(2023-11-23) Something Like Happiness

Details

Author:	Vond
Summary:	Aszera has decided she is Vond's friend and tracks him down to Heartwood/Light's Refuge to find out where he and Etone have gone. There may be some matters unaswered, but perhaps things seem fairly normal aside from some kind of dissatisfaction and worry. They catch up between themselves and discuss a few other people they know.
Rating:	M for Mature 17+

Near the southern edge of Zul'drak, below the stair of the Drak'atal Passage, the stone-paved terminus of a mighty thoroughfare had once been the site of an ongoing struggle. Troll warriors, protecting displaced fleeing Drakkari, had fought valiantly to contain streams of undead that threatened to trickle out of the border - to save the living on hand by making a prison of their own empire. Some had succumbed to the insidious spread of undeath springing from the wounded, while others had scattered to parts unknown. Now, after several necropoli neutralized and the severity of the Scourging that swept Zul'drak beginning to abate, the base of the stair stood quiet, empty save for a few Argent watchmen.

Further on, thick tufts of green pressed up against the edge of the more persistent snow line, close enough to the rising mountains to give way to clearings in the pine canopy rising to the south. Stately Drakkari masonry gave way to earth paths that followed the course of the uneven topography, winding around larger stones while braces of rough timber reinforced a few slopes that could otherwise pose a risk of mudslide onto the rustic trade routes. In the clearings, hilly fields between Westfall Brigade encampment and Drak'atal, a low-cropped carpet of verdure lay burnished with sprays of goldclover.

South of the Pasage, and north of Grizzlemaw, the Heartwood Trading Post had long stood as a stopover point for the Trappers of Grizzly Hills. Before the Alliance and Horde had recently stationed there, these largely independent humans cut off from the southern kingdoms by treacherous seas had taken a taste for the land and settled into their own culture there, regardless of the touchy success rate of ventures that had initially brought earlier generations to the shores of Northrend. Now upheaval had come, the revived vrykul and the wolfcult, and the post had changed owners several times under trying circumstances, until a beleaguered proprieter had agreed to allow the Argent Crusade to attach to the crossroads and develop some of the surrounding area.

The central smokehouse tower of the old trading post still rose high into the pine canopy above, joined now by a number of rough lumber cabins lining the earthy road and stretching toward the cliffs overseeing the central basin of the region. Chief among the new structures was a sizy stable populated with what appeared to be local mustang stock of the sort that roamed the hilly fields nearby.

A longhouse of sorts stood opposite, and Argent Crusaders, some possibly familiar, made there way here and there on various tasks. Most were not fully armed, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than anything in recent memory from across the Drakkari border. A few people were heading out with fishing tackle, talking among themselves, while elsewhere a frazzled looking teacher and assistant were trying to corral a line of children into a small log chapel while they argued over who could best lasso a flying moth, as if any of them actually had.

Along the main path, Vond Satterly was simply jogging in plain everyday clothing, the uneven changing inclines that were natural to the area offering more of a challenging run than otherwise.

The figure walking up the main path in the opposite direction is, in contrast, fully armed and armored. Still, there's no sign of alarm in anyone from the camp, possibly because her cloak is pushed back far enough to show the familiar sign of the Argent Crusade on her tabard. As well, the hood of her dark cloak hangs against her back, revealing the face of Aszera Sunstrike, a blindfolded sin'dorei woman who unexpectedly seems to have no difficulty traversing the uneven terrain. Her expression brightens a moment before she turns her attention to Vond, and then she quickly closes the distance.

The sound of walking boots in that human jogging gait slowed and skidded a bit against the dirt path as Vond took a double-take at the new arrival, certainly distinctive and not among the figures he expected to immediately see around the heavily expanded trading post. "Sunstrike?" A slightly winded voice picks up nearby as he draws to a full halt and makes to catch his breath again. There's a note of curiosity and perhaps a bit of reserve in his tone. "What's the occasion? They send you out here to get some R&R too?"

"That what you're here for?" Aze asks, falling to a stop a pace or two away. "R&R? I just heard this place existed, and you sort of disappeared, so…"

Vond puffs a humorless sort of sound, perhaps even annoyed, as he spreads his palms up and out slightly in a general outward gesture, accompanied by a brisk look around at the scenery, that may or may not be entirely 'visible.'

"I mean I s'pose so, that and administrative rubbish, and it's the bloody pits.
'S not what any'f us came here for." The annoyance rises to something distinctly simmering that quickly subsides amid the winding thread of breeze rustling thick-needled branches, peppered with birdsong. His face softens and his voice turns mildly apologetic. "That came out wrong. You've probably been traveling. You need a spot to rest? There's actual real beds here if you overnight."

