(2024-07-25) Reporting to an Admirable

Details

Author:	Alli
Summary:	The Cobalt Eye (Annibeth, Ionala, Jonas, Maisha and Mayellen) travel to Fallon House to discuss what they've uncovered about the reasons behind the recent naga activity.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: Season 14

It is an oppressively cloudy July afternoon when the members of the Cobalt Eye emerge from the narrow hill-pass at the western edge of Elwynn Forest and find themselves facing Fallon House, the sprawling stone manor perched above coastal cliffs. The sea in the distance is dull slate marked with restless white ridges of foam, as rising waves predict a summer storm moving in from the west.

The members of the Eye are met by a trio of grooms — the most senior, a wiry, sun-leathered man of indeterminate age, has an impenetrable accent and may not be speaking Common at all — who take their mounts and direct them to the front entrance of the house.

They are met at the door by an enormous, shave-headed man who looks like he might be part vrykul, stuffed into immaculate servants' livery. Vane guides them across the parquet floor of the foyer and past a gilt-framed portrait of the Vice Admiral standing beside his seated wife, and up the left-hand staircase.

He ushers them into an upstairs room paneled in walnut; on the far wall, casement windows are flanked by bookcases which display not just books but assorted navigational and astronomical paraphernalia. At the right-hand wall, couches are arranged before a fireplace; the wall around the fireplace is practically papered by maps and nautical charts.

At the desk facing the door, Siamus Fallon is sitting in waistcoat and shirtsleeves, frowning at a sheaf of papers. He glances up, lays the papers down and rises courteously to his feet. "Cobalts. Welcome. I'm obliged to ye for coming out here. Will ye sit?" He indicates the fireside couches.

Mayellen Hazan has looked less and less comfortable the farther they proceeded on this journey into a nobleman's manor, but she stays silent for now, her blue-gray eyes grave. She's leaning on a walking-stick today, her gait steady but slow.

Jonas Hazan walks silently at her side, not holding on to her but with a hand hovering in case she should require it. He is gazing around at everything, his face a neutral mask.

Maisha's eyes are wide as saucers as they come up to the grand house. She's a little wary of letting the groom care for her ram, but then she reluctantly relinquishes him to the care of the Fallon stables. She did not bring her raptor. She's been unusually silent, once they've arrived on the grounds, and that doesn't change when they're led into the opulent (by her standards) study.

She bobs a sort of a bow at Siamus Fallon, awkwardly but not rudely - it's clear she's not used to giving that kind of obeisance.

Annibeth Jansen is as dressed up as Annibeth gets—meaning she's wearing a jacket without holes in it over her usual tank top and sturdy workman's trousers. She has even tucked her goggles into a pocket rather than wearing them up on her head. Her dirty blonde hair remains as unruly as ever, despite her ponytail's valiant effort to keep it contained.

Anni tries to imitate Maisha's bow, balking halfway through as she questions it; but being half-bowed looks ridiculous, so she goes through with it. "Hiya, Admirable."

Ionala wears crisply pressed robes in vibrant blue with white trim and embroidery, and a cobalt company tabard that looks brand new. She eyes the home's decorations, but doesn't comment. Her nod is a single dip of the head, coordinated with the smooth bend of her knees in a curtsey—not a wobble, smooth as if it's been practiced for years, and performed as a polite greeting.

"The ride through Elwynn is always pleasant. The sheltering trees shading the road do a great deal to protect from the heat. I hope you and yours are well."

Mayellen colors when Annibeth says "Admirable," as though it were her mistake.

Maisha belatedly realizes she was invited (ordered?) to sit, and she moves quickly to sit on the couch next to the fireplace.

Siamus's expression remains mild and smilingly cordial, barely a twitch at "Admirable." He returns the various bows and the curtsey with a courteous inclination of his head. "I'm pleased to hear it, Miss Webster, and aye, the family is well. Thank ye for asking. And please, all of ye, call me Fallon."

To the gigantic butler-slash-pro-wrestler, he says, "Can ye have Catrin bring tea?" Vane nods and disappears, drawing the door silently closed behind him.

Jonas puts his hand beneath Mayellen's elbow to escort her over to a couch.

Ionala takes a spot directly opposite Mayellen, in case meaningful glances are needed.

Annibeth sits in an entirely unladylike manner, elbows leaning on knees spread wide apart. "You got coffee? I don't much like tea. Tastes like-…" She pauses again, thinking better of how she might describe the flavor of tea, "…not…the thing I wanna taste."

"I'll drink tea," Maisha says, and she sounds a little dazed, like maybe she's not sure what tea is right now, but clearly its the thing she ought to be drinking.

