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| Details |
| Author: | Luridel |
| Summary: | Immediately after White Squad helps Neptulon (who didn't ask for their help), Estel returns to that one underwater cave that the submarine used to be parked in and finds Almeiria trapped in visions. Estel helps her get back to normal. Alysson nearly loses a pair of socks. ~3.2k words. |
| Rating: | M for Mature 17+ |
Estel ties up her seahorse and climbs out of the water into the cave. The cave looks a lot larger and a lot emptier with the Alliance Pincer V2 now gone, but the Alliance camp remains for now. News of the naga's defeat will spread soon enough, but not immediately from Estel.
Almeiria sits by the campfire, her legs folded under her as if she has dropped to her knees and opted to stay like that. She's staring into the fire like she can see something in it, other than the bright orange flames flickering and popping.
Estel removes her goggles and rubs at the imprints left behind on her face as she walks through the sand. "Hey," she says as she gets closer. "Guess what."
Almeiria stirs at her voice, but doesn't tear her eyes from the fire. "You disrupted the plans of Squiggles," she guesses.
"Sure fucking hope so. We killed a bunch of leader naga and met Neptulon - and he actually cleansed the kraken. Like, de-corrupted it. Now it's just normally murderous." Estel plops down on the sand next to her, sitting cross-legged.
"No more trying to hitch a ride on passing ships? What a relief," Almeiria says. "And Neptulon, I assume, is no longer under threat for now?"
"You got it. It was a whole thing, like he was too cool to be grateful for the help that he hadn't asked for. As a reward, he let us leave. Like, c'mon, buddy. Culture difference, I guess." Estel wipes her goggles off with a cloth and then puts them away. "One of those mind flayer squids took control of Erunak down there. And then it got me next. We got better. And killed it."
"Well I should hope so, dear, because if you're wearing a squid hat right now, we're going to have a problem," Almeiria says, still not looking at her. "How was it, the mind flayer? Unpleasant, I'm sure, but did it target any insecurities? They do so love doing that."
Estel snorts. "I'm not wearing one right now. You, uh. Hang on, I'm not dodging your question - it sucked, and I hallucinated attacking my friends and killing the shaman, which I didn't actually do. I don't really think I have insecurities about getting mind controlled, that's a shitty hazard that can happen to anybody. Now. Are you okay?"
"What did Ben tell you?" Almeiria asks. It's hard to tell in the light of the fire, and the cave itself is rather dark, but she is paler than usual, her hair sticking in thick clumps to the back of her neck, and still she refuses to look at Estel.
"That you were hearing whispers, and you thought it was best that you should sit out today," Estel answers. "I didn't think you'd be down here." Experimentally, she waves a hand in front of Almeiria's face.
Almeiria does not seem to register the hand at all. "Still true, I'm afraid, but as long as I don't go any deeper there should be no issue. I do, of course, have an interest in making sure the Twilight's Hammer doesn't succeed in their plans, and on the surface I'd have to wait for the newsletter to find out what happened. This was the better option."
"Whose eyes are you in?" Estel asks, withdrawing her hand carefully.
A smile plays at Almeiria's lips. "Clever," she says. "It's less whose eyes I'm in than who's in my eyes. Squiggles is messing with me. It's rather disruptive if I'm being honest."
Estel's hand crackles as she attempts a basic [Dispel Magic] on Almeiria - you never know when the basics will work. "Hmm. Is proximity the issue?"
"I believe so, if Squiggles is He Who Lurks Below as advertised," Almeiria says. "This area is significantly 'below' and in 'the depths.' It was similar in certain areas of Northrend, but not quite this powerful, and not Squiggles. I don't suppose you saw any Titan prisons while you were swimming about?" The dispel does not seem to take effect.
Estel shakes her head, which Almeiria can't see. "Not in the Plane of Water, nope. If Squiggles is bullying you, we should get you outta here, yeah? Where's your hearth bound to?"
"Stormwind, and I would have used it, if I could see to. It's in my bag somewhere." Almeiria attempts to pull the bag from around her waist, but her fingers fumble unsuccessfully with the buckle.
"Okay. Mine's in Ironforge, still, 'cause of the kids. I'll have to take the tram over. Lemme help? If you're okay with me going through your stuff." Estel waits for permission.
