Author's Note: Yes, this thing is still alive.
Chapter Two
Forming a Plan
Well, that was a terrible nightmare. Time to wake up and be soaking wet in a parking lot. Any time now... Doug was reluctant to open his eyes, but when he did he was relieved to find his surroundings different. He didn't seem to be outside, but in a really purple decorated room. He sat up to find himself sitting on a four poster bed, the wood that made the frame seemed to have purple it's natural color. Someone really liked purple. Was he finally back home? The room seemed different then the normal architecture of the buildings in Bluffington.
Instead of walls paneled it was like the entire room had been carved from a tree. Around him was elaborate furniture, magical objects that would hum and glow with power. Well, that settled it. He certainly wasn't home yet. Doug groaned, laying back onto the bed with his arms and legs spread. What was it going to take to get himself back home? He had no idea where to start. His eyes traveled around the room one last time, settling on a large brown bird sitting on the dresser across the room.
Startled, he jumped clear out of the bed, the thing was huge and he was sure if it opened it's wings it would take up half the room. Some odd reaction to being watched, he used the covers of the bed to cover his body, staring helplessly back at the oversized avian.
"Would you relax? You act like I saw you without clothing." the bird remarked. Doug recoiled, holding the covers against him more. He shouldn't have been so surprised of all the talking animals in this world, he just wasn't used to them yet. However the bird's voice sounded like someone he heard.
"Aminask-" he began to speak, but snapped his lips shut when the bird opened her wings and darted across the room to him, using her talons to hold his mouth shut.
"Swiftclaw to you, go that? Swift. Claw." she said, forehead touching his while she stared him dead in the eyes. Doug nodded his head, it was the only thing he could do until she decided to release his lips. When she let go she propelled herself away from him, folding her wings at her side once she perched on one of the bed posts.
"You can turn into birds too?" asked Doug. Merely curious, he hoped his question wouldn't be answered with more pain or yelling.
"BIRD. One bird, this one." Swiftclaw held out her wings. "And before you ask I can turn into other things too like a seal and another cat."
"That's … really interesting." the boy replied. "So … why are you in here?"
The bird let out a dramatic sigh like his questions were becoming a burden on her very soul. "Muno asked me to keep an eye on you. I carried you here, might as well stare at you while you sleep."
"Wait what?"
"Again before you ask, you're now at the Shrine of Aviana, a sacred place so watch your tongue." Swiftclaw finally removed herself from her perch, jumping down to the floor as she transformed to a cat mid fall. Doug felt a little uncomfortable with the fact that she could already predict what he was going to ask and answer before he even came to think of it.
"Um, Wheres Muno?" he asked, lowering the blankets he still held up to him onto the bed beside him.
"He had other business to attend to. Don't you worry though, big sister Swiftclaw is going to make sure nothing happens." said the cat, giving him a toothy grin. The boy swallowed hard, slowly climbing back onto the bed. "Oh stop I'm not going to hurt you!"
"Hard to believe when you keep talking like that!" he snapped.
"I CAN'T hurt you even if I really wanted to. Muno would never forgive me." said Swiftclaw. She rolled her eyes, laying down on the floor as she crossed her paws over one another. "So yeah, you're not getting any physical abuse from me today."
"Well that's a relief. I guess." said Doug, uncertain of how to even talk to her. Once he was sure he wasn't going to be attacked he slowly let himself down onto the floor. There was just an awkward silence between them now, but it was momentarily broke by the grumbling of his stomach. In defense he looked down, placing his hands over his stomach to try and silence it.
"Hungry?" was all that Swiftclaw said. He looked up to her, frowning like he had done something wrong. "Come with me."
The large cat stood, motioning with her head for Doug to follow her. Hesitant at first, he took only a few steps forward. When she began moving without him, he quickly rushed to catch up with her. Swiftclaw moved through the large tree building, going down stairs and ramps until Doug was sure they had reached the bottom. An open room to the outside, the boy was amazed to see the scene outside. It was unlike the place he had come from, instead of burning wood and the smell of it, this place was green, the sky blue and it smelled fresh. Several birds flew through the sky and around the tree they were in, it was truly a sight to see.
Doug lowered his eyes from the sky to see who else was here. Standing among themselves, some being guards, he could see more of the Tauren race and another who he had not encountered yet. Their skin was shades of greens and purples, long ears stuck out to behind their heads. Their eyes seemed to glow white or a soft gold color. Doug could only guess they were one of the race of elves Muno had mentioned before.
"Stay here, I'll be back." said Swiftclaw over her shoulder. He gave a silent nod, watching as she shifted into the large bird once more and took off into the sky. He watched until she was just a dot among the sky before standing back a few feet. The pain in Doug's shoulders had almost vanished completely, but still held a dull sensation. His hand reached to rub his shoulder, catching the eye of one of the elves standing around.
