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Post by Narisha on Aug 29, 2009 22:23:20 GMT -5
Nari flinched and darted backwards as he lashed out. She had hardly expected it to upset him that much and she cowered back into the corner a bit, all the teasing and confidence fleeing her as panic welled up. Her throat tightened and tears threatened to slip down her face as he turned angrily from her.
She paused a moment before the desire to touch him overwhelmed her. He had become her protector and without him she would be lost... Two feelings warred within her, the fear that he would reject her and the absolute trust that he would never harm her. Slowly she crept up behind him as he spoke. She could sense the apology he wanted to give her and slipped her hands around his sides and up his chest as she pressed against his back.
"I'm sorry my love... We will find a way around it if at all possible... And you should know that I would never let another man touch me... I only ever want you."
She closed her eyes and rested her head against his back, fingers lightly stroking his chest. If she had her way, nothing would take her from his side. Come hell or high water she would always be with him.
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Post by Callahan on Sept 2, 2009 20:02:40 GMT -5
He pressed his eyes closed as hard as he could in the morning light. Much tighter and he'd be at risk of causing damage to himself. Maybe force his eyes to fall backwards into his head with a little more pressure. Frustrated he pounded his head to the right, the forehead making direct contact with the smooth, warm wood in a sharp thud, bringing the two solid objects into immediate proximity with one another. It was the wood that bucked beneath the impact, a slight crack appearing between the delicate panels, but he hardly noticed as he maintained his forehead against the wall. His breathing was normal, and the impact did little other than to jumble up his thoughts for a moment, a minor throbbing taking residence in the centre of his forehead as he removed it from the wood, opening his eyes a little more as he felt himself calm down. It was hardly an equivalent exchange for the harshness of his words, but the Goblins would be expecting him down soon. He turned, planting a kiss almost immediately on Nari's cheek, his way of saying sorry. Implicit, not explicit. He saved the obvious side of himself for his troops. No need for her to be treated like them, and they couldn't be expected to pick up on things. Obvious was good in a fight.
"I think we need to think about heading off to see the Goblins." He hinted at her, pulling her with him gently as he moved to pull on a reasonable sized cloak to protect them from the harsh weathers that could assault the bay, if not from the greedy Goblins and their snide remarks. His hand wrapped around hers and he pulled the door closed with them as they left. Locking it, he led her down the corridor of the building they were residing in towards the exit, turning left and walking down the boardwalk with her slowly towards the council chambers. Well, whatever the pirate equivalent of the council chambers was. Ignoring the semantics though, he stared out at the lapping ocean as they moved slowly down the wooden walkways, their heads inclined out to sea. Seagulls, fish, dolphins, sharks, ships, the Sun, it was wonderful.
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Post by Narisha on Sept 3, 2009 12:28:08 GMT -5
She loved him...
Of course, Nari had known for years she loved him, but there were still moments now that they were together that it hit her. Hard. And as he tugged her along by the hand to go meet with the Goblins, she had one of those moments.
She happily, more than happily followed him. She would truthfully go anywhere with him as long as they could be together. These meetings with the Goblins had stressed him to the point that she had been worrying constantly about his health. And now he was bringing her along.
He stopped finally and she paused next to him for a moment before slipping around to his front and gazing up into his face. A slight bruise was forming in the center of his forehead and she frowned slightly, reaching a hand up to brush a few bits of hair over it.
"Don't need to give them ammo love..."
Her fingers stroked along his cheek and she stretched up to place a small kiss on his chin.
"Let's go wrap this up... I want to go home and I want you to come home with me..."
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Post by Callahan on Sept 4, 2009 23:25:28 GMT -5
He brushed his hair after her hand moved it almost instinctively, disturbing the hairs after her hand had arranged them to neatly cover the bruise he could barely, feel, taking his hand around hers as she brought it across his cheek. He knew he had a stubble by now and it probably wasn't something she enjoyed rubbing her soft skin against, but as soon as they returned he could look less like a scruffy mongrel and more like an actual Commander. Able to actually carry a sword around and do things besides whine about the same things over and over with people to get to a conclusion that would not happen, but he was being forced to participate in regardless. He pressed on with her by his side towards the location of the pirate-council-leader-Goblin-thing inside the larger of the buildings, ready to set up the pillars for another failure of an attempt to grasp something from the Goblins to aid them. Unlikely but it was worth a try, and at the very least he'd be able to get the day over with.
