Woopsies! Posted this without adding the authors notes or disclaimer!! My bad!

Ok, so I know that I have been slacking off on my stories. I guess my plot bunnies escaped, so I've been struggling for content. But good news for this story- I merged two huge parts, and filled in several gaps. We are actually going places now- yay!

-I don't own Blizzard's content. However, the Sundragon Clan is mine, as are all names used aside from common ones like Rispah and Ray Charles. (Whoever stole Ariki on one of my servers-- I will hunt you down and destroy you until you admit defeat. Death awaits you, blasphemer!!)


He assembled the men easily, and explained that there was a small, unimportant task that required few soldiers to trek up to Winterspring. The going was going to be rough, he explained, and several men sighed wearily.

"Luckily, m'lady is a kind woman," he added when it seemed that quite a few men just wanted to lie in a bed for a week. Namue had marched them all over Azeroth, stomping out evil and leaving justice and growth in her wake. While she appeared to be able to run on righteousness rather than food and drink, the men were worn ragged and had exhausted their supply of energy. Still, Peridaous saw the glint of respect in many of their eyes, and he knew that they would battle not only their fatigue, but whatever enemy their lady brought them to face.

"She has given what she called a "festive" leave to any man wishing to return to his chosen refuge for the cold season and holidays." Several surprised looks met this. A few were suspicious, and Peridaous chuckled. "She finally realized we have been depleted of all energy by her gallivanting around, I believe. This has the air of a personal errand- she only requests a few men to aid her, though she is more than willing to go alone."

As he concluded his explanation, worry was beginning to grow in her men's faces. "She really wants to travel to Winterspring alone?" One man asked.

Peridaous smirked. "Well, not entirely alone. I'll go along to make sure she doesn't get herself killed."

A few men around him chuckled at this, but another queried still, "We can really go home though?"

The troops fell silent, some thinking of home, some probably wondering what home they had to go to. Peridaous himself wondered if Namue ever thought of taking a break herself.

"She wants you well rested for spring. Rumors are spreading about another plague…" several around him gulped and made some sign on their chest, "Needless to say, sleep will probably help."

They seemed easier after another half an hour of convincing. As they bid him farewell for the day, heading to the practice yards, Peridaous called after them, "And when we call you to arms again in the spring, I don't want any slacking! Keep in shape and don't shirk your training!"

A sigh behind his shoulder made him turn to come face to face with Namue. "I'll admit that I am nervous about cutting our ducklings from the apron strings. I doubt they will even think about the future while away…"

"Isn't that the idea?" Her captain replied, falling into step with her. She didn't respond, just continued on her way to the gate. It stood partly open, guarded by three battle hardy orcs and a gnarly troll. With a nod, she stepped past them out into the forestry. The trees had been cut for some yards, giving the soldiers on the ramparts clear shots, but she strode across the clearing without hesitation.

"Supplies will be harder to come by than I thought." She said suddenly, bringing Peridaous back to his surroundings. They stood in a small vale with a shallow pooling of clear river water, and for a moment he was distracted by their setting.

"Meaning…"

"We will be short on rations till we reach Splintertree. There, hopefully I can persuade them into giving us some of their stores, though Light knows they are stingier than anything."

Peridaous nodded, rubbing his chin. "About five men have agreed to come along. They seem in fairly good health, and are a bit more experienced than some."

Namue set her mouth. "The seven of us then… traveling to Winterspring means crossing strong Alliance territory here, and plagued who knows what in Felwood…"

"And no chance of getting a boat to take us up the coast?" Peridaous ventured.

She shook herself from planning their route to look curiously at her captain. "How far North have you been on Kalimdor?"

"On the west side I've gotten as far as Darkshore. That was under Centurion Dollis' command, when I was a First Sergeant."

Her eyes bored into his, and he met her gaze coolly, until she said, "Just how bloody old are you Peridaous?"

When he didn't reply immediately, Namue wondered why someone who had served under Centurion Dollis was still in a uniform. Dollis was a Forsaken who had been dismissed from duty just the year after Namue started rising in ranks, for "Displaying no reserve or caution for the sake of her men's lives." Which was just a nice way of saying that she charged into battles without orders, usually losing most of her forces. Normally that kind of behavior was handled fairly easily, but she had been put in charge of promising young soldiers who needed first hand experience. That Peridaous had lived through her command and had risen after the matter spoke leagues to not only his skill, but his age. Nobody over the age of "Human" twenty three was allowed into her kind of command.

