One x One Sunsail Reunion

[Blakie13]

Sea salt and everblossom trees made for an interesting, wonderful mixture of aromas. The bar was open to the elements, all wide arches and curtains, with a glass ceiling letting in even more sunlight, albeit tinged with red from the stained glass in the style of the blood elves. Close to the water, it was one of the nicest bars in the recovering Anchorage, which was why Surrana had chosen it.


Surrana Sunstrike was lost in thought, sitting at a table out on the patio. She enjoyed the breeze and the sounds of the sea, the river, and the countless traders and civilians wandering around. The bar was crowded, but not annoyingly so. Sunsail Anchorage was still a town in recovery, although it was quite a booming recovery. The Dawnbreaths, old nobility that they were, and their alliance with the Duskwhisper Trading Company had assured a rapid rise from the ashes, once the wretched had been chased out. And the murlocs. But the murlocs were stubborn pests, and still made wandering the anchorage at night a risk. 


The Blood Knight's pin of station was the only giveaway for the girl's military leanings, pinned in the shoulder of her sun dress. It was a more human style of garb, but Surrana found it pretty and, more importantly, easy to move in, in case of emergency. The knife clasped to her thigh was well hidden, an added bonus. A Blood Knight should never go anywhere unarmed. Even for a meeting with a dear friend. Her short, wavy platinum blonde hair rippled in the breeze as her deep brown skin shone in the sun. 


It had been so long since she had been able to meet up with Daerus, what with his own activities and her duties to the Blood Knights. Especially with her recent promotion, thanks to a certain Corec Duskwhisper. Surrana felt herself smile softly. The man was a gift from the Eternal Sun itself. She hoped Daerus would be here soon, she missed the young elf. They had so much catching up to do, and rarely did Dae's ship come this close to Quel'Thalas when Surrana had a free day. And thank Belore that our letters reached each other in time to plan this, she thought to herself.


The neutral-ish port seemed as good a place to meet as any. Especially with Daerus' lack of care for the capital. Plus the close trade meant a great variety of food and drinks, Surrana noted, poring over the menu as she waited. 

 

[Zazkiel]

Daerus fluffed his hair one more time, one hand awkwardly smushed into Alyx's face as she attempted to commandeer the mirror from him. 


"Oh come on you peacock, you're already late for your date and I need to fix my makeup!" 


Alyx was...surprisingly okay with their location. Normally she got broody and aggressive when they came near Silvermoon, but someone had her bright-eyed and cheery as she made plans elsewhere in Eversong. That was obviously the only reason Dae let go of Alyx's ear and stepped back from the mirror to let her use it. 


Well, the fact that she'd been threatening to singe his nice new robes may have also played a small part. 


"Just make sure you don't get yourself arrested while you're out chatting up whatever girl has you so enthralled," he teased as he strapped his stowaway knife to his forearm and let his sleeve fall back over it.


Alyx just made a vague grunting noise in reply, too focused on applying her eyeliner.


-- 


Hovering awkwardly on the street, Daerus stood wide-eyed as he saw his oldest friend sitting alone at a patio table. She looked so....normal, in the port city. He almost didn't want to interrupt her from whatever reverie she was in, certain that his company wouldn't be welcome due to their chosen career paths.


But hesitation and awkwardness weren't hallmarks of Daerus Dawnrose, Diplomat of the Rogue Wave. He allowed himself another second of panic before sucking in a sharp breath and striding forward to meet Surrana. 

 

[Blakie13]

Surrana's instincts kicked in as she sense someone approaching her at her table. Thinking it might be one of the servers, she looked up only to see Daerus approaching. She moved faster than even she thought possible as she launched out of her chair, striding over to quickly envelop the young man in a tight embrace. She didn't allow the embrace to linger, her military training quickly cutting into her initial reaction.


