[RP] False Alarm Pt. 2

Authors: Ysani & Keilos

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She was too nervous to fit her key into the lock. It jittered out of her hand and tinkled softly on the hall mat, then was scooped up by a haphazardly-dressed Dir. He winked at her, quietly unlocked the door, and bent down to drop a kiss on the top of her damp head. Good luck, he mouthed, and was gone... but not without a quick squeeze to her ass on the way.

Safe from Dir's grabby hands, Ysani very carefully turned the knob and pushed the door inward on its hinges. Elphi greeted her with a muted mew and a head-butt to the calf. "Shhh," said Ysani. A quick scan of the room nearly undid her; Keilos sat fully-armored in his favorite chair next to a bowl of dead cigarettes, and it took her a few moments to realize he was very much asleep. Light, I need to calm down. Relax a little and go change your clothes, it'll give you time to think.

Last night's ill-advised skirt and top combination tumbled to the floor around her feet and she had a mercifully brief flashback of remarkable quality from the previous night. It could have been even worse, she thought to herself before her no-nonsense voice piped up with a hurry up and get out of that wet underwear too, moron.

Dir thought she should talk to Keilos about the things that bothered her. So did Keltyr, now that she thought about it. Unless she was mistaken. Not that it mattered. There could really only be one reason for him to be fully armored and passed out with what looked like a carton's worth of tobacco products smooshed into the tray. She was, indeed, in a fair amount of trouble. Creeping close, Ysani put a timid hand on his shoulder. "Keilos?"

Keilos frowned to himself... someone was calling him. Why can't they let me sleep? I'm tired. And Ysani's missing again. Ysani...wait. I shouldn't be sleeping, I should be searching. The Blood Knight's head snapped up as he forced his eyes open, locking gazes for a moment with the red-haired girl in front of him. He blinked, in a half-waking daze, trying to process that it really was his lover in front of him.

"Ysani," he whispered. "Oh, Light...you're okay." Levering himself stiffly to his feet, he winced as his neck complained about the position he'd been sleeping in. He reached out towards the other Blood Knight, frowning in confusion at the expression on her face. He wanted to hold her, to touch her, to bury his face in her hair to reassure himself he wasn't dreaming, but the look Ysani was giving him stopped him. "You're okay...aren't you?"

"Were you smoking...?" Ysani put her hands tentatively on the chestplate strapped over his torso, eyes sweeping over his battle uniform with a furrow in her brow. "I'm sorry I didn't leave a note, I just went down to the lobby to have a drink and ended up having a lot."

Keilos sighed, looking ruefully at the overflowing ashtray as his cheeks reddened in a blush. "I was trying to calm my nerves. I was worried. It's coming up on a year since... I guess I over-reacted a little." The blonde knight started to say something else, but was interrupted by a rough-sounding cough. Wincing, he grabbed the cup of tea he'd left sitting and tossed it back, making a face at the taste of the cold, stale tea.

The furrow deepened. Ysani wrinkled her nose, sensitive stomach turning at the smell of stale smoke up-close. Squeezing his arm, she turned and went to the stove in the apartment's small kitchen to start a kettle of water. "I'll make you a fresh cup."

Keilos nodded, eyebrow arching as he saw reactions flicker across his lover's face. "Let me get out of all this and stick my head under the sink in the bathroom." He pulled his tabard off and tossed it into the pile of mending, nose wrinkling as he caught the smoke odor. "Now I remember why I quit in the first place," he grumbled.

She stood slump-shouldered at the counter while the kettle began to steam, examining the tiles and trying to work up the nerve to say anything at all. Instead, she opened a tin of tea and prepared enough for two cups, one for soothing her hangover, and a wake-up brew for Kei.

Keilos padded into the kitchen, hair damp and mussed, wearing a soft shirt and pants he kept for just lounging around. Standing close behind Ysani, he watched her spoon tea into the strainers. Pressing a kiss onto the nape of her neck, he mumured, "I did over-react, didn't I?"

She sighed. "Yeah. A bit." The kettle whistled, but she stood where she was for another moment with her back against Kei's chest.

Keilos reached around her and moved the kettle onto the padded straw potholder. "Are you sure you're all right? Did something happen while you were out?"

Ysani was suddenly quite glad she had her back to him. It would be hard to hide the burning red spots that appeared high on each of her cheekbones as she remembered snippets of her morning. "Not really. I got falling-down drunk and Dir gave me a place to crash for the night." She managed not to wince and hoped she sounded more nonchalant than she felt.

"Dir lives in the Legerdemain. If you were that bad off, why didn't he just bring you here?" Keilos slid his hands up Ysani's arms, then gently moved a hand to brush her temples and let the Light flow through the other elf, applying what little of the healing arts he remembered. He pressed his lips together, trying to ignore the turn of unease he felt in his stomach.

Her headache dissipated slightly and she sighed again, shrugging as she poured boiling water into their cups. "I was pretty drunk. Maybe he didn't want to disturb you so late, or maybe I couldn't find my key? I don't really remember."

