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Departure (Alliance)
"Mmm…I can smell the food coming from the Pig and Whistle Tavern already," said Lily Silentpaw, a young female pandaren in her early twenties, with light brown fur covering her body except for the cream fur that covered her face. A foxlike tail swished behind her as she walked, her body draped in a simple green tunic and loose-fitting black pants. A simple wooden staff was attached to her back with a jug dangling by a small rope at the base of the staff. Her long brown hair was tied into a giant ponytail, the bangs draping over her green eyes colored a bright pink.
"You don't want to know what I smell, I imagine," said the high elf that was walking alongside her. He looked to be fairly young himself, with black spiky hair, purple robes with gold trim, and green eyes that held a hint of purple fire behind them adorning his look. Hearing that response, Lily only smiled and looked up at her friend as they neared the end of the path leading into Stormwind City.
"Why? What do you smell Cinder?" asked Lily. A disgusted look crossed the high elf's face.
"I believe I'm smelling the stables…" he said flatly. Lily only laughed lightly at hearing that, returning her attention forward.
"Well, then I'll have to take you to the tavern I mentioned so you can properly smell the food, then eat your fill," said Lily. As the pair came up to the giant gateway leading into the city, the two guards stationed at the entrance snapped to attention.
"How many times have I told you two to not do that when I'm coming or leaving the city?" asked Lily, a look of annoyance crossing her face as she came to a stop.
"Sorry Lily. Force of habit," said the left guard, relaxing.
"You too, Charles," said Lily, looking over at the right guard.
"Uh…James…ma'am," said the right guard, relaxing as well. A look of surprise crossed Lily's face as she turned to the first guard.
"Where is Charles?" asked Lily.
"On leave to see his family in Redridge," said the guard.
"So he decided to take my advice to heart after all? Good for him," said Lily.
"Um…If you don't mind my asking, who is that with you?" asked the first guard.
"Oh, how rude of me, I am sorry Jules," said Lily, grabbing a surprised Cinder by the hand and pulling him towards the guard. "This is my new friend Cinder."
"A pleasure," said Jules, reaching out to shake the high elf's hand. An awkward smile crossed Cinder's face as he reached out and took the human's hand into his own.
"The pleasure is mine," said Cinder.
"By the way, Lily," said Jules, releasing Cinder's hand and turning back towards the pandaren. "I don't know if you know them or not, but a couple of pandaren just came through here about fifteen minutes ago. Seemed friendly enough," said Jules.
"I don't trust the one with the big jade pillar myself," said James.
"There are other pandaren here in Stormwind?" asked Lily, surprise evident on her face.
"Yep. They wanted to meet King Wrynn," said Jules. "I told them to go ask General Clay if he'd show them to the keep."
"I am going to see these pandaren myself. I haven't seen another of my race since I left Shen-zin Su," said Lily. She then started running down the bridge leading into the city.
"Hey! Wait up!" shouted Cinder as he took off after her.
"And that is why I will not allow fraternizing with the enemy. Do I make myself clear?" asked King Varian Wrynn, his back facing two pandaren, one a black and white-furred male with a thin long beard, a good sized jade pillar under his right arm, dressed in a black and gray robe. The other was a gray-furred female with matching gray hair done up with ornamental chopsticks in the back of her hair wearing a sky blue outfit with pink trim. The trio was now in King Wrynn's private garden sanctuary inside of Stormwind Keep, the two pandaren being told the laws of the land.
"Y-yes, my king…perfectly clear…" said the girl pandaren, a small hint of sadness in her eyes as her gazed turned to the floor slightly.
"Now then, there is one more thing I want to see," said King Wrynn, turning back around to face the pair. "Recently I was graced with the presence of one of your race. In the short time she was here, she taught me much of the fabled pandaren fighting style." A smile crept onto Varian's face as he took a fighting stance he had learned from his time as "Lo'Gosh" in the fighting arenas of the orcs. "I would like to see how much I've learned." The two pandaren exchanged glances, then the female looked back at the King, a worried look on her face.
"You can't possibly expect me to fight you, do you my king?" asked the girl pandaren.
"I want to know that you can fight if you need to. And I'd like to test myself against a worthy opponent," said Varian.
"Well…Alright…But I have a bad feeling about this," said the girl, taking her own fighting stance.
