The Best Laid Plans
"Mind your step." Aligria cautioned as the small party made their way down the winding tunnel. It seemed a superfluous warning to Calvin; the floor was cracked and broken up into a jagged, uneven walkway, sparks of electricity crackled all around and huge, pointed crystals stabbed their way through the walls.
When they finally got through the hazardous tunnel, they found themselves in vast, circular atrium with a domed ceiling high above their heads. All around there were draenei strolling along, going about their business – some on hoof, and others riding on the backs of very large creatures.
"Whoa, check out those funky elephants!" said Moe when he saw them.
"... Elephants?" Aligria said, confusedly.
"Yeah, those!" he gestured to the riding beasts. Everyone looked where he pointed. The creatures did have an elephantine appearance; big, robust bodies with sagging, wrinkly skin, round, flat feet and long trunks stretching off their faces. However, they had two sets of tusks on theirs heads; two long tusks where a normal elephant would have them and a smaller pair sticking out of their cheeks. They had no discernible ears, instead they sported a pair of strait, backward pointing horns.
"Oh." Aligria chuckled. "Those are elekk!"
"Elekk?" Susie questioned.
"Yes. We commonly use them as mounts and beasts of burden." the shaman turned and continued on, calling "Come along, then!"
she walked down an inclined path to the floor below. She didn't stop or speak to anyone, only briskly strode ever onward. The children, having much shorter legs than Aligria, had to scramble on more than one occasion to keep up with her.
Calvin was about to question where they were going when Aligria quickly turned and headed into an entryway off the side. They followed after and found themselves standing before a circular bar.
A single draenei stood behind the bar. Hearing the party approach, he turned to greet them; but when he saw Aligria, he took on a look of surprise. "By the Naaru," he breathed, leaning in closer. "that couldn't possibly be Aligria, could it?!"
"Hello Breel." Aligria replied with a soft smile.
Breel's mouth spread into a wide grin. Chuckling happily, he said "Hey, welcome back! What's it been, two years?!"
"Three and a half." Aligria answered. "But, who's counting?"
Breel chuckled again, looking at her fondly. "So. How is life in the Eastern Kingdoms, eh? Those humans treating you well?"
"Well enough."
"Really?! You must tell me all about it!"
"Some other time, perhaps." Aligria replied. "Right now I have some rather urgent errands I must run." she seemed to hesitate for a moment before proceeding. "I was wondering... if you might keep an eye on this lot while I'm out."
Breel blinked in confusion a bit before leaning over the counter to get a look at the group of children. His eyebrows raised as he looked from the children to Aligria and back again. "... Is it Orphan's Week already?" he asked, scratching his head.
"It's a bit more complicated than that." Aligria answered in an apologetic tone.
"Really?" he said, giving her a scrutinizing gaze. "I'd really like to hear that story."
"And you will!" she promised. "Just... take care of them for a little while and I'll regale you with all my myriad adventures!"
"... Very well." he sighed.
"Thank you, Breel." Aligria gave him a grateful smile. Turning to the children, she said "Now, all of you stay here and be on your best behavior. All right?" there were noises of compliance in response. "Good. I will be back as quickly as I can." With that, she bent down, setting her hands on the floor. Before anyone could ask what she was doing, her face elongated, her horns sunk into her scalp, her ears became bigger and moved to the top of her head, her hooves became paws and tawny hair sprouted all over her body.
Right before the astonished earthlings' eyes, Aligria had turned into a wolf! More astonishing, she had somewhere during the transformation become transparent – as though she were a ghost.
Quick as a flash, Aligria dashed out of the room and ran off through the atrium. The children and tiger watched in awe as she departed, practically flying as she went.
"Wow." Susie breathed.
"Can they all do that?" Moe wondered aloud.
"Uh, no." Breel answered from behind them. "That is what you would call a shaman trick."
The displaced travelers turned to look at the innkeeper who put on a broad smile for them. "So,... where are you from?" he asked.
"Uhh... far away." Calvin replied.
"Indeed? How far?"
"... Pretty darn."
Breel looked at the boy for a moment. But it soon became clear that that was all the response he was going to get. "Ooookay, then... Are you hungry? Care for some food?"
