Title: Unexpected Kindness II: The Expecting
Description: Sylvanas receives a surprise visit, and then another gift.
Notes1: I would've had this up a few days ago, but recently I started a new job so updates are probably going to be more sporadic than they usually are. My apologies if some sections appear to be rushed.
Notes2: Don't worry, Turtlefish, the Grand Phoenix is still here! She has not forgotten about Nova, and neither has she forgotten about the collection of Sylvanas/Nova oneshots that apparently (to my surprise) people are interested in. But, uh, I'm really hesitant to call those romance because, well, just look at their interactions. It'd be more like...a bloodier, dark comedy version of boke and tsukkomi? Also, I believe today is White Day in Japan, so...technically I didn't really miss anything particularly important.
Notes3: I had forgot to mention in the previous chapter, but the two people Sylvanas thinks about ("Mishka and her dolt friend [Armi]") are from my other fanfic, No More Retries, a WoW/Final Fantasy 13 fic. They are my mains in Warcraft, a blood elf (although I RP her as a high elf) Beast Mastery hunter (Mishka) and an Arms/Protection human warrior (Armi). Them wanting to set up a quilen corral in Undercity comes from an idea of my that may or may not be written.
Notes4: There may or may not be butchering of Starcraft canon in here, in regards to the Ghost Program, regardless of my skimming and reading of the entry on the Starcraft wikia. I'm kinda expecting one of my unnamed Guests (you know who you are) to correct me if there is, haha.
Notes5: Although planned in advance, the beginning of the chapter was inspired by my playthrough of GTA: San Andreas. My favorite stations are CSR 103.9 and Bounce FM, so you can kind of tell that I probably had way too much fun working on that section.
Notes6: Also, this will probably be the only time an F-bomb gets dropped, even if it is botched. As tempted as I am, this story won't go any higher than the T rating it's at.
Notes7: Yes, Lucario, you found the right page: it's Fantastic-Phoenix. I do anthro art. Yes, I consider the other stuff that's not anime/manga-related to be HotS fan art. I don't know how to use Photoshop and I prefer black and white over applying colors. It's the best I can offer.

Sometime later, Sylvanas went for another walk—one that was more contemplative, genuine, and relaxed. Still the sight of decoration and flair of the holiday unnerved her, and the pins and needle sensation of mana-infused chocolate swirled numbingly in her veins and lingered on her tongue.

She slowed to a stop and looked behind her, at the dormitory nestled at the base of the indent in the shrub and scrub consisting of the valley. She could make out some of the dogs flittering in and out of the building, presumably delivering the last of Li-Ming's presents to her side of the room she was assigned to. There probably wouldn't be that much space for her to move around in, so however much they had left they would deposit them wherever she could access them: the library, the arcane sanctum and towers, the training fields, the attics; in short, her favorite haunts. Perhaps she would come across Jaina's pile later and gloat about how much more attention she got; kids like her thrived on making such an accomplishment, self-indulgent as it was.

For now, Li-Ming had gone off to the fairgrounds where the height of activity was, riding on the Greater Dog's shoulders and her face turned up into the wind, the exhilaration of being so high up in the air shining in her face and extending to her hair flowing free as a windsock behind her. The other dogs, those that had finished with their tasks below, crowded around their alpha in a fluffy, furry, white circle, all identical and open-mouthed smiles.

Meanwhile, Doodle the pup kept pace with Sylvanas, feet pattering on the grass much more quickly than the slow stride her feet were taking on. For once, she did not begrudge the company of another, especially an animal from another universe far removed from the Nexus, nor, surprisingly, did she mind or care if it had already imprinted itself upon her; it would make fast friends with all the quilen.

"I'll suppose I'll show you around," she told Doodle, who glanced up at the sound of her voice. "Introduce you to the other beasts; that is, if Valla and her band of troglodytes managed to round them all up and herd them back. As far as I'm concerned, you and your pack don't have a home to go to, or if you do we of the Hero League have no idea where it is. If it's even in this particular plane. But that doesn't matter, now does it?" Doodle responded with an affirmative yip. Sylvanas sighed. "Yes, that's what I thought. Well, come along then. Try to keep up—"

"THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!"

Music drowned out her words and the words from the speaker—a funky riff that escalated up and down in keys. That, and it came out popping and crackling with static. A sudden blast of wind gusted up behind them, forcing Sylvanas and Doodle to a stop. The Banshee Queen twisted around to see where the source of it could be coming from.

The Medivac came roaring in from the direction of the marshes. As it came closer toward them, the vehicle slowed to a crawl, its shadow passing over Sylvanas like some herculean beast. Then turned around, a complete three hundred sixty degrees, and hovered in midair. Beneath the Medivac a hatch opened and out shot a pink tractor beam, from which a platform descended to the crescendo of the riffs and obnoxious synthesizers blaring in the background. On it were two people: one in a bulky suit of pink and gold armor, decorated in large hearts and fake angelic wings; the other in a skimpy fuku that matched suspiciously and eerily the description of clothing magical girls of anime were prone to wear in the fabled Nineteen-Ninety Eighties.

