#tek'aal

[vaard]

Sketching trying to settle on a design for Tek’aal. 

Tek’aal will love you. Agressively. He’s loud, little regard for personal space, no volume control, way too used to yelling so he only comes in one set of decibels.  Annoyingly curious about Azeroth, wants to know what every pea picking thing is and it’ll probably take him a long time to calm down and learn what an ‘inside voice’ is.

It’s a starting point!

[vaard]

“FIRST YOU HAVE MOUTH FLOWERS, AND NOW THEY TOOK MY MOUTH FLOWER AND GAVE ME A HEAD FLOWER THAT IS STILL A FLOWER BUT NOT FOR THE MOUTH??? YOUR FLOWER CUSTOMS ARE CONFUSING.”

After Love is in the Air with that rose in the teeth, Tekaal is going to be forever confused at where flowers are supposed to go.

(I still need to draw the flower confusion with him that @alphahusk had a wonderful idea for.)

[vaard]

Chibi Tek’aal and Vaard for the anon from the other day!

Poor Vaard when it comes to meeting Tek’aal lol. He’s a whole lot bigger than Vaard and can very easily and happily drag him around for “LOOK AT THAT, WHAT IS THIS?!” moments.

Tek’aal also picked up a Pug along the way, blessed it with Light to make sure it wasn’t a little imp demon and it belongs to him now apparently.

My lines are going to look really clunky for a while, I’m not used to how sensitive the tablet is at all but it’ll smooth out as I get used to things!  This already took way longer than it should have for what it is lol.

Still trying to settle on a design for Tek’aal so sorry if he’s a little bit different each time I draw him.

[vaard]

Tekaal got his big boof!

You know how if someone talks loudly to a dog and it starts barking and talking loudly back?  That’s going to be these two, constantly.

[vaard]

Tek’aal’s off to a great start already in Azeroth, annoying anyone he can find who’ll talk to him.

[chelinka93]

Redridge Misadventures

Hahah, was inspired by Vaard’s latest pics of Tek’aal’s adventures so I thought I’d write somthin! Sorry for any errors but its lateeeeeee and and I wanted to post this fore i crash. Sorry if it comes out wonky, think this is the first long ass post I’ve done!

‘Slowly... slowly…’

There were far too many Blackrock Orcs to take on so stealth was the only option. It has take nearly forty minutes but she had her target in sight: the copious amounts of papers on the crude stone table.

The problem was that the papers were not any means unguarded, there were at least three rather nasty looking orcs at the table at all time, not to mention the black drake that was constantly circling the area. She needed those plans yes, but how the heck was she going to get even close enough to grab them?

She could take one, maybe two of the orcs but three was pushing it, not mention one of them would surely break away and sound the alarm and then three would quickly become fifty. Plus…

The sound of beating wings drew her out of her thoughts and upwards just in time to see the drake settle on a nearby ridge.

Oh yes, she could defiantly take on fifty plus orcs and a dragon, no problem.

She could also un-stealth and ask the orcs nicely for their attack plans.

Both had equal chance of successes.

She needed a distraction, but what? maybe set some of the tents on fire? Sabotage one of the piles of bombs littering the area?

As she ran over her options she began to shift foot to foot; stiff from standing in one place too long.

CRACK

In her shifting she had stepped on twig that snapped with a crack that was far louder then it should have been, drawing the attention of all the orcs at the table and the dragon, because she wasn’t in enough trouble with just orcs swiftly closing in her, lets add the possibilities of being burned alive and eaten by an overgrown lizard.

‘A distraction would be greatly appreciated right now’

No sooner has she thought it then she heard the sound of what she thought was hoof beats rapidly approaching her location.

‘Oh? Is that my knight in shining armor come to rescue me?’

Honestly at this point, she wasn’t expecting much.

But she certainly wasn’t expecting what she got.

A Draenei, on horse, with at least twenty orcs on his tail, all armed with throwing spears.

What

It seemed the other orcs seemed as stunned as she was.

One of his pursuers got to close the horse and quickly got the Draenei’s axe to his face, sending him flying into his friends. It seemed this act of aggression was enough to shock the remaining orcs out of their stupor and with bellowing roars, charged the frazzled Draenei.

