Post by Natasha Ebonlocke on Jan 6, 2021 11:46:15 GMT -5
Stifling. Stuffy. Humid. Smells awful. Can’t hardly breathe...
Natasha Ebonlocke’s soft steps echoed along the desolate little valley through which she strode. The enclosed mountain pass was barren, little more than rock and the occasional scraggly tree. The pass was, at least, illuminated by the moon and stars, though it shone upon nothing one would particularly care to see. Someone had strung up old corpses by the neck from the few trees there were – or had these men been alive when this happened? Either way, they appeared to have been hanging for quite a long time from a few of the occasional old trees that happened to grow, twisted and tough and possessing knotholes in the patterns of ghostly faces, from the rare patches of dirt among the rock. There was nothing else to see, other than the old, worn road through the lifeless pass.
Wish I could breathe!
Nat strode alone, shuddering as she passed any tree that might have a corpse or two dangling from it, averting her eyes and deciding not to look. She scurried along like the mouse she was – she smiled faintly at that thought – toward her ultimate goal. Power. A destination that held untold power. Something she’d been warned since she first started learning magic that she should avoid seeking, yet, surely she’d grown enough in her magic after the war against the Burning Legion and her work in the Shadowlands that she could manage this… right? She put her hand over her heart, smiling a little, feeling alive in that moment as she felt her heart race. She’d never have even considered going to this terrifying place to seek more power before meeting her new friends…
Onward she scurried, seldom looking up, panting for air. The stuffy pass didn’t have a single breeze, and the air was thick enough one might jab it with a fork and have a bite.
Gosh, it’s horrible here…
Nat tried not to think about where she was. Instead, she focused on where she was going. The power to be had at her destination made all this worth it. She just had to make it there alive…
“Natty Light!” Linea Bleakfang said, striding alongside her. “You know I’m worrying my head off, right? Please let me know how this goes for you as soon as possible, and don’t go alone. I trust that you’re making the right choice here.”
Nat considered Nea’s wishes as she hurried along. She nodded her agreement, fully intending to send a letter to Nea at the earliest convenience, detailing everything that happened. Nea was one of her two best friends. She was tough, cool, and loads of fun to hang out with. Not to mention, Nea was also her employer. For these two reasons, mostly because Nea was one of her besties, she wanted to make certain to keep her in the loop.
The air thickened even further as she went deeper into the desolate valley. Everything around reeked of death, and there was no breeze to blow the awful stench away. She pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose, holding it there tightly, trying to block it out.
“You’re not thinking,” Talimas said, easily keeping up with her hurried pace with his long legs. “You can’t be thinking. And if you are thinking, your reasons for doing something so risky by yourself better be damned good ones! You’ve got too much to lose now, and you know this!”
Nat winced at that. Tali was right; she did have too much to lose. Celeste. Her new friends. Her old friends. The safety of everyone in Darkshire, Stormwind, Ironforge, the Shadowlands, anyone anywhere she came into contact with if she lost control of her new powers. All her loved ones that would miss her if she were killed. Her father, who surely didn’t want to lose both his children. Celeste most of all. Her love. The sun of her world, the catch of her life.
Celeste…
Ian regarded Nat with a furrowed brow and a clear lack of understanding as to why he couldn't go with her and protect her, but with a heavy sigh he offered his two cents.
"You're leaving the best tool at your disposal right here, Nat. Me." He gestured to himself. "But… if this is important enough... I've seen what you can do when you're determined, the literal army you can amass. Like you did when you saved me in Dalaran... If that Nat walks into impending danger, I know she'll come strutting right back out, prize in hand."
Nat blushed at that, smiling bashfully at Ian’s confidence in her. It was true, of course; the army she could summon around her as quickly and easily as incanting in Eredun made for quite a bit of protection. But, what about traps? What about arcane anomalies? What about puzzles? Well, puzzles she could solve. Lady Kat knew that much, from Nat’s quick puzzle solving the time they obliterated a few floors of Torghast. But what about things unforeseen? Ghosts? Could her army do anything against ghosts? She’d need magical minions for that, she knew. But what could her army do against the twisted nature of her destination? For all she knew, she could step around a corner and disappear into nonbeing!
