[WA][Story] About a Boy
His name was Koru.
That knowledge, of his name, "Koru Furiey", was something the boy clung desperately to in his daily rounds of Orgrimmar. It was who he was and it was all he had left in this world and if he lost it, he'd lose everything.
Little Koru was eight years old and he wore the tattered robes of an apprentice Priest; he was a healer that was too small for his britches (which were held up with a length of rope) and the majority of his duties consisted of running errands and healing very minor wounds as he came across them. He was ahead of schedule in that day's runs, however, and he dared himself to make a very slight detour.
In the Valley of Spirits, hidden at the far end, was the Infirmary. It was a small building with a smaller outbuilding for patients that required more privacy, a building Koru was very familiar with. As he approached, clutching a small linen sack under his arm, he nodded to the single guard and paused, then reached into the sack and produced a chocolate chip cookie from the depths.
That was how the boy was paid: food, board and a little bit of spending coin.
The guard smiled sadly at the young fellow as he took the cookie and quietly thanked him. The guard then stooped so he was at Koru's level, tousled the boy's hair and said, "How're you doin', kid?"
"Okay," Koru replied. "how's my mama?"
Smiling sadly, the guard glanced over his shoulder into the dark little building. "She's alright," he said. "No better or worse."
"Can I see her?" Koru asked, and the guard nodded as he stood and stepped aside.
The little robed boy quietly crept into the small, sparsely-furnished building and peered about. On the bed in the far end of the room sat a woman, his eyes could barely make out the shape of her in the dim light, but he knew it was his mother.
Talash Furiey was sewing. She rarely ever appeared at peace, instead always having the look of a haunted woman about her; she appeared tired, artificially aged by worry. Koru slowly approached and softly piped, "Mama, I brought cookies."
The young woman looked up, smiling faintly at the boy as he stepped close, and she set her sewing down beside her and held out her hands toward him.
"Come, Koru. We'll share 'em."
She sounded weaker than before, he noted.
Koru climbed onto the bed beside her and set the linen sack across his lap, then pulled out three cookies each - the rest of what was there - for himself and his mother. After a moment of thought he removed one from his pile and added it to hers, and the older woman quietly munched away at them, her half-lidded gaze concentrated on him.
When she remained silent, the little boy spoke up, instead.
"My trainers are givin' me more to do, momma. I'm gettin' some money! See?" He fished around in his linen bag until he produced a small coin purse that jingled a little when he shook it. "I'm gonna save up so I can get a nice place for us an' take you home!"
Talash smiled faintly as she set her free hand on Koru's and lightly, weakly squeezed.
"It's gonna be small but it'll be near water so I can wash our clothes an' so it'll be easier for cookin' an' it'll be nice an' quiet an' - "
"Koru," Talash said, her voice somewhat strained. "I'm not - 'm not comin' home, any home."
The boy blinked slowly, then shook his head.
"N-nuh-uh. We'll find somethin', momma. I promise!"
Shaking her head in turn, Talash gave the boy's hand another squeeze.
"I dreamed of your grandpa again, Koru. I saw him and I saw Masamba and your - and - you've got to - you're on your own, Koru. I can't - I can't," her hands were shaking, she dropped her remaining two cookies on the bed beside her and buried her face in her hands. Koru noticed the guard peeking in around the corner, frowning. "We're not gonna be a family again, Koru. I'm too sick. Since we lost the unit and your grandpa and 'Samba went nuts it's - I can't - " She whimpered then, fell quiet, and Koru wrapped his arms around her to hug her tightly.
He knew what she was trying to say.
Ever since his grandpa had disappeared into Icecrown, ever since the notice came to the house that he had been killed in the line of duty, Talash hadn't been quite right. She had fallen ill, proven herself mentally unsound, and Koru had been hastily removed from her care while she was sent to live at the infirmary. If not for her father's service to the Horde her fate would probably have been much worse.
When Koru left that day he made up his mind. He knew he'd never see his mother again, but he had to find somebody that might remember her - after all, not all of the Harbingers had died. He knew that deep, deep down. If he could find some of them, he knew he'd never have to worry about anything again.