User:Khandivya/What I Be

''((To much depression guys…this song always cheers me up. What I Be by Michael Franti. Laziness compelled me to cut the last round of lyrics. It’s a long song Tongue. There is no real story here, so don’t go looking for a plot or anything  I don’t feel like proofreading, so this is the first draft. Mistakes, errors, omissions: ignore them. Tongue.))''

The streets of Orgrimmar were filled with people. Everywhere she looked, Khandivya thought she saw another person laughing with a friend, or smiling at the sun that barely peaked over the fortress walls. The street vendors were out, hawking their goods at prices that made her laugh even more. Orphaned children ran through alleys, ducking and dodging the throngs of people as they got away with a fresh piece of bread. Khan laughed as she saw one small child held far above the ground by a city guard who was trying to scold the young man. He was failing, as the good mood of the city was so infectious even the usually stoic guards had a hard time keeping from smiling.

If I could be the sun / I'd radiate like Africa and

Smile upon the world / Intergalactic love laughter and

If I were the rains, / I'd wash away the whole world's pain and

Bring the gift of cool / like ice cream trucks on sunny days and

The long dark winter had finally broken, the clouds and gone away once again and sunshine and warmth rained down upon the city. The last few months had been spent covering in a hut at night, trying desperately to keep warm and dry. She imagined that just about everyone in the city had spent their time exactly the same, and that the warm glow of happiness that spread over her was felt by every other person in town. She kept walking, wondering what sight she would see next that she had forgotten she loved.

As she walked up past the auction house, she thought she felt a cool drop of rain sprinkle down on her nose. Panicking at the thought of the beautiful day having been ruined, she quickly looked up to see if she could spy the ebil cloud that would destroy all of mankind’s hopes and dreams. Instead she saw a troll lady, living in an apartment just above the gun vendor, watering her plants and giving them life for the onslaught of spring. Khan waved up at her and was rewarded with a happy smile and a wave back.

A song ran through her head as she continued her walk up the small hill. “Ice cream truck? What on earth is an ice cream truck?” Khan thought as she walked.

If I was the earth I'd be like mountains bountiful

And if I were the sky so high, I'd be like wind invincible and

If I could be a seed, I would give birth to redwood trees and

If I were the trees, I'd generate the freshest air to breathe in

The sky above seemed full of possibility, an infinite void of blue with faint wisps of white clouds desperately holding onto life in the face of overwhelming odds. She felt like she could almost smell spring in the air, but she knew that was just her imagination; Orgrimmar was a nice city, but it was still a city wall off from nature. This was brought to her attention even more as she walked into the Drag and the final ray of sunshine passed over her head. As she walked, she tried to whistle the tune that ran through her head. She had the tune just right, but the words kept escaping her. She would get to the end of one line and then start all over again, forgetting that she had sung that part in her head already. People walked back and forth all around her, filling the streets with the smell and sounds of the crowd. Those who tried to go faster by travelling by raptor or wolf were stymied by the masses, and could only go at a walking pace. Most of them didn’t seem to mind much though: they were taller than the crowd and could laugh and talk with everyone who they passed.

Khan was taller than most of the population of Orgimmar, because they were mostly orcs, so she could see what was coming from far away. Down the road she saw someone who was most definitely not enjoying being caught in a crowd. An orc in red saw atop a proud grey wolf and she thought she could just barely see the look of impatience and worry on his face even from so far away. She watched as he tried to yell at a street child who was standing in front of his wolf and yelling back. The child was enjoying himself. The orc was not. It was a game. Khan tried to speed up, no one should be unhappy on a day like today.

“Aku! Aku!” Khan yelled when she got close enough that her voice would carry over the people.

“Why you little—“ The orc stopped his argument mid sentence as he heard the voice of his fiancé. His face lit up and all the tension and worry that was stored there disappeared. “Khan! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“I went for a walk. Can you blame me?” She finally got close enough to Aku to touch, and without any warning she leapt up behind him on his wolf and gave him a giant hug. She kissed his neck from behind saying, “You can see everything from up here! Let’s go!”

She didn’t even say which way she wanted to go, but he seemed to understand that it didn’t matter. He just kept riding slowly along the way he’d been going.

