Breaking Moonbrook

     They woke early the next morning to the first drops of what looked to be an incoming storm, the dark and ominous clouds providing all evidence that the storm would be causing them no small amount of hassle. They packed quickly, kicking out what was left of the campfire Citlali had built and mounted up, heading towards the alliance-friendly settlement of Sentinel Hill. They made it halfway before the sky finally opened up, drenching the two on their steeds. They stopped at a close-by farmstead that didn't look like it was Defias-infested and were greeted by a farmer who was more than happy to take them in.


     "Thank you, good farmer Saldean." Decktire shook his hand and moved to sit in front of the fire, wringing out her gear as best as possible while wearing them, pulling out several gadgets to make sure they hadn't been ruined with the water. Citlali sat next to her, trying to dry herself off and do damage control on her chain mail armor. The farmer's wife, Salma, walked over towards them, offering a couple of small single serving pies.


     "Thank you, good lady." Decktire smiled, then began a lively discussion on cooking with the woman, who was more than willing to teach the girls her recipes, as long as they could gather some more materials for her. Both of them accepted and ate the meal quickly, enjoying it.


     As soon as the rain calmed enough that they could ride out again, they bid the couple farewell, promising to return as soon as they gather the needed materials, as well as stop by and touch base with Sentinel hill and the People's Militia.


     Sentinel hill was bustling with workmen and adventurers like themselves, proving it difficult for the two to find shelter in the inn; especially since part of the roof had collapsed in the previous attack by the Defias to the south. Of which the two were asked to go and deal with, along with several other quests for creatures and bandits in the area.


     "Cit. Really, I need to change clothes and dry off.. I might not be a not-demon, So my clothes get uncomfortable when wet."


     Cit laughed and patted Deck on the head. "Sure, Maybe the innkeeper here has a place where you can dress without upsetting your personal space."


     Deck nodded and walked in, suddenly stopping. "Uh oh. Maybe we should have stayed at the Saldean farm."



     "What a...pleasant surprise." The familiar Draenei in the corner, joined by several other adventurers close to a wood-burning stove turned to greet them.


     Deck almost growled out a curse, but was stopped by Citlali stepping forward to greet and chat with the group of obviously appreciative men for several minutes.

     Several minutes in which Deck was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, both with the cold, and the wet, and the fact that the paladin looked both dry and warm..Too warm, almost hot. Deck shook her head and moved over to the opposite corner, attempting to ignore the draenei who had admittedly not tried to insult her earlier, which annoyed her. He was shirtless, his mail armor hanging up next to a bed that he obviously had claimed. She shivered and snuck a peak out of her peripheral vision, one corner of her lip turning up into a smirk.


     The innkeeper noticed her shiver, but not the reason behind it, and offered a blanket, pointing deck to a small changing curtain.


     "Get dry, child, and wrap up. Until the roof gets fixed we're all going to be suffering from the weather."


     Deck thanked her graciously, doing just that, pulling off her wet robes and switching into her engineering clothes. (Getting blown up by gadgets going haywire was almost an everyday experience for her, so she tended to dressed accordingly.) She hung the clothes over a provided clothesline and curled up on a free bed, wrapping herself up gratefully in the blanket, trying to ignore how comfortable all of the people by the fire looked.


     Laughter jarred Decktire from a very light sleep, her eyes blearily moving over to where Citlali and the Draenei were chatting. The way Cit's hand rested on the Paladin's leg made her cheeks flame and her stomach turn, Though honestly she questioned herself on -why-. It wasn't like she wanted anything to do with the Paladin. So she sat up and stretched noisily, as to let her companion know she was awake at last. Cit leaned back and smiled at the Warlock.


     "Aaah, Human, Good morning, sleep well?"


     Deck grumbled and stumbled over to the free chair next to Cit, making sure to take care around the water slowly drying on the floor. "Mrph." She sat down and yawned, feeling her jaw muscles stretch.


     Citlali laughed and looked back to Veyros, who watched the warlock with a small amount of amusement evident on his features. "You two will be heading to Duskwood next, yes?"


     Decktire looked over at the Draenei, and nodded slowly. "Heading to Moonbrook first. What's left of it, anyway."


     He nodded in turn and moved one arm over the back of the chair, turning fully towards the two. "You would be looking to capture VanCleef then, yes? Citlali has been telling me of it."


     The warlock looked to her companion, who was smirking sideways at her. "Yes, actually. What else did she say?"


