moonshadows | Does it matter?

I’m afraid it goes against our grain to admit an orc into our city,” the archmage says pompously to the image of the green-skinned girl. “Too much damage has been done to us in the past for us to be comfortable teaching our craft to one of your kind.”

“But I’m not an orc,” the girl says with admirable mock-innocence. “I’m a half orc, the daughter of Archmage Jaina Proudmoore.”

“I’m sorry,” the archmage says, not sounding sorry at all. “I’m afraid the answer is still no.” He smirks condescendingly. “Maybe you can find some…hedge-mage…to teach you.”

One green hand brushes blond hair out of blue eyes, and her green jaw clenches with strained anger before she forces herself to smile sweetly. “Okay,” she says lightly. “I’ll do that, and I’ll remember what you said in the future.”

The veiled threat goes right over the archmage’s head; the connection is cut and he snorts once in disdain before walking out of the range of the scrying spell he didn’t detect. The blue dragon snorts in equal disdain and drops his scrying spell. Well, best to get to work before someone else beats him to it. That silly elf may not have been paying attention, but Azureon knows that Jaina’s daughter was sired by Thrall, the massive Warchief of the Horde, and that half-orc girl so callously turned away by Dalaran may one day be one of the most politically powerful people in the world.

Besides, she looked fun.

The Blue stretches, unfurling his considerable sinuous length before scrawling glowing arcane runes across the empty air of his lair. Wards set and message left in case anyone comes calling, he shrinks into the form of a blue-haired kaldorei female who bounces excitedly and vanishes with a giggle and a pop.

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The wolf running through the cleared no-man’s-land surrounding Orgrimmar’s north exit shimmers in the sunlight, hinting strongly that something is not natural about the beast. The blue-haired kaldorei woman suddenly pacing the wolf doesn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, too filled with glee over the sheer physical motion through the land called Azshara. It’s the wolf that slows first, then stops, head cocked curiously to one side and tongue lolling out as it pants. The night elf waves cheerfully and collapses into a boneless cross-legged position as the wolf sits on its haunches and becomes a green-skinned girl just entering womanhood, with blonde hair and blue-trimmed linen hinting at her parentage and occupation.

“…hello?” the orc says tentatively in common.

The blue-haired elf chirps back in the same language. “Hi! I heard the stuffy mages in Dalaran didn’t want to teach you magic, so I came to offer myself as your teacher!”

“I didn’t know there were any Kal’dorei mages,” the girl says slowly.

”Well…there haven’t been any in a few thousand years,” the elf admits. “Not since the Highborne were exiled, anyway. But that doesn’t really matter.”

“Why not?”

The elf grins, and suddenly the orc finds herself surrounded by loops and coils of blue-scaled dragonflesh. “Because I’m not kaldorei!”

Blue eyes widen. “I’m going to learn magic from a dragon?” That’s so awesome!”

“Well, better to learn from the best, right?” The dragon shrinks back to the shape of a kaldorei with blue-tinged skin. “Of course, that’d be my dad, and he’s real busy. But I’m at least better than those silly Kirin Tor.” The elf looks around. “Um…your dad does know you’re out here, right? I don’t want the Warchief thinking his little girl was kidnapped by the Blue Dragonflight or anything.”

“He knows,” the young shaman says dismissively. “Of course, he thinks I’m going to talk to the naga, but we never expected a dragon to drop by.” Her eyes sparkle. “This is so cool! My name is Mikanna, by the way. What’s yours?”

“Azureon,” the not-elf supplies with equal enthusiasm.

Mikanna tilts her head thoughtfully. “Are you a boy dragon, or a girl dragon?”

Azureon shrugs. “Does it matter?”

Mika grins. “Not one bit.”