WoW – Alinash’s Thoughts on Cooking the Perfect Omelet

Where’s that book… here, and I marked the page. The perfect omelet. You need to make two. Two perfect omelets in one day. This is like a dream.

It’s been so long since you’ve had an omelet. Dalaran. You stole it. Maybe it was better because you didn’t pay for it. They were overpriced anyway.

But it was really good.

Eggs. Three eggs. Use six because you need two perfect omelets.

It’s a wonder you even know how to do math.

Shut up.

A tablespoon of milk. How much is a tablespoon? Two tablespoons. Simple math again. It’s no wonder he’s not happy with you. Maybe if you were smarter…

Shut up and get the milk. You can add just fine.

Filling. Mmm, yes. Yes, he is. But this is omelet filling. Stop getting sidetracked. He said vegetables, and meat, and spices. Meat… Stop. I don’t know which spices do what. Parsley? We have that. At least, that’s what it says on the container. How do I tell? It smells okay. We’ll use a little of that. And pepper. I know what pepper is. It says to add pepper to the eggs though, and salt, so maybe I shouldn’t add it to the filling. Too much pepper isn’t good, right?

This is a disaster already.

Is not.

What’s next? Prepare the filling. Vegetables you need vegetables. We have green bell peppers and onions. You need to chop them. How much do I need? Just enough for one of them. I don’t want anything but cheese. Butt cheese. You don’t want butt cheese.

Butt cheese.

*giggle*
Would that be cheese from a butt or cheese shaped like a butt? I hope the latter.

Anyway, I think that’s enough bell pepper. Onion. I hate onions. Fuck, I’m crying. I hate crying. You haven’t even started chopping it yet. What’s wrong with you?

He’s not happy with you. Maybe he’d be happier with a dwarf woman. Or the boss. You know he’d be happier with the boss.

Happier? How about just happy. He’s not happy with you. There’s no happy and happier. There’s not happy and happy. Not happy is you.

He said he didn’t know.

Not knowing is the same as not happy.

I hate onions. I hate crying. I think that’s enough.

Bacon would be good in the filling. We have that. Should I chop that into smaller bits? I guess so. I got this. Perfect omelets. You can do this.

Okay, now I need to cook the filling. I don’t need to cook my cheese, right? That’s going to melt when the omelet is cooking, I think. If I’m wrong, then I guess it’s my problem because it’s my omelet. I can have a less than perfect omelet. Does the recipe say? It doesn’t. It just says cook the filling if it needs cooking ahead of time. Okay. I guess that’s how it is. You’re going to have a less than perfect omelet.

It’s fine as long as his is perfect.

Why do you even try? He’s never going to feel the same way you feel for him.

Shut up and cook the filling.

How long? It doesn’t say that either. Until it looks cooked? I guess? I can’t tell.

You’re dumb about a lot of things.

Shut up.

Is it done? It smells good. I guess if it smells good, it must be done. Okay put it in this bowl and let’s crack the eggs in this other bowl. Cooking is so complicated.

Okay, and add the milk. Just a little. I don’t think two tablespoons is a lot. Add pepper and salt. And mix. Just keep your mind focused on this. Is it mixed enough? A little more. Don’t think about anything else.

And what’s next? Butter for the pan. Melt it then pour half of the egg mixture in.

Don’t spill it. I hate having to hop everywhere.

Okay, then it says to use the spatula to move the cooked egg from the edge of the pan to the center, and tilt and rotate the pan to make sure any uncooked egg fill in any empty spaces.

Fuck, am I doing this right? It’s cooking. Okay okay, then when the egg looks moist, but it doesn’t jiggle when the pan is shaken, it’s ready for filling. Could say the same thing about my…

Wait, smoke, fuck. Shit. This one is mine. Was it too hot?

It was too hot idiot. You burned it.

It’s mine. Add the cheese and just kind of let it sit and melt over here.

Oh crap, too much smoke. Just trim off the blackened parts underneath. You’re bad at this. Open the window before you die from smoke inhalation.

Oh no, he’s here to check on me. Idiot. You can’t even cook an omelet.

He’s hot in his boxers.

