[RP] ALL the Drinks.

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[RP] Help

Have another fluffy post before The Tree conclusion! Hammaryn has been talking to Veldarin, a character of mine, and he recommended talking to a priest he knows ‘cause, well, Hammaryn’s got more issues than National Geographic.

Now I really want to know what’s between the covers of that little blue book...

[EDIT: Look. Blogger. You've been good to me at times, and I certainly appreciate you letting me learn how to blog here (for free, even!) but after all this formatting sadness I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you for WordPress. I'd love to say it's not you, it's me... but it's you. Sorry. Readers, you'll want to check out http://bikacentral.wordpress.com/ from now on for updated content. Thanks for hanging with me!]

Authors: Me & Hammaryn

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Hammaryn was sure that there were worse things than asking someone for help. The only problem was at that moment, she couldn’t think of a single one. Her left hand shook on the doorknob to the priest’s study. She put her other hand over the delinquent wrist, attempting to still it, and when that didn’t work she pulled both away in disgust. She folded her arms over her chest, sucked in a sharp breath of air, and started pacing in circles.

After all, it wasn’t too late to go home. Thinking back on it, she didn’t know what had even gotten into her the other day. Of course she didn’t need re-education; aside from her numerous reprimands and suspensions, she’d always done well at work. She was often complimented on her skills in combat, and she was one of the few Argents that had fought in Icecrown. She decided that really, she was an exemplary soldier. There was nothing to worry about.

Except for the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she hadn’t been happy in years. She stopped in the middle of her pacing, and stared at the door again. Veldarin had told her the priest would have a code of privacy, and he was sworn not to repeat the things she said. That didn’t mean she needed to see him. Lots of people were unhappy, why should she be any different?

“Excuse me miss, I wonder if you might be able to help me,” came a voice from behind her. She whirled around, startled to find a somewhat pale elf in priestly garb standing in the doorway of the study. He smiled gently. “You see, I’ve made all this tea and I can’t possibly drink it by myself. Come to think of it, I have far too many biscuits as well. Won’t you come in?”

“I...” Hammaryn stammered. “What? I mean, I was just about to go. I wasn’t waiting here, or anything.”

A fat, fluffy cat appeared in the doorway, wound itself about the priest’s legs, and stared expectantly at the visitor. “That’s quite a pity. You see, Frances here was expecting company and she’ll be quite put out if I don’t find someone. She gets very tired of having only me for company, for I am old and rather dull.” He opened the door even wider and stepped aside slightly.

The cat meowed.

Hammaryn frowned, talking to no one in particular. “I think I might be hallucinating. This feels like the mushrooms.”

“My dear, this room is a magnet for wandering souls. Would it surprise you to know that you are not the first, nor the second or third visitor I have found pacing this floor today?” His small bemused smile grew to a big merry one, as though he might laugh at any moment. He took a step toward her, but no more. The cat followed and plopped its fat behind on the tiles. Meow.

Hammaryn took a slow and deep breath, letting it out in one big sigh. “Fine. I’ll come in. But you should know before I do, that I am a trained member of the military, and if your intent is to try anything unscrupulous it’ll go badly for you.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it for an instant. I believe you could rip my arms right off without hardly trying. Now, let’s not dawdle, the tea is getting cold. Come in!” He ushered her over the threshold into a cozy, extremely tidy little room. It was circular and every wall was completely lined with shelves, all of which were filled with scrupulously dusted books and assorted knickknacks. A fire burned in the stone fireplace across from the front door, a modest table set before it flanked by two simple chairs with worn cushions on the seats.

Hammaryn sat down, sitting stiffly upright in the chair. Her eyes wandered over to the shelves of books, scanning the titles.

“Do you see something you’d like to read? Come to think of it, I believe I’ve seen you at the library. With Veldarin, is that right? He’s a good lad, if a bit on the mischievous side.” Two teacups nested near the steaming pot, beside a plate of chocolate-dipped biscuits. He set one on Hammaryn’s side of the table and filled it with tea, then filled his own before sitting down, adjusting his robes beneath him.

She took a sip of tea, blowing on it to cool it off. “How do you know Veldarin? From the library?”

