![](http://cobalt-company.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/writing:2025-04-08-it-ll-be-something/style="margin:/medium.jpg) |
| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Shine and Lena stop in Kirthaven to do some wedding preparation, Wildhammer-style. They are joined by Iphindra, who hates to waste a whole owl. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Shine pauses at the gryphon aerie to crouch down and offer his hand out to a gryphon chick. It does not seem especially interested. Shine smiles at it anyway as he rises again.
Lena walks over towards the gryphon roost, her expression brightening as she sees Shine with the chick.
Shine turn his smile toward her.
"They're just adorable, aren't they?" Lena says, looking down at another chick zooming by on tiny legs. "One of the things I like about this place."
Shine nods. "Never saw one till we came here. Not even in Ironforge. I suppose they keep their nesting mothers outside the city, there." He steps closer to Lena and then does a careful sidestep to avoid another determined hatchling pattering through.
"I still think it's something of a miracle that whole wedding idea went over as it did," Lena says, turning toward Kirthaven. "Makes me wonder if the two of them might've been headed that way before, and us not known it."
"Well, they did… talk admiringly of each other," Shine says dryly.
"Might be the Thane knew, or suspected," Lena shrugs. "Or maybe they're both just unusual sorts, to agree so quickly."
"Aye. Most people do give it some thought," Shine says solemnly.
As they enter the square, a harried-looking dwarf plucking at a lute looks up, and then straightens with a relieved smile. "You lot! Ye those outlanders here to help wi' the wedding setup?"
Lena nods. "What can we do to help?"
The dwarf beams. "M'name's Russell, and music's my calling. All the great heroes of the Wildhammer are kept alive through song, and every great occasion is commemorated in song. We've a proud tradition of bardsmanship."
Shine blinks once at the word 'bardsmanship.'
"Song's a noble tradition… do you need us to help with the music?" Lena asks, curious. "Only I've not really got much musical talent."
"No, no, not the music. I've composed many an epic ballad in my time, but never on such a deadline! And it's got to be a good one, aye? For the joining of the clans! I’ve got a tune in mind already. I don't suppose the pair of ye'll help me wi' the lyrics?"
Shine glances at Lena. He shrugs and looks back to the dwarf. "Aye, I don't mind. Not much a songwriter myself, I warn you."
Russell beams and strums a chord on his lute.
"Yes, not much of a poet myself," Lena says, with a quick glance at Shine. "I can certainly give opinions on lyrics, though, if you want them."
"Brelliant!" Russell strums a second chord and clears his throat. "I'll give ye some prompts, ta go wi' some lines I've been brewing already, and ye can help me choose."
Shine nods.
Lena waits politely.
Russell picks out a series of notes on the lute, hums to himself, and then says, "The first verse is all about dear Fanny, aye? But I can't quite put the last bit together. Can ye pick a word that rhymes with 'eyes'? I've got 'wise,' 'pint-sized,' and 'thighs.'"
"Um, I'd go with eyes," Lena suggests. "I don't think folk ordinarily sing about the bride's thighs. …Oh, wait, you mean in addition to eyes. Hm." She frowns. "Maybe… wise? The other two sound a little backhanded."
Shine nods. "I'd… aye. Wise seems… best."
Russell nods, squinting. He sings something under his breath, strums another chord, and looks satisfied. "All right! Now we have a verse about the lovebirds together. What rhymes best with 'professed'? I've got 'blessed,' 'arrest,' or 'chest'." He peers earnestly up at them.
Shine tilts his head. "I would, ah. Blessed?" He glances at Lena.
Russell looks expectantly at Lena as well, waiting for her to weigh in.
"Blessed, for sure," Lena nods. "I'd avoid the chest, and hope there's no arrest involved at the ceremony."
Russell chortles. He plucks a sequence of notes and nods again. "I believe I can work with that! Now, the last verse — I'm thinking a rousing celebration of love, calling the Wildhammer clans to action! But I can't choose a rhyme for 'unite.' I've come up with 'alight,' 'knife fight,' and 'tight.'"
