Half in shock, Mora smiled and waved back to the man and his friend, trying not to walk to fast or to slow...shit what does normal walking look like! she thought as she didn't want to look like she was guilty.
The loud footsteps only fucked with Mora more as she felt a hand grab her precious fur, her gift. As she was pulled into the shadows, Mora took Daeli's hand off her coat. It was by the grace of several gods that she didn't rip the woman's arm off, but her fingers started to tick as she rocked from side to side, feeling cornered. She stared at her, large eyes taking in the frantic emotions of Daeli.
“You!” Daeli cried out softly, pulling Mora into the shadows. “Melaeth! He’s alive?”
"Is he beasty?"
Daeli waved her hands away. “Don’t...just... who are you, Dahlia? Why would you name your children with my brother’s name and mine? Where’s Melaeth?!” The woman’s pleas turned into tears.
"Don't.. do that. Don't cry,” Mora said with a slight sneer though she spoke nice enough. "You're smart, beasty. What do you think?" she asked as she dusted off her coat and looked around her again to make sure no one was around, though she knew it wasn't going to take the Ratz long to locate her. Mora looked back at Daeli as she said his name. Her heart softly sunk. She didn’t like to hear it on other peoples’ lips. “That... I honestly… don't know"
Clasping her hands together, Daeli begged, “Please! Take me to him! I need to see him! I need to know he’s okay! My momma needs to know! Please, Dahlia!”
Nearby, tappings began to resound, tappings Mora would understand -Protect the Queen-
Soon, a noblewoman began to make her way toward Mora. Meanwhile, Daeli kept insisting on seeing her brother.
“Fuck..." She looked around, nothing, but she heard the taps, "Don't...don't" she said but not to Daeli. Mora raised her hands and clapped out -do not touch this woman EVER-, but it was up to anyone's guess if they heard. The message wasn't properly done with the clapping. From her arm, she took off a gold bracelet of a rat chasing its own tail. “Shush...stop! You are drawing attention!”
Mora grabbed Daeli's hand and pushed the bracelet over it. "Do not look for him. I do not know where he is. I have to go Daeli…I must. " She looked over her shoulder as the noblewoman was already walking forward. "Go home...go home. I will bring him. When I can…" She would have said anything at this point.
Daeli shook her head, but she noticed that Mora was in despair. “What... what’s wrong?” She looked at the bracelet and back at her when she mentioned that she would bring him by when she could. Daeli nodded and turned to go home.
“Is this priestess bothering you, ma’am?” The noblewoman asked as she approached them. Daeli turned and shook her head.
“We’re friends...” Daeli said, stuttering slightly between sobs.
“Ma’am?” The noblewoman insisted of Mora.
Mora held her hand up and started to walk back away from Daeli, she didn't want to bring the woman into the fray, not really. “No...we are friends. Good friends…trusting ones. nnn beasty?" she nodded before Daeli could answer. “She's gonna go home now. I have some shopping to get to. Good day...Daeli." Mora tensely watched the blonde and nodded a flick of her chin for Daeli to continue on home.
Daeli frowned and turned away, walking down the street to her home. The noblewoman eyed Daeli and turned back to Mora. "Perhaps I should accompany you, my Queen," she said in a soft voice, preparing herself to walk with Mora.
Mora watched with a sadness she did not expect to befall her, her brows sloped down as she held up her hand again to shush the woman until Daeli was out of sight "Do not let anyone touch her or her mother. I command it." She didn't know how well her "rules" would hold decree, she didn't know how much of her so-called power she actually retained, but she would make a good go of it, if only to protect The King's family. "Make them all know."
Mora sighed and placed a palm to her forehead. "I am going to the row, If someone should follow, like they will, have them hang back and not look like..well, you beasty." She looked over the noble, finally, and tilted her head with the touching over the nice fabric of the Ratz dress "Pretty beasty."
The woman flushed and bowed her head, "Yes, my Queen. I will let them know not to harm the two women from that house." She chuckled and nodded. "The others will be less obvious than I am, my Queen," the woman continued softly. She walked to a certain point with Mora and then she made her away in another direction. While Mora looked as if she were alone, there were at least two Ratz watching her.
Mora walked casually again, as she did she concentrated on relaxing herself, shaking out her hands some before she got to the row. When the noble parted Mora simply watched from a side glance but gave a soft nod in thanks.
