again before tossing a floppy disk of cooked batter onto his lap. He lifted it and looked at it skeptically.

"Just eat a bit, pretend you like it, and chuck the rest when I'm not looking." He smirked and tore off a piece and chewed it thoughtfully.

"Is it supposed to be this chewy?"

She reached over and tore her own piece off to try. "No, it should be chewier...but I don't have the right ingredients, so I'm improvising. It's close enough though." He shrugged and continued to eat it without comment as she made another.

"So, Desdemona?" He asked after they were both settled on the pillows by the fire, her sitting cross-legged and he still reclining nearby.

Ina shrugged. "She is every bit as shifty as your gut is telling you, she is one of the best liars I have ever met, and I'm ninety percent sure it's because at some point she sold her soul to someone for a hot meal and nice dress," She grinned, and chuckled, "but she's My soulless hustler, and she is most definitely on our side. Or, at least, whatever side I'm on. And it goes both ways. Honestly...we don't always agree on how to handle something, and we can get...well I guess catty is word," she paused to wink, "no offense. We rarely see eye to eye on anything of a moral or philosophical nature...but we have a history that goes so far beyond that...so in the end it doesn't matter.

"It's like this, sometimes when you go to war with someone, and you've fought together, side by side, for long enough, and when you've had to trust your lives to them over and over...well, there's very little that can break a bond and a trust like that."

"You fought in a war with her?" Feric was surprised by that. Not that he doubted Ina, but he didn't see Desdemona as a soldier...of any kind. Ina would certainly make an excellent scout, at the very least.

"Pretty much. And it was more or less Us versus Everyone." He watched her face darken slightly as she paused. "I never really mentioned it...but I was involved with some pretty heavy stuff back home. Morrowind is a rough place...but over the years it had gotten worse...there was a poison at the heart of it....literally at the heart of it. But there was also a prophesy that a hero, one belonging to Azura, would remove it. That Neverar did come, shockingly, and she was successful...also shockingly. I...well, Des and I helped. The Neverar was Des's actual sister, you see. They shared a mother...though they were so different from one another, personality wise." She smiled weakly at him, "Emily was so shy, sweet, and desperate to help people, and completely afraid of everything."

She chuckled and looked back into the fire. "Even the bloody scrib made her nervous. She thought they were 'creepy.' One moment she was squealing because she woke up with an undersize kwama on her leg, and then she'd waltzed into a demon god's house, with a smile and a wave, as if it weren't any more arduous then popping out to chat with a neighbor. She told me after that she had tried to talk him, the insane Demon-God that is, out of world domination...can you imagine? Anyway...that's all beside the point. The point is Des is ok. Your instincts are right, and I can guess what they are...but in this case, I'd hand my own child over to her for safe keeping. Truly. Believe me when I say I would never put you or the others into hands I wouldn't trust like that."

He sighed and nodded. He did believe her, naturally. Her instincts were good too...but he couldn't help but worry. "I'm still going to be wary. I trust you, but I can't help that."

"Sure, that's what instincts are for. Can't hurt, and I won't take it personally."

He nodded again, though with more satisfaction. That was what he was hoping to hear from her. He expected it...but it was still good to hear it confirmed.

"I don't suppose we can catch that khajiit friend of hers before he leaves today, do you?"

"Dar'basha?"

"Yes, something that thief said gave me an idea." It had reminded him of his discomfort with the khajiit and made him realize why. There was always at least on khajiit on each hunt, no matter how small the group...and often times more than that. He narrowed his eyes at the fire as he continued to sift through the various opportunities this information could provide...and if they had a khajiit working to help them...

She chuckled, pulling him from his thoughts, and gave him a sideways grin. "I thought I saw the wheels turning earlier. You know, it's so sexy when you plot." She rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled towards him. Her eyes darkened as she drew close enough to run her lips lightly over his jaw line. "I don't suppose holding a man at knife point counts toward our usual sex to violence ratio...you know, on top of your little bar room scuffle?"

He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer until her body was leaning against him. He loved the way she fit into him like that. He inhaled her scent, held it for one long, happy moment, then sighed heavily. "I really would like to find him before he leaves." She had been kissing her way down his neck, and bit him on the collar when he spoke, making him wince and chuckle at the same time.

She made an unhappy sound and dropped her head to his shoulder with a rough bump.

"I thought you were supposed to be the chew toy in this arrangement?" He offered, smiling into her hair.

His grin widened as he felt her begin to shudder with silent laughter.

"Sorry stud, but I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?" she murmured against his shoulder.

"I Will get even." He whispered against her ear, his voice thick with the promise. He felt her let out a shudder of another kind.

"Me-ow."

