Shaurria and Arvoss: Eastern Plaguelands

Arvoss pulled Shade up, looking around, then swung down from his saddle. "'Ere we are, lass," he said as Shaurria rode up on Finnall. She slipped off her saber and peered around at the ruined buildings. "Is this it?" "Aye, lass," he told her, then spit on the ground. "Filthy Scourge." Shaur only half-listened to him, changing to cat and sniffing around the remains of the farmhouse. Arvoss kept his gaze half on her and half on their surroundings, watching for any approaching Scourge. "Ye can go explore, kitten, but dinnae go out o' sight." She murred an answer and padded off.



She grew bored and returned shortly, and Arvoss led her and their mounts off to a comparatively clear, grassy area. Dropping Shade's reins, he found a spot and sat. Shaur tethered Finn before joining him; the saber wasn't as well-trained as the deathcharger, and would probably find trouble if left to himself. Finished, the druid sat next to the death knight, watching him curiously.

Arvoss suddenly chuckled, which brought a raised eyebrow from Shaur. "Ye ken, Ah 'ad a righ' pretty speech planned out, an' naow Ah cannae remember anneh o' it," he said, still chuckling. Shaur just became more confused. "A speech?" she asked him. Arvoss looked over at her, sobering. "Lass, d'ye still nae wan' t' go back t' yer auld 'ome?" She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Not really," she replied. Arvoss nodded to himself, then looked back to the remains of the farm. "Ah didnae wan' t' come back 'ere either, th' first tahm," he said after a pause. Shaur looked at him, surprised. "You didn't? But why did you, then?" Arvoss glanced at her. "Was mos'ly 'cause o' ye, lass," he said, and she looked at him with surprise. "Me?" Arvoss nodded.

"Ah dinnae ken if ye can undehstand it, lass, but Ah realized even back then tha' if Ah was goin' t' take care o' ye, well, Ah needed t' fix mahself first," he told her. "Ah spent too much tahm in th' past, thinkin' oan wha' Ah'd lost. Ah couldnae care fer ye proper like tha'." Shaur rested her chin on her hand, elbow propped on her knee as she looked at him. "I don't really understand, Arvoss," she confessed. He patted her on the shoulder. "Ah'm tryin' t' explain, lass. Jes'... tryin' t' find th' words." He stared into space, thinking. "Ah didnae ken wha' it was Ah wanted t' find 'ere lass," he continued hesitantly. "No' at first, annehroad." He paused, struggling to find the right words. Finally he gave a helpless chuckle. "Bloody Laigh', they willnae come," he said, voice tinged with frustration. "Lemme start ovah, lass." Shaur said nothing, just raising an eyebrow as she waited for him to finish.


He was silent for a bit longer, then finally spoke again. "Ah ken tha' yer 'urtin', lass," he said. "Even afteh all this tahm. An' there's nothin' wrong wi' tha', but ye'll 'ave t' let it go sometahm. Comin' back 'ere, it 'elped me." He paused and looked at her searchingly. "D'ye ken why?" Shaurria shook her head no. "Cause Ah could let it go finally," he told her gently. "It's nae 'ard t' come back 'ere naow, cause it's nae mah 'ome annehmore. Mah 'ome's wi' th' livin', wi' ye an' Star an' Tad. Ye undehstand tha', kitten?" "I... I think so," she answered, and he patted her shoulder again. "Ah will nae force ye t' go back if ye dinnae wan' t'," he said. "Jes', dinnae say ye willnae go wi'out thinkin' it ovah, eh? May'ap, one day, ye'll wan' t'." His eyes crinkled a bit at the corners as he grinned at her.

Shaur shrugged. "I dunno," she said as they both stood. "Aely said kinda the same thing," she added as they walked back to their mounts. Arvoss looked at her, surprised. "Ye spoke t' 'er about it?" Shaur nodded. "She used to live around here too, said her place is called Terrordale now." "Ahhh," he replied, as they reached their mounts. He paused before swinging up into Shade's saddle. "Ye ready t' 'ead back?" he asked her. "Or did ye wan' t' see more?" "Let's go home," was Shaur's quick reply. "A'righ'," Arvoss chuckled, pulling himself up to Shade's back. Shaur was already on Finn, and together they headed back to Light's Hope.