Walking down the row, she wasn’t as aware of the Ratz that came on to watch. No, she needed to get to the seller before she missed her time. Several beggars reached out for her as she walked by, their scrawny arms reminding her of the Kingdom. "Find the Flea.." she would say softly in lieu of money.
Walking closer to the building she was going to go into she stopped and moved a purple veil aside from the open door.."Hello " she called out before stepping in.
The soft tappings began to emerge throughout the city, raising the guards' suspicions, but the sound traveled toward the gates, where the Flea barely heard it. He made his way into the city, greeting those he knew along the way. Subtly, he asked the Ratz where she had gone and someone pointed toward the store with the purple veil. The Flea sighed and shook his head before walking in himself.
Walking in there, Mora noticed a clean looking room, purely for show. The dust would attest to that, but around the back of the counter was a hatch that held no dust, lifting the large metal handle would reveal a staircase that sloped dangerously down into the cellar. Murmurs of voices could be heard.
Mora sat in a velvet chair, the rest of the room tacky in gold and trinkets settled for drugs. She held several vials over in her hand as she spoke in demonic to the seller who sat behind a desk with several purple veils blocking out his features except for his green veined hands which looked heavily scared with tracks.
The Flea found Mora and approached her, his golden eyes set on the veiled person. “Are you done here, dear?” The Flea said to Mora.
She looked to be holding her gold hoop earring in her other hand before the Flea startled her. "Oh!...Jhon."
The figure's hands withdrew. "A friend of yours?" came a demonic raspy growl.
Mora would nod "Yes, yes," she looked to Jhon. "He will make my payment."
The man pushed a tattered tin rectangle forward waiting for it to be filled. "400" was all he said.
The Flea looked at Mora before stepping forward to fill the receptacle with coins. He smiled at the man and turned to Mora. “Ready?”
She was already placing her earrings back into place. "Yes, I am." She pocketed the vials and stood. “Let’s go." She walked to the steep stairs and stopped once just so when Jhon followed he would come up along her backside. "Why did you come? Is something wrong?"
He stopped abruptly and smirked when he avoided her. “The Ratz told me you had asked for me.” He looked up at Mora.
She furrowed her brow some but didn’t say anything. "Nn.." She walked up the rest of the stairwell until she climbed out of the top and waited for him. "I am done now, with Silvermoon. Can you take me back to Dalaran?" She spoke to him as he was coming up.
He continued to climb up the stairs and he paused at the top with her. “Who were you talking to earlier?” He whispered to her as he looked around, smiling at others passing by, non-rats who were looking at the overdressed couple.
“The man behind the veil? Fuck if I know him personally, beasty. He just sells what I need.” she looked around, seeming to fuss over her coat and look at him when a portal was not created.
“Dahlia...” His tone was stern while his voice was low. “I don’t care about that man.” He looked at her waiting for an answer. “I have all day so far,” he said adjusting his sleeves.
Mora stood there a moment, setting her hands on her hips after she rolled her head back in annoyance. "No one? A rat maybe.. So what? I just came here" she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around one of his, "Let's go Jhon; Let’s go now…”
The Flea sighed and looked around. “He has eyes everywhere, Mora,” he whispered. “I managed to stop a few of those talking, but he will find out if you’re not careful.” His right hand began to glow as he started his portal when the flash of blue in his eyes vanished. He was distracted by a voice. “Shit,” he whispered.
"I just wanted to check on her " she shrugged stubbornly. "They...like the twins." she looked down and snuggled to rub her lips over her fur. "They like them and did not tell me they were things. or that they were not welcome in their world.. ya know? Is that fair?-" but her words were broken by his attempt to cast the portal and the voice she heard at the same time the Flea did.
“D-Dahlia? Is.... is that him?” Daeli had reappeared and she was standing at a distance, watching Mora hold on to the Flea.
"No.." Mora unhooked her arms from the Flea and turned to see Daeli, a sleuth in her own right with all the wrong clues “Why? Why will you not stay at home?” Mora asked with a bit of frustration.
Daeli tried to take a few steps forward. “Please, I just want to…to see him. To make sure he’s ok.”
“But you should have listened…”
“You want me to freeze her or something?” The Flea asked.
Mora looked at the Flea and in gutterspeak she told him -She must be, unless you have another way to get her home safely- She looked at Daeli, “Patience is a virtue…not one I possess, but you beasty…I think you do."She smiled at Daeli as she looked back to the Flea.
