Stormwind often was bustling too much for its own good. It's massive and gorgeous façade was only masking the decaying state of its streets or, as far as Colin Dumerval was concerned, its people. Growing up in Theramore, Colin was used to sizeable enough cities, but Stormwind was a far greater beast.
It was the kind of place that has little soil, so the only plants that grow are the ones that start growing from there, and there's little to no room for transplants. By the time he had arrived, he was roughly a teenager, and too old for the orphanages, so he had to make due with the oddest of jobs in order to make it.
Even as he matured, he found himself in the same hovel within Old Town, probably due to his loyalty. His landlord, Mrs. Gribbs, had only this tiny home to her name, and the rent was all that kept her from poverty. Not that she was of poor character, like many of the district's inhabitants, though she did have a bad temper if caught on a bad day, of which there were many in her old age.
On this day, Colin stood over a long desk that sat against the wall, underneath the only window in the small home. He had rolled out a long banner, and had spent the better part of the weekend designing a advertisement for a winery in the trade district, complete with the flair that normally attracts intrigued passers-by.
He nodded as he examined the project, finding it to be complete and to his satisfaction. This had been one of those odd jobs that he would stumble across, and while it had been his practice to use this income to finance his travels, he hadn't done so in a year now, so he had accrued some savings, though he wasn't keeping in mind any large purchase.
In the last year he'd taken the tram to Ironforge a few times, but other than that, he would simply walk around this city, take in the busy sights of the docks, and simply just be. While he had many acquaintances, his life on the road prevented him from gaining many friends, so most days when he stayed in were spent drawing or helping Mrs. Gribbs with some menial task that included physical labor. She would offer a discount on the rent, though Colin remained paying the full amount.
One of the things that had changed since he had returned were his sketchbooks. or, rather, their contents were different. Upon returning, he found that he couldn't stop drawing one particular scene from his last adventure. One entire sketchbook, in fact, every last page was filled with the face of an orc, twisted in a deathly grimace. Every night, Colin would start a fire and rip out a page he had drawn earlier that day, and throw it into the flames, hoping this would eventually rid him of that memory.
While it remained, eventually he became able to draw other things once again. He would draw Kyra, Emawreth, Vylira, Tenarus, Tyriel; all people he had kept mental photographs of. Mostly they were pictures of Kyra, however. He missed her greatly, though for more reasons than the obvious.
Colin carefully rolled the banner up, tying a rope around its width, and slung it over his shoulder, quickly stepping out into the sunlight. He checked to see that Mrs. Gribbs was not outside, then made his way down the street, keeping his stare directed forward at all times.
He naturally had a sort of dismissive look on his face, and if you didn't know him, you would probably be inclined not to talk to him. However, he was known here. As he crossed one of the streets, he noticed a group of children, probably hanging around during a recess from school, and went on, though not without words being shouted out.
"Hey! It's the Zandalari man!" shouted one of the younger boys.
Joining in, another yelled, "Ha ha! Mr. Forsaken! Spends time with more walking bones than the dock ladies!"
Colin couldn't help but grin at the last one, though was confused by the references such a young child was making. This had been the treatment toward him for years, and even a few adults would join in, though not always from afar. One particularly nasty barkeep handed him a mug one time with an orc hand wrapped around it that made for the handle.
Although Colin traveled and spent time with pretty much any and all races and people, the time spent with Hordish tribes were particularly offensive to the people of Old Town whom had known this. One of the criers would actively announce Colin's return, coming up with whatever Horde tribe he could think of. Colin, however, had never exactly been on a higher tier here, so he didn't really bother with retorts. He simply spent more time at the libraries, or drawing in the park.
As he finally exited Old Town, he came across the bridge to the trade district, immediately coming into the view of a night elf woman who would be here every day, selling flowers. Colin had never delved too deep into her personal life, but they would always talk when he walked by, mostly about Kyra.
This was Lyera, the friend of Kyra's whom she had mentioned long ago. One of the first things Colin had dome when he had come back was find her, which wasn't too difficult. Most of the druids in Stormwind were druids, and far too preoccupied to be selling flowers. Plus, she would come to this spot every day, and there were only two exits Colin could take from Old Town.
"Ishnu alah," Colin nodded with a grin.
Lyera smiled happily, nodding in kind, "Ishnu dal dieb."
"Anything from Kyra?" Colin questioned, sitting down on the cement walls of the bridge.