Siamus laughs genially at Annibeth's request. "Of course. I know the feeling." He moves around his desk to the office door, but pauses before opening it. He nods to Maisha and surveys the others. "Would anyone else like anything particular?"

Jonas clears his throat. "I'll have coffee as well," he says politely. Annibeth started it.

"I love coffee," Ionala confesses.

"I'm … I'm fine," says Mayellen. She doesn't look super fine. Her spine is ramrod-straight and she is holding her hands like she's afraid to touch anything.

Siamus flashes a smile at Ionala and nods to the group at large. He steps out into the hall. "Vane!" he calls. There is a brief, quiet conference before he steps back in.

Jonas has settled beside Mayellen. He looks a question at her, and reaches for one of her hands.

Mayellen takes Jonas's hand and gives it a squeeze, taking a deep breath. "I've never been somewhere like this," she murmurs to him while Siamus is gone.

Jonas rounds his eyes comically at her. "Oh, aye, well I had coffee with the King on Tuesday," he murmurs back. "Let's hope this place is up to snuff."

Mayellen stifles a giggle, seeming to relax a bit.

Jonas smiles at her and squeezes her hand back.

Maisha smiles weakly at the two lovebirds murmuring.

Siamus steps back in, closing the door again, and then takes the armchair in front of the desk that is nearest to the couches and drags it across the carpet to turn it facing the hearth and the seated Cobalt Eye. He sits, and his casual posture — leaning forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped between them — is closer to Annibeth's than anyone else's. (His knees are not quite so wide apart, because he is a gentleman, Annibeth.)

"Ye were in Desolace," he says. "And ye have some news for me?"

"Yup," Annibeth chimes in. "Naga are up to no good. At war with water elementals or somethin'." She nods curtly as if that were all the information he might need.

Maisha looks at Annibeth in confusion, and then to Siamus. "Well, it was a bit more than that, I'd say. They're followin' Queen Azshara. Like, personally, she's probably off somewhere in the sea givin' orders."

Mayellen, though she seems less tense than before, is uncharacteristically not attempting to take the lead in the conversation.

Anni nods and spreads her hands as if to suggest that's what she had just said.

Siamus looks from Annibeth to Maisha and back again. He sits up. He looks from Ionala to Mayellen, as though waiting for someone with the rest of the details to fill in several blanks. "Queen Azshara," he says after a silence, and takes a second survey of their faces. "The — the old elven queen? From — before the world was broken? Or d'ye mean…?" Does she have a granddaughter, maybe?

"We were confused as well at first," Mayellen says quietly. "But given that some of Cobalt Company's members were alive when she was…" She spreads her hands slightly. "It does seem as though the naga are still following the orders of the same queen who nearly drowned with them all ten thousand years ago."

Maisha nods in agreement. "And the water elemental lord that we met, Lord Hydronis, seemed ta think it was the same lady."

"The Azshara," Ionala confirms. "We had to report it."

Siamus's gaze goes distant for a moment, and then sharpens again. "And they're organizing, then. Under Azshara. To war wi'the elementals? Tell me about this Hydronis."

The door opens quietly and a maid in a neat dark blue dress and white apron comes in wheeling a tea trolley. She brings it toward the group, then takes from it various trays to arrange on the table: a teapot and cups, a silver coffee press and cups, cream, sugar, and plates of sandwich-triangles, tiny currant scones, and macarons.

She hovers for a moment and Siamus glances at her and nods absently. "We'll manage, Catrin, thank ye," he tells her, and she nods herself and disappears whence she came.

Jonas waits to see if someone else is going to take a sandwich first or if he should pioneer.

Annibeth doesn't take a sandwich. She takes four…and a scone. Surely nobody expected someone to get by on just one tiny sandwich.

Maisha goes immediately for a macaron, since they look tasty. She chews and swallows before answering, maybe to get a little fortification from the sugar. "Lord Hydronis… was really big, and we sat on his shoulders an' helped while he fought the naga priestess. But maybe we're gettin' ahead of ourselves. We found out that what the naga are after - and Queen Azshara's after, since she ordered it - is ta get into the plane of water. They mean to attack Neptulon the Tidehunter."

Ionala fixes a cup of coffee and takes a currant scone and a macaron. she breaks the macaron in half rather than biting into it.

Mayellen just sits with her hands in her lap, watching Siamus closely.

Siamus's expression remains bland, but he has gone slightly ashen beneath his tan.

After a moment, he sits forward again and takes a sandwich himself. He takes two, in fact. One for each hand. These are his emotional support sandwiches.