"Whenever you're ready, my friend," said Varian. It took only a moment, but the girl pandaren shot forward, a spear handed thrust aimed right at Varian's chest. But in the same moment, Varian read her movements, seeing the same discipline as his old teacher had used, and countered her thrust with his right arm as it blocked the attack. A surprised look crossed the girl's face at her attack being blocked, Varian resetting his stance.
"Surely you can do better than that, pandaren," taunted Varian.
"Forgive me," said the girl, resetting her own stance. "I will actually try to hit you this time."
"Please do," said Varian. The girl immediately went on the attack again, a flurry of kicks and punches being thrown at the human king, only to have each countered by him. Realizing she was getting nowhere fast, the girl retreated several steps away from the king and reset her stance again.
"Come on, pandaren. Hit me!" cried Varian. But this time, instead of taking the offensive, the girl instead closed her eyes, concentrating on the sole task of hitting the king. Varian smiled as he saw that the pandaren was finally getting serious. Several seconds ticked by, till the girl suddenly opened her eyes and sprang forward at Varian, who prepared to counter her yet again. But just before the girl reached him, a movement directly behind the pandaren where the entrance to the garden was at caught the human king's attention, distracting him just slightly. It would prove to be enough as the pandaren threw a punch that caught Varian clean in the chest, knocking the human back several feet and to the ground as the air was knocked from him.
"Oh my gosh! I did not mean to hit you that hard!" cried the girl, instantly running over to his side.
"Stay away from him!" shouted a voice from behind the pandaren, causing all three of them to look over at the entrance to the garden where Lily and Cinder were running in their direction.
"I swear it was an accident!" said the girl defensively. Suddenly, a loud fit of laughter caught all of their attention as Varian got into a seated position.
"It's okay, both of you. That's what I get for letting my guard down for a split second," said Varian. He then looked up at the girl. "You fight very well."
"Wait a second…Aysa!?" cried Lily as she and Cinder came into the garden clearing, coming to a stop to get a better look at the girl. The female pandaren also regarded her for a second before her own face lit up.
"Lily? Is it really you?" asked the girl.
"By the Jade Serpent, it is you!" laughed the male pandaren, setting his pillar on the ground.
"And Jojo's here too?" said Lily, looking over at the male pandaren.
"Friends of yours Lily?" asked Varian as he rose to his feet.
"Yes," said Lily as she walked up to Aysa, embracing her in a hug. "It is so good to see you, my friend! How did you come to be here?" she asked, releasing the other pandaren from the hug.
"We decided to join the Alliance after they helped us save Shen-zin Su," said Aysa.
"Save Shen-zin Su? Why? What happened?" asked Lily, a look of worry crossing her face.
"It does not matter at this point. He is safe, that is all that matters," said Aysa.
"And how is Master Shang?" asked Lily. At this, Aysa closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
"I am sorry…but he…," said Aysa, tears starting to appear in her eyes.
"Oh no…When did it happen?" asked Lily.
"Shortly before we left. His staff now rests with the staves of all the masters to have come before him," said Aysa.
"He was a great teacher…I will miss him," said Lily. The sound of someone clearing their throat caught everyone's attention to the garden entrance where General Clay was standing.
"Your Highness. We just received word from the convoy that was to rendezvous with the royal flagship and its part of the fleet…The news isn't good…" said Clay. Snapping to attention, Varian started walking towards the garden entrance.
"I apologize pandaren, but I'm going to have to take my leave of you. You are free to explore the city to your heart's content. No one will give you any problems," said Varian as he left the garden, leaving the three pandaren and the high elf behind.
"What do you think is going on?" asked Jojo.
"I do not know. But the General mentioned the royal flagship. As I recall, Prince Anduin was a passenger aboard it. They were headed for the far South Seas to chart navigational routes if I recall correctly," said Lily.
"Do you think he is in trouble?" asked Cinder, speaking for the first time since the pair had arrived in the garden.
"I'm not sure. But you and I are going to find out," said Lily. She then turned to Aysa and Jojo. "I would not suggest following us. The king barely trusts me enough as it is to enter his chambers without being summoned."
"Very well. Then Jojo and I will take a look around this city and see if we can't find someplace to stay for the time being," said Aysa.
In King Wrynn's private war chambers, the human leader stood anxiously over a large map of the known world laid across a table with several model Alliance ships dotting the seas of the map as his advisors filled him in on everything they knew that involved the royal flagship.
"The convoy delivering supplies to The Vanguard arrived at the remains of a battle. They made a thorough sweep of the wreckage, but found no sign of Admiral Taylor or his ship," said Sky Admiral Rogers, the female human who commanded the airship Skyfire.
