Kinta was getting a little tired of waiting to be captured. She'd been overtly skulking around Astranaar now for two weeks and still nothing.

"What I gotta do, Lakshmi? Set up signs sayin' "Unsuspecting and Easily Captured Troll this way?" she asked her pet raptor rhetorically. Lakshmi snorted in brief acknowledgement of her name and went back to sleep. The prey in the forest didn't offer the large reptile much challenge. Even the bears were no match, though they weren't bad eating.

Kinta leaned back against the stump that served as a handy backrest. She'd left tracks all around the lake outside of Astranaar the first week. She dropped a carved troll fetish a couple days ago, in case there were other two-toed non-troll humanoids around. She'd even set up her campfire last night where it could be seen from the village if someone happened to look up. But the night elves either didn't care that there was a troll lurking about, or they were too frightened to investigate.

"This sucks." Kinta muttered, as she unstrung her second-best bow. She hadn't brought her best gear in case the night-elves decided they liked her stuff, but she wasn't the sort of troll to not keep her equipment in the best possible shape, no matter how lousy it was. She checked the string first for any fraying or signs of wear, and then minutely inspected the bow for any fracture or splintering. Then she polished the bow and greased the string with some left over bear-fat, before re-stringing it, and setting it aside. The arrows were just as carefully checked for loose fletching, warping, or dulling on the points. Finally she went over her armor and Lakshmi's harness. She tried to stretch the mundane tasks out as much as she could, knowing that as soon as she finished, she'd have nothing to do for the rest of the night, but even so, she was done before the moon had fully risen.

She put everything back into place neatly and sighed, rocking back on her heels. "Maybe I'll go for a swim. Do you want to go swim, baby?" She'd carefully avoided the word "bath", but Lakshmi settled even more firmly into her nest of leaves and tucked her nose under her tail. The warmer climate reptile didn't enjoy the colder waters of the northern half of the continent, and after one attempt at swimming in Lake Mystral, had refused to go again unless ordered.

"Some friend you are. Spoiled rotten." Kinta chided while undoing the thick indigo braid running down her back. The raptor ignored her. "Fine, be that way. I ain't too much of a wussy lizard to go for a dip." Lakshmi yawned, displaying several rows of pristine white teeth, indicating her refusal to be drawn by insults.

Kinta reached over and scratched the giant raptor under her chin. "I be back in a bit. If a night elf shows up, don't eat 'em. They're too damn hard to find." Lakshmi closed her golden eyes and made the chirruping susurration sound that indicated pleasure.

"That's mah girl." Kinta grabbed her linen towel and soap, stripped off her armor down to a pair of linen shorts and shirt, and started the climb up to the spring that fed the lake surrounding the night elf town below.

The view was pretty. She was willing to admit that, even as she slowly eased into the water that felt like it melted last week. The moon was bright and full, and the dark twilight of the elven lands was sort of comforting. More so than the wide open plains of the Barrens at least. She managed to sink in the last few inches by gritting her teeth, and started soaping up quickly. At least no one was around to make fun of the fact she wore clothes while bathing. They were loose enough she could reach in and scrub everything properly. She hated being naked. Even when she was staying in an inn, she would cover every window, the crack under the door, AND check for any possible holes in the floor before taking a bath. The idea of being naked while outside where anything could be looking was just completely out of the question. She knew realistically that wet linen, especially COLD wet linen, didn't exactly do much for modesty, but somehow it was enough for her to pretend she wasn't exposed.

She didn't like being seen at all really. She'd always been terminally shy. Not because she was ugly or deformed, but just because being looked at for more than a couple of seconds made her start blushing and feeling awkward. The boisterous and outgoing nature of most trolls was completely anathema to her. The directness of male trolls made her feel tongue-tied and stupid, to the point that most of the ones she came across probably thought she was mentally slow, given the way she'd stammer something incoherent and run away when propositioned. Her nightmares featured being singled out, being the focus of attention.

The only profession where she could have been less visible would have been in the assassin school, but that involved too much getting up close and personal with other people. She preferred to keep things far away and impersonal so she signed up for the hunter classes. She enjoyed spending time alone in the forests, far from the troll villages where she always felt like a freak. Unfortunately, she had been in Sen'jin on a rare errand, when Vul'jin decided he wanted an important message delivered to the night elves. She had a reputation for reliability so she'd been tapped. The message was one that required a volunteer hostage to return any possible answer. She had spent two miserable weeks not just trying to attract attention but the attention of the enemy.

She was shivering by the time she was sure all the bits were clean, and she tossed the bar of soap over her shoulder towards the nearest bank so she could start rinsing off.

The grunt of surprise couldn't have been more startling if it had been a gunshot. Kinta ducked down until the water was up to her chin, before turning around.