At first, Sylvanas thought the Medivac was heading in the same direction as the Nephalem Li-Ming, toward the fairgrounds, for what reason other than a possible medical emergency? Lieutenant Rosa Morales didn't use her dropship for anything but that and a quick getaway in matches. Second, she wouldn't be playing music from the mythological Nineteen-Ninety-Seventies, what Nova called the Decade of the Hippy (whatever the hell that was). So what in the world was going?

When she saw them come down the platform doing the Robot, not to mention the lyrics blasting from wherever the speakers were located on the Medivac, Sylvanas went on full alert:

"Rollercoaster~ of love~
(Say what?)
Rollercoaster…oh-hoo-hoo-hoo!
Rollercoaster~
(Ride!)
Of love~
Rollercoaster…oh-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

And so forth it went on in similar variations. Doodle barked at the new arrivals and wagged his tail hard enough for his hips to move back and forth.

"What is this?" Sylvanas asked impatiently.

"Our sensors have detected negative energies indicating the telltale signs of a lonely, broken heart!" said Morales, still in the throes of the mechanical Robot. "They were so powerful! So intense! That we had to investigate at once! We have reason to believe that, of all the people celebrating the joys and pitfalls of love, friendship, and camaraderie, you, Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, are the only one in the Nexus who is suffering this malady…and single!"

"In the name of the stars, we will heal you!" declared Star Princess Li-Ming. "Your heart! Your soul! The power of love and light will leave nothing untouched! Come, Sylvanas!" She stopped dancing, or whatever passed for striking anime-inspired poses, got on one knee, and spread out her arms. "Let us shower you in the warmth of my bosom!"

"Get the hell out of here!" Sylvanas snapped, insulted and scandalized. "I'm not lonely! My heart doesn't even work anymore to constitute brokenness, either! I'm undead!"

"That doesn't matter to me, Sylvanas! It doesn't matter to anyone who's looking to mend your wounds! Even though your internal organs no longer have the means to function properly, it still retains the process to feel—physically! Emotionally! SPIRITUALLY! You are no different now than you were when you were legally alive! And if we're to believe the machinations of afterlife after undeath, the Powers That Be have had your number on speed dial for a long time; but be you not afraid, I will save you from the bowels of eternal, tortuous darkness!"

"I would rather go there than to the kind of hell that's sitting stacked below your neckline!" Sylvanas jabbed a finger directly at the twin mounds pressed firmly but not too tightly against the Star Princess's blouse. "What kind of person do you take me for?!"

"Well for one, you won't suffocate—"

"I'd prefer being thrown off my feet and have the better part of my bones crushed to dust by the Greater Dog than stuff my face in that!"

A scowl flickered across Li-Ming's face. "Better me than, you know, Tyrande; that, my dear, is a surefire to endure suffocation. Then again, there's no such thing as too much 'talent'."

"I'll have none of it! Go hug Doodle instead!" The pup barked and, as if on command, charged at Li-Ming, and leapt into her arms, to who she barely caught. She had to move her head back to avoid being slobbered by his searching tongue. "There you go. Here's your daily dosage of love, diabetes, and all that sickeningly sweet crap. Beam back up into the stars or whatever and find someone else to preach. Like, oh, I don't know, the Space Lord. I hear he's been a real pain in the ass."

"But it's my mission to dispense positive harmonic energies across the stars! I can't focus on just one person!"

"Well that's just too bad!" Sylvanas sneered openly at her in a reed-thin voice. Darkness, at least the Sanctuary variant knew when to back off. This Li-Ming was all up in her face as much as Johanna was with the Light and getting her to attend her sermons at the Church more often.

"We can't just leave you as you are!" said Morales, who was still dancing (no longer the Robot but now in the throes of the Running Man) to the beat of the song. "My nanites can only do so much, but this…this is one of those problems they can't resolve. As your doctor, I recommend a couple hours of bloodless interaction with whom you consider to be…well, I'd be hard pressed to say they're friends but acquaintances would pretty much be hitting the sweet spot. But hey, I won't stop you if you're bonding on the battlefield; that's part and parcel for being in the Nexus!"

"That's all fine and dandy. I think I'll do just that."

"Well that's great!" Morales beamed.

"How's about we do it…hmm, I don't know, now?" Sylvanas emphasized her point by smacking her fist against an open palm a few times, glaring challengingly at the pair. "No one to see…nor report…for miles around. It sounds all so…perfect."

"But that's against the rules!" said the Star Princess, aghast.

"Big whoop. I don't do the rules unless it's within my own realm, and when I do…well, let's just say they don't see the light of day for…hmm, give or take a couple years." Sylvanas shrugged and rolled her shoulders, limbered her neck from side to side. "Poor, poor Koltira. He really should've known better."

Li-Ming scrambled to her feet and in her haste dropped Doodle in favor of grabbing her wand and focus. The pup sat down on his hind legs and raised his front ones, eyeing the wand expectedly, as though it were a stick to fetch. "Lieutenant Morales, I can't tell if this variant is friend or foe! The rational side of me is telling me to help her, but the emotional side is saying to blast her into atomic oblivion! What should I do?"

