Alright! This chapter is our 'launcher' chapter. That'll make more sense when you reach the end. Maybe.
Responses:
Cherry Mountain: We'll see a lot more of him! :)
Psalty: Julian does, too. ;D
LadyRaftina: Oh, man! Yes! That's definitely a Julian thing. We'll see something like that in the next chapter, as long as it ends up as planned. :)
Suneeku: I know I already PM'd you but Julian has bright red hair, is almost as tall as Lucian (so far) and golden puppy-like eyes. :P
NyteKnight: Daddy Silverpaw is on the fence. Sarion, on the other hand... xD And GoT and yarn-spinning sounds so nice right now... Lol.
Julian's snow-haired father, Lucian, was quickly found in the base floor with a few other guys, including Julian's mentor Glenn, and his big sister's sable-haired boyfriend, Sarion Dawnstar. Those three men tended to spend a lot of their free time (as scarce as it was now with the family additions) together.
His dad didn't ask many questions; years of emergency situations had brought him to the point of where his first reaction was to take the unconscious, bleeding man from Julian's arms and place him on a nearby table, administering immediate aid. As Lucian spent powerful, beneficial surges of healing energy into Levianath's temples, the others crowded around. Sarion was the first to speak up.
"Who is he?" he asked, his voice guarded. "I could catch the fel energy reeking from him even before you brought him in."
Lucian butted in before Julian could respond to the dark-haired man. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know," Julian replied, and he meant to say more, but Lucian spoke again.
"Where did you find him?"
"Edge of the orchard. His demon placed him in my care."
He heard Sarion nearby audibly hiss. "Demon? You encountered a demon?"
"An imp minion. Nothing dangerous," Julian shook his head. "He had good intentions. Just wanted me to help his master."
"Good intentions?" Sarion barked incredulously. "From a demon? Are you joking?"
"Do you know this man?" Lucian demanded, interrupting Sarion's scolding.
"Yes, I met him yesterday," Julian replied. "He was fine this morning, too. I don't know what happened to him. He was planning on leaving the continent, as far as I understood."
"You mean he stayed here, overnight?" Sarion cut in again, obviously upset. "You let a Warlock into our home?"
"He's a good guy, Sarion," Julian reasoned. "Misunderstood, maybe a bit cynical, but he's not a bad person just because of the magic he practices."
"Right. You could make the same argument about a murderer. Fel energy offers nothing but danger and tragedy, and those who dabble with it are doomed from the second they allow it into their practices," Sarion retorted. "Of all people, I should know. You should not have brought him here, especially not after knowing him for only a day. Not around our children."
Julian sighed, but didn't argue further. He knew Sarion more than anyone had reason to be upset about it, and Lucian seemed to be agreeing, though his focus was kept on healing Levianath.
"Who is he?" Glenn asked, speaking for the first time.
"His name is Levianath. I don't remember his surname," Julian replied.
Finally, Lucian finished his attempts and took a step away from the table, inspecting the unconscious man.
"The state of his clothing is pitiful," Lucian murmured. "Julian, was this man homeless?"
"I think so. That's why I had him stay here a night." He frowned. "He did have a backpack and a coin satchel on him, but I'm guessing whoever did this to him took his stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if that's all he owned. He told me he has money in a bank, but he sure doesn't look it."
Sarion stepped in. He wasn't being rude, so much as just incredibly firm. "Letting him stay here was a poor choice of action. You need to get this Warlock and his magic out of here."
Lucian finally placed a gentle, wide palm against Sarion's chest as a warning, and leaned in and murmured something Julian didn't catch. Sarion hesitated, and then nodded in response, and with that, he headed upstairs. Glenn joined him, conversing as they both left. As much as Julian adored Sarion, the man could be pretty intense sometimes, and he was relieved that Lucian had sent him away. He hated arguing in general, and he especially didn't want to argue with a man who was basically his brother-in-law.
Lucian turned his attention to his son. "Julian, Sarion's not wrong. This man is dangerous, regardless of his intentions."
"He needs help, dad," Julian argued pleadingly. "He had nowhere else to stay, and he obviously can't hold his own against whoever it was that did this to him. He needs protection, or at least a good push in the right direction."
Lucian's eyes softened, and he drew Julian in, looping a strong arm over his shoulder. Julian noticed with a streak of glee that he was nearing the height of his own father already, as it took more of an effort for Lucian to throw his arm over his shoulder. His father's voice was affectionate.
