[Story] Thorns – The Farm

Rose went and bought a farm.  I can’t be too surprised, because she said she would, and once she sets her mind to something it’s pretty certain that it’s going to happen. But I thought it would take a while, or they’d give up looking eventually or something. It’s outside of the city, not too far from Northshire but far enough back in the trees to have some privacy. She insisted that I come to look at it after the shop closed for the day. I mean, it’s a farm. It’s muddy and it smells like shit. It has a barn already, as well as a house. Both will need a fair amount of work, Rose said that can wait until after the goblin holiday — which is good because that’s our second busiest time of year. A lot of people like to give clocks and watches for gifts for that. I thought there was no way she’d be able to do it herself, but then I remembered she did grow up on a farm, so she’ll feel right at home. Rose said she’ll hire some people to help though so it’ll get done quickly, spring is really rainy so she doesn’t want the buildings open for too long. She and Josie are already talking about what kind of animals they want to get, and what colors they’ll paint the rooms in the houses. It feels like everything’s happening without me, and I suppose it is.

When she was showing me the house, she showed me which room would be mine, if I wanted it. What I think doesn’t matter, it’s happening regardless. I don’t like the idea of leaving the shop empty every night, and I don’t want to have to walk into the city every day, nor do I want Nash having to pass through the gates all the time. Those guards are a little bit more on top of things, they check people coming in more closely than the ones who are already inside. I could stay here with him, I’d still have my work space plus a lot more. I mean, assuming he’d want to, but I think he would. I need to talk it over with him, and see what he thinks. Maybe he has dreams of hanging out in fields with sheep too, I don’t know. They’ll still come to work in the shop during the day — at least Rose will. Josie might stay behind at the farm, it seems she’d feel right at home there, and we don’t really need four people working the shop. Pup will probably go, too. He’ll come to the city for school but go home with them in the evenings, and I’ll barely see him. I know this is the push I probably need to finally let things go, but I still can’t make the jump. Not yet. The more time passes, the more foolish it is, I know that, but I can’t help imagining how things might go.

Rose will probably say I’m just being stubborn for its own sake, and why don’t I just go with them? A farm isn’t the forest, but it’s close enough that I’d rather stay here. I like the city. I like having people around and buildings and the feeling that I’m supposed to be here. I don’t think I’d have any of that on a farm. Maybe it’ll be a good thing, but that’s the thing about change — you never know how it’ll turn out ahead of time.

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[Art] More Ice Dragons

22/40 now!

[Story] The Ghostclaw – Linarelle’s Journal

I think that Sunashe has been feeling a little down lately, since the draenei ranger came from Shattrath. After I had put Tialan down for his nap, I went out to the practice range to find him. I also brought some of the cookies from the kitchen, normally he tries to avoid them, but a few won’t hurt. I was surprised to see him out there alone, usually there is at least one of the other rangers practicing. He’s always reminding the crossbow rangers that they need to learn to use a proper one, but I suppose they don’t listen. Sunashe said that perhaps the draenei should be the one training recruits, since his skill must have impressed Sunashe. I haven’t watched him myself, but I doubt he could be better than Sunashe, an Eversong veteran. Even if he is, no one could replace him. He said the others treat him as sort of a novelty, asking him to perform tricks which he happily does. I don’t know if there’s really anything wrong with that, but it’s sort of humiliating for the draenei. He probably doesn’t even understand what they are saying, I know I wouldn’t if I was the only elf around draenei all the time. I think the cookies cheered him up a little, at least.