“I’m fine. Just learning what not to do.”

Idiot. You can’t cook.

Shut up. I just need practice. Mine was practice. His is for real. Okay, less heat. He’s going back upstairs to get dressed.

I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t, but if he wants to…

Okay, time to make his. You can do this.

 

 

Naren – Sakiri’s Arrival

Neither he nor his mother had been let out of their cage for the past three weeks. His mother had told him it was all normal. Kavir wasn’t so sure. Nothing seemed like it was normal lately.

It had been a strange year. It started in the spring when his mother was removed from their cage for about a week. He had begun to believe that she wasn’t going to return after spending one long lonely week alone. He wasn’t even taken out with the other children. Not without your mother. He recalled his master saying the words, and hoping that it meant his mother would be back soon.

The master brought her back after that one week, but soon after she began to get sick. She seemed tired all the time, and every time she ate, she risked throwing up. Kavir didn’t understand why the only treatment that the master seemed to give her was more food. How was that supposed to help? He recalled the one time he got sick the previous winter, and he was taken to a place where another dragon examined him and gave his master a foul tasting liquid to bring back to the lair. Kavir had to drink it for the next four days. He had hated it, but he thought that perhaps his mother would benefit from it for her sickness too.

His mother told him not to worry. Then her belly started to grow. It was then that she explained that the master had decided it was time for her to have another baby. Kavir was going to be a big brother.

He already knew his master’s lair was a special lair. Most of the lucaja that he kept were female and intelligent. His mother told him that one day, he would be old enough to go to another lair and it would be likely he would be the only one there who could write, and quite possibly the only one who could speak either the lucaja native language or draconic. She had already taught him some of the signs that non-speaking lucaja used but also warned him that there could be variations between lairs. He would need to watch for them and adjust for them on his own when the time came.

Most of the females in the lair had children. The two eldest did not, having passed the breeding age, they were now there to help the females who did have children. Kavir was his mother’s first child, but he sort of knew how things worked from watching the others and asking his own questions. Sort of.

He knew that Forvik left the lair last year. He was old enough that his wings had grown large enough to fly with them. He had a little brother and his mother was supposed to have another baby only a few months after Forvik left. His brother, Devar was Kavir’s best friend. Devar stopped leaving his cage for a few weeks. When Kavir next saw him, he had been moved to another cage, with Garad and Garad’s mother. Devar told him that his mother’s belly got too big, and she started bleeding and died.

He glanced at his own mother now. Her belly was large. Would she bleed and die too? She had been acting like she was in pain since the afternoon.

The master put one of the older women in the cage. She went to Kavir’s mother and spoke with her. Kavir stayed off in his own corner. He was afraid, and his fears were not lessened when he heard his mother cry out in pain. He stared out through the bars. Would he have to go live in Garad’s cage too? He didn’t want to. Garad smelled.

A cry of a new life pierced his thoughts. His ears perked up, and he turned around.

He approached cautiously. There was a little blood, but a lot less than Devar said that he saw. His mother was still alive and seemed happy. Tired, but happy.

“Kavir,” she said, “come see your new baby sister.”

WoW – Orledin

When it came to troll ruins, Orledin preferred the warmer feeling of the wooden huts than he did the old stone ruins. He stepped around the fallen pillars and around the strange altars with animal-like statues carved in the stones over them. The whole place made him uneasy, but he knew he would find him here.

He was usually in one of a few spots, but Orledin had trouble remembering just where those spots were in the sprawling ruins. He wandered around until he heard the slight scraping of a metal edge against wood. Salenicus was nearby.

He followed the sound to a clearing. Salenicus sat on one of the altars. This one was to some sort of bird spirit, Orledin guessed by the carvings. The scraping stopped as Salenicus looked up.

“Umm, hi. Do you have time to talk?” Orledin said as he stepped forward cautiously.

“I don’t think either of us can claim we’re short on time,” Salenicus said as he resumed his work on his latest whittling project.

Orledin felt like less of an interruption now. He went to sit on a fallen pillar near the altar.

Salenicus spared him a quick glance, not taking his eyes away from his project for long, “What is it about?”

