The Spirit Walker's Wife

[Caravan]

Spoiler:

Oh look, mood music.

Many young Walkers try to stop communing, but they always accept. There is no "cure" to this, no deviating off a path… For my people and tauren...Walkers live away from the community. Hermits. They don’t have families. They don’t have businesses.

-- Orvisha

You have no future with a Draenei, you must reconsider… If you marry him you can no longer be a part of the family.

-- Jidaeo

The guests were beginning to filter in to the secluded Zangarmarsh mushroom cap, the refreshments were paid for and at the ready, and the wedding arch was waiting at the top of the cap. It was simultaneously too soon and not soon enough, and the little elf wrung her hands as she stood next to Andra. She murmured a soft, "I think I am going to faint."

"Hmm?"

"Faint, Andr---" She was abruptly cut off by the sudden closeness of an elf and his arms wrapping around her. "Uncle!!" Xanthe snuggled into the warm hug of a grinning Riael. He still smelled of Northrend.

"Whatever did you do to end up marrying ontop a mushroom on this.... world?" He glanced around at the gathering wedding party and its assortment of elves, humans, orcs, draenei and others, friends, families and acquaintances. "What about the rest of our sparkling bloodline?"

"I should think I did a lot of beautiful accidents." Her ears drooped slightly at the question and she shook her head. After a long moment, she finally offered, "Exiled."

"Hmm. For today, they are the exiles now that the two of us are here."


Do you know what happened to Zariel when he was courting that human? He was put on trial. Is that what you want, Xanthe? Do you want to be considered a traitor-- do you want your family to be known as Alliance-loving traitors?

-- Thalion

At Andra's prompting, Xanthe made her way to the arch and the little stool waiting to give her a foot or so of height. Her bare toes curled around the edges as she studied its rather bland coloring and pattern - it was an uninspired but honest piece of furniture and it did its job. She wished her dress had pockets and she imagined her faithful bauble sitting alone in her room. Instead, she settled for one of the jewels dangling at her hip, running her thumb along its grooved edges anxiously. A year ago -- hell, all two hundred and eighty-five years ago -- she never thought she would get married. She never thought that she'd want to.

Could she really do this? There was so much at stake, so much to sacrifice, so much to risk.

Andra corraled the party around the arch and Kapre took his place before Xanthe, tucking notecards into his pocket. The older woman looked between them, unable to hide the broad smile on her lips, and murmured "Are you two ready?" Xanthe glanced quickly at the faces of her friends and acquaintances. Thalion and Jidaeo were missing from the circle and a little pain pricked at her heart as the word 'exile' weighed upon her with its tone of finality.

Kapre, however, didn't hesitate. "I am ready," he said, and smiled warmly at the little elf.

With a quick nod, she chirped, "Yes, okay, I am ready, Minn'da."

"A warm welcome to one and all! It makes my heart swell to see friends and family gather upon this joyous day. On this day we gather to bear witness to the binding of two individuals based not upon tradition or necessity, but because of love." Andra had run the ceremony by Xanthe a dozen times. There would be an introduction to the wedding, a brief comment about the couple, the vows or oaths, and then rings and a kiss. As the draenei began the wedding, Xanthe rocked back and forth slightly on her stool. The older woman's voice surprisingly lacked her thick accent, and she gestured to the elf, "Over the length of this courting I have met many friendly faces, though none bear as bright as smile as our dearest Xanthe. She is of Sin'dorei birth, but by the will of love has found a family amongst our kind." Andra gestured to Kapre, "It has been a pleasure to watch Kapre grow as he has. When I first met the boy he was so very plagued with doubts and worries but… well, now look at him. Tall and strong he is a fine man by his own right."

Andra set her attention back upon the couple before her, sparing a smile to each as she let her words settle upon the wedding party. She continued, "At this time I will ask Xanthe and Kapre to profess their hearts to one another. Kapre, if you would do the honors of speaking first?"

Kapre reached for her hands and held them both in his own. It was strange the way he made her feel so small and delicate...but precious. He looked into her eyes and cleared his throat gently to speak, "I never thought I would have a moment like this. The chances at happiness have eluded me so many times; this very moment seems like a dream. But in seeing us together like this, I can only say this, Xanthe: you have warmed my spirits and have made my heart smile for what feels like an eternity. Our pains are shared, but so have our smiles. I wish only that through this union, we may not only remain together, but to give each other strength despite the world being against us. As you have stood by me, especially when I was recovering from death, I wish to stay by you. Through wars and bloodshed, illness and hardships. My love for you knows no bounds. As our planets are viewable on our skies, I will continue to think of us as stars bound together despite the vast space between us. I love you, forevermore, and beyond."