“Ha-ha!” snickered Nahlia Felbloom, strutting along the path with her, occasionally leaping up, wings outstretched, high into the branches of one odd tree or another before backflipping back down to land lightly on her feet like a cat. “A marshmallow like you, heading over there? I can’t imagine you lasting long, but… heh. Surprise me.”
Nat frowned, disliking being taunted, but didn’t think much of it. Nah was one of her oddest friends, but one of her coolest. She was a lot of fun in a game of Deathrolls, and interesting to talk to any time she ran across her in Stormwind, perched on top of a lamppost or something equally startling. She remembered sitting with Grim’un Oakenshield on the wall overlooking the crescent fountain around one side of Lion’s Rest, listening to Nah’s life story in detail. She had enough respect for her that she figured she was entitled to her opinion.
Nat bunched up the front of her dress around her nose a bit more. The air here was getting downright putrid, and though it was too stuffy to be comfortable stifling the air around her nose even further, she held the fabric tightly in place anyway. A sweat broke out on her brow and at the hairline in front of her ears.
Gosh… This is awful…
"You are really going to that place?” Shari asked, looking alarmed, the end of one green braid of hair clutched anxiously in her little hands. “Goodness, Miss... Do please be very careful! I would hate to know something bad happened to you. Please know I am here if you need me!”
Nat smiled, looking reassured at the thought of her friend with the great big heart, the one who had helped her to stay afloat when she felt she was drowning once, the one who had helped her realize she was in love with Celeste, being there when she needed her most. It would certainly be a good idea, as talented a healer as she was. But, she was so little though… She could get seriously hurt! Still, Mek-barash could keep the worst of it off her…
"Why are you going there?” Arivanna Bloodroot wanted to know, her long legs keeping pace as easily as Tali’s, not seeming to be affected by the awful, stinky, stifling air any more than the rest of her companions had been as they’d walked with her. “Is it for a good reason? We both know you don't like showing off you powers... What is this 'powerful' thing? Is it worth risking your life for?"
Ari was the other of her two besties. The tall, sneakily strong Kaldorei asked perfectly valid questions. It was true she didn’t use her magics except at greatest need. For the longest time, she’d been afraid to even let people know about them, not wanting to get into legal trouble and be jailed or even executed. That all changed when she got sanctioned by the Crown, but still, she was not a fan of the nasty things she’d learned how to summon (though she had to admit a certain odd fondness for Ishura, as he was a gift from Shari).
"What's this power you're trying to get?” Celeste inquired, looking at her curiously from under the wide brim of her fishing hat. “You've never mentioned it or needing stuff like that before. Is it because of Tom attacking you? He's gone now. You're safe."
Nat’s heart leaped with joy as she spotted her love. “Celeste!” But her sun resolutely plowed on.
"It's not the going into a dangerous place that scares me. It's you being there alone. I know you can handle trouble, but having someone you trust watching your back is just good sense. It doesn't have to be me. Take Ari, take Ian or Tali if you have to."
Nat nodded her agreement. Celeste and Ian and Tali and Nea were each right, of course. There was no reason to go in there alone. But, who would want to risk their lives over something so dumb as a power grab? Would anyone really want to go with her on this? Celeste especially had good questions. She didn’t really know how to answer any of them, aside from the one about Tomlin. She knew, if she’d exercised even just the powers she already did know, Tomlin would have been ripped to shreds and immolated at the same time before he could speak more than a few words to her. But she also knew she could never do that to the love of her life.
The scent of mageroyal, leather, sweat, and booze reached her through her bunched-up dress fabric.
“Oh, no…”
Nat winced, hoping this was a good thing instead of bad. Sure enough, Lady Kat eyed her up and down from her other side.
“Yer goin’ where?” she asked, seeming bored and only barely interested. “The f*ck are you tellin’ me for, Mouse? Ye want a balloon er somethin’? Just don’t die in there.”