Orledin watched as he chipped away at the wood with his knife. It didn’t look like much of anything yet, but he knew Salenicus had become quite skilled at making things. “It’s about Leinath.”

“You know there’s very little chance I can help you with that.”

“I know. You’re still going to see the undead girl at the school, aren’t you?”

Salenicus nodded, “Our patrol passes near enough to the school a couple times each week, so I get to see her then. I really like that the big guy eats.”

The big guy was the draenei who had joined the rangers while his sister stayed at the school. He was on the night patrol to minimize the chance someone would see him and cause a fuss. Orledin was glad he came out to take his place on the night patrol. “Have you thought about taking the next step with her?”

Salenicus looked up from his work and raised a brow. “What next step? I’m not even sure she really likes me much yet, nor do I know if she wants more. Can undead even feel sexually excited, or even romantically excited?”

It was Orledin’s turn to raise a brow. “We’re undead.”

“We’re death knights. She isn’t. I don’t know how different it is.”

“You could ask her.”

Salenicus looked back down at his project, “That would kind of ruin the mood.”

“The mood of what? You don’t even know if she’s excited to see you.”

Salenicus was silent for a moment before nodding. “I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “Weren’t you here to talk about Leinath?”

“Yeah,” Orledin said as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I think things are going well. You know we had that night away, right?”

“I heard there were no donuts. Jamos noticed,” Salenicus replied as he resumed his work.

“Yeah, no donuts. Anyway, we went to the huts.”

Salenicus spared a glance at Orledin. “I really don’t need to know what you did in the huts.”

“I won’t go into details, but I think things went well, but we don’t know what to do now. Asking the captain for a cabin seems like it would be moving too fast, and as you said, people get grumpy when there are no donuts so we can’t go to the huts all the time either. They’re outside of the wards, and I won’t leave him there alone while he sleeps.”

“Ask for a ward around the huts then.”

“I thought about that, but I’d have to ask Aeramin, and I really don’t want to.” Orledin frowned. Asking Aeramin to follow him to the huts was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Why can’t you just go to the school and ask one of the other mages?”

“Because they only ever send him. I assume the others are busy with other wards, right?”

Salenicus shrugged.

“Besides, that would be like moving in together too.”

“Has it occurred to you that you already live together?” Salenicus asked as he continued working on his project.

“I guess we kind of do, but, well, we can’t really do love things together at the ranger building.” Orledin’s ears twitched.

“Use a closet.”

“We’re not Julan and Faeris.”

“Use the bathroom.”

Orledin’s ears twitched again. “I don’t think that would be very good either.”

“I told you I wouldn’t be much help.”

“I know,” Orledin said as he got up. “Thanks for trying anyway. I should head back. My patrol starts soon.”

Salenicus nodded and continued his work as Orledin made his way back through the ruins.

 

