WoW secret santa
Here is my gift formaimh for the wow_ladies secret santa exchange. It was quite fun to write :)
Maimh heaved a heavy sigh and scratched the back of her neck. How did I get myself into this? She asked herself for the umpteenth time.
“Why...well, I mean...why would you want to shape-shift into a-a squirrel anyway?” she hesitantly asked the druid that lay curled on her lap as they trotted along on her horse.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” the druid murmured. The voice that came out of the tiny creature was that of a male night elf, which made Maimh giggle against her better judgement. Her reaction earned her a dirty look that made her flinch-well, she thought it was a dirty look, but how can one tell what a squirrel emotes?
“But, r-really-a squirrel?” she murmured, toying with her gloves absently, knowing that her unflappable steed wouldn't let her tumble into the dirt.
“I'm astonished that you noticed anything wrong. Most people ignore the critters that populate Azeroth.”
“Well...one of my cats ran away, so...” she trailed off and gave him a fleeting look. “You...you were bigger...and patterned...and not acting squirrel-y...and then, and then, you started talking to me.”
She had thought herself crazy for a few breaths when a squirrel talked to her in a deep, resonating male Kaldorei voice-she thought it may be a demon or something, but after a panicked and desperate explanation of his situation as Holy power rose to her call, she eventually came to the conclusion that, no, she wasn't insane-that the squirrel actually was a druid.
“How'd you get stuck as a squirrel?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Don't you have to have a connection with the...the spirit of the animal or something?” she asked incredulously as she rubbed at a stain on her gloves that had most likely come from one of her alchemical pursuits.
“You do.”
“So...you went out of your way to...” she briefly searched for a word before settling on: “commune...with the, the spirit of squirrels?” It still sounded a little far-fetched, but she tended to believe in the inherent goodness of people, which was why she was helping him instead of fearing him and running very far and very fast in the opposite direction.
“Are you always this inquisitive?” the druid muttered, obviously annoyed by her incredulity.
Maimh frowned slightly. “Is it a bad thing?”
“Do you always answer a question with a question?”
“A-Aren't you doing the same?” she half-stuttered as she grew flustered.
There was a brief silence, Maimh distantly amused while the druid affected annoyance.
“So...squirrels?” she prompted again.
The druid shook his head-or at least tried. “How often do people pay attention to squirrels in their travels?”
“Not much.”
“So, a squirrel could get places and no-one would care.”
“...yes?”
“And overhear important conversations.”
“Oh!” Maimh exclaimed, comprehension hitting her. “You want to be a spy!” She quirked her head slightly and frowned. “But isn't that...well...that's not a very druid-y thing to do...is it?”
“Our cat forms have stealth.”
“Hm.”
They rode in amicable silence for a few minutes as the priest toyed with the stitching of her gloves before saying, “But, seriously, squirrels?”
“Would you let it drop!?”
“It's just...silly,” she said slowly. “How do you talk with the spirit of the squirrel anyway?'
“It was a lot harder than I anticipated,” the druid muttered. “They have very short memories and even shorter attention spans.”
Maimh couldn't help the tentative smile that formed on her face that faded quickly. “You have to go to Moonglade?” she asked nervously. “I mean...”
“I'm stuck. I'll need someone to assist me in getting out of this form.”
Up to the moment, she had been rather reluctant to step outside human lands-the world was that much more dangerous outside her doorstep, although there was plenty of danger to be had in human lands. Still, she figured that it would be good to eventually explore more of the world, and Moonglade seemed safe enough-there were a lot of druids there, and it was neutral ground.
“You know...maybe you should ha-”
“I'm already going to hear it from my trainers-please don't add your two coppers.”
Maimh's lips twitched. “What has you so far away from home? I mean, you're from Kalimdor, right? Kalimdor's across the sea, so it's beyond the Maelstrom and...”
“The critters on Teldressil aren't like those on the mainlands,” the druid said, interrupting her.
“Ah,” Maimh murmured as she forced her fingers still, not wanting to ruin another pair of gloves due to her nervous habit.
The clop of her mount's hooves changed from the dull thuds of dirt roads to the sharper sound of stone as they passed into Stormwind. Maimh's eyes were drawn up to the claw marks gauged into the stone towers and a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth as her heart sped up.
Deathwing's arrival had been terrifying. It had turned her reality upside-down as the world heaved and split apart beneath her feet due to the angry dragon's surfacing. It left her feeling very small and very helpless, regardless of the soothing presence of the Light that filled, surrounded, protected, and supported her.
There was so much evil, so much danger. How could one little priest of the Light have any effect at all?
“Priestess Maimh?”
