"Hurry, Eindwyn, or we'll miss the fireworks!" The excited elf cheered at her friend. Eindwyn smiled as sweetly as she could with only a top lip. Trineria was always so happy and energetic. Such a wonder how the living could have so much energy.
With a grunt, Eindwyn rose from her seat and followed her eccentric ally through the sewers of the Undercity. Trineria babbled on about the intricacies of fireworks and how the alchemists had created so many for the Fire Festival blow out. Eindwyn smiled and watched the alchemists refuse bubbling and swirling in the mote beside them.
Every year, after all the usual festivities of the Midsummer Fire Festival, all the major cities of Azeroth and the port city of Booty Bay shot fireworks into the sky every hour after sun down and ending after sun rise. Eindwyn had never gotten the opportunity to see them herself, but she had personally helped Undercity make a few of their more… noisy fireworks. Not through alchemy or magic, like most in the Horde were, but with good old fashioned scientific ingenuity. She was excited to see them, though maybe not as excited as Trineria.
Trineria was a mage but too young and unlearned to participate in the creation of fireworks. But she had seen them every year for the past five years and researched the history of the event extensively. So, maybe she was a bit more of an expert than Eindwyn. Regardless, the undead was more than happy to indulge in her friend's guilty pleasure.
Shopkeepers and guards waved in greeting as the pair past, Trineria being a bit more flamboyant with her response than Eindwyn. They were soon waiting for the Undercity elevator to take them to the ruins of Lordaeron, the city that was once the crown jewel of the kingdom of Lordaeron. The elevator seemed to be taking its sweet time, so Eindwyn nudged her friend playfully. Trineria pushed back with a giggle. They played the game until Trineria almost landed on the floor and the door finally flew open.
The two women ran into the elevator laughing like kids while the guard outside gave them a strange look. Eindwyn waved nonchalantly at her, holding in a laugh. The moment the elevator shot up, the two girls broke into laughter again.
The pair had known each other for years now, ever since the fall of the Lich King a decade ago. Trineria was much younger then and was still in training in Silvermoon City. Eindwyn had been visiting after the Icecrown Citadel had been successfully sacked and met the young elf when she went to the palace. Her business had been with Lor'themar Theron, the reagent lord of Silvermoon and the Sin'dorei, but she had gotten more out of Trineria. They talked for hours and held onto good feelings in each other's company ever since.
Trineria tugged her undead buddy through the open door at the top of the elevator shaft and managed to barely pull her through when the door slammed shut behind them. Eindwyn still managed to hold all the enthusiasm of a dying cow. Trineria just huffed and pulled her shuffling friend through the ruins of the old city.
Eindwyn thought of all the people who may have walked these halls. In her studies, she had learned that such names as Arthas, the late Lich King, Jaina Proudmore, the founder of the now destroyed city of Theramore and savior of the Alliance, and Kael'thas Sunstrider, the magic-crazed former leader of the blood elves who died during the Burning Crusade, had all visited if not lived in this city. It was likely much prettier back then but perhaps less daunting. Maybe not in size, but in atmosphere. Many atrocities had occurred here, one being the creation of the Forsaken, Eindwyn's race of people. If she didn't eat corpses in her daily diet, she'd feel sick just by being in the throne room. Arthas had killed his own father here. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and listened to her friend's rambling once more.
They grew closer and Eindwyn could hear the first of the fireworks.
"Oh no! We're late! Faster!" Trineria ordered and Eindwyn sighed, though she couldn't be happier. The two jogged through the last of the halls, past the fallen bell, and out into the courtyard. Tents and a bonfire were still here and dozens of people from the Undercity were sitting on the patchy ground. Couples, guards, alchemists, and raiders, most of them undead, sat staring at the fireworks in the sky. Trineria ushered her and Eindwyn through the rows of people hoping to find just the right spot.
"Hold on; I got a better idea," Eindwyn suggested. Being the first thing she'd said all night, Trineria's interest was piqued. "Follow me." Trineria only nodded and followed her best friend out of the courtyard. She glanced back wistfully but didn't leave Eindwyn's side. The sound of the fireworks dimmed and Trineria wondered where on Azeroth they were headed.
Eindwyn found flat ground and stopped. Trineria looked around then back at the display in the sky.
"We can't see very well from here."
"That's because we're not staying here." Without another word, Eindwyn pulled a box from her cloak and tossed it to the ground. It sprung open, shifting, expanding, and changing until it turned into a flying machine. It wheezed and coughed, smoke spewing inconsistently from a pipe on the side. Eindwyn hopped on and held her hand out.
"What!? I don't-" Trineria started, appalled that her friend would want her to get on that flying death machine.