What difference does rationality and emotionality make? Sylvanas thought, scowling deeply.

"It's alright, Li!" said Morales. "The sensors picked up more than just negative energy! Allow me!" She took a step forward and raised her arm-mounted cannon at Sylvanas. Before the Banshee Queen could draw out the shadow dagger, thinking it a concussion grenade, a pink light shot forth and encompassed her from head to toe: the nanobot healing beam. Sylvanas cringed and shielded her eyes against the light as it scanned her. Behind the Plexiglas visor of her helmet, Morales squinted hard in concentration.

"There we go!" she said after a moment's silence, and to Sylvanas's relief clicked off the beam. "My scanner says that—"

"If this has anything to do with that overdrawn 'meme', as you call it," Sylvanas began, "I'm going to reanimate that dead horse and beat you over the head with it! And whatever's left of it I'll bring down the sun, moon, and stars to Li-Ming while I club her senseless!"

"Far from it! It shows that somewhere in that deep dark abyss of a heart there's a ray of sunshine! Now whether or not it's going to grew three times larger instantaneously is up to debate, but I can take a guess and say someone's touched you in a way you've haven't felt in a long, long time!"

"You had better choose your next words very carefully," Sylvanas growled warningly, "or gods help you, if it goes in the direction I think it's going in—"

"No, no! This is a good thing! You must find this person, whoever it is, and bond with them more often! Open yourself up! Express yourself…as non-violently as you can manage! Think of this an opportunity to undo the negative stereotypes and assumptions that comes with being undead. I mean, you don't kill everyone that annoys you; look at Li Li! Anybody can become a better person. If they can make the pains to change, then so can you."

"Oh spare me your motivational babble! Being a hardass is a requirement for my title. And the only reason I don't kill Li Li on a daily basis (unlike a certain somebody) is because she's a child and I have no intentions of incurring the wrath of that lush she calls an uncle. See, I'm not entirely heartless."

"Well yes," Star Princess Li-Ming agreed, "but once she's an adult—"

"She'll still be a kid. That is how elves view the younger, lesser races."

Morales elbowed Li-Ming in the ribs. "You see that? She said so herself. She's got it in her. Have faith! That's the point of being a Star Princess, right?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes," she said. Then, more resolutely, "Yes, you're right! I mustn't forget my mission. I thank you, Lieutenant Morales, for reminding me thusly so. As for you, Lady Windrunner," Sylvanas quirked an eyebrow at her. The Star Princess returned her wand and foci back to their place and stood for a moment to catch her breath. Then, once again, she got on her knee and held out her arms, exclaiming: "Come! Spread your heart's wings and fly!"

Sylvanas scoffed. "I said it before and I'll say it again, so kindly etch this in your feeble little minds." She leaned forward and, as clear and pronounceable, "No."

"Come on, Sylvanas," Morales wheedled. "What's one hug going to hurt?"

"I don't do hugs."

"You say that now, but in time you'll be doing the opposite! You'll be doing a new running gag!"

Sylvanas closed her eyes, breathed in and out through her nose. Her ears turned sideways and folded against the back of her head. "Doodle," she said to the dog, voice tight. "Get behind me." Doodle barked and went to stand as she requested. "Don't make me repeat myself," she told Morales and Li-Ming.

"Don't make me come over and give you a dose of marshmallow hell," said the Star Princess. "Men and women alike can't resist the marshmallows! Trust me, it feels real good!"

Sylvanas crossed her arms, nodded her head once. "Do you know what feels even better?"

"Better than that?"

"Better than that."

"What is it?"

"Birds."

Li-Ming blinked. "Eh? Birds?"

Then Sylvanas's eyes snapped open and the crimson light in them pulsed once. The birds in the trees around them, all black and brooding in their nests, suddenly ceased what they were doing, and the world they stood in became quiet.

"GET THEM," she commanded.

A wave of red pinpricks lit up the branches high and low, sweeping in from left to right. The air grew loud with the sound of squawking, the air thrumming with the sound of beating wings. Two groups emerged from this black swarm: one directed at the Medivac, the other nosediving straight for Morales and the Star Princess.

"Gods alive!" Li-Ming exclaimed. "Are those ravens or crows?"

"Does it matter?" Morales asked. "Let's go! We're gonna get bombed!" She grabbed the girl by the crook of her elbow, yanked her back onto the platform, and from somewhere on her suit input a command. The tractor beam engulfed them and carried them into the belly of the dropship.

As soon as the plate clicked seamlessly closed, the birds were upon them. What followed was a pitter-patter reminiscent of rain…but smelled far from it. The group that had aimed at the pair where they had stood swooped up and thrashed and pecked at the windshield, obscuring their vision. Some even dared to attack the thrusters at the stern but were immediately incinerated and fell back to earth, charred and smelling gamey.

Something crackled and sparked from within the ship, and just before it took off the Star Princess's voice boomed from unseen speakers, as though she were talking through a tin can. "This isn't over, Sylvanas! I will make you see the Light! You won't go blind from it, either! Thus is my missiooooooonnnnn!" The thrusters emitted a furnace blast of heat, scorching more of the birds into crispy meat; the rest managed to avoid it and fled into the sky, in part of Sylvanas breaking the compulsion spell binding them to her will.

