.^^ Marina Ossilka ^^

— Vanya —

The joy of being back in my home Country was somewhat muted by the silent judgement of every warrior we met along the way. I knew, of course, that I seemed like a failure, to them. I had gone to seek out my fame as a mercenary, publicly announcing my farewell and a promise of a triumphant return; instead I return in the service of an outsider, an Elfborn.

My service to Duke Kerrigan had raised a few eyebrows, of course, even across the sea. He wasn't a warrior, and he had never battled me, much less bested me. But when I'd met him, he was younger, less abrasive, and full of a drive to make his country a utopia. I had respected that, and I gave my support to his Red Order, a Hidden Paladin.

Over the years, he'd gotten older, as humans do, and the older he got, the more bitter he was at the fact that I hadn't aged a single day. He was jealous of all the long-lives races, but Dwarves the most, for their natural gifts that he coveted: strength, longevity, and an innate skill with metalworking that no one could explain.

By the time he had been challenged by the mysterious Dead Hero I'd been tracking as a potential threat, I knew he was going to die. I attempted to take his place, but it was no use, as my opponent was the same rank as me. Dirty tricks were next, desperate attempts to win, at any cost. I knew defeat meant Kerrigan's Death, and I couldn't let the man I'd essentially raised, (albeit without much success,) be executed for something the King has never openly disagreed with.

Now I was home, and again in the service of someone my Clan would never approve of. But I didn't really care about that. Josef was an honorable person, a kind person, yet one that nonetheless held the necessary gumption to do what needed done, and the intelligence to know what that was; a person I could serve for several human generations before he ever showed any signs of aging, and by then I would also be aging.

So I endured their stares and glares and sneers, letting them wash off my skin like rain, and settled Josef and myself in a corner of my favorite tavern, flagging down an Elven woman with a few tankards on a platter, the proprietress of the entire building.

She approached, wary of Josef, and then laughed when she saw my face, kissing my cheeks roughly. "Oh! If it isn't my girl Vanya Ossilka!!! How have you been, it's been close to fifty years!!!"

I smiled. "Agatha, it's good to see you too. I've been well, and I see the tavern hasn't suffered my absence. This is Josef, my Master and Friend. He's Half-Fae and ElfBorn." I added when she glanced at his ears.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm... Master, you say? Not that Kerrigan fellow I've heard about?" She asked warily.

"No, Kerrigan is dead. Josef executed him for treason after defeating me soundly in a duel." I shook my head, and sighed when I saw someone slip out the door immediately, likely to inform my Clan of my return... and my loss.

She raised an eyebrow slowly. "Huh... Impressive, so he's at least S+, yeah?"

"SS+, actually. As am I, Agatha. I've been training for fifty years, after all." I chuckled.

She grinned savagely. "Oh? Finally a match for me, eh? Good on you, lass!"

Josef stared at her for a moment, incredulous, and I realized we'd been speaking the northern tongue the entire time when he spoke it as well. "You're SS+, Ma'am? I'd thought it was a bit more rare than all that, but I suppose it did come a bit too easily for all that..." he hummed thoughtfully, examining her from head to toe in a clinical fashion.

She blushed and slapped his cheek gently. "Eyes up here, Boy, I'm not one of the wenches!"

He flinched, and bowed his head seriously. "I'd no ill or crass intentions, ma'am, I only meant to examine your muscle structure!"

I laughed at her surprised look, and patted his head, Messing up his hair. "If she was offended, Josef, you'd be dead already."

He grinned slowly, and glanced back at her, his eyes burning brighter, from their Dormant pale yellow to that familiar molten gold. "Is that a fact?" He asked, his voice rough with anticipation.

She took a step closer, and leaned down into his face, examining his eyes casually. "Ooh, Elfborn And Mountain Fae, I see that mixture every time I look at my youngest nephew... oh! Miranda married a human, did you know? Had a whole litter of children with him before he died in a raid, a year back. Now there's nine of them, and just one of her!" She turned back to me, trying to make it seem casual, but I saw the tension in her legs and stomach as she gave him her back.

I played along dutifully, and gasped. "Nine?!? Her poor flower!!! How's she managing all nine by herself?"

"Badly, I'm afraid; just last week, one of them nearly drowned! The poor thing can't keep up with them all! She just needs a little help, is all. I asked your mother if she'd take them in, help with the children, but her work with the Queen has made her schedule a little too tight..." she raised an eyebrow expectantly.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Yeah, what else is knew? I'll see what can be done about it..."

"If she would like to have work and also help with her children, I have an orphanage she could help manage. Two Elven people and a Dwarven woman manage it when I'm not around, and one of the two elves has just given birth to a baby, so if your niece is open to living there, her expertise could be helpful." Josef spoke calmly, so as not to spook the woman he sat behind.

She glanced at me, and I nodded. "It's a beautiful place, safe in the sky and protected by several centuries-worth of Dwarven traps and ingenuity. The view of the ocean is to die for, and they wouldn't get very homesick, as it's a port city."

