Calm Before the Storm

By Raya Hinato (originally a forum RP)
Warcraft belongs to Blizzard entertainment and we in no way profit from its use in this work of fiction.
For artwork on the characters of this work please visit my profile for a link to my deviantart page.
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"My Lord Morgraine," The Sin'dorei said from his position currently kneeling before the commander of the Knights of the Ebon Blade, "the task is done. The Lich King has been slain, his accursed blade shattered."
Darion looked into his soldier's frosted eyes, and showed what someone might have mistaken for the emotion of happiness.

"You have done well, my knight. I only wish I could have joined you in the battle." He laid a hand on the blonde male's shoulder, "With our former 'master' defeated, we can begin to forge our own paths. Tell me, what do you have planned for the future, Tel'masian?"
Kaliek looked up at the Lord of Ebon Hold with a slight grin on his face, "Well, there was a certain paladin..."

Darion cocked an eyebrow at him, "You cannot be serious. Are you actually going to go back to your old Paladin ways and help train new recruits? They are our polar opposites; the Light has turned its back on you. Why do you still seek to spread it?"
"I am serious." Kaliek told his commander. "The message of the Light is more important than the actual command of it. This one has potential within her to do much good for this world..."

Darion let out a large sigh, "So be it. You are relieved of your rank, and are free from service. You may do as you wish, you have earned that much."
Giving human Death Knight a salute, the Sin'dorei rose to his feet "Thank you, my Lord. I shall ever be at your command, should you require my services once more."
Free from his commitment to the Ebon Blade, Kaliek made his way to the Flight Master within Ebon Hold. "Now...let's go see what my little apprentice has been up to..."

Valkyrae stood perfectly still, only her frosted breath gave way to the fact she was a living creature. The metal plate covering her body didn't help in the rapidly dropping temperature. Despite the black blindfold plunging her into darkness she could tell it was still barely light. The hour of twilight was fast approaching; soon it would be pitch even without the cloth. Her ears flicked suddenly catching on the faintest of shuffling.

"You are an instrument of the Light. When you open yourself to it, it shall move you in ways you never thought possible."
Her Master's words still rang in her head. The purpose of this was not only train reflexes of other senses but to do so in a way that the left an opening for the Light. She had to trust not only in her skills but that the Light would always protect her. Hard for one who had grown up on the street depending on no one but herself.

She could hear more now. The shuffle threw the underbrush, faint guttural growls of those long dead. The remnants of the scourge were hungry for slaughter. A faintest glow surrounded her form unbeknown to the young Paladin. Shifting her position she readied herself for the attack.

"May the Light redeem those that are lost in the darkness..." she murmured the prayer litanies under her breath finding comfort in the sacred words. She hadn't forgotten that once these monsters were people, good loving people. Her duty was to release them from the torturous enslavement Arthas had placed on them.

One of the creatures pounced, screeching as it reached for the elven woman. The paladin spun delivering a sharp right jab to the creature's jaw. The faint glow around her form seemed to sear the decayed flesh from its grayed bones; clawing at the burning flesh, the first of the creatures backed away, whimpering like a dog. The others looked on dispassionately before readying their own attack.
"May the Light guide and keep your souls..."

Unbeknownst to Valkyrae, the blonde Death Knight watched her.
'Hmm...her skills have undoubtedly improved.' Kaliek thought to himself as he watched her fight off the mindless scourge, 'She definitely has the potential to become quite powerful, all she needs to do is improve her focus.'

He continued to watch as Valkyrae dispatched wave after wave of scourge soldiers.
'I wonder if she is ready for something a bit stronger,' a slow grin formed on his face.
Kaliek then put on his helmet, so as to hide his face, and jumped down from his perch on one of the withered trees.

They paused, hearing the plated crunch, both paladin and scourge, something very dangerous had entered the clearing. Valk could hear the creatures shuffle, clearly uncertain about this newcomer. Whatever it was, it's mere presence scared even them. Reaching up she slipped the blindfold off.

