The blue crayon coursed along the slightly crumbled sheet of paper, imprinting the grain of the wooden table beneath into the slowly forming ocean as the little girl joined her drawing up with a small island drawn in green with a large black stick in the middle, meant to resemble a tower, keeping her concentration to the many stories she has heard from people in Stormwind, and a few of the new arrivals, Dracthyr. Her eyes of blue kept shifting towards their dinner guest as she attempted to draw what looks like a man, but rather oversized compared to the so-called tower.
Across the table sat an auburn-haired man in a suit that didn’t belong to the household, nor even him as a person with his trimmed beard and brass shiny buttons plenty. The candlelight reflected in his glasses as he sat back in the not-so-comfortable chair, enjoying a cup of tea while her mother, who acted as a hostess tonight, cleaned the table off from dirty plates.
The little mixed family had invited the Gilnean for dinner as gratitude for offering work to their family, both the oldest child and their mother, who had been employed doing some minor jobs around the Yard; a location managed by their employer. The man accepted the invitation only if he were permitted to bring the ingredients for the dinner. They had not eaten so well in a long time. The meal was simply that of mashed potatoes, gravy, and roasted pork but also a large serving of vegetables, not as welcomed by the children, he reminded them that staying healthy gives them more options for the future - so of course, they all ate their filling.
The two oldest ran off quickly after the dinner, snickering, while their mother cleaned up and prepared the dessert which they had been given; a chocolate cake. The man sat down in a rickety old chair with his cup of tea, marveling over the two youngest drawings like an appraising art connoisseur; Shirley had decided to draw a vast ocean with the Dragon Isles in the middle, while Astrid had opted to create the art piece of a Gnoll riding into battle on a Unicorn. Shirley showed her drawing with pride once she had considered it done.
“This is you, and this is the dragon land far far far far away” she excitedly proclaims meanwhile drawing a small blue flag on the tower, “Astrid says you are going to kill dragons, heroes don’t do that?”.
The Director leaned forward in his seat, making the wooden chair creak as he met Shirley eye to eye; her eyes reflecting in his glasses.
“Do not fret, Ms. Morrison. I am not going there for dragons, but do remember, not everyone can be heroes, I leave that to the shiny people” he spoke jokingly as he put his teacup on the windowsill, “Maybe that will be you instead?”.
Shirley’s eyes went bright, giving a few quick nods before running off to her corner of the house, disappearing behind the curtain that partitioned her room from the rest of the house, a giggle sometimes able to be heard.
The back door slowly creaked open as if the two oldest were trying to sneak past their mother who stood almost next to the door, slicing through the dawk brown chocolate cake and plating them up for serving. She had seen them but she knew what they were up to, and let them continue their antics but not without a subtle clearing of her throat, indicating for them to take off their boots.
Following suit behind the two kids were what by all could be described as a rather dirty ghost; a beige cotton sheet that had dragged across the outdoor cobbles and now along the worn wooden floor. Keen ears could easily catch on to the subtle sound of paws, and if not, then the light whimper as the so-called ghost thumped against a chair.
The oldest, Eric, a young blond-haired boy, stood tall and proud with a small badge pinned onto his worn jacket, right on his right breast pocket, announcing that he was an employee of Alliance Salvaging And Procurement. He didn’t have to wear it but that didn’t stop him. Slightly to the side of him stood Anna, brown-eyed and with a wide smile that would almost be able to blind anyone even though she had lost some of her teeth due to bandits; it cost them a week’s worth of food and she had only recently dared to leave the house.
“Eh… Director Lochton?” Eric spoke in a formal tone like he was told to when delivering messages and other papers in the city. He nervously fumbled backward to catch on to Anna’s hand, holding her hand tight, making her wince before stepping forward as well, “We-we would like to give you something…!” she proclaimed almost in a shout.
Lochton moved to turn in his chair, making the rickety old thing creak in panic as he turned towards the two children, who both were eagerly trying to hide the beige ghost behind them. He adjusted his cuffs before giving the two a curious gaze, “I am intrigued”.
