Disclaimer: Varian Wrynn and all recognisable characters belong to Blizzard entertainment. Valerica Glenmore and characters not from Warcraft or it's associated games cannot be sold or used without express permission from the author.
Even Ebony could tell that something big was happening as Val used a helpful set of steps to get on her the next day, tightening the buckle on one gauntlet and putting her helm between her legs, trotting with Carson and the others to the circle crudely drawn in chalk in the middle of the forest floor, trying her best to settle the mare as she took a deep breath, barely listening to Garside's command to the mages either side of them to teleport their large group, or the supposedly soothing "Light be with you" from Benedictus.
She was too focused on Varian's stony face as he watched them from Argo at the front of the circle, trying to smile but failing as she closed her eyes and felt the magic wrapping around her like ribbons on a gift, it was both cool and hot, but it didn't burn, merely made her skin tingle for a few seconds before the hot air of the Black Morass met her face instead and she opened her eyes, pulling on Ebony's reins as she tried to get her bearings back.
Syverson was waiting for them outside the border of another circle, and beckoned them all forward, pointing behind him. "The site of the Portal is just ahead, about a days ride away. Stay together and get moving. Once the rest of the regiment is here, King Varian will come and give you your next instruction!" Val joined in with the bellowed 'Yes Sir' and kicked Ebony's side, thundering away with Carson beside her, feeling her gut start to shrivel as everything became a little too real for her liking.
They were delayed by a orc scouting party camping just before the path to the portal, but eventually Val got to the camp-site that the groups that had come before them had already started to set up, giving Ebony's reins to the stable hand and swiping her helm from the hook on her saddle, moving deeper into the trees, which she supposed was a boon to the idea of keeping themselves hidden, and signing in with a captain obviously waiting for her.
"Val! Wait up!" Carson sounded out of breath as he too signed his name in the book on the table, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're bloody eager, ain't you?" Val gave him a grin as they waited for the other three, leaning against a tree and folding her arms. "Aren't you? This is it Car, the end of the war, doesn't that send grizzly bears through your veins?"
Carson chuckled, hearing a call for them all and putting his hand on her shoulder and his other on Hemming's. "I am, but I don't want to count my fish before I put them in a barrel." Hemming's brow furrowed. "I am more than sure that's not the saying." Kay looked as if she agreed with a wrinkled nose.
"Doesn't it have something to do with chickens?" Val did her best not to sputter at Carson's dirty look. "Regardless, I don't want to go in blinded by optimism, it'll always end badly." Arin looked around at the trees with a small smile. "What a pretty place. It's a shame we'll probably wreck it during the battle." Val waved a hand of dismissal, changing direction once they were told where their packs were and grimacing at the large pile.
"If there's anything this war's taught me, it's that anything can be rebuilt." She gave her name and thanked the boy handing packs out, quickly sifting through it and making sure everything was in there; the locket Cillian had given her with Varian's portrait inside, Harley's drawing, Thomas' lucky coin and Claudette's mangled body, all sitting in the leather satchel with her spare shirts and breeches, just where they should be.
"So what's the plan for today?" Val shrugged, waiting for the others and giving Kay a smile. "You heard Syverson, we won't know until Varian gets here, but I have a funny feeling that today will just be about getting our bearings, then tomorrow the real work begins."
She wouldn't be entirely incorrect, but a bit late with her estimation. It seemed that Varian had shared her eagerness to get everything ready and had already split them into teams, with Val, Carson and many others being ordered to help set up the cannons and build barricades while the others took care of food, water, and other needs for the troops.
By the time a week was over, Val had counted up to a hundred cannons and ballistas lining the path stretching a mile from the campsite to use as their first attack, and was making sure one was fixed together properly when the horn that signalled the first sighting of the Horde blew, with a flurry of activity following the sound the likes of which she'd never seen.
Varian started bellowing orders, orders that included Carson throwing her helm to her and Hemming's to him, bolting towards the stables and letting the Kul Tiran shove her onto Ebony.
