Hey all, sorry this has taken so long to get out. I honestly had a completely different chapter but hated it so I went bad and tried to redo it. I'm still going "Meh" at it but it fits logically and characteristically better then the other one. Hope you enjoy it and I'll start working on the next one asap I swear!
Chapter 7: Goblin Town Metaphor
"I think a certain finesse is called for here. RAAAARGH!" Pitlord from Warcraft III
If he managed to find her he was going to kill her on principal. The stupid woman had not't stopped at any of the settlements in the area and from what Illidan could tell when he found some tracks she had not't stopped in the last number of days either.
What in the Nether did she think she was doing? She was going to kill herself at the rate she was going.
Was he really all that terrible that she'd rather get herself killed and rot out in the wilds then simply live out her days in the Temple?
The thought irritated him and he mentally flicked it away like a pesky fly.
There was a method to the madness of her trail. Though it wound around Shadowmoon Valley like a snake the trail went northwest, toward Terrokar Forest. Though the actual forest was small in area, Illidan knew that if Nokami reached it he'd never find her.
Not that he thought she'd make it. Not with the Legion camped on the road.
In the end he calculated how long it would take her to reach the edge of the forests and camped out in the area for a couple days in the mountains. A couple magical wards kept the Legion and others from detecting him as he settled in to wait and watch the road.
He'd almost given up when he heard a demon howling nearby. The heavy cursing in demonic made him grin a bit. It was an odd comfort to know he was not't the only one who constantly had that reaction when it came to Nokami.
The sight he came across following the chatter however made his blood run cold.
That it was Nokami he had not a doubt. He'd know that scarred face anywhere. There was something wrong with her though. Demon claws were running all over her and she seemed to be trying to curl into a ball.
What did they do to her? She's full of more fight then that.
For a moment Illidan stayed on his ledge above the scene trying to figure out what the demons had done. After all, most demons liked their victims struggling and screaming. He could only tell that it was not't a spell that had stripped the hunter of her will. When one of the demons stood up though and started pulling off armor though he growled angrily.
Some people considered Illidan a monster. Over the years he'd met many women, some he thought deserved to be treated as queens and others he thought deserved painful years of torment. One thing he honestly could say though, is that he never in the centuries he'd been alive thought that any woman deserved the fate these two demons had plotted for Nokami. Not even Maiev, who he had despised more then anyone.
He dropped down with an outraged roar, one of his glaives severing an arm that had been holding Nokami by her hair. The demon howled as blood spewed forth and Illidan turned to deal with the other demon who was attacking. A spell already dancing on his lips.
The wrath walker however was not stupid. He drove a fist into Illidan's gut, uprooting the hybrid and interrupting the spell. Illidan merely grunted before attacking and pushing the demon back.
Nokami didn't even pause to see who was fighting the demons. The second she was released, she was scrambling into a black hole she saw underneath a rock that looked like she might fit. Heedless of jagged rocks cutting into her flesh. It was a tight squeeze but she managed to pull all of her lanky form into the dark. Surely no one would find her in this tiny hole. I'll be safe here.
She could almost see that panther, leering at her, laughing at her feeble attempts to escape.
I'll always find you, my pretty little dreamer.
Nokami's skin crawled and she shuddered, mentally whispering to herself that she was alright. She wasn't pretty, she wasn't helpless, she was alive and he was dead, she wasn't pretty...
It seemed an eternity to her before the howls of pain and the horrible sound of metal striking flesh faded away. Instinct whispered that it was safe but Nokami didn't move a muscle. The dam she had maintained so carefully against her emotions had sprung a number of leaks and she had no intention of moving until she'd metaphorically fixed them all.
Illidan however was not in the mood to be patient. He had been away from the temple longer then he'd wanted to, gotten into a fight with a pair of wrath walkers, and now had a slight cut on his head from not getting out of the way quick enough. It wasn't serious but it was bleeding liberally, like head wounds had a habit of doing.
He sighed and stood waiting at the rock he'd seen Nokami dart under. The sight had caused the scratch to his head cause he'd been distracted by the sight of her underwear clad rear wiggling under the rock. He was still aggravated at himself over the momentary lapse.
