Sorry it's so short...I wanted to post more, but with the turn of events I figured this would be better :3 Look forward to more next chap, yeah?
Four months and three days after my first encounter with a Horde member I found myself positioned behind two Night Elf Druids and a Human Paladin. We were standing on the white beach of Darkshore, tensed and alert for any signs of movement. Slowly, ever so slowly, I slid my daggers from their sheaths and held them close to my body in a defensive position. The Paladin, Geoff, glanced back at me from the corner of his eye and gave a swift nod. That was the signal. Quick as a flash, I whirled around and raised my blades, just barely in time to catch the sword of an astonished sentinel. I smirked at her expression, and, after a moment's worth of contemplating, she sneered right back.
"I'll admit you've advanced at quite an admirable speed, young elf. However," I lifted a brow at her pause, "you still have much to learn."
Suddenly, something struck me from behind, and I stumbled into the mail chest plate of the woman before me. She didn't hesitate to twist me around and bring the edge of her blade to my throat. Startled, I glared up to see a grinning Night Elf Hunter and a just as giddy white tiger crouching in the sand. The Hunter laughed as I narrowed my eyes and offered me a hand as the sentinel released me. Still miffed by my loss, I ignored the expectant appendage in favor of searching the training ground for my comrades. Dismay washed over me as I caught sight of them several yards away, bound to a large rock with thick ropes. Geoff tossed me an apologetic grin while the two Druids bowed their heads in frustration. For real? We went through all of that planning and preparation just to end up like this?
"Hey now, don't get all down just because you lost this once. Besides, you're pretty strong for a girl, you know."
That did it. I swiveled around on my heel to come face-to-face with the Hunter. He took a surprised step back as I pointed a finger at his chest. Sure, the guy was good-looking, and sure, he was a good foot and a half taller than me…That didn't stop me from being mad at him.
"For a girl? And tell me, what exactly do you know about the strength of a girl?"
The Hunter's silver eyes widened as they flickered between my finger and my face. He spluttered in bewilderment.
"Ah-well, that is-I thought…well, you know…girls are…girls?" His lips twitched awkwardly, as if he were unsure of whether he should smile or frown.
Dissatisfied with his blatant answer, I clicked my tongue in disapproval and stomped over to where my comrades were still tied up. They looked up at me as I approached. Geoff, on the other hand, glanced behind me. An amused smile crossed his face.
"It seems you have a stalker, Hum."
Yeah, I've given him permission to call me that. Geoff is one of the few people that I actually trust out here in the real world. He's been by my side since the day I scurried back into Astranaar after my run-in with Rha'zin. Elune behold, I got more than an earful from the sentinel that had sent me off to find those herbs. Who knows what she would have done to me if Geoff hadn't intervened. Now, it's not like he's almighty or anything. He's only a Human Paladin still struggling through the beginnings of his training, like me. However, at the time, in my eyes, he was a mighty hero clad in war-torn armor. His huge sword had been streaked with blood and glowed with a menacing light that had been reflected in its owner's eyes. It was his very appearance that had shut that sentinel up. It was also his appearance that shut me up and allowed him to lead me away, unpunished and unscathed. My gratitude for his aid and support has nearly doubled since that time, for he has kept me constant company ever since.
"Oh, so your name is Hum?"
I scowled and tilted my head back to look up at the Night Elf that was now standing over me. He grinned at my response.
"I'm Unandel, but friends call me Del." Again he flashed that overly cheery beam.
I frowned up at him before decidedly dropping my attention to the ropes that bound Geoff's arms.
"If that's the case then you can call me Hummingmoon…and I'll stick to Unandel."
Geoff chuckled at the crestfallen look on Unandel's face and stretched his arms out once they were freed. Next, I leaned over towards the Druid brothers and undid their binds. The nearest one let out a dramatic sigh of relief the instant he was released.
"Ouch, man, that lady sure knows how to tie a knot."
The other elbowed him in the ribs.
"Don't imply dirty things, Vendal."
Vendal gasped in mock hurt. He placed a hand on his chest as if to grasp at his heart.
"Caldur, you would actually think so lowly of me?"
The purple-haired Druid, Caldur, wiped imaginary tears from his glowing, golden eyes.
"You don't know what it's like having a pervert for a brother."
Vendal ran rough fingers through a mane of lavender, barely a shade lighter than Caldur's own locks.
"I know very well what it's like."
The conversation soon became a playful scuffle between the two. I merely watched with a fond smile tugging at my lips as they laughed and threw lights cuffs at each other's heads. The brothers were also a part of the small group of people that I allowed myself to trust. I hadn't been together with them as long as I had with Geoff, but we had been through enough to be considered friends, if not family. Like me, they had been stuck in one place for all their lives, dumbfounded by the prospect that the world outside their home was so much vaster. So, naturally, I tended to hang around them more during training lessons. Also, their sense of humor and endless joy was highly addicting; it was a massive relief from the talk of war and battle preparations that had been going on for the last couple of months. Geoff stood up abruptly and stretched. I had a feeling Unandel was still hovering in the same spot, so I didn't turn around to look.
"Hey, trainees! You need to head back to Lor'danel!"
Vendal and Caldur paused in their scrapping at the same time that Geoff, myself, and, unfortunately, Unandel turned around to see a sentinel standing a few meters away, hands on her hips and chin held high in an authoritative manner. Once she was sure that she had our attention she cleared her throat.
