COINCIDENCE & KISMET: CHAPTER 5

THE FESTIVAL: PART ONE

Time, it turns out, goes both very slow and very fast when you have a child.

Any given day, Sai'in and Dotolo often found themselves collapsing in a heap on their mat, bone tired from whatever the day's misadventures had served them. It was not uncommon for them to barely make it to sunset, and sometimes the days never seemed to get to that point fast enough.

But then he blinked and Dotolo realized that the days were significantly shorter and the weather was turning cooler as fall was at their doorstep. He could have sworn it was summer a week ago. But as if to hammer the point home, a letter from Sai'in's brothers came with details of when they were scheduled to arrive from Booty Bay.

Their agreement with her brothers was that they would ostensively meet them in Ratchet when they came through, spend a few days in town, accompany them to the Crossroads, and part ways there. However, upon their weekly visit to Ratchet to barter and shop, they encountered an unexpected hitch when they saw an entire caravan from one of the Ogrimmar breweries rolling into town.

"Da fuck is goin' on?" Sai'in had blurted out bluntly, despite having been haggling with one of her regular reagent suppliers. The tauren had laughed.

"Oh they're setting up for Brewfest," the old cow chuckled.

"Brewfest be up in Ogrimmar, ain't it?" Dotolo hedged, risking looking over the sunglasses he usually wore in public to attempt to hide the telltale blue glow of his eyes. He really didn't know why he still wore them, they fooled no one, but the locals all thought it was funny and kept humoring him, so as a sort of mutual nod, he kept wearing them.

"Word is that the Brewfest is expanding. Which…mostly means that vendors who don't get a slot at the main site are setting up…some…let's say unsanctioned festivities in the smaller towns and ports," the tauren mused, handing Sai'in her requested order and bopping Sohto on the nose as he tried to reach out and take it. "Now now little one, when you're older."

Sai'in gently shooed Sohto back into his basket on her back, gently ruffling his hair with a gust of wind magic which had him happily giggling. "Goblins ain't nevah been ones ta let gold-makin' pass dem by, eh? When dey havin' it?"

"Next week is the kick off. I hear it's going to be bigger this year. They even have some Forsaken brewers coming," the bull said, and grinned at the trio of trolls. "You should come!"

"I dunno if dat be such a good idea," Dotolo coughed. He quickly added, "What wit da little one."

"Well, you know what is best for your little ones," the cow said, but gave the undead troll a knowing wink. "If you change your mind, I hear they're quite welcoming at these unofficial port festivals.  Especially the neutral ones. Even the soldiers on leave tend to show up for a few nights here and there."

"We be t'inkin' 'bout it," Sai'in said quickly, stepping protectively in front of Dotolo and giving the tauren a sour look. The old bull simply chuckled and nodded, saying nothing more of it. But it did present a problem. The festival's opening night was right when Sai'in's brothers were supposed to arrive.

There was a small debate as to whether it was wise to meet up in the middle of a festival, but at the end it was decided they were in no more danger than they usually were if they went, and it would put at ease any rumors that they were anything but normal trolls who were trying to live their lives in peace. And it wasn't like everyone who actually lived in Ratchet didn't already know he was a Death Knight or at least some sort of undead troll. If the old tauren was right, soldiers on leave from the front lines were perfectly normal at things like this.

So it was that the three of them pulled into town a week later to music, dancing, food, brew, and the occasional house fire.  Not an intentional one, mind you, but fire pits and braziers could only keep drunken rowdiness contained in a goblin town for so long before a thatched roof caught on fire.  Dotolo noted a few Frost mages standing off to the sides dousing the fires that popped up. He imagined they loved these festivals, particularly in towns where they were kept on retainer for just such occasions. 

Normally a mostly quiet port town, unless a boat had recently docked, the entire town center was filled with people from almost every race and faction that was allowed into neutral cities. Goblin, Dwarven, and yes, even Forsaken, brewers were stacking kegs behind counters, not-so-quietly arguing about prices and brewing techniques. A few blood and night elf groups were setting up tents and stages while trolls and humans set up a bandstand, and a truly impressive collection of mixed faction races were setting up food stalls as well as some specialty drink stalls for those whose taste could not stomach whatever was being served at the mail drinking halls.

Goblins really did not care where their money came from, did they?

"Dis is not what I t'ought dat old cow meant when 'e said 'biggah den last year'," Sai'in whistled as they strolled into town on raptor back. The main road was absolutely packed, and she spotted a large hastily constructed corral at the base of the inn; normally the staff quarters for the inn-owners, but their yard had been commandeered to stable the above average number of mounts.

"Ya seen anyone yet?" Dotolo asked, scanning the heads to see if he could spot any familiar faces.

"Look fo' da red heads."

Dotolo had to stop and give his mate a dubious look. "In a town fulla trolls an' dwarves….'look fo' da red heads'?"

"It ain't as common as ya t'ink!" was Sai'in's distracted response as Sohto started trying to wiggle out of the carrier he was in and get into the raptor saddle Sai'in had just vacated. "I dunno, look fo' any trolls wit one eye?"

"WE'RE IN PORT TOWN WIT KNOWN PIRATES LESS DEN A MILE AWAY!"

"I DUN FUCKIN' KNOW DEN LOOK FO' 'NOKI'S LIMP! SOHTO NO! GIT DAT OUTTA YA MOUTH DA RAPTAH AIN'T FO' LICKIN'!"

Dotolo sighed. With Sai'in thoroughly distracted trying to wrangle Sohto back into the carrier, the Death Knight followed her lead and dismounted back to level ground, gingerly taking the reins of Sai'in's raptor for her so he could lead the two old raptors to the overstuffed stables.

In hindsight, Dotolo probably should have seen it coming, what happened next. The old tauren had all but spelled it out for him; "Soldiers on leave even show up". "Extremely welcoming".  "Especially the neutral ones." But as it was, he was too preoccupied splitting his attention between Sai'in and Sohto, searching for her brothers in the crowd, and trying to find a space to comfortably jam their raptors into the comically large herd of other pack animals. So of course he didn't really see or hear anything out of the ordinary until a flaming hell-horse stopped right behind him and he heard a familiar sing-song voice in his ear, far closer than was polite.

“And she said the odds of finding them on the road were impossible. Bitch owes me 5 gold.”

It took him a moment of panic, where he caught a glimpse of the flames out of the corner of his eye and thought someone had lit the stable fence on fire, and he proceeded to make a complete fool of himself by jumping back and nearly tripping over his own feet in a rush to get away, basically only managing to stay upright thanks to landing squarely between the two raptors he'd just sandwiched into what one might graciously call a mount stable. Thankfully their raptors were old retired war-mounts and merely looked at him with a slightly judgemental snort as he pried himself out of the tangle of reins. His pride thoroughly soiled, Dotolo untangled himself from the raptors and whirled around to yell at whoever it was, only to find sitting astride a felsteed that was too big and spiky in comparison to its rider, a familiar gnome warlock grinning from ear to ear.