Kei frowned again, but didn't say anything. Silently, he took his cup and withdrew to the living room, where he curled up on the couch, a million thoughts running through his head. Did Dir not think I might be more disturbed that she didn't come home than if he simply woke me? And if she couldn't find her key, a simple knock would have gotten the door open. What happened that she doesn't want to tell me about? Did her brother show up again? Did Haydren? And if it was Haydren, why wouldn't she want me to know? Keilos sighed and stirred his tea half-heartedly before taking a cautious sip.

In the kitchen, Ysani stirred several spoonfuls of sugar into her tea, miserable. He's upset. C'mon, think. How do I fix this? No solutions presented themselves, so she simply picked up her cup and sat silent on the couch in the small space next to his feet, staring down at the reflected light on top of her drink.

Keilos drank his tea, not really tasting it. His tongue felt thick and awkward in his mouth, and he didn't dare say anything, because he knew if he did, he'd say the wrong thing. Instead, he simply sat and watched the redhead at the far end of the couch, hoping his expression might convince her to tell him whatever it was she was hiding. She poked listlessly at the couch upholstery with one hand, cup balanced on her knee. "He said I should talk to you."

Kei set his cup aside, wincing when he made the china rattle as he put it down. "What about?" he asked softly, holding a hand out to Ysani in an attempt to draw her closer. She shifted, careful not to spill her tea as she curled up close to him with her knees drawn up in front of her.

"I've... I've just been noticing things that have changed since last summer." She took a deep breath, then continued, cupping the warm mug of tea in her hands. "I miss the times I could be spontaneous and just do whatever sounded like fun at the time. It feels like they stole that from me."

"I think they stole it from both of us," Keilos said softly. "I've been watching over my shoulder for a year now, just in case." He reached out and gently began to rub what of Ysani's back he could reach. "Is there anything I can do to help you get that feeling back?"

"I want to be able to do what comes naturally. I'm not scared anymore. I mean, I'm still careful and keeping an eye out for trouble--" she squinted, a completely subconscious gesture at the common phrase. "--I just would like you to feel like I can judge what is safe and when to be careful, and I'd like not to feel like I did this morning, when I utterly panicked because I hadn't checked in with you at every turn and thought you'd probably be a total wreck. And... well, you kind of were."

Keilos blinked at Ysani, totally lost for words. For several long moments, he sat there, gobsmacked and speechless. "I...I didn't realize. When it got to one or two and you still weren't home, I started looking, because I remembered feeling so foolish that I'd wasted that time before when I didn't think anything was wrong." The blonde knight sighed and turned on the couch, knotting his hands in his lap. "I was afraid they'd taken you again," he said softly.

Ysani could feel that her entire face was flushed, but the topic was open so there was no sense not forging straight ahead, was there? "That was different, you know. I went completely out of town, alone, without thinking that there could be danger at my own brother's house. Believe me, I am not that clueless anymore. I like to think I'm better at judging what is safe and what is not than I was back then. I'd like it if you thought so, too."

Keilos nodded wordlessly. He couldn't bring himself to look at Ysani, and felt vaguely sickened that all this seemed to be his fault. He swallowed noisily and squeezed his eyes shut to try and calm himself. When he finally did speak, his words were barely above a whisper. "I am so very sorry, love."

"Hey-- hey." Ysani set her cup on the floor and knelt beside him on the couch, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in close. "It's not like you killed my kitten or something, love. I just want you to trust me. And I want... I want to stop changing how I act just because I'm afraid of what you'll think. Or do."

Keilos didn't open his eyes, though he did frown at her words. "Afraid of what I'd think or do?"

Ysani gulped. "Yeah. I'm uh. Well, I'm guilty of saying things in certain ways or leaving things out because I don't want you to get upset. Or start a fight." This time it was impossible not to wince, and she kept her eyes down, unwilling to meet his if he decided to look her way.

Kei slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't sure which stung more at the moment... the fact that Ysani had lied to him about things, or the fact she thought he might start a fight with someone. "I don't understand," he said softly, running a hand through his hair. He glanced over at Ysani and realized she wasn't looking at him. "How many times has this happened?" He rather thought he probably didn't want to know the answer to that question, but it was out now, and couldn't be called back.

Light, you're doing a great job of screwing this up. "It's not that you've been in a lot of fights, love. It's just that... that you can jump to arms really easily if someone offends you, or treads on your boundaries. I feel sometimes like I've got to be a buffer between you and the things that upset you. Maybe that's not really my job, and I should stop feeling like I need to do it. Or like it needs to be done at all."

The blonde knight sighed and let his eyes close again. Without opening his eyes, he said, "No...I don't suppose it is your job. Though I will admit to not making the best decisions in the world when you weren't here. I should have decked Vranesh like you did instead of trying to make a deal with him." Keilos turned his head towards Ysani, and arched an eyebrow, still not opening his eyes. "How do you want me to try and fix these things? Particular things you want me to do, I mean. 'Be good, Keilos' is charming, but not particularly informative."

Ysani shrugged unhappily and attempted to curl up on his lap. Light, her stomach was just as unhappy as she was, and that certainly took some doing. "I don't really know. Be more sure of yourself, maybe. You don't have to feel threatened by everything. I mean, look at Keltyr. He doesn't let much of anything bother him. Sure, he's also kind of an asshole. But there's got to be some kind of middle ground, hasn't there?"

