"Whisp, look out!" Twist charged past her, swinging an old, slightly rusty mace in a wide arc as soon as she was past her friend.

Without looking, Whisper cast a riptide onto Twist, scanning their surroundings for any other civilians still in the market. Part of her was cursing herself for not having gone back to Orgrimmar by now. While she was glad that she was there to keep Twist on her feet and help anyone else who might be injured, she didn't want to hear the lecture Gregor would give her.

She sympathized with the man, she did. He had made the only people who knew he was undead swear that they wouldn't tell his family about what fate had befallen him, so any surviving family members would think him dead, or a shambling corpse in Northrend.

His children would have no reason to think that killing Horde might injure one of their father's friends. In fact, they might fight against those who had allied with the forsaken simply because they sought to avenge their father's death.

Whisper cast a healing rain over a small cluster of braves fighting against a few humans. Even as they rallied and swung their blades with renewed gusto, their wounds mending as the water washed over them, she tried to peer at the enemies. If Gregor's son or daughter were here, would she be able to convince the locals to take them captive instead of killing them? Would that even be an option?

She couldn't make out any of the tiny creatures' features in the twilight shadows.

Shaking it off, she turned back to Twist. She cast another preemptive riptide on her and then brought her own weapon down onto a dwarf that had been trying to sneak up on her. He was pitiful for a rogue. Even as he stumbled, she shoved her staff into his face and swung her leg out to kick his out from under him.

As he fell to the ground, she launched herself onto him, digging her knee into his chest and slamming her staff down onto his head. His fingers twitched once before he was still.

As she rose to her feet, casting a few more heals to those around her, she saw Twist wiping blood from her snout, eyes on Whisper. She grinned at her friend crookedly. "I thought you weren't a fighter."

"Yeah, well, we're all something we don't want to be," Whisper muttered, bouncing a chain heal off of Twist and onto a few others.

Something collapsed, and a plume of embers flew up into the air in the distance.

Both tauren turned to watch as flames danced across one of the tents they could see on the upper levels. Twist looked dismayed, her hoof clakking against her defeated enemy's armor as she took a step back. "They're attacking the residential area?"

"It's where they came from, isn't it?" Whisper spat, starting toward the wyvern tower and pausing. There was the long path around the side as an alternate, but she couldn't figure out which way would be less flooded with the enemy.

Twist was already charging toward the wyvern tower. With a sigh, Whisper threw out one last healing rain to the few still fighting around her and headed out. She counted no more than seven of the original wave of Alliance that had swept into the market. Surely they wouldn't need her healing to take so few out.

As she entered into the tower, she let out a gasp as bits of burning wood and a night elf crashed into the ground beside her. She sidestepped as the male flung his arm out, desperate to grip something to pull himself up with. One of his legs was twisted awkwardly, and Whisper had no doubt it was broken. Even as she started up the sloping spiral, Twist slammed back down onto the night elf, bringing her mace down onto him hard. She barely wasted anytime before darting back up the spiral, easily stepping around Whisper and giving her a rough smile.

"Let me clear the way. Just keep me up?"

Whisper nodded silently and followed.

Fortunately, there were only a few others trying to choke the tower. Twist carved a bloody path through them, kicking their bodies over the narrow ledge and bashing others against its walls.

For a while, they were trapped just before the exit to the second level of the main city, as, sure enough, the Alliance had taken control of it. Twist had been systematically taking out the few who tried to come at them, but both she and Whisper were beginning to tire.

Worse, there was a draenei healer just on the other side of the door. He healed his allies as Whisper healed Twist. She had a feeling that neither of them wanted to see who would run out of mana first.

He was already having to rely on his totems for regeneration. But he had more allies.

Just as Whisper started to call out that they retreat back down, she felt something slide through her side, near her ribs. Fortunately, whoever it was wasn't familiar with tauren anatomy and had hit a rib rather than go in just above it. With a gasp and an instinctive stomp of her hoof, Whisper thrust her attacker from her. It was an elven rogue.

Fucking rogues.

Why did they always come after her?

She heard Twist let out a cry and looked up, already casting heals on the both of them. Fortunately, her friend hadn't been injured too badly. Her weapon, however, had broken upon contact with a paladin's armor. The man was swinging brutally at her, and it was all that Twist could do to dodge and hold her ground without slamming into Whisper.

