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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | Maisha and Arric meet up for a raptor play-date after the Battle of Bladefist Bay. While the raptors hunt, they discuss awkward on-board events and romantic hopes. ~4100 words |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
It's a pleasantly warm summer afternoon, not too hot, when a red-haired dwarf astride a ram can be sighted riding into the Falrevere lands in Elwynn Forest. She's trailed by a fully grown raptor and a winter saber that's still little more than a cub. Maisha rides with confidence past the trees and towards the main house, as if she knows she's welcome here.
The lady working in the orchard gives Maisha a wave as she passes, and then she points toward the stables, where a boy of about ten waits to lodge the ram well out of snapping distance of the white stallion at the far end.
Maisha waves back, but doesn't pause to talk on her way in. At the stables, she dismounts and hands the ram's reins over to the stable boy, thanking him for his help, before she turns back towards the house.
Bael twitches his clever taloned hands eagerly, though it's difficult to read an expression in his reptilian face. He sniffs the air, trying to spot where Rica might appear. The winter saber moves a little more irritably, plopping down and promptly beginning to groom her fur when Maisha stops to knock on the front door.
Arric and Rica answer. Rica is approaching mastiff size now, but still has her chonky hatchling proportions, suggesting to a trained eye that she is going to be a Beeeg Girl, if she's not even starting to lengthen out yet. She immediately chirrs and rams into Bael's leg.
Arric chuckles. "Well, hello," he says, with a much more decorous greeting to Maisha consisting of a warm hand clasp. "Rica has missed Bael, it seems."
Bael seems equally excited, though he tries to play it cooler than the little raptor. His talons flutter over her head, a kind of shadow-pat in answer to the head ramming.
Maisha returns the warm handclasp with a smile. "He always gets excited once he realizes ye're the one we're ta see. I hope ye don't mind I brought Ever this time. She'll be no trouble, really, I've got a ball for her ta play with. Still a mite young, that one, got her recent."
Arric kneels down to examine the little kitty, putting out a hand for her to sniff. "Why do you call her Ever? Where did she come from? She's lovely."
Rica, who didn't even acknowledge the little furball before now, stares at her warily now that she's caught Dad's attention.
"From up in the north of Winterspring, which is also why the name — after Everlook," Maisha explains, her expression, as always, brightening with interest on the topic of animals. "She's a winter saber. I made friends with some o' the trainers up there, and they set me up with her. They're supposed to be frightful intelligent and long-lived, and she'll be riding size when she's grown."
Little Ever rises imperiously, taking a cautious step closer to sniff Arric's hand. Is there food in it? Is the hand food?
"Splendid," says Arric. "I am beginning to think Rica may be too, but it can take some years for a raptor to reach full size."
Alas, the hand is only a hand. It smells faintly of raptor.
"I think Rica might be due for a hunt," Arric says, "if Bael would like to go with her."
Rica looks up at Bael. No tasty six-legs here, she says. Tusky four-legs and gray hunt-in-packs. No hunt inside-fence foods, Those is human-friend. Only outside-fence foods.
Bael looks down, considering. Only outside-fence, if insist. We go further, look for tasty things. Soft, easy land, I see on the way in.
Maisha smiles indulgently at the raptors. "It's almost like they're talking. I think we can let them go their way? Ever's got a little yeti-hide ball with wildkin feathers that she's just crazy about — it ought to keep her from scaring anything on the property."
To demonstrate, Maisha produces a small hidebound ball and drops it to the ground. Suddenly, Ever is all over it, rolling around in the grass and growling ferociously. Or cutely, it's a little too high-pitched still to be truly ferocious.
"Oh my," says Arric, eyes sparkling as he stands, eyes on the lil saber. "She's so fierce! Run along, Rica. Have fun with your -" Rica has already taken off. Arric smiles wistfully. "I'm glad she has become more secure in her attachment to me, or I'd never have been able to go off to war without her. Still, I do sometimes miss her rapt attention. Well, I suppose it's still fairly rapt, but it used to be… rapter." He winks.
Oh no, he's officially a dad now?
Luckily, Bael has already stalked off after Rica, so he doesn't see Maisha's dignity collapse into giggles. "Heh, heh longin' fer the days of a rapter raptor. Tha's a good 'un." She tries, and mostly manages, to recover her composure, though her eyes sparkle with tears of laughter. "I used to worry my own self that Bael wouldn't come back when he wandered. Always did, though."
Ever is looking up at Maisha like she has grown another head. Cats do not like being surprised.
"They're such loyal creatures," Arric says, gazing off wistfully. "I did consider taking her with me on my sea journey… but with how things went, the kraken and all… I'm glad she was safe at home. I saw those tentacles throw full grown men like toys."
