I made up a lot of big stuff in this chapter; hope no one has a meltdown.

Update: reminder that I've changed a lot of stuff and I advise rereading.

Please review!

-Allie


Chapter 2-

Portals and Newcomers

After the two set up their tent, Tye'Jin had left to gather more supplies. Veya sat quietly on a large tree root, twirling strands of her hair with her fingers. She had been sitting there for quite a while, debating whether to move and scrounge for food, or stay and die of boredom. She looked at the ground and stared at nothing, until she saw a small light pulsating from the dirt. She cocked an eyebrow and bent over, placing her fingers on top of the light; it was warm. Her fingers started to push away the dirt, getting soil underneath her nails. The tips of her fingers felt a hard, rock-like object. She grasped it in with her nails and pulled it out of the dirt, straightening back up and examining the earth covered crystal in her hand. It pulsed like a bird's heart, warm and fluttery in the palm of her hand. She smudged the dirt away from the light and brought it closer to her face. It was a bright green color, with hints of blue and gold. It glowed ominously and beautifully. Veya got an idea.

She stood and walked over to her bags she had thrown down without care. She dug through them and found some fine silk cloth. She ripped the cloth into a very thin string, and then went back to digging in her packs. She pulled out some trash metal and bent a small piece into a ring shape; her finger tips took a hold of the crystal, placing the metal piece on one of the ends. The ends of her fingers heated up to the point in which she could melt the metal onto the crystal, making a small loop on top of it. She turned her head and grabbed the string she tore, then weaved the string into the loop and tied it nicely. She placed the newly-made necklace around her head and onto her collarbone. She looked it over and smiled.

'I'm so crafty.' She thought to herself. She stared at the crystal for a few minutes until a large hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. She gasped and jumped up, turning around in the air and pulling out a small pocket dagger.

Her face went apologetic as she realized who had grabbed her.

Tye'Jin looked at her and chuckled, pointing at the dagger she had yet to put away. Veya lowered and put it away quickly, embarrassed for being so skittish. Tye'Jin eyed her up and down slowly, him being so close now; the elf could look at him more carefully.

Tye'Jin was much taller than her, and he wasn't as slouched over as normal trolls. His skin was taut, showing his rippling muscles. His face had extreme features, but was all the more handsome. His hair spiked up all over his head; the spikes were a dark shade of blue, flooding down to a bright teal. His nose was long, and his ears were bent slightly at the ends. His face was decorated with tribal markings and battle scars, etched into his skin for life. The long tusks protruding from his lips had tight, gold bands at the bases; the rest was pure ivory, shining in the dim light that made it through the thick canopy. Veya felt her cheeks burn when she examined the next thing on his bold face.

The eyes on this beautifully rough creature…were unlike any other pair; dark red with flecks of brown and black. She hadn't realized she was blatantly staring and immediately turned away and laughed a little awkwardly. "I think I'm going to take a nap before we start off again." She began to walk toward the tent as Tye'Jin replied with: "Alright, sleep well Elfie."


Soft whistling filled the stagnant jungle air as Veya opened her eyes. Light cascaded through the thin tent, shining beautifully on her skin, but making her eyes squint in pain. She sat up slowly, rubbing at her tired eyes and yawning quietly.

Her eyes snapped open. 'How long had I slept?!'

Her fingers ripped open the tent, her body jolting towards her bow and dagger lying next to the tree root she had sat on earlier. Bending over to pick the weapons up, she noticed the blue crystal hanging around her neck. Tucking the dagger into a pocket on her belt, along with strapping her bow to her back, she stood straight and fondled the glowing rock, admiring the neon light it gave off. The crystal pulsed slightly, making her elegant ears perk in curiosity.

Suddenly she recollected her train of thought. Whether it was closer to noon or night, she could not tell; the jungle always seemed dark and murky. Her eyes scanned the terrain around her, wondering where her new troll companion had gone. As she looked back towards the ground, she dug in her packs for the small stone that held her gateway to Luna.

Her fingers worked around the small object, making it shine and give off a comforting aura. A portal began to open beside her, showing the Stormwind stables once again. Shoving the stone back into her bag, she poked her head inside the portal.

