Writing prompt: I love to hear your voice, even if you’re so far away.
It was yet another sleepless night in the middle of nowhere, and by nowhere she meant Sea of Sorrows. Eyris was standing at the stern, looking at the moonlight scattered across the waves. She sighed heavily as she lowered her head. It was her first trip to Elona, she had never been so far from Tyria. Ever since she learned of Gleam, Aurene's brother, she thought about him and wondered if he had a champion. According to Aurene and her connection, he had no one. And that was why Eyris was now on a pirate ship called The Dreamer, where a Soundless sylvari-only crew enjoyed a peaceful night at the sea, just like her.
Suddenly, Eyris felt odd vibrations in her pocket, alongside with quiet beeping. It was her communicator, one of the older models that had long been replaced by armor built-in models. Furrowing her eyebrows she pressed a button and leaned in closer to the microphone.
"Who are you and what do you want at this ungodly hour?" Eyris scoffed.
"Ah, I caught you," a familiar voice sounded from the speaker, a voice that belonged to a norn Warmaster of the Vigil. "I've heard you left Tarir."
"Indeed, Warmaster Wyldwolf. What do you want?"
"Why so cold?" Freya chuckled. Eyris could hear the sounds of river humming and the wind whistling among the treetops. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about. Something... important..."
Eyris was silent and awaited Freya to continue, but nothing came through.
"Eyris?"
"What?" the sylvari rolled her eyes.
"Ah. You're still there. Good, good..."
"Out with it, Wolf girl." Eyris tightened her gasp on the communicator. Why was she suddenly acting like this? Was it because of Freya? Eyris didn't get it and she didn't want to get it. She was usually annoyed with everyone, but this norn was giving her mixed feelings. Both relief and happiness that it was her, but also nervousness and annoyance.
"It's not really a comm call talk, to be honest..."
Was Freya... nervous...? No, couldn't be. It was Freya Wyldwolf, one of the proud Wolf clan of Cragstead, she was never nervous. She was loud and boisterous and courageous and, oh, so fucking strong, she could battle a minotour barehanded. Not like she hadn't done that already. Eyris shook her head mentally and spoke to the device.
"Then you have to wait until I'm back from Elona, I guess."
"Sure. When will you be back?" Was it a relief in her voice...?
"I don't know. Three months? Six? A year or two? I don't know."
"I... see..." Freya spoke slowly, then cleared her throat. "W-well then, I hope we'll stay in touch."
"Doubt it," Eyris shrugged as she looked down, her eyes fixated on the trail left by the ship that was quickly disappearing among the waves. "My comm is quite old and I don't think it will handle such long distances."
Freya was silent for a moment.
"Be careful, weedbrain." She said, a note of worry escaping from her mouth. She had never acted like that before, it was really confusing. Eyris had a certain image of Freya in her head and this whole conversation wrecked it into pieces. What was she supposed to do now, huh?
"Wyldwolf, don't sound so serious," Eyris almost laughed. This was ridiculous. She was probably overthinking this whole ordeal. "It's not like I'm going to die out here in the middle of the desert. The commanders stayed in Tyria, so the trouble stayed in Tyria." Now she did chuckle. As funny as this sounded, deep down she knew it was solid truth. The commanders were followed by troubles and disasters, and Eyris was now on her solo mission. Everything was going to be fine. She was going to meet Vlast, get to know him and help him out a bit. Yes. It was going to be fine. Then, she heard Freya sigh with relief.
"Well, then I'll wait for your return, Eyris."
"You do you, Wolf girl," the sylvari laughed lightheartedly. She was silent for a moment. "Freya...?"
"Oh, you address me by my name now?" she could hear the norn raising her eyebrows. "That's a new one."
"Sh-shut up...!" Eyris growled, feeling her cheeks starting to glow. "I-I just wanted to say it was...nice...to hear you, even if you're so far away... I've never been so far from home before..."
Freya was silent for a second, but when Eyris was to ask if she was still there, she heard her warm voice, voice that made her almost feel the embrace of the norn.