"Yeah, it's been a lot of walking," Aze says, a puzzled expression crossing her face at his clear frustration with the idyllic countryside. "A bed sounds great, but not immediately needed. Guess you've got time to talk, then, if you're on forced rest?"

There is a slight pause, as if Vond might be considering his words, then a slight shake of his head. "Not quite as much. Yeah, I can talk. Here or indoors? Cookhouse will be open in a little while but not quite yet."

The air truly is remarkably breathable compared to many of the alternatives here. Not too far off the path, a moth bumbles a slow loop across the field. It is no wonder the children have not caught one yet, as it appears to be roughly the size of a small bear.

"Here's fine. It's nice out here," Aze tilts her head, maybe considering the surroundings, and then adds, "Are you headed somewhere or just exercising? I'm not that tired - I could walk with you."

"Just stretching my legs, clearing my head, trying to not get stuck to a desk too long." Vond eases over to the side of the path where a rising hill is reinforced with structural lumber to prevent any downslide onto the path. He hops up slightly to sit against a crosswise split log. "We can head in whenever you care to, show you 'round. What does bring you here, though?" He peers across quizzically, not quite catching on, perhaps assuming her earlier statement was incomplete somehow.

Aze follows agreeably, settling next to him. "I thought I already said. Well, more or less. We were training with the death knights in Crystalsong, then you seemed stressed out, and then one day you just weren't there anymore. I know people get assigned other places, but given what came before…" Aze shrugs a shoulder, tilting her head toward him. "I thought I'd hunt…" she pauses, shakes her head, "I mean, I asked around where you'd gone and this place came up. So um, yeah. I'm here to see how you're doing."

A few different conflicting expressions flicker across the humans's face as he regards Aszera, pausing to press his glasses up slightly as she speaks, then blinking at her uncertainly. "You came here to ask after me," he echoes with a side-turn of his head, as if ensuring he had got that right, puzzled. It is true he didn't seem to have a regular squad to answer to, instead accompanying the Confessor who attached to different units based on circumstances, or cycling in to various patrol duties based on Greennote's location. But neither of them had been seen in Zul'drak for weeks now.

"Yeah, I was part of talks getting the stuff with the Blades going. I need it as much as any of 'em. Was I that obviously stressed?" Famously mellow and serene Vond Satterly looks troubled as he asks.

"Maybe not to people who hadn't seen you often? Or, I don't know, maybe I'm just more observant about shit like that now." Famously thoughtful and observant Aze Sunstrike. She stops to consider his obvious puzzlement, and wraps her arms protectively across her chest. "Okay, maybe I should've come looking for you sooner, but…" it took her seven years to check after her own sister? "…I was doing what you asked. Trying to help people work together, be a bridge and all that. Are you alright?"

A sudden hint of suspicion shows in faintly narrowed eyes, possibly beyond Aze's perceptions, then after a moment the look turns down and eases with a low sigh. "It's not as if someone's put you up to evaluating me or anything, right? I got the Confessor here after all." And there's certainly no reason to not take Greennote's word on the matter at face value, is there? "Pardon if I seem a bit caught off guard. I haven't had someone just drop in to check on me like this since, mn, since Light's Hope, outside've him. Thought it should be my job to make sure you were finding your place with us, rather."

He rolls his shoulders with a slight wince. "Just me to you, then, aye, I am gettin' on, but maybe I wasn't for a tick. Hah—" he cuts off as if suddenly struck with a funny thought. Like a laugh against a bruised rib. "I was about to ask you to keep that from getting passed around, then I remembered I was supposed to be the one getting others to open up. Before I got here, I was trying to run a group to make sure some of our allies were staying the course." Another frustrated expression manifests then begins to fade.

"So there was something wrong. What was it? Death knights putting you off or something?" Aze rests her hands on the log and leans back a little. "I'm not evaluating you and I can keep things quiet if you want. I'm getting along well enough - I think people are getting used to me being around - but I don't think anybody would task the 'demon girl' with counseling people."

She turns, orienting herself more towards Vond, and there's a touch of hesitation in her voice as she adds, "I just sort of… thought we were friends? Or, at least, I counted you as my friend. If that's wrong I can stop, it's only… I don't have so many friends that I don't notice when I miss one."

Vond gives a wide startled blink then palms the back of his neck, eyes darting off to cast along the path as if it might contain a better set of instructions. "I— yeah, arright, friends, though if we're being straight you'll have to know I worry after your whole situation. You're one of us now, though, aye? Surely if there were any chance of something, ah, being helpful in that regard, p'haps that's something like stacking the odds?"

