When most pandaren wished for a place to unwind, they’d prefer the open, stunning vistas of the Jade Forest. The sights of the towering castles, the view from high upon the peaks, the breeze from the ocean cascading across their fur. But not her. Veronicka was different. She felt the sun beat too hot, the training warriors were too noisy, and the beautiful views were too distracting for her to nap. Her home was in the quieter, humble Krasarang Wilds. The dew from the wetter clime made the undergrowth soft to sit on, and the darker tones of the earth and the tree-cover could let her sleep for hours unimpeded, even in the middle of the day.
There, leaning against a tree, was where she found herself. She stretched out her weary legs, sore from endless travelling, reached her paws to the sky, calloused as they were from pulling back her bow, and pushed her shoulders back, stiff from so much of the weight of the world resting down upon them. It still didn’t feel real, returning from the land of the dead. There was something about it that touched her mentally, and she found it difficult to step back, to move on from it. It left an indelible mark, like she could never quite feel again, even in the balmy Pandaria sunshine.
Perhaps there wouldn’t be that rest she sought today. There wasn’t much yesterday, either.
Her manasaber companion, Genie, as true a friend if ever there was one, rubbed up against her side. She tossed a fish cake a short distance away, watching her bound through the tall Krasarang grass until she found her prize. The great cat was playful still, even though she fought much harder in the Maw than Veronicka had. The strong but stumbling pandaren was more of the kind to sit at the back and watch her spirited friend do most of the work, certainly content to watch from the sidelines rather than engage up front herself. The patch of burnt fur from Sire Denathrius’ blade had done little to slow her down, nor the missing tooth she picked up from a few reckless moments in the arenas in Maldraxxus.
Genie might have boundless energy still, but Veronicka didn’t. She never did, really. She was not of the kind to train all day, unless training consisted of music or snacking. So, trying to fulfil what she saw as her greatest goal, she closed her eyes and tried once more to find that pleasant nap amongst the trees. But fate was not having it.
“Thought I’d find you here!”
Vernoicka leapt up with a start, rolling unceremoniously down the small hill beside her, reaching for her bow but missing it as her cat jumped into action with much more agility than her. Jumped, as it was, right into the arms of the newcomer to the scene.
“Pendus!” She ran up to the big-bellied shaman healer, giving him such a powerful hug it almost sent them both rolling down the other side of the hill.
“Hope I didn’t wake you, Veronicka,” he said with the wide, welcoming smile she had grown to love.
“No! No, not at all. I… haven’t been getting the rest I was hoping for, truly.” She rubbed at a few old wounds. “Sometimes it’s not as easy to get comfortable as it used to be.” She perked up and changed the topic. “How’ve you been?” Where’ve you been?”
Pendus put his hands out wide. “I wander. Wander Pandaria, wander Kalimdor, wander all of Azeroth. Take in the sights, travel on the winds and the waters and wherever the elements will me to go.”
“Easier now that things have settled.”
“Hmpf. Easier indeed. Can finally sit and enjoy a brew.”
“Or some shade,” Veronicka agreed.
“But…” His face grew softer. Hesitant. “I’ve been travelling alone for some time now. It would be a much better journey if I had a companion.”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
She nodded, scratching the ears of Genie as she nuzzled up alongside her. “You’ve got to go fixing things again, don’t you?”
“Truly, if I were born again, I’d be a gnome,” he said with a laugh. “Always fixing. Not sure if I could carry the same belly though,” Pendus said as he slapped both hands on his rotund form. Veronicka chuckled, but not as she used to. She could sense where he was going long before he said it. “There’s a new land. The talk is all over Orgrimmar. I’m sure it’s reached here, too.” She didn’t say anything, didn’t so much as turn his way, so he continued. “The Dragon Isles have revealed themselves, and it seems half the world is travelling to see them.”
“And half the world’s army,” Veronicka added.
“That may be so. But it’s my duty to help. The elements have blessed me with a gift,” he said with his paws up. She had seen him work incredible wonders, saving her and Genie time and time again with his healing magic. ‘Splashing’, she’d call it, on account of the healing coming from the watery realm of shamanistic cures. A deluge from nowhere, and suddenly she felt right as rain. She never understood it, but she certainly welcomed it. Genie did too, even if she looked rather ridiculous with fur matted to her sides, drenched to the bone after a battle. “There’s always someone in the world who needs our help.”
“Always someone,” Veronicka agreed. “But why does it have to be us to help? Have we not done enough already?”
He took a deep breath in and a slow one out, and reached for one of the fish cakes. She slapped his hand aside playfully, only for him to pick it up again and pop it in his mouth before she had a second shot at it. He smiled, swallowing the fish and rubbing his enormous belly. They sat for a moment, looking out at the quiet and the calm of Krasarang. “The Shadowlands were… difficult, weren’t they?”
She looked closer now, at the very hands he held up. A handful of deep red marks lay underneath the fur. “Hard on all of us,” she agreed. “You’ve earned your rest, don’t you think?”
“As have you.”
They looked out together, Genie crawling across them both, surprisingly light, as they leaned down against the tree at their side. They watched a single leaf drift lazily from the branches above, and Pendus used his elemental gifts to ask the wind to send it back up again whenever it neared the ground.
“The Dragon Isles,” he said softly. “It’s not like the Shadowlands. From all I’ve heard, it’s not all that different from here. Wide, sweeping plains, the wind coursing through our fur, the thrill of adventure again… it’s not all darkness. And they need shamen.”
“The elements are restless there, then,“ Veronicka said. Pendus nodded in agreement. “And you know I want to help.” Pendus nodded again. She was still the kind of hunter that would speak a small prayer of thanks over the animals she’d hunt, appreciating the bounty they provided, never wishing any undue pain upon them. She rested a paw on his.
“I know you do,” he said.
They looked out at the scenery before them, quelled now after having been beset by conflict for so long. It was amazing just how quiet it was. All remnants of battle seemed to have melted away, save for a few chopped down trees to fuel the war machines, and the occasional scattering of scorched grasses that have already mostly been covered by new growth.
“Plenty of fish there,” Pendus mumbled. He smirked as he saw a single, slight twitch of her ear. He knew her well enough to know what that meant. She was not only listening, but suddenly listening rather intently. “Whole heaps of ‘em. Snacks from centaur, tuskarr, and I assume dragons have picked up a thing or two about cooking over their time. Probably know how to barbecue…”
“Bet they could heat up food quickly.”
“Sure can.”
Veronicka shifted in her seat along the tree. She couldn’t tell if she had to keep shifting because she was growing restless, or if it was a longstanding injury she hardly noticed was there anymore. It mattered little. She stared into the blue eyes of her fellow pandaren, blue as the waters he healed with, and saw that he spoke the truth. It wasn’t a place of pain and anguish, but one of exploration and adventure. The pain from the Maw, from Maldraxxus, from the Jailer, from all that was dark and dreadful in the realm beyond this one, still cut deep. But nevertheless, her fingers had curled around the shaft of the bow without her realising. She trusted Pendus, and Pendus trusted her. Together, they could take on the world.
“Genie!” she called to her cat, who ran up beside her at once, pushing her head into her side and hoping for a scratch behind the ears. “Let’s go exploring!”