"Are you alright?" asked a tall, slender elf as she moved towards him. The garments she wore were complex, earthy colors with designs that Doug had no idea the meaning of. While she towered over him like a giant, he wasn't intimidated by her. Her voice was kind and gentle, he knew he wasn't in any harm here.
"I'm okay." he said, lowering his arms to his sides.
"Let me look at your wounds." she insisted. Before he had time to protest she was already pulling the dress shirt up over his head. He flailed a little, blushing brightly once he stood shirt-less. He couldn't find enough arms to cover himself. His wounds had not healed and the skin around them had become purple and yellow, bruise and infection had taken over in the time it was untreated.
"Oh … this is pretty bad." said the elf.
"Hows it look?" Doug asked, trying to glance over his shoulder.
The elf didn't say anything in return, instead picking him up and holding him over her shoulder. She sat him down in a chair, moving behind him and cracking her knuckles. This was going to take a lot of focus. She took in a deep breath and let her hands rest on his shoulders. They covered the entirety of them, leaving no skin to show underneath. Doug wasn't sure what exactly she was doing but he didn't want to make any more problems. He sat still and waited for whatever was to come.
Her eyes closed and through the concentration she began to focus her power into healing. Soft green magic poured from her palms, slithering across his skin like snakes and into the wounds on his shoulders. It was nothing like Doug had ever felt before, an odd sensation he couldn't accurately describe. It felt like cool rain washing over his shoulders, the pain and infection being pulled from the wounds and the flesh mending together like nothing had ever happened. When she was finished she released him, letting him up and handing him his shirt.
"T-Thanks." said Doug. He gulped his words, putting his arms into the sleeves of the shirt.
"You are welcome." said the elf with another smile. "Do you need anything else?"
"Oh, no my friend is coming back soon." he answered in an uncertain tone. Swiftclaw was definitely far from his friend. He was sure that if it wasn't for Muno's protection she would have already left him for dead somewhere. The elf nodded at him, bidding him well and returned to her post, leaving Doug to his own devices. He wasn't sure what to do now since Swiftclaw had told him to not do anything disrespectful here. What exactly was disrespectful though?
After an hour of waiting Doug had moved to sit at a table, watching a candle burn magically while it never seemed to melt the wax around it. What he wouldn't give for a TV or a radio or something from the modern world to pass the time. His stomach had been growling at him louder the longer it took, so he was relieved when the large brown bird finally showed and came swooping into the open tree. Swiftclaw landed on the table, dropping a leather skin of water and something wrapped in a cloth.
"Sorry, took longer then I thought." she squawked, taking on the role of a bird a little more seriously then needed. Doug stared at her then down at the items she had given him, slowly reaching for the wrapped item and pulling the cloth around it apart. He was presented with a hunk of meat, thankfully cooked but it was something he had never seen before. Doug used his finger to poke at it before looking around for something to eat it with. Nothing here but his own hands, guess it was finger food.
He grabbed the meat with both hands, looking it over and trying to find the right angle to eat it at. It didn't really matter what side, so he just took a bite. It was surprisingly pleasant to taste, a little chewy but whoever made it did a great job on the seasoning.
"This is pretty good, what is it?" Doug asked between bites.
"Grilled Dragon."
Doug froze, dropping his meal on the cloth before him and staring into space. What did she just say? "Dragon?"
"Yes? Do you not like it?" she said with a sarcastic tone.
"I-I've just … never had it. There are dragons here?"
Swiftclaw tilted her head, looking back at him before jumping onto the table and shifting to her cat form. The table wobbled under the sudden weight change, making Doug scramble to hold onto his questionable meal.
"Oh yes, big dragons." the cat purred. "You know that master that Muno spoke of? The one the Firelands invaders listened to? Big. Black. Dragon."
"What?"
"Went by the name of Deathwing he did, bigger then this entire shrine. He was going to destroy the entire whole of Azeroth."
Doug gulped, looking around the shrine trying to compare the size of the dragon she described. "Is there more of them? Like him?"
"There are hundreds of dragons! No so much of the black dragonflight but the other flights are out there." said Swiftclaw, smirking as she wiggled her toes on her front paw so her claws popped out. The young teen recoiled, pushing the hunk of dragon meat away from him. The large cat smirked, teeth bared and giving her a terrifying look.
"And no one knows if and when another one of those dragon will go off the deep end again!" she roared out, causing Doug to scream and fall back off of his seat. Swiftclaw laughed, but it was quickly interrupted when a clearing throat stopped her outburst. The cat turned, looking to see Muno standing in the doorway. His disapproving look caused her shoulders to slump, she backing away from Doug like she was a child scolded for poor behavior.
