An: I suppose what's done here is technically underage drinking, but we can't know for sure because as far as I know Azeroth doesn't have a book of laws. I don't condone underage drinking.
Cassiopeia was dreaming of a fire in her belly. It didn't burn. It was a gently moving warmth that seemed to roll within her. Hands caressed her from the front and from the back, pulling her into two others who cradled her to them with such care. Then her eyes opened to a high ceiling, from which hung various drapes of the same blue. Cassie sat up with a wince, noting how her body felt sore all over.
How long had she been asleep? She stood, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and wandering to a mirror. She turned this way and that, noting the whispery white gown she was clad in. It was barely any fabric, so she marveled at how the whole thing wasn't simply see-through. Turning from side to side Cassie looked at herself, more and more not recognizing the body in the mirror. Scars that had been thick and vivid for years were nearly gone; faded in intensity to thin lines. Then there was the fact her thick, black hair was a lot longer than she remembered it being before...Before what? Where even was this? Cassie turned to look at the rest of the room, noting every exit as she did so. There were countless paintings that looked more expensive than she felt, blue banners hanging from the ceiling and draping over the walls, and a glass table with a tea set on it. The table was held up by two bronze lions, and she began to feel uneasy. She'd never seen decor like this.
Cassie was startled when the door on the opposite wall swung open to reveal a woman in priestly robes. She had purple skin, green hair, and long tapered ears. Oddly enough, this calmed Cassie a little. It was some kind of dream. That explained why she couldn't remember the last thing she had done or where her parents might be. The priest was talking. Cassie shook her head and mimed that she didn't understand whatever language that was. The...elf gestured for her to remain where she was and took off down the hall, calling for someone. She didn't even close the door.
Cassie instead went right to the balcony, throwing open the doors and advancing to the railing. A quick glance was all she needed to confirm that this castle had not been built with the idea someone might climb it in mind. Just in a few moments she could already make out dozens of handholds. What a security oversight... With no sense of urgency or fear of the huge drop, Cassie began to whistle as she poked one leg over the side of the balcony. She didn't usually have such vivid dreams and was keen to inspect the world around her. "Wait! You don't have to do this." A gentle, kind voice called from the doorway.
Cassie looked at the man standing next to the priest and took in his noble get up and the crown on his brow. A king? Or a prince maybe, as he seemed young. Closer to her age than her parents' age. She looked at the balcony which she was halfway over and back at the king-prince, slowly lifting her second leg over to join the first. Then she dropped, grabbing the closest handhold and beginning a rapid descent to the garden hundreds of feet below. She could hear the blonde boy shouting, but his form was quickly becoming small above her. In less than two minutes, Cassie's feet hit dirt and she took off, laughing. What an amazing dream this was. She'd have to brag to Clint and Natasha about this feat of escape she pulled off when she woke up and spin it like a grand tale.
More than few people looked at her as she streaked by, half naked in the wisp of a gown she wore. She giggled at the feeling of the cobblestone on her feet. It was such a novel feeling, after all. She stopped to sniff the air, calling on her sharp sense of smell only to realize how much stronger it was currently. Moving this fact aside despite the twinge of unease it shot through her, Cassie began to search for a very specific smell. It didn't take her long of sprinting about to find a brewery. Or maybe it was just a pub. Cassie tried not to loudly announce her presence when she went in, but this all seemed to be for nothing because every eye in the room swiveled to fix upon her anyhow. A few of them blushed, looking back to their tankards and busily drinking them with a pointed focus.
It would appear this tavern was mostly dwarves, and a few smaller individuals Cassie couldn't be sure the race of. Sliding up to the bar from which drinks were served, she cleared her throat. "I challenge you proud folk to a drinking game. If I can win, then you pay for my drinks. And my food too."
There was an explosion of laughter as the dwarves brought themselves almost to tears at the idea of what she was proposing. Then the dwarf tending the bar asked her a question. "And what if you lose, lass?"