WoW – Hethurin’s Notes

• A lot has been going on. I’m not even sure where to start. I’ll start with the happiest things.
• I’ve promised Renner a private balcony to use for dragon things. I’m trying to get him out of the room he’s been in so I can renovate it and turn it into two different rooms. One will be for Narise. She is old enough that I think she’s ready for her own room. Galandil wakes her up sometimes as he still cries at night occasionally. He has a very sensitive stomach.
• Anyway, I promised Renner he’d still have a big room, he’d just also have a big balcony that would be sort of inset into the wall so that no other room’s windows would be facing it. I think he’s going to say yes to it.
• The second room that I plan for Renner’s old room is one I will be using for a sponsored older child. A lot of kids have nowhere to go after they’re too old for the orphanage, and I think most of them wind up on the Row.
• I spoke to Priest Haldeith Sunstone during lunch yesterday. I didn’t take Terellion with me because he was eating with Malwen in the kitchen at the small table there, and they looked too cute. It wasn’t like I was going to come home with a sponsored older child right then, so I figured it would be okay to go talk to Priest Haldeith alone.
• He’s doing okay. He has two apprentices following him around, and he asked if it was okay if they stayed while we talked. I agreed because he’s hoping to retire soon, and the two of them will be taking over his work. I figure not many people come asking where to find orphans who are between 20-40 years old and need assistance.
• His eyes lit up the moment I told him my plan. It looked like he was going to cry. He said he knew so many, and it’s sad seeing them going from relatively happy kids in the orphanage to kids struggling to get by. He knows of some who share crowded apartments with each other, and others wind up sleeping in alleys. He told me a lot of them are dealing with issues of not being wanted, and being put out on their own, along with some of the things they’ve had to do to survive. It’s always bothered him that no one seems to care about the older kids, but the orphanages can’t keep them because they need the space for younger children whom would fare even worse on their own.
• I agree the orphanages should be for younger children, but I also think a viable long-term solution needs to be in place to help the older orphans. They shouldn’t have to leave their general education classes until at least 40, 50 would be even better. For now, I can only commit to helping one. Priest Haldeith said that just one was a huge difference in one kid’s life. I told him that as long as things went okay, I’d be open to sponsoring a couple more later. I may think about buying a place in Silvermoon just to give them a place to live, but I need to figure out the costs of upkeep, food, supervision, and everything. I think it might be more than I can afford. It’s something I would have to talk about with Terellion too.
• For now, I only asked Priest Haldeith to select a candidate for us. He said he’d have someone for next week, and Terellion and I will go then to meet them. He has a few people in mind, so if we don’t hit it off with the first one, we can try meeting another. The most important thing is that they want to continue their schooling and improve their lives.
• I’ve already asked Confessor Morthorn to be ready to meet with them once a week, and Lani is ready to follow them as well.
• Building should be able to start soon and the builders should be able to work a little faster. I’m going to move Bailas away from the stables and ask him to help build instead. If Ithorel can do it, then Bailas should be able to.
• There’s just a lot of trouble with him here. I am tempted to just write the letter and send him back to Silvermoon, but I also want to save him from my mother. I guess I could write and tell her he’s caused more trouble. I’m not sure she’d let him come back if I did, but I kind of want it to be his idea not to go back. We’ll see how it works out with him on the builder’s team. They’re all men under 200 years old, so it might be safer. I guess there’s always the possibility that he’ll wander to see Lilithel after work.
• I’ve asked Terellion to talk to Tik about that. I want to have his honest opinion about it, and I think that if I approach him, he’ll just give me his employee opinion which is always agreeable. He may be more honest with Terellion as he’s not so much his employer. He’s the guy he shares the kitchen with.
• Lastly, there’s the issue with Terellion’s mother and my father. My father says they’re just friends. Ter’s mother says they’re just friends.
• But just friends don’t go to the most expensive seafood restaurant in Silvermoon, then to a romantic play. That’s a date, and no one can tell me otherwise.
• Now he’s trying to cover it up by inviting Ter’s mom and sisters, Terellion, Vaildor and myself to the next one. It’s some stupid family night date or something. I asked him if he’s paying for it all. He said he was. Then I asked him if we were going to the same restaurant. He said yes. I plan to ask the waiter for two plates of the most expensive item on the menu and an entire cake. That will teach him to have stupid family dates.
• I don’t want to go. I don’t exceptionally like plays, except the ones here at the school with Malwen in them. Narise will be old enough to join them soon.
• I wonder what kind of play they’re planning for the end of the year this time? I asked Malwen, but she said it was a secret.

WoW – A Visit

“Have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

Isturon nodded after seeing the tea had already been made. It sat out on the sitting room table. There couldn’t have been any way she could have known he was coming, so he chalked it up to good timing. “I’d love some,” he said as he did what was asked and took a seat.

He looked around as she poured a cup for him. There was no sign a baby lived here, nor was there any sign of the baby. If he was being honest, he’d admit he came more to see Elara than he did to see Vallindra.

Still, if she got word that he took Hethurin and Vaildor for a night in the city, and gave tickets to her four sisters for other nights, chances are she would raise a fuss. It was best to get out of the way now. He placed the tickets on the table as she placed the tea in front of him.

She raised a brow. “What’s this?”

“Tickets for a play in Silvermoon. I thought you and Xanaroth would appreciate a night off. It’s one I’ve seen already and can say it’s very good. I’m more than willing to babysit while you go.”

