trans_9 | Bus Woes

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Bus Woes

Kaya had, upon beig able to live in the W.I.T.C.H. bus for the time being, happily cooked meals for the inhabitants where she could, pleased that she could finally do her part. Today, when she woke up, she hadn't seen Matt. Thinking he might be out for a Council related activity, Kaya had let this pass, exercising in Will's classroom, training her body, and then popping over to visit Billy. When she came back, she got the feeling that Matt was still gone, and she started to worry, just a little bit. She asked around for him, but no one, not even those on Council, had seen him that day. Still, she was willing to ignore this, wait because it wasn't possible. How could it be? He was a Concil member, he was the W.I.T.C.H. bus person, it wouldn't make sense.

But she knew it was true. Felt it as surely as if she'd been told, and she couldn; bear to be around anyone, bemoaning his loss. After all, these were feelings only she knew right now, that loss of something she'd had after she had weathered so many changes. She had not thought it possible to be this cruel, after all of that.

And so she wandered to the baths, stripping down and sinking into the baths. It was perfect: she coudl cry all she liked adstay underwater so no one was the wiser.

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"I know I will, and I know that these feelings, as bad as they hurt right now, are there because of how much he meant to me. Because of that, I know that I'll never forget him and all that he made me feel. Now, at least, I know how something that real feels."

She was still hurting, but she knew that would heal in time.

"Well I'm inclined to agree with her: someone for you AND someone for me. It may not happen how we expect it, but who knows? Now that we're a little older and wiser, it'll be easier than we thought."

"Older and wiser? Well, I would say that I have much, much more to learn as many of the experiences I have yet to have, nearing 200 years of life, other races have experienced them in less than two decades. But considering the length of time we have upon the ship, I am sure I will learn them sooner than later."

"Well I guess I should make adjustments for when I'm factoring in elvish lifespan and experiences?" Kaya said, laughing a little to herself. "And yes, the ship will definitely age you up a lot quicker than you expected. Before now, I would never have thought of the consequence of what happened when I had my first kill, or what sort of new different people I would meet. I have a better idea now."

"Not particularly. Contrary to what many people think, elves physically grow just as Humans do from a baby to what would be considered an 'adult'. But since our lifespans are so long, we are culturally treated differently. I am a hundred and seventy six, so I am still considered a 'young adult' by my people. I will be an adult when I reach three centuries," he explained.

"The things that I am missing that are different from my kin are social in nature, mostly. I never had to think about the consequences of killing another person since the war began. It is a fight for survival after all, and that is what I am best at."

Kay shook her head. "I think I'm still going to have to wrap my head around the time differences when it comes to how long you live. A human in my world are actually lucky if they live to see a whole century, and even then they don't feel too good."

She listened, nodding. "I figured, from what you said and where you've been, that your social graces were what you were missing. But fighting and killing, I've done my best to avboid the latter. The people that terrorized us have done both without hesitation: for me, I always feared I would become like that if I didn't take care to remember how I am the way I am. A place like this coudl make you forget: the threats make it much harder."

"It is a strange thing for most races, to be sure. Some humans, it seems, seem to mistrust us for that reason; after all, how could we identify with them when large skips in our lives are counted in centuries instead of decades? Not to mention other small things that I was not aware of until I began learning about society and their small nuances."

He squinted slightly as they stepped out into the sunlight. It may have been artificial, but the fact that it rose and set whenever it wanted to tended to annoy his biological clock.

"Things such as interracial relationships. Though it may be frowned upon by most races, it is not something uncommon. The gap in age is apparently a very big deal to other races with smaller lifespans. It makes them uncomfortable to know that someone ten, twenty, sometimes a hundred times older than their significant other. Knowing that fifteen to twenty years of difference in age between one human and other is seen as 'distasteful', I can certainly understand why they would dislike it. It is still odd to me, however."

Nokosi shook his head in disagreement with her last statement. "There are things some must do to protect their home, their heart. Many do so without hesitation because there is no reason they would want to face the alternative. I think the idea that 'killing will make me become like them' is both outdated and a bit silly if you think about it logically. It is not killing that is the thing that makes someone evil. It is intent."

