It was dusk in Icecrown by the time Lene Surus'ilamar arrived at the Argent Tournament Grounds. Most of the inhabitants were already in their tents, picking up their goods, or making preparations for tomorrow. A sheet of snow stuck to the dark-brown roofing of the towers and Coliseum; it had snowed recently, and it had been solidified with the icy mist from the sea far below. Lene walked through the grounds, keeping an uneasy watch on the perimeters of the camp, which stretched away to sharp vertical angles and blackness beyond that. The golden-brown wyvern keeping pace alongside her shook its mane free of ice.
"Remember the first time we were here, Sereth?" Lene asked, voice fittingly low for the frozen silence of the place. "When the Lich King was killed, and everyone was celebrating?"
"Of course. That was when my last master and I had our falling-out. But coming here was still worth it." A thoughtful pause. "How are Arlyn and Lux doing? I haven't seen either of them since we left the celebration."
"They're fine. I hope Arlyn isn't too upset with me for wanting some alone time; sometimes, I can't tell what she thinks. I'll talk to her when I-" She broke off. As they passed the empty Ring of Champions, Lene looked over at it for a long time. "You like him, don't you? Lux."
"I do not!"
Lene kept crunching through the snow with her sabatons en route to the living quarters on the southwestern side of the Tournament Grounds. All the way, she kept up a steady argument with Sereth about the romantic preferences of a certain wyvern, and how that pertained to another certain wyvern. For the moment, at least, their purpose was forgotten.
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It was only a few hours before the two woke amidst the early-morning rush of the Argent Pavilion. Lene stayed nested in bed until Sereth put her front paws on it and gave Lene a gentle cuff, as a cat might do with her kittens. Lene blinked and sat up immediately, the blankets still pulled over the lower half of her face.
"Hmmhph? What's it, Seriphh?"
The wyvern didn't reply. Around them, the other people in the Pavilion were already getting dressed and preparing to put on their armor. The tinkling sound of bowls being set out heralded the breakfast to come. Within a few moments, Lene had smoothed the blanket over the bed again, and was pulling clothes on over her sleeping tunic and pants. Blinking, tousle-haired, she took her place amongst the others at the table, and helped herself to a bowl of oatmeal with dried fruit in it.
"-Heard? Of course I have. The Vanguard's packed with people now. I think Ausara and Baor both got shipped out."
"-Losing ground."
"Shouldn't have been such a threat. Why did they need three full squads? That Heroes' Valley was cleared out months ago."
"Pass me some of that- thanks."
"There were a couple of Flesh Giants in the northern half of the valley. Someone had the bright idea of bombing them from that zeppelin." A snort of laughter. "Let's just say it smelled really bad there for the next few days. A few people from Aleroth's troops kept petitioning to change the patrol route, so they didn't have to be downwind of it the entire time."
"It won't take long 'fore Icecrown is cleared out for good, lads." Lene flinched at the voice right next to her. She stopped eating and looked over. "Better get your last taste o' killin' before all of the Scourge are gone." The speaker was a grey-bearded Dwarven paladin who alternated shoveling down his food and talking with an unconcerned drawl.
"We've still got a long way to go. Most of us have already been on the front lines once or twice; didn't you notice that drop in recruitment? You know the feeling - all of a sudden, you start looking around, then you realize that you've been seeing the same faces for months." Someone sighed. A couple of people left the table for the tournament grounds. The empty bowls stayed behind at the table. Lene glanced around the pavilion for Sereth. She was already gone.
Lene shoved her chair back and went outside.
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"It sounded pretty-" Whack. Lene's side was caught by the wooden practice spear in her opponent's hand. She winced at the shock, and forced her Human opponent away with a couple of back-facing-out sword strikes. A quick look down at her armor told her it was barely dented. She approached the human this time, but warily; staying in a defense posture with her sword ready to either block or strike.
Sereth, who was curled up on the snow just off the practice ring, laughed softly. "Don't try to fight and talk at once. That's how you get killed on the battlefield." She settled deeper into the snow hollow which guaranteed her shelter from the wind. "If what you have to say is that important, then it deserves total attention."
