(2023-07-23) Potential

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Author:	Alli
Summary:	Dara and Mayellen go for a day of volunteering at the Stormwind Orphanage, where they chat about their past and future. ~2900 words.
Rating:	T for Teen

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discussion of old grief, orphaning, mentions of romance

Dara Tennerow waits patiently, sitting on the edge of a white stone fountain in cathedral square and trailing one hand in the water. As far as 'casual dress' goes, she's wearing a sundress in deep teal, bare arms a concession to the hot Stormwind summer. Her dark, curly hair is pinned at the sides and spills down her back. She keeps an eye on people as they pass by, looking for a certain friendly mercenary.

Mayellen approaches punctually, looking very much like the sort of person who might work at an orphanage: glossy auburn hair tied modestly back for once and wearing a demure and somewhat worn gray dress that surrenders little to the heat: light in weight but covering every conceivable inch of her brown skin. As always, she is leaning on a plain wooden cane.

"Lady Tennerow?" she greets Dara, incorrectly.

Dara rises, a few drops of water falling back into the fountain from her fingertips, and smiles warmly at Mayellen.

"Oh, do call me Dara," she says brightly , instead of correcting her. "May I call you May? I'm ever so pleased you were available to join me today."

"Um, sure. May is fine. Dara. Have you been to the Stormwind orphanage before?"

"I've been by it," Dara hedges. "And I did meet some of the children at Children's Week. It seems they're expecting, well, more occupants soon, and it'll take some work to prepare. Have you been there before?"

"Yes, my parents used to send me a couple of times a year with care packages from the store. It's been a little while, though," she admits. She adjusts the gray ribbon in her hair.

"Oh, that's so kind," Dara smiles. "I'm certain they must remember you fondly. Shall we go?"

"Sure," says Mayellen awkwardly. She pauses for a moment to adjust the strap of the bag on her shoulder, then heads toward the orphanage at a smooth pace, cane swinging easily along her left side in parallel with her right leg.

Dara glances at May as they walk, and then asks, "Is your… injury doing better today? I can carry things, if you need. I'm not quite as fragile as I must look."

"Oh it's… not really an injury," she says, flushing a little. "It doesn't hurt or anything. It's… my nerves. The nerves that connect that leg to my brain? They got damaged by a poison. So it's just… it's like it's heavier than my other leg. It doesn't hurt, but it won't get better for a long while if at all. And probably not at all. It's fine, though," she reassures her with a determined smile. "I just… I learn how to work around it, you know?"

Dara folds her hands at her waist and nods. "I'm sorry to hear that, but… yes, that makes sense. Learning to work with what you have. I don't think they'll need us to do anything that something like that would hinder, anyway."

"Yes. And it's really not as bad as the cane makes it look. I don't even use the cane at home, just when I'm somewhere with uneven ground where I might not be familiar and lose my balance."

As they approach the orphanage, an orphan matron with gray hair in a loose knot atop her head widens her eyes in uncertain surprise. "Why, is that Mayellen Mullby….?" she says.

Mayellen actually cringes slightly. "I've brought a new volunteer," she says, dodging the question oddly. "This is Lady Dara Tennerow."

Dara's gaze flickers briefly to Mayellen, catching the reaction, but she quickly looks back to the matron with a quick, eager smile. "I am so pleased to be here, to help in such times. Where might we begin?"

The matron also catches Mayellen's reaction, but doesn't remark on it. She looks at Dara in her sundress with a touch of skepticism, and says, "Yes, well, we do have you both on the work schedule for today. First, we're getting another room ready, due to the war in Northrend, you see. I'd set you to seeing to the bed linens, as well as doing a little decoration from the things we've had donated - they're already in a bin up there. We'd like the room to look welcoming."

"That's so kind," Matron," Mayellen blurts sincerely, warmly. "That sort of thing matters so much to a child. We'd be delighted. And I'm sure that Lady— um that Dara is very good at decorating."

"Oh, oh yes," Dara nods, brushing at her skirt. "I expect we can put a nice homey touch to it."

The matron looks them both over, and then nods. "Well, let me show you there, and you can get started." She leads them down a hallway and into a bare, medium-sized room that is already furnished with half a dozen un-made beds. There is a bin and several boxes at the side of the room, presumably with donations from Stormwind citizens. It's warm, and a bit of sunlight drifts in through windows set high in the wall.

"Oh, this is so nice for them," Mayellen says, her eyes going soft. "So warm, with the natural light. We should look for things in the donation boxes that enhance that feeling. Warm colors and things that remind one of nature. Oh - I wish I'd brought Jonas… he could paint trees and things on the walls…"

"Your boyfriend?" Dara asks. "Yes, maybe we can see if he'd like to join next time."

