Author's Note: Khadgar, Modera, Kalec, Dalaran and locations all copyright Blizzard Entertainment. Used without permission.
I was going to publish this as a separate story, but it goes with this one so I decided to just make it a chapter. I was also going to get this done before Winter Veil was over in game, but real life Christmas stuff got in the way. Whatever, it's still cold out.
Enjoy.
#
Archmage Khadgar leaned back in the plush chair in his study, opening up a tome with a flick of his wrist. He had been studying most of the day, but it was easier and less stressful than meetings and diplomacy. There was a feast with the rest of the Kirin Tor Six planned for later in the evening, but that was more a chance to relax, or at least it was supposed to be. He was sure that they would need to discuss the whole Legion invasion at some point during the dinner.
He rested his chin on his hand and looked at the tome lazily as it floated in front of him. It was one of the tomes that he had managed to smuggle out of Karazhan, but there unfortunately did not seem to be anything very useful inside its pages. Then again, he had just started on this tone. He had just finished the page when there was a knock on the doorframe of his room.
The man looked up to see Kalec standing there, in his half elven form, of course. A blue dragon could not possibly fit inside the door, that would be ridiculous. He smiled tiredly. "Ah, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The blue dragon smiled as he stepped inside. "I just wanted you to know, Archmage, that the commanders from both the Alliance and the Horde have been complaining nonstop all morning."
"Oh?" Khadgar replied, turning the page. "How shocking. What is it this time?"
"Their people are not getting their work done."
Khadgar closed the tome and floated it over to the table he had taken it from, letting it drop the last few inches with a heavy thud. He put his hands behind his head and stretched. "That sounds like a problem for their leaders," he said nonchalantly.
"It is kind of our fault," Kalec said, then smiled slightly. "I did advise you not to have snow conjured…"
Khadgar looked at him and started to laugh. "Are they playing in the snow?"
"Indeed they are. Well, more like fighting with it. We're not entirely sure which side started throwing it first…"
The Archmage got to his feet and walked to the window of his chambers. He looked down and saw a little golden haired gnome who had rigged up . . . some sort of contraption to fire snowballs at the approaching tauren. Khadgar was somewhat surprised and impressed that she managed to make it on such short notice. Of course, they seemed to have been still packed by hand, so they were quite tiny. They were totally unlike the snowball the tauren retaliated with, which covered the gnome to her chest.
Like children, Khadgar thought, then sighed. Most of them, at least the shorter lived races, were young adults. He had been doing this for so long he had forgotten that fact. He looked back at Kalec, who had come up next to him to also watch out of the window. "Tell their commanders that it's the Feast of Winter Veil. Nothing can be done about the snow."
"They're not going to like that answer."
"By the Light, let them have some fun," Khadgar replied. "Those like them have saved us all countless times. Besides, this is far better than the conflict their leaders stirred up themselves in Stormheim. And, like I said, it is Winter Veil…" Likely the last one most of them will ever see, he thought, but kept that to himself.
Kalec sighed as well and nodded, still watching the scene below. Khadgar knew he was wondering about if the little snowball "war" that had erupted could escalate. The gnome had dug herself out and run off, and the tauren had retreated a half block as well, speaking to a troll. Obviously they had formed a little squad. Still, they could not actually harm each other in Dalaran, and the Alliance and Horde specific areas of the city were magically protected as always.
Khadgar hoped that they could burn off some of their animosity with it, maybe even begin to see the other side as people again. Tensions had been dangerously high and had only escalated after the two sides' campaign into Stormheim, but they had to share a city and a world if they were going to stop the Legion. That was a goal that seemed all the more distant as time went by instead of getting closer as it should be.
He looked over at Kalec. "Do you think we could get a tree and presents set up by this evening for them?" When the blue dragon raised an eyebrow, he continued. "Nothing brings people together like pretending to like awful gifts."
#
Phogrim winced as he felt his arm being shaken roughly. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the young blood elf smiling down at him. "What?" he muttered.
"Get up, get up. I have something to show you," Belidora said happily.
He sat up slowly and stretched, reaching down and putting on his shoes. His friend turned her attention to Jof, who was sleeping on the hammock next to him. For him she grabbed the ropes and pulled it to the side until it started rocking hard back and forth, almost sending him falling off onto the floor. He yelled something at her in Zandali and she laughed and slowed the rocking so he could get up.
The orc watched her warily. The young elf had finally, slowly recovered, but she had rarely so much as smiled in the past few weeks. She had been plagued with nightmares she would not speak about with anyone and had dealt with the insomnia by working almost nonstop on menial tasks. Still, she seemed absolutely giddy now. Whatever had happened had gotten her out of her depression, at least for the time being.
He got up and walked out of their room, then looked downstairs. The inn was covered in Winter Veil decorations and he smiled. He was supposed to visit his mom and sister and nephew the next day before they set off for their next assignment. He still needed to pick up some sort of toy for the child.
