Daylight waned in Stormheim, the descending sun casting long shadows over Greywatch. The Alliance camp bustled with activity as the guards began to change shifts; fresh ones replacing the tired.
Morician stood as an exception to the fatigue though, carrying a spring in his step and nervously clutching a small boquet of wildflowers as he was relieved of his post. The assignment had been boring, allowing him to wander about nearby and collect the specimens he now carried. Special flowers for a special someone.
The memory of the elven sorceress Khynareth still lingered, etched deep into the fabric of his mind. She was certainly pretty, as was standard for elves, but there was something else there that he couldn’t quite determine. Love, perhaps? He quickly shook the thought from his mind. That was ridiculous! He was a death knight, created specifically for the battlefield and nothing more.
Continuing to wrestle with his thoughts, Morician made his way to the stables, setting the flowers aside before greeting his charger with a friendly noserub. The undead horse offered a low whicker in response.
“I dunno what to do Steel,” Morician lamented, picking up a brush and beginning to groom the horse. No reply was expected, but he’d always felt more at ease around animals, horses especially. They never judged, and were content to simply listen whenever he needed to talk.
“There’s a girl…and…she’s real nice and all…but she keeps…talkin’ to me, and askin’ about my day, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why.” Morician paused a moment, interrupted by a swat to his face as Steel switched her tail, before continuing. “A week ago she joined me on guard duty because she wanted to stargaze. Figured she was after a bodyguard, except I ain’t so sure because she did more talkin’ than anythin’…and then there’s all the times after she asked for help…”
His voice trailed off as a small grin slipped across his face; the idle memories of the past week floating to the forefront of his mind and leaving a strange fuzzy feeling in their wake. No…no that’s ridiculous…
Morician shook his head, attempting to clear his mind as he set the brush aside. He’d wasted enough time daydreaming. Why did you pick the flowers then? The flowers!
Morician spun around, only to be greeted with the sight of Steel happily munching on the boquet. With a startled cry he shooed the charger away, collecting the forlorn remnants. There wasn’t much left of the flowers, save for a branch of some kind of prickly tomato-looking thing. He heaved a dejected sigh at the sight. “Great…now what am I supposed to do for a gift…”
“A gift for who?” inquired a familiar feminine voice, the figure of Khynareth walking round the stall’s corner. Morician hid the evidence behind his back, fidgeting for several moments before sheepishly presenting the meager offering. “It’s…um…it was supposed to be for you…in thanks for takin’ the time to talk the other night. But…uh…horse kinda ate it.”
Khynareth blinked, accepting the offered fjarnskaggl with a puzzled look. A small grin slowly slipped across her lips. “Well…it’s most appreciated, in any case. Perhaps you could tell me where you found them over dinner tonight, hmmm?”
Morician returned a bewildered stare. “Uh…”
“Good, I’ll see you tonight then!” she chirped, sauntering away leaving the death knight to sort through a muddled mess of thoughts.
A short piece that came to mind today–yet another small slice from a character’s past. Questions and comments welcome below, and more short stories accessible via the included link. Enjoy!