A night elf was standing there, one with lavender-colored skin, long bright white hair, and those weird glowing amber eyes, holding her bar of soap in one hand, and a staff in the other. He had a triangular face with high cheekbones, and no facial hair, his face unlined and innocent of any signs to determine how old he was. His hair was left to fall loosely about his shoulders, long white locks falling in front of each of his ears. Kinta stared at him in disbelief. He was wearing cheap linen pants of the sort favored by those starting out into the world, a thin baggy shirt lacking in any aesthetic value, and a pair of linen hand wraps that went from halfway up his forearm to the first knuckle of his fingers. Despite his neophyte garments, he was taller than she was, with the wide muscular shoulders and narrow waist typical of the night elves. He looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

Loa, ya gotta be kidding me. Do I have to get captured by a baby? Oh well, maybe he'll be too young to really have a good reason to kill trolls on sight. Not that he looks capable of killing a rogue bunny rabbit. She thought.

She cleared her throat, before saying in heavily accented Common, "Well, congratulations, ya caught me!" She tried to smile at him, but something about the expression on his face made it die on her face.

The elf didn't say anything, staring down at her with those eerie eyes.

"I bet ya wanna take me right to your leaders?" She prompted hopefully.

The elf thought about it, while she shivered. "No." He eventually said, his husky voice barely audible. He started to turn around to leave, and found himself facing a mouthful of teeth.

Lakshmi made the softest of her ominous snarling noises, the kind that told anything without a full set of plate armor that she knew exactly which soft squishy bits tasted the best, and was only refraining from tearing them out on a moment-by-moment basis for completely arbitrary reasons which might change with the smallest provocation.

The night elf froze. Kinta groaned mentally. This was not going well. "Knock it off, ya stupid lizard," she hissed in Zandali. "I'm tryin' ta get captured." The raptor hooted in confusion. Lakshmi didn't understand why her troll was upset. It would be perfectly simple to knock the elf down and eat it. Problem solved. The subtleties of the reason for the trip to the strange, cold forest had been lost on her simple lizard brain.

Kinta moved towards the bank where her towel was. The elf turned halfway to look over his shoulder at the noise, his gaze flicking over the transparently wet linen shirt once, before he quickly turned back, saying tersely, "Excuse me." Kinta paused in surprise at the courtesy, (how stupid is it to turn your back on an enemy?) before continuing on to clamber out of the water, and quickly wrap herself in the towel.

"Uh. Thanks. Now about you capturin' me, I'm willin' ta go along quietly, and if ya wanted to make sure to get any v-v-valuable letters or intelligence I'm probably carryin', my camps-s-site is right down the hill." Her lips felt numb, and she hoped the words weren't too confusing. She could feel her teeth trying to chatter.

The elf risked a glance over his shoulder at her, only fully looking at her when he confirmed she was covered. "You're cold." He said.

Kinta frowned. "Yes, so the s-s-sooner we could get ta a nice warm building, maybe one in the city down there, the b-b-better."

The elf shrugged a shoulder. "I don't want to capture you." He paused, apparently realizing that this was not sufficient, and added, "It isn't convenient."

"Not c-c-convenient?!" Kinta shrieked. "I'm a troll! In elven lands! It's your d-d-duty to capture me!"

The elf blinked at her. "What does a troll know about elven duty?" His tone remained perfectly neutral, though she got the impression that he was starting to be annoyed, as he shifted his stance, the muscles in his shoulders rolling back as he straightened up.

Kinta opened her mouth and then shut it. "The preservation of one's b-b-borders is a standard duty for all those who would take advantage of the p-p-promise of safety found there." This was definitely NOT how she saw this going. Trust elves not to do anything right.

The elf pondered this. "I suppose so. But these lands are debated by the Horde. The presence of your Splintervale post, and the Zoram Strand fort seem to imply that you feel you have a claim here. I don't see much in the way of safety promised, therefore I don't feel that the standard duty argument holds much weight. Perhaps if you were in Auberdine, I would feel more inclined to your way of thinking."

Kinta stared at the elf in complete confusion. He seemed far too relaxed for a youngling, especially in the face of Lakshmi's continued attempts to intimidate him by breathing heavily down his neck. The only weapon he was holding was his staff which looked like he'd just found a handy stick and picked off the bigger branches. Surely he was hungry for prestige or reknown. Capturing one of the enemy was usually a great way to gain both.

"That is a reasonable point, however you've caught me fair and square without any weapons, and I am honor bound to surrender." Kinta said, stamping both feet to try and get the feeling back into her toes. She'd intended to be back at camp, wrapped in wool blankets next to the fire by now, not having to argue herself into being captured.

