The Perils of Academia

[shirafune]

"Pl-pleasure to meet you, Liliana." By the Sunwell, this was about the second most awkward conversation she's ever had in her life. It would be hard to top trying to speak into her horn while she dangled upside down from a proto-drake's jaws a few hundred feet in the air as she tried to wrench a spear far too large for her into the creature's skull. Returning the smile a bit unsteadily, she tried to think about what to say as the girl took her hand. Oh dear, now she was left only one hand to hold on with to the tub, a grip that she held on to ferociously.

"Oh, outside Silvermoon?" She tried to think about where to start, so might as well start from the place she started herself so long ago. "The Ghostlands have turned into a dark place, the creatures there corrupted and undead still litter the Dead Scar..." She continued on to describe the twisting spires of Deathholme, now long silent since Drek'thar's demise. Then from there, to the Undercity and the Forsaken, its circular (and perpetually confusing) structure and the Forsaken that inhabited it. Losing herself in her stories, she seemed to not mind when her other hand was taken and she slid down into the icy salt.

[Kevasha]

Her coworker rolled her eyes at Liliana and went back to work, getting the rough elf all cleaned up. She ignore the looks of the other maid as she listened raptly to the stories, seeming to be drinking them all in as they continued to scrub.

"Amazing...Umm..what about overseas? I've heard stories about the races over there and I have to say they sound terribly frightening! I'd be afraid they would...I dunno cook me up and eat me! I've heard tell of trolls doing that to elves that anger them, or putting voodoo curses on them that make horrible things happen to them!"

Liliana actually sounded fearful at the prospect. "Ok we're all done." The two helped Shirafune stand and gave her a rinse down before helping her to the next tub, this one almost too hot with a variety of herbs floating in it. The second maid said she would return when Shira was ready for the next bath and Liliana sat behind the tub, scooping up some water with a cup and wetting Shira's hair and beginning to wash it, humming gently.

[shirafune]

Slipping into the second tub was almost painful, her skin was numb with cold and wet and the sudden heat spiked pins and needles as goosebumped flesh suddenly warmed. Hissing for a moment, she sank down until her chin dipped into the water and she gave a deep, long sigh. Warm bath, when had been the last time she'd had one...? The day she entered the Order and they'd had her hauled off to be ritualistically dunked into a bath to cleanse her? At least the water had been lukewarm, if not potentially dirty from its previous occupants.

"The trolls that are part of the Horde - the Darkspear - don't practice cannibalism anymore. Remember, Thrall placed a very stringent ban upon it, especially against fellow members of the Horde. However," she twisted her lips in a mirthless expression, "the trolls who have not joined the Horde are still practicing their...traditions."

[Kevasha]

Liliana began to massage a rich soap into Shira's hair, letting her nails scratch her scalp gently as she scrubbed. "Oh scary! You're very brave Miss Shirafune, I know I couldn't face down those brutes like that...I've heard good things about Thrall, but...I've also heard some scary things about orcs. Do you know any? What are they like?" Seems the young maid was full of questions.

After she rinsed Shira's hair she gave her scalp a good rub down with oils and wrapped it up in a heated towel to stay out of the way.

[shirafune]

The nails across her scalp are heavenly, as is the scent of the shampoo being lathered into the mane of hair that was usually just stuffed up into a hood or tied back. Nodding off to sleep is too good a temptation right now, suspended in the hot bath instead of bracingly chill winds, the smell of lavender and peacebloom in her nose instead of the stench of undeath and stale air. It wasnt a surprise any more that the Darksuns had such elaborate bathing chambers, if they got to indulge in this kind of luxury very often.

A sigh as the girl's nails scratched right behind at the base of her head, she resisted the urge to yawn. Seems like several days of little rest and a good meal for the first time in so very long was ganging up on her ability to stay conscious, despite her mental discipline.

"The Orcs live by their codes of honor. Combat is one of the primary ways of gaining honor, but also giving of favors or assistance to a cause, or a profession can grant one honor among them as well. They...revere their spiritual leaders and uphold a lot of traditions centered around their ancestors and the elemental spirits."