She harrumphed at their passage. "Good riddance, I say! I thought they'd never stop going on with their nonsense prattle." She sniffed the air a few times. "Not bad. It overpowers the smell of the air freshener, but if I had to choose between this and that…well, I'd rather not become some mongrel's meal. Take no offense, Doodle." She looked toward the dog, who had picked up a dead bird and carried it to her. He looked up at her expectantly. She grimaced and shook her head. "No, keep it. At the very least it's better than chocolate."

"Woof!" Doodle barked, muffled with the bird in its mouth.

"As for the rest, let nature sort it out. Or the Greater Dog and his pack. It means little to me." Sylvanas sighed. "Well, Doodle, I can't say I have anywhere else in mind. I've no intention to going back to the dormitory just yet, or the graveyard, and I'd rather not be at the marshes again. So that just leaves," her ears deflated, "the fairgrounds." Doodle's tail went into overdrive, which made them droop even lower. "Oh for the love of…Fine. We may as well. But seriously, don't give that to Li-Ming. Or anyone in particular. They like their food when it's drenched in their saliva, not yours, no matter how clean your mouth may be."

"Woof!"

Meanwhile, among the pomp and liveliness of the fairgrounds, Nova sat alone nursing a mug of mead tapped from Chen's barrel. At least, now that she took a cursory sip of it, she hoped it was from his barrel; the guy was blitzed out of his mind at the moment, and, so far as she knew, the tavern was packed to the walls that no one from the outside was able to get in. In the end, it didn't matter where it came. Getting sauced was the last thing she wanted to do this day, but nothing beat having a bit of fermented honey to put warmth in her belly.

Then she glanced at the lone flower lying next to her hand. She could just imagine what Li Li and Tychus would say, and she colored slightly. Then she imagined what Kerrigan might say, would do, and she blushed angrily. She huffed at the flower and buried her face back into the mug.

Seriously, screw Kerrigan. What the hell would she know about…well…?

Nova perished the thought and downed some more mead. Damn, there went the plan for staying sober. Huh, she wondered now if, upon getting drunk, she could shoot not only straighter but better. That would certainly wipe the smug look off that Bitch Queen's face! She would, indeed, never know what hit her!

And so Nova continued to chug.

"And here, my friends, we arrive at our next exhibit in 'Disasters Waiting to Happen': a woman on a mission! To loosen her inhibitions and either make herself absolutely sick to her stomach or an even more complete ass than she's already making herself out to be! Just look at her go!"

That did not sound like Kerrigan at all: too girlish and way too British, unless Kerrigan suddenly went native overnight. That still didn't stop from Nova sputtering into her mug and shooting an indignant—and a bewildered glare immediately following it—glare at the Greater Dog and his pack. At the Hero sitting atop his shoulders. The new girl.

What was her name again? Nova's mind rifled and filtered through a dozen names in the span of a couple seconds.

"Li-Ming," she said, and judging by the look of relief and approval in her eyes, Nova guessed she was right. But, back to business and gathering her wit: "I-I won't get drunk! I'm…I'm going to drink responsibly. See, it's just this one mug!" She hefted the empty thing up at her. "Now you…you're the one I should be worried about. You're…nineteen, give or take? Somewhere around thereabouts. You're still a kid. Under the legal age, but hey, that doesn't stop the kiddies from indulging their inner dumbass. Kids are known to get wild when they have plenty in 'em, you know. Who knows what a wizard might get up to being inebriated?"

Li-Ming raised and lowered a shoulder in a shrug. "Not I, for one, but I can tell you a few tales about my friend Eirena. There was that one time in New Tristram, with the treasure goblin, a crate of snakes, and those bedeviled bovines—"

"Yeah, well, I don't care about who did what to whom or whatever transpired between the three. I've read and seen plenty of hentai to know where that's going!"

"What is this 'hentai' I keep hearing about? I'm just saying she had way too much beer and—oh. Oh." Li-Ming's face went scarlet in zero to five, like a speedometer clocking in at sixty. "OH! Oh no! N-N-No! No! Nothing of the sort occurred, I swear! I was even there and, and, I mean—no, dammit, that's not what I'm trying to convey at all!"

Nova nodded knowingly. "Kinky. I didn't think of you to be that kind of girl—"

"I'm not! I'm nothing like how those strange books portray young women to be!"

"Yeah, I know you're not. You're a Nephalem. Your kind probably grows wings when you drink."

"Is it that obvious that I look and act no different than the rest of humanity?"

"Very."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly." Li-Ming petted the Greater Dog between the ears and jumped off his shoulders onto the ground. The dogs took it as a sign to plop down on the grass and relax, or to wander off with their alpha to bring cheer to the partygoers. "So enlighten me as to why you're about to drink yourself into a stupor you'll regret later."

"I already told you, I'm not," Nova rumbled.

"Then why aren't you among the others? Didn't you also receive gifts?"

