#pathyn

Being out from the Undermines was a good thing, Nahi was only using the painkillers when she absolutely had to now. The damage she sustained was mostly healed but she still wasn’t able to talk well, and at that moment, she wasn’t really up for it anyway. 

People from the company had been coming by and she appreciated that, Kai almost too much, but she understood the younger woman’s nature and was gracious when she would visit. Soup and water were her bedside companions, along with her medical books and the notebooks Talonoa had paid for at the World’s Faire Carnival for her. The choice of if she wanted to remain in the company, and her medical field, were even more cemented after seeing how the medical teams worked at the hotel. 

The visitor she had more often than anyone though was Jamis, her therapist. A good part about her not wanting to talk because of her throat was that she could just answer him in writing, much easier to hide feelings that way. He told her how important it was for her to ‘talk’ about what happened while it was fresh, and she didn’t doubt him, but she just wasn’t ready to face the emotions that went along with that day. She wasn’t even using one of her good notebooks to communicate with him, just an old, almost filled, one that was from when he started her journaling and writing down her dreams. 

It wasn’t too long after Jamis’ recent visit when her comm buzzed with notice of a new text. Reaching over for it, Nahi grimaced a little, stretching actually hurt, she hadn’t been pummeled or anything, but when she moved like that it stretched her neck at the same time, or she had to tighten it to not let her head drop, which also hurt. 

Pathyn: Hey Nightengale

Nahi: Hey Path, how are you?

Pathyn: I am not too bad. That was some serious fireworks down with the rebellion huh? You said your company was down there the last time we talked.

Nahi: Yeah, it was something 

Pathyn: You were in the Hotel, right?

Fuck… he likely knew the answer already

Nahi: We were, yes

Pathyn: Are you alright?

Kyeanadril and Pathyn had been her confidantes back when she joined the company and when the attack had come on the camp next to hers down in Hallowfall. She had felt her lack of emotional response to having a woman she tried to save die wasn’t the right one to have, but they, and Jamis, her therapist in the company, had convinced her that there was no one way to feel.

She must not have responded fast enough as she thought back to that fight because he texted again.

Pathyn: Nahi? Are you alright?

Nahi: Alright? No.

Pathyn: Physically or mentally? 

Nahi: Yes

Pathyn: Tell me about it?

And so she did, all the details of the day, the hours spent trying to hold it together. Her work doing triage, sorting the injured into dead, expectant, needs immediate help, can wait and black blood. She explained about the chaos, about how the black blood affected people, something he likely knew, but she was on a roll and he didn’t stop her. The death of the Kaldorei and the Dwarven man’s self-mutilation, how both men had met her eyes, one with wild abandon, the other in death. How the attack, her healing and her fear about never being able to sing again. 

Pathyn was as close as she got to an old friend and he would not judge her feelings or call her irrational. Jamis told her that any fear was rational with what she went through but focusing on her voice felt… shallow… to her.

Pathyn: So, just another walk in the park, huh?

Nahi almost laughed, but stopped herself as she felt the edge of hysteria there, and was worried it would hurt.

Nahi: Everyday is filled with singing birds and rainbows.

Pathyn: Don’t forget the unicorns or they might get jealous. 

Nahi: Oh geez, can’t have that.

Pathyn: You know what I am going to say, right?

Nahi: Everyone deals with trauma in their own way. 

Pathyn: And?

Nahi: That I am beautiful, and you will be here for me, no matter what. 

They had issues recently with just that, but she didn't doubt his word at all. Pathyn, and likely Kyean, if she let him close again. Pathyn had told her that Kyean’s fixation on her had been because of the black blood influencing the Illidari’s bond with his demon, something Nahi hadn’t given thought to in many months until just then

It took her breath away and she started to tremble. 

Pathyn: You will have dreams, you might even react poorly when you are in crowds again. Be gentle with yourself.

Nahi: I am always gentle with myself.

