#dwc32020

Being called back to action left Novarin with only a little time to return home in the evenings usually but now that he was on a temporary suspension, he had far more time to come and go as he pleased. Every night, he returned to the same place, the same bed, the same person and the same demon hounds the pair raised together and nothing in that routine would ever change. Not even the fact that even if Nova wore the house key around his neck, he always went through the window.

Of course that night was like any other, he slipped in through the open windowsill, Sin had threatened to close it a thousand times before but never made good on his idle words. Every night, Nova just grinned to himself when he was finally in the warm home, small and much more of a bachelor’s pad for two but it was where he felt the most comfortable.

The rules were simple for being around Sin, for his lifemate enjoyed the simple things... Black coffee and Nova without a mask on. Every time the rogue would appear wearing the bandana above his nose or anything that blocked his face at all, Sin would huff and remove it forcefully, usually with a sharp yank to set the rogue’s charming face free. Every time Nova would ask why and Sin would glare, mockingly offended and each reason was more stammered out than the last.

Normally Novarin had been trained to simply remove it before he found Sin but in that one particular evening, Nova found himself sidetracked, plucking out a few paper reports his thieving little hands had stolen from a set of Illidari - his only hope had been that any word about Aertheas would be within the writing. There he stood in the living room, moon-tinted eyes cast down onto the papers and such in focus that he hadn’t realized that Sin was sneaking up behind him. As arms reached around Nova, the rogue would have soon felt a harsh tug to his face.

“I told you—” Sin puffed, capturing Nova from behind before his chin came to rest on the rogue’s shoulder to peer at what he was looking at. 

“Yeh yeh, no masks, aye.” Nova grinned, ignoring the mild sting of a clothing burn from the tug but instead he moved his head to kiss Sin’s cheek in greeting. “Beat me home f’er once, that’s rare.”

“You’ve clearly lost track of time, it’s late.”

“Ah, did I? Apologies, I thought I found a lead...”

“About Aer?” Sin seemed hopeful, if only for Nova’s sake.

“Mhm... Been trackin’ his squadron’s last known whereabouts and movements, was hopin’ t’ find somethin’.” Though with the way that Novarin folded the papers to toss them helplessly onto a chair, he leaned back against the Demon Hunter, eyes closing thoughtfully. 

“No dice?” Sin whispered, expanding his wings to coil around his husband in support, offering a warm welcome home. Truly such a rare feat for the demon, considering most found him brash and difficult to even speak with.

“No dice...” Just another dead end.

Day 3 - Mask

'He wants to die.' 

The words float beyond the broken heap of a Kaldorei man that can barely feel the sharp pains in his broken arm anymore. He was slowly losing consciousness. Covered in blood and dirt with portions of his armor torn away, his ears throbbed in slow recovery from the violent explosions he was subjected to before he found himself here. Silently he broods from behind his ripped up half mask, wanting to make his way back to the warzone he had just been on. This was not the last time he would be found like this, it certainly would not be the last. Let these people think what they want. He had work to do.

'....hey....' a far away voice addresses him, but his vision can barely lift up right now. 

'....let's get you patched up, okay?....'

Talthorn's arm is collected up and if he could have torn it away, he probably would have. He didn't even know what was going on, until he felt these small hands expertly feel, twist and set his arm properly in place. A hurtful grunt is all the older man could offer as he trembles there now. He knows it is getting wrapped up, but he didn't care.

Slowly the world was coming into degrees of focus again, and he could lift his eyes to see a young boy before him with short scruffy teal hair and whimsical eyes with only half of his vision. There was a warm feeling of healing coming from him even in his common and patched looking clothing. 

"Welcome back." the night elf boy grins at the older man. The smaller hands move up to peel the rest of the caked mask on his dirty face. "Whoa." the young one speaks after meeting those eyes fully being framed with disheavelved silver hair.

"Who hurt -you-."

Rolling his gaze away, Talthorn stares down into nothing. 

The boy draws in a slow breath, reflecting natural empathy. "You'll get through this, mister. " he pats at the recovering man's side shoulder. "Just remember who you were before you started wearing all those masks you didn't want."

The magi furrows his brows and gradually looks to the destroyed face cover the child holds. How this boy knew nothing.

Laughter invades his ears and the young one speaks again. "Not this one." the damaged veil now in his lap. This makes Talthorn look up only to be poked in the forehead a couple times lightly. "This one. This piece you choose to wear right now. It's not all of you. Right?"

Staring at the youth with a mixture of confusion and now a developing anger, he opens his mouth to speak only to watch the boy get up and bound away. "See ya old man! Remember, I saved your life! Don't squander it!" he grins cheekily.

Since the world had turned grey, this was the first color of different emotion Talthorn was able to make out in his apathy toward himself. He had not breathed a word and that boy just looked right through him. As much as he didn't appreciate it, or even wanted to acknowledge it? It had him start questioning with new thoughts, if only for a minute.

@daily-writing-challenge

(( During one of the darkest chapters of Talthorn’s life, the cycle of kindness finally comes back around to the arcanist through the backstory character: Ka’ness. This will turn into a short chapter series soon to highlight the boy that gave Tal back his life and sparked deeper motivation to live in it as never before.