Author's Note: This entire collection of pieces are spinned off of the in-game RP. Things are changed and altered accordingly or if deemed necessary. Events that take more than two chapters will be posted separately, and a little note like this one will be put on appropriate chapters.
Please R&R... It gives me sustenance. To live. Yes, it does. =D
It was the first night I met Civardi and Keda, shortly after the news of my twin brother's death. My twin, I thought him dead since we crashed on Azuremyst. I feared him lost the day we crashed as he had been injured terribly from a Blood Elf. He was found, however, by a priest.
It wasn't until the day he died that I learned how he perished. For ten long years, he had suffered a poison that slowly ate him from the inside. He had been the one who brought Mattis the Cruel to justice, but in the process of subduing the murderer, my twin had been struck with a poisoned blade.
It was his final moments, laying on one of the beds at the Exodar's inn that I had finally learned my twin survived, and lay at his final moments alive. Losing him once, I could not have felt any lonelier. Losing him again, my mind retreated in the anguish that ensued.
The Light retreated with my mind, ignoring my pleas of returning my twin to me. The Light was a brick wall behind a locked door, stubborn and unmoving. The Light would not answer, every attempt to break the wall and lock in vain.
That night I met Civardi and Keda… I had already been at the Pig, drinking from the Totem gifted to me by a Water Spirit. It never emptied, always filled with a rather potent drink. Civardi, I consider him a brother now, had entered the bar while I was half-way through my second mug. The night has always been a haze in my mind, but I think I recall what had transpired…
We were both terribly drunk by the time Keda came. How many mugs either of us had, I will never be able to recollect. Civardi had gotten up to leave for the night, but his legs quivered violently before he buckled to the carpet sprawled under the table. In a drunken surprise, I rose to my hooves to aide him, but far too quickly!
I quickly found myself on the floor, looking over to Keda who had been taken with me by my shoulder. Regret overwhelmed my eyes as her initial wild shock of nearly being squished by a large Draenei subsided, revealing a pang of pity for the one who had taken her down.
"Oh, sweetie, are you alright…?" her gentle voice chimed in my ears.
With a groan, I rolled to my side, releasing her from my shoulder. She rose to her knees, a few strands of hair had escaped her hairband as she glanced over to the Night Elf that had fallen before me. He held his head up, looking at us blearily, asking if we were alright.
As he managed to crawl to me, Keda lay a gentle hand on the side of my head, ruffling my hair slightly. Her other hand began rubbing Civardi's ear as a hand stroked down my head spikes and through my hair. She told us not to get up too fast, to rest off some of the drinks we indulged.
I happily obliged.
My tail managed to get pinned between my legs, but I had barely noticed from the near mind numbing amount of alcohol I consumed. Keda tugged my tail free after it had squirmed in vain attempts to be freed. I curled my legs up some as my tail plopped on the wooden floor of the Pig.
With less control over my tail when drunk, it curled at one point, attempting to wrap around Keda's rump. She yelped in surprise, jumping back as she jolted my head and shoulders in the swift motion. As she caught her breath, I groaned, reaching a hand to my face.
She apologized nervously, settling back down to stroke Civardi's ear and run her fingers through my hair again.
A few hours passed, and both of us drunks finally felt just well enough to sit up. Civardi looked like he had thoroughly enjoyed the ear attention with the large grin, still drunken grin on his face. With the aid of a water spirit, I brought out a totem that had helped us begin feeling better. The totem pulsed, offering a comforting radiance that soothed our minds and bodies.
I still quivered, and even all four of my chin appendages shivered slightly. My body ached in response to sitting up, but I pushed it up regardless. Keda grabbed both my hands, her soft eyes locked with mine. She smiled warmly, speaking her relief that she was happy to see us up.
Civardi curled over his knees, hugging his legs and trying to stay sitting up. He groaned, and I did not doubt his own head throbbed and pulsed with the feeling of being struck with a blacksmith's hammer while on an anvil.
In a few more moments, Civardi rose to his feet. He wobbled, legs threatening to buckle beneath him again, but he managed. Announcing he had somewhere else to be, he left. I didn't know where or why, I never asked and he never explained.
Keda gently squeezed my hands, her Human hands so very small in mine. Looking back up at her, she insisted that I try to stand. I didn't want to fall on top of her again, but I knew she was right. I couldn't just sit there in the middle of the tavern floor all night. We were fortunate that night the Pig wasn't busy, as there would have been plenty of patrons stepping or tripping over us.
Slowly rising, I grabbed a hold of the chair I had previously occupied for balance. As my tail drooped, bobbing at its own will, my hooves made purchase on the floor and pushed me up. Keda had a hold of my arm, wrapping hers around my bicep and holding the arm close to her. Her attempt to help hold me up was in vain, as if I had tried to use her as a crutch, we both would have toppled back to the floor.
In the moment I still held the chair for support, I looked down at her. She smiled warmly again, reassuringly. I couldn't help but return the smile, feeling as if something deep within my chest had pulsed or moved.
Having been drinking before Civardi arrived, my legs still quivered, barely able to bear my weight. The first few steps were tedious, hesitant… But I managed. Somehow.
The first couple of corners we rounded in that large city seemed very long. I paused, Keda still with her arms wrapped around mine, and leaned against the stone wall. She looked up at me with her soft eyes, smiling warmly, and asked if I was alright.
I nodded, my chin appendages splaying slightly over my shirt. This motion made her giggle, and I could only chuckle softly in response.
Stepping up onto one of the bridges that crossed the canal, I misjudged my step. Taking a hard dive, I twisted as best I could to prevent Keda from taking an equally hard fall. Three of my chin appendages began throbbing as I pushed my chest up and looked down at Keda.
I had wrapped my arm around her, to try and protect her. For the most part, that had succeeded. I couldn't stop her waist or legs taking some hit, but at least she didn't get hurt.
She gasped softly, eyes glistening with concern as she looked down at me. I reassured her I was alright, pushing myself to sit up. Her hands clasped around my forearm, offering an encouraging squeeze.
Her beautiful, warm smile never left her face.
The rest of the walk to the inn was uneventful, save for the occasional pause to lean against something and catch my breath. At the inn, heading up the stairs proved almost too much for my still quivering legs. But I managed… with Keda's gentle encouraging reassurance and her arms wrapped around one of mine.
At the door to my rented room, I turned to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you…" I sighed softly, squeezing her shoulder gently.
"You are welcome, sir," she nodded, whole-heartedly smiling warmly.
"Tunaak." She tilted her head, and I explained, "I am Tunaak…"
"'Tunaak'," she spoke my name, trying it over her tongue. "I'm Keda."
Was this it, then…?
"Tomorrow?" Keda asked. When I only gave her a quizzical look, she continued, "I will be at the Blue Recluse for lunch tomorrow."
My eyes softened, radiating with warmth that hadn't blessed my eyes for a very long time. Whether or not she chose to take response, she smiled her beautiful and warm smile. She turned and left, leaving me to lean on the doorframe. I am still unsure if I was able to follow her, if I had chosen to.
I entered my room…
Slipped under the covers…
And for the first time since my brother died…
I cried…