#lerassa

The sound of the jungle was loud tonight. Insects chirping and chittering, creatures calling out to their kin, the breeze rustling leaves, the taller trees creaking as they swayed. Devastelin had told Le’Rassa he’d needed a few moments, something he had to do, it wouldn’t take long before he returned. 

It wasn’t exactly a lie but it wasn’t exactly the truth either. He did need a few moments. Perhaps more. The bladedancer found himself wandering deep into the jungle, a difficult task for a blind man. The plethora of hidden life more than provided his spectral sight what it needed to guide him though. It was probably fifteen or twenty minutes from Reveria’s home that he finally stopped. The sound of a babbling stream giving him pause. 

Squatting beside the flowing water, his fingers dangled within and felt the cool rush of liquid. ‘You must think this is a joke right, darlingggg?’ The voice was suddenly in his mind like an unwelcome guest. It cooed and droned in feminine tones as his lips curled up into a snarl. ‘You think you could be with her? That she will accept you for what you are? Do you forget so easily that you are beyond salvation?’ With a sudden whip of his head, Dev bashed his horns into a nearby tree, growling as he did. ‘She is not even an Illidari... She is just a weak little whelp hoping to rise alongside you.’ Another bash of horns into the tree, this time splinters shattering and spraying everywhere. 

“Shut your whore mouth demon! Who was consumed by who? Who yet walks this world? You hold no power over me!” If anyone had been nearby, they’d have heard what might sound like the one-sided rantings of an insane man. Water began to sizzle on Devastelin’s skin as his body heated with Fel energies. He heard a long low cackle in his mind before hearing the reply. ‘Oh darling... I have all the power. Do you forget how I broke you when you were only my pet? Look how you still struggle. You want to let me be in control... You want to let me run wild in this world... Don’t you...? Just look at how they treat you... They think you’re just a sex-crazed idiot. -She- won’t even give up what you require. Such a prudish little thing... Any of the others would have spread their legs by now... Let me take control... I will take what I want. What I need...’ 

The man could feel the demon pressing on his soul, reaching out to let him hand off the reigns. His lips were locked into a snarl as he could feel change begin to come over him. It might seem slow but it happened quickly. His form grew in size, four additional arms sprouted, his body shape became something altogether more androgynous. Sitting there, squatting at the water’s edge in a demonic form, he could feel her tugging, yanking, clawing for control. It would be such a simple thing to just... Give in. To not fight it. To give up hope.  There was an honest moment of thought given to it before something flashed in his mind. 

Dev had woken with a flutter of eyelids, slightly disoriented as there was almost no sound. It was the sound of Rassa's breathing quietly against his chest though that set things back in order. He lay there for a few moments, silently as he listened to the soothing sound of her chest rising and falling, fingertips tracing the curves of her hip and toying with the end of her hair. 

Eventually, he did his best to slip out of bed unnoticed, not wanting to wake her for what he had in mind. Finding a pair of pants, he tugged them on before leaving the bedroom and making his way down the stairs. Reveria was already in the kitchen, eating some of the food that Vel prepared every morning. Bacon by the handful was getting shoved down her gullet but when she saw Dev she flushed and tidied herself. "Oh. Uh. Good morning." She tried to hide her embarrassment with a cough, leaning back in her chair to cross her legs and arms.

Dev just smirked, the tone enough to indicate embarrassment but he couldn't really see the food so had no idea why. "Gooooood morning. Didn't mean to startle you. Just... Coming to see if you still had him." Rev snorted at that. "What kind of cunt do you think I am? Course I do." If he'd had eyes, they'd have been rolled just then. "Well can I have him back now?" Rev eyed him over as if judging and assessing. "You really like her don't you?" A nod was given in return. "I do. Though I think it might be more than just 'like.'" The druidess couldn't help but let her lips curl into a small smile. She was a sucker for this shit after all. "She's gonna love him. Come on then." She got up and motioned for him to follow. It was a few moments later that Dev snuck back into the room, cargo in hand. He sat, ever so quietly down on the bed before releasing his passenger. A short little corgi puppy that had white fur mottled with darker coloring sat looking up at him for a second, tongue hanging out of his mouth happily before Dev pointed at Rassa. The pup looked to her and excitedly ran over, gently licking her nose.