He takes a deep breath, possibly arranging his thoughts. "You've had my back out there. There's no reason we oughtn't be friends'f some kind, and it's good of you to come by. I imagine the death knights have something to do with it. Had a tangle with some Scourge ones since we sailed 's well. It's difficult to be around them bringing runeswords to bear and not be taken back to when they took overwhelming force to the chapel. It was… not just a matter of being hopelessly outnumbered, but the distinct malign cruelty of it, even for undead. They feed off it." He shakes his head clearingly. "More than that though, more even than just the hard fighting, I think it's probably day to day just being surrounded by far more dead than living. Seein' em, hearing 'em, taking 'em out, burning 'em…"

He keeps staring off at the road, cutting off as if he could certainly describe more, but thinks better of it. "Then just a bunch of things happened at once and suddenly I'm here. I oughtn't trouble you with it all. It's just that I already feel like I only barely eked by getting selected for Northrend, and now I'm worried I'm gonna end up stuck in this place frettin' my head off about everyone who's gone to Icecrown after I busted arse to get ready for it."

"Then I guess you'd better listen to what you superiors say, fix whatever it is they think you need to fix, do whatever it is they think needs doing for that," Aze says, her attention still fixed on Vond. She sits up again, crossing her arms. "Fighting against the people who make the decisions won't get you anywhere, much less Icecrown." Aze sighs, shaking her head. "Maybe that came out more blunt than I meant, it's just… what I usually do, I guess? But if you do want to talk about anything, it won't trouble me. I've already got enough trouble of my own that a little extra's no problem."

A brief silence, and she adds, "I wasn't at Light's Hope, but I think I know something of what you mean. I was in Quel'Thalas for the fall. Fighting, falling back, and watching it all fall apart. It was… hell. That was my experience with the undead, with death knights, until suddenly they're part of my daily life. So yeah, I get the bad memories."

Vond shakes his head. "You all got it as bad or worse as Lordaeron up there, and that was before the demons, Light." He seems to ease up a bit, despite the harsh topic, perhaps on account of a sentiment of commonality there. "You are right, though, of course, and I will take the truth spoken without hedging.

"I am not fightin' anybody who's got say, I don't think, and they are going to need him." He jerks his head back toward the settlement. "The Confessor seems to think I've got what it takes, and I can't… I don't think I could bear to see 'im have to head in without me unless I really see they've got better for guarding and, mn, dealing with 'im. I am probably just worryin' to worry, and things'll be right on track soon as we're over the bulk of getting things off the ground out here." It may not entirely explain everything, and he speaks it as if convincing himself.

"It's a little odd, I imagine, letting on to you that I get concerned about the other paladins having the idea that I may be not enough this dauntless grand thing to rely on, when you have had to get skepticism and scrutiny from practically everyone, myself included."

"No, obviously I can get the feeling, being worried about people doubting you, because I know they doubt me. You doubt me, like you said. It's still jarring." Aze raises one hand to her blindfold. "It wasn't like this before. I was… popular, socially. And then I was a good soldier. It was my sister's idea, me getting into soldiering, but I took to it better than she expected. I was promoted from one group to another until I ended up chosen for an elite group of… well, you know how that ended up. And suddenly the floor dropped out from under me, and I was stuck just trying to figure out who was going to kill me first. I'm still Aszera Sunstrike. Maybe not exactly the same, but who stays the same through their whole life, anyway?" Aze sighs, letting her hand drop. "I did sort of get the impression you were some dauntless grand thing, so good job on the facade." She flashes a quick smile and adds, "So, the Confessor's tough to deal with?"

Vond lets out a light laugh that sounds genuine at the good job. "Well I'll take that as a good opinion on being able to keep up appearances, least at times. Can't help but wonder now'n then. And aye, a proper handful. Don't get me wrong, he's great with a heart to heart for those as need it, but definitely a willful sort. Gets ambitious ideas in mind of how something ought to be then sort of expects the surroundings to comport with a goal. And funny thing? Seems like half the time it does so, even if it's on part account of me tryin'a make sure all the details are in line. You should've seen how he convinced a crew of mechanics to retool a busted up arcane sentry into something entirely new and custom back on Quel'danas with no engineering background of his own to speak of. I think getting it fitted for freezing weather is a work in progress, though." There seems to be a mixture of exasperation and admiration in his voice as he carries on for a spell. "Don't get me started about on the field."