Keilos sighed and ran the tip of a finger around the base of Ysani's ear. "That's the problem. I tried acting like Keltyr - and he told me not to, because it was getting me in trouble." A second sigh and Keilos leaned his head against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "I wish I could be as self-possessed and cool and as good at everything as he is. But it seems I keep screwing things up when I try."

Ysani leaned against Keilos. Her headache was coming back, slowly but surely, and the steady throb was making it hard to think. "Well Light forbid you become Keltyr, I didn't sign on to date him."

Kei chuckled softly, beginning to gently rub Ysani's temples. "Well, I should certainly hope you didn't. I don't think Dorri likes to share anyway." Softly, he added, "And I should add, love... it's never been you I've not trusted. It's every other son of a bitch out there. In all seriousness, though... there's going to come a time that I can't help but worry. When you go out... when's it okay for me to do that?"

Ysani lifted her pale face up to his and tugged on a loose lock of his hair. "I don't know yet, but if I don't get some food and water in me real soon I'm gonna regret it. I'll think about it, will that do for now?"

Keilos nodded and gently patted the red-haired paladin on the behind. "If you'll get out of my lap, I'll cook for you. How do blueberry muffins sound?"

[RP] False Alarm Pt. 1

When Ysani didn't come home, Keilos may've freaked out a bit. This segment kicks off the fallout from her adventures with Dir and was written by Kei's player. Thanks, Des!

Author: Keilos

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Keilos collapsed into his chair with a weary sigh, his heavy plate armor rattling as he came to rest. Frowning, he glanced down at the ashtray on the table beside him, which was full of stubbed-out butts. He hadn’t smoked in months, and had been forced to go looking for the little metal dish when he finally had fished out the stale-tasting smokes to settle his nerves.

He hadn’t thought anything of it when Ysani hadn’t come home around dinnertime – in his experience, that usually meant she was off with Fenniel or Frail or whatever-his-name-was, working on their engineering project to restore the sight to her blinded eye. As the hours crept later and later, he’d begun to worry. At midnight, he’d jogged down the back stairs of the Legerdemain to the stable and taken Avatre out to have a quick check of the places the Farstriders usually did such work. He checked in Dalaran and in Silvermoon, finding workshops closed and doors locked. With a knot of cold worry beginning to tie itself in his gut, he’d returned to the Legerdemain to wake Tiktok to go out on a quick search. He’d gone back up to their apartment to put his armor on in case he ran into something that might start trouble. As he came through the door, something on the dining room table caught his attention. A fist-sized stone, pale white with an odd sheen to it. Ysani’s goblin stone…oh please, Light, not again. He turned to his left and saw the other paladin’s sword, neatly set into the rack on the wall, and a cold chill ran through him. Hurriedly, he threw on the rest of his armor, picked up his blade and shield, and dashed down the back stairs, memories of the prior summer filling his mind.

As the bronze drake skimmed quietly over the moonlit landscapes of Northrend, Keilos briefly considered calling out to ask if anyone else had seen Ysani, but opted against that until he had no other option. He knew well enough what sort of red flags the words “I can’t find Ysani” might raise, especially after the hell they’d been through the previous year. So he and Tiktok searched, even as night became dawn and the snow reflected the sunrise back with blinding brightness. At that point, the drake began to grumble about the cold and weariness, so they returned to Dalaran, long enough for Tiktok to get warm and for Keilos to sit and rest for a few minutes. Or rather, that had been the plan.

Kei blinked as he realized he’d been staring dazedly at the ashtray for several long minutes. He glanced over at the cold cup of tea near the ashtray, then directed his attention to the embers of the fire before him. His eyes were becoming unaccountably heavy, and he wasn’t entirely aware of the moment they slid closed, his tired body overriding any ideas the young elf might have had about going back out searching. His body relaxed, chin dropping down towards his breastplate, as the room began to fill with sunlight.

Current Events in RP!

**Thanks to Ghaar, who reminds me that I am indeed missing something... a super sekrit plot involving Astrani, the brickwit troll. However, part of being sekrit means I'm not spilling any details! Neener!

I have several long story arcs in the works for two of my characters. It's slow work and I am lazy, so it's just being pieced together in spurts and I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to finish them, let alone do them justice. I'm going to try, though!

Since it's hard to keep track of everything, I'm just gonna post what's happening with each of my active characters and what sort of project to expect from them.

• A slim file, obviously new, and containing extremely sparse information on one Adelaide "Skulley" Skelton now sits on Agent Jeremiah Newhall's desk.
• After narrowly avoiding a run-in with Booty Bay guards, Skulley is taking a breather before her next big job... a hunt for CURSED TROLL TREASURE! Yarr. Does she know it's cursed? Not yet!
• Unbeknownst to Skulley, an account of her life as Adelaide is being constructed by a certain ham-fisted wielder of words. Don't worry, it's a very happy story. Up until everyone dies.

