No, Not Baby Anymore...

[Archivist~Alabaster]

No, Not Baby Anymore...
~written by Vaaleasana~

She could feel his arms cradling her as she slept, his steady breathing on the back of her neck, the gentle, unconscious nuzzling of his stubble-lined face... She could feel it all...

But every morning, every morning she woke up... rising from the bench in the tram... alone.

Always alone.

But he said he would come back for her. He would... she believed that... She had nothing else to believe in, except for his inevitable return.

And so she sat, staring at the tram as it rushed away into the dark tunnel and came screeching back to a halt. Her eyes were distant and dim as she watched the faces go by, watched the happy, laughing people... the couples with their hands clasped...

She had been like them once...

Her once shimmering white hair was now a dingy grey. Her clothes were covered with soot and dust from the tram, and she wore a tabard that must have once bore a symbol or crest... but had long since faded into obscurity.

I'll come back for you, baby... I promise. Everything'll be alright then, you'll see.

She held her head in her hands as the tram left the Stormwind Station once more. A passerby may have expected her to be crying, but she had long since left her tears behind.

Now she only had one thing left to fall back on.

Hope.

[Archivist~Alabaster]

She felt a tap on her shoulder and started, staring up at the man with wide eyes. He was a human, blonde... young... with kind eyes.

"Miss?" his voice was gentle. "Miss are you quite alright?"

She must have fallen asleep. She hadn't even noticed him coming toward her. How long had it been? What if he had come and not seen her? What if he was gone? What if he was out there in the city right now... looking for her?

She jumped up from her chair and glanced frantically between the exit into the city, and the track that the tram ran on. "Did I miss him?" she mumbled aloud.

"...Miss who?" the man asked.

"Him! Who else?! Did he go? No... he can't be gone... he wouldn't leave. He said. He said... he said he'd meet me here. He'd be here. He wouldn't go. Wouldn't go..." Her voice rose and fell as she spoke, ending in a soft murmur.

The man smiled sadly and nodded, giving her a gentle pat before making his way into the city of Stormwind. There was nothing he could do for her. There was nothing anyone could do.

And so she sat back down, staring as the tram rolled into the station once more, glancing behind herself at the tram's exit.

No... he wouldn't leave her. He would have waited.

...Wouldn't he?

[Archivist~Alabaster]

A male Night Elf entered the tram station and stood quietly on the platform. Vaaleasana glanced up at him, then back down at her lap when she realized that it wasn't who she thought.

Eying the woman silently, he crossed over to where she sat and gave her a friendly smile. "Hello."

She looked up at him again, blinking at him with distant eyes.

"...Aren't your feet cold?"

She glanced down at her bare feet, then back up at the stranger, "...No... should they be?"

"Well, mine usually are when I walk barefoot on metal," he offered with a smile. "But really I think they just miss the grass."

Vaaleasana blinked her eyes heavily and looked at the floor, "...Oh... it is metal... isn't it?"

Her eyes shot up hopefully as she heard another train enter the station. Disappointment... again. She sighed heavily and went back to staring at her hands.

"Waiting for someone?" the man asked helpfully, as he crossed to take a seat on a nearby bench.

She nodded once, "He should be here anytime now..."

"A he?"

She nodded again.

"Do you miss him?"

"Only every second of every day..." she tried to laugh, but it came out stifled and awkward, so she settled for clearing her throat.

"I have someone like that too," the man said quietly.

Vaaleasana glanced over at him taking note of his delicate, almost feminine features. "Where is he?"

Slightly started, the man blinked at her, "How did you know it was a he?"

"Well... is it?"

"...Yes," he said with a smirk.

"I thought as much."

"Did you?"

She turned her attention back to the arriving and departing trains, "Well I did say 'he' didn't I?"

He laughed loudly, a harsh echoing sound in the metal encased room, "You did indeed."

A moment of silence.

"Is yours at war too?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head, "No, he just has guard duty a lot. He comes back sometimes, lately he's been gone longer and longer... But so long as he comes back at all... Well, I think you can understand."

"He'll be here anytime now..." she said staring at the arriving train.

More silence.

"...How long do wars last?"

The man smiled gently, "A very long time. Is that where he is? At war?"

She nodded.

"Who is he fighting?"

She paused and blinked her eyes, "I..." she paused again. "He never said... only that he was needed... and that he would come back for me..."

Silence fell over them once more, and the man rose from his seat, "Well, I really must be going. The name's Tamalrin, by the way."

She looked up at him, "Vaaleasana... but, call me Vaal..."

"Most people just call me Tama," he smiled. "Do you need anything? While you wait?"

She shook her head, "Oh... no... he should be here anytime now..."

Tamalrin nodded, and turned to leave as her voice called him back once more.

"Will you come back?"

He laughed softly and smiled, "Sure."

"That would be nice," she said staring at the latest arriving train. "Goodbye Tamalrin."

[Archivist~Alabaster]

She tossed fitfully in her sleep, her dingy guild tabard that she used as a blanket fell to the ground in an almost slient whoosh. Vaaleasana whimpered and murmured as her dreams came to her in flashes.

~~~~~~~~

She could hear his voice, but she couldn't see him. She was stuck somewhere... lost... there was darkness all around.

"Ally..." she felt his breath on her neck and spun around...

Only to find more darkness. She whimpered and reached her hands out, trying to grab hold of him before he ran away.

"Stop running from me," she cried out. "Just come back to me like you promised! I've waited for you for so long..." She choked down a sob, "Please..."

Another whisper in her ear, "Soon, my love. Soon."

She spun around again, but there was nothing there. She fell to her knees in confusion, the pain evident on her face. She stared blankly out into the darkness, hoping to catch some glimpse of her ellusive lover. The stifling blackness, however, cloaked everything completely. Silence loomed over her.

He was gone.

~~~~~~~~

Her eyes flickered open and she was surprised to find her face wet with fresh tears. It had been so long since she had last cried...

She reached over and picked her tabard up from the floor, wiping her face on a semi-clean corner. Vaaleasana slipped it over her head and straightened it carefully, as if unaware that no amount of straightening would improve its appearance.

She ran a hand through her tangled hair and pulled it up into a half ponytail.

He had said that he would be back soon. She'd heard him in her dream. He wouldn't lie, not to her. He would be back...

Anytime now...