She, Car, Arin and all those with horses whose specialities weren't ones of stealth like Kay and Hemming, would stay behind and get ready to fire the cannons at whatever stragglers slipped through the cavalry, making sure they didn't get anywhere near the portal, which stood half a mile away to the right of their camp like a huge target.
Val could hardly hear the dull roar of the Horde or the cheers of the Alliance as she flew down the road, taking Varian unsheathing Shalamayne as the signal to unclip Captain's Might from its holder and clench her fingers so tightly around the handle that she could feel the ache even through her gauntlets. Varian pointed the elven blade in front of him, pinpointing the still significant number of Orcs and indicating them with Shalamayne's tip.
"For the Alliance! This ends here! Herd them to the cannons, draw them out!" It was hard to do that as they rode right into the fray, with Val's arm moving automatically and meeting a swinging axe with a metallic snap, showering her with sparks and making her glad she'd put her helm on when she had. "Cover the left flank!"
Ebony whinnied in protest as Val obeyed, turning with the rest of them to provide no way for the orcs to spread out into the forest, narrowing them onto the path towards the blockade and keeping pace with Turlayon's men, who had joined them and were actively participating in the fight.
Varian knew it was risky, herding them towards the very portal they could use to escape, but if it gave the orcs a sense of false security, making them think they were intending on sending them back to wherever they came from, so be it, anything to make the ambush more effective.
He looked either side of him as he, Turalyon, Arthas and Nizaar led the charge and stayed behind the orcs, glad to see Val keeping pace with them. His gaze was turned at a shout that he hadn't been anticipating, and cursing himself, should have known would happen.
"Trolls in the trees!"
Before he knew it, a good number of his cavalry were impaled with spears that seemed to be spit from the forest itself, with horses baying in horror as their riders fell from their saddles and running off into the trees. "Stay on route! Khadgar, shield us!"
Turalyon's command couldn't have been at a better moment, but it wasn't a quick enough spell to repel the second wave, making Varian watch in gut wrenching anguish as Ebony was hit in the neck, throwing Val onto the merciless ground and leaving her open to be trampled.
He couldn't even bellow, his throat had grown hoarse, but he couldn't go to her, not now, he was too far away and moving forwards without wanting to. "Light protect her, please…please protect her."
Val scrambled up, rolling out of the way and not even bothering to see if Ebony was alright, she was very much aware that the beast was dead and would mourn later, right now she needed to get back to the fight. Amani leapt from the canopies with axes in each hand, adamant on killing both her and the other poor sods that had suddenly found themselves on the ground.
Thankfully she found her hammer near Ebony's limp head, snatching it up and parrying the first blow, arcing to her right and throwing the weapon from hers, using the momentum of the swing to come upwards, smashing its lower jaw to pieces and making it stagger.
Trolls were big, too big for her to kill with just a hammer, so her pistol was slid into her hand as quickly as possible, shooting it in the head and letting her snatch one of its axes for herself, letting the weight of the weapon do the work for her and embedding it in the back of the next one, spinning and obliterating the face of another.
She heard hooves nearby and realised that they had sent reinforcements their way, including Carson, who leapt from his cleaving a troll in half with his claymore and stabbing it through the skull of one more. "All those who can walk follow me! We rejoin the fight, horses or not!"
Val gave him a grin as she noticed that there weren't actually that many trolls, meaning that the Horde had actually strategized and just put them there to take out those on horseback and dispose of them quickly. "You came back for me?" Carson shrugged, keeping his claymore up as they dispatched the rest of them. "What kind of best mate would I be if I didn't." He glanced at Ebony, then looked up as the deafening rumble of battle and cannon fire met their ears. "Come, we need to get back there before Varian forgets to leave us any."
She had never wanted to see what the hells below would ever look like, nor did she ever think she would see them, but what she witnessed when they all eventually fought their way back to the battlefield was probably the closest thing she would hopefully ever get. Bodies were already amassing, with throngs of orcs stampeding towards walls of Alliance soldiers, with Dwarves firing from the sidelines with rifles she could only dream of having.
