literature

Ch 14 - Carry On: Part I of III

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Oh, sorry we took so long to get this posted! This one is SFW. -- Jisuk


——————
Horde base camp, Howling Fjord—

"Leave?" came the incredulous, scratchy voice of the goblin seated before him. "You want to leave?"

"Only for a short while, Sir. A day at the most," Koshei replied, keeping his head bowed. It was easier to show respect to those of the taller races. With the goblin, he had to make sure to keep his eyes on the floor, otherwise he might just appear looming.

"My mother is very ill," the elf added. "I'm… concerned she won't last longer than this campaign."

It was a lie, and a cruel one at that. Still, he wasn't even sure if the Stone Guard had enough of a heart to be affected by it. But saying 'I want to see my troll boyfriend.' wasn't really an option. He couldn't help it, though. It had been two months since he'd left Sen'jin and every night his heart ached more and more. It was becoming unbearable. He'd sent letters… several of them, in fact. He knew that Jin'thekk wasn't literate, but hopefully Yarifeth could have read them for him. He hadn't gotten any replies, but that was understandable. Their unit was often on the move and it would have been difficult to reach him. All he could think of was their last morning together, and how warm his arms were while they were around him…

Noticing that the goblin hadn't answered and was apparently considering his reply, Koshei continued.

"I'll do whatever I can to make up for it. I can do double sentry duty. Anything you need."

"Anything?" the goblin asked, tapping his long, green chin.



"Yes, Sir."
"Hmm. Well, then. I don't give a damn about your sick mother, but I do have something that I need from you. Maybe we can come to an agreement…"

Koshei had to struggle to keep from looking up in delight. His features remained stoic as he listened.

"As you may have noticed, we're short on supplies. There's a large shipment waiting for zeppelin pick up in Thunder Bluff. Now, we all know the Horde has made it illegal to have a mage teleport huge quantities over such large distances… something about it being 'cruel' or some other garbage."

The goblin continued to stroke his chin, now grinning.

"Unless of course, the mage were to volunteer."

Five hours later, the task was done. Over fifty crates of food and supplies were now placed neatly by the mess tent in unit's camp. Barrels of rice, stock, and bullets were stacked and aligned, and crates of linen, herbs, dried meats formed a wall behind him. Sweat coated the mage's entire body and he slid down next to a barrel, shuddering. He was even more pale than usual. His head was pounding and he'd already vomited twice. His body wanted nothing more than to sleep — to simply pass out and rest for the next hundred years. But he couldn't. Not when he was this excited.

"Not bad," came the Stone Guard's voice as he went over a checklist. "Looks like everything is accounted for. You have twelve hours, mage. Starting now."

Koshei's ears perked as he realized that his clock was already ticking. Sleep could wait. Nausea was only a state of mind, wasn't it? He could finally see Jin'thekk. He could throw himself into his arms, hear his voice, smell his scent… even if it wasn't the freshest musk in the universe. It was all he wanted. The thought of teleporting again made his stomach wrench, but he couldn't wait any longer. All he had was twelve precious hours.

"Th-thank you, Sir."

Pushing himself up on a barrel, he took in a deep breath, rose his hands, and cast.

The air in Sen'jin was warm, rustling through his hair and leaving the scent of the sea. Though it had been late afternoon in the Howling Fjord, here it was still morning. It was quiet, and calm. Perhaps too calm.

Koshei turned around, hoping to see Jin'thekk at his work bench. It was empty. Maybe he was still asleep? With some effort, he made his way up the ladder and peeked over the top of the loft. That was empty as well.

"Jin?" he called. Already feeling time slipping through his fingers, he rushed outside, his eyes darting over the landscape, listening for any voices. Maybe Yarifeth would know where he was.

He knocked on the door frame, not wanting to interrupt if they were still asleep. After no response, not even a groan, he stepped inside. It was empty as well.

Koshei could feel himself panicking. Where were they? Maybe they just went out… maybe they were gathering food for breakfast. No, Meiles always fetched it for Yarifeth. That couldn't be. Running an agitated hand through his hair, he slumped down on the porch. He glanced around once more, but upon looking down, his heart stopped.

