Secrets of a Fel Heart

Secrets of a Fel Heart
 * - ''by Vixeena



The Serpent's Tail
Vixeena sat numbly in an oak chair watching the liquid radiance of the flames before her. The glassy, onyx, eyes of the bearskin rug seemed to mock her as she contemplated the last time she had come to Redridge in this very room with her last love..the one who had the end left her for another. Vixeena smoothed the skirts of her gown as she waited for the applicant to the Help Wanted flyer to arrive. She was a woman of striking femininity, all curves and rounded angles her face a contrast of softness and iciness. Vixeena had pale silver hair, high cheekbones, a small pouty mouth, and eyes that were a piercing icy blue that cut through a person. She had come to the rented room in advance and set out an assortment of ham sandwiches on the nearby table.  Vix studied the fire intently trying to numb her mind to any lingering and unwanted memories when she heard a deep, resonant voice greet her...Lady Windfoot. I am here to see about the body guard position..the names Velik.  She had never heard him enter the room despite the heaviness of his chain mail which while an encouraging sign, took her somewhat aback. The guards being stationed out front had allowed her to lapse her normally focused awareness. She stood and cursed herself silently as she favored him with my practiced smile inclining her head slightly. He stood there his heavily lashed, eyes gazing at her looking like mafic gems with swirls of green and amber in their depths.  The earnestness and confidence of his gaze left a distinct impression on her and an immediate liking. Velik had hair the color of ripe ginger which fell to his shoulders..he had moderately heavy brows, high cheekbones, a sensual lower lip and a somewhat broad nose which balanced his beautiful but masculine face.  He stood at attention like a man unused to sitting, unless commanded to be at ease..Vixeena bade him to sit and handed him the plate of sandwiches. She took the plate in his calloused hands and he selected one and bit into it hungrily only after she nodded he should do so. Velik seemed unused to such luxuries and a bit discomforted with the poshness of the surroundings.  So tell me what would this position entail exactly?..he said bluntly as he grabbed another sandwich wolfing it down with quick efficiency, not even dropping a crumb on his beautifully maintained armor.  I need someone to become my body guard and gather intelligence on my enemies. The nature of my enemies is far from typical and they are formidable. Some more common and some..well...mmmm..a trifle..ahhh..otherworldly.  Velik glanced up at in me in mid bite..his eyes locked on Vixeena's alert and no nonsense..Just precisely what do you mean by that?..his deep husky voice dropped even lower. <BR> <BR>The first more common of the foes would be the Breys, Yumeko and Archin.. I witnessed one of their..ahh..more brutal killings. Let us just say that I...mmmm..anticipate that they will be rather displeased with me when they finish serving their meager sentences., Vixeena continued in a calm and icy tone her voice husky and much more serene that she felt. As for the other enemies..for some reason the Legion saw fit to abduct me, torture me and then drain my soul and discard the shard and my husk in the snows of Kharanos. I was a warlock of middling power when this happened as my memories .ahhh..fragmentary.. I am unsure what they wanted with me exactly. I seem to think they wanted something and it involved more than my lack of willingness to submit to them. I understand if this is a bit more..mmmm..extreme than what you anticipated originally. The pay is 10 gold a week, I pay for training and when we are out in the field you get an equal share of the treasure.. Vixeena looked at Velik and favored him with that lazy, seductive, smile she had seen her mother wear for the nobles she entertained. <BR> <BR>Velik rubbed his chin considering her blunt proposal while Vixeena studied his open and down to earth face and secretly hoped he would refuse her. She disliked the thought of this decent young man possibly dying on her account. He spoke after a long pause and snagged another sandwich eating it slower this time but just as efficiently..I was a soldier..it is all I have ever done. Since I returned back from Kalimdor I have searched for a purpose..now I have one..I will take the commission, Lady Windfoot. Vixeena smiled and leaned back in her chair still in disbelief her features carefully schooled to not betray that. <BR> <BR>Very well here is your first weeks pay in advance..you will need to equip yourself and train you can start today if that is fine. He nodded brusquely seemingly pleased at having someone to command him once more. Vix noticed that during the interview it had grown dark outside the window glass glittering like black diamonds. She told him that she needed to rest and that she would procure him a room for the night. <BR> <BR>Velik shook his head in refusal and removed a painting from the wall to cover the window and he secured the room. Your armor please, Lady..he indicated he would put it away and he turned his back and waited for her to change..she did so then handed the pieces to him. He took the folded armor and placed it in a teak wardrobe. Velik walked over to Vixeena and with absolutely no warning hefted her over his shoulders and gently set her on the bed before returning to the foot of the bed his large but gleaming crossbow dr-aped over his lap. <BR> <BR>Vixeena sat for a moment dazed watching his broad soldiers then fell into the most restful sleep she had since she had slept here last....The threads of her life seemed to be closing like a circle and serpent biting its own tail and certain strands of her life replayed but to slightly different effect. <BR><BR>