Lene barely had time to nod before the Human charged her. She sidestepped too quickly on the packed, shiny surface of the practice ring, and hit the ground, back-first with a massive clatter of armor. A few of the people in the other practice rings looked over, then returned to their own matches. Even after her opponent bowed to her and left, she stayed in that position, staring up at the cloudy grey sky. As the first sprinkling of snowflakes drifted down onto anything flat enough to hold them, she blinked a few times to clear her eyes, then got up.
"Why do you do that so much?" Sereth asked. "It's a bad habit to have in a place like this. If it was one of the jousting arenas, then you could've been trampled."
Lene stood on the perimeter of the practice ring and began the exercises to stretch out her muscles and cool down. "I.. just like to look up at the sky and think - or not think, as the case may be. I've been doing it for years. It's very relaxing." She looks over her shoulder at Sereth, curled into the snow. "You should try it," she adds.
"I'd rather not. What were you trying to say before?"
"I'm starting to think we should volunteer to go to the Argent Vanguard. After you left and everyone else was eating breakfast, I was listening to some of the Argents talk about it. It almost sounded like they were having real trouble." Lene sat down next to Sereth on the snow crust, flexing her hands to get the tingling feeling out of them. "You don't mind if I.. uhm.."
"Go ahead.." Sereth huffed a sigh, the mist from which drifted off into the grey atmosphere around them. Lene grinned and sat right up against Sereth.
"Thanks. Elves aren't very comfortable in cold weather. Anyhow, I did manage to talk to a couple of those people after I left. One of them said that a band of wandering Scourge killed almost an entire troop, just a week ago. And the other kept telling me that now that the Lich King's dead, recruitment's dropped so much that the Argents still in Icecrown have to keep rotating people. The people here have all been here for months."
"If you join them in the Vanguard now, you won't be able to leave until they let you. Are you sure it's worth it? Arlyn's waiting for you back in Dalaran, and the Crimson Templars are in Silvermoon. How will you explain it to them?"
"I'm not going to just tell them. I'm going to go back to Dalaran, and ask Arlyn, then send a letter to Calleda. Arlyn's told me before that she always wants to fight alongside me, wherever we are. I want to do the same with her. And Calleda and Calandil have both been in service to the Argent Crusade before. We were in Zul'drak together." Lene tips her head back slowly until it touches Sereth's snow-flecked side. She rests it there.
"I've fought the Scourge for years, Sereth." Her voice is low and serious. "I was alone in the Ghostlands for almost a year. Compared to the things we've heard and seen and felt already, this will be nothing. We'll join the Argent Vanguard together, and fight together until we've done our duty as paladins. You'll see."
Notes: Prelude on my character's obtaining Argent Dawn Templar training.
"If you come in from the western side of the Vanguard, you'll miss most of the enemy troops. It's possible that the Frostbrood who downed the last carrier will still be there - if that happens, don't try to get past. We can't afford to lose another shipment."
Lene nodded. She and Arlyn kept listening as they followed the crusader through the tangle of people in the tournament grounds. The shouts and crash of armor against lance caught Arlyn's attention; she watched the ongoing match whenever the crowd permitted her a view. Off to the side, Lene was looking elsewhere. One of the booths they passed featured a set of paintings, all of scantily-clad women. She looked away quickly, blushing.
"-Got all that? And make sure the supplies get to Crusader Segard. He'll give you more detail on the current situation in the Vanguard."
"Will there be any of the Templars there?" Lene asked.
"I think there are a few, actually. You'd have to ask around. They're quite secretive, even when they're amongst the rest of the Argent Crusade."
When they reached the storage, the crusader helped them prepare the supplies for flight. Only after she left did Lux thunder down from the sky in his usual way, showering snow with his wingbeats. He sat on the snow to watch Lene and Arlyn lace ropes into a net around boxes of food, and secure bags of oats together. The supplies not intended for consumption - planks, rope, canvas, wool, wood, iron, and beeswax - were arranged last. Sereth approached the small group from the ground, and gave one of the supply piles a sniff.
It was a while later before they were prepared for flight. Lux and Sereth, both laden heavily with supplies, shifted upright onto their haunches to allow their riders to climb on.