The rogue recovered and lunged at Whisper.

She tried to kick the woman again, but her adversary simply dodged it and dragged one of her daggers up the length of the shaman's leg. Whisper let out a screech that caught in her throat and guarded with her staff—after this was over, she would be switching to a one hander and a shield for sure. It was too easy for the rogue to get past her staff.

However, even as the elf swung a dagger up, an arm with honey colored fur caught the rogue's and then a fist slammed into her face. With a twist of her wrist, Twist swung the rogue out into the open air. She caught the rogue's belt and jerked her up as the paladin brought his sword down on her, using the rogue as a shield.

The elf screamed in pain and went limp as both the paladin and shaman stared, eyes wide.

Twist let out a guttural scream and shoved the elf into them, pushing them both off their balance.

Before they could recover—the draenei was scrambling to heal the rogue—a wall of a shield slammed into them from the side and sent all three flying off of the spiral. Whisper cringed as she heard them crash below, knowing that their heavy armor only made their landing all the worse.

A broad shouldered tauren stood in the doorway, looking surprised as he stared down at Twist and Whisper.

"How badly did they hit the residential quarters?" Whisper cried out.

Almost instantly, he gave them a wide grin. "It was a diversion, mostly. Don't suppose you'd want to help me get to Cairne?" He motioned over his shoulder, "Things are mostly under control here, so we figured we'd see about protecting the one they're after."

"I can heal," Whisper offered, trying to catch her breath. She could still hear fighting in the distance.

"Great!" The tauren was already up the spiral, starting toward the next level.

"I have to go home," Twist murmured. When the steer paused to arch his brow, she looked down, ashamed. "My weapon's broken."

"Take one of mine then," a voice interrupted.

As Twist's head snapped up, she and Whisper found the orcess Lash had come with to be standing in front of them. She held a crisp new blade out in front of her with one hand, the other holding a slightly more worn one. Both looked like they should have been wielded with two hands. As Twist's hands curled around the hilt, she released it, starting up the spiral as well. "Just be sure to give it back. I just bought that one."

"Right…"

With that, the four of them darted upward.

Whisper had to say she was pretty impressed. The reason she'd yet to go back to Orgrimmar had been Lash. Rather than taking any heed to his warning about an Alliance attack—she'd figured the braves would take care of it—she'd actually stayed because she'd wanted to know more about his lady friend.

Kiaga had proved to be one who wasn't much for conversation, offering curt thank yous and lok'tar ogars when Whisper had brought her food and seeming completely disinterested in making friends.

Well, she'd been interested until Whisper had admitted that she'd never taken an Alliance life before.

She thought back to the dwarf from earlier. She couldn't say that anymore.

Perhaps this was what she got for sticking her snout where it didn't belong. As their tank burst through another attempted blockade with his shield and stepped back into the night air, a thought occurred to Whisper, and she looked around, confused.

"Where's Lash?"

"I don't know," Kiaga mumbled, though for a split instant, the way she shifted her gaze made Whisper think that she was worried about him.

Gore was going to be so proud that Lash had landed him a lady. And, judging by the blood spatter, she was a capable one, too.

"Look alive, healer," their tank roared, barely giving her a heads up before charging into a group of Alliance. They'd been ransacking a small business near the great open area around the bonfire outside of the chieftain's home. Whisper shuddered as she thought of all the times she'd sat around that fire with her family and friends—with Shadow—only to see it full of carnage now.

This wasn't right.

She darted after him and, when she was confident that she could see most of the fighters well from her standpoint, tossed down her totems. They flickered and danced with a magic of their own, the elements drawing to her.

An enhancement shaman came lumbering after her, but Kiaga cut the draenei off before he could even raise his mace. Blood gushed, and the orcess charged right through it, after another enemy before the shaman had finished crumpling to the ground.

Whisper tried not to look at him. He should have been a brother in arms, a fellow follower of the elements.

Not an enemy.

Twist was assisting a few braves, and their tank…he was forcing his way into the bulk of the remaining Alliance forces.

He'd let himself be surrounded by the enemy, and Whisper cursed in between casts as she threw everything she had to keep him up. The steer had an uncanny grace about him, despite his tall, bulky stature. He moved as though his shield and axe were a part of him, spinning through his enemies, sending them flying with a thrust of his shield and crashing into a heap with a swing of his axe.

