Kiss of Love, A

A Kiss of Love
 * -by Sorrowbourne (Undead Bhasu) and co.

=Sorrowbourne, 8/15/06 12:18:49 AM PDT=

Part One
He awoke to the press of lips on his, and smiled to himself, thinking that this was shaping up to be the best morning in a long, long time. He peeked out through half-closed lids to make sure it was who he thought it was. Satisfied, he closed his eyes again and lost himself in the moment.

"Well love, I must say that peaceful mornings like this come far to irregularly, what do you think?" Bhasu sighed. He looked to the face of his lover, but something seemed wrong. Something seemed to be bothering her. "What is it?"

"I have been dreaming of our lost immortality Bhasu. If I told you I found a way to reclaim it, would you take it?" She said, peering into his eyes, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Of course, wouldnt any of us?"

"Good.....good!" She cackled, her voice growing colder and hollow. "I would so hate to se one of your potential wasted away by the plague,joining the ranks of our enemies."

And with that, the illusion began to fade. The tranquil home in Silverpine forest, the warm bed, the lips kissing him; all grew dark and cold. He realized just whos kiss he had been given, and began to try to fight, only then realizing he was chained to the wall. Memories flooded back, and he put the past few days together, jumped in the Eastern Plaguelands..the burning wound,blacking out from fever. So he hadnt died there. A pity. This was worse than death. Or, becoming Scourge would be worse than death. Sylvanas had offered him something. Immortality. He looked into her coldly beautiful face. Radiating hate, and pity and jealousy towards him all at once. She was remembering, remembering her life and rebirth most likely. "You gave me a choice?" He gasped out, as the pain began to take hold.

"It truly isnt much of a choice. You die in mindless fury, are reborn, and we destroy you; or you die in maddening fury, and are reborn as one of mine. I thought you would make the smart choice. It would have been such a waste of your beauty and potential She said, moving in and licking the side of his face. It will hurt, as the plague destroys your body. It hurts us so much more, the humans have no idea. But it will end. And you will be reborn free, owing me only your immortality, for helping guide you to awaking in freedom."

His mind shifted to his love, and his crew. How would he let them know what happened? "My...friends.." He choked out, his glowing eyes beginning to darken.

"Ah yes. Friends, and the lover you spoke of. I could be her, you know. Your last kiss being mine was truly inspiring. But, nonetheless, I will make this promise to you, as payment for that kiss. As you grow in power, as one of mine, I will lock the ability to take your old form from time to time away inside you. I am not heartless, and a stolen kiss of true love is worth quite a bit. Also.." she cackled. "It will make you my perfect infiltrator. You are my sorrow born. Your old life ending with so much unfinished. You will hate me for not letting you rest, for a stolen kiss. For your rebirth in sorrow. Mark my words it is not a curse, for being Scourge is so much worse. And I did let you choose."

Bhasu slumped in the shackles, the weight of her words, and the plague running its course. He had so much more he wished to do, and now it would be forever out of reach. Maybe this is what goes through all their minds, he thought. He looked at Sylvanas' cold, beautiful, smiling face as his vision began to dim, and the unending promise of his night-elf life gave way to the soul crushing weight of undeath.

"You will learn to thank me and to love me..." but the rest was lost in unconsciousness. And there was not the blackness he normally expected, but searing agony. Red, burning pain lashed at his mind, tore at his soul, images of his life played out before him, and he awoke. He sat up stiffly in the minutes before dusk..

"Another one?" A hollow voice said to the night.

Part Two
".......so it wasn't a dream...."

And a soul-chrushing scream rips through the night. Bhasu, as we knew, is no longer; though his soul, in a husk of pure sorrow remains...

"..mercy let me forget my past soon."

With that the keeper looks to him. "We all hope for that. It never happens though, young one. Go, find your way now."

With that Bhasu, now going by what the Dark Lady more-or-less named him, heads off to drop off his last few black roses, in memoriam for himself this time....

A house in Silverpine... The deck of a pirate Ship... The third he keeps, so as not to forget.

=Ptesanwi, 08/16/06 8:31:55 AM PDT= From the depths of the dead city, the beast raised her head. Not so long ago, there had been life in those golden eyes...now...they shined with a dim, sickly glow.