“He is my cousin, though I suppose it’s so many times removed it may as well be nothing. His father and mine were dear friends, though. I’ve known the lad since he was yea high to a grasshopper.” He held his thumb and forefinger an inch apart, then took a cookie from the plate and pushed it over to her.

She helped herself and took a large bite. “He doesn’t talk much about his family.”

“And why doesn’t that come as a surprise,” he said, chewing a fastidious bite of the chocolate half of his biscuit. “He never has gotten on with his mother. Our fathers, well. They fell to the scourge years ago. It was quite a blow. I don’t know that he’s over it yet, he certainly doesn’t discuss it with me! Not anymore, that is.”

“That’s odd.” Hammaryn frowned, still chewing on the cookie. “He never said anything about his father.”

“His father was a nobleman, quite the magister in his time. Veldarin took his love of reading from him, you could hardly find either of them anywhere without his nose stuck in a book.” Frances hopped with surprising grace into the priest’s lap and curled up there, regarding Hammaryn with her bright green eyes.

“He’s training to be a soldier now.”

“So I hear! He came to me not long ago asking about the priesthood. I was sorry to turn him away, but I do believe a priest’s life would never satisfy his nature. He is an adventurer at heart, and lacks certain qualities one desires in a priest. For example, a priest ought to be meek. Do you know what that entails, miss--?”

“Hammaryn Dawnsorrow.”

“Miss Hammaryn. Do you know Veldarin well enough to say whether he is meek?”

She snorted at this. “I don’t believe that he is, no.”

He smiled at her. “So you see how I could not in good conscience advise him to follow his aspirations to priesthood. It’s been a while since I heard any news of him stirring up trouble, so I can only assume that his new aspirations are challenging enough to keep him occupied.” The cat meowed at him, and he broke off a piece of biscuit to feed her. “Now tell me, my dear, what brings you to my humble home?”

“I think - “ she set the cookie down on the table. “Let me start that again. I’ve been a member of the military since I was old enough to swing a sword. I don’t have a problem with my job. I think I like it actually.” She swept a few crumbs off of the table onto the floor. The cat hopped down to eat them off the threadbare rug, leaving it clean. “Several members of my order claim it’s all that I do, but it’s not. I also read, and train, and get drunk every night.” She leaned back in her chair, relaxing her posture. Her hands dropped into her lap. “The problem is...I don’t know if it’s normal to be unhappy.”

“That is a weighty thought to have on one’s mind, Hammaryn. It’s the sort of thought, I think, that leads to sleepless nights and to pacing in front of odd priest’s doorways. Let me ask you a question. Do we speak of active unhappiness? Or simple contentment without particular joy?”

“I guess the latter.” She shrugged.

“In my experience, contentment is often quite enough, and readily attainable if one knows where to find it. Is there anything that makes you feel more than content?”

“I’m not saying that I dislike everything. But I am different from my peers.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what they expect of me. I don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to do aside from my work.”

“Hammaryn. Are you saying, then, that there is nothing which makes you happy?”

“Is that wrong?”

He looked somewhat taken aback. “Oh, heavens no. There is no right or wrong associated with happiness, my dear.” Filling her cup from the still-steaming pot, he continued. “I would like to pose a question to you, Hammaryn. Do you know anything of small children, babies even?”

“Yes. I lived in the orphanage after the destruction of Silvermoon.”

“Can infants be happy, Hammaryn?”

“Of course they can. They start smiling within a matter of months.”

“Do you suppose they learn how to be happy? Or does it just happen?”

She picked up the cookie again. “People smile at babies all the time.”

“What makes a baby unhappy?”

“A lot of things. Being tired, being hungry, taking a piss.”

Unperturbed by her crude language, the priest forged ahead. “So it seems that any person, at his or her basic level, must have their basic needs met first before they can be happy. Beyond that, it is a matter of something that can be as simple as receiving a smile. Do you agree?”

She frowned at this. “I guess so.”

He pushed another cookie across the table at her with a solemn half-smile. “In this world, Hammaryn, being happy can be as simple as choosing to be happy with what one is given beyond the mere necessities of life.”

She picked up the cookie. “So you’re saying that everything is fine? There’s nothing wrong with just having my work.”

