The Descent into Madness

[Miahala]

"The Descent into Madness, Part XV: Looking for Trouble"


It was the second day of her return to Stormwind, and there was no longer any avoiding it.

Miahala had lived with a small ball of fear in the very base of her stomach since she'd set foot in the city. Spending time with her children had helped to alleviate the feeling, for a time, but it had only grown with the passage of hours. In each moment that she hadn't spent strictly focused on her children, the feeling and the fear was all consuming. Jaim was a frequent visitor, reminding her of obligations that she couldn't ignore, however frightening.

Finally, she knew that there was no longer any avoiding it and that she had to be an adult. He hadn't come to find her, so she had to go find him. Mia knew that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation, but she was still - at least technically - his wife. He deserved a face to face explanation, even if he hated her for it.

It wasn't a long walk from Cathedral Square to Old Town, although it felt like it took forever. Eventually, she was standing in front of the Pig & Whistle and could only feel her reticence grow. No longer just about Jolstraer, she was worried about who else might be there. Yes, she needed to be around people... but she didn't yet need to be in a crowd, especially not without knowing what they knew... what they had been told.

She forced herself through the door and around the corner, coming into the main room and looking around.

Miahala wasn't sure if she was upset or relieved to find it empty. It wasn't late in the evening, but it wasn't exceptionally early either... so there had been a decent chance of him, or others, being here - but apparently she was wrong.

Approaching the barmaid, who was busy wiping down the center table, she caught her attention. Langston. Elly Langston. She remembered the name.

"Miss Langston?" she asked. The girl nodded and Mia tried to smile. "I'm looking for one of your regular patrons: a man named Jolstraer Taborwynn. He's tall with grey hair worn back in a pony tail, broad shoulders, eye patch?"

Langston smiled. "Oh yes, I know him!" she said. "He comes in most nights, looking fairly well grouchy but we've all gotten used to that. The mood improves when he's with that pretty little thing... I can't remember her name, but she's in here a lot too. They spend a lot of time together and he seems to be a bit better around her. Can't say I'm not grateful for that, as he's a pretty scary guy." She giggled, tossing the towel over her shoulder. "What is her name? J... I think it begins with a J, but I can't recall."

To explain the emotion that passed over Mia right then would be... difficult. It was complex, to say the least. She forced a smile. "Jhoryla, by any chance?" she asked and her voice was remarkably level.

"Yeah!" Langston exclaimed with a pleased smile. "That was it. Yeah, they been in here a lot lately and in the past few days. I don't know when he might be in again, don't tell me these things, but I'd be surprised if it was too long. Usually not in till later, though. Hope that helps, Miss."

"It does," Mia said, still with that fake smile. "It does indeed, Miss Langston. If you happen to see Mister Taborwynn again, please tell him that Miahala came looking for him."

Ever pleased to help, Elly gave a friendly grin and a nod. "Sure thing, Miss Miahala." From there, she moved back about her business and completely forgot the presence of the mage standing next to the big center table, who was remembering sitting around it, with Jolly, many times over. They'd come here often... once upon a time.

Schisms and fractures in Mia's mind were trembling and trying to tear themselves asunder again. After all of the work to try to seal them, as much as she could, she couldn't afford to let them open again. (The Pig & Whistle might not survive... and then she'd have a Riders contract out on her head.) Her hands trembled as she took a few steps back, heading for the door but finding her coordination trying to abandon her.

"It doesn't mean anything," Jaim said, suddenly appearing beside her. He wasn't quite the last person she wanted to see, but close. "She could just be a friend."

"She could," Mia said in a low voice. "Yet I doubt it. He'd rather spend his time here with her than come find me?"

The mage didn't realize it, but Elly Langston was watching her from the other side of the common room. The barmaid was frowning - both curious and concerned that the woman was talking to herself in a way that suggested a conversation. It was likely something about that would slip out when she passed on the woman's message to Mister Taborwynn. Just 'cause the woman was... off didn't mean Elly would keep her message to herself. No cause for that.

Meanwhile, Mia felt a crackling growing within. Fire was again coming unbidden, but she wrestled it. Turning quickly, she hurried out of the tavern and took a hasty and deep breath of the air outside. Jaim was still there. She could see him out of the corner of her eye and his being a figment of her imagination didn't make him any less annoying, standing there and staring at her like that.

"I didn't light anything on fire," she snapped defensively.

"I didn't say anything," Jaim retorted casually. (She couldn't help but notice that his accent had gone away.)

Mia muttered, pressing her hands against her temples. "Yeah, but you were thinking it." Her eyes closed.

He snorted. "Love, you would know," he said.

Anger and sorrow were at war inside her, and not for the first time in recent history, but the anger was winning now. That was the scary part, because it had been anger that had been the sounding trumpets for the first steps in this whole catastrophic period. This time, though, she was better able to recognize it for what it was. She was able to hook her claws into it and try to hold it down.

It was a battle, though, and for a time her head was filled with lights and sounds. Everything tried to over-whelm her and the inner cacophony ramped up into an painful buzzing until she finally swallowed a scream, then spat, "Bastard!"

"Take it easy," Jaim said. They began walking. Mia needed to move.

"I'm not going to take it easy," she muttered at him. "I needed him. He was my husband and I needed him. Where the hell was he? At the Pig & Whistle... drinking with some woman. I don't care if they fucked or not. He's betrayed me in other ways... Bastard. Selfish bastard." Angry tears were pouring down her face as she stalked to the Mage District. (It wasn't the time to be near her girls just yet.) "Just basic human decency... a friend would've been treated better than me, if they needed him. His wife!"

Jaim was, for once, wisely silent as Mia spat again. "Bastard."

...Concluded - For Now...

OOC: Thanks to all who read along! Any future efforts on this will be done in-game, or by special project later. The series is now complete. ;) I'm available, though, if anyone wants to RP! Even if I'm not in-game that often, PM me if you want to set up a time or particular RP/project, either for semi-crazy Mia fun or to help someone else with one of their projects. I'm totally open to it. ::smiles::