She had taken to lurking in places that refected how she felt inside; that dull, aching hurt was numbed by the likes of Felwood, of Undercity. The shadows concealed her from others, and the suffering she felt all about her gave the huntress a smug satisfaction, and eased away the lonely feeling that beat with every slow, hesitant throb of her heart.

In the shadows, there was noone to eye her as she mumbled to herself, answering the voice that carressed her ear.

It had once been another voice that reasssured her...another who had kept her warm at night. She thought upon him, then shook her head, as if to free the memory from behind her eyes. Slowly, she was remembering. Slowly, a new pain was overcoming her.

Once more the voice whispered in her ear; the tattered, lopped one that had been struck so mercilessly only a couple weeks back. Her wounds still seeped...though...one by one, they were fading. Not slowly, like a usual wound...but it was instant when they decided to mend.

Her head perked up and muzzle trembled slightly as she took in the stagnant air of the place...there was something else upon it...a familiar...yet unfamiliar scent. A memory of another...but why was he here? It was unsafe for him in this place.

Rising to her hands and hooves, she slunk ferally from shadow to shadow, fading in and out of view as she followed her muzzle. Her tail twitched slightly, then lowered in the position it usually took when a wolfess was stalking her prey.

If the voice was correct...and sadly, it usually was, she would have one more to her pack.

We are tha lost, the huntress thought to herself. We mus' find each othah.

=Sorrowbourne, 8/17/06 6:44:33 AM PDT= A rush of memories flooded Sorrow as he again walked the Silverpine forest. Unlike when he made his first reports to Sylvanas, this did not evoke hate...

First a warmth flooded over him... this brought a smile to his lip. His feet took him to the shoreline... he wandered until he found that shipwreck.

The memories came back in a wave that knocked him to his bony knees. All at once he remered that night watching the moon. The house. Playing in the surf offshore here. The combination of love and fond memories and sorrow and pure black hate for what he was now was more than he could bear.

He touched his face...tears? Were there tears from these empty sockets? 'They will probably be the last.' He thought to himself, and without realizing what he was doing, he found himself tracing them with his dagger; his final tears etched into his eternal face.

When reality touched him again, he realized he was now underwater. 'oh yeah. I dont breathe now.. Which means i will have to cross drowning myself off my list.' He chuckled grimly as he walked back up to the shore, catching sight of something in the distance.

'Well, since I can't kill myself..'

=Ptesanwi, 8/17/2006 11:20:40 AM PDT= The wolfish coifed face of the huntress bowed to the ground, snuffling the tracks gingerly before her eyes cast forward once more. Without even the crackle of a dry leaf underdoot, she stalked through the dark forest, the trees arching over her like silent watchers. The closer she got to him, the more she was sure of his identity...except...

There was an impurity to his scent now, some tinge that spoke of ill-fate; of death. But if he had been slain...how did he now roam the countryside? There was only one way, and she sighed softly at the thought of it. Perhaps someone had gotten the best of the crafty rogue, and she was fairly certain of who that person had been.

Once more her muzzle dropped to scent teh ground, then a rustle in the brush beside her caused ehr good ear to perk, her lips pulling back to bare her unnatural fangs in warning to whom approached. It was no threat; simply a worg of the area that had been assisting her in her search.

Softly, they echanged hushed growls in the tongue of the feral packs. Ptes looked up once more, towards the shore that lay past the dark trees. Nodding to her comrade, she loped off, upon all fours and unashamed of her feral stance. There was only one she answered to now, and he didn't care how she travelled.

When the edge of the cover the woods provided lay before her, she slowed her pace, lifting one hand carefully as she sniffed at a passing breeze. Following it, her eyes fell upon him, his sights fixed upon the distance.

Much had changed about him. Then again, much had changed about herself.

With great caution, she slinked out of the shelter of shadows and stood partially in view, yet still far enough to observe him in safety, should he prove unfriendly. Muzzle raised to the sky, and once more, she let fly her call, full of sorrow and questioning, more a flow of emotion than of communication.

Then, eyes on his back, she waited.

