#which is a shame cause I drew her bean pads so well but I liked the contract of her not having them and Antoine having rough callused ones

[seagull-scribbles]

Safe from the world, though the world will try…

So breath, breath with me~

[thesolitarystripe]

The Edge

Well the next reasonable question after Tindyl left her guild was--does she ver go back?

The soft clack of hooves upon stone broke Tindyl from her reverie. The sun was low now, she opened her eyes and took in the magnificent view of Oribos’ skies at dusk. Brilliant hues splashed across the sky, clouds curling around one another like old friends. The sound of the beast that drew her from her meditations drew closer—it was certainly a hooved creature but not of the Equine sort. Tindyl was well studied in all creatures in Azeroth and in her many years of training she could easily identify an animal by the sound of its steps. She scrunched her nose slightly, breathing in as if to catch the scent of the creature on the wind. Is that a llama? They were strange creatures that she had only just met in Vol’dun. It was a pleasant memory of her and Beans scouring the sands in search of these illusive hooved animals that traveled so well within the desert; each of them found their fluffy companions with their deep black wooly coats. Such strange beings. Tindyl chuckled to herself and as she turned her head, she saw exactly what her ears had heard.

Her warrior rode high upon the woolen steed; its goofy expression turned serious. Tindyl got the feeling that the beast saw this moment as such a momentous occasion that he walked with the regal air of a dragon.  The druid smiled and was about to call out to her beloved and tease him for the steed that he chose but her words stopped short as she saw a familiar visage behind him. The glowing outline of a shaman in his ghost wolf form. The shapeshifter sprinted after the hooved animal, his wolfish mouth hanging open, tongue almost flapping in the wind as he breathed heavily.

“Hibikami?” Tindyl leaned back slightly from where she sat, wondering what could have brought her friend here. A small knot formed in her stomach as she feared either admonishment or worse. As the pair drew closer, the soft padding sound of feet came from the opposite direction. Tindyl barely had time to look before the vision of her closest friend almost knocked her from the edge of Oribos.

“Tindyl! My love!” Kagurah leaped toward her friend but in her excitement mis-judged the distance and toppled off the side of the floating architecture. Tindyl would have worried had she not seen many a hero commit the same folly. The ethereal magic that surrounded Oribos, gently picked up the panda and escorted her to safety back on stone ground of the building. By the time Kagurah had run back from where she had been diligently placed, Hibikami and her warrior were at her side and her back.

Beans came to sit beside her, his plate armor creaking as he sat and scraped against the stone as he moved. The ghost wolf shifted with ease into the familiar form of the dwarf Tindyl had come to love as a brother. While she had not fully understood the dwarven people at first and truthfully, the few she had met had come to irritate her—there was an unmatched charm about them, that even she could not withstand. Hibikami most of all, had certainly won her favor.

“Aye lass,” The dwarf’s hand fell upon her shoulder.

“Tindyl!” Kagurah flopped down beside her, huffing softly to catch her breath. “I’ve missed you! I did promise I would find you.” The panda was animated and excited, which caused Tindyl to break out into a smile she had long forgotten about.

“Oi, let her breathe my love, let’s not overwhelm her.” Hibi’s hand squeezed the druid’s shoulder. Reflexively, Tindyl’s had reached up to rest on the dwarf’s. These were her closest friends—her family. Tears threated her again as she glanced sideways at the human who simply sat, smiling ear to ear. This was certainly spurred on by him. A comfortable silence nestled over them as Tindyl breathed into the energies that enveloped her. Aside from the feeling she had when deep within the trees, there was no where else that made her feel as safe than when she sat amongst these three.

“I’ve been quite a fool my friends, I’m sorry for that.”

“Oh, hush. You’ve not been a fool until this very moment for even saying such a thing,” Kagurah lovingly chastised her. The panda threaded her arm through Tindyl’s and gently placed her hand on Tindyl’s forearm. “We’re sorry you ever felt that you didn’t have our support. You are not alone in this, not ever.” Kagurah squeezed her friend’s arm and leaned in to catch Tindyl’s gaze. Who would’ve thought a panda and a night elf could live to become so close as they?

“We’ve much ta rebuild bu’, I think we canna all agree, we’d break it all down again if it means yer happiness Tindyl. Me hammer will have ‘is way with any man tha’ dare stand in our path!”

Kagurah rolled her eyes but secretly, Tindyl knew the dwarf’s passion was admirable in her eyes and as much as she denied it, she found him charismatic.

“He’s not wrong, you know. I’d kill a man for you, even that one.” She thrust a finger toward Beans who kept that half smile playing across his lips, wiggling his eyebrows as if he dared Kagurah to try.

“I said, I would share,” he responded plainly. They all laughed.

“Would forgive a silly druid and have me back?” Tindyl almost bowed her head, shame trying to swallow her whole, but the mage’s words echoed in her head. Head up. The druid lifted her chin to the horizon, staring out over the dimming horizon.

“I thought ye’d nevar ask!” Hibikami leaped upward, a fist thrown into the air in celebration.

“Of course,” Kagurah scoffed. She slid her hand down Tindyl’s arm and forced the druid to open her palm. “I told you I would keep it safe until you came back.” The panda withdrew a single piece of parchment from beneath her armor and placed it into Tindyl’s hand. “She was always yours.”

Tindyl carefully clasped the guild charter within her fingers before pressing it against her chest. “By Elune, when will I ever stop crying,” she sighed angrily as her eyes watered.

“Give it time, we’ve been through quite the rough patch.” Kagurah’s soft hand gave her a tender pat.

“This calls for a celebration!”

“Here we go,” Kagurah sighed as Hibikami summoned a keg of mead right before their small party. “It’s always beer. A nice wine, would have been nice,” she surmised but Hibikami and Beans were already chugging the frothy spirits and dancing dangerously close to the edge of Oribos—they hardly heard Kagurah or Tindyl. The druid took her share and sipped slowly, if only to savor the warmth that filled her. While she knew it would take time for her own belief in herself to return, there were no words she could have used to describe the feeling that rose within her at knowing her friends believed in her, unquestionably.

Tindyl raised her chin up once more and smiled. It would be a long road surely, the heartache might be far from over but with the support of her small family, she knew they would overcome. They always did.