It took Whisper a moment to realize why he wasn't content to pick off the edges of the group.

He was going for their healers.

She cringed at the thought.

Scooping up her totems, she called to Twist, who broke free from her own fight with a few swift slices and hurried back to her.

"Cover me; I have to get closer to him."

To say that Twist carved a path for her was eerily close to the truth of it. Whisper nearly slipped once in a pool of blood as she struggled to keep their tank in range. She could hear someone crying for help and had to fight the urge to toss her heals indiscriminately. It wouldn't do to heal an enemy and be branded a traitor.

And these bastards had no right to attack her home anyway. If they'd wanted glory, they should have stuck to the contested lands.

Even so, it was hard to tune out the wails and cries of agony. In her raids, it had seemed so much simpler, though, looking back, she'd had to ignore the pleas of cultists and corrupted elves and all that.

How was it that this felt so different, then?

Perhaps it was Gregor's influence.

She was mid cast when she felt like something cold wrapped around her throat, cutting off her airway. With a gasp, she collapsed to one knee, struggling to regain her composure. She looked ahead and tried to discern where their tank was, but she couldn't see him. Instead, there was a kaldorei standing over her, his eyes an eerie white-blue instead of their usual silver or gold. His armor was black and splattered with blood.

She narrowly rolled to the side as he brought a rune blade down on her. She curled her tail to her, a few hairs from the tip sliced off. As she stumbled back, she heard Twist yelling, as well as Kiaga.

Were they telling her to dodge?

The ground was turning a sickening shade, and its illness drifted into the air, into her fingers and every part of her touching it.

Whisper looked up at the death knight, scowling. She wasn't going to let things end like this. Dodging out of the spell, she planted her hands on the ground, ignoring as the death knight followed after her, his own boots crunching into the decaying ground.

With a roar, Whisper dragged her hands up.

The earth followed her lead, quaking as it swirled up, propelling the death knight backwards and then forming into a massive elemental that towered over even the tauren. Even as the elf tried to get his bearings, the elemental slammed an arm into his midsection and sent him flying into his allies.

Not even waiting for the creature to hit the ground, the elemental rushed after him, flinging enemies left and right, sending their bodies arcing high through the air.

Even as she tried to move back to where she'd been earlier, she felt something slice into her thigh and let out a cry. Whirling around, she stared in bewilderment at the same rogue from before. The elf had a limp, but she was still on her feet, and there was murder in her eyes.

As Whisper tried to put some distance between the two of them, something bit into her shoulder. She barely managed to fling it away, eyes widening as the ghoul easily recovered. The death knight was advancing toward her again. Between the two and the pet, she was surrounded.

The rogue lunged toward Whisper, interrupting the shaman as she tried to heal herself. It was all she could do to dodge the rune blade again.

Even as she tried to recover, the rogue knocked her off balance and to the ground. Whisper cast riptide on herself. It wouldn't do much, but she couldn't get any other heals off. The rogue was on top of her. She spun her blades, angled them down, and began her thrust.

Just as the metal bit into Whisper's chest just below her collarbone, a massive white saber cat with grey dots tackled the kaldorei from her. Her blades went flying.

Whisper scrambled to her feet again, swinging her staff into the ghoul to keep it away from her. Even as she settled into a defensive stance and managed to cast another heal on herself, the ghoul let out a wail and crumbled to the ground, death runes appearing on its skin and then dissipating. In seconds, it was an inanimate pile of flesh.

The death knight was doubled over, holding his face, an arrow sticking out between his fingers. As he groaned, the rogue let out an unearthly scream and then went silent. Before he could recover, that same cat was on him. He straightened up, deflecting the creature's claws, only to have another arrow thud into his throat.

A blade sliced through the death knight's neck, shattering the arrow, and Twist leapt over the cat to reach her friend.

Whisper cast a heal on herself and then scanned the area around her. Twist slid up next to her in an instant, bandages spilling out of her hands. "Are you out of mana? I can—"

"I'm fine." Whisper flashed her a rueful smile. "Good to know I'm not the only healer here, though."

Twist rolled her eyes, casting the bandages aside as though they weren't hers—knowing her, they probably weren't, though where she would have gotten them from was beyond Whisper. However, that wasn't what made Whisper break out into a wide grin.