=Sorrowbourne, 8/17/2006 11:53:04 AM PDT= Feeling the eyes on his back, Sorrow turned to face the newcomer. Images flashed through his mind. Visions of battles, passing nods... then He remembered. "Well met hunter," he hissed through his teeth. "It seems things have changed, doesn't it." He grinned, as much as someone with no lower lip can grin. "At least now I can worry less about an arrow in my back." The empty pits that used to contain his luminous orbs narrowed.. "What do you want of me?"

=Ptesanwi, 8/17/2006 12:05:18 PM PDT= Her expression didn't change when he spoke, though head did cant to the side, as if in thought. Slowly, she moved closer, then sat upon her haunches, tail curling over her hooves as if they had been paws. Silently Ptes looked him over...it was him...yet, at the same time, not. Grimly, she let out a chuckle.

"It seems, rogue, dat ju be ah lon' way from 'ome." The dim glow of her eyes narrowed a bit, and tongue licked over a fang. "An' by 'ome, ah don' jus' mean tha packlands of tha Shadowwalkahs..." Shadowwalker was a term her people...the wolves...called the Night Elf race. For a moment or two, they stared at each other, each expecting something of the other. Then, pulling a tabbard made from black pelt from her pack, she dropped it at his feet. "Ah dun' want notin' of ju...ah want ju."

=Sorrowbourne, 8/17/2006 12:10:45 PM PDT= "I have no home." He stated coldly. "That, and many other things have been taken from me." He pulled a battered flask from his belt, unscrewed the cap, and sipped at the memory of something familiar, a comforting act, but as empty as the flask.

"I will hear you out. Speak, if you will."

=Ptesanwi, 8/17/2006 12:54:28 PM PDT= She gave a slight nod, then rose to her hooves, brushing off her hands on her flanks as those dim golden hues met his sockets.

"Tha 'ome ah spek of in't no place, mon," she began, her voice a low growl. "'ome be tha memorehs one hold in dere 'earts." Her eyes closed slightly as she forced something back, then opened once more, now staring out towards the cold sea. "Ah gots no 'ome eitha. It died when..." Her voice trailed off, then the huntress chuckled once more, her breath holding the taint of Tauren blood on it. "Tings dat don' keel ju, dey make ju strongah." Ptes looked him over once more and widened her grin, revealing in full those long, off white fangs that had lay hidden behind her lips. "An' tha tings dat keel us...dey make us untouchable. Ah may not be rottin'...no offence, of course. But ah be dead as ju, an' as 'omeless." A hand lifted and motioned to the woods behind her. "Ju undah anotha's call, but tha one ah follow, his call be an oldah one. Come wit meh..an' we will build ah new 'ome." She looked about, then back upon him, her grin fading. "It not look like ju got anneh ting ta stay fo."

=Sorrowbourne, 8/17/2006 1:10:59 PM PDT= "True."

Sorrow lowered his head, his now discolored locks spilling down his chest. He breathed a rasping sigh, and followed her.

"But our memories give us fire." He mumbled under his breath.

=Ptesanwi, 8/17/2006 1:26:34 PM PDT= Ptes looked back at him, her good ear flicking slightly at his quiet words.

"Dose we still 'old ontah...aye." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Ah fiah dat kin keep ju warm at night...an' one that kin burn like tha flames of tha co'ah wit hate. It up to ju which fiah ju feed." She snarled softly under her breath. "Ah 'ave chosen mine."

Her tail flicked slightly to the side, then a hand reached out, gently lifting his chin so that his head was held up once more.

"Ju is fre'ah den ju eva was in life...one day, ju will see dis. Be not ashamed of wat ju be...ah not." Once more, she dropped to all fours, and looked up at him as she sauntered beside him. "Ah not ca'ah fo' tha ways of yo' kin'...muh people, dose dat follow us, dey follow at our side."

=Sorrowbourne, 8/18/2006 7:55:32 AM PDT= A few more days passed, and Sorrow began to feel more in tune with his new body. The initial pain had begun to lessen, and he was starting to realize that breathing was more for effect now. He found his way back to Silverpine, stalking, dealing death from the shadows. It seemed like finding an old friend again. He missed his old daggers, but this matching pair would have to do. The strangest hurdle to overcome this far had been the hunger. He held out at first, more out of fear and disgust than anything; but everything comes around. Then, the realization. He had evolved in this. He wasn't losing his elfenness, he was gaining something more.