"You have a loaded raptor pointed at me. I'm perfectly willing to consider it even." The elf moved to step sideways around the raptor. Lakshmi looked at her owner, expecting the attack command. Kinta shook her head, and jerked it to one side. The raptor sidestepped in front of the elf.

The elf sighed, and turned back to the troll with a much-put-upon expression on his face. "Do you mind?"

Kinta had had time to review the conversation in her mind. "What do ya m-mean it's not convenient?" She asked.

"I'm not going back to any of the night elf towns. I have business in Stonetalon. I was just coming up here for a bath before leaving." The elf tilted his head to one side, "Actually, I don't see why I shouldn't have my bath anyways, if you're finished."

"What?!"

The elf slid his shirt off, revealing a torso as equally well-developed as any troll male, the muscles over his ribs well defined, with deep grooves carving shadows around his abs. He folded it neatly and set it on the ground while Kinta stared open-mouthed. When he reached for the waistband of his pants, she spun around, cheeks blazing. Lakshmi whined, sensing Kinta's distress. Kinta winced at the soft sound of his pants hitting the ground. The idea of the elf being naked and splashing around right behind her made her horribly uncomfortable. Especially followed closely by the idea that she didn't know if he'd been watching HER bathe. At least she hadn't been naked. The thought made her clutch her towel more tightly around her.

Kinta massaged her forehead with her finger, trying not to listen to the splashing sounds. She absently moved closer to the raptor for warmth and comfort. She honestly didn't know what to do. She'd never expected to be unable to convince someone to capture her. She'd been more worried about being treated brutally, or with cruelty, not complete indifference!

"When ya think it would be convenient?" Kinta asked.

"What?"

Kinta turned around out of habit to repeat, "When would it .." She trailed off, realizing the elf was standing in the shallows, the water only going halfway up his thighs. She choked and promptly spun around again, saying in a strangled tone, "It be convenient."

"When would what be convenient?" asked the elf calmly, as if he wasn't standing there naked and … and hanging out, soaping himself up with HER soap. She was going to have to get a new bar.

Kinta gritted her teeth, and squeezed out, "For you to capture me and take me to ya leaders."

"Oh, it'll be at least two weeks. Maybe a month."

Kinta's shoulders slumped, and she bit her lip with indecision. The night elf was the first one she'd even caught sight of in two weeks, aside from the Sentinels who very definitely wouldn't want to ask questions first and shoot later. It might be faster to stick with the elf, than to hang around indefinitely hoping for a more ambitious one to wander by.

"But after that you'd DEFINITELY be able to?"

"I don't see why you're so desperate to be captured. If you like being mistreated, surely there's some troll at home willing to tie you up and spank you." The elf tried not to laugh as he watched the troll's shoulders go rigid again a few seconds after she translated what he said. If she pulled the towel any tighter around herself she was going to rip it in half. It took her nearly a full minute of choking and swearing in her own language before she managed to get control of herself again.

"There is not a ... never mind. I'm not desperate to be captured, and I don't want to be mistreated. Look, the town is literally thirty minutes walk that way. Can't ya take an hour, capture me, turn me in, and then ya can go on to Stonetalon?"

He thought about it. The troll didn't seem like she was that much of a threat at first glance, but it was his job to find out what she was doing here, so obviously trying to attract attention. Her raptor was one of the biggest ones he'd ever seen, with odd coloring, implying a higher caliber hunter than the equipment she'd left behind in camp. Why was she pretending to be less competent? "Nope."

"Why th' hell not?"

"Because I have orders to go to Stonetalon as soon as possible. I suppose if you wanted to insist on coming along, I could capture you after I'm done." He sounded distinctly dubious.

"But you've got time for a bath." She accused.

"Hygiene is very important." She could hear him stepping out of the water. She squawked in outrage when the fine spray of droplets from him shaking himself off splattered her.

"There's no need to get upset. I didn't bring a towel. I don't suppose you'd want to share yours?" He asked, just to watch the dark purple flush rise up the back of her normally light blue neck again.

"Absolutely not."

"There's no need to get huffy." He said with an injured tone to his voice. "It's not my fault you can't plan to get captured on an appropriate schedule."

She turned around at that to glare at him. "Are ya making fun of me?" He was only wearing his shirt, which wasn't long enough, and his handwraps, his pants tossed over one arm. She squeezed her eyes shut, and added angrily, "And hurry up and get dressed!"

"Why would I make fun of you? And you don't need to look so insulted. The water's really cold!"

"Because elves have lousy senses of humor. What does the water being cold have to do with being insulting? I ain't insulted, I'm confused, and cold and wet, and I wish ya'd hurry up and get dressed." The genuinely fretful bewilderment in her voice made him pause as he was pulling his pants up.

