A Story Nobody Knew Part 1

A story nobody knew. It was a brief flash in the length of her life, but it was pure and it was intense. Compared to the many years she had lived thus far, it was only seconds long.

He was strong, tall, modestly good-looking, and he was tender. He was the last thing she ever expected. He had wandered into her life by mistake and had stolen her heart. Just as quickly, he had faded away and left just another scar on her life. Nothing lasts forever; good or bad.

Lerraszune was young and vital, a mother once; a mate once. She had lived more than the average human already and yet she was young and spry with little knowledge of the civilized world. She was but a child of her time. She joined a crew of sailors shortly after she made it back into the space of civilization, having managed to recover her sanity from the recent tragedy - at least mostly. It was enough to help her cope, after she found she didn't have the strength to take her own life, like someone was watching her and frowning at her the whole time. She dreamed that it was Shryke. She wished it was and at times felt like he was there. She would wake at nights reaching out, grasping the air where she could have sworn his face had just been. Or she finds she has wrapped her arms around her pillow, sleeping with her daughter in her arms. This journey of recovery would not be an easy one, but some force was pushing her onward and she gave in as without this force she simply had no purpose. No reason for being, or eating, or drinking, or breathing.

And so she found herself on the open seas, enjoying the brisk briny winds tangling her navy-blue hair and the beating sun tanning her light blue skin into a deep hue of cerulean. She slowly opened up with the crew of 15 others. They were all men except for the captain, who was female, and all but one other was human - a Dwarf named Braggart Steelbrand. He reminded her of her old home before becoming Savagekin and was the first one to get her to speak a whole sentence on the ship, where before she would merely nod or speak in monosyllables. Slowly they became like a sort of family, everyone knowing their place. It was relief to belong somewhere for once in a long while, and to have people to rely on.

On an odd day when the winds went cold and the sky dark with the threat of storms, the ship docked and the crew went to the tavern for some drinks and music, mingling with the locals. In a mishap at sea, they had lost a member; a young human boy named Kilern. He never said he had a last name and Lerra suspected he was an orphan taken to the seas as a cabin boy to escape the lowly life of a street rat. A bad storm had hit and the waves crested so high that the crew had to tie themselves to the mast while they worked to secure the sails. Brazen young Kilern had neglected this task and he paid for his lack of judgment with his life. The crew was in mourning and needed a way to take him off their minds - at least without a family there were no more hearts to break over the boy.

Lerraszune, dressed in a loose white shirt with a tie at the top, no shoes, and a pair of baggy brown pants with a black rope belt, had picked herself up some good old imported Dwarven ale. Her and Braggart split it up and dove in, the most boisterous pair on the ship. Between him and Lerraszune they could down a whole keg on their own. The crew held bets on who would get the most smashed first. So far, nobody had won. It had been two years and the pair always came to a stalemate. Their drinking contests ended with laughter, confusion, and a lot of falling over. The captain didn't necessarily agree with this conduct but she was more than happy to let the crew take Kilern off their minds, and hers. She felt the most responsible, as she was the one teaching him the basics; always involved with her crew. She believed that no captain could be respected if he/she wasn't willing to get in the dirt and salt with the rest of the crew. It prove an effective tactic; the men on the ship respected her more than any woman they ran into at port. More than most men for that matter. They were never disrespectful and would beat the snot out of anyone who was. Lerra couldn't help but understand them and their motives. She felt this same sense of loyalty in only a couple of months as the captain was so understanding to her situation. They almost made sort of a team, being the only two women on a ship in a world that still thought women were bad luck on the sea.

Aside from healing the wounds though, the captain was searching for a new crew members to take aboard. Preferably not someone so inexperienced or young this time. While the crew drank, she began to scope out possibilities. The man in the corner of the tavern? No. Too thin and delicately dressed. The elf woman at the bar? She looked like she hadn't lifted a finger to hard labor in her life. No, she wouldn't do either. As the captain ran through possible new crew members, Lerra and Brag got down to the business of beer and ale, guzzling as fast as they could. One crewmate had tried to keep up and had given up after the first six ales down. Aside from that, he'd fallen out of his chair and was disqualified anyway. Getting into the lagers now, the two were keeping pace and glaring at each other over the brim of their pints. The crew not participating were either singing their favorite songs along with the fiddler on the top floor or cheering for the dwarf and elf odd-ball friends. The night wore on in this fashion until late in the evening, when the tavern owner decided a crew of rowdy sailors wasn't what he wanted in his home and bar in the morning. The crew staggered down the roads, laughing loud and uproariously. The captain hadn't had a sip though; she was abhorred of being drunk and not in control of herself. Rarely she would indulge in a glass of wine, but there was nothing in her system tonight. She led her drunken crew to the ship and let them crash while she headed to her cabin in thought. Tomorrow would be a busy day indeed. Once the crew worked off their hangovers she would get them together and have them seek out new hands for the deck.

