Home is where the Heart is...

((Original thread here))

Prelude

It was raining in Eversong too. He could still taste the blood and feel the sting of that orc's backhand, and his abs were sore from Big Boss's blow. As he crept closer to a derilect section of the city's walls he wondered if he should've done anything differently. As he slipped through a crack in the wall, hidden from easy view by the rubble and just barely large enough for him, he arrived at the conclusion that they'd get used to him eventually. Bear and he had fights all the time until they came to an understanding. He exited the crack and found himself in a small back alley maybe a yard wide. In a display of agility he scaled the back of the building in front of him and vaulted onto the roof. He wasn't supposed to take long so he'd have to be quick. First was first...

There were half a dozen ways in and out of the chamber. They'd learned their lesson about having a single exit when the guards had found one of their previous hideouts. He slipped in using a trap door hidden in the roof and dropped to the floor as quiet as a mouse. No sooner did he stand up than a fist came out of nowhere and knocked him back to the floor. He fell, rolled, and came back up on his feet.

"Oh, sorry Shisou. Thought you was someone else." Bull rubbed his knuckles. He was big, for a blood elf at least but still twice as large as Shisou, and red-haired like his brother. Thankfully Bull didn't have Bear's temper. The others were stirring and coming out into the open from where they'd been sleeping.

"What's going on here?" That'd be Belore. He was the only one who was older than Shisou, if only by a few years. He was also considered gorgeous even among the sin'dorei. He'd been 8 when his parents died in the Second War.

"Shisou's back" Ears came out from around a corner, grumbly-eyed and frowning. Aside from Mouse he was the youngest, and in Shisou's opinion, usually the dumbest.

Silver's head poked out from under a crude blanket. "Wha?" She wasn't awake yet.

Bear waved at him. "Hey." Shisou gave him a nod back. That was all good at least.

Shisou stood up properly and grinned at them all. "Hey guys! It's good to see ya again. Anyone got a kitten?"

"Go find your own." That'd be Bear.

"Monk still watching Cel?"

"We take shifts." Belore had taken a seat. Given his age he'd assumed the leadership role for the pack. "Don't know what we're watching for though."

Shisou leaned against the wall, crossing his fingers behind his head. "Dunno myself really either, but I've heard she might be workin' with some people who don't mean the city good." That got everyone's eyes alight. No one messed with their town. No one. "In any case, I don't know that it's true, but you know Ol' Cel. No one's ever really sure what she's up to."

"And who's fault is that?" Shisou answered Silver with a smirk.

"Just look out guys, that's all I'm sayin'. It's what we do right?"

"Do we? I don't remember ever saying you were boss. Where've you been anyway?" Bear had his usual grumpy face on. "Takin' off to live the high life?"

Shisou felt the ache in his mouth and his stomach. "High life, huh? I'd love to stay here with you guys, but you know that's not an option for me. You got a problem with that, Bear, you just take it up with Ms. Velandra. Anyway..." He tossed a small bag into the middle of the room. The silver coins inside clinked heavily as they hit the floor. "I still toss in my share." Bear's frown always brought a grin to his face.

Bull was trying to conjole his older, and slightly smaller, brother when Ears spoke up. "There's stuff happenin' right?" Nothing ever happened without Ears knowing it.

"Probably. I'll let you guys know what I learn though. It sounds like there might be some humans trying to muscle out a stake of the city. Cel -might- be working with them. I'm not sure I'll believe that till I see it with my own eyes though."

"Shisou..." The only turquoise eyes in the room turned to look at Belore sitting in his cobbled-together chair. The pretty young elf had his hand stretched behind the chair. "You be careful." His hand flung up and a small grey object flew through the air. Shisou caught it with care, feeling the kitten's anxiety at being tossed across the room like a ball.

