No spoilers but that damn Afterlives: Bastion short be throwing off all my plans. Blizzard loves to mess with me for real lol

"Andrew!"

Arthas continued to ignore the night elf's attempts to speak to him. The damn elf persisted in trying to stop him, but Arthas needed to be alone. Finally the elf caught up to Arthas just as the man tried to leave the mage quarter. The rain no longer fell. Everything glistened in the moonlight. Lethumo reached out to grab Arthas but the man twisted around to face him, hand at his sword hilt.

"Please, let us just talk like men," Lethumo suggested.

Arthas scoffed derisively. "No thanks. Besides, aren't I a derelict as you said?"

Lethumo gave him an irritated look. "Okay fine, I apologize but you really pissed me off. Just because you are so unhappy with your lot in life doesn't mean you should continue to take it out on the kid! She's been through plenty."

The man curled his lip up in disgust.

"Oh yes, you know so much about us."

Lethumo planted both of his hands on his waist in a patronizing stance. Arthas merely raised an eyebrow in disbelief. If he so wanted, he could kill the night elf with but a flick of his wrist if he really desired it.

"I have enough observation skills to figure out enough," The elf said matter-of-factly, as if he were smarter than everyone else.

The man wished for it this conservation to be over. He turned as if to again ignore the elf, but Lethumo seemed determined to antagonize him.

"I know about the girl's scars. And all these murders all conveniently started when you arrived."

Anger flared up within Arthas. Again, he could easily kill Lethumo. It was highly doubtful that anyone would miss him. So close to the canals, Arthas could make it look like he slipped, fell into the water, and promptly drowned.

Coldly, Arthas replied. "Do you have any last words then?"

Lethumo gave the deathknight a stern look. "I don't think I will have any. Because all I want to do is help. It seems you are very conflicted about yourself."

The elf was showing a false sense of confidence, but Arthas could tell he was afraid. Fast heartbeats, his breathing turned shallow, and the tensing of his muscles showed his true feelings. For all it was worth, Arthas admired the bravado. Even facing a known killer and monstrous undead, the elf still managed to pretend.

" You seem to be a monster that doesn't...want to be one. You murder, yet you stopped that man from knocking out my teeth? You snapped at Sapphire, but you were showing concern for her before that. I think you just don't know what to do with yourself."

The elf thought he knew Arthas. He did not. No one knew what Arthas felt or what he thought. Lethumo did not even know who "Andrew" truly was. If he did, he would be even more scared than how he was now. This gave Arthas an idea. He was tired of pretending.

"So, you think you know anything about me?" Arthas hissed. The elf's confidence slipped a little.

"I mean you are a deathknight so I assume-"

Arthas cut the elf off, prowling toward him like a deadly predator. "Not just a deathknight. I am THE deathknight. I am Arthas Menethil. I was the Lich King. I have killed tens of thousands of people."

Lethumo backed up a step at each sentence, his demeanor completely changing to that of one of complete terror. Arthas grabbed the elf by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

"What were you saying about me?" Arthas demanded.

"That you are a vile sadistic cretin and that I appreciated everything about you and above all that you've got such heightened forbearance for pathetic worms such as myself? If you are going to torture me, could you at least not touch any part of my face? I love my face," The elf pleaded pitifully.

Arthas let go of Lethumo, who immediately collapsed to the ground and heaved a sigh of relief.

"You did get one thing right," Arthas scoffed, "You are a pathetic worm."

Lethumo dusted himself off, trying to regain his composure. It did not help that the rain seemed to regain its own vigor and droplets started to fall intermittedly. Arthas looked up at the sky with disdain.

"So, how come you are not dead and rotting in hell?" Lethumo choked out.

Arthas shrugged his shoulders. Even he did not know that. "Your guess is as good as mine. Now, am I going to have to kill you or are you going to keep your mouth shut? The latter option seems impossible."

The night elf's eyes widened and he immediately threw his hands up defensively. "No no no! I know how to keep secrets trust me. Once we return home, I can get a nice change of pants, cry in the bathtub, and probably vomit a little...then it will be like nothing ever happened! Yes?"

Without answering, Arthas grabbed the elf's arm. Lethumo let out a choked high pitched scream but it turns out the man was only helping him to his feet. When he realized that, Lethumo laughed nervously. Noticeably, the elf let Arthas lead the way so he wouldn't have to turn his back from the human.

When they got back to the apartment, they found it quiet. Sapphire had gotten over her initial panic. She lay curled up on the floor exactly where Lethumo had told her to stay, with Rot in her arms. Lethumo flung his cloak off and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, I didn't mean literally stay in that spot. I meant for her to just not leave the apartment!" He said in frustration.

Arthas gently picked her up. "She doesn't understand nuance very well, Lethumo."

Lethumo rubbed his face. "Of course she does not. I need a drink."

Before Arthas took Sapphire back to her bed, he saw the night elf yank a wine bottle off the shelf and start drinking straight from it.

The druid's shop had survived the destruction of the park due the fact that she had recently moved into the wealthier Trade District. Wide glass shop windows flanked the door, but nothing could be seen of the interior. Vines and leaves obscured the view, taking in as much sunlight as they could from behind the glass.

Sapphire shoved her face against the glass in awe of all the plants. She wore her hat over her head to hide the fuzzy antler nubs on the top of her head. Lethumo gently prodded her into the direction of the door. With a flourish, he opened up the door.