They were not inclined to turn down a free meal – plus, it had been awhile since they had eaten.
Breel led the children into the inn proper; a circular room with a few tables set about. He left them for a moment and returned with some freshly baked bread and an assortment of fruits which he set in front of the children. He then came out with a leg of meat which he offered to Hobbes.
The children happily ate the proffered meal; Moe snarfing down everything he could reach with gusto, Calvin grabbing what he could, occasionally doing tricks with his food and making offhanded anecdotes. Susie ate at a normal pace, savoring the flaky, buttery texture of the bread and the sweet tang of the fruit, and made polite conversation with their host.
Three hours later, Moe was flat on his back, snoring like a chainsaw with his mouth hanging open. Susie was quietly reading a book that Breel had offered her. Calvin, meanwhile, had taken to tossing the bone leftover from Hobbes' meal to himself.
After numbly catching the bone for what might have been the eightieth time, Calvin took a glance about the room; his companions were occupied, the innkeeper was out front dealing with other customers and there was still no sign of Aligria
"Well'p, not that this isn't fun, but I'm gonna go take a look around." he rose to his feet and deftly chucked the bone over his shoulder.
Susie looked up from her book. "What?! You can't leave!"
"Yeah? Just try and stop me! C'mon, Hobbes!"
"Aligria said to stay here!" Susie seethed, stepping in front of Calvin.
"Aligria's been gone for hours." Calvin countered. "I'm sure we won't be missed if we step out for a bit."
"Or she could come back right after you leave!" Susie reasoned.
"And so what if she does?"
"... What?!" Susie said with a truly flummoxed expression.
"Susie, did she get mad at you when you wandered away from the inn this morning?"
"I,... well,... no."
"So, how much madder do you think she's gonna get if wander around her own people?!"
Susie couldn't come up with an immediate answer to that – which caused Calvin to don a smug grin.
"... But,... y'know, you really ought to think about this before you just go off like that." she finally managed to respond.
"Yeah? Well, while you think, Hobbes and I are gonna explore. C'mon, Hobbes!" he called to his best friend who followed wordlessly behind him.
The two of them sneaked through the front of the inn – Breel was preoccupied with another customer, so they got past him rather easily – and into the spacious atrium of the Exodar. As they pressed on, soaking in the grand view, Calvin felt a presence suddenly appear next to him. Turning his head, he saw Susie had arrived and was steadily walking along with them. "So, decided to come along after all, huh?" he snickered.
Susie gave him a fleeting glare. "Well, it occurred to me that if I didn't come, you'd only end up getting yourself in trouble!"
Calvin turned so he was fully facing her now, walking backwards to do so. "Please, like I need you to keep me out of trouble!" he said, dismissively. "I can do just fine without – " at that moment, Calvin's head made contact with something tough, yet pliable. He turned around quickly to see that he had stumbled into the belly of an elekk. Surprised by this sudden touch, the elekk rose on it's back legs, trumpeting in panic. The elekk's rider – who seemed to have been riding along in a half-attending daze – was suddenly brought to full consciousness by his mount's sudden jolt. In a panic of his own, he seized the reins and yanked hard on them – causing the elekk to turn as it lowered itself; knocking over a table where a draenei woman was selling bags in the process.
The children, and all present bystanders, watched the spectacle in horror.
As the bag vendor attempted to salvage her wares and the rider tried to calm his mount, Hobbes turned to Calvin with a look of reproach. "Of course, it would help if you were paying attention." he said.
"That could've happened to anyone!" Calvin quickly replied. "C'mon, let's go!"
So they wandered around the vessel for a time, drinking in all the sights and sounds of the Exodar.
There were many people were bustling about – mostly draenei, but they did encounter a few members of the other alliance races. They passed a pair of men who were very short; only a hair taller than themselves, with broad, stocky shoulders and thick, scraggly beards; they were speaking in what sounded like Scottish accents. If Susie had to guess, she would say they must have been dwarves. Here and there she caught sight of what were unmistakably other humans and a few of the purple skinned people they had seen at Teldrassil – night elves, she surmised.
They meandering around the Exodar, when Calvin's attention was drawn to something. Without any sort of preamble, he made his way toward a huge passageway that led to a section of the ship that was illuminated by bright yellow lights. "Wow, check that out!" he called, running further into the area.