"You don't think he'll think I'm… hinting things, bringing him with me to be around children?" She laughs a little awkwardly.

Dara blinks. "Would that be bad?"

"He's a little… skittish sometimes. I think because his last engagement ended terribly. I'm in no hurry, and I don't want him to think I am. I'm only twenty. There's time." She begins to rummage in some of the donation boxes.

"Oh, how dreadful for him," Dara says, joining her by the boxes. "Yes, you have at least several years before you need to worry about stuff like that."

"I hope by then he'll learn to trust me a little better," Mayellen says. "I already know he's the one I want."

"Hmm," Dara says, pullling out a set of sheets and heading to the nearest bed. "How did you decide that, exactly?"

Mayellen smiles a little, lifting out some pillows and fluffing them gently.

"It's just… the way I feel when I'm with him. Safe, like I could do anything, like I can just let go and be myself. Like I'm worth something. I want to feel that way forever. Plus, I literally owe him my life. So he has a right to the rest of it."

Dara smiles with a little touch of wistfulness as she smooths a sheet over the first bed. "That sounds lovely. And your families are pleased with the match as well? I mean, I suppose it doesn't matter that much if there's no titles involved, but it still matters, doesn't it?"

"No," Mayellen says flatly. She does not elaborate. And she fluffs some pillows a little harder than necessary.

Dara blushes faintly at her accidental faux pas, even if she doesn't quite seem to understand it. Still, that was clearly a request for a subject change, so as she turns back to the donation bins she says, "So, you've been here often? What made you want to help in the orphanage over other places?"

"Oh, it was mostly my parents' idea at first. They saw a lot of child abuse and such in Westfall and I think it really stuck with them. But I really got to like coming here. Children are something special, I think. So much potential just waiting to happen. It's exciting to talk to them and dream about who they might one day be. To help them dream about it, too."

Dara starts pulling things out of the donation bin. There are quite a lot of dolls, stuffed animals and little wooden toys. She looks down at the toys, as she nods and says,"It would be hard for them to find those dreams, when they first arrive. But it's a good place here, I think. The children at the event seemed happy."

"Even just moving is hard as a kid, even if you haven't lost everything. I can't imagine." She shakes her head sadly. "So yes, it means a lot to me when I can feel like I'm helping ease the pain a little."

She pulls out some sheets and goes to start making another bed in an efficient and practiced manner.

Dara starts arranging the toys by size and color. "As for me, I suppose I feel a kind of kinship, since I'm an orphan, too. I know it's not the same thing, but… maybe parts of it are."

Mayellen blinks. "You are?" She turns toward her, brows drawing together. "When? What happened? … I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me, if that's too personal. But you seemed like you wanted to be friends, and I get real personal with my friends."

"Oh, it's not recent or anything," Dara turns to smile at Mayellen, holding a little straw-haired doll in a blue dress. "I'm sorry, I get used to being around people who know my family history as a matter of course. I don't really have any memories of my father, and the orcs got my mother when I was… around six years old. I do remember her, but there aren't a lot of memories. I wish there were more, sometimes."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Mayellen says, smoothing the sheets over the bed as though comforting them. "That's a terrible time to lose your mother. So… who took care of you after that?"

"Mostly my brother," Dara says, selecting the doll and a little stuffed lion with faded blue-dyed fur. She comes over to arrange them on the first bed, taking her time to position them perfectly. "The one who's in the House with your Lord Ference now. He was scarcely grown himself, I suppose, but he always seemed to have everything together. Whenever I try to remember father, all I can remember is Devon. But then, we do have portraits, so I know they did look quite similar."

She steps back, considering the bed, and turns back to the bins. "Maybe a little blanket would make it look cuter. Is it cruel of me that I'm the tiniest bit pleased Dev was injured and had to leave the army? Now I can know, at least, that I won't lose him like we did father."

"I can understand why you'd feel that way," May says, as she checks out Dara's idea and then rummages through the toys herself. "I have six cousins back in Westfall, and every single one of them but one joined the army. The youngest isn't of age yet. I worry about them all the time, but we've been lucky so far."

"Six cousins? Goodness, I hope you all get along," Dara locates a small blue blanket, and carries it back over to arrange on the bed. "And I'm happy to hear you've been lucky. My other brother was at Wrathgate, but… I've been lucky too, these days."

"So he's all right? Light, I read the reports, and I just — ten thousand dead? Ten thousand? In an instant?" She shakes her head and pulls out a slightly-used plush gryphon that is nevertheless exceptionally charming.

"Yes, he sent word, soon as he could," The blanket crumples in Dara's hands for a moment. "It was a day or so after we heard news of the battle. That was a difficult wait, but I'm sure he was helping the wounded or… or whatever it is soldiers do after something like that. It's so hard to fathom such a loss."

