"Come along children, I'll tell you a story." Matron Mercy said as she led one of the tiny blood elf orphans over to the reading area.
The children gathered around, sitting on cushions strewn around the floor, and madam sat down on a chair and settled herself.
One of the children piped up. "Tell us about that scary dragon Onyxia!"
"No no, " another tiny child said, "the one about the nasty baddies in the Icecream City!"
"Now now, perhaps another time," Matron said, smiling. "Today I have a special story to tell you. It's about Picksies."
One of the older Draenei boys snorted, saying "Picksies? Everyone knows they don't exist."
Matron shook her head seriously. "Oh no, they're quite real. They're probably hiding all around us as we speak."
A few of the children looked around nervously and one of the tiny girls climbed into Matron's lap.
"Picksies love to play tricks on people. Did you ever think you saw something out of the corner of your eye, but when you turned to look, there was nothing there? Picksies!" Matron said, looking around at the wide-eyed children.
"Did you ever lose something that you are sure was in its place, look everywhere for it, and then the next day it was back in its right place again? "
The little girl in her lap looked up in wonder. "Picksies?" she said. Matron nodded and continued.
"Picksies are very devious and they love to cause mischief. They can change form to look like a person, and cause tricks that way too. The only way to stop a picksie from playing a trick on you, is asking it to stop using its Real Name. If you know something or someone's Real Name, you have power over it and it must do whatever you ask it to."
One of the boys said in a cheeky voice, "Does that work with real people too?" as he eyed the group of girls sitting nearby. One of them poked her tongue at him and looked away pointedly.
Matron chuckled. "It does work for people too, Halvaar, if you know their Real Name."
Halvaar looked crestfallen. "You just said my name though. Does that mean I have to do what you say?"
Matron laughed again "No! Well yes, you do have to do as I say, but not because of the name. You see, Halvaar is what people call you, but it's not your Real Name. Most people, in fact nearly all people of Azeroth and Draenor don't know what their Real Name is. It's a special other name that belongs only to you. If you ever find out what your Real Name is, though, you must not tell another soul what it is."
A small Blood Elf girl said "Why not?"
"Haven't you been listening to me, Amie? If a picksie finds out your Real Name, they can make you do nasty things, really horrible things, and you won't be able to not do it!"
Matron continued in a slightly softer voice, since little Amie looked terrified. "So not only must you keep your Real Name a secret, but you must not trust anyone until you know them very well, just in case they are a Picksie out to play a trick on you. Okay?"
The little girl on matron's lap looked up again thoughtfully. "But, how will we know if they're a picksie?"
"Well, I'll have to let you work that out for yourself, sweetpea," matron said, gently, "Just be careful. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes matron, I'll be careful."
The boys up the back of the group looked bored. One of them said, "Can we hear about Onyxia now?"
Matron sighed and started the new story. "Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a brave group of adventurers..."
~o~
Topical? Probably not, but it inspired this story :)