"Two hundred ships at my disposal…Yet the one carrying my son goes missing!" cried Varian, slamming a fist onto the table.
"We received a distress call just moments before you entered from Admiral Taylor, Your Majesty, but it was distorted," said a purple male night elf with light purple hair and beard wearing a black leather suit, catching Varian's attention. It was at this moment that Lily and Cinder walked into the room. Everyone glanced over at the two, including King Wrynn, but when he said nothing and returned his attention to his advisor, everyone else knew he had silently given the okay for them to be there.
"Show me whatever you have Rell," said Varian as the night elf walked over to a scrying bowl. Waving his hand over it, a ghostly image of Admiral Taylor appeared over it.
"We have been drawn off course…Horde air fleet…Many casualties…" said the image as it faded in and out of existence. Varian watched with fear etched on his face. Fear for his son's life. At the same time, Lily's own face was matching that fear. She had gotten to know the Prince quite well during her time in Stormwind, enough that each of them called the other friend. "Shipwrecked on an uncharted isle…But the White Pawn is accounted for…Repeat, the White Pawn is safe…
"Anduin…" whispered Varian, his fear easing substantially.
"Surprise attack! Requesting immediate…" shouted Admiral Taylor's image, reigniting Varian's fear. "If anyone is receiving…" And then the image faded, leaving behind nothing but air in its wake.
"Sir, the Seventh Fleet has been dispatched to the location of the distress call, but it could take weeks-" said Admiral Rogers before Varian whipped around from facing the scrying bowl, causing her to become silent.
"There's no time to waste. Admiral Rogers, how soon would it take the Skyfire to reach that location?" asked Varian.
"About a day at full speed, if the weather permits," said the Admiral.
"Then we'll send a small elite team to secure this new land…And bring back my son," said Varian. He then looked over at the night elf. "Rell. Gather the best SI:7 agents you have and prepare to leave within the hour."
"Of course, Your Majesty," said the night elf, saluting before he turned and walked out of the chamber.
"Admiral, I want the Skyfire to be ready to leave by the time Nightwind's team is ready to take off," said Varian as he looked over at Admiral Rogers.
"It will be done, King Wrynn," she said, saluting and following after Rell. As she passed by Lily and Cinder, the two of them cautiously started to cross the room towards the human king as he sat in his chair behind the table.
"I am sorry about what has happened, Varian," said Lily.
"Do you see now why I say the Horde are nothing but animals?" asked Varian, glaring at the young pandaren with a look of anger in his eyes. "My son was on a navigational survey of the area. They weren't near any Horde controlled areas, yet their fleet still attacked us unprovoked."
"That may be, but I think it has more to do with their Warchief than the citizens themselves," said Lily. "From the stories I've heard about this…Hellscream…they probably fear his wrath more than they fear taking on your people."
"Perhaps…But it does not excuse their actions by any stretch," said Varian. Looking over at Cinder, he relaxed a little bit. "But where are my manners? You brought someone with you when you came back, and all I've done is ignore him. Who might you be?"
"I am Cinder, Your Highness," said the high elf, walking up in front of Varian before giving him a small bow. But as Cinder's eyes locked with the human king's, the latter tensed up substantially.
"You…You are no high elf," said Varian as he stood up, unsheathing the sword that was at his hip. "Your eyes have a feature to them that I know all too well, dragon. I also know that the color of flame that flickers in the backs of your eyes give away which color flight you belong to. And yours is purple, just like the Twilight Dragonflight's color!"
"Varian stop! It is not what you think!" cried Lily.
"I see you have played upon her trusting nature to get to me, Twilight. Well, it won't work," said Varian. By now Cinder was backing away from the human king, his hands up in a defensive nature.
"No! I would never use Lily for something like that!" cried Cinder.
"Play innocent if you want to, dragon! You'll die all the same!" cried Varian as he leaped over the table at Cinder, his sword raised back to deliver a killing stroke. But before he even covered half of the distance between the two of them, Varian was caught in the stomach by a flying kick from Lily, sending him crashing to the table behind him and falling off it to the floor. Cinder turned to run, only to be stopped by Lily's voice.
"Stop Cinder! He will not try that again. Stay here so we can resolve this without causing the whole keep to come after you," said Lily.
"You would…ah…defend this monster?" asked Varian as he slowly stood back up, holding his stomach where Lily's kick had landed.