She picked up the tickets to look at them. “Good seats and I should be free that day, but I do have to ask, why?”

He took a quick sip of the tea. He was expecting this question from her. “There are two reasons. The first one is Elara. Of all my grandchildren, she’s the one I get to spend the least time with. I would love the chance to spend an evening with her.”

She raised a brow again. “All she does is burp, spit up, drool, cry, and shit.”

“You did that when you were her age.”

She twitched an ear. “What’s the second reason?”

“I’ve been spending time with a lady friend, and I’ve invited her children to the next play. I don’t think they’ve been to one before. To keep things even, I’ve also invited Vaildor and Hethurin. I think it would be a little too much to invite all of my children at once, so I thought I could offer tickets and free babysitting for another night.”

She looked at him and said blankly, “Hethurin doesn’t want to be in the same room as me.”

“He didn’t say that, but I assume that could be a problem.”

She nodded. “I would assume the same. I’m guessing it’ll be a different night than my sisters? I won’t have to sit next to Lani, will I?”

“It’ll be a different night. I’m not sure I’m up for watching four babies at once without help. Also, I’ll probably be going with Esladra. I don’t think she’s seeing anyone yet.”

Vallindra shook her head. “She’s not. What about Aranae?”

“I’m writing to her. I’ll buy tickets for her when she next visits.”

“The lady friend is Terellion’s mother, right?” She sipped her tea.

“Yes, but we’re not more than friends.”

“Yet.”

“Well, no, not yet, and I’m not sure she’s ready for more or wants more.”

“I see.”

He’d probably already said too much. Vallindra had a history of reporting to her mother. Before she could ask any more questions, he asked his own. “Where is Elara now?”

Vallindra looked around and shrugged. “I don’t hear her, so she’s probably napping. Xanaroth watches her at this time. I’m usually back out by this time to work on ley lines. There are some minor ones in the area that make small shifts occasionally, and I like to keep an eye on them.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to keep you. Do you mind if I go look for her and Xanaroth?”

“They might be in her room.” She nodded towards a door as she raised and reached for her cloak. She started a teleport spell as soon as the cloak was wrapped around her shoulders and disappeared before Isturon could say goodbye.

Naren – Destiny

Dasturn wiped his dusty hands on his pants as he returned to the hovel he shared with his parents and two younger sisters. It was warm inside, whereas the chill of winter still hung in the spring air outdoors. Still, there was work to do.

The ground had warmed enough that it wasn’t frozen, and Dasturn had spent most of the day helping his father till the soil in the fields on their small farm. It was located in a remote valley in the mountains but wasn’t that far from one of the tunnel entrances to the city.

When he was younger, he had been raised with the idea that he would one day inherit the farm, but as he grew older, the possibility grew less and less likely. He had been born just after the Goddesses had parted this world. Through their high priest, the claimed to have left three seers as a gift to their children, along with various animal spirits that would forever inherit a few new souls.

Dasturn was thought to be the seer of the present by most who knew him.

His parents knew that one day he would be called upon by the priests and had begun preparing the oldest of his younger sisters to run the farm, and had already begun talks with the neighbors in the next valley about her marrying their second son when the time came.

He was only just coming upon his nineteenth name day. Dasturn had hoped the day he would have to leave wouldn’t come so soon, but as he stepped into the house he had a vision of something happening in the city. A poster being affixed to one of the large announcement boards by a group of humans, a rare sight in the city to begin with, but two of them looked like priests from the temple palace.

Dasturn couldn’t read so well, so he waited. He stayed aware of the happenings in the city near the announcement board as he washed his hands in the basin and went to the table to eat the food his mother had prepared while his father and he had been out.
Finally, as his sisters were clearing the table, a crier arrived to the board and began to read off some of the notices in a loud voice. He got to the one put up by the priests and Dasturn held his breath.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes, mother.” He didn’t want to have to explain now. He listened as the crier called out the decree by the high priest asking all those who may think they are a seer of the future, present or past to journey to the temple palace.

It was happening. He frowned slightly as he looked around. The hovel was all he had ever known. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to wait a few days before telling his parents it was time to go. His destiny awaited him elsewhere, but he was okay with it waiting just a few days longer.