Upon seeing even more orcs coming after him, he quickly urged his horse in the opposite direction. Taking off far more quickly then she thought possible for a horse.

It seemed the beast was half mad with terror, so that probably helped with its speed.

Both Draenei and pursuing orcs quickly moved further and further away from her, remarkably leavening the area, and the attack plans unguarded.

Well, not what she meant but knight in shining armor, but she’d take it.

“THIS ROSE, IT DOES NOTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGG!”

Err…

Well, it makes it easier, no matter how weird the whole thing is.

Quickly striding up to the table she stuffed as many papers as she could in her bag, not keen on lingering when the orcs eventually came back. Just as she turned to leave she heard a shuffling near her, causing to unsheathe her daggers and whip around. Her silver eyes meeting reptilian gold.

Oh

Right

Dragon

Apparently, the drake had decided that the Draenei had enough pursuers and hadn’t bothered pursuing as well and remained on its perch. Only to see a Night Elf step out of the shadows and start rapidly stuffing papers into her bag.

Well if anything, this was a good lesson on awareness. Assuming she lived long enough to apply it to further missions.

‘Sprint don’t fail me now!’

And like that, she was off, she had no desire to become Night Elf flambé. The rapid beat of wings the only indication of the dragon’s pursuit of her, no way was she slowing down to turn around.

She just had to get to the trees, the thick foliage would make it difficult for it to follow. She had completed her task, she could go back to Lakeshire, maybe get some rest.

Her mind flickered back to the weird Draenei and she wondered if she should go see if she could help him, he did save her, even if that wasn’t his intention.

No, she had done enough, more then enough for this lot. She didn’t need to add rescue to that list. It would be best to forget him.

‘Dammit’

So much for forgetting, she had managed to lose the drake and started to head toward Lakeshire but she just couldn’t bring herself to leave knowing that he might still be out there. So back out she went, now hunting for a wayward knight.

That had been over an hour ago, and she was starting to get annoyed.

She heard the slightest rustle to her far left and cautiously made her way towards it, quickly sidling around the large boulders blocking her way. She found herself on a small stretch of beach, hidden by several large rock and tall trees. It would have been a nice little area, were it not for the multitude of orc bodies scattered across said beach.

It looked like it had been a messy battle, seeing as how there was disturbed sand and broken weapons everywhere on the ground. What truly drew her attention was the horse on the far side.

A rather familiar horse, even if she only caught a glimpse.

Slowly, she made her way towards it, deciding to un-stealth again lest she panic the poor thing any more. While it was no longer in the sheer blind terror it was before, it was still clearly agitated by the stranger approaching it. She did her best not startle it with quick movements and whisper calming words to it. Evidentially, it decided she was not a threat at the moment and let her approach. Cautiously she reached out to gently stroke its side and when it didn’t react she began to move about, checking it for injuries.

It was injured, at one point. She could see near its left rear leg; a jutting angry looking scar, still fresh: the telltale signs of quick healing. So, Mr. Knight was a healer then? A Paladin, or perhaps a Shaman… speaking of…

“I’m glad to see you survived your encounter earlier little one, but where is your rider I wonder?”

Shinning stead: yes

Courageous knight: no.

In her musings she didn’t notice the still open wound on the horse’s flank and accidentally ran her hand over it, causing it to let a high whinny of pain. Which caused her to start and flinch backward, agitating the horse even further.

“Damn! Sorry, Sorry! Please, be quite! there are still orcs about!”

In her franticness trying to calm the horse she didn’t notice another figure rapidly approaching her until a hand landed on her shoulder violently spinning around, and she only saw a flash of gold and then red.

Then gold being Mr. Knights eyes.

...Which she barley saw before a fist was swiftly brought to her face and audible a CRUNCH could be heard and pain radiated her face.

The red being blood from her nose that Mr. Knight just broke.

She screeched and attempted to stumble away from aggravated Mr. Knight but he quickly wrapped a hand around her wrist, foiling any chance of escape.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY STEED?”

Oh by Elune, did he have to shout?!  He was right there! She was right there! Not necessary! Not necessary at all!