Maisha sobers at the reminder of Arric's recent sea journey. "Aye, I thought I might talk to ye about that. If ye want someone ta talk to. Should we stay out here? Or I can leave the cat to her own play."
"The weather isn't too hot today," says Arric, "And I enjoy being outdoors." He moves a bit away from the house and settles on the stump of a once-broad tree, big enough for the both of them. He runs slim fingers a bit uneasily back through his hair. "It was… all around a very unpleasant experience, and I did not… distinguish myslef particularly at any time. I did have a nice dinner with Lady Sintha and Admiral Fallon and some other illustrious engineers, but the rest was… rather nightmarish."
Maisha nods sympathetically, settling next to him on the tree stump. "The dinner sounds nice, but the rest — I can't hardly imagine, being out there, water on all sides, so far a gryphon couldn't fly to shore. But I'd think jus' bein' there is kind of a distinction, isn't it? There on' Fallon's ship, facin' the Horde."
"Yes, but… not enough. That lovely warlock summoned His Majesty himself off a sinking ship. All I had was a rifle. No matter how good I am with a rifle, I simply cannot compete with warlocks, with mages who can cause tidal waves. I will continue to disappear into the crowd. By the end of the year, I won't be able to pay these people." He sighs and mournfully watches the playing kitten.
Maisha frowns. "All I've got is a rifle an' the animals too, and I hope to make my mark one day. Maybe that was just no' the circumstance. Maybe one day ye'll be the one to take out someone attackin' the king at a distance, an' save 'im that way? As fer the money… there's got ta be somethin'. Did ye get a chance to talk with the Captain about promotion?"
Ever has zero concerns about finances or glory. She has a hidebound ball to murder.
"A bit. I got the idea that if I continue on my present path I might be considered for a forward squad in future. It won't solve the nobility issue, but it should ease my financial concerns, if it happens in time. I need to prove that I can survive more dangerous places than Desolace, however, and jobs in Northrend and such are few and far between these days."
"So it's just a matter o' provin' yerself in time," Maisha ponders that for a few minutes in silence. "Ye ever been to Outland? Might not be much goin' on there at the moment, but last I heard Nala was headed out that way. That is, Miss Webster."
Arric turns a little pink. "Ah," he says. "I'm not certain that would be - I rather disgraced myself with respect to her, on the ship, I'm afraid. She seems to have forgiven me, but perhaps I shouldn't push my luck…"
"Ohh… did you two…" Maisha starts, and then seems to reconsider her proper companion, and says, "Was it a 'wardrobe malfunction'? I hear tha' can happen, when folks are all packed t'gether in a small place like that."
"Oh, Tides, no," he says, looking dismayed. "That would potentially have been more humiliating, but at least that would have been an accident. We… were on the cusp of battle and she rushed over and took my head between her hands - I think she was trying to steady me, use her healing on my ears to prepare me so I didn't get dizzy or sick - she had been helping me with that, but usually stands behind me - anyhow I misinterpreted her advance extremely and … well, I kissed her. Rather extravagantly, in front of the entire crew."
"Awwwwhhh no," Maisha says, hastily trying to shift her expression to sympathetic dismay. "It sounds like th' two of ye got pretty close over the voyage? Surely she'd understand… and did she say what she thought of it, after?"
"She seemed to find the whole thing… rather silly," Arric says miserably. "As I said, she's forgiven me. She understands I was sure I was going to die and went a bit mad. I suppose amusement is preferable to rage or feeling horribly violated."
Maisha turns to consider Arric carefully. Ever takes advantage of the moment to get an entire wildkin feather out through the seam of the ball. She smacks her teeth on it, trying to figure out what exactly she's going to do with the thing now that it's out in the open.
"Did ye… were ye hopin' fer another reaction?" Maisha asks cautiously. "Amusement's no' a closed door like rage might be, after all. An' if not, at least friends is still on the table, aye?"
"Oh, I feel sure we could be friends. But… yes, amusement is rather less than optimal, as kiss reactions go. I've always imagined that one day I would sweep some delicate lady off her feet, protect her, that she'd admire me terribly and look up to me with shining eyes - I never had any preference of color, just a certain look in them, you know? But all I seem to meet are women who need nothing from me whatsoever and who are instead constantly getting me out of situations. It's humiliating, if I'm being honest. I feel sure that the Admiral laughs at me constantly."
"I don't think he laughs at ye," Maisha says, her eyes widening as she looks at him. "He did no' seem that sort. As fer the rest… maybe it jus' means ye've been hangin' around highly competent ladies, an' they're more of a match with ye in strength than a delicate damsel would be. But maybe, if ye keep going into danger with lasses, you'll run into a time where ye've got to sweep 'em to safety, jus' as ye thought."
Arric sighs. "I just miss my sister, I suppose. She always seemed to look up to me and think me strong. Without her, I feel like half a man most of the time. Is it terrible that I don't want a match in strength? That I want to be seen as the strong one?"
