Kaja Cola

Fenniel recently discovered the wonders of Kaja Cola.

Fenniel’s favorite place in new Orgrimmar was the Valley of Wisdom. The totems and the Tauren that occupied it reminded him of a nicer, simpler time. Before Libby died. When he could, he came to it in late afternoon, sitting by the water and watching the sun set.

He’d finished his work in Deepholm early that day, and hunkered down on the bridge in the middle of the Valley, letting his bare feet dangle over and nearly skim the water. The sun was still high in the sky, and he closed his eyes, and listened.

A hoarse and high-pitched voice on his left side snapped him out of his reverie. “Hey Long Ears.”

Fenniel opened his eyes, quickly scooting away from the direction of the voice. A goblin female sat next to him, smiling widely. She had dark blue hair in three little buns, and wore black leather from head to toe. On her back was a small brown pack dragging from the weight of its contents.

“C-can I um. Help you?” He stammered, and instantly mentally chided himself for it. Good job.

She scooted after him, oblivious to his nervousness. “You seem down, Long Ears. I watch you sit here all the time, and you never talk to or smile at nobody. What’s brought you down, chum?”

He shook his head. “It’s a long story. Did you uh, need something? Or anything?”

“Can’t a lady just wanna talk to a fella? I got lots of time, plenty of time for a story.”

He looked down at the water, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m sorry.”

The goblin patted him on the back. “That’s alright Long Ears, you don’t have to tell me. Pinin’ after a girl, right?”

One side of his lip turned up in a joyless smile. “Something like that, yeah.”

She pointed at his eyes. “I like your glasses, they’re different. You make ‘em?”

Fenniel blinked, a bit put off by the sudden change in topic. “Yeah, I did,” he nodded.

“So, this girl you’re pinin’ after, you need a way to impress her?”

The lopsided smile faded. “Not anymore, no.”

She smiled, scooting in closer to him again. “But you must be kind of a creative type, to make your own glasses.”

“I haven’t had any ideas in a long time. Honestly, Miss, I’m not meaning to be rude. But um, there’s really nothing I can do for the girl anymore.”

“Wait.” She held out a hand. “Did you just say you haven’t had any ideas in a long time?”

“I think so.”

She grinned from ear to ear. “This I can handle! No prob Bob, we’re gonna straighten you out quick as a samophlange in a zeppelin engine. I got what you need.”

“I…uh…excuse me?”

She set the brown pack onto the ground beside her, pulling a can out from it. She handed it to Fenniel. “Drink this.”

He took the can tentatively, holding it up in front of his eyes. “What is it?”

“It’s Kaja Cola. Soda, Long Ears. Just try it.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Look, I’ll take the first sip.” She snatched the can out of his hand, cracked open the top, and took a dainty sip from it. She passed the soda back to Fenniel.

He shrugged. “Here goes nothing.” He took a sip, then stared at the can a moment. “This is really good!” He put it back to his lips, chugging the soda in one long gulp.

“I told you, Long Ears! Man, you can really drink fast. How do you feel?”

He set the empty can on the ground next to him. “You know, I actually feel really good. Wait. WAIT.”

The goblin’s eyes widened. “For the love of money, don’t tell me it has side effects on elves.”

“I just had the most amazing idea! You won’t believe it!”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Tell me about it!”

“Edible rocket fuel! It could be packaged as soda, just like this!”

“Oh, I like that! You’re onto something. So Long Ears, I’ll tell you something about this soda. Kaja Cola is special. It gives you ideas.”

Fenn picked up the empty can again. “Really?”

“That it does! And if you want some in the future, I can supply you with it, completely street legal. Name’s Kitzie the Shiv.”

Fenn held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kitzie the Shiv. I’m Fenn Dusksinger.”

She shook his hand with a bemused smile. “You can just call me Kitzie. The Shiv is really more of a title than a last name.”

“Oh, okay.”

She reached into the chestpiece of her black leathers, pulling out a business card. “If you want more Kaja Cola, you can find me using this card. I also deal in non-laundered gems, finest quality.”

Fenn smiled, taking the business card. “Thanks Miss Kitzie.”

She got to her feet, then leaned in and kissed Fenn on the cheek. “My work here is done.” Kitzie flung the pack over her shoulder, waved, and started on her way back out of the Valley of Spirits.

Fenn turned a bright shade of red, calling after her. “B-b-bye Miss Kitzie. Um. Thanks for the soda!”