"I did. Li Li says you got me and Jaina beat in how much we've got."And by that logic she also beat out on Kerrigan, too, and that made Nova feel slightly happier. Her closet was crammed with chocolates, flowers, and rubber-banded stacks of letters: proposals, confessions, and…more intimate favors. She had to imagine how much more stuff Li-Ming had. "They were nice. A bit of overkill, but I appreciate the thought."

"And yet you're so glum."

Nova sighed. "Well, since you're here I may as well tell you. No sense in lying. I'll bet you wizards can sense not just magic but read minds, anyway." Li-Ming said nothing, and if she was thinking otherwise it didn't show on her face, so Nova continued, jerking a thumb at the flower: "I wanted to give Sylvanas a…uh, present. The undead variant, that is."

"So many variants in this realm. And here I was thinking you'd already given her one."

"Nah, not that one. The Ranger General's kinda getting bombarded at the moment. She's around here somewhere. I have no idea where the Banshee Queen version might be."

"We were just at the dormitory earlier putting away my gifts. I didn't really see where she went off to, though, but if I had to guess she's probably going back to the river marshes. She seems to be drawn to that place."

"But there's nothing to do there except pick herbs and mushrooms and all that earthy stuff. Sylvanas is the type to do—"

"To do anything, I know," Li-Ming finished for her. "And that's the perfect opportunity for you to get off your sorry hide and act."

Nova's eyes widened. "What?" she exclaimed, alarmed.

"You heard me. What else is Sylvanas going to do other than brood and take random potshots at the local wildlife to sate her frustrations and deeply rooted loneliness that she'd vehemently deny if questioned? Just think: a gift from you, one of the few people she socializes but the only person she kills on an almost daily basis for…I don't know, whatever reason, might be just the thing to cheer her up."

Nova shrugged. "That, or she could just stab me between the eyes. Or kick me off a cliff. Or make me into a literal pretzel and thus snapping every bone in my body. I mean, she's no kitten." But the mental image she had of her as a chibi in nekomimi mode made her inner little girl squeal and want to take her home from an adoption center because no one else could be assed to put up with an undead woman who wore Bitchy Resting Face to a T. And if she were a kitten, she'd probably thank Nova by scratching her face. "I'm not expecting her to gush all over me." But that also provided even more…'pleasant' images, picturesque film sides with that shoujo flair, and it made Nova duck her face into the mug so Li-Ming couldn't see the flush taking over like a red tide.

Li-Ming hummed thoughtfully, put a hand to her chin. "Hmmm. Yes, you're probably right. This Sylvanas is by no means as sociable as her living counterpart."

"I know I'm right. My mind is my greatest asset. Everything else is supplemental. Even if I weren't a Ghost, I'd still be right." Gods, this whole thing was making her feel depressed. The idea of getting plastered was sounding more and more appealing by the second. She had half a mind to get up and tap off another few cups of mead or whatever was in Chen's cask that got him roaring from a block away, just to help make her forget…and maybe, just maybe, put a round between Kerrigan's stupid, smug, Zerg-y face. Because why not? She'd be doing Zagara a favor, too.

"Well," said Li-Ming, after a moment's quiet, "it would appear you won't be making any moves. If I'll have your blessing, I'll just…take this here flower and…what's the phrase…sweep Sylvanas off her feet." She made to reach for the flower—

Only to have her hand smashed down and held fast by an even stronger one fit in a black gauntlet. She winced, not because her wrist was aching (and going by the grip, any tighter and it would snap) but because she thought she heard the wood beneath the linen cave in a bit.

She looked up and was startled to see steel blue lightning glare at her. Challenging her, to outrun the storm before the calm dispersed. They were the eyes of a Ghost. "What," Nova said, dully. Emotionlessly.

Li-Ming smiled, held up her free hand in a placating gesture. "Easy now," she replied casually. "I'm just saying…if you're not going to do anything about it, I figure I could do it. That's what Best Friends are for, right? I gave her one gift already. What's one more? She'd surely appreciate it, coming from somebody who's much more courageous, more daring, and more open than the 'Best Friend' who's sitting here moping and finding solutions to her troubles at the bottom of a mug."

Nova's glare intensified. "Is that so?"

"It is."

"I see." The tightness of her grip remained. "Tell me, Li-Ming," she began, "do you like living?"

"Why yes, Nova, I do."

"Do you want to see Eirena again?"

"Indeed I want to."

"Do you want to die knowing seeing her in Sanctuary, however long ago, would be your last?"

"I have no intentions."

"Then which do you prefer?"

"Why life, obviously. Death is overrated, especially when it's mad."

"I see." Nova let go of her wrist and leaned back in her seat. Her face was calm, her posture relaxed. Her eyes…much less stormy now. "That's good. That's good." She looked off to the side, having heard the sound of a running engine. Raynor was sitting astride a Vulture with a glass of foam-topped beer in hand, chatting it up with a gaggle of ladies. He looked very at peace with himself. All that was missing to complete the image was a cigarillo between his chompers. "Hey, Marshal," she called, which got his attention. "Nice bike."