“Teegan?!"

"Heeeey! Did ya miss me?" She beamed proudly, doing a small 'ta-da' pose from atop her 'horse'.

A comically long pause and all Dotolo could do at the end of it was snort in amusement. "Of all da beerfests in all da world, da hells ya doin' in Ratchet? I thought ya were up north wit da Alliance?"

“I was, until about a week ago, and now I’m here!” the gnome said as if it were the most common thing in the world. She slugged his arm in greeting.  “Nice to see you too, Frosty. Didn't think I'd see your dead ass at a party."

"Part o' layin' low means ya gotta be a local once in awhile," Dotolo deadpanned through a grin. "Not dat I'd expect ya ta know what layin' low means."

"Damn right I don't!" the warlock replied easily, and paused when she saw Dotolo looking past her at Sai'in and Sohto, who had finally made their way over. "And look who else we have here! There’s my favorite future protege!”

Teegan beamed happily at Sohto, who had thankfully failed to escape the carrier but was making an earnest enough try that Sai'in had swapped it around so she could more easily keep him in it. The toddler paused, looking up at the small woman with a curious look in his wide eyes, which quickly morphed into a look of utter glee when Teegan snapped her fingers and a shower of rainbow chaos magic spun around in front of him. Sohto broke out in a squeal of joy, babbling something that probably amounted to 'again' in whatever mishmash of orcish and zandali he was learning from his surroundings.

"Awwww look at that! Still not even a flinch from chaos bolts! Kid's got the gift, I'm telling you!" Teegan crowed, leaning down to ruffle the little troll's hair affectionately.

“Trolls still can’ be warlocks, Teegan,” Sai'in grumbled in good humor. Without looking she gently pushed the hand Sohto was reaching out down and chided the whelp gently. "And no, ya ain't climbin' dat felhorse."

“The spikes on the back make an excellent basket holder,” Teegan sing-songed innocently, looking between the two spines at the back of the saddle and Sohto's basket.

"I would soonah let mah son ride a beer elemental den put 'im on dat hellbeast o' yours," Sai'in deadpanned. Teegan's eyes went wide.

"They have beer elementals?!"

Sai'in blinked at the gnome, clearly weighing whether or not Teegan was fucking with them, and after a long enough pause, Dotolo decided to save her from the awkwardness.

"Da answer still be no, Teegan," the Death Knight said, folding his arms in a flair of finality that Teegan sighed at.

"Fine. You two are no fun," she pouted in mock disappointment, and hopped down with practiced ease, snapping her fingers and dismissing the animal in a flare of brimstone and sparks. "Kid hits teenage years, I'm taking him for a joy ride on ol' Spikey."

"Like hell ya are," Sai'in snorted easily, eliciting a smirk from the gnome.

"Never underestimate the power of Aunties," Teegan said ominously, dusting herself off from her dismount.

The warlock didn't look much different than Dotolo remembered. Same long black hair tied back in a simple ponytail with some gnomish hair ornament, same devil may care Cheshire cat grin, but she wasn’t wearing her usual armor of gold spikes and black feathers. Instead she had a sleeveless robe that was much better suited to desert climes.  Even her staff was missing, her only visible armament a grimoire hanging from her belt.  Dotolo did note that she had a bandage over one shoulder, and what looked like bruising peeking out from underneath it, and her normally bright green eyes seemed slightly more fatigued than he remembered. Darker circles under them that she seemed determined to ignore.  He suspected it might have something to do with her leave from the front lines.  It was a staunch reminder that Teegan, for all her cheerful and disarming demeanor, was not just a mischievous gnome, but a soldier, and the war in Northrend was not going smoothly.

“Ya come alone?" Dotolo asked instead, deciding not to comment on Teegan's injury.

There was a crash and a horrible commotion from the general area of one of the bars.

“Unfortunately no,” Teegan said without missing a beat.  A goblin went flying down the hill, followed by a seething gnome death knight spouting obscenities. A very unwelcomingly familiar gnome death knight.

“I thought ya ditched her,”  Dotolo raised an eye ridge at the warlock, mildly disappointed that Pidge was still hanging around with them.

Teegan rested her chin on a fist and blew out a heavy sigh. “We did. Tried. Succeeded even for a little bit. Unfortunately I'm a good alchemist and she's a horrendous bitch in need of potions and phials. And what's worse, she's actually good at killing all the big bounties so I can't even deter her with premiums. So now I'm trying to see if she'll get bored waiting for me to get around to going to Dalaran for ingredients."

"Premiums?" Sai'in blinked in confusion.

"I call it the 'bitch tax'," Teegan grinned, eliciting a similar grin and a bark of laughter from Sai'in.

"HA! Oh I'mma use dat one," the shaman giggled.

“Potion business giving you trouble?"

"Do ya got any idea how many pox-be-gone and virility potions da small settlements go through?" Sai'in deadpanned. "Like a loa-damned fuckin' whorehouse. An' dey all wanna explain demselves, like I wanna know why dey need da extra-strength ones dis time. O' why dey ran out early dat week."

Teegan could not have hid the laughter if she had tried. As it was, she didn't even pretend. Her cackling was so loud it turned a few heads that managed to hear her over the din of the festival. Dotolo was surprised the warlock didn't fall over, and for a moment wondered when she'd need to stop laughing so she could breath.

"Ya ya, laugh it up," Sai'in sighed as Teegan continued laughing, but Dotolo saw the hint of a smile under her grumbling, and Sohto, having no idea what any of this was about, thought this was the funniest thing in the world and was clapping along madly.

"Ahhh, oh gods I needed that. Hoooo," Teegan wiped a tear from her eye as she managed to catch her breath. "Thankfully though, I came with better company than Queen Bitchington over there. Armesan should be around heeeeeere somewherrrrrre….crap I lost track of her again. Fucking rogues, I hate it when she does that."

"When she does what?"

Now…after a year and change of knowing Teegan, Dotolo figured very little could fluster the gnomish woman. That illusion, however, was completely shattered when Armesan, who had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, spoke up, causing Teegan to scream, and grab an imp that had been phased beside her, pulling it into the corporeal world and hurling the poor shrieking demon at the Night Elf like a wrecking ball.

Armesan, of course, easily dodged the projectile imp, which instead landed on a stack of potatoes heading towards the food stalls. She gave her friend a raised eyebrow and if you looked close enough, you could see the tiniest hints of a smirk tugging at her face.

Teegan's expression, however, was an amazing mixture of shock and anger.

"You! Fuck! Don't! That was not! FUCK!" the gnome stammered, ultimately settling on the curse word and jabbing a finger up at the night elf.