She shook her head sadly, "Not today, no. The last I heard from her must have been a month ago or so. It's not like her to take so long to respond, but I suppose it would get busy over there."
Colin nodded again, the light of a smile fading from him, "I suppose. If you write her again, let me know. I've got something for her that will go along with the pressed flower you send every time."
"Absolutely," she smiled, radiantly, "By the way, may I ask a favor of you?"
"Of course," came his answer, along with a nod.
Lyera curled her lips as she raised her finger to them, in thought, or rather, in secrecy, "Would you mind checking the front gates after your errand? I believe my child lost his elekk toy there the other day, and with my flowers, I can't exactly leave them."
Colin stared at her skeptically, not believing the story for a minute, but playing along anyway, "Absolutely; I could use a stroll anyway."
Lyera enthusiastically squealed in excitement, though quickly composed herself with a cough, "Yes, thank you very much, Colin Dumerval."
Rather disarmed by her sudden formality, Colin still remained polite and nodded at her approval before making his leave. The whole thing seemed fishy, but the two had known each other; Colin was sure it was a trick, though nothing malicious.
He rushed off into the bustling trade district, diving into the crowd of people, careful to protect the rolled up banner strapped to his shoulder. He made it through slowly enough, and by the time he had made it to the winery, the owner had rushed out to greet him, happily.
Colin handed over the banner and pocketed his payment, sighing with relief at another job done. Whoever he completed a job, his thoughts immediately went to traveling again, but it wasn't time yet, he would always think. He continued his roundabout way of thinking as he made his way to the gates of the city, looking to figure out what all Lyera was about
It didn't take him long at all.
There, arms crossed, staring up toward the magnanimous statue dedicated to Alleria, stood the last person in all of Azeroth that Colin would have expected. Even after a year, Kyra Shadowmoon looked no different as her still eyes stared up at the stone monument. Colin had been held still by his surprise, but as he took another step forward, her ears perked and she turned to see him, the two meeting at their eyes.
"Colin," Kyra spoke, affirmatively, as the most natural of smiles popped onto her face.
Far more confronted with shock, Colin was much slower to the punch, but ultimately smiled as well, "Kyra."
The two approached other, coming together in a tight hug. It brought back a flurry of memories and feelings for Colin; some unwanted and others he had desperately missed. Having another person, in general, who had their arms wrapped around him was something he hadn't ever had here in Stormwind.
"Why are you here?" Colin finally asked, immediately seeking answers.
"Nice to see you too!" Kyra smirked as the two pulled away from one another, "But to answer your question, I'm just stopping by to see you. It's been a while."
Unable to turn away from a gift horse, Colin retorted quickly, "Stormwind is quite a ways away for a Silverwing to just be "stopping by", isn't it? Not to say I hate to see you here, but- Wait, you are a Silverwing, right?"
Kyra grinned as the mass of questions, and was happy to oblige, "Yes, I am a Silverwing. I actually serve under Vylira, turns out. She's gotten better at not treating me like a child, but there are still times. She'll put me first in the meal order and I respectfully wait to be last; you should have seen the look on her face the first time it happened!"
She began to laugh, and Colin was absolutely mesmerized by how much more animated she was, now, verses when they'd just met. She was so much brighter, yet it only contrasted so much with her darker complexion. As though he'd forgotten everything he'd learned a year ago, Colin unknowingly stared too long at her, which elicited a grin and a sharp reply.
"Do I have something on my face?"
Colin shook free and waved his hands in denial, "N-no, nothing like that. You just… I don't know; you've just changed so much."
The emergence of a frown forced Colin to continue, hurriedly, "I-In a good way! Change isn't always bad! You're just so much more expressive is all; it's nice."
In a second, Kyra grinned in knowing, which caused Colin to sigh, disappointed, "Played right into that one, huh?"
She nodded, though smiled as she reached over to hug him again, which he again reciprocated. She pulled away and stared around at the massive stone walls around her, in awe of their majesty.
"Well, I could show you around for once," Colin smiled, "Though if you're expecting some insights into most of the city, I'm afraid that a job for the tourism center; I mainly specialize in the small hovel I call a home in Old Town, and the park."
He shrugged, "We can't all have military escorts, eh?"
Kyra smiled, "Then we'll just go around together! I've never been to such a massive city before; at least not one so chaotic. Darnassus is very demure compared to here."
