Pink Rose [1]

"So Cute and Squishable"

Quest Objective: Avoid heavy fire of sibling rivalry (yes, it's actual fire).

"Before we get started, can I draft up a will? It's amazing that I've lasted this long without one," I said, basking in the tall shadow of the tauren. All around us, the grass was yellow and dead. Snow glistened underneath the pale cold sun, burning my eyes. My face scrunched up.

"No," The tauren's voice boomed, amplified by his impossibly wide neck. His thick, dark mane trailed down his massive shoulders like a churning mudslide. "Do I disgust you, blood elf?"

"What? Oh, no. You're okay—I hate the snow," I focused my puckered-up expression on the nearest pile of white slush. "It's gross."

The tauren followed my gaze and grimaced. Contrasting with his mane, the rest of his body was covered in an alabaster shade of fur. "I...agree with you. My people believe that wherever snow lies, Mother Earth is sick..."

"...Because she has a cold." I finished.

"...You get it?"

"Yes. Very amusing. You should make a joke book." I inhaled sharply. "I'm sure you would enjoy making that more than spending time with me, I'll just—"

I started to slip away, sliding across the outside wall of the inn. The tauren planted his hand on the wall, right next to my head. He was blocking my escape.

I blew my bangs away with frustration. "Okay, let's cut the crap. You want to drag me to Orgrimmar, so Garrosh can arrest me and cut off my head—"

"No."

I stopped short, and studied his face. The tauren met my gaze without fear. "I am called Sunwalker Dezco, and I would like to know the whereabouts of Prince Anduin Wrynn."

I bit down on my lip to keep it from trembling. All I heard was a crazy person screaming in my head. THAT IS SO MUCH WORSE! Now he's not just after me—he's after him, too? That's not fair! I refuse to drag Andy into this!

"What do you plan to...why do you need to know that?" I stammered out. My words didn't hold the same conformity and finesse of someone else that I knew.

Sunwalker Dezco took a step back. I almost expected a tremor to ripple through the ground afterwards. He assessed me carefully, "I heard rumors of you, Scout. You are from Outland, are you not?"

"Yes."

"You know of the Naaru? Of the Light?"

I didn't know where he was leading with this. The mention of the Light reminded me of Anduin's powers, and made me cautious. "Know of it, yes. I'm not an expert."

"But Prince Anduin is." Dezco inclined his head.

I forced myself to nod. Dezco sighed, "I am not here to interrogate an elf that does not like snow. I am here to speak with his highness, in hopes that we may discuss the ways of the Light. This is a personal, scholarly interest."

I studied his huge, muscled form. Dezco was a lot taller than Anduin. I imagined he had more practice in combat, too. But Dezco seemed sincere, and Garrosh was not on good terms with the tauren. Maybe he was telling the truth.

"So you're not after him for..." I let my words trail off.

"No. This is a personal affair," His head tilted to the side. "like your proximity to him at the celebration of the Vale."

I stiffened. I fired at him with a bullet I knew would hit home. "Or like Lady Proudmoore and your High Chieftain."

It was Dezco's turn to freeze. I was a scout, and a well-informed one (except for Anduin's true identity; that one slipped through the cracks). Sometimes it felt as if there was a second layer to the world, another plane of existence. Sometimes I feared I knew too much about it, and I was drowning in it, buried by things I wasn't supposed to know.