"Yeah, she's a beaut, ain't she?" he agreed, patting the side of the vehicle. "Gazlowe helped me get 'er up and running. We just finished work last night. Just look at her, blondie. She's got herself a nice, fine coat. Really catching, wouldn't you say?"

So she did have a nice, fine coat, a deep dark red with bright orange flame decals streaking across the body. Nary a scratch or dent to see on it, too. Those two must've spent plenty of hours on it: they did a splendid job on the work, whatever it was that kept it in the Chop Shop. Nova nodded. "Very," she agreed. She rolled her neck around, warming the muscles underneath. "It'd be a shame if something happened to it."

Raynor laughed. "Oh don't worry your pretty little head there. I'm gonna have this baby under lock and key; she's not going anywhere on the battlefield. No, ma'am, not at all—GUH!"

Not only did Nova have the eyes of a Ghost, Li-Ming was convinced that Nova literally was a Ghost, for the person sitting at the table became a digital hologram that dispersed in a sparkling shower and the real Nova had just sucker punched Raynor off the Vulture and scattering his squawking fangirls aside like birds on a street. "MOVE, DAMMIT, I'M ON A MISSION!" She mounted the bike, revved the engine, and sent the women even farther away by doing a U-turn. Li-Ming caught a glimpse of the flower in her hair, just below her goggles, before Nova floored it and rocketed out of the fairgrounds, blowing cutlery and napkins flying into the air.

Li-Ming went up to Raynor, who was struggling to push himself into a sitting position with one hand while the other was pressed to his face. "Are you alright, Marshal?"

He shook his head furiously. "Fuggen blundie!" he swore, voice muffled. Raynor removed his hand and looked at the blood coating the palm. His nose didn't appear broken, but it was bruised and would certainly swell up in no time. A thin trickle slid over one corner of his mouth. He grimaced. "Yeah. Yeah…I'm fine. Goddammit!" He punched the ground. "I can deal with Sylvanas's crazy. I can even deal with Sergeant Hammer's crazy! But although as a man I much prefer Kerrigan's above all the others, that kind of crazy just ain't right! I'm-a gonna my bike back, miss! I ain't gonna let three days' worth of blood, sweat, and Kaja Cola go to waste on some girl who's projectin'!"

"Projecting, eh? Well, this whole matter's concerns no one but Nova alone." I only said that stuff to get her going, she thought, and sighed. I hope now I didn't start something that's beyond even MY control. "Here now," she said, holding out a hand for Raynor, to which he took to stand, "let's get you to the infirmary and have that patched up, yes? You can eat ice cream and pet dogs, too, when we're done. How's that sound?"

And while Raynor was getting his nose patched and working a case of carpal tunnel into his other hand from petting the Greater Dog and the pack way too much, Nova sped across the green expanse of the hubworld, bent low over the dashboard, knuckles white and hair whipping behind her. She didn't have to check twice to see if the flower was still attached there; she could feel it slapping against her head.

What she should have been checking was the speedometer, vaguely aware that she could've easily passed Sylvanas and not even notice in her haste. That, however, was a minor inconvenience, so embroiled in her own thoughts.

I may be a Ghost, but that doesn't mean I haven't lost my humanity! People can say whatever they want about me; that's not going to stop me from goddamn caring about someone!

…Even if she does murder me, but better her than the Marshal.

Especially Kerrigan. No one else has the right to kill Sylvanas. Not Arthas, not Anub'arak, and most definitely not Greymane—just me! We base our friendship on snark and battlefield ambushes! That's just how it is here.

To be honest, it doesn't bother me if she sees me as a nuisance. My deaths don't even bother me anymore. It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to kill me the second I give her this gift, and I don't blame her: it's Valentine's Day, or whatever it's called in her sector. She's gotta be pissed. Most everyone is happy. One sister's dead, the other's holed up in some magical city in the sky with her own family, and what does Sylvanas have? Her people? That's not family; not in the immediate sense, but I suppose it could count. And since she's been without them for a good year, I can imagine how it would affect both parties.

But even with the treatment I get from her, at least I'm there for her! Not like you, Kerrigan, trying to make yourself Big Bitch on Campus just because there's another Queen on board! At least you have Raynor! Everyone I know is…

Nova squinted, and not from the lashing wind. She gritted her teeth and bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, hard enough to draw pain but not blood.

Well, they're gone. Ghosts of a past to be forgotten ages from now.

But not here. Not in the Nexus.

And…well, I always thought Sylvanas saw me as a sister of some sorts, not just in resemblance and demeanor but in the way I carry myself. Perhaps I remind her of Alleria. Nova bit down harder. Maybe…Maybe that's another reason why she kills me so much. Maybe I'm in the way. But that's just it: I don't want to get out of the way! I don't want to impede! I…

I don't want to make things worse than they already are for her!

Ah, there was the blood. Sweet and copper, bringing about memories of mind wipes and the stench of cordite. Of the temporal unraveling of emotions suppressed upon stepping foot into the Nexus. Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit! I'm a Ghost! A soldier and no other! I can't do this! I'm not supposed to feel any of this! I don't want to! It hurts! What am I even thinking—?!"

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING, MORON!"

