14. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

She never cursed. She hardly ever even raised her voice,chastisement usually coming in the form of curt, short phrases, pursed lips,meaningful looks.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me!”

The sickly yellow filling her empty eye sockets flaredbrighter and then darkened, shadow creeping in at the edges, inching up herneck and down her wrists. She leaned away from Dhein, face twisted.

“Why—”

This was why. This was why she’d had to piece it togetherfrom ancient, scattered pages of notes, knowledge he shouldn’t have, Aztal’ssnarky comments, and her own hazy memories. The shadow Antimony cast on theground deepened and spread, drawing the light from the room, crowding out thewarmth. It wrapped up her jaw and along sharp cheekbones, filling the gaps in herskin.

“How could I have ever…”

“What… Aztal!” Dhien grabbed the imp by its long ears, ignoring its protests, and shoved it forward. “Is that Antimony in the street?” He paused a moment to listen to Aztal’s eredun curses, short syllables carrying entire tomes worth of profanity, then turned the imp toward him. “Be quiet. The Orcs will notice you and then we’ll both be in trouble! Wait. I have an idea.”

The Fel gleam in Dhein’s eyes silenced the imp.

Antimony hadn’t noticed the Orcish guards ahead of her. Since Garrosh had taken over Orgrimmar, the Forsaken woman had been living more or less in hiding, and any wrong step could get her expelled from the city. Dhein wouldn’t allow such an outcome, and as (former) Warlock, he knew he had every tool he needed to turn aside ill fate.

Dhein dashed up beside Antimony, hissed a whisper, “Distraction” and then threw Aztal at the guards. The imp was silent with terror until just before impacting on the guard’s helmet, his shriek barely giving the Orc any warning. Aztal clung to the man’s head, all Fel fire, thrashing limbs and high-pitched screaming.

“Quickly, Antimony!” Dhein grabbed the Forsaken woman’s hand and pulled her toward the side of the road and the deeper shadows awaiting them there. “If they see us now, we’re done for. We must close our eyes so their glow doesn’t give us away.” He closed his eyes as he moved and thudded painfully against the wall. He didn’t comment on this fact.

One thing Dhein had memorized: the feeling of Antimony’s hand. It wasn’t just the coldness, the dryness of her skin, or the bare bone of her knuckles and fingertips. It was the smallness and gentleness with which she moved her fingers, and he so rarely felt them upon his. Dhein’s instincts were to take her hand firmly, to squeeze it tightly with affection and want. Dhein had known many women who would expect such a response.

Music was hard to come by in Orgrimmar, as Aztal had unfortunately little musical talent. “I once accidentally summoned an infernal with the peculiar habit of belting out triumphant versus from Eredar tragedies during battle.” Dhein mused as he took Antimony’s skeletal hand and placed it on his shoulder. He gazed nostalgically into his undead lover’s empty eye sockets. “I respected his taste a great deal, though the Eredun language did drive the wildlife into madness and trigger fits of suicide among popular game animals, thereby ruining the rest of the hunting season for the humans who lived in the area. I can only imagine what would happen if we asked Aztal to sing, his knowledge I’m sure being even more ancient and his voice... well...”

Dhein dropped his gaze to Antimony’s features once more. The green glow of Fel light from his eyes was interrupted by his blinking. “I’m going on again, aren’t I? Well, I’ll stop, so that we can dance as the lovers of all great stories do and continue the great charade that I am at all worthy of you.” He glanced to once side. “Aztal! Strike rhythmically, as instructed.”

His imp, aztal, sat on the dirt floor of the small room, a length of hollowed wood in one hand and a small mallet in the other. The imp muttered a few syllables of Eredun, which translated roughly into a vast treatise on the wasting of his talents, which were older and deeper than any Azerothian mortal could comprehend. Then he silenced and began to strike monotone quarter beats on the piece of wood, his accuracy just this side of acceptable.

I think that works. It’s cute and dorky, like them! :D

Bonus! Antimony and Dhein doing science together:

when I started shipping it if I did: D’hein and I were both immediately attracted to Antimony. Her super intelligent adorkable rigidness is just instantly seductive.

my thoughts: This ship couldn’t have been any better. They’re both so silly and so serious at the same time, and I’ll never get over how long the courtship lasted. The characters met before the players did, and the players were married around the same time Dhein and Antimony finally had their first kiss.

What makes me happy about them: That they make each other better people. Dhein and Antimony, unlike a lot of RP characters and RP ships, have a mature, constructive relationship where they can interact and even confront each other and just about every level. They find what’s best in the other person and hold that up.

What makes me sad about them: That they’re getting themselves into trouble. I want them to be successful and find happiness, but they stumbled into the worst possible thing. Especially given their personality types, of course they’re going to study the evil plant and not notice that it’s evil. I have no doubt they’ll find their way out of it. They’ve gone through a lot together.

things done in fanfic that annoy me: People getting stuck on the whole Forsaken/Blood Elf thing. Yes, Antimony is vitally-challenged. That’s not anybody’s business. 

things I look for in fanfic: I love how Antimony and Dhein’s rp digs deep into grimdark without ever intensely victimizing the characters. I know we’ve put some of our characters through some terrible things, but I don’t think I could do that to Dhein and Antimony.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: They’re soul mates imho. Calling shenanigans on this question.

My happily ever after for them: To be honest they were really close before the evil plant happened. Dhein and Antimony wandering the world, searching out its secrets. That’s their happily ever after.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Dhein little spoon, because Antimony doesn’t sleep but maybe comes around for cuddles during the night.

Gender: Male

Pronunciation: DHEEN; DIEN

Origin: Origin unknown, possibly a variant of the Old French name Duhain

Meaning: Home; House