Calyphta

[Aleros]

It was 4 AM, Xionn had insisted that the meeting be in the middle of the night, that hadn't sat well with Sey at all. Elves were naturally more comfortable acting during the night, but coming to the human world many had shifted their schedules towards the day. At least they'd be on their own ground. They had arranged the meeting to be at the Pig. Seylon and Aleros sat at a small table on the second floor of the Tavern. There was room for a third.

The door downstairs gave a tiny creak as it hit a certain point in its swing, signaling not only that the door to the Pig and Whistle needed oiling, but that Xionn had arrived. Aleros looked up at Seylon, he'd had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Each step up those heavy stairs felt like a really loud heartbeat. He shouldn't be this nervous about a meeting with his brother. Sightings of the pirate around Stormwind were more frequent as of late. Up until recently Xionn had probably been in the South Seas.

His head bobbed just into sight, that head of faded, scraggly green hair pulled back by a navy blue bandanna. Xionn's face came with the next step up the stairs, narrow and pointed, scarred in so many places, although he still had both of his eyes. The grin on his face was just hitched enough to one side, just twisted enough; it was a lot like Aleros's grin, although it was a lot less controlled, a wild, insane grin. The wrinkles on his face gave a hint as to his age, time had not been good to him. Although unlike an elderly human, he was not so frail. The rest of his body matched his face, scars all over his skin like a road map. He was covered in muscles, arms thick and round. He walked with a wide-legged gait, and was armored in navy blue dyed leathers. On his person, unknown to Seylon and Aleros were probably a good 20 throwing knives, although he carried those everywhere with him. Xionn stopped just at the top of the stairs, his eyes looking Seylon over.

"Didn' tell ye t'bring no wench," Xionn crossed his arms and gave Aleros a harsh glance.

"You didn't say not to, either," Aleros reached over and put his hand on Seylon's. "She's with me."

"An' I'm more than just a fuckin' wench, Sugar. M'a wench an' a half an' don't ya forget it." Sey winked and walked over to Elly, buying a bottle of Allerian whiskey. Shot glasses were procured, and she poured quickly, placing one in front of each brother, and then refilling her own twice, hauling back the burn before sauntering down the stairs. "Two of ya play nice. M'headin' downstairs. If ya need somethin', Kitty, holler. Otherwise I'll be practicin' prayin'."

Xionn snorted as he watched her go, "Right, family business mate, nothin' personal t'the lovely lady." He swung a leg over the chair, sitting down roughly and snatching up the glass of liquor, he sniffed it. "Fuckin' hate whisky, why the fark don' this place have rum?" Tipping it to his lips he downed it in a shot. Aleros sipped his, keeping his eyes locked on his brother.

"Wha's wrong? Ain't happy t'see me?" He flashed that same insane grin to Aleros. "Been 'ow long since we even talked, yeh?"

"We don't have a lot in common." He forced a smile. "But it is nice to see kin."

"Ayeh, s'what I'm here t'talk about, but first, how'ye been brotha'o mine?"

Aleros wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but judging by the anticipating smile on Xionn's face, he was completely serious. "I've... been doing a lot of work in the dream, and Seylon down there."

"You's two together then? Aheh! M'brotha, all grown up'n nabbin' wenches." Xionn tilted his chair back, kicking his feet on the table and lighting a cigarette, blowing smoke over the table. Aleros leaned back, more to get away from the smoke.

"You said you were here about..."

"Kin, if'n yer so impatient. Well'en, 'm a busy man, so'm nay goin' t'object if'n yer not up fer chattin'." Xionn bobbed his foot, taking several more drags of his cigarette, Aleros waited impatiently while Xionn took his time, wringing his hands together on the table. Xionn was taking his own pleasure in the discomfort of the moment. "Mum's alive, she got in contac' wit me 'erself." Xionn looked intently at Aleros, studying his reaction.

Aleros felt like a fleeting moment had just passed before his eyes, that he'd missed something important as something didn't register in his mind.

"Wh... what?"

"Mum's alive, 'n she wants t'see ya. M'too, but sh'said t'pass it along t'ye. 'pparently 'm a lot easier t'get in contact with. Har." Xionn laughed.

"She... she can't! Her and dad died!"

"Jes' dad. Teach 'im t'mess with fel demons 'n shat. But nuh, mum's alive. S'been hard, bein' a' outcast 'n all. Sh'seems t'be mostly 'er good ol' self though."

"She can't come back though! Unless she--"

"Y'ain't heard? Highborne bein' accepted 'gain 's in th'works."