He settles back. "I certainly wouldn't've expected you to wind up at our door, but p'raps it works in a way? We don't… I mean, for all the reputation we've tried to build, and dedication to the Light, we've had to be unconventional, in ways. To survive. To get a bunch of powerful kingdoms and coalitions to cooperate with us without tearing us apart from inside to their own ends." He rolls his shoulders. "Part of that is on the whole history of old guard like the Highlord and good will there, but most of them are gone, and it's fallen on just adaptability and faith and bein' scrappy as hell. Zul'drak has been hard and you have carried yourself well."

Aze brightens at the praise, and rolls her own shoulders in unconscious reflection of Vond. "I'm good at that part, adaptability. And being scrappy as hell. Of course, I also have a personal interest in making sure the Dawn doesn't get torn apart." She pauses to think for a moment, and then adds, "That's one thing I like about being in the Argent Crusade, the neutrality. The whole Horde and Alliance thing seems a little weird to me? When I left Azeroth I was part of the Alliance, and when I came back I was Horde. It's all just decisions other people made while I wasn't there, so it doesn't feel like it matters. Glad you and the Confessor could help in Quel'Danas, though. Wish I'd have met you both already when you were working on the arcane sentries."

"He has connections there, you know? To the Sunwell itself, even. I think he might've gotten it in his head that he had to be there, even though the Crusade was getting ready to ship out." Vond considers Aze thoughtfully. "You might've given us less of a start than your sister. And weird doesn't even begin to cover it. Some of the entrenched bad blood with the orcs and trolls is entirely obvious to understand, so it's been a shock to hear of some of the actions taken and allegiances formed, as an outsider. Can't imagine what some've your folk have had to come to grips with."

He peers up into the crisscrossing canopy branches with a light sigh. "However understandable or not, though, we've needed support from both to get this far. Light providing, it'll keep holding long enough." A look like a dark thought passes over him before releasing. "You know anyone with the Sunreavers by chance? Seems like them and the Covenant are our best links lately."

"The Confessor has a connection there? All of the sin'dorei have a connection to the Sunwell," Aze says with a smile, but then it falters as she adds, "Or had. I guess I don't anymore. Not a physical one, anyway, but… it still felt unfinished for me. I was at the battle, there at the end, but I didn't really get a chance to meet anyone. I wasn't officially there, I just sort of… slipped in with all the chaos."

"As for the Sunreavers…." Aze makes a reluctant noise, and leans back. "Maybe. The one I told you about, wanted to study me? If she's here in Northrend, she's either still with the Magisters or she's a Sunreaver. Coriene Bloodsong. I could… I could reach out and ask, if you wanted me to. I was friends with her little sister, so she'd answer me, even if she's lost interest in the whole…" Aze gestures at her own torso. "If she hasn't lost interest, she can hardly kidnap me now, not when I'm wearing a tabard." Aze pauses, considering. "There's Geth, too. Gethennis Jadelight. Though I think his loyalty was always to the Kirin Tor."

Vond pinches his lips to a thin line as Aze brings up the scenario with Coriene. "I'd rather you not open yourself up to any further invasive questioning or worse by someone who's already given you trouble. In fact, if that one has fallen in with the Sunreavers, and there're any other problems, we might be in a position to sort it out entirely. And yeah, I meant more a family connection than the, you know. His father lived and worked on Quel'danas, as I understand it.

"This Jadelight, someone good to make introductions with, you think? We've got official channels for some things but any existing ties we can strengthen couldn't hurt. With the Sunreavers or the Kirin Tor. Hah." He huffs a short laugh with a shake of his shoulders. "Listen to me carryin' on about what I can stick my nose inta. Just trying to come up with more ways to get busier again."

"His father, on Quel'danas? Hm. Wonder if he ever knew mine." Aze says, but then shakes her head and changes topics with, "Thanks, but I really will contact her, if you decide you need me to. Geth is easier to introduce - he's a friend. He's sort of a… party friend, not a professional one, so I can't really tell you all that much about his mage contacts or anything. And he doesn't really know about my situation, unless he's put it all together by now… or my sister told him. He just knows something happened with me and the fel."

Vond tilts his head first one way then the other at the description, perhaps weighing the degree of unknowns involved. "It might not hurt just to check in a more casual way, in that case, 'less there's any reason you wouldn't care to. One can't have too many friends in a situation like this, right? Dalaran is a huge part of the glue holding this whole effort together."

He gives Aszera a curious look. "What about you? You getting on other than feelin' the need to check up on us?" There's a slight smile that reaches his voice. "Any roamin' around that weird forest? Keeping the dead in line?"

