Unwanted Help

[Elestera]

Even standing before three of her superior officers, Veriel Swifthawk had a posture and bearing that, when combined with her heavier than average musculature built up over the millenia of her lifetime, made her downright imposing. She was tall and broad, with shoulders set wide and a physique seemingly sculpted from stone. Her face was set as neutrally as she could manage underneath short, neatly trimmed teal hair pulled into a short pony tail. Her lips were held in a very thin line, and her arms were folded neatly behind her back as she stood perfectly still, waiting to be addressed.

"Sergeant Swifthawk," the silver-haired woman sitting in the center of the group spoke first. The insignia on her uniform was of a Captain, "Do you know why you're here today?"

Her reply was quick and crisp, "I believe I understand the situation, ma'am." Nevermind the fact I'm easily two or three times your age, 'ma'am'.

The one on the left spoke next, she was a few inches shorter than the Captain, her hair a dark blue. Her own rank was of a Lieutenant, matching the girl on the right, "If you could state what you believe to be the circumstances for us, Sergeant?"

Veriel took a deep breath, "If I'm not mistaken, ma'am, I've been called here due to my recent behavior."

"More specifically, Sergeant?" it was the rightmost girl now, her own hair was a lighter blue, but she almost looked like she could be a relative of the silver haired captain. She might've even been pretty once, though her nose had visibly been broken multiple times, giving it a deep-set hook.

"... More specifically, my reluctance to follow recent orders in regards to my current assignment and the current conflict with the Warsong, ma'am."

The Captain narrowed her eyes, "If you would define 'reluctance to follow orders' as striking your commanding officer, breaking her jaw in the process, I might add. Not to mention insulting everyone around you, disobeying instructions to withdraw and being put into confinement for three attempts to desert your post, then yes that would be accur-"

"With all due respect -ma'am-, it wasn't your fucking daughter they found cut up and half naked in the middle of the Gulch," the neutral expression vanished in an instant, the old sentinel nearly shaking with the outburst.

"And those responsible for that are neither here nor in your old unit, Sergeant. You would do well to remember that," the Captain folded her hands in front of herself, staring over her armored fingers at her, "You have had a very long, successful career, Sergeant, such as it is. And your sisters, myself included, do not wish to see you disgrace yourself. What happened to your girl was terrible. However, you've demonstrated repeatedly that you are incapable of separating yourself from what has happened. You cannot let it get the better of you."

Veriel's fingers curled of their own volition, her nails biting deep into the callouses on her palms. Her voice was seething, "You can't be serious. Someone didn't just kill, but bloodied up my only child, maybe even worse and I'm supposed to ignore that?"

"I'm very serious, Sergeant, and you're lucky I haven't simply had you thrown in prison for your actions. You are incredibly fortunate to get any leniency at all right now."

Veriel just bit her tongue, she was mad but she wasn't stupid.

"And with that, I believe it is time to give you our decision on this matter," the Captain looked to the dark haired Lieutenant.

She nodded in response, and turned her own gaze towards Veriel, "On the charges of attempted desertion, failure to obey the commands of a superior officer, conduct unbecoming of a Sentinel and assault of a superior officer, this tribunal finds Sergeant Veriel Swifthawk guilty of all counts."

The hooked nosed Lieutenant continued for her, "However, due to the mitigating recent circumstances that have provoked this decision, Sergeant Swifthawk will not be imprisoned, however she will be discharged for an as yet unspecified period of time, pending the opinion of a future tribunal."

The Captain finished it, "This tribunal sentences you to mandatory observation and counseling, failure to comply will result in the full measure of the law being drawn against you, up to and including potential execution if a future tribunal deems it necessary. Are we understood?"

Veriel gave a single, crisp nod, her jaw clenched to keep from digging herself in deeper.

"Good," the Captain picked up a small scroll from the desk and tossed it in Veriel's direction as she stood, the rolled up paper bouncing and rolling across the floor to her feet, "There are your instructions. You have a half-hour to gather your belongings before you'll be escorted to your destination."

Veriel knelt down and picked up the scroll, unfurling the parchment slowly. Her eyes blinked as she finished scanning its contents, "... This is a joke, right?"

The Captain didn't even look in her direction this time, "I just told you, Sergeant. I'm very serious about this. Now hurry up and get your things. Zangarmarsh is a long trek and the sooner you get there, the better for all involved in this mess."

[Yva]

“Duuuuuuh.”

“Duuuuuuh yourself, Sugar.” Seylon wrapped the diaper around her son, squeezing his fat middle and grinning. The baby seemed nonplussed by the maternal affection; he promptly burped and flopped over, rolling onto his side with squirms and coos typical of a boy his age.

“Duuuuuh,” Khallar said again.