Nat blushed, lowering her head to the filthy stone path, eyeing the dust of ages that had built up there with the lack of wind in the desolate valley. Lady Kat was, of course, uninterested in the goings-on of Nat’s life, preferring to seek her out only when she would be useful. Nat didn’t mind. She cared enough about her scariest friend to look deeper, and see that Lady Kat did care about her in return, in her own odd way. But would she come along? If no one else was up for a power grab, would this powerful woman be? Would she, too, seek to increase her power, and the knowledge of how to use it to its fullest potential? Should she ask her to come along?
“Natty Light,” Nea prompted again. “Tell me you’ll be careful. And get your *ss back here safe!”
“Natasha,” Ari pleaded. “Please don’t do this. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t bear anything happening to you. If nothing else, please, at least, tell me this is for good reason. That you’re not risking your life for nothing…”
“Nat!” Ian prodded. “Take me with you! Let’s team up and hit this place together!”
“Natasha,” Tali said. “Stop thinking of everything you’ll gain for a moment, and think of everything you could lose! This is not a smart move!”
“Tasha, you little softie,” Nah taunted. “You really think you stand more of a chance than anyone else to survive in there? I can’t wait to learn how it goes… If you live to tell the tale…” Nah snickered at her again, smirking slyly.
“My moon and stars, please, take someone with you!” Celeste pleaded again, reaching to grab Nat’s hands in her own, even as Nat strode down the path, causing Celeste to walk backwards.
“Ye really gonna let them tell ye what to do, Mouse?” Lady Kat chided, partly taunting, partly scolding. “Tell ‘em to f*ck off! Ye want power? Control? Then f*ckin' TAKE it!”
“Nat…”
“Natasha…”
“Heh-heh, Taaashhaaaa….”
“My love, please…”
“Miss…”
“Nat.”
“Natty Light.”
“Natasha.”
“Mouse.”
“Tasha.”
“Nat!”
“Natasha!”
“My stars and moon!”
“Nat!”
“Tasha!”
“Nat!”
“Miss!”
“Nat!”
“NAT!”
“NATASHA!”
“NAT!”
“MOUSE!”
“CAW!”
<GASP!>
Natasha Ebonlocke’s soft steps echoed along the desolate little valley through which she strode. The enclosed mountain pass was barren, little more than rock and the occasional scraggly tree. The pass was, at least, illuminated by the moon and stars, though it shone upon nothing one would particularly care to see. Someone had strung up old corpses by the neck from the few trees there were – or had these men been alive when this happened? Either way, they appeared to have been hanging for quite a long time from a few of the occasional old trees that happened to grow, twisted and tough and possessing knotholes in the patterns of ghostly faces, from the rare patches of dirt among the rock. There was nothing else to see, other than the old, worn road through the lifeless pass.
Wish I could breathe!
Nat strode alone, shuddering as she passed any tree that might have a corpse or two dangling from it, averting her eyes and deciding not to look. She scurried along like the mouse she was – she smiled faintly at that thought – toward her ultimate goal. Power. A destination that held untold power. Something she’d been warned since she first started learning magic that she should avoid seeking, yet, surely she’d grown enough in her magic after the war against the Burning Legion and her work in the Shadowlands that she could manage this… right? She put her hand over her heart, smiling a little, feeling alive in that moment as she felt her heart race. She’d never have even considered going to this terrifying place to seek more power before meeting her new friends…
Onward she scurried, seldom looking up, panting for air. The stuffy pass didn’t have a single breeze, and the air was thick enough one might jab it with a fork and have a bite.
Gosh, it’s horrible here…
Nat tried not to think about where she was. Instead, she focused on where she was going. The power to be had at her destination made all this worth it. She just had to make it there alive…
“Natty Light!” Linea Bleakfang said, striding alongside her. “You know I’m worrying my head off, right? Please let me know how this goes for you as soon as possible, and don’t go alone. I trust that you’re making the right choice here.”
Nat considered Nea’s wishes as she hurried along. She nodded her agreement, fully intending to send a letter to Nea at the earliest convenience, detailing everything that happened. Nea was one of her two best friends. She was tough, cool, and loads of fun to hang out with. Not to mention, Nea was also her employer. For these two reasons, mostly because Nea was one of her besties, she wanted to make certain to keep her in the loop.
