#Mention: Senithvia Dra’zar

[houseildanan]

In Which He Prepares Brunch

The oven door latched with a soft click and he straightened, surveying the stovetop, the pans and pots on the burners, the counters with the cutting boards marked with the juice from the fruit he’d cut and the butcher block surface dusted with traceries of flour and bits of pastry trimmed off to even out edges.  The pastries were not a usual project, but this morning it felt right to make some even as he tended to more savory fare to accompany them.  A proper brunch seemed right this morning, despite everything.

Perhaps because of everything.

“It smells good in here,” his commander’s voice said from the doorway.  The red-headed woman stepped into the kitchen, glancing around and finding them alone.  “When did you get back?”

“About an hour ago,” he said.  “I stopped in the market before I came back.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“Knowing how well whatever you brought back will serve morale?  No, never.”  She joined him at the stove, reaching over the pots and skillets he tended for the one of coffee set at the back to stay warm.  Her glance in his direction held the very vaguest hint of concern.  “What emergency sent your wife here to fetch you back at half past one in the morning?  You didn’t have to come back so quickly.”

He frowned briefly, using a spatula and a firm hand to toss some sizzling greens in their pan.  “What makes you think it was Seni?”

She favored him with a level look tempered by a wry smile.  “There is a very particular flavor to Senithvia Dra’zar’s magic that I am more than well acquainted with, Tyr.”  She filled a mug and then settled the coffee pot back into place.  “Come on now.  Are we going to do this dance?”

One corner of his mouth kicked into a grin as wry as hers.  “That depends on you.”

She stepped away, sinking into one of the chairs at the table, one that creaked even under her relatively slight weight.  Age and the temperatures were starting to wear on so much up here.  So much would need replacing and repair if they were to stay for much longer, to make everything into a proper garrison.  They both knew that—his commander better than most, since her contingent of Alliance forces was the most likely to remain on-station here even if the Crusade moved on.

She took a sip of coffee, her brow arching.  “Does it?”

He shrugged and turned away, checking the hash.  “It wasn’t Seni.”

“Then who?  And why?”

“My nephew.”

It took a moment for her to catch his meaning, but he knew it had registered as soon as he heard her mug against the table, rattling slightly in a way that suggested she’d hastily set it down.  The chair creaked as she leaned forward, almost but not quite rising.  “Is everything—”

“Everything’s fine,” he soothed.  “Honestly, they didn’t really even need me there, I think.”

“You wouldn’t have forgiven yourself if you hadn’t been.”

He stared down at the stove, at the array of cooking vessels and food he’d begun preparing.  It was probably too much, but better too much than not enough.  The urge to do it was half habit and half therapy.  As bitter as some of the memories were, far more were good.

His eyes stung.  “You’re right,” he murmured.  “I wouldn’t have.”

“Still, that doesn’t explain why you’re already back.  Unless…?”

He laughed.  “She told me to and some habits in that regard die hard.  Orders are orders, right?”

“Everyone’s healthy?”

“She and the baby, yes,” he said, shaking his head.  “Everyone else may be in some kind of altered state, but she said it was fine and I trust her to know.  Told me not to borrow trouble when she shooed me off.  I was glad to have been there, though.”

“I’m certain she was, too.  You’re as much her brother as her actual brothers.”

Tyr laughed quietly, eyes stinging, but he nodded.  “I suppose you’re right.  She’s seemed to collect those over the years.”

“Tyr, if you want to—”

“No,” he said gently, reaching for the coffee pot to pour himself a mug.  “No, Commander.  She’s right, my place is here right now.  I have a job to do until you and the Crusade find someone who can do it better or until I’m actuallyneeded back there.  They know where to find me, how to find me.  I write when I can.”

“Did you leave them breakfast, too?”

He barked another laugh, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

“What do you think?”

In answer to that, she simply smiled.

#Tyrvarden Kindaer Grimstryke #tales from the front #Argent Crusade #Jude Auroran #Mention: Wyn Ilthyrii #Mention: Senithvia Dra’zar #Northrend #World of Warcraft #Mention: Juden Riverwind #Wyrmrest Accord #RP #fiction #WrA #WoW #Resolute Blades #Age of Blood #Retribution of Arathor