World of Warcraft®

The streets of Dalaran were quiet, bathed in the soft glow of magical streetlights and candlelit windows. It was still quite early in the evening and while the mage might normally stroll about on such a night, tonight she had a clear destination. Following close at her heels was her pet raptor. The tiny beast chirped happily when she saw the destination- the Magical Menagerie shop. It was very high on the raptor's list of places she liked, mostly because it sold the pet snacks and toys she liked.

Tremia paused across the street from the shop to attach a leash to Tremia'aka's collar. Despite the raptor's protests, she knew she'd need it to keep the raptor from sneaking off to wiggle her way into a treat bin or try to pick a fight with one of the stabled hunter pets. The store looked empty of customers, so she sat down on a bench and let Tremia'aka hop up into her lap. While she waited for her friend, she began to consider just what they should get. While a feline might fit for personality, it would leave fur all over her armor. A canine would be easily trainable, but tended to be far too needy for attention. A bird would be too noisy and would probably make a mess with its feathers. 'Nothing is ever easy when it comes to that one.' She thought to herself.

Mormel muttered to herself as she strutted down the main road of Dalaran. She hated being in this city and loathed every second she had to spend in it. There was something about being surrounded by so many mages that was just... unnerving. She would be glad to return to Bilgewater Harbor once her business here had been concluded.

As Mormel passed by the Magical Menagerie shop she spotted a lone draenei sitting on a bench with a small raptor on a leash. Mormel froze as she noticed the tell tale signs she always loved to see in a potential customer. The indecisiveness in their body language combined with the burning desire in their eyes. This girl was looking for something specific but she just did not know exactly what that something was. Fortunately for her Mormel always had the answer and was always willing to take advantage of any business opportunity.

Wasting no time, Mormel veered off her regular course and jumped directly in front of the Draenei. While Mormel's common was certainly not very good she was proficient in it enough to confidently make her pitch.

"Hello there Ms. goat girl! Me see you want perfect pet! Might I interest you in this mechanical chicken? Will live long time so long as you be keeping it oiled. Will not shed either. Very good yes?"

Azheira grumbled as she made her way down the steps from Krasus’ Landing to the street. All she had paid for was a flight from Valiance Keep to Dalaran. That was it. She hadn’t asked for a journey through Sholazar Basin or a spectator’s view of the fighting in Wintergrasp. And she certainly hadn’t requested a tour of Ice Crown Citadel. The flight master told her she could use the detour. Azheira had no idea what that meant. Next time, she was going to take the portal.

Her soft-clad feet hit the cobblestones with quick strides. Gyìk, her pet lizard, followed closely at her side. Azheira hoped Tremia wasn’t too upset at her tardiness. They had only recently put aside past bitterness and become friends. Fortunately, the pet shop the draenei woman had told her about was nearby. Azheira lifted the hem of her skirt as she stepped through the doorway. Gyìk skittered in ahead of her, presumably to find Tremia’aka for a game of shenanigans in the treat bins.

The shop wasn’t crowded with patrons, but there were undoubtedly a wide variety of animals on display. Scanning the building, Azheira saw Tremia seated near the wall to her right. She began making her way through an odd assortment of boxes, nests and crates.

One of the larger pet cages had prevented Azheira from seeing the goblin woman at first. She skirted the cage and smiled at Tremia just as the goblin spoke.

Azheira stopped.

She looked down.

Her eyes blinked – several times.

Her mouth dropped open as she glanced back to Tremia. “Did she just call you a goat?"

Tremia was caught offguard by the goblin's sudden appearance. Tremia'aka wasted no time in voicing her opinion of the mechanical poultry by means of snarling and growling at it. With one hand firmly on her raptor's back to make sure she didn't pounce on it. She was just raising an open hand to gesture her refusal of the offer when Azheira arrived.

"Yes, she did." The mage replied, annoyance clear in her tone. "And she is offering, I believe, to sell me this mechanical chicken.... but I do not think that our friend would like it much." She avoided using a name, knowing said friend was not very welcome in Dalaran. Turning her attention back down to the goblin, she grinned brightly, hiding the hints of malice in her eyes. "And I am a Draenei. Call me a goat again and you will feel a cold so painfully intense it will make Icecrown feel like the tropics." The malice in her eyes and voice vanished, and she continued in a perfectly cheery voice as if she'd never uttered a single threat. "But I do thank you for the offer. I am certain it is a very good pet, but it is not what I am looking for. Unless you have something else to offer, I believe we are done."

