Arthas » 001

[retributing]

Who: Arthas Menethil (retributing), Jaina Proudmoore (wantedtostudy) whoever wants to show up
Where: Outside of the church
Style: Either or
Status: Open

Comments

[wantedtostudy]

She could have just teleported there. Instead, she opted to walk - it gave her time to collect her thoughts, and they certainly needed to be collected.

How could she possibly tell Arthas everything that had happen since she had turned her back on him at Stratholme? The fall of Dalaran, the Burning Legion... traveling to Kalimdor, the alliance with Thrall's Horde and the Night Elves. And that wasn't even touching the most recent developments - the struggle in Outland, the arrival of the Draenei, and now the war ...

... against him.

Jaina swallowed, finding her throat dry. She could still scarcely believe this was Arthas, the man whom she had spent the last six years telling herself was long lost. Just seeing him made her feel like she had felt once upon a time, and ... that was not something she could afford.

The church was in sight.

[retributing]

One petal was plucked from the rose in interest. It was a young flower, a bit too early to have come from the bush as easily as it had. The Prince let the petal be taken by the wind before turning to face away from the Church. His business there was done for the day. Dwelling only seemed to bring ill for him the longer it was done.

He had expected Jaina to arrive long before she had. The mage seemed to have taken a liking to teleporting, and Arthas had fully expected her to use this method again. When he spotted her walking towards the church, it struck him as odd.

Now was supposed to be the time for questions. What was he going to ask? He had already found out so many horrible things...the answers were likely not ones he would enjoy hearing.

Again, he exhaled, the flower in his hand forgotten to, instead, favor the mage.

"Jaina," he greeted, putting on his most convincing smile. Unfortunately, it was not as sincere as he would have liked, but damn it...

[wantedtostudy]

She would have probably seen through it anyway.

Jaina favors him with a thin smile in return, and for a moment it is so very tempting to just let herself be a girl again, and run and embrace him. But... she can't allow herself to do that.

"Hello, Arthas," she says quietly, closing the gap between the two of them. It feels distinctly awkward.

[retributing]

The hesitation in Arthas' steps would be covered up by the straightening of the paladin, enough to keep his head high and confident. None of this meant anything. He still had a Kingdom to go home to, and a Kingdom to redeem from the plague that still ran rampant. This was nothing more than some...crazy parallel dream. That's all it had to be.

It didn't matter how real it felt. None of it made enough sense.

Silence. There was too much silence. Say something, anything--

"...you'll be happy to know that I've not seen head nor hair of Sylvanas," the Prince stated off-handedly, hoping it would be enough to relieve the tension in the air. It was wrong.

[honor_tactics]

Something at the back of his mind was telling him that he should not be merely standing here and listening. On the other, this was very interesting information. He had never had the opportunity to ask Jaina about her world...nor was he entirely sure she would have been forthcoming had he asked.

But it seemed...something. There was a word for it.

Rude?

That was a bad thing, he knew that much. And so he stepped out from behind his hiding place, considering them both. "Forgive my intrusion."

[wantedtostudy]

Jaina hadn't really found a good response to Arthas' well-wishes other than a quiet "Thank you," when she heard footsteps coming from behind the two of them. She stood up, turning to see who it was...

...Gale. The tactician of the Embryon tribe. She was considerably more at ease in his presence now, after their tribe had found the solution to their hunger, and after she'd made amends with Serph. Their world and their customs did certainly fascinate her, though.

"Ah, please. There's no need to apologize." Jaina gave a soft smile, though she did wonder warily how long he'd been listening. Still, it wasn't something worth getting upset about. She knew their ways were not always like what she was accustomed to.

[retributing]

Automatically, Arthas' smile turned into a bit of a stoic frown when Gale came into view. Had he been eavesdropping? And if he had, exactly how much had he heard? The Prince remained standing and a soft clear of his throat hinted that, while Jaina may not have felt there was a need for an apology, he certainly felt there was every need.

Still, he wasn't about to be completely rude himself, straightening his posture and folding his arms dutifully. He recognized that voice...but from where?

"You...know this man, Jaina?" Arthas asked, glancing to her.

[honor_tactics]

The change of expression was enough to tell Gale that yes, he had been in the wrong. "But there is. I sensed it was improper of me to not make my presence known, and it seems I was correct. So my apology still stands."

His attention turned to the man. This one had been attacked by another woman, if he remembered correctly. That seemed to have resolved itself with no violence, thankfully. "Yes. She is familiar with our Tribe. Relations were...strenuous at first, but I do not blame her for that. The circumstances could have been far better than they were. ...I am Gale, of the Embryon Tribe. I believe we have spoken before. Did you resolve your dispute with the one who attacked you?"