"After the lady," He said happily.

Even past the windows, the shop was filled with more plants. Jars and bottles lined the many wall shelves. Large sacks of soil, sand, and what looked like potatoes leaned up against barrels and crates strewn around the room. A long counter dominated the space, to which a night elf woman sat behind. Unlike Lethumo, the woman wore simpler clothes with muted colors. Leaves seemed to grow out of her lovely green hair. She lowered the book she had been reading. The look she gave Lethumo was not a comforting one.

The musician cleared his throat. "Dearest Alayna. What a fine morning-"

"-Until you showed up, it had been a fine morning," She hissed.

Lethumo immediately winced at the tone. Behind him, Arthas smirked.

Sapphire was not interested in whatever conflict Lethumo and Alayna had. The nice druid wouldn't be mean to her for no reason. She approached the counter. There was a potted plant right next to the woman. It was squat, round and spiky. Sapphire looked at it with interest.

"What's that?"

Alayna looked down at the girl with surprise. "Why, that's a desert plant called a barrel cactus. And who are you, little one?"

Sapphire beamed. "I'm Sapphire! What's a desert?"

The druid was taken aback for a minute, and then tried to explain. "Well, it is a place dominated by lack of rainfall and-"

Arthas cleared his throat, clearly not interested in a major lesson on biomes. He leaned forward and took the hat off of Sapphire's head.

"We have more pressing issues than geography lessons," He urged.

The night elf druid gasped. She grabbed Sapphire and plopped her on top of the counter to get a better look.

"Oh my. How did these get there?" Alayna said incredulously.

Sapphire piped up happily. "A magic doe gave them to me...Am I going to turn into a deer?"

Alayna glanced skeptically at the two adults, then back at the girl. She patted the girl gently on the shoulder comfortingly.

"No sweetie, I doubt you will turn into a deer. It was a doe that did this?"

The girl nodded. Alayna turned thoughtful, then bent down behind the counter. She pulled out a thick book and opened it. Sapphire immediately got bored and looked at all the plants. She saw one very blue flowering plant near the window. She slipped off the counter to go admire it. Both Lethumo and Arthas asked the druid questions, but Sapphire didn't pay them any attention.

The blue plant grew in a large container. It wrapped around a delicate wooden pole that stood in the middle. Sapphire touched a leaf, admiring how blue it was. But something was wrong. Sapphire did not know what it was but she started to feel ill.

"Miss Druid Lady!" Sapphire called out to get the druid's attention.

The elf looked up from her book. Sapphire pointed at the plant.

"Something is wrong with this plant! I think its sick," She said. Alayna scowled, but left the counter to examine the plant. She touched the leaves like Sapphire did and peer down at the soil beneath. Sapphire looked to where she looked and saw a pale powdery substance on the soil.

"Mold. My blue wort has mold!" Alayna said in shock. The elf then peered closely at Sapphire and again at her antlers.

Alayna looked over at Arthas. "You said that her mother was a magic user? A mage?"

Sapphire whipped her head up in shock. This was the first time she had ever heard anything about a mother. She had a mother? Her mother was a mage? Arthas nodded in response to the druid's question.

With that answer, the druid put her hand to her chin in a reflective manner.

"She could tell my plant was ill. You said you met both a talking wolf and a doe. With all this information, I think your daughter needs to be trained as a druid."

A druid! Sapphire immediately liked the sound of that. Druids could talk to nature things, grow plants and even turn into animals like cats...or even birds! This seemed like an answer that Arthas did not like. He grew angry and Sapphire instinctively hid behind the druid.

"My daughter can't be a druid," He sneered.

Alayna shrugged helplessly. "I am not an expert in these things. My major focus is on plants. Antlers growing from her head seem very obvious though. Only powerful druids can even grow them, though it usually takes decades even after they become masters. But you should get a second opinion."

Arthas growled in frustration, but Lethumo planted one hand on the man's shoulder.

"My uncle is a pretty good druid. I bet he can come to check this out."

Sapphire liked the sound of that. If he was related to Lethumo, this uncle would no doubt be very nice and fun to be around. She saw that her father looked doubtful of all this so she decided to try and reassure him.

"I'd like to be a druid, father. I could fly around as a bird!" She said with excitement. Being able to fly would be the best thing in the world to Sapphire. She especially liked feathers. This did not seem to help her father's mood.

Alayna proceeded to treat her poor plant with a liquid solution but she did add a comment of her own.

"I can't officially teach any students, but if your daughter needs anyone to talk to you can bring her by...Not you, Lethumo."

The musician gasped, offended. "Fine! Be that way. You never were a people person, Alayna!"

Sapphire reached over to the druid and hugged her. "Thank you!"

This gave the druid a start, but she smiled and returned the hug. Sapphire then turned to the plant and told it that she hoped it felt better.

"Come on Sapphire," Arthas grumbled before leaving the shop.

The girl immediately sprinted to him and waved farewell to the druid. Sapphire grabbed onto Lethumo's hand. He seemed equally upset, scowling and muttering under his breath.

"Ungrateful! I tried to love her but no, she prefers vines, roots and LEAVES over love," He growled.

Sapphire did not understand what he was talking about, and she really did not care. All she could think about now was turning into a bird or a cat. Druids could also talk to plants and animals. Maybe Sapphire could learn to talk to Rot finally so she knew what he was talking about. She saw a few birds flying over the city and thought again of birds and flying.