Kaliskae, failure
Dec. 15th, 2010 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norcumiSo once upon shameful ages ago, I asked if someone wanted me to write WoW fic for them. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rearranged asked for a look on her tauren death knight Kaliskae, a pacifistic engineer. So I hauled out Keman, and.... it turned into the Keman and Lashana hour. So I set the fragment aside. Here it is, stopping abruptly since it wasn't what I was after.
There was a squirrel watching him. Keman wasn't too surprised at that; as a death knight, all wildlife seemed to distrust and mistrust him – rightly so, in his mind. But here, in the heart of the Ebon Blade's territory, in the rune forges of Ebon Hold itself, there was a squirrel watching him.
"Da hell?" the troll muttered, turning away from the forge to get a better look at the beastie. It sat on small hind paws, looking around the busy forge and occasionally running idle forepaws over its head, all sleek copper and bronze with glittering green eyes.
It wasn't... alive, though that word, especially here, was often euphemistic. It certainly acted like it, though. It was all in the way the tail jerked a little to maintain balance with each movement, the curious twitch of ears, and the wary movements of the head.
And it was definitely watching him. Keman glanced quickly at the sword he was affixing runes to – it was ready enough; all it really needed was some touch-up work and he could do that later – before sheathing it across his back. He moved slowly, keeping one eye on the squirrel the entire time. It had no reaction other than to tilt its head to the other side. "Whatchoo doin'?" he asked softly, moving sideways towards it. It struck a pang deep down, a reminder of how once upon a time he had been a hunter, and how he had moved to approach an animal he wished to tame, to connect to.
The pain was more than enough to make him lash out, trying to grab the squirrel with a hand. Like any squirrel, it jumped, practically dancing on his fist as it launched away towards the other side of the forge. He growled under his breath even as he straightened, then blinked as the squirrel scampered up a strangely garbed tauren as if she were a tree. It perched on her head, balanced between her horns, and spirits help him it had to be grinning at him.
Of course, all this was making the tauren turn and look at him, and despite the fact that she was dressed in full Mid-Summer finery, her eyes glowed the same unholy blue as his. "Hail," she declared dryly.
"Joo got squirrels," he declared dumbly, still glaring at the beastie.
"Just the one, actually." She reached up and gently grabbed the squirrel, pulling it down and – doing something arcane to it that made strange squeaking and clunking noises. "He shouldn't wander off that far, though."
"How you doin' that?" He moved closer, still cautious, but when she did not object he peered down at the beast in her hands. It lay there, and up close it was clearly some kind of machine... thing.
"I'm an engineer. I made it."
Keman blinked a few times, twisting his head to get a better view and hopefully not looking too much like a squirrel himself. "Huh. Never met anyone 'sides a goblin knowin' heads fr'm tails on dat. Er, no 'fense."
She bowed her head with a faint quirk of a smile. "None taken. I am Kaliskae."
"Keman." He nodded back then went back to staring at the squirrel. "It hard ta make those?"
She blinked and stared down at the squirrel, a touch of a blush shading along her nose. "Not... exactly. One must have the basics down solidly, but it does not require a master engineer. Thinking of taking up the trade?"
An eloquent snort was joined by a smirk. "Ain't got non'a the talent, mon. No t'anks." He hesitated before scratching along the base of one of his tusks. "Da mats, though – dey rare?"
The way the tauren was staring at him – half suspicious, half cautious, made him want to fidget. "I do not have any, but for a miner, they are not hard to acquire. The auction house, however-" She shrugged. "The prices there are never reasonable."
Thank the spirits, that he could treat normally. "Dey are if y'r sellin'," he chuckled. At her arch look, he shrugged a little defensively. "I don't deal wit it, but m'sistah is one'a those miners makin' a decent silver offa th' auction house."
~end fragment
rearranged asked for a look on her tauren death knight Kaliskae, a pacifistic engineer. So I hauled out Keman, and.... it turned into the Keman and Lashana hour. So I set the fragment aside. Here it is, stopping abruptly since it wasn't what I was after. There was a squirrel watching him. Keman wasn't too surprised at that; as a death knight, all wildlife seemed to distrust and mistrust him – rightly so, in his mind. But here, in the heart of the Ebon Blade's territory, in the rune forges of Ebon Hold itself, there was a squirrel watching him.
"Da hell?" the troll muttered, turning away from the forge to get a better look at the beastie. It sat on small hind paws, looking around the busy forge and occasionally running idle forepaws over its head, all sleek copper and bronze with glittering green eyes.
It wasn't... alive, though that word, especially here, was often euphemistic. It certainly acted like it, though. It was all in the way the tail jerked a little to maintain balance with each movement, the curious twitch of ears, and the wary movements of the head.
And it was definitely watching him. Keman glanced quickly at the sword he was affixing runes to – it was ready enough; all it really needed was some touch-up work and he could do that later – before sheathing it across his back. He moved slowly, keeping one eye on the squirrel the entire time. It had no reaction other than to tilt its head to the other side. "Whatchoo doin'?" he asked softly, moving sideways towards it. It struck a pang deep down, a reminder of how once upon a time he had been a hunter, and how he had moved to approach an animal he wished to tame, to connect to.
The pain was more than enough to make him lash out, trying to grab the squirrel with a hand. Like any squirrel, it jumped, practically dancing on his fist as it launched away towards the other side of the forge. He growled under his breath even as he straightened, then blinked as the squirrel scampered up a strangely garbed tauren as if she were a tree. It perched on her head, balanced between her horns, and spirits help him it had to be grinning at him.
Of course, all this was making the tauren turn and look at him, and despite the fact that she was dressed in full Mid-Summer finery, her eyes glowed the same unholy blue as his. "Hail," she declared dryly.
"Joo got squirrels," he declared dumbly, still glaring at the beastie.
"Just the one, actually." She reached up and gently grabbed the squirrel, pulling it down and – doing something arcane to it that made strange squeaking and clunking noises. "He shouldn't wander off that far, though."
"How you doin' that?" He moved closer, still cautious, but when she did not object he peered down at the beast in her hands. It lay there, and up close it was clearly some kind of machine... thing.
"I'm an engineer. I made it."
Keman blinked a few times, twisting his head to get a better view and hopefully not looking too much like a squirrel himself. "Huh. Never met anyone 'sides a goblin knowin' heads fr'm tails on dat. Er, no 'fense."
She bowed her head with a faint quirk of a smile. "None taken. I am Kaliskae."
"Keman." He nodded back then went back to staring at the squirrel. "It hard ta make those?"
She blinked and stared down at the squirrel, a touch of a blush shading along her nose. "Not... exactly. One must have the basics down solidly, but it does not require a master engineer. Thinking of taking up the trade?"
An eloquent snort was joined by a smirk. "Ain't got non'a the talent, mon. No t'anks." He hesitated before scratching along the base of one of his tusks. "Da mats, though – dey rare?"
The way the tauren was staring at him – half suspicious, half cautious, made him want to fidget. "I do not have any, but for a miner, they are not hard to acquire. The auction house, however-" She shrugged. "The prices there are never reasonable."
Thank the spirits, that he could treat normally. "Dey are if y'r sellin'," he chuckled. At her arch look, he shrugged a little defensively. "I don't deal wit it, but m'sistah is one'a those miners makin' a decent silver offa th' auction house."
~end fragment