If I could be the leaves, / then like jade I would stay evergreen and

Spread my limbs out wide / and pull love so close to me and

If I could the roots, / I would dig deep like ancestry and

If were the fruits, / you'd make the sweetest cherry pie from me and

They got back outside the Drag near the wind rider tower. It took them a while, not only because of the crowds but also because having found Khan, Aku was no longer in a hurry.

Across the street, standing at the base of the tower Khan saw Tati looking wildly around. She too look rather panicked, as though the thought of so many people cramming into one small space was something that had never occurred to her small village mind.

“Tati!” Khan called, yelling loudly into Aku’s ear. “Oops, sorry!” She jumped off the wolf and ran through the crowds trying to get to Tati, who obviously hadn’t heard Khan yell and was still looking bewildered and lost.

Khan leapt from out of the crowd and into the bubble of personal space that Tati had somehow created around here, surrounding her in a giant hug of doom.

“Isn’t it wonderful! Look at everyone!”

Tati smiled meekly, overwhelmed now by the excitement of the older and wiser troll lady as well as the crowds. She hugged Khan back and then pulled away, scanning the crowds again.

“Khan, hi. I’m looking for Keishe. She said she’d meet me here, but I haven’t seen anything of her…I wonder if she forgot about me…” Tati bit her lip slightly with worry.

“Oh, don’t worry about her. She’ll be along shortly. She’d never forget a friend…leave one stranded in the middle of a busy street for an hour longer than planned…yes…but never forget one.” Khan laughed and hugged Tati again as Aku finally trotted close enough to them to say hello to Tati himself. He stepped off of his wolf and gave Tati a big hug himself.

They made small talk for a while. Khan was so busy watching everyone that she only heard half of what was said.

From out of the crowd they heard someone yelling. It caught their attention simply because it was an angry voice, not the yelling of friends and family enjoying the wonders of the world. It got louder over a few moments, until finally the voice broke through the people and appearing in front of them in the form of Keishe, stomping through the crowd.

“Dat damned auctioneer! He gyp’d me! Look at dis t’ing! It’s a piece of junk!” She held up a strange object that looked like it was three pieces of wood held together by string and a small white pearl at one end.

Tati giggled, “Well…what is it?”

Keishe looked at Tati, and then looked at the thing she was holding up, then looked at Tati again. “Uhh…I dunno acTUAlly. But it’s supposed t’be powaful!”

Tati giggled again and then ran forward to give her a friend a hug, her lateness obviously quickly forgiveness.

“Oh! Hey! I brought pie!” Keishe pulled a pie from her backpack. “It’s cherry! I’m sure it’s only slightly dented…”

If I could be the night, / my moon replace all electric lights and

Magic music would transmit / from outer space on satellites

If I myself could be the ocean, / you would feel emotion all the time and

If I were the words, / then everything that everybody said would rhyme

At night, the crowds had only barely thinned. Half of the city was filled with late risers, and these people replaced all of those who had been overstimulated by the days events. These people had gone home, Khan imagined, to have a nice big dinner with their families to celebrate the coming of the sun. The late risers were interesting in a different fashion. They laughed and joked the same as the earlier people, but their fun was filled with a bottle in one hand and often a person of the opposite sex in the other.

Khan and Aku, Tati and Keishe had retired to a local pub for some dinner and drinks. The four of them had wandered the streets for hours. The girls had stopped to ooh and ahhh over purple silks and bright green satins, shining in the brilliant light. Aku had stopped to ooh and ahh over silver axes and iron swords, shining in the brilliant light. Now, they rested. As they drank Aku watched Tati carefully, trying to make sure she didn’t drink to much. She had only just discovered alcohol last week, and the effects of it had been…surprising…to say the least. Khan watched as Tati and Keishe gently flirted with each other, neither really understanding what they were doing. She smiled at them, they didn’t notice, and she looked at her Aku.

The moon was full and shone through the window they sat at, providing more than enough light. When the food arrived, a meal of roast pig and spicy tubers, Khan leapt into it with ferocity, the exertions of the day taking their toll upon her poor empty belly. Aku and Keishe joined her, but Tati eat slowly and more daintily, remembering the lessons her mother taught her about table manners.

The sound of a gently played string instrument filled the small restaurant, and when Khan finished her meal she sighed and slouched her in seat. She looked around at her good friends and her good family and smiled slightly. The day had been an obvious success. The first of many.

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