"What did you do to her?!", Will demanded.
"I returned her to herself", the huge man replied. "She needs to finally face justice and I will not have her doing it in the body of a pathetic human."
"I didn't do it!", Ava replied, then immediately looked confused. She grabbed on to Will's arm for support and wobbled to her feet.
"What are you talking about?", Will whispered softly to her.
Ava found it difficult to reply. She stared open-mouthed up at Will. Why did she say that? It was impossible to think straight. She found herself gazing over at the large man, his name almost at the tip of her tongue. Then she shook her head and clung to her boyfriend.
"I don't quite know. I feel really strange, really confused. My head is killing me. And I think I want to vomit."
As she steadied herself on his arm, Will looked her over. She was dressed in the same clothes as before and didn't seem to have any scrapes or bruises. He noticed, however, that her previously soft flesh seemed to have changed into lean muscle. Despite her current unsteadiness, she looked...stronger.
"Ava, what's a blood elf?"
"I don't know. Me, I guess. No, wait...we're a people. Jesus, Will, I don't know, where am I getting this from? What did he do to me?"
"You look...different."
Ava ran her left hand over her face, the right still clutching Will. A look of horror came over her face as she felt her long, pointed ears.
"Salandria, now you will stand and face me. Do you have any final words?" the huge man said, levelly. He seemed to have calmed down during Ava and Will's exchange, though his silver eyes still glittered with barely contained anger.
Ava pushed herself off Will's support and staggered slightly. She looked into the silver eyes of the man and faltered. A jolt of feeling hit her right in the stomach. Of anticipation, and also of fear.
"Get rid of the man", said the giant. "She must do this alone."
The hooded figure turned and put his hands together. Suddenly, Will felt a surge of adrenaline as fear rose up violently inside him and, against all reason, he turned to run. He knew he couldn't leave her, yet his body was completely disconnected from his thoughts. He was 20 metres away before he managed to regain control over his legs. He turned and saw Ava, clumsily but consistently dodging attacks from the large man. He flung light from his hands but she ducked and rolled. The ground rumbled and green, grasping roots broke through the concrete pavement but she stumbled over them to safety.
As she lay on the ground panting, the huge man took a deep breath, drew himself up and called down a bright light, almost like white fire, on top of her. She rolled away from the impact at the last second and tried to drag herself up, only getting as far as her knees. Will ran to her but stopped he saw an indignant look come over her face and when she spoke, it was with a cold fury.
"You dare to use the arcane on me? Is this truly what you've been reduced to?"
However little sense her words made to Will, they seemed to have an effect on the large man. He stood still for a moment then raised his deep voice in anger.
"When you have rejected all we fought for? All our comrades died for? You ran away from everything we built and left it in ashes! You are a betrayer and a murderer, just like the rest of your filthy fel-tainted people!"
Ava slowly rose to standing, her features locked in anger and screamed, "I didn't murdered them!"
The hooded figure, who up to this point had been watching the scene impassively, moved towards the huge man, placing himself in front of Ava.
"It's too late Darshan-brutha. He's comin'. My magic won't last much longer here. We canna face him in dis world."
"I'm not leaving her Za'zera! I won't waste another 5 years, this must end!"
The hooded figure grabbed the large man by both his arms. "An' it will, brutha. Where do you think Caruur is going to take her?"
The giant seemed to relent and turned once more to Ava, who was once more supported by Will, as she wavered about on her two legs. "This is just beginning Salandria. You cannot hide from me, not anymore." With those parting words, the pair seemed to morph into the shadow once more and were gone.
Will and Ava noticed the sound of car alarms going off in the distance and a series of loud thumps, coming closer towards them. "You're not serious...", Will muttered.
The pair of them could only stare in amazement and horror at the huge reptile thundering towards them. The beast pulled up before them and gave a snort. However strange their previous combatants appeared, the sheer scale of what was before them was terrifying.
The reptile sniffed at Ava then licked her, pushing her back slightly with the force. She staggered slightly, then giggled, rubbing the spot just in front of its horn. A deep voice rumbled down from the reptile's back.
"The time for pleasantries will come, old friend. We must get you home."
A ladder was thrown down the side of the reptile and a bull-like creature gracefully descended to the pavement. The thing stood at nearly 8 feet tall and when it spoke it was with a deep rumble but articulate all the same.