"I hope this goes well," Lene said from atop Sereth. In the wind from the cliff, she sat slightly hunched to conserve heat. "As long as we make it there successfully, we should be able to find and talk to some of the templars. And if we get that far, there's no chance they wouldn't train you." Once she got to that subject, the worry faded from her voice. She laughed. "The Shattered Sun was right to use you for diplomacy missions, you know."
Arlyn returned the smile. Lux bore so many supplies on his back that she had to sit up perfectly straight, or risk imbalancing some of them. Even so, she seemed comfortable and prepared. "You'll be in this diplomacy mission too. We'll always fight and train together, no matter where we end up. I wouldn't want it to be any other way." She called something to Lux, and he burst upwards into the cloudy sky. Sereth followed, speeding up her wingbeats to keep pace with the larger windrider.
As the chill wind streamed by them, and the ground was swallowed up by distance, Lene sent a small butterfly made of Light over to land in Arlyn's hair.
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The evening's light faded slowly as they flew south across the peaks. As the time passed, they called over to one another less frequently. They grew warier; keeping their attention on the scenery below. The terrain changed from mountains to valley interspersed with Scourge structures and hundreds of the dead. With the sun down, the cold blue light of Mord'rethar cast an eerie glow for miles around.
As they passed over Crusader's Pinnacle, they began to hear the sounds of war. Shouts, screams, metal dragging and hitting against more metal, the crackle of flames in the Breach. In that sound, they could have shouted to one another and never have been heard. Lene hunched over and covered her ears.
Sereth swooped down to land on the ledge overlooking the Argent Vanguard, with Lux following suit - stone crumbling away and falling under his talons.
Arlyn was close enough to tap Lene's shoulder, even if her shout couldn't be heard. She gave her head a jerk towards the left, indicating the Breach. It had been plugged up very haphazardly with a stack of wood and metal. Something massive struck it from behind, making the entire stack shudder from the force. As the crusaders out on the front lines below cleared out the rest of the undead, the next wave broke open the barricade and began to flow through it.
Lux dove from the cliff down to the valley, taking a southern route to avoid the Sky Darkener's arrows. Several stray arrows were deflected by a Light shield of Arlyn's which flared into existence just in time. Sereth traveled lower to the ground; practically skimming the snow. Together, the windriders made it over the western walls of the Vanguard.
Lene and Arlyn set about to taking off the luggage as soon as they landed. Without stacking or sorting it, they left it in a pile on the scraped snow, then continued off across the battleground. Each time an arrow came too close to Lux or Sereth, it was deflected by the shields that the paladins kept up. Even when they landed just in back of the main line, the barriers remained.
It didn't take long to get into the thick of it. Within five minutes, Lene and Arlyn had ended up far away from one another - each working with the other crusaders to kill, block, and do anything to stop the Scourge from advancing on the Vanguard. The windriders fought along with their friends, staying low to avoid presenting themselves as targets for arrows.
Something overhead let out a piercing shriek which scattered the crusader's destriers on the field. Several people were cut down quickly when they lost their focus on the combat. As the sound of immense wings overhead added itself to the already-deafening battle, the Argent Dawn crusaders began to reform their line against the oncoming Scourge. One paladin in the back of the formation held up a hand to create a misty golden veil of Light. Even when he moved his way up into the middle of the line, it remained there as a barrier against aerial attacks.
Whump.
Whump.
Whump.
The Flesh Giant in the midst of the Breach broke down the rest of the wall keeping it back. Although half of its left leg was twisted under itself, it was large enough to cause serious damage with its bulk only. It shoved its way through the line, throwing crusaders aside like rag dolls. In one unexpectedly swift movement, it picked up one of the crusaders and bit his head off.
With each move of the Flesh Giant towards the Vanguard's entrance, the crusaders grew more desperate. Each one of them added to the shield which had been created earlier. This Light fed into the shield strengthened it, bringing it down over the reshaped group in a protective golden orb. The Flesh Giant battered at the orb mercilessly, first using its fists, then its bodily weight to crush it. The barrier was flickering occasionally, but still strong. It wasn't until the Flesh Giant pulled one of the valves out of its own chest and began spilling acid all over the shield that it broke - sending the crusaders fleeing across the battlefield from the vile-smelling toxic fumes.