"Thanks Belore." If he'd gone much longer he might've turned into one of them Wretched. Using the innate ability of his race, he reached into the kitten and siphoned the energy out of it. It wasn't with any malice, he even cradled the kitten while he did it. He just needed it and that was that. The kitten at first mewed, then looked like it fell asleep. He could feel it's little heart slowing. He felt the rush hit him them, the induced euphoria, washing away the soreness in his body, brightening his eyes and bringing a great smile to his lips. He ripped the last of the energy out of the quickly dying kitten like a ravenous man set before a feast and it crumbled into dust in his hand. Such was the price of life among their people...

He slipped back out into the rainy night a few minutes later, paying a secret visit to Osan's room. The old man was sleeping soundly and he didn't want to wake him. He left another small purse on the bedstand and snuck back out the window. It was time to leave again.

A few days later...

Moonlight streamed in through the curtains covering empty windows and the cracks in the ceiling, illuminating the chamber. If it seemed odd that there should be rooms in a city like Silvermoon in such a run-down state, well there were still plenty of buildings that had yet to feel a renovator's tender touch. Shisou was leaning against the wall, in the spot he normally did and the others were in their normal spots. Belore up in his chair made of bent metal and wood. Silver sitting against the side of the chair, her platinum hair in her eyes. Bear and Bull were sitting together along the wall and Monk sat across from them on a table with Ears sitting under the table. "You sure?"

Shisou answered Belore almost instantly. "'course not."

"How much do you trust your new friends?" Belore's question brought to mind the beatings and threats he'd had thrown at him since joining the Tong. The ol' gang didn't know who or what he'd joined up with, just that he'd gotten a job and things had happened. Shisou didn't like saying more than he needed to. None of them really did.

"I wouldn't really say they're friends. They give me jobs, I do 'em, they give me coins. Not a whole lot of trust flowin' either way there. It's a business, not a family." Belore nodded, golden hair swaying.

"What makes you think that they'd be any better than these Syndicates?"

"Well, for one, most of them ain't humans." That sounded off some grumblings, especially from Ears. "They seem the sort though that like to work in a system, not make the system work for them like this Syndicate. If nothin' else, maybe I can monitor those guys a bit easier, what with working for them, make sure they don't take steps that'd be bad for Silvermoon." They didn't need any questions about who Shisou would really back if came down to it. This pack had come together to watch each other's backs years ago. Each of them were orphans and of those who survived to this time Shisou was the only one with a living relative. They kept quiet and low, taking the help from those sympathetic to them, like Lady Jovia, Osan, and Ol' Cel and in return they held a fierce pride. They were the ones who survived. They were closer to this city than anyone. They knew all the rooftops, all the tunnels, all the ways that were secret. Or at least, that was their thinking. They'd long given up the names they'd been born with, taking instead the names they'd given each other. They were their own family, and the city another precious member. If this Syndicate were threatening that member, they'd take action to protect it. Not that they'd waged war before, but everyone had killed someone before, well except for Ears. Shisou couldn't remember Ears ever being in that position. Monk always took care of him. Shisou liked Monk; the sin'dorei was just a few years younger than him and hardly ever spoke. Not like Bear who never stopped talking unless Belore or his brother stepped in. "In either case, I'd take them over those Syndicate humans."

Silver, sitting at Belore's hand, gave a hmph. She tossed her head, flinging that platinum hair about, and gave a nod to a shadow. Shisou didn't even realize what was happening until it was over. Hands from nowhere grabbed his wrists, pulling and twisting them while a foot from one of the goons landed between his shoulder blades and pushed him to his knees. When he looked up, Monk was clutching a shoulder punctured with a crossbow bolt while Ears was cowering under the table. Both Bear and Bull had two humans dressed in cheap black leather standing over them with crossbows. Belore was half out of his seat, clearly just as surprised as he was and Silver was still sitting with an unsettling grin on her face. "Sorry, boys, this is where I get off." The realization of what had just happened stung more than any shoulder lock could. Silver had betrayed them? "Come on, Belore. We can ditch this dump and get a real place! You should see the money they're willin' to toss for this jerk." She casually flicked a finger towards Shisou. "What would we need a fox for if we've got actual money?" Shisou realized his expression was probably the mirror of Belore's.

