Hey everyone!

While I'm fixing up my other chapter for Old Truths, I thought you guys might enjoy a snippet of my ficlet that I promised a little while back. All those who have followed me before might like the background stuff that I'll be putting here. It won't be a very long story, not like OT, anyway. That one will be of epic proportions, I think. Still, I hope that you'll like this beginning part, as it will answer some of the questions my reviewers have asked about Old Truths…

I'll stop with my rambling now, as I'm sure you want me to get on with it. So, here's A Leafy Interlude!

….

Prologue: Chances

She was in the middle of a bustling city – Stormwind in fact – filled with merchants and civilians going about their usual day to day business. Unlike them, however, the druid was here for a matter of grave importance. She was in the middle of a briefing over a new quest…

"Druid," the shaman said quietly, handing the elf a small bundle. "Keep this talisman with you at all times, unless I specify otherwise. It is a medium that I will use to both communicate and oversee the general area to locate this phenomenon."

The elf nodded, placing the pendant around her neck for safe keeping.

"You must travel light, as we are in need of haste," the Draenei continued, watching the elf's expression carefully. "Be sure to leave most of your items at the nearest inn in Teldrassil, we can't afford to lose this lead."

"Have you a good idea of where in the forest this is located?" She asked him, her brow furrowed slightly.

"Not as of yet," he replied, also frowning. His pale eyes flicked over to the other side of the street as he briefly mused on the problem. "When you bring this amulet closer to it, I'll be sure to have a more positive reading on its whereabouts. Rest assured that this will be no simple task; I am not yet certain as to how far we will need to look to sort this situation out."

The druid fingered the talisman from where it hung on the chain.

"Time is of the essence," the shaman's voice interrupted the elf's reverie. "You must leave now if we are to catch it in time. There's no telling how long it will be before it disappears."

"Alright," she murmured, releasing the chain from her grip. The druid then stood to her full height, almost towering over the shaman. "I will go. It is better to get this over with."

The druid glanced over to see the shaman nod to her once before changing before her eyes. In his place stood a white wolf, with a strong muzzle and dark eyes that betrayed the sentient intelligence within.

Farewell druid, it called to her. And good luck… the wolf turned and ran towards the canals.

This was all that she needed to know that she was dismissed. The elf raised her hands up in front of her, fingers outstretched, and began to recite a long incantation that was forever etched in her memory. The whispering tones were hard to catch, and passersby could only notice the way her lips moved at high speed, and how her palms glowed with a dazzling blue light…

The chant ended with a slightly audible cry of "teleport: Moonglade!" before the druid faded from sight.

….

It was in the small community of Dolanaar that the Druid stopped to rest. She was tired from her long journey to Teldrassil from the Horde continent. The free ride from the druid sanctuary of Moonglade helped set her at ease, somewhat, but not enough to sleep. One could never be too sure on Kalimdor, especially since she had been close to Horde territory; there were several populated cities and towns owned by the Orcs and Tauren not too far away from Nighthaven, so the chances of being seen or caught by spies were high enough to discredit letting her guard down.

She had decided to bypass the city completely, opting to stopover in Dolanaar instead of the more tranquil Darnassus. With all of the current happenings in the world so far, there was a chance that one of the Alliance battle groups would try to get her to enlist again. Apparently the Silverwing Sentinels were at it again… Figures, she thought to herself. Those troops are always clamoring for someone's attention, no matter how many refuse.

The elf sighed in relief as her borrowed hippogryph swung around for a graceful landing in front of the flightmaster. He nodded to her quietly before saluting her in the usual greeting. She returned the gesture and made her way over to the inn. It had been a long time since she had been in this building, when she was still in the initial stages of her training. Glancing around, the druid noted that nothing much had changed since she had left. The innkeeper smiled at her kindly and gestured that she was welcome to drop her things off in the room upstairs. The druid smiled back and took the woman up on her offer.

Upon entering the room, the druid noted that she wasn't the only one staying at the inn for the day. There was another young elf sitting on the bed next to hers, back facing her, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment of silence, the other elf jumped in surprise and turned to face the newcomer before a wide grin crept across her face.

"Hello there, stranger," she murmured softly in an amused tone.

The druid blinked. "Astara?"

The elf's grin grew wider. "The very same," she replied. "I haven't seen you in a long while, 'Rusa."