[Kevasha]

Liliana blinked as she listened "Oh that's amazing!" She let Shira soak for a long while, asking her different things like what was the weather like in Orgrimmar, how high Thunderbluff was and things like that. Soon enough the second maid came in and Liliana and her helped her into the third bath.

Rich oil had been scented with Dreaming Glory essential and Shira was carefully lowered down into it. It was no where near as hot as the bath had been, the oil at a warm temperature to be easily absorbed into the skin.

The maid settled on a stool and smiled softly to Shirafune. "The Lady Darksun really does seem to like you, it's been a wild since Lord Pyronystus has brought anyone home to meet her." Fiddling with her fingers a moment she glanced up "Miss Shirafune? What do you think of the young Master?"

[shirafune]

Sliding into the oil soak with a suppressed groan, she laid her head against the back of the tub and sighed. Consciousness was becoming a battle anymore, as relaxed as she was, full stomach and warm. But she focused on Lilianna's words, a small smile creeping her face as she told the girl about her tales in service to the Order and all the places and people that journey had thrown in her path.

"Pyron?" Her expression soured a bit as she stretched out till her toes appeared over the surface. "I don't know, really. He can be, well, kind of a jerk." Pressing her lips together, she kicked her feet back and forth. "But bringing me, convincing his mother to let me use the library, then feeding me and...this? Maybe he's just like everyone else and he can be nice and a pain at different times."

[Kevasha]

Liliana listened, looking a bit shocked by her words that the young Master of the House was a..jerk. It was such a crude word but she smiled a bit as Shira told her that indeed he had some good qualities about him.

"I'd be out on the street if it wasn't for the young Master.." She fiddled with her fingers blushing softly "I was homeless, under some rather...nasty circumstances and I was being accosted by this brutish Elven man. He tried to force me to do..." She paused and gulped softly "Things...but Master Pyron came almost out of nowhere and sent the man running like he'd seen into the deepest pits of the Nether. It was raining and he took me under his cloak to get me somewhere dry. After I told him my story...he got me a job here.." Liliana could still remember that night walking so close to him, her cheeks blushing even darker at the thought.

"But...he can be rather cold...it's due to his work with the Forsaken, or so I've been told.." As Shira soaked in the oil, Liliana walked to two barrels nearby and with a grunt pulled the two corks out of the top. She hefted one up to the last tub and began to pour the contents. Milk.

"I hope you find what you're looking for in the Master's library Miss Shirafune."

[shirafune]

A twinge of sympathy echoed in her chest at the girl's story. She'd seen the unfortunates that Silvermoon often ignored and would never admit to. The poor, strung out victims of Bloodthistle trade, those who were mere steps away from becoming Wretched, those who never recovered from Arthas' pillaging of the city, or just the born-poor, never having a future from the moment they entered the world. Most visitors never saw them, but if you stayed in the city long enough, you could find them easily, sprawled in alleyways with cheap drink or worse. There were even flittering rumors that the powers that be were turning heads away from mysteriously missing displaced ones, even when reports of them appearing in the goblin slave trade vessels were thick among commoners.

"You're lucky," she muttered. The girl genuinely was, considering the possible future of a very pretty young blood elf trying to survive on the streets. In curiosity, she watched the young girl walk over to the barrels beside the last tub, blinking as she half-lifted them into the tub. She was deceptively strong for her looks...

"Milk?" Her last bath was going to be in milk?

[Kevasha]

Liliana smiled softly as she emptied one barrel then opened the second one to pour it as well. "I am..I'm lucky to have met the young Master." When expressing her confusion over what her last bath was to be in Liliana smiled happily "Hmm! It helps make the skin soft and silky, plus it will help wash off the oil." While it heated up, she pulled out a jar, with a small ladle in it, adding scoops of the bright amber liquid to the bath. "Honey to help the skin glow. It will be good for your hair too Miss Shirafune."

Helping the priest to the last bath, she took the towel off her hair and rinsed it with the rich mixture. "And after this, I'm to help you get ready for bed. Her Ladyship insists you get a good rest before you continue your research."

[shirafune]

"I...see."

Letting the girl pour the honey and milk mixture through her hair, wondering how it could leave her hair anything but sticky. But so far she'd been okay with everything else done to her, too late to protest the fact now. And who knows how upset her hostess would be with her refusing her generous (over the top) hospitality. Besides, wouldn't this be a tale to tell one day? Though most of the Banepaw would be confused by the waste of something as precious as milk.

