Persuasion of the So-Called Enemy

Zumell quickly packed up his tent and all of Ti'Ran's camp items as he summoned his raptor. The battle had been relatively short and pointless. Most of the population from Talrendis Point had been easily chased off due to their desperate and vulnerable state. Only a few casualties had occurred and everyone at Valormok now helped to clean up the small mess that had been made of the base.

Slinky Sharpshiv came and helped Zumell pack.

"Look, I know you're going out to look for her and I don't blame you for trying…"

The troll said nothing.

"Hey… you can take my flying mount if ya want. It'll get ya to Ashenvale faster."

"I don't trust air transportation… nevah have… an' nevah will." He said dryly as he finished packing his items.

"But the bridge is busted. You can't get across from Talrendis."

"Den we'll swim deh river. Zanang'kar!" he called out as his bright blue raptor appeared and awaited the loading of minor luggage. When he finished packing, Zumell looked down at the sad goblin and patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't tink I blame ya fo' dis. It ain't ya fault." He said as he looked back up and met eyes with Chawng who stood in the distance with his officials. The orc quickly turned away.

(Damn him AND Ag'tor. She was notin' but a puppet to dem. Jest a puppet!) Zumell recalled his mate's warnings when he first received word from Ag'tor about the mission:

"Ya better not let ANYTING happen to dat girl, ya hear? I made a promise tah meh dearest friends an' I plan on keepin' it. If anyting, I should be deh one goin' up tah Azshara wit her, jes' tah make sure." Mikal'wah said sternly with her hands on her hips. Zumell looked down at his mate's swollen belly. She couldn't have had less than two babies in there and he gave her a look before kissing her. "Meh love, I promise ya, ain't notin' gonna happen to her. She's got our love, her Meme's pride an' her Pao's spirit. Dat girl be ah survivor!"

(No mattah what happens to her… dat girl's got her parents' blessins. She ain't dead… an' I'm gonna find her!)

"If you do find her… and she's okay… tell her I'm sorry anyway… for my recklessness, ya know?" Slinky said as she looked away.

Zumell mounted his raptor and nodded to the goblin before heading onto the road past Talrendis Point.

Ti'Ran opened her eyes. The rich Ashenvale canopy had deepened into a gentle indigo hue as small fireflies glittered and floated about. The air was tranquil and cool and a slight blue mist sifted around the foliage. Was she in the Spiritworld, the elders had mentioned so often back in Sen'Jin Village? She convinced herself otherwise, for no spirit healer had appeared to bargain for her life… or so the belief went. She lifted her head from the rocky platform from which she laid and realized that she felt no pain. The poison had cleared and she unraveled the strips of cloth from her arm to find it perfectly mended. She pulled her robes up to find the same of her leg. It had to have been the work of some healer.

(But who…?) Ti'Ran arose to her feet and scanned the area. The rock face and the valley were empty besides a few moonstags and moths. She braced herself against the tree that jut out from the rock face to see if anyone stood below. At the rustling of leaves, she quickly looked up into the darkness of the foliage to find a pair of glowing amber eyes staring down at her. Quite fearful, Ti'Ran slowly backed away from the tree and back to her resting spot. As she was weaponless and powerless, she was in no position to fight an enemy! The eyes dropped down to a lower branch and the shadow figure of a male night elf appeared with it.

Ti'Ran raised her hands in surrender. "Look… I don't wanna be your enemy… okay? I'm defenseless…" Her voice quivered as she spoke in Darnassian and she pushed herself helplessly against the rock face. The night elf swung down from the low branch and approached the blood elf troll. His eyes glowed brightly as he grinned and came closer.

"Please…don't…" Ti'Ran begged. As the night elf reached for her arm, Ti'Ran quickly sucker-punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. She quickly shoved her knee into his chest, picked up a rock and raised it over his head.

"Whatcha want, elf boy!"

"Uuuugh! I thought you said you were defenseless!" The night elf exclaimed.

"Not all defenseless…" Ti'Ran grinned viciously, bearing her sharp teeth.

"But you said you didn't want to be my enemy!"

"I lied. Now what ya doin' out heah?"

"Protecting you."

Ti'Ran's eyes grew wide as she dropped the rock and stood up.

"Protectin' me?"

"Yeah. I put all that effort into healing you, I figured that I should at least see you all the way through."

"…so ya weren't goin' tah try an' rape meh den?"

"I feel sorry for anyone that does try that!" The night elf said as he stood up and backed away. Ti'Ran scowled at his towering height. He had to be at least two feet taller than her. He looked just as fit as he was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong lean body. Telling by his green kilt and leafy bracers, he was a Druid… and a far more experienced one than she. She was amazed she had overpowered him at all.

"… why'd ya heal meh?"

The night elf gave a look as if she had said something ludicrous. "Since when does a Druid need a reason to heal a fellow Druid?"

Ti'Ran was about to refute when the night elf came right up to her and held up her arm. She tried to shake him off but he wouldn't let go, his true strength apparent now.

"Will you stop fidgeting? I need to see if it's fully healed yet."

"It is! Now let goah meh!" Ti'Ran snapped.

