World of Warcraft®

Tiri leaned on the railing of the ship as the coastline of Stranglethorn went past, one hand on the satchel containing the books. She leaned over a bit and sighed in relief as the docks came into view as she straightened up, stepping out of the way of the sailors making the ship ready. She frowned at the figure waiting on the docks and narrowed her eyes in an effort to bring them into focus, and then blinked. She leaned over the railing again and waved her arm. "Brae!"

It had been a long flight from the Undercity to Boot Bay and both rider and beast were glad when it was finally over. Miserable and angry with himself and the world at large, Yoresh was ready to get out of the rags he’d borrowed from his daughter’s undead companion. It smelled of things long dead.
As the mage made his way down through the inn and out the main entrance, his mind flashed back on the run in with Reece. He’d nearly killed his own mate because he let himself be goaded again! Granted the wretch had managed to drive him to a panic with that damnable frost, but still. He hadn’t even tried to free Telirra either. If Brae hadn’t fought through, both of them would have been crushed by nearly the same type of spell.

Yoresh snarled. The information they had gained from the trip had hardly been worth it all and to top it off, his daughter had been unable to help him either, not without more time. Time they didn’t have and—

“Coming through!”

The troll barely got out of the way of a pair of goblins racing for the docks and with an aggravated growl he turned his eyes to the approaching ship. Why anyone would be in a hurry to travel on the water would always remain a mystery to him.
As he watched on and the ship came closer he caught quick movement. Someone was waving and before he could tell himself he couldn’t care less, his eyes went to the docks to see if anyone was returning the favor.

What he found instead made his blood boil and he started running over the planks, for once oblivious to the otherwise nerve-racking creaks and groans of the wood underfoot.

She was here.

"Brae!"

Ava looked over the waving form on the boat. The mage's friends really had to stop popping out of every corner of the known hells, they really did. She sighed..and then she noticed a subtle tug in her gut. Her lips started to curve upward. Maybe she wouldn't have to go to a book at all. Apparently they were coming to her. Perfect. Just perfect.

Tiri frowned at the sudden disturbance in the crowd, and she glanced around, before grabbing hold of a rope and climbing up to balance on the railing to get a better look. Her eyes widened, and she started to wave frantically. "Brae, troll! Look out!"

She turned and snorted in amusement. Well, apparently her trip hadn't been for nothing after all. Ava smiled at the oncoming troll, waiting patiently to step aside at the right moment. Maybe if she were lucky he'd miss her entirely and end up drowning himself out of panic when he hit the water- but not before she got the book and he watched the brat disappear for good.

Yoresh had intended to catch her unaware and at the very least tackle her to the ground to try and subdue her, but the damned woman gave him away and he'd barely stopped his momentum before it was too late. His eyes on Reece he yelled loud enough for the woman on the ship to hear. "Are you insane?! You idiot human!"

Gritting his teeth he concentrated and moved forward as though he would walk right into the elf, but instead vanished and reappeared on the other side, with the safety of land behind him and a little distance between them. "That is not Braedori!" he yelled.

She bristled at the 'stupid human' comment, and glanced back at Brae for a moment. Her frown deepened then, and she took a closer look. The hair...the smirk...Oh! She shot the troll an apologetic look and jumped down from the railing, disappearing into the crowd milling around on the deck as they waited for the ship to dock. A few seconds later, her tabard appeared above the crowd, and slowly floated down and into the water.

She was going to hold that troll's head underwater herself, once she got that book. The look she shot to Yoresh promised retribution. Now...how to find the girl? With the troll between her and the boat? She looked to either side to measure her options. The shouting had gathered them a bit of attention, and she couldn't just very well set the lot of them on fire. Well, she could, but that would bring questions she'd rather avoid.

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Brae cringed inwardly. NO! Oh, bless you, you damnably lovable idiot, I love you but....she needed to get her hands on that! What are you -doing-?

A low growl trickled out of his throat as he glared back at her. He didn't exactly have a plan, but he knew he couldn't let her get away again. Not now when they where so close to AAMS office. If he could subdue her and bring her to them, they would be able to help. Or so he hoped anyway. Putting his faith in other people had never really worked all that well in the past.