His letters — they were all there in a pile. One or two of them had been blown away and lay in the sand, half damp from a previous rain. None of them had been opened.

Koshei didn't know what to think. Jin'thekk never left Sen'jin for long. Had he gone elsewhere? Had he already forgotten about him, after only two months? He only had twelve hours… no, eleven now. It would be impossible to find him in that time. Koshei had no idea where to even start. The excitement that had filled him earlier was now fermenting, leaving only anxiety in his chest. This was his only chance. He would have to wait a whole other month if he didn't see Jin'thekk now.

His head was starting to pound again. Slowly, he pulled himself up, going back into Jin'thekk's side of the hut. The elf crawled up into the loft, burying his face in the pile of furs that Jin'thekk usually slept on. There was barely any smell to them now. How long had it been since Jin'thekk had been home? Everything in his home felt stale — untouched. Maybe he would come home today. Maybe the fates would decide that they could see each other after all, and Jin'thekk would come right through that door and they could spent the day together.

Where was he?

Exhaling softly, Koshei closed his eyes, laying still on the furs. He would wait.

And wait he did. Minutes went by, then hours. The house gave him nothing but silence. The elf lay unmoving, eyes half open as they locked on the door. Any second now it would open, wouldn't it?

When the sun began to set, Koshei knew he had run out of time. Maybe if he waited just one more minute, just one more second, Jin'thekk could come home. All he wanted now was a glimpse of him. Just seeing his smile would make it all worth it.

But the door didn't move, and the light outside was fading. Koshei swallowed, rubbing his eyes with a sleeve as he sat up. His eyes finally tore away from the door, closing, unable to look any longer as he cast the teleport back to Northrend.







————-


"All right, bring it in nice and easy!"

Jin'thekk released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding as he listened to the goblin crew bark orders and responses at each other as they brought the Zeppelin in to dock. He tried his best not to look so wide-eyed and impressed at the landscape before him, although he wasn't sure how successful he'd been.

The past two months were more difficult than he anticipated. Granted, he didn't expect the journey to be easy, or for everyone to be friendly. Yet actually being brought into that reality was different. On the first day of enlistment, even if he'd tried hard to stay out of everyone's way he still managed to get himself dragged into a fight, which in turn got him demerits and cleaning detail as well as putting him on the radar of his commanding officer — who happened to be a rather loud contemptuous orc. As such he has always been pulled to "volunteer" for the most daunting tasks, and received a larger serving of insults than the rest of his unit.

Without noticing that he had been doing it, he'd been subconsciously avoiding contact with the elves as much as possible. Perhaps they reminded him too much of Koshei, and how much he missed him. Granted, remembering the elf gave him the strength to go on and to take it all like a man should. But he missed him enough, and seeing an elf that was not him made it even worse.

His commanding officer took his avoidance to mean that the troll didn't like elves at all, thus making a point to make him work with one as much as possible. Jin'thekk was never good at masking his emotions, and the orc reveled in watching the looks of distress on his face whenever he had to get close to an elf, especially if it were male.

He was only too relieved when the day came that their dispatch papers were given out. He had enlisted himself for a campaign currently happening in Northrend, which he was sure was the same one that Koshei was involved in. However, there was something in the way that the commander looked at him as he was handed his papers that made him worry. There was a naughty twinkle in his eye as he wrote an extra note in orcish and attached it to his letter of dispatch before sealing it and giving it to Jin'thekk. He could only wonder what that meant.

Yet, he decided that whatever cruel joke his commander planned on playing on him, it didn't matter. He made it here to Northrend, and soon he would find Koshei.

He tried to stifle a shiver as he wrapped his cloak around himself tighter, covering half his face as the cold air made it painful to even breathe. The Howling Fjord was colder than he ever expected it to be. Why would anybody want to live here? Suddenly he missed Sen'jin, where the air was always warm and the only piece of clothing he ever needed was his knee-length kilt. He cocked his neck to the side, stretching it and fidgeted his body around, feeling very uncomfortable under all this heavy armor and wool. He was used to fighting half-naked. Being dressed like this made him feel all burdened and clunky. His raptor was not doing any better, as like the troll, the poor girl was used to the Durotar sun. He stroked the reptile's neck, trying to soothe her as she whined at the heavy armor that was fixed onto her head. Jin'thekk glanced around and spotted a fallen feather on the floor, probably dropped by one of the pets of the hunters who were also on the vessel. He went over to it and picked it up, then brought it back to his mount with a shivering smile.

