A whistling broke through Colin's sleep as his eyes slowly began to crack open, feeling the weight of the blankets atop of him as his hands slid along them, reaching up to rub his eyes. He instantly smelled breakfast wafting through the air to his bed in an inelegant dance that just managed to rouse him from his sleep, regardless of how little sleep he might have gotten the night before. He just barely sat up, eyes closed, as the whistling flew through the air once again, a melodious tune of sorts, accompanying the soft footfalls from the next room, soon pausing as his door creakily swung open.

"Colin?" he heard his father's voice speak brightly, opening the door further upon finding his son sitting up in bed, "Rise and shine, sport. You know what Captain Vimes says."

Colin grumbled, lazily, "Aka'Magosh?"

His father sighed, "Not that; and don't repeat his orcish. What he says is-"

"Arise with the dawn, I know, I know," Colin interrupted, no less sleepily.

Allowing a muted smile across his face, his father accepted his answer as he turned to leave, "Good. Now get on up. Your mother has breakfast going, and then you'll be coming to work with me today; I'm running close to a deadline."

Suddenly, Colin's eyes widened in excitement, "You mean I can work with the flasks?!"

His father smiled warmly, "Maaaybe. But only if you get up!"

As he left, Colin leapt from his bed as he prepared to get dressed, being careful to dress for the fall weather that now encompassed Theramore. It was a welcomed respite from the usual humid and dank air that Duskwallow usually offered, and despite it having been chilly the last few days, it was no guarantee that the humid warmth would remain foreign. Still, Colin enjoyed bundling up, and happily managed to dress well for the occasion before rushing out of his room and into the main room.

While Colin had lived here his entire life, neither of his parents were natives of this island, both figuratively and literally. While actually on an island, it also was a lone island of Alliance influence this far south on Kalimdor, having been established to escape the turmoil that had been wreaked across the sea in the Eastern Kingdoms as a result of the Burning Legion.

While its leader, the epitomous sorceress Jaina Proudmoore, held rather friendly views of the Hordish peoples that populated the lands of Kalimdor, many of her advisors and other bureaucrats despised the native peoples, leading to a constant air of tension among the island's citizens, even if Proudmoore often won out, due to how massively respected she was. However, it would not be inaccurate to say that fear wasn't also a factor- many children would gossip about Lady Jaina obliterating men with a single spell, which was a belief held by many of the adults as well, even if they wouldn't admit to such childish things.

Colin's mother, Klara, had come here as one of the initial settlers, though only as a child herself. Her parents were lower-tiered mages of the Kirin Tor, both sent off to join the restrictive existence of the order, and had followed Proudmoore when she had made her exodus to this place. While instructed in the arcane by her parents, Klara would often rebel against the same strict life her parents followed. She would indulge in crafts that were less esoteric, particularly tailoring, which she had a knack for, and while finding a job she enjoyed quelled some of her rebellion, it didn't defeat it.

She would often spend her free time at the docks, listening to the stories of overseas lands by the travelers and crewmen. One happened to be another teenager, a scraggily deckhand named Cort Dumerval who had traveled to Theramore to seek fortune alongside the expeditionary forces. When such military action never got off the ground, the only thing that kept him around was the bed of Klara, and after a quick courtship, the two married and had a son before managing a house of their own.

Eventually, Klara's parents left for Dalaran, leaving the two to fend for themselves and their son, and while Klara was just able to keep some time at the tailor, Cort spent long hours every day attempting to support his family, though in such a limited area with enough people, work was difficult to come by, and with the house, it was impossible to move. Still, they made it work, and as Colin grew, so did the couple's love for one another.

Colin rushed to the table, nearly knocking it off kilter as he hopped into the chair, his father quickly grappling a hold of the wooden frame, "Whoa, not that fast. Arise with the dawn; you aren't supposed to beat the clock five ways to Sunday!"

The boy barely managed a smirk as he excitedly began eating, leaving his father awestruck, "N-Now settle down there, son!"

His son's face peered up toward him, "But I'm so excited! I get to see what you do every day and I get to help!"

Cort turned to his wife, who had also turned toward the table with a bewildered expression at her son's speed, "Has your mother's teaching really left you wanting out so much?"

Klara gestured pithily with the wooden spoon in her hand, a grin cracking over her face as she turned back to breakfast, shaking her head as Cort went on, "He's just excited for something new, dear."

She frowned over the stovetop, "I'm just hoping there's nothing new for you…"

"Pardon?" Cort replied, though Klara was quick to dismiss him as he turned back toward his son, who'd already finished up his meal.

"Now hold on," he instructed, Colin pausing halfway out of his chair, "I still need to eat too, so just hold up in that seat there, now."

Colin grumbled as he lifted his body back into place as Klara eyed him from the corner of her eyes, "Excited to help your dad today?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! Every time I ask, you two always bring something else up; I've never seen him at work before!"

Cort chuckled, shaking his head, "It's nothing all that exciting. You'll probably just be filling up flasks with whatever concoctions they're sending back over to Stormwind or Ironforge or somewhere."