When she didn’t answer right away, he frowned and tightened his grip and gave her a little shake.

“ANSWER ME, WERE YOU TRYING TO STEAL HER, THIEF?”

Thief?

THIEF?!

After looking around for well over an hour for this ass this is what she gets?! A broken nose and accused of horse theft?!

With an enraged shriek, she swung her leg up and attempted to kick him in any male’s most vulnerable area. His eyes widened as he realized what she was attempting to do and quickly pushed her away before she could make impact.

Caught off guard she stumbled and fell to the ground, contemplating leaving this stupid goat to hopefully being eaten by a dragon, but her hurt pride wouldn’t let her leave without telling him off.

“I wasn’t” she mumbled, her nose already swelling, making any face movement painful.

“WHAT?”

Why was he still yelling? was he trying to intimate her? Make her cower? Screw this guy! He may look the part of a shining knight, but his manners needed work! She had more then enough of this, she just wanted to back Lakeshire and sleep, after she got her nose fixed.

“I WAB’NT TRYIN TO SBEAL BOUR BOSE!”

Great, the swelling was affecting her speech, so much for telling him off in an assertive manner.

He seemed confused by her statement, or her words were so slurred he had no idea what she said.

“WHAT…?”

Was her eye twitching? She was pretty sure her eye was twitching.

“I… was… NOT… trying… to steal your… horse.”

She took time to make sure she properly pronounced each word, no matter how it pained her.

“Looking over… for injuries…”

She had his attention now, his stance was less hostile and more confused.

“WHY?”

She was starting to think he didn’t know how to talk any quieter.

“Saw you being chased earlier by orcs, came looking for her… and you.”

Even though she very much regretted the later part right now.

“YOU WERE CONCERNED FOR MY WELL-BEING?”

“Yes…”

‘not anymore’ she inwardly huffed.

Just like that, all remaining aggression melted from him and he was all bright smiles. Maybe too bright, it kinda hurt to look at him directly.

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN FOR ME, IT HAS BEEN… A DIFFICULT DAY TO SAY THE LEAST. IT IS NICE THAT SOMEONE WOULD CARE ENOUGH TO COME LOOKING FOR ME.”

“S’fine.” She grumbled. Now that it no longer looked like he was getting to beat her into a mushy Night Elf paste, she could attend to her still bleeding nose. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small rag and began to attempt to clean up, hissing slightly when she bumped her nose. Mr. Knight seemed to have finally realized that she was bleeding profusely and his smile faded slightly.

“AH, APOLOGIES FOR YOUR NOSE, I SAW YOU WEREN’T AN ORC SO I THOUGHT IT BEST TO INCAPACITATE YOU RATHER THEN KILL YOU.”

‘How very generous of you.’

“I WILL FIX IT, HOLD STILL FOR A MOMENT.”

Without waiting for any conformation he strode forward quickly closing the gap between them as he reached out for her. Alarmed, she quickly hissed and scuttled away before finally getting to her feet again.

“Haven’t you heard of personal space?!”

“YOUR NOSE IS BROKEN, IF IT IS NOT PROPERLY SET IT WILL STAY CROOKED.”

“Like hel, I’m letting you near me! You’re the one who broke it!”

At this, he stopped his approach and looked very regretful of his actions, smile completely falling into a sad frown.

“YOU ARE RIGHT. YOU RISKED YOUR LIFE LOOKING FOR ME AND HOW DO I REPAY SUCH KINDNESS? BY HURTING YOU.”

‘Risked my life may be a bit much.’

She fidgeted as she looked at him, feeling incredibly guilty that he had such a despondent look on his face because of her.

‘Probably will regret this later’

“It’s fine… you had a hard day, you were only protecting yourself and your horse… would’ve done the same.”

At her (begrudging) forgiveness he immediately brightened again.

‘I’m going to get whiplash if I keep watching his mood change this quickly.’

Not use to be the focus of such a bright smile she quickly jerked her head toward the horse who seemed to have watched the whole ordeal, and if she didn’t know better, could swear was laughing at her.

“If you have any mana left, tend to your horse. My broken nose can wait.”