"I don't see how that's a reason not to trust someone," Kaya said, looking a little surprised. "If anything, it sounds like a good reason for two sorts of races to get along, as the knowledge of one can help to set the path for the next generation! Think of all the knowledge one could amass, with all of that time! If I could, I'd like to see the world through the eyes of on who lived that long!"

No, Kaya was not one for immortality, but she was one who liked to see as much of the world as she could, and be a part all of those different experiences.

"After all that's happened on the ship, I can't see having a problem with a relationship, gender or race otherwise. If the love is there, and the two of them care about each other that much, who's to say what is bad and good about any relationship except the people involved?"

Sitting and listening to the last part, she admonished herself a little, as she had definitely been told this before. "You are right about that, its always just been a hard thing for me: the idea of taking someone's life is a hard thing, but I know, push come to shove, that I would do it if, say, Billy or any of the Avatar crew were in danger. I would never let anything happen that would mortally wound them."

"That is just the reason why. People do not like to be treated as children. Some see it in that light and it also did not help that my people are extremely xenophobic."

A small smile graced his lips at her words and he nodded his approval. "There are only some who see things that way but I am sure that the thought that we might be on this ship with a certain number of people for...possibly years to come? Has certainly changed the attitude others might have. If only it were that easy for Azerothians."

Nokosi stretched in the sunlight, his focus switching between the sound of her voice and the loud thumps of their feet against the hot pavement. "I do not mean to sound as if I am being condescending or chastising you, Kaya. Not everyone needs to be the type who would kill. It is not a thing that most should ever have to be prepared to do...Not those who are blessed to live without such things like war, strife and despair."

He looked down at the shorter girl. "It is unfortunate that someone like you has to even consider it."

Kaya's face fell. "Well yes, I guess I can see how that would complicate things. Personally, I think whatever wisdom you can get is important, but being so kept to yourself naturally wouldn't help matters."

"There are many things I had to adjust to when I first arrived on the ship, but waterbenders are used to that. It was what I thought would make things easier when I first arrived, and actually, it did help immensely. Once you realize there are more worlds than your own out there, and plenty of people with their own stories, naturally you're curious to learn about them, and from there ideas are exchanged!"

She shook her head. "No, I think in your way you're being sensible. I can't protect myself from killing anymore than you can stop yourself from being with Fontaine. Our enemies want to get us, and they'll use what they can to take us down. Wen that time comes, I simply have to be ready."

"No, it would not, but for a very long time Night Elves were secluded. Orcs and Humans brought a slew of problems with them that did not involve revering nature as elves did. Because we were so close to it, so ancient a race and knowledgeable, there are many who simply deemed all other races to be 'inferior' to Night Elves. In short, Night Elves felt that they needed nothing from Humans and only allied with them out of necessity.

Of course, Humans are both wary and hateful towards things that are not like them, too. They disliked it just the same, I am told. Ah," he breathed, shaking his head. "Azeroth is a very large pile of social and political problems that the differences in race and power only exacerbate. Of course, from what I have heard of the history of the Human and Dwarven nations, even if one is essentially the same, these problems will arise."

Nokosi nodded, a cheery smile tugging at his lips. "Yes, if there is one thing that I enjoy greatly, it is hearing the stories that others have to tell. Their adventures, their triumphs and falls. They are all very exciting and it is sometimes very surprising at the things one may learn from another."

That made a lot more sense now, especially considering her own world's sort of intolerance. "In that way, I can see hos something like that might have happened in my world It reminds me of a story involving the Avatar Gang. They came across a vast library owned by the owl Wa Shi Tong, who eventually chose to bury his extensive collections. Humans would come and read about things so they could use it against their enemies, and the GAang had been looking for a way to end the hundred years of war. I can see how, in Wa Shi Tong's eyes, humans were nothing more than bloodthirsty creatures intent on destroying everything around them."

This made her sad, but there was still a blaze in her eyes. "For that reason, I intend to try and understand as much as I can before I make a decision on this ship. It has unfortunately been one of the troubles we've run into, over and over again."

She nodded. "I agree. In lieu of that, especially with you, I find that I could sit and hear about your world and what you've seen for ours. Is that strange?"

"I think I can understand where that person may have been coming from, but to condemn an entire race for the actions of few seems like a very silly thing to do." Much like the Night Elves sending their arcane-using kin into exile. Look where that had gotten them?