"Wrong… no," Maisha says, her brow creasing. "Folk want what they want and there's no' much right or wrong to it, long's no one's harmed. But it might mean the sort o' lass yer after is less like ta be found on a battlefield. I mean, ye are a strong one, to my eyes, but I know I'm no' a delicate lady."
Arric turns to her and smiles. "You know, all the same, if you were human, I'd have given more than a thought to marrying you."
At that, it's Maisha's turn to blush, her mouth dropping open slightly as she leans closer to Arric. There's something a little softer than usual in her expression as she says, "You would have? I would no' have thought… I'm no' a delicate flower, an' my clan's powerful but it's no' like human nobility. My ma's no' even married to my da herself. I don't mean ta… give all my disqualifications… maybe if I were human my family'd be different too…"
Arric touches her cheek briefly. "Of course. You're a terribly attractive woman, and we have so much in common. We'd have a very harmonious household. And sometimes it feels as though we already have a pair of children together." He gazes off in the direction the raptors went. "But there's the rub. I'm desperate for children of my blood… another old fashioned notion of mine. The mage Gwenivene would make a splendid mother, and she even looks at me the right way, a bit, being younger and a commoner and physically frail… but she is so superior to me in every way that matters - I would be miserable, I think." He laughs ruefully.
"Ye think I'm attractive?" Maisha says, looking deeply into his eyes, and for a moment she seems to have missed pretty much everything else he's said. Then she blinks, taking in all the rest of it, and waves a hand, smiling. "Aye, I think you an' I have enough experience we could handle any fur, fin, feathers or scales, but… human children are another thing altogether. I could no' give ye human children. Gwenivene was the… telemancer, aye? Maybe she could be strong in a different way than you're strong? She can't shoot a rifle like you can, I'd wager."
"I just feel like such a dolt whenever she speaks," he confesses. "I couldn't bear a lifetime of that. Tides and Light, the more I talk the worse I sound. It will serve me right if I remain unmarried forever. If only I hadn't wasted my teens and part of my twenties hopelessly in love with Lady Sintha, I'd have noticed the dozens of local possibilities back when I still seemed a decent catch. The truth is I'm just a hopeless fool who has wasted every opportunity he's ever been given, always chasing something better. Wisdom is a terrible thing to acquire when it shows you the truth of yourself. Also… of course you're attractive. I don't imagine Wildhammers are given to using looking glasses, but you must have employed one before the gala, yes?" He laughs, the self pity melting away into his usual warmth.
"Oh, I mostly use lakes and streams, but… aye," Maisha says, still blushing a little. She reaches up to touch a braid. "Yer still a decent catch yerself, I'd say. Still young, and a nice shade o' hair… and a lovely smile. No' ta mention the way ye handle animals — I can't imagine a lass who wouldn't like that. An' the way ye've pulled this place together here unexpected, makin' a home fer other folk who lost theirs all of a sudden. An' if that's not enough, takin' part in all these battles lately. Ye just got to make sure the lass yer after sees all ye've got to offer, cause I think it's a lot more than ye sometimes think."
Arric studies Maisha for a moment.
"I hope I… haven't led you astray, or confused your feelings. Or hurt you by… admiring your friend. Even if you were human, I'm obligated by decency at this point to let Miss Webster decisively set the terms of - of whether there is anything to set terms of. I've compromised her reputation otherwise, you see, made it look, publicly, as though she were nothing but a convenient object upon which to vent my feelings. And especially with her being a commoner, the situation looks dreadful. I've a difficult line to walk, here. I learned from the whole situation with Lady Sintha that setting my heart on someone who will never have me leads me to all manner of misery and folly, and I recoil at the very thought of putting myself in that position. And yet I must at the same time make it clear that I wasn't simply using her or disrespecting her. She's beautiful and talented in so many ways, easy to talk to, I could - if I let myself - but I mustn't take it too far."
Arric laces his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. For once he is solemn, quiet, introspective, as he continues.
"I've only been in love the once, and… under the circumstances I didn't care for it. I was relieved, when I came here and spent time with her again, to see that… it had passed. That I still felt warmly for her, and close to her, but the desire to possess her was gone. She had grown so thoroughly into the woman she was becoming, and that woman was… not for me. Still delightfully fun, but… guarded, evasive, even more than before. She talks at one, rather than to one. And everything she has to say is clever and worth hearing, but I can no longer imagine a harmonious life as her partner, even if she would have me, which she never would.”