"You did this?... Silver?"

"I did actually. You're girl there just opened the door." The human was coming in from one of the empty windows. Brown hair, blue eyes, ugly face. The memory of meeting the henchman earlier out in Murder Row came back to him. He'd nearly forgotten about it. The man looked at him with a smirk on a his lips and accomplishment in his beady little eyes. "Don't get up, we won't be too long..." That was to Belore. He was looking around at the others. Belore was hesitating on what to do. They'd never had to deal with betrayal before. Silver looked up at him with her doe eyes.

"Come on, Belore! They'll pay us and we just have fun. We don't have to stay here any longer. They don't want to hurt anyone, they just want the jerk." Belore just looked at her, not quite able to form words, but the look was clearly enough. Silver recoiled away from it. Oh, Silver. The man was kneeling in front of him now.

"You know, I don't really care if you work for the Tong or not. I was gonna play it nice, give you a job offer and all. We could've been friends." The human punctuated his point with a kick to Shisou's head. The world went dizzy. He crouched down in front of the prostrate elf, grabbed Shisou's chin and jerked the elf's head up. "You coulda made quite a pretty penny working for us." Shisou could see the lump that had formed where he'd kicked the human in the head. He spit in the human's face. "Yeah... well... it's attitudes like that that'll keep you from getting anywhere in the world." The human wiped his face off, slugged Shisou a few more times for good measure and stood up to walk across the room, toward's Belore's seat. "Now see, this girl, she knows how to play the game. See, she came to us, said she had some information for us." Were those tears falling from Silver? He couldn't see with all the hair hanging around her head. "Said if we'd give her some gold she'd give us anything." The human's grin made Shisou sick. "What a cheap bitch." No one had seen the miniature gun in his palm. Not until the shot had reverberated through the walls and the bullet had ripped through Silver already. That was just too much.

Temper and instinct took over. On some level Shisou was aware of Belore getting backhanded over his seat and Bear and Bull jumping up to grapple with the rogues over them. Monk was heading towards the rogue with the gun. Shisou, so cruelly held down, did what came naturally. He grabbed the arms of his captures, digging his fingers into their armor and shredded into them with his arcane need. His eyes glowed brighter and his thought became clearer and faster. The humans holding him started to groan and he tore free from them, heedless of his ripping clothing. The distance between him and the human was nothing now. The human's back was turned to him but he was beginning to turn around. Shisou leapt on his back, wrapping his legs around the human's shoulders. Yanking the comm from his ear and pressing the red button at the same time he shoved it in the human's gaping mouth, yanking up on his chin at the same time. The teeth closed behind the piece of metal and a split-moment later there was a loud pop. Smoke wafted out of the human's nose and ears and blood seeped from his bulging eyes. Shisou kicked off the falling corpse and finally had the thought to cognitively check the others.

It wouldn't end there. Monk was there, clutching his shoulder and helping Belore get back to his feet. Human blood and bits were coating everything. He turned and saw Bull and Bear standing over their captors. Those were two humans who would never stand again. And then they turned to the last two, the one's that had held him down while Silver was butchered. The last sight those humans would see were those terrible eyes burning in the dark.

By the time the boys were done, there was naught left of the humans but withered, dead husks and beaten pulps. Bear and Bull both had blood nearly to their elbows, not to mention the cuts from their captors. Monk still had a whole in his shoulder. Belore... well shortly after they had ravaged the last of the humans Belore had regained some of his senses. He'd been cradling Silver's fallen body and weeping ever since. They'd all be close to Silver, but no one quite so much as Belore. Shisou didn't know what to do with the emotions tumulting through him. He couldn't even tell exactly what they were. A head fuzzy from gorging on energy didn't help with that, to be sure. He knew they hurt though. Gorramit, he wanted to carve his own heart out!