"Put a cloak on. We have to go outside and it's cold out," Belidora said, walking toward the stairs and making her way down. Her hooded cloak was already snapped around her shoulders, and although she had her bow and armor on, she wore no tabard.
"Do ju have one I could borrow?" Jof asked Phogrim quietly.
The orc sighed. "We're going to Highmountain in a few days. How many times do I need to tell you to go buy warmer clothes?"
"I never be needin' dem back home," the troll protested.
"I don't get much use out of them either, but I'm not content to freeze when I do go to cold places," he muttered, putting his cloak on and handing a spare to Jof. It was both too wide and not long enough for the troll, but it was better than nothing.
They picked up their weapons and followed the girl downstairs. They should not be needed in Dalaran, but they were in a vulnerable floating city over the Broken Isles, so it probably wouldn't hurt. Still, they strapped them on rather than carry them.
The sin'dorei had gotten her pet to wake up from in front of the fire and grinned at them. "Okay, let's go," she said, leading the way outdoors.
Phogrim and Jof were still arguing as they stepped out of the front door of the inn, so they were both quite surprised by the violent temperature drop. They turned to look at the elf, who was grinning. "It's snowing!"
"I can see that," Phogrim said, holding out his hand and catching a few flakes.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
He sighed and smiled at her. "It is quite breathtaking," he said, turning back to the troll who had backed just inside the door and was standing there, looking miserable. "I told you. You're going to hate Highmountain if you can't handle this."
"It be wet and freezin'," the troll muttered, crossing his arms. "It warm in here."
"But they have a lot of fun stuff planned," Belidora said sadly. "There's going to be carolers coming around later and we get gifts in the center of the city. You need to come out or you won't get one."
The troll shook his head. "Too cold."
The orc sighed when he saw the girl's shoulders sag. It was the first good mood she'd been in in awhile and he did not want to see it ruined. He thought for a moment and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on. I have an idea," he whispered to her, and then to Jof he called, "We'll be right back, crybaby."
Belidora followed him, Snowhide trailing behind, and he let go of her arm so he wasn't dragging her. He had seen some goblins setting up a cart the day before and he was fairly sure he knew exactly who they were. He smiled to himself and then decided to make smalltalk as they walked. "I wonder how they keep the inside of the inn warm?"
"There's a sheet of arcane energy over the entry that wasn't there the day before," the blood elf said nonchalantly.
"How do you know? You're no mage."
"I can see it."
"You . . . you can?"
"Yeah. All of us can see arcane energy," she said, then laughed. "We've been in the Horde how many years and you never figured that out?"
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I thought you knew. It took me a little while to figure out that other races couldn't."
He shook his head, but decided to store that away in his memory - it would prove useful in the future, he was sure.
They got to the Smokywood Pastures booth within a few minutes and Phogrim pulled out his gold, talking to the goblin quietly. The goblin eyed it greedily and nodded, then pulled out two sweaters, one red and one green. Phogrim turned back to his friend. "Which one do you think we should get him?" he snickered.
She was laughing again and pointed wordlessly to the red one.
They paid for it and took the sweater, starting to walk back to the inn. Once they were out of earshot of the goblin, Belidora said quietly, "It's so gawdy."
"I know! It's going to be great. Come on."
"I'll have to give you some gold when we get back to the-" Belidora started, then was cut off with someone yelling For the Alliance behind her. When they turned to look, the two of them were pelted with a half dozen snowballs. They covered themselves until the bombardment stopped, then glanced up to see a young man and woman laughing and dashing around the corner of a nearby store.
Phogrim watched as the blood elf scowled and reached down, gathering up her own snowball and starting to chase them. He grabbed the back of her cloak, stopping her. "Wait," he whispered. "They're setting up an ambush, I bet. We can't just go blindly rushing in."
She stopped trying to pull away from him and looked at her suspiciously with her one good eye. He grinned at her. "They don't know I'm a shaman, though. Let's go get Jof and prepare for the counteroffensive."
#
Justin sat on his bed in the inn and watched his friend work on her machine. He had no idea how she had gotten it put together so quickly. It was probably used for some other purpose than throwing snowballs and she had modified it.
"This should be able to throw about five snowballs a second," Kathkin said, pulling her goggles up and inspecting her work. "I could set it to go faster, but we might be in trouble if we give anyone a concussion."
"You're surprisingly considerate for a gnome."
"You're thinking of goblins," she snapped, but giggled.
Justin smiled at her as he reached down to pet Swiftgear, who was running around the entire room. He sighed as he looked up at the Winter Veil decorations at the front of the inn. It was the first time he had spent the holiday away from his parents and sister. Most of the other soldiers there had been in the other constant wars that plagued Azeroth and were used to it, but…
"Do you think we could get leave to go home tomorrow?" he asked Kathkin.
"Probably not. Everyone tries to get leave for Winter Veil. Most of them have seniority over us," she said.
"You've been in wars before."
"Yeah, as an engineer. Not as a soldier," she said. "Totally different system. Hand me that tool, will ya?"