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, my dear. But I suspect that you will find yourself in the unpleasant position of wondering whether there’s any point to living.”

She set down the cookie, nodding thoughtfully. “I...I told Veldarin I thought I’d rather be re-educated than be myself. That’s why he sent me here.”

“So it has already crossed your mind.” The priest set down his cup and folded his hands in his lap, staring thoughtfully into the fire. “I must ask--and please be assured, nothing you say in my confidence will ever leave this room, or be shared with anyone--what has happened to make you feel as though you are undeserving of life?”

“I don’t feel undeserving. I just don’t see the point to all the stupid things that everyone else does. They lose sight of what’s important.”

“What is important, my dear?”

She stared at the priest as if he’d lost his mind. “Having a goal.”

“Has it occurred to you that perhaps happiness in itself can be a goal? Perhaps you mean something very specific.”

“I’d like to see the elimination of the scourge, within my lifetime.”

“Is that the only worthy goal in life? For that matter, what happens when the scourge is gone, and your goal attained?”


Hammaryn’s hands fidgeted in her lap. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just...go fight for someone else.”

“And assume someone else’s goals? Can it be acceptable to set a goal of your very own, to aim for something you want for yourself?”

“I do have a goal for myself.” She cleared her throat.

“After the scourge is gone, what will you do?”

She scowled at the kindly priest. “I just told you, I’ll enlist with someone else.”

“Your goal is to serve? Or to gain military rank and prowess?”

She shook her head. “I just want to fight.”

“Does fighting make you happy?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a feeling of happy, it’s more like...” Her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Forgetting.”

“And getting drunk every night; would you say it’s for the same reason?” He broke the chocolate part off of a cookie and dropped the rest on the floor for Frances.

She nodded. “Probably.”

The priest set down his half of the cookie and stared into the fire for several minutes, thinking. “And Veldarin, do you enjoy his company?”

She shrugged. “He’s not too bad.”

“I’m quite glad to hear it. Tell me, do you have any plans next week at this time? I have a lot of tea and never enough visitors to help me drink it.”

“I’m not working right now.”

“Wonderful! You should be sure to drop by, then. Would you care to borrow a book? You can bring it back next week when you come.” He got to his feet, stepping around the fat white cat, and went to one of the many bookshelves as though he knew precisely what to choose. The book he showed her was worn and bound in faded blue leather, not very thick but with a very fine print on the yellowed pages inside.

“This one is called Through the Portal. It’s a very old, but very fine story about an adventurous young elf in the time of Azshara,” he said, putting it firmly into her hands and settling back into his chair. Frances leaped onto his knee. He patted the scruff of her neck.

She turned the book over in her hands. “When should I have it finished by?”

“That depends entirely on how easily it reads to you, my dear. If you are finished in a day, or a month, it matters not to me. Only read it, and bring it to me once a week to tell me what you think of what you’ve read.”

She stood up, tucking the book under her arm. “Fine. I’ll see you next week.”

“Do take another biscuit with you. And tell Veldarin he ought to come visit soon.” He followed her to the door and waved as she went. “It was lovely meeting you, Hammaryn.”

She nodded. “You as well.”

Frances yowled loudly after her as she walked away.

[RP] Vacation! Part 4 [PG-13 for VIOLENCE!]

Ysani moved even faster now that she was on the firmly-packed earth of the jungle trail, and soon she was out of sight along the meandering path. Hammaryn stomped up the trail behind her. "Ysani! Don't run ahead like that." There was no answer. "Ysani?" Hammaryn started running up the trail, ditching her sandals along the path. Eventually the trail opened up into a small clearing.

"Check it out! There's a cave over here!" Ysani called out from the mouth of said cave, one hand on the stone as she peered into the darkness beyond. Her voice echoed off the mossy limestone walls and made her laugh. A chorus of giggles bubbled back at her as she started to head inside. "Awesome."

"Be careful!" Hammaryn yelled, stumbling up the path to Ysani. "You don't know what could be in there." She reached the top of the path and promptly grabbed Ysani by the ponytail, yanking her back from the cave mouth and halting her launch directly into the unknown.

"HRRK," went Ysani.

