Author's Notes: Writing these scenes almost gave me diabetes, you guys. Illustration up on dA.

Review Replies: Why Den, how could you think that I would go so far as to kill off-actually I'm not even going to finish that because its too much of a lie. You know how horrible I am.

Ihsan: this has only been what, a year in the planning? Aging in night elves is something that you've tackled head-on, but this is something that is new for me and a little depressing. Who wants to contemplate their mortality? Makes for good story fodder though.

It was of Zarabethe's opinion, as they approached the southern continent far quicker than the lazy waves that stretched out forever in either direction would indicate, that the ocean in between Elwynn Forest and Pandaria was the most beautiful color of green-blue that she had ever seen. It was clean and deep, and so immense that she felt it easy to imagine that land was just a myth, and the ship they were on was the entire population of the planet.

No matter the color, beauty, or peacefulness of the water though, the most amazing part of the trip so far was just her ability to sail and not be miserable while doing so. Her violent seasickness had lingered for literally years after her pregnancies. Most of the years since her loss of immortality had been spent with it, and the fact that she could climb up the rigging, run across the deck, hang out in the very front, sides, or back of the ship with no twinge in her stomach was something she never planned on taking for granted again. Before the Scepter, she had loved to sail. Now that her motion sickness seemed to be truly gone, she was ready to enjoy it again.

At this moment she was crouched up on the railing in the very front, the curved point at the bow of the ship. Her boots were tucked just under the lip of the rail, and her fingers gripped the smooth wood until her nails dug in. The wind blew her hair streaming behind her almost in a straight purple line: she had loosened it just to feel the sensation. The sun reflecting off the water hurt her eyes with its intensity, but it was worth the mild discomfort. The view was absolutely magnificent.

Even with the roaring wind, the slapping waves, and the sounds of sailing assaulting her sensitive ears, she still sensed her husband approach behind her, and didn't flinch at all when he leaned up on the rail beside her.

"I should have known you'd be out here. I don't think you've gone below deck since we left harbour."

He rested an arm around her waist, and she was starkly reminded of a different touch, one made in the darkest part of the morning earlier in the day. A not-unpleasant flush lit up her cheeks and she leaned over to speak quietly in his ear.

"If I haven't gone below deck, then who was that woman you ravished this morning?"

Elforen laughed deep in his chest, and turned around so that he could see her face. With her crouched on the railing like she was, his eyes were level with her shoulders, and she put first one foot down, and then the other, so that they were more even. He came right up in her space and put a hand on either hip. No matter the smell of salt and fresh water, no matter the gently rolling floor under her feet, instantly she was transported home. No matter where she was, her safe place was right here with her. She leaned her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his wide back. How incredible it was to be on a boat and feel no nausea, and to be held intimately by someone and feel no anxiety.

"You know," he began and his breath ruffled wisps of hair against her cheeks, "she did have your coloring."

She snorted with laughter in spite of herself, and moved her head so that she could snuggle up flush with him. He slid one arm around her back and the other up to smooth her wind-tossled hair.

"Same pretty eyes, same wild hair." He accented the statement with a gentle tug of her hair, and she sucked a breath in before giggling and pushing him away.

"And that is exactly how we got going this morning. No more of that, Mister Silverleaf, we are in public."

He laughed out loud this time, and acquiesced by letting go of her and putting some space in between them. He leaned casually against the bow of the ship, sure-footed even as the ground bucked underneath them. The ship breasted the enthusiastic wave with no trouble, and they were back to smooth movement that barely belied they were in water. The trip thus far had been amazing: back home in Elwynn it was hotter than an oven, but on the boat in the evenings she had to put on a long-sleeved shirt against the water-chilled air. She had heard tales that Pandaria was similar: near the coast was amazingly temperate all year round, and only up near the enormous Kun-Lai mountain ridge did it ever get snow or a cold winter. The island that was their ultimate destination seemed to be the same temperature year-round: which fit in with the temporal anomaly that it existed in. Zarabethe felt a twinge of burning anticipation in the pit of her stomach: she was so excited to explore this place that was such a mystery, that she could hardly stand it. She had almost wanted to port directly there: but then she would have missed the beautiful boat ride.

"I did actually come to find you for a reason other than outrageous flirting."

She turned to look at her husband. He was leaning into the wind coming off the water and his white hair blew back behind him. For a moment she was taken back: more than thirty years ago, they were together on a boat that took them from Stormwind to the deserts of Tanaris, starting a journey that would change them both so much more than they had ever anticipated. It was on that boat that Elforen had bared his soul to her, told her about his family situation, and how he wanted to rise above it. It was on that trip that she had looked at him with new eyes, and perhaps first got the idea that she wanted to be around him more than just as a fellow war veteran from Northrend.

