A/N: First off, a HUGE thank you goes to Marty1, an awesome writer and great friend who did the "translations" for this chapter. If you enjoy intriguing characters, complex stories with captivating plots, and underhanded, scheming, and crafty blood elves, then I definitely suggest you check out her story "House Dorthonion", one of my favorite Warcraft stories ever: *fanfiction.*net*/u*/172042*/Marty1 (Remove the *s)

I hope you get a kick out of this story, as it was a hoot to write.


Hot and Bothered

...in which Phaen suffers a karmic misfortune.

In the goblin town of Everlook, the tavern in the local lodge was the only warm place that wasn't filled with the smell of oil, metal, and explosives. Therefore, it was the only place the paladin Phaen could tolerate during his unfortunately extended stay there. His traveling, which had no definite direction or purpose, had led him to yet another goblin town. The draenei was sick of the smell of them, their machines, and their grating, shrill voices.

Had it not been for the fact that he was indecisively considering returning to the Exodar, he wouldn't have braved moving north through the Horde dominated continent of Kalimdor and the neutral, but often dangerous, cities that were open to both factions. Yet travel was easiest through goblin hubs, and after having to begrudgingly leave Booty Bay, Ratchet was a logical destination. From there, he went to Everlook just to have the option of boarding a trade zeppelin that would take him directly to Azuremyst Isle. He had ample time to ponder his decision, as the zeppelin departed Everlook only once a week. Phaen had just missed it by one day.

The paladin was grousing over that fact, any many others, in the thankfully cozy tavern of the lodge over a mug of warm cider. At least it was quiet and without the clang of goblins hammering at their various contraptions, and nearly empty save for a few travelers and traders at the bar or in the chairs closer to the hearth. He couldn't imagine why anyone would choose a harsh, freezing land like Winterspring to set up a trade hub. Then again, goblins did a lot of things he—and anyone else with common sense—didn't understand.

The doors to the lodge opened, letting in a gust of chilly wind that hit Phaen right in the back. His teeth chattered and his tail curled around his leg as he hunched over to the bar, shooting a brief, scathing glance at the newcomer entering the tavern as if it were their fault. He supposed it'd be smart of him not to sit right in front of the door.

The draenei moved around the bar to a seat off the side in a corner while the newest patron approached the counter with a loud, long sigh, making an unnecessary amount of noise as they shouldered a large pack from their shoulders, pulled back their hood, and began to unravel a long scarf from their neck.

"Loa, dat parka was bein' getting' me da stuffeh prickles fierce like!" the muffled, vaguely feminine voice exclaimed from beneath the thick wool. "But den I'm bein' pondahrin' dat bein' wit' da bundlin' en't bein' optional when ya bein' takin' a shake in a place dats bein' wit' da shivereh chattahs!"

The female's voice had already wrinkled Phaen's nose with disdain, as he greatly disliked loud, boisterous women. When her hood fell back to reveal a mop of bright, yellow-green hair, a sky blue colored face, and thick lips framed by two small tusks, that disdain turned into extremely uneasy discomfort. The sort of discomfort that instinctively came whenever the paladin was in the presence of a troll.

It was a stupid, foolish phobia, Phaen knew, and he hated even calling it such. Yet ever since he was confronted and threatened by that troll mage on the docks of Booty Bay some several weeks ago, the draenei couldn't stand to be in the presence of one without being on edge. He hadn't liked trolls before that brazen, lanky one had seen fit to stick his long nose in his business. Besides being of the Horde, which was an automatic strike against them, they were known for being shrewd and cruel, surrounding themselves in evil, dark mysticism that rivaled the vile nature of the orcs. Phaen could not respect or trust anyone of any race that was a friend to those that had sought the genocide of his people.

Besides that, he just found them...unsightly and creepy. The way they so languidly strolled around with their freakishly long limbs and elekk like tusks with an arrogance that seemed like a racially shared trait. They really were, at their core, repulsively unnerving.

The padded fur lined parka that had made the troll woman look comically plump fell away to reveal a lithe, buxom body clad in nearly nothing at all save for a long sarong and a bust revealing tunic. Huffing through his nose in disgust, Phaen turned his head abruptly away as the troll fair slithered onto a bar stool, her parka and other heavy clothes in a pool around her chair.

"Be givin' me somet'in' fo' swigging dat gwonna be puttin' da sweats on me, straight like," the troll said in her overly audible voice, slapping a few coins down at the table.

The goblin bartender blinked at the troll woman, face scrunching up in confusion. Phaen didn't know what the hell she had said either. "Uh, pardon?" he said.

The troll pursed her pouty lips and huffed. "I been waggin' be givin' me somet'in' fo' swigging dat gwonna be puttin' da sweats on me, straight like!" she said, louder, as if it were volume that was the problem in translation. "And be keepin' it comin'! S'gonna takin' heaps tah get me warmed up stone sure! I can be feelin' mah backside an' tusks freezin' off!"

Phaen made the mistake of snorting, not at all in amusement, but disbelief with her crass, continually loud mouth. Unfortunately for him, the noise captured the troll's attention and her head swiveled in his direction, bright pink eyes wide and fixated on him. Feeling his neck grow hot and a sickening feeling flutter in his stomach, the draenei lowered his head and took a sip from his steaming mug, hoping to be ignored.

He would not be so lucky. "Hoi, mon!" she said, and though it was all too obvious the troll was speaking to no one but him, Phaen didn't look up. His feigned deafness only encouraged her to slide over several stools and perch on the one perpendicular to him, leaning over the counter top. "Oi! I'm bein' talkin' to ya!"

The last sing-sung words were too grating in his ear to ignore and with glowering eyes beneath his heavy brow, the draenei glared up at the troll. "What?" he grunted coldly, hiding his nervousness beneath callousness.

Her teeth were sharp and revealed between her tusks in a grin, and her bright eyes were narrowed in a way that made a shiver roll up his spine. "Whatcha bein' swiggin' den'?" she asked him.

Frowning as his eye twitched, he sneered. "What?"

She pointed at his cup, from which the pleasant aroma and steam of his drink rose. "Whatcha bein' swiggin' on den?" she said slower and louder, lips dramatically forming the words.

To insinuate that it was his fault he could not understand her thick accent and strange tongue only made the paladin bristle and he averted his gaze. "Hot cider," he answered brusquely.

Leaning forward further, the troll snuffled at his cup. Phaen scowled and leaned away from her, protectively putting a hand over the mouth of his mug, but the female only snapped up straight in her seat. "Goblin mon, I'll be bein' havin' what he bein' havin'!" she said brightly to the bartender.

The bartender had already been pouring a large mug of frothy, hot cider for the troll and he slid it across the table top to her before collecting the coin at her original seat. "Grins to ya, mon!" she chirped cheerily before tilting her head back and guzzling the drink. Phaen gawked, eyes wide in morbid fascination as the troll gulped down what had to be scalding liquid without so much as a breath or flinch.

The mug was empty when she slammed it down on the counter and wiped her lips on the back of her hand before releasing a happy, satiated sigh. Her eyes flitted to Phaen and she smirked. "Bein' a good choice, straight like. I'm bein' t'ankin' ya, han'some."

Trying to contain the curl of his lip, the draenei attempted to look as aloof as he could while sipping his own beverage as fast as he could. The sooner he could go back up to his room and be rid of the obnoxious trol l woman, the better.