Hammaryn put her hands on her hips. "Ysani, if you ever run off like that again, by the Light I will..." She was almost visibly fuming. "Something terrible could have happened to you! We're on a strange island in the middle of nowhere, you can't just go wandering off into random caves!"

Ysani's head drooped and she toed the dirt with a glum expression on her face. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now let's head back down to the beach."

"Awww, c'mon. It could be a really neat cave, and it doesn't smell like there've been animals in it or anything. If it's clear we could set up a camp here and make a bonfire tonight." Ysani smiled at Hammaryn and tugged on her sleeve. "C'mon c'mon!"

Hammaryn's lip turned up in what looked like a snarl. She took a very large swig from her bottle of rum. "Fine."

"Yay!" Ysani dropped her stick and actually clapped, utterly delighted. "Do you wanna go first, or should I?"

"I'll go first. You stay right here. DON'T. MOVE." Hammaryn glared at Ysani for emphasis, set her almost empty bottle of rum on the ground, and staggered off into the cave. She reached a hand out along the wall, taking small steps down into the darkness. "Ysani, I can't see a thing in here," she called back. She touched something wet on the cave wall. "Disgusting!"

"Is it clean? I mean if it's got mold or whatever in it we obviously shouldn't be hanging out here but..."

A glint of light flashed in the darkness ahead of Hammaryn. "Well, this is kind of interesting. Looks like there might be crystals in here or something. Stalagmites...whatever they're called." She tip toed a few feet further, and could see over a bend in the path an entire room that appeared to be full of the shiny things. "Ysani, you're gonna like this." There was silence. "Ysani? Damnit, I told you not to move!" She turned back around, going back up and out of the cave slightly faster than she had made her way in. "Ysani!"

The afternoon sun was dazzling and it blinded Hammaryn as she stomped out of the cave to look for her errant friend. "Ysani? Where the hell are you?" she called out, unable to see as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. She took a step forward... into something unyielding, warm and smelly and that chuckled as she bounced off of it.

"Yarr, lass. Yer late t'the party."

* * * * *

The scruffy man's language was foreign to Hammaryn's ears, but his tone was pretty clear: he was awfully sure of himself, and he was up to no good. He snatched her wrist as she blinked the sun out of her eyes and began to pull her out of the cave toward the clearing, where two other pirates stood over Ysani's trussed body, leering at the brunette their boss was attempting to haul over to them. One of the men was squat and burly, the other tall and wiry, and all three were armed in some fashion, with daggers, swords or crude maces hanging from their belts.

Ysani looked up at Hammaryn, eyes wide and apologetic. There was a dirty rag stuffed in her mouth, but she tried to talk anyway. It almost sounded sorta like a muffled 'oops'.

Hammaryn scowled and yanked her wrist out of the man's grasp. He pulled a sword from the sheath at his side, a notched and extremely dirty weapon hardly fit for chopping vines, let alone fierce combat. Hammaryn held up her index finger. "One moment." The scruffy man raised an eyebrow in amusement, humoring her. Hammaryn bent down slowly, grabbing the almost empty bottom of rum she'd set down near the cave entrance. She raised it to her lips and chugged until it was empty. The tip of the ruffian's sword dropped to the ground as he let out a loud belly laugh. His cronies followed suit. Hammaryn smiled as nice as could be.

In the next instant, she brought the rum bottle up over her head and smashed it on the scruffy man's head. Shards of glass sprayed out from the point of impact, and she backhanded him in the face with the remains of the bottle. Dark gashes appeared all over his face and he screamed in rage, dropping his dirty sword on the ground. Hammaryn hurled the broken bottle at the squat and burly man, where it smacked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She bent down, grabbed the sword and assumed a fighting stance. "Come on, fuckers. Let's do this."

The bleeding man howled and blindly swung at her as the others began to shout and come to his aid. There was no way in hell they were about to get beaten up by a girl who thought she could swing a weapon. She ducked out of the way of his fist, wrapped her hands around the sword's leather-wrapped hilt, and hit him in the back with it. He fell face-first onto the ground, groaning and clutching his side. Hammaryn reared back and kicked him in the ribs, the top of her foot connecting solidly with his chest. There was a sickening crunch. "Who's pretty now?!"