"You are definitely your mother's son."
"Speaking of, Mom knew I let him stay here," Julian announced quickly, suddenly getting the idea that maybe bringing his mother into the equation would sway Lucian's opinion.
"She did?"
"Yeah, she helped me get his room ready last night. I told her how I'd met him, and I expressed my opinion of him, and she was fine with it."
Lucian sighed. "Alright. Well, how about this: Keep him here overnight. Watch him closely, make sure there aren't any complications or injuries I didn't catch. Tomorrow, we can get him on his feet and send him on his way. Sarion's right; we don't need him or anything he's involved with brought into our home, especially not with our new family additions here."
Julian grimaced, but nodded. At least they weren't kicking him out right now. This was probably the best he could get.
He followed behind as Lucian lifted the unconscious Warlock up and carried him down into the basement floors, dropping him off in the first available room. Julian pulled up an armchair and settled in, sitting cross-legged and leaning his elbows onto his knees. It wasn't long before he grew bored, and he sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Levianath
He felt incredibly sore all over as he awoke, the aches that tugged in his muscles causing him to audibly groan as he sat up. It was pitch black, and for a half-second of fear he worried he'd lost his sight. But then his glow adjusted, and his eyes followed suit, and suddenly he could see everything clearly in the room he was in.
Levianath was lying in a bed more comfortable than any he'd slept in before, its sheets cool and silky and the bedding itself the perfect combination of soft and firm. As he glanced around and took in his surroundings, he was surprised at what he saw in an armchair beside his bed. The red-haired Druid he'd met earlier was sprawled out in a lopsided, slumped form across the armchair, which was far too small to comfortably sleep in.
Levianath furrowed his brows and silently slid out of his comfortable haven, feet hitting cool wooden floor soundlessly, and he padded out of the room without a sound, realizing where he was. He was back at the Silverpaw orchard. His arm and hand jazzed in a ghost-like pain that zig-zagged up his nerves to his shoulder when he moved it, and he winced, inspecting it. This was the pain of a recently-broken but recently-healed bone. Who had healed him? Julian? And how had he found him? Last he remembered, he was left for dead in a dark alley of the Dwarven District.
He ventured up into the first floor of the tree and noted that it was early morning, and that the people in the tree didn't even glance at him when he appeared. Or, at least, all but one.
A young woman with strikingly-bright blue hair glanced over at him and perked up, her almond-shaped eyes widening.
"You must be Levianath!" she exclaimed, and he blinked at her. She approached him, holding out her hand to shake.
"I'm Lily. Julian brought you in last night. I didn't see, but apparently you were in really bad shape."
He lifted his brows. So it had been the kid. "How did he find me?"
"No idea," she shrugged. "But I'm glad he did."
He cocked his head, lips nearly tugging into a smirk. "Me, too."
Julian
Somewhere in the night, Julian had fallen asleep. And when he awoke, the bed in front of him was no longer holding a sleeping half-elf.
Blinking away the grogginess in his eyes, Julian sloppily jumped out of his seat and bounded upstairs, hoping desperately he hadn't lost his patient already, but as soon as he reached the main floor, he was relieved to see Levianath standing right across the room. The tall guy was leaning on a doorframe, arms crossed smoothly with a sly look on his face. It took Julian only a second to see who the guy was engaging in conversation.
Levianath was listening with one brow quirked to Lily, who was talking about something Julian couldn't hear. He saw Levianath nod slowly, appearing entertained (though not smiling) at Lily's words, and then saw Lily begin to laugh cheerfully and a subtle smirk find its way onto Levianath's lips.
Relieved, Julian smiled, too, and he approached them both.
"I see you've made yourself at home," Julian said cheerfully, and Levianath glanced over at him and sent him a partial nod. Julian noted how well his father's healing had worked. The man didn't even have bruises left on his cheek.
Levianath lifted a brow. "I suppose I have you to thank for bringing me here last night?"
Julian shrugged. "Actually it was your imp that brought you to me. I just sought out healing."
He saw fondness flicker across the man's face for a half-second. "That so?"
Julian laughed. "If I remember right, his last words to me were 'Don't get him dead.'"
To his surprise, Levianath's head fell back with a loud, legitimate laugh, which was surprisingly infectious, and it made both Julian and Lily beside him begin to grin. This was the first real laugh Julian had heard from the guy, and it was a hell of a lot better than the sulky exterior.