"Mine is in Stormwind because… Well. You know about the Count." Almeiria smiles sweetly. "I don't think you're of a mind to put me away somewhere for my choice of literature, and I have no terribly incriminating evidence on my person, so by all means, go through my things."
Estel snorts. "Nobody's getting dirt on you from me," she says. This is technically true and has been true for some time - Estel's assignment to spy on Almeiria ended when she removed the collar she put on Ralaea. "Okay." She pats Almeiria's shoulder once, then unbuckles the bag successfully and pulls it open to look inside.
There are a few notable things inside, the first being spare underwear. A lot of spare underwear. Next is a book, kept dry by the enchantment on the bag most likely, titled Uulwi Zz Shel. It carries the faint feeling of Void magic. Finally, a small, simple dagger, next to many vials of invisibility potions — the sign of someone who is always ready to run from a situation. The hearthstone is buried near the bottom of the bag.
Estel pushes past the non-hearthstone items, taking note of the book's title for later. "You oughta get a case for these potions," Estel mutters. "One breaks and you'll have to do invisible laundry. Got it." She removes the hearthstone, closes Almeiria's bag for her, and then sets the stone into her hand. "I'm gonna come check on you on the other side. Where should I head once I get off the tram?"
Almeiria laughs at invisible laundry, a short, genuine laugh that she quickly stifles, raising one hand over her mouth. Oops, real feelings, shove those back down. "I will try to meet you in the Dwarven District, assuming I can see properly, but if not, I will be in the Gilded Rose."
"Got it." Estel grins at her, sight unseen, and fishes her own hearthstone out of her bag. "See you in like fifteen to thirty, depending on the tram."
"And hopefully I will see you," Almeiria says, activating her hearthstone.
It takes roughly thirteen minutes for Almeiria to reach the entrance to the tram — she arrives by carriage after nearly stumbling into the street in front of one — and she quickly decides that staring into the gyrating gnomish tunnel is not doing her any favors. Instead, she finds a wall nearby to lean against, close enough that she can see who leaves the tunnel, without looking into it herself.
Estel arrives about ten minutes after her, exiting via the tunnel. She has changed out of her armor and into a well-worn black and white robe during the time she was gone - this might have happened inside an Alliance tent before she used her own hearthstone, because surely going home would have taken her longer. Her hair is still a little damp from the ocean, and the imprint on her skin around her eyes from her goggles is still very faintly present.
Her usual upbeat energy is worn and faded after a long day of underwater violence, but when Estel sees Almeiria standing and in one piece, her expression brightens up. "Hey," she calls.
Though she is still paler than she should be, some of the color has started returning to Almeiria's cheeks, and she does seem able to see Estel now. "It's not as strong now, as it was," she says, confirming the unasked question. "Unless this is an imagined reality, which it very well may be."
"Naaah, this is the real one," Estel says confidently, crossing to her. "If you need me to prove it I can probably do that somehow. Has this ever happened to you before?"
"Plenty," Almeiria replies. "It was more common in Tirisfal, when I was young. Now that I've traveled a bit, I will admit that something felt… off about the place. I don't know what it was."
Estel links arms with Almeiria. "Maybe Squiggles has a cousin out thataway. Regardless, time to get this to stop. What do you usually do? Please don't say 'wait it out', there's gotta be something better than that."
"In Tirisfal I had… an instructor," Almeiria says. "One who assisted me in separating the possible realities from the current one. We are… no longer on friendly terms, he and I. Alynnra is… another grounding point for me, but going home now would be dangerous." She lapses into thoughtful silence. "Alysson, then. Alysson will do."
"Whatever the two of them can do, I might be able to do it too?" Estel offers. Still, she closes her eyes, trying to jump to Alysson's vision - she should be able to reach him if he's in Stormwind.
Alysson is standing on a street corner in the Trade District, juggling what appears to be many pairs of socks.
"It's less what they can do and more who they are," Almeiria explains. "Count Amerith would suffice, but I don't trust him unconditionally. People who I know, but can't predict help. The Light may also serve to block some of it out."
Estel opens her eyes and grins. "Good news, Alysson's in Stormwind. Hmm. Unpredictable, huh?" Estel waves a hand - here, Almeiria, have a [Prayer of Fortitude]. "Okay. Let's find Alysson. I can do unpredictable. Cartwheel!" Estel runs down the street a ways and turns a neat cartwheel.