"Look wat Jin'thekk found fer ya, Gira," he said cheerily. He held it up to her eyes so she could take a good look at the perfect plume, colored a bright pink with a blue tip. The animal's eyes sparkled with approval. "Ya like dat, eh? Good girl. Cheer up, ya get used to da cold soon. 'Ere, let's get dis on yer headgear fer ya."

Soon all the recruits were disembarked and arranged into a convoy and sent to the new camp. It was a fairly small group of recruits, as this campaign wasn't really in the highest of priorities of the Horde. In a show of goodwill and an effort to maintain ties, the Horde had agreed to aid the Tuskar in defending from the remaining Vrykul in the area, and they only sent in new forces to replace the few ones that were unlucky enough to get themselves killed in the campaign. It was situated on the cliff just by the Ancient Lift that led to the Tuskar village of Kamagua. Jin'thekk marveled at the majestic view of the cliffs, thinking that his breath would have been taken away if only he was warm enough to actually breathe.

"All right! All you new recruits, listen up!" bellowed the Tauren who had been waiting to meet them at the camp's entrance. "You are to report to the Senior Sergeant of the unit in which you have been assigned to. Go to their tents now and present yourselves." He announced the names of their superiors and pointed out where their tents were to be found before waving off the group. "They are expecting you. Hop to it!"

Everyone took a glance at their parchments and rode towards their corresponding tents. All but Jin'thekk, who didn't know how to read. With much embarrassment, he got off his raptor and quietly approached the tauren. "Sir, I not be able ta read, sir," he said quietly. The Tauren, fortunately of a more accommodating nature, took a quick peek at his paper.

"Huh," the officer snorted, his breath steaming in the cold. "I thought this unit didn't need any more recruits." He scratched his head and shrugged, pointing to a tent on the other side of the camp from where he directed the others. "Yours is over there, boy."

Jin'thekk banged his fist to his chest gratefully and went to stable his raptor before making his way to tent. However, upon arrival he found it be empty. He went back outside, trying to spot someone who looked like someone who held rank and found a goblin. "Sir, I be reportin', sir," he said, handing in his paper.

"Reporting?" the Stone Guard sneered as he eyed the dispatch. "We didn't ask for any more recruits! Give that here!" He snatched the piece of paper from Jin'thekk's hands and noticed the small note that was attached to it. Suddenly he burst into laughter. "Oh that bastard!" he continued to guffaw. "So elves give you the heebie geebies, don't they? Guess that old orc wanted you to build some character. HAH! Always good for a laugh, that jerk."

He handed the parchment back to the troll and pointed him towards the empty tent. "Your Senior Sergeant just took a leave for the afternoon. He'll be back soon. Just wait in there and you can report to him when he gets back and he'll get you all fixed up. I don't have time to bother with new recruits myself." He walked away, muttering to himself, still chuckling.

Jin'thekk scratched his head as he watched the goblin disappear off into the camp, wondering what the business about elves was all about. Shaking his head, went inside to wait. The canvas did little to shield the interiors from the cold, and the troll shivered even more violently. Cursing under his breath, he gathered the fabric that bunched up around his neck and wrapped them around his head and crouched in the corner in an effort to warm himself as he waited.







Koshei had always thought that the Howling Fjord was beautiful, but at that moment, it was the last thing he wanted to see. His expression was blank as he walked back towards his tent, past the stacks of supplies he'd teleported that morning. He nearly tripped over a stray rock, eyes heavy with exhaustion and disappointment.

"Oh good, you're back," the unit leader said with a snicker when the mage reported his return. Stone Guard Goldspanner always seemed to find amusement in something, though Koshei wasn't in a laughing mood.