"How old are you?" He asked, suddenly worried that despite her generous breast size, he might be dealing with a juvenile. She was a good five inches shorter than he was, and normally the trolls were a little taller than the night elves. Surely they wouldn't have sent a child to get captured!

"Twenty two. What does that have to do with anything?! Look, could ya hurry please? I can't feel my toes anymore."

He exhaled in relief. Trolls were considered adults around age seventeen, so he finished pulling his pants up and said, "Well, I didn't want to explain to a child that cold water tends to make the tissues of the penis retract and shrink to protect the sensitive nerve endings. Similar to the way it makes the tissue of your nipples contract and harden so that they poke straight out even through your linen towel and your shirt." He paused, because the troll's face was so dark blue with blushing that he thought she might be having a stroke, "So I thought perhaps you were insulted because I'd lost a couple inches in your presence due to an aggressive lack of interest in your charms, but it really was just the cold water." A moment passed before he added, "I can't think why else you'd insist on my putting my pants on. I've been told I have excellent proportions. Didn't you notice?" He struck a pose, flexing his muscles .

"Ya know what? Forget it, I'll just go turn myself in." Getting shot by the Sentinels couldn't be this bad. Multiple thoughts swirled around her head. Indignation at being thought to be a child, irritation that he was refusing to capture her, embarrassment at the fact he probably realized her level of sexual experience was in the negative zone, and the very strong desire to go put on every single item of clothing she owned because he'd so casually mentioned the state of her nipples. She felt a sudden powerful urge to go home and hide. This mission was turning into a complete disaster.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea. The sentinels will just shoot you and burn the body. And they'll put your raptor down." His tone was utterly bland, but his words shook her deeply.

Kinta shivered, and looped an arm around Lakshmi's neck, scratching the beautiful pale white-grey scales. "No." For some reason the reminder of Lakshmi's dependence on her decisions helped her find a sane spot in the confusion and embarrassment. She took a deep breath.

"Was it the comment about your nipples? I was just making an anatomical comparison."

"I don' wanna discuss anatomy, yours or mine." She was proud of the way that came out without even so much as a quiver.

"This capture isn't going to be nearly as fun as it could be. I'm dressed, so we might as well go and get your stuff, if it's not too far. I am on a deadline." She opened her eyes to see him heading down the path away from the spring as if he hadn't a care in the world. For some reason that was one irritation too much. She snapped her fingers twice and hissed a command in Zandali.

Lakshmi sprung forward as quick as lightning, and her jaws clamped down on the elf's neck and shoulder. He stopped instantly. "Did you want something?" He asked with deep sarcasm.

"What's ya name?" She asked.

"Elian'do Malfillion Moonriver. At your service, I'm sure. Hopefully not as raptor food."

"Whatever. I'm just gonna call you Eli."

"Eli?" He sounded amused.

"I realize this isn't a usual situation, but if it's all the same to you, an' I damn sure hope it is, 'cause otherwise I'm gonna have ta let Lakshmi eat ya, I'd appreciate if you could manage to take us a little bit seriously. This ain't a joke ta me."

"Lovely lady, how could you suggest that I'm not taking you seriously?" He could feel the raptor's stinky carnivore drool dripping down his shoulder, as the sharp points of its teeth made dents into the flesh of his shoulder. He slipped both hands into the pockets of the linen pants as nonchalantly as he could.

"'Cause you ain't asked me who I am. Not using someone's name is one sign ya don't take them seriously. Another one is empty compliments." She sidled past him on the path, and headed down without looking back over her shoulder.

The raptor bumped him with her head, releasing his neck and shoulder with a deep growl indicating that the night elf taste test could be resumed at any moment, if he was feeling uncooperative. The elf peered after the rapidly disappearing troll, and back at the raptor, who snarled at him again. Her insight into his not asking her name had surprised him.

"Fine, fine, I'm going." He removed his hands from his pockets with great care and scrambled down the path after the troll, Lakshmi nipping at his heels whenever she thought he needed encouragement.

By the time the raptor herded him into the small camp, the troll had already pulled on wool pants and matching shirt, and was currently lacing her leather armor into place over top of it.

"You did take the wet stuff off first right? Otherwise you're still going to freeze, and the water's going to soak through and ruin your leathers." He asked. "Not to mention the chafing."

"What I'm wearing ain't ya business. Ya business is in Stonetalon." She stood up, trying to tie the laces for her thigh armor onto her jerkin with uncooperative fingers numb from the cold.

"Want me to help with those?" He offered after she dropped the lace halfway through for the third time.

"Want me to gut you?" She snarled in Zandali, even as the cursed lace finally went through the last hole, allowing her to pull it tight and knot it.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She picked up her bow and arrows, and the bags, glad she'd packed everything away before her bath. "Lead on."