With a grateful nod, he strode over to the beast, patting its nose before getting to work on healing its remaining wounds. With his attention elsewhere, she again turned back to her bag. Fishing for and more rags for her nose and also her map. She had been keep track of where she went looking for the wayward knight, so she had a general idea of where they were and more importantly, how to get back to Lakeshire. Finding the map, she carefully pulled it out, cautious not to lose any of the stolen Blackrock battle plans.

‘I nearly died and had my nose broken for these, ain’t going to lose em now.’

Having quickly scanned over the map, she was pleased to see that they weren’t that far from Lakeshire, about twenty minutes or so. Satisfied and knowing the way to go, she stuffed the map back into pack before firmly putting it on her back. Oh, it seems Mr. Knight had finished healing; his stead was looking much perkier.

“DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW THE WAY BACK TO LAKESHIRE?”

“I do, yes.”

“WOULD IT BE ALRIGHT IF I ACCOMPANIED YOU? I’M AFRAID I LOST MY MAP IN THE… ‘INCIDENT’ EARLIER.”

She bit her lip as she looked up at him, she kind of wanted to say ‘heck nah man, find your own way’ but he looked so damn hopeful that once again she found herself unable to turn him away.

‘Honestly, how is possible for a fully grown Draenei male, a Lightforged at that, to look so much like an eager nightsaber cub? its almost… cute.’

She repressed a shudder at that last thought. Cute and Draenei male were never something she thought she’d mix.

“Sure.”

“EXCELLENT! MIGHT I KNOW YOUR NAME MY NEW COMPANION?”

‘Companion? It’s only a twenty-minute walk, not exactly taking an epic journey into the fiery depths of Blackrock mountain.’

“Cyndina.”

“NICE TO MEET YOU CYNDINA! MY NAME IS TEK’AAL.”

“…Nice to meet ya too.”

‘Except the face punching part, not a nice.’

“SO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN REDRIDGE? IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MANY NIGHT ELVES RESIDE IN KALIMDOR, YES?”

“Well, I do... I mean I did… I came to the Eastern Kingdoms only a few weeks ago from Teldrassil…”

She was honestly caught off guard by the sudden question and answered before she could stop herself. Oh well, maybe that would be enough for…

“REALLY? IS TELDRASSIL REALLY A GIANT TREE? HOW DO YOU CLIMB IT? ARE THERE MANY OF YOUR PEOPLE LIVING THERE? HOW LONG DID THE JOURNEY TAKE YOU? DID YOU COME BY BOAT OR BY PORTAL? WHAT IS DARNASSUS LIKE? IS IT SIMILAR TO STORMWIND? IS IT TRUE MOST NIGHT ELVES ARE NOCTURNAL? WHAT…”

By Elune…

So many questions came at her at once, she only able to pick out a few of them. By the looks of Mr. Kni- Tek’aal’s face, he wasn’t out of questions, not even close.

“Erm...” She interjected, not really sure how to stop… that… but not wanting to linger. Sure this place was somewhat hidden but Tek’aal’s loud voice easily broadcasted their location. Honestly, it was a wonder none had found them yet. Still she wasn’t keen to try her luck.

“How about we talk and walk? It going to get dark soon, and I’d like to be in Lakeshire before then.”

With a happy bob of his head, Tek’aal went to gather the reins of his horse before moving to Cyndina’s side. Right to her side. If she wanted to, she could barely stretch out her fingers and touch him.

‘So, loud, curious, and absolutely no regard for personal space. Something tells me this is going to be a long twenty minutes.’

Moving to leave their little hidden beach, Cyndina looked back up at Tek’aal and he seemed to be almost bouncing with questions and excitement, smiling all the way. Honestly, it was a little infectious and Cyn could feel a small smile slip onto her face as well.

‘But at least it won’t be a boring walk.’

Hey, imma write a shorty lil snippet! 7 pages and nearly 3000 words later... I forgot I can’t do short.

Anyways Tek’aal belongs to the fabulous @vaard. Hope I did him justice! He was fun to write!

Cyndina in all her broken noseness is mine.

Despite certain parts taking a while, this was really fun to write! I may write some more of Cyn and Tek’aal.