Pathyn: Nahi, come on, this is me, and even if you are just being a smart ass, you need to not brush me off on this. 

It was something that Jamis had said too, not the gentle part exactly, but that she was going to face things that would shake her and needed to reach out to him when it did.

Nahi: I will do what I can, I am aware that none of this is my fault, I can easily say that much. Well not easily because talking hurts too much.  

Pathyn: Want me to come and visit you?

That took her back a little, she thought they had an understanding about not seeing one another, but guess seeing an injured friend might extend past those agreements.

Nahi: We are being shipped out. I will back in Silvermoon and I have to figure out what to do since I can’t sing. Still have bills to pay.

Pathyn: You dance too, right?

Nahi: A little harder to make money that way, unless I want to go the exotic dancer route. 

Pathyn: People would be foolish not to want to watch you do that.

Nahi: I will have to take that under advisement. 

Pathyn: Come to Valdrakken, neutral ground and you haven’t been there before, right?

Nahi: I haven’t. When do you want to meet? 

Pathyn: I will text next week. Hey… be gentle on yourself, alright? 

Nahi: Thank you for reaching out, Pathyn. Talk to you next week.

She wasn’t about to make a promise she couldn’t keep. 

Nahi dropped off the potions Kai had sent to Dornagal, but when she started stocking  the kits, the performer got a knowing look from Naralinthe that said, ‘I know what you are doing’ and was shooed from the tent. The joke in camp was ‘you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here’, which was all well and good when you had a home. Yes, Nahi had her Tarts apartment but it was meant to be a bandage for the ‘if’ Dalaran fell’, she was unpacked to a point where she didn’t mind inviting company there, but it certainly wasn’t a place she thought of as a home, right now home was her tent in the camp.

Luckily, she didn’t have so much in the camp that she couldn’t carry the little things that said home to her along wherever the wind blew. Her bag was packed and she set off without a clue of where she was going or what she was going to do. Never in her life had she been in this scenario, nor had she expected it, and she had options but decided to throw some things into the wind that weren’t her leaning on her friend crutch of Kon and Tal, as much as she loved them. 

Stopping outside of the capitol building in Dornagal, she pulls out her comm unit.

Nahi to Pathyn: Hey you.

There wasn’t an immediate response, one which might have helped her make up her mind as to a plan.  Running a hand through her curls, moving to sit on a wall, letting the sun warmed stone’s heat soak through her leathers. The song in her head skipped to a halt for more than a heartbeat, dead air that resonated in her own chest, then she was flooded with her familiar accompaniment she walked through every with. Well, that wasn’t getting better, so there was that. Her comm unit buzzed and she lifted it expecting to see a message from Path, but instead it was from Fio. Fiorenze to Nahi: Keranna said the realtor she used to find her place in Silvermoon was named Amitasia Runesinger. She has a small office in the Royal Exchange. Mostly works with titled families and Magistry members, but has access to some exclusive properties as a result. Tell her Magistrix Zerine, that's Keranna, sent you and she'll treat you well. Nahi to Fio: Thank you Fio. I am still in Dornagal but will head to the city and reach out to her. Please thank Keranna for me as well. A direction, as she had nothing planned, that was as good of one as any other and she might as well go see what was out there. With a small jump, leather boots landed quietly on the carved stone, her dancer’s step not even whispering her movement into the towering building. 

Making her way towards the portal that was locked to Orgrimmar, Nahi pondered the harnessed magic. What would it be like to have access to the world balanced in one’s palm? The knowledge that was a boon to her and all the others that passed through on a regular basis, life was just easier without weeks, months, of travel. A breath’s span later, she was in the dark room that granted some of the same access to a layperson that the arcane talented held. Turning slightly to her right, she saw Silvermoon enticing her to step through into this new venture that might cure her homeless situation. It was just a few steps to the opportunity of a home she would purchase for herself, not inherited, not owned by her step-father. 