Sai'in and Dotolo couldn't help the peals of laughter, which only got louder when Sohto joined in and started babbling baby iterations of 'fuck' over and over again. The chorus of laughter also managed to break the standoff between Teegan's irritation and Armesan's bored glares, drawing their attention back to the three cackling trolls.

Teegan just sent a glower at the little whelp."You're lucky you're cute."

"A'm…I gotta say….dat was beautiful," Dotolo wheezed, taking his first real breath since the imp went flying and Teegan got a taste of her own medicine.

The Night Elf's disapproving look shifted momentarily as she turned her attention to the them, a small grin and barely perceivable nod in greeting, but then she turned back to her friend who was still attempting to salvage her pride and the glower was back.

"No demons in the grounds. That includes the phased ones," Armesan said bluntly.

"They also said no weapons. How many knives you got on you?" Teegan shot back smoothly, some of her wit returning.

Armesan merely narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Fine fine, I'll leave them outside the grounds. What are you the fun police?"

"I'm the 'Not getting caught going AWOL' police," the night elf grumbled.

"It's not AWOL, it's a vacation. You know, that thing we were supposed to get three months ago, but then they threw us at that godsdamn fortress instead. So fuck them, I'm taking my contract negotiated vacation time!" Teegan declared proudly.

Armesan sighed, but didn't say anything further. Similar to Teegan, she was dressed for recreation, not for combat, wearing a simple banded top and a skirt.  Dotolo did note that she was still wearing boots and bracers, and yes, highly suspected there were hidden daggers in them. 

“Shit be goin' dat well up dere, eh?" Sai'in said softly, glancing between the two Alliance. They had tried to keep their ear to the ground, keep themselves aware of what was going on, and it seemed some small part of Sai'in had hoped that the rumors they'd heard were exaggerating how bad it was.

Armesan glanced at the shaman and sighed. "About as good as you'd expect."

"So fuck those guys, here we are!" Teegan decreed loudly and with a finality no one really wanted to challenge. Even Armesan simply shook her head and indicated that she lead the way towards the party proper.

“Well, den I guess da gang be back ta’getha fo’ da night," Sai'in said, taking the hint and letting the talk of war and how poorly it seemed to be going behind for the moment. "Let's see if all mah dumbass bruddahs be here yet."

“Oooo, your brothers are here too?”  Teegan perked up mischievously. The death knight snorted in amusement at Teegan's sudden eagerness.

“Dey should be,”  she said, looking around for familiar gouts of red hair in the crowd.  It wasn’t easy with all the other trolls amongst the festival patrons, and she quickly ran into the same problem Dotolo had, which is that in the waning light…EVERYONE had red hair. "Damn firelight," she muttered, until she managed to spot a unique set of braids amidst the throng of shorter trolls down at the dock side of town. Sometimes their 'unique' heritage came in handy. "Ah, dere's Xan, da othahs should be nearby." Sai'in frowned when she saw who she was pretty sure was Xan dash off yelling something. "Hoo boy. Looks like dey gettin' sidetracked."

“Well then," Teegan purred, cracking her knuckles. "Let’s not be strangers. Let's go say hi!”

"Is your idea of 'hi' going to get you arrested?"

"Noooooo, geez you need to fucking lighten up, Stripes," Teegan groaned, shooting her friend a look. The Night Elf didn't really respond to the comment, instead simply moving into the fray and beginning the long trek across town down towards the docks.

"She be seemin' mo'…intense den last time," Sai'in said cautiously to the gnome after the night elf was out of percievable earshot.

Teegan's demeanor fell a bit, the jovial amusement replaced by the tired and weary look Dotolo had seen inklings of earlier.

"It's been…bad. I'm sure you know, the thing about fighting the undead is…you're not just fighting the enemy. You're fighting every friend who falls. Everyone who dies of infection before a healer can cleanse them. Families. Children. No one gets a pass. And that's before you throw in all the other bullshit. And there's…a lot…of bullshit going on up there," Teegan said, her voice sounding unnervingly hollow. The carefree tone she always had was eerily absent and it gave the two trolls a dark glimpse of what was happening far from their shores. Even though they'd had a first hand taste of the Lich King's handiwork, it didn't make it any easier hearing that kind of misery was spreading.

"She won't say anything, but I've heard the rogue ranks have been sent on a lot of assassination missions. Making sure information doesn't fall into the wrong hands if someone doesn't come back," Teegan continued quietly. "I bullied her into coming as much for her sake as for my own. She needs the break, and since she's too stubborn to admit it, I will. She missed you guys. We both did. It'll do us good to hang out with some real friends for awhile."

"Okay, I'd buy dat from joo, but da assassin? Missed us?" Sai'in had to balk, glancing between the gnome and where Armesan had gone.

"You gonna try and tell me you didn't miss us?" Teegan shot the shaman and sly grin. Sai'in was about to respond but Teegan interrupted her quickly with an added, "Pidge doesn't count."

Sai'in closed her mouth again without saying anything, trying to find words for an appropriate comeback but coming up blank.

"It's good ta see ya too, Teegan," Dotolo supplied. "We glad ya ain't dead."  Sai'in sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Same here, Twigs," the gnomish woman smiled, slugging Sai'in's knee affectionately. She cleared her throat and after a moment her trademark grin was back. "Now come on. We have two missions. Get Armesan to relax and to find your brothers. For reasons."

"I'm beggin' ya, don' tell me dose reasons," Sai'in deadpanned, having WAY too good of an idea of what

Teegan planned, and knowing full well who her target likely was. The gnome's only reply was a mad cackle, which of course…Sohto echoed merrily.

"Ya corruptin' mah child ya crazy bint," Dotolo muttered loud enough for Teegan to hear.

"Consider it a freebie. Usually I charge for interns." was the easy reply, which Dotolo couldn't help but snort at. Sai'in shot her mate a look, but its effectiveness was diminished by the goofy grin she was trying to hide and the fact that Sohto was merrily cheering and trying to get out of the basket to follow Teegan.

---

"Dat's it. I quit. Fuck da trades, I'm fuckin' sick of dis shit!"

Xan sighed from where he was crouched, picking up the remains of one of their packs, of course the pack that had once upon a time had all the glass items in it. What was left that wasn't shattered on the ground rattled around in the damaged pack with a disheartening tinkling noise that meant they'd be lucky if anything survived.

"An' whacha gonna do instead, eh?" Enoki shot back.

"I dunno! Pirating?! Banditry?! Anytin' be betta den gettin' our shit busted an' robbed by our own kin and den havin' ta smile an' pretend it didn' happen!" Duma snarled, indicating the mess of supplies that had been tied to their raptors. Raptors, which were no longer anywhere to be found.

