There, You'll Find Your Peace [Open]

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

In light of her run-in with that odious, terrible, frustrating the Death Knight and the Tauren, Nehaalista had chosen to retreat to the sensoriums. While it still baffled her a bit, it was there she could call up Tuurem, as she'd known it, before the Horde, before her own training had led her family to the city.

It was a little collection of small homes and buildings (small as compared to a Draenei, anyway), along the river. Villagers she remembered, now long, long dead, bustled here and there, attending to business that had never concerned Nehaalista. Huntsmen and bakers, blacksmiths and fishwives, all protected by the peacekeepers that patrolled the town in twos. The sound of hooves were everywhere. Somewhere in the distance, an elekk trumpeted as it came down the road. The light in Terrokar was blue as ever, thanks to the olemba trees filtration.

Nehaalista sat next to the riverbank and watched workers setting up tents for a festival of one kind or another. She smoothed a hand over the skirt of her robe and nibbled at some bread. She passed it over to the little Draenei boy next to her and signed, [Eat, Faram.] The words appeared over her head as she signed them. It was good to hear her mothertongue spoken in such volume again, coming over the buildings and rooftops in half-muttered curses and well-meaning joking.

Comments

[sonofether.livejournal.com]

By all logic, Stephen...probably shouldn't have followed Nehaalista. It probably wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done in his life.

Even now, he was peeking in from the side, ignoring the fact that while the Sensorium left the goggles on his head alone, it transformed his plantsuit and labcoat into something that looked more like an Indian kurta.

He was just checking up on her, he told himself. And she seemed fine. This meant that he could probably just go without her seeing him, and it'd all be fine.

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

Faram, beside Nehaalista, rested his head on her arm as he watched the workers. The two of them had a sense of carefully refined peace about them. Until the little boy's tail twitched mischievously and he popped up to go running across the town square.

[Faram! Faram!] Nehaalista signed as he ran, uselessly. She sighed and shook her head, picking apart the remains of the bread for the fish. Nice to know the sensoriums remembered just how... not-still her little brother had always been.

[sonofether.livejournal.com]

The other Draenei didn't seem to be noticing him. Perhaps it was just a memory and not something he'd cause chaos in. Not that either thought was incredibly reassuring.

He could either break up the entire festival by being an alien, or just be a boor. Some choice.

One was preferable to the other, though. Stephen did his best to sort of sidle over in Nehaalista's direction.

"Hey, are you all right?" That'd be jarring, he's certainly not fluent in Draenei. Though he offered her an apologetic smile.

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

Nehaalista looked up from her fish-feeding, and nodded. [I'm fine,] the little words showed up as she signed. [Just forcing myself to relax and remember why I'm fighting as opposed to who I am fighting.]

[sonofether.livejournal.com]

"I was thinking about it, and I think I kind of understand why you might've been so upset. Though I was putting it in my sort of terms." Stephen gave a little shrug at that, and looked around.

The city--maybe town was a better term--wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. Still, it and its people had an interesting sort of serenity.

"You lived here, before you came to the ship?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[When I was a child, yes.] That had been centuries ago, though Nehaalista didn't think Stephen needed to have his brain broken by the concept. She'd learned that lesson with Luke. [This is Tuurem, outside of Shattrath.]

She sighed and motioned for him to sit. [It must've been the straw that broke the taubulk's back. That Death Knight showing up, I mean.]

[sonofether.livejournal.com]

"It's nothing like where I grew up. Though I suppose that's a given. Pittsburgh..." He let his words trail off and just shook his head. "This Tuurem is nicer."

Stephen folded himself down into a seated position, arms around his knees. "Do you want to talk about it, or is the thought of her just going to make you upset again?"

[seraphicthunder.livejournal.com]

Reimi had decided to return to the Sensoriums for a little peace and quiet when she found the peaceful looking town and the hooved people walking all around the place. "Pretty," she breathed at the splendor of the area as she walked along.

Little children played, adults worked and slacked off, and in the middle, Reimi wandered through the pack, looking around the area, smiling at the relaxed atmosphere.

She noticed a woman signing to the child. Deaf? No, doesn't seem like it. Wandering up, she cleared her throat. "Hi, are you the one who made this recreation?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

Nehaalista looked up and the little boy beside her, still chomping on his bread, answered. She signed rapidly as he spoke, "My sister says that she did, and that you're welcome to wander as you will." She grinned, and ruffled the spiky his spiky, blue-violet hair.

[It is nice to meet you.] Nehaalista signed as Faram returned to his bread. The little subtitles over her head faded from white to transparency.

[seraphicthunder.livejournal.com]

Wow, subtitles. That was actually really cool and so meta since Reimi's universe was a MMO for 4D beings. Reimi bowed politely. "I'm Reimi Saionji, a pleasure to meet you both."

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

Faram grinned and whispered something to Nehaalista, who rolled her eyes and signed, [Go on with you. Go home.] She nudged him towards the collection of houses and Faram sighed at her. [You heard me.]

