#after all you moonshadows do tend to enjoy saying you are not as cruel as i am

[aaravos-answers]

Starling, why do you need permission from "Spiky Elves"? @ask-runaan-anything is not a mage; he cannot stop you. (can he?)

Hm. 😏 not with the wings I shall give you. @oliveofthenight @tempestmoon-tdpoc will you teach the starlings to fly?

Fly to Xadia, starlings! 💖 I await your arrival eagerly.

"there are laws against appearances which one cannot control? How odd." first time?

....first time for what?

[bread-elf]

DWC 2020 - Day 26

Trust

Legion "Hey, Shield Mother!" There's a rather timid knock on the door to Jiroki's cabin on her ship. Docked in Marshtide, she shuffled through some documents as she was in the middle of work. Her Shields either socialized on the ship or in the shared camp of the troops. Some contracts had been issued out yesterday and they had returned successfully just hours ago, taking the opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves. "Come in." She calls out, not bothering to look up. The door opens and in peeks the head of Greggory, a silver haired human with an eyepatch who worked as one of her intel sources. "Some of us are going to Ironforge to drink! Do you want to come?" "No thank you." Jiroki still doesn't bother to look up, setting aside a pile of newly sent contracts that she approved of. She still had others to sort through to either accept or toss aside, there's plenty to occupy herself with. "You sure?" Greggory asks again, causing Jiroki to huff as she's interrupted further.

"Yes, I'm sure." She stresses. "Go on."

"Alright, suit yourself." And the door shuts once more.

"Nah not this time." She can hear her Shields talking amongst each other in the ship, reminding her just how thin the walls can be.

"Gotta bloody stick up her ass." A gruff voice of a worgen speaks out, causing Jiroki to frown a bit.

"Shh, she might hear you!"

"Guys stop it, let's just go."

"Last one there buys the first round!"