"Hello? Ma'am?" Veya yelled into the portal, since she could not step inside, only her pet was allowed. A female dwarf came trotting up to the portal. The small dwarf woman looked up at her and grinned, happy to give good news.

"Ya wolf is healing fine, lass. She has bandages on that ye need to change every day, preferably every few hours. Ye can take her on ya journey once again traveler!" She beamed while finishing her heavily accented sentence.

"Thank you so much." Veya handed her a few coins as a tip for her selfless deed. After all, healing her pet wasn't necessary. She saw Luna walking gingerly towards the portal. Veya thanked her again and helped Luna through the portal.

'How are you feeling?' Veya questioned.

"I have been better. My legs still ache." Luna's wispy voice faded into the elf's mind, making her nose scrunch up at her words.

"If you'd like, we could stay in one spot for a few days. The troll and I set up a camp." Veya transmitted back to Luna while they walked toward the tent.

Veya was still wondering where Tye'Jin had gone, but she decided to pay no mind to it for now. Paws and boots padded lightly against the loose dirt, stopping at the tent set up near one of the many incredibly huge trees. Veya pinned the tent flap open and sat herself down on the soft mat, gesturing for Luna to sit as well in front of her. Luna did so, sitting on her haunches and panting while the elf's hands began to glow a soft green.

Suddenly something dark swept above the camp. Eerie and silent, something hovered just above the tent. Veya and the wolf froze, listening intently as the air grew cold around them, quickly becoming stagnant as the birds stopped cooing in the trees. The flapping of wings could be heard coming down to the ground, followed by a loud 'THUD' as the creature landed. Veya quickly unpinned the tent flap and left a small crack to peek out of. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her…

A gigantic proto drake was sitting in the middle of the camp; its dark wings resembled iron forgery. It breathed light blue clouds, and its eyes burned in its skull as the drake scanned the surrounding area. It cawed and hopped across the ground as it made its way towards the tent, sniffing and raising its head in the air. Veya's mouth hung open when she noticed atop the drake sat a proud blood elf death knight, obviously experienced and obviously deadly. His piercing eyes looked around him, seemingly finding nothing interesting; he slid off the drake's side. Grabbing the reigns, he walked stiffly to the large stump Veya had sat on a few hours before, dragging the stocky dragon behind him. As he sat down, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

The elf held on tightly to Luna's fur, leaning on the large wolf for comfort. She stayed inside the tent and stared hard at the blood elf. He didn't seem too blood thirsty, maybe… maybe she could-

The fur she had been holding onto slid out of her fingers as Luna walked slowly towards the trespassing blood elf.

"Luna, no!" She whispered as silently as possible. Luna continued with her head close to the ground, claws digging into the dirt.

Soon the wolf came from behind the shadowy dragon, showing herself to the looming death knight. His delicate ears perked up and he narrowed his eyes at the black wolf standing before him.

"Hey dog. This your camp?" He spoke to her even though he knew she couldn't return the reply. Luna stood straight, showing her full height and walked calmly to him. She looked into his glowing eyes for a few seconds, and then laid her head on his knee.

"Yes, my camp."

He jumped slightly at the light, but beautiful voice that suddenly entered his mind. He stared into the wolf's eyes while she stared into his right back.

"Well, you couldn't have built this by yourself. Where's your master?"

Luna's head perked up and panted as she turned towards the quaint tent. Before he could move, she set her large head on his knee once again.

"I warn you. Do not hurt her, or I will hurt you, blood elf." A deep growl came from Luna's throat as she finished her silent sentence. He stared down at her with a questioning gaze, curious as to what, or whom, was in the tent. Patting her nose, he stood and took a few steps toward the tent. Luna followed close behind him, making soft growling noises as he crept near the cloth abode. His gaze met the wolf's one last time before gently touching the loose 'door' and pulling it back, shedding light on the dark figure inside.