Accidental Knowledge
During the past month Vixeena had scarcely seen Velik. He had labored and trained tirelessly and was becoming something far more full of feral grace and purpose than the rank and file soldier she had first met. Vix had insisted he spend time in the field growing in strength and pitting his skills against creatures more varied than the Horde he was so used to dealing with during his time in the Alliance forces. She would see him on occasion and we always meet in Redridge in the room with the fur rug. He preferred to sit on the ground, his military utilitarianism deeply ingrained in his manner and considered it a great luxury to sink into the plush guard hairs as they conversed. <BR> <BR>During their meetings he would tell her how he was sent to a military academy from a young age his father being a career soldier as he later became. It seemed they had that in common..sent by by a parent to be schooled in their future profession from a young age. From there she and Velik diverged..he used his sword as his weapon of choice while she preferred using her wiles and diplomacy. Velik was one to take orders while she was one to walk her own path while giving a well mannered appearance of submission. What Vixeena had learned over time was that she could trust this man as difficult as that was with one her her deeply embedded emotional scars. <BR> <BR>Vixeena mused that Velik had a personality that had a clean simplicity to it, he hid little and was honest, exceedingly loyal and direct. She was unused to dealing with someone not cloaked in layers of hidden agendas and found it refreshing to deal with someone so eager to please her and follow her dictates without question. <BR> <BR>Vix felt in was up to her to earn his trust and give him the friendship he had already bestowed upon her without question. More importantly she needed to find a way to prepare them both for a encounter with the agents of the Legion. In her mind it was a matter of time before she was discovered to be alive and she would no doubt attract their attentions for whatever the original reason was. Vixeena still could not recall the events of her abduction in its entirety. <BR> <BR>While Velik was busy at his endeavors Vix had spent much time in the field in the vast wastes of Desolace often testing her arts against the demonic forces that dwelled there hoping to jar some memories to the surface. She had recovered all the skill in wielding nether that she had lost during the initial sundering of her soul. During this time Vixeena often visited Darnassus when she was not in the field hoping to find a place to rest in the downtime where none knew her. It was all silken comfort to stalk the streets with her cowl up..cloaked humans was likely to look all the same to the Kaldorei that dwelled there. <BR> <BR>With the opening of the auction house in Darnassus there were many more humans than there had been before much to the dismay of the more traditional Night elves who seemed rather taken back by the crass materialism of the market. It was fairly easy for Vix to get lost in the rabble and yet be free of the slick, oily taint of Stormwind. She wandered the streets one eve near the auction house when she heard the strains of discussion quite by accident but something that would change the flow of her path significantly. <BR> <BR>Vixeena heard several Kaldorei and was surprised to hear them converse in the common tongue..perhaps they spoke to a nearby human. She sat in the grass and pretended to mend the hem of her gown, which in all truth was in need of some repair and commenced with listening. It was an old habit she had never outgrown from her former life when survival on the streets demanded keeping one's ears open. The Night elves forms was barely discernable in the grey twilight but she could make out the silvery eyes and the cadence of their resonant but formal speech. Vix could make out some discussion about a school..students..fighting the Legion. The name Tharion was mentioned and it seemed clear that he was the head of this school. She could not make much of the conversation but it was enough information to set her mind racing with the possibilities. Vixeena knew it was most unlikely that any Kaldorei would even speak to a human warlock of such things..but it was worth the attempt to her..in order to gain any knowledge she would have to risk being a fool. <BR>