"I can't 'hear' you, Nehaalista."

[Don't be smart.]

Faram, in the nature of little boys, laughed in a way he probably thought was rakish and ran off, his hooves clattering against the walkways. Nehaalista shook her head. [Reimi, you said? That sounds a little like one of our names.]

[seraphicthunder.livejournal.com]

Reimi smiled. "It's a Japanese name, from my homeland. Well, what's left of it anyhow."

"I'm from Earth, and I'm part of the space exploration group. Is that your brother?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[Faram? Yes, he was my little brother.] Nehaalista nodded. It would be unfair to Faram - no, to the rest of her family to think of them in the present tense.

[governorkang]

Tuurem didn't look like anything Kang had ever seen before, yet it felt more like home than most of the other glimpses of crewmates' worlds he'd encountered. He knew immediately who had conjured it up; it was obvious with how many other draenei were going about their business.

He'd seen a bit of Nehaalista's tussle with the undead elf, on the Observation Deck, but he'd been too far away to do anything before Stacy had stopped it. Curiously, he sat down next to her, "A festival?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

Faram grinned at the draconian and nudged his sister's arm, "He's speaking to you, Nehaa."

Nehaalista looked beside her and smiled, [That's right, a festival.] The little words appeared beside her head as she signed them. [The last one I remember before we moved from Tuurem to Shattrath. How are you, Kang?]

[governorkang]

That was a neat trick. Kang smiled at both of them, "I'm feeling a lot better now that I'm healed up and gotten the training started again. What's the festival celebrating?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[The end of summer and the beginning of autumn,] Nehaalista looked out to where the tents were being set up. [A time of change. I have decided to reflect upon what I must do here as opposed to what I must do at home. Somehow, this seemed fitting.]

"And she wanted to eat warp burgers and fried feltail," Faram piped up unhelpfully around a mouthful of bread. His wide, pupil-less eyes full of mischievous intents.

[governorkang]

"Ah, a season change. And, I'm guessing that undead elf has something to do with your decision?"

He chuckled at the younger one, "I can't blame her for wanting food from home."

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

"I like them, too." Faram stood up and called across the waterway, "SAVE SOME WARP BURGERS FOR US, PLEASE!"

[Faram! Sit down!] It was a little jarring at how well the Sensoriums captured Faram's nature. [And yes that... creature had something to do with it.] Well, the elf and the Tauren, but mostly the elf. [It is in my very nature to oppose her and want to see her ended. It's more than just her, though. There are people on this ship that are that same nature... and I just...]

Nehaalista sighed and nudged Faram towards the town. [Go on home, Faram. Go get ready for the festival.]

"I am ready!" he protested.

[You are covered in bread crumbs and river mud. Go on.]

"Fiiiiiine," the little boy sighed and waved at Kang. "Good bye, sir! Come to the festival." He ran off back down the path, towards the town square. Nehaalista watched him run, closed her eyes and looked back at Kang.

[I do not know what I must do now.]

[tricks-of-trade.livejournal.com]

"Wow."

That was all Choline could say when she saw the village. She plonked herself down beside Nehaalista and took in all of the sights.

"You're braver than I, to recreate home so well," she said meekly. "So. How are you?"

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[Home is where your heart rests, or so I'm told. And my "heart" rests here.] She smiled and mussed Faram's hair, who huffed around his hunk of bread.

"Fiffer!"

[Faram!] She laughed silently and turned back to Choline. [I am... as well as one can expect when one sees a death knight. Still a bit cold, but otherwise whole and hale.]

[tricks-of-trade.livejournal.com]

Choline chuckled. "And a blood elf to boot. Looks like we've got to put up with her, though."

Then she furrowed her eyebrows. "So I'm not the only one who'd rather be home."

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[I'd really rather not.] Nehaalista signed stiffly. [But it doesn't seem like we have much of a choice, according to the ship.] If Stacy had just let Nehaa blast the death knight into the afterlife, there would be no question. [She isn't the only one here of dubious origin. There's at least one other, and in the city, there's a source of darkness, too.]

What? Did they really expect her to sit by idly and let these creatures run around cheerfully?

Faram, as if sensing Nehaalista's discomfort, put his head on her shoulder and twinned his little tail around hers. She smiled a little at Choline, [I think that desire to be home is shared by everyone on the ship, barring perhaps the children. Children are highly adaptable.]

[tricks-of-trade.livejournal.com]

"We may just have to endure for the time being. Perhaps let the ends justify the means for now. They might be vile, but if they're working for the same goal we are, it might be best for all of us to let them do what they do. As long as they follow the rules like everyone else."

She shrugged. She'd spent a little while mulling it over.

"But as for going home, I ... you know, some things have been happening to me. That remind me of home. It's strange."

[dearest-nehaa.livejournal.com]

[I think that's the same reasoning the Hand gave us.] Nehaalista smiled, but it was a little grim. Endure it, endure everything until the end. That might as well have been her people's motto.

She brushed her fingers through Faram's spiky blue-violet hair, [Has anything happened recently?]