#azurick

Talon blinked at that, glancing back to look at Jackary, reminded of something he was supposed to give to the dragon. “FUCK! Right! I was told to give this to you!!” Finding a brief reprieve in their combat to snag the item from his pockets, it was thrown at the blond’s direction in hopes it would land at least somewhere close enough for it to be reached. He didn’t have enough time to get close without dragging the Mawsworn already chewing on him but when he took his eyes off the enemy for just a moment to look over at Jackary, it was a prime opportunity for a surprise attack.

Though the goggles took the brunt of the hit, a set of claws swiped over Talon’s face, scratching across the lens and down his cheek, easily spilling the man’s blood upon the ground. He could see the damage to the goggles which further ignited his inner anger, the anger that the gifted equipment was damaged sent Talon into an unbridled fit of rage. Each attack became all the more aggressive in return, swiping and blocking every attack that came after until the creature that had landed the lucky strike was pinned down and decapitated in turn.

Jack hand only glanced over as best he could and just in time to see something be thrown at him, hands desperately reached out to catch it. Fumbling the item, it took him a moment to finally capture it before it was brought up to reveal just what Talon had thrown at him. Instinct told Jackary to drop it, the screaming voice in the back of his mind recognized the item instantly as Darnath’s tool that was NEVER be touched by anyone but him.

In the wake of death all around them, the lingering scent of Azurick and Darnath remained on it and it was all Jack could do not to bury himself in the smells. It was a question for later as to how Talon had managed to snag the enchanted tool but for now, the dragon racked his brain on how it worked. A gift from Azurick, all he had to do was think of what size and shape he needed for the tool and it would form into that, which explained why many of the bolts and engineering latches were custom shapes.

“Come on, come on, come on...” Jack hissed at himself, the anxiety bellowed in his chest but the moment he looked back at the satellite, the item in his hand let out a subtle glow, shifting into the toolset needed for the satellite alone, causing a breath of relief to ease his struggled chokes for air. Finally, Jackary was able to dig into the control panel and start to repair the damage from the satellite’s crash landing.

In fussing with it all, Jack flinched every time he was nicked by the debris of the fight or the souls trying to escape the river, his ears pinned back to drown out the sounds of Onyx and Talon further and  further falling, wounded because they were defending him. They were running out of time.

“What would Moonlight do...” A scream of frustration was roared out at the machine which only caused a low, bellowing chuckle around them from the Jailor who had grown quite interested in the scene below, for it had drawn his attention from the constant onslaught of his soldiers. Yet in the midst of the Jailor’s taunting, another voice seemed to whisper into his ears, making Jack’s eyes dilate and almost instantly well in the corners with tears.

‘It’s the actuator coils. The fire stripped them of their insulation and now they’re stuck half open. Just kick it, Baby. Oh and you’re arcane refractor is off a few degrees... see there?’

Darnath’s voice resonated through Jack and though he was quick to look around to see if he was actually there, he also knew he didn’t have time to panic now. His vision glanced down to peek at the refractor, opting to trust the voice of reasoning of a man who wasn’t there in the situation but it paid off, for once the refractor was aligned, Jack coiled his fingers into a fist and slammed it down on the machine, instantly causing it to light up.

Feeding his own arcane into it to help charge the machine, both his and Talon’s goggles lit up, their blinking red lights of their locations easily seen on the technology that also signaled Jack’s distress beacon that had been activated from his trips to the Maw. Heaving a breath of excitement, a hand moved up to his ear cuff, pressing lightly against the comm to activate it.

Please work.

“Atlas HQ - Altas 3 - Atlas 1,” he breathed in, briefly making eye contact with Talon once the demon glanced back to nod and assure he could hear the staticky message coming through. Headquarters, Alinith and Darnath’s second channel. “Atlas Commander, this is The Lynx and The Fury, comms should be operational, over.” The static reply had Jack snarl a bit in anticipation. 

“Atlas, do you c—” Jack’s voice was cut off by an ear-piercing screech. A winged Mawsworn dove down, snagging Onyx up in mid-swing of her attacking another, each powerful downward push of its wings an indication that it had every intention of taking her away. “ONYX!” Unaware that his comm was still open, Jack pocketed Darnath’s tool and finally joined the fight, for both he and Talon leapt into battle to try and help save her. Unfortunately for the trio, fate was to be even more cruel.

“I’ll be home, soon!” He had wanted to keep an eye on the dwindling guests and he had a sneaking suspicion that home wasn’t Dice’s first stop. It also left him time to spot a familiar Goblin sitting off to the side, nose and fingers in a book, scribbling away at whatever private thought he was having. 