"You will be fine. And when you're back, we're going to drink until you can't remember your own name!" Freya laughed.
"I-I'd rather not-" Eyris tried to stutter, but the warmaster's laugh was way too overwhelming for her words to go through. She sighed heavily, yet there was this odd lightness in her chest. It was going to be fine. "Thanks, Freya."
"You're welcome, weedbrain...Sleep well?"
"It's the middle of the night, Wolf girl. I'm a nightbloom."
"I can almost feel your judgeful stare, weedbrain," Freya laughed. "Well, talk to you later, leaf. I've got some heavy drinkin' to do."
And so, Freya was gone. Eyris stared at the communicator for a moment in complete silence that was disturbed by the song of the ocean. Her hand trembled as she gripped the device tighter.
"Damn you, Wolf girl... making me question myself..."
But the truth was, no matter how hard Eyris tried to fool herself, deep down she knew that even though Freya Wyldwolf was so far away... Eyris loved to hear her voice and already wanted to go see her and talk to her about...whatever Freya wanted to talk to.
"Argh, DAMMIT!" Unable to manage such feelings, feelings that she had not felt in ages, frustrtated Eyris threw the communicator into the ocean. It took her about three seconds to process that. "WAIT, NO, FUCK-- DAMMIT!"
Writing prompt: You’re unbelievable cute when you’re tired.
The pursuit of knowledge and skills was common among scholars and engineers alike. While they focused on different fields, they had many similar behaviours and traits, such as an addiction to caffeine or different energy inducing beverages and foods, burning the midnight oil, often forgetting to consume anything for extended periods of time. They usually had someone to care for them, someone to throw a blanket over them when they fell asleep at the desk, someone to bring them a mug of coffee or something much stronger. It was different, when the person they cared for was just like them, though.
"Eureka" Yvrell yelled on top of his lungs as he put his pen down and looked at the papers scattered all over his desk. Occam who was sitting at his own desk flinched as he got startled by a sudden loud sound.
"What did you do?" he asked, not looking away from drawing some blueprints requestsed by the Pact. His tone sounded as if he was bored by Yvrell's behavior, but the truth was that he was simply tired.
"I think I got it, how to rebuild Omadd's machine. I-I cracked this shit!" Yvrell said as he grabbed his glass and took a big swing of it, loving the burning sensation that was left by whiskey travelling down his throat. "Fuck you, asura. I win."
"Yeah, you win." Occam murmured, but a second later he cursed loudly. When asked about what happened, he complained about spilling his coffee on the paper. "Go grab me some more, would you? I'll try to- I'll try to save what I can from this..." he sighed heavily and rubbed the base of the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Yvrell walked to him and placed his hands on Occam's arms.
"You're unbelievably cute when you're tired." He let go of his arms and looked at his partner with love, but what was in Occam's eyes was pure confusion.
"Since when cursing and workaholism are cute?" he asked, yet it sounded more like a statement, to which Yvrell chuckled and gently headbutted his partner.
"Since it's you-"
Whatever he wanted to say next, he could not finish, because a loud knocking, no, POUNDING on the front door sounded across their entire house. Yvrell announced that he would open, and as soon as he did so, a young sylvari ran inside, completely soaked from the rain.
"And what are you doing here so late, Vielcos*?" Yvrell raised his eyebrow as he crossed his arms. She put her bag on the nearby table with a loud thud and pulled out a box from it, a big smile plastered on her face.
"I made this!" she announced with a smile and just as Occam walked in the room, a mechanical cat jumped out of the box. "Her name is Shrodinger." She was so proud of herself. Yvrell shook his head and sighed.
"I guess I will also make yet another pitcher of coffee," Yvrell said as he disappeared behind the door to the kitchen, hiding his smile. Truly... it was nice, to have a family like this.
---
* the guest of today's short story, Vielcos, belongs to the one and only @moonlit-grove
Writing Prompt: There is no better way to start the day than seeing your face.
