RP:Breaking the News (and the Glassware)

Part of the The Savage Queen Arc

Part of the Agitation Arc

Part of the The White Hunt Arc

Summary: Linn returns to the Frostmaw tavern. Finding Aira there, he first alerts her to the fact that Orikahn has been lost in a blizzard, then must explain to her that sabertooth is a traitor to Frostmaw. Aira is shocked and hurt. She leaves in distress to hunt Kahn down.

Frostmaw Tavern

Linn stopped outside of the tavern for a second before a loud banging began to echo through the door faintly, followed by intermittent crunches of ice hitting the ground. The enchanter had just spent much longer in an intense blizzard than he should have, and his fingers and toes had long gone numb with cold. He had to cancel his second search for Orikahn when he felt the stinging begin without any sight of the cat. Now he was beating off an inch-thick layer of ice that had formed over the rigid plates of his armor before he walked inside, ignoring everything before plopping himself and his pack right in front of the fire, removing his gauntlets and boots to more quickly warm his extremities that were cherry-red with the cold.

Aira was seated in a commodious armchair by the hearth, lounging with her long legs crossed and a tall glass of rum in her hand. The huntress was out of her Frostmaw furs once again, having laundered them earlier in the day and left them to dry near the fire in her rented room. Instead, Aira was sporting a rather interesting dress, a high-low style in a pale pink hue. It was an outfit she had worn when she still lived in Rynvale, the silky fabric light and flowy to support the island heat. Aira even went to far as to pair the dress with a some heels. Truth be told, the runaway looked wholly unlike herself, rather like the chaste bride-to-be she was in Rynvale. The loud banging outside the tavern caused the high elf to turn in her seat quickly, sloshing some of her precious liquor down her arm. She breathed out an annoyed sigh but as Linn stormed in and threw himself in a chair near her, she merely lofted her brow curiously at the enchanter. A few moments of silence pass before Aira cleared her throat. “You didn’t get trampled again, did you?”

Linn jolted to attention at Aira’s voice, having entirely missed her on the way in before shaking his head. “No. Blizzard” he muttered out as the best way he could explain it for now. Perhaps Aira may have heard of the rumors that had begun to spread like wildfire through the town about the shiny guy who dragged Hildegarde, unconscious and wounded, back to Frostmaw before immediately running off again. The second time he returned he was empty handed. He sighed as he held his hands back out towards the warmth of the room before his fingers began to feel like they were on fire as the permeating cold was slowly purged from them. He swallowed, wondering how to break the news to Aira who knew the hunter better than anyone else as far as he was concerned. “Had to pull Hildegarde back to town from a blizzard, went to get Orikahn as well immediately after but by the time I got back there…” He took a sharp breath, “He was gone.” His typical meal of stew and cider suddenly found itself beside him where he sat, one of the waitresses placing it there without any prompting, “Thank you” came his response to the meal offered.

Aira tilted her head to the side, causing the curtain of near white hair to fall over her shoulder. She listened to Linn speak of dragging Hildegarde back to the fort. The huntress had only met the Steward a handful of times but she was strong and kind so naturally Aira was worried. “She okay?” the words poured from her full lips. However, when the enchanter spoke of going for Kahn next, Aira sat up a bit straighter, visibly scooting closer to the edge of her seat. “What happened?!” She barked rather quickly, concern etching itself in her features. “What happened to Kitty? He get bit again?”

Linn shrugged helplessly at whether or not Hildegarde was okay. “Probably. What happened to her wasn’t too bad on the outside, she passed out though and I had to take her back.” When Aira suddenly demanded the answer about Orikahn he was left somewhat hung. His gaze was left cast towards the hearth when he finally spoke, “He was… a servant of whatever’s going on out here?” He shook his head before deciding to start from the beginning of the whole picture. “We were interrogating a necromancer that we captured down south in Xalious after a town meeting got crashed by someone calling themselves ‘The Dark Imp.’ Orikahn was attending it, and despite being more of a bystander than anything he was addressed specifically by the guy. Something about him being the favored servant of whoever the necromancer was working for.” A beat as he swallowed, “He ran off immediately after and Hildegarde and I chased him out into a blizzard. He fought with her and amidst everything I wound up destroying the skulls that he always kept on him.” His face twisted in confusion, “It seemed to contain the life of something else, whoever he was serving it seemed like. I could hear voices in the wind as it scattered…” He sighed, “It seemed too easy to break though. But after that, Hildegarde knocked Orikahn out before passing out herself and I couldn’t get both of them back here together. I took Hildegarde first and tried to return for the big guy but I couldn’t find him when I came back.” Overall he looked severely dismayed, even worried at the implications of what the hunter’s vanishing could mean.