• After class one evening, Thiyenn eats a massive meal of banana bread, goat cheese, pickles, chocolate cake and an entire jar of mustard. This leads to a very public heaving of guts and embarrassing revelation to nearly half of her friends, teachers and academic peers that didn't already know or guess that she was pregnant.
• Professor Arrens Caltrains, the headmaster of Stormwind University, is skilled in shoving his foot in his mouth. When he asked where her husband was, Thiyenn lied. Apparently the nuances of her relationship with the father of her child and his current whereabouts aren't meant to be discussed in front of half of the student body (and the professor's bride-to-be).
• But hey, Thiyenn now has a Super Special Job, that being the crafting of Miss Aely's wedding dress. Take THAT, Delion!
• Having been encouraged by an instructor to improve her writing (and more importantly, handwriting--she prints no better than a child), Thiyenn has taken up the task of putting down what she remembers about growing up with the Darkmoon tribe. It's good for taking her mind off more recent events. It's also her first foray into introspection, so I expect some personal conflict.

• Libby, the Rainsinger, is engaged (!) to elf (!) hunter Fenniel (!!), the original geeky belf hunter. They are getting married (!) in a ceremony (!) in Mulgore this May. Firael has been roped into the role of Best Man and will be sporting some fashionable tribal garb (read: leather straps). Oops, I forgot to (!) that.

• On the verge of a breakthrough in eye replacement technology, Ysani has put on the weight she lost during her Haydren-terror phase, mostly due to sitting around working on projects all day with Firael and Fenniel, the wonder twins.
• It's been a while since there was a frenzy of speculation on the particulars of Yissy's relationship with Firael, however, several members of the PoL tease her privately. She is adamant on the point that they are Just Friends, and, in fact, everything seems to be quite fine with her and Keilos.
• Dir creeps her the hell out. Quit staring at her tits, already!
• Where the hell IS Haydren, anyway? God only knows what sort of terrible things he's planning. One hopes he's given up, but I think we all know that's not the case.

• Ambika is readjusting to her life as a troll and seems pleased with that particular development, but grows increasingly distant. Her quest to gain more power, as far as she's concerned, has yielded paltry gains; this may lead her to new and dangerous paths as the world moves on.

• Sergeant Harker has traded the relentless heat of Hellfire for the chill winds of the North and oh MAN is she pissed. Her attitude leaves something to be desired, but she's working hard (and dressing warm), which gets her at least a modicum of respect from her peers and superiors. Something exceedingly strange happened to her the other night, perhaps she'll tell us about it soon...?

I've got a lot on my plate, certainly, and I really need to learn to stop biting off more than I can chew. Here's hoping that all these and more will get proper documentation. Did I miss anything?

[RP] Too Much of a Good Thing Pt. 3 [PG-13]

Too Much of a Good Thing Pt. 3

Author: Keilos & Ysani

Keilos leaned back against his makeshift pillow and popped another slice of apple into his mouth. He'd been roused from his bed by Silvermoon's alarm bells(and what the Nether was he doing in the bed anyway – he'd gone to sleep on the couch!) and had pelted out of the chapter house, shrugging his armor on, his training driving him, even half-asleep, to defend the city.

Once he'd gotten to the Midsummer fire, one thing had led to another, and he'd lost himself in the steady stream of combat resulting from the Alliance's attempts to steal the Sin'dorei's flame. It wasn't until much later, when Ysani called for him over the stone, that he dragged himself from the battle-trance he'd fallen into and realized that not only was it late afternoon, but he also hadn't had the first thing to eat that day.

She'd met him on his way back to the chapter house, aggravation and concern warring on the visible half of her face as she looked at him. Without a word, she'd taken his weapon and shield from him and carried them back for him. When the red-haired paladin had suggested that he go back to bed, he hadn't quite been able to restrain himself from snarling at her. Almost as quickly, he shook himself and apologized. “No,” he said. “I promised you a picnic, and I intend to keep that promise. Let me wash up and get the fruit prepared, and we can go.”

Now, sprawled under a Silvermoon tree with a belly full of food, more than a little good wine inside him, and his cloak rolled up to rest his head on, Keilos was watching Ysani eat skethyl berries with obvious enjoyment, wondering how to bring up the subject with her of his feelings.

“Keilos..?" She paused to pop another berry into her mouth. "Not that I mind, but do you realize you've been watching me like a hawk since we sat down? Why so tense?” Ysani cocked an eyebrow at the other Blood Knight as she licked the tart juice from her fingers. That, however, caused Kei to look away very quickly.

“Sorry. Just...have things on my mind.” And you doing that with that berry juice has just added a lot of other things to the list, damn it all.

Reading the gesture, she snatched her fingers away from her mouth with a red-faced 'oh'.

Keilos chuckled. He saw Ysani's blush out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. "It's not just that. Just...you. Me. Us. Stuff."

"Us?"

Kei shifted up on his elbows to catch the girl's eye. For a long moment, he hesitated, gathering up his courage. At the last moment before he spoke, he glanced away, chickening out. "Sure...us and stuff." Casting a desperate gaze across the picnic blanket, his eyes fell on the remains of their meal. "You did a good job with getting things ready - I hardly had to do anything. There just may be hope for you in the kitchen yet."

"Call me crazy, but I don't think my picnic basket is what's got you all worked up. I'd like to hear more about this mysterious 'stuff'." Ysani gathered up the stack of dishes and piled them in the basket, then sprawled out next to him on the blanket, hands under her head.