Naren – Erith, the First Seer of the Future

Erith closed her eyes after entering the room. She would meet the others later tonight, they had work to do, so the priests said. She knew explaining otherwise would lead them down a path where they were watched closely; too closely to convince the others. Nor could she mention it to those she had to work with. They needed to be clueless about the possibilities. They all needed to be.

She had seen it all. Her death, their deaths, countless times in numerous situations. She had seen her rebirth, their rebirths, again in countless times and in numerous situations. She had to play it right to get the best outcome for her future lives and theirs, and, if what she saw farthest in the future was any indication, the future of all of Naren was at stake.

“No pressure,” she mused to herself after the door closed. She had two hours to settle in before they would come to get her. She opened her pack. She had brought little with her from the Glimarin forest, having known she would die here, she left most of her things with people who needed them.

She had considered not answering the call at all, but in all the futures she saw, dying here in a few months was for the best. It would be safer after she was able to speak with the seer of the past and the seer of the present. They should be left alone in a few months and left alone together. That was going to be the important moment. Saying the right thing then to convince the others that they couldn’t come together like this again until it was time was going to take careful planning, but it would work. And if they weren’t all gathered together in the future, not too much could be expected of them, especially after some time passed and the reason for the seers was forgotten about.

She knew she would be the most likely to avoid being caught in the future. The seer of the present had a slight advantage as well. Even far in the future the seers would be greatly sought after and taken to an island to be kept under control. The seer of the past would have fooled himself into thinking he wanted to be there by the end of it. He would be the wildcard at the end when they needed to come together. Erith knew there was little to do to help his path go correctly. She could only see the possibilities. After they died here and were reborn, he would be on his own.

She only hoped he would be on the right side when the time came.

Naren – Lord Miray

 

You are meant to support your brother.

Their father’s words.

His brother, the former Lord of Moressley, lay lifeless at his feet. The people, at least the ones he considered loyal, had been referring to him as the Lord of Moressley for months now as they made their plans for this day. Lord Miray. It had a nice ring to it, and he certainly deserved it. Years of living in his brother’s shadow, and now, finally, he was in charge.

It was only the first step in his plans, of course, but order must be established before carrying on with the rest. “Find his son and put him in one of the rooms in the east wing. Keep the door guarded at all times.” Perhaps, if he wound up having no children of his own, he’d declare the boy as his successor. For now, it was best to keep him out of harm’s way.

His brother had been weak. They needed a staging area closer to Kingsperch, and Moressley sat directly south of the large city where the King resided. Treaties that had been made hundreds of years ago had left the King overseeing a greater part of eastern Naren. The peasants were angry over the taxes, but Lord Miray had his sights set on releasing the city states from being ruled by a largely absent figure. When was the last time the King had even ventured outside his castle, much less visited one of the cities he ruled over? He hadn’t even traveled to Moressley in at least five years, and they were the closest city to Kingsperch. No, he would make a much better ruler than some absent king, or some spineless brother.

The real work was about to begin. Scouts had already been sent to Kingsperch to find the best way into the castle. Men would have to be trained in combat, and he had no doubt that the King would know what was coming. Assassins could be sent, though if those failed, perhaps storming the castle with an angry mob would work. He’d already been promised help from a couple of other lords of other cities if his takeover of Moressley succeeded.

He grinned as he stepped over his brother’s corpse. His brother had been unfit to rule. He had not done what was best. Lord Miray refused to support a coward, and now it was time to declare his success and be recognized as the official ruler of Moressley.

 

WoW – Alinash

Alinash frowned at the book that Harrier had brought him. He missed being able to join the elf at his workbench, and couldn’t wait until his leg was healed enough to leave. Temperance had said it would be after the infection was gone, but now he was thinking it would take a little longer than that. Until the guards stop watching the area where I was found. It wasn’t right next to the shop, but it was close enough. They’ll give up soon enough. They can’t possibly expect I’ll stay here. He guessed he’d have to stay in this room under the cathedral until then.

Such a change from what you were thinking this morning.