The goblin bartender slid the troll another drink and she took a more reserved long swig of it before once again addressing the draenei. "En't da frequent like yo' kind be shakin' up tah dis side o' da Tunnel," she commented, crossing her leg over her knee. Her sarong parted to reveal her naked thigh as she bounced her fur wrapped foot.

It was obvious he couldn't just ignore the woman, who would probably just talk until he couldn't stand it anymore. "I have my reasons for being here," he replied snappily, drinking his cider.

"Ya bein' on yo' lonesome?" she asked, the tone of her voice dropping a few octaves lower.

Phaen's head snapped up and he blinked at the troll, frowning at the hooded eyed stare and sly grin he found her wearing. It, and the change in her voice, made that wary shiver jolt through him again. He inhaled sharply through his nose. "That is none of your concern," he replied with a lift of his chin.

The troll only chuckled, tilting her head, her long, wild bangs falling across an eye, one of her twin braids tipped with beads and feathers falling over her shoulder. "I pondah dat bein' so, and I ain' grindin' ta be makin' it mah concern and I ain' bein' preyin' on ya, if dat's whatcha bein' pondahrin'. M'jus' nose pokin'. Ya know, makin' wit' da friendly waggin'."

His eye twitched again and Phaen closed his eyes with a growl. "I don't wish for… conversation."

"Why? Ya bein' havin' a bad day? Yo' havin' da low eyes?" she asked, sipping her cider.

Balking a little, Phaen frowned and shook his head. "W-what? No."

"Ya broke?"

"No."

"Heartsick? A fen'di done flipped ya somet'in' asp sharp?"

"What? I don't even—no!" He made a frustrated sound and threw a hand up. "Why are you bothering me? What do you want?"

Undeterred, the troll smiled smoothly at Phaen and this time her flirtation was all too evident. "What'cha bein' callin' yo'self, handsome?" she asked in a purr.

Flushing to the tips of his tendrils, Phaen scoffed. "Why would I tell you?" he demanded.

She grinned that unsettling grin again. "It bein' rain righ' and polite tah bein' exchangin' names when ya conversatin'."

Phaen had a twitch in the corner of his right eye that would not cease. "We're not conversing. You're bothering me."

"We be waggin' wit' each oddah. Dat soun' like conversatin' tah—"

"Fine!" the paladin interjected irritably. "It's Phaen! Now will you leave me alone?"

The troll smiled brightly. "Fen," she repeated, completely skipping over the long "a" sound. "Well, it bein' all grins tah meet ya, Fen. I'm bein' Siku'dani'dayo'asewatta."

Immediately, the paladin's face had gone scarlet in anger at the mispronunciation of his name, and he opened his mouth to soundly berate her for it. Yet whatever he was going to retort with floundered on his tongue and instead he blinked in bewilderment. "Si—what?"

Siku'dani giggled, putting a hand to her lips as if in coy amusement. "My muuka been likin' da long names. It be meanin' 'unexpected but appreciated gift of joy'. If it be smootha fo' ya tah be waggin', call me Siku. Or Siku'dani. Or Dani. Or Ase. Or Wa-Wa. Any of doz bein' dis side of da line."

Stunned silent for a moment, Phaen stared slack-jawed at the troll before forcing his mouth shut and putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "L-look," he growled, barely keeping his irritation subdued. "I came in here to be to myself and have a drink by myself. I do not wish for company, so I respectfully ask to be left alone."

Her lips pursing in a little pout, Siku'dani made a small whine. "Ah, mon, ya much too easy on da eyes tah be all asp sharp an' growlin'," she cooed, fluttering her bright eyes at the draenei.

Perhaps it was from being discombobulated from the situation and his anger, and from the fact that he was on his third or fourth mug of the fairly stout cider, but Phaen's reaction time to the troll suddenly leaning around the bar even closer to him, her hand smoothing over his forearm, and her foot rubbing against his tail, was slower than he would have liked.

"I could be lendin' one ta be getting' rid of somma dat...tension, Fen," Siku'dani murmured in a voice slathered in suggestion. "I be a real honey sweet fen'di dat jus'...love big, muscly space goat mons like yaself..."

Siku'dani's words and the way she spoke them were so offensive to everything that Phaen was and upheld that whatever part of his mind controlled his usually subdued temper short-circuited like bad goblin wiring. His face was pallid and blank as he mechanically stood up from his stool, abandoning his half finished cider, and backed away from the bar counter. He wasn't sure what he was going to do first—curse a blue streak or throw up—but he was certain he would figure it out by the time he got back to his room.

Phaen wobbled away awkwardly on unsteady hooves and Siku'dani watched him ascend the stairs to the upper floor of the lodge, blinking her large pink eyes. "Mebbe latah den!" she called after him brightly. "Been real nice like meetin' ya, Fen!"


As the furbolg's heavy paw, bearing razor sharp, scythe like claws, came crashing down on his plate protected shoulder, Phaen thought to himself that, surely, that wicked troll witch must have cursed him.

Not long after he had left her at the bar and retreated to his room, inwardly assuring himself it was unlikely he would run into the troll named Siku-dodi-whatever again during his stay, he felt as if a black cloud of misfortune and bad luck were looming darkly over him.

First, his coin bag went missing. Phaen would have been convinced he was pick-pocketed by that troll had it not been for the fact he recalled having the bag when he bought himself dinner that same evening. Yet when morning came and his rumbling stomach demanded breakfast, he could not find the small pouch of his gold. After tearing his room apart in search of it, as well as backtracking to the bar and everywhere else he had gone that evening, it was nowhere to be found. And a lost sack of gold in a goblin town was as good as spent and gone. Without any money for zeppelin fare, he was stranded in Winterspring.

The only fortunate aspect of his situation was that in a town full of goblins always looking for someone else to do their dirty work, there was easy coin to be made. As a Vindicator who had fought terrible demons in the war on Draenor, he figured that chimera couldn't be any nastier, so the request from a goblin trapper to collect a few horns from their heads would probably be an easy one to accomplish.

It might have been, had Phaen not crossed paths in the snowy forest with a rabid, crazed furbolg nearly as tall as he was. He wouldn't have even ran into said furlbog had he not strayed from the main path into the denser trees for cover, as he had been unnerved by the sense of being watched as he was traveling down the road. The paladin had caught scant glances of something prowling through the trees behind him. He swore the creature had been blue and more feline like, not the large, awkwardly lumbering furbolg that had suddenly burst out from the trees to attack him.

And he might have escaped said furbolg had he been accompanied by his elekk. Yet upon going to fetch his mount that morning, the stable master informed him the large creature was ill, suffering from cold like symptoms. So he foolishly went on foot into the unfamiliar snowy wilds of Winterspring. And had gotten attacked.

One powerfully sweeping furry paw knocked right into his armored hand, slicing through the leather gloves covering his fingers. Their grip released his large hammer and the stunned draenei could not deflect the swiftly following blow that struck him right in the chest. Despite the thick plate that protected him, the wind was knocked from his lungs, the force leaving him stunned with dizziness. Phaen collapsed against the trunk of a tree, panting wearily as he watched the bear creature advance slowly upon him, beady eyes reddened with rage, mouth foaming with rancid, discolored spittle. The paladin was worn down from battling desperately against the hulking, unnaturally strong beast that's strength and ire were probably caused from the taint of fel magic. Driven back to a dangerously steep ledge that plummeted down to the icy hard ground below, Phaen fought to escape death from either the frenzied creature or probably deadly plunge.

