Hello everybody! This is my first fanfic so feedback is appreciated. :) Thanks and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft, that would be Blizzard.

Raven stood in the snow of Winterspring cleaning the blood from his armor. The small deer he had been skinning had taken longer than he thought because of the cold. He was just lucky that he could not feel the winter wind through his thick fur. He stood up and straightened his back with a sigh as he scanned the trees that surrounded the clearing he resided in. It was then that a dark gray wolf loped out of the trees. It stopped a few feet away and stared at the large black worgen in front of him.

Raven was puzzled. This wolf was much darker than any of the wolves he had spotted in the area. He was positive that it did not belong in Winterspring. It also wasn't doing anything aggressive towards Raven who, in theory, was encroaching on his territory. Maybe he was after the deer for a meal. Raven growled deep in his throat to try and get it to go away. Nothing…. The wolf sat down on his haunches and continued to watch the worgen. Raven shook his head. This did not seem right at all.

Suddenly Raven's ears flicked forward, catching the faint sound of footsteps coming towards him. His eyes found a shadow among the trees that belonged to an approaching figure. His back stiffened. He couldn't afford to see any other races. Worgens weren't exactly trusted around this area… or anywhere for that matter. How could he leave though after all the time he had just spent skinning the deer for future meals. He would have to stand his ground and face the consequences as they came. Although a small part of him kept hoping that the shadow would turn and go a different direction.

Raven jumped a little when the wolf tilted his head back and let out a long, low howl that echoed through the sleeping birch and pine trees. The footsteps stopped and a female voice responded from the area of the shadow.

"Shade? Did you find a cave yet?"

Raven tilted his head. The voice was shaking, almost has if she was so cold her teeth were chattering. Raven stepped back as the footsteps quickened and soon he could see a night elf among the trees. Her long, dark blue hair was dripping wet along with the heavy leathers she was wearing. Some of the water had started to turn to ice. No wonder the elf had chattering teeth. She had her arms wrapped around her in an attempt to keep herself a little warmer but Raven seriously doubted that it helped, not in this frozen hell. The night elf had a bow strapped across her back and dual blades that rested on her hips. A hunter… that explained the odd wolf's presence and meant that they would be well-matched in a fight if it came to that, although he could probably take on a half frozen night elf with ease.

The elf glanced up as she emerged into the clearing. The glow of her eyes was dim and Raven could tell something was wrong. She stopped when she saw him. He tensed, preparing for a fight.

The night elf slowly smirked as she glanced at her wolf. "This isn't exactly the cave I was hoping for, Shade. In fact, this worgen looks nothing like a cave except for the fact that he's large and has black fur. Have you gone blind without me noticing?"

The wolf simply huffed as if he thought Raven was better than any cave.

The night elf laughed, "Don't think I am letting you off so easily, my furry companion. You are going to have some explaining to do, that is, after I am done fainting." With that said, the glow in her eyes went out and she collapsed in the snow.

The wolf, Shade, Raven mentally corrected, went over to his master and nudged her with his nose. Then he looked back at Raven as if to ask if the worgen was going to help.

Raven sighed. He couldn't leave the night elf here, she would die. He quickly packed the deer up and his gear. He then threw the elf onto one of his shoulders. He was a bit thrown off by how small and light she was. He trudged through the snow towards a cave nearby that he knew about. Shade simply followed behind him with a wolf grin on his face. Raven glared at him for putting him in this mess. He almost couldn't wait to see what the night elf had in store for her pet. Raven smirked at the wolf with a toothy grin. He ruined his humor though by thinking of the night elf's reaction to him when she woke up. She probably wouldn't even remember her threat to the wolf.

Keira woke up and found herself within the comforts of a cave with a small fire going. She didn't remember ever reaching a cave. She was also lying under a pile of thick furs that she didn't recognize. She peeked under the furs to find that she was only in her underclothing. Her hand brushed against fur so she looked down to find Shade curled up against her, keeping her warm.

Keira bolted up as she remembered what her trusty, ok maybe now untrustworthy, companion had done. She hissed as the cold air hit her light blue skin and dove back under the furs where it was nice and warm. Maybe she would just punish the damn wolf later. Right now he was too warm for her to piss off. She didn't want him to leave.

Meanwhile Raven was back in the shadows of the cave watching the elf wake up and start to take in her surroundings. It almost made him want to grin, watching her discover the cold but he knew that things would turn a corner quickly when she remembered who had rescued her.

Keira looked around while scratching the top of Shade's head and thought about the worgen that Shade had led her to. All of her gear was spread out some sticks by the fire so that they could dry. Meanwhile her bow and blades were in a messy pile by her gear but far from where she actually was. The worgen was obviously being cautious which meant he was probably still here. Her glowing eyes fell on the shadows in the back of the cave and instinct told her that he was there but he must have been stealthed, which meant he was a rogue. She mouthed an incantation to trigger her track hidden and this time she could see the faint outline of the worgen crouching by the rocks. He was looking directly at her, muscles tense in case she decided to attack him. Not that she would but the poor guy didn't know that.