She coughed politely, "Apologies, Daerus, I got a little... excited. It's been too long," the girl said smiling brightly, her teeth flashing bright white in the sun. Her Blood Knight pin glinted as she moved, one of the few accessories she had worn besides the golden cuffs on her ears. The other elf looked, well, healthy. Handsome as always, well dressed, and sporting a rather good hair day, Surrana noted. He even bothered to wear robes. Surrana almost felt strange in her not-at-all traditional garb, but ignored the momentary doubt. Daerus was here, in front of her, and she was ecstatic. 


They simply had so much to catch up on. 

 

[Zazkiel]

Daerus smoothed down his robes reflexively as Surrana let go of him, but flashed a mega-watt grin in reply to her own smile.


"Completely understandable, it feels like it's been years."


The Blood Knight symbol on her dress caught his attention as she went to sit back down, and his smile turned into a grimace before he managed to smooth out his expression. He hadn't seen that symbol since Lord Duskwhisper's intrusion on his last shore leave, and it brought up a few bad memories. 


And wasn't that just perfect, it was Daerus's first meeting with Surrana in ages and the smug bastard somehow managed to pop up and ruin it.


Rivena was right, he was a godsdamned menace.


"So, how goes the whole...paladin-y thing? And the boys, Cal and Vel?"

 

[Blakie13]

Surrana chuckled as she motioned for him to sit, following behind him. It really did feel like years. It hadn't been years, had it...? No, Surrana concluded, just a few months. A few, long, tiring months. 


"The 'paladin-y' thing goes well, so far. The training is so heavily regimented I swear every muscle in my body is willing to fight me after each session. But I managed to get a promotion, recently. I work under a very impressive commander, he's been quite kind. And I've been trying that whole socialising thing everyone keeps telling me to do, so I finally use my free time responsibly," she joked. She'd always been a bit of a workaholic, and growing up during the Scoruge and the rebuilding of their people had left her more pragmatic than social.


"Cal is doing well, still doting after his best friend no matter how many times I tell him it's a terrible plan. He made it into the Silvermoon Guard a few months ago, during the Draenor campaign. Vel is... Vel is Vel. Brooding, studious, overly sarcastic and competitive with his peers. His Magister master has a holy amount of patience. I think he's doing okay, from what he's willing to tell me. He freaked out over messing around with a fellow apprentice due to who that apprentice was, apparently, so I'd say we're making progress on him opening up to me again," Surrana rambled on, taking in every detail of Dae she could.


They were friends, but she also couldn't help but feel like a protective mother or older sibling with the young man she had rescued so many years ago.


"What about you? Still, uh, doing the pirate-y thing?" She asked, chuckling as she referenced his earlier question.  

 

[Zazkiel]

Dae sniffed and tossed his head, holding himself in a faux-imperious manner. "I am a privateer and diplomat, thank you very much. Pirates are illegal."


Breaking character to smile slightly at Surrana, Daerus pulled a small package out of the robe sleeve not holding his knife. He set it down on the table and continued in a significantly less affected tone.


"It's been going fine, my crew's real excited to finally set foot on land again. A bit up in arms over the fact that it's on sin'dorei soil, but given our greeting we got from Corec Duskwhisper last time we set down I guess there's reason."


They were so excited, in fact, Dae had to bribe most of them to stay on deck so they didn't swarm the docks and ruin his lunch date with Surrana. Powerful and lovely as they may be, a ship full of seven trolls, a handful of oddballs, and a worgen didn't have much subtlety. 

 

[Blakie13]

Surrana easily chuckled at the boy's response. She knew, realistically as a Blood Knight and overprotective friend, she should disapprove of his less than legal activities. But it gave him such great joy, and she wanted Daerus to be happy.  


She watched curiously as he pulled out the parcel from his robes, listening as Daerus spoke. The elven woman stilled as he continued on, unaware of her reaction.


"I-uh, I'm sure your crew must be quite excited for the landing. I don't suppose they'll be swamping much of the Anchorage though? I'd think it interesting to meet them," she answered slowly.


Belore, grant me strength... Corec's pirate hunt... was that... was it really...