Ears was crying, and Monk was holding him. Ears was still a little kid for fel's sake! Bear and Bull both looked like they were about to cry. Shisou could feel the tears there but they wouldn't come out and he raged internally at himself for it. This was his sister! At least... it had been.

It was a long time before any of them could manage to pull Belore from Silver. He was covered in crimson. That was what happened with headwounds. They all picked her up... so light... and laid her out on the only table long enough. Belore summoned a small ball of fire, something he'd learned innately during Arthas's invasion, and set it on her. The weeping started again with that. They turned as the fire spread and left the chamber for the last time. It would be her cairn; her tomb of ash.

They all watched the fire from the street outside. Paying homage to their fallen sister. It didn't matter that she'd betrayed them. She was still one of them. Even when the heavens opened up and sent down a cooling rain, the fire continued to consume. Shisou left them after the red flames began to lick high into the night sky. They were his family, yes, and ever would be, but at that moment he yearned for his blood. He surprised Lady Jovia by entering from the front door; bloodied, bruised, soaked, clothing ripped, and, perhaps oddest of all, downtrodden. He hardly ever came in through the front door. He plodded up the stairs, carrying the weight of the grief and anger and confusion on slumped shoulders.

Osan was sitting on the edge of his bed watching a red glow on the horizon out his window. It gave him an uneasy feeling. Something was wrong. When his grandson came through the door, looking all too much like he had when he returned after the Scourge had finally left the city, he knew it for a fact. "Silver..." His voice was barely a croak. Osan saw the weight he carried and opened his arms to welcome the young man. Just like that, the man was a boy again, six years old and clinging to his grandfather crying for his parents.

He hated not being able to do anything beyond remember and comfort, but that was enough. It would have to be. He would survive to give the boy that much. He ran his fingers through the cobalt hair, carefully unhooking the fox-shaped pin that held his hair back while Shisou's shoulders rocked with sobs. He looked up, his own eyes blurring and saw Jovia standing in the doorway. He gave her a nod and the three remained that way until dawn.

-

When Shisou awoke he felt raw. His head was on Osan's lap and his hair unbound. He found the clip by Osan's hand and quickly pulled his hair back and clipped it again. Smoke was rolling into the sky out the window...

He found the others near where he left them. They didn't look like they'd slept much. He walked up, eyes still aflame from the feeding the night before. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not done yet. I'm not going to be done until every last Syndicate in this town is dead." Five faces watched him with mixed emotions. "I understand if you guys can't help... but I'm gonna do it..."

"How?" Belore's voice was hollow and hoarse.

"I thought I'd get the Tong to teach me."

Epilogue

A hollowed out ruin of a wreck. That was all that was left of the old den. The fire had consumed most of what had been left of the building. The roof had fallen in, taking much of the top three stories with it. The walls were still standing, what was left of them. The floor was full of gaping holes. There was no longer any sign of the events of a few nights before. The guards must've cleaned that up. An image of Silver's charred corpse flashed in his head and he quickly changed his train of thought.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon." Belore was sitting on the broken edge of the wall. So was Monk a few yards away. Bear, Bull, and Ears must've been elsewhere. All the better really.

"Wasn't any reason for me to not be here."

"Don't you have to learn how to kill people?" Belore locked eyes with him. The flame was nearly out in their eyes. They'd need to feed again before too long. Shisou shrugged after a moment and hopped up on the wall, sitting half-facing Belore and Monk.

"Already working on that." He pointed to a fresh bruise from the night before. Red was fast, hard, savage, and simple. About what he'd expect from a troll. "It's lookin' like the Tong might be workin' for us." and then he added after a moment's realization "or at least with us. The Syndicate have done them any favors either. They're lookin' for their own vindication."

"And you'll be a part of that?" Shisou nodded back at the golden haired youth. "...As long as they die and we're involved I guess that's alright."