"Nothing important. Just - how different my life has been since you. I still feel like I don't deserve it." Kei kept his eyes fixed on the leaves on the branches over his head. "Like I don't deserve any of it."

She rolled over onto her side and studied him solemnly, one arm folded under her cheek. "What have you ever done not to deserve it? You're good to me. You make me happy, Kei. Why shouldn't you be happy too?"

"Every awful thing that Vranesh ever said about me - the things that Blood Knight in the Eye said. They're all quite true. Changed or not, they're still true. Makes me feel like I don't deserve to lo-live the life I currently am. Content, almost...happy." Keilos shrugged. "Probably sounds stupid, I know."

"You realize that's like me saying I'm worthless because I screwed up everything I ever tried until I joined the order, don't you? I don't care about what you used to do. I care about what you do now." She tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. It was a gentle and mercifully brief kiss, and she sighed as she pulled back.

Keilos closed his eyes, sighed, and did his best to remain absolutely still. "Do me a favor? The next time I get the bright idea that you need a medic to check you out for any reason...smack me." A second gusty sigh, and he opened his eyes to focus on the leaves again. Just tell her. Come on...how difficult can it really be? And what's the worst that could happen?

Strictly speaking, the absolute worst that could happen is that Ysani could decide that she wants to end the relationship immediately because, although the sex is amazing, she doesn't want to be tied down with those emotions to one person. So naturally, I'm more than a bit nervous about this. Not to mention it's not the sort of thing I've ever discussed with anyone before at all.

A thin worry-line creased her brow. "You did it because you care about me, right? I'd never ask you to stop caring... I don't know what I'd do if you did." One slim hand reached over the narrow space between him, seeking his.

Keilos barked a laugh, harsh with nervousness. "Care about you? Light, Ysani...I think it goes rather further than that." He wanted to sit up, curl up, get away - do something to protect himself, because Light, he felt dangerously vulnerable - but he couldn't make himself let go of her hand. Rebelliously, his fingers twined themselves further into hers, keeping him where he was. Her hand was as pale as her grave little face and she stared at him, wearing an expression of growing disbelief.

"You... you're afraid. What's the matter?"

Keilos turned her hand over in his, running fingers over the calluses on her thumb and the heel of her palm. Idly, he thought that perhaps he should spend more time sketching them - they fascinated him, so much strength in those small, slender fingers - before forcibly dragging his mind back to the current situation. "You'd think some things would be easy to say, especially when they're true. Never works out that way, though."

"You can tell me anything, Kei." She shivered, her eyes half-closing as he ran his fingers over her hand. "Please don't stop doing that."

The Blood Knight's voice grew softer as his fingers caressed her hand. "I can't say it. I've been trying...can't do it. Not in words, anyway. I try, and they scatter like sand."

Her shoulder lifted in a gentle shrug, eyes drooping shut. "You can tell me later, if it's not important for me to know right this minute. I just want you to be okay." Ysani carefully extended the arm supporting her head and curled her fingers into the golden hair at the nape of his neck, brushing lightly against his ear in the process.

For a moment or two, Keilos forgot how to breathe. He shivered, feeling the last of his self-control begin to slip. When he remembered to inhale, he relaxed his grip on Ysani's hand as he attempted to pull himself back together. He brushed his thumb down the heel of the girl's hand and across the vein in her wrist and said, "It's something important. At least I think it's important. Dorri would probably say it doesn't matter."

"I don't care about what Dorri would say." Her lips brushed his ear. Hadn't there been a buffer between them? The thin strip of blanket was no longer visible there, one or both of them having closed the gap while they talked. Her breath was warm on his skin as she whispered to him between intermittent soft kisses below his ear. "Not even a little."

It took about five more seconds for Kei's self-control to disintegrate completely. As he turned his head to met Ysani's lips with his own, his last coherent thought was that there was by far too much cloth between her skin and his, and he really should do something about that situation - right now.

Retro RP: Too Much of a Good Thing Pt. 2

It should be noted that Meithrin is Keilos' older and tinkering-minded brother.

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Too Much of a Good Thing Pt. 2

Author: Ysani

Dishes clattered in the guild's shared kitchen as Ysani set out plates, cutlery and napkins on the large table that served as a prep area and bar for those who might choose to spend their time in the cavernous room. Very few ever did, which made it a wonderful and private place to sit and watch (ogle) Keilos while he cooked. She'd come to think of the kitchen as 'theirs', she realized, and the notion brought a smile to her lips.

A sturdy woven basket rested on one of the tall barstools and she set a bright tablecloth in the bottom, folding it neatly under the flatware. Packing for their outings didn't require much concentration, and her thoughts kept wandering to places that, in the interest of her sanity, they oughtn't go. Each time she caught herself thinking on those certain topics (usually by startling herself with an involuntary whimper in the semi-quiet room), she darted to the sink, which was full to the brim with water and not a few chunks of melting ice, and dunked her head in it.

