Zarayna and Quiaen walked down the red carpet together, descending the ramp of the Spire as they returned from their trip. A week and a half had been spent exploring Booty Bay, Feralas, Un'Goro Crater, the Caverns of Time, and then small sections of the Barrens on the way back. Now, it was time for the two Elves to return home.
Sleepy goodbyes were murmured as the friends went their separate ways for the first time since the first night of the vacation, and Zarayna felt an immediate sense of relief.
It wasn't that she disliked Quiaen's company - not at all. Rather, the albino was simply grateful to be back home, amongst the people she cared about. Even though most of them barely gave her a passing glance, she knew most of their faces well, and she missed the evenings of sitting amongst them and watching.
The trip had not been a vacation so much as an educational adventure, as well. There had been little time to really relax, and it had largely been a week of study, travel, more study, and short periods of sleep. Quiaen, it seemed, needed little sleep, and so he slept late and woke early. Zarayna did not like keeping him waiting around, so she had attemped to adhere to his schedule, and it made her grumpier than usual.
Perhaps next time, she would travel alone. If she could work up the courage to do so.
Each destination on the way had provided many valued memories, and Zarayna was grateful for those.The libraries of Eldre'thalas had kept them occupied for nearly three days, and Quiaen had decided that he might someday go back and live there, amongst the Highborne who still tended the books. They hadn't seemed to much mind the presence of Sin'dorei, and Zarayna supposed that was because they had never renounced Arcane magic like the other Kaldorei.
Un'Goro Crater and its Titan technology had fascinated Zarayna more than any other stop during the trip, and she planned to go back with materials that would allow her to more accurately record and depict what they had found. She had a basic, working knowledge of Titan writing, due to her time spent within the Twilight Cult, and she knew that the technology found there in the Crater might prove to be of great significance to all of the peoples on Azeroth.
The Caverns of Time had been something of an enigma. Whilst Zarayna had immensely enjoyed meeting Bronze dragons and speaking to them about the science and magic involved in the Caverns, they seemed to be more wary of her. Was it because they knew of her past and her abilities, or was it simply because they no longer trusted mortals around their domain? Perhaps it was a combination of the two.
Booty Bay was going to be forever etched in her memory, both for having made new friends and for what they had done after getting to know one another. Halayn, Vaudious, and Roisyna. She would never forget those names...but she supposed they had all likely already forgotten hers.
What would happen if she saw any of them on the streets in Silvermoon, like before? Would they speak to her? Would they even remember her?
This troubled the little Elf as she came to the gates leading into the grounds of the manor, and then as she trudged up the pathway to the door. That night they had all spent together had been nothing short of exhilarating and incredible for Zarayna, and she wondered if she was simply insane for still feeling affection for the other three Elves. She doubted it had been anything new or exciting for any of them, despite the addition of her empathic abilities into the mix, and she supposed life would just go on as it always had for all four of them.
She wondered how they were doing. Were Halayn and Vaudious still in Booty Bay? Had Roisyna joined them for the remainder of their time there?
Zarayna could close her eyes and see all of their faces clearly, as she could with everyone she met who was special to her in some way. She wondered how Thandria had fared while she was away, but she knew that her sister was just fine. She always was.
It was Zarayna who did not cope well with being alone.
She pushed her way into her bedroom and dropped the heavy traveling pack onto the floor. She then fell face forward, strands of white hair trailing and arcing behind her as she collapsed into the plush blankets and pillows of her own bed.
It was not even five minutes before Zarayna drifted off to sleep, even as her mind refused to let go of the events that were now only part of the past.