Shine regards the dwarf steadily, his expression bland.
Lena tilts her head. "Given what I've seen of dwarven culture, maybe 'knife fight?'"
Shine glances over at Lena and raises his brow. The corner of his mouth twitches. He doesn't comment.
Lena is so serious and respectful of culture.
"Brelliant, aye, a nice cultural note." Russell nods earnestly. "All right, let me just try — " He plays a few notes again and then begins to sing:
In Thundermar the tales proclaimed
Of a beauty destined for fame
Soft emerald green eyes framed a countenance wise
The people cried “Fanny,” her name.
With her suitors she was unimpressed
’Til Firebeard crossed heart and professed.
To the heavens above our hero claimed love
Of a depth with which few can be blessed.
Now the Wildhammers are one!
Whoa-ho hot diggity dun!
Unite and take flight, it's a Twilight knife fight!
For Fanny! For Firebeard! For fun!
Shine regards Russell neutrally for a long, silent moment. "Aye," he says at last. "That… seems right."
Russell looks to Lena for her approval.
Lena is trying very hard not to laugh, and she almost manages. She's smiling, really. It's a happy, song-approving smile, honest. "I think… the couple will enjoy it."
Russell beams and nods emphatically. "Good, good. Very nice. Thank ye for the help!"
"Happy to help," Lena nods, smiling. "I'm sure it will be remembered for many years."
Russell plays the melody again once, humming, and then gestures cheerfully with a wave of his instrument. "I believe old MacGraff is lookin' for volunteers for a few bits, if you're minded ta help some more!"
"Of course," Lena nods.
Iphindra is walking around Kirthaven, humming to herself as she helps flowers grow all around the village. The fountain is also covered in flowers now, even more than before.
Shine turns away from the bard and reaches for Lena's hand. He stops short when he spots Iphindra.
Iphindra is accompanied not by an animal this time, but by a big, yellow flower. She turns to go towards another patch of grass, then spots Shine looking at her. "Hi!"
"Hi," says Shine politely, as though he is answering her in a foreign language, maybe Darnassian. "Ye have, ah. A flower," he observes.
"Iphindra, hello!" Lena says with a smile, her hand partway to Shine's. "Are you here to help as well?"
Iphindra nods excitedly. "Yes! It was a pumpkin that c-came to life, then it rotted in Winter, and now it came back as a flower!" She turns to Lena. "Hi! It's b-been a while!"
Shine completes the gesture, lacing his fingers with Lena's, but he only squeezes her hand once, gently, and then lets go. He nods politely at Iphindra. That makes sense, sure.
Lena blinks, taking in the whole life cycle of the pumpkin flower, and then just nods. "You must've been pleased when it recovered in spring, then."
"You're here to help prepare the wedding too?" Iphindra asks, looking at their hands.
"We were going to speak to the High Shaman. They said he needed a hand," Shine tells Iphindra.
She giggles. "I'd love to come with you, if that's o-okay!"
"Aye," says Shine. He turns to lead the way into the village hall. Quietly.
Iphindra follows him. The flower that does not have a face and does not sing does too.
The above emote can be explained by the fact that the flower in question did, as it happens, both have a face and sing. But for purposes of this log, neither of those things is true.
Lena walks along by their side.
Lachlan MacGraff claps twice as the trio approaches, grinning. "Wedding's coming right along, innit? This was a fine idea, a fine one."
"The bard told us you needed some help," Shine tells him.
"Oh, aye, that's right. Been lookin' fer some more volunteers to finish up our collectin'. There's an old Wildhammer wedding saying," MacGraff says seriously. "Ye have to have 'something bold, something brewed, something stolen, and something stewed' to make a proper marriage."
Iphindra listens intently. None of those things sound like she's good at doing, except potentially the theft. Oh no.
Lena looks to Lachlan curiously. "I've heard something like that before, but not… not quite like that."
"Have ye?" Lachlan raises bushy brows. "Ach, well. It started wi' the Wildhammers, I assure ye. Can't be accountable for how other folk have mangled it."