Toweling dry after the most recent dip, it felt as though her lower lip couldn't possibly stick out any more. Liiiiiiight, this needs to be over. Her tired spells were gone, her sleep was restful, but she was far from happy, and that sorta negated the benefits of the whole stupid episode, didn't it? She thought it did. The towel was thoroughly soaked after several uses, so she dropped it on the pile and pulled the last dry one from a drawer and set it aside for the next time.

Apples, grapes, and a basket of skethyl berries. She rinsed them all and set them aside, then hoisted a large melon up to the counter and dropped it. It broke into ragged halves with a satisfying squishy crump and she scooped out the golden fruit with a spoon. No matter how many hours she put into weapons training, no matter how precise she could be with the axe that was an entity unto itself, she always managed to cut herself with simple kitchen knives every single time she tried to use one, until Keilos barred her from them entirely. It didn't much matter anyway. The tasks she could do without them were simple but many, and she knew it would save him a lot of time when he woke up. Speaking of which...

She'd been wakened early, just after dawn, by the thud his body made as he landed on the floor for the umpteenth time that week. In a flash she was out of her bed and at his side, helping him up, walking his dazed and still-sleeping form to the bed and settling him there. He'd burrowed into the pillows, still warm as she'd left them and likely smelling of her, and it was all she could do not to curl up beside him and wake him with a kiss. Instead she'd fled the bedroom, the feverish preparations in the kitchen a distraction that was rapidly becoming ineffective. She couldn't think of anything else she could do, and he still slept. She sat on a stool and tapped her foot, waiting. And waiting. Just when she thought she might explode, a tiny squirrel made its way into the room and whirred over to where she sat, bumping repeatedly into her shoe.

"Hey little guy! I didn't know you could find me from the bedroom. Meithrin sure knows some neat tricks, huh?" It felt oddly natural to chat with the robot. Ysani grinned as she plucked it up off the floor by its gemmed head and set it on the bar in front of her. It chirped a tinny greeting. "Here to keep me company, I see. What makes you tick, I wonder?" The gnomish toolkit unfolded with a soft snick in her hand. She sat there quietly in the detritus of her picnic-packing for the next several hours, head lowered, all other concerns chased out of her head as the happy squirrel slowly came apart.

RP: A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 7

A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 7

Author: Ysani

The afternoon light was fading by the time Ysani made it to the lake, bounding out of the forest like a deer, trailing the limp bag of evidence behind her. Without slowing, she dropped it on the low-smoldering fire, stripped her shirt off over her head, and yanked her pants down over her thighs, kicking them off gracelessly as she ran, leaping off a small overhang into the cool water with a noisy splash. Twenty feet out she reappeared with a gasp, red hair dark and plastered to her face, and tread water. Her eye sought Keilos, and found him not far off, and swimming toward her. She leaped nearly halfway out of the water throwing herself at him and wrapped her arms and legs around his body. "Keiiilos." She tasted the lakewater on his mouth.

"You're late."

Dragging him closer to the shore, Ysani stopped just past the place where her feet touched bottom and dug her toes in the sand. "I know, I'm sorry. Vranesh almost caught me jumping out the window. He lectured me for a good hour before I could get away... luckily, he didn't seem to suspect any immediate mischief."

Keilos snorted. "What's he got to lecture you about, anyway? You work harder than he does, and doing far more important things. It's jealousy, I'm telling you."

She shrugged and pulled him in closer, smoothing his hair back and kissing his forehead affectionately. "He said I ought to 'present a less slovenly appearance' in public, even if I'm just going out for a jog. Some other things about timeliness of paperwork- he asked about you, too. I guess he doesn't know about us." She blushed faintly, remembering the sneering words that accompanied the inquiry. Tell me, Cloudbreaker, does Dawnstar still stay out at all hours, drinking the taverns dry and fucking anything with a pulse? She'd meted out punishment for his crassness on the spot, knuckles meeting aristocratic nose with a dull (and disturbingly moist) crunch. He'd bent over to save his shirt, blood dripping a steady tattoo on the rusty cobblestones of the common, cursing, and she ran, leaping over a nearby bench to duck a pair of bored-looking city guards in their crisp red and gold uniforms.

"Ysani...?" His concerned voice broke her reverie and she smiled brightly.

"It's nothing, just got a little distracted. Where's the soap?"

RP: A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 6

A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 6

Author: Ysani

Ysani leaped lightly from Keltyr's bedroom window and pulled it shut behind her, empty box inside the waterproof bag in her hand. She stripped the smelly gloves off with a grimace and chucked them into the bag, then unknotted the kerchief tied snugly under her nose and it followed the gloves. From inside a manicured shrub just beside the window she pulled another bag and crammed the first inside it, tying it off to contain the stronger smell. That done, she took her first deep breath since turning the key in Keltyr's lock and beginning her task, dropping chunks of fungus in everything.

AAAGH. So disgusting. She gagged remembering the full power of the stench, even dulled with the strong and cooling peppermint oil it was a ripe and rank entity of its own. She paused and peered in the window, momentary guilt squeezing her belly, then shrugged and picked up the bag, ready to dash to their meeting point on foot (her charger was not fond of the smell, either). For Ysani, it was always a pleasure to run, and in these raggy old clothes she felt extraordinarily unburdened, as though she could fly. A quick jog out of the alleyway and she smacked into an obstruction and fell on her ass.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Madame Cloudbreaker. What sort of trouble are we getting into today?" Vranesh looked her up and down as she scrambled to her feet. And hadn't she filled out since he last saw her, grown muscular on a slim frame? She didn't avoid his gaze with a meek duck of the head as he would have expected. Instead, she glared up at him with baleful fire in her green eye. Her hair appeared to have been brushed recently, he noted with vague surprise.