At first she didn't see him, his dark armor blending perfectly with the darkness looming in on them. Until he opened his eyes. The frosty glow of the Death Knight met Fel green of the Paladin.

"We are not like the Forsaken. Death Knights continuously fight the unquenchable hunger for slaughter. When we give in, does not matter who we face friend of foe, all will fall beneath our rune-blades." The look on her Master's face as he told her, so cold. If that wasn't enough all she had to do was look at the slowly stiffing corpses the littered the ground around him. They weren't merely slain, they were butchered. She silently thanked her Master's levelheadedness for choosing to clear a Den of Demons instead of a town.

'I can't take the chance of assuming he is with the Horde.'
Shifting her stance the Paladin withdrew the blade from her back before consecration the area. A not so subtle warning to the Knight.

The Death Knight slowly approached Valkyrae, unphased by the presence of her consecration.
Slowly drawing his own blade he begins to channel unholy energies to surround the red-haired paladin, preparing to Death Grip her out of her consecration.

The only warning the Knight received was the narrowing of the woman's eyes before she muttered the prayer. The pray of Hammer of Justice could be quite effective when fighting a stronger opponent; giving the less experienced Paladin the chance to under his guard.

Valk really didn't have a choice, if the knight was stunned she would have to leave the consecrated battlefield to get close enough to strike or she would be pulled away anyway.
She jumped forward, bringing her blade up to swipe the area where helmet met chest plate, her sword glowing brightly as the light surrounded it. Pivoting on foot she turned dropping down at the last minute to try and knock the Knight off balance.

The Death Knight managed to dodge Valk's attack, and let out a menacing laugh. Thrusting his sword into the air, the chill in night air became biting as he began to channel the dark energy into the ground. The corpses the paladin had already slain twitched, pulling back together but they were not alone. New ghouls clawed their way up from the forest floor.
"Kill" he said, in a voice which would chill a person to the bone, and pointed his minions towards the paladin. The undead eyed the woman, their guttural growls becoming louder as they surrounded her.

The paladin backed away slowly into the faintly glowing area. Green eyes flicked back and forth assessing the situation. One hand went to the tome hanging from her belt, whispered words barely heard over the growls of the ghouls. One of the seals faded on her armor, warm glow flooding another instead.

"Well...I don't have all Light damned night. Come on!"
The first wave pounced paying no real mind to the paladin's consecrated field, only to be blown back by her Holy wrath. One swiped at her exposed side only to be met with an exorcism spell. The rest, along with those recovered from her wrath growled, snapping their jaws as they moved in closer, watching for any clue to her next trick.

Valk let them move in slowly positioning herself. Once the beasts were close enough for her to smell their fetid breath did she allow herself the faintest smile. The glow around her sword intensified before she spun unleashing the divine storm.

The Death Knight watched dispassionately as the paladin slaughtered his minions.
'She has certainly grown stronger...' He thought to himself, 'Time to really test her.'
"Impressive work, paladin. You managed to destroy mindless rotting carcasses. You should feel so proud of yourself." He said, mockingly clapping his hands for her.

"Now for a true challenge..."
The moisture trapped under the canopy of trees started to solidify becoming snow. The white flakes distracted her enough from noticing what was under her.

Valk gasped as the cold chains wrapped around her, effectively imprisoning her in place. She shifted as much as she could, trying to break free. She paused for the briefest of seconds looking up at the knight, her face a clear reflection of the stubborn redhead. The faint glow surrounding the paladin took on a reddish hue.

A once experienced Paladin like Kaliek would be able to tell the sign of Hand of Freedom. A very clever and at this point very useful trick when getting out of a bind. The moment the chains broke she ran headlong at him, only to change momentum before she got within striking distance. Pivoting she tried to get to his side throwing a Judgment at the lesser reinforced armor.