Coming through with her head held high, showing that confidence she tried to explain to Kaisina. It was masking the unsurety in her current path, the feeling of being so deep in the new of her life that she was bobbing on her tiptoes just to claim a lifesaving gulp of air, but no one on the outside would see it.

The comm unit in her bag vibrates and she draws it out, smiling as she saw Pathyn’s name on the screen. Reading his message as she walked out of the ornately dressed red and gold room, moving to sit on the edge of the fountain down the ramp settling in then engaging with her friend.

Pathyn: Hey beauty, it has been a week since I heard from you, thought you might still be mad.

Nahi: What a waste of time would that be? Besides, you can reach out to me first you know.

Pathyn: I can, but it is more fun to see you name light up my comm. 

As she just thought the same thing about him she couldn’t really tease him about  that.

Pathyn: So, what’s up?

Nahi: They kicked us out of camp for the holiday. Wouldn’t even let me stay as a ‘just in case someone is hurt’ person.

Pathyn: Right, because a person without a healing gift is the best to leave in that ‘just in case’ scenario.

Nahi: Asshole.

Pathyn: So what are you going to do with this time off?

Nahi: Right now I am in Silvermoon about to talk to a real estate broker.

Pathyn: Good for you. It is a great feeling when you have a place and set it up as your own.

She had stayed at his home in Azuna and it was exactly that, everything there just read ‘Pathyn’.

Nahi: Yes, plus every time someone talks about going home it just drives the fact I no longer have one deeper.

Pathyn: That probably won’t take all your time, what else will you do?

Nahi: Want to go somewhere and get drunk for a few days?

Pathyn: Don’t think that will work.

Nahi: Still watching his pet warlock?

A clarification of who she meant was unnecessary between them. Kyeanadril, the Illidari that had stalked her in Ahj’kahet, causing her to almost lose her place in the company.

Pathyn: Off and on, Deiala and her odd company have almost tracked the cult to its source.

Nahi: That is good, if she is as nice as you say she deserves a bit of a break.

Pathyn: That is not the real reason though. Nahi, you are gorgeous and if things had been different with you in Dalaran I would have fucked you nine ways to Sunday and then worked my way into your life until I would be your main friend with benefits.

They had talked enough for both to know how unlikely that was, she was still unsure about opening herself enough to designate the term friend to those she knew, let alone a friend with benefits. 

Nahi: Okaaayyyy, so what does that time have to do with now?

Pathyn: If we hung out and drank a few days away I am not sure I could keep from acting on that.

Nahi: And?

Pathyn: I get why Kyean is drawn to you. You are sexy, smart, funny, stubborn, sexy, good hearted, enticing, sexy and did I say sexy?

Nahi: Thank you, I think.

Pathyn: I can’t sleep with you, he is my cousin and I love the big asshole. 

Nahi: I see. 

Pathyn: No you don’t. I am attracted to a woman my closest friend in the world thinks he is in love with 

This… this was the exact reason she keeps sex to just a, usually, pleasurable night or two with the same person in her life, usually complete strangers, that was so much easier. Nahi had become empathetic enough since her time in the Prince's court to actually feel for him, it was exactly this type of interaction she would encourage among courtiers. In fact, the irony of this made her think this was emotional payback for all the times she gleefully set friends against one another for her affections.

Nahi: I can’t say if we were together like that, we would not sleep together either. My feelings about all this are complicated.

Pathyn: He told me he saw you the other night.

Nahi: Did Kyean take a job with my friends just because he would see me at performances?

Pathyn: He hasn’t said much about it except he needs to keep an eye on things. I think it is a partial yes, but possibly something else. Don’t know where his mind is at, except that his interest has only changed in shifting from that weird intensity that overcame him down there.

Nahi: I really want to see you.

Pathyn: Ditto. Let’s just keep things cool for a while, while I ponder the morality of stealing away the first woman Kyean has shown serious interest in, in more than a century before he followed Illidan.

