(2026-03-14) Cobalt Company Interview: Peixin Goldensprout

Details

Author:	MrMook
Summary:	During a winter storm at Westwind Rest, Atley interviews the pandaren scout Peixin for Cobalt Company, testing her motives and discipline before accepting her signed application.
Rating:	T for Teen

Chain: Cobalt Company Interviews

A harsh winter storm rolls over Westwind Rest, bringing fine, powdery snow that slowly accumulates on the ground. A relentless wind tears through the camp, rattling tents and threatening to snuff out torches and campfires beneath churning black clouds. Only the night guards remain outside, trudging through miserable patrols with lanterns swinging in the gale and muttered complaints lost in the wind.

One of the Alliance administrative tents glows from within despite its tightly bound flaps. From time to time, a gust parts the seams just enough for warm amber light to spill out across the snow like the brief slash of a blade—before the wind shifts again and the blue-and-gold canvas seals the light back inside.

Inside, Sir Dane Atley waits behind a desk in the cozy but minuscule space, seated in a sturdy wooden chair. Two more chairs sit before the desk. A number of papers are stacked neatly upon it. In a rare moment, he isn't wearing his armor, but it all waits for him on an armor stand nearby—as do Thunderfury and his shield.

He's dressed for the weather, with matching sturdy leather gloves, boots, and vest. Beneath a heavy jacket that resembles a trench coat—though not quite one—he wears a long blue shirt.

He's sent for Peixin, and now he waits beneath a glowing lantern that swings slowly overhead.

Clad in all black, with a white scarf flowing behind her, Peixin approaches the tent. After readjusting her scarf to protect herself from the wind, she tilts her head, thinking.

How can she playfully enter this interview, right now?

The pandaren taps her chin with her finger. Sneaking in? Too cliché. Impersonating someone else? That's a clear way to get stabbed by someone who may not be wearing armor, and who may be a little bit more jumpy.

Peixin sighs, and knocks on the tent's wooden pole. She'll do it the old fashioned, normal way, in the end. She gets in, her eyes locking in right on Dane behind the desk.

"Oh, I guess Arric won't be joining us today?" She says. There she goes. Her playful introduction is done!

Atley looks up from the papers on the desk and fixes her with his same, usually stern glare before he pushes them aside and shakes his head, leaning back. He interlinks his gloved fingers in his lap, the chair squeaking underneath him.

"No, not today," he says.

Raising a hand, he points at her.

"I'd originally suspected we'd been sending you back to the Kingdoms for your future interview, but I'm of a mind to hold that here. Now. Tonight." He nods past her at the howling winds through the tent flap. "Situation's changing, and rapidly. I trust we'll be moving west, or farther into the mountains," he growls, before shaking his head. "Regardless, I want you with us, soon. We can make that a reality, as soon as formality’s observed."

He nods across the table from him, at the open chairs.

"Take a seat."

Peixin pulls her scarf off of her mouth.

"Of course, it's time for my interview, as you've warned me before."

She smiles, takes a few cheerful steps and plops down on the chair in front of Dane.

"So, for the record, before we start, I'd like to say something. I considered getting here by crawling under the back of the tent, or just sneaking in. I didn't do that, because I'm good asset to the Cobalt Company!" She giggles.

Atley quirks a frown out the corner of his mouth and scoffs, relinking his hands back together as he lifts his brow.

“You’ve shown good judgement,” he growls. “I’m not fond of being ambushed.”

He raises his head and nods around them at crates stacked against the inner walls of the tent.

“We’ve a number of rations about if you’d care for something to eat or drink. The jerky’s serviceable.”

"Ah, well, you know, I think I've demonstrated my discretion quite often enough already." Peixin grins. "Today's just about the talking part, which I actually am pretty good at, too!"

Peixin tilts her head at the crate. "No, that's okay. I've eaten a lot of boiled silkworm pupas before getting. Remember, that meal I had you try once you got to Pandaria? We've had good times together, haven't we?" The pandaren throws Dane a purposefully mischievous smile.

Atley eyes her mildly, but nods.

“Aye, I remember.”

He reaches for a parchment and quill, tugging them closer as he adjusts in his seat.

He jots down a number of lines and glances back up at her, his gaze piercing.

“Wot’s your interest in Cobalt Company, and why?”

Peixin perks up a bit to try and take a peek at what Dane is writing. Still, even if distracted, she answers.