"D'ye have any idea how they plan to get into the Plane of Water?" he asks.

Jonas, having been thoroughly beaten to the sandwiches, also takes two. He offers one to Mayellen silently.

"I don't reckon they know how yet," Maisha says, snagging another macaron. "That's what they were lookin' for at the coast. We went undercover, pretended ta be naga, and they sent us after these ruins lookin' for engravings to piece together, see." Maisha hurriedly adds, "We did no' give them any, don't worry. All we found we brough to th' Cenarions."

Anni mutters with mouthful of scone, "Stupid, sexy naga disguises…."

Siamus cuts a sidelong look at Anni but does not comment. She was muttering and her mouth is full of scone; perhaps he misunderstood her. "Ye worked with the Cenarions and an elemental lord on this? A… lieutenant of the Tidehunter's, perhaps? Were the Earthen Ring involved at all?"

Anni swallows. "There was a cow-lady shaman helpin' us. She was an Earthen Ringer, right?" She looks to the rest of the Eye for confirmation.

Maisha shakes her head. "No, she was a druid - Cenarion Circle. She turned into a stormcrow and a sea lion ta keep near us sometimes, remember? No Earthen Ring, just Korrah and Lord Hydronis. She did say the rest of her team was got by the nagas."

"Aye, all right." Siamus frowns distantly and eats one of his sandwiches.

Anni ducks her head, mumbling again. "Thought druid and shaman was the same thing."

"Have ye had problems with naga yerself, sir?" Maisha asks, glancing worriedly at the rest of her unusually tense team.

Siamus, who was about to start on his second Thinking Sandwich, lowers it. "Ye know about… your lost people, aye? The White Squad?" He looks around at them.

Ionala glances at Mayellen, but doesn't speak.

"Only what I've seen in the newsletter," Maisha says nervously. "There was a… a kraken, aye?"

Anni winces, nodding. "Sounds real bad."

Siamus nods grimly. "We recovered one of them. Here." He gestures vaguely behind himself with his sandwich, as though they might still be able to see traces of bubble-goo splattered around the place. (They cannot. Moirin the maid is very thorough.) "Kyris Lysander. He said they came under attack by the naga, who seemed to be… operating with some larger purpose in mind. They're taking our sunken soldiers captive for some reason."

Jonas, who was in the act of pouring himself coffee, freezes. "They —"

"We have reason to hope," Siamus tells him, "that Lieutenant and Mrs. Hazan were able to escape. Lysander suspected so, at least; the better part of Cobalt's people didn't seem to have been captured with him. We haven't, of course, had news in some time, but that was the most recent."

Jonas sets the coffee down and glances at Mayellen.

"What can we do?" Ionala asks

Maisha looks worried. "What could they want with prisoners? The ones in Desolace were just collectin' engravings o' Neptulon, lookin' ta find some key. If the naga down undersea are after the same thing… do ye think it could mean they found the key, an' they need people to get it… working or some such?"

"Ye know about as much as I do now," Siamus tells her. "Which — I realize, believe me — is frustratingly little. Anything else we can learn of the naga and their plans is valuable, so ye can imagine how much I appreciate ye bringing this to me. Every piece of data is necessary at this point; we need to know what we're up against, what our people might be faced with, what we'll face when the rescue operations can pinpoint locations. So yet again, ye come bearing precious intelligence for the Alliance."

He looks down at his Thinking Sandwich and then up at the group, his jaw tight. "I promise we'll see it acted upon sooner and more effectively than the last was."

Mayellen pales at the talk of Lt. Hazan, and listens intently.

Maisha tenses her shoulders a little, and then nods. "We think they want ta kill Neptulon. That seemed ta be what they were sayin'. I do no' know if tha' helps, or if it's even a thing that's possible…"

"I wouldn't put anything past Azshara," Mayellen says softly. "She was nearly a goddess, from what they say. One of the most powerful beings alive."

"So…they sink our ships and take our people…as some kinda sacrifice?" Anni muses aloud. "In the stories, big magic always had some kinda blood sacrifice. Maybe that's how they knock down Neptulon's door."

Siamus eats his Thinking Sandwich.

Jonas forgets to finish pouring his coffee. He is tense enough now without caffeine.

"It's… a possibility, Miss Jansen," Siamus allows when the sandwich has been sacrificed. "And I will have to revisit my elven history, but Miss Mull— I beg your pardon, Mrs. Hazan has the right of it, I expect. If we are in fact dealing with the Queen Azshara, I cannot imagine her ambition has waned in ten thousand years. It's a fair amount of time to lie in wait and scheme." He pauses. "Congratulations to ye both, by the way. Have I said that? I can't recall."