They regrouped one last time, directly in front of the Vanguard's entrance. The giant approached them slowly, a look of stupid satisfaction on its sallow and lumpy face. It tried to reach out for one of the people in the front line-
-And vanished entirely. The paladin who had created the first part of the Light-shield earlier slumped over, gasping for air. The group advanced the line through the remaining Scourge on the battlefield as another crusader helped the paladin back to the Vanguard. Lene and Arlyn were in the thick of combat until the end. They did not witness the shield's creation, nor did they see the other paladin being led away.
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It was hours later before they all returned to the settlement inside the Vanguard, tired and hungry. Their patrol of the perimeters and the rest of the Breach had turned up no extra forces. After making sure the supplies reached Segard, Arlyn and Lene ate with the other crusaders in the mess hall.
Arlyn pitched her tent near the barracks that night. And, true to form, both paladins were sound asleep together until dawn.
((This is from an ingame RP session, so it probably isn't phrased or spaced as well as my other posts.))
Spoiler:
The two Blood Elven paladins made their way to the lower level of the encampment, passing by many other crusaders. In the carved-out basin of the valley, it was much darker than the rest of Northrend: fires were lit by noon to provide warmth and heat for off-shift crusaders.
Once they were at the bottom of the hill, Lene took a whistle from underneath her armor, and blew it. One of the wyverns - Sereth- up on the guard towers swooped down and landed on the packed snow next to her, followed by a larger golden-furred one - Lux - who thundered down to Arlyn. He left claw marks incised into the snow. He dipped his head in greeting, but stayed silent, possibly to conserve heat.
"I thought you'd be coming. I was just betting on it with another crusader up there." Sereth held still for Lene to clamber on, then flicked her long ears back to get some of the snow coating off. "I'll show you the scout's route. Come on." Arlyn hopped onto Lux's back, humming faintly. She peered over at Lene. "Alright, let's go." The gold-furred wyvern burst upward, showering them all with flecks of snow and ice. "Also, someone really likes betting games, huh? Kind of like Valaia." Arlyn called back down to them. Sereth sped off with quick wingbeats, staying close to the ground.
They reached Crusader's Peak and began to rise over it, staying just south of the Breach's jagged edge. Lene looks down over the Breach, marveling at it. The pile of wood from yesterday was still there, but it was been so broken that it was useless as a barricade.
Arlyn eyed the breach. She actually smiled at it. "You know... I find it beautiful, despite the fact that it's... a bit disturbing. It's one of the first blows dealt against the Lich King in Icecrown, no?"
Sereth landed on the overhang just before Scourgeholme. Lene took a pair of binoculars out of her pack, and put them to her eyes, studying the terrain below. She passed them to Arlyn. "It is. And it's the sort of place where the beauty -is- the hostility. Sounds weird, doesn't it?" She kept her voice extremely low.
Arlyn caught the binoculars and peered down into the mist of Scourgeholme. She blinked a couple of times, staring at the terrain, before she returned the binoculars. "Yes. Weird but true." she answered in the same low tone.
Sereth flew over the Breach's center quickly, then descended on the other side. Near one of the ziggurats, an Underking lay half-crushed and wriggling.
Arlyn sighed. She adjusted the strap of a gauntlet, tightening it. For a brief moment, the light flickered off her enough to reveal a very thin, transparent sheet of Light covering her skin. She nodded at Lene. "Many fall. The good, the bad..." she gestured to the crushed underking. "And the ugly." Lene hid a smirk under one gauntlet, but not for long. She looked out over the fields instead, then sniffed. "Ugh... I think they left a lot of toxic waste here, even if they -are- all dead."
Arlyn nodded. "They probably have. Plague and such. You know, it's funny... I hear the New Plague hit both the living and the undead. I think they're still using the old one. So we should be alright. Should being the operative term." she smiled, eying over the terrain again.
Lene nudged Sereth forward. The windrider dove off the cliff and climbed quickly, vanishing into the mist above Scourgeholme. Off to the west, something rumbled in the sky.
Arlyn blinked a couple of times as Lux followed. She looked towards Lene. "A storm?... That wouldn't be all that good to fly in..."