Nova's thoughts derailed, and the blank space inside was instead filled with the sound of the Vulture's engine and…a dog barking?

Regaining focus, Nova found she was gunning straight for Sylvanas and the white dog at her heels. "Oh SHIT!" She slammed on the brakes and banked hard to the left. This allowed her to avoid hitting them but also caused the Vulture to spin out beneath her and the inertia forcing her out of the seat and spilling onto the ground. It glided across the grass and bumped unceremoniously into a tree and remained there, idle. Nova picked herself up, stumbled, and was in the process of crashing face-first into gravity again.

Sylvanas grabbed her and almost also fell back with her but maintained her footing. Grunting, she held Nova away at arm's length. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Yes, what was she doing here? Nova stared at her, which only prompted Sylvanas's unamused stare to grow more annoyed and impatient. "Oh!" She remembered! "I, uh, I wanted to give you, um—" She patted herself down. Where the hell was it?

Doodle barked. Nova looked down and the pup looked back up, smiling. They engaged in a silent staring contest.

Nova started. "You got a puppy?!" she cried, and put her hands to her head. "Li-Ming didn't tell me that! Goddammit! I need to step up my game!"

"She didn't give me the dog, you dolt!" said Sylvanas. "Doodle decided to follow me because he felt like it."

"…Doodle?" The dog barked again at the sound of his name.

"Yes, I know, small world."

"Who names their dog 'Doodle'?"

Sylvanas threw her hands up in the air. "Does it look like I have the answer to that?"

"Uh-uh. Oh, here it is!" There it was! Nova yanked the flower out of her hair and held it out to Sylvanas. "Here. For you."

Now it was Sylvanas's turn to start. "Oh." She glanced at the flower, glanced at Nova who nodded and held the gift a little closer, then back at the flower. Then she took it into her hand.

"I hope you like it," said Nova. "I searched high and low for it."

"Nova, this is plastic."

"And so it is!"

"I've seen these at the thrift shops. They're either decorating for your living room or to doll up earthenware statues in your garden. These are, like, not even a gold piece."

"But cheap as they are, they're much better than the real thing. These will never die, just like us!" Nova deflated slightly. "So…what do you think?"

Sylvanas inspected the flower, turning it this way and that. Her lips were pursed together tightly and one of her long, furry eyebrows was arched, which didn't do much for Nova in a way that indicated what the Banshee Queen was feeling. More importantly, her ears were down and sideways but not flat or against her skull, flickering inquisitively.

Nova quashed the urge to wring her hands. She fought off the cringe that creeped upon her when Sylvanas lowered the flower—violet, it was a stupid, washed out shade of violet, and Nova just realized it—to look at her. She held her breath, waiting for the inevitable death to make its presence known. Maybe she would be stabbed. Maybe she would get her neck snapped. Maybe Sylvanas wouldn't have to do anything at all; there was power in those eyes, maybe they would do the work for her. Maybe she would—

"Thank you."

Even thank her.

Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" Nova parroted the thought aloud.

"I said, you have my thanks. It is…much more simplistic than I had anticipated…but, from you, it is to be expected. The color compliments my attire. Although," she looked down at herself, "this is not exactly something you could pin on." She sighed. "I suppose that leaves us with this." She reached up and peeled back the hood, revealing the brittle, bleached yellow hair underneath. "I'm hardly, if ever, seen going about like this, so if you happen to make the slightest peep about it to anyone—"

"You know, you're very pretty," said Nova.

Sylvanas stared at her, a mixture of both displeasure, at being interrupted, and knowing, of the plainly obvious. "Of course I'm pretty. I was the second prettiest elf in all of Quel'Thalas back in the day."

"Second? You?" Nova laughed. "Don't tell me the first prettiest was Kael'thas!"

"Heavens forbid! We have enough jokes about his appearance as it is!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking!"

"You had better be! My sisters have got him beat in looks!"

Nova smiled. "Yeah. I can see where you got it from. You still look good, though. That's one of the things Arthas can't take from you."

Sylvanas gave her a strange, indiscernible look. It seemed…almost curious. "Do I now?"

"Of course."

"…Huh." Sylvanas scratched the side of her cheek and, very briefly, looked away. The way she held herself in that span of time surprised Nova. Was that…Was the Banshee Queen being shy toward her? And, oh dear God, was that a blush? Could the undead really blush? "Well," she resumed, turning back to her, "I suppose I still do. Well, don't just stand there. Come put this on."

Nova's face blazed scarlet. "M-Me?"

"Yes, you. You're the only other person here. I'm not going to debase myself and ask Doodle to do it. He doesn't have any thumbs."

"Dogs, uh, they have dewclaws…."

"Those don't count. Now stop dawdling like a schoolgirl and get over here. I want this on me while the day's still young and everyone else is off doing their own business."

"Plenty of time left for that," said Nova. She retrieved the flower and, as she was getting to stand on her tiptoes, Sylvanas bent down closer. Nova smiled and, mindful of the brittleness, inserted it in a place just above her left ear where it would not be pressed flat.