But whoever had taken them had made damn sure the three of them found the riding gear that had been stripped from them and vandalized with various colorful slurs and offensive graffiti. They'd also looted and sacked most of the trade goods that Xan, Enoki, and Duma had been crafting and hoping to sell in Ogrimmar or on the Auction House over the last six months. All because they'd parked the raptors in the last spot available on this side of town, beating out the group of soldiers that had been standing behind them. And some of them had recognized Xan and Enoki.

Xan gritted his teeth in irritation. He'd thought they were just posturing out of frustration, and that the worst they'd do was make some backhanded comments, at worst some commentary about their heritage. The usual shit. Apparently the thuggish soldiers were more keyed up than he'd thought and they'd decided to take more drastic measures to let them know of their displeasure.

It was dumb, but Xan was more irritated that he'd miscalculated their intent than the destroyed trade goods and missing raptors. He used to be good at this, hell he'd been one of the better spies the back before Zul'Gurub. And sure, while the heads of the Rogue Guilds were often jerks and made comments, none of the other rank and file dared, for fear that he'd find out and make them regret it. Apparently several years of retirement had blunted his skill AND reputation, and it bothered him a lot more than he thought it would.

"Ya wanna go git yaself put up on da next Wanted Board?!" Enoki's retort snapped Xan out of her personal musings and the troll sighed. He could hear his little brother's voice starting to get that lilt to it that often was a precursor to someone ending up dead. He couldn't really blame him, it's not like he liked this either.

"Least if I was I could do somethin' 'bout dose fuckin' pigs, but noooo, can't go standin' up fo' ourselves, 'cause it might give people da wrong idea! Meanwhile any otha Darkspear coulda fucked dem up six times ovah by now!"

"An' what den, hmm?" Xan cut in, glaring over his shoulder at his two younger brothers. "Ya go kick dere asses, get da raptahs back, an'…what den? Get ya ass banned from Ratchet fo' da night? Get yaself thrown in da stockades ovah a bunch a puritan assholes? An' dat's if ya dun get yaself cut up takin' on a bunch o' dem by yaself."

"I'm sicka just takin' dis all lyin' down!" Duma fumed, his temper clearly frayed.

"Den don't. But be smarter 'bout it den just bargin' ovah and sluggin dem in da face. Dat's what 'noki's fo'," Xan smirked, glancing over at the warrior who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Da hell ya mean?" Duma narrowed his eyes at Xan, his anger replaced by caution. He knew Xan's 'teaching' voice often had hidden costs.

"What I mean…" Xan said, getting up from the ground and grabbing his littlest brother around the shoulders. "…is dat dey stole three trained war raptors from dere riders. An' we all know what happened da last time someone tried stealin' one of our raptors, right?"

Duma blinked and then the light went on in his head and his expression grew into a sinister grin. "Oh dat's right….dat was when dey tried takin' Zuka and Buli, wasn't it?"

"An' add in ya prissy little princess of a raptor…" Xan hedged, fishing a leather cord out from under his shirt and dangling the whistle attached to it in front of his brother. Duma needed no further help imagining the chaos he was going to unleash on these impromptu bandits.

Enoki looked at the two rogues and sighed, digging into his pocket and handing his own raptor whistle to Duma. "Have fun."

The youngest grabbed the whistles quickly and bolted, eager to exact vengeance for ruining what should have been a nice, relaxing, visit with their sister at a beerfest. So eager, in fact, that he only managed a quick "Hi Sai'. Bye Sai'." as he dashed off and passed Sai'in and Dotlo, clad with Sohto strapped in a basket.

Completely blindsided by the blur that was her brother, the shaman and death knight just blinked dumbly, and turned to watch him disappear into the crowd. Sai'in was the first to turn around slowly and glare at her remaining siblings with a shrewd, knowing look.

"Who did ya send him ta fuck up?"

"Eh, just some assholes," Xan shrugged innocently at his sister, snickering at the look she gave him that said she didn't believe him for a second.

"Wait, who's getting fucked up? Is this the 'let's watch' kind of fucking up or the 'let's help' kind of fucking up?"

It was then that Xan noticed the figure behind Sai'in and Dotolo, thanks largely to the horrible orcish accent coming from behind his sister and brother-in-law.

"Wait…fuck…Teegan?!" Enoki blurted out in disbelief.

As if hearing her name summoned her from the abyss, the gnomish woman sauntered out from behind Dotolo's leg, raising an eyebrow and flashing a toothy grin at them.

"In the flesh!" the warlock grinned, taking a very slow and very deliberate bow that any woman with a shred of self-consciousness would never do in a dress like the one the gnome was wearing. Curiously, Xan glanced over at Enoki and had to stifle the laugh at the dumbstruck look on his brother's face.

The poor warrior might have been the cool-headed one of the three of them, but he was not the most socially adept, and he was shit at hiding most of his emotions. Anger was about the only one he was halfway good at and that had its limits for…other reasons. But if you were even halfway decent at reading people, Enoki wore his heart on his sleeve, which is why MOST of the time he clammed up or deflected when conversations ever turned to sex or romance. For those who were trained observers like Xan…while he had no real interest in his brother's taste in women, it had been impossible to ignore how often Enoki had mentioned Teegan over the last few months. And he never called her 'the warlock' or 'the gnome'. Always by her name.

The rogue chuckled internally and decided to have mercy on his poor brother.

"Well whaddya know, t'ings might be lookin' up," Xan sing-songed, nonchalantly nudging Enoki enough to break the poor troll out of his stupor. He did a quick scan and noted that standing just off to the side where the shadows started creeping into the firelight was a familiar Night Elf, and Xan couldn't help but grin wider. "Maybe tonight ain't entirely fucked aftah all."

"Da hell happened ta ya packs?!" Sai'in yelled, having finally noticed the mess at their feet.

"Nothin' dat unleashin' Duma on a couple o' fuckin' purists won't fix," Xan said easily, burying the irritation of the whole situation.

"Ungh not again…" Sai'in moaned, but her eyes flashed angrily. "Where da hell did dey go?"

"Easy, Sai. Duma's on it," Enoki said calmly, though he sighed heavily when he glanced down at the ruined packs.

"Purists?" Teegan piped up curiously, having followed Sai'in to see what was going on more clearly. Her eyes seemed to narrow darkly when she took in the scene of rummaged and ruined supplies and the general mood. "Oh THAT kind of fucking up."

"Yeah, well nothin' we haven't dealt wit befo'," Enoki grumbled, shouldering the pack that was closest to him. At least the bags were still okay.

"Okay, but let me tell you, nothing says 'utter humiliation' to you tall ones like getting your ass beaten by a gnome," Teegan said simply, but the look of evil glee on her face was hard to miss. "And when they mess with my friends, I can make it very…VERY…humiliating."

"Nu-uh, I ain't gettin' caught in ya debt again, I learned mah lesson!" Dotolo butted in. Xan snickered at the sound of panic in the poor death knight's voice, even if it was mostly a joke.

