#talaen

The weeks since Varali's birth had been a blur of sleepless nights and groggy days, and Solarine was taking a long while to recover from the ordeal. She hadn't left the house at all since two or three days before the birth, and twinges of guilt stirred in her gut when she remembered that she still had not sent out announcements to nearly anyone, not even Julian. She didn't know if he was even on Azeroth, and thinking about the possibilities surrounding that situation was just too much for the little Priestess to bear as she waited for her mind and body to heal. 

The baby, fortunately, was healthy and happy, and was quickly adjusting to life outside the safety of the womb. She was built big and sturdy for a newborn, and possessed a head of already thickening raven hair. Her skin was peach-toned and her chubby cheeks rosy, echoing Julian's warmer colouring, and the rosebud of her mouth would clearly mature into full lips like her mother's. Solarine had a feeling that her daughter's hefty birth weight was a portent of things to come, and that she would likely not be a small or slight thing like her mother and maternal grandmother.

Late one night, Solarine sat on the sitting room sofa, half asleep as the baby nursed. Her appetite was healthy, and Solarine had found herself relying on deliveries of meals from friends and couriers in order to keep her own weight and milk supply steady. Talaen checked in on her fairly regularly, and she was fairly certain that he had saved her life once again when she had bled too much in the hours after the delivery. She did not know how precarious the situation had been, and Talaen did not appear interested in worrying her further by informing her of everything just yet.

Solarine still did not feel like her old self, and that concerned her. The flip-flop sensations still fluttered in her chest, and she still felt terribly out of breath when she climbed the stairs. She wondered if it was a normal part of recovery from pregnancy and childbirth, or if it truly had done irreversible damage to her heart.

Solarine shuddered as the latter thought crossed her mind, not for the first time nor the last.

Only time would tell.

The Priestess gazed down at the chubby-cheeked baby now nodding off against the swell of her breast, then hoisted her up to one shoulder and placed a cloth before patting Varali's back. She was not a fussy eater and burped easily, though she did tend to cry most when she was hungry...which was often.

For now, though, she slept. With the baby held safely against her chest and belly, Solarine settled back against the arm and corner of the sofa and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly and easily, and not a single nightmare had reared its ugly head since Varali's birth.

"Why should you have to share your fiance with someone he met two weeks ago?"

The question lingered in Solarine's mind, and it was one to which she had only one makeshift answer. "I would rather have some of him than none at all" was what she told the other Priestess. She meant to honour that idea and try to make it work, but such a thing would require all three of them to agree to it. Julian had told her that he'd need to discuss it with Amdiren before making a decision.

Why did she need to beg for scraps of affection and attention from the man who had, two weeks earlier, been helping her plan their wedding?

As she stared out the window to the half-finished pool dug in the back yard, however, Solarine admitted to herself that she did not expect any kindness to be shown to her in this situation. She would always come second, even though she had been there first.

Sometimes, I wonder if I was ever meant to be happy. Those were the words she had spoken to Talaen a few hours earlier. He assured her that she deserved to be happy. Deserved. But some things deserved were not what was actually meant for someone.

The Priestess turned her gaze to her belly. There was no outward sign of the life growing within, as it was far too early. Nobody would even know she was pregnant if she hadn't said anything. A feeling of dread twisted into her. Would Julian even be around to care for their child, or would this pattern of absence continue throughout the pregnancy and afterward? Or was it possible that he would take the child from her and whisk it away to wherever he went with Lucius and Amdiren? This last thought was almost too cruel for consideration, but she could not quite push it from the back of her mind.

Hot tears stung Solarine's eyes, and she attempted to bite them back upon her lip. When the taste of coppery blood touched her tongue, the tears broke through and flowed freely.

When the tears began to let up, a slow rage began to fill the woman. It burned in her gut, and she hated it. She hated the feeling of jealousy clawing at her, and she hated the utter loneliness echoing in the rooms of the once-cozy little house in the woods.

Her armor would still fit for some time. Solarine gathered her plated robes and her halberd, suiting up as the slow burn of anger washed through her. This would not do.

Without a look back, she set off toward Silvermoon, her charger running at a breakneck pace.

Solarine bathed Julian carefully and tenderly, wiping the blood and sweat away from his bruised and battered skin. His arms were too stiff and sore to reach his own back, and though the Priestess still had not recovered enough to use much of her healing magics, she did her best to tend to the many cuts and bruises dotting the man's skin.

Talaen was asleep by the time the conversation between Julian, Solarine, and Amdiren had ended, and they were careful to be quiet as they snuck past the sofa where he now dozed.