Almeiria lifts an eyebrow, but there is a slight smile on her face. "I did expect you would try to help, but cartwheeling certainly wouldn't have crossed my mind," she says, catching up at a normal walking pace. "I never learned how to, when I was a girl."
Estel grins at her as she straightens her robes out. "Learning involved a lot of falling down. Never too late, though. I'd recommend a soft-ish surface, don't learn on stone."
"I would disagree, but it seems your cartwheel has just presented a tactical use," Almeiria says. Is she teasing? She might be, a little. "I'll consider it."
Estel laughs. "What else… can you do tongue twisters? Try saying this five times fast. 'Red leather yellow leather.'"
Almeiria repeats the words smoothly, reflecting both poise and confidence. "Spells often require a certain level of precision," she explains after five successful repetitions. "And Shath'Yar is not a typical language. Errors can be dangerous, so I was trained not to make them. But," Almeiria's eyes finally start to show some life, a spark of amusement reaching them. "Alynnra is miserable at such things. If you ever want to occupy her for an evening, set her to one of your word twisters."
Estel whistles, impressed. "Nice. I will, that sounds adorable." As they cross the bridge towards the Cathedral District, Estel glances over her shoulder once just to check for obstacles and then turns around to walk backwards, facing Almeiria. "So the hallucinations are reliant on the extent of your imagination and what you can predict, huh?"
"It's more that what is in my head are the things they tend to target," Almeiria says. "I trust that it is not the Void showing me you can do a cartwheel because what purpose would that serve? It is far more interested in manipulating me through other means. I could, of course, be wrong, but that is always a possibility, and I choose to believe I am not, in this."
Almeiria's expression becomes more guarded as they enter the Cathedral District, her smile becoming one that is almost sickly sweet, and while she appears to be simply enjoying the scenery, the way her eyes roam is methodical, and covers a broad area.
Estel stops goofing around when Almeiria puts on the Nice Priestess face, and she walks next to her friend like a nice normal person, linking arms with Almeiria briefly to close her eyes and check in on Alysson's vision again just in case he's moved.
Alysson appears to have lost one of his pairs of socks in the back of a wagon of produce and is chasing it through the Trade District. At least he hasn't moved… too far.
"Well, he's not juggling socks anymore," Estel mutters, picking up the pace a little. Brisk walk time.
"He was doing what?" Almeiria asks, arching an eyebrow. "No, never mind, it's Alysson." She matches Estel's pace.
They soon cross yet another bridge, this one leading at last to the Trade District. Before they even enter it, a voice reaches them, shouting, "My SOCKS!"
Estel grins. "Juggling socks," she repeats. "He might have lost a pair in the process."
The wagon of produce, driven by two horses and a man with a worried expression rounds the corner, pursued by Alysson himself — likely the cause of the wagon driver's concern. Who wouldn't be bothered by a man chasing you and shouting about socks?
"Excuse me, sir!" Estel calls to the driver, moving to intercept and potentially cause an accident if he doesn't halt. "Please wait a moment!"
The driver lets out a startled cry, pulling back on the reins. One of the horses squeals and shies to one side, while the other simply snorts, flattening her ears and eyeing Estel. The wagon, thankfully, stops in time, and Alysson catches up, snagging his socks out of the back and holding them up in triumph.
"Got my socks!" he announces.
Almeiria is frowning at the entire situation. "That was dangerous," she informs Estel from the safety of not-in-front-of-the-wagon.
Estel steps out of the way. "Thank you, carry on," she calls, clearing the path. She grins at Almeiria, unrepentant. "It worked, didn't it? Hey, Alysson!"
The wagon driver gives Estel a confused, and not entirely happy stare, but he continues on his way.
"Estel," Alysson says with a smile, waving his hand with the sock bundle in greeting. "Miss 'meiria. I was just practicin' the ol' jugglin' when a pair of 'em got away from me. Thanks, by the way, I –"
Almeiria, with an uncharacteristic lack of regard for public appearance, steps forward and hugs him.
"I… I uh –" Alysson gives Estel a bewildered look as he hesitantly puts his arms around Almeiria in turn, as if doing so is some kind of trap. "Was it… scary underwater?"