He reached over and picked it up, handing it to her. She started hammering on the machine (which he was sure was not what the tool was for). He watched for a moment and then flopped back down on his bed, running a hand through his light brown hair. It was stupid. They did not even have many tasks to complete today. He should be able to go back to Stormwind.
The young paladin was just about to doze off when there was a knock on the doorjamb. He glanced up and saw the Captain standing there, smiling at him. He started to jump to his feet but the man waved it off. "You have visitors, Crawford," he said. "Go out and have some fun, you two. Merry Winter Veil."
Justin sat up in time to see his parents and his sister walk in slowly. When they saw him, they rushed over and embraced him.
"I missed you so much, sweetie!" his mother said, pulling back and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She looked at him and frowned worriedly. "What happened to your face?"
He blinked slowly and rubbed his cheek. He had forgotten about the scar there. "It's a bit of a long story. I'll tell you later," he started, but was interrupted by his sister, Kallie.
"It's snowing outside!" she said happily. He smiled down at her. She was a girl of ten, with blonde pigtails and a festive winter dress on. "Come on! Let's go play in the snow!"
"We will," Justin said quietly, then looked back at his parents. "I wasn't expecting you. I haven't really bought any gifts yet," he said sheepishly.
"Seeing you safe and sound is the only gift we need," his mother said gently, hugging him again.
He finally managed to break the embrace and motioned toward his friend. "Mom, Dad, Kallie, this is Kathkin Seelafizzle," he said. "She works with me in Stormheim."
"Hello," the gnome said over her shoulder, still tinkering with her machine. She did not bother to turn around. "Pleased to meet you all. Merry Winter Veil."
Justin rolled his eyes and looked over as Kallie started to walk out of the room. "I'm going to play in the snow!" she said with finality.
"Hey! You stay right here and wait for us. There are Horde soldiers out there," her father snapped.
"Dad, they're not going to do anything. We've been around them this entire time. Fighting is banned in Dalaran," Justin said.
"You can't trust those vermin to follow rules…"
Justin glanced over at Kathkin and she rolled her eyes at him. Well, his father would not be someone he was going to explain his scar to, it seemed. Luckily the gnome spoke up. "They can't fight, sir," she said. "Any violence is immediately stopped by the Kirin Tor Guardians."
"See, dad? I'm going. Bye!" Kallie said, skipping out of the room. Her father stormed after her, presumably to stop her.
Justin smiled as they left until his mother gripped his chin, still inspecting the scar. "I do want to know how you got this," she started.
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. His mother would be much more likely to be understanding than his father had been. She was a priestess, after all. Still, he needed a way to frame his answer. "I got . . . into a fight."
"A fight? With whom?" she said, sitting down with him on his bed.
"Promise you won't tell father? Or anyone, really?"
His mother sighed at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "What did you do, Justin?"
He then told the story of the three Horde prisoners and what he had tried to do. His mother listened to him in silence, brushing his short hair back with her fingers gently, then sighed. "I see why you don't want your father to know about this," she said quietly.
He looked down at the ground until Kathkin spoke up. "Mrs. Crawford?" she said quietly. "It sounds like your son was doing his job. He was defending people who were helpless against evil being done to them. That's what paladins are s'posed to do, right?"
The woman smiled sadly down at the gnome and gave her son another kiss on his cheek. "Yes," she said. "I'm not angry at you, sweetie. Just . . . be careful. The Horde can be dangerous. You know that."
"Are you going to tell father?"
"No," she said. "I love your father, but he can be an absolute brute in his way of thinking sometime. Come on, now. We have festivities to take part in. You don't want to disappoint your sister. You too, Miss Seelafizzle. Let's go get some cocoa."
#
Jof reached down and held his hand out, pulling the snow up to him and forming a barricade in front of him. Snow, after all, was just frozen water, and he could command the water elementals quite easily. It was still freezing out, but at least the sweater his friends had gotten him helped. Also, it was not like he could simply refuse to go out now. They had gone to the trouble to get him warm clothes, although he figured it was as much for their amusement than anything.
"See, we can push this ahead of us as we attack," Phogrim was explaining to their blood elf friend, who was busy eating a gingerbread cookie. She was not really helping, although it had been her and Phogrim's idea to continue the snowball war in the first place. They said it was a matter of honor. Jof rolled his eyes and finished his barricade.
"Ju ready, girl?" Jof said.
She swallowed the last of her cookie and nodded, picking up a handful of snow and packing it tight. She was the quickest of the three of them, and also probably the hardest to hit, so she had volunteered for the most 'dangerous' part of the 'mission.' Jof and Phogrim ducked behind their makeshift barricade and, with the help of the elements, moved it into position. Jof watched the blood elf sneak up against the wall and alleyway where they had figured out the Alliance were planning their ambush from.