He had become a true predator. They are meat. Kine. Prey.

In his sorrow clouded mind it all made sense. This is what he had become. It was not right or wrong, it was just the order of things.

He pondered these things for a while, and found himself at the shipwreck in Silverpine. Like a night that seemed a lifetime ago, he cast his line in the water. Though, this time nothing beautiful was sitting on the beach waiting for him. He could still see her though. And it hurt.

The next conscious thought he had, he found himself in front of Lordaeron again. He was bloody, but tasting it told him it wasnt his. Judging from his tracks, he had cut a maddened swath back here. He shrugged and accepted it, and realized that he was hungry.

Looking around he noticed the telltale signs there had been an assault on the Undercity, so he began to sniff the air... and, like a gift, there was something left behind.

"A pity to die slowly on the doorstep of your enemy..." He stated to the paladin lying there. The man was clearly delerious. Bleeding to death from a myriad of wounds. So he knelt by his side, laying his claws over the mans face, closing his eyes. Memories were flooding again, he had done this over how many Horde corpses before... Unconsciously, he pulled the last, faded Black Rose he had carried with him. He let his memories take the helm and placed the rose on the body that was now growing cold... and began to dine.

-the Black Rose lives on-

=Maleon, 8/18/2006 8:21:36 AM PDT= Silverpine Forest, Maleon still returns there from time to time. Reflecting upon his own transformation from what he was once before. Those hauntingly beautiful woods were the source of many a friendship, and many more fantaastic memories and grand times with his newly found companions than he can ever forget.

Maleon had found this lone rogue there, but this one was differnt he thought. He was more....he was more like himself. This young rogue hadnt fully embraced his new form yet. He still had, for as odd as it seems, heart. He hand become tainted by the hatred of his new form, he just didnt accept it, yet. He clearly had a calculating mind, not just an uncontrolable flood of emotions.

The shipwreck was an odd sight to Maleon, he had never been one to enjoy the water himself. He never even went to Booty Bay anymore, even then, he never sails there. But this young rogue seemed to mourn that ship. Maybe it was the freedom it represented, maybe it was his love. Maleon snorts to himself. He doenst understand that he is still who he once was, only his form has changed.

Maleon watched over this young rogue as he fished for a long while, the moon was almost gone when the call to defend was announced. Always being one to defend his homeland, he returned to the Undercity and waged war against those who would claim the lands for their own.

The combat was finally over, it had been a trying battle of outnumbered odds, as they always were. As Maleon was heading through the courtyard to find his room for the night, he saw him. That same young rogue kneeling over a corpse, he saw him hesitate, then begin to feast.

Maleon smiled and mumbled to himself. "Welcome home."

=Ptesanwi, 8/18/2006 10:09:45 AM PDT= The huntress looked on as the young rogue fed, her form hidden in the swirling shadows of the courtyard. The slightest grin pulled at one side of her muzzle, then faded. All about the courtyard, she could see apparitions...why she had not noticed them before this night, she couldn't understand.

"Per'aps," she mumbled to herself, "Ah 'ave seen enuff of tha dark realm dat ah kin see it still." She chuckled darly, then pulled herself deeper into shadow. It was comforting there; looking upon the world unnoticed. But her respite was only temporary...once more the shadows trembled, and a dark form drew close to her, those green eyes bright as they lingered near the side of her head. A dark muzzle moved to her ear, whispering softly as tendrils of the very darkness she was hidden in carressed her shoulder reassuringly.

Her golden hues looked to her pack...there was only a narrow swath of hide still rolled and attached to it. More were coming...she had just been informed. And they would need tabbards.

She would have to hunt again tonight. As if to stretch her jaw, she yawned widely, her fangs glinting slightly before they were hidden once more. Tonight she would taste the blood of ehr foe once more.

Ptes looked at the rogue, and nodded slightly to herself.

"Ju is ah huntah, now. Soon, we will hunt togethah."

Again, the shadows trembled, and she faded into them, slinking ehr way out of the courtyard, and towards the zepplin; towards the means to reach her hunting grounds.