I am not angry at you, I have fought along with the elves in the Shattered Sun. I just did not think we'd... mingle like this. But… I will not doom you.

--Polore

She had to do this.


She didn't just see Kapre standing before her in Zangarmarsh. There was the night in Moonglade when he patiently talked her down from her fear and her nightmares. There was the sea-walking, the laying on the stars' reflections, breathing under water, the poetry. The panic of his death, the nail-biting week of waiting to see if he would wake up, the long months of recovery. Aria. The confession of love on Hallow's End, when it wasn't just a dream or delusion but a shared heartlink. Their first kiss. Northwind. The spirit walking -- his pleading for her to never leave him. The warmth of his hand on her cheek, the sound of his breathing when he slept, the little crease of his brow when he focused on paperwork, his laughter. She had said it before to Zariel before he banished her, but it was true and she knew it now: There was no other option. There could never be anyone else.

Xanthe gently removed one of her hands from his and dabbed the heel of her hand against her eyes. "...I'm sorry!" She half-laughed at herself before taking his hand again, and noticed that Kapre was trying (and succeeding) to not do the same. Andra tipped her head in a silent cue for the little elf to take her turn in the ceremony.

"Last year, I was very much happy to be alone. I did not think I would be a mother, that I would fall in love, that I would-... that I would disobey my family." She shook her head gently as she squeezed his hands. She wished she could have told him how he made her feel, in Thalassian. She settled for Orcish, "I lost you once, Kapre. It was unthinkable to lose you again. Our life will not be easy, sometimes our paths will be hard to follow, but I should very much like to be the light that guides you home and the anchor that keeps you steady through the storm. I love you for all of our long years and our happy days." She paused before she squeaked, in her Thalassian-accented Draenic, "<I love you!>"

Andra nodded her satisfaction as she turned to Kapre, "If you will take Xanthe in with all your heart, then now I ask you Kapre. Please switch her ring to her right hand." Xanthe bounced slightly on her stool, the poor thing wobbling a little against the uneven mushroom. Kapre nodded as he resisted a soft choke in his throat. His large finger reached for Xanthe's ring on her left to take off and carefully place onto the right.

Andra then turned her attention to Xanthe, "If you will take Kapre with all your heart, then now I ask you Xanthe. Please switch his ring to his right hand." She carefully worked the ring off of his finger and slipped it onto his right finger. Once completed, Xanthe raised Kapre's hand to her lips and kissed it gently. With a smile, he leaned forward to press his forehead against hers.

"It does me a great pleasure, my friends, to introduce to you and the world Xanthe and Kapre as they are now, married under the Light. Now and to never part." Amidst the cheers, the woman whispered, "To take a bit from elven ceremonies, you make now kiss your mate." Without hesitation, Xanthe cupped a much-surprised Kapre's cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to his!


My children marry the natives of Azeroth, yes! Stars across space come together and make one world. This makes me happy.

-- Melodi

[Caravan]

Shortly after the last Blind Date game of the Festival.
Been slackin' on posts. Bah! IC threads - who needs 'em?

After a full day of work, she'd expected to climb into bed for a much-needed bit of sleep. She had not expected to see an old acquaintance, nor had she expected to introduce him to the winter joys of sledding, 'snow princess'-making, and ice skating. Urameil lacked the skill (and patience) for any of these activities. It was a treat, though, to be able to speak Thalassian again with another fluent person... though the conversation was something to be desired when it turned to talk of her recent marriage.

"Ah... so the newlywed glow has still been about," Urameil mused. It had, surely, meant to be rhetorical but at Xanthe's quizzical look he elaborated on the expression. She didn't like it.

"...We've been very happy for some time, now. I should not think it would go away in a few more weeks just because we are married." Xanthe brought her feet up onto the bench they were sitting on and held onto the edge loosely with her fingertips.

"Perhaps not a few weeks. Could be a few years. I'd give or take the general average being about eight to ten before you're at each others' necks. You get tired of each others' antics. Perhaps he doesn't like sharing. Or you don't like how he's not helping around at home. Or should you bear his child, he won't find your body attractive anymore and find eyes on another woman."

