Wildfire Riders

The more her wings flapped to return her to Amberpine Lodge, the angrier she became.

Skyborne, don’t be mad at your mother.

Shad’s voice, his patient, sometimes too quiet voice telling her to not be upset with her mother over her interference. It wasn’t enough, this time. Seylon was doing that thing again where she pretended she had the right to meddle in her eldest child’s affairs. Six hundred and fifty years of neglect said otherwise, though, and Sky wondered if she had to remind her AGAIN that a few measly years of sometimes copacetic contact didn’t allow for this. There were boundaries in place and Seylon needed to respect them. If they were going to have any kind of relationship at all, it would be on Skyborne’s terms because it’s the only way Sky could see it working.

She swooped into the Lodge, dropping her feathers on the terrace as elf skin rolled over her body. There were no knocks or polite ‘hellos’ as she stepped into the apartments Seylon and Aleros shared.

It was quiet inside. Aleros was asleep by the fire, his paws twitching in some dream or another. Khallar slept inside of his crib. Seylon was by the window, reading a stack of papers bearing the official watermark of Darnassus.

“We have to talk,” Skyborne said, stepping over the sleeping cat that was her stepfather.

Seylon glanced up. “We can do that, but folks are sleepin’. Porch, Sugar.”

There didn’t seem much point in arguing it as Seylon was already moving towards the double glass doors that led outside. Sky watched her mother perch against the railing, her arms folding over her chest. Something in the way she braced herself, something in the stubborn set of her jaw said she’d expected Skyborne, and she’d expected this fight.

She was defensive already and Sky hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t a good sign.

The doors clicked as they closed.

“Why. Why did you do it? You knew I’d find out, and you knew I’d be mad,” Sky said without hesitation. Her fingers wrapped around the railing ,and she squeezed until she was white knuckled.

“Mostly cause I care, Sugar, an’ the folks who normally do this sorta thing – meanin’ Fells – ain’t around. Someone had to step up.”

“Yes, someone. Not you. I don’t need your help. Shad says you think Tirith’s a bad person, and you don’t even know him. Why don’t you give advice about situations you understand.”

“You’re right darlin’, I don’t know much ‘bout the man, but he’s known to be dangerous, an’ he’s known for killin’ folk. Even Tarq said the kid was raised to kill an’ did lots of it ‘fore they gave him a direction. They got a name for those folks.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. S’called serial killers.”

“Oh for . . . that is JUST ridiculous. It was always work related. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

Seylon’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’m sorry, but I ain’t got the warm fuzzies about this kid’s only chance at bein’ normal revolvin’ around you. Maybe when he’s fully fixed ya can give it a shot, but now he’s too much work for not enough pay out. ”

Sky stomped her foot, her voice going from level argumentative to loud and near shouting. “I’m going to do whatever I damn well please with him, and if you don’t like him, Oh Well. Shad ISN’T going to happen, so that little plan isn’t going to work. He’s got his own problems.”

“But he cares ‘bout ya lots, an’ he’s a druid. He understands ya.” Sey kept her voice level. “An’ given time, he’d move on from Fells. She’s . . . “

“No! You’re NOT hearing me.”

“I am. Actually, Sugar, the whole lodge is. You’re screamin’ like a harpy.”

“I’m screaming because you don’t GET it. You don’t get these rights, Seylon. This ‘mothering’ thing? Stop it. Now. If you’d wanted to do this, where WERE you for six hundred and fifty years.”

Sey’s eyes flashed, and the calm demeanor was gone. She stood upright, her cheek twitching. “Ya know what, Sky? We’ve danced this dance before an’ I’m tired of it. I’ve apologized too many times to count. I’ve showin’ ya I wanna start over, make amends, and ya don’t let me.”

“I do too.”