"I'll do it on discoooooount," Teegan waggled her eyebrows at Dotolo in amusement, seemingly pleased when Dotolo just flipped her off. "Okay well fine, how bout you buy me an ale and I throw Pidge at them?"

"How 'bout I buy ya an' ale NOT ta do dat?" Enoki countered quickly.

"My hero!" Teegan mock swooned. "To the beer hall!"

"It be a tent," Sai'in corrected the warlock as she marched past the shaman.

"Whatever!" she retorted, jabbing a finger aimlessly into the air. Xan had to hand it to the gnome. She was a masterful navigator of conversation. With a few well timed jabs and commentary, she'd diffused the cloud of frustration and anger that had been slowly creeping in and redirected it into…what probably was not, in the end, healthier directions, but certainly more fun. Even Sai'in, who was usually the first to throw lightning bolts right behind Duma throwing his knives had accepted the offered distraction with ease. And Enoki certainly wasn't willing to pass up the opening.

Xan saw Armesan shake her head in response to Teegan's antics, but there was a smirk across her face despite her body language saying she wasn't about to leave the shadows.  

"Ya jus' gonna lurk over dere in da dark all night an' let ya friend git inta all da trouble?" Xan called over to the Night Elf when she didn't seem like she was going to follow. The assassin simply raised an eyebrow at him and gestured towards the little procession Teegan was leading back to the festival proper.

"After you," she said simply. The troll just snorted in amusement at the notion that she thought they posed any threat to her, but obliged. Much to his pleasant surprise, she didn't lag behind, but instead fell into step beside him as he passed.

"No need to collect brother number three?" she asked idly, glancing over towards where Duma had run off to.

Xan smirked. "Nah, jus' be sure ta enjoy da show. Ya know it when ya hear it."

---

"I…did not know that raptors could jump that high." 

"Heheheeee no one really expects it from da jungle raptors dey train in Sen'jin," Sai'in giggled with malicious glee at the gnome's comment.  

Teegan blinked at the shaman a bit in disbelief.  "Wait, you trained them yourselves?"

"Ya do not wanna know what da forest trolls ride," Enoki added with a bit of mock disgust.

"And today I learned that troll tribes are mount snobs," Teegan giggled. "So here's my big question. Why have you trained your raptors to jump up on rooftops and scream at the top of their lungs? Don't get me wrong, that was funny as hell, but that's an oddly specific thing to teach a riding mount, war cavalry or otherwise."

"Reventusk be full of sheer cliffs an' is about fifty feet from da open sea. Storms do a number on da village an' any mount dat can't scale cliffs tends not ta last long. Makes it easier ta find 'em if they get washed down da shores too," Enoki shrugged as if this was common sense.

"Also makes for a handy alert system," Armsan added nonchalantly, watching as the festival guards were attempting to pull the raging orc out of the tent that had enveloped him. One of the raptors had been tied to the tent post and pulled down the entire food stall on top of any unlucky patrons.

"An' how many of dose cats ya Sentinels got roamin' ya borders, lurkin' in da shadows?" Xan shot back. The Night Elf simply shrugged.

"Not denying it. Just making an observation," she said coolly, giving the rogue a studious side-eye. "Like how you all have odd tendencies to favor jungle trolls over the forest trolls despite living with them."

"Da Darkspear ARE jungle trolls, ya know," Sai'in said pointedly, bristling a little at the veiled prod.

"Darkspears who stay as far away from their homeland as possible," Armesan volleyed. "It's just curious is all."

"You know, that's a good point, why DO you guys live all the way up there? I know there's that ruined troll city up there, but isn't that full of insane cultists?" Teegan piped up, genuine curiosity crossing her face.

"Dere aren't many places ya can afford on a trader's salary," Enoki grumbled vaguely.

"Wait you're not part of the Horde army? How?!" Teegan blinked in disbelief. "You said you got those injuries in Zul'Gurub!"

"Ya, an' when dey realized da hex magics fucked wit' our regeneratin', den dey discharged us," the warrior sighed. "Da army ain't got much use fo' warriors who can't charge straight o' rogues who can't see o' hear properly."

"Oh bullshit," Teegan called out, slamming her mug down for dramatic effect. "I've seen plenty of Hordies with missing eyes and limbs. Hell, I saw an orc once with cleavers for hands! And I know at least one Alliance paladin we call 'Stubby' because both his legs are peg legs! The armies don't discharge you simply because you got cursed. Believe me, I would know! I do a lot of cursing! And not just in the colloquial sense! So what's the deal?"

There was a lengthy pause where Enoki, Dotolo, Sai'in and Xan all shot glances between each other and Armesan noted that their expressions shifted from merely irritated to genuinely concerned, and in Sai'in's case, a slight edge of panic.

"I'm sure it has something to do with internal politics," Armesan jumped in suddenly, drawing Teegan's attention back to her and away from the uncomfortable silence that had come over the trolls. "Remember when you made that comment about racial elitists ignoring perfectly good professions like warlock or mage in front of the Night Elf ambassadors?"

"Why is it that you only ever remember all the embarrassing stories about me?!" Teegan bemoaned, sitting back down. "How was I supposed to know your people outlawed arcane professions?! And don't say-"

"-the literal War of the Ancients?" the night elf interrupted, raising an eyebrow at the gnome.

"Fuck you, Stripes. I'm getting another round and I'm spiking your drink," the warlock jabbed a finger in mock anger at the rogue.

"Good luck," Armesan replied easily as Teegan hopped down to carry out her threat.

"I'm…gonna make sure she dun actually do dat," Enoki offered, not really waiting for a reply before he followed Teegan. Armesan had been about to tell him that it was unnecessary, but he was gone before she could get a word in, and she decided to let him have the excuse. There was another silence that descended over their table, broken only by the babbling and clinking of Sohto playing with whatever toy Sai'in and Dotolo had given him to play with. After awhile, the night elf decided to break it.

"If you don't want to tell her, best to just tell her no rather than try to dodge it. But for what it's worth, she's actually pretty good at keeping things quiet. You'd be surprised," Armesan said calmly. 

"It's not…" Sai'in started but then stopped herself, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted. "It's not dat it be a secret, jus'…it be complicated."

"You're outcasts," Armesan said simply. "Outcasts that the Horde want to keep a leash on. Whatever leash they had before your injuries, they don't think it'll work anymore. So they've discharged your brothers until they find a new one. That about sum it up?"

"How did ya-" Sai'in started but was cut off.

"And I'm going to hazard a guess that you two are 'presumed dead' still?" She pointed at Sai'in and Dotolo. They nodded warily.

"Which means you were their leash," Armesan pointed at Sai'in who bristled a bit but then paused and blinked in surprise, head whipping around to look at Xan. The elder rogue sighed in irritation and nodded.