The holy energy hit the Death Knight, causing him to stumble back a few steps.
"Clever girl..." he growled. Secretly, he had hoped she would figure out to use her Hand of Freedom to break her from the binding chains. Now he will have to test her in another aspect...
"Let us see how you can handle this!"
The Death Knight then launched an Outbreak attack at the paladin, a putrid cloud of filth and disease making its way towards the woman, in an attempt to inflict her.

Valk threw up an arm, trying to shield herself from some of the blast. Her body glowed brighter as the Light bestowed its Divine protection. Despite her bracing the Paladin was still blown back a few feet by the hit. While the Light had blocked some of the damaging diseases, not all failed to hit their mark. She could feel the burning inside her as the Blood Plague worked its way through her system; letting out a bloody cough she tried to regain her composure.

She faltered, her head swimming, limbs feeling like lead weights.
'FOCUS!' she berated herself. Summoning the aura inward she imagined the warm glow of the light cleansing the foreign diseases from her frame, though they had already done considerable damage.
Once finished she looked over the dark plated Knight. This was no scourge lackey. No, that hit was far too strong for just some grunt. This was one of the more powerful beings, a Lieutenant of their dark Knighthood at the very least.

'Impressive,' He thought to himself. 'She managed to shield herself from the majority of the attack and cleanse herself of the rest.'
"Time to up the ante..." he whispered.
He held his sword up and rushed at the paladin, attempting to attack her head on. He needed to test her against the full force of a frontal assault.

Valk had to admit...her Master may have rubbed off on her a bit. ...More then a bit. The hot headed woman was actually starting to enjoy the back and forth power struggle. But she knew that the fight had to end sooner rather than later, the Knights undead body could go for far longer without tiring whilst her mortal body was starting to ache.

'He's much larger then I and could probably overpower me.' she braced herself for his onslaught, bringing her blade up to parry. At the last minute she maneuvered to twist out of the way, hopefully letting the Knight's momentum propel him past her. Her hand snaked out where she had hit before, the glowing gauntlet ready to give him a nice jolt of exorcism.

"It won't be that easy, Paladin!" the Death Knight yelled. Then in a flash he surrounded himself with the green glow of his Anti Magic Shell to absorb the magical energies of the Exorcism. His shell shattered with the holy blast, absorbing most of the Light. Countering her magical attack, he swung his sword and connected it with hers.
"You are quite skillful! But you won't last much longer. I can already see you are beginning to tire!"

"Maybe but I have enough strength left to deliver your soul where it belongs." She growled. Valk could feel her footing giving way as her opponent pushed her back. This struggling match was only tiring her more. Time for a little more Valk flare.
Lowering her center of gravity she waited for the opportunity to strike.
'NOW!' she dropped one shoulder letting her blade angle away as she stepped to the side. She brought her elbow across, attempting to smash into his helm; however the Death Knight quickly recovered his balance, avoiding getting hit by the "surprise" attack. After their time together he had come to recognize her usual street brawling tactics, predicting her had been easy. Raising his hand up toward the paladin, he unleashed the dark purple energy, watching as it encircled her throat pulling tight.
"This fight is over, you cannot win..." he growled.

Valk gasped for what little breath she could muster, the incorporeal hands cutting of her airways. She could feel the burning in her chest as her lungs demanded oxygen.
Her sword slipped from numb fingers as she too fell to her knees. Defiant eyes glared up at the Knight, such a stubborn girl. Even as life slowly slipped from her she still resisted in some small way.

Watching as the paladin began to loose consciousness the Death Knight suddenly released her from his grasp.
"You have grown, but still have much to learn." He said, as the blonde male removed his helmet, his voice not quite the chilling sound it was earlier, "You could have escaped that attack with a Divine Shield. I'm sorry I had to put you through that, but if you had known it was me you would have held back in your attacks, even if it was on a subconscious level. I had to make sure it was as real as it could be."

Kal sat next to her, as she lay on the ground panting. Valk coughed a few times, before taking great lung fulls of air. Sweet, fresh, Light blessed air. Her hands shook slightly as her body recovered from its near suffocation. The paladin kept her head bowed, letting her scarlet hair hide her face.