Namue tried to calculate not only how old an elf would be at a human's twenty three, but how old Peridaous himself was in her head.

He must have seen the concentrating look on her face, because he shifted uncomfortably. "While most of the survivors of my platoon took the discharge Thrall granted them, I wished to remain in the force. He promoted me to Legionnaire, and I was in command of a small scouting troop for a few months. Until you came along. Despite your age, Thrall confided in me that he had a sense that you were destined for greatness. He placed me under your command, thinking I would warn him if you proved to be unfit. He didn't account for the fact that you would be all he had hoped for and more."

"And Dollis?" She asked.

"I ran into her after being promoted, but before I had been assigned to you. She really had gone off the deep end by that point, and I tried to talk Thrall into pulling her title, but he was busy with war meetings, and Vol'jin was away tending to more trouble in his home. By the time I could warn Thrall, she was already off on her last suicide mission."

He let out a deep breath. "Fifty six soldiers slaughtered, fourteen injured beyond healing, and twenty taken prisoner."

Namue inhaled sharply, feeling remorse and anger about the losses, but she sensed his bitterness fell more on the prisoners. "Did you know any of them?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line for a few minutes, staring at the pool. When he replied, it wasn't any answer to Namue's question. "Had she not come upon a pack of crazed Furbolgs while I was under her command, I too would be in those numbers. Hell, I almost followed her to try to stop her…" Shaking his head, he continued, "She stumbled onto a fully prepared Alliance crusade war party, heading to the Portal. Five thousand strong, and she still made it back to Undercity, cackling her head off. Sylvanas executed her herself, and chose her soldiers more carefully after that."

Namue gripped his shoulder. She had known a little of Peridaous, but history wasn't the binding to their friendship. Hardship in battles, loyalty, and general liking of one another held them closer than knowing each others life tales.

She realized about then that it didn't matter how old the elf was. She herself had handled more that most her age could boast, and Light knew her sisters were old for their age.

Falling back to their future plans, she kept her hand on his shoulder as she said softly, "The east coast, north of Azshara, is similar to one large cliff face. Even the best of mountain climbers have yet to ascend them successfully."

He straightened slightly. "So our path will take us through Felwood?"

Namue nodded. "There are few actual holds of either Horde or Alliance, so we will find little more resistance than rabid bears and wolves."

"But what of the Furbolgs?" He pressed. Those bear men were known for keeping adventurers from passing safely to Winterspring.

"I have handled that." Namue seemed about to continue when she stiffened suddenly. Peridaous, having been slightly distracted through the conversation, blinked at her and looked around.

"Hold, Peridaous." She hissed under her breath. Had he been more than scarce inches away he would not have heard her.

"What is it, milady?"

Her ears quivered, the small hoops that adorned their lengths shimmering. Her eyes flicked around the vale, and Peridaous felt a surge of exposure.

Before he could so much as lay a hand on his blade, he felt a soundless explosion burst from Namue. Light blew through the air, bending the thin blades of grass, rippling the waters surface, and shaking the smaller tree branches. He held his footing, until Namue cursed and slammed her weight into him.

Down they tumbled, into the grass. Arrows zipped overhead, and Peridaous rolled down into a little hollow beneath a fallen tree, Namue still muttering behind him. He came to a stop, completely underneath the tree, and Namue landed flat on top of him. The arrows ceased overhead, though she didn't move off of him.

Peridaous stopped breathing for a moment. She was splayed on his chest- her close proximity made his heart pound and made his ears thrum like drums. Her eyes were flicking around them, her arms supporting her weight on her hands that gripped the earth above his shoulder pads. She caged him beneath her body, though he found his imprisonment far more enjoyable than it had any right to be.

Silence fell over the glade. Slowly, she rose from her hands, straddling her captain without realizing the predicament. Peering through the grass, she caught no sign of movement.

He felt faint, and closed his eyes. He would have expressed his wishes for her to remove herself from atop him, but words got caught in his throat. Even if they could pass that, he doubted anything intelligible would be emitted from his dry mouth.