Aira’s face immediately changed from one of concern to one of confusion and disbelief. As Linn explained what transpired this evening, Aira’s mouth hung open slightly. The deeper into the story the enchanter went the paler the runaway got, her normally sun-kissed skin fading to a hue similar to her hair. Her copper irises flared, and when she first attempted to speak no noise came out. She cleared her throat and tried again, the words coming out hoarse and half broken. “No. It not true.” If one were to look at the glass in Aira’s hand they would notice it was shaking, her body beginning to tremble as Linn’s words crashed over her. It couldn’t be true! She didn’t believe him! Orikahn was the Prime Hunter of Frostmaw, Hildegarde’s ally. The pair had been out on a number of expeditions to find out what was happening out west. It couldn’t be true! But still, Linn’s account of the smashed skulls caused a memory to resurface in her mind’s eye--her foot smashing through the skull of an ice troll and breaking Kahn of his trance after he had shot her.... “You’re lying,” Aira hissed barely above a whisper.

Linn was honestly in a bout of disbelief himself at the whole thing. He began to idly pick at the stew beside him, avoiding the cider for now. To Aira’s disbelief and the accusation that he lied he ineffectually shrugged, “I wish I was.” His gaze stayed fixed on the fire, avoiding the copper one that set on him. Every now and then his eyes flickered to find her in shock at the whole thing before averting themselves, though eventually he mustered the will to turn and face her with a sorrowful expression. “I’m sorry that things have gone this way, I only wish I could have gotten Kahn back to know more of what had happened on his end.”

Aira continued to stare at Linn, her almond eyes narrowing, and waited for him to expose why he was playing this sick, cruel joke on her. Kahn was her pridemate, the only who befriended her when she first came here. The only who believed in her, praised her abilities to Hildegarde, inducted her as an official hunter of Frostmaw, offered his lodge as a home. Aira’s chest moved up and down heavily, her breathing ragged as her mind swirled and she tried to grasp what had happened. Her lip quivered and for the first time since she had left Rynvale, tears brimmed in those copper eyes. It couldn’t be...but again, there was the destroyed skulls. And then the mention of the feline serving someone...Aira immediately knew who that was. A surge of anger coursed through the runaway’s body and she was on her feet, slinging her glass of rum against the wall as hard as she could, causing everyone in the tavern to look as it shattered and rained liquor and shards of glass on nearby patrons. The clicking of Aira’s heels carried her up the stairs, storming past Drargon as he tried to grab her for breaking his property. Aira didn’t care and twisted her arm out of his grip. Several moments later, she stormed back down the steps, still in her dress but donning her fur-lined boots and a cloak fastened at her throat. In her hand, slender fingers grasped the hilt of a sharpened dagger and she began to walk towards the tavern door with purpose.

Linn pursed his lips with the stories of the events thrown out into the air, knowing he was the bearer of bad news for the high elf. The shattering of the rum glass was met with a small flinch as he tracked her angry movement up into her room. As she came back down he caught the gleam of the dagger with a look of worry. “If you’re hellbent on going out there and finding him right now, I can’t stop you. No doubt we’ll be going back out there to search for him soon once we’ve collected ourselves, but…” He sighed, “Just be careful out there. If he’s still alive he’s going to be more dangerous than ever, and if he’s dead,” The enchanter blinked in shock at how quickly that possibility slipped from his mouth in Aira’s presence, “Chances are you’ll freeze solid looking for him in that storm.” He sighed with another idle pick at the stew before he turned back to the elf, “Just come back here alive sometime alright?”

Aira was not gifted in seeing auras, but she could only image what hers looked like now. Anger, hurt, and betrayal swirling around her trembling body. She managed to halt before reaching the door, pausing long enough to listen to Linn’s warnings. Her lips twitched as she slowly turned, the mesmerizing, metallic eyes staring right at the enchanter, not paying any attention to the other patrons who were just staring. In a moment of vulnerability, two tears fall from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. “What does it matter?” She asked through clenched teeth in reference to her coming back alive. “He was all I had.” Aira reached up to angrily swipe at the dampness on her cheeks before turning back to the door and throwing it open, slamming it shut behind her and disappearing into the storm.

Linn jolted to his feet at Aira’s statements and attempted to follow her out of the bar to say something, but his still-warming toes betrayed him with their pain, preventing him from giving chase. By the time he had made it to the door to peer outside Aira was long gone. He breathed a pained sigh, knowing that there was nothing he could do for her tonight. Instead he could only gingerly walk back to the hearth to finish his meal before calling it a night and getting some much-needed rest.