26. Falling/Overwhelmed
[Overwhelmed is the actual prompt for the 26th, but I promised a part 2 to Betrayal, and one thing led to another and Overwhelmed actually worked quite well as a part 3 to Betrayal, so. Hereâs part 2 and part 3. 2 is pretty short, but 3 got quite long.]
Niniyv was impressed. Theyâd thought to poison the blade, which was just about the only thing that was currently inconveniencing her. Dizzily, she fought to free her wings from the cloth wrap sheâd artfully draped around herself to give an illusion of normalcy. Growling under her breath, she ripped the fabric away and let it fall.
Wings free, she strained to check her downward spiral. Biting back a yelp, wings flared, she gripped just a touch of her power and let it burst beneath her. The sudden updraft gave her the break she needed to right herself, while the sudden infusion of fel energy cleared her head. She caught sight of Aeternita, dropping heavily next to her. As Niniyvâs descent slowed, Aeternita slipped farther away. Niniyv dove.
It was more of a controlled fall than an actual catch, but Niniyv was able to somehow stop both of them from slamming into the rough sea below with enough force to break them. The fel of her spell drained away in the cold water, and her head began to swim again. Clumsily, her grip weakening on Aeternita, she began to move in what she thought was the direction of the shore.
Aeternitaâs arms closed around Niniyvâs waist. âCome now, itâs just a little poison,â the death knight said, deadpan.
âEasy for you to say, when you donât have any, you know, circulation,â Niniyv grumbled tugging insistently in the direction sheâd been trying to go.
Aeternita hauled the demon hunter around with easy efficiency, and began to swim in the other direction. She was careful to keep Niniyvâs head above the water, taking facefulls of swirling sea herself. Niniyv leaned forward. âLucky, really, you donât have to breathe,â she offered, her words lacking their usual precision.
Aeternita frowned, and ducked lower in an effort to swim faster. Dark and forbidding, the edge of the Broken Shore rose slowly before them.
The warriors were not the only ones periodically scouting the Broken Shore. The Archdruid had sent several scouts to keep an eye on the tomb; an early warning if the hordes pouring from the breach did something more than beam up to ships to be redeployed or gather in menacing groups waiting for orders.
Dezideran had been happy to volunteer. He was still rather shaky from his brush with the Nightmare, still stiff and unpracticed in a physical body after years hibernating. Here, all he had to do was watch, and perhaps flee precipitously if he was unlucky. Carefully blending in the shadows in a crevice between two boulders, he wasnât too worried about being spotted.
Behind him, something splashed. He froze. Slowly, his ears twitched, to catch the sound of something being dragged up onto the dirty sand just below his perch. Ragged breathing accompanied an influx of a pungent death smell. There was no large influx of additional demon scent to add to the overwhelming fel cocktail that wafted constantly over the Shore. Curious, Dez shifted position.
A death knight, armorless, stood on the sand. A ragged hole in her shirt was stained a foul green, but she otherwise seemed uninjured, unfazed. Lying next to her, a semi-conscious demon hunter stifled a groan.
âAnâ what now? Call fâr backup?â The voice was slightly slurred, with pain, perhaps, but it was immediately familiar to Dez. He paused, suddenly uncertain. This was not how heâd meant to find Niniyv.
Aeternitaâand now that he knew the one, the identity of the other was painfully obviousâsquinted in the direction of the city floating away and above. âI donât know.â
âDonâ sâpose you still have any first aid tricks?â Niniyv asked.
âPoisons rarely bother me, Niniyv, I donât usually need to plan for treating them,â Aeternita snapped. âSorry. Iâm just. Arenât you supposed to be,â she flapped a hand. âWhat was the point of turning your back on everyone if it canât even help you through a little poison?â
Niniyv squinched her face, obviously unhappy with the question. ââT wonât kill me,â she growled. âTâs just inconvenient. Fâr a bit. Iâm all fuzzy. And werenât you ok with this?â
Aeternita huffed a disparaging laugh. âWhat made you think I was all right with your decision? When I âŚwoke up⌠I went looking for you. To think that you would leave your child, and turn to the very thing that drove us all apartâŚbah. We have bigger problems. The first of which is that you are flat on your back when you are supposed to be this all-powerfulââ
âNot all powerful,â Niniyv interjected. A brief silence fell between them. Predictably, Niniyv filled it. âHavenât thanked you yet, hâve I? Fâr watching Kiri?â
Aeternita looked down at her. âNo.â
Niniyv nodded. âProbâly should. When Iâm thinking straight.â
âYou could now,â Aeternita grumbled.