Mormel blinked several times while smiling awkwardly as she tried to understand what the draenei woman had just said to her. She could make out certain words here and there but was still at a loss about what exactly had been spoken. However, the barrier of language was not enough to mask that the draenei was irritated about something but what that something was Mormel could only guess at.

However, Mormel’s eyes lit up upon hearing the abrupt change in the draenei’s tone. More importantly, she was able to comprehend more of what this woman had said the second time around and it was clear she had no interest in the robotic chicken. In fact, it sounded like she wanted a different pet with a mechanical pedigree.

“You being correct. Robo chick very bad pet for you! Me have something much greater!”

Mormel then nonchalantly kicked the mechanical chicken off to the side where it shattered against the wall of the store into dozens of springs and gizmos. She then reached into her bag and produced a very adorable looking mechanical Alterac puppy. It was then, out of the corner of her eye, that Mormel finally noticed the human woman that had approached.

“Nyah! Is Ms. monkey lady friend of yours? She perhaps can… krippish…. How do you say? Vouching for your tastes?”

The robotic puppy suddenly jumped out of Mormel’s arms and landed on the stone floor with a loud thud. It quickly picked itself up before gazing at the draenei woman with glossy, black eyes while sluggishly wagging its metal tail back and forth. Mormel grinned broadly, revealing her pointed goblin teeth, upon having her merchandise behave so favorably.

“Be seeing? It already love you long time!”

Gyìk, sensing some tension, chittered madly while scampering around the goblin woman's feet. Azheira pulled out his leash, but her attempts to rein him in were completely ignored. Thinking quickly, she pulled a sand pear from her from her satchel and held it out for Gyìk. He stopped, tilted his head sideways and shuffled closer to his mistress. She rolled the treat between two medium-sized crates toward the other side of the room. The lizard’s tail twitched wildly as he skittered across the floor in search of the pear.

Azheira had witnessed Tremia as she addressed the goblin with a coolness in her tone and gaze that barely hid the palpable hatred and malevolence the Draenei woman was obviously feeling. This was not someone to be trifled with. Being a member of the Horde, the entrepreneurial goblin should have been more cautious. At first, Azheira was inclined to ignore the shop keeper. That was, until, the vile thing had called her a name. The goblin’s rambling was barely understandable and Azheira had very little knowledge of it, but some words were universal.

Pragmatic, pale blue eyes observed the small green female standing in front of her. The shop was nearly empty and the puny one’s body could be easily disposed in the sewers below the city. Azheira pursed her lips and sighed as she wondered what he would think if she did this. Her own personal stance on the Horde had softened of late, albeit marginally and only for one particular orc, but that was another matter entirely. For now, she needed to make sure she and Tremia didn’t get themselves banned from the city like their other friend had.

“Perhaps we should go.”

The mage shook her head. Of course she should have realized the goblin would not understand her.

"No, I think I have a way to make her understand." She reached into her bag, digging around as if she couldn't quite locate what she wanted. Careful to mask her hands with the random assortment of cloth and books she tended to carry, she slipped a few coins of loose change into a spare coin purse. Satisfied, she yanked it up so that the coins jingled loudly.

Flipping the purse over, Tremia acted as though she expected gold to fall from it, when instead only a few coppers and a silver coin fell out. She counted the coins, which totaled out to less than what she'd paid for the coin purse, and then held out her hand for the goblin to see with a sheepish expression.

"Eh, no good. No gold." She said, still holding back Tremia'aka, who was now simply growling at the goblin.

Having finished his pear, Gyìk sauntered back over to Azheira with a full belly and a satisfied expression on his face. Of course, he straightaway noticed Tremia’aka was growling at the diminutive shop keeper. Realization dawned that he had been falling down on his job of protecting his mistress. His stance shifted into something he hoped looked menacing and he began to hiss loudly.

Azheira shook her head as she considered Tremia’s plan to get rid of the pesky goblin. The green creature would have to be completely stupid to fall for that. If they didn’t have any gold, why would they have come into the pet shop in the first place? Nevertheless, she chose to remain silent as she eyed Mormel dubiously and waited for her response.

Mormel tilted her head upon seeing the paltry offering that the draenei woman presented her with. It was frankly insulting and no respectable goblin would fall for such a crude bluff. There was simply no way this woman would come to a store for such ostentatious luxuries as pets, particularly exotic ones, without having a hefty coin purse at her side.

However, this situation was a tad bit more complicated than usual. While under normal circumstances Mormel would spit at an offer like this one she was seriously considering taking it. For a while now she had been wanting to get some return on her ‘investment’ for ‘borrowing’ this mechanical dog from that stupid gnome but had never been given an opportunity to do so… until now that is.