Striding up the wooden planks with Nari on his arm, he touched her hand a little as the guards eyed his movements. The lanterns swung lightly from side to side offering little in the way of any particularly helpful light, other than that which would cast eerie shadows on the wooden walls. Finally arriving at the meeting hall, he flung the doors open ahead of himself, offering Nari the entrance as he kept one of the doors from closing, then letting it slam behind him. A screechy voice came across from the far side of the room almost immediately. "You're late, human." "You're green. That Tauren is wearing a pink shirt. You have horrible taste in decorations. Palus is an alcoholic. Anything else I missed or are we going to continue our stating of the obvious?" He pulled out a chair for Nari, allowing her a seat and taking the seat closer to the Goblins. If they went for her they'd go through him.
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Post by Narisha on Sept 9, 2009 2:58:29 GMT -5
The Tauren was wearing a pink shirt.
It made Narianne stop dead in her tracks for a moment as she adjusted to the site of the large creature in a bright pink floral shirt. It was both disturbing and hilarious and she struggled to keep hysterical giggles from escaping her.
She gave Palus a sunny smile and as Val pulled out her chair for her, she gave him a smile she hoped conveyed just how much she loved him. Then, as he sat in a chair between her and the rest of the room, she turned to the Goblin she'd somewhat identified as the leader and gave him a stunningly predatory smile. Little green monster wanted to go for her man, he'd come through her first.
"Good morning gentlemen..."
A spark flickered off her fingers as she restrained the desire to polymorph the entire group and instead summoned a mini-void. The little blue demon hovered in front of her on the table as a reminder to all those in the room that there was a warlock in their midst... A warlock that stayed on the arm of the Grand Marshal making him even less a man to be trifled with.
"Darling..." She turned to Val and gave him another gentle, supportive smile.
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Post by Callahan on Sept 9, 2009 18:16:02 GMT -5
He smiled, patting her on the hand, his eyes not turning away from the Goblin Captain who stared now at the demonic beast exhibiting its existence on the table across from him. The pale, yellow, beady eyes followed the bobbing of the head before finally shrieking out in a manic tone, the first part of his sentence totally intelligible. "-for over thirty years, and that woman brings-" "That woman being my guest, Joov." The Goblin narrowed his eyes at the usage of his surname without any honorifics or titles. He gripped the little mouse scuttling about around the desk in front of him, squeezing it a little tightly and exhibiting a squeal of desperation from the mouse as it writhed a little in his hand. "Guest or not, I'll not stand by and have some half-baked Warlock disrespecting me by summoning demons in my presence." "Then how about you SIT your green arse down and then you won't have to stand for it then?" Val squeezed Nari's hand, but his attention now was on Palus who seemed to have grown a sense of pride in the presence of the Advisor. He grinned, the paladin half asleep with his head propped up on his hands.
Val turned back from the cheeky man to the Goblin who was simply fuming and ready to go mad, his teeth sinking into the desk. "I'll have you all arrested, I'll have you executed, I'll..." "Are you threatening the leader of the Alliance Military Forces?" Val suggested, in a patronizing tone, inclining his head as though interested in the answer prepared to be given to him by the mad Captain. Joov swore several foul Goblin phrases into the hardwood before bringing his teeth back up into view. He looked a little less agitated, if at all. "Grand Marshal," he stressed the title, "We are prepared to meet your demands if you meet ours. As the final meeting between us I believe that there is little else to say other than accept or decline." "I've said before that if the demons are indeed landing we need to have access to Kalimdor. If you don't comply then you're putting yourselves at risk." The Goblin gave an ungrateful snort and turned his head away, and Val squeezed Nari's hand once more. No boats by the sound of it. Disappointing...
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Post by Narisha on Sept 9, 2009 21:03:54 GMT -5
Nari covered a smile as Palus stood up for her and gently squeezed Val's hand. Her eyes wandered the room, darting back to the goblin as a high-pitched and desperate squeak emanates from its hand. Her eyes narrowed in on the small wiggling, whiskered nose and she had to restrain herself from attacking the cruel goblin delegate. No good would come of making things more difficult for Val...
A hand raised, tiny sparks shooting from her fingers as she stroked the little hovering voidlette.
Unable to stand any longer the squeaking and desperate attempts at escape by the mouse, she scooted the void aside.
"Go stand by the Grand Marshal Rufus."
The young woman stood and smiled at the goblin so quick to speak down to Val.
"You threatened Val... not wise... but even worse... you're hurting that poor little mouse..."
A finger twitched on her hand and a silver stream shot from her fingers, hitting the small squirming animal still tightly in the grip of the goblin. Within seconds a bewildered looking sheep was scurrying 'round the table and Nari quickly scooped the animal up, holding it carefully till it changed back into a mouse.
"I may very well be a half-baked warlock... but I can assure you that makes me an even greater enemy. Nothing I have seen or heard today gives me a good impression of the treatment my... of the Grand Marshal. Rest assured that if you are ever in need of our assistance I will be fighting against giving it."