The half-elf nodded cheerfully, brushing one hand over his mouth and black-tufted chin. "Yes," the guy smirked. "Yes, that does sound like him. I'll have to thank him sometime."
Julian smiled, glancing over at Lily. She stuck her tongue out at him, clearly unforgiving from last night, but he just wiggled his brows and puckered his lips at her suggestively. She punched his arm.
Snickering playfully, Julian looked back at Levianath.
"Well, good news is we managed to heal you up from last night. Bad news," Julian paused, grimacing, "is you can't stay here."
He saw Lily gain an appalled expression. "Why not?!" He was a little shocked at her outrage; he thought she barely knew this guy.
Levianath just shrugged before Julian could explain, standing straight from where he'd been leaning against the door frame. "Don't worry, I get that more than you might think. I can be out by noon."
"You don't have to leave immediately," Julian said quickly. He didn't want history to repeat itself with the poor guy. "You want something to eat? We can get some food."
Levianath hesitated there, glowing emerald eyes glancing toward Lily. "Only if she'll dine with us," he smiled charmingly, a look which, as much as Julian wouldn't admit it, worked quite well. The guy totally knew what he was doing.
Julian bit back his own smile and turned his golden gaze down to Lily's, his brows arching sharply with a reading, teasing stare. "Then it's up to you," he told her, hoping she could read him. He was teasing her so hard right now.
Lily ignored his look and perked up. "Of course!" After sending a sly glance at Julian, she offered her hand out, palm-down, in a hilariously-dainty manner that made Julian begin to snicker as Levianath graciously took it and tucked it into his forearm.
"Hey!" Julian complained, biting back laughter with a mixture of blatant jealousy and, to be entirely honest, admiration of Levianath's smooth demeanor. "You two get any more obvious, and I'll feel like the third wheel."
Lily just laughed, but Julian got the creeping suspicion that his joke just might come true. In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, he found himself relieved that the guy would be gone by nightfall.
Levianath
After he had been fed and given a small purse of money (courtesy of the tribe's chieftain, Lucian Silverpaw), Levianath was practically ushered out of the forest by Sarion, who was polite but firm in that he was not welcome here. Levianath had encountered this sort of thing enough now that it didn't faze him. People kicked him out all the time, and it didn't upset him in the slightest. At least, that's what he told himself.
First things first, he set off to check ship schedules. Julian and Lily chose to tag along with him, which he didn't mind all that much. Ideally, he would be alone, but he was surprised to find that their company wasn't as annoying as most. Maybe it was their almost ignorant cheerfulness, he wasn't sure. But in a weird way it was pleasant. It allowed him to escape who he was and delve into their personalities, giving him a glimpse of what it would be like to live in their place. Which was, he deduced, a much, much simpler life. They barely even had to work, save for simple farm chores, and those were all done through Druidic magic.
It was a simple, seemingly Utopian lifestyle they led, and it intrigued the man who'd had to fight tooth-and-nail for every little thing he had in his life.
He wasn't surprised when the Darnassian dockmaster said there wouldn't be another ship until Monday, and this was a Thursday. Levianath turned to leave, shoving his hands in his rough-stitched black trouser pockets, and the two elves joined his side, trying to find something to do. Levianath had to find a place to sleep, and he got the feeling that the two people with him wouldn't leave him alone until he'd bought himself a room at an inn somewhere. Which, in retrospect, would be a good idea for him. He didn't feel like running into one of his brothers.
Somehow, they ended up stopping in front of a sketchy-looking tavern, and Lily insisted they eat there, but the guys were more than hesitant. They exchanged skeptical glances, and looked at Lily like she was crazy, but she stood her ground.
"Seriously! Nyela and I have eaten here countless times," she declared, and Levianath bit back a smirk. He wouldn't be surprised right now if she stomped a foot down.
Levianath glanced over at Julian, and Julian just shrugged.
"They like it, how bad could it be?" he said reluctantly, and Levianath cocked his head sideways, before nodding.
"Well, alright," he finally agreed, and the trio headed into the bar. In all Levianath's life in Stormwind, he'd never heard of this place. It was sandwiched, or more like hidden, between a dark alley and an even darker alley. He wondered how Lily and her friend would've ever found a place like this, let alone gone inside.
But they all did, and it turned out better than Levianath had expected. In fact, it reminded him of the taverns in southern Stranglethorn Vale, at the cape town there called Booty Bay. The atmosphere was eerily similar, and he felt more at home here than he had anywhere else in the city, though he didn't rightly know why.