"I see you, worgen." Keira spoke gently, trying to make him realize that she wasn't going to attack him. She watched as the worgen flinched. She couldn't blame him with the way the other races treated his kind.

Raven slowly came out of stealth and strode forward a few paces towards the elf. He was on the edge of his toes, never taking his eyes off her, waiting for any sudden movements. He froze in shock when she smiled at him.

"I know you are expecting me to act like all of the idiots who judge you based on what you are but I promise you that I won't. I owe you my life so thank you."

Raven crept closer. He almost couldn't believe his ears.

Keira laughed. The worgen was being so cautious. "Seriously, I don't bite and even if I did you would find my teeth are nothing compared to your fangs. Nor do I have the physically and mental strength to get past all the fur." It made Keira shudder just thinking about it.

Raven couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"You do have a good point there. Not only that but I doubt you want to come out into the cold air right now."

"You would be correct. I don't have fur like you do to keep me warm in this frozen wasteland. Winterspring doesn't deserve the spring in its name cause it never gets warm!"

"Well most people have the common sense not to go swimming here."

Keira grimaced. "I did not want to go swimming but I guess I deserved that jab."

"Then how did you get wet?"

Keira glared at the roof of the cavern as she recalled what happened. "I was being stupid while picking an herb by a partially frozen lake. I wasn't paying attention and I had Shade searching for more. I didn't even notice the group of firbolg come up behind me until one of them pushed me head first into the lake. If I ever find that band I will push them all into the lake and then give the giants some nice firbolg popsicles!"

Shade lifted his head and growled in agreement.

Raven laughed as he went over to the leathers hanging by the campfire to see if they were dry. They were so he grabbed them and passed them to the night elf, who quickly put them on underneath the furs he had covered her with.

"You are one vicious night elf I hope you know."

"Indeed I am." Keira said with a smile as she slowly emerged from the warm furs. Now that she had her heavy leathers back on the cold wasn't so much of a problem. She strode over to the worgen, her long legs taking her there far faster than the he was expecting. Keira stretched out her hand hoping that he wouldn't run. He slowly lifted his paw up while being careful with his claws. He wouldn't want to hurt the first person to not try and kill him because he was a cursed worgen. Keira grinned as they shook hands.

"Now that that is over with, do you mind telling me your name?"

"It's Raven."

"Raven, huh? I'm Keira. What are you doing here so far from Gilneas?"

Raven shrugged. "I tend to get to cramped up if I stay within those walls for too long so I go exploring. I can always stealth if I sense someone approaching so it usually isn't that big of a deal. Although I couldn't just leave a night elf ice cube all alone here." He smirked, hoping he wasn't going too far.

Keira laughed. "I'm glad you didn't because Shade would have had a hard time dragging me around. Although he should have found me a cave instead of imposing upon you."

Shade crawled out of the furs to go nudge his master, almost pushing her over. She grinned and patted his head.

"I'm just kidding, Shade."

Raven started feeling uncomfortable as he watched the two. He wasn't shy but he was worried what would happen if he got too close to the hunter. If he went berserk around her then he could hurt her and he didn't want to do that. He figured he should leave as soon as possible. He started slowly moving towards the opening of the cave but Keira saw this right away.

"In a hurry to leave?"

Raven nodded.

"Why?" Keira asked while tilting her head to the side.

"Because I don't trust you!" Raven snapped. He didn't want to yell at her but this would be the quickest way to distance himself. However she didn't react the way he wanted. Instead of looking hurt, her blue eyes narrowed.

"What exactly have I done to hint that I am untrustworthy? Have I harmed you in anyway? No. Have I yelled at you and tried to chase you away because you are a worgen? No.

So tell me, Raven, what have I done to upset you?"

Raven blinked in shock. The night elf had some spunk to challenge a creature twice as tall as her.

"You are being too nice." Raven admitted. "I don't want to get to close to you and wind up hurting you or have other people hurt you because you are near me, okay? Is that a good enough reason for you?"

"Hell no. I can take care of myself if you ever decide to attack me, which I doubt you will. I also do not fear others because we night elves were in the same boat as you worgen not so long ago. The draenei also know how you are suffering because they have also been in the same stupid boat. You must not let shallow people and their reactions get to you, Raven. It will make you miserable."

"It already has," Raven whispered miserably.

Keira reached up to pat him on the shoulder. "Exactly. You need all the friends you can get so I want you to consider me one of them and to not be afraid to call on me if you ever find yourself needing help or just someone to listen."

Raven nodded slowly, unsure of what to do since he had been preparing for a completely different scenario.

"Good. Now unfortunately I have to go. Remember everything I've said, Raven."

Keira turned to go collect her weapons. She quickly put the scabbards of her blades through her leather belt and, after checking to make sure the string on her bow wasn't damaged by the water, strapped it in place on her back. As she headed towards the mouth of the cave her ears caught a faint 'thank you'.

She didn't turn back as she waved and shouted, "you're welcome."