"M-may the Light pro-!" the paladin exclaimed, resorting to conjuring up his naaru given blessings to shield himself from the furbolg's attack as it barreled forward. Yet the brutish, lumbering creature had a speed its size belied and before the Light could encase him in its shielding glow, the furbolg's jaws were closed around his forearm. Jagged, blade like teeth scraped against his plate gauntlet, and the deadly tips of a few slipped between its metal panels through the leather and cloth beneath into his flesh.

Phaen bellowed in agony and his free hand instinctively clamped down on the top of the furbolg's muzzle, fingers flaring with searing Light. The stench of burning flesh and fur was immediate and the furbolg wrenched his jaw from the paladin's arm with a deafening roar. The successful attack only gave him a moment's reprieve and instead of backing down, the beast shoved right into Phaen, sending them both toppling precariously close to the end of the ledge.

A brilliant flash of white light suddenly collided with the side of the furbolg's face just before a roar echoed through the clearing. Something that moved too fast to be identified knocked into the ursine beast's side in a blue and green blur. The furbolg emitted a high pitched shriek of fury, flailing in all directions with the brightly colored thing holding fast to it, snarling and growling and forcing it away from the paladin. With an uplifted sense of triumph, Phaen thought his "curse" was no more than unfortunate luck that was about to change.

Yet the furbolg blindly swept out its arm again and managed to connect a jarring blow right to Phaen's face, sending him reeling backward. His last conscious thought,as he tumbled off the edge of the cliff, was that he was right at first. It was a curse. The worst one of all.

With a cry of terror that echoed across the snowy landscape, Phaen plummeted into the ground that shattered underneath him in sharp, freezing shards. What he thought was death came in the form of mind and body numbingly cold and it carried the dranei into its darkness in a frigid, suffocating embrace.


When Phaen's weary eyelids fluttered open, the first thing he saw was a blinding light. His sluggish mind was certain he was still dying if not dead. However, the weight of his arm across his eyes as he instinctively shielded his blurry vision from the bright aura was all too real. The rough dryness of his mouth was real too, as was the aching lethargy in every muscle and bone in his drained, tender body.

With a pained moan, he gingerly writhed in the blankets that swaddled him, blinking slowly to focus his eyes. The bright light was a lamp hanging from the roof of a tent, its canvas flaps waving faintly from the softly howling wind outside. How he had gotten into said tent—which had a deep royal purple interior that was strikingly familiar to his own travel tent—he had no idea. But, importantly, he was alive.

And not alone either, apparently. Phaen tried to sit up and it wasn't just his sore, bandaged forearm that prevented him from doing so. There was a weight at his side that had been pressing against his chest, and when he moved it stirred and inhaled sleepily through its nose with a quiet mewl. Lifting its head, covered in a mop of partially braided yellow-green hair, it blinked its glittering pink eyes up at the flabbergasted draenei. The troll woman that had been spooned against him—naked—yawned, curling her tongue between her tusks, and grinned drowsily.

"So..." Siku'dani purred in a thick, low voice of satiated pleasure and contentment. "Was it bein' good fo' you?"

With a scream that was quite unbecoming of and unexpected from an ex-Vindicator, Phaen scrambled from beneath her to his hooves with all of the grace of a drunken elekk. It was possibly the worst mistake he could and the draenei's head swam and his knees buckled from feverish wooziness. The jerky motions irritated the nausea that lurched in his stomach, and he flailed one hand out to steady himself on the post of the tent.

He didn't think to take the pelt he had been beneath with him and it wasn't until Siku'dani purred and lowered her eyes that he realized he too was stark naked. With an indignant squeak, he swiftly snatched up one of the pelts to hold protectively over his crotch.

"H-How did I get here?" the paladin cried, tail lashing angrily behind him, flushed face twisting in disgust. " W-what did you to do to me, troll?"

Chuckling throatily, Siku'dani rolled over onto her stomach, shamelessly baring her naked backside, and propped her head up on her knuckles. "Oh, lots of' t'ings," she cooed, winking sultrily. "But not bein' nearly as many as ya did tah me..."

Nearly choking on a gasped breath, Phaen released it in a pained whine that sounded like he was either about to get sick or start weeping. Or both. "Oh, merciful Light," he groaned, curling in on himself. He tried to stumble forward to what he thought was the front of the tent, but vertigo buckled his knees.

"Whoa, whoa, easy like, mon," Siku'dani said as she rose from the pelts quickly, going to the draenei's side to grasp his thick arm and steady him. "Ya need tah be bein' layin' back down."

Phaen couldn't help an incredulous snorted chuckle, though it was anything but amused. "Lay back down?" he barked at her. "W-why would I do that? I need to get out of here and get...away from—why am I naked?"

Siku'dani blinked as if the answer to that were obvious, then she giggled and batted her eyes. "Why ya be pondahrin'?"

The draenei's face took on a momentary mask of madness and he shook his head so hard it only made it hurt worse. "N-no, no! T-this couldn't—I couldn't have—y-you—" Snapping his gaze toward her, Phaen bared his teeth at her. "Y-you're lying! We did not have sex!"

Arching a brow smoothly, the troll's lips curve into a shrewd grin. "Oh? We didn'? Ya stone sure 'bout dat, mon? 'Cause ya be lookin' as well worn as I feel."

Swallowing thickly, Phaen's sweat dotted brow knitted over his eyes and he gnashed his teeth as another wave of intense queasiness struck him. "W-What I feel is...sick..." he moaned, swaying and leaning further against Siku'dani. With a growl, he pushed away from her, trying to steady himself on one knee. "If we did do anything you FORCED me into it! B-bewitched me or something! And I WHOLLY regret it! I feel...ugh...awful!"

"Oh, dat's from da foamin' pro'lly," Siku'dani said casually. "Er, I mean poison."

Head swiveling on his broad shoulders, Phaen balked at the troll. "P-poison! You poisoned me?"

Clucking her tongue, Siku'dani rolled her eyes and tugged at the draenei's arm. "Now what straightsome reason I got fo' bein' doin' somethin' like dat, luv?" she grunted, attempting to move his large bulk back towards the pelts.

"I wouldn't put it past you!" Phaen snapped defensively, weakly yanking back. "And what sort of person are you that'd you'd...do THAT with someone that was poisoned?"

Siku'dani's sharp teeth flashed in a wolfish grin. "What can I be waggin'? Mons at der weakes', all vulnerable like...it bein' mah weakness."

The draenei made another sound of frustration and abhorrence, wanting to throw himself from the tiny space he felt trapped in with the troll and out into the snow. Light be damned if he froze to death, for it'd be a better way to end than with the insufferable, crazy female.

Siku'dani scowled with an impatient huff and, using strength that belied her much smaller frame or was a testament to how drained he was, managed to pull Phaen back onto the bed roll. The draenei still tried to wriggle away from her, upsetting one of the wooden poles that was keeping their tent erect, his tail knocking into the heavy canvas tarp. "N-no! Cease this right now!" he croaked, feeling his feverish body begin to sweat even further, as if he were perspiring his very energy from his skin. "Don't touch me! I don't want your help!"

"Be quittin' yer heel diggin' and lay down, Fen!" she huffed impatiently, narrowing her rose pink eyes at him. "Ya onleh gonna be bein' wearin' yo'self t'in' and end up kickin' it 'cause o' dis poison, and I ain' lookin' forward tah diggin' a grave in da snow, which means I'd be mo' likely tah jus' set'cha on fiyah and I ain' got no matches eiddah, nor do I know da propah death rites fo' yo' people, which mean ya gonna be left real hinkeh like frozen and naked, so be bein' still!"

