Author's Notes: Influenced heavily by events in "Cycle of Hatred" but may deviate from cannon. Thank you all for the wonderful comments, encouragements, and patience as I try to balance working, writing, and WoW.

Disclaimer: All locations and non-player characters are copyright Blizzard Entertainment. The character members of Darkspear Revival and Code of Honor (Kirin Tor) are the creations of their players. The following is written for no monetary compensation or intention for profit. Aka'Magosh.


Thrall paced the top of a butte and watched as the heavy sun began to settle into the sea. A slight downward glance and he could see torches being lit around Razor Hill. Though from the quiet he knew only a few grunts were in the fortified outpost. Most of his people were still in Orgrimmar, awaiting the fireworks promised by the mages and engineers. It had been a half an hour since he landed on the remote butte that he and Jaina had used in the past to meet and speak away from the prying eyes and ears that surrounded their respective positions. It had taken some doing for the Warchief to convince the young grunt that guarded his private airship that it was perfectly fine for Thrall to go off by himself. He was thankful he'd succeeded now, and that Jaina was obviously going to be late or perhaps not show at all.

He hadn't waited for the human mage to answer before he headed out. The walls of his quarters were closing in on him and Thrall had to get out. Even in this open space he still felt confined, as if his skin itself had become too tight. He turned and walked back towards the other side of the mesa, his thick muscles were tingling... his whole being wired, as if anticipating some great battle ahead. He sighed and ran a clawed hand slowly down his face. Perhaps he'd had too much drink? The curious thought struck him then that he didn't remember recognizing the flavor of the drink that the Elf Dawnsinger had given him.

Before he could further dwell on that idea he heard the faint sound of magic gathering behind him. He spun to see a shimmering portal opening. Jaina had come. He almost gasped at her appearance. Her hand practically shot over her shoulder to dismiss the spell. The woman's face was flush, her lips set in a thin, serious line. The delicate hands he had seen hurl destructive spells with deadly accuracy were curled up so tightly her blunt human nails still surely hurt her palms. Even from this distance he was quite sure even her scent would radiate the fact that his friend was furious.

Jaina dismissed the portal before Aegwynn could reach through it and draw her back into their discussion. Before she could even draw a relaxing breath of air she saw Thrall standing across the flat surface. The Orc looked... distressed was the only word she could think of. His expression was troubled, his body was tense, and she was certain she could see a sheen of sweat to his green skin. Something surely had happened .

"What's wrong?"

They both froze, having uttered identical words at the same time. Thrall broke the unbelieving stares first, shaking his head and motioning Jaina over. "I've sent for you at a bad time it seems," his low voice rumbled. "I apologize. Tell me what troubles you."

"It's nothing," Jaina sighed, more concerned with Thrall's obvious upset than her own 'family' troubles. "What's wrong, Thrall? It's been a while since we've spoken."

"Your own issues seem more pressing," Thrall frowned as he started towards the mage. "You look as if you could fire a spell here and strike down an unsuspecting turtle on the shores of Tanaris."

"It's not something," Jaina sighed and leaned rather heavily on her staff, lifting her gaze so she could see Thrall's face as he approached. It still impressed her that she could forget just how big the Orc really was. "It's someone... rather two someones. An emissary from Stormwind arrived today with a declaration and before he finished his ridiculous demands my brother stormed into the chamber throwing around threats backed by the Kul Tiras navy."

That brought a disapproving growl from Thrall. The last time the Kul Tiras navy had come to Durotar it was under the command of Jaina's father, a man hell bent on wiping Thrall and his Orcs from the face of Azeroth. To keep the peace they had fought so hard to establish Jaina had chosen to honor her truce with the Horde and ordered her own soldiers to stand down when Thrall and his allies laid siege to Theramore. That act of honor over blood was a point that Thrall brought up often to his advisors that spoke ill of Humans as a whole. "Is your brother planning to follow in your father's footsteps? Is he going to invade our lands as well?"

