With one swift strike of stone against flint, a golden fire roared to life, and sank its burning fangs into the nest of sticks it crouched upon. Kirston turned to his tent and carefully slipped the fire striker back into his satchel, before twisting back to admire his handiwork.
Phillip crawled out of his closed tent; now fully dressed in his nightwear, and rolled up the burlap flap that previously concealed the entrance. He flopped down into the grass with a satisfied huff, and stretched out his feet towards the growing flame. He sighed in content as long awaited warmth bloomed across his skin, chasing away the exhaustion in his veins.
“I thought we’d never get to rest. Today seemed to tick away slower than usual, huh?” Phillip tilted his head towards his teacher, waiting for a response.
“Did it? I hardly noticed.” Kirston scratched at his jaw, his words half drowned by a sudden yawn.
“That’s because the days are always slow for you, what with you getting up there in age!”
Yuirari suddenly loomed over the older male, her platinum hair tumbling over her shoulders and reflecting the orange light of the nearby blaze. Her pearly eyes were narrowed in amusement, her smile wide and teasing.
Kirston snorted and lazily pushed her away with a hand, not deigning to give her a response.
She laughed; a sound like a bird’s mocking call, and strode around the fire to Phillip, her hands planted on her hips and wearing the same grin. The blonde glanced up to meet her gaze and found himself sweating nervously. He did his best to maintain eye contact with the elf, but began to wither under her stare.
Yuirari’s grin widened -almost unnaturally- revealing her long canines. She leaned in towards the young paladin, her silver eyes never blinking or flickering away. Even bending down, she towered over the human. Phillip pulled away from her on instinct, stifling a tiny squeak.
‘Light! Why is she so terrifying?!’
Yuirari shot out her arm; her hand moving so rapidly Phillip had no time to even process what he was seeing, and planted her long pointer finger squarely on his nose.
“Boop.”
She pulled back and danced off towards her tent with a bird-like trill, clearly pleased with tonight’s antics.
Phillip hesitated and let out a haltering tense laugh, before lifting his hand to his chest. His heart was racing, and he was sure she could hear it. Elves could hear everything. Kirston snickered from across the camp, and Phillip shot his master an irritated glare.
Yuirari reached inside her tent, pulled out her water canteen and took a deep drink, her focus darting around the campsite. She was looking for someone.
The sound of padded paws approached her from the side, and Sasha’s great furred head butted at her hand in greeting. Yuirari capped her canteen, swung it over her shoulder and turned to the animal. She grabbed the Nightsaber by the fluffy cheeks, and put her nose to her friend’s; chuckling as the big cat purred loudly in return. She gave her companion some scratches behind the ears, before Sasha pulled away with a chuff and began to curl up near the fire.
Yuirari’s ears perked up as Tiasten’s deep runic voice suddenly reverberated across the camp, bouncing off the nearby trees. She spun around in surprise. How had he snuck up on her? She could hear the clinking of his armor a mile…
‘Oh....’
Tiasten stood a distance away from the campsite proper, arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing casual clothes.
Casual clothes.
‘What.’
Yuirari’s mouth gaped like a fish out of water.
‘When, how...But he never takes his armor off! Ever!’
An abrupt thought pierced her mind like an arrow. He wasn’t wearing armor. There was no hard Saronite steel, no sharp warding spikes. For the first time, he was vulnerable.
‘To my hugs!’
Her feral grin returned and she lunged forward, arms outstretched and fingers hooked like talons.
Tiasten saw her briefly as he turned in shock, before Yuirari’s purple mass came crashing down on him. He tried to regain his footing, but instead flailed with an uncharacteristic lack of dexterity before losing his balance, and smashing face first into the sand. He pulled himself up as much as possible, as thin elvish arms clamped around his torso like a bear trap.
He twisted around to face her, and it was all the elf could do to maintain composure and not immediately release her prey in a fit of hysterics. The worgen looked absolutely stumped, glowing eyes wide with bewilderment, mouth hanging open in astonishment. No doubt he never could have imagined being taken down in such a way. For an instant, Yuirari could see the creature he was before he became undead.
Then his gaze shifted, and that past self was devoured by the furious frigid focus of the present.
Tiasten let out a fuming snarl, curling his lips back and baring his dagger-like fangs. For an instant his frost aura surged in power, and a tide of glacial cold washed over her body. Yuirari could feel her skin recoil from the intense temperature shift.
‘Still so worth it.’
Then as quickly as the chill came, it receded.
As livid as Tiasten was, he still maintained control over his deadly atmosphere. As much as he wanted to kill the elf for this act, he didn’t want to actually kill her.
He shifted his body harshly back and forth, trying to break her hold on him. She clasped him tighter in response, pulling herself closer to his face and puckering out her lips in a mock kiss.
Tiasten hissed in rage, trying to drag himself away from her, or at least to create some sort of distance. His aversion to being touched was sending his mind into a panicked, downward spiral.
“Let GO of me you wretched elf! Or I’ll freeze you alive!” He seethed, knowing full well his threats never phased Yuirari anyway. She hummed back at him and tried to get close to his snout again; making obnoxious, over the top kissing sounds.
Behind him, Phillip chortled madly.
“You are beyond dead, Light-boy!” Tiasten tilted his head to catch the apprentice in the corner of his vision. “I’ll make your soul suffer for this mockery!”
Phillip was not deterred, and taunted the raging death knight with a pointed gesture.
Tiasten swung his head back towards his foe and tried to yank himself away from her again, succeeding only in dragging them both an inch towards the laughing paladin. The worgen growled deep in his chest and tried again.
And again.
And yet again.
Kirston watched them all with his chin resting on his knuckles, before sliding his hand up to his forehead and taking a deep breath.
"This is going to be a long night."
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