"Of course not," Lena says, nodding politely. "So you're collecting the things for the wedding?"
"Aye, aye! And as tae the items — " Lachlan claps his hands again once, and then rubs them together. "Traditional Wildhammer brides wear white tae show their purity… but they wear a crown of black feathers tae show their CHUTZPAH."
Shine squints at the dwarf at the word 'chutzpah.'
Lena reaches down to smooth her own skirt for some reason, but nods. "I expect that will look lovely. The feathers are for 'bold?'"
Iphi gasps. "I think I can help get the feathers for the chu-chutzpah!"
"Aye!” Lachlan says. “Brelliant! It’s owl feathers that make the boldest statement, and Fanny deserves nothing less. Hunt down a few owls for us and bring us back some feathers, aye?"
Iphi looks a little disappointed that they will not be asking the owls politely for the feathers.
"And then for the brew, while you're out there, I expect ye may run into Hammelhand on the road tae the east. He and his lads are meant tae be bringin' up a load of kegs for the celebratin', and might could use a hand what with all the orcs around."
Shine's mouth twitches barely perceptibly, a brief tightening of his jaw.
Lena nods. "We can do that."
Lachlan nods back at her. "As for the stewed, well, the hills are full of meat!" Lachlan grins. "We’re gonna need a load of venison and some worg ribs."
"And maybe some owl meat!" Iphindra says, so they're not wasting the owls just for their feathers.
Lachlan surveys Iphindra. "Owl meat?" he repeats dubiously. "Hm." He looks back at the other two. "The stolen is a touch trickier, but — " Lachlan leans in, grinning again.
Lena leans forward, raising an eyebrow.
"We're a little short on finery up in these parts nowadays, ye can understand. But the goblins wi'their balloon-fliers on the coast? I hear they use silk tae repair their balloons, if ye can believe it. I wonder if the lot of ye can get aboard one of those fliers and fetch a couple've bolts of silk?" He raises his brows again.
Shine nods mildly. "Aye."
Iphindra nods. Stealing from goblins? Easy!
"Stealing from goblins?" Lena says, considering. "Horde goblins… aye."
Lachlan looks the trio over again and makes a genial shooing motion. "Well, get on wi'ye, then! We've a wedding tae throw!"
Shine turns wordlessly for the door.
"Are owls edible?" Lena considers, once they're outside. "I suppose they must be."
"Can't see why not," Shine says equably. "Maybe dwarves don't like poultry."
"I never tried, I don't eat meat!" Iphindra answers. "But they can't be m-much different from chicken, right?"
"In taste, I mean!" Iphindra clarifies.
Shine nods at Iphindra.
"Yes, I'd suppose so?" Lena says. "I probably wouldn't oppose eating an owl, in a pinch, though I'm sorry if that upsets you to consider, Iphindra."
"Not really." Iphindra shakes her head. "It's okay to eat other animals! I'm just a little sad if we're killing them just for the feathers."
Shine does not ask an owl politely for a feather.
One might hope Lena's fel will not damage the owl meat. She does not, at least, summon any demons.
Iphindra collects some owl meat. For the buffet.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be stewed," Lena suggests. "I imagine the stewed meat will not be the only food."
Shine snorts softly. "Aye. There'll be beer as well."
Iphi doesn't know why it shouldn't be stewed or why it should be, but she nods regardless. Lena must know what she's doing.
The pumpkin flower follows them, faceless and songless. It doesn't look like it minds tagging along.
At the side of the road as they descend, they encounter a group of dwarves standing around a broad, heavy cart loaded with kegs. Two of the dwarves are wrestling kegs from the cart into sturdy wheelbarrows for the journey up the steep and rocky mountain path.
"Oi!" the third dwarf calls to the approaching trio. "You the escort?"
"That'd be us!" Lena says with a reassuring smile.
The dwarf nods and turns to whistle to his comrades. "Ye heard the lass, let's get movin'!"
Lena keeps a sharp eye out and sends coils of dark energy into the orcish ambushers.