Things have changed.

Or maybe they hadn’t, and he was just seeing things better now. Either way, he was planning to stay in the city, and willing to remain where he was until it was safe, both for his health and for the safety of himself and others. This morning, before Harrier’s visit, he was ready to do whatever he needed to do to get out of the city tonight, even if it meant crawling on his hands and knees. Which it would have because your leg is broken, idiot. He frowned to himself and was glad Harrier had visited when he did. He had to visit anyway to bring you your stuff, and you were going to run away after you had it. He supposed he was more glad the visit went so well.

Except you fell asleep. You didn’t even get to say goodbye or ask when he’ll come back to visit again.

But then, he couldn’t really hold himself at fault for that. When had he slept well in the past week? When you passed out after escaping. There was that, but in the jail they had him chained to a wall. While he slept on and off, the pain in his leg and in his arms wouldn’t let him sleep for long. Then since waking up here, he’d not been at ease, especially not after Harrier’s first visit. I thought he hated me, but maybe he’s just not ready to say the things I said, and that’s okay. He doesn’t need to say them. He had said enough in his own way. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk.’ The words had taken Alinash by surprise, and he hadn’t been sure what to say next. A good surprise, and a good stunned silence. Harrier offered no further explanation of his words, but he didn’t have to. Alinash knew he wouldn’t apologize like that unless he cared, and just those few words made everything better.

And then you fell asleep.

Of course. You were finally able to relax. No more planning to walk to Kalimdor.

Well, you’d have to take a boat, but yeah, no one would look for you there.

Sentinels are dangerous though.

Probably, but it would be better than the Ghostlands.

It didn’t matter now. He had decided to stay. He put the pirate book on the table next to the bed and picked up the book of crosswords that Temperance had brought to him with lunch. He normally wouldn’t have done crosswords at all, but for now, it was entertaining enough. He started filling in the boxes with the pencil that Temperance had left for him.

WoW – Orledin’s Log

I’m nervous. I haven’t had a guy stay overnight in the huts since Julan, and well, that didn’t go so well.

I guess it should be fine as long as I don’t trip and reanimate anything. I don’t think Julan has forgiven me for the bone raptor thing. He still calls it a bone monster, which sounds really funny coming from him, but still. I don’t want Leinath yelling about bone monsters too.

I’m trying to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. I brought extra blankets and extra pillows. I made sure there’s water for drinking, and I’ll be cooking a meal for him while we’re there. I know he thinks it’s weird when he eats because I don’t have to, but I hope he’ll get used to it. I think he’s worried that I’ll miss it or something if I see someone else eating, and while I do miss having good food, I’m used to watching others eat.

I’m just glad I can still bake and people enjoy it. I get pleasure from baking and knowing others are going to love what I make. I don’t need to eat a cookie to feel like I’ve accomplished something. Maybe if I explain it that way, he’ll understand. Maybe not.

Food isn’t the only thing I’m nervous about. He could suddenly decide he’s too grossed out by me. I mean, I am undead, but I’m in good shape. I don’t have a huge grotesque death wound, and I haven’t suffered from any decay. My ears are even completely intact. Still, I’m not warm, and I do have a small wound that I’m sure he’ll see when I take off my shirt. It doesn’t heal because it was there when I was raised, so it’s just sewn shut. Maybe I could just leave my shirt on so he doesn’t ask any questions, but that would probably be weird too if things happen.

And I’m not sure if things will happen. Things have been moving very slow. Maybe he’ll just want to cuddle with our clothes on. I can do that too. I don’t mind if he wants to take his time. I mostly don’t mind. It makes me a bit nervous. I really love spending time with him, and maybe he’s not really that into me.

But really, it’s fine if he wants to take his time because then I don’t have to explain the wound. Maybe he won’t ask, though it’s kind of there and obvious, so I think he probably will.

I think I have a good evening planned. If it doesn’t rain, I’ll ask him if he wants to go for a walk to the small lake nearby, then we could sit and watch the stars. If it rains, or if it looks like rain, I have a book of poetry we can read from. It’s got some pretty racy poems in there. I looked already. I hope he likes racy poems.