Sorry this took so long! I wanted to take a little time off now, and Valhalla really sucked me in.
"You think those two are alright out there?" Jazax asked impatiently, looking over his shoulder.
"If there is any danger, I am sure they can handle it," Khail nodded.
"...You sure about that?" Jazax looked back over at the tauren, "Sounds to me kinda like you're just too lazy to go check."
Khail chuckled and sipped the bottle of ginger wine.
"They are fine," He reassured, quite confidently.
"How can you be so sure?" Jazax asked, squinting suspiciously at him.
"Because they've already returned," Khail chuckled again, gesturing out the entrance of the inn.
Jazax looked over, seeing them enter. Mythene was leaning against Zami, looking pretty worn out by something. Jazax perked an eyebrow, going to ask what happened, when he realized it wasn't just the two of them that entered. There were three. His gaze fell upon the new arrival and his eyes went wide.
"Ah, it is a pleasure to see you survived the battle, Miss Duskstrider," Khail greeted her, nodding his head.
"Likewise, old man," Syrise smiled, nodding back to him.
It took hearing her voice to finally break Jazax from his trance. It wasn't just a trick or a dream or something. Syrise was really right there, right in front of him.
His mind quickly went through the different ways he could greet her without seeming too . Things had been a little bit up in the air last time they'd spoken. Y'know, since she kissed him and all.
He considered just waiting until she greeted him first, but he was too uncertain of the result. He settled on leaning his elbow against the table, propping up his chin, and trying to look uninterested in her arrival. He wasn't really one for understated most of the time, but girls liked that nonchalant stuff, right? Plus it felt like the best position to take, all things considered. At last he cleared his throat, drawing her attention.
"Oh, hey Syrise," He said with a little shrug, "Didn't even see you there."
He waited tensely for her response, though no one would've figured it from how laid-back and aloof he seemed on the outside. Syrise looked him up and down for a second, and it gave him a brief moment of hope that his approach had the intended effect. Except then she snorted in amusement and put her hands on her hips.
"What, seriously?" She asked, perking an eyebrow, "Zami gets, like, three. But I can't even get one single hug from you?"
Jazax blinked in surprise and cocked his head to the side, completely taken off guard by her reaction. That was the exact opposite of the nonchalant, casual vibe he'd intended. She...wanted a hug? Syrise?
Before he could even parse out how to possibly respond to just a bizarre and unexpected request, Syrise strode over to him and knocked him out of his seat, stealing it in a swift gesture.
"Just kidding," She chuckled, leaning back and propping up her legs on the table, "Still, good to see you, Jazzy. Thanks for keeping my seat warm."
Even if being knocked to the floor hurt a little, his relief made up for it. The last thing he wanted was for things to be all weird between them now. Giving a silent sigh of relief, he stood up and brushed off his clothes.
"Yeah, sure," He scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Your seat. No problem, Syrise."
She turned to him and stuck out her tongue, then turned back to face the group.
"There's a problem with Keeper Remulos," Mythene announced, drawing the attention of the group.
"Err, who?" Jazax asked, leaning against the end of the table.
"Big magic deer guy," Zami said in a quick aside, "Leads da Circle."
"Gotcha," Jazax nodded, then gestured to Mythene, "Continue."
"What ails him?" Khail asked, sitting up a bit in concern, "Is he wounded from the attack?"
"I'm… I'm not sure what it is," Mythene confessed, "But he has no external injuries."
"A plague of the mind, then?" Syrise suggested, "A spell?"
"I thought so too," Mythene said with a nod, "I sought to release him of the corruption, but…"
She paused, looking down. Jazax noted she was uncharacteristically timid about the whole issue. Usually, Mythene was pretty loud and bossy. That was kinda her thing. So it was kinda weird to see her acting so… afraid?
"Dat's da screams ya heard," Zami continued for her, clearly also sensing her trepidation, "She was in some kinda trance, hand on da Keeper's head. Whatever he got, I think it was tryin' to get her too."
"The cleansing did not work, I take it?" Khail asked, furrowing his bushy brow.
"I don't think so," Mythene confessed, "He still lays in a sleep without waking. It almost reminds me of Dreaming, except…"
"Except?"
"Well, except it wasn't green," She said with a little shrug, "It was red."
Upon hearing this, Jazax noticed Zami flinch slightly. It was the subtle kind of thing where you blink and you miss it. And Mythene clearly missed it, as did Khail. But Syrise's green eyes were also flicked over onto the troll, and Jazax had no doubt she'd seen it too.
"If it was the Dream, then Remulos must've been there," Khail urged further, "Did you speak to him?"
"Yes, but he was bound in these red vines," Mythene looked down, recalling, "He bade me not to touch them, but I sought to free him. When I set my hand upon the vines, I could feel a pulse. Like a heartbeat, but slower. Erratic. Abnormal."
Mythene recounted the story of what she had seen for all of them. About nearly getting captured herself, and the Keeper's various attacks made against her, and his reddened madness.
"So it seems like those vines made him go crazy, right?" Syrise asked, swinging her feet down from the table.
"Seems like it," Mythene confirmed with a nod.
"I have never heard of such a corruption within the dream," Khail said as he stroked his thick black beard, "Perhaps there is something wrong with the Dreamer?"
"That is what I wonder as well," Mythene frowned, "If Ysera is corrupted by this force, then the Emerald Dream might as well be lost."
"Well what're we s'posta to do, den?" Zami shrugged, "Mi'ten's da best healer of da Circle, right? And even she can't fix it."
"Someone should inform Malfurion of this," Khail sighed, "Perhaps his connection to Cenarius will be-"
"Ah, that's right," Mythene sat up, "He never joined us here. Could something have held him up in Darnassus?"
"Think dere's trouble?" Zami asked cautiously.
"Only one way to find out," Syrise said as she stood up, "Let's go find this Malfurion guy and-"
"Syrise," Mythene reminded her gently, "You know that you're not welcome in Darnassus as a sin'dorei. We will have to return without you."
"Ohh, you stupid kaldorei never let anyone else in on the fun," She huffed, grumpily sitting back down, "Do I seriously have to sit here and wait? Nighthaven isn't even livable right now!"
"It won't take very long," Mythene reassured her, but Syrise just crossed her arms.
Jazax frowned at the thought that they'd have to split up so soon after reuniting. But then he got an idea.
"So uh," He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the group, "...What if she wasn't a sin'dorei anymore?"
