Laruna plucked the stone from the Dwarf's hands and fiddled with it until it started to glow a bright green. The glow grew and expanded, covering Laruna's hands, "Quickly, touch it!" Laruna said. Degnim and Valeena darted forwards and placed their hands on the stone. A second later, they stood in a completely different place. The teleport had been instantaneous, and unlike mage teleports and portals, there wasn't any sickness or surprise bowel movement to follow the change.
Luckily, the corridor they arrived in was clear. Another downside of teleports was the chance of teleporting inside a wall or even another person, and so only trained mages were taught the art,
"Right, one o' you get me a chair and order me some room service; it's gunna be a long night and I need a good place to park me arse and some good food… maybe a beer or five." Degnim said, removing his hand from the stone.
"There's a spare chair in my room, I'll be back in a minute." Valeena replied, darting into her room and returning with a tall, polished wooden chair.
"You havin' a joke? I'd look downright silly if I 'ad to sit on that thing." Degnim cried.
"It's that or the floor, Deggy." Laruna replied, giggling.
"Don't start again with that 'Deggy' malarkey. It was weeks before that nickname wore off. It hung around like a particularly nasty ram's fart." Degnim sighed, "If it'll make ya shut up then it'll have to do, but I 'aint pleased 'bout it; not one bit." He clambered onto the seat and got comfy, wiggling around to get the best position, "Now, 'bout that room service…"
Time crawled by once Valeena was alone. She lay on her bed, hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling. Her initial thoughts about Dalaran being a safe place had been scrapped; if one person can exert that much power of the populace of a city such as Dalaran, then obviously was something was wrong.
She rose from her bed and walked over to the wardrobe at the far end of the room. Pulling the doors open, she rummaged around until she touched the cold metal of a sword hilt. Taking the sword from the wardrobe, she removed the sheath and sat the blade on her palm. Despite being untouched for a long time, the metal hadn't worn or corroded, and still reflected the light. Perhaps it was once again time take up the sword?
Whilst sheathing the sword and replacing it in the wardrobe, the clatter of chain distracted Valeena. Rattling the clothes, she soon found her old tunic. Unlike the sword, the leather could not hold up to the test of time, and was worn and in need of repair. The fur lining had matted and was no longer as soft as it used to be. Valeena put the tunic back and closed the wardrobe, casting her mind back to the memories of her travels, the people she met and the challenges she overcame. A part of her longed for those days to return, but another part liked her current life. She was carefree, in a quaint room with pretty clothes. Perhaps Laruna was right; maybe she was soft.
The next few minutes were spent pacing the room. Did she want to leave this life behind and go back to a life on the edge? She might never return; she might die a lonely lost memory out in the frozen wastes of Northrend. But was a life of luxury any better? Where was the thrill of the chase, not knowing what's around the next corner? Everything would be so… normal. Trivial.
Nothing could be decided on her own. Valeena needed a second opinion. Creeping to the door, she took one last glance out of the window, judging by the moon's position that it was around midnight, give or take about an hour. Edging the door open, she peered outside to check if Degnim was watching. He was slouched on the chair, mouth wide open and snoring, with a partially drunk flagon of mead in one of his hands and bread crumbs scattered around his beard.
Carefully, Valeena exited her room, closing the door gently behind her. Grateful for the carpeted floor, she continued towards Laruna's room, the fabric muffling the sound of her hooves. Then came her greatest challenge; gaining entry. She could knock, but it might wake up Degnim, although Laruna might not hear her whisper. It'd have to be a knock then.
Valeena rapped lightly on the door with her knuckles, glancing over her shoulder at Degnim, who remained unmoving and snoring. Nobody answered, so he knocked harder, and harder still. At one point, Degnim grunted and she thought the game was up, but luckily he didn't wake. Sighing, Valeena tried once more, raising her hand and falling forwards as the door was pulled open. A pair of blue arms caught her before she hit the ground and pulled her in,
"That was close; your face almost became a pancake." Laruna said after she'd shut the door.
"Yeah, thanks." Valeena replied from her seat on the bed, still slightly shaken.
"So, why were you sneaking around out there? Bunny wabbits don't sneak." Laruna smiled.
"I couldn't sleep…" Valeena replied. Laruna placed her hands on her hips, clearly unconvinced, "Fine, I need your advice."
Laruna raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Oh? What about? If it's the best type of lettuce for a growing bunny wabbit then I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person."
"Drop the rabbit shit, I'm being serious." Valeena barked.
Laruna laughed, "Okay, sorry; go on."
"Well, I've been thinking…" Valeena started.
"No." Laruna interjected.
"No?" Valeena asked.
"No, I will not read you a bedtime story." Laruna replied.
"Oh for the love of the light! I am being serious!" Valeena shouted, worried she might wake someone; luckily nobody came.
"Fine, fine. I'll shut up." Laruna retorted, her smile fading and her arms now folded at her abdomen.
"Thank you. Now, I've been wondering whether this life is… for me." Valeena paused to see whether Laruna would make another smart remark, which she didn't, "You seem to lead a pretty good life, having fun and all that; I want to know how you do it. No matter what I want to do I always manage to find flaws."
Laruna sat next to Valeena and sighed, "My life isn't good." She admitted. Valeena turned and stared at her with searching eyes, "You see this? This pretty little façade? It's the only thing that stops me hurling myself off this light-forsaken city; well, that and the guards." Laruna sighed again, "See, even when I'm trying to be open with someone I can't help but crack jokes. Every day I wake up and I have to convince myself that the day ahead is worth living."
Valeena looked away. She felt so guilty. Had she not lapsed and wondered... "I'm sorry; you just seem liked, you have friends and you carry yourself like you do…"
Laruna laughed, "Liked? Friends? Please. I have no job; I live in a tiny apartment with the drunken duo; what little money I have is made through bounties on petty criminals and then blown on liquor at the end of the day because it's the only way I can cope. I don't fall asleep at night; I have to knock myself out with alcohol." She sniffed and Valeena could tell that she was crying, "I carry myself like I do because it's just part of the disguise. At night in these bars, I can pretend to be successful. I can pretend that I lived the life I wanted to and I can pretend that I look forward to my life."
Laruna sniffed again, "This… this is the real me; a lonely woman who cries in front of a complete stranger over a small question. Look at me now and say that you want to be like me, that you want to live my life."
Valeena was lost for words, "I… erm…"
"Look at me! Tell me that you don't want to be this. I don't want to ruin your life by making you into a fraud." Laruna said.
Valeena glanced at her and the tears that streamed down her pale blue face, "I'd best go…" she said, and started to stand.
"No." Laruna grabbed Valeena's arm, "Please. Tell me. Don't let this weigh on my conscience."
Valeena sat back down, "I… I can't tell you that." Laruna's grip on her arm lessened, "You've sat here and told me everything; you've cried and showed me that the world still affects you, and yet you continue to put on the same mask day after day and you weather the world.
"Something like that… it'd crush me; the fact that you can do it proves to me how strong you really are. That's a strength I'd love to have. So no, I cannot say that I do not want to be like you; it's simply not true." Laruna relinquished Valeena's arm.