"That's so far away," Colin replied in awe.

"Well, Theramore is a big city for mages, you know," Cort went on, "Simply because of our leader, the Kirin Tor mages consider this a highly regarded city, and because of that, most of the alchemy taking place here has an extra 'kick' to it, probably simply due to the arcane energy flowing in the air."

Colin's eyes grew, either marveling or in shock, "Arcane…energy…"

"That's enough!" Klara confirmed as she brought the rest of the meal over toward the table, "It's bad enough they've got you working for them, Cort."

The middle-aged man gave her a weak, gloomy smile, "Okay. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything more than fill the flasks, alright?"

Klara groaned, but eventually agreed as she took a seat, pulling her plate of food over toward her, "Thank you. Colin, look at you; you've got egg on your face!"

She reached over with a rag to wipe it off, though Colin squirmed around, embarrassed, "M-Mom! I can get it myself!"

Rolling her eyes, his mother persisted until his face was cleared, "Once you can keep your room clean without us having to tell you, maybe then I'll be convinced."

Colin grumbled, though he didn't reply while his parents ate their meals, Klara taking a moment before her next bite to ask, "How was your friend's birthday party?"

Fiddling with a small table-top ornament, Colin shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Markus was so busy hanging out with a bunch of his friends that I didn't know, so I sort of just sat in the corner and played with their dog. He liked the present we got him, though."

"Ah ha!" Cort exclaimed, happily, before laughing, "I told you he'd like it! Every boy needs a pocket knife you know; you never know when such a thing will come in handy."

Klara nodded as her head leaned closer to her plate for another bite of food, "Especially out here. When I was a girl, there was more than one occasion where I could have used such a thing. Some of the girls thought it a prank to throw a large net over me and keep me behind the inn for the entire night."

Cort grimaced at the thought of his wife having been helpless, though Colin quickly chimed in, curiously, "Why would they do that?"

"Well," Klara sighed, scratching her head, "Let's just say that magic stuff, especially when wielded by kids- their peers tend to think of them as oddballs, still. Most adults understand that stuff, but not that many kids; they don't understand it well enough."

She glared at her husband, who had lowered his head as he took a bite to eat, trying to hide his smug expression, "And, yes, I do know what I'm saying. Do I know it's hypocritical? Yes. Do I care? No. Especially when I went through all that myself."

Colin watched his parents critically, unsure of what was going on, though his father suddenly gestured with a hand, signaling for him that he could leave. Colin immediately hopped out of his chair and dashed off deeper into the small home which sat down the lane of the poorer collection of Theremore's citizens. Cort shrugged as his wife continued eating.

"I was always jealous of your abilities," he muttered, softly.

Klara placed a hand upon the table, her voice still and unwavering, "That's enough."

"I don't know why you want to keep that from-"

"Enough," she repeated, with a fire at her breath as she spoke, though she remained unmoved.

Cort sighed longingly, shaking his head as he finished eating before standing up, collecting his and Colin's dishes before taking them back toward the sink. He rinsed them off, leaving Klara to rub her hands over her head, exasperatingly, her appetite suddenly finding itself lost. She could hear Cort quietly groan, though she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't doing it to affect her.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he managed to say atop the running water, "I wish I could see more of that side of you."

Klara rolled her eyes as he wiped off his hands, walking toward the door as Colin came running back through the house in a mad dash, not even bothering to turn to his mother as he rushed past the table. Cort was quick to grab his shoulder, holding him back before spinning him around, back toward Klara, who watched her two men standing at the door with a soft smile on her face.

"Never leave the house without saying goodbye to your mother or wife, son," Cort reminded, "Rule number one."

Colin's lips twisted in thought, but in an instant, he rushed back toward his mother, her body just turning toward him as he launched himself into a hug, the two of them holding on to the other, tightly, Klara's voice breaking through their silence, "Have a good day, buddy."

"You bet!" Colin shouted, pulling away and returning to his father's side before the old man drew the door open, letting him out into the street.

Klara made it up to her feet, walking toward Cort, who remained at the door with his hand around the handle, his body still facing into the house. His wife slowly wrapped her arms around his waist as her body melded into his, her lips pressing against his in a quick, chaste kiss.

"Like a loyal dog, I always come back to you," Cort nodded.

Klara rolled her eyes, grinning, "Like a dog alright."

The two shared a quick, silent laugh before Cort pulled away, stepping out of the door with a final, "Love you."

"Love you too, darling," Klara finished, herself, making sure to watch his shoulders shudder at the use of that final word which he hated so much.

She grinned a last time at his subconscious reaction before turning back into the house, closing the door behind her, preparing to go off to her own job at the tailor's. Her mind remained fixed on what her husband said, even if he would say it often. She stared off toward the corner, eyeing a small bag that contained her tailoring supplies, her hand slowly waving through the air as the bag slowly levitated in the air for only a moment, Klara's worry quelled as she shook her head, walking off to prepare for her day.