Cassie shrugged. "I'm really, really strong. If you have field work you don't want to do...hauling, mining any of that...I'll do your chores." There was more laughing and beginning to feel emboldened by her dream, Cassie took the nearest full tankard and downed it without stopping for air. Her mother had an extremely high tolerance for such things, and it would seem she was right about that passing to her. They began to offer tankards after that and soon every patron in the pub was crowding around Cassie. The dwarves were becoming consumed with this sort of manic energy as they realized drink after drink was going down to no effect. Then the tavern owner nodded at the others.
"I'll go get it. The winner from last year's Brewfest." He reappeared from the back moments later, pushing a keg on wheels and filled up Cassie's tankard again. "Here ya go, lass. This is among the strongest we have. Aside from the Dragonfyre." Cassie got another five tankards in before the barkeep was panicking too. "Alright lass, I'll be right back." This time he returned with a single bottle and one little shot glass. "If this doesn't get ya drunk, I'm afraid you're one of those poor bastards who just can't." He poured the single shot.
Cassie looked at the clear liquid filled with a swirling rainbow sheen that was certainly magic and almost second guessed what she was about to do. Sure it was a dream, but the barkeep's caution was enough to make her pause ever so briefly. Then she picked it up and gulped it. "Oh. Ohhhh...That tingles." She sat back a little, finally feeling the warmth of alcohol suffusing her veins. "Another." She was allowed maybe four more before she finally stood and wobbled. "That's...done it." They cheered, picking her up and holding her over their heads.
"Alright that's enough, guys. The king has business with the young lady." She was sat back on the solid ground, still wobbling. "So we meet again." The man leaning on the wall uncrossed his arms. "You look a lot better not covered in blood."
Cassie felt another twinge of unease. "I don't know what you mean. I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before." She took in his looks and it struck her how average he appeared to be, almost on purpose. This man was...was just like Clint and Natasha in the way he carried himself. She recalled how half-way through the second keg of ale she had begun tasting something extra every couple of tankards. "Did you poison me?" She sat in a nearby chair, trying to memorize his face. It was just ordinary and so she stopped.
"I'm...impressed you noticed. Your taste buds must be really sensitive. It has barely any taste. Usually not discernable when mixed into dwarven brews." He sighed. "I'm not surprised you weren't told of what happened in Darkshire. Though, you did run away pretty immediately after after waking up."
He heaved a sigh and she raised an eyebrow. "Well? What happened. Come on now, before this dreamy buzz wears off."
"You're aware you are a lycanthrope? A worgen?" She nodded, at least partially sure of her answer. "We found you in Darkshire, a small farming village in Duskwood. You were on a mindless rampage. You killed four people, and not just...a simple killing either. These people were ripped limb from limb. Even more got turned by the worgens you led. But we were able to treat you. I wanted to offer you a job, but the king was adamant you be eased into this."
Cassie was quiet. "Four people." She crossed her arms, fingernails digging into the soft skin above her elbows on both sides, matching up with the magically faded scars. "I want my wages anonymously given to those who survived them. Family, friends. When they have everything they need keep taking the wages and...Set up a fund for victims of worgen attacks." She startled. "Oh wait, what is this job?"
The man called over his shoulder. "Just go back to the keep and guard the king's life. Everything is tense and he must be protected from further treachery. Just tell the guards Mathias Shaw sent you back."
x
Ronald Weasley was tired of sleeping in the field. He had in fact not missed this. There had been enough sleeping bags from when he and Harry and Hermione hunted horcruxes down as teenagers. But if ever there was a time for this...It would be now, when demons roamed this strange land he found himself trapped in.
But word had arrived by gryphon that Cassiopeia was awake and he needed to speak to her before there was trouble. Knowing her, the girl probably thought this was all a dream and Ron would be in such trouble with her parents if Cassie jumped off Stormwind Keep trying to fly. But there was something else bothering him currently as he and his little task force boarded the Alliance airship that would fly them back to Stormwind.