The two shuffled forward along the floor without letting their follower get away from them but Anna was struggling as the beige ghost was tugging on the rope she was leading it with, clearly seeing it as a game as the hind part was turning into that of the Gnomish Flying Machine, the fabric wagging back and forth at full speed. With a final tug, the creature yanked the rope out of Anna’s hand and set into a run, stumbling in the beige sheet sending it rolling along the floor, wiggling to get free before looking around bewildered, perched between a pair of feet clad in dark grey socks.
“Taa-daaaa?!” the two kids cheered out sheepishly.
Sitting between the Director’s feet was a small grey-furred dog; a Mastiff? Maybe a bastard? Nonetheless, his emerald eyes met that of the brown puppy eyes before its gaze was diverted to that of trying to defeat his left foot, sinking its sharp puppy teeth into the foot, sending him wincing before picking it up by the scruff, inspecting it, nodding in approval as it defiantly barks at him.
Lochton turned his gaze as well as turned the dog in his grasp towards the two of them, making them laugh for a short moment before regaining their composure. “D-Daisy had puppies not long ago… And we thought… You might not be alone if you had one?” Eric and Anna spoke in unison.
“Thank you for your consideration, Mr. and Ms. Morrison. I will gladly accept this little thing in my employment” he spoke kindly before taking the dog in a better grip, holding it close to him, letting it experience his scent to calm down as it still tries to gnaw on his suit, “Now now, you better quit that behavior, Mr. Charleston”.
Astrid looked up from her epic story of a Gnoll riding a Unicorn and could’ve sworn she saw a slight change in the eye color of their guest before the gifted dog suddenly calmed down in his hand. She looked around the room, not sure the others had noticed it.
The attention-consuming blackhole of the newly revealed dog was quickly quelled as Shirley sprang out from behind her curtain, wearing a headscarf and what looked to be a pistol made out of wood, this quickly turned into a chase as Eric realized that it was his wooden pistol that she had found somewhere. With glorious gun sounds, the two started running around the house before disappearing out into the courtyard.
As a host of the house, Minna Morrison made her way towards the smaller table, balancing three plates of chocolate cake, as well as another cup of tea. She carried a wide smile as well, as the children sounded more energetic today, hopeful? Nonetheless, they were filled with joy, either running around or drawing. Anne quickly joined her side with another cup of tea, this one though, was for her mother.
The cutlery clattered softly as she placed down the slices of cake for their guest, Astrid, and Anna before she slumped into the thinly upholstered couch next to Astrid, quickly offered a cup of tea by Anna before she sat down, using the slightly bent out of shape spoon to enjoy and feast on the cake, chocolate smear along her cheek.
“So, it is true, you are venturing away to the Dragon Isles?” Minna asked tiredly, taking a sip from her tea.
“Alas, it is due to unscheduled events. Apparently Timothy West had issues due to signing up for the expedition without his spouse approving it. So we had to switch places” he spoke softly as he lead his more or less straight fork slide through the icing and down into the spongy dark-brown chocolate cake, parting a small bite for himself, Charleston looking eagerly at what he would just consider the great smelling edible substance.
“I know what you are about to ask, Mrs. Morrison, and the answer is correct. I want you, and Eric to still attend to your tasks at the Yard. And you will be given your wages as expected” he spoke in a more official tone this time before washing down the crumbs of cake with a mouthful of tea.
“Minna, you can call me that, you know?” she spoke out rather bluntly before she could even catch her words. Quickly taking a sip from her tea to hopefully flush away the statement just for her to burn her mouth, “Sorry”.
Lochton smirked as he put down his cup of tea, collecting a brown crayon before reaching for Shirley’s drawing, making a quick ship out of a few fast strikes with the crayon.
“There is no need for apologies, Mrs. Morrison, maybe one day” he smiles kindly as he gets up from his rickety seat, offering a polite bow while holding Charleston the puppy under his left arm, “We will return for another visit. Thank you for your hospitality”.