Hammaryn saw a long shadow fall over the scruffy man's body, and she whirled around to find herself face to face with the gangly pirate. He snickered and twirled a dagger, drawling something in common-speech that Hammaryn was fairly sure meant he felt he would fare much, much better than his groaning companion. Hammaryn backed up, stepping neatly over the scruffy man's body. The tall and wiry man was over his comrade with a lightning-quick step, closing the gap between them. She brought up the leader's sword and swung it into his side, but it narrowly missed and tore through his shirt instead. The tall man laughed and lunged with his dagger.

Easily dodging the blow, Hammaryn raised her sword, hilt up, and sunk the blade deep into his left foot, pinning him to the ground. He howled and lost his balance, falling onto the scruffy man, who was still clutching his torso and moaning loudly.

Hammaryn twisted the sword as she jerked it out of his foot. Blood welled up from the gaping hole, and he howled in anguish, grasping his wounded limb with both hands. The dirt crackled as the searing power of the Light scorched the ground beneath her and engulfed her victims. Breathing heavily, Hammaryn scanned the scene. The short man had backed off at the first sign of blood and was attempting to make a getaway. She glared at him. "Don't you even DARE try to run away from me," she screamed. Kicking the tall man in the head, she picked up his dagger and hurled it into the bushes. He sagged over the scruffy man, unconscious.

The squat pirate didn't bother to look behind him as he tore down the path to try and escape the psycho brunette. Hammaryn dashed after him, snatching a dead branch as she ran, cracking it right off the tree. The sword in her other hand trailed blood down the path behind her. He was barely ten feet in front of her now, and Hammaryn paused on the path, flinging the tree limb at him. It hit the back of his head with a resounding thunk and he fell forward onto the sand. Hammaryn jogged up to him, and bent down to roll him onto his back. She wanted him to see her, see her damn well. He blinked stupidly up at her, attempting to shield his eyes from the glaring sun with one hand.

"You're too slow, you stupid son of a bitch."

Standing up, Hammaryn planted one foot squarely on his chest and plunged the sword into his right shoulder. He screamed in agony. She yanked it out and a gout of blood sprayed over them both. "Now you can run away." She spat in his face, and jogged back up the path to Ysani, sweaty and covered in blood that wasn't hers.

* * * * *

The redhead had inched her way toward the incapacitated men and was in the process of sawing through her bonds with a hunk of glass from Hammar's shattered rum bottle. For all their battle incompetence, they could could sure tie a mean knot, and her fingers were twisted behind her back at the most awkward angle imaginable as she hacked at the tough rope fibers. As Hammaryn walked up, one of the men twitched and Ysani delivered a kick to his belly with both feet, which were still bound together at the ankle. Her heels drove into his soft abdomen and he rolled away, heaving and whimpering.

Hammaryn ran up to Ysani and knelt down behind her. "Hold still, I'll get these off. Hold your hands as far apart as they'll go." Hammaryn sawed through the ropes in three quick strokes. Ysani yanked the gag out of her mouth and spit into the dirt, shook her half-numb hands and started to rub at her wrists. She looked up at her friend with an expression of awe and delight.

"That was amazing! Holy crap!"

Hammaryn got to her feet, flinging the bloody sword to the ground. A scowl spread across her face. "Dammit Ysani, what the hell is your problem?! We are soldiers of the Sin'dorei, you should never let anyone sneak up on you like that!"

Ysani picked up the discarded sword and used it to cut the ropes tied around her ankles, then got to her feet and launched forward to give Hammaryn a huge, crushing hug. The brunette staggered back two full paces with the force of it. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou," said Ysani.

Hammaryn blinked, holding her arms out at her sides, completely stunned by the display of affection. "Ysani. It's fine. We'll just...I don't know, we can kill them or let them run off. I think they're scared, you're safe." She took a deep breath. "Please stop touching me."

Ysani immediately relinquished her hold on the other girl and grinned cheerfully up at her. "Seriously, I was cheering for you the whole time. You're the best." She looked down at the heap of struggling bodies and pulled her bathing suit out of her crack. "We should probably just leave them. They'll think twice about attacking poor defenseless girls after all that, I imagine."