"You had issues with Commander Duskwhisper? He's quite... well liked in town, as of late. And quite respected in the Blood Knights... I can't imagine him as the trouble causing sort," she stated, not sure what she should be saying. "When was this?"


Corec Duskwhisper, after all, was her new commander. And very much a man she was quite infatuated with.

 

[Zazkiel]

Daerus didn't get the job he had on the Wave by being unobservant, but play-acting was such a large part of it he was able to continue the conversation without batting an eyelash while he felt his stomach sink into his fine leather boots.


Of course Surrana was a fan of Duskwhisper. He was just so shiny, he fit right alongside her idealism and idea of what constituted a Good Person.


"Oh, it was just a small misunderstanding a few weeks. It actually had to do with an item he wanted delivered to my aunt!" He said with a laugh before gesturing at the package. 


"That's yours, by the way. Acquired completely legitimately, I promise. Sajira got it for me in return for my help translating some Thalassian texts for her."


Light, he hoped Duskwhisper hadn't actually talked to Surrana about the meeting between them, or given any details out.


"And as for my crewmates, I made them promise to stay on board for an hour. If you want to meet them, though, we could always go over."


After stalling for a couple more minutes so she doesn't see a warlock and fugitive from Silvermoon on board, at least. 

 

[Blakie13]

The woman felt her smile return full force as relief flooded her body. She hoped it wasn't too obvious.


"Ah, that's good to hear. I hope it wasn't too much trouble; misunderstandings with him tend to be quite, well, dramatic I suppose is the best term. I respect the man, but he does enjoy a flair, I'm sure you noticed," she replied.


Her hand moved towards the package as she spoke, unwrapping it with great care. "I hope the item in question made it back to your aunt alright, Rivena seems to detest obstacles to her research," she joked. "You know, I was worried for a moment, he had many of us join him on some sort of pirate hunt in Booty Bay, all hush-hush really. No details beyond securing the town, so I was scared for a moment that's what you meant, but if it was just a small misunderstanding..." Surrana noted, taking the item out of its packaging. 


"I should love to meet your friends, although you know how I feel about getting on boats," she whispered as she stared transfixed at her gift.

 

[Zazkiel]

Daerus was rather proud of his gift, if he was being completely honest. The blade was made entirely of mithril with only black leather wrapped around the hilt, and the draconic design was so finely wrought Daerus practically needed a magnifying glass to see the extent of the details.


A completely impractical dagger when it came to actually sticking somebody with the pointy end, but oh so pretty. 


"Oh, no, uh-" Breaking off, Daerus winced as he mentally questioned his decision to be honest with her. 


"I, well, we were the ship he was looking for. It was a misunderstanding in that we didn't mean to...."


Get caught.


"Raid a horde vessel." He finished quietly, cursing himself for the lie.


Eager to change the topic, he continued quickly. "But yeah, that's why I figured you'd want to meet here and not have to deal with the twelve ridiculous individuals I pay out on a regular basis."

 

[Blakie13]

Holding the dagger gently aloft, Surrana was entranced. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, although the origin was beyond her knowledge. Impractical, but oh so pretty. An ornamental piece, something she could display proudly.


Her vibrant green eyes alighted on the other elf quickly, however, when he continued to talk. Light, dammit...


"I... hmm. That's very... well, that's quite shitty of my Commander, he had the city locked down a little intensely. But he's quite protective of his trade fleet. Which, uh, the money of which helped build up a lot of this town," Surrana noted somewhat nervously. Even the restaurant had a plaque, the Duskwhisper and Dawnbreath names littered the streets. And no doubt a Duskwhisper sail or three could be seen in the harbour.


"At least it's solved, so that's good?" She questioned, following his lead to change the subject. 


"Boats are... a bit much for me. Too much motion. I'm the worst sin'dorei, aren't I?" The question was asked with a teasing note, and ended with a self-deprecating chuckle. The people of Quel'Thalas were sailors, the ocean their people's livelihood. And Surrana couldn't step foot on a moored boat without wanting to heave.