“No, ya don’t. I’ve given ya space an’ kept offa ya. I’ve opened up my home an’ let ya live with me not once, but twice now. I feed ya, some of the clothes on your back I put there. Ya never bitch about me motherin’ ya when I’m doin’ those things, only when I say somethin’ ya don’t like.” Sey moved closer to her, so close they were nearly touching noses, her own voice getting stronger. “Ya wanna suck up all the things that make your life easy, but when I try to worry on ya or the choices you’re makin’, ya squawk like an ungrateful toddler. So ya got a choice, an’ here it is. Ya can either have the whole package – the house, the food, the family I got an’ wanna give ya, or . . . “

“Or what?” Sky was screaming now. “Or you’ll take off and leave me again?”

“Quit the screamin’ NOW. I don’t let my soldiers talk at me like that, you ain’t gonna neither. An’ as for the other, I told ya I ain’t goin’ nowhere. Ya can choose to believe it or not. There ain’t nothin’ I can say that’ll make ya listen.”

“I don’t listen to you because I tend not to listen to drunk whores.”

Sey’s shoulders tensed. A dark stain of flush began at her cheeks and spread up to the tips of her ears. She lifted her hand, a finger pointing in Sky’s face. “That’s it. M’done tryin’ to talk at ya. If ya can’t listen to reason, if ya can’t do any better than insultin’ me because you’re bein’ a pain in the ass . . . “

“UGH. Just get away from me!” Sky shoved her mother to get past her and off of the porch.

Shoving a sentinel was never a good plan.

Seylon reached for her then, more to pin her arms and grapple her so there would be no more shoving. As she manacled a wrist, Aleros walked onto the porch, one hand extended towards each of them. His eyes were sleep ridden, but it was apparent he’d heard every word. He wedged his way between them, forcibly separating them with the girth of his body.

“Both of you. Stop.”

“She’s going to punch me,” Sky seethed.

“No, I ain’t. If I was gonna punch ya, you’d be on your damned ass right now.”

“Oh shut UP.”

“Sugar, I swear I’m gonna . . .”

“Sey, the baby. He’s awake,” Aleros said quietly.

The color drained from Sey’s face and she cocked her head to the side. Khallar was indeed crying in the other room, either upset at the fighting, or upset because his nap was interrupted and he was overtired. Perhaps it was both. She shook her head, her shoulders sagging.

“M’goin’. Just . . . get her outta here. I don’t wanna look at her til she can treat me like a person, an’ I ain’t sure that’s ever gonna happen.”

Ale watched her go, watched her pick up her son and comfort him over her shoulder. She kept her back to him, but for a brief moment, her face was turned to the side and he could see that she was crying. It was hard to tell if it was frustration or hurt feelings. He’d have to find out later.

“Sky, you need to go,” he said after a long pause.

“B-but . . . I . . . “

“I know, but for now, you need to go. She needs space right now.”

Sky hung her head, for a moment feeling ashamed for her outburst, but with a resigned nod she stepped up onto the rail of the porch. She spread her arms to either side, closed her eyes, and she fell.

Her wings found her just before she hit the ground.

Skyborne flew into her mother's terrace window, literally. Her face thudded off of the glass and she fell backwards onto the flatwood panels of the porch. She'd been so preoccupied trying to figure out how to talk to Seylon, she hadn't noticed the sun glinting off of the panes. Hitting it at top aerial speed was not a good plan.

“Crap. Goddess damned stupid . . . OW.”

Her purring stopped as she walked around in circles, her fingers clutching her head.

Seylon found her that way a minute later.

“S'glass, Sugar. Should open the door first. Kinda hurts otherwise.”

“Yeah, I KNOW. Thanks.”

Seylon cracked a wary smile, stepping aside to let her daughter in. Khallar was crawling across the floor, a squeaky murloc plush toy in hand. Sensing his sister's arrival, he lifted his head, his little ears waggling.

“Tikky!”