"There's a present for you in your tent," the goblin added with a grin. "Find out what he's made of, see if he's suitable for formation. Now go on, your vacation is over!"

The mage blinked. He? They hadn't requested any new recruits. His weariness overpowered his curiosity, and instead of asking about it, Koshei simply saluted and left.

Why did there have to be someone in his tent? Why couldn't he just crawl into his miserable, stiff little cot and just sleep this feeling off? He stopped outside of the tent's entrance. It wasn't as large as Goldspanner's, but at least he had his own. Most of the recruits slept together in one large tent — something like a portable barracks. Koshei doubted they even had cots. He pulled back the flap and stepped inside.

As it was already evening, the interior was dark. He lit an oil lamp which was hanging from a tent rod, glancing down at the figure that was shivering on the ground. Koshei slid off his fur hood to get a better look — it was a troll. If the tusks hadn't been a giveaway, the sheer size of the man would have been. Oh, his tusks were like Jin's…

Koshei shook his head, trying not to think about what he'd just missed out on. Despite this man's height, he was huddled so pathetically, with his face covered in thin fabric, that any intimidation the elf might have felt was utterly gone.

"Off the floor, Scout. You're a Horde soldier, not a rug."




The air had grown even colder now that the sun had set and Jin'thekk could hardly move in the cold. His mind was practically numbed by the temperature that he hardly even noticed that somebody had walked into the tent, until the person lit a lamp. It emanated a warm glow in the enclosure, but the air remained chilly.

He scrambled to his feet right away when he was ordered off the floor. So this was the officer's cruel joke. He assigned him to an elven superior. He grit his teeth in annoyance, thinking that the orc's joke was crueler than he ever knew. He just HAD to put him in a position where thoughts of Koshei would constantly haunt him. This asshole almost sounded like Koshei too, if only he didn't talk like such a jerk.

He let his body take one big vigorous shake before he forced himself upright. That was it. He'd been harassed, insulted, and talked down to ever since he'd joined this damn army. He'd had enough. It seemed that being the nice guy didn't get you anywhere in the military, so if he needed to use his size for intimidation, then so be it. And if he found out that Koshei had been mistreated the same way, then demerits be damned, someone was going to get hurt.

He rose to his full height and took a deep breath, so he could talk strongly without shaking. With a stern look on his face he yanked off his hood and spoke.

"Sir! Scout Jin'thekk of the Darkspear reporting for…" as he looked down at his superior his voice, which he put into so much effort to sound confident and intimidating, trailed to silence, though the look in his eyes brightened and his stern expression turned into a smile.

"I… I found ya!"






Only years of Horde training kept Koshei from flinching as the troll rose to his full height, which barely fit in the tent. Once that hood came off, however, he forgot all about the troll's size.

Koshei stared for a long, long time. His eyes were wide and still, trying to figure out exactly what it was he was looking at. It was Jin'thekk. It looked like him, and he had even said his own name. But… how was this possible? How could he be here, in his tent, reporting to his unit? Maybe the grief of the day, mixed with his exhaustion from teleporting so many crates, was making him hallucinate. Maybe he'd been using magic too long and the stories were true — that it was slowly driving him insane. But he looked so real. He sounded real.

"Jin?" he asked slowly, taking a step forward and reaching his hand out. Hesitantly, his fingers reached his face, touching down his cheek and over the troll's tusk. Though he was chilled, there was still warmth under his skin. Koshei could feel breath on his wrist. His face lit up as it hit him that Jin'thekk really was here. It wasn't a dream or a vision. A wide smile spread instantly over the elf's features.

"Jin, you-" he began to say, leaning in to embrace him. He was interrupted by the crunch of footsteps outside, and the tent flap opened abruptly to show an orc's head. Koshei's hand reeled back instinctively, his heart nearly leaping into his throat.

"Sir, the Stone Guard wants to know if the new recruit would be ready for sentry duty tonight."

"No!" Koshei snapped, his eyes flashing as he turned to the source of the interruption. "He's fresh off the zep, he isn't even dressed properly. And don't enter my tent without knocking."

"Uh… how does one… knock on a-"

"Just go!" Koshei glared.