"I see the Cobalt Company as a way to help Pandaria. You've done a great job, but you need a local, now. Also, more selfishly, I think your Company is a good way for me to join the Shado Pan, eventually."

Atley’s green eyes briefly flick up as he senses her peeking over. He stares for a moment, as if testing to see if she’ll stop. Unfortunately, his handwriting, while perfectly legible to native readers, is effectively chicken scratch. He slides the parchment a touch closer and continues writing, visibly unsurprised by her response.

He grunts.

“And how would you help a Cobalt squad in Pandaria, then?”

Dane's reaction to her peeking doesn't stop her from continuing to do just so.

"Well, to begin with, I'm an excellent scout and fighter. I also know… Well, basically everyone in Pandaria. I've traveled and traded a lot." She rhythmically taps on the desk to a song only she can hear, apparently. "Also, I'm an adorable ray of sunshine. A pleasure to be around. I don't know if you've got many of those in your squads." Peixin winces. "I've met that shaman, Azizia," by met, she means 'spied on'. "She's really good, but you truly don't want to say the wrong thing around her!"

Atley grunts and nods slowly. He writes a few more things down, comfortably allowing a near silence to pass between them — near silence, given the howling winds outside.

“And wot’ of you?” he begins, finishing his scribbles before he lifts his gaze. “Are you an easy person to work with, then?”

"Absolutely," Peixin looks at Dane confidently. She begins to scratch the side of her face, considering it. "I mean… I haven't really worked in a big team before. But I'm incredibly social and fun! Just ask my turtle."

Atley tongues the inside of his cheek and nods slowly, jotting a few more lines down.

“Cobalt Company’s a mixed lot. Different races, different callings. Anyone you’d have trouble working beside?” he asks, looking back up at her.

Peixin leans backwards and looks up at the tent's 'ceiling'.

"Hmmm… The undead kind of freak me out, which is why I was way more interested in working with the Alliance in the first place. So this shouldn't be an issue. Other than that…" Peixin thinks about it some more. "Oh! I know! It's a huge deal breaker, though. People who litter. Let's keep this land clean, please." Peixin shakes her head, then giggles to herself.

Atley grunts again, unsurprised.

“The Alliance will work with an undead faction from time to time. They’re called ‘Knights of the Ebon Blade.’”

He nods slowly.

“They are as wretched as they sound. None of them are Cobalt, mind, but, we’ve fought closely beside them in the past. A problem for you?”

Peixin genuinely looks like she's considering this question intensely.

"Does…. everybody get that freezing chill down their spine when they see these, too?"

Atley nods slowly and briefly works his jaw, matching intense concentration.

“Some can tolerate their presence better than others,” he says, the quill lying still for a time as he awaits an answer.

Peixin sighs.

"I guess they're an acquired taste, then." She presses her lips together. "As long as they don't litter…"

Atley scoffs with amusement and writes something else down.

“Speak to me of your combat experience,” he says, looking back up at her. “Done much killing?”

Peixin smiles back at Dane as she manages to get him to scoff.

"Combat experience? We'll I've learned to defend myself from mantids and sauroks as I travel through Pandaria. I don't kill… as a first resort. If I'm really in danger, I just pull out the poisoned blades." She tilts her head. "I've trained a lot, to join the Shado Pan eventually. I observed them a lot from afar, and learned that way. I feel pretty confident in combat."

Atley nods once and gives her a frank look.

“The Company kills, when we’ve been tasked to do so,” Atley says. “Are there any things you wouldn’t do? Any duties you deem yourself incapable of, by ability or moral refusal?”

"THere are surely plenty of things I wouldn't for moral reasons," Peixin shrugs. "I think I should be asking you what is the Company willing to accept as a mission, to see if my morals conflict with these." She smiles. "At least for now, from what I've seen and heard from you, there's nothing I wouldn't have been willing to do, so that's something."

Atley grunts quietly.

“Fair question,” he says, scratching another line onto the parchment.

“Cobalt takes contracts that serve the Alliance, protect civilians, or remove threats that ought not remain in the world. Sometimes the work is savory. Often not. Such is war.”

His eyes flick back up to her.

“If you ever believe a mission crosses a moral line, you speak to your officer. Quietly and directly.”

Peixin shrugs.

"I should be fine, then. I expected matters of war, just… hadn't really grasped of war war could go, according to the Alliance." She takes a deep breath. "But if I have an opportunity to go 'hey, I don't think this task is okay', that's fine by me!"

Atley nods calmly.

“You’ll be afforded one,” he says, writing something else down.