The air thickened even further as she went deeper into the desolate valley. Everything around reeked of death, and there was no breeze to blow the awful stench away. She pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose, holding it there tightly, trying to block it out.
“You’re not thinking,” Talimas said, easily keeping up with her hurried pace with his long legs. “You can’t be thinking. And if you are thinking, your reasons for doing something so risky by yourself better be damned good ones! You’ve got too much to lose now, and you know this!”
Nat winced at that. Tali was right; she did have too much to lose. Celeste. Her new friends. Her old friends. The safety of everyone in Darkshire, Stormwind, Ironforge, the Shadowlands, anyone anywhere she came into contact with if she lost control of her new powers. All her loved ones that would miss her if she were killed. Her father, who surely didn’t want to lose both his children. Celeste most of all. Her love. The sun of her world, the catch of her life.
Celeste…
Ian regarded Nat with a furrowed brow and a clear lack of understanding as to why he couldn't go with her and protect her, but with a heavy sigh he offered his two cents.
"You're leaving the best tool at your disposal right here, Nat. Me." He gestured to himself. "But… if this is important enough... I've seen what you can do when you're determined, the literal army you can amass. Like you did when you saved me in Dalaran... If that Nat walks into impending danger, I know she'll come strutting right back out, prize in hand."
Nat blushed at that, smiling bashfully at Ian’s confidence in her. It was true, of course; the army she could summon around her as quickly and easily as incanting in Eredun made for quite a bit of protection. But, what about traps? What about arcane anomalies? What about puzzles? Well, puzzles she could solve. Lady Kat knew that much, from Nat’s quick puzzle solving the time they obliterated a few floors of Torghast. But what about things unforeseen? Ghosts? Could her army do anything against ghosts? She’d need magical minions for that, she knew. But what could her army do against the twisted nature of her destination? For all she knew, she could step around a corner and disappear into nonbeing!
“Ha-ha!” snickered Nahlia Felbloom, strutting along the path with her, occasionally leaping up, wings outstretched, high into the branches of one odd tree or another before backflipping back down to land lightly on her feet like a cat. “A marshmallow like you, heading over there? I can’t imagine you lasting long, but… heh. Surprise me.”
Nat frowned, disliking being taunted, but didn’t think much of it. Nah was one of her oddest friends, but one of her coolest. She was a lot of fun in a game of Deathrolls, and interesting to talk to any time she ran across her in Stormwind, perched on top of a lamppost or something equally startling. She remembered sitting with Grim’un Oakenshield on the wall overlooking the crescent fountain around one side of Lion’s Rest, listening to Nah’s life story in detail. She had enough respect for her that she figured she was entitled to her opinion.
Nat bunched up the front of her dress around her nose a bit more. The air here was getting downright putrid, and though it was too stuffy to be comfortable stifling the air around her nose even further, she held the fabric tightly in place anyway. A sweat broke out on her brow and at the hairline in front of her ears.
Gosh… This is awful…
"You are really going to that place?” Shari asked, looking alarmed, the end of one green braid of hair clutched anxiously in her little hands. “Goodness, Miss... Do please be very careful! I would hate to know something bad happened to you. Please know I am here if you need me!”
Nat smiled, looking reassured at the thought of her friend with the great big heart, the one who had helped her to stay afloat when she felt she was drowning once, the one who had helped her realize she was in love with Celeste, being there when she needed her most. It would certainly be a good idea, as talented a healer as she was. But, she was so little though… She could get seriously hurt! Still, Mek-barash could keep the worst of it off her…
"Why are you going there?” Arivanna Bloodroot wanted to know, her long legs keeping pace as easily as Tali’s, not seeming to be affected by the awful, stinky, stifling air any more than the rest of her companions had been as they’d walked with her. “Is it for a good reason? We both know you don't like showing off you powers... What is this 'powerful' thing? Is it worth risking your life for?"