Nahi: Yeah, probably a good idea. I do miss you though.

Pathyn: Ditto again, this sucks balls, like big ogre balls, or maybe sea giant ones. Go, buy a house in a city I can’t visit you in, then go back to your company where you will be in a place without copious amounts of alcohol and my company.

Nahi: You know I *am* going to have sex on this break, right? Maybe, hopefully, more than one once. Might even let the same person hang out for a day or two.

Pathyn: Asshole

Nahi: I learned from the best.

The note was simple. She recognized the writing because she had read it more than once before. Occasionally when a message needed to be relayed to the Shadows without drawing attention. More often on the menu at the Pig and Whistle.

It had been some time, but it was not something Dei forgot. Dei, being Dei, wouldn’t forget it even if she had only seen it once.

She didn’t bother reaching out to Pathyn. This was familiar, and she liked the feel of it after Northrend. Path had been right, that had been a dead end, but she would figure it out. Hopefully by finding him.

She was on edge. While the others were busy with the important work with the conflict. News on her end had been scarce, save for one thing: the sense that the watcher from the tree across the pond had returned.

It wasn’t often. Just enough to notice. A feeling. A prickle. She had looked, more than once, and seen no one. Neither had Pathyn.

Lifting her skirts, she stepped up and into the tavern. From behind the bar, Reese lifted a hand in greeting. She liked him. He had seen the first signs of her drinking problem, and had tipped off Kyean, who had been watching for threats outside, not the ones she was doing to herself.

Reese set a box on the bar.

Perfectly square. Wrapped in white paper scattered with silver snowflakes, finished with a silver-and-blue bow. It was pretty in a way that felt deliberate.

She picked it up, turned it once, then gave it a gentle shake. Whatever was inside was solid, heavy enough to matter. On the top was a note, written in a hand that tugged at something familiar without quite revealing why.

For: Deiala Vyneaniux.

“Thanks, Reese,” she said, lifting a hand in a small wave and smiling.

She took the long way back to her shop, a slight bounce in her step. A secret gift. Mysterious. She already had gifts from the people she expected, this made it something else entirely.

At the door, she flashed the signal to let Pathyn know she was fine, then carried the box inside. She chatted briefly with the children playing in their corner as she passed, her smile easy, practiced.

In her office, the urge to open it immediately tugged at her, but she had lived under fear for too long to give in to impulse. She examined the box thoroughly, checked for magic, for wards, for traces of anything unnatural.

Nothing.

Carefully, she untied the bow, preserving the shape, the moment. A small smile touched her lips. Secret gifts were the sort of things other women received. Not her. Not since….

She froze.

Pretty boxes, pretty bows for a pretty girl.

The memory hit hard. She shoved the box across the desk and sat back, trembling. It didn’t have to mean anything. Not everything in her life had to circle back to him. Maybe this was something new. Something better.

She stared at the box until her breathing slowed.

When she pulled it back to her, her movements were methodical. Precise. She lifted the lid and found a false bottom, added padding gave weight disguising what lay beneath. Under it sat a small jeweler’s box.

“Well then.”

She flipped it open.

Inside was a necklace: a half-heart pendant, the kind lovers split between them. This one was blank. No initials. No engraving.

Half an empty heart.

It could have meant anything. But the first thought that came tightened her chest until it hurt.

She didn’t know how long she stared before she moved again. Eventually, she messaged Pathyn and lowered the wards on the entrance to the back offices, a precaution she never abandoned. Only she could enter the office itself. Pathyn knew better than to try.

When he stepped inside, he looked at her first.

Then at the golden chain dangling from her fingers.

Pathyn’s gaze dropped to the golden chain, to the half-heart resting against her fingers.

“Anything engraved on it?”

He knew there wasn’t, the light caught cleanly on the metal, revealing no imperfections, but he needed her attention anchored on something tangible. Anything but the meaning she was building in her head.