Shine murders orcs to protect beer. He jogs off the road once to pick up an owl feather from the ground.
Iphi helps murder orcs with the power of the moon and bugs.
It should be noted that the gang was not ambushed by a single orc on their way down this very same path. Apparently the orcs are lying in wait specifically for beer.
The couriers and their wheelbarrows of ale, unfazed by the blood and bugs and fel breaking out around them, carry determinedly on. At the crest of the hill, they trot cheerfully into Kirthaven and turn back to wave at the trio.
Iphindra cheerfully waves back.
"That's the beer handled," Lena murmurs, watching them go.
"Something brewed!" Iphindra exclaims.
"That was only three barrows," Shine observes dryly. "I'm sure there'll be more than that to come."
"That or they're lighter-weight than I'd have guessed," Lena says with a chuckle.
Shine holds up his found feather. "Feather on the ground," he tells Iphindra. "If ye don't want to waste whole owls."
"Oh, thank you!" Iphindra says.
"Deer over there," Shine observes, pausing to shade his eye.
"That'll be the venison they wanted," Lena nods.
"And does!" Iphindra smiles.
That is the plural of ‘doe.’ It took me a moment, too.
"I'm not much of a game hunter, but — " Shine draws a knife gamely. (Get it?)
Lena smiles, bringing the fel into play as well.
Iphindra has to take a second before she joins them. Poor deers. Poor dears.
"This is not exactly what I'm used to squad taking on for missions," Lena observes, as they continue to hunt. "Either of you have experience in wedding planning?"
"Apart from my first one?" Shine asks dryly.
Iphindra shakes her head. "I've never even been to a wedding befo-fore!"
"Well, being in one is not necessarily…" Lena winces. "I've only ever been a guest, myself."
"Just thinking, I'm hardly an expert," Lena murmurs.
Shine glances over at her for a long moment. He nods. "Nor me. We just went to my captain, the last time. No fuss."
"We'll learn together, it's okay," Iphindra smiles.
Shine smiles at Iphindra and then tilts his head at Lena.
"Yes, we'll learn together," Lena says, nodding firmly.
Shine turns back to game hunting. With a knife. John Keeshan would approve, presumably.
Although Shine screams AAAAAAAAAAAA! a lot less. Which is to say, never.
"Think that's enough for a stewpot?" Lena asks, considering their collection of game.
Iphindra nods. "Something stewed!"
Shine looks up, squinting, and whistles softly. "There," he says, and points. A goblin zeppelin thrums by overhead in the distance.
Iphindra looks at where Shine is pointing. "And now, something stolen."
"I'm ready to steal from some goblins," Lena says with a faint smile.
Shine looks to the two women. "You reckon we can board it midair? Gryphons steady enough?"
"Mine's pretty steady," Lena says.
"They're smart and strong, they can do it," Iphindra nods.
The gryphons are indeed steady, and they manage to land carefully at the rear of the zeppelin. They only have to murder one (1) goblin.
In the zeppelin's hold, they find some stacked bolts of silk.
"Better used for a wedding than a Horde zeppelin," Lena says.
"Aye. Bloody waste of silk, one of these contraptions." Shine makes a sour face.
They prepare to depart with the liberated silk.
Lena peers off at the ramshackle goblin island in the fog.
"What's that, then?" Shine asks, peering with her.
"Not sure," Lena says, frowning. "Looks a right mess, whatever it is."
"Where?" Iphindra looks around. She didn't see the right mess.
"There." Shine points. "All the scaffolds around it? I expect that's where these things moor. Let's… not be on here when it does."
Lena nods and her gryphon takes to the air.
Iphi giggles. "We did it, we stole!"
"I think," says Shine, shifting a saddlebag on his gryphon, "that we have enough stuff."
"This wedding will be wonderful!" Iphi beams.
"It'll be something," Lena says, but her smile seems to agree with Iphi.
Shine nods solemnly. "If ye like worg ribs, probably."
"Or dwarvish songs," Lena adds.
Shine laughs.