The huntress hesitated a moment, watching down the alleyway and taking aim, then threw her snowball. There was a surprised yelp, then the sound of a dozen footsteps landing in the soft snow chasing her. Jof waited for her to quickly sprint out and duck behind a corner, then nudged for Phogrim to get ready, since the orc was not quite tall enough to see over the top of it.
Within a few seconds the Alliance soldiers ran out, looking around for their prey. There were six of them now - three humans, a draenei, and a couple of gnomes. When they were in the open and there were no innocent bystanders around, Jof gave the signal.
With that, the forty snowballs they had prepared carefully flew over the top of the barricade and onto the small Alliance squad, pelting them from the air like wyverns dropping explosives. The two shamans glanced around the barricade the Alliance soldiers dusting the snow off that now covered their clothes. They both turned around and put their backs to the snow, then laughed.
"That's cheating!" one of the humans yelled at them, but they ignored it, still laughing uproariously.
They continued to laugh until they felt snowballs begin to hit them from from above the barricade as the Alliance soldiers threw them over the snowdrift. Jof winced at the cold, but Phogrim motioned to him to go down the street. He yelled in Orcish over the barricade, "Beli! Fall back to da checkpoint!"
Who knows how long the Alliance soldiers continued to throw snowballs over the barricade after the two turned into their wolf forms and sprinted off?
#
The checkpoint happened to be the Legerdemain Lounge.
The small coffee shop and tavern was much busier than it usually was, which was saying something, because it was always busy. The cold and snow must have made the coffee and other hot drinks inside seem even more enticing than usual. The mood was light and boisterous, as usual, but now it was also interspersed with both Horde and Alliance soldiers singing carols and laughing.
Belidora looked over at her two friends as they leaned back on the couch and chatted happily in Orcish. Jof had taken a blanket he found draped over the back of the couch (which Belidora was sure was for decoration only) and was trying to cover up with it as much as possible. Even with the sweater on he must have been cold, especially after being pelted with snow.
"I'm going to get us something to drink," she announced to the two of them, and Jof looked over at her as she stood up.
"None of dat nasty coffee," he started.
"No coffee, okay? I have a better idea."
She walked up to the bar, dodging past the gathered soldiers carefully. There was a line and the sin'dorei sighed, looking around the room. There were more than just the normal soldiers and Dalaran citizens in the lounge - it seemed that families were visiting, from both the Horde and Alliance cities. There were especially more children than there usually were in Dalaran. She watched a couple of draenei children run around the legs of the waiting patrons and she smiled slightly, then sighed.
Winter Veil was always a somewhat difficult time for her. It had been made a lot better by her friends.
She got to the front of the line and placed her ordered for the three hot cocoas, then rested her chin on her hand as she watched the barista make them. She glanced around the room again when a familiar flash of pink hair caught her eye. She stared for a moment at the group seated around the table with the gnome, then raised a finger at the barista.
"Can you do me a favor?"
The barista nodded, and she gave her the second order and the instructions on how to deliver it, then put down the extra silvers on the bar. She grabbed the tray and carried the drinks back to her friends. She set it down on the coffee table in front of them.
"What dis be?"
"It's hot cocoa. Don't tell me you've never had hot cocoa," Belidora said. The troll shrugged, and she continued. "They have this every single year in Orgrimmar."
"Just drink it," Phogrim laughed, picking his up. The troll rolled his eyes and picked the mug up, taking a sip.
"Better than coffee?" Belidora asked.
"Dis actually be good."
"Well, I'm glad it meets your approval," she said, sitting down between them and grabbing her own mug. She drank it and listened as they started up their conversation again, then Phogrim ruffled her hair. Since it was still wet from the snow, it stuck out in odd directions and she glared up at him.
"Hey, didn't we meet at Winter Veil?"
She blinked slowly, then smiled. "Yeah, I guess we did…"
#
Phogrim rubbed the back of his neck tiredly and walked around Grommash Hold where the vendors were out with their Winter Veil offerings. Most were junk, of course, as they always were, but he still needed to get something for his mother and sister. He knew he should not have waited until the last minute, when the merchants inevitably raised their prices to prey on orcs like him.
It was crowded and actually somewhat cold in Durotar that Winter Veil, which was a rarity, but at least it was not the usual stifling heat. With the crammed conditions, that would have been unbearable. He picked up a pair of gauntlets and looked at them, then set them back down. He sighed and walked around the corner when some fine skins caught his eye. He walked over and lifted one up and noticed that they were very well collected and tanned.
He glanced around them to see who the seller was and saw a dark haired blood elf. She was watching him, a bit excitedly. Obviously she was having a hard time selling her wares. He glanced at her price sign and noticed that the prices were crossed out several times and lowered to the point they were probably below market value.
He chuckled, picked the skin up, and walked over to her. "Hello. How much is this, miss?" he asked in Orcish.
She bit her lip and looked at him, and repeated the greeting back to him haltingly. She obviously did not speak the language, which probably explained why she was having such a difficult time selling anything. He sighed and smiled at her, then switched to Common, "What's the price for this?"