"Da fuck?! Why didn' ya say anythin'?! Da whole time?!" the shaman balked at her brother.

"Sai', ya were 3 when dey drafted meh for da rogue guilds. 10 when Enoki went in. Da fuck difference would it have made if we'd told ya?" Xan said in an exasperated tone.

The shaman tried a few times to refute it, but settled on, "I wasn't some helpless kid ya know!  Ya coulda told meh!"

"And telling you would have accomplished nothing except made you feel self-conscious and angry," Armesan said, earning a glare from the shaman.

"An' even if we had told ya, we still woulda ended up in Zul'Gurub. An' ya gonna tell me dat ya'd wanna change dat in da end?" Xan asked pointedly, glancing over deliberately at Sohto and Dotolo.

"Dat ain't fair," Sai'in growled, subtly shifting closer to her husband and son protectively.

"Life rarely is," Armsan added. "Take it from an old pro. We all take our beatings and our winnings where we can, however we can."

"Speakin' of beatin's an' winnin's, ya evah gonna finish dat story?" Xan chirped innocently, shifting his focus from his sister to the night elf.

“Which story is that?” Armesan replied coolly.

“What ‘appened to ya son.”

The assassin immediately frowned and tensed up, especially when she could feel the attention of the shaman zero in on her.

"Wait, ya have a son?!"

"HAD," Armesan snapped harshly. She glared between the two siblings. "And there's no story to tell."

"Dere's always a story ta tell," Sai'in said, scrambling over to flank the assassin with Xan.

Armesan glared at the shaman and the now perplexed and curious child staring up at her as his mother settled in.

"I guarantee you it is not anything worth remembering. I'm an assassin, I kill people. That's it," Armesan said harshly, but she'd blunted her tone a bit now that Sohto was right in front of her. The damn shaman was sharper than she'd given her credit for, and was not shy about exploiting Armesan's weak spots. Or discomfort.

"Ain't talkin' so high an' mighty now dat it be 'bout you huh?  Fair be fair, aftah all," Sai'in grinned darkly. "Ain't dat right, Sohto? Ya wanna know what ya Auntie A'm been up ta fo' 10,000 years?"

The little troll grinned happily at the sound of his name and babbled some nonsense in response.

"No," Armesan said, but she did ruffle Sohto's hair quickly as her hand reached for her glass, eliciting a peep of approval from the toddler.

"Ya know we just gonna be makin' shit up 'bout cha if ya dun tell us nothin', right?" Sai'in volleyed.

"Be my guest."

"Mmmm okay, whachoo t'ink 'Tolo? Illicit love affair wit some highborne noble?" the shaman hummed in thought, deliberately looking over to the death knight as if Armesan wasn't just sitting right there.

Safely on the other side of the table and shielded by the safety of Sohto's adorable charms, Dotolo pretended to think while giving the night elf a sly look. "Nah, ya be a rogue.  Rogues brag 'bout ya conquests, ain't dat right Xan?"

The red headed rogue just grinned, amused as all hell by this twist in conversation at Armesan's expense.

"I'm thinkin' secret second life. Some delicate noblewoman by day an' a darin' assassin by night. Son an' Husband didn' know until she had ta save dem from some rival assassin clan. Fakes 'er own death ta try an' save dem from harm." the death knight grinned.

"Oo! What if dey tried sacrificin' dem ta da old gods an' she had ta come back from da dead ta save dem?"

They went on for QUITE awhile, Sai'in and Dotolo making up increasingly ridiculous stories about Armesan's life, each more ludicrous than the last. Somewhere between the one where apparently her husband was a druid who went to sleep for 10,000 years causing her to have a secret love child with one of the sons of the Windrunner family line, and one where she was once a priestess of Elune and her son had been abducted by kobolds causing her to swear vengence against the annoying candle loving rodents for all eternity, Armesan leaned back so only Xan could hear her.

"You did this on purpose," she muttered to him in between cackles of laughter coming from Sai'in and Dotolo, Sohto merrily accompanying them

Xan simply smirked and took a sip of his drink, "Ya poke at our lives, we gonna poke back." 

Armesan shot the troll an accusatory look, to which he smiled innocently without an ounce of remorse. “I may not be inclined to kill you, but maiming isn’t out of the question.”

“I love a woman who can kick mah ass,” Xan replied easily, his wicked grin growing wider, daring her to do something about it. For a brief moment, Armesan considered throwing the remains of whatever sad excuse for wine she'd been drinking in Xan's face and walking away, but then she was pulled out of her musing of retribution by a sudden gasp and the shaman's hand on her arm.

"Oh! Wait! I got it!"

Armesan had to blink in surprise at Sai'in's earnest tone and the look of excitement in her eyes, surprised that the shaman had just so easily reached out without fear of retaliation. Did she really trust Armesan that much? Didn't she want to keep them all at arm's length last time they'd seen them?

"What?" the rogue said warily when the shaman didn't continue right away.

"Murlocs."

It didn't matter what that meant. She said it with such dead seriousness and sincerity for that brief second before she just lost it laughing and Armesan could not help but snort and shake the woman's hand off her arm in mock disgust.

"Oh my fucking gods," the night elf retorted, rolling her eyes amongst the absolute peals of laughter coming from the shaman and her mate. Even Xan who had said and done nothing other than look smug and amused this whole time was laughing in earnest. "Fuck you all, I'm not drunk enough for this shit."

They didn't even stop her as she stood up and started leaving, heading towards the beer tents to acquire something….ANYTHING….to make the ridiculous images they had conjured either disappear or make more sense. But she also couldn't help the shake of her head and small smile as she heard the laughter continue to echo behind her.

Before Teegan, it had been a long…LONG time, since Armesan had just spent the night at a party not on lookout for something underhanded going on. Life as an assassin was a solitary one, and after awhile, you became numb to it. You don't even realize it until some boisterous extroverted gnome happens upon you in a dungeon, opens the door you've lockpicked, and starts claiming that she saved you and as repayment you have to go to this bender with her.

It had become apparent very quickly that Teegan never did anything less than what she pleased, and after awhile they'd settled into what had become a quirky but valued friendship. More often than not, whether Teegan was on the hunt for marks, passing companions, or potential bedmates, she always tried to get Armesan to join in, to which she had always politely declined and instead acted as an invisible guard.

She didn't do mingling. She'd never been any good at it, and people were complicated. It was easier just to be what everyone already expected from her race and profession. So to say she was out of her depth amidst this family of trolls who were treating her like Teegan did, like a real friend and not some scary spectre of death and murder or some ethereal untouchable statue, was an understatement. Especially since when they had last parted ways she had been pretty sure most of them were glad to be rid of them.