"Yes, I don't have much experience myself, at least not yet, but I do hope one day to join important military initiatives. That's why I became a warlock. It's the only thing I was able to learn that's at all useful in wartime." She pulls out a strangely adorable plush murloc and carries it and the gryphon over to the bed she made.

Dara smooths out the blanket and folds it, placing it at the foot of the bed, and then goes for more linens. "That does sound very useful. I've been thinking about that sort of thing more lately. I suppose I always assumed I'd be married by now, but, well… I did go to the mage tower, but it looks like I've basically zero arcane talent. I'm certainly not brave enough to try to summon a demon. Maybe I could try the priesthood?"

"It's worth a try, if you truly want to help out. I was no good at calling the Light, but plenty of people are and it's always needed." She smiles a little wryly. "But it's also okay just to — do whatever it is nobles do, you know. Uh, what do they do?"

Dara shrugs, moving over to put linens on the third bed. "The heads of houses do all sorts of things. I suppose it's like running a business, dealing with our holdings. And then there's politics, which is useful in its own way. But I'm the third youngest, so… I try to keep ties with other houses socially, I keep an eye on our domestic arrangements. Really nothing that can't be replaced, because the assumption is that I'll go join somebody else's family eventually, make a political tie that way. But that's why I've started to think, if I don't do that, what else would I want to do?"

"It's a good thing to think about," says May. "I think every woman should decide her own fate."

"Yes, well…" Dara falls silent for a moment, finishing up with the sheets. Then she says, "What do you do, ordinarily? As a warlock mercenary?"

"Not much lately, as I'm sort of in hiding, but before that I would just do little things. I'm not very skilled yet, so I would go out and clear kobolds out of mines and stuff. Or hunt wild beasts for people so they could eat when dragon whelps had infested the forests and the hunters' guns were no use against them. That sort of thing."

"Dragon whelps," Dara pauses to turn and gaze at Mayellen with wide eyes. "That doesn't sound all that little to me. Goodness, have you been to Redridge? That's one of the things they worry about back home, the… the leftover dragon whelps, I suppose. Probably from the orcs."

"Yes!" Mayellen smiles. "That's exactly where I was. Zapping dragon whelps with shadow bolts. It was fun!"

Dara smiles then, clasping her hands together. "I bet you were not so far from my family's home, and I would've had no idea. But thank you, I bet everyone was so pleased. Do you think… I might watch you one day? I don't think I could do anything to help, but… if it was something not so dangerous…"

"Oh sure! I've got a little friend group that goes out on adventures sometimes, sometimes all together, sometimes in pairs or threes - you could join us sometime. Safety in numbers, even if you can't do much to help."

"Adventure friends," Dara gets a dreamy look in her eyes - she may be imagining Cobalt Blade novels now. She moves back over to the donation bins. "Are you all warlocks?"

"No. Jonas, my sweetheart, is a hunter. There's Nala, a priestess, and Annibeth who is sort of… well, she blows things up as needed. And sometimes we have another hunter, a Wildhammer with a pet wildcat and the most beautiful red hair."

"Well, that settles it," Dara rummages in the bin for a long while. Eventually, she comes up with a stuffed cat and a little doll with a bow and a feathered cap. "I couldn't find the five yet, but there's more in there. There's probably not a toy demon, but who can say? Maybe there's a little Khadgar doll or something, magic at least… I'm making one bed May-adventure-team themed."

May laughs delightedly. "You could… use that little murloc as a demon. It's nearly ugly enough. The little plush naaru can be Nala."

"Oh, that's perfect," Dara giggles. She runs over to find the plush naaru and then claims the murloc. "They're nearly demons, anyone near the coast would say so, I imagine. And Annibeth? Hm… a plush bomb?"

"Is there such a thing in there? Anything engineery will do. Oh, here's a little brown haired doll to be me, though she's awfully pale." She holds it out to Dara.

"Oh, yes, that's perfect," Dara adds that one to the pile in her arms, and then digs around in the bin a little longer. Eventually, she pulls out a little set of what looks like blunt wooden tools - wrench, screwdriver, hammer - tied together with a bit of ribbon. "How's this?"

"Very nice! And maybe it will spark some ideas in one of the children, too. Of things they might like to try to learn." She giggles suddenly. "Good thing there wasn't a bomb."

Dara giggles helplessly. "Oh goodness, I wasn't thinking about that. Yes, this may spark far more child-appropriate ideas." She arranges the May-adventure-team bed carefully, a collection of toys that is sure to confuse and delight an incoming child. "I'm so glad you came here with me today, May."

"Anytime," May says with a smile.