"Such things, I think, are hard for people to come to terms with. Many people, it seems, only do such things so that they might come to protect the things that are important to them. I suppose it is in our natures to do so. Animals, though simple in comparison, are the same way."

Fontaine gave the elf a skeptical look at his words and Nokosi flicked one of the creature's large, blue ears. "Just because you are smarter than the average wolf does not mean you hold yourself above your base instincts, wolf."

Fontaine only growled out a grumble thought it seemed that on this subject he would have to reluctantly agree.

"In any case," he started, turning his gaze back to the girl walking beside him. "I do not think it is strange at all as I am much of the same. The stories of truth are very often more wild and exciting than even fiction would be. The words spoken, the way the story is retold, the simple sound of one's voice when speaking...all of my very favorite things about hearing a good tale."

"I agree," Kaya said. "We had someone like that here for a little while who had a thing against many humanoid species: our skin was too dark, our eyes weren't round enough, things like that She was very ignorant and unpleasant to be around She was also the only one to ever ear an actual punishment from Stacy: something I would never wish on anyone, mind you, but she had caused a lot of trouble to begin with."

She nodded. "It's a sad thing, when people take something that should be used as a good thing and purposely misuse it so they can hurt others. I'm not blaming the Avatar gang for what they did: the war was getting pretty bad and threatened to snuff out everything. It's just a very sad thing, to lose something like that from the world."

Zhin listened to the exchange between Nokosi and Fontaine and uttered a sound Kaya had never heard before. She could have sworn that it sounded something like laughter.

She smiled. "Yes, exactly! I've made some of the best friends on this ship because of just having an ear to sit and listen to their stories. It's one of the best things about the ship: you can learn a lot about some of the similarities in the worlds and all they offer just by opening your ears and putting yourself in their shoes. Did you do that often in your world?"

"Yes! For a length of time, the first things that I ever did in the city was listen to stories. It is my favorite thing to do," he replied jovially.

"We would go to the city and find a nice place filled with people. Fontaine and I would sit down and simply watch as people went about their business, talking, praying, working. Just living their lives. It is how I met Nehaalista. I went to the bars there and heard many more tales, though some were clearly exaggerated. The drunken bar patrons do make for some very excitable company, though."

Kaya realized, as she sat and listened to Nokosi, that she was doing exactly that, listening to what he was saying and learning more about was life was like in his world. In any case, she was quiet as he continued.

"Nehaalista. I'm pretty sure I've met her once, although its been awhile since I've just gone on by myself and just talked to people. I guess you could say that I've sort of been secluding myself for a little while. But yes, I can imagine that the drunken dragon makes for some rather interesting company."

"Oh, I meant before I awoke on the ship. I met Nehaalista in Stormwind while I was out doing people-watching. I've known her as long as I have Ronnae, perhaps a little longer. The people at the taverns in the cities- especially Ironforge, made for very interesting conversation, indeed."

He laughed and shook his head slowly. "They always offered me drinks, as the drunkards are the few people who care not for race, allegiance and other things, as happy as they are in their inebriation. I am a terrible drunk, though and my tolerance for alcohol is abysmally low."

"So you met her before even coming aboard the ship? That's pretty lucky: at least when you got here, there were people that you know and were well acquainted with from your world. Billy, as you know, hasn't been so lucky, and with his enemy Lord Zedd popping up, I know he must be feeling pretty miserable."

Kaya gave a smile. "Well, after hearing that, I'm afraid I have no choice but to ask you to coming drinking with me sometime soon. You're a pretty funny person without drinking, I can only imagine what you'd be like with it in your system!"

"Yes, I have heard. I am glad to have their presence here but not because they are from my world, only because they are my friends. I tend to hear that a lot from Billy. 'You both are from the same world so you will understand Ronnae far more than I ever will'," he repeated, a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

It was something that tended to irk him every time he heard it, but so far he'd never bothered to say anything about it. Really, he couldn't comprehend what the point was in Billy underplaying his very obvious connection to Ronnae.

"I fail to see how that is a criteria in 'knowing someone well'. We are from different factions and because of that and our upbringing, we figuratively are from 'completely different worlds'. We share the common plight of our world. The wars, the invasions and threats to all life. The fact that we are from different factions means that we should be attempting to kill each other," he said with a huff.