Something amid that near indecipherable rant clicked in Phaen's delirious mind, probably the last bit about being left for dead in the harsh cold of Winterspring. With much begrudging reluctance, the draenei let his body go lax and collapsed atop the bed roll on his back, pulling the pelts around his naked hips. "At lease give me my clothes," he panted in defeat.

"Dey bein' wet and dryin' on a line," Siku'dani answered, waiting until the draenei settled before crawling away from him. She plucked up a rumpled short tunic and pulled it over her head and down her slender hips, then walked in a crouch back to him. The troll placed the back of her hand to his forehead, ignoring the draenei's instinctive flinch. "Ya don' pondah straight like dat ya fell t'rough da ice aftah dat foamin' furbolg got'cha, eh?"

Trying to remember anything that occurred before he woke up next to the troll woman made Phaen's head hurt, but he tried all the same. "I-I do recall…being attacked," he murmured while Siku'dani moved away from him again to start rifling through her pack. "But something came at it. Then I fell, and-"

Frowning pensively, his eyes swept to Siku'dani again. "Wait. You saw that thing attack me? And you saw me fall? You must have been following me! Were you stalking me?"

Siku'dani looked over her shoulder at Phaen and grinned. "Is 'stalkin' ' annodah way of waggin' 'jumped intah da watah and risked mah own skin tah be bein' savin' ya ass'?"

The draenei balked, but had no retort for the troll's words. As much as he wanted to deny it, as much as he wanted another reason for his being alive to be plausible, there was nothing else but what was obviously the truth. How else would he have gotten out of the icy water? Siku'dani had saved him.

"Where are we now?" he demanded, avoiding any sort of recognition of said fact. "Why didn't you just take me back to Everlook?"

Siku'dani scratched her nose. " 'Cause ya was puttin' on da strain fo' mah arms, big t'ing datcha bein'."

The draenei scowled. "I was what?"

Pursing her lips with an irritated flare of her nostrils, the troll huffed through them. "I be grinnin' low-ah, I be sorreh, Fen. Mah waggin' bein' hinky-er, da way Shattahspear speak be differen' dan mos'." She made a dismissive wave with her hand, turning around on her rump with a small cloth pouch, an empty cup, and a water skin between her legs. "Ya was too heavy. Alla dat armah ya had on nearly drowned ya and I was strained huffin' aftah jus' pullin' ya out. Ya ain' all dat much lighta wit'out it, so I took ya to a grove we'd be safe in."

Siku'dani pinched small amounts of herbs from the pouch and sprinkled them into the cup. "Dat furbolg had da foamin' and it got in ya, and tah tell it to ya straight like, I ain' got da healin' skills tah get it outta ya. I need tah take ya tah Moonglade soon as possible. Da onleh one I know could mebbe help ya bein' der."

Phaen scowled and he felt the corner of his eye twitch. Moonglade was not only in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go, but he had no desire to travel anywhere with Siku'dani. "I'm not going to venture a journey that far for maybe. I can find a healer in Everlook," he replied stubbornly. "There has to be someone there who knows how to cure poison from a rabid animal. The goblins have to know some healing."

Snorting loud and unattractively, Siku'dani put the flat of her palm over the mouth of the cup tightly and began to shake it vigorously. "If ya pondah onna dem tricksy little sidewise green-skinned slip shirkin' dirt snufflahs could or would cure yo' ailment wit'out eiddah killin' ya in da process or takin' alla ya money and den kill ya, den ya be drafteh in da head, Fen, and I blame da fevah. And mos' o' da oddah mons dat probably would be willin' tah help ya hopped da wind on da zeppelin dat came in today dat was goin' somewhere or oddah everyone wanted tah be hoppin' to."

Wincing, Phaen rubbed his bandaged forearm. She had a point, and he doubted he had the money to afford what a goblin thought his life was worth. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Almos' two days, which is why we gotta get tah hoppin' da wind soon, or you jus' gonna get worse." Siku'dani wiped her wet palm on her tunic, then swirled the contents of the cup that had turned brown like a strong tea "We don' get da foamin' outta ya, Fen, and ya gonna die. Der be someone dat can be lendin' ya one in Moonglade," she concluded with finality.

Jaw set hard and teeth clenched, the draenei sighed a breath through his nose. He had no choice, or at least Siku'dani made it seem so. "How can we get that far if I can barely walk a few steps without stumbling?" Phaen groused.

The question made Siku'dani chuckle. "Wit'cho hinkeh tusked deer t'ing, o'course."

The paladin scowled. "You mean...my elekk? How did you know I even had one?"

"I saw ya wit him in da stables earlier," the troll replied matter-of-factly. "And seein' as how I figga'd we'd be havin' tah go to Moonglade fo' yo' ailment, I wen' back and got him fo' ya while ya was sawin'. He's outside teth'ahd to a tree. "

Phaen's eye twitched again involuntarily. Now he was certain the tent they were in was indeed his. "The stable master said he was sick." This was besides the fact the strange troll he knew nothing about—who had done Light knew what to him—had taken it upon herself to collect his elekk from the stables and use his tent, yet it was the first thing his fury-hazed and weary mind went to. That, and he wondered what other belongings she had helped herself to.

"Oh, he jus' had da sniffles, dat's all!" the troll added flippantly with a little smug grin. "Nothin' some liferoot an' sungrass couldn' take care of. He be fit an' huffin' strong like now. I even took him to where I pulled ya out da ice and hauled yo' armor back. M'afraid I couldn' fin' yo' hammah. I t'ink ya dropped in da ice watah." She smirked and extended the cup to him. "You should be t'ankin' me. Now sit up and swig on dis."

For all her audaciousness, lack of polite decorum or respect for the personal space and belongings of a stranger, and all around maddening oddities, Siku'dani had indeed saved him and he should thank her. Though Phaen still wasn't sure how her crimes against him—theft, kidnapping, and possibly rape—weighed against the benevolent act. With a sharp sigh through his nose, the draenei tapped his tail against his thigh in begrudging consideration. "Fine," was his brusque answer.

Pleased, Siku'dani waited until the draenei weakly leaned up on his forearms before handing him the herbal tea. It smelled as bitter as it tasted, and as the cool liquid slid down his throat Phaen wondered if the troll was only poisoning him further. Yet his rationale asked: if Siku'dani wanted to kill him, why hadn't she let him drown in the icy water or the poison consume his body?

Or a better question...

"Why are you helping me?" the paladin asked warily. "Why do you care for my life?"

A little blush colored Siku'dani's blue cheeks and she smiled almost coyly. " 'Cause I be pondahrin' ya eye easy," she replied with a girlish giggle. "And I ain' Horde, Fen, if dat's why ya surprised a troll would help a space goat."

His eye and mouth twitched. "Please refrain from using that...derogatory term!" he huffed irritably. "How would you like if I called you an...elekk mouthed lizard?"

Siku'dani seemed to like it just fine as she fell over in a fit of laughter. "I be pondahrin' dat's bein' pretteh funny actually, Fen," she replied when her amusement subsided enough to speak. "And I don' mean it wit no sorta disrespect or nothin'. Mah Orcish be po' as it is, and mah mouth and tongue jus' can' be waggin' da word yo' people use." Scrunching up her face, she made an honest attempt. "Dray...dray...uh...neee..."