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Post by Callahan on Sept 10, 2009 5:38:17 GMT -5
It was so nice to see the old Narianne back. He hadn't seen her like this for weeks, and it certainly was nice to have her standing up for him from time to time, despite how inappropriate it might have been. He glanced down at the little demon as she stood, yawning a little and seeing it imitate him with a slightly laugh. A bright burst of light suddenly caught his attention in his peripheral vision and he swiveled his head to glance at the sheep in the Goblin's hands. Had that thing always been there? It took him a second or two, and the moment of realisation came in the form of a palm hitting a forehead. She certainly did like causing trouble, but at the moment he could care less. At her final comment he decided to chip in a little. "Well we'll certainly help if Booty Bay is attacked, for a price..." HE smiled wryly, standing up to leave. The meeting had been a lot shorter than he had expected. More time to get the hell away from this place.
"Oh and Joov, you owe me 72 gold from last night." Palus's voice could be heard echoing around the room as Val arrived at the doorway, beckoning Nari to join him, Palus stepping through without waiting. The wails of the Goblin Captain were almost hilarious, and almost enough of an incentive for a return visit. He shrugged, looking forward to returning home where he could walk around in his nice comfortable armour and wear a sword without being regarded as a security threat. Clearly a paladin, a warlock and a veteran warrior slipping into a city wasn't regarded a security threat. He half considered rectifying that at a later date. Pulling Nari next to him he grinned, slipping her arm around his. "I guess this means we can go back home today." He smiled, guessing she too had been missing life in a stable society. Stanglethorn was beautiful, but it was hardly what he'd call ideal.
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Post by Narisha on Sept 11, 2009 2:18:12 GMT -5
Rufus the voidlette and Harry the freshly named mouse skittered across the floor in a strange sort of tag game as Narianne sorted the last of their clothing into the travel chests.
"There... I think that's all of it."
She gave the soldiers that had accompanied them on their journey a smile and nodded for them to take the chests as she snapped her fingers at the two unlikely playmates.
"Come you two, we need to check the children are all set."
Smoothly moving down the hallways, she could hear Val giving orders to the men out in front and smiled. Now that he knew he was going home she could sense the ease of mind he had. It would be good to get him home and away from this place.
She had paused at Claire and Michaels' door. Drawing her attention back to her own tasks, she knocked on their door and pushed it open with a smile. The two were, as was rather expected, distracted and she clapped her hands lightly together to grab their attention.
"Let's get this all packed up so we can head out of her alright?" She gave them each a gentle smile and they nodded, bringing her their clothing to fold and pack. Sophie and Edmund she was sure were having no difficulty. After a good hour of packing and unpacking and refitting and careful packaging of souvenirs, Nari gave the to an order to head out to the caravan.
"Don't get in Val's way, but stay near him..."
They ran off giggling and she poked her head out after them to grab the attention of another couple soldiers.
"These two are ready as well... Can either of you point me in the Grand Marshals' direction?"
One of them let out a loud laugh and waved over by the entrance to the bay with a wry "Man can't wait to leave."
Nari gave the soldier a smile and told Rufus to gather his friend as she took off towards her- well her whatever he was- at a rather fast pace. He wasn't the only one ready to leave.
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Post by Callahan on Sept 11, 2009 9:08:37 GMT -5
Val watched as the chests and trunks began to arrive up the boardwalk, carried by several soldiers. As each one was deposited he helped them lift them up onto the caravans, the horses starting to grow impatient as the items arrived slowly. Many were heavy, though he did wonder why so much had been brought and why so many items had been purchased while they were there in the first place. Shrugging mentally, he pushed back one of the last chests, glancing down the boardwalk. Claire and Michael were coming up, accompanied by several soldiers with their luggage, and Edmund and Sophie. At the very back he could see Nari on her way, walking with what seemed to be the last of the luggage - a void demon and a tiny mouse. His eyes could make out the black demon and the wild scurrying of the pet as they weaved in and out between her legs, smiling as she approached quickly. He assisted the children in getting into the passenger caravan, holding the door open for Edmund and Sophie and then nodding to the driver. They'd be setting off first with some of the soldiers, Val would be in the next one with Nari. Palus was going to wait for the gold Joov owed him.
Moving halfway down the hill to meet her, he accompanied her up the rest of the way, offering his arm to her and taking most of her weight as they traversed the rest of the journey to the remaining caravans. The soldiers seemed ready to go, however he brought Nari to the luggage, showing her it and wanting to know whether she'd remembered everything. His hand brushed across hers lightly as he spoke to her. "I think this is everything. Is there anything else we need to grab before we set off?" Already he could feel the sun's rays beating down on him and he wanted to get out of both the city and the sun. He could imagine the soldiers rather did too.
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Post by Narisha on Sept 16, 2009 0:43:34 GMT -5
Nari slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and smiled tiptoeing up to place a kiss on his cheek.