The Samarkandan vipers were moving like the snakes they were named after, leaving trails of slit throats, arrow filled bodies and stabs straight to the heart in their wake. Val didn't have time to look for either her friends or Varian as a panicked orc furiously bellowed as it ran towards her, with her only just ducking in time as its axe whistled above her head and met Carson's blade, letting her use the interlocked weapons to boost herself up and leap down with a crushing blow, one that she was sure wouldn't be her last today.
Seven hours later, and all was quiet.
Val would make sure to never forget how long it took to finally call the war over, but her morale, her energy and her strength had all began to fall to the floor by the time she bludgeoned her last orc with a broken hammer, one that had half of it's head missing after meeting so many gargantuan axes in the past day and a half, feeling her head spin from blood loss where she had put her guard down one too many times; so far she knew of a slice in her side, her left leg was shuffling behind from a club to the knee, blood was running into her mouth and covering her tongue in a disgusting coppery tang from a wound on her head caused by it being hit by a stray shield… so overall she wasn't in the best shape.
Khadgar and his mages were fighting with everything they had to close the portal, but once the sun went down, and then the moon descended into the horizon as well, Val was losing hope of it actually happening. A good chunk of the orcs had fled through it, but Val wasn't focusing properly enough anymore to care.
There was only so much the bursts of Light energy that the paladins were blanketing over them were doing, but soon after each one Val would feel her body protest, crying out for her to stop putting it through what she was, but she couldn't stop, the Horde wouldn't let her. What orcs were left grew desperate, making them easier to take down, which suited her just fine, but every swing of her hammer took far too much of her strength and her bullets had run out hours ago, so she wasn't sure how much more she could take.
She was covered in blood from head to toe, her eyes were starting to lose all focus where she'd been awake for nearly two days, and all she wanted was for the torment to end. There was a constant whine in her head from where a club had impacted on the right side at some point, making it impossible to hear anything from it and therefore making it ten times harder to anticipate an attack.
And finally, with a resounding boom that shook them all from their feet, the portal was destroyed.
Orcs fled in fear, but were soon caught by the sheer amount of Alliance soldiers that still stood after outnumbering the bastards, and from her position Val could hear rapturous cheers around her, it was a deliciously welcome sound. She fell to her knees, dropping her hammer and looking up to the sky with a small, exhausted smile.
"Light be praised, Light be loved, thank you for blessing us from above." It was the first prayer that had left her lips in over ten years, and instantly she felt a small warmth pool in her chest, a comforting one that gave her the means to get up onto her feet, staggering to the nearest shout she could distinguish and letting a kind priest catch her, put her arm over their shoulders and guided her to what she could only assume were medic tents.
"What's your name, soldier?" Val swallowed, really wanting to do anything but speak. "Val…Val Glenmore. Regiment three, Stormwind division…can I sleep now?" There was a light chuckle as she was set on a cot, with a warm hand pressing her forehead and another dose of that comforting warmth the Light brought. "Of course you can. Let's get you fixed up Val."
Varian's mind was going at a mile a minute. He was being hounded by jubilant soldiers, sharing their joy but feeling frazzled, tired, sick, every single emotion that he could think of was swimming around in his head as he shoved the flap to the Alliance tent up and accepted Arthas' hearty embrace. "I told you all would turn out alright in the end Varian."
Varian swallowed to wet his throat, patting the blonde's back. "Not yet it hasn't brother. Val…she went down, I couldn't go back…" Arthas put a hand up. "She's been found safe and well and taken to a medic tent. It was the first thing I asked about, since I knew you'd be panicking."
Varian put both hands on his face and threw his head back, thanking a deity that he had cursed over and over in the past for sparing him one more tragedy, grateful to his core for his one prayer being answered and feeling a large weight leave his shoulders. "Thank the Light. I'll give her some time to rest and then I'll see her. How's everything here?" Arthas chuckled, bringing him over to the map table.
"I'm shocked that Magni hasn't already brought out the kegs, that's how things are here." Nizaar's grin made it impossible not to match it an finally let it sink in that the war had been won after months of doubt, it made Varian's heart lighter than it had been since Stormwind had burned, it felt absolutely wonderful.
