#Azjol-Nerub | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

talesofnovembria · 3 years ago

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Sal and Arthur were on a trip. But then Sal sees someone she recognizes :3

They have no choice but to hide in Azjol-Nerub, where they can avoid them. But there are things in the dark that don't take kindly to strangers. Out of the frying pan, and into a different, spider-shaped frying pan!

Send me a creepy scenario/location and character(s) and I’ll write a drabble for it.

Well this was certainly not the place she would have thought the two of them would end up at. Granted, compared to some of the other zones in Northrend, Dragonblight was one of the more protected regions. It was hard to deny that the home tower and realms of the dragonflights would mean their kind would keep this place, and the surrounding area well guarded. Besides, since the dismantle of much of the Scourge army, there wasn’t much of a threat via the undead here.

So long as the two of them stuck to the path, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Arthur and Salena walked side by side, as if they were equal soldiers. Travel would have been easier if she were to use her vial, but that was not effective when one of the two of them was afraid of heights. Another option would be to resort to using a mount, but unless her friend had some kind of prior riding knowledge, that was also not going to be effective. She didn’t trust having him ride behind her with the risk of him touching her back, and she was shorter than him, making him sitting in front of her pointless.

So walking it was.

They were nearing the border towards the Borean Tundra, another place that was relatively untouched by the Scourge, but had its own problems. Nothing the two of them couldn’t handle, and again, so long as they remained on the path, there shouldn’t be any issue. Besides, there was a relatively small tavern some distance in at a gnome outpost they could take a moment to rest at.

For a majority of the journey, it had simply been the two of them conversing, whether it be about their craft, the whole of Dragonblight, or just them poking at one another. She had taken the opportunity to flick the ponytail Arthur had fashioned himself in before coming here. While a bit strange for someone with such a spiky hair style, and one that always seemed to point up, he did manage to pull it off in her opinion.

Their conversation was interrupted when she stopped short, her ears picking up a sound in the distance. Clopping… the sound of hooves against stone… That was a sound she was familiar with, but who else might be out here in dragonblight? They were getting along the path to Star’s Rest, so perhaps someone from there? Couldn’t be a patrol from the Ebon Blade… and as far as she knew, many of those in the Alliance and the Horde were not too interested in the resources out here anymore.

Arthur seemed to give her a confused look when she turned to him, though that was an expression she also shared. Perhaps it truly was no one more than a resident at the passing outpost.

The sight of the riders though… Paladins…

Ordinarily, she could push aside her resentment of their ‘kind’ in order to be on her way, but she could see the way their helmets were turning towards her. Her ears pinned back… this was bad… It was bad enough when Light users recognized the saronite armor, and the symbol that represented the Knights of the Ebon Blade… but what struck worse was they seemed to recognize her.

And she vaguely recognized them.

It was often hard to tell the people who followed him by their faces when they were usually covered in armor, but certain choices about their designs were able to stand out to her… and these two held that same attention to white and gold like he did.

The clopping sound began to grow louder. She had to make a decision right now. Turning and running down the path was only going to delay the inevitability of them catching up. She could always run and divert them away from Arthur, but despite his knowledge of this place, she didn’t trust him to have all the combative knowledge to survive out here… plus he would be stranded without a way back home. Trying to run past them was not a good option either, and taking off into the woods would have its own risks…

The way she saw it, that left only one option to ensure they would lose the paladins.

Salena spun on her feet, pushing Arthur towards the hill behind them, “Start climbing, and as quick as you can preferably.”

He could see the worry in her face, something that rarely seemed to come out when all of them were together, or hell even when she was alone with one of them. He did as she instructed, but one look up the hill made him question her choice, “But up there is-”

“I’m well aware of what’s up there. Believe me, if there was a smarter choice, I’d have taken it. Just trust me and move.”

The both of them began their fleeing, her ears turned almost completely behind her to listen to the hooves change from stone to snow. Compared to them on the ground, they were going to make more noise. With any luck, her and Arthur could sneak around enough to draw their attention to the paladins. All they would then have to do was lay low long enough to have them leave… or die… and then make their way back out.

The blond seemed to hesitate for a moment once they came to the openings in the ground at the top of the hill. There were a few nerubians standing guard outside, their heads turning at the sound of the fast approaching horses. A low growl rumbled in her throat as she raced ahead, jumping into one of the larger holes. She turned back to the opening, seeing Arthur peer over the edge, “Jump!”