âPsssshh,â Niniyv hissed. âWouldnât mean asmuch, would it?â
Aeternita didnât answer. Dezideran thought now might be a good time to point out that he was, well, eavesdropping. Especially since Niniyv had turned a little greener since theyâd landed. Steeling himself, he jumped down, dropping any pretense of stealth.
Both women reached automatically for weapons they werenât carrying. Sitting, Dez raised his forepaws, shifting back to his natural shape as he did. Hands up, he said quietly, âI didnât think I needed to be watching behind me. The bad guys are all that way.â He nodded inland.
Niniyv flung herself upright at the sound of his voice, then clutched her head. Aeternita stared at him, eyes cold and unblinking. âThey still are,â she said.
âFair point,â Dez said. âI didnât write you any letters explaining my thoughts onâŚeverything. To be honest, I didnât know you were. Ah.â
âAround?â she offered, raising an eyebrow.
He turned his hands, lifting them in agreement. âIâm on your side. Bigger problems, and all that.â He once again waved inland.
âShould I leave you two to it, then?â Aeternita asked. Both she and Dez looked to Niniyv.
âThisâs not how I thought thisâd go,â Niniyv muttered. She looked up at Dez. âYou said you were a druid now.â She half-laughed at the thought. âYou got anything fâr this?â She gestured to the wound in her side.
âCasting out here is a bad idea. Theyâve got magic sniffers patrolling. But Iâm so clumsy at it anyway, they might just ignore the lack of threat.â Carefully he moved over to sit next to her. âMaybe if I keep it small,â he mumbled to himself, hand pressing just a hint of something vibrant and green to her side.
Niniyv hissed at his touch, drawing a ragged breath. A moment later, her color began to return to normal. Turning her head, she studied him as her mind cleared. âYou look the same,â she said, quietly.
Pulling his hands back to his lap, he made a slightly strangled noise. âYou donât.â
She shrugged, turning the movement into a roll of her shoulders, stretching to see how it felt. âIt made sense at the time,â she said, which was all the explanation Aeternita had gotten from her as well. She nodded up at the death knight. âThrow one her way too, could you? Even if it doesnât circulate, Iâm sure it burns at the spot.â
âAw, you do care,â Aeternita said. âDonât bother, Dez, itâs a mild inconvenience, and you said magic might attract the demonsâ attention. And we are all unarmed.â
Dez tilted his hand back and forth. âTechnically, Iâm armed.â
The two women shared a glance. âSomehow, thatâs not very comforting,â Niniyv said, letting a gentle lilt color the phrase with a shadow of her old teasing. Relief flooded through him. They might be ok, eventually, if she could still laugh at his poor combat skills.
He grinned back. âCâmon,â he said, standing. âThere are some warriors who keep a small boat just around the bend. They might let us borrow it.â
He offered Niniyv a hand up. Aeternita was already walking in the direction he had indicated. Niniyv glanced at her friendâs retreating back, then grabbed Dezâs hand. He pulled her to her feet. She was still shorter than him, even with the horns. For a long, terrible moment, they just stared at each other, utterly uncertain in a way they had never been. He reached forward, tugged her blindfold up, and met the ruin of her eyes with a soft gaze.
âWhat do you see?â he asked.
âA falling world. So many targets to remove in order to cleanse that world. But if you mean, right in front of me?â She reached out and carefully traced a finger along his jaw. âSomething tried to taint even you,â she said softly. âI can still see its echoes.â
âIâm stronger than that,â he said.
âHmm, I believe you,â she said. âWhat do you see?â
âDesolation.â He sighed. âBut I will try to look past what my mind is screaming is a ruin. After all, you have always been stronger. Certainly stronger than any taint.â
She shook her head slightly. âAll talk, then. Letâs go.â
âNiniyvââ He caught her arm, pulled her in, carefully burying his face in her hair, tightening his arms carefully around her back, trying to avoid wings and hornsâ She froze for one long moment, before lifting her wings, ducking her head, hiding her burning eyes against his shoulder. Ten thousand years, and this would never be enough. Too much to work through, to talk about. The distance might threaten to engulf them, drag them down to drown in decisions long since made.
Aeternita, somewhere down the beach, turned, and then stomped back. âGood to see nothing has changed,â she snapped. âYouâll have time for this later.â
It was Niniyv who let go. Maybe Aeternita was right, at that. She caught at Dezâs hand as they headed toward the warriorsâ hidden docking point. He didnât pull away, smiling slightly. The three of them, together again. The odds of saving the world had just increased.