She nodded slowly. "Alright... I suppose I'll ask her about it... thank you, Josef, you are welcome here any time you like."

He grinned. "Thanks. I like the atmosphere in taverns. Very familiar and welcoming."

"Well, the alcohol and the beautiful, near-naked women also helps, I suspect." Agatha smirked, and patted his head.

"That!-... no, that's true." He shrugged, conceding the point.

She laughed and tapped two of her tankards down on the table. "Well, First round is on me, choose a girl to serve ye yer mead, and give me a shout." Another customer called for her, and she waved, patting my cheek and rushing off to get back to work.

He grinned and sipped the mead, tasting it, then glanced at me. "Well?"

I laughed and toasted him the mug, then whistled at one of my favorite girls, who thankfully still worked here. "Isha! Come pour a thirsty woman a drink, will you?"

Several hours of drinking and near-debauchery later, (near because neither Josef or I ever touched the wenches, we knew the rules,) the doors opened, and I sighed heavily at the woman who stepped through the doors.

Her hair was long and platinum blonde, now, and her figure, shrouded unsuccessfully in a cloak and leather armor, was thin and lithe, unlike the last time I'd seen her, when she'd preferred a bulkier build.

She glanced around the room, and then locked eyes with me, striding towards us smoothly. "Vanya." She said simply, her soft voice barely audible over the steady din of the tavern.

"Natasha." I frowned back.

Josef glanced at me, and the tension of my body, and stood up slowly. "I suggest you leave, friend. I don't think she wants to talk to you." He stated simply, his voice deeper and rougher again, like every time he was angry, despite his calm mein. The effect was ruined when he hiccuped adorably, and then giggled a little at the sound, straightening his features with a clearly Herculean effort.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and glanced at me. "He's adorable, my dear, but do you allow your new master to speak for you?"

I shook my head. "No, sister, he's simply being a good friend. Surely you remember what friendship was like? Before you became too good for them?" I snorted at her, unimpressed with her bravado.

He glanced at me. "Sister? If this is family trouble, I'll leave you to it, Vanya..."

"I'll handle it. Isha, pour Josef another drink, keep him company... my sister and I need to have a private conversation." I stood as the wench sat in his lap, effectively grounding him, as he couldn't touch her to move her off of his lap.

He nodded slowly. "Alright... call if you need me."

Natasha sneered at him, gazing down her hawkish nose, then turned on her heel. "Follow, then, sister. Let us remove ourselves from this den of flesh."

I laughed and snagged a full tankard, an evil little plan forming. We exited the front and walked to the side of the building, into one of the few covered alleyways in the city. It was clean, to my surprise, and there were no beggars, Something I wasn't used to seeing in alleyways, after fifty years in my current home.

She stopped, halfway in, and turned back to me. "Now. Mother demands to know everything about the King of Thorns and his plans for the Northern Clans."

I reached up, and slowly poured the mead on her head, ignoring her shocked squeal, then tossed the tankard through the window, back into the tavern. "That's for greeting me like a bitch, after fifty years apart." I smirked.

She smoothed her hair out of her face slowly, glaring bloody murder at me, and then breathed deeply. "You... bitch!"

I smirked and punched her cleanly across the chin, sending her reeling back a few steps, where she then fell on her ass. "And that, is for insulting Agatha's Tavern. She's Family, and you don't insult family like that. I don't care how old you are, little sister, you will never be old enough to disrespect me or your family. Clear?" I snapped.

"Fuck You!!!" She stumbled to her feet, spitting blood off to one side, then tackled me with a savage growl. I laughed, happy she wasn't slacking in her training, and then tossed her off of me, pinning her to the ground with just my hands, sitting on her chest.

"Oh come now, little Natasha, you've never once beaten me in a fight, why did you think you would this time? I'm happy with your progress, though, S+ is quite good for your age! Now, you go tell mother that she can ask me questions like that when I see her at dawn, and remind her that I'm not a Spy, and I do not take conflicting orders from the Queen or the Ossilka Matriarch, and asking me to betray even the smallest details of my master's politics is a crime against the Honor of the Ossilka Clan. Go." I stood her up, and spanked her ass harshly, sending her off with a squeak.

She got maybe four steps before crashing into a woman who looked almost exactly like her, who had appeared from thin air. "Is that so?" My mother murmured softly, smoothing back Natasha's hair and drying her with the wave of a hand.

"Ah, it's you, Mother..." Natasha frowned.

"Mm... did I tell you... to antagonize your sister?" She asked slowly.

"... No, Mother."

"Did I tell you... to fight your sister?"

"No, Mother." Natasha shook her head meekly.

"Mmm... and did I tell you... to ask about the King of Thorns?" She asked, her eyes igniting Silver.