Once Julian was tended to, Solarine tucked him into their bed and sat with him until he slept. It did not take long, as he had been beaten to a pulp once by Talaen and then again by Josrial. Once she was confident that he was fast asleep, she shuffled from the room and back to the living room where Talaen slept.

The albino hadn't even removed most of his armor, but Solarine supposed he was probably used to having to sleep that way.

Carefully and quietly, Solarine fetched a blanket from the linen closet and a spare pillow from the guest room. She realised that she should have offered that room to her friend, and felt a stab of guilt at not having done so. She draped the blanket over her friend and tucked him in, then gently placed the pillow behind his head. He did not awaken, and Solarine knew that he must have expended a great deal of energy to the Shadow when he had lost control and beaten Julian.

Talaen looked almost peaceful when he slept. He was beautiful in a sharp and almost severe way, and in that moment she understood why so many women seemed to take a liking to him. If only they knew, she thought, now mildly amused.

Solarine, Julian, and Amdiren had come to what she hoped was an understanding. She could not fathom the relationship between the two men because they could not either. During her coma-like state, however, Solarine's mind had been repaired enough that she came out of it with more clarity than she had had before.

Julian had been utterly astounded at her offer of sharing him with Amdiren. Solarine herself was unsure if she was doing the right thing, but once she knew for certain that she now carried Julian's unborn child within her womb, she was not going to simply roll over and give him up.

She would share. And she would teach them both. Alone together, they were borderline irrational and certainly obnoxious. Solarine realised that both Julian and Amdiren needed tempering. Guidance. The Light and the Shadow uncontrolled could burn each other out if one grew too powerful. But when the scales kept them balanced, perhaps they could all reach some sort of harmony together.

Solarine, wide awake after having slept for three days straight, spent the rest of the night wandering from room to room and checking in on Talaen and Julian. They were the closest thing she had to family. No, they were family. She did not know if the two men would ever see eye to eye again, but she would love them both regardless. To Solarine, protecting her little family was just as important as Julian's quest to protect Quel'thalas and its people. Selfish, she realised, but she had given up so much that she had room to be selfish every now and then.

(( This piece was written by teutelquessir, who plays Talaen Wildthorn. ))

The house did not look abandoned, but there was a curious feel to it that bothered the albino.  He rapped on the door with his right hand.  “Solarine?” he rasped, knowing full well there was no way his voice would carry enough to be heard inside the house.

When Talaen had last seen her two days prior, Solarine had been desperately unhappy.  He had offered to let her stay in his guest room, but she never showed up after helping to heal Julian’s wounds from the bombing.  How had they gone from a happily engaged couple to virtual strangers in only two weeks?  Amdiren was involved somehow and Talaen was not happy about it.  But what could he do?

He knocked on the door again.  Still no answer.  Scowling at the portal, he backed up a few paces and charged the door which shuddered in its frame at the impact of his armored body.  Sunrest could bill him for the damages, Talaen was determined to get in there.  A few more blows and the frame splintered, nearly spilling Talaen to the floor as he staggered through the doorway.

It was dark and silent in the house.  He looked around, trying to get his bearings.  Where were the dogs?  Jadoth had relayed the message that Solarine wanted Talaen to care for their dogs, but the animals were not in evidence.  He began to move cautiously through the house, softly calling out her name every few minutes.  A sense of dread curled in his stomach, gnawing at Talaen like a hungry rat.

The first thing that hit him when he opened the bedroom door was the smell of stale urine.  Talaen wrinkled his nose and advanced into the room, his crimson gaze sweeping his surroundings.  She lay in bed. So still.  So very still.  “Solarine?” he rasped, coming to stand beside the bed.

She was pale as a corpse and unresponsive.  Doffing his gauntlets, Talaen felt for the pulse at her throat.  It seemed very slow and weak and her breathing was too shallow.  Frowning, he lifted an eyelid to study her pupil which was dilated.  He looked around the room again and his eyes fell upon the vials sitting out on the bedside table.  He picked one up and sniffed at it.  It had a faint, sickly sweet smell.  Had she taken too many of her own sleeping potions?

“Sun’s Light,” he muttered, summoning his power and channeling it into her.  The spark of life was faint, but it was still there.  He coaxed it to life, like trying to fan the flames of a banked fire.  Scooping Solarine out of bed, Talaen made for what he hoped was the bathroom.  Thankfully it was and he stepped into the tub.  Holding Solarine up with his left arm, the albino fumbled at the controls until a blast of cold water came from the shower head, dousing them both.

He uttered her name repeatedly and lightly patted her cheek.  Finally, she sputtered a bit as the combination of healing Light and chill worked in tandem to rouse her.  “J-Julian?” she whispered, eyelids fluttering as she struggled to rise up out of the black depths of unconsciousness.