"The destruction of the portal means that the gateway to the orcs world is cut off. Whoever remains have no lifeline, no way of contacting their home…we've truly come out as the victors this day." Varian couldn't do anything but agree. "Now my people can focus on rebuilding instead of wondering when the next attack will be…and all in under a year. I'll confess, I thought it would take alot longer than this. It hasn't quite sunk in."
Turalyon folded his arms with a warm and gentle smile on his face. "It will in time Varian, and when it does, you'll be so bored with normal life we'll hear about how you want to fight again soon enough." They all shared a laugh, a proper one, for the first time in months, it was surreal to say the least.
"So what happens now?" He was glad Arthas had asked first, for he was wondering the same thing; despite everything, this had been his first war, so he wasn't versed in how to deal with the aftermath of victory, especially when it was a victory he'd doubted would even come to fruition. Thankfully they weren't mocked for their lack of knowledge and Nizaar answered them with his usual confidence. "We clean up the bodies, see who came back and who didn't, write the letters to the latter's families and we go home with our troops to celebrate."
Arthas clearly had multiple questions dashing about in his mind. "And the Alliance? What happens to it?" Magni cleared his throat. "Nothin' Lad, we stay an Alliance and converge only when necessary. Just because tha' wars over doesnae mean we break our bonds." There seemed to be a murmur of agreement, which Varian would never admit out loud, was a relief.
He had the same fears as the paladin next to him; he feared that now the war was over they'd all go their separate ways and it would be as fractured a world as it had been before the Horde. The war had done one thing of favour in his eyes, it had brought kingdoms together when before it had seemed an impossible task. He would never thank the Horde for it, but he could appreciate how positive a side effect it had been.
He couldn't stay here any longer. He knew it was careless and decadent but he needed to see if Val was alright. It had already been two hours since the end of the battle and his time had been occupied by signing letters of condolence and arranging the clean up with his commanding officers, so he hadn't had time to even enquire about her.
Now Arthas had told him she had been found and was merely a few steps away, his feet were burning with the need to move and see to her. "Varian, go. We have all the time in the world to talk about these things." He was grateful beyond reason for Arthas' understanding, putting it down to the priestly nature the blonde had always possessed, one of understanding and compassion.
He patted the hand on his shoulder, sweeping from the tent and trying not to run towards the small cluster of tents housing the many wounded, some dying, soldiers of the Alliance that had been brought here to be seen to by the plethora of medics and priests that had been brought here once the battle had finished and the aftermath started up. He caught the shoulder of one such priest as he went past, well aware that he was squeezing too hard and figuring he would apologise after.
"I'm looking for someone from the Stormwind regiment." The kind faced older woman pointed over to the adjacent tent. "All Stormwind soldiers are in there Your Majesty." He quickly apologised for his grip, thanked her for her help and strode over in the space of about twenty seconds, madly looking around the sea of people until he found her in a corner, feeling his heart lift at how animated she was with all things considered.
He acknowledged those who greeted him, and clapped arms with others, all the while weaving through the throngs and sweeping her up without warning, lifting her from the cot she was sitting on and kissing her cheeks without regret or even a thought that people were watching. "I take it you're glad to see me?" He held her tighter, forgetting that she probably wasn't in the best shape and burying his face in her shoulder.
"Shut up woman." She started laughing first, but soon he joined in, finally letting his happiness at their victory out and spinning with her still encased firmly in his arms and looking just the slightest bit mad.
"Varian, I'm still bleeding you cock, put me down!" He all but dropped her, not realising that she hadn't been seen to yet but not letting his happiness fade, brushing her hair back and getting a good look at her wounds. Thankfully there was nothing that looked too bad at first glance, and her face relaxed once he kissed her, running her nails down his cheeks and grinning when he pulled back. "What happened to being discreet?"
Varian knelt in front of her, taking both of her hands and being unable to stop himself peppering them with kisses. "Fuck discreet, we just won the war, we're both alive to tell the tale, I for one think that's a sign that we shouldn't give a flying fuck about others anymore." Her face fell and he wondered what he had said, squeezing her hands enough to lift her head. "Sweetheart? What is it?" She had tears in her eyes, tears that told him all they needed to, but he let her speak regardless since she clearly needed to say it.
