We are lost, we can never go home
The air was thick and oddly humid given the chill passing through with the wind. Artio poked at the fire with a small branch to ensure it was burning properly before returning to her previous position on the cool grass. She didn’t like the cold and was somewhat displeased with having to spend the last few nights out in the forest instead of in the warmth of the Dens. But it had been agreed, the Druids would accept the lost one amongst them, but not the witch. Never the witch. And so, the three huddled around the fire, blankets wrapped tightly about them, and silently waited as the dark cloak of night fell around them.
Truth be told, Savriel did not need the blankets the residents of Night Haven had so graciously provided. Her lip curled into the slightest hint of a snarl as she thought about the smug Night Elves and their holier-than-though attitude. Forcing her to sleep out in the woods like some animal. It didn’t matter though, the thing which kept her in Moonglade for so many days was right next to her, just within reach. So far, she’d managed to feign disinterest in the young girl, showing only enough care to keep her friend from becoming suspicious.
Artio, so gentle, so naïve… so blind. Savriel watched her friend from the corner of her eye, not even admitting to herself the loyalty and trust she’d developed with such an unlikely woman. Artio was clueless about this girl, missing all the signs, too busy denying her own nature to notice the signals the girl was giving readily. Savriel was not so oblivious, she saw the girl stare into the fire, saw the flames flicker about, dancing for the other human.
There is more to you than a lost cub… though you are not a demon as they say. Of that I am certain. So little Tess.. what are you then? The fire calls to you. A mage perhaps… or something more? Have you touched fel little Tess? Or should I call you Chiabella?
Allowing her thoughts to get the better of her, the warlock rolled her eyes in spite of herself. Why Artio would not accept that this girl was indeed the woman Chiabella was beyond her. The druid’s capacity for denial was overwhelming at times. Far too sheltered for one who claimed to have lived so long.
“If you’re so cold..” Savriel began innocently, “You should just take another form. Bear perhaps, cat even.” She was certain to keep her eyes diverted from the druid as she spoke, knowing what the reaction would be.
Artio paused, body stilling for a moment before she pulled the blanket even more tightly around herself. She didn’t answer, but turned her back to the warlock defiantly and laid herself on the ground as close to the fire as was safe, and shut her eyes. Savriel’s eyes fixed on her back for some time, waiting for the heavy breaths of anger to fade into the long deep inhales of slumber. As soon as she was certain the Druid slept, Savriel waved her hand once in the air.
From seemingly nowhere the lithe figure emerged into the firelight. She eye’d the scene as if everything around her was a source of amusement. Hips swayed, eyelashes fluttered, but the woman made no sounds in her movements while she bent forward towards the warlock. Lowering her voice, Savriel whispered to the new arrival, the language of choice harsh and guttural. It was enough to have the blonde woman looking up briefly from the fire before dropping her eyes quickly back down in fear of being noticed. She had been though, and Savriel fell silent, gesturing for the Succubus to watch the sleeping druid while she scooted herself closer to the lost cub.
“They say you were a demon little one.” Savriel kept her tone soothing, friendly. “So tell me, little demon, what happened to you? What journey broke you in such a manner?”
Chiabella kept her eyes firmly planted on the fire, refusing to acknowledge the woman. It danced for her, flames flickering to and fro at her silent command, so beautiful, so alive.
“I think you are a warlock. Yes?” Savriel continued her baiting, undeterred by the lack of response. “I think this man, Kendei, convinced you to stop channeling perhaps?” The girl tensed, yes! There it was, the opening, the reaction. “I see, so it was this man. And did he cause the bruises too?” Savriel leaned forward now, face inching closer to the girl, eyes piercing now. Chiabella did not move, but the fire before her seemed to still, to quiet. “He made you stop channeling fel? Did he? But you kept the fire. Oh yes… you couldn’t give up the fire could you.” The girl simply remained quiet.
“Hmph! You let them break you. Pathetic. If this is what you want to be, this little broken lost cub, so be it. You could never have been a warlock.” Her laugh was shrill, cruel, biting. “A warlock would never be so weak to let Elves break her spirit. I was mistaken.” And with that, Savriel rose and moved swiftly to where the Night Elf slept, laying next to her to lend more warmth. Pulling her blanket over the shivering Druid, Savriel instructed Alexii to stay on guard while she settled in for sleep. She did not once look back at the other human, she didn’t need to. She could feel the fire growing behind her, feel the channeling of mana so near by. The small fire she herself had lit within the girl would continue to grow just as the campfire did.
As the warlock closed her eyes a smile crept upon her lips. The young woman still sat in the same place in total silence, staring at the fire. But this time, she held the flame in the palm of her hand.