"Yes, Sir."

With a deep breath, Koshei turned back to Jin'thekk. That sort of thing happened all the time. Soldiers were often poking their heads in his tent, and it would be impossible to hold Jin'thekk the way he wanted to without the possibility of being caught. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around the troll's neck, to press their bodies together and kiss him.

"I… I can't believe you're here. How did you… why are…?"

He couldn't get his thoughts together. All he knew was that he was immeasurably happy. The elf unfastened his fur-lined cloak, slipping it from his shoulders and wrapping it around the troll.

"You're freezing," he said, his eyes softening as he spoke.





Jin'thekk allowed himself to slouch back down so that Koshei could better reach him, and as his body relaxed, it went back to shivering. He sighed gratefully as he felt a warmer cloak cover him, and the fact that he could smell Koshei on it gave it some added warmth, if only in his heart. Though he couldn't help but curse that orc for barging in, as he was almost certain that Koshei would have held him.

"I always be so lonely wen ya be away. I sick of always waitin' fer ya," he explained through chattering teeth. "But me old man, he not let me leave da village until I beat him. An' wen ya said ya goin' away fer so long, I did it! Ya gave me da strength ta beat 'im!

"Now I go wer ya go," he beamed proudly, as much as a shivering man could. "Koshei like dat?" He looked at him, hoping that his suddenly barging into Koshei's military life wasn't out of line. Carefully he took the elf's hand and held it in both of his. It was so wonderfully warm.





Koshei held a hand over his mouth as he listened to Jin'thekk explain himself. The troll had missed him just as much as he had. He must have gone through so much — fighting his own father, winning, Horde training, the journey north… and now he was here, practically frozen and in a strange place, just to be with an elf. Forgetting the risk, Koshei leaned up into him, pulling Jin'thekk down for a kiss. He followed it up with one more, then another, unable to remove himself from the other's cold body. Finally, he pressed his face into his shoulder.

"Mhm," he answered, smiling idiotically. How odd it felt to feel armor against his cheek. Before then, Jin'thekk never even wore shirts. At the sound of footsteps passing his tent, he pulled back quickly.

He looked at Jin'thekk in his armor, admiring how he looked in it despite the subpar quality of plate that low ranking warriors wore. He'd actually beaten Meiles in a fight? Koshei had seen the witch doctor in battle and could hardly imagine it. They wouldn't have dispatched him to a campaign if he hadn't passed training, either. He'd made it so far. His Jin, the simple carver, had come all this way just for him.

Koshei glanced away, then back at the troll with a strange sort of smile on his face.

"I'm so proud of you."





Jin'thekk practically tried to inhale Koshei when he reached up to kiss the troll, whining when he pulled away and gladly meeting him as he gave him more. He knew he missed the elf's kisses, but he didn't realize just how much. It was only when the footsteps came that he realized how dangerous it was.

"It be so hard gettin' here. De officers seem at enjoy givin' da big troll a hard time. So I be really surprised dat I found ya here so quickly," he laughed softly. "I t'ink dat Orc officer thot I hated elves, an' sent me to ya fer a laugh. Dat be da luckiest t'ing, ya?

"But Koshei, dey find out about us…" he bent in lower, almost whispering. "It not be good, ya? It be really hard ta pretend I don' care fer ya. But still… It be better dan not seein' ya at all. An' now I can protect ya too."





"It will be hard for me, too," Koshei replied, glancing down. "But it will be worth it. Just to see you. Anything is better than being apart. I… I went to Sen'jin today. I had no idea where you'd gone. If someone would have told me you'd joined the Horde I wouldn't have believed it."

Closing his eyes, he bit his lower lip to hold back another dumb grin.

"I'm so happy you're here," he said, then quieted. Jin'thekk wanted to protect him. He really had no idea. He'd never seen Koshei fight, and despite having gone through pit fights and training, he'd never seen a real battle before. What if he got hurt? Or killed? What if Jin'thekk died because he'd come all this way just to see Koshei? The mage would just have to make sure that never happened. Pretending not to know him, yet simultaneously keeping an eye on him… it would be difficult, but if it meant he could see Jin every day, then he didn't care. Koshei could make it work.

