Xazzak studied the young goblin a few paces in front of him. Hard to tell with the way the kid bent over that clipboard, but he looked to be about half a head shorter than him. Pudgy. The voidwalker hovered protectively over him marked him clearly as a warlock. The heavy gold rings in his ears marked him as rich. Not much else could be seen, as his back was turned toward the older goblin, but it was enough. He'd found the right kid. And if he stood here much longer the mad giggles that burbled constantly under the surface would give away his presence. He preferred to choose his entrance.
"Lekky! Cuz! Long time no see!" Xazzak sauntered forward, arms spread.
The kid turned and frowned at him, taking a step back. The voidwalker moved slightly as if to put itself between them. Xazzak let his arms drop.
"We have not met." Lekky paused, pushing his thick glasses further up his nose before adding "Uncle."
Xazzak gritted his teeth at the kid's voice. Was his nose stuffed, or did he always sound like that? At the last word, his eye twitched and he snapped back.
"I ain't yer uncle." Damnit. He was trying to make the kid relax. He used to have such control.
"No, you are not." Xazzak's eye twitched again, and this time one ear twitched with it. Gods that voice was grating. "Nor are you my cousin, if we are being precise. We are first cousins twice removed." The kid adjusted his glasses again. Irritating habit. Almost as irritating as his voice. "I heard you had recovered."
So. It seemed his reputation preceded him. Time to change the subject.
"Brave of ya ta have that out in the middle of a town," he waved at the voidwalker, still glowering at him. "I always send Zigzag away when I head into civilization."
Lekky's ear twitched, and his eyes narrowed. "I highly doubt that your voidwalker is named 'Zigzag.' And the dangers of being known as a warlock in a goblin town such as Ratchet are minimal. A small price for having someone to watch my back. You never know who you might run into."
Xazzak attempted a disarming grin. This backfired somewhat as it tried to devolve into a manic giggle, but he fought it down. "So, what's yours called?"
Lekky's frown deepened, clearly reluctant to divulge such information. Xazzak shrugged.
"Never mind, I can find out for myself." He waved a hand at the creature and muttered a word, then burst out laughing. Sane laughter, for once. He even managed to stop it before it became the other kind.
"Jar nuts? Yer demon's named Jar nuts?"
"Zhar'nuz!" the boy snapped at him, clearly offended. "It's name is Zhar'nuz."
"Sure, sure, Jar nuts. That's what I said."
The boy bristled and launched into a rather angry lecture about... demon names probably. After a few words, Xazzak couldn't focus on anything but that voice. Nasally and somewhat high pitched, it grated on his nerves. His hands twitched and he imagined shattering those thick glasses, grinding the shards of glass into the boy's eyes as he screamed. His mouth stretched into a grin and a high, mad laugh escaped him, stopping the boy mid-sentence. It took several moments to get it back under control. Was that fear in the boy's eyes? It had been far too long since he had seen that. It felt good. But it was not what he wanted here. He had to get control of himself. But it was so hard. It had never been hard before. Before two years confinement in a magic-dampening padded cell under his father's house in Azshara. Before he'd gone mad. He grasped desperately at that lost control, pulling himself back together.
"Relax, kid. It was a joke!" He moved to put his arm around the boy's shoulders, but the kid ducked out of the way with more agility than he would have given him credit for. The voidwalker moved between them, radiating threat.
"Despite what you seem to think of me, I am not a fool 'cousin.'" The boy's grating voice came from behind the demon. "And I will not let you touch me. Unless you have business to discuss, please be on your way. I have things I must attend to."
Xazzak gritted his teeth and reminded himself to be patient. A pity he had not been able to gain the boy's trust, but so be it. His time would come. His network was in shambles from his long confinement, but he would rebuild it. He'd come up with a plan, trust or no. He'd always been good at making plans. And carrying them out. It would just take patience. And control.
"I was just making the rounds, catching up on things." A giggle escaped him, but he stopped it quickly. "I have been out of touch a rather long time, you know."
"Yes. I know. Goodbye Xazzak."
"See ya, kid." He walked away. A few streets later, he began muttering to himself. And giggling.