If Siku'dani couldn't pronounce his name, he very seriously doubted she could manage "draenei". It sounded just as it was spelled, though Phaen wasn't even about to breach the topic of phonetics and foreign alphabets with a troll. "Just...call me...Fen," he grumbled, flopping back into the bed roll and putting his arm over his eyes. Maybe this was all a nightmare. Maybe the Light would take mercy on him and he'd wake up and be in his inn in Everlook.

Her pouty lips curving in a grin over her small tusks, Siku'dani slithered up against the draenei's side. "I raddah be likin' yo' name, Fen," she cooed.

Had he the strength, Phaen would have shoved the troll woman off him or gone scampering out of the bedroll again, but all he managed to do was tense up like a rodent under the hungry gaze of a cat. His silvery eyes were wide and he managed to croak indignantly, "What...what are you doing?"

The mop of curly chartreuse hair tickled his broad chest as Siku'dani curled close to him and it was with great dismay that he realized how femininely shaped and curvy she was. The troll being a femalewas not something Phaen had paid attention to. Or wanted to. Not when he was naked and she scantly clad, pasted against him.

"Ya don'' really pondah I'd be tryin' tah do nasteh, hinkeh t'ings to ya while ya ailin', do ya, Fen?" she giggled, putting her arms around his thick trunk of a torso and throwing a leg around his. "Ya still got da hot-cold shakes from fallin' t'rough dat ice. Da same happened tah onna mah younga broddahs, and our muuka said ya gotta use ya heat tah get dey heat back hot."

He had suffered hypothermia, Phaen supposed she meant, which would explain why they had been in the bed roll naked together. It was a much more digestible reason than his previous fear and Siku'dani's insinuations. "Light give me strength..." he muttered, his voice feeling thick and his mind swooning with weariness that layered over him like a heavy blanket. Siku'dani was warm and her body was as soft as the pelts that covered them. The Prophet help him, why was he thinking about that?

"I'll have ya be knowin' der be many a mon who would love tah be undah da furs wit me naked," the troll chuckled. Her voice was muffled and far away in the paladin's ears. "Now, ya jus' let dat tea do what it needs and get back ta sawing'..."

Phaen said something, but his own words were inaudible. Whatever they were, they made Siku'dani chuckle. She felt much furrier, softer, and warmer against him, and her melodic, feminine laugh further lulled the paladin into a deep, drug-induced sleep.


Phaen awoke the next morning feeling comparatively energized. His muscles were still weak and his limbs a bit shaky, but at least he had the means to stand and walk. There was no way he could do so under the weight of armor, however; his leather tunic and pants and the cloth garments he had worn beneath his plate were all he could manage to put on. They were stiff, cold, and uncomfortable, but at least they were dry and kept him warm under his thick wool and fur cloak.

Just as Siku'dani had told him, his elekk was tethered in a small grove of trees adjacent to their campsite, saddled with his bundled armor secured on its back. Phaen didn't know how she had managed to get a mount that wasn't even hers out of the stables. With the right amount of coin, however, it probably hadn't been too hard considering the stable master was a goblin.

While Phaen ate a simple breakfast of jerky and some sort of bitter fruit the troll woman had forced upon him, Siku'dani took down his tent and packed it on to the elephantine animal's back. Thankfully, she wasn't very talkative, though she did hum merrily. There was even a constant, dance-like sway in her step. It annoyed Phaen to see someone so unwaveringly bubbly with no particular reason to be.

By mid morning they were traveling the path leading west away from Everlook. Phaen did not know the wintry land of Winterspring well and had traveled there by way of zeppelin from Ratchet. Siku'dani seemed to know the region and the way to Moonglade well, so he begrudgingly let the troll direct him as he steered his elekk accordingly. The journey was only a little over a quarter of a day. A tolerable amount of time to be stuck with his rescuer, he thought. Yet when she claimed they could gain passage to the secluded forest haven through a cave inhabited by furbolgs, Phaen was beginning to doubt how wise he had been to trust her.

"Don'cha be getting' draften now, Fen, dey bein' real sweet like nice mons!" the Shatterspear troll said nonchalantly. "Siku'dani know dem well! All Shattahspears do! We got good relations wit da Timbamaw and use der caves pretteh often."

The twitch that was uncontrollable and as annoyingly persistent as his companion returned to his face and Phaen growled softly. He had heard of the dark, twisting corridors of Timbermaw Hold that were the only travelable path into Moonglade. The paladin had intentionally avoided going through furbolg territory for a reason, and now he would be descending into their very den. A myriad of potential misfortunes were born from Phaen's paranoia. What if there were trolls or furbolgs inside waiting to ambush him, rob him, and do Light knew what with him before they killed him? Trolls were notorious tricksters and even rumored cannibals. His delirious imagination conjured images of him trussed up like a Winter Veil bird, marinated in butter and herbs hanging above a roaring fire while Siku'dani, her kin, and the bear men cackled hungrily around him.

"Ya be huffin', Fen?" Siku'dani asked, leaning over his shoulder, disturbing him from his thoughts. "We can be parkin' it' if ya wan'."

Phaen was "huffing", but did not want to delay their arrival to Moonglade. He could persist through his lethargy if it meant being rid of the troll. "I'll be fine," he replied in as strong a voice as he could muster. "You said that time was vital, yes? Then we need to get there as soon as possible."

The troll nodded and to the paladin's dismay kept her chin on his broad shoulders. "Well, alrigh', if ya sure." Siku'dani canted her head to look at him as best as she could. "Ya ain' bein' wit' da loose waggin', are ya, Fen?"

The breath on his ear made him cringe and his jaw tightened. "What?"

Siku'dani chuckled. "Sorreh. I keep fo'gettin' mah words ain' so easy. Waggin' mean talkin'. Ya ain' da talkin' type."

"Oh." He grunted and shrugged moodily, tense under her touch. He wished he were wearing his armor. He felt naked and even more vulnerable in his sickly state without it. Especially without his hammer. Its loss made a deep, sickening pang of regret sting at his gut. "Not particularly. And I don't think you and I have much to talk about."

The female clucked her tongue and hummed. "Straight like, ya don' t'ink much of me do ya, Fen?"

The blunt words stunned Phaen despite their truth and he felt his cheeks color. "As a member of the Alliance, it is difficult for me to...think much of any member of the Horde," he replied carefully, surprised with how awkward it was to say that to the troll.

Siku'dani huffed out a long sigh. "Ya musta been feverish when I been waggin' I wasn' of da Horde da oddah night," she replied. "M'bein' Shattahspear, not Darkspear. Dey may be bein' our kin, but s'been a long while since we been one tribe." The troll grinned and Phaen felt her touch one of the tendrils at his jaw. "Not all trolls be bein' of da Horde, ya know."

He flicked the tentacle irritably away from her hand. "Forgive my assumption," he snorted.

She giggled a youthful laugh and continued to lean against his back. "Yo' nose wrinkles when I be waggin' witcha, like mah breath bein' havin' da wiffs o' dung. Ya musta had a bad run in wit a troll befo'."

Phaen large body tensed and his silvery eyes widened. "W-why would you assume that?" he stammered.

The troll's lips curled back from her sharp teeth in a knowing smirk. "Ooooh, so I got it straight like, eh? Ya got a personal vendetta 'gainst mah people 'cause onna us did'ja wrong." She fingered one of the tendrils on his chin and leaned toward his ear again. "What happened?"