Should you bear his child... Her eyes watered and she hugged an arm around her torso. Xanthe raised her hand and dabbed at the corner of her eye with the heel of her palm before she said in a soft voice, "We cannot have children, no."

"Oh, well, there's another problem for you, miss. What if he wants children? I'm quite sorry to put a damper onto you as a newlywed, but I thought, as a married man myself, you'd be aware of the tribulations that are ahead of you by default." Urameil paused to look at the silent woman before he offered a dry, "I do apologize if I sound so grim, especially since you've just married."

"No...no, it's okay Mr. Sunsong. I, um. I think it's time I went back to Kapre. Thank you for playing with me -- will you be attending more of the festival?" It was usually safe to mention his name. The festival -- and The Love Exchange overall -- was typically full of more open-minded individuals or, at the very least, individuals who may not know his name off-hand.

"Kap... oh, Him. Heh... he is your husband now?"

Xanthe paused, her hand gripping the bench tightly. She was half-frozen between sitting and standing, so she chose to sit before answering in the gentle, matter-of-fact way, "Yes, Kapre is my husband."

Urameil looked up and down the smaller elf. "I would not have thought he'd consider going elf. I suppose draenei women cannot satisfy him. I wonder how long you'll last, given the other women hardly stuck around." Her face ran the full gambit of an embarrassed blush to eyes welling with tears. She couldn't speak. He continued, "My friend, I am afraid I know your husband longer than you have, and I can certainly say the circumstances in which our knowledge of each other are less than pleasant. Ah, but I ramble. At least you're the kindly sort, from what I gathered."

A compliment, at the end. Kindly sort. There was a very delicate balance between crying and not-crying but as she blinked she disrupted it. Xanthe made no move to hide her distress as she hesitantly murmured a 'thank you.'

"Once more, my apologies. You're very welcome, my dear. I look forward to looking around some more of this festival. Have a good night, Mrs. Kapre." He nodded once, dismissively, and returned to the task of removing his ice skates from his feet. She nodded mutely as she shakily rose from the bench and away from him. She'd not gone more than a handful of steps before she remembered her manners partway through, however, and offered Urameil a choked 'goodnight'.

The warmth of 'home' did little to dismiss the warlock's chill. Aria showed her the loved-themed art she'd made that day with Andra and Tibalan (or what could be estimated at art -- one piece was surely just the result of haphazardly liberal handfuls of glitter, paste, and dry noodles). Tyr and Ruka, her worgs, were as loving as ever and made no complaint when it was time to tuck in Aria; they lay beside her crib (though Ruka, the smaller of the two, tried to climb inside of it) dutifully. Even when Kapre held her close as he slumbered, and she pressed her hand to his chest to feel the heart beating as she listened to his gentle inhales and exhales, it gnawed at her. She didn't tell him. Was it 'lying' if she was never asked?

When she was sure he was asleep, Xanthe whispered a truth to no one, "I adore you."

[Caravan]

The day before the festival's Ice Skating contest.

They had ordered a variety of ice skates to accomodate most of their guests (those who had feet, anyway, rather than hooves) but it had never occurred to Xanthe that she should've special-ordered something to fit her daughter. In hindsight, it should have been obvious - of course she would want to try it from the moment she saw it. It was all Aria talked about that day as Xanthe tried to lead the toddler through the paces of their usual wintery morning: breakfast, worg-grooming, story time, snowman snow-lump building, lunch, naptime. Finally, she relented. Once Aria was properly outfitted in her big warm coat and handmade scarf, Xanthe placed the scarf's matching hat snugly over the girl's hair and horns and took her down to the frozen lake.

It was more sliding and near-falling than it was 'skating' on hooves, and she held onto her daughter's hands tightly so as to keep her from falling too frequently on her rump. Once or twice, Aria thought it was great fun to simply go limp and dangle from her poor mother's hands, but a warning that they would get off the ice put an end to that rather quickly. She had left her own skates on the bench and was walking very carefully backwards as she led the daughter on the ice not too far from the entrance.

"Good! Don't look down, keep holding onto my hands. Oh, you are so good at this!"

"I bess!"

From the other end of the lake, someone much more comfortable upon ice was clicking her way towards the pair. The woman was focused and intent, but Xanthe didn't notice her approach (other than registering the click-click of heels) until she heard her name. It was unmistakably familiar and held the echo indicative of the Death Knights. She held her breath and turned to face her mother. Cerice was no longer looking at her, but she was staring at the draenei child. Her brow was furrowed.