For now though, they slept. Lerraszune lazily spinning into her hammock, collapsing and passing out with the rest of the crew. They had drunk off their sores and sorrows, and tomorrow was a day for work: cleaning the deck, replacing the sails, and finding a new member to take aboard. Little did the drunken elf suspect what kind of impact this new crewmate would have on her; and she was surely unprepared. In the morning, or rather at about noon when the sun shone the brightest and the hottest, the crew stirred with their heads in their hands and groaning, going for their coffee, water, or bread. Lerraszune wandered over to the table where Braggart was slumped with a tired look on his round, tanned face - his dark brown hair and beard looking particularly scraggly and his green eyes tired with the noise in his head. This was the most any of them had drank in a long time, as the captain usually objected; wanting a crew that was able and steady, not drunk and possibly belligerent. She plopped down next to him, terrible bed head hanging around her face and eyes, with a black-coffee filled mug in her blue hands, blinking heavily at him with her blue-white orbs.

"Worth it?" she rasped in her breathy voice, looking exhausted.

"To'ally, lassy." he responded in his heavy Dwarven slur, grinning and then groaning as he had spoken just a little too loudly.

She reached a limp arm out and put it around his shoulder, patting him on the back. Nothing else was said, as they worked through their headaches in relative silence with the rest of the crew, all bloodshot eyes and pounding heads. However, they slowly noticed that the captain was nowhere to be seen. Even this late in the day she was always doing something. She wasn't at the cabin, on the stern or bow, neither was she at the wheel or even up in the crows nest as she sometimes did when she needed to think. The crew, as they began to recover, slowly made their ways out in search of her. Some of them got to the tedious duty of removing any ripped or worn sails (which was most of them after the storm). And in silence, they fixed an extra rope to the mast. Just in case.

Lerraszune, Braggart, and two of the human crew took off in search of the captain. They stopped at most tailoring stores as well as the marketplace and found nothing. Nobody had even seen her in her bright red coat and black captain's hat. Finally, near the front of the city, they were pointed in her direction and soon found her talking with someone. His back was turned and they seemed to be negotiating something. He talked with his hands in motion and was very expressive in this manner. He wasn't the most built, but he was very tall. He had short black hair that hung, at it's lowest, around his cheeks - it was cut to peak near the back though. As they came around to face him and the captain, Lerraszune took note of his features. High cheekbones and bright, observant brown eyes. His skin wasn't too dark but he had a bit of a farmer's tan. He had a small mustache and beard combination that would have made any dwarf scoff; it was more like scruff. He couldn't have been past 30 yet.

Lerra and Braggart were at the front of the group at complete odds in height; Her at nearly eight feet, and Braggart at just above four. It was almost comical to see them both cross their arms over their chest in scrutiny of this rather normal-looking, fairly-tall human with nothing specifically astounding about him from first glance. The other two crew members stood to the side more and nearer to the captain, who grinned at the crew who had arrived.

"Good morning," she said smoothly with her clear common, very precise and always grammatically correct. "Or should I say, good day? Good eve?"

She chuckled and waved a hand at the human before her, grinning. "I'd like you all to meet our prospective new crew-member. This is Dal Kenntath. He's the resident mage in this part of the city... And he has taken an interest in the sea, it appears."

Braggart scoffed a little and in his thick, accented manner, said, "'e looks like 'e 'asn't ever even set foot on a trolly before. 'ow do ye expect 'im ta face tha open sea we're 'eaded towards with no sea-legs to speak of, ah?!"

Lerraszune biffed him over the back of the head for trying to argue with the captain. So far every decision she had made had proven to be the best one and Lerra had learned to openly trust her judgment.

"Captain Daliah has never led us wrong before," said Lerraszune in her smooth voice. "So I say welcome, cub. We'll see how he fares."