"Stop that!" Phaen barked, jerking his head away, face flushing hotly. "Have you no sense of personal space! Those are...sensitive!"

Siku'dani blinked down at the quivering tentacle before her face became wolfish. "So, ya gonna be spillin' on what made ya so bittah toward trolls?" she purred, nipping gently at the ringed appendage.

"Ack!" Phaen shrieked, jumping with a start in the elekk's saddle as a shudder rolled up his spine. "I said STOP! That is highly inappropriate!"

"I'll stop when ya be spillin'," she sang in his ear, barely missing another nibble at the tendril as Phaen ducked and dodged her advances.

Just trying to avoid Siku'dani's playfully snapping teeth was enough to diminish his already waning energy and he knew she would not relent. His elekk trumpeted in annoyance beneath them. "A-alright, fine!" he barked, hunching forward with his head lowered between his broad shoulders. His face burned even hotter with added embarrassment. "I was harassed in Booty Bay by a troll recently. There!"

Siku'dani's interest would not be assuaged so easily. "Harassed? How come?" she inquired, finally sitting still behind him. "Ya do somethin' to 'em?"

Phaen snorted indignantly. "I didn't do anything to him at all. He just...accosted me out of no where!"

Pursing her lips, the troll hummed behind him. "I pondah dem goblin towns don' tolerate dat kinda t'ing. At leas', dat's how Evahlook is. An' you a pretteh strappin' big mon, Fen. Not da sorta target fo' pick-pocketin' or general harassin'. Mos' trolls don' do such t'ings. We like tah avoid unnecessary conflicts." She looked over his shoulder again. "He have a reason tah pick a figh' wit'cha?"

His own mouth tightening into a thin line, Phaen's eyes lowered. "I...did something that was less than honorable," he replied, though as the words left his lips he wondered why he was divulging something he had spoken about to no one.

"What'cha been doin'?"

The paladin hesitated for a long moment before he sighed. "I tried to force myself upon a female. A whore, but...a female nonetheless. He saw us and felt the need to step in and defend her."

Despite his dislike of Siku'dani, Phaen felt shame burn inside him with having to confess what he had done. The indignity only grew when the troll was quiet for a pregnant stretch of silence behind him before she grunted. "Well, I pondah straight like dat mon had a reason den," she snickered, putting her chin back on his shoulder. Her lips curved into a soft smile. "In yo' defense, ya don' be seemin' like da slimy slick sort dat do dat kinda t'ing."

Surprised, Phaen felt an appreciation for the comment. "Thank you for saying so," he replied earnestly. He sighed through his nose and shook his head. "And I am not the sort at all. I had been under the influence of drink that night and...had not been myself lately. I am deeply ashamed for my actions."

He felt Siku'dani's fingers move against his stomach lightly as they re-tightened their hold around his thick torso. "So, why did'ja do it den? What had ya feelin' so dark dat ya'd be t'ink'in' of touchin' a fen'di like dat?"

The draenei scowled and shook his head. "It is nothing that I need to share with you," he grumbled. "Nor anything that you'd probably want to hear. Just self-pity and selfishness."

"Bein' dat I asked, ya can assume dat I'd wanna be catchin' it." Siku'dani squeezed him around his torso encouragingly. "If ya wan'. I won' pestah ya 'bout dat."

Phaen snorted, unable to believe that she wouldn't, but Siku'dani fell silent behind him. Chewing his lower lip, the paladin's tongue strained in his mouth.

"I have felt...lost as of late. Without purpose, even," he admitted regretfully, though he felt a small lightness inside him once the words were out. "I was a Vindicator of Shattrath, the holy capital of my people on our home planet. I fought against the orcs on Draenor, and later the Burning Legion when our leaders decided to aid the Alliance in their campaign against them. I have always been respected. I have held high ranks among the Vindicators I have both led and fought beside."

His heavy brows knitted over his glowing eyes and Phaen scowled. "I made a grave error in judgment on a campaign and was discharged from the battalion I was leading. Honorably, but discharged all the same. I was in the Exodar, forced to sit idle, while my comrades, the Alliance, and the Horde brought down the demon Illidan and his generals. They earned glory and honor, defeating the evil that had been responsible for our people's near genocide, while I could do nothing."

The draenei's body was tense against Siku'dani and his fingers clenched around the straps of his elekk's bridle until his knuckles cracked. Just recalling how excluded, shamed, and weak he had felt in the presence of his triumphant peers filled him with anger.

The troll's fingers were gentle on his hands and Phaen started from the sudden touch. "Der always gwonna be bein' wars tah fight, Fen," Siku'dani murmured behind him and he turned to see her bright pale pink eyes staring at him over his shoulder. "If on bein' da battlefield is where ya be findin' ya honah, den m'stone sure ya will have da chance again."

"It's not just about fighting," Phaen growled at her, immediately regretting his tone. He sighed and dipped his head. "The Legion and the orcs sought my people's genocide and nearly accomplished it. I find pride and honor in knowing I can help rise us from our ashes and grief. I am a Vindicator, a warrior."

Phaen trailed off and glanced into the pale white-blue sky from which snow flurries slowly fell. "But I am not the man that I once was, and I cannot pretend to be. My superiors knew that, as did my comrades. I had been...changing. I do not know who I am or what I can do anymore."

While the paladin fell quiet and reflective, staring into the sky, the wind tossing strands of his dark hair, Siku'dani stared at him, eyes blinking slowly, white flurries stuck to her eyelashes. "Mmm," she hummed after a moment, clucking her tongue. "Sounds like ya need to be findin' yaself den, mon."

She wriggled behind him to get comfortable in the saddle. "I crossed pat's wit' annodah one of yo' kind once. In Felwood. A fen'di. She was lookin' tah be guided t'rough and been lendin' her one. We had a long time tah be crackin' rocks – ah, ta be talkin' dat is - an' it was da firs' time I been catchin' word of yo' people and dey plights and all what was goin' on 'cross da skies in dat oddah place. If da Legion been defeated der, and yo' people got a bit of peace, den, dat's good regardless, righ'? And even d'ough ya wasn' der at da end, ya still helped dem get der all da same."

Phaen grunted with a nod. "Yes, that is true, and I have told myself that many times." His smile was wry as he looked back at Siku'dani. "I told you, it was self-pitying and selfish."

Siku'dani snickered and grinned back at him. "Truth, mon. But, ya pondah dat it bein' slickah pullin' dan pushin."

He had almost forgotten his companion's vexing speech and Phaen scowled faintly. "What?"

Sighing through her nose, Siku'dani's face scrunched up thoughtfully. "Ya can' be helpin' anyone else befo' ya help yaself, yanno," she reinterpreted. "S'like tryna pull someone up intah a tree while ya tryna climb it yaself. Ya can' do it, or ya can, but it'll be hard on ya 'cause ya ain' helped yaself yet."

The troll smiled behind Phaen. "We Shattahspear got an easy way of livin'. We don' concern ourselves wit da wars and claimin' dis factions or dat and alla dat e'chuta. We take care of our own and we keep to ourselves. I undahstand dat's not da way of yo' people and why. Da plight of da ancestors we and da Darkspear share was much da same. And dat's why we Shattahspear got a sense of self preservation dat bein' impo'tant to us. Can' bein' good tah oddahs if ya ain' good tah yaslef firs'."

The troll's words were a little convoluted, but there was a point there that Phaen did grasp. "I am...not sure how to do that..." he murmured with some bashfulness.