"Here." He offered her a flask of water, "Drink, it will help you to recover. You really did do well back there, but killing the low ranked troopers of the scourge does not account for much. Most of them are reanimated once more. It is the higher ranked ones like the generals that you need learn to best."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "When you reach Northrend, you will face many Death Knights, with abilities similar to my own. They will still be loyal to the Scourge, and will not hold back like I did. You need to improve more if you are to survive there."

Swiping the canteen from his grasp she took tentative sips letting the cool water wash away some of the ache. Pausing a moment, she calmly screwed the lid back on, setting it aside…..right before she sharply turned swinging her right fist at him. Kaliek made no effort to dodge the swing, taking it right to the face.
"Next time you want to teach me a lesson, you don't have to actually make me see my ancestors to prove it! Go track down a rabbit if you are feeling sadistic Kaliek." she croaked.

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, but it needed to be done. You had to know what you will face in your future. This had nothing to do with my 'addiction'." He brushed Valk's scarlet hair away from her face, tucking it behind a slender ear. "You have great potential, Valkyrae; you just need to learn how to tap into it."
Sighing, he stood. "I would never do anything that would actually put your life in danger. Not once was there any actual threat of you dying, be it by me or the other undead you have been fighting. I do my best to look after, and watch over, you. Someday, however, I may no longer be here to do that. You need to learn to fend for yourself."

With the hit Valk had made her peace with her Master. She'd never been one to hold grudges after making her point. Useless to stir up old feelings, especially her bruised pride. Taking another swig from the canteen she rolled her shoulder relieving some of the tension that had knotted there.
"I know why you did it. But I also know we all got to go sometime, whether it's your training or some dirt elf, I don't really care. Though..."
She trailed off a second looking her reflection in the scarred metal of the container.
"I would think it would be lonely for you, your kind. Unless someone actually kills you, you could in theory live an abnormally long life. Everyone you knew would be gone and you would still be here."

Valk studied the male's back for any sign of his reaction, but as usual reading Kaliek was like trying to read draconic. Just wasn't going to happen. It was about then her stomach decided to intervene. While the Death Knight didn't need food per say his little apprentice did. Grinning sheepishly up at him she took the offered hand letting him help her up.
"Any chance of an Inn tonight? No offense to our camp and all, but bathing in the river...with ghouls...and Light only knows what else if not fun after day 5."

Kaliek let a slight grin spread across his face.
"Sure. There is a small town not too far from here, I'm sure there will be an inn there that we can stay at."
He studied her for a moment, a look of concern on his face, before regaining his composure. "I try not to think about how long I will 'live' for. The thought of watching everyone that I get close to age while I stay the same...it is something I shall have to deal with when the time arises. For now we have more important matters to handle."

He then let out a sharp whistle calling his trusty death charger, Bloodbane. Mounting on its back he took out his map, studying it. "If we go south for about an hour or two, we should reach the town. I'm actually looking forward to a hot meal." He didn't need to eat, in all honesty. However, the death knight still enjoyed the feel and taste of foods once and a while, albeit dulled due to his sense of taste not being quite what it used to be.

Valk rolled her eyes as she mounted her own charger. Only Master Kal would call an hour of travel threw underbrush and darkness 'not to far.'
"Hearty stew, fresh baked bread and dare I hope some Dalaran Sharp cheese." Now that she was older, out of the streets of Silvermoon, Valk may have developed a taste for better foods...just a bit...
"Then I can finally get out of this plate...I think that hit I took last week dented the back plate. It's becoming harder to pivot to the left. Does the map say if they have a blacksmith? Maybe he will let me hammer it out."
Valk kept up her one sided chatter nearly the whole way there, sometimes talking others humming songs she picked up from the inns. She had grown used to the Death Knight's monosyllabic responses and paid his behavior no mind.

As they drew closer to the town, Kaliek took a good look at it.
"Seems like they do have a Blacksmith," he pointed to a large stone and mortar building with smoke billowing out of it, "Go on and get your armor fixed up. I will go to the Inn and see about securing us somewhere to stay."

