Xarlda glanced down at the water as she dangled her feet off the dock. She could see a school of oily blackmouth fish swimming scant feet below her little blue toes. A soft meow caught her attention, and then a furry head rubbing against her arms. She turned her eyes to the orange and white cat that so demanded her attention. Smiling around her tiny little tusks, the eight-year-old lifted a hand to the creature's head and scratched it behind the ears. The feline purred loudly, and climbed into the Troll-child's lap, joining her in staring down at the fish.
Xarlda was generally a happy child, especially now that her family had decided to settle down in one place. She decided that she liked Ratchet, even though it was full of grumpy goblins. Her fisherman father was there every day, though some of her family members, she didn't get to see often. Her older sister, Mir'rah, and her oldest brother, Drelwaz, were usually travelling far away, so she didn't get to see them as often as she liked. Her other brothers, identical twins Yahni and Derklok, had recently started adventuring as well, though she was relieved to see that they were sticking around Ratchet a lot at this point in their travels. Of course, where Yahni went, so did his best friend, Vandriel. Xarlda liked Vandriel- she wasn't as mean as some of the other Blood Elves that passed through Ratchet were. Of course, as far as friends went, the twins' other friend, Sparxton "Sparky" Clickwhistle wasn't exactly the best influence on the two of them- well, at least that's what Xarlda heard the grown-ups say. Sparky wasn't too bad, though- the young goblin made her laugh sometimes, and he gave her candy in exchange for not telling on him and getting him into trouble.
The little girl was pulled out of her thoughts by a distracting pulling sensation emerging from her scalp. Her gaze moved down to see a little white paw darting around, pawing at one of the many braids that her vivid blue locks had been woven into. Carefully, Xarlda picked the cat up and detatched her claws from her braids. Just as she had finished this task, the Troll-child was made aware of the clodding of heavy hooves against the wooden planks of the dock. Scootching away from the edge of the dock, she slowly stood up, cat still held in her arms. She quickly recognized the approaching black-furred Tauren female. The bovine woman's deep, gentle voice filled the girl's ears when she said, "Out playing with Patches, I see?"
Xarlda nodded, and smiled back at the familiar Tauren before nodding the affirmative. She liked Farida and her gentle ways. She was never in too much of a hurry to talk to the young troll, and a smile was never far from the aging shaman's silver-streaked face. As she recalled, the Tauren female had been her father's friend almost as long as Xarlda could remember.
The young girl watched perplexedly as Farida looked off into the distance, tilting her head and cocking an ear slightly as if listening to something. This wasn't the first time she had seen the Tauren woman do this, but it still confused her. Before Xarlda could put any more thought into the situation, the shaman's voice took her attention once again. "It's already noon." Farida spoke gently, "Xarlda, would you like to go to the inn to get something to eat?"
The young Troll nodded eagerly. She was actually glad to be going to the inn to get something to eat. Xarlda would never say it to Farida's face, but the Tauren woman was a terrible cook. With that in mind, she set Patches down on the ground and took the older woman's hand. The little Troll allowed herself to be led away from the docks, through the busy noon crowd, and up to the inn. When they got in there, Xarlda spotted some humans seated in various areas throughout the place. She wasn't sure she liked humans. Some of them had made mean faces at her. Clutching Farida's skirt, she hid behind the Tauren woman. Farida was bigger than the humans. She would protect the quiet little girl from mean looks, wouldn't she? Regardless, the Troll-child immediately felt safer when she felt a large, three-fingered hand touch her head. It was a comforting touch, so very gentle and full of promise of protection from all the world's hurt. It was a mother's touch, and it soothed Xarlda on a very instinctive level.
Xarlda watched quietly as the Tauren woman purchased some food and chatted with the innkeeper for a minute. Once the conversation was done, the two quickly made their way back to the docks, where Patches sat there waiting for them. The two of them sat down at the edges of the docks to eat their meal and watch the fishies swimming below them, Xarlda occasionally sneaking her cat a morsel of her lunch. As she took another bite of her own food, the girl considered her company once again. She knew that Farida had children of her own, and that they were all grown up, too. The young Troll had never known her own mother- she had run away when she was just a baby. To date, no one could offer her an explanation for it. At least Drel had known his and Mir'rah's mother, before she had died from a poisonous snake's bite when he was just a few years younger than Xarlda. Such things happened sometimes.
Staring off into the horizon as they waited for her father to come home, Xarlda wondered if her mother was still out there somewhere, and if she ever thought of her children from time to time? The sound of familiar voices arguing broke the girl out of her thoughts, and she smiled when she recognized the voices. She got up and turned around to see Vandriel, Sparky, and Derklok arguing about something, probably having to do with whatever machine the Goblin in the group was working on. But wait... something was off. Xarlda gave a quick mental head-count before realizing that Yahni was not among them. That was strange, because if he wasn't with Derklok, he was usually with Vandriel, and vice versa. She glanced around, trying to figure out where her brother was, when her question was suddenly answered. She gave a shriek of surprise when she was swept up into the air from behind and hugged by a pair of long, blue arms. She immediately recognized her brother's voice whispering in her ear, "Guess who?"
"Yahni!" Xarlda giggled, squirming against her brother. For a second she was afraid that he might accidentally drop her, but he quickly set her back down. She didn't always like it when Yahni surprised her, but she was still happy to see her brother. When Xarlda glanced over at Vandriel, she had her hand over her mouth, apparently trying to hide a smile. The Blood Elf woman was unable entirely hold back a chuckle, which escaped from her lips. A strand of her shoulder-length strawberry blond hair had fallen down into her face. Xarlda secretly smiled when Yahni walked over and tucked the stray lock of hair back behind Vandriel's ear. She knew that they liked each other, even if they didn't know it themselves. Meanwhile, Derklok and Sparky were still arguing over something, though Xarlda still wasn't sure what. The debate had quickly escalated to name-calling, fist-fighting, and lots and lots of grown-up words. She watched as Farida intervened and, using her 'annoyed mother' voice, scolded the two for their behavior and language. Making sure that Sparky went home, the aging Tauren woman made sure that everyone remaining was on their best behavior.
When Xarlda's father finally came home for evening, the little girl could not have been happier. When they sat around the table supper, Yahni was making goo-goo eyes at Vandriel, Patches was trying to beg for scraps, and Farida was telling Derklok to watch his language. Xarlda sat down next to her father, watching quietly as everyone settled down and began to eat. Everything all came together at the dinner table. She had forgotten all about her absent mother, and was instead simply happy and content to be surrounded by family.