The night elf released her and knelt down as he pulled up her robes.

"What on AZEROTH YA TINK YA DOIN'!" She shrieked.

"Checking your leg… what does it look like?"

"Whatcha mean, what does it look like? Get offa me!" Ti'Ran began quickly smacking the night elf on top of his head, but he seemed to be ignoring her.

"Yep… looks good." He said as he looked up at the blood elf troll and gave an innocent smile before she could strike him again. Ti'Ran froze. The night elf's skin was bluish lavender and his messy hair was a deep green. The same hue of green framed his jaw like moss on a tree. As he smiled, his cheekbones peaked and his eyes became absurdly squinty like two little strips of a sunbeam. Ti'Ran flushed violet for the first time in her life. How could she possibly hit that charming face…again? She dropped the thought and punched him anyway. The night elf fell back again.

"A bit hostile, aren't we? I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't need no night elf's help!" Ti'Ran said as she turned away and headed down from the rock face.

"You did when you were laying there dying." The night elf said in a serious tone and Ti'Ran paused. "You needed help when you had to run away from your own faction members… and it seems you could use some help finding out where you belong in this world." The night elf explained as he approached her.

"Ya heard all dat, huh?" Ti'Ran asked a bit embarrassed.

"I spotted you the moment you stumbled into the valley, so terribly wounded. I thought you were avoiding those Silverwind orcs for the same reason I was but as I came close, I realized that you weren't a night elf and just had to come find out your story." The night elf looked to Ti'Ran with such enthusiasm and interest that she had to laugh.

"My story? Oh, where do I begin?" she chimed sarcastically.

"From your origins, of course! I mean… what are you?" The night elf inquired genuinely and he took a seat on a boulder as if it was story time.

Ti'Ran hated this question and it popped up so often from various people that she had lately refused to reply. However, the young gentleman did save her life so he deserved an answer.

"Meh Meme was a blood elf and meh Pao was a troll."

The night elf stared intently at her for a moment, as if allowing the information to sink in. "So this is what that combination looks like? Not far from a night elf at all." He finally said in a nonchalant manner. "So… I take it, Horde members get you confused with night elves and attack you and that's why you're here."

"Well… sorta."

"Okay… now why can you use your Druid abilities? Why do you lack nature's power?"

"I … don't know. I jes' can't use meh powers. I channel an' nothin' happens. I call upon deh elder spirits and dey give meh nothin'." Ti'Ran found this difficult to explain.

"The elder spirits of what?"

"Deh elder spirits… of nature?"

The night elf scrunched his brow and suddenly burst into laughter. Frustrated, Ti'Ran turned and headed down into the valley. The night elf quickly caught up and grabbed a hold of her.

"Woah, woah, woah there little lady-" He received yet another blow to the face.

"I REALLY wish you would stop doing that!"

"Look, I nevah wanted tah beh a Druid okay? I was one of deh best Shaman in Sen'Jin Village an' when I came out heah, dey stripped meh of meh powers and made meh learn dis okay!" Ti'Ran's voice cracked as she began to cry. She quickly wiped her tears away, ashamed to show such weakness.

"Someone forced you to become a druid?" The night elf scratched his head and couldn't help a smirk that crept onto his face. "That's kind of a blessing in disguise."

"I ain't a Druid okay? I wasn't meant tah be a Druid! I jest wish I could go back to meh Shaman ways."

"Well I hate to be the one to tell you that you won't find any Shamans out here. Not unless you head back on Horde territory."

Ti'Ran continued to cry in frustration, knowing quite well that she could not return to the Horde after all they had put her through.

The night elf looked about, seemingly clueless as to what to do about the poor girl. Clearly she was mixed up and in a difficult disposition. Without any other answer, he picked her up, put her over his shoulder and headed out of the valley.

Completely baffled, Ti'Ran stopped crying. "Where ya takin' meh?"

"We're going to Moonglade."

"Moonglade?"

"Homeland and sanctuary to the Druids. We'll start from scratch and teach you everything you need to know about becoming a Druid."

"I told ya dat I wasn't a Druid!"

"You are now. It's really not as bad as you think and you don't have much of a choice anyway because I'm taking you there for your own protection. You need a safe place to learn your abilities and Moonglade is it. No turning back now."

Ti'Ran's mind was completely blown. After all she had been through in the last twenty-four hours, how could she possibly defy this young man?

"Well at least lemme know ya name…"

"Denar'eth Nightwing." The night elf replied as he quickly stopped and put her down for a proper greeting. "And you?"

"Ti'Ran Ellorei Serais." The two shook hands officially.

"That's a pretty name. Glad to make your proper acquaintance, now get on me."

"WHAT!"

Denar'eth rolled his eyes. "I mean get on my back."

Without questioning further, Ti'Ran climbed onto the night elf's back and he immediately began to run.

(Dis is ridiculous! What he got me on his back for, runnin' like dis?)

Suddenly, Ti'Ran felt Denar'eth's body shift as he dropped down on all fours and transformed into a bear.

(Oh… I forgot Druids can do dat!)

Amazed, she continued to hold on to him as they made their way back onto the road, headed west in the night of the vale.