"We…. Kay and Hemming, we lost them." Varian's heart broke for her since he was well aware of how close she was to the two of them, and even though he didn't know them that well, he owed them a debt for making sure Val hadn't been lonely all the time she was away.
"I'm so sorry love." She wiped her eyes, shrugging as if it were nothing when he knew she was in pain. "We knew it could happen going in. I'll miss them but really, they did their duty, I can't begrudge them that by becoming miserable over it." He hated to agree with such a bleak assessment, but she was essentially correct. Of course he'd help her grieve, but there was only so much shock one could feel at the death of a soldier, one that voluntarily chose to fight at that.
"I'll take your lead Val, just as I always do." She couldn't help her tiny laugh, nor could she resist kicking his chest with her good leg. "Fuck off Varian, you never take my lead on anything, you're a stubborn arsehole, everyone knows it." She thought it best to get the hardest question out of the way before they started enjoying the freeing feeling that knowing the Horde were no more brought with it. "Did we lose anyone else?" Varian shook his head, knowing she was speaking of the Alliance leaders, who were as much her friends by this point as they were his.
"No, everyone's accounted for. How about on your side? Is it just those two?" Thankfully she nodded, looking to her left and letting him do the same, finding Carson at the water table. "Arin's at the Gilnean tent, but Car insisted on staying here." She snorted, forgetting how much it hurt. "He's just as damn protective as you are underneath all that bravado." Varian still held onto her hands, not really caring that everyone was looking at him with the curiosity of Darkmoon Faire attendees.
"Good, we need to be when we're around such a clumsy thing like you." She narrowed her eyes, just as he thought she would. "Shut up Varian." Her face relaxed and she actually managed a smile.
"So, how bad were you?" Varian was glad most of his armour had been removed when he'd been seen to straight after the call of victory, so he could show her his various injuries, or rather, what was left of them, almost like it was a competition between the two of them, in a strange, sadistic way. She of course, showed him hers and all it did was make him want to scoop her up, run away and keep her in a tower with no exits or entrances for the rest of their lives, but he felt that somehow she'd resent him for it if Light forbid he actually went through with the admittedly insane idea.
Maybe her fairy stories were starting to rub off on him, who knew? "I'm dreading Gramma when we get back." Varian didn't look as worried as she did even though he completely understood where she was coming from. "She'll understand Sweetheart. We were never going to come away unscathed." Val's nose wrinkled. "Those trolls were alot bigger than I first presumed them to be."
A sting of fear ran through Varian's chest and he remembered that she'd been on her own for a small chunk of the battle. "I saw you go down. Ebony?" Val tried and failed to look impassive. "She was never going to survive that, and even if she did I think I would've put her out of her misery anyway." He felt furious with himself and apparently she noticed, asking him why his brow had suddenly furrowed.
"I never accounted for Trolls attacking from above. It seems such a logical tactic, I should've anticipated it but I didn't, and all it did was put you in harm's way." Val, to his dismay, shook her head. "Varian you can't have accounted for every single damn thing that the Horde would do. If you had that power you'd be more powerful than any mage in Azeroth and this war would've been over in a day." He hated how right she was, but appreciated her effort none the less.
What was getting him more agitated was how she hadn't been seen to yet when the bloodstain on her left side was getting bigger every time he looked at it. He looked behind him to see where the damn medics had gotten to and felt a small hand clutch his chin and bring it back. "Varian, I'm fine, I can wait a few minutes." He huffed angrily, lifting her tunic and inspecting the wound himself.
"You're in high regard with the crown, that should put you at the highest priority. I have every mind to go and find one of those idiots and drag him-" His rant was cut off with her twisting the top of his ear, making him angrier but she didn't care, it stopped him going on and making her head throb even more. "Damn it woman, what was that for?" She leant back, hissing a little as it opened the gash he'd just been assessing.
"To shut you up. I won't have you throwing your weight around 'in my honour' Varian, I'd much sooner have you leave." He still looked furious at her 'lack of care' but took a long breath through his nose. "Fine, I won't go searching for a medic, but I'm allowed to worry Val." She put his hair behind his ear, wondering if he'd even noticed that it had fallen loose and his tie was hanging from the end of one side.