As Kaliek walked to the Inn, he noticed people staring at him. The death knight had grown used to the strange looks people would give him when he went to these smaller towns. They were still unused to seeing former servants of the Lich King walking amongst them. As he walked by a few houses, the residents would run inside and close their doors, locking with an audible click.

Entering the Inn, he looked around and sized it up. 'Seems like a rather nice place,' he thought to himself, walking up to the Inn keeper, who was visibly nervous with Kaliek's presence.
"Greetings, Innkeeper. My companion and I would like to rent some of your rooms for the night. Do you happen to have anything available?" Kaliek asked him.

"J..j...just one room...10 gold per n...night." the Innkeeper said, stuttering.

"I see.." Kaliek fiddled with his sack and pulled out a small pouch of gold, "Here, take 50 gold for your troubles. Please, relax. I mean no harm to you or the people of this town. I understand that we Death Knights were formerly with the Lich King, but remember that ones like myself were also loyal soldiers of the Horde. Now, my companion is a young Blood Elf with fiery red hair. If you see her, would you please direct her to the room?"

After FINALLY convincing the Orc she was serious Valk arranged to come back in the morning before the day's work started.
'Stupid Orc thinks just because I'm an Elf I apparently can't handle hot metal. My people were crafting the best mail when his were in loin cloths!'
She marched her way to the inn, stiff backed, green eyes narrowed. Just wasn't ending up her day. Slender ears twitched picking up the hushed whispers of the townsfolk. They were all discussing 'evil' that had come riding, other speculated things that made even her blush. The paladin had to inwardly sigh, Master Kal was pretty rough on the surface but he wasn't what these people whispered. But it would take many years for the people to gain enough trust to actually give her master a chance.

Once inside the Inn the keeper immediately saw her to her room. The sweating man looked like was going to have a panic attack at the sight of his own shadow.
'Yo...your c..companion already had a bbath drawn up for you miss. It's a..It's a w..w..."
Valk just merely nodded brushing past him into her room. She really didn't have the energy to deal with the innkeeper. Not when a hot bath waited!

She barely spared a glance to the rest of the room as she made her way to the alcove housing the wash tub; throwing her pack somewhere near the bed.
"Thank the Light! I must have three layers of dust on me."
Twisting with practiced ease she unlatched the plate setting each piece in order. Those needing repaired were off to the side waiting for tomorrow.

Sighing she sank into the warm water letting it ease her tired body as she lazily washed the grime out of her scarlet hair.
'I wonder if Master Kal got the chargers stables ok?'
Sometimes the otherworldly death charger tended to make the other mounts nervous. If the stable wasn't big enough to put Blood away from the rest they could be in for a long night of neighing horses. And knowing Blood he would nip at the others just for amusement.

'Or if the villagers are still out there staring at him.' Her face flushed remembering the words of some of the more brazen villagers. Master Kal was fairly handsome but she was just his apprentice nothing more. All he saw her as was a paladin with some potential nothing more, and he was just the man who took her off the streets. Just gratitude right?

Shaking her head the paladin stood, the water had grown cold some time ago. She should get dressed and see if her Master had eaten yet. Throwing the towel left for her over her head she tried to get the excess water out of her ear. Growling she realized in her haste she had left her civilian clothes in her pack.

Navigating the piles of metal she rounded the corner to the main room only to bump into a very hard wall...or in her case, chest. Pulling the towel back she slowly looked up, blush spreading across her face, only to meet the glowing icy blue she had grown used to.
"Uhh Master Kal...wha..what are you doing in my room?"

For a moment Kaliek simply stared at the elf before him, she was more beautiful than he had previously thought. He quickly regained his senses and turned around to offer her some privacy.
"I'm sorry to just walk in like that. There was only one room available, we are going to have to share. You can have the bed, I'm fine sleeping on the chair, what little sleep I'll require anyway." he said, sounding slightly shaken. "I had to go make sure Blood would play nice with the other horses, he seems to be willing to behave for the night."
It was at this moment he realized that the still naked woman would need some privacy to get dressed.