Susie, who had not seen Calvin turn toward the new area, found that she was quite a distance behind him. "Hey! Wait up!" she shouted as she ran as fast as she could to catch up to the boy and tiger. She then tripped, falling flat on her face.
"Oh dear," said a voice above her.
Turning over, she saw a draenei woman standing over her with long, wavy horns and brown hair tied in set of pigtails wearing a blue-green and purple robe. "Dreadfully sorry about that." the woman said, extending a hand. "Are you hurt?"
"N, no. I'm okay." Susie answered, taking hold of the proffered hand.
"Splendid." the woman replied, pulling Susie to her feet, then paused. She peered closer at Susie, squinting as she looked the bewildered girl over. Just as Susie was about to freak out, the draenei released her. "Have you come for mage training?" the woman asked with a smile.
Susie gaped up at the woman blankly. "I,... uh... huh?"
The woman sighed. "Do you wish to train to become a mage?" she asked, speaking slowly.
"I... wha, what is a mage?!"
"Why, masters of the arcane!" the woman trumpeted. A pulse of energy that pushed at Susie's clothes and hair radiated out from the woman as she said it. "We mages wield power over elements such as fire" she opened her right hand in front of Susie, revealing a large flame dancing across her palm. "and frost!" she showed Susie her left hand which had a swirling flurry of snow floating above it. "With training, you would learn to rain devastating bolts onto your opponents, transfigure eneimies, travel across the world in an instant, even alter the flow of time!"
Susie could only stare dumbstruck. "... Oh wow... that does sound exciting... but there must be some mistake, I,... I'm not a mage!"
"Not yet, perhaps." the woman responded. "But the potential is there. I sense the arcane within you."
Susie didn't know what to make of that – could she really do all the things this woman said? "I,... I see... Well, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. But right now I really need to find my friends!" without waiting for a response, Susie turned and ran in the direction Calvin had gone off in.
"Do consider it!" she heard the woman call behind her. "It would be a shame to let such potential go to waste!"
Susie caught up with Calvin and Hobbes toward the back of the antechamber. They were in the midst of several round platforms, each of which was projecting a holographic image of various monstrous creatures. The two of them were observing the images with rapt attention.
"There you are!" Susie heaved when she caught up to them.
"Here we are." Calvin replied, still looking keenly at the holograms.
"I just had the weirdest conversation." Susie said as she trudged over to them.
"Do tell."
"Well, I ran into this draenei – a, a mage, I guess. She did all weird stuff with fire and ice and, and then she said I had this potential arcane stuff in me and then she asked if I wanted to train with her!"
"... Interesting." Calvin hummed, not even looking up from his own musings.
Susie glared at the boy, a simmering anger starting to bubble over. "Are you even listening to me?!" she shouted.
"You met a magic draenei and she wants you to learn to cast spells!" Calvin answered, finally looking at her.
Susie was ready to yell at him some more, when she realized what he had said. "O – oooh." she let her argument and countenance fall.
"So. You gonna do it?" Calvin asked.
She gaped at him. "What, learn magic?"
Calvin facepalmed. "No, take up knitting! Of course learn magic!"
"Wha – of course not!"
"Why not?"
"Well,... because... 'cause the idea of me doing magic, it's just... it's absurd, that's what it is!"
"That draenei you met seems to think you could do it." Calvin countered.
"Yeah, well she's just..." Susie floundered for a moment thinking of a valid response. "... and anyway, were not going to be staying here, so there's really no point to it!"
"Oh c'mon, Susie! Think of the possibilities!" Calvin spread his arms wide. "Think of what you could do!"
That gave Susie reason to pause. What she had seen that woman do was pretty amazing – and to think that she could do those things herself did give her a sense of wonder. Plus she would be lying if she said the idea of turning Calvin into a jerkcicle didn't appeal to her. "We're not staying." she repeated. "I wouldn't even have the chance to learn magic."
Hobbes made a low groaning sound.
"That's a valid point!" Calvin chirped.
Susie looked at him shrewdly. "Why? What did he... oh never mind!" she crossed her arms and turned around, hoping to find something to take her mind off the inane discussion. And she found it, all right. "Calvin," she squeaked. "isn't that Aligria?!"