"Did you ever decide on a hunter's name, 'Stara?"

Astara shook her head. "I decided to keep my birth name. It makes things easier for me."

Rusa sighed exasperatedly. "You always liked to be different, didn't you? First with the rules of training, and now with this…"

Astara chuckled. "It's not as fun if you have to fit in, besides, everything turned out fine anyway."

"Good point."

"So," Astara began. "What brings you back to our humble forest?"

Rusa shook her head. "I can't tell you much, other than that it's an important mission that must be done quickly. This is just a temporary reprieve before I need to head out again…"

Astara sighed. "After all of this, we'll need to meet again so we can properly catch up. I don't want to detain you here any longer than you need to be."

Rusa smiled wanly. "Thanks. I promise that I'll explain it better later; for now, just be content that I'm here on official business."

Astara nodded. She stood, then bent to scoop up her bow and quiver. Rusa eyed the equipment.

"Out hunting today?"

The hunter smiled. "Of course," she replied. "I'm going to store what I find to craft later…" Astara waved her hand vaguely while heading towards the stairs. "You know what I mean."

The druid chucked. "I sure do. Good luck with your catch," she called.

Astara turned back to her friend. "Same with you and your quest. I'll want those details you promised, though!"

Rusa watched as her old companion walked down the stairs and out of sight. She was glad to have run into her again. Just like old times, she thought to herself, smiling, before she sobered. I hope that this strange phenomenon doesn't involve anything too dangerous. I don't think that it would help matters here in Teldrassil if it did; one shaman and a druid wouldn't be enough to manage it…

….

Rusa was nearing the sentinels at the ridge overlooking Al'Ameth when she heard what sounded like some sort of attack. Without much time to mull things over she sprang into action, darting down the hill and towards the source of the sound. It appeared that a human had caught the attention of one of the timberlings that frequented the lake, and was struggling to defeat it. By the way the human had drawn out his wand, she figured that he had to at least be a mage or warlock, but at this point in time it was hard to tell.

The druid watched as the elemental clipped the human with a sweep of its arm and decided that enough was enough. She positioned herself so that she was in range of the creature, before shouting out:

"Oi!"

The timberling, confused at the second humanoid that had escaped its notice, turned its head to look at the druid. Rusa didn't give it any chance to react as, a few moments later, she sent out a ball of energy that immediately hit its target. The timberling fell, like a rag doll, in front of a very shocked human. The man turned slightly before he collapsed. Rusa rushed over and caught him before he hit the ground.

By this time, Rusa noticed that she was surrounded by a mixed group of civilians and sentinels. At the back of this group stood her friend, who appeared to be both confused and concerned, judging by the furrowed brows.

"What happened?" This was the question repeated from a number of mouths all at once. She waited until the noise died down before she answered in a clipped tone.

"The human was up against a timberling and he nearly lost. He collapsed after I took it down." Rusa handed the unconscious man to one of the sentinels closest to her. "He seems fatigued; take him to the inn and let him rest. I can't hang around much longer, as I'm needed for a quest."

Rusa ignored the mix of shocked and confused faces in response to her statement, choosing instead to focus on her travel form. As she shifted into her feline self, the druid made a beeline for the lake and ran alongside it in an easterly direction until she could no longer hear the people of Dolanaar.

….

Astara stared at the retreating form of her friend in confusion. She had only just dropped off her first bundle of goods for the day when she had heard the commotion near the lake. Rusa practically sprinted down the hill to settle the problem, and it was already over by the time she had arrived at the scene. Rusa was holding a human man in her arms, and seemed unconcerned with the crowd that had formed around her. Astara had to hand it to her friend; she certainly knew how to handle a situation…

The sentinel that held the human already left for the inn, and the hunter was sure that he wouldn't be waking up for a while yet. In the meantime, she figured that another round of hunting wouldn't hurt while she waited to check up on him. The look in Rusa's eyes had told her explicitly that she was expecting the human would be watched over. And Astara knew that she would make sure it was carried out…

…..

It's not much, but there you have it… Let me know what you guys think of it. Not sure when I'll post the next one, I'm still tossing some ideas around. This is a bit of filler for you guys to look at while I find time to put up my next chapter for Old Truths…

Until next time,

Peace out!

Shadowcaster01