(( DWC August 2024 Day 1, Melee/Tournament, CW: None, @daily-writing-challenge ))
Lorellai.....
Lorellai shot up, groaning. Her stomach gurgled, reminding her just how much candy and fried everything she'd eaten that day at the Tournament, fulfilling an ill advised declaration of intent to eat her own weight in the stuff. Her head burned, and she had to blink away that glowing afterimage.
"Third night in a bloody row...." she muttered to herself, letting her legs dangle off the side of the bed as she activated her bedside light. Her family home was quiet, though the sounds of nighttime Ironforge still filtered in gently through the window. The Forge Never Sleeps, they always said. And thanks to the dreams, neither was she. Blearily, her eyes wandered to the far wall of her room, the maps hanging above her workdesk, and as her eyes drifted over southern Kalimdor, another painful flash, the light and sound staggering her again, searing the idea of Silithus into her mind.
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023 day 3: Overcome/Blind. @daily-writing-challenge CW: None))
"So, what's all this then?" Edmund asked, having come upon Shansii and Lorellai in a quiet garden in Valdrakken. It was a mandatory rest day, and he'd been enjoying the variety of food on offer throughout the city.
"Lorellai's losing a bet," the draenei girl replied, grinning as she snacked on some candies, eyeing the scene. Lorellai stood in the garden, bow in hand, blindfold covering her eye, arrow knocked, and aimed at Stroganoff, who sat placidly some thirty yards away, as unmoving as the relatively small apple sitting atop the hornswog's head.
"I won't if yeh shut up and let me focus!" the dwarven girl shot back, adjusting her footing.
Edmund shrugged, and sat next to Shansii. "What's the wager, if I might ask?"
"If she makes the shot, I take her shift in the stables tomorrow. If she doesn't, she takes -my- shift in the library the day after."
"High stakes indeed! Mind if I watch?" Edmund smiled as the girl scooted aside, giving him room to lower his large frame on the bench. "Careful there Lorellai, don't want to hurt your big baby boy!" he heckled, eliciting a laugh from beside him.
Lorellai sighed, and tried to focus, like her aunt had taught her. She knew where Stroganoff was, she knew how big he was, she knew where she put the apple, so she just had to shoot... there! She loosed her arrow, and then heard a bark of laughter from Edmund, and a gasp from Shansii. "What? I hit it, right?"
Edmund guffawed, slapping at his knee. "We'll never know, girl! He snapped it right out of the air and swallowed it! Ha!"
Lorellai pulled off the blindfold, and looked at her big blackscaled boy. He as sitting placidly, apple still on his head, and the arrow was just gone. Shansii offered a wan smile, and a shrug. "Guess we just have to do our own jobs." Lorellai could only sigh as she encouraged the hornswog to open his mouth so she could fish the arrow out before it got lodged somewhere. And through it all, Stroganoff was unbothered.
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023, Day 2, Divine/Tragedy, @daily-writing-challenge , CW: None))
Edmund Sturmtide closed the book they'd found in the vaults, supposedly penned by the dragon who had become Deathwing, and was wearing a thoughtful expression. Lorellai looked up from the fire, and titled her head. "Copper for yer thoughts, Edmund?"
"It's all a tragic story, isn't it? About Neltharion. Just a classic story about a being with great power, wealth, and respect, but none of it helps them with their problems." Edmund declared, waving the book about. They'd all had a look at it, the "play" Neltharion had partially wrote where he saved the world from a great evil, and the other aspects all praised him in the end.
"Well, I dunnae know if I'd go that far. He made plenty of choices all his own that got him where he ended up," Lorellai replied, shuddering to remember the stories her parents had told her of those days when she was left in Ironforge with her nanny, the mountain shaking while they went to fight the dragon trying to destroy the world.
"Well that's just it. We all know the stories of Deathwing. But when we got that audience with the aspects, they spoke of who he was before, and it's clear they loved him without any restraint. He was family to them, and they trusted him. But then you read this, and the other things we found, and I don't think he -believed- them when they showed their love. The Earthwarder was insecure about his worth!"
"Honestly, I'm with Sturmtide on this one," Pinapple said, coming back from a pit stop just outside the camp. "We know the void corrupted him. That's probably the crack they found in his psyche that let them get in and turn him against everything. Think about it.
Shansii stared into the fire, resting her chin on her crossed arms on her knees. "It reminds me of when my mom was seduced by the Legion. She didn't think she was strong enough to keep us safe, and they used that to convince her that only by joining them would she be strong enough. We almost lost her."