Aleros had heard about this. It just made the reality of the situation all that more vivid to him. "She can't see me! She's been gone for too long, and if she hasn't given up magic I don't want her to!" The shot glass spilled out across the table and clattered onto the floor.

From down below, Seylon heard a punch landing on soft flesh and bone, then a thud as a heavy body hit the floor.

The table that the two brothers had been sitting at was on its side, two shot glasses on the floor. Aleros was curled on the floor, a bloody lip and a bruised jaw. Xionn had just finished kicking him in the chest when he turned about and landed a kick with his saronite-toed boot right in Aleros's kidney. He dragged the druid to his feet by the collar. "Don' y'talk 'bout mum tha' way." Xionn was seething, and wound up a punch aimed at the druid.

And then there was the yank.

The arm curled around his neck and then jerked him back, hard, purposefully crushing his windpipe as he sailed backwards. He gagged, there was nothing else to do with that much pressure on the throat, as a foot kicked into the crook of his knee, sending him onto one knee.

"Don't ya fuckin' touch Kitty."

Xionn threw an elbow and Seylon grunted as it met her middle, knocking the air out of her gut. She coughed and spit, her face flooding with color.

"Fuckin' son of a bitch sea rat. S'the last fuckin' thing you're gonna do," she rasped. Her fingers wound in his hair to tug his head back, forcing his face to the side as the fist met the planes of his cheek. There was the crack of bone meeting bone. Seylon was taller, but Xionn was more nimble by far, and before she got the second punch in, he'd shifted his weight and forced his elbow into her middle again, grabbing the back of her ankle. She was sent onto her ass, hitting the floor with a nasty thud, a sizzle of pain careening up her spine. She yelped and rolled onto her hip, and he managed a punch of his own into her gut, fingers mashing against the muscle there. She lay still for just a minute, and Xionn's lips twitched as he moved to press his advantage, starting to stand, to regain his footing.

That's when the chair hit him.

Flat upside the head from a downward arc. She'd been on her side, immobilized it had seemed, but one of her hands had snaked out and grabbed the legs of the chair and sent it barrel assing into his face. He muttered a string of curses and backed up, gripping the same cheek she'd hit, the same place the chair had hit. When he pulled his fingers away, there was blood smearing the tips.

"M'gonna cut ya for tha', Bitch."

His knife seemed to come out of nowhere, whether it was from a boot or a place at his side, she couldn't say, but it gleamed in the Pig's gas light.

"Last fuckin' thing you'll do this side of creation, Sugar."

Sey skittered back and coughed again, having to spit another mouthful of something onto the floor. She watched him and waited, every bit of her training coming to the forefront as she switched her stances to his movements, almost dancing in time to his footsteps.

"Both of you. Stop," Aleros rasped, pushing himself up onto his arms.

"He fuckin' hit ya, the worthless piece of shit."

"M'gonna sew tha' wenches lips closed."

Both responses were jumbled, coming at the same time, and Aleros shook his head.

"Sey Sey. Please."

Indecision flickered across her face. Xionn was still stalking towards her, and she was still moving about in a circle, not allowing herself to get backed into a corner. He never stopped pressing, never stopped advancing even at his brother's words, and she was smart enough not to trust him should SHE stop.

"Kitty . . . "

"Please."

And that was it. She sighed and retreated additional steps, putting the railings between them. Her shirt had tugged free of her pants during the scuffle, and she lifted it up, wincing at the enormous red and purple mark already spreading across her stomach and ribs.

"Fuck. M'gettin' out of here. If he does somethin' else fuckin' stupid, kill him. I'll be waitin' for ya."

She stalked out of the bar, stopping once more to spit on the floor in the interim.

Aleros watched her retreat down the stairs, his hand pressed to his torso, emitting a gentle green glow just over his ribs. The sound of bone mending itself rapidly would almost seem sickening to some. Xionn turned to Aleros, a crazed smile spread across his cheeks. Aleros was hoping that the scuffle with Seylon had sated him for now.

Xionn cackled, quietly at first then throwing his head back like a mad man. "Gotta get me one'a them lasses. That was nice fuckin' foreplay."

The druid spit some blood out of his mouth, but the taste lingered, and his head became hot. "I'll see her. I'll see Calyphta."

"Y'damn right ye will. An' y'll address her as mum, too." The blood from the cut on Xionn's cheek was dripping now, staining his shirt even further. He smeared it with his hand, giving it a glimpse and then licked it off his fingers. With a last flash of his grin and a wave, he turned around and descended the stairs, that wide gait and heavy boots causing thumps that echoed off the wooden walls.