"I know you are, and it's lovely that you do, but Val needs quiet. Quiet will be good for Val, not shouting." Varian had to wonder if she was going delirious from blood loss, so he stood and instead bent over her so he could check her eyes, holding her shoulders to keep her steady. "Val, how many of me can you see?" Val gave him a dry look. "Just one icebrain, I told you, I'm fine." Varian fought his chuckle, still not convinced.
"You're referring to yourself in third person, that's not normal behaviour Val." She half-heartedly shoved him away, appreciating how much he cared but not wanting to be smothered so much right now. "I haven't slept in nearly two days Varian, that's enough to make anyone a bit kooky. Calm yourself for the love of the Light, I'm not about to drop dead." He sat next to her instead, letting her head rest on his shoulder as a compromise.
"Maybe when we get back to Stormwind you can get a few days rest." Val's eyes were closed but he knew she was awake; after years of sleeping next to her he knew damn well that she didn't fall asleep that quickly, and now was no exception, despite how tired he could tell she was. "I highly doubt I'll get the chance with three kids and my grandmother hounding me." She groped for his hand and he happily gave it to her.
"And I have to finish the house if it's not done already." Varian frowned at how she was listing all jobs that she didn't need to do, but he knew in his heart that she'd do them regardless of whether he advised against it or not…but that didn't stop him trying. "Let everyone else deal with that Val, take some time for yourself for once." She opened one eye, managing to emanate sarcasm even though she was drowsy.
"That's bloody rich, coming from you." He bit his tongue to stop it unleashing its wrath on her, tensing his jaw and taking a few deep breaths. "Val, I'm the king, I have an excuse as to why I'm so damn busy, you don't, so don't make me end up commanding you to take a few days for yourself woman, so help me I'll do it and you know I will."
She yawned as if to prove his point, closing her eye again. "Alright, I'll admit a few lazy days does sound appealing. But only if a certain King joins me." Now Varian finally chuckled, putting his head against hers and completely understanding what she meant about finally feeling their battle fatigue. "Don't bloody tempt me." He sighed, running a hand down his face. "I have so much crap to get through when we go home it's making me want to just run and hide." He could feel her fingers getting cold, he didn't like it one bit and was seriously considering going back to his earlier idea of dragging a medic over.
Her wound was packed with gauze to stem the blood flow but it clearly wasn't working as well as it should have been. "I'll help you as much as I can, you know that." Her brows drew down. "I hope Tiffin hasn't had the baby yet." Varian lifted his head, helping her lay facing him as a medic finally came to see to her, pulling wads of crimson, wet gauze from her side and making him want to do nothing but vomit as he knelt by her head and held her outstretched hand, knowing she would need stitches since the blonde man clearly wasn't a priest and she wasn't the best with needles.
"She's not due for another month Sweetheart, I'd be very much concerned if the baby was there when we got back." His eyebrow rose as he had a rather peculiar thought shove itself into his head. "Are you telling me you're excited for the baby?" Val flashed him a grin, hissing as the thick needle went in. "It's a fucking baby Varian, why wouldn't I be?" His deadpan face only made her want to laugh instead of wince, like she was doing with every prod and poke, squeezing his hand tighter and being grateful that he could take such a grip. "I can think of at least fifteen reasons why not." Val gave him the best chiding expression she could manage.
"Varian, it's not that little ones fault that you and Tiffin had to get married. I for one can't wait for them." She turned a little so she was looking directly at him. "Stay still please." After giving the medic a small smile to tell him she'd acknowledged him she went back to Varian. "Please tell me that you can't either." Varian looked insulted by the very insinuation, which was just the reaction she had been hoping for.
"Of course I can't! Val, my feelings are the same as yours; As much as I see Tiffin as merely a friend, this child is my first born. That's nothing to sneeze at and you know that I'll love them unconditionally." His features softened. "I just hope you don't end up hating me for it." Val managed a tiny, barely visible smile. "You know I won't."
