The small Draenei girl stands from the smoking wreckage of her stasis pod, wincing violently as her head throbs. ;Ach, my head…; She peers around in sudden fear, eyes wide. ;Mother, Father? Where has everyone from the ship gone?; she mutters, the exotic language rolling off her tongue easily.
Suddenly there is a shout from the distance, and the girl yells back in mild confusion. She remembers the ship crash, but what had happened afterwards? All the thoughts lead to are another headache, so instead she sits upon the rim of her pod and hums a song to herself.
And then there is a lilac head peering over the edge of the crater her impact has made, and the person jumps down before the girl has time to register the newcomer. ;Myrrara! Oh, thank the Naaru you are alive! Your poor sire and dam have worried their horns off wondering where you landed.;
Myrrara laughs in delight at the appearance of her elder friend. The smaller blue girl was only fourteen solar cycles, and children are quite rare for Draenei couples. In this way was how most of her friends are already twenty to twenty-seven cycles. The lilac-toned half-mare is one such person, named Xundre. She was currently training to be a magician, and all of her companions were very pleases at her fast progress.
;Come, Myrrara! Your sire is probably ripping his tendrils out wondering what is taking me so long,; shouts the magician. Her only response is a derisive snort from the bottom of the crater, before the turquoise girl frowns and attempts to take a step forward.
;Ach. I am injured,; she calls to the magician, who they both know is considerably better at casting healing spells than the younger. Myrrara actually shares an incredible empathy with animals, a skill that her own mother teases her about endlessly. ;Training animals is not an occupation, my little half-filly. You must become a shaman, or a warrior. Something useful to our people.; By the time her internal monologue has finished, she realizes that the ache in her side has dissipated. Thank you, Xundre.
By the time the duo makes it back to the makeshift camp, the sun is already setting. Their timing is excellent, however- neither particularly wanted to be in the forest on a planet you knew nothing about, with nothing to defend yourself but your own wry thinking.
Myrrara scans the small crowd before noticing a beryl half-mare and a cobalt speckled half-stallion. She dashes over to them wraps both in her arms, sighing deeply. ;Mother, Father, I was found by Xundre. She also healed a minor wound on my side. How are both of you?; she murmurs, pleased to be reunited with her parents.
Her sire chuckles knowingly. ;I'm glad you have friends like Xundre. That half-filly is going to get herself into an adventure, and drag my own darling down with her. I can feel it in these old bones.;
The dam whaps Myrrara's father on the back of the head, carefully avoiding the sharp points of his backwards facing horns. ;Quiet yourself, Thaatus. My half-filly has more sense than that, she has my brains.; There is a slight lull in the relieved conversation before Myrrara clears her throat.
;Xundre is no longer a half-filly, Mother and Father. She turned twenty-five this cycle, and constantly reminds me that she is a half-mare now. She needs no encouraging.;
There is but a moment's pause before the family breaks out into laughter.
The rest of the hour is passed with companionable conversation between the two families. The dams and sires are discussing the new world they have landed on, and Myrrara is speaking to her coterie about the animals in this new place. She has already befriended a few small furry things, which hopped about constantly. She giggles as Lydasia withdraws from the absolutely harmless little twitchy thing as though she's been burned. ;I shall call them Jumpers. Lydasia, are you afraid of harmless little Jumpers?; she coos, waving the brown fur ball at the half-mare's face. The other Draenei shrieks impressively, falling backwards in misdirected fear.
Xundre laughs alongside Myrrara. ;These things are absolutely adorable. And harmless. And so very soft,; she murmers as she scratches the Jumper's head affectionately. ;Myrrara, you must find me one. We should do research on the animals of this planet!;
Scoff. ;You just want to see if they are edible, you glutton. I refuse to cajole these sweet little things to their doom!; She awaits Xundre's snarky reply, but hears none. In fact, everyone surrounding her has suddenly frozen in fear. Myrrara feels her stomach lurch as she turns around slowly.
Blink. It's just a wolf, actually. It's smaller than the kinds on Draenor, but it's still easily big enough to ride. But back to the subject: an angry (small) wolf staring at a very young Draenei girl. ;H-hello there, wolf. Would you please leave?; she asks, in a very small voice. The thing just growls, louder this time, and in one fell swoop it has picked her up and carried her away from the camp. The cries from her friends quickly become distant as she swallows in apprehension. Time for plan B.
She rips her pant leg out of the beasts mouth before flipping it as hard as she can onto it's back. Now it is even angrier, but she sits on top of it and stares into its black eyes. And suddenly something snaps. Myrrara can feel power pooling in the back of her already-glowing eyes, prepared to- well, do something to this thing. And she stares straight into the wolf's pupils, the sounds of the forest fading away into the background. Obey. Me. The thoughts somehow grind themselves into the wolf's head, and it growls fiercely and suddenly flips onto its legs.
There are only two taunting words in response: Make me.
The sun has mostly set, and the sky is painted with the last faint rays of orange. Myrrara's dam and sire are practically in hysterics, after losing their half-filly for the second time that day. The rest of the camp is in a somber silence, as though they are mourning a lost member of their people. Oh, wait. That's exactly what they were doing.
;Do not I get a welcoming party?;
A very, very familiar voice echoes through the camp from the entrance to the forest. Out comes a very tired looking Draenei girl, covered in injuries. Two black eyes, her body is covered in bruises, there are gashes all over her body. Oh yeah, she's riding a big, bloody wolf thing.
Somebody faintly calls out ;Myrrara?; from the back of the camp.
The girl grins in response, and the resulting look on her injured face is… gruesome, to say the least. ;Hey. I learned how to tame these things.;
And then all hell broke loose.
The entire camp stays up to hear her tale, repeated as many times as is necessary for their complete satisfaction. Myrrara's wounds are being tended as she speaks to the crowd.
;He hauled me all the way out of camp, and was probably going to eat me before something just… changed. I suddenly felt very powerful, like I could make anything listen to me. So I thought 'Obey me,' and only got two words in response. 'Make me.' Apparently I'm a…; the turquoise-skinned girl pauses, and turns to look at the wolf sitting behind her. Something is communicated between them, that the people watching can see. ;Yes, a "hunter."; The word does not roll off of her tongue easily, and it is very clear that it's from a different language.
Someone near the front row asks ;Can you use this… skill… on Draenei, as well?; Her response is a dry chuckle.
;Any volunteers?; she mutters weakly, breath hitching when three hands shoot up. ;Alright, then. Come forth and let me attempt.; The two half-mares and the half-stallion stare up at her quizzically. ;One at a time, my people.; The taller of the two women comes up, and glares into Myrrara's eyes. Wait for it, it was pooling in my eyes… Ah, yes. That's it. And she only has one thought to think: Obey me.
Well, it works. The woman's breathing slows as she slouches slightly. The child stares in slight alarm before realizing that she is the one in control. Go. Over to that bench. Sit, and stay there until I tell you. Her mental commands were being resisted, but she raised an iron wall and moved onto the next person. The process repeated twice more, until there were three people. ;I believe that would be a resounding 'yes,' I do think I can control you.; Be free. You are not under my control any longer.
And the day isn't finished at that.
Five Draenei burst into the crowd, looking both proud and panicky at the same time. ;We have finished searching for a town, we found one. It is called "Stormwind City," and it is populated by a race called "humans." And they speak a different language than us. It is called "Common," and we will have to learn it if we wish to live here.;