“Hi Khal.” Sky bent over and picked him up, not really caring that he was covered in drool thanks to the emergence of his teeth. She nuzzled his fat cheek and settled down on the rocker. The baby squirmed into a suitable baby position and proceeded to bash the murloc off of her chin with vigor.

Seylon sprawled out on the couch across from them.

“Was hopin' ya'd stop by.”

“We gotta talk,” Sky said simply. “About stuff.”

“Sure in shit we do, but I wasn't thinkin' you'd be here anytime soon. Shad said . . . “

Sky lifted her hand. Khallar took it as an opportunity to grab it and stuff her fingers into his mouth. His little canines dug into the sensitive, fleshy part of her thumb and she yelped.

“HEY NOW.”

He laughed as she pulled her fingers away.

“I gotta say, the call the other mornin' . . . was interestin'. Didn't expect a drunk dial from my own kid.”

“Oh. Yeah, that. Sorry. I was feeling umm, good.” Sky felt heat flood her cheeks, and she found something interesting to stare at on the wall. “I've said a couple things I shouldn't have. Eat a dick wasn't very nice, and neither was calling you a drunk whore. Sorry.”

Seylon sighed, swinging her long legs down to the ground. Her toes wriggled in the plush carpet beneath her feet. “I was pissed at first, ain't pissed now. Don't worry 'bout it, an' Sugar, m'sorry. I talked at Shad some, an . . . I didn't wanna make things more complicated none, I just wanted ya to be happy. I thought . . . “

“That Shad would make me happy?”

Seylon seemed to think on it a minute before nodding. “Yeah, s'about right.”

Sky took her time putting Khallar back onto the floor, watching his diapered bottom shuffle towards the cat. There was a momentary look of feline dread on the Siamese's face, but it dealt with the baby taking tuffs of its hair into his fists pretty well, all things considered. He scampered under the coffee table, purring. “He would make me happy, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon. I won't be second to someone else, and with him, I would be for at least fifty or so years, which . . . I don't even want to really think about. Tirith . . . not so much, but I gotta figure out if he's even capable of loving. I think he is? I dunno though. You were right that there's questions there that need to be answered with him.”

“Just didn't want ya shacked up with someone who looks at ya as their only hope for a normal life. S'a big responsibility, an' ya ain't dated much. Didn't think ya had the experience to know ya were in for a long ride.”

“See, that's the thing Mom.” Skyborne finally looked her mother , surprised to see the worry on that perfect, lineless face. Her words left her for a moment as she figured out – finally truly figured out – that her mother loved her. “Umm, I . . . “ The guilt over some of the things she'd said recently made her ears flop, and she hunched down into her chair. “I want to experience it, even if it's bad stuff is my point. You're trying to protect me from things I need to learn.”

Seylon nodded. “I guess. The thing is Sugar, even if we were just friends, I'd tell ya what I thought on things. I fucked up a lot. Ya know it, but to this point . . . last three or four years is the first time I ever been stable since your dad died. I did so much shit in between, an' I hurt so much I just didn't want ya makin' those same decisions. You're young, an' everyone fuckin' loves ya. Shit, Sugar . . . I don't dare say nothin' to ya in front of our folk cause I know they'll be thinkin' I'm a hardass, but truth is . . . truth is I want better for ya than I had. Even if I didn't raise ya, I birthed ya, an' m'always gonna want ya to be happy. Bein' with someone that's gonna take that much work, meanin' Tirith . . . scares me, 'specially with what Tarq told me. S'a lotta responsibility.”

“I know it scared you, but I . . . I am capable of handling the responsibility.” Sky's voice grew a little stronger. “I know you think I do kid things, and I do sometimes because it's fun and I can get away with it, to be perfectly honest, but I really do have a head on my shoulders. I'm going to screw up, but I don't think it's going to be as regularly as you think it is. I'm smarter than you give me credit for.”

“Never said ya were dumb.”

“No, but you never said I wasn't either.”