Except Xan. The one to make the offer. The one Armesan had least expected to throw out an invite back into their lives. She hadn't missed how the entire time from when they met up at the Thandol Span to that last night around the table in Booty Bay the rogue had inserted himself between her and the rest of his siblings at every opportunity, and when he couldn't, he was covertly keeping an eye on her. Then trying to pry into her past. Her motives.  Assessing whether or not she posed any threat to them.

He was perceptive, she had to give him that. He'd picked up on a few things, guessed too close to the truth for her to entirely deflect or ignore, made the connections she didn't have to say anything to confirm. And at the end of it, somehow seemed to have come to the conclusion that not only were they trustworthy, but that they might consider them friends worth seeking out again one day.

Though Armesan didn't entirely rule out the thought that Enoki had been as vocal about being about as interested in Teegan as Teegan had been with the warrior and he'd made the offer for the sake of his sibling. She'd certainly agreed to break them out of that infirmary mostly to placate her best friend.

Butas they talked, pieces started falling into place about these trolls and Armesan couldn't help but try to confirm the suspicions and pry for information. See what kind of trouble Teegan had unwittingly gotten them into. And somehow that had been turned on its head to the point where now they were teasing her like old friends. And it hadn't been…entirely unpleasent.  It was however, not something Armesan was used to. Applying more alcohol to this particular discomfort was probably not the smartest idea, but it was preferable to sitting and seeing just how absurd Sai'in and Dotolo could get at her expense. And she had promised Teegan she'd try and play nice. She just hadn't said for how long.

Armesan made a point of taking an extra long route around to what she hoped was a better wine vendor than the last one she'd sampled, and when she returned she specifically did not return to the table where Duma had finally rejoined the group. Xan, however was missing. They'd had their fun, Teegan was more than likely happily occupied, no one would notice or care if she just made herself scarce.

"Not much of an ale drinkah, are ya?"

The night elf had barely managed to turn around before Xan's voice signaled where he'd gone, which it turned out, wasn't that far.  Armesan sighed in defeat and instead of slipping away like she had just been plotting to do, she silently went over to the table where Xan had relocated to, perched so he could keep watch without being too intrusive.

Or too noticible. For a rogue who claimed to be retired he sure seemed to like using his skills whenever possible.

"Not much of a party person."

"Figahed as much," Xan grinned, seeming to either not notice her inner turmoil or simply not comment on it. If she had to put money on it Armesan would bet on the latter. "Surprised ya let 'em go on fo' dat long."

"I was curious if they'd run out of ideas on their own or if I'd have to stop them," Armesan replied cooly, but not unkindly. "So are you out here keeping an eye out for them, for me, or for the brother Teegan abducted?"

"Eh, lettin' Duma have da limelight fo' awhile. An' old habits die hard," Xan shrugged with a roguish grin at that last part and winked at her. "Don't dey?"

Armesan snorted into her cup before taking a sip. Well, at least this one wasn't nearly as bad as the last one. "Well don't worry, I'm not going to shank your sibling for insulting my family lineage."

"Didn't t'ink ya were."

"Then why are you skulking over here instead of visiting with your family?"

Xan chuckled a bit and glanced at the night elf, turning so his good eye could see her clearly. When he didn't respond right away, she figured he wouldn't say anything or simply change the subject, but then he grinned and made a show of stretching a bit and settling in. Armesan had to blink a bit when she realized just how tall he was when he wasn't hunching over.

That was another oddity with these trolls, their builds were all wildly different from most of the Darkspears and Zandalari she knew. Xan and Sai'in were taller than most, Enoki and Duma stockier, which by itself wasn't that odd, but when you took into account the strangeness of where they lived and how they seemed to be treated by other trolls within the Horde, it raised some questions.

“How bout we trade?” Xan asked, breaking Armesan out of her thoughts.

“Trade what?”

“Stories.  I show ya mine, you show me yours.”

The night elf chuckled.  “You really don’t give up do you?”

“Nevah been one ta back down from a challenge,” the rogue admitted with a grin.  Armesan chuckled lightly at his antics and let the conversation lapse, expecting that to be the end of it.

“So ya gonna tell me?”

The Night Elf gave the troll a side eye and a smirk. “You’re cute, Xan, but not that cute.”

"But interestin' enough ta keep ya from slinkin' away, hm?" the one eyed rogue volleyed smugly.

"Slightly interesting. Mildling interesting, at best," she shot back seamlessly.

Xan made a dramatic face. "'Mildly'?"

Armesan smirked and simply leaned back, sipping her wine easily and acting for all the world like she was intent on sitting in companionable silence next to Xan. Except she could practically hear the gears turning in his head as the silence stretched until finally he made his move.

"Anythin' ya wanna know."

The assassin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that, and judging by the grin on his face he knew he'd found a mark. She studied him for a long while until finally she blew out a breath, and seemed to sigh in defeat. Damn her curiosity.

“Anything?” she finally said. 

Xan smirked. "Anythin'."

"No fast talking your way around the answer either like you did back in Booty Bay. I know you left something out last time," the night elf narrowed her eyes at the troll, who held a hand out innocently.

“On mah honor.”

Armesan seemed to consider Xan carefully, looking for any sign of deceit or hidden catch, and after what seemed like a long time, she finally sighed. "Fine. How well do you know the history of the War of the Ancients?” 

Xan blinked, not expecting that to be where this story started.  “It involved some crazy elf queen an’ demons?  An’ da Sunderin’? Kinda slept through dat part of da history classes.”

Armesan snorted.  “Do you know what Satyrs are at least?"

"Hey, dat I do know," Xan said defensively at the implication.

"Okay well…the first of the Saytrs was an elf by the name of Xavius. He…..well….long story short, and he and his ilk took great strides to spread their curse amongst my people during the war.  Those they could not corrupt, they would kill,” Armesan said, pausing to take a sip of her wine as she collected her thoughts.

“The village where we lived was one of the earlier targets. A testbed. Small. Remote.  Unprepared. Anyway….my husband and I were called to the front when the invasion started.  We were…sufficiently combat trained to help the Sentinels hold back the demons while the civilians evacuated.  We left Armin in the care of one of our friends.  We thought they’d be able to ferry him to safety with the rest of the refugees,” she paused, a dark and empty look coming over her eyes.  “The Satyrs got to them first.  We found them…after.”

"Dey cursed 'im?" Xan prodded after a moment, coaxing Armesan out of the dark memory and back to the present. She shook her head slightly.

"No…Thank the gods, no he wasn't he was just…torn to shreds…just like everyone else," she said softly, but her lip curled a bit in bitter anger at the memory. "Left to rot in the woods."

“Where ya husband be now?”  Xan asked after another long pause, allowing Armesan time to collect herself.

“Dead, now," she replied, grateful for the subtle space and change in topic.  "Some skirmish or another.  He left shortly after we relocated to Nordrassil.  I….did not.  We….weren’t the same after Armin died.  Losing a child is just…..”

“It changes ya.”