Maimh blinked and looked at her passenger. “Um...
“Deathwing was...less than kind to your home city,” he observed, sounding concerned and disturbed.
Maimh shook her head slightly as she turned into the Trade district. Her slower pace (which was necessary to keep her from falling onto the hard stone) annoyed a few other travelers, but she was avoided easily enough. She took a detour through Cathedral Square and found all the tension in her body abruptly fled in the presence of an area saturated with the Light.
Her druid companion looked up at her, having noticed her change in demeanor.
She gave him a brief smile, feeling more at ease with her new companion. “How do you feel, when you're in Moonglade?”
The druid made a thoughtful sound and nodded. “I see.”
They passed out of the square and back to the canals, headed towards the harbor, the scent of the sea wafting to her. After she had taken a deep breath, she noticed that tension had once again wound into her shoulders. She sighed softly, then said, “So. Kalimdor.”
“And then Moonglade.”
“And then Moonglade.” She paused and dismounted, and her companion scrambled onto her shoulders as she dismissed her mount. As she meandered down the stairs, she giggled at the feel of a squirrel trying to find a handhold-paw-hold?-on her shoulders. It made the thought that it was really a Kaldorei in disguise even more absurd, and somehow made her relax.
“What's Moonglade like? How do I get there?” she asked, curiosity taking over.
“It won't be too hard. I'll guide you.”
“O...kay...” she said hesitantly. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she summoned her mount to her again and hefted herself up onto its back as her passenger scrabbled to keep on her shoulders.
“Warn me, will you!” the Kaldorei scolded.
Maimh couldn't help but laugh. “Relax.” A thought came to her that gave her pause. “If you die, I can resurrect you...and maybe you'll come back as a Kaldorei and not a squirrel?”
There was a considering silence before he shuddered. “No, thank you.”
Maimh smiled faintly and turned her mount towards the dock that would take her to Kalimdor. “Well, just offering...”
The Kaldorei snorted before he snuggled himself under her hair, wrapped around her neck like a furry choker, which made Maimh gasp in surprise.
“You know, I think I might keep you,” she murmured once she had adjusted to the warm, lithe form cuddled around her neck.
“Don't you dare!”
Maimh couldn't he but laugh again as she guided her mount onto the boat. “Okay, okay. Although I think you're probably cuter as a squirrel.”
--
Hope it was at least something like who you imagine her to be.
Maimh heaved a heavy sigh and scratched the back of her neck. How did I get myself into this? She asked herself for the umpteenth time.
“Why...well, I mean...why would you want to shape-shift into a-a squirrel anyway?” she hesitantly asked the druid that lay curled on her lap as they trotted along on her horse.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” the druid murmured. The voice that came out of the tiny creature was that of a male night elf, which made Maimh giggle against her better judgement. Her reaction earned her a dirty look that made her flinch-well, she thought it was a dirty look, but how can one tell what a squirrel emotes?
“But, r-really-a squirrel?” she murmured, toying with her gloves absently, knowing that her unflappable steed wouldn't let her tumble into the dirt.
“I'm astonished that you noticed anything wrong. Most people ignore the critters that populate Azeroth.”
“Well...one of my cats ran away, so...” she trailed off and gave him a fleeting look. “You...you were bigger...and patterned...and not acting squirrel-y...and then, and then, you started talking to me.”
She had thought herself crazy for a few breaths when a squirrel talked to her in a deep, resonating male Kaldorei voice-she thought it may be a demon or something, but after a panicked and desperate explanation of his situation as Holy power rose to her call, she eventually came to the conclusion that, no, she wasn't insane-that the squirrel actually was a druid.
“How'd you get stuck as a squirrel?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Don't you have to have a connection with the...the spirit of the animal or something?” she asked incredulously as she rubbed at a stain on her gloves that had most likely come from one of her alchemical pursuits.
“You do.”
“So...you went out of your way to...” she briefly searched for a word before settling on: “commune...with the, the spirit of squirrels?” It still sounded a little far-fetched, but she tended to believe in the inherent goodness of people, which was why she was helping him instead of fearing him and running very far and very fast in the opposite direction.
“Are you always this inquisitive?” the druid muttered, obviously annoyed by her incredulity.
Maimh frowned slightly. “Is it a bad thing?”
“Do you always answer a question with a question?”
“A-Aren't you doing the same?” she half-stuttered as she grew flustered.
There was a brief silence, Maimh distantly amused while the druid affected annoyance.
“So...squirrels?” she prompted again.
The druid shook his head-or at least tried. “How often do people pay attention to squirrels in their travels?”
“Not much.”
