#day192020

[polluxhale]

Day 19 - Distance @daily-writing-challenge​

He rubbed his cold-reddened cheeks with gloved hands, trying to bring them some sort of warmth in this frigid hellscape.  Eyes drifted over the solemn faces gathered around the single campfire, no one really felt like talking, Pollux himself included.  It had been a long week already, and he was pretty certain that every week from here on out would be the same.

There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding everything right now, and while he had grown accustomed to it over the decades, he knew one person that had not.  Fidgeting with his communication device, he debated what he was going to even say at this point. Or what he could say.  ‘Hi, I’m not coming home for a while’ was definitely not going to go over well, neither would a dire warning. Sadly, they were both things that needed to be said.  Maybe at least one of them could be said in person.

The distance was difficult, not just the physical aspect, but the mental as well.  He had to mentally distance himself from everything back home, or he would never be able to do his job effectively.  Compartmentalization was key for anyone in this profession.

He exhaled a sigh before typing out a message to Khaeris, rereading it twice and hoping that it didn’t sound too ominous, and then pressed send:

‘Probably going to be here longer than originally expected, but for how long, I honestly don’t know.  I’ll try to get a couple days of leave soon before I’m nose deep, sound good?’

@kharrisdawndancer​

[inistellan]

Daily Writing Challenge Day 19 - Adventure/Distance

This had become a weekly ritual of theirs: Every Thursday evening for two hours they would disappear together; sometimes to go to a restaurant, other times to hit up a dingy bar.  It was always somewhere out of the way where no one would know their faces or names.  A place where they could speak freely without having to worry about prying eyes and ears.

Over the past year, Stellan and his daughter Vixannya had grown closer, and he couldn’t be more thrilled to have her back in his life.  The woman was smart as a whip and their conversations were never dull.  She had a knack for reading his moods, much to his dismay at times. However, it was nice to have someone tell it like it is; he needed that balance in his life, just as she seemed to profit from having that fatherly figure in her own.

Their most recent meet-up brought them to a favorite restaurant of theirs in Bilgewater Harbor; the service was crap, but the food was excellent. “You’re bored.”  Not a question, a flat out statement, emphasized with a charming smirk. She wasn’t referring to this particular conversation, but in general.

Stellan had been staring off into the distance, deep in thought. On that comment, his eyes flicked back to her face, fixing her with a stern look.  He wasn’t annoyed because she was wrong, he was annoyed because she was 100% correct. “Not always.  But yes, it’s a simpler life than I am accustomed to. I thought perhaps ‘retirement’ would suit me better, but our blood has always run thick with war and the constant need for -more-.”

She knew it to be the truth, she was indeed her father’s daughter.  “You need an adventure. Sounds like there’s one on the winds.”  They had a very different idea of ‘adventure’ than your typical family did. Slender digits stretched out to clasp her hands around his own, closing her eyes. “You won’t die there. You know that. Nothing has changed, even with that little seed now planted.”

Stellan slowly retracted his hands from her grasp. While her gifts may have been welcomed by some, he had no desire to know or to see his future. “Maybe you’re right.  Maybe it’s time I put all these skills to use again.”

@daily-writing-challenge​ @vixannya​

[talthorn-sylvoran]

Friends and stories

Day 19 - Adventure

Illusions dance in front of the story circle while a joyful storyteller tells his tale. His fingers weaved and had these images move and talk as he did. Depicting the details to his listens with his own dynamic flair. Talthorn had stories from the far reaches of Azeroth and beyond! Most of them embellished a bit every time, as his sense of dramatic never ceases to want to shine wherever he is. 

"And that is how I single handedly bested a group of vicious brawlers, with nothing by my wits and a few perfectly placed portals." he grins hearing the ripple of laughter from the crowd that gathered this evening in Moonglade. 

"Oh Talthorn." Bellanah, the lead of this circle tonight, has a slight roll of her eyes happen afterward. "Only you would think of baiting them to charge at your own mirror images to get them to teleport....where did you say again?"

The magi chuckles and disperses the illusions in a mist of stars. "Oh, I honestly don't know! It was best that way. Hopefully it taught them a lesson not to bully around cities, else they find themselves extracted to unknown parts of Azeroth." 

"All your adventures are always so colorful." a fluttering, happy Kaldorei's woman expresses, hand already holding at her face. 

"I do wonder if even half of what you say is true though." another teasing voice on the other side, looking exactly like her sister comments still weaving a couple flowers in one of his braid.

Talthorn pretends to look hurt, his hand to his chest. "My tales not true! Perish the thought my dears. Perhaps there are part of them that have a bit of....flourish. But I had experienced them!"

A smirking Ren'dorei man speaks frankly. "Do you have any more dragon wrestling stories?"

The magi grins widely and replies. "Which ones did you want to hear about good sir! Do you want ones of me almost falling off of one? Oooor is your mind thinking a bit more seduuuuctive."

"Talthorn!" Bellanah points a finger at him. "Not those sorts of stories. Besides....there is no way you seduced a dragon."

"She distinctly told me she was a dragon! In her beautiful high elf form." Talthorn's finger points out, and the way his eyes shimmered showed he didn't really believe that himself. It was just very entertaining to bring up in some conversations. 

Bellanah sighs knowing there was no use arguing with him and looks out to the group. "Would anyone else care to tell their tale tonight?"

The draenei gentleman speaks out rather loud and warmly. "We've all gone tonight, Bell. Let the man tell us one more of his adventures."

Talthorn's eyes brighten with enthusiasm. He truly didn't want to take over their event, but he was more than happy to bring to them wonder. 

As everyone agrees, the magi claps his hands together and after a few mutterings of words some more colors would appear in his hands. Spreading them out he creates a stage for his next experience.

@daily-writing-challenge​

(( Stories circles are a JOY to be apart of and to host. Talthorn always seems to find some in his wandering, and makes the most interesting friends along the way. I hope to share more experiences with all you story appreciators very soon! <3 ))