Jonas looks nonplussed. One conversation at a time, sir.

Mayellen flushes. "Thank you, sir. My lord. Admiral." She winces slightly at herself.

Siamus smiles at her. "Fallon will do, Mrs. Hazan, I assure ye. It's how most of my colleagues address me."

See? You're colleagues now.

Jonas pours his coffee. Now he needs caffeine.

"I don't know if this is linked to Deathwing at all," Mayellen muses, "or if Aszhara is simply taking advantage of the chaos with the elementals somehow."

"It's well enough, even without Deathwing in the mix," Maisha says, staring at the sweets. "I hope we're no' outmatched. If this is a plan hatched o'er ten thousand years, and we're tryin' ta piece it together in jus' a few weeks."

Siamus slumps back in his chair and drums his fingers on its arm, gazing into space again.

"Yeah but she couldn't have expected us," Anni pipes up cheerfully. "We're real good at bein' a wrench in the works. Nobody sees us comin', and we're pretty dang good at sabotagin' best laid plans. Just look what we did to them pirates!"

"I think this might be… a slightly different scale of problem," Mayellen says carefully. "But fortunately it isn't on just us to solve it. We'll do our part, of course, wherever we can, but I think we may be looking at a solution that's more on the scale of confronting the Lich King." She sighs. "It would have been nice," she adds dryly, "If Deathwing had waited just a little bit longer. Given Azeroth a bit of a breather."

Siamus focuses on Mayellen and smiles grimly. "A very elegant understatement, Mrs. Hazan."

Mayellen inclines her head in acknowledgement with an uncertain smile that seems to say, Should she be happy it was elegant or embarrassed it was an understatement? She clears her throat and adjusts her hands in her lap. Social stuff is hard.

Jonas puts a reassuring hand on her knee. This is why he doesn't talk, see?

Maisha nods, and belatedly remembers to get some tea. "Well, sir, if there's anything we can do, in our part, movin' forward, ye'll send word? If ye need someone undercover, we know now we can pass fer naga - at least with some druid magic help."

"I will, absolutely, and I thank ye, Miss Clouuuud…skimmer." Nailed it. He smiles at her a little tiredly. "And I mean to see an official commendation from the Admiralty for the lot of ye. I'll let Ference and your Captain Sparkwire know."

Maisha straightens, smiling with sudden flush of surprised pride. "Always happy ta serve, sir!"

Mayellen also sits up straight. Official Commendation? Treat for Mayellen??? Her expression brightens for the first time since she spotted the manor from a distance.

"Between the Heron operation, the Bloodsail action in the south, and now this, I'd say it's overdue. If the lot of ye ever want to be marines, only say the word." Siamus might be joking. He might not be. "But aye, ye'll have the Admiralty's gratitude. Ye do have it."

"It's our pleasure and duty, sir," Mayellen says earnestly. "I'm just happy to be able to serve in some way. But we are appreciative that you… appreciate our…" Oh. And she was doing so well. She clears her throat again. "It's nice to be acknowledged, sir," she finishes weakly.

Jonas squeezes her knee again.

"Thank you," Ionala says. "We work for the safety of the Alliance, but it is an honor to be acknowledged."

Mayellen nods toward Nala. Right. That thing she said, just pretend Mayellen said that.

Siamus smiles again. Well, put, young ladies.

"If it pleases any of ye to stay for dinner, you're more than welcome. And Mrs. Hazan, I expect your Miss Coit is around here somewhere, if ye'd like to say hello. But I won't insist on keeping any of ye, if the weather means to do what it looks like it might. I understand if ye must get back."

Mayellen glances at Jonas, then back at Siams. "I… yes, I can't speak for the rest, but Jonas and I had best get ahead of the weather We thank you for your kind invitation. And if there's anything else the Cobalt Eye can do, let us know."

"I could stay?" Maisha says in clear uncertainty. Could she? Really? In a place like this? "For dinner, I mean. If yer offerin'. My ram'll be fine in the weather later, 'e's used to it."

Now Mayellen looks hesitant. She looks at Jonas again.

Dinner. In a noble's house. Ionala is torn, from the uncertain teeth pinching at her lip. But she decides. "I'd be glad to. Thank you so much."

Jonas sips his coffee and attempts to communicate telepathically with Mayellen. Sadly he is only a werewolf, not a telepath.

"I uh… I suppose we could stay," Mayellen says, probably not getting Jonas's telepathic communication at all. Probably because now she's looking at Nala and Maisha instead of Jonas.

Jonas pats her knee, sits forward to set his coffee cup down, and nods at Siamus. "Thank you, sir."