Lene kept her fingers clasped tightly on Sereth's mane, disregarding the reins. The thunder continued on, never fading. The sky off to the west was cloudy, but without lightning or visible storms. Sereth hovered in the air like a hummingbird as Lene craned her neck, trying to get a good look. "This can't be right.. there aren't any storms here."
Arlyn nodded. "I thought so." she looked back to Lene. "Well, what makes that sound? Can't be the undead gates... Thus, something's making those beats, up in the clouds..."
Lene was caught off guard when Sereth dove suddenly, dropping below the layer of mist to fly swiftly back east. "Sereth, what-" Lene kept her fingers wound into Sereth's mane as they flew. The rumbling sound culminated in a massive, glowing-blue creature which winged its way above them. Lene stared up, and nudged Sereth with her knee. Arlyn froze for a moment. Lux bolted downwards and towards the Breach, Arlyn holding on as he made a sharp turn towards Lene and Sereth. "I suggest the breach and fast... Maybe it's too big to pass."
Sereth darted for the Breach, wings fluttering. Lene stayed low as to present as little an outline as possible in the fog.
"Draenor all over again. Shall we make for the Vanguard? If so, let's do it quickly." Arlyn said over the roar.
Lene nodded. "They've got more weapons. A couple of people and windriders alone have no chance.." Her voice was nearly stifled by the rumble somewhere above them. Sereth flew down again, heading for the Vanguard. Lene sent a bolt of Light streaking through the air to hit the ground in front of it - the first warning of an attack.
Immediately, the people on top of the sentry towers lit their beacons, warning the others. Several people climbed down to man the ballistae, just as the Frostbrood swooped down, looming ominous and cold-blue in front of them.
Arlyn and Lux hovered in the air alongside Sereth, and Arlyn looked hastily over at Lene. "So, into the fray?" she asked, her hand reaching over her shoulder.
Lene nodded. She rode on Sereth until they were just inside the Vanguard's walls, then slipped off to the ground and ran for a vantage point. Above them, the Frostbrood landed heavily - shaking the ground - and obliterated a lodge out in front with an accidental sweep of its tail. It took a few steps forward and sent a massive blue cone of frost flickering over the battlements and wall.
Arlyn dismounted next to Lene, and Lux rose into the sky again to attack from above. She yanked her sword out just in time to use it as a shield. Light flared to life around her, protecting her from the conflagration. Lene stayed crouched against the wall, peering around it. One of the missiles from a north-facing ballista soars over the wall. The creature snarled and swiped at the bridge when the missile glanced off a rib. Lene, seeing her chance, sent a bolt of Light zipping towards the Frostbrood.
Arlyn darted off to the side, heaving a sigh as the shield around her dissipated.
The next projectile from the ballistae lodged itself into the ribcage, sticking into the glowing blue innards. The Light struck the creature's front leg, charring the bone. Lene ducked behind the wall again, trying to avoid the next onslaught. She beckoned to Arlyn from the safe spot.
The Frostbrood snapped up the first section of the bridge with a body slam, sending the shock rippling through the ground.
Lene covered her head as a few stones were dislodged from the wall by the shaking. They fell, but Lene moved out of the way just in time. Only her leg was trapped; twisted underneath the rubble.
Arlyn darted for Lene, but stopped when the tremors started to ripple through the earth. She jammed her sword's tip into the ground and braced herself, staying steady and upright until the tremors died away.
Lene winced and dragged her leg it out from under the broken wall with some difficulty. By then, the Frostbrood was peppered with arrows, and had two projectiles from the ballistae lodged into its ribcage. One paladin on a guard tower hurled a massive ball of Light towards its head, effectively blinding it for a moment or two. Lene shoved herself upright, and sent another bolt of Light zipping towards it.
Arlyn raised her sword, pointing at the Frostbrood's ribcage, aiming dead for the cold, blue heart. Her blade flared to life - flame consuming it - and sent out a jet of golden fire. The smell of cooking meat filled the air around her as her arm met the heat.
