Rogue Firefury

CONFESSION

 Dedicated to @ea_carter for bringing Sauren "back to life", so-to-speak.

Lor'themar had welcomed the distraction of the rogues. It was good to relax a little, but a little was all he could afford. The recently appointed Lord of Quel'thalas had to take his leave to continue with duties but promised to join Camnath and Tiene for dinner. He warned them it would only be essential dining; supplies were limited.

While Lor'themar seen to things of state, the two rogues joined in helping those who had been working tirelessly on clearing debris. Their aid was appreciated, and they managed to have a sizeable area relatively clear by late afternoon. They moved on to see where else they could assist.

As Camnath worked with a team of three elves shifting vast slabs of stone, Tiene drifted toward the inevitable. She moved toward the broken house she once knew as home. Painful though it would be, she felt compelled to walk through the rooms she had once lived and laughed in as a child.

Before taking her last step through the broken doorway, she turned around. Camnath was watching - a flicker of disquietude within his eyes. Tiene held out her hand, and he crossed the plaza to join her. Silently, they made their way into the house.

The entire north wall was practically gone, exposing the kitchen and dining area. Inside, everything was thick with rubble, dust, broken fixtures and furniture. Tiene remembered preparing family meals - although it took Nerisen's intervention with a cookbook for her to achieve culinary delights. She smiled fondly at the memory, although sadness was not far behind.

Carefully the couple stepped over large pieces of brick, plaster and wood, moving through to the stairwell which led to the bedrooms.

Camnath moved ahead, ascending the broken stairs first, with due care. "Slowly," he said to Tiene, holding out his hand to support her.

The odd creak of damaged timbers underfoot gave rise to caution as did thin rivulets of powdered plaster from overhead. The instability of the building was made no more apparent than when they crested the top stair.

The upper floor was missing most of its ceilings, the remaining rafters, shattered and jagged, clinging precariously to the east and south walls.

Tiene looked upon the remnants of her bedroom. Some clothes and one or two of her childhood toys were mangled in the debris and her furniture - not one piece survived whole. It was a sobering sight, but her grief was on the rise again, her bottom lip quivering. It felt as though her past was being erased at that very moment - invalidated, gone. It was an unsettling feeling.

She felt Camnath's arms around her shoulders. He pulled her close against his chest, resting his chin on top of her head.

"I thought this would be a good idea," she whimpered. "A form of closure. Now I'm not so sure."

"It was never going to be easy." Camnath's arms squeezed her gently.

"No. I suppose not," Tiene agreed.

"Come, let's move."

He led her to what had been her father's and then her brothers' rooms. If she had hoped to find anything as a memento, she was bitterly disappointed. The explosion of the Sunwell had practically sandblasted everything which was not held together with bricks and mortar.

Leaning against Camnath, she mourned. "At least it hasn't been able to destroy my memories of them," she said, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice.

Camnath nodded and kissed her brow. "Shall we go?" he asked gently. Tiene nodded then he guided her back down the stairs and out of the house.

There was nothing there for Tiene, other than pain. Her family's images were emblazoned in her mind and imbedded in her heart; they were an integral part of her and always would be. Here, now - there was only a broken house, unsalvageable sticks of furniture and some powdered crockery.