"Who isn't planning to invade?" Jaina growled herself. "Not your lands though, Thrall," she added quickly, noticing how the alright corded muscles pulled even tighter. "These threats have been made against Theramore."

"Against Theramore?" Thrall repeated in a disbelieving voice. "Your own people would make war on you?"

"As things stand at the moment that's how it appears," Jaina nodded as she began to explain. "Something has happened apparently between Stormwind and Kul Tiras. If the accusations they were hurling back and forth are to be believed it is quite a serious diplomatic situation. Tandred states he has appeared to defend what he claims is sovereignty of Kul Tiras because I helped to found Theramore. The emissary from Stormwind claims they are... concerned..." she almost choked on the word. "...about the security of Humans in Kalimdor and wishes to annex Theramore into their kingdom through a... political marriage."

"A marriage? Between?..." Thrall's blue eyes were darkening as the Orc considered the threat a Human war might pose to his people, but also as Jaina's tale continued he found himself almost seething about the position he was beginning to suspect his friend was being placed in.

"Between one of regents of the young King Wrynn and... myself," Jaina whispered, letting her own anger of the proposition seep into her words.

"Out of the question!"

Jaina's gaze snapped up. The voice was deeper but she almost laughed at how much that had sounded like her brother just now.

"This emissary and his kingdom have no sense of honor," Thrall's voice became rough with an anger whose source he couldn't place. "...if they would insist on such an arrangement to cement an alliance. You should be free to choose your own mate. And just who is this regent that he is even worthy of you?" Thrall stopped when he noticed Jaina looking at him... smiling. "Why are you smiling now?"

"I'm amused by the fact that my friend is more genuinely concerned for my feelings about this than my flesh and blood," the mage's smile widened, taking away the dark emotions that had been filling her delicate features. "Don't worry, Thrall. I have no intention of caving to either of these blow hards. And I'll do my best to keep the fall out confined to Theramore."

"I don't like the idea that you could be facing such a conflict on your own," the Orc still growled. It stopped Thrall's thoughts in midstream when he realized how protective he was feeling of Jaina at that moment. He was certain, given the opportunity, he would have knocked both these men to their knees and squeezed their necks until they could only whisper to Jaina for forgiveness.

"Thrall..." Jaina waved a slender hand in front of the Orc's vacant stare. "Now that I've burdened you with the gloom of Human politics, please tell me what's wrong. You called me for a reason."

"It's nothing," Thrall turned from the searching eyes quickly, wondering if it might be in the mage's repertoire to somehow read his troubled thoughts. "It's nothing in light of what you are already dealing with," he repeated.

"You didn't let me get away with that excuse," Jaina pointed out and strolled around Thrall until she was in front of him again. "You let me get my worries off my chest. What kind of honor would I have if I didn't try to be supportive of a friend that worries so over my well being?"

"It may take some time to explain," Thrall attempted weakly to dodge.

"I have all night," Jaina shook her head as a low boom in the distance drew their attention to the north. Above distant Orgrimmar a brilliant shimmer of red and gold sparkles appeared high in the air and rained down to the rocky ground. "Besides, we can enjoy the fireworks while we talk."

"Then we're going to have to get comfortable," Thrall relented with a sigh as he headed towards the hovering airship. "The goblins have been conspiring with some of the Elf mages for weeks now about this display. One of them claimed there will not have been such fireworks on Kalimdor since the Battle of Mount Hyjal."

"Well," Jaina shrugged out of her cloak and waited as Thrall returned with some thick, soft furs to sit on. "...if anyone is fit to be object judges of that claim it's the two of us."

"Agreed," Thrall nodded and spread out the hide and motioned for Jaina to sit first, an unconscious hold over of his early training in Human manners. Once Jaina finished arranging the length of her robes, Thrall settled himself beside her as they stared towards the distant city. "Where to begin?..."