The Frostbrood lunged around, trying to swipe at several of the crusader's Proto-drakes, which had joined the battle. One Proto-drake leapt onto the Frostbrood's back, and began to tear at its neck. It was flung off, bleeding into the snow. Another bit deeply into the Frostbrood's wingbones, crunching them off. In the ensuing melee, several of the Crusaders rode over the walls on their flying mounts, and distracted the Frostbrood with thrown Light. Enraged, it rammed itself into the front of the Vanguard's walls, splintering one ballista's front. Several crusaders were thrown onto the ground from the force. Roaring, the Proto-drake forced its head in and sent another cone of freezing flames across everything inside.
Arlyn was caught in the midst of it; only having time enough to raise her sword to cover her face before she was engulfed in the blue flames. Frost formed over most of the front of her armor and some even on her sides, Her sabatons stuck to the ground. A low "C-cold..." came from beneath the frosted-over greatsword.
Lene released the wall just in time, and dug her feet into the snow, sprinting away towards the center of the Vanguard. She hesitated, looking back for Arlyn. When she saw Arlyn, frosted over, she sprinted back. She started chipping away at the ice methodically with the tip of her sword, working to free Arlyn. Back on the other side of the wall, another Proto-drake was battering mercilessly at the Frostbrood with its wings. When one of the airborne crusaders gives the order to fire, all of the bolts of Light fired down like spears distracted the Frostbrood. It tried to lunge up to either snap at the crusaders or fly, but one Proto-drake caught it just behind the neck between its massive jaws.
Arlyn blinked. She managed to free her arm and nodded at Lene. 'Thanks.' She yanked her sabatons out of their frosty resting place and gestured with her left hand at the Frostbrood. From around her arm, a series of gold and red chains sprang, locking into its jaw and pulling away the mandible from the upper jaw, setting the mouth in an open position.
Lene ran to the edge of the ruined bridge to get a better vantage point. She fired off a massive golden orb from one hand, flinging it towards the Frostbrood like a frisbee. It struck the the undead dragon on one side of its neck, close to its jaws.
The Proto-drake shook its head from side to side, trying to snap off the Frostbrood's neck. With the sudden extra force from the Frostbrood trying to escape the hooks of binding, its backbone snapped completely. The Proto-drake dropped the head and flies back over the walls as the Frostbrood's corpse flopped - still writhing - to the ground, fortunately missing the remaining structures. As the crowds collected in the Vanguard, more people started crossing over the ruined wall to see the expired Frostbrood firsthand. Lene glanced around, looking for Arlyn amongst the crowd.
"Well, I guess I should do that more often, then..." Arlyn muttered as she trudged through the crowd, pushing and weaving her way towards Lene's last spotted location. She re-sheathed her sword on her back. Once she neared Lene, she doubled over and began to sneeze. She rubbed at her nose, a bit of Light added to the gesture to prevent her from getting a cold. "Nrrrghh.."
Lene looked back at Arlyn, startled with the sneeze. She burst out laughing. "Now, that is the -last- thing I expected to hear just now," she managed to say. She stood close to Arlyn, and looked out over the ruined bridge and the expired Frostbrood. "Well, it looks like we made it. Again. And now we know why that other crusader was warning us left and right about Frostbroods."
Arlyn nodded. "I wonder if I could ride one with those chains." she gestured to the slowly dissipating red and gold chains. She paused for a moment, then returned her focus to Lene. "And don't worry. I'm looking forward to many battles at your side."
Lene beamed. "I think I'm going to enjoy being here. Just as long as things stay like this, I think we can handle it." She took a few steps back, looking around. "I bet you there'll be reconstruction soon. We can't afford to have entryway, walls, and a ballista down for long."
Arlyn yawned mightily. "So, do I get to take a look at your leg?..." she asked, smiling.
"Sure. As long as I get to make sure you didn't get frostbite from that breath. Hopefully there'll be no emergencies tonight. I'm tired. Looks like you need sleep too."
Lene stretched out her newly-healed leg. "Oh. If you're not too tired, I've got a good idea." She pulled the bedroll up slightly so it curled around her. "I even brought stuff for it.."
Arlyn blinked a couple of times as she reached the middle of Lene's thigh and stopped channeling the Light. She raised her hands. "I'm not that tired, no. What've you brought?"