"Two gold, sir," she said quickly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out five gold, handing it to her. When she turned to give him three gold back, he waved his hand and shook his head. "Keep it. It's not worth just two gold."
She smiled at him and bowed her head. "Thank you. Happy Winter Veil, sir."
"And to you," he said, then looked around. He'd give this to his sister - it was large enough to make a blanket. He would have to ask her what they should get their mother. The woman was always difficult to buy gifts for, since she had saved up more gold than her two children and thus would just buy whatever she wanted herself.
It would be about three hours before his sister got back to Orgrimmar from her trip to Thunder Bluff to visit a friend, though, and he had nothing else to do. He glanced back at the blood elf, whom he noticed was no longer paying attention to him and instead packing up the few skins she had. He had been in battle enough to know when someone was nervous, and she obviously was - every time an orc or troll walked up, she tensed slightly. She obviously knew no one there.
Poor girl was spending Winter Veil alone.
Phogrim sighed and rubbed his forehead, then spoke quietly. "Miss?" When she turned around, he continued. "Are you here by yourself? I haven't seen any of your people all day."
She frowned slightly and did not answer at first, as if she expected it to be a trick, but slowly nodded. "Yeah. I'm just out exploring the different Horde cities. I finally saved up enough money for the zeppelin ride from Undercity."
"Would you like to go get a drink and something to eat? I have some time to kill. I'll help you carry your things if you'll hold onto my purchase until I can surprise my sister with it."
She paused and considered his offer, then nodded. "Okay."
He lifted up the heavy crate and carried it to the tavern. When he got inside, he stuck the skin inside of it and closed the lid, then sat down at a table. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Belidora. Belidora Bloodfeather. What's yours?"
"Phogrim Warfang," he said, then listened as she repeated it under her breath. He had heard some of the other blood elves speaking to each other in their strange melodic language. It could not be more unlike Orcish, which is probably why she was having difficulty. At least she was trying. "Are you trying to make enough money to buy Winter Veil gifts? You're a little late."
"No," she said quietly as the barkeep brought by a plate of cheese and bread and a few mugs of ale.
"Do your people not celebrate Winter Veil?"
"No, no. We do. It's just that…" she started, then trailed off. He could guess what she was probably about to say and kicked himself for asking such an inconsiderate question, but she continued. "I'm just selling furs to travel. Pay for food and to stay at inns. I have not seen much of Azeroth, and since we joined the Horde, there are cities I can go to that weren't possible before."
"Most elves seem to prefer Silvermoon."
"It is beautiful, but . . . I kind of like to be out of the city," she said vaguely, looking around.
He reached over and tapped her mug with one of his large fingers until she looked at him. "Beer," he said in Orcish. When she looked at him questioningly, he repeated the word in Common. She smiled as she caught on and repeated after him. He went on and continued to name items with her repeating after him, then let her try to remember them. At least she was a fast study, it seemed.
The game went on for the next few hours, and as they drank more alcohol he noticed that she relaxed more and more to the point that she would look around and watch the other patrons curiously. She even would laugh at him at times. She seemed to be quite unlike many of her fellow blood elves, which she explained at length were properly called sin'dorei, meaning 'children of the blood,' and that they had once been quel'dorei, or 'children of noble birth.'
He had tried in the past to make conversation with the newest members of the Horde, but many of them had been either too haughty to speak with him at length or were afraid of him.
He remembered Warchief Thrall's words to some of the complainants when their admittance to the Horde had been announced: "I know our new comrades can be difficult to deal with at times, but show them the same patience and respect you would show anyone else in the Horde. They are your brothers and sisters now, as much as the Tauren, trolls, and Forsaken. Many of them have lost everything."
Phogrim noticed the girl watching some soldiers who had come in and sat down next to their table. They were dressed in fine platemail and were talking loudly in Orcish. He bumped her on her shoulder. "Don't stare at them," he said.
"Who are they?"
"Kor'kron," he said and she repeated it. "It's just a name. They're the greatest warriors the Horde has to offer. They're good people, but you probably should not draw attention to yourself. They may take offense."
Her eyes widened and she nodded at him, looking down at her mug, then back up as someone approached him from behind. He jumped slightly as strong arms wrapped around his throat, albeit not too tightly. "How are you, little brother?" a voice said in his ear and he cringed when the orc woman kissed him on his temple.
"Happy Winter Veil, Seneda," he said quietly as she sat down.
She turned to the young blood elf, who was watching them curiously. "Hello," she said in Orcish. The girl quickly returned the greeting, so at least she had gotten that down. "What's your name, elf?"
When Seneda got a blank stare in response, Phogrim answered in Orcish, "Say, 'My name is Belidora.'" She girl haltingly did so and he grinned at his sister. "We're working on it."
Seneda smiled and shook the elf's hand, and they began speaking in a mixture of Common and Orcish. If anything, the new member of the Horde was going to have quite the expanded vocabulary by the end of the day.