"Dentaria Silverglade has something to discuss with the five of you."
She had our undivided attention at that. The Priestess of the Moon herself had requested our presence. Shocked and somewhat hesitant, I shared wary looks with my companions before giving the sentinel a small nod. We stood and trailed after her, pondering over our unknown fate.
The Priestess was probably the most beautiful person I had ever seen, be it any race you wish to compare her to. When we approached her I took in her appearance with awe-filled eyes. The Night Elf was wearing a stunning, white dress that hugged her frame appealingly, reaching down to sweep at her delicate ankles. She had bright, blue hair that hung at her shoulders, complimenting her pale, purple skin. Her intelligent, kind eyes swiveled up to regard us as we approached, and she rose gracefully from where she had been crouching over a wounded soldier. My eyes lingered on the injured Night Elf, just long enough to note that he was, in fact, actually still alive, before they preferably returned to gaze at the Priestess. A wistful smile curved at her lips, softening her face further as she came to a stop before us. She was shorter than I had expected, hardly an inch below my own head.
"Ah, so these are the promising, new younglings you spoke of," her voice was musical and light, reminding me of a wind chime, "Thank you, I'll take it from here, Lendra."
The sentinel who had guided us hesitated, but then respectfully saluted Dentaria before jogging back the way we had come. I watched after her retreating figure for a moment, but brought my attention back to the Priestess once she began speaking again.
"Now, I'm aware that none of you have gone on a serious mission yet, correct?" We each nodded at our own pace. "Well, then you should be honored that this shall be your first."
I perked up in excitement. She was sending us on a quest? This was what I had been hoping for! This is what I had put all of my training and effort into achieving! I looked over at my comrades to see that they wore similar expressions of glee, especially the Druid brothers. Dentaria held up her hand, and we tensed at the solemnity that shone in her eyes.
"However, I'm going to warn you beforehand. This quest shall not be so simple. For, you are to split up into groups and infiltrate and spy on the enemy's happenings."
I swallowed. She looked each one of us in the eye carefully. I shivered when her gaze held mine.
"Do you understand?"
I nodded. After a minute or so of confirming our comprehension of the seriousness of the task at hand, the Priestess relaxed and smiled once again.
"Very well," she pointed at me suddenly, "You and you shall be one team."
I followed her finger and nearly protested in dismay at the smirking Hunter she had chosen. Lucky for Geoff, he had gotten both Vendal and Caldur. I could already predict how irritating this mission was going to be. Dentaria must have sensed my discomfort, for she turned to me with a knowing look and motioned once again at Unandel.
"He is a fine archer. I'm sure he will be of great aid during your journey."
Unandel turned to look at me with all the pride of a cat that had caught a mouse, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from asking for a revision of choice on the Priestesses part. After a brief discussion over directions and required intellect on Horde movement, Dentaria waved us off with unwavering gratitude. No doubt I will forever hold this grudge against her for pairing me up with the biggest flirt in all of Ashenvale and Darkshore combined. With this in mind, I threw the grinning Hunter a warning glare over my shoulder before picking up my pace to catch up with the other three. Geoff glanced back and smiled as I approached.
"Well, I would wish you luck, but I figure Unandel will need it more."
I scoffed.
"As long as he doesn't mess with me then I won't mess with him."
He chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder, instantly throwing me four months and five days back to that moment where uncle had sent me off for the first time. I bit the inside of my cheek again, this time to fight back the growing feelings of sorrow and regret.
"Good luck."
"I don't need it."
"You live off of it as carelessly as you do the air."
My fist found his gut, and he doubled-over in mock pain. Vendal and Caldur sauntered over to see what was going on. I looked over Geoff's shoulder at the brothers and opened my arms expectantly. The Druids shared a glance before grinning ear to ear and pushing past a startled Paladin to hoist me up into the air.
"Ah, Hum-drum, we're going to miss you!" Vendal cried theatrically.
Caldur, being the saner one of the two brothers, disentangled me from the other's arms and set me back on the ground, brushing invisible germs off of my light, leather armor in the process. He threw me a mischievous look.
"If you need me to tear out somebody's throat," he glanced over at Unandel suggestively, "just give me a shout, got it?"
Alright, maybe he wasn't any saner. Laughing, I patted him on the face, allowed Vendal to give me one, last crushing hug, and then threw another light punch at Geoff's side before heading down the path towards the flight master. Unandel trudged behind me begrudgingly, all previous gusto crushed and scattered in the wind of my comrades' teasing threats. Despite the fact that his personality annoyed me, I wasn't stupid enough to think that I could just brush him off every step of the way. So, to prove that I was mature, as well as show him I wasn't just some non-forgiving, detestable girl, I grabbed his hand upon reaching the flight master. He blinked, startled, but didn't pull away. Of course he didn't. Geoff's words were the last, reasonable thought that ran through my head as I released the Hunter's hand and clambered up onto one of the offered Hippogryphs. I gripped the reigns and smiled back at Unandel, surprising him even further as he settled himself into a worn saddle.
"Good luck," I shouted as heavy wings beat twice, successfully lifting us from the ground.
With all that had just occurred, I was feeling pretty good about myself. That is, until realization came crashing down on me and I realized that this was the first time that I had ever flown before, much less sat on a Hippogryph. 'Good luck' indeed.