Left froze in place at the news, for a moment, but it was a moment too long.
"You should go to her," said Wrathion quietly.
"Your Majesty—"
"Before I change my mind," he added, an odd smile on his face.
He must have seen the burning that tugged at the edges of her mask. He must have seen the way her ear twitched. He must have seen the way her lips, just a little, had parted.
Right was alive.
The journey was a blur. It was so difficult not to cry. She couldn't let anyone see. Not anyone. Not even Wrathion. Especially not Anduin. She was glad she ranked high enough that no Blacktalon agents questioned where she was going, or what for - if they had she may just have snapped their necks and passed it off as the doing of one of the adventurers with newfound loyalty to their home faction and not Wrathion. It was not wise to get between an orc and her mate. Especially not when that orc was Left.
She'd tempered her fury until now, having more constructive ways to direct it. But seeing Anduin and Wrathion together at Mason's Folly - she'd almost cracked, and neither of them had appeared to notice. It wasn't their job to, but it still hurt. Which was why it confused Left that she'd felt so violated when Wrathion had noticed.
Feelings didn't make sense. It was why she, for the large part, tried to dispose of them. But it wasn't always that simple - she still had her heat cycle, for one. A million other tiny things betrayed her status as mortal, and all of them served to infuriate her. All but one.
The Pandaren of the Secret Aerie greeted her warmly, and it unnerved Left that they appeared to recognise her until she realised that they didn't. If they had they would have lead her straight to Right. Instead, they offered her tea and asked if she'd come far.
"I'm here to see my mate," she said.
"Ah, she is upstairs. Still, tea?"
"Bring it up," she grunted as she climbed the stairwell.
Time seemed to dilate yet again as she rounded the top and headed for the door. What if it was a trap? What if Right had died while nobody was watching? What if Sabellian was there waiting for her? At least she knew if she died in service to Wrathion that she'd be joining her mate in her honourable death, then. She almost hesitated to push the door open, but with her hand pressed firm against it, she couldn't wait any longer.
She hardly recognised the bundle of bandages on the bed.
Right was asleep, of course; Left had been warned she wouldn't gain consciousness for very long, or even very often. But the first time she had, the first question she'd asked had been about Left. The orc approached the bed with reverent footsteps, watching Right's chest rise and fall gently and quietly.
She felt a whimper well up in her throat and swallowed it. Right was badly injured. From the looks of things, there was still a chance she might not pull through; there was an odd sort of brace around her neck, some kind of tube leading into her arm, bandages at her legs, arms, chest - blood had crusted in her hair and nobody had had the chance to clean it yet, where the human's skull had cracked on something or other. The bandages were clean though - the pandaren had taken great care.
Left knelt down by the side of the bed, and reached for Right's hand. Feeling the warmth of the uneven pulse at her wrist was too much.
The whine started high and came down into audible, and Left felt her mask crack, face scrunching up and fangs bared defensively. She bowed her head towards Right - Right who fought through injuries Left had no doubt she would have succumbed to days ago, if it was her in her mate's position - and her shoulders shook, bringing both her hands to cover her face from anyone who might see. Her cheeks were dry - orcs did not produce tears of sorrow - but that did not mean she was crying any less.
"I'm sorry," she found herself whispering in Common. "I'm sorry, my mate."
She felt a gentle hand at her shoulder and shot to look at it, finding it furry and not at all as small as Right's would be. Incensed, she rose to her feet, squaring up against the female pandaren who had intruded.
The red panda looked dismayed. "I only meant to apologise that you had to see her like this," she explained in her native Pandaren tongue, shrinking back a little under Left's glare.
Left breathed out in a manner that would have produced smoke if she were a dragon like her master. "You're lucky I didn't have your head off with my blade."
"My apologies." She bowed. "What is your name?"
Left started to bark at her, but reigned in her anger. "Left." Stiffly, "…and yours?"
"Lau," she smiled, moving past Left to see to Right.
"What are you doing?"
"…changing her bandages. Do you want to watch?"
"Yes."
"You're sure? Her injuries are…"
"I will be here until she is recovered or dead, or my master requests otherwise."
"…yes. Yes." Lau paused. "Oh, and I brought your tea, by the way."
Left sat across the room and sipped on the tea begrudgingly while Lau worked on unwinding the bandages around Right's arms, then her legs; adjusted the catheter, carefully added salve to the wounds as Right groaned in pain. Left had to look away and bite her lip not to start crying again; Lau had already seen too much for today. She couldn't believe she'd let her guard down like that. Right would be ashamed. What if Right was— angry at her? For not sticking by her closer..? If they had fought back to back…
No. This was useless. Lau's voice once again roused her from her ruminations: "Do you want to chew her food for her?"
Left looked at her blankly for a moment. "…oh. Yes."
The orc approached Right's bedside once more and avoided looking at the multiple injuries as she reached for the proffered meal. It was good, hearty food; the kind Right would appreciate if she were conscious. Taking Right's first mouthful into her own mouth, Left turned to watch Lau leave.
Sure that they were alone, she bent down and pressed her lips to Right's, gently parting them with her tongue and pushing the food into the human's mouth. She tapped at Right's throat in just the right way to make her swallow, then went to chew the next mouthful.
She was almost done when she felt a hand at the back of her head. She didn't start this time; she knew whose it was. Right swallowed weakly of her own accord and Left pulled away, to cup the human's face in her calloused hand.
"I knew you'd come," the human croaked once her throat was clear.
"Always," whispered Left, leaning in for a proper kiss.
Her tusks dug into Right's cheeks in desperation, seeking what she'd been missing for far too many nights - the warm presence which made Left feel safe, and wanted, and gave her somewhere to express herself. She'd never show her emotions freely like this in front of anyone but Right. The human gently twisted away from the kiss as Left let out a choked sob, nudging her forehead against Right's cheek.
"I thought you were dead," she whined.
"So did I." Right could do nothing to comfort her girlfriend except pet her shaved head, gently. She desperately wished to reach up and hug her, kiss her head a thousand times and tell her she'd never leave her again, but all she could do was listen to Left's high-pitched whimpers echo off the ceiling and let her own tears flow.