"I think they believe they shot us." She whispered, suddenly back down on top of him. Her lips almost brushed his ear as she spoke, and he swallowed.

"We should try to sneak back to the outpost, and raise warning of the enemy." Namue continued, unaware of her captains comfort level.

Peridaous swallowed, harder this time, and managed a quiet, "Milady…"

Looking down, she instantly noticed his tightly pressed lips, and the strain around his eyes. "Are you injured?" Cursing herself, Namue removed the small pressure she had been applying to keep him down, wondering why she had not checked him before.

"No..." he sighed, relief evident on his face. "Let's return and raise the alarm."

She nodded, still eyeing him warily. He was now blushing lightly, the color most becoming on his features.

Jolting herself out of such strange thoughts, she crept along the length of the fallen tree, towards the base. Peridaous followed, throwing a glance at the vale.

A night elf and a Draenei were crouched in the center, peering around and hunting through the grasses silently. With a quick tap on Namue's lower back, he alerted her to their presence.

"What should we do?" He mouthed. She watched his lips for a moment, biting her own.

"Nothing." She finally replied, turned, and continued for to open area that lay before the fort.

They had scant yards of tree coverage left when shouts rose behind them. Both elves whipped around in time to see several figures racing around the clearing and coming their way.

"Run!" Namue shouted, grabbing Peridaous and bolting.

The orcs on the wall watched their approach warily, and Namue skittered to a halt before the closed gate.

"You must be kidding me…" She snarled, and pounded a plated fist on the ramparts.

Peridaous paled, turning and unsheathing his blade. The figures had stopped before the clearing, seemingly unwilling to expose themselves. However, there were a few daring humans who rushed the abandoned elves. Behind them were several archers, who came only close enough to let loose a rain of arrows before falling back.

The charging humans were few in number, but arrows hardly slowed them. The first wave shattered on their shields. A second wave took down two, but three still managed to make it close enough to take a swing at Peridaous.

He blocked easily, keeping his back to the gate and a still muttering Namue who was attempting to pry the great door open with her bare hands. The elf managed to hold the human off for a time, but when the second arrive, followed quickly by a female of their kind, he stepped back and called for Namue.

She turned with a fire in her eyes, unleashing her blade and knocking Peridaous' attacker to the ground. Her captain covered the opening her swing left, taking one hit on his plated arm, the other on his sword. Throwing the male back a step, he pressed on, leaving the female to Namue, who followed an intricate sword dance and left her enemy wondering how she moved her large blade so quickly.

Peridaous suddenly lost sight of his enemy. Confused, he put his back to the wooden wall again as the human female screamed in pain. Looking to the source, he saw Namue jerk her blade free from the woman's side, and bow her head in a silent prayer for the life. Unknowing to her, however, the male was charging her from behind.

Without needing further thought, Peridaous leapt. His sword hit the ground, causing Namue to look up, startled. He pulled his boot dagger and held tight to his weapon as he collided with the human's side, knocking them both down and away from Namue.

The first strike he aimed at the mans neck glanced off armor. Resettling his grip, Peridaous held off the human's blade with one hand and struck again with the other. Again, the blade skidded off of his armor, but through the attack he saw his opening, and released the mans other arm to grip his dagger in both hands.

Namue blew a wave of enemy arrows from the sky with a searing of Light, and turned to deal with the remaining human in time to see her Captain get thrown back into the wooden wall with a dull thud. Blood boiled in her veins as the human struggled to his feet and hefted his blade, cackling something in his language that sounded suspiciously along the lines of "Bur."

Having heard that line multiple times, Namue endeavored to show him how much this was not a laughing matter.


"I'll not take more than six."

Peridaous frowned slightly, worried. Namue sounded frustrated, strained… stressed? A new tone was evident, but the still half unconscious captain had no more time to ponder how much he could read from her voice.

"I already knew that. That is my final word." Footsteps sounded. "I suppose the rest of you should begin packing. We leave tonight."

More footsteps. For a moment, Peridaous assumed he was alone, and was about to open his eyes when someone exhaled deeply, sighing as though a hundred pounds had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Hopefully, we will, at least." How interesting. Namue talked to herself? Peridaous worked to appear still sleeping, letting his chest rise and fall with steady breaths.