The Flea was about to cast his spell when he turned away, grumbling. He fixed his hat and began to walk toward Mora and Daeli as the blonde man dressed in black from earlier at Daeli’s home approached Daeli.
"Daeli, what the fel are you doing?" he called out and he looked at Mora. "You again? Are you still lost?"
Daeli's eyes widened. "You...you know her?"
"She was in our garden earlier today. She said she was lost. Why? Should I know her? What's going on here?" The blonde man looked at Mora and now the undead suspiciously.
"Dahlia, dear, we really must get going. Excuse us." The Flea reached for Mora's arm.
"Dahlia?" The man smiled. "Is that your name? It's pretty." Daeli turned to look at Mora before he reached for her arm. "Daeli, mother needs you at home. Now."
"Dahlia..." Daeli begged once more.
It was a quick confusion as Mora stared at the Flea when he again hesitated. Her skin crawled as that man spoke and she heard nearly something else, turning to face him and Daeli. Mora was already moving closer to the Flea, still, she managed to be smiling.
Looking up to the Flea, Mora spoke "I am glad you came. We really must be going. Timing is key, beasty. " She looked back to Daeli, and then the blonde brother who stood next to her. "It seems you are busy as well. We will have to talk later, over tea." Her grip on the Flea tightened as she urged him in soft nudges to get them out of there. "Have a safe walk back.”
The Flea escorted Mora away into an alleyway, where a bright blue flash was seen and then instantly gone. Daeli stumbled a bit, her eyes filled with tears. Her brother sighed and grabbed his sister's arm. "Come on. It's getting late." He escorted her back to their home.
Family as in the Kingdom? or his real family? I guess I’ll do the latter since most people know the Inner Circle. And since I rarely speak about them, I’m going to go all out! :D
The Vin’derarr family consists of five people (including Ratty if he still lived with them):
Parents: Sarnathan and Galleria
Sarnathan grew up a proud Quel’dorei with the idea that men were stronger and necessary for the survival of the race. He raised his children this way. He worked as a guard in the city before and after the Scourge. Today he is retired, sitting around his home, reading and attempting to continue guiding his son in his blood knight studies. Sarnathan was never nobility, but he lives as if he was. He is still disappointed in the loss of his younger son and has so much to tell him if he was alive. While he doesn’t blame himself for his son’s death, he does feel as if he is missing that closure that will help him live better.
Galleria is his wife, a kind hearted woman who lives for her family. She learned to be a cook and she was head chef at a prominent restaurant until the Scourge attack, however, she was already wavering since her son’s supposed death. Afterward, she was hired as a sous chef for many years. Her son’s disappearance and death took a toll on her. She stopped talking after an argument with her husband. This inability to communicate caused her to retire. Today, she caters parties and events with a small staff of loyal employees, but she stays home most of her time.
They had three children: Mathavaen, Daeli, and Melaeth
Mathavaen is a blood knight. He’s an egomaniac, self-absorbed, self-serving knight who does what he can to linger below the radar in order to maintain his corrupt ways. A womanizer, a drunk, and heartless, Mathavaen is his father’s pride and joy. Sarnathan looks away when the Mathavaen is wrong and praises when he is successful. Mathavaen didn’t care that his brother was dead although current news has him wondering if he’s actually alive. If he is, Mathavaen has a desperate need to get rid of his already dead brother.
Daeli is the middle child. She is a priestess and studies mental health. Being a female, her father was not exactly pleased with her existence, but he dealt with her. Daeli learned compassion and hard work from her mother and when her younger brother was born, she took care of him and made sure he was ready for whatever their father threw at him. She always believed her younger brother was alive. She would spend hours outside, hoping to find him and lure him home. Current news has her accepting that her beliefs were correct and now her goal is to bring her brother home and help him heal.
Melaeth is the Rat King. He was dead to the family until recently, although not seeing him makes it hard to believe that he is truly alive. He was closest to his mother and sister, even though his father believed Melaeth was the one who would be the most successful. He hates his father and brother and wants to see them dead.
The Vin’derarr family in all their glory. Some say Melaeth’s misfortune ruined their state of minds. Others say Melaeth’s descent to madness was aided by family mental issues. Whatever the case may be, pride, egotism, and stubbornness can be found within this family’s branches.
