Treading the line

Erieannan was right. His cooking had not improved from last time, but it was still much better than conjured bread.

Not that she was hungry. She felt rather dizzy, awkwardly disconnected from the real world, her breathing shallow and painful from the wound in the chest. However, Erieannan was right.She needed to recover some strength, so she forced herself to swallow the food.

It was all a mess, anyway.

She wanted to avoid finding him, and he'd come willingly to her. Light had found a strange way to answer to her prayers.

" What are you doing here?", Laandra asked after a while, when they had finished eating and she had climbed back to the bed in the room upstairs. It all had a bit of a deserted air, not unfriendly, just eerie, as if no one actually lived in that house. A place of ghosts and memories of better days, that was it. A refuge. Nothing more.

Erieannan gave her something like a wicked grin, yet it felt good to see him smile, she thought, with a strange burst of sympathy.

" So I should gather we're done with the running around the house shooting fireballs?"

"For now" she retorted, threatening him with a finger. " I'm still angry as hell for what you did to me!"

Saved her life in the process, she had to admit it. Yet, the means had been those of darkness, such that a follower of the Naaru did not approve of. He had tainted her spiritual form with his foul magic and she hadn't been even aware of that, until earlier in the day. Which made her think the Vindicators were right. Corruption may be blooming inside one's soul and yet that person still believes he's most virtuous and pure.

Erieannan shrugged.

" Then at least let me know when you wanna start again..."

"You didn't answer.What were you doing here?"

" Came to find you, what in the name of the Legion do you think I'd be doing in Darkshire?" Erieannan had almost yelled out the last words, annoyed by Laandra's inquisitive attitude. But then, suddenly, his voice softened, almost to a whisper and she found again anger leaving her, like a tidal wave.

" I felt when the soulstone broke. I knew you were in danger. Do you think I did it for nothing? I was in the Plaguelands, at Stratholme. Paid some mage to make me a portal to Stormwind. Then acted like the regular traveler and bought a flight to Darkshire. As simple as that."

Laandra gave him an incredulous look.

" Are you in your right mind? Going to Stormwind?"

" Yeah", Erieannan nearly laughed at her surprised face." It was the shortest way. And then, with all the people coming in and out of the city, it's easy to just pretend you're one of them. Everyone there grew oh-so overly confident lately. I suspect they could use some paranoia...it would save them lots of trouble. And no, I haven't been in my right mind for years..." He smiled. "I know I hurt you. But, call it stupid and useless and pathetic...I..." He swallowed hard. " I was afraid to lose...again. It didn't matter that you ...were away. Just to know you were fine..it would have been enough."

Yeah, Laandra thought, bitterly. Go on like that. Make it harder.

Her hand found him, almost instinctively, their slender fingers interweaving, until they both became aware of the gesture and Erieannan pulled back, even if regretfully.

"That's still no excuse for forcing it on you", he added, his voice now filled with an emotion Laandra could not identify. He looked bad, worse than he had last time, as if he had spent all these days worrying and fighting. Weariness was visible in every line of his features and each small sound made him jump, fearing an unseen threat.

"All that is alive must die. I am not scared of my fate." Laandra sighed. The words were the right ones, but it still felt empty and purposeless. She just longed to take back his hand, lean against him, surrender...

If this is a sign of corruption, then I'm completely rotten inside, she thought, with another sigh.

"Where are we?"

" In Westfall...at one of the deserted farms. I sometimes come here, when I need to be alone. It's a quiet place...if you take out the Defias bands and the adventurers that try to eliminate them."

" I like the fields", he added, after a short hesitation, his eyes now filled with some sort of strange longing. " You don't get too often to see golden fields up there, to the north." Silence fell again. A short look outside showed them both it was starting to get dark.

" You should sleep", Erieannan said quietly. "You're wasted".

" And so are you", Laandra whispered, as he stood up.

"I'll sleep", he answered, yet she already knew it was a lie. Nightmares won't let him rest. Not ever again.

Something was breaking inside into little pieces. Tiny fragments of soul and will and "the right things to do". Cause this was all so wrong and yet Laandra could not figure another way. "Light bless us" she thought, as she managed to grab his arm before Erieannan could slip away.

" Don't leave me", she murmured, her lips barely making any sound.

She gazed up at him and saw confusion and fear and pain...and her heart tore, as words rushed out, like a flood.

"Stay here, with me", she pleaded."If you'd come all this way, don't go away now..."