"If you're finished creeping around alleys on my blind side, sir, I've got somewhere to be."

"Oh? And what exactly are you doing here, darting out of alleys dressed like a street urchin in her pajamas..? What's in the bag?"

Her pulse nearly doubled at that, but it didn't show. She held the bag a little closer to him, hoping he would catch a whiff of the former contents. The revolted look on his face told her yes, he had. "Just taking out the trash on my afternoon jog, sir. As you can probably tell, it needed doing. Yes?" She took no small amount of satisfaction from the horrified look on his face.

Meanwhile, Vranesh was observing her. She twitched, and he smiled. "Come with me, Cloudbreaker. We have a little catching up to do, you and I." Her heart rose up into her throat. Did he just catch me...? Am I in trouble for something else? Another thought occured to her, and she growled low in her throat as she followed him across the square.

... he's delaying me just to be a dick.

RP: A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 5

A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 5

Author: Keilos

Keilos looked down at the sealed bag at his feet, then looked around the room. It hadn't taken him overly long to locate Dorri and Keltyr's apartment – after all, he'd just had to count doors down from his own, then step out on his balcony to make sure the balconies squared with the doors before he started out. Climbing from one balcony to the next three stories up had made him nervous, especially when the bag shifted in his grip and he had to make some very fast adjustments or risk either dropping it or falling himself. When he'd arrived on their balcony, it had taken a few minutes of fishing with the long, thin metal ruler he used to block out illuminations to unhook the latch on the door and let himself in. And now, here he was, in the Dalaran rooms of his superior officers, about to do something he really probably shouldn't.

Well, best get started. Those two won't stay gone forever, and I have a redhead that will be waiting for me. To start with, he pulled a small bundle from his pants pocket and unrolled it, revealing a small bottle wrapped in a bandana. Folding the cloth, the young knight unscrewed the top on the bottle and tipped a few drops of the liquid inside on it. The bracing scent of peppermint filled the air as Keilos stoppered the bottle and slipped it back in his pocket. He tied the cloth around his face to cover his nose and mouth and then began to untie the knots that held the bag shut.

The peppermint oil didn't completely kill the stench of the fungus – Keilos was starting to think it would take a vampire hunter with a stake and hammer to do that – but it helped enormously. Quickly, the young knight retrieved a towel from the bathing chamber and used it to block the bottom of the door that led to the hallways of the Legerdemain...no sense in treating the rest of the residents on this floor to this. Once that was done, Keilos Dawnstar began the careful work of fungal sabotage, dropping pieces of the smelly stuff in boots, shoes, and dresser drawers.

In the closet, he found several hangers occupied by Dorri's dresses. Keilos pondered them momentarily, thinking of some of the conversations over the goblin stone he'd heard that had involved the garments. After a few more seconds of consideration, the young knight shucked the outer bag off the package he'd brought in with him. Turning the sack inside-out, he gathered the dresses into it and tied the bag shut with a bit of string, leaving the odd-looking package supported by the clothes hangers the gowns were on. There. They may get wrinkled, but at least they won't get ruined.

As he finished his foray into chemical warfare, Keilos realized that the peppermint oil on the bandana was doing much less against the stench than it had when he'd started. Light, that stuff is strong. I best finish up and get out of here before I start reeking too much myself. A few more pieces of fungus dropped in various spots, and he was done. Quickly, he gathered up the bag and his ruler and exited the room the way he came in – the balcony, making sure to shut the double doors well behind him.

After a second, less heart-stopping trek across the balconies to his own room, Keilos shucked off gloves and bandana and stuffed them in the bag that had held the fungus. At his feet, Elphi mewed protestingly at the odor.

“I know, girl. It reeks. But now, we're off – and we can get rid of this stuff and meet Ysani.” Lifting the cat to his shoulder, Kei made sure his own balcony door was locked and braced with his desk chair – after all, if he could think to get to their room that way, his superiors could certainly think to return the favor. Then, cat and elf ducked out the door, locking the entry behind them and racing for the portal to Silvermoon.

* * *

Keilos fed a little more tinder to the small campfire, then a piece or two more of wood. I'd have preferred the bath-houses for this...but we couldn't get rid of the rest of the evidence there. Once the fire was crackling merrily, the knight began to shuck off the clothing he'd used for the prank and tossed the garments on the blaze, followed promptly by the sack that had held the ammunition. For a moment, he and Elphi had identical expressions on their faces as whiffs of the scent from the fire hit them. Then, Kei fished soap out of the bundles they'd hidden beneath the bushes and dove into the small, sun-dappled Eversong pool.

But then, the bath-houses wouldn't have been quite this much fun. As he scrubbed the scent out of his skin and hair in the waterfall-fed pond, Keilos hoped Ysani would arrive soon.