"Cub?" objected Dal in a deep voice fitting his height. "You don't even know how old I am. I am definitely no cub."

He was a bit prideful, it seemed. Lerraszune wasn't sure if she would like that or not yet but she grinned in a lop-sided manner and tilted her head. "Every one of you is a cub to me, except for Braggart, and he's hardly my age."

"Oh? How old are YOU then, hm?" challenged Dal, in a friendly tone.

"Something around 240 if I remember right." she responded, a brow raised delicately.

"You're hardly more than a child of an elf yourself then!" he protested, chuckling.

"Old enough to be your great-great grandmother, so I'm fairly certain that qualifies me to call you cub. Which I plan to do from now on." she said, examining her nails nonchalantly.

The captain laughed with a bright smile on her face. "Enough now. He can be initiated later. For now we must gather our supplies and be on our way. We're behind schedule already."

As they all turned to walk back to the market, Braggart looked up at Lerra and said, "I don't like 'im already. Pup's prideful."

Lerra laughed, as she had come to the same conclusion. "Ah, I'm sure we can break him in here and he'll fit in just fine. This is Captain Daliah we're talking about after all - she always known what's best for us and the Gull."

Lerraszune looked up at the clear blue skies as seagulls, the sea-faring birds the ship had been named after, circled above the marketplace nearby for scraps. This was a warm day, and so far was a good day. She had high hopes for the future and could swear she felt a grip on her shoulder as if in pride. She moved a hand to the shoulder and turned her head, pausing.

"Is something wrong, Lerraszune?" asked the captain, with a confused look on her face.

Lerra turned with a furrowed brow, and shook her head, clearing up her mind and expression to a light smile. "No, captain. I'm fine."

With a nod trusting that Lerra knew what she was talking about, the captain led the crew on to go about their business for the day. Always on schedule, Daliah was never one to let the crew slack. Last night had been an exception and now it was back to the fast paced lifestyle of the open-sea, racing from destination to destination across the world. From their excursions, the crew had all acquired some personal trinkets from natives of different areas or grateful people of different towns, as the Gull was a popular trading ship, known for being very prudently on-time for every delivery.

Now there was a variable in the equation. This Dal - some mage. He had a high standard to meet, but he was bound for success as a mage; very useful on a ship for repairs and moving things along quickly. With a light, quiet sigh, the Elven woman admitted that she felt there was something special about this one. She had a feeling that he would be very important; but she had no idea how important he was really going to be in a short time.
The days passed on after adding Dal to the crew rather slowly. He needed a lot of help and direction but he was also immensely helpful in return. A bad gust of wind at the wrong time had happened to take out some of their fresh water supply and he just used sea water to make more clean fresh water by using magic to filter everything out and remove the salt. He became very popular with the crew quite quickly and as it turned out he was quite a charmer. Despite his simple looks he was smart at a whip, with a sharp wit and quick sense of humor. He was gentlemanly towards Lerra and the captain which had surprised and pleased them both. The rest of the crew was all rag-tag, rough-and-tumble sorts and if you were part of the crew, you were one of the guys; with the exception of the captain being... Well, the captain.

Braggart, however, was feeling a bit protective. Lerraszune was quickly like a sister to him after she opened up, having been raised in the same fashion as him. They had similar interests and were always ready to compete in a friendly manner like they had grown up together. Dal being so kind and attentive put the dwarf on edge and he approached Lerraszune about it several times, warning her to be careful and going on a spiel about how Dal could be secretly trouble, or a spy for some reason or another, or any number of other silly excuses for her NOT to take interest in the man. Brag swore more than once that he had seen enough of the humans to believe them all out for personal gain off the bat, even after getting to know some of them. The crew was obviously his exception to that rule, but Dal was not yet a member of the crew in the Dwarf's eyes, even as the days became weeks and those weeks quickly turned into six months. Despite her overly-protective adoptive brother, Lerra couldn't help becoming slowly drawn to this man. He just had an honest charm and way and he was comforting. Not like the other crew members. He was softer than that.

She had started to talk with him and get to know him a few months in after he began to get the hang of working on the deck, getting into the rhythm of life on the open seas. Once he got into the sway it was like he had been born there. It become apparent how he managed not to be overly-worked and buffed out like the rest of the crew as well. When something was too hard for him physically he simply put his mind over matter and whipped up a spell to do it for him. He was by no means lazy though; just very intuitive and creative.