An arrow just barely poked him on his pointy elf nose. With wide eyes, he took in the dazzling creature who was aiming a deadly arrow at his face. The night elf's fictional features shook him instantly. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her eyes, bright and glimmering, created perfect shadows on her cheek bones. Her lips were pressed together and her ears were pressed back against her head.

"Move, and you're dead." Her eyes showed such malice, yet he was drawn to her.

"I'm not a threat." He said as he was forcefully backed out of the tent with arms raised in surrender. She growled in an effort to silence him, but he continued to speak.

"Hello fair lady." His white hair draped over his shoulders as he spoke in common. He flashed a dazzling smile. His ghostly voice startled her a bit, but she didn't lower her bow an inch.

"Hello?"

"Is that your dog?" He turned and pointed at the wolf sitting calmly.

"Yes… and she's a wolf."

"How can she speak?" He began to lower his arms.

"…She can't." Veya quickly spat out.

"OH, yes she can. She came over, sat her big head on my leg and talked to me. Answer me lady, I've never heard a wolf speak." He spoke to her as if he had known her for a century. She glared at him before she opened her mouth.

"Well, I've trained her to transmit thoughts through touch. I'm the second hunter to do it, the first being my mother. You said she laid her 'big head' on you, so she spoke with thoughts."

"Can you do it too?" His eyes lit up and he resembled a child receiving a new toy, struck with awe.

"Only with animals I believe…" She eyed him carefully.

"You're lying aren't cha? C'mon, I won't bite." He pretended to bite the air, his white teeth making a 'click' sound. Veya tried not to smile.

"I've never tried with a humanoid." She spoke calmly but was enjoying this.

"Try it on me! It was so strange the first time the wolf did it." He exclaimed as he held out his hand to her. She cautiously lowered her bow and took it slowly, gasping at how cold it was.

"Oh, Sorry. Kind of risen from the dead not too long ago." He chuckled awkwardly, but stopped as he heard a faint voice in his head.

"Cold!"

He gasped and smiled. "I heard it! I could just barely hear your voice!" She smiled back and held his hand tighter, closing her eyes and focusing her words.

"Can-" A whisper was heard in his mind.

"Me?"

His brow creased and looked up to the elf. Her eyes were open and looking at him.

"I could only hear the first and last part of your sentence." She sighed and let go of his hand.

"I suppose I'll have to work at it…" She looked down to the ground absent-minded and remained quiet for a second before her gaze went back to him.

"You do realize I am a night elf and you are a blood elf, correct?"

He smiled at her words and returned with;

"Well, I was brought back from death and trained with every race and faction. For me, the only difference between us is that you're alive and I'm sorta dead. I don't plan on hurting you; you seem too interesting to just kill on sight. Are you here alone?" Veya breathed in quietly and exhaled loudly.

"No, I'm not. At least I wasn't earlier. I had a troll with me, but he disappeared before I awoke." A longing gaze was left in her eyes.

"A troll? Do you know his name?"

"Of course I do. Tye'Jin is his name." She said.

The death knight's eyes widened and his mouth was agape.

"Tye'jin? The Tye'jin? With dark blue hair and long banded tusks?" His hands waved about the top of his head as he described Tye.

"Yes. I'll take it you know him?" She acted calm, but her heart was pounding against her ribs.

"And you don't? He's Vol'jin's son, you loopy elf. Don't you know anything about the horde?" He exclaimed with a surprised expression on his face. Veya's mind was racing; of course she knew who Vol'jin was. Though, she had no idea he had a son. Her slender fingers clenched around a lock of her hair, toying with it nervously. A childhood habit she hadn't even tried to break.

"Night elf? What's your name?" The blood elf stared at her with interest. She looked at him and pursed her lips.

"It's Veya Willowsong. What is yours?" Her face remained stern and distant.

"Athoniar Dusktreader, or that's what I've been told it is since I was risen. Nice to meet you!" The blood elf held out his hand to her with a smile. She took it politely as he kissed the top of her hand. Luna waited outside next to the proto drake; the huge creature slept soundly in the middle of the camp, accompanied by a tall, spikey-haired troll.

"Elfie?"


Wooo, tell me what you think. :)

-Allie