**

They'd caught up with Des's Khajiit and Feric was able to discuss with him the possibility of his 'looking for work' with a group of hunters, or at least sounding out the Khajiit community in the area, where he would have better luck than most outsiders, even if he wasn't local. He agreed it was a sound plan, as did Des when they met up with her and...eventually, left the city with her.

Inanna had been surprised. Desdemona had some ideas about setting up the ruins, self defense and what not, and after a brief conversation Feric had offered for her to accompany them back so that she could help Inanna put her ideas to work.

She wasn't worried, mind, she did trust her...it was just surprising after he'd expressed his concern. She thought that had meant, 'I'll let her help, but we're keeping her at arms length.' Instead here they were in one of the great halls setting up a summoning spell in the middle of the great hall, with his kid, among others, watching curiously.

She glanced over at Des who was examining her inscriptions for accuracy, pausing to lick her thumb and clean a smudge off the edge of the chalk figure in front of her. Des felt eyes on her and glanced back. "So, do you think they'll go for it?" She asked with a curious head tilt.

Inanna shrugged. "Knowing them, probably not, but it's worth a try." They were planning on summoning the whole cavalcade of ancestral guardians linked to Inanna, some of which were quite powerful, in the hopes that they might, perhaps, consider playing guard dogs in the ruin for a spell. It was unlikely. There were one or two she could imagine being hesitant but possibly willing, but for the most part it was just going to be her getting her ear chewed off for even asking such a thing.

They'd done it before...but that was back in Morrowind, and for the sake of the tribe and for their family. That was the key for Inanna. She had a plan she hoped would make them see past the obvious wrongness of the request. Family...that was the key. Ashlanders were generally suckers for it. Of course her plan might just make it worse...but a girl had to do what a girl had to do, and she was just going to have to take that chance.

"What is it you're doing again exactly?" Ambrose asked squatting nearby and watching fascinated as Inanna carefully finished drawing out the last Daedric symbol around the outside of the massive circle.

"We're creating a summoning circle." Des answered from inside the circle where she was doing similar work. "When you create one of these, you have to be careful to create two separate circles, one, the inside circle is the actual summoning spell, the second, the one Inanna is creating, is the far more important one, the spell of binding. You would not believe how many idiot apprentices get themselves killed summoning creatures just because they failed to create a solid binding. Safety first children." She looked up and grinned at Ambrose and Aina who were both watching with interest. Inanna noted that Lucas and Mori were hovering farther away.

"Shadow, can you grab me those tallow candles I left with my bag...actually would you just get the whole bag for me?" He quirked a brow at her, but did it anyway without complaint, leaving Mori alone. "Hey, Ginger...yes you, come here." Mori looked unimpressed.

"Ginger?"

"I'm sorry, is you hair not a frizzy orange horror?"

"No. It's cute."

Inanna smirked. "I stand corrected. Now really, come here, I want to show you something." Ina looked over her shoulder at the other two. "Des, why don't you show these two what you're doing. Explain how the summoning works. I'm not as good at exposition."

Mori joined her and Ina waited until everyone else was out of ear shot before she began speaking. "You heard what we're doing?"

"Yeah."

"You know why we asked those two to come help and watch?"

"'Cause they're suck ups?"

Ina's lip twitched, but she managed to still it quickly enough to hide the smile. "Because they have very strong magica. They have deep wells...deeper than mine or anyone else's in this room. That's the direction their potential lay in, one of their greatest assets and strengths...besides general personality and what not. If we're talking numbers...they should bet on magic. Give me your hand."

Mori didn't like being bossed around, which was part of why Ina did it so often with her now, but her curiosity was clearly piqued and she willingly gave her hand over for inspection. "Relax, open up your mind a little...I'm going to read you."

"Like you did with them?"

"Just so."

She shrugged and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, closing her eyes. Ina was surprised at how easily she did it. She was capable of a great deal of control it seemed, over herself and her emotions. Especially for one so young.

Ina opened her mind and will to the girl, letting it drift toward her, feeling out the shape of her essence, her will. She was a little bit surprised by the darkness she saw there. Not shocked, as she had certainly expected some, but there was more than she'd counted on.

The images were fleeting and indistinct, which meant her fate was vague, but either way there would be death and destruction...there had been in her past, and it was reflected in her future. She would die, or she would become death. Inanna pulled herself back a little and realized Mori was staring intently back at her. She wondered if the girl was sensing these things as well. Inanna smiled faintly. "You were born under the sign of the lover."

The girl's lip twisted up in disgust, which caused Inanna to chuckle. She didn't grow completely serious, but she lowered her voice even more. "You have what we call, a 'killer instinct', not surprising for a lioness, but it is much stronger and deeper in you. You aren't a fighter...necessarily, not a warrior, though you can fight when you need to. You share your people's abilities, and with practice and care could learn to use magic as a useful aid and tool...but what you really have...is the darkness."