Could he really be blamed though? It had been such a nice view...
Mentally swearing at himself in a number of tongues he growled. "You can come out now they're dead." His tone was angry and he could not't help but wince a little. He'd been trying to a nicer one but his anger at himself had gotten the better of him.
He found himself counting in an attempt to be patient. For once in his life wising he had been capable of Tyrande or Malfurion's empathy for others. They certainly would have been able to handle this situation much better then he.
A minute had passed and he'd heard nothing from under the rock. Out of patience and frustrated Illidan reached underneath intending to simply grab Nokami and haul her out. He found himself grabbing at air but he could feel her body heat, meaning she was just out of reach. With an irate grunt he put his other hand underneath and started to lift the rock away completely.
He heard a quiet squeak and Nokami started to dash past him. Glad that he didn't have toes anymore, he dropped the rock and grabbed her before she got to far away.
The change was startling to him at least. When he set a hand on her Nokami seem to explode. She pulled at her wrists that he'd caught and growled like an angry animal. He barely manage to block the knee that had been meant for more sensitive parts of his anatomy.
"No!" She snarled at him, making him think of an angry wolf. "No! No! No!"
Illidan later pondered just what she was saying no to. At the time he simply kept trying to get her to listen. He finally gave up and set his grip to right above her elbows before lifting her into the air over his head and holding her there. She kicked and spat a number of curses at him. At least he assumed they were curses, he only recognized the ones in Darnasssian and Common himself.
Eventually she calmed and panted at him although she continued to glare.
"Are we done?" He asked.
She did not say anything and made him mentally sigh. Back to the silent treatment it seems.
"If your done fighting with me put your clothes back on so we can get going." He growled.
Nokami could not help but feel heat run to her face. In her sudden rage at whatever target was handy she'd forgotten that she was only in her underwear. Then again...
"Thought you were blind." She sneered at him.
Illidan growled, not wanting to take the time or deal with the pain of memories from having to explain his eyes. "I see well enough to know your in your underwear.Those bikini bottoms or a thong?" He saw no point in telling her he already knew the answer when she hissed and practically dove for her somewhat shredded clothes.
Nokami couldn't remember getting dressed so fast in her life or being so embarrassed. The whole time she kept trying to figure out how much Illidan actually saw with those eyes of his. Not that it mattered. Though she hoped he couldn't tell how much she was blushing.
Once she had her clothes on she looked at him then looked behind her. She wasn't that far from Terrokar...
"Don't even think about it."
Nokami turned back intending to ask what he meant only to find Illidan towering over her. He simply glared at her with an accusing look and grabbed her wrist, practically dragging her toward the cliff edge.
He wasn't going to throw her off the cliff was he?
The thought was barely in her head when he swung her around in front of him and scooped her up bridal style.
Nokami blinked in confusion for a second before squirming. "What are you doing? Put me down. I'm not a sack of grain." She said coldly.
Illidan ignored her and started to run.
Nokami suddenly realized what Illidan was thinking and the thought was accompanied by an equally bad picture of them broken at the base of the cliff. "No, no, no, wait, wait..." She started to say and wrapped her arms around Illidan's neck. If she could have passed through him, she would have to be standing safely on the ground at that moment.
As it was she was pressed against him to the point where they could have been one person when his hooves left the ground. She couldn't even take the thought of what might be under them. Not only closing her eyes to avoid seeing but pressing her face into Illidan's shoulder to keep the temptation of looking at bay.
Illidan barely resisted the urge to snap at her for being scared. After all it had taken him a bit of time to get use to flying himself. She was getting a sudden crash course. Least no one had been around the times he'd gone crashing into things at the beginning.
"I'm not going to fall or drop you." He sighed in irritation giving into the temptation of jeering at her. He was part demon after all, not part angelic. Plus it pulled his thoughts away from how light she was. He swore he had picked up gnomes that weighed more then her. It disturbed him and he told himself to make sure she ate.
Nokami did not respond though she did pull away from his neck a little and crack an eye open. The wind made her squint and her hair blew in her face but there was something oddly soothing about flying and seeing everything so small below.