"Umm...I'll go down and get us something to eat."

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Letting out a sigh of relief he realized that he did, indeed, feel something for this elf. She reminded him so much of the woman he had married in his former life, and was easily one of the most beautiful he had ever met.
Taking a moment to regain his composure the male went downstairs to see what he could get them for dinner.

"Wonder what is up with him?" Valk mused throwing the towel back into the alcove. Sin'dorei weren't known for their modesty. They were a people fascinated with flesh and proud to show it off.
Shaking her robe out, she held it up. The only thing she could afford on her modest salary of monster bounties. Despite its low cut the dress would be considered modest in Silvermoon. She shrugged, pulling the soft material over her head. Might as well hurry and get downstairs before the rest of the patrons got the best grub.

Wasn't hard to find her Master...considering the rest of the patrons were sitting as far away from him as possible.
"Tough crowd tonight eh?" she asked sliding into a chair across from him. The smaller outlying towns always were a bit slow of the socialization. Eyeing her master for a moment, the redhead leaned over the table to place a hand on his forehead.
"Are you feeling alright Master Kal? You are acting strangely."

She really couldn't tell what odd would be for someone in his condition. To her he just felt cool. Pulling back she shook her head, not like she could heal him anyway if he did somehow get ill.
"What did you end up getting? For dinner I mean."

He looked up at Valk for a moment, before replying.

"I got some Kodo Steaks. I felt like something red and juicy..." He said, pointing at his plate. "I guess some good comes from being with someone like me, we get to eat in peace." He looked around the room at all of the frightened patrons.

"Well if they don't want to be friendly it's their loss." She quipped narrowing her eyes out at some of the onlookers.

"Oh, and I tipped the cook generously to prepare you something special. He said it may take a little bit, but it should be worthwhile."

Looking into her eyes he once again found himself thinking about that moment up in the bedroom. Did she realize that he was developing feelings for her? He cleared his throat to regain his self-control.

"So, how did things go with the blacksmith? Well I hope...these Orcs can be a bit hard to work with, but they are top notch metal workers. They just have no clue about the aesthetics of things." He chuckled a bit. "Quality over fashion, I suppose."

Valk snorted, tossing her still damp hair over her shoulder.
"I ain't letting that brute touch my armor. I didn't spend weeks forging it for him to ruin it. I managed to persuade him to let me come by tomorrow morning and work it myself."
Despite being better with gems Valk learned fairly early on their time together that she wasn't half bad blacksmith. She had nearly begged Master Kal's ear off asking to see his collection of plans. Her stuff was still pretty simplistic but functional versions of his original designs. She only had to edit them slightly to accommodate her slighter form.

She paused catching a whiff of something delicious. Sitting straighter the redhead waited for the bar maid to place the plates. She blinked looking over the fair.
"Master Kal...how did you...they shouldn't even have this stuff..."
A small cup of lobster stew sat to the side, looking rich and creamy along with a plate spicy talbuk with stewed vegetables and last but not least, a nice warm mug of spiced apple cider.

Valk had never heard of the drink past the Winterveil festival and talbuk were only native to Nagrand. How in the world did he manage to pull this out of his hat.
"Th..thank you Master Kal!" She sat astonished just staring at her meal.

Kal merely smiled as he watched her enjoy her meal. He knew she deserved it; the girl worked really hard these last few weeks and has earned this respite.
"It's no big deal, really. All I had to do was toss some gold their way. The cook, oddly enough, wasn't afraid of me at all. I guess he has met some of my kind before." He smirked a bit. "If you would like, I will assist you with your armor repairs. It may speed things up in the morning..."

He sat back in his chair, relaxing for the first time in what felt like years, and just stared at her. She was still so innocent, even after everything she has been through. She had a resolve that not many else had.
"Please, enjoy the meal. You have earned it. I'm going to go ahead and take care of a few things, before heading to the room for the night. Don't worry; no one is going to get hurt." He laughed.