The fact was Mormel hated dogs. She really, really hated dogs and even a cute, mechanical puppy caused a bit of anxiety for her every time she looked at it, let alone had to handle it. Even now as she glanced down at the little thing turning in a circle as it chased its mechanical tail she had to suppress the urge to run away.

Mormel shifted her gaze between the two women and their increasingly hostile reptilian pets. The anxiety was building in the room and Mormel was reminded of how much she wanted to be away from this accursed city. Letting out a long winded sigh she decided on what to do next. With an amazing burst of speed Mormel snatched the few coins out of the draenei’s hand before running toward the exit of the store, leaving behind the little robotic dog as she did so.

“Nyah! Being sold! Thank you come again!” Mormel yelled out in her broken common before switching to her native goblin tongue. “Suckers!”

Mormel waved as she exited and then resumed her journey along the main road of the city while slipping the pitifully few coins into her purse. It was still embarrassing to accept so little for that dog but she could at least comfort herself with the fact that she had ‘acquired’ it for free in the first place. Thus, it was still a net profit, even if it was not as much as she would have liked.

Azheira smirked at Tremia. "Looks like you just bought yourself a new friend."

Tremia blinked. She had not expected the goblin to accept the offer, but had actually hoped to offend her enough that she would leave. Still, the goblin was now gone and she could focus on the matter at hand.
"Yes, although not quite what I had hoped would happen. I expected her to be offended and storm off. I do not trust goblins and for her to take so little...." The mage eyed the mechanical dog and sighed. Setting Tremia'aka down on the floor she picked up the puppy and held it up. "Rather heavy, even for a mechanical pet..." She glanced over to where the broken chicken was. A young boy was gathering up the pieces in a bag. Her attention returned to the puppy. "...and it appears far too well made to have been crafted by that one. It is probably stolen."

Setting the metal canine back down, she shook her head. "I will ask one of my friends to attempt to locate its real owner later. Besides, we still have our friend to shop for. I do not think she would want anything mechanical... and it seems most of the normal pets have some quality that would make them unsuitable, but I am certain we can find something to suit her."

With the goblin gone, Tremia'aka calmed back down. Still tethered to her mistress with the leash, she couldn't reach the treat bins or the back of the store where the hunter pets were stabled. Gyìk was close enough to reach however, so the raptor cautiously walked over to sniff at him. She'd seen the lizard before, but this was the first time she'd had a chance to properly examine it.

Gyìk scuttled back and forth between Tremia’aka and the puppy with the strange smell. He wanted to play with Tremia’aka, but the puppy was a great curiosity to him. His head tilted up, down, left and right as he examined the odd creature.

He sniffed.

He hissed.

He chittered.

No response from the puppy. Gyìk was severely disappointed. He snuffled as he moved closer to the raptor and laid down, clearly dissatisfied with the mechanical beast.

Azheira was still laughing at the goblin’s antics as she began to move about the crates. She waved Tremia over to one and pointed out a baby crocolisk.

“This one has a tough hide. Just like our mutual friend.”

"Hm... yes,but would it be able to keep up with her? She does not like to wait for anyone." Tremia said, looking over the hatchling. It was cute, though, and Tremia made a mental note inquire about it later as a gift for her sister.

Moving along the cages, the mage carefully considered each occupant. "It should be something that will not shed fur on her armor, or need a considerable amount of care and attention. Oh!" One occupant made her grin despite herself. "Give her this one as a joke. She might not appreciate it, but just seeing her reaction would be worth it." Inside the cage a very energetic mechanical gnome was dancing. Its exterior was covered in silver and gold that had been polished to a bright shine and set with numerous glittering gems.

A soft snicker escaped her lips when Tremia pointed out the robotic gnome. “The look on her face would almost be worth the cost.” Azheira arches a brow at the price listed on the tag. Well, -almost- worth the cost. She continues to lithely meander through the cages, looking at price tags and peering in the crates for signs of a good pet.

Her light tread stops at a very different sort of container. It’s not made of wood or a simple metal. The entire thing was comprised of solid steel. The walls were two inches thick. Azheira was quite curious. She leaned over to peer into the narrow slats on the door.

“Oh! It’s…a kitten…on fire.” She watches as the sizzling feline rolls around inside the cage. “At least this one doesn’t shed.”

Tremia walked over and looked in at the kitten. "No... but somehow I see it ending up in the canals." She said, noting how anything even remotely flammable near its cage was scorched.

