Held Together
Morlock stood watching on the deck of the ship, viewing the waves crash back and forth against the planks. Her fists clenched with barely contained violence that wanted to explode outwards in fiery emotion. However, with Moki’s kidnappers long gone, that emotion had to be channeled towards someone else. Her teammates? Everyone tried their best to save him, or were caught off guard. She couldn’t - wouldn’t blame them. Instead, she blamed herself. If she had been faster, if she had been the ranger she knew she was capable of being, then perhaps the outcome would be different.
But she wasn’t. Instead, here she stood, still wet from falling into the waves. The wind blew the cold chill of failure down her spine, and suddenly that anger turned to bitter resentment. Drooping, her hands fell to her side, releasing the tension she held. Turning to return to her cabin, Morlock dissociated from the world around her.
Thrognak the Barbarian was many things. Large, positive, brave, and a pillar of physical as well as emotional strength for his party. On days like these, however, that strength had its metal tested. He too felt the sting of defeat. The loss of Moki was so sudden, so calculated, he was still wrapping his head around it. To him, the little fox was incredibly powerful. Moki’s wild magic was chaotic and destructive, often making quick work of any opponent. Truthfully, it often made Thrognak feel trivialized in comparison. If someone like Moki could be taken so easily, what did that mean for Thrognak? Shaking these thoughts off, the man knew he didn’t have the luxury to think about himself at the moment. Another of Thrognak’s notable qualities was his empathy.
Looking at his friends, he could feel the pain that came from them all. Lirim had just left them not too long ago to venture on his own, and now Moki was gone too. It seemed that the likes of Aoth was already comforting the youngest members, Clementine and Cedric. 42 had anger, but the warforged was hard to read, let alone talk to at times. Zavid was a relatively new member of the party, and while Thrognak was sure the man cared, the cowboy hadn’t grown an attachment to anyone as of yet. That left Davari and Morlock, both of which had already returned to their cabins.
The scarlet tiefling had certainly tried to stop the abduction with her own magic, but came up short. Davari was a capable woman that Thrognak had come to care for over his adventures. But the same could be said for Morlock in many ways. Yes, she could be incredibly frustrating at times. The noble woman’s pride often made her make rash decisions that got her into trouble, and she could butt heads with her comrades if she was in a bad or snooty mood. Despite this, he also found Morlock to be incredibly brave. She never ran from danger, and she was always willing to come up with a plan when it came to helping her friends. If there wasn’t time for one, she’d throw herself into danger with mixed results. Sometimes she wouldn’t come out on top, but she would always put 100% of her heart into a task. Like she did for Moki. He found himself admiring that about Morlock.
Taking a breath, Thrognak made up his mind. He’d speak to Davari later. For now, he felt a duty within himself to see how Morlock was faring. Knocking on her door, he waited for an answer. When he didn’t get one, he slowly opened the door. “Morlock? Are you there? Tis I, Thorgnak.”
Morlock had taken off her purple cap, and was finishing taking off her boots. She looked surprised that someone had taken the time to check in on her. “Thrognak?”
“I don’t want to intrude on anything. However, I feel company could be beneficial. If you’re up for it?”
The noble paused, unloosening her braid to let her wet hair fall down against her back. In the past, she had often pushed away those who wanted to give her comfort, or simply get to know her on a deeper level. The feeling of isolation, often self imposed, was something she no longer desired. Giving Thrognak a nod, she motioned him over.
Taking the silent gesture as acceptance, Thrognak made his way over. Taking a seat beside Morlock on the bed, his weight shifted the mattress slightly. Clearing his throat, Thrognak knew he had to get a sense from her. She seemed uncharacteristically reserved for her. He made sure he was careful and slow in his wording.
“Morlock. I know you've been through a lot these last few days. You almost dying, finding out two of your brothers are dead, Lirim having left us, and now… Moki’s abduction. Any one of those can be a major challenge for someone to tackle. I want to know. Are you okay?”
Morlock listened closely to Thrognak. Her mind raced with a dozen different responses. Many were hostile. Almost all of them held pain thinking about these issues. Taking a breath, Morlock clenched her fingers. “No. I’m really not.”
Thrognak’s face softened with a look of empathy. “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“What’s there to talk about?” Morlock looked to him with her pain cracking through the emotional walls she had taken years to build up. “I’m a failure Thrognak. I couldn’t save my brothers from my father’s influence. I don’t think I had the strength to ask Lirim to stay with us. When I saw that beam fire out at me when we were in the depths… maybe Moki should have let me die. How is it fair that he was able to save me, but I couldn’t do the same for him?”
Thrognak took a moment to think of an answer. Sighing, he held her hands. “Life isn’t fair. But we have to keep trying our best. Especially for ourselves. We’ll get through this. Together if we have to.”
Not wanting him to see her cry, Morlock threw her arms over his frame, hugging him with her head over his shoulder. Thrognak held her back, letting his warm embrace comfort her. ________________________________________________________________
Commission work for a fellow Dungeons and Dragons player.
Word Count 1037