Calvin and Hobbes both looked up in surprise where she had gestured. Sure enough, just a few meters across from them was their benefactor; her back was turned to them, but they could still easily recognize her. She was in an animated discussion with another draenei, and though they couldn't hear what was being said, it looked like it wasn't going well. She repeatedly made sharp pointing gestures at the man and waved her hands in a frustrated manner while her tail twitched like and agitated cat. The man, on the other hand, was vehemently shaking his head and raising his hand in a stop motion.
"I think we should head back to the inn." Susie's voice creaked.
"I concur." Calvin nodded.
Hobbes chuffed in agreement.
The three of them cautiously slinked back the way they came, careful not to alert Aligria to their presence. Once they were out of the lighted area, they heartily dashed back to the inn. As they walked in, they were noticed by Breel, who gave them a curious look but thankfully didn't ask any questions. When they entered the back room of the inn, they found Moe seated at one of the tables, contently chewing on a piece of bread.
"Moe, we're back." Susie called upon entering.
Moe gave her a blank look. "... You were gone?" he asked, dully.
Not very long after they had returned, the children heard the heavy clopping of hooves coming in their direction. Aligria entered the inn, with a scowl on her face and her fists clenching repeatedly. As she passed by, they could hear her grumbling something unintelligible. She made her way to an unoccupied table and fell into her chair heavily. She called out "Breel, bring me a drink! Something strong!" before resting her face on her hand.
Seeing the shaman was clearly upset, Susie approached her slowly and carefully; the boys following close behind. "So,... h, how did your errands go?" she asked, meekly.
Aligria snarled. "Well, the gist of it is that I was bounced around from one person to another – each one progressively less helpful – only to finally be told that no one could be bothered with such a menial trifle as returning four displaced travelers to their proper home!"
Breel arrived and handed Aligria her drink, which she took a long pull from.
After hearing this news, the children's faces paled. "So,... that means." Calvin's voice shook as he spoke.
Aligria hiccuped as she set her cup down. The drink had taken the edge out of her face, leaving her with a more forlorn expression. "... I'm afraid you may be here for a while."
After finishing her drink, Aligria had suggested that the children head off to bed – though really more of an insistence than suggestion. Accordingly, Breel escorted them to a room in back where the beds were located. Once they were all situated in their own bed, he left them and went back to speak with Aligria.
Now Calvin wasn't content to just leave things like that, so he quietly crept out of his bed and tip-toed back to the main part of the inn.
"What are you doing?!" Susie whisper shouted when she saw him sneaking through the dark.
Calvin put a finger to his lips, shushing her, and continued on his way with Hobbes silently prowling behind him.
She turned her gaze to Moe who oafishly shrugged at her before ambling out of his own bed and lumbering after them.
Not wanting to be left alone, Susie had no recourse but to go along with the boys.
They all quietly crept to the doorway that separated them from the main inn. They leaned against the wall, listening carefully to discern the conversation between Aligria and Breel.
"What do you intend to do?" they heard Breel's deep voice ask.
"What else can I do?" Aligria replied; she sounded weary – and perhaps a little tipsy.
"There is always room at the orphanage." Breel suggested. For a brief moment, there was a collective gasp from the eavesdroppers.
Aligria sighed. "... I can't do that, Breel." she said. "I promised that I would take care of them, and I intend to do so!" At this, the children sighed; their concerns allayed for the time being.
"Well, what are you going to do with them?!" Breel asked, flustered. "You can't very well go gallivanting around with a pack of children following you!"
"I know that!" Aligria barked. There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again – in a much calmer tone. "I suppose... I'll just have to find somewhere... some place to settle down."
There was a dismissive noise from the innkeeper.
"You doubt my intentions?!" she replied with a tone of aggression.
"I don't doubt your intentions," Breel countered. "only your capabilities."
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Aligria snarled.
There was a pregnant pause before Breel continued. "I've known you for a long time." he stated. "In fact, I might be so bold as to say I know you better than anyone. And one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is you are incurably stricken with wanderlust!" Aligria made a noise of protestation, but Breel cut her off. "Don't even try to deny it! You start to get antsy when you have to stay in one place for extended periods of time – as I recall, the longest you've ever managed to stay was four months."