The smile broadened into a full-on smirk. Now I don't know what YOU got, Li-Ming, but this…THIS is a real gift. A cheap gift, a smart gift, a gift fit for a Queen. A gift that's everlasting! And what will yours give you in return? Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing! I was here first, and if you want any sort of attention from her, you're gonna be waiting in line for a long, long, long…TIME!

"What are you looking so smug about?" Sylvanas asked, straightening up. She touched the flower absentmindedly with her fingertips.

Nova grinned and shrugged. "Oh…just thinking how good today has been." Troubling thoughts notwithstanding, but today was still positively grand. There was no need to worry about the Program; they weren't here. She was free from them and, at the very back of her mind, although the feeling felt strange it was also…happy. It was a good kind of difference.

"Come on, Sylvanas," she said, squatting down. She clapped her hands at Doodle, caught the dog as it leaped into her arms, and stood. "Let's go find Arthas and use him as target practice."

"Why?" Sylvanas asked, surprised. The ear grazed the edges of the flower.

"Why not? You don't need a reason to do things with Arthas around. It's just you, me, and a guy who doesn't have access to Bolt of the Storm anymore. What do you say?"

For once, the smile Sylvanas gave her was not only genuine; it was shy, but it was glad.

"It suits you," said Vereesa, leaning back to admire her work.

Sylvanas touched the flower pinned to her hair, then lowered her hand and stared at it as though she had touched something she wasn't sure she was supposed to. "Does it?"

"Yes. Look." Vereesa gestured to the pond in front of them.

So Sylvanas peered at her reflection, and the reflection stared dumbly back at her. The violet didn't quite match her outfit, all natural leather and blue cloth, but with the sunset at their backs it did provide a sort of stark contrast. Indeed, it was very pretty, but: "This is real, right?"

"Sylvanas," Vereesa said, embracing her from behind, "if the deer in the south look real, sound real, and feel real, then everything is real. Including the flower."

Sylvanas huffed, blushing. "It was just one time. How was I supposed to know it was real and not plastic?" She leaned back on her hands and lifted her head so that Vereesa could rest hers in the crook of her neck. "But…thank you. You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to, because you're my sister."

"A smart sister," Sylvanas added, smirking. "At least you went out of your way to check your stock, unlike a certain ranger."

"Alleria was in a hurry that day!"

"With what, stuffing her face?"

"Sylvanas!" Vereesa lightly nudged her forehead against her elder's.

Sylvanas laughed. "I'm joking, I'm joking!"

"I hope so! She's not that gluttonous! Unlike someone I know!"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Who, me? Far from it!"

"Then you better work on keeping that figure, or you'll never find someone to impress upon someday!" Vereesa smacked her stomach for emphasis. "Step up your game, Sylvanas; Alleria's way ahead of you!"

Sylvanas slapped her hand away. "Stop that! I-I know what I'm doing! And the fan club doesn't count, either!"

Vereesa chuckled. "Sure you do. Sure. You. Do."

"Uh…Miss Ming?"

"Yes, Marshal?"

"I, uh, I don't know about you, but, um, I think we might have a problem."

Li-Ming followed his finger and looked up at the Lesser Dog. Or rather, at the hole in the ceiling where the Lesser Dog's head had punched through, then at the Lesser Dog himself. Or rather, at the way he was looking at her—upside-down with an upside-down smile, where its neck had reentered the atmosphere and cleared another hole to appear right next to her. He panted excitedly.

"That's not possible, right?" Raynor asked. "Tell me it ain't."

Li-Ming stared at the Lesser Dog some more. A pink tongue flew out and licked down her face. She held out a hand to pet him, stopped, hesitated, and pulled it back.

"Good question," she said. To the Lesser Dog, she added: "Hey, listen. You can go now. Raynor's feeling much better…aren't you, Raynor?" Raynor nodded a little too vigorously. "See? We appreciate your help. He'll be alright." It was just a busted nose—and carpal tunnel—after all.

"Woof woof!" barked the Lesser Dog, and as though his head had been sucked in through the hose of a vacuum cleaner, his neck retreated through the hole it came out of in a high-pitched whistling noise. Li-Ming and Raynor both looked up, watching as he disappeared into the clouds; a few seconds passed, and then there the faraway call of a train horn blaring. Then the Lesser Dog's head reappeared in a blur and asserted itself back onto its neck with a fleshy slap. He licked Li-Ming one last time, properly up on her cheek, and made his exit.

Not through the door but the wall, past the startled doctor, leaving behind a tall, dog-like outline. Raynor winced. Li-Ming merely stared, mouth agape.

All three stood in silence.

Then, timidly, Li-Ming asked: "…How much is, um, all this going to cost?" She indicated the room's destruction.

"A lot," said the doctor.

Li-Ming paled. She reached into the rune bag tied at her waist, pulled out the little handheld computer and, tapping a few keys, checked the balance on the savings and checking accounts. Her face whitened even more. She whirled around at Raynor, pleading silently.

Raynor sighed. "I'll cover it," he told the doctor, and felt instant sorrow. His poor, poor bike. He hoped Nova didn't wreck it; and if she did, well…there wasn't exactly a rule against looting someone's corpse on the battlefield.