"Alright sunshine?" Carson's deep baritone cut the conversation that they'd admittedly had a number of times before short, sitting by Val's feet and passing her a waterskin that she merely laid next to her. "Oh yes, I'm just fucking peachy." Carson shared a knowing look with Varian, reaching over to clasp arms with him. "Good to see you alive and well Majesty."
Varian had never dreamed of being sincerely happy to see yet another of Val's potential suitors (he knew he was being foolishly presumptuous but he didn't care), but here he was, smiling at the Kul Tiran and letting his arm go. "You too, my friend. Things got a little too hairy for a while there." Carson glugged his own water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Tell me about it. I've never had to dodge so many clubs in all my life, and I'm rather eager never to do it again." Val poked his side with the toe of her boot, glad that she was nearly finished. "Tell him for me." Carson looked as confused as Varian did. "Tell him wha- oh! Right, I'm with you now." He leant forward, putting his elbows on his knees and giving Varian a grin that made him rather nervous despite everything.
"We've decided that we're done with this military lark. Now the wars over, we three- that is, Val, Arin and I- are giving in our letters of imminent retirement." Val enjoyed watching the relief flood onto Varian's face, linking their fingers and grunting at the last few stitches. "So I'll be in Stormwind full time from now on." Varian kissed the top of her hand, leaving his lips there. "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that Sweetheart." Carson chuckled, letting his hands hang between his legs.
"I suppose there's paperwork for me to do in order to become a Stormwind Citizen?" Varian nodded, much to the older man's dismay. "It's a simple citizenship test, we do it for everyone. It's merely to tell us who you are, then Shaw and his men will do a background check and gather testimony from the two witnesses who already live in Stormwind in terms of your character. It's standard procedure."
Val managed a chuckle, letting Varian help her sit up so the medic could check the thread didn't break with the slightest movement. "So if I'm to correctly assume that I will be one of those witnesses…whatever I say can determine his fate?"
Varian rolled his eyes, brushing her hair back. "Stop going mad with every little bit of power I give you." He could swear she pouted for just a few seconds before waving behind him, letting Arin join their merry band and clap arms with Varian, who exchanged the same relief at his survival as he had with Carson, letting the Gilnean sit down and look his age now he wasn't wearing the burden of war on his face. Arin patted Val's leg, making Varian have to wonder what his jealousy's criteria was since he didn't even feel a hint of anger at the act.
"I was starting to think we'd lost you as well." She shrugged, starting to feel dizzy from blood loss and getting up a little too quickly, thanking Varian for noticing and passing her the waterskin. "Well unfortunately for you, I'm still very much here." Arin slumped next to her, looking much more human than she did right now. "You been seen already Holton?" He nodded, turning his dented helm in both hands.
"Aye, I tell you, those priests are bloody good." The blonde haired medic looked up with a grin. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Val hated him for making her laugh at the supposed 'feud' between priests and medics that the soldiers had all exaggerated about for the past year."Could you stay still while I see to your head miss." Val huffed, letting Arin put her water to her lips.
"Stop making me fucking laugh then, I have a very immature humour." Now it was Carson's turn to chuckle. "She's not even joking mate." Varian knew he would normally get a slap for this but took advantage of her weakened state by folding his arms smugly. "See, it's not just me that thinks you're a child trapped in a woman's body." Val stuck her tongue out at him like she was actively trying to prove his point, only egging his laughter on more.
"So what happens now Your Majesty? Do we all just go home?" Varian was sure that his nod had been the answer Arin had been expecting, feeling his features soften. "Aye, us leaders will deal with the fine print but you infantry can all go wherever you please." Arin had a dopey grin on his face. "I can't wait to see Gwen again." Varian matched his smile.
"Is that your woman?" Arin gave him a curiously shy nod, leaning back on the cot as Val was discharged and the medic moved on. "I haven't seen her since the war started…there hasn't been a chance to go back to Gilneas." Carson clapped his shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. "And now we're all going home, so you can spend as much time as you want with her." Varian kissed Val's forehead, putting his against it. "We can all go home and start to rebuild our lives."