The first time Jackary had ever tried to speak with Kavo, it hadn’t gone as well as hoped but he also knew the Goblin was a busy fellow and then, Jack had been just a face in the crowd.  Even now, working together, there were some that the creature wasn’t as close to as the others, something he wanted to remedy. They were all his family, after all.

What at first was like pulling teeth to get the entertainer to even smile soon relaxed into a fair and fine evening, both conversed and the longer they did so, the more they realized just how much they truly had in common. Hours had gone by and the last of the party dwindled, leaving just Kavo and Jack to sit next to each other, laughing through the evening together.

“I’ll walk you home,” the goodbye had started, Kavo doing his best to show Jackary some manners.

“You’re going to walk me home? AAAAAAALL the way to Dicenne’s from here?” Jack chortled at the thought. “We’d arrive by sun up if that was the case!”

At first they both joked they were Mages but as the pair had finally pushed themselves up to leave and ascended the steps to get out of the Keep, Jack slowed briefly, tilting his head.

What if we just... walked there?

As guessed, the sunrise had been beautiful as he and Kavo walked together, naturally only using just a bit of magic to put them on the correct continent. Their motions were calm while they talked through the night, both rather joyful of each other’s company and by the time they reached Dice’s place, the unlikely friends parted their separate ways, both agreeing a shower and a nap were well in order after the full night of party.

Once Jack stepped inside, there was a quick realization that Kara was still asleep and Dicenne? A quick whiff of the air indicated that he hadn’t even come home yet. It was little to worry about or think on, and instead the dragon drudged his way through the kitchen, easing off his shirt to set it in the dirty laundry before hands were at least cleaned of the glitter that remained coated all over the sweat still on his form from quite happily walking all night. It had cleared his head and left him to focus on the morning.

The Mage had decided to at least surprise Kara with breakfast, gathering the necessities for pancakes and to cure his hangover that was quickly starting to catch up, a batch of mimosa was chilled and ready to go. In the midst of setting the pancakes on the griddle, a familiar noise sounded of the front door opening and when Jack glanced over just to make sure it was who it should have been, Dice pulled himself through the entry, a hand pushed through the messy, bleached blond hair from his costume the prior night.

Both glanced to one another, as they were both still in the party costumes, Jack’s hair still long and black from the illusion which was an indication he hadn’t even bothered to shake it off yet. It was instantly that they both knew each of them had quite a long night.

“Well good morning, Sunshine.” Jack kept his voice low, winking to Dicenne who gave the telltale groan of having perhaps had a bit too much fun Before coming home. A second glass was snagged from a cupboard and soon filled with the lovely mimosa to be slid over in a peace offering.

“You just get home?” Dice mumbled, sinking down upon the table once he took the drink to nurse it, fully knowing it would have at least helped him to bed.

“I was out with Kavo all night, just got in not but half a chime before you and you... I can smell what you’ve been up to, so....Pancakes?” Giving a knowing wink, Jack met Dice’s briefest Deer-In-The-Headlights glance before the two shared tired chuckles.

“So my buddy Hyjal has a way to possibly find Dar,” Jack opted to finally touch on the conversation they briefly had the night before at the Howling Owl, it was an idle talk and very soft so as not to disturb the headaches both were trying to survive through. “I know I said I wouldn’t be home for a while, just have to grab something from the farm house and then I’ll have more details. Not sure when, just yet... But I didn’t want you to feel like it was sudden or something was wrong.” As Jack spoke, he flipped the pancakes, reaching to take another sip of his drink soon after. “Hyj seemed pretty convinced he could track him down.” In truth, Jackary was hoping to find the fate of his Knight before Season started. Though, it didn’t help that he already felt itchy.

“Good morning!” Before Pancakes could even be served to the groggy boys, Kara had made herself known like a ray of sunlight in the bleak darkness of still trying to catch up to the night. Happy, peppy, delighted at pancakes, her normally beautiful greeting and chipper attitude was a stark contrast to the soft whispers Jack and Dice had been sharing previously.

They loved her, but that morning? It was painful.

“How about you get the first pancakes and you can tell us if they’re any good—” Jack tried to quell the situation once Dice’s head hit the table, though the only thought truly running through the beast’s mind had been one word: Mood.

As excited as Jack was to have a lead on possibly finding Darnath, in the process of serving pancakes to Kara and the pair urging her to go eat and play outside so they could have a bit of peace and quiet in their own self-inflicted agony, he realized that this had become a family to him, something he hadn’t truly had since the days of Chaoti and the adventures with his cousin. The world seemed to slow down for a moment when this thought hit and even hungover, Jackary was all smiles. Tired smiles, but smiles.