I also suggested we should go camping somewhere again, once the weather warms a bit. Sunashe liked that idea a lot, though he said we should leave Tialan with someone to watch him. I’m not sure, I think I’d worry about him the whole time. Especially when he suggested Imralion watch him! Im’s never even cared for a pet, let alone a baby, I shudder to think what might happen in his care. I also think Aeramin wouldn’t be very enthusiastic about the idea, and it would probably cause strain between them. I don’t want that, even if I think it was a bad idea for Im to marry him in the first place. I don’t think I could stay with someone who had betrayed me like that, and Sunashe said he couldn’t either. I hope I don’t have to find out. But if we do have to leave Tialan with someone, Hethurin would be a better choice, he already has three children who are doing well. Or Lali, or Terellion’s mother, they take care of the babies at the school all the time. I want to get a new dress for the ball, I saw one in the city that’s pink with a slit on the side. Sunashe insisted that he get new armor to match, if that’s even possible, I hope it doesn’t cost too much. Pink armor really isn’t something you can wear often, unless you’re Julan I suppose.

We talked about the other new rangers a little. Really there’s only one, and she doesn’t talk much to anyone. Sunashe said she’d transferred from Eversong, which makes me wonder — why would anyone leave there for here? It’s not that our unit is bad, but it’s certainly less prestigious and well-known. Sunashe said maybe she just wanted a change, but I suspect there’s more to it than that. Maybe I’ll try to talk to her and find out. The guy who works in the stable wants to learn to shoot, too. While we still need him to work in the stable, it could be useful to have someone who can take over a patrol if one ranger is sick or away. I haven’t talked to him much either, he still seems to be getting used to the routine and everyone here. Sunashe says his brother is a student at the school.

 

We spoke a little about his past as well, when he was living in the city. It sounds like it was awful, I wish he didn’t have to go through that. But it brought him here, so in the end perhaps it was worth it.

[Story] The Ghostclaw – Leinath’s Journal

Orledin took me on a date, I think. At least, it was a place away from the building and not on patrol. It wasn’t that far off our patrol route though, I never even knew the path was there. There are many troll ruins in the forest, and these were some abandoned troll huts, two standing not far from each other. I’m guessing there were probably more buildings in the past, but they are gone now. Or maybe these trolls just really liked privacy. The huts are well hidden, you can’t see them from the trail at all, though I guess if you had a fire going you’d see the smoke. We went in the afternoon, after patrol but before time to eat. Orledin says he usually goes there at night, which is a little odd because he does have a bunk in the quarters even if he rarely uses it. He says he likes the privacy here, which I can understand. Some of the other guys can get pretty loud sometimes, but usually not while they’re sleeping.

The first one he called the work hut, and I’ll admit it freaked me out a little. He had taken bones that he’d found around the forest, mostly from animals, and put them together again with wire so they’re standing up. I thought it was weird at first, but it’s really not much different than a puzzle when you think about it. And yeah, he has to find something to take up all that time when everyone’s sleeping. They build skeletons for museums, and no one calls those people weird. Something about seeing bones standing up and staring at me with empty eyes still is a little creepy, though. I’m glad we weren’t there at night. Orledin was really excited to show me the big cat skeletons, he thought the captain might want one. He also gave me a little mouse, I’ll put it on my shelf next to the fox, hopefully Lucky doesn’t try to eat it. There’s no meat, but it’s still a mouse. Orledin’s favorite skeleton is a raptor that he accidentally animated, and he can ride it around. I admit that’s pretty cool, but he’s right in that if anyone saw it they would probably freak out. He said there are elf skeletons too, and he’s not sure what to do with them. I suggested he could build them a graveyard with proper markers and everything, it seems like the right thing to do so they aren’t forgotten.

The other hut he called his resting hut, it had a hole in the center of the roof so smoke can escape, for cooking and heat. He has some furniture in there, but he said he doesn’t really sleep here. Maybe he writes in his journal. I wonder if he has one? I wonder if he’s written about me? The conversation got a little more serious than I was expecting. I don’t want him to think I’m not interested, it’s just — even aside from the rules, it’s been a really long time and I don’t want to rush into anything. That’s even if he wasn’t in his condition. He mentioned that he talked to another death knight who has a living wife and she might come to the next ball at the school. I do think that might be useful — I could ask her questions that I wouldn’t ask Orledin — but I’ve also never seen a kaldorei up close. I think they’re huge, and dangerous. This one’s probably not, but I’m not going to stop thinking about how she could probably put an arrow through my eye while hiding in the shadows. Granted, I guess I probably could too, but I’m not going to. I did promise to go to the one shop in town for him, because he can’t go himself. I mean, why else would you have something like that out here in a private place, if not to use it? He says he doesn’t. I’m not sure I believe him.