"I'm sorry my protection failed you Salandria. Or should I say Ava. I understand everything is confusing to you now, but I believe you should now have some kind of access to your blood elf memories and feelings. If I'm correct, then you should know you can trust me, even if you don't remember why yet."
Ava paused and then nodded slowly. "Yes...Caruur. Friend."
"Then I hope you will waste no time and get on Ragre with me. We need to get you home."
"Wait a second", Will interjected. "Do you honestly think after this night of complete and total weirdos, I'm going to let my girlfriend just head off to God-knows-where with a...?"
"Tauren", Caruur supplied, helpfully.
"A tauren, then. Well, tauren - "
"Please, call me Caruur, William."
"Eh, right, ok. It's Will actually. But yeah ok, well Caruur, I can't let you just take her off on the back of a...?"
"Kodo."
"Thanks, right, kodo. She can't just leave, not after all she's been through."
"Of course, I understand. And I would expect no less from you. As you can see, Ava has changed. Against my wishes for her, I'm afraid. She cannot be looked after here and she is in grave danger from the two you encountered earlier this evening. Her only chance is to come back home now, to Azeroth. Even if she wasn't being hunted, with her current appearance, there is no way she can stay in this world safely."
Will looked at his girlfriend's transformed eyes, glowing from under her blonde fringe.
"I guess I can't argue with that...Caruur", Will stumbled over the harsh Tauren language. "But I can't leave her."
"Ride with us for a while. Ava trusts you and so I can trust you with details of Azeroth. My magic cannot work well in the confines of this concrete place so we will have to ride outside the city. I had to make my portal where the elements of nature are stronger, hence my delay in reaching you."
Will nodded, pretending he understood. Caruur swung up easily on the back of the kodo while Will helped Ava climb the rope ladder and sat with her in a hanging chair located to the side of the tauren. So huge was the chair, they both sat comfortably. As Ragre started to move, Ava began to lean back and relax while Will supported her as he tried to focus on a spot on the horizon to avoid feeling nauseous.
"In Azeroth, Will, there has been a war going on for many, many years between two factions, the Horde and the Alliance. As with all wars, there is some argument about which side started it but what can be certain is that it began in.."
As Ava listened to the deep rhythm of Caruur's voice teaching Will a basic outline of Azeroth's history of war, she closed her eyes, letting herself be rocked by the kodo's movements. She felt exhausted but she concentrated on Caruur's lessons. Everything he said felt like he was fitting a new piece of a puzzle in front of her. She could hear Will's surprised gasps and questions but none of this strange history seemed new to her. Instead, it was like Caruur was helping her remember a dream she had, resulting in a curious mix of satisfaction and worry. Everything he said brought more questions and connections to her mind but the information she needed seemed just out of reach. She couldn't get the feeling she was forgetting something very important.
She jolted slightly at the mention of Silvermoon. Beautiful Silvermoon. It had been so long since she walked under the golden-red leaves, felt the warmth of the sun there, so long since she had seen Liadrin...
"Ok, so I believe you", Will said, as the unusual trio began reaching the edge of the city. "I don't really have much choice I guess. Azeroth sounds awful though. So many nations at war for so long. Is there any escape from it?"
"For some yes. There are neutral races, but more and more they seem to be leaping into the fight. War is profitable and, too often, it consumes the hearts and minds of the nation. Sometimes it's easier to wage warfare than lead your people."
"Surely people want to stop the war? Don't you have peace activists? Protests? Diplomacy?"
Caruur sighed heavily. "Yes, there are those who want this. I'm not sure about peace though. Peace has to be fought for, like everything else in Azeroth. We are here."
The kodo pulled to a halt in front of a whirling pool of green light.
"This is where you must leave us Will."
"No! I'm not leaving Ava. There's no way I'm getting off this reptile."
"I simply cannot allow it. You will be untrained, in a strange land. I cannot have the worry of looking after you and Salandria. And I may not be able to get you home again."
Will paused. Would he ever come home if he went through that portal? He looked down at Ava and clutched closer her to him.
"No, Caruur. I'm going too."
"You do not under-"
"Humans live in Azeroth too", Ava softly interjected as she opened her eyes slowly. "Please let him come with me, friend."
Caruur looked at them both thoughtfully and shook his head. "Very well, I see I have no choice in this. Perhaps it is for the best. But it will make my immediate task that much harder for all of us."
With those words, Ava smiled then slumped back in the chair and passed out. Caruur urged Ragre forward into Azeroth.