"Yeah, it was real damn scary underwater," Estel says, and moves in to make it a group hug. She might need the hug too. It was scary underwater.
Alysson includes her in the hug much more easily. "Was it the sharks? They've got lots o' teeth, sharks."
Almeiria trembles in the hug, tears spilling from closed eyelids. She does not let go.
Estel makes a noncommittal noise. Sharks do have lots of teeth, but maybe the scary thing was something else. "It's good to see you're okay. How's your sister?"
"The thing about 'Randy," Alysson says, smiling awkwardly, "is I sorta lost 'er when I was tryin' to get my permit for the ol' pamphlet distributin' so I could get us some new crates. I did, by the way, get us new crates, but I dunno where she's gone off to now."
"Aw, okay. It's okay. You're not in trouble." Estel repositions herself just slightly to act like something of a human shield for Almeiria as people pass by on the street.
"I'm sorry," Almeiria says with a sniff, her brown eyes opening to release more tears. "This is… unbecoming of me." She pulls free of the hug, wiping tears away with her fingers until Alysson offers her his socks. He shrugs a bit sheepishly as she stares at him; he probably has nothing else to offer that's clean.
"Hey, it's okay. Nothin' wrong with crying. We had a whole day, yeah?" They had a whole day for entirely different reasons, but Estel doesn't mention that part.
Almeiria takes Alysson's offered socks like she's afraid they might turn into an eel. They don't, fortunately for everyone, and she wipes at her eyes. "No. I can't show weakness. Not at a time like this," she says, taking a breath and pulling her smile back on. "I may spend a few nights in Cobalt's Ironforge office, if such a place would be welcome to me."
"Yeah, of course. There's cots, you're welcome to 'em." Estel pats her shoulder. "You feelin' more back to normal now?"
"Enough that I should be able to get my bearings from here, thank you," Almeiria says. "I won't be home for some time, I'm afraid. I received a letter from Ilanya that my old teacher tried to assassinate Count Amerith in my absence. He failed, but… Do be careful, Estel, dear."
"Is that the guy whose house I burned down?" Alysson asks. "Count Amerith?"
"Yes, it is, and you're fortunate he was good-humored about it," Almeiria replies. "Do be careful in the future."
Estel frowns. "I'll want more information on the guy I'm supposed to be guarding against," she says, "but we can meet somewhere else for that, another day. I'll head home and make sure the kids are okay. Check in when you can, alright?"
"I'll be fine, of course," Almeiria says smoothly, handing Alysson back his socks. "I've survived this long, after all. But, as you wish, I will check in, and we will certainly discuss that man. Tell everyone I'm well, won't you? And Alysson… just… stay safe."
With a wave, she departs, leaving Alysson wiping at the tearstains on his shirt. "She uh, never does that," he says. "The whole cryin' thing."
"Later, later!" Estel calls, waving back.
She turns to Alysson and puts a hand on his shoulder. "She had a really scary day," she says. "But you helped a lot with that hug. She doesn't like crying because she doesn't want people to know what she's feeling."
"Well if nobody knows how she's feelin', how's anyone s'posed to do anythin' about it?" Alysson asks.
Estel opens her mouth, closes it, and tries again. "I generally agree with you."
"'Randy's like that too, so if you see Little 'Randy doin' somethin' similar, tell 'er her Uncle Alysson said if she won't share her feelin's the Feelin' Monster'll come to eat 'em, so it's better to just get 'em out," Alysson says. "Won't work on Big 'Randy, I tried, but maybe if you catch 'er early…"
Estel laughs. "Maybe I can catch her early," she says, fully humoring him.
"Anyhow, thanks, Estel, for the socks," Alysson says, grinning at her. "I'll try not to lose 'em again. Greatfather Winter sent 'em, after all. If you see Big 'Randy, tell 'er about the crates! They're right where the old ones were. I had Pamphlet Approval Guy help me get 'em there. Nice fellow."
"Yeah, 'course. I'll drop by the crates another day, we can get lunch or somethin' maybe. Right now I'm gonna go home and take a shower and just lie down somewhere dry for a while." Estel gives him a quick hug and then backs off. "You take care. Later, later!"