"What's the matter Reece?" he sneered. "Things not going quite as planned?"

Once the ship was tied off, Tiri followed the crowd off, dancing back and forth as she made her way to Brae and Yoresh. She popped up for a split second behind Brae and winked, before disappearing into the crowd again, waiting for Yoresh to make his move.

"Oh, they're going to be fine enough, once I get my hands on my property." She smiled as a weapon, not out of sincerity. "Just a minor delay. I'm glad you're here to see the brat off, though." Her eyes were constantly moving, looking for the girl that had flagged down the mage so cheerily before.

He saw the human, but kept his eyes on the elf lest he give her away. He had no idea who the hell she was, but at least she seemed to have gotten the idea of the situation.
Yoresh felt the corner of his mouth tug up in an unpleasant smirk as he had a thought. "I have to wonder how anyone could ever want to spend time with you, let alone marry you," he said. "Irah musst have been been deaf and blind or really desperate."

The smile turned to a sneer. "Look who's talking, exile." Oh, the wealth of things she had at her fingertips to bait him with... "At least I didn't nearly kill him because I couldn't control my temper." She started to lift a hand. "Maybe a little frost will keep a civil tongue in your head again.."

Tiri grinned fiercely and darted out from the side to grab Brae's wrist, turning to pin her arm behind her back and reaching out for the other wrist, as she jammed her knee against the elf's legs to throw her off-balance. She mumured in the other's ear, "Should pay more attention to your surroundings."

He grit his teeth but to his credit he merely shook his head as the human got a hold of her. For once he would keep his temper. He had to. Yoresh walked up to them and reached his hand out to her throat, giving the human a thankful glance before centering his attention on the elf again. "And who is it that saved their own skin by hiding away in books, leaving their mate to rot?" He had no idea what had actually happened to her husband, but hoped that he had met his end. Otherwise he'd only be making a giant fool of himself right now. Stop thinking like that.

Yoresh did something he hadn't had to do in a very long time and spoke the spell out loud in the hopes it would give him the power he needed to cast her mute.

Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. Instead, she realized the girl had done something incredibly convenient. She twitched back with a sudden jerk, aiming to get her hand inside the girl's bag and around one leather-bound volume. She just needed one.

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[i][Just....another...inch..../i] Brae waited patiently until she knew the book was well in hand before she let loose the trap she'd set, shattering the wards as she did.

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A look of shock crossed Ava's face, contorting a bit in struggle, hand suddenly glued to the item she'd been reaching for. A hint of fire and enough arcane energy to re-write the wards on the journal to take Ava -back- and then keep her in slid down the arm in a shimmering coil. She couldn't let go, she couldn't stop it. She mouthed a panicked 'no!' before the mage suddenly sagged, going limp on the monk and hand slipping out of the bag, a faint burn on her palm.

Tiri startled as the mage's hand slid into her bag and tried to jerk away, before the mage sagged. She grunted at the sudden weight and tried to ease the woman down to the boards of the dock carefully, her arms shifting to hold the woman under her arms. She glanced up at Yoresh in confusion. "I swear, it wasn't me."

A moment of fear seized him when she suddenly went limp, but he could have sworn it was Brae's magic he had seen and not Avanidra's. He helped the human move her and went down on his knee, checking for a pulse. "What is in your bag, what did she touching- touch?" he asked her.

She shifted back a bit and flipped open her satchel to show him. "The journals she had asked me to find. I couldn't get a hold of her so I was bringing them to the office to drop off." She carefully opened one of Brae's eyes to check them, before settling back and looking up at the troll. "Who ARE you, anyways?"

"You have the journals!?" he blurted. "And you brought them right to her..." he tugged his braid in aggravation. Had he just imagined Brae's magic? But if it had been Reece's doing would she really be lying here unconscious? At a loss he took hold of her hand. "Yoresh," he finally answered. "I be- am her mate." He looked at her. "And who are you?"