"I think we have everything and everyone is more than eager to set out..."
She glanced around, making sure that the children were all settled and ready to go. She waved at them as the first group of soldiers took off and they smiled and waved back.
"Rufus.."
The little blue voidlette scooped up his new friend and grew to his full size, stuffing himself into a bag with the mouse and shrinking again back down to mouse size.
"Thank you dear..."
She took Val's hand and upped herself into the caravan, waiting till Val was sitting next to her before slipping off her shoes and setting her feet on a box across from her. She let out a sigh as the driver gave a Ho! and the caravan jerked to a start. The sound of footsteps beside them making her smile. With men like these and Palus at his side, then maybe he would come home safe...
Palus...
"Dear... where is Palus?"
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Post by Callahan on Sept 16, 2009 21:48:02 GMT -5
He joined her in the carriage, scooting in next to her and resting his hand against hers, pulling his feet up to rest with hers. He glanced around, as though expecting the balding paladin to be next to him somewhere, before realising in a moment of genius that he was still at the Goblin city. "He's got his own business to attend to, after which he will join us as soon as he is able." He stroked his hand against her cheek, resting his head gently against her shoulder and listening to the sound of the clops of hooves and the pats of footmen plodding parallel to the coach. His eyes drifted lazily half shut, hands working on loosening his shirt from their constricting embrace. A finger tugged around the collar and finally he felt he could breathe again, could inhale and exhale without the fear of snapping the shirt or struggling through tight fabrics. He squeezed her hand softly, feeling the bumps in the road each time they went over one. "Not far to Stormwind."
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Post by Narisha on Sept 16, 2009 23:59:10 GMT -5
Nari shifted a bit, leaning back against the wall of the carriage so that she was half lying down, allowing Val to rest his head more comfortably on her.
"Ah... well then I suppose I won't worry. He's just become such an Uncle figure to the children...."
Her fingers slipped into his hair, softly brushing it as she watched the scenery pass by the window. A faint shouting could be heard but she simply figured it was the sounds of the jungle. They were so many and so different.
"Yes," she gave his hand a gently squeeze of her own and smiled softly. "Home to Stormwind and to a few days of normality."
The shouting seemed to get louder and she creased her forehead in frustration as the voice now was beginning to sound familiar. The were well out of Booty Bay...
"Darling... do you hear that?"
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Post by Callahan on Sept 17, 2009 11:13:42 GMT -5
He was rather comfortable now, and in the silence of the trundling caravan he could hear that shouting too. The shouting of some wild beast of the jungle making its way towards them at a frantic pace, and Val pulled his head up away from Nari, sticking it out of the window, looking to the left and seeing nothing ahead. He turned to the right, seeing a figure approaching at a breakneck speed, the shining gold of a horse with the rider atop... facing the wrong way... holding tightly onto the horse's behind... with a baby chimp clamped onto his hear... and gorillas chasing after them. "Riiiiiiiight..." was all Val said as the man approached, watching as though in a stupor before the horse weaved into the trees, chased by the train of monkeys, emerging once more and crossing all the way across the road, and then several seconds later coming back behind the caravan. This time with the addition of a few angry leopards.
"Waaaaaaaaagh!" "You get your gold from Joov?" "Aye, where are the kids?" "Caravan up ahead." "Right, I'll see you soon." "Palus, do me a favour and lose the entourage." "Wha'? Them? They're just upset because I kicked one by accident." "Which one?" "The big 'un." His voice trailed off as the horse whinnied and galloped faster, sending the paladin, leopards, gorillas and chimp hurtling past the caravan towards the next one further down the road. Val sighed, dropping back inside the coach and dropping his head back down to rest on Nari's shoulder again. "Palus might be getting lucky tonight if that white-haired one at the back gets her hands on him."
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Post by Narisha on Sept 18, 2009 1:30:19 GMT -5
She couldn't believe it.
The damned Paladin...
Only Palus could make being an ass so damned hilarious.
Nari was curled up in her seat, laughing so hard her sides ached and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Every time she tried to stop laughing Val would ask the Paladin another question, the answer to which sent her into further peals of laughter. It was such a relief to laugh again.
"May...may...maybe coming h...he..here.... was a g..goo...good thing after a..a..all." she gasped at Val after his statement to her caused her to slip onto the floor from the giggles still wracking her body.
Holding out a hand to him, she waited till he extended his own before pulling herself up and back into her seat with his help.
"It's allowed us to smile and laugh, even if only for a little while."
She brushed her hand down his cheek, lightly tracing the frown lines and worry wrinkles in his face with a sigh.
"We have not any of us had much reason to laugh, and you least of all. You deserved to get at least a little away, as did the troops and Palus. And while you didn't get much in the way of vacation time, I think even what little you did get has worked some magic on you."
She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
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