Sey looked like she wanted to argue. Her mouth opened, the words were there, but no sound came. After a while she nodded slowly. “S'true. I never did say that, but lemme say it now to ya so we're clear. I think you're brilliant, Sugar. I think ya know how to make folk laugh, I think ya know how to get a point across without makin' someone feel bad 'bout themselves, even when they're shit wrong. I think . . . you're clever, like a cat, an' that ain't no surprise. But clever or no, your fuckin' heart will do things to a smart head . . it'll screw you faster than a gobbo with a hard on.”

“Gross, Mom. That's GROSS.”

Seylon grinned. “Ain't it though? You fuckin' married one, I didn't.”

“I didn't fuck him.”

“S'a plus, cause if ya had we were gonna have 'nother one of them talks that gets ya angry at me.”

“Ewwwww.”

They looked at one another, and both of them laughed. The tension eased out of Sky like someone had turned a faucet. After a while, they were just twittering and snorting, thinking lewd, unpleasant things about goblin-kind. Sky decided to save the cat from Khallar by picking her brother up and making a raspberry on his stomach, which pleased him so much he repeatedly slammed her off the top of the head with his murloc.

“That thing's dangerous,” she said, wincing at every squeak of toy meeting cranium.

“Ayep, an' it travels. Found it in my pillowcase the other night. Ain't got the faintest idea how it got there.”

“TIKKY!”

“Kitty, Sugar. Kitty. You're getting' there.”

“He is, isn't he? He'll be walking soon.”

Seylon grunted. “An' it's gonna be fuckin' fun time in the Crescentwing house when he does.”

“It'll keep you busy.” Sky raspberried him again. “And maybe you'll be so worried about him you'll let me do my thing.”

“Maybe, Sugar. Maybe. But just cause I let ya without sayin' nothin' don't mean I ain't thinkin' on it, or worryin' on it.”

“Fair enough, just . . . look, I know I'm not the best listener? But next time even if you're afraid I'll get mad, come to me directly. Shad's great, and I love him to pieces but he . . . “

“S'the problem ain't it. That ya love him.”

There was a long, awkward pause.

“I dunno.” Sky shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with the topic at hand. She crossed the room to hand Khal off. As soon as Seylon touched him he let out an exhausted yawn. It seemed murloc abuse took a lot out of a one year old. She put him on her shoulder, tugging the plush toy out of his hand to toss it onto the couch. His black eyes fluttered closed and he made a contented gurgle.

Recognizing that Sky didn't want to talk about how she felt - not now, certainly, and possibly not ever - Sey forced a grin, attempting to maintain their friendly banter. “Well, Sugar, when ya want or need, door's open. If ya need a place to sleep, just say so, an' . . . fuckin' STOP gettin' kicked outta inns please?”

Sky giggled. “I think I'm done with that.”

"S'good! Cause it'd be a shame if ya got banned from Dalaran."

"Oh, I won't."

"Right."

There was anther stretch of silence.

"All right," Sky said. "Thank you for letting me visit and and umm, for not being mad at me. I probably deserved it.”

“Ya did, but so did I. We were both doin' wrong to the other. Seems to be the way with us.”

Skyborne agreed, but she didn't bother saying so. Instead, she made her way to the porch, carefully pushing the glass doors open to avoid more head trauma. “I'll see you soon, Mom.”

“All right, Sugar. Take care of yourself, all right?”

“I will.”

Watching Sky take flight, her pale arms turning into wings, Seylon's smile faltered. She kissed Khallar on the head and went back inside, pacing through the living room. She knew what Sky's problem was, she knew what she was going through and could empathize. It was always hard to love someone who didn't love you back. Amarra taught her that – except in her case, Seylon had been Shad, Amarra had been Sky, but the ending was always the same, regardless of which part you played.

The worst part was, she didn't have the license to talk to her daughter about it. She might never have the license, either.

Sky was in for a hurt bigger than she realized, and Sey could do nothing about it.