“No.”

“Anything on the card? Something different about the wrapping?”

Dei’s eyes were locked on the pendant, too focused, as if she could see through the metal itself. “No. And no magical traces. Nothing at all.”

He stepped closer and gently took it from her. The dark Kaldorei turned the piece once, then nodded. “We’ll look into who might have sold it.”

“It could’ve been bought anywhere,” she said. There was the faintest trace of emotion returning to her voice, good. “They’re common. I see them everywhere. A first-love kind of thing. Half the young women in the city wear them.”

He repackaged it carefully. The necklace. The box. The paper. Even the bow. “We’ll still look into it, Dei. Could be someone who’s taken a shine to you.” A pause, just enough to tease. “Can’t blame them, really, with all the parties and balls you attend.”

She turned her head and pinned him with a glare. He was very glad she didn’t add magic to it, though even if she had, he’d made certain long ago he wasn’t particularly vulnerable to such things.

Tucking the box away, he stepped back. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

He wasn’t entirely sure of that, but he was sure of one thing: it was time to bring Kyean back. Kye had a way of steadying her that Pathyn never quite managed. She listened to him. Deferred to him. More than anyone else.

“Could you reach out to Kyeanadril?”

He knew she was too proud to ask on her own. That old crush of hers hadn’t faded, and she was terrible at hiding it.

“Of course,” she said. “He can stay here. I’ll go follow up on this.”

Her shoulders slumped just a fraction.

“Thanks, Pathyn. I know it’s not fun, being stuck here.”

He smiled and tipped her chin up lightly with his fingers. “What do you mean, Dei?” he said dryly. “Stormwind is giggles a minute. Absolutely love this city.”

Dei left the shop with Cael and headed home. One more day of work, and then a couple of days off to take care of the latest trouble that had come knocking, possibly. Tonight would tell.

She picked up some Panderan food on the way and followed the familiar path to her too-big house in Elwynn. If she’d had a choice, she wouldn’t be living here, but as a Keeper, she didn’t have one. This was Brendan’s home, and everything she needed was here.

As she approached the door, she sidestepped and traced a pattern over a stone nestled in the flowers. Runes flashed too quickly for normal eyes to catch, and the wards on her home opened for her. She walked to the door and, without looking back, murmured, “You following me in?”

No voice replied, but she could sense him. She slipped inside without leaving the door open long; a moment later, she felt him pass through behind her. Once they were both in, she reset the wards.

“I got your favorite,” she said, not bothering to look as Pathyn slipped out of stealth.

“You know it is fucking unnerving that you can tell I’m there every time. Kyean can see me, but you just know.”

Dei smiled. “Of course I know. I know everything that happens around my house, plus I was expecting you after all.” 

Path knew this perfectly well, complaining was just part of his process. “Good thing you brought food. I’m starving,” the Kaldorei said, following her to the kitchen. “Do you still have that sake?”

She smiled up at the dark-clad elf, mottled leathers and all. “Of course. Sake isn’t for heavy drinking.”

He slid up beside her, snatched the bag from her hands, and started grabbing dishes. “You know it’s weird you don’t eat out of the containers, right?”

“So you say every time we have takeout. And yet in eighteen months, nothing has changed.” She laughed softly, proper was proper, after all.

Leaving him to plate the food, she went upstairs to change into leggings and a big t-shirt. Her at-home attire had grown much less formal since the guards started staying over; after a few weeks, she’d stopped caring what they saw her in.

Once they settled in, she took a few bites, then looked at him. “Well?”

“Let a man eat, gorgeous,” he said, flashing her a sexy smile. When she gestured impatiently, he sighed. “They’re cultists, but not like the ones before. Not much leadership. It’s more like they’re trying to figure out why the last group was here, rather than focusing on you with intent.”

Dei dipped a dumpling into sweet soy glaze and ate it thoughtfully. “Do we need to act?”