"And Miss Webster… there was a sort of harmony there, but it's confusing. She's a commoner, and yet I sometimes feel she's … out of reach, better than I am. That she sees me as weak and foolish. It reminds me all too much of how things began with Lady Sintha, my trying harder and harder to impress, and every time only making a larger fool of myself. So I worry that… in trying to do the right thing, in trying to make up for my disrespect, I'll only - break my own heart in the end. But… it is the right thing to do, and I did end up such delightfully good friends with Lady Sintha in the end, and even earned the Admiral's favor - he let me name a horse, invited me to dinner - I'm babbling on, I know, I'm sorry."
He sits up straight again, and turns to look at Maisha. There's something almost pleading in his eyes.
"But I don't want to be Sintha, either. To tease, to play with you. You mean a great deal to me, and no one can ever be you. We have something very special, even if it isn't - can't end in - friendships are very important to me. Real friendships, the rare sort. I think you and I have that. I wouldn't want you to feel… less."
"That is… right complicated," Maisha says, her eyes wide.
Ever seems to have noticed something interesting is happening between the two friends. The feather has dropped to the ground and she stares between them, tail twitching. Will there be biting? Oh, please, can there be biting? (No. Down kitty.)
"Ye've become very important to me, Arric, and I would no' want to mess our friendship up with… these kinda tangles," Maisha hesitates, and then says, very honestly. "Everything else aside, I would ha' been willing to give it a go, just so you know, to see where things end up. But I know ye want kids, and I know I'm no' the sort of lady you describe. So I think you're right. Even if both of us might ha' considered it in other circumstances, in these circumstances… it might just muck up what we do have, which is a friendship I value very much. It's good to be on the same page about these things."
Maisha takes a breath, and adds, "I don't know your Lady Sintha, but I also very much value my friendship with Nala — Miss Webster. I would no' want to think ye've treated her poorly by yer own or her rules. She's a pretty quiet sort, though, which is why I thought — maybe it was not the reaction you wanted, but it might… she might actually feel… ye'd have to ask her, really. Nala is a bit guarded, as well, I think… she's got some sort o' history she's not keen ta talk on. But she has a harmonious heart."
Ever has gotten bored — the bipeds are not biting, which means she can't either. Ugh. Back to the ball.
"Yes," Arric says. "There is something about her that… draws one in. But for now it's safer not to let myself get drawn too far in, before I know more of her mind and her plans for her life. She may not want a husband at all, or children. Or not with me specifically. She may want a wife! And it's much easier to draw back one's feelings early in the game than later. Yearning can become… a habit."
"I admit I've not talked to her on the subject," Maisha says with a slow nod. "We mostly talked about… the mystery we were solving, or what was happening at the moment. So I can't guess for ye what she might want. But I agree, it's better ta clear things sooner rather than later, before either o' ye get feelings and hopes deeply settled. And that's best ta be done in person — ye can mistake things in writing, when it comes ta feelings."
"Perhaps we'll start by both of us visiting her in Outland? Your presence might reassure her I'll take no liberties, but she can also see that I value her and have not rejected her company."
"Oh, aye, that's a good idea," Maisha brightens. "I'd been meaning to see the place myself anyway — have ye ever heard of a creature called ravager? They sound right interesting. And it'll also show her that ye're a mutual friend, that I think well of ye. That ought to help, in case she's uncertain of yer intentions."
"I would love to see Outland regardless; I'm madly curious about it. A whole other world! And I would love to see Miss Webster again in any context. Plus, I always enjoy my time with you. So it sounds like a perfect outing, to me."
"Let's do it, then," Maisha says with a smile. "I'll need a little time to arrange for my animals — I might only bring Bael and Stormquill. Other than that, my schedule is pretty clear! The winter saber trainers judged me well enough educated to leave their lessons and take Ever just last week." She pauses. "I suppose that makes them winter saber trainer trainers as well."
Arric chuckles. "I'll bring Rica and Stormy. New skies would confuse Singer too much, I think. And Miss Webster ought to meet Rica before she forms an opinion about me, don't you think? Rica is essentially my daughter."
Maisha nods seriously, seeing no issue with someone having a raptor daughter. "Probably for the best, but I think she got used ta Bael over time. And Rica's such a sweet little girl, I can't imagine it'd do other than raise your reputation."
Arric smiles fondly. "And of course it matters to me if Rica likes her as well. Rica is a part of my life in a way even my other animals are not. Though it would sadden me, I could give away Stormy or Singer if I had to. Rica… she is mine, and I am hers. I think she finally understands that, and that is why she isn't afraid to take her eyes off me anymore."
"That good ta hear," Maisha says, her gaze flickering in the direction the raptors left. "That little one had a lot ta be anxious about. At least she saw that even if the worst happened, she'd no' be left to it. It might take a while for somethin' like that to sink in, but I'm glad it seems like it has."
Ever — having not experienced any serious hardship in her short life beyond 'my snack is slightly delayed' — does not bother to keep Maisha in her sight. She is too busy stalking a grasshopper.