As Eyris woke up, she yawned and squinted her eyes while stretching. She then looked to the side and saw a sylvari lay next to her, still sleeping soundly. She smiled faintly and stroke his cheek as gently as possible so she wouldn't wake him up. She raised on her elbows and looked outside the window just to realise the sun was almost gone and the moon had already begun its journey across the nightsky. Eyris lowered herself down with a sigh. She could nap for a few more minutes, since just like her partner, she was a nightbloom, and therefore - nocturnal. Little did she know, however, that there was no more time for napping.
The moment she closed her eyes yet again, she felt someone pull her in for a hug from behind. She could feel his breath on the curve between her neck and shoulder. He groaned sleepily.
"It's still early," Airell murmured. "You don't intend on leaving me here alone, hm?" he purred into her hair. Eyris chuckled.
"I don't," she assured him and turned to face him. "Slept well?"
With a smile, Airell pulled a single leaf off her face, behind her ear.
"With you next to me each day is a great rest. And there is no better way to start the night than seeing your face." He placed a kiss on her forehead. Eyris smiled as she drew various runes on his chest. "Are you trying to hex me?" Airell laughed,
"Maybe." She sent his way a mischevious smile. He took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers together. "Or maybe I'm just...bored."
Airell shifted in bed, now elevated on one of his elbows, one of his hands landed on her waist.
"I can think of numerous ways to keep you busy. We could go hunting. We could go to the shroom cave--"
"Let's not go to the shroom cave," she looked away, laughing nervously, remembering her last trip...and that was a bad, bad trip. Airell nodded and thought for a moment.
"Well, we can just spend the whole night in bed, just like humans do. And you can tell me some of your stories," he said, deep inside hoping she would agree. Eyris pondered that for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. Lay down comfortably and listen, then. It happened a few years ago, I was doing a job for the Order of Whispers..."
have ❛ it’s hard to sit here and be close to you and not kiss you. ❜ for whoever you'd like! i'll surprise you and you can surprise me :3 @kerra-and-company
thank you @kerra-and-company <3 let's go withhhhhhh....god i dont know... it gives me Airell and Ewyn vibes but I'm all about them lately and I feel like they swallowed this blog completely, haha....
Let's go with Freyris, a.k.a. Freya and Eyris. This is quite short but I hope you will like it anyway.
The fire burnt brightly in the camp, and the snow was quietly embracing the land. Freya was sitting on a rock and watched the flames dance and crackle among the timber. She was humming some ancient norn song, one she did not remember the words of but knew it used to be a nursery rhyme, her father sang it to her when she was but a child.
"That is a nice tune," she heard behind a familiar voice. Freya did not turn until the person stood next to her. "Will you keep me on my feet, Warmaster?"
"Since when do you need an invite to sit by my side, Eyris?" Freya asked her eyes finally turning to meet the sylvari's. Next moment she knew, Eyris climbed onto her lap. "That's a new one."
"Shut it," Eyris scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're doing anything." She was silent for a moment. "You know I can't get this close to fire without assistance..." she whispered. Freya slowly hugged Eyris closer, as if not to scare her. Right... The norn cursed in her mind. She could practically smell the faint scent of the sylvari.
"You know," Freya spoke, "You were actually on my mind just now."
"Was I?" Eyris looked at her.
"You're on my mind quite often lately..." the norn hid her nose in the sylvari's hair. "Because, you see... we didn't really...see each other for quite a while... and now you're so close... it's really hard to sit here and be so close to you and not kiss you."
I miss waking up to kitty fur therefore I will give you Eyris and Commander Katherine content that you did not ask for.
Katherine was 16 when she joined the Order of Whispers. Her first partner was Eyris who was seen as one of the best: there was nothing she wouldn't do to get what she needed. She was really skilled and had her own secrets that nobody knew about. Katherine really looked up to her, the infamous Eyris, who was the answer to all those "incidents" in all of Kryta.
But we should never meet our "heroes". When they told Katherine with whom she was to work with - she was excited and ready to learn. She was going to learn from one of the best. But... she did not expect...that.