Colin nodded as the two began to walk, "Very true. Now keep an eye out for horses or carriages; most transportation here has no sanctity for the lives of any other creature."
"You do know who you're talking to, correct?"
"I don't question your ability," Colin grinned, "But the level of awe you may be experiencing."
The two made their way into the trade district, though Colin thought well enough to take some of the back roads. Kyra was shocked at the sheer number of bodies attempting to occupy a single space. Between the auction house and the bank, this crossroads upon entering the city was a madhouse on even the best of days.
The two emerged from an alley way onto the one of the canal paths, between the trade district and Old Town. As Kyra was mesmerized by how peaceful it now seemed in comparison to earlier, Colin carefully stood onto one of the barriers on either side of the bridges, taking a seat and dangling his legs off over the water. Kyra joined him, though she was busy staring up at the magnificent splendor of buildings off toward the cathedral ward, still showing through the smoke coming from the dwarves to its east.
"Not that I don't like it," Kyra began, "But I do certainly prefer home. Darnassus is so much more peaceful; how does anybody get by here?"
Colin chuckled, "I haven't quite figured that out myself, but I've gotten this far. I mostly do various jobs for people. That shop over there, I carried hides from the docks to the storefront. And over there, I tested enchants to see if they worked."
He shrugged, "I can definitely understand Darnassus' appeal, of course."
As the two sat there, the same group of kids from earlier rounded the corner, immediately noticing Colin, alongside another person, and instantly began snickering to themselves.
"Woah! Zandalari Man's got a new creep with 'em!"
One of the girls cackled, "I bet he's planning on some elf stew this weekend!"
Kyra shot a rather sinister stare at the kids, but Colin might as well have not heard them as he pointed off into the distance, "Oh, over there is where you can store anything in the void. I've never used it, but I know some people have lost quite a few important items to the Nether."
He turned to Kyra, who was still rather heated, "Are you alright?"
"Am I alright?!" she shouted, "Those kids just walked by and made fun of you!"
Colin nodded, knowingly, "Oh, that."
He shrugged, looking off across the canals, "Well, it's difficult to fit in here unless you kind of started here, at least in Old Town. So when I came here from Theramore, I was a bit too old to make friends. That's one reason why I started traveling, although that only escalated the teasing once they found out I had been "in bed" with some troll tribes or whatever."
Colin didn't seem to be at all bothered, or heated, by the story he told; only shrugging or grinning amusedly, "I mean, if they weren't making fun of me, they'd find somebody else. At least with me, I know I can bear it; that other person may not be able to."
Kyra's face turn from angry to rather sorrowful as she listened, though more that Colin seemed to be bearing the brunt of all this for more gallant of a reason that she'd expected. She thought, for only a second of course, that he might have just been far too oblivious to know.
"Besides, it's Old Town," Colin smirked, "They wouldn't know a moonkin from an owlkin if you had them take a two year course on the subject."
Kyra sighed, lowering her head, "You're so helpless."
Colin smiled as he turned to her, "Must be why I enjoy traveling so much, or at least being around other people. It hardly bothers me, though; I didn't even notice those kids talking!"
He could tell that she wasn't convinced, so he stood up, hoping to change the subject, "Hey, want to head on to my place? Do you need some rest? You didn't come by the docks, I suppose, so you came from Stranglethorn?"
Kyra nodded as she stood herself, following along as the two began walking, "Yes. I figured it would be a good chance to survey the Barrens on the way to Ratchet City. I was a bit upset that the Horde haven't been doing much in the way of advancing into Ashenvale, but Vylira said it would make for a good chance to get me here."
"Ah," Colin nodded, glibly, "So this was more so her doing. I suppose that makes sense."
"In a manner of speaking, yes, she sent me along, but please don't think I didn't want to come here," Kyra confirmed, "As much as people may think I want to spend the next few thousand years holed up in Ashenvale, you know, there are places I'd like to visit. If you've taught me anything, it's to keep connections close."
She pulled out her sword, and Colin quickly recognized it as the sword Ovuun had struck for her, "Your friend stopped by on his way out and offered to true it up for me. It's been surprisingly sturdy; he must have used some of that silverbark in it."
Kyra smirked, winking at Colin, "Plus it helped me win some respect the first few days I was a Sentry."
Colin shrugged, "I saw him in Ironforge and he didn't even mention that. Huh."