"Please, just Shirafune is fine." It was almost an afterthought, but just the polite title alone made her feel a bit awkward. A slow descent into the bath, she shivered a bit as the milk was still a bit cool, but not nearly as cold as the icy salt scrub that she'd been submitted to first thing.

Bed did sound like a good thing, especially since her eyelids were permanently at half-mast now. Just the thought of her pallet and furs back in that little hut that stood well above the Plains of Nasam made her smile. It was nice to go home and drift off surrounded by her books and the whistle of the wind as she waited for her body heat to warm the pocket of space between the thin blanket and fur coverlet.

"Help me get ready for bed?" she wondered softly. "I need help?"

[Kevasha]

"It's the Lady's orders you see." Once Shira had a nice soak in the milk and honey bath, Liliana helped her out and rinsed her down with hot water to get rid of any stickiness and dried her off with a plush towel.

Liliana walked to a nearby cart and lifted a black silken sleeping gown from it, helping her slip into it. "There we go. Now right this way Mis...I mean..Shirafune." A small smile from her as she led the priest to her room.

Sitting her down in front of a vanity on the second floor she began to brush the soft red hair with a special rune etched brush that warmed as it was used to dry hair quickly.

"Is there anything specific you would like for breakfast tomorrow Shirafune? Our cooks can prepare pretty much anything for you." She smiled at Shira in the mirror as she continued to brush.

[shirafune]

The feel of silk against freshly bathed, pampered skin was exquisite. She couldn't help but run her fingers over the smooth material, moving it between her fingertips and against her palm. A strange smile as she follows Lilianna into the room. She only took a few seconds this time to gawk at the sheer excess of enough silk to cover that many pillows and a bed. Wasn't a time long ago that she was using pilfered silk to bind wounds she received in battle and the very thought of so many pillows baffled her.

She let the girl brush out her hair, even if she was more than capable of doing it herself. There was a very visceral pleasure about having your hair brushed by someone else, something that relaxes and puts the mind into a lull. And add in the heat from the brush drying her hair and warming her scalp...hmm.

"Tea and bread is fine, really."

[Kevasha]

Liliana nodded and smiled setting the brush aside when she was finished. "Very well, I'll let the cook know." Just bread and tea, sure but bread can have all sorts of things in it and the maid would make sure that Shira would get one of the richer breads for her breakfast so that she didn't pass out from malnutrition.

After folded back Shira's sheets for her, she bowed and smiled "Have a good nights rest and if you need anything don't hesitate to pull the cord near the bed." With a wave and a smile, she headed out, closing the double doors behind her. She sighed and made her way down the hall, knocking on a pair of double doors. "M'lord?" She waited until she heard him speak "Hm? Come in." She blushed before nudging the door open and peeking around it at the young Master who was hard at work on some reports. "Lord Pyronystus, Miss Shirafune is resting comfortably."

Glancing up at the maid peeking around his door, he smiled the tips of his canines showing "Good...now off to bed with you Liliana..." She blushed at that "Y..Yessir.." She closed the door and scampered off. The young warlock smiled as he went back to work.

[shirafune]

"Resting well" was an understatement for just how hard and fast the priest had fallen asleep once situated under the silk covers. She didn't even rearrange any of the pillows, just the feel of being clean, full, and having the sumptuous luxury of silk slide over her freshly bathed skin and a mattress under her body instead of a few layers of wadded cloth and a few thin furs to cover her was somnolent in its own right.

Most priests were well trained in the arts of mental discipline. "The mind says, the body follows" was a tried and true motto among their order and even the lowliest of initiates were taught simple focusing exercises to keep the mind awake and focused long after it should've shut down. Shirafune, if needed, could stay awake for about four days at a time before having to succumb to her mind's need for rest. It wasn't until she was sliding fast into the realms of dreamless sleeping that she realized she had done just that. A few more hours and she would've simply keeled over unconscious from the strain, a last-ditch effort of her mind to prevent itself from coming to harm.

There was a tiny part of her that lamented not being able to stay awake much longer - she would've loved to have committed the memory of feeling real silk and a warm bed to posterity.