"Well, I've never really had a reason to stay anywhere, have I?!" Aligria countered.
Breel made a grumbling sound in his throat – like he had something he wanted to say, but was holding his tongue as a courtesy. After a pause, he asked. "Why were you in the Barrens?"
"Pardon?"
"Why were you in a territory primarily controlled by the enemy?!"
There was another pause before Aligria replied. "I was gathering ores."
"There are plenty of places you could gather ores in alliance controlled areas." Breel Countered. "What drew you to the Barrens?!"
Another pause ensued before Aligria gave a heavy sigh. "I suppose I wanted to see the world, as it were."
"Mmmm hmmmm..." Breel hummed satisfactorily. "And that's exactly the sort of behavior that would raise problems when caring for young children."
"So why was I drawn to the Barrens?"
"Eh?"
"There are any number of places I could have gone, so why was I drawn to the Barrens?" There was a pause in which the eavesdroppers could scarcely hear faint sounds from the shaman – as if she were talking to herself in undertones. At length, she finally spoke aloud. "Perhaps this was an act of providence."
"... What?" said Breel, echoing the human's unspoken sentiments.
"Think about it, Breel." Aligria continued. "of all the places I could have gone, I went to an area where there were three frightened children; children who would most certainly have been killed if I hadn't found them! So perhaps my going to the Barrens was all part of some cosmic design."
The children took a moment to chew on that idea – as did Breel, by the sound of things.
The innkeeper took a deep breath before responding. "Alright, supposing that is what happened, that still leaves the question of where you're going to take them!"
"Finding a place to settle down shouldn't be difficult." Aligria replied, flatly.
Another pause followed before Breel tentatively said. "You know,... you could always stay... here."
"That is kind of you, Breel." Aligria replied. "... But no. I believe it would be best if were to live amongst other humans."
"Better for them, or for you?" Breel asked in a flat tone.
Aligria chose not to answer, instead she continued – seemingly talking to herself. "Now let's see, there is ample fish and game in Elwynn, and fruits and grain are not hard to come by – so food should not be an issue... Education, that will be trickier... if all else fails, I suppose I could teach them what I can. Of course the biggest obstacle will be finding a place in Stormwind."
Breel chose this moment to interrupt. "If you're really dead set on this, you might consider Goldshire – it's bound to be cheaper than the big city."
Aligria considered this for a moment. "Yes, perhaps so,..." she agreed.
The two draenei continued discussing the matter while the young humans – their curiosity satisfied – quietly crept back to bed. As they reentered the sleeping area, Calvin turned to Susie. "Well, looks like you don't have any excuse not to learn magic now." he told her.
Susie rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture before crawling into bed.
The four earthlings got into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. Then Moe suddenly sat up, saying "What's this about magic?!"
The next morning at breakfast, Aligria proposed her idea to the children. They all pretended to take a moment to think it over – having already formed their own opinions on it the previous night. In the end, they all agreed with the shaman's plan.
Soon enough, they found themselves on a ship bound for the Eastern Kingdoms.
After they had been sailing most of the day, Susie made her way to the room they had been provided where she found Aligria sitting. "Aligria, can I talk to you?" she asked.
"Certainly." the shaman replied.
"Okay, so the other day in the Exodar, I... um, w-what are you doing?" she had just noticed the draenei had a small, yellowish something in her hand that she was scraping at with some kind of tool.
The shaman answered "I am making... I believe it will be a necklace."
"Necklace?" Susie looked at Aligria curiously. "... You make jewelry?"
"Yes, that is how I earn a living." was Aligria's response. "And with our current situation, it seems I may need to increase my output."
Susie was reminded of the previous night when Aligria had mentioned that she had been gathering ores. This must have been what she used them for. "Well anyway, I really need to talk to you right now."
Aligria continued her work, but still said "I am listening."
So Susie retold her encounter with the draenei mage and all that had come of it. After several minutes, Aligria set her work aside and looked at the girl properly. "That is quite a tale." she hummed. "Now, are you telling me this because you are uncertain if you should pursue this course, or because you have already decided to pursue it and are simply looking for permission?"