"Jin… promise me you'll never leave my sight on the field. Not even for a second."

Gently, he ran his hand down the length of the troll's arm, still unable to believe he was really here. Looking up, he caught Jin'thekk's eyes again.

"Promise."





Jin'thekk closed his eyes as he felt Koshei's touch on his arm. Whenever he did that it always took him back to that day when he first met him, and how that touch led to their first intimate moment together.

He went down on his knees and took the small hand, kissing it. "I promise, Koshei. From now on, ya no worry. I always be on da field wit' ya. No one lay a hand on ya wen I be around. I protect ya now."

He beamed with pride inside, happy that he could do this for Koshei. Being such a thin, delicate elf, he must have such a hard time in battle. Now he had a big strong troll to watch out for him.

"I still can't believe ya be me superior," he snickered. "Den again, I be used ta takin' orders from ya, ain't I?"



Koshei gave Jin a bit of a sad smile upon hearing once again that he would protect him.

"It's okay, Jin. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself," he said, unsure of how else to explain that one didn't last over six years in the army without being able to handle a battle. But, if it made Jin'thekk happy to protect him, then he wouldn't argue against it.

Upon being reminded that he was Jin'thekk's superior, he grinned. He would definitely have to take advantage of that. Additionally, it would help him keep the troll safe if he were the one calling the shots.

"Yes, and you better follow them. Unless you want to do fifty push-ups in my tent. Without clothes," he said, musing. "On top of me."

The sound of a horn outside made him glance over.

"Ah, you'd better get to your tent before curfew. It's the large one, about 20 meters west of here," Koshei explained, reluctantly reaching up to take back his cloak. If anyone saw Jin'thekk wearing it, they might think he stole it.

"Umm," he said, furrowing his brow in thought. He crouched down next to a trunk, rummaging through it until he found an unused animal skin. It was a white worg fur, not large enough to cover the troll's entire body, but hopefully it would help.

"Here," he said, placing the folded fur into Jin'thekk's hands. "If anyone asks, you brought it with you. We can get you some more furs tomorrow."





Jin'thekk smiled and was about to playfully suggested that he do those push-ups right now, when the horn interrupted him. He huffed in annoyance for a brief moment, then just shrugged it off, reminding himself that he's in the army now.

"Dis… be a little too nice fer someone like me," he said upon being handed the beautiful white fur. "But… ah, it be nice and warm. And it smells like Koshei's t'ings. No, no, on second thot, I take it. It be like havin' ya on me." He carefully placed it under his arm, holding it in his thin cloak to keep it out of view.

He walked towards the tent's entrance and was about to go through the flap, when a realization hit him and he turned around, banging his fist on his arm. "Oh! Sir. By yer leave, sir."

He stood there saluted and stiff, waiting for Koshei to dismiss him. "…Dis… be a little awkward…" he then muttered.





Relief washed over the elf when he saw that Jin'thekk had decided to take the fur after all. The thought of the troll laying on a cold bedroll, shivering in the dark made his heart ache. Any sad thoughts he had, however, disappeared when he saw Jin'thekk salute. They really had trained him well, hadn't they? He tried to ignore the pleasure he felt at being called 'Sir' by Jin, wondering if it was odd that he was thinking these things.

"One last thing before you go," Koshei said, his tone professional. "My first order for you."

He knew that Jin'thekk must have been tired, but he didn't care. He'd waited two months to see him and had been dying to touch him, especially after that morning's disappointment.

"An hour after midnight… leave the camp, towards the east. You'll find a clearing with three white pines. Wait for me there."

Making sure the tent's entrance was blocked by Jin'thekk's body, he ran his fingers down the front of his chest armor before turning away.

"Dismissed."



"…Yes, sir," Jin'thekk with a smile, as he turned to go, taking one last glance at Koshei's back before he closed the flap.
All of these logs can be found in order on the master list.

Koshei is written by :iconjisuk:.
Jin’thekk is written by :iconyapi:.
© 2012 - 2024 yapi
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SomeRedDame's avatar
*flops back in a bed of pillows* Gah ~ ♥