He thought for a moment, though it only opened up an innocent, yet serious, question from Kyra, "Why were you in Ironforge?"
To that, Colin gave a sharp pause, though he managed to continue walking, despite Kyra easily noticing something was odd about his reaction. He brought his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, as though in thought, and managed a response.
"Just to see an old friend," he muttered aloud, carefully.
Kyra eyed him skeptically, but as Colin kept walking on, he couldn't tell. He had thought the answer had sufficed, but with enough of a pause, he turned to her, knowing he had made a misstep.
"Oh, it's not a woman or anything," he explained, waving a hand, "I just needed help with some research. for one of my jobs around here."
Still recognizing the difficult stare, Colin went on, "It was just a tram ride away; it's not as though I moved mountains to get there, or jumped from one star to ano-"
He paused again, this time actually stopping in the middle of the old pathway. This entire time, it had felt like two best friends coming to meet one another again after so much time apart. Instantly, though, Colin came to remember everything that had sat deeper within those emotions. He immediately remembered the distant feeling of lips against his own, and his face nearly burned at the thought.
"Oh," he spoke up, shakily, "You were jea-"
Now interrupted, Kyra snapped back, "Don't even say it!"
He felt she was being rather brash, but as he peeked up at her, he could tell her face was blushing about as much as his was. Oddly enough, that fact calmed him somewhat, and he continued walking on, only through his ears knowing that Kyra was continuing along as well.
"So, uh, there's Mrs. Gribbs," Colin stammered as the two rounded a corner, "She's my landlady."
As though confused by the concept, Kyra stared at the old woman inquisitively as Mrs. Gribbs banged a small rug against the side of her house, which sat above Colin's hovel. Letting loose a few obscenities as she did so, Colin sighed as he approached her.
"Mrs. Gribbs, you can wash it off if you need to; this will never get all the dirt off."
The old woman paused what she was doing, staring at Colin, begrudgingly, "I bet you think ye' know how to run ev'rything, don'cha, boy?"
Sighing again, Colin gently took the rug, which the woman easily let go of, "I'll take it down to the lake and was it for you."
He seemed less than thrilled, but he also was quite used to this. Not that Mrs. Gribbs was a bad person; she just knew that Colin was quite the time to be used, which might explain why she had his rent so low so as to keep him there.
"And who's ye' friend?" she asked, suddenly putting on a friendly face as she noticed Kyra.
Colin turned and motioned toward his companion, "Oh, this is Kyra. I've already told her plenty about you."
Kyra stretched out her hand and Mrs. Gribbs took it, almost giggling like a schoolgirl as they shook hands, pulling away excitedly, "Oh, I've never touched a night elf before! Yer so warm!"
Kyra lowered her head, embarrassed, "Oh, uh, thank you, madam."
"Madam?!" Mrs. Gribbs cackled enjoyably, "Dear, leave that to th' higher folks. Speaking of, Colin, didja get yerself that invite to th' ball tonight?"
Colin nodded, pulling out a slip of paper from his robes, "Actually, yes. Not bad for a week's worth of work, if I may say so."
The elderly woman was still rather sort as she shot her arms at Colin's hand, though he was quicker to pull it into the air, "I beg your pardon."
Gribbs shot a stare that instantly became a large smile as she held her hands together, as if in prayer, "I-I… It's just, I figured that, ya know, since I'd been so good t' ya 'n all…"
Colin watched her pithily, shrugging as he returned the pamphlet to his pocket, "I'll see about it. I was hoping to trade it for some supplies after all."
"It.. It is the hottest ticket in town," Gribbs snickered, still wearing the smile of a hyena.
Colin began walking over toward the door to his hovel, with Kyra following behind, rather confused herself, leaving the old woman to drop her act behind them, staring coldly as they departed. She slowly limped up to her door, as if to inspire some sort of sympathy.
The door to Colin's home sat beneath the ground, as it led to, essentially, Mrs. Gribbs' basement. It had been renovated to include a bedroom and bathroom along with the living area, though it was still something of a lowly residence. Colin carefully entered the small abode and held the door open for Kyra, who had followed him in with a look of awe on her face.
"Sorry for the mess," Colin confessed, "I wasn't expecting company after all."
Sure enough, there were books, papers, and various assortments of tools and equipment from many different tasks Colin had done for work. He didn't exactly enjoy living in such a mess, but it had been a particularly busy week, and he sometimes one opened his door simply to toss in a shovel or tome when finished with one job and before heading to the next.
