Home

The Stormwind house was never big enough, Lena fretted, stamping one hoof.  Indeed, the human city often seemed too small for the draenei and while she enjoyed the busy-ness of it all, she wasn’t sure how long they would stay here.  She was always too tall, having to duck under nearly every doorway, and having the citizens stare up at her lanky figure as if – well, she supposed, she was alien to them.  Krastos hated Stormwind, and Lena never really figured out why.  But he spent enough time out on assignments that he would hardly ever be home.  He would tolerate it, if it made her happy or her work easier.

She had been eyeing this particular house for quite a while, noting that it seemed bigger than many of the others in the human city, set at the end of a quiet cul de sac next to the canal, and she had never seen anyone go in or out.  After finally tracking down the owner and convincing him to give her a tour so she could inspect it, she offered a generous sum for the place and started settling in.  The owner had left some basic furniture and Lena supplemented the bed, dressing table, and dining table with the soft, oversized couch she had found in a shop nearby while she waited for Kras to finish packing up their beloved Shattrath home.   She still flushed every time she looked at it, and wondered if it were destined for replacement, seeing as her indiscretions were still almost palpable around it.  The bed would certainly need replacing as well, but Lena wasn’t sure if the bed she and Krastos had would fit in the small bedroom.

The rest of their belongings had just arrived, making the small space ever more cramped.  Lena summoned her arcane familiar and was carefully unwrapping the familiar trappings of their home.  The familiar chattered in its own language as it assisted her with crates and boxes, behaving itself for once and handing her the knick-knacks and books instead of scampering off and hiding them.   Her panther cub curled up on the end of the couch, snoozing and watching with disinterested yellow eyes, like the royalty Lena treated him as.

She was in the kitchen, taking inventory of the dinnerware, when she heard Krastos come home, his heavy hoof-treads knocking on the wooden floors.  Lena made a mental note to find rugs for the house.  But at least it wasn’t the echoing, silent stone that Shattrath was.  He found her in the kitchen and wrapped his thick arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck as she surveyed the cupboards.  She smiled and turned to face him, pecking his cheek and laying her head on his broad chest.

“I hate it here, Lena,” he rumbled frankly.  ”This city is… distasteful, at best.”   She sighed into his shirt and nodded, hands clasped around his back, “I know, Kras, but,” she sighed again.  This was always a point of contention lately.  He was stung by her time with Hawtrey, and now was being asked to live in a city he hated.  She lowered her head and breathed deeply, inhaling his familiar scent and closing her eyes.  ”I miss Shattrath, too.  It’s hard to be so far from the light of A’dal, but we can go back and visit whenever you like.  I know you don’t like teleporting, but this is our home now.”

“Ya, ya,” he mumbled into her hair, his hands wandering lower and pulling at her robes.  The fabric tickled as it fluttered around her legs, his strong hands careful not to tear it as he pulled her closer, “For now, let’s just make the most of it, eh, little Lena?”