"Where does this blade come from? It's beautiful, Daerus, thank you," she said, smiling softly, earnestly, her eyes closed in delight.

 

[Zazkiel]

"I don't actually know, 'jira bought it in Booty Bay but I don't think she bought it off the maker of the blade." 


Probably some sort of elf, judging by how finnicky some of the details were. Light knows that probably annoyed the hell out of Sajira, forcing to hand over an arm's worth of gold on something so tiny and not-dangerous.


"And some people just get seasick, it's something to do with the motion or the boat and your ears." Mith and Saka'ge had tried to give him an actual medical explanation once, but he'd been rather occupied by watching Katya dangle from the ropes in a criminally loose vest.


"Try ginger, I think our shaman said? Or was it mint..."

 

[Blakie13]

Surrana nodded, not seeming overly surprised. It wasn't Thalassian, of that she was certain. "Draconic or Darnassian would be my guess, but either way it's gorgeous," the woman stated, continuing to smile at the other elf. "I wonder if it would fit in one of my hidden sheathes," she wondered aloud. 


She continued to nod at his suggestions. "Maybe... I could try both, I guess. Or ask Cal's friend Bel if there are any good spells I could learn, he's always got something up his sleeve." She was feeling a bit rusty in her magic, it wouldn't hurt to practice some new spells to stay in top casting condition. "Zeppelin travel doesn't mess with me nearly as much, although the shoddy construction is always a bit daunting. I wonder what Alliance airships are like.... Sorry, lost in thought a moment," she apologised. 


She could see a server coming towards their table. Good thing, too, she was starving. 

 

[Zazkiel]

"Never been on an airship, actually. Zepplin or otherwise."


The idea of having his feet off the ground in such a way was terrifying, actually. At least with water he could swim, if he fell out of a zepplin there would be nothing to catch him but the ground.


He gave his order politely to the server when they approached, but otherwise kept quiet around them. He didn't want to accidentally give away information because he wasn't paying attention. When they walked away, he leaned over the table and lowered his voice.


"So is this Bel the same one Rivena regularly waxes poetic about in terms of his apprenticeship? She alternates between fuming over the fact that she didn't get him herself and gushing over how well her friend is doing in his training of the kid, it's all very....polar, with her."


Well, that was when she wasn't complaining about his surname at least. As someone who so often skipped around topics in her letters, she usually managed to fit quite a few different opinions in over everything going on in her life.

 

[Blakie13]

"I much prefer magic or land travel to the other travel methods, honestly. Now if we had trams like the dwarves or trains like the Iron Horde, that would be interesting," Surrana stated before ordering. A simple order of seafood pasta, a human creation as Surrana understood, and a glass of wine. And bread. A healthy sized portion of bread as a side. 


"It most likely is, if I remember Riv's last conversation correctly. The kid is a genius, good looking, noble birth, the whole package deal. And the object of poor Calindrien's affections. My brother can certainly pick them, I suppose. And Velnerien and Belenar have the same Magister, so both my brothers deal with him consistently. I've seen him on occasion, he's come to dinner and such. He seems quite shy, well put together. Although from Cal's stories, he's a wildcard under that controlled veneer," she described Bel easily enough, trying to avoid the subject of his lineage for the sake of peace. 


Bel was very much a wildcard in Surrana's experience, but it was hard not to like the kid. "She won't have to worry too much about apprenticeship soon enough, he's probably going to graduate quite early. So, yes, he probably knows a spell or two to help with seasickness..." she joked. 

 

[Zazkiel]

"At what, thirty?"

Now Daerus was nothing if not a fan of the new aging laws for Silvermoon, it would have been a bit harder for him to pass himself off as of-age with the old ones. But almost full magister at such a young age, the poor doll had to feel at least a little bit out of his depth working with elves as old as Rivena.

"Silvermoon really has changed in my absence then. Tell me then, Surra, what other new and exciting laws are being passed. Are priests joining the Magistrate? Shadow casters running amok outside the Murder Row?"