Mori frowned slightly, but more in thought than confusion or anger. "I...I have it...or it has me?" She asked softly. Inanna felt her gut twist. How could one so young...

"It could go either way." she finally whispered.

Mori seemed to read the thought in her eyes and smirked. "I know all about darkness. I don't suppose I need to remind you of what happened to my entire family...to my pride? I..." her smirk fell, "I have nightmares..."

The darkness receded and Ina was suddenly holding the hand of a very young, very frightened girl. "No, you don't need to remind me. What you do need to do is decide which way it's going to go."

"That's it? I can't get away from it? I thought...maybe..."

"Doesn't look that way. But is that really what you want?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

She released her hand and straightened. "Well, there's still time to figure it out. Until then we'll just have to work on keeping that energy focused. It's better to learn to use it instead of letting it control you."

Her smirk returned. "That what you do?"

"Of course." She said with absolute seriousness. "That's the only thing to do. Or it will consume you."

A flash of anger flickered across Mori's face and she crossed her arms and jutted out her chin, becoming the stubborn, not quite adolescent girl she'd been before the conversation had happened. Ina grinned and pulled out her knife. She pointed it to the ruin she'd drawn.

"Check this out. This is My darkness." She cut her finger, deeply, and held the tip just over one of the chalk lines, held her breath, and focused hard, pulling her will into that first drop as it pulled from her skin and fell to the floor. She could almost feel the impact the drop made, and she definitely felt the surge of raw energy as her blood did its thing. She opened her eyes and murmured a few Daedric words. Mori gasped as the ruin lit up, a bright, burning red. It pulsed with a life of its own. Inanna snapped her hand out and caught Mori's by the wrist to keep her from touching it. "You don't want to do that, it could smudge and break the binding.

"What is it?" Ambrose asked, his attention pulled away from his lesson by the glowing ruin.

"Blood magic." Des offered softly. "Still got it, I see."

"Unfortunately it's not something one can get rid of."

"Damn handy though. You have to admit."

She only nodded and continued to do the same which each symbol until the entire thing was illuminated. She approached the others finally and turned to stand with them, looking at it. "I wouldn't normally use that sort of magic, but I'm not much of a summoner and the beings I plan on summoning would respond better if they recognize me right away. This would be too difficult a thing without it."

"There's nothing wrong with it, Ina. You don't need to justify it." Des defended. "I'd be using it all the time if I had the ability."

"Yeah, well, that's you sugar. Alright kiddies, let's take five, I have to get my mojo going before we start this thing. Oh, there you are shadow...can you set those up, one at each directional point? Yeah, perfect."

Mori sidled up to her and nodded to the circle. "What's so dark about blood magic?"

Ina glanced down at her out of the corner of her eye. "It's Daedric. Only those with the blood of a Daedra can do it. Aedra too I've heard, but it's not something the Aedra commonly practice."

"What are Aedra?

"The Nine, the gods the imperial follow."

"They aren't just imperial. We follow Kynareth and she is one of The Nine."

"I stand corrected once more."

Mori smirked and Ina smirked back. "I get what you mean though. So, does that mean we can do it too? Is that why you showed us?"

"Just because you worship a Deadra or Aedra doesn't mean their blood is in you."

"But it is."

Ina's breathing stopped short, "How do you mean?"

"We are of the blood of Kynareth. My parents always told me that. Hey, Guys, did your parents tell you we're of the blood of Kyn?"

Three voices responded with an unhesitating "Yes."

"We're the children of Kynareth, that's what we've always called ourselves to my knowledge." Aina offered. Ambrose nodded.

"The legend, which is probably metaphorical, is that Kynareth fell in love with a lion and our people were the result...but there are such stories all over Tamriel. I think the true history is probably much more complicated and that we were created with a specific thought or purpose in mind...but the one thing everyone seems sure of is that our blood is infused with that of our Lady's, and that this is what gives us our ability to heal and to transform."

Inanna looked up to see Des giving her a look that said, yes indeedy, I am thinking exactly what you're thinking.

"Damn." She shook her head in amazement.

"I know." Des agreed.

"What? What is it?" Lucas asked, looking somewhat alarmed.

"Relax luv...it's nothing imminent...but...I think—"

"—we just figured out the 'why'."

Inanna cast a dark look in Des's direction. "I had that one, thanks." Des only gave her a cheeky grin.

"And what is this why exactly?" Aina pressed.

Both Ina and Des opened their mouths to speak, but it wasn't their voice that answered. "The why is our blood. We're being hunted for our blood. If it's like Inanna's then it can be used for powerful magic."

Mori didn't really look up at her for approval, but Ina did catch her eyes flickering to hers in a lighting fast, almost reflexive, movement, and Inanna didn't quite beam proudly back at her, but she did return the flicker and straighten her back with a serene air.