Edmund sighed. "And that's what makes it tragic. The impulse to protect one's family, to be worth of them, turned against you."
Lorellai sat back, looking up at the stars. "So... how do we make sure it doesn't happen to us? We all want to keep people safe, we're all a little afraid of what we're up against, how do we know we won't end up the same?"
Shansii smiled at her friend. "We keep each other close. Mom was saved by her friends, her family. They were stronger together than the sum of themselves alone."
Edmund nodded. "Makes sense. Everythin' we've heard about Neltharion is that he tried to shoulder it all himself, kept secrets, got crushed under 'em. We stick together as a crew, keep each other honest, and we make it through the storms."
Lorellai smiled brightly in the firelight. "Aw, shucks, ah love yeh all too." The laughter and smiles that followed helped keep the shadows at the edge of the fire light away, as the lessons of the Earthwarder were taken to heart.
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023, Day 5, Miracle/Tension, @daily-writing-challenge , CW: None))
The fiery explosion rang out amidst the chaos of battle as Lorellai threw her self away from an incoming fireblast, rolling up to her feet just in time to see the Shadowflame elemental unleash a torrent of the cursed flame at her. Even as she tried to move away, a flash of steel appeared before her as Quelatha and Frejas dove in, Quelatha raising a magic-breaking shield from her runeblade to deflect the blast while Frejas hammered her weapon on her shield, getting the the monster's eyes away from the girl.
"Back on yer feet, or else I'm callin' yer ma to take ye home!" the woman yelled, before turning back to the firey beast, bashing her shield against the elemental's armor and forcing it back. Lorellai could only nod as she gathered up her spear and tried to get back in position. The elemental was like nothing she'd faced in the isles before, even when fighting the Primalists in the Vault of the Incarnates. It was all she could do to avoid the blasts of shadowflame that flew around the room, trying to find openings to attack. People were shouting, Fatalion was trying to hit it with a piece of the wall she'd ripped out, Rokishan and Banagann where yelling for everyone to stay close enough for them to protect, the chaos of the fight was making her head swim.
A memory came to mind, unbidden, from back in Ironforge. She'd been asking her parents about their adventures, and how they always managed to triumph.
Darlain had smiled. "Faith, lass. Faith in the Light, but also faith in our friends, and your Father, and myself. Faith that we were fighting for what was right and good, and that we weren't doing it alone. That's where miracles come from."
"Aye, faith is important." her father had agreed. "But there's also bein' clever. Many times we triumphed because someone caught something that could turn th' tide, if acted on quickly. Keepin' yer eyes open, and acting when you see an opening, that's how yeh beat th' baddies!"
Lorellai blinked, and looked around. Faith in her friends, keeping her eyes open, but what could she- Her inner monologue was cut off by a battle cry as Fatalion was backhanded by the elemental, flying into the chamber's stone roof, before the massive dracthyr planted herself in the stone and hurled herself straight back at the beast, leaving behind a large crack in the roof. "Wait, that's it! FATE! FASTBALL" she yelled, grabbing a detpack off her belt and pointing at the roof Fate had just damaged. For all her battlerage, Fatalion was an incredible soldier, and instantly picked up what Lorellai wanted, swooping around the elemental to grab the dwarf. With a full double spin, Fate hurled Lorellai up towards the roof. Lorellai fired her chainhook, impaling the stone near the damaged section to pull herself in, and hit hard. Shaking her head clear, she hit the big red button with her nose and slapped the pack onto the cracking roof, adhering it with the glue pack. She let her chain extend, swinging down, and landing just outside the kill zone. "Get it over here!" she hollered, and felt wind blow past her as two of the other evokers swept forward, scooping up Quelatha and Frejas, dragging them back towards Lorellai, incurring the fury of the enraged shadowflame. It surged towards them as the detpack blew, shattering the roof and bringing tons of stone down on the creature. It roared in rage as the worked stone smashed down on it, damaging its armor and smothering part of its flame. Thus weakened, the team dove in, mages shifting the flow of time to speed everyone's attacks and put the monster down for good.
Well and truly spent, Lorellai flopped down on her butt, unable to contain her smile even as Stroganoff bounded over to give her happy hornswog licks and others patted her on the back for her quick thinking.
Faith, and open eyes. It was just like they'd said.