"You're but a human child. What are you doing here?" Eyris asked without even looking at her as she was too bust tinkering with a trap that she was making on her desk.
"Weeell, I will be your field partner from today on and-"
Eyris turned to her, eyed her from head to toe and laughed.
"You don't have what it takes, Princess. Leave the Order before you learn too much."
Eyris turned her back on the girl. She was not having it. She worked alone. She was not going to be dragged down by some kid who wanted to play secret agents. When she was out - she risked it all every single time. But Katherine was relentless. She walked closer and looked over Eyris shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
Eyris closed her eyes, sighed heavily and thrusted a knife deep into the wooden desk. The sound startled the human.
"You're too young and 'oh so pretty!'." Eyris made an odd gesture with both of her hands. She then turned to the girl, looked her dead in the eyes and Katherine could tell that if the look the sylvari gave her could kill - she would be dead in seconds. Eyris pressed on. "Do you know that they will want you to use that? Your looks, your pretty voice. When you join the Order you belong to it. And by looking at you I can already tell you don't have what it takes. You don't have the guts to risk it all."
"You're just trying to scare me. They told me you would."
Eyris blinked a few times and started laughing. But then suddenly she was up, pinning the girl to the table with a knife at her throat.
"I killed my previous partner. Do you know why? Because the job required from me to be convincing. What would you do? Hmm? I'll tell you. You'd start a fight to save both of us. And because of that, both of us would end up dead."
The knife was pressed slightly to Katherine's throat, enough for a tiny stream of blood dripped down her neck onto the wooden desk.
"You are not ready. How could you be? No proper training. No paper work. Just fieldwork from day one. Quit now. Before it's too late."
Eyris was serious and Katherine knew that. Only when the sylvari moved away she could stand up. She opened her mouth to say something but noticed Eyris looking somewhere else, scanning the room. And then the dagger flew across the room and got stuck in a painting, which caused a person to appear.
The man started clapping.
"Wonderful performance, Eyris." He laughed warmly as he approached her. Katherine looked at her mentor and saw a tense expression. Eyris was clearly not fond of this man and clearly wanted him gone from her little office.
"Sorry, Kath. We wanted to give you a little scare-"
"Bullshit," Eyris hissed. "Nobody invited you here. Leave."
"Shouldn't you be nicer to your supervisor?"
"You know I don't care about that." She had yet another knife in her hand and Katherine wondered just how many blades Eyris had on herself.
"Drop the attitude, girlie," he snickered and reached inside if his coat and pulled out a bunch of papers clipped together. "Job for you. And your partner."
"Did she even have any training before you sent heer here?" Eyris asked.
"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here," Katherine hissed.
"The adults are talking." A murderous glare of Eyris fell on her. Katherine knew that whatever this was... it was not going to be a nice time of getting to know her mentor. Eyris then turned back to the man. "So?"
"She's excellent as she is," he said as he approached the sylvari. He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear "we need members. We suffered great losses recently. Make sure she survives this." After he said that he moved past her and put the papers on the desk.
"Leaving your job here. Go through it carefully, fill in the documents and off you go."
And so he left, seemingly walked into the wall. But both of the girls knew that in the shadows the Whispers thrived. Eyris sighed as she sat down and started going through the papers.
"So what's the job?" Katerine asked, way too cheerfully. Eyris sighed heavily (again).
"This Order will bring you to ruin. Just you wait."
Writing prompt (fluff): Believe me, I will never be tired of you.
Tinkering in his workshop was what always helped him to take his mind off of things. But this time he had drank plentiful of caffeinated nectar and had been awake for several hours past his limit.
Yvrell grabbed his mug and sipped some more nectar from it...only to spit it out as soon as it touched his lips. He coughed.
"Fuck. Oil. Why do I keep oil in a fucking ordinary mug?" He growled at himself, after which he put the mug away and now carefully looked at all ten mugs that he had around and sighed heavily. Dirty water. Some more of...odd liquids he did not remember pouring. Finally he found the one and sipped from it, after which he sighed in with pleasure. That was it. The kick he needed to keep on working and not think about...the past events.