     "That you would be looking for another in your group, Since you are most difficult to keep healed when being attacked. And your..minion? He is not much help either." He was speaking of her Voidwalker, most likely.


     Decktire sighed and glared half-heartedly at Citlali, who tried to look innocent. "Shush Cit." Cit finally smirked and patted Deck on her arm.


     "Admit it, Human, you do not do well taking the brunt of the damage, and your Voidwalker cannot even keep them from attacking you directly. We need someone who would be able to do this effectively if we are to fight VanCleef and his army."


     Decktire did a fair imitation of a growl. "I'm not weak, and the Blueberry has been working out fine as it is!"


     Veyros raised an eyebrow. "Blueberry?"


     Decktire nodded. "Voidwalker. He's giant, round, and blue. Therego, a giant Blueberry demon."


     Veyros blinked slowly for a moment, then smirked, snorted, and burst out into laughter, his chest heaving with the strain of it. The laughter was infectious, and soon both Citlali and Decktire joined in. After Veyros managed to calm himself down, he turned to seriousness once again. "We would need two more, a full party would be much preferred."


     Citlali smiled serenely. "We will be meeting two more at Moonbrook, a hunter and a rogue. Married couple. Very nice, very...adventurous."


     Deck snorted to herself. By adventurous she meant they were both addicted to sex, as was Citlali, which made it ever so convenient when they met up. Deck generally stayed out of those couplings, but the invitation was -always- open. She wondered again about the paladin. He seemed wholly comfortable with Citlali's flirtations, if that was what she was doing while Decktire was comfortably asleep on the hay-filled bed. She nibbled on her lip, looking into the flames poking through the small latched hole in the stove front, wondering how to broach the subject. She hated being the odd one out, and if she could apologize for being rude to the paladin (Given he didn't make any snide comments about her being a warlock), She would be happy to have someone to go hunting for mineral veins while her companion explored her own unique relationship with Voldros and Sylane.


     "You look like you are pondering something of importance, may I ask what?"


     Deck flinched and sat up. "No, nothing important, I'm just thinking." She shrugged and stood up, stretching. "Going to see if my clothes are dry. Try not to get into TOO much trouble, Not-demon."


     "Speak for yourself, Human."


     It didn't take long after they finally reached an agreement on looting rights (The poor paladin was sorely outmaneuvered by Citlali, and Deck almost felt sorry for him.) to set out towards the town of Moonbrook. Veyros was constantly asking questions about the topography of the land, it's history, and what little other information he could siphon out of Deck, who was about ready to strangle the inquisitive man. Finally Citlali called for camp to be made, and everyone settled in.


     Decktire spoke a few words to the Void walker in demonic before pulling various meats out of her bag to cook, Citlali joining in.


     Veyros watched Deck's quiet communication with suspicious eyes, again declining the fresh cooked meal in favor of dried jerky.


     Deck just shrugged, more for her.


     After a while of the awkward silence, Citlali excused herself for "Female reasons", leaving the Paladin and Warlock staring at each other across the fire.


     "What did you say to the demon.. Blueberry, you called him?"


     Deck blinked at Veyros. "Huh? Oh! Told him to scout the area, make sure we weren't gonna get stabbed in the middle of the night."


     He raised an eyebrow. "That is all?"


     Blinking, Deck leaned closer to the fire, the light flickering shadows across her face, and casting an eerie glow to her goggles. "Is that all you want it to be?"


     He frowned down at her. "That does not make sense."


     Deck snorted and leaned back, pulling her goggles off her face. "Of course not, Nothing makes sense out here. Paladins ride with warlocks, Demons make better friends than priests. Trust me, I've tried. stuck up lot of giggly finger wigglers, S'all they are." She wiggled her fingers to emphasize, causing Veyros to smirk and lean back.


     "Look Vey, I know my kind aren't tolerated by you big-time paladins for the light and all, But I'm not going to change what I do... What I -am-, just to satisfy what you think is right and happy sunshine-time in the world. Kay?"


     He frowned and nodded, pursing his lips minutely.


     Deck took that as acknowledgment, and turned over to pull her blanket out of her backpack, rolling up in it to stave off the cold. "We should be in Defias territory by tomorrow, and after we kill VanCleef you can go back to the Exodar and pray for my soul to your heart's content. Won't do a damn bit of good though.." The last tapered off by a yawn as Decktire slowly fell asleep, Veyros' eyes watching her, then watching the surrounding wheat field, waiting for their healer to return.