His hair was longer. He tended to wear more a beard than a scruff now, and his hands were more often stained with ash from blacksmithing than not. His face was still the same: although now she could not look on it without also seeing all the tender looks he had given over the years to their daughters, or the mischievous sparkle he got when he teased any of them, or the pride that glowed from within when he would be around either of his siblings. It might not show on his face or his movements, but his soul had aged over the last thirty years, and in all ways, he had changed for the better. Zarabethe wondered abruptly if he was feeling any of the issues from aging that she had been lately. He had never mentioned it; but again, it wasn't in his nature to complain. She caught a little bit of that mischievousness when he turned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Someone is very miserable down in the hold."

Zarabethe groaned and put her face in her hands.

"What am I going to do with that cat? He's like a toddler."

"Remember Zar didn't like to ride in boats either. They can't all have natural sea-legs like Spook."

Zarabethe gave her husband a resigned look. "Is he being very loud?"

The cringe on his face told her all she needed to know. "He's whining quite a bit."

She sighed and pushed away from the railing and her view of the ocean. "I will go spend some time with him. We only have another day, right?"

Elforen nodded as he stood to walk with her. "I think so. I'm going to have a talk with the captain. Meet you for lunch?"

She waved to him as she started down below decks. She had gone back and forth about bringing one of the sabres with them: she was not used to traveling great distances without some sort of animal companion. She had Elf with her of course, but pets could not be matched in usefulness. Dagra was the furthest along in training: she wouldn't dare take him on a dangerous quest or to war, but he would do for an exploration trip. That was part of the reason for taking him, she had argued with herself as she packed things for him alongside her own. This would be the perfect opportunity to train him out in the open and get a feel for how he did in real situations.

Lesson one learned: he didn't like to be alone.

Since they were technically going to Pandaria as tourists, they booked tickets on a high-profile passenger ship instead of the smaller carriers that they usually preferred for quests. They would have a real room, and actual meals, and they didn't have to barter working on the ship for passage. But since Dagra was not a licensed hunter pet, he had to stay in the pet cages in the hold. It was not a bad cage: room enough to move and fresh hay and food to eat, but he hated it. Zarabethe had already spent half the voyage below decks with him, despite her husband's comment, and the first night she had to sleep outside his cage.

Their next journey, they were either going to take a portal or she was taking a different pet.

She heard him well before she got to the door of the hold. She had thought that Lyra was loud: she was a talker, always making noises and answering back to commands as if she spoke Darnassian. But Dagra, when he was miserable, was LOUD. He whined and groaned high-pitched in the back of his throat until it sounded like his heart would break.

Zarabethe made her way past several other pets in various stages of sleep or boredom: two wolves, a tiger, a large land turtle, and finally made it to Dagra's cage. He whined another time, then looked up at her with big, soulful eyes. She sighed as she sat down cross-legged outside the cage.

"You big baby. What am I going to do with you?"

She unlatched the cage and he pushed his way through until his head was in her lap. The dark atmosphere was easier on her eyes down here, and she leaned against the cage and relaxed as she petted his dark fur. Unlike the invigorating air outside, the dank darkness down here was quiet, and it made her sleepy. Dagra rumbled in his throat, almost a purr, and she smiled as she allowed herself to sink a little further into the quiet. He really was a good cat. He just needed to grow up a little.

The rolling movement of the boat around them lulled her into a place of almost napping. This trip would be good for him. It would be good for all three of them. Dagra would get some experience, she and Elf would do some exploring, and return home with stories and artifacts. With that on her mind, she drifted off to sleep, her pet next to her.

"You know," Elforen whispered in his wife's ear confidentially as they wound their way slowly from the crowded pier into the port town, "I didn't expect them to be so tall."

His wife's face was full of concentration as she tried to navigate the sudden influx of people while carrying her bags and keeping a firm grip on Dagra's collar, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Dearest, everyone's taller than you."

Elforen put on an offended face and prepared a smart remark, but was nearly bowled over by a trio of pandaren cubs. They crashed into him, intent on chasing their ball, and when he let out a surprised shout and turned to them, they all froze in terror. He instantly felt bad: they were just kids, and although it had been years since there was war in Pandaria, they obviously had a healthy intimidation for a person in armor. He crouched down to their level and lowered his voice.

"Don't worry about it guys, accidents happen." He reached over and picked up their errant ball. "What are you playing?"

The tallest cub, braver than the rest, stepped forward and reached for the ball. "Sorry sir. We was playing mantid ball."

"So who's winning?"

He nodded to each of the cubs in turn, the tallest boy, a younger boy, and girl that looked exactly in the middle. The smallest cub pointed to himself enthusiastically.

"I am!" In a move that belied his age, he knocked the ball out of the older one's hand and ran after it. The others took off after him with a shout, and Elforen chuckled to himself as he regained his feet. He pointed over his shoulder as he met his wife, who had stopped to watch the altercation.

"They aren't taller than me."

Dagra wiggled in anticipation as he watched the cubs peel away into the crowd, and Zarabethe gripped his collar a little tighter, but Elforen still heard her laughter as they once again turned back to the port city.

Paw'Don Village had been nothing more than a fishing settlement before the arrival of the Alliance twenty-five years ago, but since trade had opened up between their cultures and tourism was encouraged, the city had bloomed into the bustling port that it was today. There were vendors hawking wares literally every direction that you turned, and the air was ripe with the smells of amazing food and good beer. Unlike his brother, Elforen had never been plagued with seasickness, and he was starving. He couldn't decide what he wanted to try first, but everything smelled wonderful. Beside him, Zarabethe took a deep breath and sighed.