Pathyn met her gaze. “Not right away. I’d say give them time and see if they don’t wander off like the last group. They know you argued with Kye, though, so they’re watching you in the city.”

“I guess we let them watch for now,” she said, waving her chopsticks. “No one’s come into the shop, and they haven’t gotten anywhere near the house. What’s Kyean planning for the holiday? The two of you meeting up with your other cousins?”

Pathyn gave her a sly smile. “Does his pet warlock miss him?”

She threw a chopstick at him and opened another pair. “It’s you I should’ve set my sights on. The fel damned Illidari sets off every demonic alarm in my head.”

“Nah, I’m too ugly for you.” They both knew he wasn’t. “And no, I might head off-world, spend some time in the stars. Haven’t done that yet.” He paused, assessing her. “He’s going to try to reach out, you know. It’s been over a year, and she sounded like she might talk to him the last time I asked.”

“How can he still want to pad after her like a dog?”

He clicked his tongue. “She’s a pretty amazing woman, and he thinks he fell in love the night they met.

Dei sighed. “She doesn’t deserve him. I don’t care how amazing she is, if she’s not interested, then she’s not that smart.”

“Your old crush is showing,” he smirked.

“He’s a good guy. My crush doesn’t matter. He deserves someone who actually cares.” She sipped her sake, her magpie-hued ponytail swaying. “If she hurts him again, I’ll throw my sneezing-powder charm at her while she’s on stage.”

Pathyn laughed. “Please don’t. She’s my friend.”

“And he’s your cousin.”

He ate a few bites, then watched her. “She is good people. You should meet her. She’s not always with that sexy performer friend of hers, so you wouldn’t have to return his shirt out of your hope chest. 

“I never should’ve told you that. No more tequila with you,” she said with a chuckle. “Maybe I should meet her. I could tell her not to be stupid.”

Path shook his head. “She has valid reasons for not returning his undying love at first sight, so to speak.” Kyean being a demon hunter made “love at first sight” more of a joke.

“She’s stupid.”

“No, she’s smart. He’s still a little obsessed, so it wasn’t all the black blood talking. Though the way that set his demon raging… that was scary.”

Dei nodded. She’d helped him regain control when even his mother couldn’t, that was what warlocks could be good for. “Well, I hope she listens.”

Pathyn sighed. “Me too. She could stand to forgive him. They both need it.”

Pathyn’s drink choices are pretty simple, he is a martini guy, or a nice glass of expensive tequila.

The drink he was most known for at his last position was the upside down Man’ari. He would layer grenadine on the bottom, then blood orange juice, he then mixed together vodka, peach schnapps and sloe gin on top. He garnished it with a cherry, to represent the tail sticking out of the glass.

First off, he would want it to be a complete surprise for his date, but he would tell her to dress up nicely. He would be in slacks, a nice shirt and slacks (no tie), and then he would take her to a really good burger joint in one of the big cities. After dinner was done, he would take her to a five star place for dessert and drinks, just spending their time enjoying the special treats. As much as he loves a good diner, he finds the best, or at least the most impressive, desserts at the nicer restaurants. A trip to the theater would be the entertainment for the night, but much of his time would be watching her reactions to the story. Studying expression is something he loves to do, and seeing what someone is like when they let go a little makes his heart warm. There would be a small kiss to her cheek here and there when she would least expect it. Before the night ended, he would find a park, or a small bit of the wilds, and just go sit in the grass and chat. A space that just is not busy so they can breathe with one another and just let the night together to be celebrated. On a night like this he would want to take her home and leave her with a long kiss at her doorstep, make it about connection, not about sex.

Although he is super open and flirtatious when working as a bartender, he believes deeply in being with one partner for a time. Even FWB are long term for him. Being old means that what feels like a week for someone else can be a hundred years for him. He is also ruthless in battle, there is no mercy, and if you are in his way look out. He is not a berserker, he is just cold, calculated and methodical, in his work.