Going back

[Srelok]

I don't have visions.
Some shaman do, like Rhonya and I suspect Kogra. Certainly Siyah'gosh is right too often for it to be a fluke.
But I don't have visions. I just feel things.
As I entered the camp where I was raised I felt things so vividly it was almost like I was having a vision. I stopped a moment at a certain point, almost as if I saw that Blackrock orc die all over again, like I'd once told Gashuk about. I felt his life-essence fade, the acceptance of death... I blinked and moved on, limping slightly on the moist earth. I'd asked Azguh to wait outside, which she'd agreed to very quickly. She wasn't a fan of the internment camps either. I could feel her in the distance even now, a rassuring presence in this sea of misery.
I looked around, imagining things as they had been when the camp was liberated. So much decay.. The alliance had never reclaimed these grounds either, guess they wanted to distance themselves too...

I stopped just before one of the barracks, eyeing it with a sense of sadness and trepidation. The barracks I'd called home...
As I entered I was assailed by memories of my father and the years I'd spent here, seeing Rhonya for the first time, That day when we were liberated, me escaping alone, leaving her in the hands of my father...
I shook it off, entering properly and gingerly beginning to root through the detritus for what I came here for. I'd rather have it over with quickly...

As I overturned a cot I spotted a wrapped object and knew my mother had been right. As I picked it up I was overcome with a vague bloodlust. Not mine, but my mother's.
I unwrapped the package revealing her bladefist, a double bladed thing with an armoured cowl. It was a bit rusty, but nowhere near as bad as I'd thought. The cloth had been oiled. My father had brought it here, with him. Cared for it. Did he have feelings for her after all? The cloth didn't excude any emotion like that. Maybe he had taken it as a trophy...
I put the package into my bag and started making my way back. No reason for me to remain here...

I saw Azguh the moment I exited the camp. Seems she didn't want to wait it our little camp a few hundred yards away. I smiled a little sadly at her as I made my way toward her. A worried look told me how I looked, probably like I'd aged ten years. I felt sweaty and haggard at least.
Without a word we walked back to camp. I needed a rest badly... And something to eat and a bath. Water always made it easier to wash away the emotions, and that was a definite need right now..

[Nosh'marak]

Good read!

[Rhonya]

Azguh waited patiently at camp for about two seconds. Srelok had told her to stay here, but when did she ever listen to anything he tried to tell her to do? Well, not often.
Not this time either, as she made her way towards the gate of the old internment camp. It wasn't a place she'd go inside, not for anything. She might not be an empath, but even places like this simply gave off a certain aura. You'd have to be as emotionally mute as a brick not to feel anything here.
She suspected he wouldn't be back for a little while yet, so sat herself down with her back against the wall, looking at the view.
They had traveled a long way together to get here. Azguh assumed by now orcs would've made a lot of assumptions, and it actually amused her a bit. Nothing was further from the truth. Yes, Srelok had asked her to accompany him on this trip. And yes, they'd grown closer over the past weeks. But she wasn't ready yet to swear him the rest of her life. Even now she still had urges to just get away from him at times. It wasn't his fault, he was nice, caring, not as grumpy as to other orcs usually. And he was really, really patient, giving her the space she needed without complaints or ever really asking her why.
She was just not used to binding herself to something. To actually be accepted for what she was and actually being wanted. Azguh was trying, for him. It was going better already, at least. They'd spend the last week just riding side by side, talking about the past, the present. The future was a topic not often discussed, because she knew he didn't want to put any pressure on her. The nights were spend side by side as well, sharing the same furs. This was another thing she was still getting used to. It had been some thirty years since last she spend time sleeping next to someone else. She still often awoke at night, just to get out of the furs, take a short walk and go back to sleep against him.
Her warpstalker Xynu warned her he was coming back with a short swish of his tail as he stared through the gate, and Azguh got back on her feet. They'd be alright, together. Perhaps she should stick to her word and actually join the tribe as newblood. Perhaps. In time.
Maybe it could become her home as well, one day.

With a worried look followed by a smile she welcomed Srelok back as he walked outside and they made their way back to their camp. He looked horrible. No words were needed though, he'd speak when he was ready. And if not, she wouldn't push him. Not this time.

[Srelok]

Poor girl has no idea she's being domesticated...