Nokami had always loved flying though she'd hated buying a mount. She'd always thought it cruel to tie the griffons down, even if most of them were raised to bear riders. As such she'd always kept her flying to a minimum and usually spent her time apologizing to her mount instead of enjoying the flight. Flying with Illidan however was different. There was no animal being forced to bear her weight around. It was more like she was flying herself instead of someone flying her.
Now if only there wasn't a wanna be demon breathing down her neck.
Illidan found it amusing himself. She forgot about the fact that he was carrying her for a moment and her lips twitched as if she wanted to smile, she resisted though. It made him wonder what she looked like with an honest smile on her face. Not that he cared though.
Forcing his thoughts back to the world around him cause him to curse. There was a heaviness in the air that was practically snapping, warning of the coming issue.
"What?" Nokami practically yelled in his ear after feeling a grumble escape him.
Instead of answering he started looking down at the ground. There had to be some shelter nearby. Spotting a cave he swooped down causing Nokami to strangle him a moment in fear and swear her head off. While the former annoyed him, the latter made him grin. To think he had thought her cold before.
As soon as Illidan's feet touched the ground Nokami practically jumped away from him. Part of her even considered running before he glared at her. She could almost hear him inviting her to try and flee. Instead she sniffed at him and returned his glare. "Tired already?" She asked.
"Hardly." He snorted back. "There's a storm coming."
"You can't fly though a little rain?" Nokami jeered almost not believing her ears.
Illidan of course sneered. "Nether storms are hardly your average spring rains woman. Most people know to find shelter before they hit."
"Oh so scary." Nokami stated sarcastically.
Illidan snorted at her as he stepped into the cave. "If you want to sit out there be my guest. I'll remember to scrape your mess off my hooves in the morning. Nether storms are the reason the region that is named after them is in pieces after all."
Nokami glared in at the little cave, there was certainly not enough room to her mind. "Like I'll survive anyways. In case you haven't noticed, you and I can't stand five minutes together without wanting to beat the each other to a pulp."
"That's because your a bitch." Illidan stated.
"Bastard."
"Little pain in the ass."
"Overgrown dick head."
"Stupid cunt!"
"Moronic cock muncher!"
Illidan barely managed to keep from hitting her. Instead he clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath through his nose. "You would think you'd be nicer to your rescuer."
"I don't recall asking you to but in." She snorted at him. "Besides, I saved your life already, I'd say we're even...except you insisting on me staying in your mausoleum, jackass."
Thunder boomed suddenly causing the pair to look up at the sky which was rapidly turning purple.
With a growl Illidan reached out and grabbed Nokami's arm, dragging her into the cave. She swatted at his hand.
"I don't want to be in here with you." She hissed.
"Shut up." Illidan stated. "Look pick a side and stay there. I'll give you some rations and we simply will not speak to each other. One insult out of you and I'll throw you out into the storm."
Nokami glared at him, not wanting to give into the demand but she also did not feel like dying. Plus the offer of something to eat and drink made her stomach growl at the worst time. Illidan got a superior smirk on his face which meant he heard her stomach.
"Fine. We'll reside in your little goblin town then." She sniffed.
Illidan frowned for a second. "Goblin town?" He asked before he could stop himself.
Nokami blinked at him in surprise. "Yeah, surely you know want...oh this is precious." She snickered just the slightest bit.
Illidan glared death at her and made her think twice about laughing at him. It did wonders for her pride though that he didn't know everything.
"Goblins have some towns about Azeroth. Since they don't favor anyone they're something of a neutral territory. At first there was problems keeping order between warring faction but the goblins started having enforcers beat the stuffing out of people who started problems." She explained doing her best not to sound to much like a mother explaining things to a child.
Illidan scowled a bit. When he'd been roaming Azeroth he'd seen a couple goblin outposts but no actual towns. He was almost tempted to ask and find out what else had changed on Azeroth while he'd been living in Outland. He was not however about to look stupid to Nokami, he'd sooner cut out his tongue then have her laugh at him.
With a growl he dug some bread and water out of his bag and tossed it to Nokami. She merely caught them and retreated to a corner of the cave while he settled into the other.
It was going to be a long night...