One of the mages he was sharing knowledge of his Earthly magic with noticed his quiet manner as the airship lifted off and approached him. "Master Ronald-"
"Ronald is fine." He shrugged off the formality. "What is it?"
"You're worried about the strange wolf you left at the keep, right? She's in the safest space in the entire Alliance. She'll be alright." The night elf smiled at him, her whole friendly nature actually calming him a bit.
"I am worried, but this is about her biology. And her reckless nature. It is the fact she has woken that stirs my thoughts." He heaved a sigh. "It's not for me to share it, either. It's quite personal to her and her mother's people."
The night elf nodded at this. "But she is safe. King Anduin is strong with the light. You are too, although I don't think you realize yet just how much so." She walked away, leaving Ron to dwell on these words.
"Hold on Cassiopeia. I'm rushing back."
x
There were large, winged figures in the keep when Cassie returned. They gave her lingering stares as she passed, tracking her movement with eerie precision despite the blindfolds they each wore. She tried not to stare at the long, curving horns nor the intricate lines that appeared to be more scar than tattoo. But eventually she stopped, getting a little closer as her curiosity won out. "What a detailed dream. I should write this all down when I wake up." She reached out a hand to brush fingers gently over the lines and received a hard shove with the butt of a blade.
Winded, Cassie looked at the towering woman with bewilderment. She hadn't thought her to be agressive so why was she? "Don't touch me, hell spawn." She snarled, showing off teeth sharper than Cassie's own, which already resembled a sharks'. "You're lucky the king defended you as you slept. We see what the mortals do not, and soon they will believe us." She tilted her head ever so slightly, getting close enough to whisper to her. "You're a monster. Worse than us. A demon in the humanoid form. I've seen your kind, once. Long ago. Make one mistake you pink-blooded accursed and I'll cleave your head from your body." She straightened up, away from Cassie. "Go on. Do it. Make that mistake." The grin nearly split her face at this point.
Cassie bolted, back to the upper floors she had climbed from. She shoved past maids and more priests as she went, fighting the tears that rose at the reminder she didn't really belong anywhere. "You better not eat anyone, demon."
"And then there were the magenta-blooded." Cassie's caretaker's voice was raised in an ominous tone. "Fearsome creatures more feral than most...The offspring of the grand purple high-bloods and lowly, mutated red-bloods. They were good for nothing more than striking fear and pain into the hearts of the high-blood's lowly charges and killing anyone who stepped out of line." Equius grinned from ear to ear, his Halloween tale far from over. "So monstrous were these magenta bloods that only three have ever been allowed to exist."
"W-why were they monsters, Equius?" Young Cassie looked up at the older Alternian in apprehension, knowing her own blood was magenta. "What made them so bad?"
"Why, my little wriggler...Their insatiable desire for chaos, pain and fear when they get angry. And let us never forget their tendency to eat those who fell, regardless of their station. Often they'd eat those who meant the world to them, should they fall. The ones who made them, the ones who employed them. Those who loved and cared for them. Cannibals and beasts, the lot of them." He leaned in closer. "Keep a tight hold on your anger, young one. And even tighter still on your hunger."
Cassie reached the room she had been given and slammed the door shut, throwing herself on the ground in front of it and squeezing her eyes shut. The next step was to stuff her fingers in her ears and block out any noises muffled from the hall or drifting in from the balcony. She finally peeled her eyes open to hopefully begin calming herself down and almost cried when she saw instead that night was coming fast and with it a creeping darkness.
Cassie knew it was a childish fear for someone as scary as her to have, but ever since that Halloween she was filled with a black dread at the sight of deepening darkness. She bolted up, and began dashing around trying to ascertain any sources of light to be had. I have to hurry before I turn into a monster for real.
Another, louder of part her snarled that it was too late. She had always been a monster. It was a just matter of when she'd lose control again. Cassie just stopped moving and sank to the floor. Eventually the king would come back. Maybe he'd have her executed if she asked really nicely. She lay on her side on the floor, emotionally drained and unwilling to move any longer. Whatever happens, happens.