Choice

...

Crysanthemum stuffed her pauldrons, handmade by one of her Draenei blacksmith friends, gleaming white and purple gem-encrusted, into her bag, shutting the top and stringing it shut. It was time. She'd completed the first phase of her training, knew the basics, knew some of the complicated spells as well, and now it was time to go to the division training. This was when she'd discover where she belonged, where she would be placed. Where the Argent Dawn would need her. It made her toes tingle in excitement.

"All packed?" Crysanthemum turned her green eyes to look at her friend, Dessicus, with whom she'd become close after such a long time.

She thought back to the first time she'd met Dessicus. His dark red hair gently flowing around his face as the wind brushed against it. How his eyes scanned the whole of Everlook, unsure of what to make of the small town and the people in it. Mostly goblins, she was sure he remembered. She remembered how each of the emmissaries had announced their specialiazations, boasting of quality training, a chance to adventure, to fight in great wars. But not him. He'd turned his glowing green eyes to her, almost as if he'd known she'd been watching. He smiled, gently, his face hardened with years of experience, and yet it was kind. She'd walked up to him, unable to contain the smile on her face.

"Yes." She replied, hitching the bag over her shoulder and turning to face him. He was watching her carefully. She tilted her head.

"What?" She asked. He shook his head, a soft smile on his lips.

"It's nothing."

She nodded her head, and walked up to his side, gesturing for him to follow her as she left down the hall. They walked in companionable silence, his gaze forward, while hers shifted from in front of her to him, trying to decipher the look he was trying to keep off his face. She decided it was best not to ask, and tried valiantly to keep her attention elsewhere, specifically before her.

They exited the building and came into the fresh air, the sun high in the sky and the clouds wispy and thin. Crysanthemum lifted her hand to shield her eyes, gazing up at the bright blue sky.

"Are you ready to make the journey? You have everything you need?" Crysanthemum jolted from her reverie, looking to Dessicus in puzzlement. His face was still off, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how to express it. She shook off the thought, smiling at him as genuinely as she could muster, suddenly feeling a strange churning in her stomach.

"As ready as I'll ever be, for the next phase of training, you know?" She said, suddenly feeling nervous. Why? Why did he look at her so intensely?

"It's a big step." He said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Once it's complete you'll be assigned to a unit, somewhere where your talents will be of great use."

"I-yes, that's what I'm hoping for." He was still staring at her that way. His lips flattened out into a straight line, and she felt a strange compelling feeling to reach up, impossible at her height, really, and wipe away the impending frown. Odd.

"I wouldn't worry, if I were you." Dessicus said, his voice soft. "Tirion Fordring will undoubtedly take a shine to you."

Crysanthemum chuckled and looked to the ground, embarassed.

"I somehow don't believe that's how it works." She said flippantly. "I'm a goblin. He'll probably think I'm there to barter and trade."

"I don't think anyone could miss the aura you present, Crysanthemum." Dessicus said, his eyes intense again. She looked away, surprised, and saw that the cart to take her to her next destination had arrived. The coach-man didn't look impatient, but she knew from watching others that he wouldn't wait forever. She couldn't wait long, saying goodbyes had never really been her forte. She nearly winced when she thought of her impromptu exit from Everlook. She didn't want to look at Dessicus. She felt like it would stop her. She didn't know why. She couldn't think of it. It just didn't seem to come to her mind.

"I know you'll do great." He continued. "Perhaps I'll see you again... someday, you know?" He said, smirking crookidly at her, using her favorite phrasing. At this, she turned to look him full in the face. Disarmed by the vulnerability showed there, she suddenly felt frozen. She opened her mouth, then closed it promptly.

"I have to go." She said in a small voice, unable to think in that moment. "I'll see you, Dess!" She hitched up her bag, and quickly bolted for the coach, whose wheels had just begun to move. She threw her bag inside and heaved herself over the window and into the cabin. She shuddered to herself as she forced a smile to her face, waving at Dessicus as she rode off into the distance, until all she could see was the image of his pained face under her eyelids.

They all had to make choices sometimes.

...

I know I haven't added a story to this one in a while, so here's a little tidbit from Crysanthemum's past, before she became a fully fledged paladin, before she died and became a death knight. And then there's Dessicus. ;) I hope you enjoyed, hopefully I'll have more to come soon!