“So, a squirrel could get places and no-one would care.”
“...yes?”
“And overhear important conversations.”
“Oh!” Maimh exclaimed, comprehension hitting her. “You want to be a spy!” She quirked her head slightly and frowned. “But isn't that...well...that's not a very druid-y thing to do...is it?”
“Our cat forms have stealth.”
“Hm.”
They rode in amicable silence for a few minutes as the priest toyed with the stitching of her gloves before saying, “But, seriously, squirrels?”
“Would you let it drop!?”
“It's just...silly,” she said slowly. “How do you talk with the spirit of the squirrel anyway?'
“It was a lot harder than I anticipated,” the druid muttered. “They have very short memories and even shorter attention spans.”
Maimh couldn't help the tentative smile that formed on her face that faded quickly. “You have to go to Moonglade?” she asked nervously. “I mean...”
“I'm stuck. I'll need someone to assist me in getting out of this form.”
Up to the moment, she had been rather reluctant to step outside human lands-the world was that much more dangerous outside her doorstep, although there was plenty of danger to be had in human lands. Still, she figured that it would be good to eventually explore more of the world, and Moonglade seemed safe enough-there were a lot of druids there, and it was neutral ground.
“You know...maybe you should ha-”
“I'm already going to hear it from my trainers-please don't add your two coppers.”
Maimh's lips twitched. “What has you so far away from home? I mean, you're from Kalimdor, right? Kalimdor's across the sea, so it's beyond the Maelstrom and...”
“The critters on Teldressil aren't like those on the mainlands,” the druid said, interrupting her.
“Ah,” Maimh murmured as she forced her fingers still, not wanting to ruin another pair of gloves due to her nervous habit.
The clop of her mount's hooves changed from the dull thuds of dirt roads to the sharper sound of stone as they passed into Stormwind. Maimh's eyes were drawn up to the claw marks gauged into the stone towers and a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth as her heart sped up.
Deathwing's arrival had been terrifying. It had turned her reality upside-down as the world heaved and split apart beneath her feet due to the angry dragon's surfacing. It left her feeling very small and very helpless, regardless of the soothing presence of the Light that filled, surrounded, protected, and supported her.
There was so much evil, so much danger. How could one little priest of the Light have any effect at all?
“Priestess Maimh?”
Maimh blinked and looked at her passenger. “Um...
“Deathwing was...less than kind to your home city,” he observed, sounding concerned and disturbed.
Maimh shook her head slightly as she turned into the Trade district. Her slower pace (which was necessary to keep her from falling onto the hard stone) annoyed a few other travelers, but she was avoided easily enough. She took a detour through Cathedral Square and found all the tension in her body abruptly fled in the presence of an area saturated with the Light.
Her druid companion looked up at her, having noticed her change in demeanor.
She gave him a brief smile, feeling more at ease with her new companion. “How do you feel, when you're in Moonglade?”
The druid made a thoughtful sound and nodded. “I see.”
They passed out of the square and back to the canals, headed towards the harbor, the scent of the sea wafting to her. After she had taken a deep breath, she noticed that tension had once again wound into her shoulders. She sighed softly, then said, “So. Kalimdor.”
“And then Moonglade.”
“And then Moonglade.” She paused and dismounted, and her companion scrambled onto her shoulders as she dismissed her mount. As she meandered down the stairs, she giggled at the feel of a squirrel trying to find a handhold-paw-hold?-on her shoulders. It made the thought that it was really a Kaldorei in disguise even more absurd, and somehow made her relax.
“What's Moonglade like? How do I get there?” she asked, curiosity taking over.
“It won't be too hard. I'll guide you.”
“O...kay...” she said hesitantly. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she summoned her mount to her again and hefted herself up onto its back as her passenger scrabbled to keep on her shoulders.
“Warn me, will you!” the Kaldorei scolded.
Maimh couldn't help but laugh. “Relax.” A thought came to her that gave her pause. “If you die, I can resurrect you...and maybe you'll come back as a Kaldorei and not a squirrel?”
There was a considering silence before he shuddered. “No, thank you.”
Maimh smiled faintly and turned her mount towards the dock that would take her to Kalimdor. “Well, just offering...”
The Kaldorei snorted before he snuggled himself under her hair, wrapped around her neck like a furry choker, which made Maimh gasp in surprise.
“You know, I think I might keep you,” she murmured once she had adjusted to the warm, lithe form cuddled around her neck.
“Don't you dare!”
Maimh couldn't he but laugh again as she guided her mount onto the boat. “Okay, okay. Although I think you're probably cuter as a squirrel.”
--
Hope it was at least something like who you imagine her to be.