Phogrim and Seneda continued to speak to each other for awhile until he noticed that the blood elf was trying to listen in on the Kor'kron guards' conversation again. It was hard not to - they were drinking quite a bit and were speaking loudly to one another. She frowned and muttered a word to him, to which he replied, "That's 'Warchief.' Complainin' about their boss Thrall, it seems."
Belidora gave him a shocked expression and shrunk down in her chair slightly. "What?" he asked. "Drunk soldiers complain about the Warchief all the time. It's tradition." He laughed, taking another drink of his ale until he noticed her still staring at him strangely.
"Really?" she said quietly, looking around. Her nervousness had suddenly returned, it seemed, and it was about a dozen times worse now.
"Yeah. Why would it be that big of a deal? Thrall doesn't care, not as long as we actually follow his orders."
She was still staring at him, but nodded slowly, picking up her ale and taking a deep breath. He watched her for a moment until his sister tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a look as if to tell him she would explain it later. She had been in Outland for a few months and had a lot more interaction with their new allies than he had.
When they finished their meal and drinks, Belidora smiled at the two. "Thank you for eating with me," she said in slow Orcish, then switched back to Common so she could speak faster. "I should probably go see if they have any beds left."
The girl got up and started walking toward the innkeeper to negotiate a price when Seneda bumped her brother on his shoulder. "Is she here by herself?" she asked.
"Yeah. Said she was."
"Don't let her stay in an inn on Winter Veil, you idiot. Tell her to come home with us. She's probably spent the last several Winter Veils alone," she snapped.
"Don't we need to ask mother?"
"She makes enough food to make the entire Kor'kron guard. Look at her. Does she look like she eats much?"
Phogrim frowned and looked over at the elf, then got up and walked over to her. He tapped her on her shoulder and she jumped, but turned and looked up at him. He smiled politely. "We would be honored if you would come share the holiday feast with our family," he said gently.
She looked shocked by the offer, but smiled and said nervously, "I don't want to intrude. It's time for you to be with your family."
He slapped her gently on the back, causing her to stumble forward slightly, but he smiled. "Well, you elves are family now. Come on, my mother would love to meet you, I'm sure."
She frowned but nodded, walking after him shyly. Seneda smiled at the two of them and got up from the table. Phogrim bent down and picked up the crate of skins and furs and they departed. He looked over at his sister. "What are we going to get our wonderful mother for Winter Veil?"
"Oh, I have that covered," she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a beautiful necklace decorated with a large red gemstone in the center. A few tusks from some unknown creature decorated the rest of the strand. "At least I have my gift to her covered. I don't know what you're going to do."
"Can I go in on that with you?"
"Lazy orc. Get your own gift."
"Come on, Seneda. I haven't been to Outland. I'm stuck in Orgrimmar until they call for me. There's nothing here for me to buy for her."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can pay for half," she said. She looked back at the blood elf and showed her the necklace. "Do you think this is a good gift for our mother?"
"It's lovely," the elf said politely.
Seneda fell back slightly and put her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, pulling her forward so she was walking with them instead of behind them. "Don't be nervous. Our mother loves guests. She's a shaman, like Phogrim here. They're the healers and wisest of our people," she said. "Don't know why they let him train to be one, but whatever."
"Hey!" he snapped back, but she just laughed at him.
They eventually made it to the Valley of Spirits. Phogrim glanced back when the blood elf jumped slightly as a troll walked past, but Seneda told her quietly, "They're Darkspear. Not Amani. They're not going to hurt you." He shrugged and knocked on the door.
It flew open and the older female orc smiled at her son, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. "You're late," she said, but smiled. "And have you already been drinking?"
"We were entertaining someone," he said quietly, motioning over his shoulder at the other two. Seneda walked up and hugged her mother, but the blood elf hung back, still watching the Darkspear trolls warily. Luckily they seemed to be used to it, since most of them paid her no mind.
Phogrim smiled slightly when his mother smiled and walked over to the elf. He could not hear what was said between the two, but it was an extended conversation in hushed tones. He did notice when Belidora frowned and shook her head, starting to look down at the ground, but stopped when the orc threw her arms around her, hugging her. It obviously startled the blood elf slightly, but she slowly hugged her back and smiled.
His mother always did have a good sense of how to comfort someone and put them at ease. He hoped he would someday be as good of a healer as she had been.
#
Justin propped his head up on his hand and watched as his mother and father chatted and his sister gawked at the Horde soldiers. In the short time he had been inside Legerdemain Lounge with him, he had learned all sorts of new insults from his father, from orcs (green skinned brutes) to blood elves (fel-tainted traitors). He glanced over at Kallie to see her turned around, staring at a Tauren warrior, who thankfully was not paying attention to her. Justin kicked her gently under the table for the dozenth time. "Don't stare. It's rude," he said quietly.
"It's a cow."
"Tauren, Kallie. Tauren."
"It's a cow wearing pants."
Justin laughed. "Finish your cocoa before it gets cold. It's nasty cold."