"Oh! Oh, hello, Minn'da..! I didn't expect to see you!" Aria slid into Xanthe and hugged onto her leg as she stared up at Cerice from between the gap of her hat and scarf. Cerice's frown deepened.

"Where did I go wrong with you? I am sure it is our fault and for that I apologize but....why? Why did you turn out this way? Tell me please. I am curious. As your mother I have failed you." Always direct.

Xanthe placed her hand lovingly atop Aria's head and, for once, was both relieved and grateful that Aria was not very familiar in Thalassian. She swallowed a little as she shook her head, "I don't understand, Minn'da. You never failed me."

"You were a Novalight. The baby of such an illustrious family does not belong out here in the cold, courting Aliens and taking care of their children." Cerice waved a contemptuous hand in the direction of Aria before indicating the rest of the Festival's lake-side complex. "Why did it never matter? Why did you throw it away? Was this what you wanted all along? To be away from us...with these...creatures?"

Aria chirped a "gumma?" as she looked from Cerice up to Xanthe.

In a soft voice, she said to the toddler, "Shh, sweet one; I must speak with my minn'da." There were too many questions and it was too fast. She took a breath before returning to Thalassian, "I am working here in Winterspring, Minn'da. Did you see the Festival? We built all of this and it is making people very happy... I always cared for my family, Minn'da, and I always did as they told me. But I fell in love." Xanthe squeezed Aria's shoulder gently as she said, in her matter-of-fact way, "She is my daughter."

"She is not your daughter. Does she have your hair? Your skin? Your feet? Can she speak your language? Did you give birth to her?" Cerice never took a step but Xanthe gasped as if she had been struck. She loved Aria. How could that not be enough?

"She is my daughter!" Aria's grip on Xanthe's leg tightened as the elf's voice raised and Xanthe's eyes watered, both embarrassed and shocked by her outburst. Cerice shifted as if to take a step forward, and her arm around Aria tightened, "Please don't come any closer."

She did. Three steps closer, to be precise, and they were as coldly-placed as the stare directed to the toddler.

" 'We learn to fall in love naturally', Minn'da. You read me that poem when I was very little. I am sorry to have hurt your heart but I cannot apologize for falling in love."

"How can you love a beast? A foreign creature? I love my pets too but I do not marry them....Xanthe."

"Kapre is not a beast. He is not a pet. He is a beautiful, thoughtful, selfless, loving man and has treated me with more kindness than I deserve." So this was 'anger'. Xanthe's face was hot despite the late afternoon chill of Winterspring. Aria may not speak Thalassian, but the tones suggested that this wasn't a pleasant visit. She was starting to get very upset, and she buried her face against Xanthe's leg.

Cerice started blankly at Xanthe, as if she no longer recognized the small woman before her. She tilted her head. She tilted her head the other way as if Xanthe would somehow be changed by the difference of perspective. She wasn't. Flatly, Cerice lamented, "I've failed you."

"No, Minn'da. I should think you are just disappointed by what you see, but you have not failed me."

"You were to raised to bring more children to our family. Now that will never happen-"

"---Kapre and I have talked about this! We can adopt or... or we'll figure something out when the time is right---"

"--Fortunately you aren't the only one who is getting married, and fortunately there are more children coming. Who aren't aliens." Again, Cerice stared pointedly at the retreated toddler. Xanthe trembled faintly with anger...and sadness.

"I am married, Minn'da. I am his wife."

"Yes, everyone makes mistakes dear."

That was enough. Xanthe reached down and scooped up Aria before placing the toddler on her hip, hugging her close. "Please don't ever say that again. I fell in love by accident, but it was never a mistake."

"...I am only speaking the truth. You will realize it one day. "

"It is not the truth, it is your opinion. I should very much have liked you all to have been a part of my family. I never cut you out." With that, she turned on her heel and -- as quickly as she could manage with boots on ice -- left the frozen lake in the direction of the temple, the road, and (further on) her warm home. Her mother's final words, however, followed her as she left the ice:

"You have made your choice very clear."


Aria looked up at Xanthe, her eyes watering too as she chirped, "Gumma no wike me?"

Her heart broke a little. "No, sweet one, Gumma will love you. She just doesn't know it, yet."