Rassa was dead asleep, in fact, she hadn't been so deeply asleep in years. Most Shal'Thera were light sleepers, strictly because they were trained as such--but when Dev got up and out of bed, she didn't stir. When he was out of the room, she turned over on her stomach and occupied the very center of the bed. Her black hair was in wild waves around her, and she breathed in and out steadily - wiggled down into the covers. It was the second time that he opened the door that Ras mumbled something about him coming back to bed. She was cuddled up with a pillow, her eyes still shut as weight was placed on the bed. It wasn't until there was a puppy in her face that her eyes went open and she laughed. Rassa sat straight up and picked up the pupper, "Stel! He's adorable! Is he yours?"

Dev grinned like an idiot at her reaction, the laugh was some sweet, sweet music to his ears. Scooting over on the bed, he wrapped an arm around Rassa, as his free hand went to pet the puppy. "Mmmmm. He's yours Sass. Or ours. I got him for you though." He rubbed the little guy's ear between two fingers. The puppo seemed super happy, licking all over Rassa's face as his tiny stubby tail wagged furiously. Giving her a squeeze he grinned some more. "Little guy doesn't have a name. I thought you might like that honor."

Rassa picked the puppy up and nuzzled her face into his face. "He's mine!" She sounded almost like a kid when she said it- squeezing the puppy gently. "I love him, Stel..he's ours, okay?" She leaned into him and kissed his cheek. "Is Reveria okay with him being here? I just don't want to upset her..." She put the little guy down, letting him pounce all over the bed. "Help me name him..something Darnassian? Or something more light than that?"

His ears flushed a bit at her kiss, he'd been worried she might not want a puppy. He returned the kiss to her forehead, leaning his head against hers as they watched the bounding ball of cute energy. "You know she's been the one watching him for me. I got him before we ever went to the farms even. I think she was gonna keep him if she didn't think I was a good guy or something." He smiled, giving Rassa another kiss on the forehead. "What about... Oso? Or... Sydryn? Hmmmmm... Could always go with something like Ziggy too... What kinda names you thinking of?"

"Ziggy.." She scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Not that, and..not Oso." She looked at the puppy. "I like Syd.." She bent down to kiss the puppy on the top of his head. "What about you puppy, do you like the name Syd?"

Rassa cooed in Darnassian at the puppy. "Want to be a ship puppy?" She scratched his ears, "Nooo, you can go everywhere with me. What a good boy." She smiled and took the puppy up in her arms, hugging him into her chest.

Dev watched the pup as Rassa picked him up and snuggled him. He couldn't really see all the details but the little guy's aura told him enough. The pup canted his head at being a ship doggo but when Rassa said she'd take him everywhere, he got all excited, tail wagging like mad as he licked her face over and over. Then came the names. Ziggy and Oso didn't seem to warrant a reaction but his little ears perked up at being called Syd. He looked at her intently, tongue hanging happily before letting out a bark. "I think he likes Syd too." Dev grinned, leaning against Rassa. "He's got a collar and leash downstairs if you wanna use them when we're in the city. Or we can just make sure he's well trained enough not to run off.” He shrugged. "You like Syd!" She said, laughing as he licked her face. With a big smile, she bumped her head with the puppy's.  "Oh! you have a lot to say, don't you!"

“And... " He reached into his pocket, pulling out a little bag of treats. The puppo immediately went still, eyes locked to the bag, ears standing straight up. The little guy watched intently as Dev handed the bag off to Rassa. "... These are apparently some really good treats. Probably help with training him."

She chuckled before she turned to look at Dev. "Maybe a leash for now but I don't like to keep animals on leashes though. So what if we just try to train him well?!" She laughed at the puppy, "He already knows! Oh, Stel- he's such a sweet boy." With a giggle, she looked at the pup. "Syd, can you sit for us? Sit, boy!"