Natasha flinched. "I was just-"

"Did. I. Ask. You. To. Interrogate. Your. Sister. About. Matters. Of. State?" Mother enunciated her words clearly, a sign she was very angry.

Natasha flinched with every word, and shook her head slowly. "No... Mother."

"Go home. Speak with your grandmother about the responsibilities of a warrior who has been defeated by or indebted to a Political Opponent." She said calmly, removing her hands from Natasha's hair.

"Yes, Mother..." Natasha sighed, and walked out of the alley.

Mother and I both flinched when she came rocketing back in, hiding behind mother, and Josef followed, his dragon form out in its full glory. "I said: Where is she, you little BRAT?!?" He snarled, then paused, looking at me and then mother. "Oh... hmm. I may have been a bit hasty..."

"Josef, meet my mother, Lady Marina Ossilka, and Natasha, my little sister. We're settling some long-overdue family drama. Go back to drinking and enjoying Isha's tits pressed against you." I smiled.

He cleared his throat. "Well, actually... it seems she only likes women, and when I expressed my unwillingness to shapeshift into a woman for her pleasure, she asked the proprietress, Agatha, to let her leave. Also, she's not my type. Also also, I may have drank all the best Mead... also also also, Agatha thinks I was cheating in the drinking contest, and says I have to sober up so she can get me drunk again, to check how much it takes." He grinned, his form reverting to normal, and then he hiccuped again, laughing softly.

I laughed. "That is pretty funny, Josef, but I need to talk to my-"

He then leaned against the wall, painting it brown with at least half a gallon of mead, and I sighed, pulling his hair away from his face quickly. The other half-gallon emerged after a short respite, and I cast a quick cleansing spell on the both of us, and especially my dragon-leather boots.

"Sorry... about that... I haven't been this drunk... in a very long time..." he murmured, resting his head against the wall.

"Alright, Josef, sit still and rest a moment, we'll be in bed in a few minutes, Okay?" I sat him on a box, and turned back to mother.

"Nope... no beds... no sex... I am so very drunk... and I do not think it wise for us to be entangled when I am drunk and you are... are you drunk, too?" He asked, seeming confused.

"No, not very, lover. And don't worry, no shenanigans shall happen whilst you are inebriated." I patted his cheek, and looked back at mother, who was smirking a little.

"He's quite adorable, isn't he? Either way, I apologize for Natasha, she'll be disciplined thoroughly. I only sent her to tell you I wished to speak to you before the meeting, in the morning." She smiled at Josef, who had leaned forward, and was resting his head against my hip tiredly.

I hummed. "We'll be there a bit early, don't worry, Mother. It's good to see you, after so long. I like the new look. Blonde looks good on you."

She nodded. "Thank you, I like it better than red, I think... in the morning, then. Now, you should perhaps take your adorable buffoon of a master to a bed before he passes out in this alley?" She suggested, and then grabbed Natasha, disappearing.

I sighed, and leveraged him over my shoulders, sticking my head inside and spotting Agatha. "Agatha, you've got a bed I can toss this one into for the night?"

She nodded and pulled him off my shoulders, carrying him into the back rooms and dropping him onto a pile of burlap sacks shaped vaguely like a bed, then returned. "There. Anything else?"

"Tab, of course." I settled a bag of gold in her hands, ignoring her as she attempted to give it back. "I'll be back for him an hour before dawn." I said sternly, and she halted.

After a moment, she nodded. "Alright. Where are you going?"

"Some old friends to see, old debts to pay." I shrugged, and patted her cheek, slipping out of sight and through the darkening evening streets of my old home.

The layout of the city hadn't changed, even if some of the shops and owners had, in the past fifty years, so it was no obstacle to me, as I made my way through the raider tunnels, to the lower floors of the Barracks.

When the tunnel opened, a few of the warriors pointed their spears at me, but they relaxed when my hood fell back. A few hugged me, and a few others kissed my cheeks, while the newer ones stood back warily.

"What are you doing here?" One of my old sparring partners asked quietly, once the welcome had died down.

"My mother summoned me. I felt it best to answer her immediately." I nodded.

She grinned, and then nudged my shoulder. "Let me guess, she wants to Spar, to test how you've grown, in the Thorn King's lands? The Queen was saying you might've gone soft, allowing that Elfborn to beat you, and your mum nearly took her head off!!! We were worried we'd have to fight an SS+ to protect the Queen!!!" She nodded seriously, as a few others nearby shivered.

I chuckled. "Perhaps, but she also wants to be aware of what we're going to say before the queen... she's always scheming to make herself look better, that one."

"Am I? Curious..." mother murmured from directly behind my left shoulder, and the Warriors snapped to a salute for an Elder.

"Yes, Yes you are. Now, how about that Spar?" I grinned, motioning to the sparring arena, in the middle of the barracks, in plain view of the entire barracks, if they wanted to stand at the rails and watch.

She grinned slowly, and then chuckled darkly. "Ooh, I can't wait..."