He did not hear a sylvari enter his workshop and walk up to him. But when he suddenly felt hands on his shoulders, he flinched and spilled some of his drink on his dirty shirt.
"Oh, mulch," he sighed heavily and looked over his shoulder at the man behind him. "Occam. You startled me."
"I cannot watch you like this, wasting away," Occam said as he sat at the stool next to him. Yvrell looked down, his heart heavy with guilt. "It's flowing in back again, is it not...?"
"Yes." The answer was short, yet filled with grief.
"Scarlet is dead-"
"So are all the people who died in that bloody war!" Yvrell raised his voice as he almost jumped off his chair. "And it's all my fault...!" He was shaking so much that he could barely stand. Occam picked himself up and gently placed his hands on Yvrell's arms, rubbing them up and down in a caring manner.
"Everybody makes mistakes. You would not have done it if you had known, Yvrell. You know this..." There was no answer, so Occam continued. "You do not have to be afraid, Yvrell. I am here."
Yvrell's eyes finally met his.
"I fear that all...that...my reputation, my mental state... What if you grow tired of me? What if...if you..." Yvrell's voice cracked. Occam pulled him in for a reassuring hug.
"Yvrell, my love. I will never, ever, be tired of you."
The airship sailed among the clouds in the direction of Lion’s Arch, while the setting sun painted the sky in warm colours. The engines purred under the deck, the wind caressed the broadsides as if they were its lover’s cheeks. Most of the soldiers slept inside, while Dragon’s Watch sat outside, sipping on ale and enjoying that calm evening.
Eyris stood at the bow, looking into the distance. Somewhere there were Steamspur mountains, somewhere there was Lion’s Arch, somewhere there was her Mother, lovingly looking upon her children that just came into the world. The sylvari sighed, shaking her head. People around were saying they were coming home, finally, after all those years. But how true was that to Eyris? She never belonged with them. She was never like them. Sighing yet again, she turned her back on the bow and leaned against the iron railing, looking up at the sky that was getting darker and darker, stars slowly appearing in the distance. The universe had always made her feel at peace. Eyris closed her eyes, letting the upcoming night welcome her like a long-awaited friend.
“Eyris,” she heard a deep yet soft voice, “Do you have a moment?”. And there goes my inner peace, Eyris thought to herself as she got her head back to a normal position and looked at the sylvari that interrupted her inner meditation.
“Hm? What do you want, Airell?” she crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. He walked closer and stood next to her, leaning against the railing, resting his hands on both sides of his body.
“What’re you gonna do now?” he asked, looking at the sky. She blinked at him, then looked up. Just like back then, when they were still so young (as long as anyone could call Airell “young”), they stared into the abyss of the universe, and it stared back at them with its thousands of eyes made of stars.
“I...don't know. I feel like...my Hunt is completed.” She hummed. “Funny, the Call was strong enough to reach me even though I am a Soundless.” A faint smile appeared on her lips. “I don’t really have a home. Everyone I held dear is gone, one way or another.”
Airell bumped her shoulder with his fist in a friendly manner.
“What about me, shortie?”
Eyris chuckled as she rolled her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“You know what I mean, old fart.”
For once, Airell did not answer. He looked at her as if he was quite surprised by the peace written on her face. He smiled and looked back up, just like her.
“You could stay. Ewyn and I-”
“Oh please, I wouldn’t make it around two lovebirds like you,” she chuckled and looked at him. An amused smirk appeared on her face, as she saw his face glow sea green.
“H-how do you…?”
Eyris laughed.
“Literally everybody knew, Airell. There were bets, Airell. Bets.”
He shook his head to shake off the embarrassment, and a moment later they were back again to staring at the stars. People around celebrated, and they just...peacefully stood there, in silence. Their eyes met. Hers were apologizing. His were accepting. Hers were relieved. His were already worried.
“Write a letter, Eyris. Or whatever.” He shrugged, showing his tough persona. She chuckled.