"Well, bes' t'ing to do is tah not be pondahrin' on it so hard like," Siku'dani chortled. "Ya don' haftah fight, so why not jus' be enjoyin' some peace fo' a change? G'won back to wherevah ya call home an' relax. Find anoddah way to help yo' people dat don' involve swingin' dat big ol' hammah 'round."

Phaen's brief snicker was dry. "I don't even have a hammer to swing anymore," he said bitterly, and the longing for the old weapon made him sigh. "It was given to me by the one that trained me. Though I may not have much use for it as of late, I should like to have it back. Perhaps there is a way to reclaim it from that icy river.

"Not unless ya wanna get da hot-cold shivahs again mon," Siku'dani said. Her hand patted Phaen's stomach gently and the draenei did not recoil or flinch. "Jus' take it as a sign from yo' gods or Light or whatevah dat ya don' need it anymo' and move on."

His nose wrinkling thoughtful, Phaen considered the option. He certainly had the opportunity to retire, if just temporarily, as a warrior. And the Exodar was always in need of aid with reconstruction. Or perhaps he could even return to Shattrath to pursue a role as a Peacekeeper.

Thinking about it was still stressful and made his head ache, though he did feel a large portion of his worry's weight lift from his spirit. Glancing back at Siku'dani, Phaen's lips quirked into a smile. "I will keep that in mind," he told her, and meant it. "Thank you...for listening."

Siku'dani's smile was just as genuine and she gave the draenei a rib cracking hug from behind. "See? We ain' so asp sharp," she giggled.

Teeth clenched as he grunted in discomfort, Phaen's brows furrowed over his narrowed glowing eyes. "No...I suppose...not," he grumbled. "Now...please...my lungs..."

"Ah, I be grinnin' low," the troll chuckled softly, loosening her grip around him and contentedly leaning her chin on his shoulder.

Snorting, Phaen rolled his eyes at the expression, then arched his brow in curiosity. "Grinning low. That means...to frown, yes?" he ventured a guess at interpreting her odd speech. "So...'you're sorry'?"

Delightedly amused, Siku'dani giggled youthfully behind the draenei. "Der, ya getting' it! Dough actually it be meanin' more like dis face" She made a sheepish, apologetic smile, lowering her eyes and then giggled again, perking back up and exclaiming excitedly, "I could teach ya some Shattahspear tongue on da way tah Moonglade, if ya wan'!"

Purring, her fingers rubbed up and down his broad chest suggestively. "I be real honey-sweet, Fen, when ya get tah know me..."

Phaen's lukewarm like of Siku'dani wasn't enough to keep his eye from wincing involuntarily. "I think keeping our...temporary companionship casual is more than sufficient," he huffed.

The troll troll chuckled huskily, leaning her head against his shoulder blade. "Ya bein' so sexeh when ya aloof, Fen," she cooed.

Briefly, Phaen smirked to himself and shook his head, falling quiet for a long moment and thinking on something Siku'dani had mentioned previously. "You said...that the Darkspears endured a history similar to ours, yes? What did you mean?"

Lifting her head, Siku'dani arched a brow, then smirked faintly. "Very similah. Mo' so dan ya would be pondahrin'." She waved a hand dismissively. "S'nothin' ya would wanna hear."

The paladin grinned as his own words were thrown back at him. "If I inquired, you can assume I would not mind being told," he countered.

The Shatterspear troll chuckled. "Fair enough, den, if ya insist. I'll try not tah be waggin' fo' too long."

Phaen chuckled and sighed heavily, resigned to probably having invited Siku to talk for the remainder of their trip. What else did they have to do? "Well, go ahead and...wag all you want."


By mid afternoon, after navigating through the dank, dark caves of Timbermaw Hold and traveling the ancient paths of the tranquil, lush forests of Moonglade, Siku'dani and Phaen reached the Kaldorei city of Nighthaven. It was with great relief that the paladin brought his elekk to a halt at a small home on the outskirts of the village's borders. The sickness caused by his infection had gradually reduced his energy to nothing over the course of their journey. His fever had returned and the draenei's flushed face was dotted with sweat.

Phaen brushed his limp brown hair from his moist forehead and slumped forward in the saddle of his elekk. "Thank the Light..." he panted wearily.

Siku'dani patted the draenei's arm before swiftly sliding down from the beast's back. "Don'cha worry, Fen," she told him with a gentle smile. "Stay righ' here."

The troll trotted swiftly up the short dirt path to the house's front. "Kym! Kym, ya bein' in? Ya parkin' it?" she shouted, bounding up the porch and banging loudly on the door. "Kym!"

It only took a moment of knocking before the door swung open and a gray furred, agitated looking tauren woman in druid's garb stepped out on to the porch. "By Cenarius' antlers, Siku'dani, why do you have to yell?" she demanded with her hands on her hips. "Haven't you got someone else to beg and harass besides me?"

Siku'dani grinned, unbothered by the tauren's anger. "Ain' here tah ask anythin' fo' mahself, Kym," she replied.

Kym snorted and folded her arms. "Hard to believe," she said flatly.

"I got a mon who bein' afflicted by da foamin'," she said, pointing behind her to the sickly looking draenei nearly about to fall off the elekk. "I ain' got da skills tah cure him, straight like."

Her narrowed brown eyes flicking up to Phaen, then down to Siku'dani, then to the draenei again, Kym sighed through her nose and strode quickly off the porch. "Of course you don't. You really do need to focus on your training more, Siku," the tauren grumbled as she approached Phaen with the troll trotting at her side. "Well help me get him down and into the house. By the Earthmother, he looks like he is a breath away from death."

Phaen was limp and pliant in the two females' arms and they managed to pull him off the elekk's back and help him into the tauren druid's small home. Being stripped of his clothes and urged into a soft bed became the best thing Phaen had ever felt.

"I thank you sincerely for your help," he huffed weakly, mind swooning toward unconsciousness. "You have my eternal gratitude."

Grunting softly, Kym seated herself in a chair at his bedside, hands glowing faint green as they waved over his body. "You are welcome, but if anything I should be apologizing for Siku'dani's inability to do this herself," she grumbled, shooting the troll a stern look. "You're badly infected, but only because you've gone so long with the infection in your body. It's nothing serious though. You just need a healing session, some food, and rest."

Another annoyed glare directed at the troll made Siku'dani sigh. "M'grinnin' low, Kym," she huffed exaggeratedly like a child scolded, rolling her eyes. Her rose-pink eyes returned to Phaen and she smiled at him. "Kym's onna da bes' healahs in Nighthaven."

The paladin managed a weak smile as he sighed, already feeling the magic's cure. "Thank you...very much...Siku'dani," he managed to murmur. "I...truly mean that."

Siku'dani's gaze was as soft as Phaen's, and she nodded. "Ya welcome, Fen," she replied quietly as he slipped into unconsciousness and his head lolled to the side. The troll swept his long brown hair away from his face gently, remaining silent and watching him sleep as Kym worked.

When she was finally done, the druid sighed and sat back on her haunches. "He'll be fine and ready to be on his way tomorrow afternoon," she said, then arched a brow at Siku'dani. "So. What did you do to this one?"

Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, Siku'dani clucked her tongue, still combing her fingers through Phaen's long hair. "I swear, dis poisonin' wasn' bein' mah fault," she said defensively. "I got morals, yanno. I don' get mons kicked off unnecessarily."