"They deserve worse than that." Hammaryn's eyes burned. "We should kill them."

Ysani peered at the fallen swashbucklers. They whimpered with fear, unable to understand the girls and their elven speech. "I dunno. I think they just took the worst beating of their lives, and they're going to be stuck out here licking their wounds for weeks. Plus you know what they say, the Light loves forgiveness."

Hammaryn sighed, clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be allowed to deliver ULTIMATE JUSTICE. "Yes. Yes it does. Fine. We will leave them."

Ysani patted Hammar's arm and wandered over to the cave, where her bag sat in an untidy heap next to the abandoned walking stick. Scooping it up, she hung it over her shoulder and beckoned for Hammaryn to join her where the footpath met the clearing. "Let's head back. I'll buy you another drink, and a sandwich. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

[RP] Vacation! Part 3

"Pssst. Hammaryn. Sweetie. Wake up, it's time to flip over or you're gonna be crispier than a plate of bacon at a Fabrio brunch." Ysani nudged the other girl's arm, already turned with her watermelon-printed butt pointed up to the sky.

Hammaryn lifted her head up, eyes groggy from sleep. She wiped a faint trail of drool from the left side of her face. "Ysani? Where -" Her eyes snapped all the way open. "I didn't talk in my sleep, did I?"

"Nope. And even if you did, I wouldn't have noticed. I was communing too hard. Now roll onto your tummy, you've got a bit more meditation to do before we take a break."

Hammaryn slowly turned herself over onto her stomach. This time, she was definitely going to concentrate on meditating. She rested her head on her arms, taking in a deep breath through her nose. Her head immediately started to loll to the side.

Within minutes, or so it seemed, Ysani was poking at her with one bare toe, a cold drink in each hand. "Okay, sleepyhead. Time to cool off! We've had about all the Light we can handle for the moment."

Hammaryn sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "How long did I sleep?"

The redhead pushed a drink into Hammaryn's hand and smiled. "I guess it's just after noon? I think... I never was very good at reading the time." She turned toward the sea and took a deep breath of crisp, salty air. "C'mon, we'll drink this in the water."

Hammaryn took a large swig of the drink. "We'll get wet."

Ysani laughed as she tromped lazily to the surf, downing copious amounts of Booty Bay's finest affordable rum directly from the bottle. "That's the idea, yeah."

Hammaryn snorted, tipped her head back and took another enormous swig of her drink. "Suppose I ought to bathe before I go home anyways." She jogged down to the water.

* * * * *

The water was clear, blue and cool against Ysani's shins. She held her bottle of juice-sweetened rum by the neck and stared out over the water, shading her eyes against the blinding afternoon light. "Check it out, Hammaryn. There's Monkey Island."

Hammaryn took another swig of rum, swishing it around to see how much was left. "There's what?"

"Monkey Island! Well, maybe it's Pirate Island. Or Treasure Island. I've never gone out there to check which is on it, but it seemed like monkeys was the most likely, you know?" Ysani pointed out toward a dark smear on the horizon.

Hammaryn stared at Ysani from under lowered eyebrows. "We don't have any weapons on us."

"Mehhh. How bad could it be? We're tough chicks. Bring your bottle with you, you can smash the bottom off it if we need a weapon. And we'll bring a stick." Ysani paused, then turned to her friend and grinned. "I'm sure the Light will protect us!" Before Hammaryn could respond, the redhead was already halfway back to their spot on the beach, draining the rest of her drink and tossing the empty bottle in a shoulderbag.

Hammaryn remained in her spot, firmly rooted at the base of the water. "I don't like this."

Ysani's voice carried over the salty ocean breeze. "It'll be fine!" She stuffed a hunk of driftwood into her pack, and two full bottles of booze. The weathered stick didn't come close to fitting inside the bag so she pulled it back out and used it as a walking stick.

Hammaryn sighed loudly and reluctantly began to follow Ysani. They started out into the sea and swam for the horizon, the bikini-clad girl trailing her pack behind her.

* * * * *

"Holy crap, did you see that?" Ysani took a swig from what she thought might be her fourth bottle of booze and blinked several times, staggered to a nearby tree and pointed drunkenly into the undergrowth. "Maybe they should call it Panther Island!"