He had a certain aspect to him though that reminded her of ... someone previous. He had a determination to do things right and finish what he started, and a need to help others. He was a 'natural' leader, being charismatic and in charge whenever he had the chance. Any time he saw an opportunity to be of use he would apply himself dutifully. He was gracious in the face of insult and his pridefulness was less so than a regal sort of air that gave him more grace than his appearance suggested once he got into the garb of a normal sailor. Braggart never once approved, but he backed down when he noticed that Lerraszune was really growing fond of this human. Not without grumbling into his beard of course, but all the same, he respected her too much to treat her like a child who couldn't make her own decisions. She had told him (alone), scraps of her past and had alluded to a serious loss before, but he never pressed it for the same reasons that she never just outright told him the whole story. He knew she was strong and self-reliant. He knew she would be okay. Or at least, that's what he expected. At the very least, he was there for her if ever she needed him.

One balmy night on the sea with the stars shining overhead, Lerraszune was awake restlessly and staring at the heavens, her eyes glowing in the darkness as brilliantly as the stars in the deep, endless black of the night sky. The moon was nearly full and she always felt so different at this time. More feral. The full moon had been a time to celebrate the cycle of life for her clan and it had become such a ritualistic style of life that she couldn't let go of it even forty years later. She thought she may never let it go. It took her nearly twenty years just to remember how to shift forms at will. The nostalgic feeling it gave her to stare at that moon was overwhelming and she swelled with many emotions. Grief. Joy. Pride. Loneliness. It brought tears of varying origin to her eyes that swelled and rolled down her smooth cheeks, glistening in a silvery way in the night.

Every full moon she had done this. It became normalcy for the crew and they stopped questioning it, allowing her the peace and solitude her ghostly presence emanated in this process. However... Dal was enchanted, confused, and curious. He had woken up late at night to stretch twice now and just happened to have good timing, finding her face lifted to the moon, eyes closed, tearfully breathing deep as if containing something. He had watched in silence the first time, staring at her and feeling breathless, as if the way she held each breath made him feel deprived as well. He didn't know what it was about this time that was so mysteriously attractive. Perhaps the way the moon kissed her deep blue skin and made her seem to glow. Maybe the way her eyes shone as brightly as the moon itself. Possibly the tears that streamed silently down her face and about her expressive lips, which sometimes smiled sweetly, and sometimes drew taught in quiet distress. She was a creature of depth and he wanted to discover what secrets those depths held.

This night he came up once more, but this time he had it planned out. He would go up there and speak of the moon and the night she seemed so fascinated with, and he would have a chance to woo her as he had recently become interested in accomplishing. The more time they spent together, the more he felt and cared for her. However, he was surprised to find that this time she... Had a tail. It poked from under her shirt and over her belt and swayed back and forth along the deck slowly, long and covered in deep purple fur that was nearly black. He walked up behind her as she leaned over the rails, letting the moon caress her face once more. She was shameless about this moment of expression, but when she heard him coming nearer than she was used to, she wiped her tears and faced him silently, a perfect silhouette against the bright moon backdrop.

He blinked at her with eyes that were a little wide, and spoke quietly. "You seem to have a tail, at the moment."

Lerra blinked and there was a wisp of green smoke about her, distorting her figure and shimmering in the night - and the tail was gone. He raised a brow and began to speak with question. "I was about to suggest that you were a druid but I have never seen one do something quite like that before."

Lerraszune was silent in response with a calm and almost stoney countenance. She looked askance and blinked a few times, turning back around and leaning over the railing, but this time with her shoulders slumped and face turned to the calm, dark waters below. Dal seemed concerned that he had been offensive somehow. He hadn't planned on a surprise tail, or the strange despondency with which she reacted to it. He walked up next to her, placing his hands on the rail and looking at her with worry.

"If I offended you, I'm sorry." he said in a hushed voice. "I was caught off guard."

Lerra shrugged in silence. For a few seconds the quiet hung heavily in the air like a sheet of metal netting settling over them. Lerraszune broke it by saying, "No. I'm not a druid. I... I was supposed to be. But it just didn't work out that way."

Dal furrowed his brow with confusion. Failed to become a druid? He didn't know that was possible, nor had he ever read of it happening before. He began to apologize for the situation and she stopped him with a slightly raised hand.