All he had to do was trust her. Please…

He leapt from his spot, her back claws digging into the ground to harden her stance. Her arms reached up, catching the human before he could hit the ground. All that armor was going to make him not only fall faster, but hit harder once he landed. She could handle the weight as well as the initial jump. This was her home world after all. She adjusted him in her arms, holding him bridal style before turning her gaze back to the opening. She could hear the alarm in the horses’ calls, but a few guards were not going to be enough to hold them off… not for too long.

And once they got off the horses… or found the large opening inside, they would be on their trail once again. Her tail lashed behind her as she made another decision. She spun on her feet, carrying her friend towards what looked like an underground mouth of a cave. Deal with the nerubians would be far easier than paladins armed to the teeth and will spells that could cripple her…

Which would leave Arthur trying to deal with zealots who would not listen to reason on his own.

She couldn’t do that to him.

Granted, this option would also be putting him in danger, but the odds were stacked more in their favor so long as she had the ability to fight back. And surely even paladins wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow into a place infested with this species on their own. They probably thought her foolish for making such a choice, and seeing her go so deep would hopefully make them believe she would get them both killed on her own.

She stopped once she came to the end of a slope, and also when protestive wiggling began to increase from her arms. She set her friend down, her head turning back the way they had come. Her body tensed, not exactly keen on the place she’d dropped both of them. With an attack going on outside, and two outsiders at the doors of their underground kingdom, the nerubians were sure to come running for them.

And just as much, she had to make sure their pursuers were not still chasing them.

It wasn’t hard to pick up on the sound of them climbing along the stone walls and coming up the pathway behind the two of them. Her fur stood up, Arthur moving closer to her. Neither one of them were afraid for themselves… but rather for each other. Predictable.

She managed to get her hands on her blades, pulling them out, her friend following similarly. Webs began to shoot from their mouths, aiming for both of them. Her experience and reflexes made dodging and slicing the material easier… but the same could not be said for Arthur. She didn’t know just how well he’d do in this kind of situation, against an enemy he had only seen so long ago. This was not a game anymore.

Web stuck to his armor, pulling him away from his friend. He raised his sword to slice it off him, but another stuck to the blade. He tugged on it, but the more web that piled in that one spot made it harder and harder to get free. Her head turned over to him, ears falling down. Of course he would get caught, and he wouldn’t distract her by trying to call for help. He acted… just like she did…

Her attention left their attackers temporarily, closing the space between the two of them. Her blade began making work of the individual strands of web attached to Arthur’s blade, working to get him free. As she was, she felt a tug on her own blade, one of them snagged like his own was. Her growl turned into a snarl, both of them starting to fight the webs to get free, more seeming to pile on with each new addition. She could feel more tugging on her end, turning her head around to see them pulling her away from Arthur.

And it was the opportunity they were waiting for to get some web around her jaws.

They were coming closer and closer… Deep, yet scratchy, voices echoing around them.

“What do we have here? A beast and a human?”

“Not just any beast. A little scourge soldier.”

“Scourge? After all of them being wiped out?”

“It would seem there are still a few stragglers left.”

Curse this miserable existence… why did the Lich King have to make so many damn enemies in Northrend…?

Her head turned to the side, Arthur still putting up a fight even as the webs started to encase him, his weapon laying on the ground. No… not him… she would not fail him… not anyone… not again…!

Her eyes glowed, her unbound feet stomping to the dirt. She had to be extremely careful with this. The wrong spot for any of these, and she could end up doing more harm than good. Her eyes sparked with more power, feeling the webs around her growing tighter. Guess the sight of a death knight’s defining feature made them more than a little terrified. She focused on him, the ground around Arthur starting to freeze. Spikes of ice began to rise up from the ground, two at the sides to slice the web, and the rest to bathe in nerubian blood.

The ice, thankfully, only managed to tear along her friend’s armor, leaving him unharmed. All he had to do now was pull himself out from his binds.

Which left her to struggle with her own situation. Guess now that she was labeled a threat, binding her was the smarter option. Bright blue her eyes glowed, what movement she had left stretching her arms for the others, attacking their inner systems… and while it was able to slow them down, it was not enough to make the remaining stop, nor more from coming to their aid.

Fine… so long as she could get Arthur out…

But then again, that never was his style.

She felt her own bonds loosen, a normal blade coming down on the sticky material. She had freed him… and he had freed her. The two exchanged a glance before cleaning off their weapons while they had a chance. They stood back to back, but enough space that Arthur was not pressed against her back. The stance itself brought back a feeling of nostalgia…

They could survive this.

#bitch in armor - salena #meme reply #troublesome brother - arthur #tw; blood #tw; death #tw; spiders #((Well))#((That one got longer than expected))#((But I really like how this one turned out))#((And yes Tristan))#((I did link Arthur in his armor))#((Because he's cool and others should appreciate it too))#tristan art

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