Almost immediately as they all sat down at the bar, Levianath saw Julian shimmy up close to Lily with a smug look on his face and say something Levianath couldn't catch. Lily began to giggle relentlessly and turned her face away from Julian, putting her chin in one hand and resting her elbow on the bar so that Julian could only see the back of her head. Lily made eye contact with Levianath and just beamed, and his heart skipped a beat. He'd known this girl for less than a day, but he knew two things: she was gorgeous, and she seemed entirely at ease with strangers like himself, which was odd. He usually was met with wary glances and furtive scowls.
He was on his guard as usual, but she seemed carefree and way too trusting. Same went for the other guy, Julian. Levianath guessed Julian was around his age, but he couldn't be sure. Julian was as tall as he was and looked like he could be in his twenties, but the way he acted gave Levianath a different idea. He was far too...happy. Grown-ups aren't that happy all the time, are they?
Levianath responded to Lily's look with a simple smirk, and then turned to the bartender, a tough-looking woman with freckled, tanned, callused arms and long, black wiry hair with streaks of white. She sent Levianath a heads-up glance, and he responded with one of his own and ordered a mug for himself. Within ten seconds, it was sitting in front of him at the bar. He'd have to remember to tip her well before the night was over. He usually didn't tip, but he'd been feeling wealthy lately.
Julian and Lily ordered theirs as well, and Levianath watched them warily. He'd never known Night Elves to drink much at all, especially not ale, but these two acted like it was nothing. In normal elf culture, drinking that in public would be considered sloppy. One more reason this tribe was strange. Strangely enough, Levianath found that the more he learned about it, the more he was beginning to appreciate the tribe's rebellious nature, though he'd never admit it out loud.
He saw Julian take a generous drink, wipe his mouth with his sleeve, and then lean against the bar to speak to Lily, who still wasn't looking at him.
"If you were a fruit, you'd be a fine-apple," the redhead said playfully, and Lily snorted. Levianath furrowed his brows in amused confusion, and listened as Julian went in for another line.
"You're so hot you make Burning Steppes look like Northrend," he snickered at her, and she finally looked over at him again.
"Julian, your lines are atrocious," she laughed back.
Julian kept grinning. "I wish I were cross-eyed, so I could see you twice."
"You're gonna get slapped," she replied, still laughing.
He held his hands out in a shrug. "Suit yourself. I've got plenty more where those came from."
"Use them elsewhere," she replied teasingly.
Levianath just shook his head and rolled his eyes, taking a swig of his drink. These two were annoying, but they were still decent company, seeing as unlike most people he encountered, they weren't out to get him. Plus, since he had company, he wasn't being approached by people trying to pick a fight. It's crazy how having even one person with you can sway those looking for easy prey.
As Lily and Julian continued to banter (or was it flirting?), Levianath noticed a crowd enter the tavern which only completed the place's 'Booty Bay' semblance. Four fairly youthful but rough-looking, green-skinned Goblins, two women and two men, marched in and made a beeline for the bar, hopping up easily into the stools and all talking loudly amongst each other, their voices gritty and amusing. The one closest to Levianath and the other two glanced over, giving them all a keen level of scrutiny. Levianath kept his distance from him and didn't care to engage in conversation, but then the guy jerked his head to the side and started to speak to Lily.
"Yo, Toots," the Goblin called out, and Lily pointed her gaze at him cheerfully, waiting for him to continue. "What'cha drinkin, kid?" he asked her in a friendly manner.
She lifted up her tankard. "Well," she studied it a second. "Something made from wheat."
The Goblin laughed aloud. "Like your style," he praised, and then looked at Levianath. "Ever tried Goblin ale?"
Levianath shook his head, expression remaining flat.
The guy shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Shame. Ya haven't lived 'til ya tried it."
Julian perked up from Levianath's other side. "I'll try it."
"Yeah?" the Goblin looked surprised.
Julian nodded. "Sure! But first, let me buy you all drinks."
The Goblin grinned, sharp teeth glinting, reminding Levianath of a shark. "Certainly," he nodded. "Won't pass up an offer like that."
Julian did as he'd promised, and soon enough, within the hour all four Goblins had warmed up to the young man and were crowded around him, throwing out jokes and laughing hysterically at his responses. Levianath observed from the side, biting back the occasional smirk when the conversation reached an uproarious level of humor. Though, most of the time, he remained somewhat stoic. Everyday conversation bored him, and as the voices in the tavern became louder every minute, he became more irritated and wanted to leave.