Tremia'aka tugged at the leash, pulling her mistress towards a larger-than-normal crate that was very securely bolted to the floor. The stone around the bolts still showed signs of cracking. Undaunted, the raptor pressed her nose into a gap in the bars to sniff at the occupant, only to be rather violently repelled when said occupant rammed the bars. With a surprised squeal Tremia'aka darted behind Tremia's legs and hissed at the crate.
The mage shook her head and bent down to see what was causing the ruckus. Two dark eyes glared back at her framed with thick, shaggy fur. "Little one, I do not think that shardhorn appreciated you sniffing at it."

She huffed.

She frowned.

She sighed.

And she pouted.

“This is frustrating. She is one of those people who is really hard to buy for.”

Azheira’s eyes narrowed as she watched Gyìk pounce and then begin to tussle with a vegetable that had rolled out from one of the cages. The reptile’s acquisition of the plant seemed to be causing more of a commotion than it should be. As she leaned over to grab Gyìk’s snack, the lizard suddenly jumped back after being hit with what looked like a small wave emanating from the root vegetable.

“Gyìk! It’s just a turnip. Settle down.” Gyìk was in a mood to comply with his mistress' command. The turnip, however, seemed to have a mind of its own.

Azheira winced.

She may have yelped.

The turnip, which was clearly terrible, had planted something in her skin. “What the…”

Azheira threw the horrid vegetable/creature to the ground. It immediately burrowed under the straw laying on the floor in front of one of the crates. Gyìk didn’t even sniff at it. He scuttled over to Azheira and whined.

“Okay. We need to find some sort of companion for her quickly and get out of here before someone gets seriously injured or ends up taking a snowman home.”

Tremia nodded. "Or one of our companions finds someone they can pick a fight with." Reaching down, she scooped up her raptor and looked around. "I am certain we can find something to suit her."
As she turned to look over a collection of brightly colored moths, a flash of gray caught her eye. At first she thought the one they were shopping for had snuck in, but no person was there when she turned. Instead, leashed to the top of some crates so it could fly about a bit, was a silver dragonhawk. It was in the back of the store, and seemed to prefer hovering behind things.

The mage walked over, and the dragonhawk slipped into the open crate that held its nest. Other dragonhawks were leashed nearby in a similar fashion, but they were all brightly colored and Tremia made a bit of a disgusted face. She remembered that dragonhawks were the preferred pets and mounts of blood elves. Surely her friend would not..... she paused, remembering something.

"This one. I think she will like it." She called over to Azheira, motioning to the silvery beast. "It is not very flashy, and she has had a rather strange fondness for taking the form of a rather offensive race. And since it can fly it will keep up with her, does not shed, and seems rather calm. I do not think it will bother her for attention the way some of the others will."

Wary blue eyes glanced into the crate to see the dragonhawk Tremia was suggesting. The creature seemed a bit anxious at being noticed by the Draenei and the human. It fluttered inside its enclosure like a moth flits around a flame.

“It’s a bit skittish.”

The rapid, nervous beating of silvery wings continued. Hoary eyes regarded Azheira. A smile slowly spread across the human’s face.

“And you are correct, our friend has freaked me out a couple of times with her fondness for long ears.”

After a few minutes had passed the bat-like appendages settled down into a more sedate rhythm. He remained below the rim of his crate, however.

“I wonder…” Azheira turned her gaze from the beast momentarily to fish something out of her satchel. “Ah hah!” Triumphantly, she pulled out a small, brightly colored orb. Her eyes darted around the store, searching for signs of other patrons. Seeing no one, including the shop keeper, she rolled the sphere slowly around in her palm.

“Let’s see how he likes this,” she murmured as her thumb depressed a hidden button on the sphere. A rosy hue immediately filled the air around Azheira. The red, odorless gas quickly entered her nostrils, causing her body to twitch and shudder.

One minute later Tremia would still see Azheira’s blond hair, but her ears had elongated to match a typical elf’s. She appeared to be a bit taller and instead of Azheira’s pale blue eyes, the Draenei would now see only bright green.

The dragonhawk was completely mesmerized. He flew up to Azheira’s new face and fluttered happily. The paladin giggled.

Unfortunately, Gyìk hated his mistress’ new form. He skittered about in a frantic circle, chittering madly. He was so distressed he bit his own tail. A pathetic yelp came out of his mouth when Azheira picked him up. Regrettably, he was not comforted by the gesture.

Azheira spoke calmly and soothingly to the dragonhawk. After several minutes she pressed the button once more and resumed her natural form. Gyìk was pacified, but the beast in the crate became apprehensive all over again. Azheira repeated the soft coos and murmurs from before to the flying creature. Soon, he too, was calmed.

“I guess she’s going to have to use her orb on a regular basis with this guy. I think it’s the perfect pet.”