Jonathan was not inclined to leave the warmth of the Wizards Sanctum dormitory room, now that he was dry. The weather outside was the same as it had been for several days - unrelenting rain. Not unusual for the city of Stormwind, the human capital of the Alliance in Azeroth, but familiarity did not make being cold and wet any more appealing. Of course, nobody had forced him to sneak out of the Stormwind Orphanage with a small sack filled with sweet biscuits and a wineskin of the finest Dalaran Noir wine. Nobody had forced him to brave the elements under his shoddy wool cloak, his hood pulled up. Nobody had forced him to climb the tower, fingers freezing against the cold, wet stone until he reached the sanctuary of his friend's dormitory window.
Nobody had forced him, but the soft brown eyes and charming smile of Demisette Cloyse had entreated him quite convincingly. Demisette had been friends with Jonathan since he had first arrived at the Stormwind Orphanage, one of many refugees from the troubles affecting the kingdoms of Lordearon and Gilneas. Jonathan himself was from around the village of Pyrewood and had fled when the wizard Arugal had led his cursed wolf-men - his worgen - and taken the village of Pyrewood and Silverlaine Keep. Jonathan still had nightmares of being chased by the humanoid lupine creatures; they had stalked the refugees all the way to Southshore, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with their prey.
Demisette Cloyse had been one of his first new friends, and one of the few who did not tease hi about his night-terrors. "I have nightmares of my own" she had confided in Jon, "and so it would be hypocritical of me to say anything." She didn't know it then, but that was the moment Jonathan had fallen in love with her, at the age of seven. Teased for his nightmares, Jonathan had compensated by a foolhardy daring which masked any fears the boy might have. They had grown; Jonathan had filled out his lanky frame with muscle, and the combination of his fleetness of foot and seemingly fearless nature, had secured him a job with the Stormwind City cheese merchant Elling Trias, although the Stormwind Orphanage, and not Jon, received his pay. Still, although he slept at the Orphanage, he was given a greater freedom of movement around the city in the performance of his duties, which he shamelessly abused.
Demisette Cloyse had been given an aptitude test for the arcane, and had scored high enough that the Wizards' Sanctum had offered her a complete scholarship in the magical arts. Jonathan had been heartbroken, but she had written him notes every day, and he had written back. She had complained about the quality of the food that the students were fed, and so Jonathan had brought her teats from time to time. His deliveries needed to be outside of the usual visiting hours, as sneaking in treats was, like just about anything fun, absolutely forbidden. Jonathan had begun to make his trips at night once Demisette had identified which tower window led to her dormitory room that she shared with another student. The trick to the climb, especially in the rain, was to be slow and deliberate, regardless of how the rain made his wool cloak seem like a backpack filled with lead weights, nor how the frigid winds stabbed at him like a knife in a dark alley. He had rarely been happier when, at his tapping upon the window pane, Demisette had opened the window and let him into the chamber.
Jonathan had looked around. "Where is Ursula this evening?" he asked. Ursula Deline was Demisette's roommate, a buxom redhead with a keep sense of humor and a fine sense of discretion, made even more discrete by her share of the treats Jonathan brought.
"She's studying late tonight. I promised her we'd save her some snacks for later, Demisette had answered, taking the bag from Jon's frozen fingers. "You get warm. Here, drink this, she had commanded, handing Jonathan a porcelain mug with a steaming beverage. "What is it?"
"It's either a love potion, to make you my utter slave bound to me with unnatural lustful desires," Demisette announced casually, "or a deadly distillation of Deathweed and Essence of Agony... I get the two of them confused." She giggled as Jonathan shrugged and took a sip.
"Tastes like mulled wine" he commented, taking another sip.
"Well, I've got to hide my potions in something!" she exclaimed with faux exasperation.
The conversation continued as Jonathan and Demisette sat down on her bed, the package of food unpacked between them. They feasted on soft banana bread, slices of Goldenbark apples, and Dwarven mild cheddar brought in from Ironforge. they caught up the news about their other friends from the orphanage. Cloyse complained about the limitations of the arcane curriculum and how to boring her teachers were. "They tell us the dangers of demons, and studying the darker side of the arcane - but they won't tell us anything more!" Jonathan smiled, grateful that he was not the one trying to withhold information from his friend; her curiosity was relentless, and would doubtless get her into trouble one of these days.
