A New Kind of Alchemy

[Barefoot]

Barefoot has been hearing some strange stories lately around the Filthy Animal. Bizarre anecdotes and snide comments make her small brown ears perk up with interest, but she tries her best not to let on that she's eavesdropping. Even though they speak with disdain about this rumor, it gives Barefoot a sense of hope. The Filthy Animal is known for its rough crowds of late night drinkers. Maybe they're just drunk and making things up. Could they really be talking about what she thinks they're talking about? Then one night, she overhears a name along with the rumor: Alchemist Finklestein.

She knows this Forsaken man. She helped him with lab work a few weeks ago. He seemed powerful with chemicals, but could he really do something so drastic with a concoction of herbs and animal bits?

While the conversation is still going on at The Filthy Animal, Barefoot nonchalantly walks out of the bar, hoping that no one will notice the mix of excitement and anxiety on her face. Once she's out of the bar, she flies full speed to Heb'Valok. She arrives at the post out of breath.

Alchemist Finklestein looks up at Barefoot. He smirks and nods his head knowingly. "I've been seeing that expression a lot lately, Tauren. I assume you've heard about my new potion?"

Barefoot approaches him nervously. How could he know what she wants? She's been so secretive about her inner struggle for so long that it feels shocking that someone can see through her instantly. Gulping, unsure of what to say, she nods at him.

"I warn you, this is a serious endeavor. It will take a lot of time, a lot of work, and no small amount of gold from you." He eyes her appraisingly. "It's a big decision. Do you want to think about it some more before we get started?"

Barefoot shakes her head adamantly. "No," she mumbles, then says more firmly, "No, sir. I'm sure."

He turns towards his alchemy table. "Start out by bringing me all the ingredients on this list for the first elixir. You'll need to take this elixir every day for the next week, and then you should be ready for the big potion. I require a five-hundred gold deposit now, to be certain that you are committed." He extends his hand behind him without turning around. It has a piece of parchment with a list of ingredients. Hastily Barefoot takes the list and fills his hand with a large pouch of gold. "Return to me when you have the ingredients."

Barefoot walks out of the building to begin hunting for the ingredients. Just before she flies off, she looks back at Alchemist Finklestein. "Thank you," she says. "This really means a lot to me."

Without turning from his alchemy table, he cackles. "Oh, don't think of me as an altruist. I'm just a scientist who knows how to make some gold!"

[Barefoot]

Early Tuesday morning, Barefoot flew erratically to the Heb'Valok. One claw was clearly hurt and it affected her flight. She nearly crashed into the side, but swerved at the last second to make the doorway.

Alchemist Finklestein was talking quietly with a Blood Elf woman. Barefoot waited patiently despite the agony in her hand. She leaned against a wall and closed her eyes in an attempt to shut out the pain. After what seemed like forever, she heard the Blood Elf leave, so she opened her eyes and approached Finklestein. She extended her wounded hand towards him.

Alchemist Finklestein inspected her left hand. It was swollen to nearly twice the size of her right hand, covered with sickly purple speckles, with a small contusion that leaked viscous light green fluid. Barefoot was relieved at Finklestein's non-chalant appraisal. It seemed that nothing was disgusting to him. When he shouted, "What in the Lady's name did you do, Tauren!" she was so startled that she leapt back. He didn't seem to expect an answer. "I told you, very clearly, when I made the first elixir for you, that you were NOT to mix it with any other elixirs or flasks! I told you! I said very plainly that it would weaken your immune system. AND that you should avoid contact with the Lich King's forces! What exactly about those instructions did you not understand?"

"I... I just... My guild needed me... we were doing so well... but Patchwork inflicted this wound and they couldn't heal it..."

"Yes yes, someone always NEEDS to fight some evil, and people like you always NEED to help." Finklestein glared at her. "But that still doesn't explain the traces of agility elixirs and stoneblood flasks that I can see with my naked eye. I know I told you that mixing in other elixirs could cause serious damage." Barefoot had no response for that, so he continued. "I'll see what I can do, but if your healers couldn't stop the infection I doubt there's much hope."

[Barefoot]

Barefoot whispered. "What do you mean, not much hope? Not much hope of your special potion working... or not much hope for me to survive?"

The alchemist cackled heartlessly. "Don't be so melodramatic. I only meant not much hope for your hand here." He prodded it, causing her to wince in pain. "The potion will probably still work, IF you start listening to me and don't take any other elixirs besides the one I made. You just will have to lose this hand." When he noticed Barefoot's look of shock, he sneered. "Don't be such a baby. A fighter such as you is lucky to not have lost more than that in battle already. If you really want I can probably find another Tauren hand to sew on in its place."