RP: A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 4

After Keltyr played his dirty trick on Ysani, she and Keilos came up with a plan for revenge involving an extremely foul piece of fungus taken from a type of cave beast incapable of excreting its own waste. Needless to say, it's really, truly disgusting.

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A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 4

Author: Ysani

Roast chicken, crunchy-sweet coleslaw and pear muffins studded with tart skethyl berries would have been quite enough on their own, but there was an ice-cold watermelon besides, and a nice bottle of wine split between them. It made her sleepy, head swimming as she lay on her back on a blanket under a towering tree, admiring the contrast of shivering leaves against a backdrop of golden sunshine and blue sky. Then Keilos was in her line of vision, obscuring the Eversong sky, dropping a kiss on her berry-stained mouth with his hand on her waist under the baggy shirt she wore. We look like a couple of bums, she thought, and grinned. Picnicking bums. "Careful, we might forget what we're supposed to be doing."

He chuckled, his breath sweet and slightly boozy, and tickled her ribs. She shrieked laughter and squirmed out from under him. "Nooooo, no tickle! We have to pack up, I bet they're gone by now. It's late."

In response, Keilos pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her, lifting her crimson hair off her neck to kiss it softly. She shivered and tugged lightly on his ponytail. "Looks nice tied back. You should do that more. But really... really we've got to get going. And we're bound to get an audience sooner or later. People walk on this path all the time." He reluctantly pulled back after one last peck on her smiling lips and they crammed the leftovers into the basket Fabrio loaned them.

Back at the chapter house, they dropped off their things and went around to the back of the building. Two bulky packages sat beside each other, tightly-sealed boxes wrapped in waterproof bags. They emitted a very faint odor through these two layers, in spite of her thorough seals. She handed one to Keilos and kept one for herself, carrying it by the neck of the bag.

"I'll have to be fast to get done and out of the house before Fabrio notices.. I already cut it up into small chunks. There are a dozen in each.. I could have broken them up smaller, but I started to get lightheaded from the smell." She smiled ruefully, remembering the long twenty minutes spent carving up the disgusting fungus with a long blade, her arm swathed in a thick rubber glove. Nevermind that she'd had to keep a bucket at her feet to vomit in once or twice. This would be worth it.

"Your job will be harder, but you'll have more time to get it done. You know what to do, yes?" He nodded and she flashed him a brilliant grin, pulling a pair of gloves out of her pocket. "These are for you. I'll see you at the rendezvous point." Ysani watched him hearth, her stomach fluttering with nerves. Good luck, Keilos... we're going to need it.

RP: A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 3 [PG-13]

A Little Mischief and Petty Revenge Pt. 3

Authors: Keilos & Ysani

After reading the note, Kei saw red for a moment. I'll kill him. There's a scroll in my pocket, I can get to Dalaran fast enough. I'll kill him. Then, a soft sniff from over his shoulder dissipated his rage and reminded him that there were two here that needed seeing to. Keilos handed the note to Ysani, then knelt and carefully eased the lid away from the box.

A baby tickbird stared up at him, beak wide, panting in fear. One ruined wing flailed uselessly as it attempted to flap, to defend itself. Oh, Light...the poor little thing. And poor Ysani. Gently, Kei rested a forefinger against the bird's breast, sending a trickle of Light into the hatchling. The bird pecked at his hand, making him wince and pull away. Taking a deep breath, the young paladin drew himself up to his feet and turned to look at the red-haired elf standing behind him.

"All right," he said softly, as though he didn't quite trust his voice at full volume at the moment. "You gather up your mail and take it back to the chapter house...just go straight to the room if you want." He glanced down at the bird, then back to Ysani. "Our little friend here needs medical treatment...so I'm going to take it to that Tauren druid around the corner and see if she can do anything. I'll be back right after you as soon as the bird's seen to - then we'll discuss things. Will that work for you?"

___

Fabrio had made himself scarce, and she didn't blame him. Ysani crept into the hall, wincing at the axe sprouting from the dense hardwood of Keltyr's bedroom door. It took a surprising amount of effort to pull it loose. The room she shared with Keilos was cool and dark, and Elphi greeted her with a cautious mew from a safe, distant perch on top of a dresser. "Sorry about the fuss, kitty. It's safe to come down now, if you want." She propped her weapon against the wall and let out a heavy sigh, numb to her toes. She wiggled them. Rage departed, she felt oddly deflated and tired.

Rather than stew, she decided to sit at his desk and look over his drawings. Slowly thumbing through his sketchbook, she found more dragons, a miniature of Elphi. Another sketch of herself, reading with the cat on her lap. A lot of blank pages after that, the paper heavy, rich and naked in its whiteness, and she flipped through them, fanning the air. The leather-bound book fell open on the last page. ...Oh my. He must have done that when I was asleep. ... it's not half bad.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when the door finally opened and Keilos appeared, but it was long enough for the light to change. He paused, eyes widening slightly as he found her perched in his chair in the semi-dark, as nude as his covert illustration. Her mouth turned up at the corner. "I'm tired. Can we wait to talk 'til after...?" Nodding, he scooped her up and kissed her, obliterating all but her last coherent thought of the evening. Light, this is so much better than burnwine.