"So yes, I can 'understand' Ronnae in the sense that we both know what the literal struggle for life and perhaps some of the people and adventures are like on Azeroth. I would like to think that that is a very inconsequential fact in our friendship. In short: one needn't have the same experiences of another to understand who and what they are at their core. Billy already has that, the only thing he is missing are the stories she has to tell."

He simply waved a hand as if dismissing the subject for obviously being something silly.

"See, the Dwarves told me that as well when I began training as a brewer. It was...an interesting few months, I will say. By 'I am a terrible drunk' what I really meant is 'I am a very lecherous drunk'," the elf explained with a laugh.

"I see," Kaya said, and she actually did, once Nokosi started to explain what he meant. "So basically, you're not understanding why being from the same world matters as much as actually having someone as a friend. In a way, Billy is sort of overlooking that: after all, Lord Zedd was also from his world and she was sure that Billy was far from happy he'd been brought here. I think that was what he meant though."

She laughed. "Beside, the worst thing about Billy is that he sells himself short just about every time. I'll bet he can still hardly believe that he has Ronnae for himself, so he naturally has reservations and gives other people the benefit of the doubt. It's a fault I'm hoping to coax out of him."

She giggled. "Somehow, I think I could handle you I am a pretty big girl after all, and it would probably be pretty funny."

"I can only wish for your success in such endeavors. I think he constantly underestimates just how much she needs him first and foremost in times of turmoil. He assumes it is always me and that is why he says such things." Ronnae was already self-conscious enough; they didn't both need to be skirting around issues and wallowing in self-doubt.

A quizzical brow rose at her confident proclamation and he regarded her with a toothy grin. "You think so? I am not very particular when inebriated, I will admit. Though you are refreshingly self-assured, I am sure some of the words spoken in a drunken state might make even you blush."

Ah, the memories of being beaten during Brewfest for some of the raunchy things he'd unwittingly said. They were all so great.

"Well, I sort of wish it for myself too," She said. "Billy is my Bonded, but he is still his own kind of person and is used to taking things out on himself most of the time. Of course, he does still quail a little under my gaze, so I guess that's a start? Not that I'd overuse that."

Of course not!

She did, however, give him a look. "If you were to start coming onto any of my friends, I might have to give you a cold shower. Towards me, well, let's just hope I'm equally drink, so we could avoid having any real problems. I'm told I'm 'happy drunk,' whatever that means."

He laughed. "Of course I would. By 'lecherous' I mean I am willing to proposition anything on two legs with the worst phrases I've ever had the chance to overhear in Stormwind and Ironforge." So many surprisingly terrible pick-up lines and the like that he'd heard. Endless stream.

"Somehow, I think, you being drunk as well would only exacerbate the situation. Being a 'happy drunk' means you're generally even more amiable, outgoing and funny while intoxicated."

"Well in that case, you might not be in such bad company. I mean, you WOULD need to have someone offended by what you say, right? And I would be there to make sure nobody hurt you to badly! I would also make sure you didn't say anything too offensive."

She giggled. "If you're throwing bad pick up lines, I'd be poking fun at you, even drunk! But it might be fun, you never know! I've never failed to ave a good time with my friends after a little bit of drinks, unless its too much, of course."

He blinked a few times in surprise, then suddenly fell into a small laughing fit. "Well, if you would really like to see me drunk that badly I may have to oblige, as odd of a request as it may be."

He waved a dismissive hand, "You have already had your pre-warnings after all."

Nokosi grinned. "Just remember that if anything mortifying occurs, you and the others will be the ones embarrassed the next day while I will not bat an eye on the incredulously stupid behavior I engaged in."

Kaya laughed. "You know, I've been on this ship a looong time, Nokosi. If you think I haven't been exposed to quite the off putting remark, or hearing just about the worst kind of come ons, you're wrong. I was hearing that here even before I was seventeen!"

Kaya grinned at him right back. "In that case, I'll have to make extra sure that you don't do anything too crazy, as I have no intention of feeling sorry about having fun with my friend the previous day!"

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Oh god, wall of text. He's so long-winded ._.

Re: Oh god, wall of text. He's so long-winded ._.

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