"Make sure you rest up tonight, tomorrow we set out for some more training. We need to prepare you for your journey to Northrend." With that he stood up and headed out the door. He seemed to be fiddling with something in his hands...

"Try to go easy on them. They are mostly farmers after all." she said popping a bite of the dinner in her mouth. Didn't usually matter if Kal wasn't looking for a fight, one always seemed to find him. Foolhardy kids and adventurers wanting to destroy anything with the scourge taint.

Finished with her meal she sat for a few moments enjoying the full feeling. On the road they primarily ate dried meats, maybe some bread if they could find some. Having the fresh meal was a delightful treat. So maybe this day hadn't been so bad...that is until she felt the arm slide around her shoulder. She only had one problem with Argent territory. Neutral EVERYTHING; which meant this foolish human thought he could get away with the slight.
She couldn't understand all of what he said, she hadn't been socialized to common when her people were still allied with them but she caught a few words. Seems the humans still believed her people were of the lose variety.
'Oh Master Kal is going rip me a new one for this...but then again the human DID ask for it...'

Valk brushed her hand across her shoulder as if getting the perceived dirt from the human off. She had to admit, she was proud of herself letting the man go after a few good hits. Maybe the lesser creature would learn to have some manners.
'Ironic...Master Kal promises to stay out of trouble and here I am getting into the fist fight. I think it's time for me to go bed before I get into anymore shit.'
Blowing her bangs out of her face she climbed into bed, blowing out the candle. Her master wouldn't need the light anyway to see in the darkened room.

Hugging a pillow to her the paladin triedto get some sleep. There had been times when she had watched her Master sleep. Honestly it was the only time she COULD read his face. He would furrow his brow slightly, frown tugging at his lips as he fitfully relived something. What that was she couldn't say. But she had always pulled her blanket closer, cuddling up against him. The warmth always seemed a bit soothing to him as his fitful tossing would cease.

That was precisely Valk's problem this night. The blankets nearly kicked off the bed, one pillow thrown only Light knows where and in the middle of the mayhem lay the curled up girl still clutching the other pillow.

Kal silently slipped into the bedroom, as to not disturb Valk in her sleep.
The death knight saw her sprawled out on the bed, covers hardly even on her; he pulled them back over her, so that she would be warm...at least until she kicked them off again.

Taking his plate armor off, Kal took his seat in the chair next to the bed. It was fairly comfortable, actually. The upholstery was fairly soft, and he found himself able to relax in it. He sat unnaturally still for a few moments before he pulled what looked to be a small sliver of metal from inside his shirt. For the briefest of moments, he could have sworn he saw it glow...no that was impossible. This shard was rendered inert and no longer carried its formerly dark taint. Slipping the shard back into the small container on his necklace he allowed himself to drift off to sleep...however full of nightmares it would be.

Valk didn't know how long she had been asleep when she jerked awake. The blankets had been kicked off sometime again, leaving her shivering from more then just the nightmares. She looked around the darkened room, seeming to visibly relax when she saw the sleeping death knight.

'He's sleeping without a blanket again.' She had to shake her head. It was getting to be the winter season and the air had a frosty bite to it. Yet still her master was slept without even the protection of a long shirt.

As quietly as the paladin could muster, she climbed off the bed swiping the blanket off the floor. She paused about to spread it over him when she realized.
'What use is a blanket when your body produces no warmth? Stupid Innkeeper not even bringing two.'
Either way one of them was going end up cold.

Her shoulder sagged as she looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Green eyes seemed to be riddling something out.
'Fuck it. Do it before you lose your nerve.'
She wasn't even sure herself where the hair brained idea came from. Maybe her tired brain was just being stupid but the paladin sighed lowering herself onto his lap, throwing the blanket around them both as she eased her head on his cool shoulder. Checking to see if she had awoken him she settled in to go back to sleep.
'Well at least this way we will both be warm..'