"Yeah, I could send Geth a letter or something," Aze says, turning her face away for a moment. "Dalaran is not… well, it's not exactly my favorite place. But yeah, I've been making sure the dead and the living get along, as much as I can, at least the ones that are all on our side. Wandering a bit. The forest puts me a little on edge, though not as bad as the naaru. And another friend of mine's had a rough time, and he ran off into the wilderness with a tent. I tracked him down to make sure he was alright - did you know there's a jungle here in Northrend?"

Vond seems a little unsure at her pause, perhaps about to address something, when is caught by that last statement and gives a disbelieving blink. "Say that again? A jungle," he restates flatly. "As in, the kind that grows where it's hot, with fruits and birds and apes. And you've been there?"

"Yeah f*cking fruits and birds and apes," Aze says, flashing another smile. "And hot enough you dont need a coat. I found Sil there, in a tent by a stand of palms. No idea how it's here, but it is. It's not even too hard to get to - I just followed the road north of Bor'gorok Outpost in the Tundra."

"Sil - Cobalt Sil?" He blinks again. Perhaps this shouldn't be as surprising as the presence of a jungle, but perhaps it's just compounding the general flabbergastedness. "So it's more the western end, aye? That's… first the spooky glowing forest, and now a sweaty jungle fulla palm trees on the freezingest place on Azeroth. Okay. Honestly I'm dyin' to see it myself but I do not know when that might be possible.

"But if it's the Sil I am thinking of, your friend who has been having it rough? You see him again, you can let him know this place is here, yeah? Got plenty of us been having it rough." He sniffs. "If he's handy any with horses or lumber he can get some work too. Or other things. There's plenty needs doing."

"Yeah, I don't know about geography or the why, but it's definitely a thing that exists," Aze laughs a little at his confusion. "Worth seeing, if you get a chance. And yeah, Cobalt Sil, we're good friends. He was out in Zul'drak with them for a while, I guess maybe that's where you met him? I think he actually might be my first human friend? I met him back in Shattrath a year or so ago, when I was in kind of a situation myself. I think I got him out of jungle hermit mode, but next time I see him I'll let him know he can go for horses and lumber if my strategy's not working for him."

"Well, I mean, just the good air and daylight, too, healthy forest, natural beauty…" Vond sweeps his hand outward toward the surrounding greenery that stretchest out from the path, finally seeming to draw some attention to appreciation for the environment after all the complaining. "Even if you cannot see it all, I'm sure you can hear and feel how lively it is. That's part 'f the reason for all this, is we saw how much moving through here picked up people's spirits, after the Plaguelands and the outbreaks.

"And yeah, I have seen him about Zul'drak, and at a stopover near when we first got here. He was at Light's Hope, too, so maybe I do not know him well as you but he's got my regard for sure. Any of them Cobalt folk are welcome here. We are trying to keep ties good and you have seen how much they've done. What strategy is that, though?"

"Even I can tell this place is better off than most of the others," Aze nods, smiling, and she tilts her head toward Vond. "Like I said before, nobody would make me a counselor, I probably don't have good advice. All I can do is look back on what kept me going, at the worst times. I told him to get to Dalaran, get a warm, safe bed, and do whatever makes him happy."

Vond leans back a bit more heavily against the bracing timber on the hillside, frowning slightly. "I mean, probably something I should be listening to 's well. It certainly hasn't been all bad - far from it - if I could just be able to treat with what's in front of me, right now. 'S been good to have time with… Time at all. Not sure if there's just something wrong with me that I can't just be here in it, or if it's that what makes me happiest would be following through on this to the end.

"Yes it's utter shit plenty and I wish we never had to be in this difficulty and could turn back all the losses and treachery and miseries and sometimes I just with it would bloody end." He takes a steadying breath, forcing himself to ease back on the speech that had started to become faster and more emphatic. "But given the circumstances that we are in, being there with our people, doing what I can, protecting someone from worse. That'd be something like happiness, I think?" He sounds a little unsure, and then a clear ringing bell sounds in the distance and he looks up.

Aze twitches at the sound, a hand going toward one hilt, but then she relaxes when there's no sign of danger. "Is that calling for you?"

Vond glances back to Aze. "That's a meal is what that is. Hungry?" He seems to settle down a bit. "You can refresh from the journey. Maybe let on to any more sound advice if you think 'f it."

"Yeah, I could eat," Aze says, pushing to her feet. She turns back towards Vond and smiles. "And I'll do that. I'm full of good advice."