There was a movement from Monk and Shi's hand shot out, snatching the bottle before it disappeared beyond his reach to smash on the ground a dizzying distance below. Silvermoon didn't have short buildings. Normally he hated drinking, but now it seemed entirely appropriate. He took a heavy swig, feeling the wine slide down his throat, and tossed it back to Monk. Belore caught it instead. "She liked wine..."

"She liked anything that cost money."

"Yeah..." Belore took his own pull from the bottle and then passed it back to Monk. "That she did."

"Remember that time she tricked Monk into pinching that comb for her?" Belore smiled, looking out over the city around him. A normal person might've blushed at that memory but not Monk. He just took his own pull at the bottle and nodded. Monk was like that.

"I would've bought it if she asked."

"More fun to trick people."

"Yeah, you and her both liked doing that. Maybe you should take the name she gave you."

"Which one? Fox or Jerk?" Shisou shot off a friendly grin. "Nah, Book's name was more fitting I think." The bottle came back to him and he kept up it's cycle. "Death 'n I seem to be developing a working relationship."

"That's the truth." Belore paused, it was obvious this was tough on him. They hadn't lost anyone since that thing with the Scourge. He'd promised then that the Pack wouldn't loose anyone else. "I'll remember her hair."

"I imagine so..."

"She combed it every morning you know. Over and over and over. Didn't matter she didn't have any fancy cloths or anything. That hair had to shine."

Shisou smiled. He couldn't see Monk's expression from here but he knew the silent elf would be smiling too. Everyone liked Silver's hair, but no one so much as Silver. "Where's the den moving to?"

Belore shrugged. It seemed so trivial now. "We'll try sticking around in the area. Getting attached to it you know? Bear and Ears are out looking around. Bull too I guess. We'll let Osan know when we find something. Learn anything about the Syndicate yet?" Ah, the ol' tit for tat.

"They nabbed my boss some time past. We just got her back. Little creepy forsaken girl by the name of Krelle. Just in case you happen to see her sometime. Save yourself the trouble and leave 'er alone." He gave them a grin for that. "Anyway, they're lookin' to get their own pound. Turns out whoever kidnapped Ms. Krelle"

"Ms?"

Shisou shrugged. "Apparently they don't like true names." The image of Big Boss's ugly mug flashed through his memory. "Gets 'em upset for some reason. Anyway, turns out that the guy who nabbed her doesn't work for the Syndicate. Turns out he got double crossed. Turns out he killed the Syndicate guy "in charge" of Silvermoon. So now all that's left here are goons and maybe a few right-hand types. Tong thinks they can clean these out and nab the larger share of their turf back."

"What sorta turf?"

"Business stuff mostly. Smuggling and rackets and the like. Could be good for us if it plays out right." He was interrupted as the bottle came back to him. He took his third pull and then looked at the bottle. "I told Krelle 'bout you guys." His own words flashed through his head. Help me get my revenge and I don't care about much else. "She might tell other Tongs I guess, but it ain't like they know this place like we do."

"Do what you need to."

"... She really did have nice hair." He tipped the bottle, pouring what was left of the contents out into the air. Turned out is was red wine. How sanguine... How appropriate. When the wine was all poured out he let go of his grip and let the bottle drop. It shattered on the ground far below. "Monk?" He pulled the scabbard off his back. He'd gotten this sword when he decided to get a job as a Courier. Now it flew through the air to the other rogue. "Keep 'em safe?"

"You think they'll come after us again?"

"Hard to tell with humans. I figure it could've been just that ass working on his own, but it could've be an organized strike too." A couple coins flew from his hands and Belore caught them easily. The gold glittered in his palm. "That's for Silver..." Belore gave him a nod and he twisted off the wall, hands finding subtle holds in the wall as he slid to the ground. It slowed him just enough so that he could grab the curtains a dozen yards from the ground and those slowed him enough that he could hit the ground with a roll and be on his feet running in one seemless motion. Silver'd always liked that trick.