Sweat dripped into her eyes, blurring her vision and causing a painful sting, but she dared not spare a hand to wipe it. She was tired and her shield was heavy with the added weight of arrows protruding from it, but to lower it was certain doom. Her other hand held a sword whose tip rested on the ground but remained ready to strike down her next opponent.

She slowly shuffled to the side, never moving her eyes off of the threat. The corpses surrounding her feet limited her range of movement, putting her at a disadvantage- one she could not afford for the time being.

Of the original attacking party of five, only one remained. The vicious looking Orc Hunters crossbow was loaded with a wicked looking pronged arrow. The hunter was in a shooters stance with his aim zerod on her but he did not fire, knowing she would easily block it. His pet had stealthed and its whereabouts were unknown to her at the time, but she could read the hunters intent clearly. He was waiting for his pet to flank and distract her to create an opening for his attack. Though she knew his plan, she could not think of a way to make the outcome in her favor; there simply wasn t a way for her to ward off the beast and avoid his shots at the same time. Their current checkmate would not last- death was moments away for her.

There was the sound of sudden movement behind her followed by a ferocious roar. She spun around with shield held high and sword pointed up expecting the hunters black lion to come down upon her. To her surprise, the roar had not belonged to the lion. Rather, it was on the ground whelping in agony. A deep purple furred panther whom wore blue twin lightning bolts on each cheek had found and pounced upon the stealthed lion and attacked.

She heard a solid thunk behind her. Once again she spun around on her heels, trying to block the hunters loosed arrow this time, but she was too wary her shield was held too low and she was slow in reacting. The shot found its mark in her neck. Holding her throat, she fell to the ground on her knees gasping for air, choking on her own blood.

Gra thee masuma! Sif nora menda! From behind her, a booming male voice was yelling out healing spells in the language of the Night Elves. She felt her own body pushing the arrow out of her neck and the odd sensation of her skin knitting itself back together. With renewed hope, she let out a furious scream and charged the Orc.

JUDGEMENT OF LIGHT!

A blazing glow surrounded her blade. As she struck the hunter, he became engulfed in the harsh burning light. When her blade cleared the foe, the light dissipated and the dead body fell to the ground.

The last of her strength gone she fell to her knees, leaning against her blade for support.

Im sorry for jumping in and helping like that without first asking if you wanted help You seemed to be in a lot of trouble, and with that hunters lion so close you wouldn t have had enough time to reply. The male voice that had been moments ago bellowing healing spells now sounded shy and meek. She wasn t even sure it was the same person but glancing at her radar saw no one else around.

She let out a small wary laugh. No need for apologies. I was certain I was done for, and your help was greatly appreciated. She turned to look at him. The Night Elf was now in his humanoid form. Though no longer in his feral state, there was no mistaking that this was the panther that had saved her. His long, wild hair was the same color that his feral fur has been and his skin was barely a tone lighter. On his cheeks he bore the distinctive twin bolts. He was tall, at least a foot taller than herself, and looked well built. He was a fierce, daunting sight the complete opposite look that she expected from such a nervous voice.
What is your name, Night Elf?

Standing a little straighter he proudly replied, I am the Great Katsby! Druid of Balance and Restoration!

So, in other words, youre a newbie?

Katsby staggered, losing his posture and his balance nearly going with it. E-Excuse me? I just saved you! How does that make me a newbie?

She sighed, partially to herself. Well first off, you attacked in Feral when youre balance specc d. Second, you used heal-over-time spells when a normal heal would have done me much better at the time. I mean, I had an ARROW in my throat, and you made me sit around waiting on it to heal up. Lastly, it would have been much more helpful to surprise attack the hunter rather than his pet. Any PvPer can vouch that.

Katsby looked genuinely hurt and sulked there for a moment, unresponsive.

But, she added, You did save me nonetheless. For that, I am thankful. My name is Harley, then mockingly she added, The Mighty Paladin of Retribution and Protection .

Katsby regained his posture and smiled broadly at her, Youre very much welcome! He obviously didn t catch the fact that she had made fun of his introduction. In reality, the player of Harley /facepalmed herself. She didn t want to but

You should probably stick with me for a while. Those Horde players are likely to nearly be back from their corpse runs, and you flagged yourself by healing me. They will not act kindly to you if they find you alone. By staying together, theyre more likely to move on with their own business and leave us be.

The Night Elf seemed to lose a shade of purple, obviously bothered by this. Th-they would really attack me just like that? Harley nodded.

Theyre ruthless PvPers. Lets be on our way. ~ After a few minutes the druids flagged status went away. You should be safe now. Again, thank you. Try to stay out of trouble.

Without waiting for a reply, Harley logged off. Her player removed the headset and gloves she had been using to control her character. The new Warcraft patch had added amazing amounts of features and seemed near realistic. It had been made especially for users who had bought this new hardware. She had thought it was just another game company fraud to make some extra millions, but now she saw that she had been completely wrong.

This patch wasn t just some upgrade . It was an entirely new game, an entirely new reality. She lay on her bed and smiled at the days victories and new acquaintance. Sure, she had been a little rude to him she guessed, but that was her in-game persona. Oh well, she thought, what ever.

As she closed her eyes sleepily, thoughts of the newest patch floating through her mind, she unconsciously said to herself Finally, I can actually BE where I belong.