"Do you trust me?" Trineria didn't know how to respond to that. Of course she did, but she didn't know what that had to do with anything right now. "Well?" Instead of responding, she sighed softly and took the outstretched hand. The skinless appendage was cold in her grip but somehow comforting. She squealed slightly when Eindwyn pulled her sharply into the contraption, gripped her by the waist, and tore into the sky.
She screamed as the earth fell under her feat, her life now in the hands of her best friend, whom she trusted, and a rickety collection of gears and sprockets, which she didn't.
"What's the point of this!?" She shouted over the billowing engine and noisy propeller. Eindwyn only laughed making Trineria huff in frustration. All she wanted to do was watch the fireworks with her friend and they were missing them!
They soared further into the sky, flying around the courtyard and over the ruins of Lordaeron. The people were but cockroaches so far below. Trineria imagined squashing them with her tiny foot. Not so tiny from this angle, she supposed. She stared longingly at the passing fireworks display, wishing she could just stop on listen to them, show off all the different aspects of it to Eindwyn.
The ride ended when Eindwyn set them on top of the roof of the throne room, the highest point in the city. It bore a steep slope so Trineria chose to stay on the flying machine. Eindwyn slid off and kept her footing like an expert. She took another box, likely some other strange invention, from her cloak but this time placed it carefully at the base of the spire on the center of the roof facing the courtyard below. She stepped aside and a great platform, made from folded metal and supported by poles and gears, sprang out leaving a flat and moderately large place to sit on the old roof.
Eindwyn picked up Trineria and placed her on the platform. She squealed for a moment but quickly quieted when she realized how steady it was. Her friend could be a pure technical genius, but what was the purpose of this platform? Surely she wouldn't have made something for one event. What's the use of a portable platform?
Eindwyn decompressed the flying machine and buried it in her pack somewhere to join her friend on the sturdy raise. She sat and gestured for Trineria to do the same. She looked around, unsure of the true stability of this object. She shrieked when her friend pulled her down and forced her to sit.
"Hey! That hurt-" Her protest was cut short when Eindwyn interjected.
"Shh. Just, look." She pointed outwards. Trineria sighed but did as she was told. She was left speechless.
The fireworks filled her entire vision. Reds, blues, yellows, pinks, oranges, all different colors and patterns filled the sky with the gloomy Tirisfal Glades as its backdrop. The stars above almost seemed to be reflecting the bright colors of the display beneath them. The fireworks were audible from this distance, but now overbearingly so and not another soul was in sight. It was just her, Eindwyn, and the beautiful show. Her jaw had apparently been down because she felt cold bones on her chin pushing it up. She turned to her friend, wanting to say something, say thanks, say something, but nothing came out but a 'Wow.'
Eindwyn just smiled once again, pleased that she could give this to her best friend. But she wasn't done yet. She watched compassionately as the sparks in the distance made reflections upon Trineria's pale features. She continued to stare out, speechless, her glowing green eyes completely absorbed in the gift. Eindwyn was happy, and only one thing could make this better.
The mage just stared out, the fireworks display reaching its peak. They were gorgeous and here, so close Trineria could almost touch them. She watched them spark and split in the gaps between her fingers. They glimmered so beautifully through her fingernails. Another boney touch to her chin startled her. She was sure her mouth wasn't open this time so she turned back to see what Eindwyn wanted. She was met with a cold mouth pressing against her warm lips.
She just froze. Her eyes stared at Eindwyn's closed sockets, unsure of what to do. Her best friend, her closest ally and confidant, was kissing her. It was cold and dry and… comforting. She blinked, the mouth still there. She could feel the teeth of Eindwyn's bottom jaw grazing against her skin but it didn't creep her out or scare her. She felt safe, secure, and understanding. Allowing her eyes to close, she pushed into the kiss, feeling a smile grow from Eindwyn's lip.
The kiss only lasted a matter of seconds but it felt like an eternity for both of them. Eindwyn pulled back, smiled that sweet smile of hers, and turned back to the fireworks. Trineria was left without words for the second time that evening. She decided to just lay back against the spire, leaning against her… closest friend. She grinned wildly, suddenly feeling like a little girl. She didn't know how bad she had wanted that. It felt so right. She was happy. She was frightened. She was glad her friend did that. Friend. Were they anymore?
Eindwyn pulled Trineria closer and held her hands in her boney ones. She wished she could be warm, with flesh and blood like everyone, just for Trineria, to make her happy and be the perfect person for her. But she supposed this would have to do. A tight squeeze in her hands assured her that she'd done the right thing. She was happier than she'd ever been.
They made sure to watch the fireworks together every year after that.