“Duuuuuuuuh,” Seylon said back.

“Duuuuuuuh,” Skyborne said from another room.

“We sound like a buncha simpletons,” Sey mused, picking Khallar up and propping him on her shoulder.

Skyborne walked into the parlor, yawning and stretching, her hair a turquoise knot on top of her head. Her kilt was a wrinkled mess, her white sleeveless shirt was covered in saucer sized paw prints, but she didn’t seem to care. She went straight to the icebox and rooted through like she was scavenging. “We got no food.”

“M’goin’ to the store in a bit, Sugar. S’just tough with the baby sometimes. He don’t travel real well yet.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll go kill something. I think I saw some mushrooms I could pick out by the Dead Mire, too.”

Sey smiled. “Sounds good, darlin’. But hey, no more Clefthoof? M’sick of it.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Skyborne walked towards the doorway and before Sey could blink, her daughter erupted in a flash of feathers and was gone, swooping off of Telredor like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Buuuuuuuh,” Khal said to his sister’s tailfeathers.

“Buuuuuh,” Sey said back.

From then on, it was a morning of house cleaning, trashy magazines, and laundry. With Khallar in his playpen, gnawing and drooling on a plushie Hogger Genise had sent him a long time ago, Sey picked up her sword and practiced her stances. She could tell from the ache in her lower back that she was out of shape; the muscles were tight and angry, throbbing with every sweep of her blade. “M’goin’ soft, Khallar. Your ma’s gotta get back inta shape.”

“Duuubuuuuuuh Buuuuuuuh.”

“I know, Sugar. I know. Soon I’ll be able ta . . . ”

Knock, knock, knock.

She wasn’t expecting anyone. In fact, Aleros was away for the night and wouldn’t be home til late the next day according to the note on the table, and Sky was hunting and wouldn’t bother knocking on the door if she was hauling a dinner carcass home.

“Don’t be bustin’ outta baby prison, Sugar. I’ll be right back.”

She slicked her hair away from her face, the sword still clenched in hand. Sweat had begun to dot her skin as she'd gotten into her work out. She wiped her forehead against her arm before tossing the door open, trying her best to smile and look inviting.

Standing on her steps, all three wearing frowns that could have curdled milk, were Temple of Elune Sentinels in full armored regalia.

Seylon's smile fell.

“Well shit,” was all she could think to say in greeting.

[Elestera]

The trek through Zangarmarsh was mostly conducted in silence. Veriel's escorts hadn't said a single thing to her the entire trip, though the pair had a few hushed conversations between themselves as they kept an eye on her. The occasional murrings and growls of the sabers, accompanied by the omnipresent flow of water and hum of insects, were the only sounds that reached her long ears. With nothing else to do, she found herself thinking.

Seylon Jh'talith. The very name conjured up a headache.

The girl was young, and had only been with the Sentinels a handful of centuries, but she was good at what she did. Most of what she did, on duty at least, was take the absolute worst of the worst, the rejects and miscreants, and beat them into actual soldiers or break them and send them home. There was certainly no denying her results. She'd recently been assigned a dozen of the youngest, most naive wannabe soldiers and turned nine of them into a disciplined, skilled team. Veriel had realized immediately that the fact someone of her experience was being sent to her spoke volumes of just how deep in the shit she was.

Of course, there was also the other side of Seylon that Veriel was far more familiar with than she would have ever cared to be. Her expression curled into a frown at the memory of being sent to find two particular soldiers late for their assignment, only to find both women in an empty storage room. Sure enough, they were curled on a blanket, surrounded by empty bottles, and underneath sleeping twins from the nearest village. Veriel had thrown the fear of Elune into the village girls and sent them on their way, and rushed Seylon and Amarra back to their posts with the force of a Major's orders backing her words.

This was ridiculous. She was an old veteran. She'd fought the Silithid. She'd fought rampaging bands of centaur. She'd fought orcs, men, the dead and demons in the battles leading to Hyjal. She'd turned her axes towards the Horde as open warfare threatened to break out. And yet, here she was, being sent to one of the toughest trainers the Sentinels had, a woman a tenth her age, and one with such strong... proclivities it amazed Veriel she was an officer.

She clenched her fist around the reins in her grip and kept it that way the rest of the trip.

When they finally arrived at Seylon's home, she stood between her guards as they knocked on the door.

The Sentinels saluted before introducing themselves, a Sergeant Shadereaver and a Lieutenant Bladegrove. The Lieutenant spoke first, "Captain Jh'talith, apologies if we're interrupting, but we come with orders from the Temple."

The Lieutenant presented Seylon with a rolled up piece of parchment, similar in size to the one Veriel herself had been given at the tribunal.

She waited until Seylon finished, and forced herself to swallow her pride for whatever was to come next.