The girl picked up the mug and began to drink again. Justin watched her for a moment and then blinked when the barista set down a small tray of brownies in front of them. He looked up at her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we didn't order these," he said politely.
"I know you didn't. They were sent from another table, with appreciation and a wish for a Happy Winter Veil."
He looked around the crowded shop. "Who sent them?"
"They asked they not be identified."
He watched the barista walk away, then exchanged a glance with Kathkin. The gnome climbed up onto her chair and stood on it, looking around the room as well. He helped her for a moment, but did not see anyone familiar until his father laughed. "Dalaran brownies! Well, thank you, you two," he said. Dalaran brownies were his father's favorite.
He started to explain that they did not buy them, but Kathkin spoke up first. "You're welcome, Mr. Crawford. Thank you for taking us out for cocoa." When the man nodded and began to eat, going back to telling his wife something, Kathkin whispered to Justin. "Look, over on the couch in the corner. Our friends from Stormheim."
He looked behind him after making sure his parents were not watching. Sure enough, there were the three Horde soldiers, sitting on the couch. Well, the blood elf was lying between the other two, leaning her back against the troll and her boots resting on the orc's knees. The orc and troll were discussing something, although it was mostly the troll. Judging from the other two's laughter - and the fact that the troll jumped to his feet to continue talking where he could gesture, sending the elf flat onto her back - he was probably spinning another tale.
They did not look over at him, instead focusing on the troll's story. Justin shook his head. It was the first time he had seen them healthy and strong, and although they were still technically enemies, it made him happy.
"They paid us back," Kathkin said quietly to him.
Justin smiled and turned back to where his parents and sister were happily eating the treats and laughing. If his father only knew…
#
The three young Horde soldiers made it back to the Filthy Animal early so they could claim a place next to the hearth. Belidora looked at Jof and knew the troll was probably grateful. It was much warmer here than it was outside, or even in other parts of the inn. The sin'dorei watched quietly as the two boys exchanged gifts (some potion vials for Phogrim, a small enchanted trinket for Jof). She pulled a large box in front of her and pushed it toward the Darkspear. "This is for you."
"Ju didn't need ta get me anyt'ing, girl," he said quietly. He smiled and grabbed the box, tearing off the wrapping paper.
"Well, I couldn't find a skull."
He grinned mischievously at her and opened the box. Inside were some large boots, cut and shaped for troll feet. He looked at them curiously and pulled them out.
"I hope they fit," she said shyly. "It's kind of hard to find shoes for trolls, and since you never wore any I didn't know what size…"
"Plus you won't lose any toes to frostbite when we go to Highmountain," Phogrim said, trying to open his own gift from the blood elf.
Jof smiled at her and hugged her gently. "T'ank ya. Ju a pretty nice girl, for an elf."
She rolled her eye at him and smiled, then yawned. She was exhausted. She had been up half the night (like she usually was), but at least she had gotten the shopping done. She leaned back against a pillar in the room and watched Phogrim open his gift.
He finally opened the box and pulled the necklace out. It was simple, with some small trinkets and bones on it (like she had seen other orcs wear), but it was enchanted as well. Thankfully, Phogrim had gotten Jof that trinket so they should both be kept safe by the magic.
Belidora felt a bit guilty for not getting them something a bit larger, but then enchantments were expensive, as was paying the leatherworker (even if she had supplied the skins). She had spent a lot of her gold from Stormheim on alcohol, unfortunately and much as she hated to admit it.
She smiled slightly when her friend hugged her and thanked her for the gift, then she closed her eyes. "Happy Winter Veil, you guys. I'm glad I got to spend it with you," she said sincerely, but tiredly.
Jof shook her shoulder gently. "'Ey. We got ju somet'ing too. Don't be sleepin' on us."
She opened up her eyes and looked at the two. Phogrim nodded. "It's underneath my cot," he said to the troll, pointing upstairs.
"And?" Jof replied.
Phogrim opened his mouth, as if to tell him to go get it, then rolled his eyes and got up. "I'll be right back."
Jof sat down in front of the blood elf. "I t'ink ju will like it."
"What is it?"
"Well, I couldn't find a skull, either. Besides, dey be too much work. First ya got ta cut off da head, den ju have to boil it…"
"Stop, stop!"
He smiled at her. "Maybe it be a new eyepatch," he said, tapping her on the forehead, just above where hers was. She started to scowl at him, but he continued. "Maybe one wit' a Horde symbol on it. Or a smiley face."
She frowned at him, then broke out into a grin, laughing. She used to get quite upset at his mentioning the injury, but he had persisted over time and she had to admit that he was kind of funny.
Okay, very funny.
Phogrim walked back downstairs, carrying a long box. He set it down in front of her gently. She grabbed the red wrapping paper and started pulling it off quickly and opening the box.
Inside was a sword. It was a short sword and sized for an elf. It was also very well made, with a beautiful red and gold hilt and black scabbard. She pulled it out carefully and unsheathed it, examining it in the firelight. There was a faint glow of arcane around it that probably only she could see.
