Ginger sat on the water's edge and cried softly to herself. She fiddled with a dreaming glory she pulled out of her bag. She loved this flower, it made good potions, but it was also pretty. She stared up at the broken portal gate in Zangarmarsh and sighed as the examined the markings on it. She often sat here to reflect on her thoughts and feelings, or to just relax. It was her favorite area to be in. She loved the little spore people and worked very hard to earn top honors with them. She wore their colors with pride.
Inwardly, she hated Zale. Right now above all times, she wished he would just leave her alone. He wouldn't find her here, he didn't even know what her favorite area was, she wanted to call this place home, and very few knew that. She loved the atmosphere, but it was also an herbalist's paradise. The creatures here were plants themselves.
Ginger kicked at the water, her beautiful blue shoes placed carefully in her pack. She wiped the tears from her face. Zale was messing with her head. She just knew it, he was always trying to get under her skin and he found the perfect way now. She was frustrated at herself over this thought. She had practically handed it to him. Why couldn't she just do what she always did and pretend to not care? She was good at that.
Ginger clenched her teeth and crushed the delicate glowing flower in her hand. "That arrogant moo," She fumed to herself. "Half the world probably knows about it already, he's most likely spreading the word as fast as he can." It would take her forever to live this down. It took her months to convince everyone the last guy was full of it, now she had Zale to contend with.
The last one, the last one was chump change. A little kid practically, no one liked him, very few even believe him, save for his childish friends. Barely cutting his teeth he was. Pathetic little human, trying to impress his buddies, thinking he was the hotshot paladin who could claim what he wanted. She barely even kissed him, let alone the things he claimed. Lucky for Ginger, she wasn't the only target for his bragging and so his rumors were quickly squashed.
Zale was another problem entirely. His word was as good as hers, and to some people, better than hers.
Ginger looked down at the Dreaming glory and muttered. She had ruined the integrity of the delicate little flower. It wouldn't be good for anything in the condition it was in. Ginger sighed softly and discarded the flower into the lake; herbs had to be treated just right to produce the potions they were good for.
She stared at her reflection in the water. She was predestined to love the flowers. She gently touched the leaf shaped marks around her eyes. She was a druid and a night elf; nature was in her blood. She knew she would be an alchemist and an herbalist, even if she did get teased for being "a flower picker".
So lost in her thoughts about her precious herbs, she didn't notice the shadow behind her until she saw a hoof beside her hand. Ginger's face shot up and she looked dead at Zale. He stooped down beside her quickly and put his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn't flee.
"How... How did you find me?" She stammered.
"It was simple enough. You wear the colors of the spores, I figured you'd come where you'd feel safe. After that it was a matter of flying around until I spotted you. Leaving your mount out in the open was a dead give away." Zale motioned towards Ginger's large white cat, a stark contrast to the night-like world around it.
Ginger glared at the innocent cat, it happily napping in the moonlight. "Leave me alone Zale." Ganger said coldly, not tearing her eyes away from her mount, who currently felt like a betrayer. She couldn't look at him again. She knew what that face did to her, she couldn't trust herself if she actually looked at him. It was easier to just hate him and never have to look at him again.
"Ginger, please listen to me for a moment." Zale said softly. He saw a familiar twinge across her cheek. He saw it again and realized she was trying to recover herself; albeit unsuccessfully.
"Zale, I'm being as nice as I possibly can. Please leave me alone."
"Why should I?" He almost laughed. He really could not understand what her problem was. He remembered her stating that she liked him fine, that it was he who hated her, but here she was, filled with anger, teeming with rage. For why, he did not know.
It was then that he noticed her tears. He had not noticed the dried tears upon her cheeks until he noticed fresh ones following their tracks. He blinked and adjusted himself back. Had he caused this reaction?
"Please don't cry babe..." Zale had given up trying to control his actions around her. He leaned forward and gently, with the tip of his tongue, licked a tear off of her cheek. Her eyes flew wide then, she whipped her face around so hard, she almost clocked him in the nose.
"What... What do you want from me?" she yelled. She started sobbing then. He blinked at her. That nagging feeling that she was completely crazy crept into his mind; he pushed it back with all his heart and softly chastised himself for it.
"Please stop," He said softly. "Please don't cry." Zale pulled her up into his arms. He sat down there on the lake edge, Ginger crying in his arms. He was at a loss for why she was crying so heavily, he decided she must have much weighted on her mind. Her face was buried in his chest; the light fragrance of flowers wafting from her hair was intoxicating. He buried his nose in it then.
Ginger tried so hard to control the sobbing. She wasn't even sure of why she was crying. She buried her face deep in his chest. The soft leather of his vest was open enough for her to put her face in the soft fur that lay beneath. She took a deep breath, he was warm and musty.
The sobbing subsided and he was glad she had finally decided to calm down. He felt her wiggle in his arms. He bent down and softly kissed her shoulder. She moaned softly and he felt a tingle go through him. He wanted to hear that again; louder this time. He bent down and began sucking on her soft neck. He felt her tense in his arms and he shifted his grip in turn. She wasn't getting away this time. She jerked her head up and crashed into his chin. He winced in pain but did not loose his grip.
"Why Zale? Why must you torment me?"
"Babe, I'm not trying to torment you and I'm not even sure why you think I would."