While it was nothing of importance to him, Kyra walked around in admiration, slowly stepping over whatever had been in her way, examining all that she could.
"I think it's wonderful," she opened as she looked out of the only window in the place; a small, wide pane that showed out just above the cobblestone street, "I've never had my own place. After living with so many siblings, I immediately went to living in barracks with so many others. This seems amazing. Cozy, even."
Colin shrugged, "I suppose. I mean, it allows me to get by, but I guess I'd prefer this over living with twenty other people."
He laughed as he cleared off the chairs that sat on either end of the table, "I always felt more comfortable living out in the world. Vylira mentioned Sentinels sleeping alongside their nightsabers; I kind of regret not getting the chance to do that myself."
Kyra took a seat as Colin had while he organized the piles of papers and books that sat upon his table, her eyes carefully watching his hands as they moved, "I wouldn't say it's much to write home about. Not that I don't love Eraenara, she's my faithful companion, but still, after a few hundred years of sleeping outdoors, you'd get sick of it too."
"If you say so," Colin grinned, "Sorry about Mrs. Gribbs by the way; she's… Well, she's one if a kind, let's say that. She's not always so, uh, 'forthcoming'."
"Yes, she seemed very interested in what you have there," Kyra noted, obviously curious of what it was.
Colin nodded, "Well, I spent a week in the basement of one of those taverns in the Mage Quarter, picking up demon runes. It wasn't so much tedious as it was dangerous; I mean, one mistake and I could have been teleported to Outland for all I know."
He unfolded the slip of paper he had pulled from his pocket, laying it on the table, "There's some big event in the castle to celebrate Anduin's birthday or something. I'm not entirely sure; I was planning to sell it under the table to someone, honestly. I'm not exactly one for big gatherings."
Kyra examined the invitation, surprised by how elegant it appeared, "Wow, and you actually get to meet the King?"
"And other dignitaries, yeah," Colin nodded, straightening up another stack of papers, "Anduin prefers to double such occasions as sort of memorials to his late father, so we'll usually get all sorts of envoys from everywhere. I believe one year, Thrall and Vol'jin both were in attendance, actually."
Kyra's eyes widened in surprise, not coming unglued from the paper. Colin continued organizing, but look up just long enough to notice her stare. Now his eyes were locked onto her face, his lips contorting in some neutral displeasure. Such an invitation would be worth enough gold to buy multiple houses, if sold to the right seller; though such a price tag may come with some jail time if sold to the wrong buyer. Colin had already had a buyer in mind that he'd known through a friend in one of the dwarven bars uptown.
Slyly, he spoke up again, "At the bottom there, it says it admits two."
Kyra's eyes immediately flickered up to meet his as he grinned gloomy, "I mean, I was just thinking of selling it. Seeing as how you're here, it's the least I can offer after not seeing each other for a year."
"Wait, seriously?!" she questioned, just now understanding what he was saying.
Colin shrugged, his grin becoming more bright, "Why not? Nobody here knows any better; we'll just say you're some Night Elf princess from Feralas or something."
Kyra blushed, but lowered her head to hide her disappointment, knowing Feralas elves were much more "loose" than she would ever have expected of herself, but knew Colin was unaware of this. She went down the paper again before laying it out on the table.
"You really don't mind?"
Shrugging again, Colin answered, "Hey, it means a lot to have beautiful women hanging from your arm. I may not enjoy gatherings, but I do like that."
He politely looked down at the table as he chuckled, not viewing the red-faced woman across from him, "It is tonight, though, so if you want to go, I guess we should at least get some things to be presentable."
He stood up and went toward the door as Kyra followed, "I know a good tailor who seems to know how to make anything, as long as you provide materials, of course."
Kyra nervously rubbed her arm, "Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to go it alone and meet you there tonight…"
Colin watched her carefully, confused as to why she was so much more nervous and embarrassed than the last time the two had been together. He didn't want to pry too much, assuming she just wanted to make an appearance; he knew this may have been the first time she had attended any sort of function such as this.
"I guess," Colin nodded, "You can get around alright?"
Kyra smirked, "You do know who you're talking to, right?"
Colin grinned sarcastically as Kyra winked at him, "And yes, I'll watch for runaway carts, of course."
"Laugh now, Silverwing," Colin smiled amusedly, "Laugh now."