((Big thanks to @commanderbragh, @mremaknu, @rastiladelnore, @dwyndel, @darbiebot and @itsadile, and the whole raid gang for inspiring this piece, and helping with their dialogue where appropriate))
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023, Day 6, Gleaming/Hurt, @daily-writing-challenge, CW: Blood, severe injury, shock ))
With one final bomb in their direction, Lorellai sent the rest of the gnolls fleeing deep into the woods, ensuring the safety of the caravan for the night. They'd expected some trouble getting up the road towards the trading post in the plains, but the force of the gnoll raid had been something else.
Dozens of the decay-addled troublemakers lay dead thanks to Lorellai and the other fighters, but several of their own had taken nasty hits. Lorellai could only close her eyes and whisper a prayer as she saw two of their own, Utunk of Iskaara, and Boruk from Durotar, were wrapped up, heads covered, and prepared for burial once the caravan reached a safe campsite.
"Be sad later, Truthhammer, you gotta check the perimeter," she admonished, taking up her spear and heading towards the back of the wagon train, looking for any lingering trouble. A shadow fell over her as she rounded the corner, and she looked up into the faintly glowing eyes of Ghorren, and blinked as she took him in.
"Ah, Lorellai, good to see you in one piece. I wouldn't want to be the one to tell your family you got hurt while on my team." Ghorren craned his neck, to look out into the forest. "The rear flank is clear, we got one of their casters and the rest of them broke and ran after that. We should be clear until we reach camp and fortify.... why are you staring at me like that?"
Lorellai couldn't find the words, so she just pointed at the spear handle sticking out of Ghorren's right pec, having punched right through his armor. It had been wiggling as he spoke. The troll looked down, and then rolled his eyes.
"Ah, that explains a few things. Please let the healer know I'll need to be tended too before too long, I'm going to sit down I think." Ghorren calmly climbed into the back of the nearby wagon, and gave the handle an experimental poke, wincing as he moved it. "Going to give that armorsmith a talking too when I get back to Valdrakken."
"Uh... Mister Ghorren, are yeh sure yeh don't need immediate attention?" Lorellai said, digging through her pouches. She had to have -something- left over in her potions...
"It's just a little shock, I'll be fine. The grinning bastard missed the important bits, and I can grow back the rest with a bit of rest and a few good meals. When the healer makes it back here, we can see about getting it out," Ghorren explained, keeping his voice level and offering the dwarf a smile.
Later that evening, the wagons were circled at the campsite near the bridge in the wide clearing, likely the safest place in the span short of Iskaara. Lorellai rapped her knuckles on one of the wagons, and then climbed in when Ghorren bade her enter. He was lying down, heavily bandaged. "Doc, uh, Doc said you asked t' see meh, mister Ghorren?" Lorellai asked, sitting near the troll.
"Ah, good, thank you for coming. I wanted to apologise for lying to you, Lorellai."
"About how bad you were hurt?" Lorellai asked, her voice nearly a whisper.
"Yes. I didn't want to worry you when there was still possibly trouble about. I have been informed by the good healer that I was being patronizing towards you, and I shouldn't have been. She also wasn't interested in my excuse of suffering from toxic shock at the time, so sorry about that as well."
Lorellai wiped some tears from her eyes. "Alright, just this once. Next time though, you get medical help, troll or not. I dunnae want to have to tell your spooky daughter that I let yeh die because yeh were actin' a fool."
Ghorren laughed, and then winced. "Oof, laughing is a bit rough. No need to worry kid, I'll be back on my feet in a couple days. Regeneration isn't nothing, at least once you get all that rot magic cleaned out of the wound. And I think you'd like my spooky daughter if you got to know her, she knows a thing or two about having embarassing parents." Ghorren shot the girl a wink, which got him a laugh. "Alright, I should be sleeping. Keep everyone safe while I'm healing up, yeah?"
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023, Day 4, Doubt/Boundaries, @daily-writing-challenge , CW: None))
"There once was a Tuskarr named Howt,
Who was as friendly as his belly was stout,
He held the adventurers back,
Said he only need a small snack,
To which the dwarf girl could only express doubt."
"Limericks, Lorellai, really?" Shansii scoffed, bapping her friend's face with a cloth.
"We're never getting to that ruin, we're on the third course of this 'snack' and by the time it's done we'll be too full to move!"
"We can afford a day if it means keeping our guide and hosts happy, Lorellai," Pinapple cautioned, grabbing another bowl. "I'm sure that tower will still be full of secrets tomorrow after breakfast."
((Daily Writing Challenge May 2023 Day 7 Lover/Aftermath @daily-writing-challenge CW: none))
"Oh dangit, Stroganoff, no!"