“To say the least,”  she half laughed, but it sounded hollow. As if to cleanse the bitter taste of the memories, Armesan threw back the rest of her drink and finished it in one swig and then seamlessly stole another one off a passing human who was not paying attention to the drinks on his tray as much as he was trying to keep his wobbly footing. Xan simply chuckled and said nothing of it.

Instead he said, "Dunno dat I can top dat, but a deal be a deal. Whacha wanna know?"

Armesan chuckled lightly and glanced up at the troll out of the corner of her eye, considering her question thoughtfully. "What is it about your family that the Horde wants so bad they won't exile you, but are so terrified of that they feel they need to collar you with threats against your siblings?"

"Hah, ya really play dirty don' cha?"

"You said anything."

"An' I meant it. Jus'…dat be a loaded as hell question."

The Night Elf gestured at the table with the rest of their merry band.  "They're more than entertained by whatever horrors Duma has unleashed on your raptor jackers, and there is literally zero chance that Teegan and Enoki are ever coming back with those drinks, and you know it. We've got aaaaaaall night," Armesan said, the last wisps of sorrow washed away with a smug grin.

"Ungh, ya….ya I know," Xan sighed, looking like he was trying REALLY hard not to imagine what those two were getting up to. "Okay well…ya speak Zandali, so ya know somethin' 'bout troll culture. How well ya know da tribes down in Stranglethorn?"

"Well enough to have fought them. But if you're asking do I know what they were like when there was an empire? No."

"Eh, dat's good enough. Ya know dat none of da tribes play nice anymore. 'specially not, say…da Darkspear an' da Bloodscalp."

"I'm sensing a 'but' in here somewhere."

"But…Dad was a…I guess some of ya elves woulda called 'im a ranger. An' he was stationed over in Stranglethorn fo' a long time. Long enough ta have met an' married our mother."

"Who…was definitely not a Darkspear."

"Nope."

Armesan nodded, the oddities she'd noted before now clicking into place. "Okay so you're half-breeds of different tribes. That still doesn't explain why Thrall's commanders fear you more than the literal undead in their ranks."

Xan fidgeted a bit, which of course piqued Armesan curiosity further. "Dere are….rumors…of who our grandfatha was. Rumors we can't really disprove an'…probably have mo' truth ta dem den we want."

Armesan hummed thoughtfully, running through the litany of high class threats she remembered from the many assignments to deal with Stranglethorn's warrior troll tribes. The only ones she could think of that would warrant this kind of paranoia were the ones who had been involved in the Hakkar cult in Zul'Gurub, and that had a lot of interesting implications.

"Your mother lived in Zul'Gurub?" the night elf hedged, seeing that Xan was not going to elaborate further. At least not without some prodding.

"She had ta. Da thing wit da Bloodscalp is dey protect their bloodlines fiercely.  None o’ da blood drinkers be allowed ta breed outside da tribe, an' especially none of da Bloodlord's kin." 

Bloodlord. Oh. Oh now everything made MUCH more sense.

"Oh, hah okay I can see how that might….concern some powers that be," Armesan chuckled smoothly, but she noted Xan made no secret of watching her reaction when he offered up the name. Whatever he saw seemed to surprise him a bit and some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to disappear. Apparently he had been expecting a more…intense reaction.

“Heh ya, makes a lotta people nervous knowin' dere be some of his kin with 'is powers lurkin' 'round," he chuckled, leaning over the table more easily. "But da Darkspear were smallah back den. Weakah. When Dad showed up back on da Isles wit a whelp an' wife instead of a map an' information, at first dey didn' think anythin' of it. But den I started showin'….signs…dat somethin' wasn't normal. So dey had ta come clean 'bout Ma. Da Elders weren't thrilled."

Armesan nodded thoughtfully. She didn't miss how he didn't elaborate much beyond waving his hands about what exactly it was that had tipped off the elders of the Darkspear tribe, but decided to let it pass. Another time, perhaps. “Is that how you ended up in Revantusk?" she said instead.

“Nah, us older ones grew up on da Isles mostly,”  He paused for a moment then his face fell a bit.  “We were shipped off ta Revantusk aftah our parents died, till we came of age ta join da army. Kept us within reach but outta da way until we were useful. Da Darkspear saw an opportunity ta use our…heritage ta honor its oaths ta da Horde, so instead o' exile, here we are."

Armesan sighed a bit when she heard the bitter hiss in Xan's voice. It was a sadly familiar sound that reminded her of old days in ancient cities and dying houses. "What was it like? Before they died?" she asked softly after a moment.

The troll shrugged. "It was normal, fo' da most part. We'd play on da beaches and jungles of da isles just like any otha whelp. We didn’ have many friends though.  Da tribe didn’ like Ma around an’ really didn’ like us much.  Kids would call Ma da Blood Witch and pick on us, til we started fightin’ back…den we got our own nicknames.  Enoki da Breaker.  Zorka da Crusher.  Xan’jin da Blood Lord.  Dat didn’ sit well wit Ma so she started us trainin’ when we were younger den most.”

Armesan could not help but laugh. "Zorka…there's another one of you? How many siblings do you have?!"

Xan snorted in amusement. "Only da five us. Well. Four now. He died in Zul'Gurub. Same time as we lost Sai."

“How old was he?  I mean…amongst all of…you,”  Armesan gestured widely, trying to indicate the plethora of siblings.

“Second oldest, next ta me. He an’ Duma were thick as thieves though,”  Xan laughed, recalling several childhood antics of theirs.  “Duma once convinced ‘im ta try an’ bench press a raptah when 'e was ten.”

Armesan blinked.  “Could he?”

“Probably coulda’ if da raptah trainah hadn’t caught Duma tryin’ ta pick da lock on da pens.”

“Goddess, your brother has got to be THE WORST rogue," the assassin snickered, to which Xan couldn't even refute.

"We know, we know. He can’t hide or stalk worth a damn, but he got skills when it comes ta connin’ folks."

"Which…is why you sent him to go fuck around with those soldiers who jacked your raptors," Armesan said in understanding.

"Gotta know where ya strong suits be," Xan grinned.

“Well, that all certainly explains why you had no issues letting us know where you lived.  Not a whole lot of good will to speak of between you and the Horde?”  Armesan asked.

“Da Horde still be more welcomin’ den da Alliance.  Even as half-breeds,” Xan shot back.

Armesan held up her hands in surrender.  “Not saying they aren't. Goddess knows that the Alliance has their share of sordid history and intolerance,” she sat back and gestured to Xan.  “I suppose that was more than one question, so in the interest of fairness, your turn. What would you like to know?”

Xan thought for a moment and grinned.  “Ya evah danced naked ‘round a moonwell?”

Armesan burst out laughing and threw the empty mug from earlier at Xan, missing horribly thanks to how hard she was laughing.

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