The large Tauren moved to Doug, reaching his hand out to him which the boy gratefully took. With ease he was lifted to his feet, though he still looked a little disheveled from what Swiftclaw had put him through. When the boy finally got a firm standing Muno turned his attention back to the cat who was over the punishment and was sitting, staring up at him from the floor.
"There is no reason to be frightening him." spoke Muno in his usual deep tone.
"I didn't do anything, I was just telling him about the dragons." muttered Swiftclaw, leaning herself back against the table and crossing her arms. It did look rather amusing since she was still in her cat form.
Now that that was out of the way, Muno could relay the message he had been gone most of the day obtaining. He cleared his throat once more, adjusting his shoulders by shrugging them a bit. "Well, we have some excellent news and some terrible news. Which would you like first?"
"Terrible news!" spouted the cat.
"Um, the good news first..." said Doug, glaring over at Swiftclaw in the same way he would have done to his own sister.
"Good news is that we can probably get you home."
"Really?" he shouted, his excitement was almost too much to handle. Even if this was all a dream, some kind of outlet meant hope of returning to his conscious life. "Oh, this is great!"
"Bad news is, it will take about a month."
At once Doug froze from his small dance of excitement. "What?" he gasped, shoulders slumping in defeat. He didn't even get off the ground before his hope was shot down.
Muno cleared his throat as Swiftclaw rolled around on her back in a fit of laughter. "On my errand I made my way to Ogrimmar. The Goblins of the city told me they could build something that might get you back home, but it would take time and money."
"Good, maybe he'll get blown up when he uses it." said Swiftclaw with a smirk. Both Doug and Muno shot a glare at her, but she seemed more effected by her companions look rather then the young boy.
"We can't take him to Ogrimmar, he would be killed on sight and we might be as well." the warrior said. "We need to find a safe place for him to stay until the construction is complete."
Both Tauren sat, thinking of an alternative place to keep Doug until he could return to his own world. Swiftclaw didn't dwell on it long, she didn't care, why bother to think on it longer. Muno on the other hand looked deep in thought, mulling over the possibilities until he looked up and glanced between the cat and the boy. Neither one of them would be happy, but this was all they had at the moment.
"Swiftclaw, he needs to stay with you."
"WHAT?" both of them rang out.
"My home is too close to the cities, he would be spotted there." sighed Muno.
"Aww … no come on Muno! He might attack me in my sleep!"
"I think it's the other way around!" snapped Doug. Swiftclaw turned to argue with him, both of them shouting at each other until they were silenced by Muno.
"That is ENOUGH!" he roared out. "Aminaska, just this once, you need to have some trust in someone other than me, okay?"
The cat stared at him for a long time, trying to come to terms with his request. After what seemed like hours of silence her form shifted, the giant brown bird now in place of the cat. "I'm not feeding him."
"I don't want you to feed me, you might give me more dragon meat!" shouted Doug. He was met with a mess of feathers in his face as Swiftclaw backhanded him with her wing, glaring over her shoulder at him.
"I knew that you would have to fend for yourself if she took you in, can you catch your own food?" asked Muno.
"Catch my own food?" said Doug. Trying to picture it in his head, he imagined himself running around trying to chase down a rabbit or catch some kind of bird. If he would succeed, he would have to … well he didn't really want to think about that right now. "I know how to fish..."
"Wonderful, you'll do fine then." said the large Tauren.
"Alright we're going."
"Huh? WUH?" Doug gasped as he felt the talons of Swiftclaw grasp at his shoulders. She was already on top of him as she spoke and he was unprepared when he felt himself lifted into the air. Flapping her great wings, Swiftclaw took off into the air, holding Doug with her feet. The young boy was terrified as he was taken higher up, his helpless screams falling on deaf ears until the bird glared down him while he struggled.
"What is wrong with you?" she squawked at him, gripping onto him tighter.
"You're hurting me!" he spoke, holding onto her legs in case he fell. "We're too high up!"
Swiftclaw sighed, eyes rolling before her talons opened, releasing him from her grip. Unprepared once more, his hands slipped from her legs and he began plummeting through the air towards the ground. Doug shrieked, reaching up to the sky for something to hold onto. He was for sure thinking he was going to die before the air under him began to lift him up. The soft feel of feathers under his skin did little to comfort him, his head looking down to see he was now on Swiftclaw's back as she flew up higher once more.
She had dropped him and let him fall in enough time to swoop and catch him on her back. At least this way he wouldn't be crying the entire flight to her home. She would even tolerate the shaking and his arms wrapping around her neck as he held on for his life. While Swiftclaw flew away from the dangers of Hyjal, she began to think of what exactly Muno had meant. Place her trust in someone other than him? There was plenty of people she trusted! There was … no she didn't really like him. Oh but there was that other … no she killed him... Who was she kidding, she didn't even trust her own warchief.
Perhaps there were some things she would have to think about on this long flight back to Feralas.