Finally, the Goblin who'd first spoken to them clapped a hand on Julian's shoulder, calming down from his laughter.
"Kid, we're from an excavation crew based a few hundred leagues south of here. I'll get straight to the point: we came here because we're hirin'. We'd hire just about anyone who can lift a pickaxe, but with you, hell, I'd pay ya to just show up and talk." The laughing man glanced over at Lily, who'd been just as engaged in conversation as Julian. "And as for you, you could bring us in a hell of a lot of money just making hydration rounds to the workers. Ain't no one who can turn down a drink from a pretty girl like you."
Lily smiled. "Sounds fun, but I've never worked a job like that in my life."
"Toots, that's like sayin' ya never tried chocolate so ya never will." The Goblin shook his head.
Lily lifted a brow, leaning an elbow against the bar. "What if I told you I don't like chocolate?"
Levianath glanced over at her. "Who doesn't like chocolate?"
She just returned his look with a sly wink.
"Can't say I'm looking to become a miner," Julian butted in, addressing the Goblins. "But you never know until you try. Anyway, about that drink you offered earlier..."
"Well, they don't sell our brew here," the small green man shrugged in response. "Lucky for you all, we brought some of our own. Won't cost you much." He butted his elbow against another of his kind, leaning back. "'Ey, grab us some of that ale we brought, will ya?"
"Got a customer already?" the other Goblin lifted his brow.
The guy nodded back, winking slyly, and Levianath squinted his eyes. Goblins. Always trying to make coin in overpricing their goods. But then again, what did he care? What was an extra coin to him now? He had over fifty thousand.
The three elves received full servings of the Goblin brew, and they went to town. Levianath had to admit, it did pack a serious kick. He was pretty sure one mug of this equated to ten times the potency whatever he could've gotten his hands on here.
It took Levianath a while to warm up to the Goblins, even though he had to admit they were one of his favorite factions, with their sarcastic humor and give-a-damn attitudes. But halfway through his mug and he'd lost his inhibitions, and he had actually begun to partake in their jokes.
By the time Levianath downed the last drop of his mug, his memories of the night faded to black.
Julian
When he woke, Julian's eyes remained closed for a moment as he attempted to pull himself out of his groggy state. He was uncomfortably warm, and the air he was breathing was muggy and hot. Odd, for an April day. It normally didn't get this warm until mid-August, maybe later.
He furrowed his brows, still trying to wake up properly. His whole body felt like lead, and the second he even thought about moving, his head began to pound. His stomach churned, and with grudging realization, Julian accepted this hangover. He couldn't even remember how last night ended. He'd never done this before. Maybe this was a lesson to be learned.
A fly buzzed near his ear and then landed on his cheek, its wings whining that high-pitched tune. He attempted to wave it away, but all it did was crawl to the other side of his cheek. He felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead, and frowned.
It was far too hot for April. Something was off.
Finally he opened his eyes, and startled at the view. He saw sunlight peeking through a dusty canvas tent roof and blinked, realizing he was definitely not at home. He heard muffled, distant voices and the sounds of working machinery from far away, as well as the occasional squawk of what sounded like exotic birds far overhead.
He sat up, wincing as his head swam, and glanced about frantically, and then relaxed when he saw Levianath's prone form nearby. He wondered where Lily was, but most of all, he wondered where he himself was, as well as what the hell was going on. He leaned forward toward the flap of the tent, but paused when his head shot with pain again. This definitely wasn't just the effects of alcohol, he concluded. He felt drained and confused, not just hungover. He'd had all of three drinks last night. The two rounds he'd bought for the Goblins, and then the one Goblin brew.
What had been in that drink?
Gritting his teeth, he finally pulled the tent door to the side. A burst of muggy air, even hotter than in the tent, hit him square, and bright sunlight refracted off of crystalline shards that grew out of the ground and bright, dense green jungle plants. His eyes widened despite the pain of the light that jarred them. Where was he?
Levianath stirred and sat up beside him, and Julian looked over at him, eyes still bugging out. Levianath looked almost bored, exhausted, and he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms as Julian sat there speechless.
Julian finally found his voice. "Where the hell are we?"
Levianath yawned slowly, appearing unimpressed, and squinted his eyes, peering out of the tent door. He must have recognized it, because he then sighed.
"Well I'll be damned," Levianath grunted, his voice still sleepy. "We're in Stranglethorn Vale."