"I don't know..." Susie sighed. "... Maybe... a little of both?"
The draenei gave her a long, solid look before saying "I can think of no compelling reason why you should not. In fact, since you may be in Azeroth for quite some time, it would probably be good for you to have something to occupy your time with."
"You really think so?" Susie asked.
Aligria nodded. "Ultimately, the decision must be yours. But, should you decide to do it, I could see to setting you up with a trainer."
Susie smiled meekly. "Thanks, Aligria. I really think – " she stopped abruptly when she felt something against the side of her face – like something large, but light had latched on to her. Turning to look at a small mirror hanging on the wall, she saw a white moth the size of a dinner plate hanging onto the side of her head. She responded to this the way any rational six year old girl would – by letting out an ear-splitting scream.
Calvin and Hobbes leaned over the railing of the ship, watching the waves lap up against the side of the vessel. When they had set out, Calvin had been excited to be on a ship – he and Hobbes had climbed all around the ship, pretending to be pirates scouring for a settlement to plunder. However, the novelty of the experience had worn off hours ago, leaving them to brood over their situation. Ultimately, they ended up looking out to sea, with the idea that they might catch a glimpse of some of Azeroth's sea life.
As they were watching, a sound caught their attention. It was a sound like rushing water – and not the usual sound of lapping waves against the ship, it was more akin to a rapid running river... or a waterfall. They looked up and saw, far off in the distance, a great, dark smear on the water, spanning across the entire horizon – a gigantic hole that the sea continually rushed into in a futile attempt to fill.
It was a spectacle they couldn't help but gawk at.
"The great maelstrom; an everlastin' testament to the travesties of war."
Calvin and Hobbes turned in surprise at the sudden voice. Behind them stood a dwarf with his arms crossed over his chest, gazing out at spiraling waves. He had weathered skin and a hardened gaze; he had a thick red beard and his hair tied back in a ponytail; he was clad entirely in leather that appeared to have scratch marks all over; he had a rifle strapped to his back and on his belt was a knife that looked as if it might have once been something's tooth.
Calvin looked at the man with keen scrutiny. "Wait, you say this,... maelstrom is a product of war?"
"Oh aye." the man answered. "Many centuries ago, the Well of Eternity stood in what is now the eye of the storm. Durin' the war of the ancients, Queen Azshara and her Highborn used the well to open a portal that let the Burnin' Legion into the world.
"While they were attemptin' to widen the portal enough to let the legion's master through, a small force of night elves infiltrated Azshara's temple in an attempt to stop them!... They were successful,... to an extent. Sargeras didnae gain access to Azeroth... but the well imploded – blowin' the continent ta smithereens; And the sea rushed in ta fill the gapin' scar, but there's still fel magic in the works... and the waters have been churnin' ever since."
"Wow..." Calvin sighed, wondrously. He and Hobbes looked back at the swirling vortex with a look of amazement and dread.
Calvin turned back to look at the dwarf, who in turn seemed to have properly noticed him. "Ach, but where're me manners!" he said as he reached out and shook Calvin's hand. "Othgar Truesteel! And this is Natasha!" the dwarf stepped aside to reveal a supple tigress dutifully seated beside him.
Hobbes' eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when he saw her. "Whoa! Hello gorgeous!"
In response, she snarled at him.
Calvin gave his friend a reprimanding glare before turning back to Othgar. "I'm Calvin Mitchell; and that's Hobbes."
The dwarf turned his eye to Hobbes, getting a full look at him. "My, but he is a handsome specimen!" he said in an appraising tone – causing Hobbes to smirk arrogantly. "But uh,... if yeh don't mind me askin', how did yeh come by 'im?"
Calvin thought back to that fateful summer day, so long ago, when he had set up a simple rope trap in the woods baited with a tuna sandwich. "It's kind of a long story." he replied.
"Ah." Othgar hummed, running his fingers across Natasha's head. "I only ask 'cause it seemed unlikely such a wee lad could tame a wild beast on his own."
"Oh trust me, Hobbes was never that wild!" Calvin laughed. Othgar found his quip rather amusing – Hobbes did not. "What about her?" he asked, gesturing to the tigress.