She had been sitting on her bed since she got home from the temple. The blonde woman stared at three similar pictures she had cut out of the magazine and kept reading the brief description over and over. “You are alive, little brother!” The woman smiled and giggled like a little girl, excited as she reached for one of the pictures, holding it tightly against her chest. “We’ve been looking for you for years!” She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Well, I have. Everyone else thought you were dead, but look at you! You’re not only alive, you have grown and you’re a kind and helpful person!” She read the brief description over and over, smiling at the idea that her own brother helped those in need.
Daeli laughed happily and she bounced off her bed, grabbing her brother’s picture and twirling around. “You cut your hair, little brother! I miss your long hair. You had beautiful hair.” She stopped at her dresser and looked in the mirror. “I need to find him. Mother wants to see him!” She looked down at the picture in her hand and contemplated for a few seconds and nodded. “I will request for time from the temple and I will go find you!” The very thought of starting a search party for her brother excited the blonde woman. She laughed and twirled around in her room once more, kissing her brother’s pictures. Daeli smiled and jumped back onto her bed when she stopped and screamed.
Leaning against her bedroom doorframe stood Mathavaen, her older brother. With a sigh, Daeli waved him off. “You scared me, brother.”
“This is disgusting,” he said, walking into her room and toward her bed. He reached for one of the pictures and shook his head. “He’s dead, Daeli.”
“No! If he were dead, there would not be any pictures! Look at him, Math! He looks like us! He’s missing his long, beautiful hair, but that’s him! That’s Melaeth!”
“Melaeth is dead!” Mathavaen crumpled the picture and threw it at his sister. “Stop making plans to find him! You’re making mother sick.”
Startled, Daeli’s brilliant green eyes widened. “Shut up! Mother wants to see her son! You just don’t want us to find him!”
“No, I don’t want you to even start looking! Just because you see a picture of someone who claims to be our brother does not mean it’s him! He has been gone for over twenty years or more! What makes you think this imbecile is him?”
The slender woman glared at her brother. She slipped off her bed and approached him. “How dare you!” Her fists were tight to her side and without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped her brother. “Just shut up!”
Mathavaen growled and reached for her shoulders, gripping them tightly. “You need to be put in your place, sister.” He shoved her, throwing her onto the floor. “How dare you slap me? I am your brother!”
“You’re a heartless beast!”
He laughed and shook his head. “You know, I’ll take it back. I’ll help you find our supposed little brother.” He walked toward his sister, who backed away on the floor. “I’ll find him. And I’ll make sure he stays as dead as he was twenty years ago.” His boot stepped on her hem of her white dress.
Tugging to free herself, Daeli glared at her brother. “You wouldn’t dare! He’s your brother!”
“He’s my dead brother, Daeli! Are you so stupid that you cannot understand that? Just because someone took his name and possible picture for attention in a magazine does not mean that it’s him!” Mathavaen shook his head and laughed softly at his sister. “You’re so pathetic. I should have father lock you up in your room for the rest of your life.” His eyes widened and he smiled, “Or...or maybe you’ve lost it, just like our little brother. Maybe you should go to a hospital for mental patients, like Melaeth did. Madness must run in our family, don’t you think? It’s a shame the old asylum burned down and all they have are hospitals. They would have really taken care of you.”
Daeli’s eyes filled with tears and she backed away, clutching the crumpled magazine page close to her heart. “You’re a monster...” she whispered.
“And you’re pathetic. You’re only going to make mother even sicker. The damn woman can’t even speak anymore. Go ahead, Daeli. Kill her with these stupid thoughts that her son is back from the dead. Both of you are weak enough to believe stupidity like this.” Mathavaen laughed and shook his head, long blond strands falling over this shoulders. “I’ll find this imposter. I’m sure others have heard of him in the city. And when I do, I’ll make sure you’re present when I kill him. Then you can say you witnessed your brother’s death.”
“If he’s an imposter, then he wouldn’t be my brother...”
“Then we can put all this bullshit behind us!” Mathavaen laughed. “And you can go back to being your normal self, instead of dancing with pictures of a man who you think is your fucking brother!” He walked up to her, and stomped his boot at her feet. Daeli squealed and hid her face, thinking her brother was going to strike her. “Stupid girl.” He turned around and reached for the last picture on the bed. He folded it and walked out of her room, slamming the door.
Daeli screamed and threw a shoe at the door. “I hate you!” she screamed. She looked at the crumpled picture of Melaeth Vin’derarr. “I’ll find you first. I’ll show mother and father that you’re alive and we’ll be back to being a happy family. I promise, Mel.” She sobbed and covered her eyes. “I promise.”
