The grey wolf landed on her back in the grassy area next to the chapel of Stendarr, she got to her paws and saw the two wolves hit
the same grassy area with their paws gripping soft grass, taking in the musty scent of the damp grass. The black and white wolves
sniffed the air and caught the grey wolf's scent and ran toward it. The white wolf lowered himself to the ground, his haunches in the
air, tail wagging like a dog who wanted to play with another dog.
The black wolf sat on the chapel steps staring at the white wolf with a blank expression. The grey werewolf backed away from him
as if she was scared for her own safety but a small voice inside her head told her that neither the white wolf nor the black wolf
meant her any harm; that they just wanted to play. The grey werewolf didn't know what to do, but if her instincts had taught her
anything over the many years she had them, they told her to accept his playful gesture.
She mimicked his playful stance and grappled with him, rolling in the grass in a tangle of fangs and claws. The black wolf did not
engage in this but instead sat there with a scornful look in his eyes; the other two wolves grappled with each other well into the
night.
The wolves, too exhausted to continue playing any longer, lay down on either the grassy area behind a stone wall on the church east
side of the church or on the stone steps with one paw touching the grass and slept.
The sun shone through the stained glass windows blinding Hasir who stretched and yawned. He felt groggy as his feet seemed to
move toward the eldery Argonian who lay near the low stone wall situation near the end of the area. Hasir lent down, taking
Ocheeva's hand-when she had ceased stretching and looked at the male Argonian smiling,
"Morning argonian." She said, yawning. She sat up and stared at Hasir's perplexed expression, "Why are you looking at me like
that?" She asked
The Argonian twisted his hands together; working out how to put his thoughts into words,
"Just who was that grey werewolf I saw before the beast took over my mind?" He asked, staring confusedly at Ocheeva
Ocheeva knew this was going to come up sooner or later; she slapped a palm to her forehead,
"Xuth, I neglected to tell you about what the rabid man really was."
Hasir smiled and shook his head,
"Erm... you've already told me about that. remember?"
Ocheeva nodded as she got to her feet, walked to the chapel steps and sat down. She patted the open bit of step next to her;
inviting Hasir to sit down, which he did, promptly recieving a sharp elbow to the chest,
"Of course I remember you foolish reptile, what do you think I am? a senile old saxhleel?" At this, both Ocheeva and Hasir burst
out laughing.
Ocheeva started back toward the Cheydinhal sanctuary when Hasir called out from behiind her,
"Hey, Ocheeva, can I ask you something?"
She turned around looking at him, her mouth half open,
"Sure, what is it?"
Hasir scratched his neck; a sheepish look stretching across his face,
"Erm... well, actually, there are two questions." He sat, moving over to the low half wall and sat on it. "My first question is: how
did you find out about Hircine and my second question is: Why did he give you the Omega rank?"
Ocheeva looked at him, her face a mask of confusion,
"Well, I... that is a long story." She said, eyes fixed on the winding cobblestone street.
Hasir chuckled, leaping off of the wall like some great gymnast and landed in the grass; kicking up dust in the process,
"Well, we have nowhere to go, tell me." He said as he sat in the grass, arms around his knees like a child eager to hear one of his
parent's stories.
Ocheeva strode over the chapel steps, sat down looking fiercely at Hasir,
"Hasir, I-" She paused, trying to remember her story, "I already told you about the mad dunmer infecting me with lycanthropy, so, I
guess the rest is self-explanatory." Hasir shrugged and shook his head. Ocheeva shrugged her shoulders and sighed again, "well, I
guess I first found out the evening before my first transformation, Hircine brought me into his hunting grounds,. When I was in the
realm of the wolflord, he told me the tale of a khajiit with fur black as night."
Hasir looked at Ocheeva and asked who this black khajiit was. She said the wolflord did not tell her the name and told the Argonian
of how Hircine only referred to him as the shadow of Molag Bal. Ocheeva told him she did not know how he came by that nickname,
but did know he was sent to Tamriel to deprive werrewolves of natture and prey because they stole his hopes of bloodline purity.
Ocheeva took a shaky breath and continued her tale,
"All that changed, however when an event happened that changed them forever." She eyed him suspiciously, "have you ever heard
of something called forbidden love?" Hasir quickly shook his head, eyes still locked onto Ocheeva's. "Well that's what the event was
called. It transpired some time ago when an Aldmer resident of the Summerset Isles who was infected by Porphoric Hemophelia
married one of Hircine's wolves, an Argonian named Norg-Fahnik. It means forbidden fate in our native tongue. She said, answering
Hasir's raised eyebrow. "Molag Bal viewed that mating as vahat, unclean, and thereby sent the khajiit, his 'shadow' to purge Tamriel
of what he called flea ridden dogs.
Hasir looked shocked at this. She looked into those blue eyes,
"He is not above killing his own servants, especially Graymour's descendants."
Hasiir looked at the abandoned house's door with a blank expression on his face,
"What happened to the werewolves then?" Ocheeva stayed silent for a few minutes; looking at the chapel steps sorting out the
thoughts in her mind. She had many answers to give the Argonian, but knew she had to take things one step, one answer at a time,
"Hasir... Molag Bal punished our kind perhaps worst of all, remember me telling you that they tainted the pure blooded vampires he
had created? Well, like dead leaves on a otherwise healthy trees, he knew they had to be cut away to preserve the purity of that
which he had created."
He looked at her and slammed his tail down hard in the grass,
"For Hircine's sake, just get to the fucking point, will you?" He temper started to rise. It cooled immediately when he saw Ocheeva's
pained expression; almost as if she was trying to remember something that was trying to elude her,
"Sssorry for getting upset, I, er, meant to say you said that Molag Bal cursed his own people but what about the Argonian what
happened to him?" He sat in the grass, waiting for Ocheeva to speak. She did speak but not on the subject Hasir wanted her to
touch on, "You asked me if Hircine put me in the Omega rank of his pack."
She got up and paced the grass between Hasir and the chapel twisting her clawed hands together,
"When Hircine assigned pack orders, I didn't get alpha rank because there were already several more wolves properly suited to that
position, moreso than I." She reached the chapel steps, putting her head in her hands." She could hear grass being trodden
underfoot as the younger Argonian sat down next to her and put an arm around her, "Come on, you can tell me, what rank did you
get?" Ocheeva looked up at him as he wiped a tear from her eye, "I promise I won't laugh."
Ocheeva took a deep shaky breath,
"Ok, Hasir, but if you laugh-" She said, threateningly. Hasir told her he wouldn't and to solidify the point, he mimed zipping his
mouth shut and throwing away the key, he then gestured for her to continue, "Ok, then if you insist, I was given the rank of Omega
of the pack." It became so quiet then that the wind could be heard rushing passed the grass which bent in its direction. She
expected the Argonian to laugh. He didn't but stared at her, nonplused.
Ocheeva stood up and took a deep sigh
"Hasir... an omega is the lowest of the pack. They are usually the last to eat after the two alphas and other members of the pack,
which is a family of sorts." She said as Hasir gaped at her. Ocheeva told him also that an omega wolf also is forbidden to hunt with
the other wolves and must look after the pups when the other members of the pack go on a hunt."
She stood up, walked across the grass to the abandoned house, turned the knob and disappeared inside. Where she was going
though, Hasir did not know.