"Ah, I only tamed her quite recently.." the hunter recounted, stroking his beard at the memory."Way down in Echo Isles – some confounded, foolhardy excursion I took as a token of bravery..."
Calvin looked at Othgar with an eager gleam in his eye. Noticing this, the hunter faltered a bit. "O' 'course, I wouldnae recommend it! Very dangerous – nearly lost me head more than once on that trip!"
"Still, that's incredible!" Calvin spoke with all the exuberance he could muster. "Wish I could do that sort of stuff!"
"S'at so?..." Othgar mused. "Well yeh know, once we put inta port, I might be able ta show yeh a thing'er two."
"Oh could you?!" Calvin positively beamed. "That'd be – "
He was cut off by a shrill scream sounding from somewhere below deck.
Moe was bored. There just wasn't anything to do on this lame boat! Usually when he had nothing to do, he'd rough up the twinkie for some laughs – unfortunately, now that the twerp's dopey teddy bear had turned into a for real tiger – with teeth and claws, that probably wasn't the best idea; plus, if he did pound the pint-sized pipsqueak, he's almost certainly rat him out to Aligria! Then the draenei would teach him a lesson with some zaps of lightning. (Or worse, give him a lecture.)
So without his favorite chew toy, Moe was left to wander around the ship, looking for something – anything to occupy himself with; but he quickly found out that there just wasn't anything to do on a ship!
After a while, his stomach started rumbling. Seeing as he had nothing better to do, he went to search for wherever they kept the food. It must've took at least half an hour of looking, meandering and back tracking before he located the galley. (Turns out it had been right behind him when he set off looking for it.) He entered the room to find it stock piled with barrels, baskets and jars all filled to the brim with food – oranges, bananas, apples, limes, nuts, berries, pears...
"Jeez, what's with all the fruit?!" Moe wondered out loud.
The only other occupant of the room – presumably the ship's cook – gave him a steely glare. "Would ye rather have scurvy?!" he barked.
"Yeah, that sounds tasty. Ya got any?"answered Moe.
The weathered old sea dog raised an incredulous eyebrow at the boy. Deftly, he pulled an orange out from one of the containers and tossed it to him. "Ye can 'ave that if yer 'ungry. Now I'm busy, so sod off!"
Moe caught the flying fruit, and with a contemptuous leer at the grouchy old codger, turned and left.
He strode down the ship's hallway, peeling his orange and tossing the peels aside as he went. Just as he was about to take of bite out of it's plump, juicy segments, a voice behind him shouted "HEY!"
The shout gave Moe a moment of pause, but not enough to actually care what the voice had to say. He continued on, but stopped again when the voice shouted again – this time accompanied by a discarded orange peel hitting the back of his head. "HEY! I'm talking to YOU, you stupid OAF!"
Turning around, Moe saw a boy glaring at him angrily. "You just stepped on my toes, you jerk!"
Moe sized the angry kid up; he was about as tall as himself, but his figure was lean – closer to Calvin's build. He grunted apathetically, saying "Yeah, well next time you should watch where you step."before he turned and walked away.
"Aren't you going to APOLOGIZE?!" the boy yelled.
"Nope." Moe stated, preparing to take a bite from his fruit. Before he could, however, he felt a sharp pain strike him in the back of the head. Turning around, he found the other boy sneering at him furiously. "Did you just – " before Moe could finish, the boy quickly punched him square in the nose.
"Oh, that is IT!" an incensed Moe drew his fist back and swung it at his opponent with all the force he could muster. The other boy easily deflected the blow and struck him in the side. Moe made a heavy gasp as the hit landed. He nearly toppled over, grasping the wall for support.
"Is that the best you got?!" the boy taunted.
Infuriated, Moe launched himself at the boy again, throwing punches in a mad frenzy. However, his opponent deftly dodged, parried and deflected every hit and struck back whenever an opportunity presented itself.
After several minutes, Moe was obliged to stop for a moment to catch his breath. As he panted heavily, the other boy laughed haughtily. "You can't win, you know." he talked down at him. "My father is a captain in the royal army; he taught me everything I know!"
Moe was beyond angry now, now he wanted nothing more than to pound this skinny Cretan into an icky paste! Exerting all his effort, he charged at the smirking rat at full speed.
