The woods had changed. It was dark in the middle of day. Heavy fog like in his dreams covered the ground, and the sky was filled with heavy dark clouds that always seemed on the brink of a storm. The trees thinned out and looked deaseased and charred as if a wildfire had spread through this part of the forest.They had reached a meadow and Thaulka halted suddenly.
"This is where I leave you. Remember, fear is you enemy, and it will kill you if you let it."
Scar took a step and turned to grumpily utter a fairwell to Thaulka, but he had disappeared. He had a feeling that one step had carried him alot farther, into the spirit world. He was no longer in Reavador. No longer in any world he knew. Had he walked beneath an olive branch in the middle of the longest day? 'Or was the saying somthing else?' He couldn't remember He turned to back to be sure he could walk back into his own world, but when he got to the point where him and Thaulka had been standing Thaulka was nowhere to be seen.
Even as abnormally fast as the night elf race was there was no way that Thaulka had gotten out of the meadow in the few seconds it took him to turn back and walk. He guessed he was trapped in the spirit world until he either failed or accomplished his mission.
He smirked, "Tricky bastards."
He uttered into the quiet air. He was unafraid of his possible impending death. As a mercenary and assassin he'd been in these situations all the time.
He headed over the field and suddenly the grass under his feet changed. He looked down expecting smooth stone and instead found nothingness. What he perceived to be the ground lay two hundred feet or more below him. He told himself it was an optical illusion. but as he looked up the ground fell away infront of him turning to nothingness as well. He stood yards away from a single stone podium of a hunched back creature holding a goblet with long bony fingers.
He could only guess the goblet was filled with poison. He looked behind him. The ground was only a few feet away. He breathed slowly and began walking confidently over the nothingness.
When he got to the podium he wretched the goblet from the stone and slammed it back. Heat erupted through his chest as he finished the glass and set it down. It vanished and in front of him steps appeared erupting into flames of black fire.
***
Seven a.m. came quick. Not quick enough for Carver. The restraunt they usually ate breakfast at was dead and he sat at a table waiting for Ghost.
He had already been here for ten minutes, and right on the dot of seven o'clock she finally walked in dressed in fighting gear. Her short hair softly brushed her face and she had done her makeup bold.
She spotted him and headed over to the small two person table. He had time to get up and draw out her chair, but he didn't. He knew she hated that sort of thing.
He smiled as she sat, "Hey."
"Hey," he said simply.
"I was going to order the same thing you always get, but I thought I better just wait."
She smiled, "I would have been okay with you ordering for me. As you said, I order the same thing every time."
He nervously straightened his gear and rummaged in his pocket. The waiter came over and took their orders. He paid the bill in advance and rummaged in his other pocket under her curious gaze.
He placed a bolt on the table. A bolt system identical to the one on her door.
"You said to give you a reason to hang out with me again. After thinking I realized the reason was already there."
She looked at him questioningly and picked up the smooth piece of metal. It was cool in her hand.
"From the moment I met you my life has not been my own. Every step I've taken brought me closer to you without understanding why. I put a lock on your door to keep you safe, I moved rooms to be your protector. I train with you, not because I need it, but because I want you to be strong."
He leaned in and grabbed her hands. He smoothed a hand over the deep scars there.
"Be with me."
She smiled at him and turned her face to the door.
"Carver, you deserve a beautiful woman who is unscathed in every way. Somone pure and lovely. I can not be that for you."
She withdrew her hand from his full grasp but he caught the tips of her fingers. Her gaze met his and he was simmering with anger. Her brows lifted.
"I want you, all of you. You won't have to worry about me being shitty again. I want to be yours slowly and surely as the changing of night to day. I will be patient. I will be whatever you need me to be."
Tears sprung to her eyes and she stood and ran from the table. He understood now, and nothing was going to make him give up.
He left their food on the table untouched and went after her.
"Ghost!."
She halted her rapid progress down the alley. She stood unable to face him.
He walked up to her and turned her by her arms until she was trapped between him and the wall. He looked closely at her face. He smiled as he realized she harbored no fear for him.
He reached a gentle hand to her face and stroked the deep scars there.
"Are these the problem?" He spoke quietly.
He held her steadfast. Leaning in he kissed the scars on her cheeks and tasted her salty tears. He softly tilted her eyes up to his.
"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Inside and out. Your scars don't bother me. Your past doesn't bother me. Whatever you choose to do with your future will not bother me. I want you indefinitely. No matter."
He kissed her then and she knew he meant his words. She clung to him as she lost herself.
He pulled back.
"And you don't have to worry about me making dumb decisions anymore. I'm ready to be a rock for you."
She raised a brow, "Is that so? I don't have anymore energy to have my heart broken."
The weight of her soft words numbed his body.
"I will 'never' hurt you again."
She nodded and took his hand.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to the restraunt. I'm hungry."
She said joyfully. He chuckled and grabbed her hips as they walked. The restraunt door swung closed behind them as she giggled and intertwined their hands.
***
Sweltering heat engulfed him and sweat dripped down his back. The flames licked away his clothing. He reached for his knives and cursed as they burned his fingers. He was entirely defenseless. The flames left pleasant tingles across his entire body as if burning away every bad deed he'd ever done, burning away ever scar he'd ever had. He climbed the winding steps into the very heart of the Shadow Mountain and caught his first glimpse of the beast.