He’d found a home and family and now all he needed to make it perfect was his partners to return. He had hoped that somewhere in the stars, Azurick was still enjoying the exploration and that wherever Darnath had been, he was safe, sound and knew that his Dragon still searched, if only to make things right. Even if severely hungover.

>  @dicenne​​ | @karaamberlight | @kavothegoblin

Darnath fussed with cups and hot water, even the kettles in attempt not to tense at the name called. “We’re fine, Jack... You on the other hand... We were worried.”

Azurick shooed the growing pup towards the door irritably, “not now, dog.” He glanced back to Jack. “If you can’t make it upstairs, you need to lay on the couch. You need to be horizontal.”

Jack swallowed faintly again when he felt Deinmaar pull away, the dog stopped his barking and followed Azurick’s command, trotting out the door. The hand that had been on Az’s arm tugged at it, the wary but brute strength of a clumsy dragon in the house aimed in tugging them towards Darnath. Jack’s other hand reached up to the Knight with every intention of suddenly clinging on, hugging both of them tightly. He couldn’t let go, he wouldn’t. For the first time in a month and a half, Jackary finally breathed. “You’re alive... Oh gods you’re both alive..!”

When Dar was tugged close, his body stiffened initially, taking a moment to react. He gave in and wrapped his arms around  Azurick and Jackary, hugging both in return, nuzzling Jack’s cheek a little in the process. “Well.. so much as a Death Knight can be,” he smirked a faint bit, “but you really should go lie down.”

An irritable huff escaped Azurick at the hug but it was returned with a squeeze. “Of course we’re alive... We’re the ones that should be saying that to you. But please, my dear, there is always time for hugs... I want to take a look at you.”

Jack nuzzled feverishly between them, drowning in the familiar scents as he settled to listen. He was home, they were there, this wasn’t a dream... Calming to obey their requests, Jack left only after delivering soft licks to their cheeks. “Alright....” The beast murmured, reluctantly releasing his death grip on the two.

Darnath gave a little scritch under the dragon’s chin in return before he tried to muscle him in the direction of the stairs again. “Come on ya big baby, you have been in prison for fuck only knows how long, go sit back and let Az make sure you’re fine. I’ll bring you some tea and I can probably find a cupcake that’s not terribly stale.”

Azurick nodded, firmly pulling Jack back towards the stairs. “See? Cupcakes sound lovely but you can’t have it until I’ve looked you over.”

Bribery at it’s finest.

Jack released a soft purr, finally limping towards where Azurick wanted him to go. The lethargic creature tried to perk at the idea of a cupcake but in the end, his defeated hobbles took him up the stairs. He breathed in scents around the house as if they were brand new to him again -- the soaps in the bathroom, the flowers from Azurick’s gardens, the lingering colognes...

It was heaven.

The elf helped Jack into the bed; fingers began to peel off layers of clothing, setting them aside. “Now, words Jackary. Is anything broken? Does anything hurt more than it reasonably should?”

The dragon eased onto the edge of the bed to sit down, furrowing a brow as the armour began to be stripped off. Below it were bandages, some newer than others, some rotting away. Splatters of old, dried blood on some of them were apparent, especially around his rib cage. It seemed that the armour had been placed on him to guard the bandages, if nothing else.

“The Kirin Tor wrapped them...” Jackary whispered, sighing in relief when fingers started to peel the bandaging away, letting his skin breathe the cool air. Skittering along his chest was the remnants of fel, most of it removed and contained but the black lines still remained. “Burns... a lot of ‘em...”

Azurick sighed quietly, rubbing his forehead for a moment in thought. “Alright, we’ve got some ointment around here...” He found it in the chest at the foot of the bed, gathering a few other materials as well. Once the oil was applied to the wounds, the elf took his time in wrapping each wound, speaking a bit softer. “Most of these will heal with time... but you need to rest. If you take things easy, you’ll heal much faster.”

Jack shook his head but he didn’t resist Azurick’s movements. Instead, his eyes clothes to simply trust the Warlock in his motions, flinching faintly from tender muscle here and there. For a long moment, he was quiet until his voice let out a soft reply from the scent of the Knight joining them in the bedroom. “I’m sorry.”

With all of his heart. He had the courage to say it.

Darnath hung back by the stairs reluctantly, holding some deep fried candy bars he had found. They weren’t cupcakes, but they had become comfort food from the past. “Worry about getting better for now... Those burns won’t heal easy otherwise.”