Lene took a packet out from one of the smaller compartments on her bag, followed by another. "I brought some of those odd sweet crackers they sold in Dalaran, some chocolate, and those strange things that a confectioner made. They taste like vanilla." She looked over at Arlyn. "And of course, I brought some along. Do you think we should try toasting them? I want to see what happens."
"You... Want to toast crackers, chocolate and vanilla cookies?..." she chuckled. "Sounds weird. But now I'm curious. Let's try it." she grinned over at Lene. Lene crawled out of the tent after putting her sabatons back on. She took a seat at one of the benches, which seemed to be fashioned with broken, re-sawn and carefully fitted planks. She glanced around, looking for something to toast them on. Across from them, a couple of other crusaders watched while chatting with one another.
Lene proceeded to stick the crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate together. She set it on the flat of an available spare axe, holding it close to the fire to toast it. By then, at least one other crusader was giving her a strange look.
Arlyn sniffed at the air, trying to get at the scent of Lene's cooking. She shrugged, eventually slipping on her leather and chain pants and the upper part of the similarly crafted tunic, deconstructing the plated sabatons down to their normal boot-like appearance and exits. She stood up on the other side of the tent, blinking and tousle-haired in the firelight "...That looks so weird." she chuckled again, bursting into giggles afterward.
Lene turned back to look at Arlyn, taking her attention off the cooking s'more. She let the axe tilt - then gripped it just in time, catching the falling s'more with her other hand. She winced as the molten chocolate oozed across her skin.
"So. What're you making over there?" One of the human crusaders asked from across the fire. Lene offered the still-piping-hot s'more to Arlyn. "I forgot how bad I am at cooking," she said, rather ruefully.
Arlyn kept passing the s'more from one hand to another. "Hot hot hot..." she muttered under her breath. "Not like I could do better..." she said, looking to Lene. "But I'd probably wait until they cool down a little..." she looked to the human next. "It's a combination between... crackers, chocolate and... some other vanilla sweets a Dalaran confectioner made..."
Lene started assembling another. She sat on the bench and held the axe out, with an expression so intent and serious that it hardly befitted campfire cooking The crusader leaned back on his seat. He looked over once at the others on his side, then back to Arlyn.
"Huh. Don't take this the wrong way, but is it something elves eat often?"
Arlyn raised the s'more to her lips and opens her mouth to bite off a a piece As she felt the heat, however, she lowered it and looked to the human. "Err... Not really. We're kind of experimenting right now. To my knowledge, no one's tried mixing the three together before." she looked back to Lene and grins. "You look like I do when they ask me to do paperwork."
Lene tried to keep her composure for as long as she could, but finally started to giggle. To her credit, the axe blade remained steady. "Want to try cooking some? Cooking has -never- been so entertaining." The crusader kept watching them; he also seemed to be holding back laughter. "Do you mind sharing? I want to try one." Lene looked back at Arlyn fleetingly.
Arlyn nods. "Sure, I would. And it's fine. Curiosity is something I've always admired. I think we could give him one." she grins. Lene stood up, and walked over, past the perimeter of the fire to pass the crusader one. "Thanks." He nodded and accepted it, but kept it held between a couple of fingers while waiting for it to cool. Meanwhile, Lene returned to Arlyn and passed her the axe for cooking. "So you're the ones who brought in the supplies yesterday?" The crusader asked.
Arlyn took the axe in her right hand, holding it steady to the flames as she neared it. "I wouldn't fight with this axe anymore, unless we're fighting candy-crazed undead..." she muttered. She raised her s'more-holding hand and took a bite from the piece of candy. The heat made her wince. "Yes, that was us."
He nodded. "Ah. I'm Matthew Hyland, by the way. I've been with the Crusade for quite some time. And you?" He asked Arlyn first; Lene, by that point, had gone around the other side of the fire, to search for more bladed things to cook s'mores on.
Arlyn glanced to him. "I am Arlyn Rylinnrae. Blood Knight and Paladin of the Shattered Sun Offensive. But just Arlyn works too." she smiles. "Nice to meet you." she returned her attention to the s'more in her left hand and nibbled on it.
As Lene returned with a clean fire-poker for cooking on, the three lapsed into a lazy nighttime conversation. Punctuated - of course - with candy.