Kym grunted and rolled her eyes, unwrapping the dirty bandages from Phaen's forearm to inspect his wound. "You're a con-artist and a thief, you have no scruples, and I hate being a part of your ploys." The druid stood with a grunt and crossed the room to a shelf of medicinal herbs and bandages. "So I suppose now that you got a ride back here out of him, you'll be leaving soon with all of his gold and belongings then?"

Siku'dani moodily folded her arms, her eyes remaining on Phaen. "Dat was bein' mah plan, but...no. I already been sellin' his hammah in Evahlook and snatched his gold pouch, an' I feel bad enough 'bout dat."

The tauren laughed dryly, pouring powdered herbs into a bowl. "Not bad enough to return his money, I'm sure."

The troll scowled. "An' how ya know dat straight like?"

Kym only looked at Siku'dani with a wry smirk before returning her attention to the herbs. The other female huffed before laying her head in the crook of her arms and gazing at Phaen. "I pondahed wrong abou' him," she murmured softly, fingering a lock of his hair. "He had da look of deservin' it, and I t'ought he did...but...I was wrong."

Blending a paste of medicinal herbs and water in her bowl with a spoon, Kym walked back to the bed and returned to her chair. Her brown eyes studied the troll's face curiously before she sighed through her nose. "Shan'do Starblaze would be ashamed. You really are a terrible healer," she murmured, her tone softer and less chastising. She smiled faintly at Siku'dani and patted her shoulder. "He'll be fine. Now move so I can tend to his wound."

The troll stood from her crouch and gave the draenei one last lingering look before stepping away so Kym could begin the process of cleaning the angry red bite on his forearm. She walked around the foot of the bed and sat down with her back against the wooden frame. There was a brief swirl of light and smoke and in the spot where Siku'dani had been, a large blue stripped cat with yellow-green hair that trailed down his back sprawled out with a sleepy yawn around its tusks, curled up, and closed its eyes.


Just as the tauren Kym had said, by the following afternoon, the sickness that afflicted Phaen was gone and his strength was returning to him. The druid's gracious offer of healing, food, and lodging was greatly appreciated, but the paladin did not want to wear out his welcome. Feeling well enough to make the short journey back to Winterspring, Phaen thanked Kym once more and left.

He had been a little surprised that Siku'dani was not there when he awoke that morning, and even disappointed when Kym said she had probably already left for Shatterspear Village. So he was not expecting to see the green haired troll walking up the main road just outside of Nighthaven.

Going the opposite direction back into the village, the troll saw his approach from a distance and lopped up meet him with a grin on her face. "Hopin' da wind already, Fen?" she called out when they were within earshot of each other. "An' I was jus' shakin' ovah tah see how ya was doin'."

Bringing his elekk to a halt, Phaen smiled down at Siku'dani. "Ah, yes, I must be getting back," he replied. "The zeppelin to the Azuremyst Isles will be arriving in Everlook soon and I cannot miss it. Besides, many of my belongings are still in my room at the inn." He chuckled and patted the coin purse hanging from the belt at his hip. "Which I still must pay for. Luckily I found my lost coin bag on my elekk."

Siku'dani laughed as well. "Dat bein' a good t'ing indeed." Her expression softened and she chewed her lower lip. "Der's a pretteh good weapons vendah in Evahlook. Ya should be goin' der when ya get back an' get somethin' propah tah defend yaself wit. Or ya'll be makin' a po' excuse fo' a Vindicator."

Phaen chuckled, warmed by the troll's concern. "I will do so then." Clearing his throat and flushing softly, Phaen lowered his head. "I...wanted to apologize, Siku'dani. For...speaking to and treating you as I did. My prejudice against you was wrong, and I am shamed by it."

The troll blinked at the apology and her own cheeks reddened as she smiled bashfully. "Ah, Fen, s'irie," she replied with a wave of her hand. "Wouldn' be da firs' time dat happened tah me. And it weren' bad at all, in da end. I got tah spend some time wit a handsome mon. And...I t'ink we both had oursevles an enlightenin' experience, yeah?"

The draenei smiled and nodded. "Indeed, we did. Do you need a ride somewhere?"

Siku'dani shook her head. "Nah. I was gonna go back tah Shattahspear, but I t'ink I'll be parkin' it here fo' a bit. Kym say I need work wit mah healin', and I haftah agree wit her. Oh!" Reaching into the satchel at her waist, the troll dug through it and produced a strand of beads and bones, which she approached Phaen's elekk to hand to him. "Here, ya will need dis when ya goin' back t'rough da tunnels. Give it to onna dem Timbahmaw mons and dey'll let'cha t'rough."

Blinking at the proffered necklace, Phaen met the troll's pink gaze and stared at her for a brief moment. "Ah, thank you very much," he said with a bashful smile. "Thank you again, for all that you have done for me. I will not forget your kindness or its lessons. May the Light embrace you. Perhaps we shall see each other again, Siku'dani."

Siku'dani grinned and hooded her pink eyes, brushing her fingers against his before drawing back. "I'd be all ohs if we did." She blew him a kiss and winked cheekily. "Spirits be wit'cha, Fen."

The paladin chuckled, shaking his head in exasperation before turning his elekk away and urging it down Moonglade's serene path. He fingered the beads clutched in his hand, smiling to himself, sure in his decision that Siku'dani had been right. A long reprieve was just what he needed.

Siku'dani watched Phaen and his large elekk lumber down the road until they were out of sight. "Spit slick fates," she sighed before chuckling to herself. "Da spirits bein' havin' da chuckles wit' me, hey?"

The druid smirked softly and, shifting into a nimble, stripped cat, sprinted toward Nighthaven.


A/N: This story is one of my favorites because it's based on a premise I came up with about the same time I was conceptualizing Sirens of Azeroth. It had nothing to do with Phaen or anyone in the SoA universe, however, and was about two shamans-a male draenei and a female troll-who get stuck together in Felwood after being poisoned and must travel to Moonglade for a cure. The idea was one that amused and interested me, being that draenei and trolls share many similarities in their cultures and histories, though vastly different races, but never became anything beyond an idea. When I began brainstorming Phaen's side story, I knew that this revisted premise would be perfect.

The Shatterspear dialect that Siku'dani speaks was created by my good friend, Marty1, an awesome writer on FanFiction. She developed it for use in her story "Middle Distance", a tale about a Shatterspear shaman and his travels with a Darkspear hunter. I fell in love with her very smart and well developed interpretation of Shatterspear linguistics and slang. If you don't know about Shatterspear trolls, look them up on WoWwiki. They are an actual in game tribe of trolls who live in a secluded area near Darkshore that is almost inaccessible. In Cataclysm, however, their village will become accessible to the Horde, as it is rumored that they will join the faction. Not only that, but their proximity to night elves suggests that it is the Shatterspear trolls who first learn druidism. Hence why Siku'dani is a druid.

Marty created a very extensive Shatterspear vocabulary. Here are a few phrases used in the story and their translations:

Waggin' = to talk/talking

Crackin' rocks = to have a conversation with someone

This side of the line = "That's alright.", as in something is okay/acceptable

Grinnin' low = to be apologetic and/or sheepish

hinky = odd, weird, wrong

ponderin' = thinking

asp sharp = mean or angry

lendin' one = to help

parkin' it = to stay; If used as a question, "Are you there?"

fen'di = woman/girl (This is actually a general Zandali word Marty, myself, and others developed)

And now you know what happened to Phaen after he left Booty Bay.