"He is not a monster, Varian. He is my friend," said Lily. Shocked etched its way onto Varian's face as he heard Lily give her proclamation.
"But…he is a Twilight Dragon! They are the evil creations of Deathwing himself!" said Varian.
"Maybe so, but Cinder is good! He has no connections to Deathwing or the Old Gods! Kalecgos confirmed that and Alexstrasza herself spared him! Varian…he saved my life from the Twilight's Hammer on Hyjal only a handful of days ago," said Lily. Hearing that, Varian looked over at Cinder.
"Is that true, dragon?" asked Varian.
"It is. Lily saved my life, and I saved hers," said Cinder. Varian sighed after hearing that, then slowly sheathed his sword.
"Then you have my thanks, Cinder," said Varian. "You saved the life of one of the closest friends I have in these dark times. I've met with the Life-Binder, if only briefly. If she was willing to spare you, then who am I to argue."
"Thank you for understanding Varian," said Lily.
"I might be a ruler, but I don't have a heart of stone," said Varian as he walked around the table to step foot in front of the pair again. "Now then. I have a favor to ask of you, Lily."
"And that would be?" asked Lily, curiosity crossing her face.
"You know what's at stake in this mission we're about to launch. I would be eternally grateful if you would lend us your aid in finding my son," said Varian. He then looked down at the ground. "Truth be told, while I trust that Rell's team will find him, I'd feel much better knowing that an accomplished fighter such as yourself was with them if only to have a friend be the one to find him."
"You do not have to ask me, Varian. I will gladly help find Anduin and make sure he comes back safely," said Lily.
"As will I," said Cinder, taking a step in their direction. At this, Varian's good nature left him as he turned his gaze towards the young dragon.
"Unlike Lily, you haven't earned my trust to take care of something of this much importance to me, Twilight," said Varian. Now it was Cinder's turn to give a frown of annoyance.
"I do not want to go for the sake of your son, human. I pledged myself to protect Lily from whatever dangers may come her way. Whether I will do this peacefully as part of the team you are sending or I simply scare everyone on your airship to death as I follow it in my dragon form is up to you," said Cinder.
"You will not speak to me in such a manner, dragon or not!" hissed Varian. Suddenly Cinder's body burst into purple flames, his form growing larger as he morphed into his dragon form, the purple fires fading as he finished the transformation, standing nearly twice as high as either Lily or Varian.
"I will speak in such a manner if I have to!" roared Cinder.
"Cinder stop this!" shouted Lily. Unlike when he was talking to Varian, Cinder shrank away as he heard Lily's voice call him off. Giving a sigh, the Twilight Dragon lowered his head.
"Forgive me, King Wrynn. I…forget my manners," said Cinder. Suddenly the door to the war room burst open, a dark skinned draenei female with white hair done up in a ponytail dressed in a simple white robe with gold trim standing in the doorway.
"My King! Is it true what happened to-" said the draenei before her voice caught in her throat as she saw Cinder towering over the room's other two occupants. "Dr-dragon!" she cried.
"It's alright Malani!" shouted Varian, causing the draenei to stop mid turn. "This dragon isn't here to cause any problems."
"But King Wrynn…It's not just a dragon, it's a Twilight Dragon," said the draenei meekly.
"Trust me, my friend. He will not harm anyone," said Lily's voice softly. Lily then looked over at Cinder. "I think it would be wise to return to your high elf form now." Cinder nodded before his form once again burst into purple flames, this time his body shrinking as it morphed back into his mortal form. The draenei regarded Cinder for a few seconds longer, then cautiously stepped into the room and walked up to Varian.
"Now then, what has you all worked up like this Malani?" asked Varian.
"I heard that The Vanguard was attacked and ran aground somewhere in the South Seas," said Malani, her eyes full of fear. "I just wanted to know if you have any news as to whether or not my sister is okay?"
"Nothing I'm afraid…" said Varian, looking away from the draenei. "But I'm sending a rescue team to retrieve the survivors and make sure Anduin is safely returned here."
"Let me go too, my King," said Malani, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture.
"I…appreciate that you want to help, Malani. But you aren't a fighter," said Varian.
"You are right. I am not a fighter. But if there are injured, my healing skills will be invaluable. And besides, I must know if my sister Ventasa lives," said Malani.
"Let her go, Varian," said Lily, catching the two's attention. "I remember Ventasa was Anduin's personal bodyguard, right?"