[Art] More Ice Dragons

Had to edit the first one to add the new apparel!

Saskia the Ridgeback and Skadi the Snapper.

[Story] Fairsong Academy – Terellion’s Journal

I knew going to see his mother was a bad idea. I told him it was! And he still insisted on going. Thankfully at least he agreed that I could go with, otherwise who knows what could have happened to him. Hethurin could have been stuck in that inn for days, or worse. His mother claims she doesn’t know very much magic, but I don’t believe her. She knew enough to silence him before, who’s to say she can’t do something else? I waited outside on the walkway while he went inside. When I didn’t hear anything for a while, I tried to look inside, but it was too dark to see anything. That’s when I went to find a guard. I am not sure if he believed me, but I told him I was worried that his mother might have done something to him. He definitely didn’t believe me when we arrived, and Hethurin was nowhere in sight. She managed to talk the guard into leaving, but I saw Hethurin go in there. I knew he was inside somewhere. He’d warned me not to go into her house, but what else was I supposed to do? I thought about going home to get Tik, but I thought it might take too long, and I wasn’t going to leave him there with her.

His mother acted like nothing was wrong. She calmly sat down and tried to give me tea. I didn’t drink it, who knows what was in it, but I pretended to. She told me that Hethurin had fainted, and they’d taken him to a healer. I know that’s nonsense, if he was feeling ill I would have noticed it earlier. Hethurin was perfectly fine this morning, and until he went into his mother’s house. I wanted to go see the healer, but she said she didn’t know which one it was. Convenient. So I tried to be patient and wait for him even though I was imagining a hundred horrible things happening to him. I checked under the tables and chairs when she went out of the room to see if she’d turned him into a frog. I just don’t trust that woman, I think she says things just to hurt people. Like she said our children aren’t really her grandkids because they’re not related. What a witch. I said there’s more to being a good parent than just giving birth. That’s fine, I don’t think I want her around them anyway. She also said a lot of things about Isturon, about how he always lies and tricks people, she also said he was seeing that other woman while they were still married. I don’t know if it’s true. She might just be saying it to try and cause trouble — but if she is telling the truth then I think my mother ought to know. I know she’s going to say I’m just gossiping but I don’t want her being with someone who is going to hurt her. I didn’t tell Hethurin’s mother who the woman was, I thought that would be a bad idea. She’d probably say mean things about my mother and then who knows what would have happened.

Finally her pool boy returned and she yelled at him for being an idiot. She said she doesn’t actually love him, but she married him anyway. I don’t understand that. She said it’s because he doesn’t lie. Hethurin doesn’t lie either, and I love him, I don’t think it’s that difficult to find both. He took me to the inn where Hethurin was, it was awkward. He’s younger than me, Hethurin said. As soon as I went into the room, the pool boy took off. He was acting nervous. Hethurin was still sleeping, and still confused. I don’t think he just fainted, I’m sure she did something, but he couldn’t remember what. For a while I was afraid he wouldn’t wake up and I thought I would cry, but then I held his hand and he woke up a little. Since he was too weak to make a portal home, I went and found a mage who sent us to Tranquillien. From there I went back to the school and convinced Renner to come and carry Hethurin back. I had to promise him his own cake, but that’s easy enough. Everyone was really worried because we were late, especially Malwen. She was sure that we were never coming back. I think seeing Renner distracted her a little, and now she wants to look for dragons whenever we are outside. I’m just glad Hethurin is safe at home, I’m keeping a close eye on him to make sure nothing else is wrong. Next time he wants to go somewhere alone, I’m not letting him.

[Art] More Ice Dragons

Still working on these… Skydancers are the hardest!

 

Snowberry

 

Elara

Adelaide

Whitestone