Like a bunch of children they scamper off, leaving her be. But Jiroki didn't mind, she ran a business, not some adventure's guild. She could lost any of her Shields at a moments notice from this line of work, and she preferred to keep her distance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You're so frustrating!" Drax'arah, also known ae Drake, snarls at Jiroki, the couple in yet another spat. "Do you know how hard it is to learn anything about you?!" "Why does it matter?!" She fires back. "You already know plenty about me! I don't see a reason to share anything else!" "We're married, Jiroki! I barely know Jack shit of what you used to do. And I'd like to at least know why you cry out people's names at night!" Drake experienced first hand the night terrors that Jiroki gets at times, some reoccurring more than others, but supported her nonetheless. Yet even now officially we'd, she kept her secrets shut like a clam. "How many times do I have tell you I don't want to talk about it?!" Trying not to let her voice raise too much, the twin babes sleeping upstairs. Delo'ran watched the fight occurring, also listening for the children in case they were to wake. But he doesn't step in the fight, letting it occur. "This isn't fair! You know about things have happened to me! If you just tell me these things, then maybe I can stop angering you so much!" "I only know about your past because you dragged me into it!!" Jiroki says harshly. "It caught up with you! I didn't have a choice!" The words came out before she could fully process them, but it was too late. Drake looks at her in shock, pained his own mate would say such a thing, then anger creases over his features. Without saying a word he turns on his heel, heading for the door. "Where are you going?!" Jiroki demands, but he says nothing. Drake opens the door and steps out, slamming it behind him. The walls shake from the force, and upstairs a startled cry sounds as one of the infants begins to cry. "Mother fucker-" Jiroki seethed, trying to ebb away the red she was starting to see, pacing around to try and calm herself. Delo'ran watches her carefully, waiting until she stops pacing to slowly step up behind her. She feels his hands gently grab hold of her shoulders. "Breathe." He says, placing his lips on the back of her head. "Just breathe." Jiroki tries as such, heaving deep breaths, but the crying upstairs doesn't help. "He doesn't understand-"  "How can he?" Delo pulls his head back. "He is right though. It hurts him that he doesn't know how to help you, and you won't let him in." "Don't you take his side!" Jiroki whirls around, beginning to lash out towards Delo as well. "I'm not. But the same goes for me, you know. I wish you'd trust us more." He takes a few steps back, heading towards the stairs. "I'll go check on them." Jiroki is left alone as she hears the footsteps of Delo'ran going up the stairs to see to her children. With trembling hands she starts to stroke back her hair, once more beginning to pace. How could she relive all those terrible times she's faced? The phantom pains burned on her back constantly, the loss of her family and loved ones, it was even a miracle she could bear children after what she had done to her first unborn child, and having to put down Rydras like a dog- Jiroki forced herself to breathe, the trauma hitting her as she started looking around for her medicine. She had some milk saved up in bottles already, she could afford a moment to drug herself, she had been weened off of it for long enough as is for the children. She'll abuse it just this once, then wait until her children no longer need her milk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jiroki sat with her shirt off, covering her chest for modesty as Ia inspected her back. A group sparring session had just concluded with the Greyshields, but Jiroki had accidentally over exerted herself. Again. "It's not too bad." The Tanaris woman reports, her white hair cropped short as her bangs hanged longer than the rest of the length, covering one eye. "Only one of the blisters reopened. You said someone kicked you?" "Yes…" Only a select few knew of the burns on Jiroki's back, and all of them Jiroki could count on one hand. Though at times that led to complications when someone got too rough with her while sparring. "This will be just a moment." Ia takes a few steps back and squats into a pose done by a follower of the Jade Serpent, and a green mist begins to come from her palms as she ushers them towards Jiroki, letting it fuse into her back. But she paid mind to not go overboard, Jiroki was adamant to keep the scars. Jiroki could feel the wound begin to close and heal. It would help numb her back for a time at least, until she would need to take her medicine again. "With all due respect, Shield Mother." Ia starts. "You really shouldn't hide this from the others. It could jeopardize a mission." "Some of the other medics know." Jiroki says as she starts to redress herself. Only one medic knew in fact, Cylan Moonshadow, a former druid who she had known for some time now. Ia takes a deep breath, her brow creased in disapproval. They have had this conversation numerous times as is, but Jiroki remained stubborn as ever. "As you say." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Reaver designed by the Legion laid dormant in the waters of the swamp, defeated as the warlock Harutan laid on his back on the shore. A blade held deep against his neck, his breathing raspy through his mask as he stares up in horror at his doom, the scarred Kaldorei leering down at him. “Heh, y-you think you’ve won!” He spits up at her, coughing up some blood. “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me!” “That may be the case.” Jiroki sneers back, shouting over her shoulder. “Search for a Soulstone! He has one somewhere!” Harutan gives a gasp, his eyes wide beneath his mask, though Jiroki couldn’t see. “W-Wait, no! You can’t!” “You’re pathetic.” Jiroki glowers down at him. “I’ve dealt with warlocks far more vicious than you.” “We found it. How do you want to handle this?” Kazbocon the gnome says, walking up with some of the other Shields nearby. Rina the worgen and Bastet the Kaldorei, both druidess’ tending to injuries of others who had faced the encounter. Aztook lurked nearby as well, carefully watching his new boss and how she will handles this. Jiroki thought for a time on it, staring down at the warlock as he lay beneath her. A nearly familiar sight, though this form is not nearly as a threat as he’d like to think. “Keep it.” She says. “Lock it up.” Jiroki couldn’t fight the devilish twitch of her lips. “We’ll use him in the future.” “No- no- YOU CAN’T-” Jiroki sinks her glaive into his neck, silencing him. Harutan goes limp, and his soul stone flares to life. Quickly Kazbocon conjures an arcane prism around the soul stone, keeping it stabilized. “I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Bastet seemed troubled, the young druidess hesitant as she overhears. “Wait- you killed him, but you’re keeping his soul?!” Rina also points out, young as well, in her human form for the time being. “That’s cruel!” “Did you not see what he just tried to do to us?!” Jiroki counters back. “He needs to pay for what he has done, he tried to kill us! It’ll only be for a time; I don’t trust his soul to be free while the Legion still assaults us.” “But that’s not-” “Stop it, girl!” Kazbocon interjects this time. “What’s done is done. Shield Mother, I’ll take care of this personally, I have a place I can store it.” “Good. Thank you.” Jiroki says, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Rina turns and storms off, Bastet following, and Kazbocon walks off while carefully carrying the stone. “Hmph, lesser mortals.” Jiroki curses in her native tongue, only Aztook around to hear her now. “They don’t understand a bloody thing.” “Hmhm.” Aztook hums in amusement, tilting his head as his sightless gaze stares at her. “They do lack foresight, at times. Almost makes me curious as to what else you understand.” Jiroki turns and raises a brow at the former illidari, the being crazed and mad in his own right as he starts to give her a wicked grin. She rolls her eyes, and storms off, needing to find someone to deal with the body. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jiroki was alone in the ship, and so she had taken a decent dose of her medicine, needing to not feel. Or to feel something, sometimes she couldn’t tell the difference. Sitting at a table in the mess hall of the ship her face laid face down on the table, arms crossed to rest her head as her hair spilled around her shoulders. But sometimes in her state of high her senses were slow, not hearing the footsteps coming into the ship. A hand runs through her hair and tilts her head to the side, someone trying to look at her face. Her eyelids flutter as she tries to open them and focus on who is touching her, and she’s met with a pair of icy blue eyes on a human face. Jiroki sits up in alarm, nearly falling out of her chair, but cold hands grab her. “You are narcotized again.” Daniel Farington, a death knight who served in the Greyshields, states matter of fact. “N-No, I’m not…” Jiroki quickly tries to say. Daniel suffered from memory loss, not having memories of his living life. But through the trauma he went through that also made him forget, he became a bit… Slow. Innocent in a sense, not understanding social skills. “Are you not?” Daniel asks, his voice monotone, but his face expressive as his brows knit together in a confused frown. “You do not like it when you are touched. The only times you are slow to react, are when you have just taken your opioids.” “Daniel, shush!” Jiroki tried her best to keep her addictions a secret, yet Daniel must have been a smart man in life. It was just a shame that in his current state he was too mouthy for his own good. “Yes, sometimes my drugs make me sluggish, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. And you don’t need to tell the others.” Daniel thinks for a time, processing her words in his own way as he finds meaning behind them. “Hm… I see.” He moves them, going to the other side of the table she sat on, and he sits in the chair. “What are you doing?” Jiroki felt her eyes watering, it was harder to keep up the façade. “It is not good for you to be sluggish.” Daniel states. “If an assassin were to come, you would not be able to defend at your full potential. I will monitor you while you rest, until you can move freely on your own.” Jiroki narrows her eyes at him, not wanting to leave herself dependable on this man. “I didn’t order you to do so. You don’t have to stay.” “I will leave if you order me to.” He responds. “But, in… my own feelings, I think. You should not be left alone. I will remain silent.” Daniel always spoke politely, and at times could be sweet, but Jiroki could see that slight bit of stubbornness deep down in him. Jiroki says nothing, feeling her eyes wanting to droop, and so she gives in. Deciding to trust this man for a time, she lowers her head and rides out her high. (( @daily-writing-challenge​ ))