Ari was the other of her two besties. The tall, sneakily strong Kaldorei asked perfectly valid questions. It was true she didn’t use her magics except at greatest need. For the longest time, she’d been afraid to even let people know about them, not wanting to get into legal trouble and be jailed or even executed. That all changed when she got sanctioned by the Crown, but still, she was not a fan of the nasty things she’d learned how to summon (though she had to admit a certain odd fondness for Ishura, as he was a gift from Shari).
"What's this power you're trying to get?” Celeste inquired, looking at her curiously from under the wide brim of her fishing hat. “You've never mentioned it or needing stuff like that before. Is it because of Tom attacking you? He's gone now. You're safe."
Nat’s heart leaped with joy as she spotted her love. “Celeste!” But her sun resolutely plowed on.
"It's not the going into a dangerous place that scares me. It's you being there alone. I know you can handle trouble, but having someone you trust watching your back is just good sense. It doesn't have to be me. Take Ari, take Ian or Tali if you have to."
Nat nodded her agreement. Celeste and Ian and Tali and Nea were each right, of course. There was no reason to go in there alone. But, who would want to risk their lives over something so dumb as a power grab? Would anyone really want to go with her on this? Celeste especially had good questions. She didn’t really know how to answer any of them, aside from the one about Tomlin. She knew, if she’d exercised even just the powers she already did know, Tomlin would have been ripped to shreds and immolated at the same time before he could speak more than a few words to her. But she also knew she could never do that to the love of her life.
The scent of mageroyal, leather, sweat, and booze reached her through her bunched-up dress fabric.
“Oh, no…”
Nat winced, hoping this was a good thing instead of bad. Sure enough, Lady Kat eyed her up and down from her other side.
“Yer goin’ where?” she asked, seeming bored and only barely interested. “The f*ck are you tellin’ me for, Mouse? Ye want a balloon er somethin’? Just don’t die in there.”
Nat blushed, lowering her head to the filthy stone path, eyeing the dust of ages that had built up there with the lack of wind in the desolate valley. Lady Kat was, of course, uninterested in the goings-on of Nat’s life, preferring to seek her out only when she would be useful. Nat didn’t mind. She cared enough about her scariest friend to look deeper, and see that Lady Kat did care about her in return, in her own odd way. But would she come along? If no one else was up for a power grab, would this powerful woman be? Would she, too, seek to increase her power, and the knowledge of how to use it to its fullest potential? Should she ask her to come along?
“Natty Light,” Nea prompted again. “Tell me you’ll be careful. And get your *ss back here safe!”
“Natasha,” Ari pleaded. “Please don’t do this. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t bear anything happening to you. If nothing else, please, at least, tell me this is for good reason. That you’re not risking your life for nothing…”
“Nat!” Ian prodded. “Take me with you! Let’s team up and hit this place together!”
“Natasha,” Tali said. “Stop thinking of everything you’ll gain for a moment, and think of everything you could lose! This is not a smart move!”
“Tasha, you little softie,” Nah taunted. “You really think you stand more of a chance than anyone else to survive in there? I can’t wait to learn how it goes… If you live to tell the tale…” Nah snickered at her again, smirking slyly.
“My moon and stars, please, take someone with you!” Celeste pleaded again, reaching to grab Nat’s hands in her own, even as Nat strode down the path, causing Celeste to walk backwards.
“Ye really gonna let them tell ye what to do, Mouse?” Lady Kat chided, partly taunting, partly scolding. “Tell ‘em to f*ck off! Ye want power? Control? Then f*ckin' TAKE it!”
“Nat…”
“Natasha…”
“Heh-heh, Taaashhaaaa….”
“My love, please…”
“Miss…”
“Nat.”
“Natty Light.”
“Natasha.”
“Mouse.”
“Tasha.”
“Nat!”
“Natasha!”
“My stars and moon!”
“Nat!”
“Tasha!”
“Nat!”
“Miss!”
“Nat!”
“NAT!”
“NATASHA!”
“NAT!”
“MOUSE!”
“CAW!”
<GASP!>
))
Founded April 26, 2005