He couldn't say exactly what happened next; one minute he was storming toward the jerk with every intention of beating him to a pulp, then he felt a brief sensation of falling before landing flat on his back with the wind rushing out of him.
He lay there, staring up at the ceiling in a stupefied daze. The other boy strode over to him, looking down on him with an expression of spite and arrogance. "Pitiful." he said. "Absolutely pathetic." he reached over and picked up the orange Moe had dropped sometime during their scuffle. Turning a meaningful look at Moe, he added. "I suggest that in the future, you watch where you step." He then took a bite out of the orange, letting a great amount of juice fall onto Moe's face before taking his leave.
After a few minutes of recuperation, Moe slowly and gingerly pulled himself back to his feet, huffing and wincing in the process. Once standing again, he found himself left alone with the abject pain and soreness of his body to remind him of the ordeal he had just been through. "... That punk faced little worm!" he shouted, punching his fist into his open palm. "Thinks he's so tough just 'cause he knows some fancy moves?! Well TWO can play at THAT game! I'll show him, I'LL learn to fight to! Then the next time we meet, I'll get him, but GOOD! I'll pulverize him! I'll kick his can so hard, his KIDS'll be sore! I'll make him rue the day he EVER crossed ME!"
After seething in his rage for a moment, Moe came to a realization. "I'm still hungry... wonder if that cook's got any scurvy left."
Before he could find out, though, the sound of a scream caught his attention. "... That sounded like Derkins." he thought aloud. "... Guess I outta check it out."
The cabin door opened and Calvin and Hobbes poured into the room with Moe only a few paces behind. What they found was surprising; Susie was seated on a small wooden stool, her face pale and her eyes wide. Aligria stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders and speaking softly to her.
Perplexed, Calvin walked over to Susie, who made no change of expression as he approached, and he asked "What happened?"
For a moment, there was no change. Then a small, almost inaudible sound slipped from her lips.
"What was that?" he asked again.
She made the noise again, a little louder this time.
"... Diiiidn't quite catch that." Calvin replied.
"... Buuuuuug." Susie hissed.
"... Huh?"
"Buuug!" she repeated. "Bi – bi – bi – biiiiig BUG! Head! Bug, head! Big – head – bug – head BIG!"
Calvin's expression became obscure as he watched Susie floundering about, making erratic gestures and babbling incoherently. "... Okaaaaay... Translation?" he turned to Aligria.
"My pet, Zael, landed on Susie's head." the shaman pointed her face toward her shoulder where Calvin could make out that fuzzy, white head and the tip of a fluttering wing of some creature. "Apparently, it startled her."
Behind them, Moe let rip a loud guffaw of a laugh. "Aw, real cute, Derkins! Getting scared over a butterfly?!"
"Moth, actually." Aligria corrected.
"And, to be fair, it is bigger than any moth back on earth." added Calvin.
"Aye, but not nearly as big as some o' the other moths out in the wild!" Everyone turned to see Othgar standing in the doorway, with Natasha sniffing about the room.
Aligria raised a quizzical eyebrow at the dwarf. "I'm sorry,... you are?"
"Oh, uh, guys, this is Othgar!" Calvin sheepishly gestured to the hunter. "He and I were having a chat when we heard Susie's... uh, outburst."
"Good day t'ye all." Othgar waved politely.
"I see." Aligria's expression softened somewhat. Turning back to Susie, she noticed that the color had returned to her face and she wasn't as stiff as she was earlier. "Well, if Susie is feeling better, I believe we should see about dinner."
"AWRIGHT!" Moe crowed.
So after a few minutes, they set themselves down to a pleasant meal; inviting Othgar to join them.
Throughout the evening, they all conversed and chatted with each other. During this time, Othgar came to learn about the nature of their situation; after which, he offered to help in any way he could. Of course, Aligria protested, but the thing about dwarves is they are quite persistent.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Calvin mentioned his interest in learning to hunt. As he expected, Othgar offered to train him in the ways of the wild.
Aligria was hesitant at first, but after a great deal of deliberation and coercing, she finally relented.
And so they went on having discussions and making plans as the ship sailed on to Stormwind.