"Thank you," she said, shocked.
"It be bettah den ju tryin' ta fight with dat little knife of yours when ju run outta arrows," Jof explained. "We got it in Silvahmoon when ju were restin' from ya eye t'ing."
She sheathed it again and hugged Jof first, then walked over to Phogrim. He hugged her back then pulled back a bit. "Now, you need to learn how to use it. It's different than your polearm, and I'm not very good with a sword. Neither is Jof…"
"I be great at everyt'ing," the troll interrupted.
"But we asked the warrior trainer in Orgrimmar to show you the ropes," he finished, ignoring Jof completely. "I suggest you go visit him tomorrow. We only have a few days to prepare for Highmountain." He ruffled her hair gently. "Hopefully this can keep you out of trouble. We have a long battle ahead."
#
Archmage Khadgar stepped out of the Violet Citadel and took a breath of air. It was chilly, but the mages had slowed the snowfall to where it was barely just flurries. He looked around and smiled at the lights and wreaths hung up on the shops, as well as the still ongoing snowball war between the Alliance and Horde soldiers. Thankfully that had slowed considerably as they got either too cold or too tired to continue.
It was lovely, but Khadgar's favorite part was whenever he looked up at the sky. For the first time since the Legion had invaded months ago, the fel storm was completely hidden by the snow-filled clouds. Yes, it was a lovely, peaceful scene indeed.
He still had the stuffy dinner to go to, so he walked quickly through the snow covered streets, having to dodge snowballs more than once. At least the soldiers apologized when they realized who he was, but he would just laugh and wave at them. Snowballs were not that big of a deal when he could encase himself in a block of ice on a moment's notice.
Two small children, a human boy and a sin'dorei girl, were watching a Kirin Tor mage excitedly as he formed colorful rainbow balls of arcane energy and had them dance around. The two giggled as the mage tossed some enchanted dust in the air above their heads to allow it to rain down on them, causing them to glow and sparkle. They grinned at each other and ran off. Khadgar considered that they had almost certainly sneaked away from their parents (seeing as they were playing together at all), but he welcomed the scene all the same. Maybe the next generation would be different?
He finally got to his destination, where he found the large tree erected in the middle of the Magus Commerce Exchange. Around it were hundreds of wrapped packages which, truthfully, Khadgar was a little surprised they got finished with in a day, even with the use of magic. Kalec and Archmage Modera were standing slightly apart from the soldiers gathered around the tree.
"Happy Winter Veil, Modera, Kalec," he said, throwing open his arms. The woman turned and smiled, embracing him as you would a close friend. Kalec smiled back at him as well.
"I hope this is what you had in mind," Kalec said quietly, smiling at the crowd.
"Did you have them wrapped like I requested?"
The blue dragon nodded and grinned.
Khadgar walked up to the crowd and spoke as loudly as he could. They were busy chatting (albeit staying within their own faction crowds), but after a few tries he got their attention.
When they finally turned around and watched him, he spoke again. "Thank you for coming. As you all know, this has been a . . . difficult year for all of us. We have lost many good men and women in this fight against the Legion.
"This is but a simple gesture, but it is to show you all that your sacrifices and work have not been forgotten by those you left behind. Underneath this tree are presents sent from home - from Stormwind, from Ironforge, from Orgrimmar, from Thunder Bluff, and from everywhere else you hail from. Some, I'm sure, come from your families and friends. Some come from your chapels, your orphanages, your merchants. But they were all sent with love and with prayers for your victory and safe return.
"Go on, now. Open your gifts. Happy Winter Veil."
The scene descended into chaos, as Khadgar assumed it would as soon as he gave them permission, but he stepped back to stand with his fellows. The packages were not marked and were wrapped in green and red wrapping paper, as he had requested, so the soldiers simply grabbed whatever was closest or looked like it was the best.
It took only a few seconds to hear some groans of disappointment from them. As he had suspected, the presents from the cities came with a decidedly factional flair - either red and black or blue and gold, or with the faction symbols actually on them. They had roughly a fifty percent chance of getting something they did not want.
Hopefully they would realize what they needed to do.
It took a few minutes, but the first exchange happened. A beautiful draenei paladin walked up to a female orc (warrior, judging by her armor), and held out a large pair of gloves. The orc looked at it curiously, then grinned, handing the paladin the ornate purple cloak she had received. Soon, others joined suit, and the laughter and somewhat broken dialogue commenced.
"How did you come up with such an idea, Khadgar?" Modera whispered to him.
"I've been saying it for years," he said quietly, smiling as the soldiers stood around, no longer sticking just with their factional lines as they critiqued each other's gifts. "If they want to accomplish something great, they need to work together."
#
Author's Note: Yes, it's almost nothing but fluff, but sometimes fluff is what you need.
Also, conjuring snow and organizing a surprise Dirty Santa is totally something Khadgar would do and you will never convince me otherwise.