“You’re saying as if we were not to meet again.” Saying that, she climbed on the railing and whistled. A skyscale that sat at the top of the airship until now flew down and glid under the bow.
“This is not a goodbye, Airell. Something tells me we will meet sooner than we’re thinking.” And with that, she jumped off the airship. As her skyscale flew into the horizon, Airell watched with a faint smile.
Zhaitan had fallen. Fort Trinity was filled with music and joyful screams. The world was going to heal. Everything was going to be as mother nature intended.
Airell gulped. Finally, it was the right time. With his rhuddin pounding he searched for Trahearne everywhere, only to find him alone overlooking the sea from the airship docked near his office.
"Trahearne," said Airell, "lone wolf does not change its habits, huh?" He walked closer and stood by him, leaned against the railing and looked at the sun setting over the horizon.
"You know me so well, friend," Trahearne chuckled as he looked away from the Orrian shores and turned to face the other man.
"We've known each other for a while, after all." Airell sighed heavily. Something was on his mind and even a blindman could see it. The Firstborn was silent for a while, as if hesitating, and after a moment he placed his hand on top of Airell's, which lead to the other man shifting his gaze from the horizon to Trahearne.
"What's on your mind?" Trahearne asked, his voice soothing like the springs blessed by Ameyalli. Airell opened his mouth but no sound left his throat. He tightened his grasp on the railing and closed his eyes, took a deep breath.
"Trahearne, you are an important person. You're the first of the Firstborn, you are a Pact Marshal, a wise scholar. You are amazing. And- and..." Airell's voice cracked. He wanted to say so much more, but it seemed the task he set for himself was truly a nightmare to complete. How could he possibly tell him? His throat was dry and hands seemed to have taken root in the railing, he was holding onto it with all his strength as if that could save his life from some unreal danger. Trahearne cleared his throat as he took his hand away, took a step to the side so there was more space between them. No, Airell wanted to yell, don't, it's so nice. But before he could even look at the Firstborn, he heard him speak.
"I apologize, Airell. It seems I have... misunderstood the situation." To an outsider he did not sound any different than usual, but to Airell who was his friend... there was something different in his voice. A sadness that Trahearne tried his best to hide, maybe even something more. Airell grabbed his hand in hurry and pulled him closer.
"Trahearne, you didn't misunderstood anything, I-I'm in love with you." His voice cracked, his ears lowered, his eyes were looking at the other man with anticipation of an answer. Trahearne's golden eyes were on Airell, stunned, full of emotions that the Firstborn did not know how to process. He did imagine this moment in many ways, but never like this. He did feel love in the past, many years ago, but was it similar to this? Well, no, because his previous partner was a Dreamer and they just felt it, didn't have to speak about it. There were proclaims of love but after they were already together. Airell was... different.
Trahearne gently pulled his hands away from Airell's hold and placed them on his cheeks.
"Airell, I-" he managed to say, but the remaining words stayed within, as if they were saplings not yet ready to come out into the world. But Trahearne felt it. He knew how he felt about the Dreamless one. He saw those teal eyes, eyes seeking acceptance and love, ears twitching faintly as if readying themselves to jump up at the words of love affirmation. Horror came from within, utter fear of the new unknown. Why was he unable to say anything? He did have feelings for him, he knew that...! "I-...I feel..."
Hope in Airell's eyes began waning, slipping away as his shoulders and ears went down.
"I...understand..." Airell said quietly as he gently took Trahearne's hands off his face and moved away. "I-I do." He wanted to add more, but no more words were formulating in his head, his mind became empty.
"You don't," Trahearne said quickly before Airell could walk away. "I... I want to say it. I just... I can't... I do not know why." Those golden eyes looked at him and Airell blinked in surprise. The Firstborn looked so past his comfort zone, yet he was trying his best. Airell had no reason not to believe him.
And so, they stood at the airship as the sun set and the moon rose. They stood there, holding hands, their lips touching. By morning a new, unspoken bond formed between them. Unspoken... and unbreakable. Unless...