Lorellai held her head in dismay looking up on the scene. Crates of supplies upended, cracked open and ravaged, critters all around having eaten their fill and then some, and in the middle of it all, a beloved Hornswog lying on his back, tongue out, eyes slowly blinking as he attempted to understand how his belly had gotten so full.
"Oh dear, is that what all this racket was?" Naleidea's melodic voice came from somewhere behind Lorellai, she and Toddy walking up the path to the storehouse. "Goodness, what a mess!"
"Och, lassie, you need to train your beastie a bit better, I'd say!" Toddy commented, clapping a hand on Lorellai's shoulder. "He's your responsibility after all."
"I just dunnae get it..." Lorellai muttered. "I've been feeding him plenty, giving him plenty of exercise and enrichment, why would he do this?"
"He -is- a dragonkin, dear," Naleidea offered. "It's not uncommon for the less intelligent of their kin to seek hoards of desirable goods to claim. And I suspect we have a few marmots, dogs, and other critters who egged him on." The sin'dorei arched a perfectly trimmed eyebrow at the various fuzzy friends who were trying to slink away, or failing that, look very innocent. "Regardless, it was Stroganoff who made this mess."
"And as his caretaker, it's yours to clean up. You know where the brooms are lassie, let Jeb know when you're done so 'e can to take stock of what's been gobbled! Naleidea and I have an appointment with a worn titan statue that's full of secrets just fer th' two of us!"
"Don't worry too much dear, these things happen. It's not proper archaeology if there isn't trouble with local wildlife, tame or not."
The two senior archaeologists left Lorellai staring at the wreckage of the storehouse. "Got anything to say for yourself, buddy?"
Stroganoff laboriously rolled unsteadily onto his feet, and gazed deep into Lorellai's eyes. Then his pouch distended and he let out a massive croaking burp that knocked the dwarf off her feet, coughing at the terrible smell that her companion released. Then the hornswog's tongue lashed out, happily licking his dwarf in greeting. Lorellai tried to be angry, but she couldn't stop the smile. "Well at least you're feeling alright. Okay buddy, clear on out, I've got cleaning to do."
(( @daily-writing-challenge February 2023, Day 5, Ambition, Relentless, CW: none ))
"I'm backed into a corner," Lorellai thought to herself, "exits cut off, trapped by the storm, no way out. I'm sorry everyone, but I can't win this fight."
"Miss Lorellai? I saw your bowl was getting empty so I topped it off for you, enjoy!" Mrs Huska declared happily, hanging the soup pot back over the fire. Outside the shelter the snowstorm raged, but within, among the tuskarr family she'd been helping, it was warm, friendly, and the soup never stopped.
Even if you, perhaps, wanted it too.
It wasn't bad soup, per say. She'd learned that she actually quite liked tuskarr soups. But every dwarf had her limit. Lorellai guessed that hers had been three bowls ago.
"T-thank you, Mrs Huska." Lorellai forced a smile at her host, trying to keep her spoon from trembling in her hand. She felt like more soup than woman now. She sloshed when she adjusted her position in her seat.
"Oh, think nothing of it dear," the tuskarr woman smiled brightly back. "It's the least we can do after all the help you gave us getting back home safe! Between the gnolls and the weather, it was a close thing! And what better reward than a warm place to sleep and a good, home cooked meal?" Huska beamed as her family grunted in agreement, eagerly eating their own bowls of soup with wild abandon. "Would you like another biscuit?" she asked, already placing it on Lorellai's plate before she could answer.
Lorellai's commstone buzzed on her belt, and Lorellai grabbed at it. "I am so sorry Mrs Huska, but that's probably my friends wanting to make sure I'm safe, what with the weather."
"Oh, well by all means, let them know you're safe and warm, and that when the storm is done I'll be sending you their way with some food for the road!"
Lorellai smiled weakly as she pulled out the stone and eyed the message. It was from Shansii, of course.
"Safe in Iskaara. You?" her friend had sent.
"Besieged in tuskarr home by warmth and endless soup. Stomach not big enough. May transform into soup elemental come morning. I leave all my stuff to the family."
"Noted. Should we come get you after storm?"
"Please. Too much soup. Cannot move self. Help."
"LOL try not to have too much fun ;)"
Lorellai sighed as she put the commstone away, and turned back to her steaming bowl. "Ah well," she thought, "there's worse ways to die than from excess love, I suppose."