"No. I never wanted it. Don't apologize for me, please. I just... It wasn't right. Nothing was... right..." she pleaded, closing her eyes to press back new tears. Tears she was familiar with all too well.

Dal hesitated and slowly reached a hand out, placing it gently over her shoulder with a soft squeeze. He had no idea, but it was the most comforting thing he could have done at this moment. It was so overwhelming to have a single comforting gesture aimed at her that she broke down and dropped her face into her hands, elbows over the deck rails - releasing a soft sob. He was shocked by this reaction and pulled his hand away with a step backwards. "Oh, no... Should I go? I feel like I am making things worse. Oh dear..."

Lerraszune stood up, hovering over him by nearly two feet. She spoke quickly and with a single crack in her voice as she began to speak. "N-No! It wasn't that. Please, don't go... I could really use the company right now, to be honest... I seem to have scared everyone else away. I just... They never actually tried to talk to me."

Dal blinked at her, but nodded. "Why don't we sit, then. You look like you feel a little weak on your legs," he suggested, smiling and trying to be helpful.

Lerraszune sighed with relief. She hadn't scared him away. She sat down and he plopped next to her, backs against the railing. This time he could tell she really needed... Well, something. So he just reached right over and wrapped her up in a hug. She was so unprepared she gasped, eyes wide. He squeezed her a little, trying to be comforting, and she hugged him back tightly after slight hesitation, shutting her eyes and feeling lighter suddenly. If any two crew members were allowed to do this, to hug her in such a way, it was definitely Braggart and Dal. Brag because he was so brotherly, and Dal because he had earned it with actions, words, and now by trying to comfort her, when nobody else really did. Even Braggart didn't know what to say to her at these times. He treated her like she was a woman, with reasons behind the tears or the smiles; not just melancholy crewmate Lerra doing what she usually does on the full moon. Not just a sister-figure.

He felt her shudder as she rested her face over his shoulder and he brought a hand up to stroke her hair. He didn't know why it felt right to be here - to do this - but he didn't argue it. She was beautiful and graceful and she was different and he was amazed she allowed him to be so close. Somehow it felt like a tigress had just welcomed him into her den. He hadn't ever expected to feel like this for an elf, and certainly not a tomboyish woman working in the dirt with the rest of a crew full of toughened sailors. He always imagined it would be some soft scholarly woman somewhere in a stone building with rich carpeting underfoot. That she would be dressed in fine silk robes, weaving magic, reading books...

No. This was more different than he could have ever imagined, and very sudden even for the six months that they had known each other already. But to Lerra it was relief. It was something simple, sweet, wonderful and warm. It was closer than Brag. It was a spark of something that she hadn't felt in a long time, or ever expected to feel again, particularly not for a human. He might have been plain, and perhaps not the strongest, but he was special and he had was kind. She held him tight for a few seconds, relishing this moment of peace and security, before she sat back, and looked at him with swirling blue and white eyes, . They illuminated his face in the darkness. His mostly-handsome face, which suddenly seemed like the kindest face she had known in years, and she closed the gap between them in the heat of the moment, pressing her cheek up to his and nuzzling him warmly - yet still with slight hesitation. He wasn't sure he expected this and he wasn't sure why she was so tentative, but he pressed his head against hers too, bumping her with his forehead a little with a smile. Was this equivalent to a kiss? He kind of hoped so, anyways.

"I don't know what's broken, but if I can... If you will let me... I will fix you. I want to help you," he whispered in her ear, in as gentle and reassuring a voice as his deep tone would allow, his brown eyes glistening with hope.

The elven woman felt herself shifting position a little but was backseat to her emotions, watching helplessly as she allowed herself to indulge. And sitting there on the deck in the moonlight, she let a kiss slip by, putting her soft, plum-colored lips up to his pale pink ones, half-lidding her eyes, with a heavy breath. This was more like what he expected, and he was more than happy to return it, placing his hand over the back of her head and slipping his fingers through her soft, wind-swept navy hair. It was a brief moment of glory but it felt like it lasted for years. When Lerraszune pulled back, she smiled at him in a daze. What on Azeroth was she thinking? What spirits possessed her to feel and act this way?

"I never thought..." she began, in a dreamy voice. "I never expected to..."

"It's okay," he interjected, grinning at her. "Me either."