Syd was staring intently at the treats as Rassa asked him to sit. He looked from the treats to her and then back to the treats before spinning in a slow circle, hunkering down on his haunches after. He whined as his nose wiggled wildly at the treats.  Dev grinned and let out a chuckle leaning over to press a kiss to the top of Rassa's head. "He is the sweetest boy! Look at that. I wonder if they trained him or something already?"

Rassa leaned over and dug her hand into the bag to get a treat. "Wait," she told the puppy, holding the treat. She offered it then with an open hand. "Good boy~" She presented it to him to take.

Syd looked like he was straining so hard to sit as the treat was held out before him. Soon as Rassa said 'good boy', he shot forward and snapped up the treat, sitting back down to munch away happily on it. Syd finished crunching up his treat, vacuuming up any spare crumbs before turning his gaze up to look expectantly at Rassa. A grin came over her lips when Dev kissed her head. "Reveria maybe has a way with animals?" She chuckled, reaching over to hug him tightly. "Thank you, Stel. This means so much to me." Dev was all smiles as she hugged him, happy that he'd been able to make her happy. His arms went around her just as hers were around him. She gazed at the puppy then, "We could take him out into town..or at least downstairs to see Rev."

Looking down at her, the glow of her eyes sang to him as she looked back at the puppy. "Well, we could take him for a walk. You think the harbor would be a good place? Or did you have somewhere specific in mind?"

Rassa grinned at the puppy, giving him some patting on his head between is over-sized ears. He gave a single bark then took off in a circle around the bed before he ran at Dev and sort of head-butted his leg. He snorted as the puppy charged him, giving Syd some wild rubs across his cute little face after. "You're a feisty little guy! That's good though. You can scare off all the bad guys for Sass." A giggle came out of Ras before she stood up- still naked from the night before. Carefully, she set the puppy on the ground, then made for the wardrobe to begin dressing. "I think the harbor would be fine. Maybe we could take him to see the kids that stay in that school sometime.."

He followed Rassa out of bed, wandering over to her before she managed to get any clothes on, hugging her from behind as he laid several kisses along her neck and shoulder.  "Mmmm... I'm so glad you like him, beautiful." Grinning, she wrapped her arms over his and leaned back into him. Her eyes shut and for a moment she soaked in his affections. There was a brief recall of the night before, how he'd kissed down her neck. This was different. Sweeter. She flushed.

He held her for another couple minutes, continuing his string of kisses before he released her and went about getting himself dressed too. When he left her there to get dressed, she lingered for a moment- looking up and down him. She hummed, before she pulled on her trousers, then went to pulling on her top.

"We could get something to cook for dinner while we're in the harbor too. You could teach me something new." He grinned to himself, working the buckles of his half shirt. "That would be nice- we can cook for the house, as a thank you for watching Syd." The puppy bounced between the two of them, plopping down on his butt and staring up at Dev.  

Dev pulled on his gloves and belt, then set about wrapping his feet before squatting down in front of Syd with a grin on his face. "Syd you wanna go outside? Wanna go for a walk?!" It's like the pup knew exactly what he was saying, running around in a circle, barking wildly before running to the door, nudging it with his little nose. He then turned to face Rassa, tail wagging wildly as he offered up a few barks.

She picked up her blindfold and stared at it for a while, as though debating. "I think we could make a big pot of good things, we'd eat it back home. Like a big bowl of broth and you put things in as it boils." A chuckle that he couldn't help but let out escaped Dev, a wide grin with dimples showing on his face. He wrapped his blindfold around his wrist before wandering over to Rassa and offering to do the same with hers, only on her wrist. "I think that sounds amazing. Pretty sure you're gonna have to help me out on the making sure things don't boil too long front. I'm fine with that though! It'll be like a family dinner, except, just everyone in the house." Planting a kiss atop her head he motioned at the door. "Ready to roll?"