"You should awaken soon… though not within the hour. I suppose I should well be doing my own packing." She murmured something else, though he didn't quite catch it, as a soft, warm hand had brushed along his forehead.

His eyes fluttered open, and took in the wooden ceiling. Blinking blearily, he registered that he was in Namue's quarters, not the infirmary.

"Peridaous?"

Turning his head, he met her gaze, instantly moving to prop his back against the headboard. Her eyes were wary and guarded, a sure enough sign that something was not going as planned.

"Namue- I mean, Milady…" He rubbed his neck, feeling the soreness. "What… what happened?"

"You got thrown into a wall."

The way she matter-of-factly stated this made him blink a bit more. "I… what?"

"You..." she slowly drew out each word, "…got…thrown…into…a…"

"But… the human… the attack…"

"Oh," she brightened considerably, "I obliterated the human. Then I managed to get our troops out of the hold, and we slayed the enemy."

Staring at her for a few minutes, he tried to recall all that had passed the last day of his consciousness. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days." She replied, and rose to fetch a thick soup and some sweet rolls from the cooking fire in her room. "Long enough for me to worry, but short enough that the Warsong tribe has yet to spring their foolhardy attack." She handed him the food, but bit her lip and glanced at the open door.

Holding the steaming food, he waited for whatever else had come to pass. "And?"

"And…" she rubbed her mouth, eyes flicking from his face to the window, "And where does the first snow have to fall?"

Really, he felt as if only half of his mind was working. "Pardon, milady?"

She said nothing.

First snow fall…

Peridaous had to bit his tongue to keep from cursing.

Of course, his marriage.

"I believe it was merely a figure of speech. Before winter was too far set…?" He trailed off when Namue pressed her lips together and rose.

"Milady?"

"We must leave tonight then." She began to pace, hooking one hand into her belt and pressing the other to her mouth.

"I hate to rush you, so soon after you have come to, but there is nothing else for it. I must keep you busy – not too hard a job, but protocol must be broken…"

As she muttered, he took an undignified moment to scarf his food to sate his angry stomach. Setting the plates aside, he swung his feet to the floor, rising.

She managed to catch him as he wavered, and seated him on the bed next to herself. "Do not overstrain yourself. We can keep up an appearance of you recovering miraculously, but in reality you may be still weary while we travel. It is fine, though I feel horrible for pressing you so."

"I would assure you not to worry, milady, if I knew why we must rush."

Her large eyes searched his, "Not only has my father decided he wants to keep me under Monsoon's eye, but snow is beginning to fall on the continents. Eversong Woods has had a two inch coat on it since yesterday, the barrens have been dusted with an inch, and the northern territories are going to be hit by a storm."

"If the passes close before we can reach Everlook, well…"

Peridaous met her gaze until she dropped it to the coverlet. He calculated in his head how long a runner would take to reach their outpost.

"I agree; we have to leave tonight."

"The roads will be empty, I'm sure, but it will be rough through Felwood. There is no way to know what things are like there."

He could hold his own on horseback, though she still wavered at his side, fretting under her breath. She, for once, was stern enough to make her men snap up and to attention as she ran over their to-do list for, and he swears it's true, the hundredth time.

Having assembled their team, it actually worked out rather well, she issued what food that could be scrounged and came over to check on him, as it seemed she was doing compulsively every time she finished a menial task.

"Namue," he sighed, smile quirking up at the edge of his lips, "I'm still fine."

"No, you aren't," she argued, and tossed another small wave of Light over his form. He cringed when her usually tan face flashed pale- she wasn't limiting herself. Her lips kept a blue tinge around them instead of rosy pink, and he felt his heart hiccup with worry.

"Namue, rest for a minute. Let Larthis check me, if you feel the need."

"Larthis is tending to the perishables."

She turned away before he could argue further, speaking with the other men about the secrecy of their travel.

Peridaous edged closer, eyeing the wall as the next watch post scaled its height. "I suppose it's about time we got on with this, don't you agree?" He asked, indicating the watch. Namue glanced at the orcs and shrugged. With a final heal placed on her captain, she led their tiny party off into the woods, leaving behind no more word than a small letter.


Alright, the line breaks are in properly and it looks better. However, as usual, nobody has proof read for me. Soooo... I'm sorry for mistakes? Hehehe?

Yeah, reviews are awesome-sauce