“Cobalt Company operates under a chain of command. Our Captain is Jocoza Sparkwire. Beneath her are four lieutenants — myself, Bennarin Hazan, Paluuva the Diplomat, and Lord Elohad Ference.”

He glances up from the parchment.

“When we deploy, we often work in squads under designated leaders. Will fitting into an established hierarchy be a problem for you?”

"I remember Jocoza, I can't say the same for most of the others names you've said. Where has she been?" Peixin asks, a curious pout on her lips. Peixin exhales loudly. "I don't think I have an issue with hierarchies. Even if I have, well, it's a good time to practice having one before applying to the Shado Pan, right?"

“Aye,” Atley says with a small scoff. “The Shado-Pan’ll have their own hierarchy. As for Captain Jocoza, she’s back in the Kingdoms on other business, but she’s still overseeing Company operations.”

He scribbles a few more lines before reaching for a neatly stacked pile of parchment. He pushes it, along with the ink and quill, across the table.

“Here’s the Company Code of Conduct,” he says. “I’ll need your signature at the bottom. You can read through it now if you like, and I advise you take a copy with you.”

He taps the parchment once with a finger.

“Short version is this: Cobalt runs on discipline. You don’t assault fellow members. You treat your comrades with respect. Personal matters stay off-duty. Warlocks control their demons. Criminal stupidity gets you dismissed. And orders from officers are followed.”

He eyes her.

“Any problems with that?”

Peixin tilts her head at the "other business" Jocoza is apparently doing. What would take her attention away from the main thing happening this expansion, hm? Are there some terrible troubles facing those other lands, too, right now? Some things that may have to take Peixin away from her dear land?

The pandaren takes the quill and the parchments. She pretends to scratch the side of her face with the feather as she reads the paper for any kind of catch there might be in there. Of course, if it's that easy to get in the Company, there has to be something they're hiding.

As she reads, she absentmindedly speaks.

"You know," she says. "It feels odd to me to sign a document saying I'll obey your rules before I know I'm in. Doesn't it feel weird to you?" Peixin briefly directs her gaze at Dane, before returning to the papers. "Wouldn't it make more sense to let me know if my application was satisfactory, before having me sign any of this stuff?"

Atley shakes his head and points down at the papers.

“To begin your application, you’ll need to agree that not only have you been presented with the Code of Conduct, but that you understand it, and agree to abide by it. If your application is rejected — which I doubt — then you’ll not be held to the Company’s code in any way.”

He tongues the inside of his cheek.

“Take all the time you like to read and understand it. Even take up a third party to look over it with you, or seek translation if any of it’s confusing.”

He grunts.

“My mind is to have you join as swift as we’re able. I’d have you on my own squad.”

Peixin looks up from the Code and stares for a very, very long time at Dane.

"You know, it feels a little too easy, like there's a catch," Peixin tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. "But that's what scouts are for, right? We're supposed to take some calculated risks. I've gone too far now to back down anyway!" She begins to sign. "Don't summon demons in inappropriate situations, don't be a crime lord, don't hurt your colleagues on purpose, don't be lovey-dovey with them either while at work, even with the pretty ones… And most importantly…"

She stops signing, then raises the quill, pointing the feather at Dane, looking extremely serious.

"The most forbidden of all things in the Cobalt Company… Don't. you. dare. litter."

She adds the very last line of the last character in her name to her signature, a grin on her face.

"That all seems easy, I'm all good."

She hands Dane the contract.

Atley accepts it and briefly frowns down at the signature before he nods slowly and sets this aside.

"All sorted, then. I mean to send this to headquarters directly," he tells her. "I can have the Admiral's scribe make a copy for your own safekeeping if you like."

He tongues the inside of his cheek.

"'Fore I ship it off, have you got any outstanding warrants, bounties, legal troubles?"

Peixin beams.

"Do I look the type of person who'd have legal troubles?" She frowns. "No really, do I? I don't think I've ever been told that!"

Atley shakes his head.

“Just something to make certain of ‘fore we get moving on this,” he says, tapping the code of conduct.

“This is an irregular situation. Typically, we have at least two officers interview aspirants. I’ll send the application back to headquarters for approval. When I hear word back from them, I’ll have a tabard for you. Stay about in the area, for now.”

He pushes himself up and offers a hand, holding it across the table.

“When it’s time, you’ll ride with me.”

"Will do," Peixin salutes, then energetically grabs Dane's hand to shake it. "Pretty soon, we ride!"

Atley grunts.