Hammaryn glanced over at the bushes. "It's just a cat, Ysani."

Ysani crouched down, bracing herself against the overgrown palm's trunk and peering into the brush. "No really, I think it's a for-real panther! Neat! ...Where'd it go." Standing, she picked her suit out of her crack and took another drink.

Hammaryn took a large swig from her bottle of rum. "I'm still not sure why we came here. I don't see any pirates or treasure or monkeys. And we're not communing with the Light."

"Well we did a lot of communing already! I feel warm all over, don't you?" She pushed through the dense jungle foliage and disappeared.

"Ysani." Hammaryn's voice rose in volume. "Where the hell are you going?" There was no response, just the sound of Ysani crashing haphazardly through the brush. She growled and whacked down a branch in front of her with a frown, and followed Ysani into the bushes. "You shouldn't go off by yourself."

"I'm not by myself, I have you!" Ysani called back over her shoulder. "Oh hey, I found a path."

Hammaryn's voice yelled back. "Why didn't you tell me there was a damn path!"

"I didn't know! Ow." When Hammaryn emerged onto the forest trail, Ysani was rubbing at a thin red gash just above her elbow. "I caught a thorn or something."

Hammaryn slapped a hand over Ysani's elbow and grumpily mumbled something. She scowled and mumbled the word again, and the cut healed. "We need to be careful."

The redhead stretched her arm up to try and look at her elbow. "Yeah! There are panthers and stuff." She rubbed again at the sore spot on her arm. "Your healing kinda stings a little."

"You'll be fine, it was just a tiny cut." Hammaryn set her bottle of rum on the ground in front of her, and put her hands over her hips. She stared into the bushes just over Ysani's shoulder. "Do you hear something?"

"I'm pretty sure we've been loud enough to scare away anything that lives within five miles of here." Ysani pulled her bikini out of her crack and polished off her drink, peering through her sunglasses before pushing them up onto her head. There wasn't nearly as much light here, even just a dozen yards into the jungle. Using her driftwood as a walking stick, she started up the path that seemed to lead straight toward the center of the humid jungle island, watching the canopy above for signs of the loud tropical birds that called out all around them. Hammaryn picked up her bottle and started up the path behind her, quickening her pace to catch up.

Maybe it was the surf, or the booze, or both; either way, neither girl noticed the faint rustling sounds behind them.

[RP] Vacation! Part 2

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Ysani returned with a double armload of bounty. It was probably wise not to ask where she'd kept her money for such purchases. "Open up, I'm loaded down!" she sang out, a cold mug dripping moisture in each hand and two thick towels tucked under her arms. There was a pair of cheap, hot pink leather sandals under there somewhere, too. Just the barest hint of one sole poked out from behind the towels.

Hammaryn warily accepted a drink from Ysani, and took a sip. She tilted her head to the side, then smiled. "That's actually pretty good."

"Yeah! They make the best drinks, if you know what to ask for. That's an Alcaz Island iced tea." She took a sip and peered into the frosty glass. "...I'm pretty sure there's not actually any tea in it."

Hammaryn shrugged and downed a large gulp. "Tastes like tea." She got up from the bed, and the sarong on her waist almost slipped off. "Ysani. What are these clothes?"

"They're beach clothes. Lightweight, comfy... they'll help keep you cool. And they dry fast if you get 'em wet. They're, um, really good for meditating and prayers, too. Because of how comfortable they are. Yeah." Ysani grabbed the ends of Hammaryn's sarong and untied them, re-knotting them just above her hip, yanking sharply to make sure it wouldn't slip. "There. Are you ready for another drink?"

Hammaryn barely paid attention to what Ysani was doing with her sarong, taking another large chug of her drink.

"I'll take that as a yes." The redhead pulled a loose shirt on over her teeny suit and dropped the pink sandals on the floor in front of Hammaryn. "Put those on, and drink this potion. It'll keep you from getting a sunburn."

Hammaryn slipped the hot pink sandals on, and pointed at the potion in Ysani's hand. "Is this for our communal with the Light?"