"By Elune I'm so hungry. I could eat one of everything."

"I guess Kalibose wasn't exaggerating then." His brother might have been full of sarcasm for everything in Pandaria, but his enthusiasm for the food had never been tempered with his attitude. Elforen glanced around the vendors, but it was hard to tell exactly what they were cooking. He nudged Zara in the shoulder.

"Since you're not sick this time, feeling adventurous?"

Her eyes flashed as she surveyed the area around them. "Bring it on, warrior. Your choice. "

"Alright then." He closed his eyes, and pointed in two directions at random. He opened them and indicated with first his left hand, then his right. "You take that red-roofed place, I will take the one with pandaren in the blue shirt. Order something you've never had before, then I'll meet you at the first table over there. "

With a flash of her vivid purple hair, she was gone. Elforen had only taken two steps to his destination, however, when he felt a tug at the back of chainmail shirt. Thinking it was caught on something, he was startled to see the same small pandaren girl that he had run into before. She was wearing a pink flowered kimono and her hair was done up in tiny bobbing pigtails. Her voice was so quiet he had to crouch down to hear her.

"Ethcuse me."

"Yes, sweetheart?" She was clutching a handful of scraggly flowers in her hands, obviously picked from the side of the road. She held one out to him shyly.

"Your hair ith tho pretty. I got you flower for it."

"Pei Li! No!" The tallest cub from earlier came out of the crowd like some sort of ghost and made a grab for the girl. She struggled against him as he tried to drag her away.

"Sorry for my sister, sir, I tried to tell her no, but she wouldn't listen."

"Let go me, Ping!"

"No, no, it's okay. Pei Li, is it?" He held out his hand for her to shake. She got loose of her brother with an indignant noise and cradled her flowers closer to her chest. She sniffed loudly as she inspected the bouquet, which was a little more worn looking from the altercation.

"You bent my flowerth, you jerk."

Elforen tried in vain to stifle a chuckle as dipped his head down, like a prince accepting his crown. "You can put a flower in my hair if you want."

He held very still as she reached up on her tiptoes and tucked a bedraggled lotus flower behind his ear. The pandaren cub beamed with pride afterward and any thoughts he had about taking the flower out as soon as possible disappeared from his head. She put the remaining flowers in her own hair.

"There, we match."

"Okay, you're done, let's go, Mom's waiting." Ping grabbed his sister's hand and with another exasperated apology, drug Pei Li away. She waved at him until they left sight, and Elforen couldn't keep the grin off his face as he got to his feet and hurried to find the food vendor he had gotten distracted from.

Zarabethe lifted her eyes as he sat down opposite her, then, did a double take. A slow grin spread across her face.

"If I had known this was a formal dinner, I would have worn something nicer."

"Shut it."

He did not take the flower out though, as he sorted out the food items in front of him.

"What did you end up with?"

She poked at the fried meat that took up the largest place on her plate. "You would send me to a specialty seafood place. I'm pretty sure this is fried squid, which isn't that bad if you pretend you don't know what it looks like alive. The rice is amazing, and I'm not sure what kind of vegetable this is?"

He regarded the the fibrous pale yellow food, then stabbed a piece of it and chewed thoughtfully. It was a little bland, mostly holding the flavor of the butter and spice it was cooked with.

"Bamboo maybe?"

"That sounds right. How about you?"

"I got lucky." He pushed the bowls to the middle of the table. "I found eggrolls, although I'm not sure what's in them, and several different kinds of noodles. That one," he pointed to the noodles that were stained red, " is supposed to be really spicy."

"We'll see about that." With gusto, she dug into them.

They went back and forth, sharing their food and trying out all the different things. There was something crunchy in the eggrolls that made Zara gag, and she let out a belly laugh when his face turned red at the spicy noodles. He hadn't enjoyed a meal this much in a long time, he realized as he wiped sweat off his brow. Zarabethe especially seemed almost a different person: she was joking and engaging and enthusiastic about everything. There was no trace of lingering sadness or feeling of looking ill that she usually showed. Maybe they just needed to get away for awhile, he thought as he stole the last piece of calamari and got a sound kick for it. Maybe stagnation was what was wearing her down.

Their meal eventually turned into a throwing match, with napkins and bits of food and even the silverware being appropriated as projectiles. Elforen laughed so hard he nearly fell out of his chair as a noodle stuck to the center of Zara's forehead and stayed no matter how she shook her head. He made a vow, in between fighting for table dominance, to take vacations more often, every other month if possible. This was the Zarabethe that he had fallen in love with so fiercely, and he wanted to see this side of her more often.

Their fun was interrupting by a surly looking pandaren man who thrust a broom in their direction and mumbled at them in his own language as they cleaned up their mess. He caught Zarabethe's eye and winked and she tried to stifle a giggle. No more stagnation for them.

Time to live life again.