"NO!"

More cackling. "Touchy touchy, you living. No sense of humor." He snapped abruptly back to his usual business mode. "Now, you can find another surgeon to amputate this infection, but I guarantee that they'll charge you more. I'll have you all fixed up in an hour for just twenty gold, which is certainly a deal for you, so don't even bother asking around for a better one."

Finklestein reached for some surgical tools. "I can't risk giving you any potions to dull the pain, so this may hurt a bit." He dug into her wrist unceremoniously, causing her to scream out. Instinctively she shifted to Bear form to better handle the pain. He didn't even look up when her hand became a paw, just continued digging at it. While he was working, he looked up to ask her, "Are you SURE you still want to go through with the transformation? You'll have to be more careful with yourself for the rest of the week, and the pain could be worse than this."

Barefoot nodded her Bear head. The desperation in her eyes was almost enough to move Alchemist Finklestein to pity. Almost.

[Cebjyre]

((More?))

[Barefoot]

((Will write a bit more this evening, but for now here is a picture of Barefoot after his change. My Paint skills R amazing!))

boybare2.JPG

[Cebjyre]

((My Paint skills R amazing!))

((I'll see your elite image manipulation skills, and raise))

[Barefoot]

Barefoot sat in the Filthy Animal nursing a lukewarm honeymint tea. He was ragged from a long week of adventures. Everything had been so hectic - daunting struggles every day for almost a month - that he hadn't had time to reflect on his recent change. Now that he was finally calming down from the past few weeks' adrenaline rush, he gazed absently at his bandaged wrist and thought about the ordeal.

He'd lost a hand - a paw, a claw, a fin. The pain had been unimaginable, but it was over now. If a body he felt comfortable in cost him a hand, he would stoically accept that. His skill in leatherworking had become almost nonexistent. Herbs took longer to pick. He had to bring even more ferociousness to fights with only one strong front paw to do all the work. But he'd move on. He would overcome these challenges and continue to be a great bear who protects his friends. In the long run, it seemed a small price to pay...

[Barefoot]

The far greater price had been the reaction Barefoot faced from others. He'd known that not everyone would be accepting of his decision... but that didn't make it any easier to cope when people he liked turned from him in disgust. Some people he'd thought of as friends were shocked by his change. Some said it went against the Earthmother's wishes and that Barefoot would surely be punished for opposing Nature. He tried to convince himself that anyone who'd let this get in the way of friendship was never really a friend at all... but still, it pained him far more than he would admit to anyone.

He'd feared reaction from Lady Nyx and her servants.

When he spoke to the Lady about his progress in Naxxramas, she didn't even acknowledge a change. Barefoot chuckled over his honeymint tea while thinking about the encounter with Nyx - it had been silly to even worry that she'd care. She had chastised him for some of his mistakes as a raid leader and commanded him to do better in the coming weeks, and that was it.

As for guildmates, they'd shown the same respect and caring he'd always known them for. The very first night he had a fully male body, Shaya had hugged him and showed support for his decision... that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Others showed only slight confusion, or pretended not to notice. Kyok had hassled him a lot at first - it had troubled Barefoot some, and he had wondered whether Kyok would become like the others who had totally rejected him - but when it came to battle, Kyok was right by his side to stab things in the eye.

While Barefoot sat in the Filthy Animal reminiscing about all of this, his friend Miakoda approached. She helped him put fresh bandages on his wrist and listened while he rambled on about what he'd been thinking about. She was one of the friends who had been a little stand-offish and quiet at first about the gender change, and he hoped that talking to her about it would help her understand. She finished dressing his wound. "It doesn't matter what you look like to me." She smirked. "You'll always be Barefoot!"

[Baelspar]

Hmm...while I had noticed the heavier male tauren scent, I had not noticed the missing appendage. As you may know, Yaen'gohl once suffered such a fate. Through the wonders of elvish engineering, my father was able to restore his hand. In the destruction of the Sun Well, we lost his notes. Still, I'm sure that I will eventually be able to work something together. I cannot bespeak to whether or not it will change with your forms. No doubt, it would be quite costly.

If you were willing to enter into servitude, I'm sure that I could handle the cost. You could pull my carriage. I'm certain that it wouldn't be too much trouble for you. You could even help Yaen'gohl with my laundry.

Well, I will leave the decision making to you, I have goblins to get back to.