"That is right," said Malani. "If Anduin is still alive, then I'm certain Ventasa will be with him. I want to find them both to set my heart at ease." Varian closed his eyes, sighing slightly.
"Very well," he said. "Go see Nightwind. He's the one prepping the team I am sending."
"Thank you King Wrynn!" said Malani happily as she turned and ran out of the room.
"Now then..." said Varian, looking over at Cinder, who returned the gaze. "I can tell from your…outburst…that you are adamant about staying at Lily's side. I will allow you to go under one condition."
"And what is that?" asked Cinder, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"That the crew of the Skyfire is aware of who you really are and that you will obey their commands," said Varian.
"I obey only myself and Lily, end of the discussion," said Cinder.
"You are not making this any easier dragon…" muttered Varian. He then nodded. "I trust Lily enough that if you swear to obey her, I will allow you to go."
"You have my word that I won't disobey her," said Cinder.
"Oh I don't want to have that kind of control over you Cinder," said Lily, sadness in her voice. Cinder turned to her, a small smile on his face.
"It's alright Lily. This is what I pledged to do as your protector," said Cinder.
"Then it is done. When you are ready, rendezvous with the Skyfire. She won't be hard to miss. It'll be the only airship in Stormwind airspace," said Varian. Lily and Cinder both nodded, then gave a small bow before turning and walking towards the war room's exit. "Just promise me one thing, Lily." Hearing Varian caused Lily to turn back towards him. "When you see my son, tell him I…I am sorry I wasn't there."
"It is not your fault Varian. Anduin knows that as well as you do," said Lily. Varian held up a hand.
"I know…I just…Please tell him…" said Varian. A smile crossed the pandaren's face as she saw the High King of the Alliance show his true self to her once more. The human she had come to call a friend.
"I will tell him, Varian…Count on it," said Lily.
A little over a day later as the Skyfire continued its journey to the coordinates of Admiral Taylor's distress call, an annoyed Cinder walked up to Lily as she sat at the bow of the ship, her legs crossed and her arms held out to her sides with her hands in a certain pose, her eyes closed in deep meditation. Sensing the dragon's presence, she broke her meditation and turned her head around to look up at him.
"I can sense something is bothering you, my friend," said Lily.
"The crew only looks at me with severe distrust…" said Cinder, sighing as he sat down next to the pandaren.
"I see…It is only natural for them to, all things considered," said Lily.
"I know…Doesn't make it any easier to put up with," he replied. He turned his gaze towards the bow, seeing that the ship was about to enter a dense, misty fog. Back at the helm of the ship, Admiral Rogers squinted her eyes as the ship entered the fog, uneasy that they were entering into a near zero visibility airspace. After nearly twenty more minutes and looking over her instruments a few times, she slowed the ship to a crawl.
"Rell!" she hollered to the lower deck where the night elf was looking over the side of the ship. "We should be right around where Admiral Taylor's distress signal was coming from! Can you see anything down below?"
"No…nothing but dense fog…" said Rell as he looked with strained eyes. Suddenly, something very faint caught his eyes. "Wait! I see land!" he said with elation. However, that quickly dissolved when the second thing he saw with his eyes became clear. "Horde ships off the starboard bow!" Instantly the ship was alive as the crew scrambled to their battle positions.
"That's an entire Horde base down there!" shouted Rogers, taking in the sight of a nearly completed Horde encampment on the shores of the land below them. "Battle stations everyone! Let's go kill us some Horde!"
"Oh no! I was afraid this might happen," said Lily as she and Cinder stood up and looked over the bow, seeing the base down below.
"What do we do?" asked Cinder, looking over at Lily.
"You two, get ready to engage the enemy on the ground!" shouted Rogers to them.
"We are not here to fight," said Lily, catching Admiral Rogers's attention, as well as Malani and a few other crew members near the Admiral. "Cinder and I are here to find Anduin, not fight the Horde."
"We are at war, pandaren," said Rogers as she walked across the deck and up to Lily, putting her face right in the pandaren girl's as her eyes narrowed. "If you will not fight our enemies, then you have no place on my ship."
"So be it," said Lily. She then turned to Cinder. "Come on. I saw a village not far from that Horde base. We can ask the locals what they know of what has happened here in the last few days." Cinder nodded before transforming into his dragon form, causing Rogers to quickly back away from the dragon as he leaned down to the ground, Lily climbing on his back. Once she was securely on his back, Cinder gave a flap of his wings, taking off the deck as he headed in the direction of the village.