Ysani shook her head. "Not really. Like the comfy clothes, it's just something to protect us from the elements while we do our thing. Just like you'd dress warm and cover your face in Northrend, you know?" She opened the tiny vial and tipped it into Hammaryn's drink.

Hammaryn downed the contents of the vial and the rest of her drink in one gulp. She hiccuped, covered her mouth, then frowned.

"What's wrong?" Ysani smiled and put her arm around Hammy's shoulder, guiding her toward the door and grabbing her towels and key with her free hand.

"Tastes funny. Are you sure I need this?"

"Yep! Let's go!" The door slammed behind them, no doubt pissing off any number of inn patrons sleeping off the liquor of the previous evening. The day was officially theirs.

* * * * *

The clear blue water lapped on the shore of the beach. Ysani had picked the best one in all of Stranglethorn; it was peaceful and quiet, with a nice breeze, a long shore filled with white sand, and a secret.

"C'mon, we gotta get there before someone else finds our spot!" The girl could move, and her deep red hair bounced behind her as she rocketed along the slippery, dry sand in her green sandals at a pace that was just shy of a run.

Hammaryn trudged behind her, her flip flops coming off her feet for at least the twentieth time. "I'm trying, but I don't know how the hell you walk in these damn things!" She kicked one a good ways into the distance, grumbling under her breath. "I don't need shoes."

Ysani made a quick detour to fetch the sandal and regrouped, holding out her hand for the offending shoe's mate. "You'll need these later, I'll just carry 'em for you. It helps if you clench your toes!" Then she was off like a shot again, making a beeline for what was slowly becoming identifiable as a cove nestled between two craggy hunks of wind-worn white stone. Scraggy bushes and beach grasses clung to the cliff face, moving slightly in the breeze. Ysani dropped her stuff in a pile under a cluster of stunted palms.

Hammaryn mumbled a string of epithets directed at her shoes as she followed Ysani down to the palms. "Stupid shoes. I should have brought the ones Alanth gave me."

Meanwhile, Ysani shook out their towels and spread them out in the sun, periodically pausing to pull her bathing suit out of her butt, for the hundredth time. Their ice-bucket sat under the trees, slowly melting around their cache of booze. Hammaryn's eyes traveled over to Ysani's hands. "For Light's sake, why didn't you just bring two of these ridiculous skirts?"

Ysani stopped her site preparations for a moment and shaded her eyes, looking over at her friend. "Why?"

"You've been messing with that...piece of fabric all day."

"Well, you try keeping these things steady when you keep running and stooping and bending and--there! All done. Now we can start our meditations!" The redhead stood for a moment to survey her handiwork, hands on her bare hips, then dropped down onto the sunniest towel and sprawled out, sunglasses reflecting the strong midmorning sun.

"And you're sure we don't need books for this?" Hammaryn folded her arms over her chest, and eyed the towels dubiously.

"Mmhmmm. Just lie down like this and get comfortable."

Hammaryn sighed, and lowered herself slowly onto the towel. "How long does this usually take?"

Ysani sighed too, only hers was of a much more dreamy variety. "Until you can't bear it anymore. Now close your eyes and take nice, slow breaths. You can say your prayers in your head if you like, or you can just think about how warm the Light is, or you can think about nothing at all and let the Light just flow right on through you. Or whatever."

Hammaryn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She waited a few seconds, then let it out slowly. Something was poking her in her back. She wiggled, felt underneath the towel with a hand, and found a piece of driftwood. She casually chucked it a few feet into the distance, towards the water. She lay back down on the towel, trying to focus on her breath. Except she could feel the sun through her eyelids. She rolled over, groping for the sunglasses Ysani had purchased for her. She rummaged through their things for a minute, finally finding them, and put them on her face with a satisfied smile. Now she was ready to commune with the Light. Except she felt something on her leg. Hammaryn sat bolt upright, finding and squashing a small bug crawling on her ankle with smack from her open palm. Now she was ready to lie down again. Deep breaths; time for some quality meditation.

After a few minutes, Ysani was certain she could hear the faint sound of snoring from the towel next to her. She smiled up at the perfect blue sky, eyes closed, and settled more firmly into the soft sand under her towel.

Things were going great.