Lash was jogging over to them, pausing every now and again to engage a foe or loose an arrow into the fighting. His shots never missed. Blood covered half of his face, and his armor was in shambles, but he was there. He and Duskeh.

With a triumphant laugh, Whisper threw her strongest heals his way. He sprinted the last few feet to them, stopping in front of her and looking her over before notching another arrow and taking out a warrior that was mid charge toward them. The gnome's body thudded to the ground at his feet.

"I'm glad you're well."

Lash merely grunted, reaching up to wipe some blood from his face. "I'll be better when these dogs are gone."

"Won't we all," Twist nodded, settling into a defensive stance and making sure that no others were coming after her healer.

Though she could feel the wear in her limbs, Whisper shouldered her staff and pointed to where the others were fighting. "Cover me again."

"Right."

They followed the elemental back into the fighting, though it collapsed soon after they reached it. Their tank was now back to back with Cairne of all tauren, and they were sending the Alliance to their makers. Kiaga fought a few feet away from them, several braves with her. Twist and Lash managed to keep the path the elemental had made clear long enough for Whisper to join the others.

As she cast another healing rain, her tank gave her that wide grin again and nodded his head to her. He might have said more if a human hadn't flung himself forward in a blind rage. The foolish man was cut down quickly.

The rest of the battle seemed to go by without Whisper even realizing it. It wasn't until she was too exhausted to cast another heal that she realized that the fighting had subsided. The area was in shambles and bodies were everywhere, but the few remaining Alliance had surrendered. The braves were liberating their weapons from them and shoving them off to be taken into custody—prisoners of war, no doubt.

Cairne was shaking hands with their tank, and Twist had taken to stroking Duskeh's fur affectionately. Even as Whisper let herself collapse into the bloodied grasses beneath her, just glad for it to be over, she noticed something move behind one of the nearby buildings.

A human man—a warrior from the looks of it—crouched in the shadows, a bow and arrow drawn. Whisper's eyes widened as she realized where he was aiming.

"Chieftain, get down!"

The braves' heads whipped up. Her tank scanned the area, already bringing his shield up instinctively. He was at the wrong angle, though.

As Whisper watched in horror, the human let his arrow fly, even as several others converged into him. The single, slim shaft of wood flew through the air, straight toward Cairne.

And then a second arrow slammed into its head, sending it plummeting down, burying itself into the ground feet before the tauren's leader.

Lash already had another arrow notched as he whirled toward the dead human.

Any fight that might have remained in the prisoners' minds fled, and they succumbed to the numbness that their fates were out of their hands, and their brethren's deaths had been for nothing.

Cairne clopped over to Lash, a look of disbelief and respect mixed across his features. "Well done, orc." He appraised him carefully, a genuine smile on his face. "And with that bloodied eye, too."

"It's already been healed, sir."

"Still." Cairne started to say something else, but one of the braves hurried up, demanding his attention. With a sigh, the old tauren nodded to him again. "What is your name, orc?"

"Gorelash."

"…That's it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I think Gorelash Bloodeye would be a fitting title, don't you?" the chieftain glanced over to Kiaga—ignoring as his brave tried again to get his attention—as she stood just to the side, not wanting to interrupt such an important conversation.

She looked Lash over for a moment and then gave him a lopsided smile. "I think it's a fine name, for a fine orc."

"Mm-hm," Cairne nodded. "What war guild do you hail from?"

"None, sir," Lash replied, pausing as the tauren's brow shot up. "I, er, I'm in an adventuring guild. Impervious."

"Ah, a name I've heard in passing," he nodded, finally pausing to wave at his brave to let him know he'd be but a moment longer. "I'll send word to your leader that you've truly honored them today."

"Thank you sir," Lash replied, thumping his fist to his chest. He paused, glancing over at Whisper and then Kiaga. Cairne was already turning away. "I wasn't alone, sir. Whisper Windsong…she's one of my guild's best healers."

Whisper doubted that, though she found her fur bristling with embarrassment as Cairne and the others looked her way. She ducked her head in respect, forcing herself up to her feet so that she wouldn't look quite so pitiful.

"And if not for Kiaga Bloodblade, I wouldn't have been here at all."

It was apparent that Kiaga was as surprised as Whisper to have been dragged into the honored circle. However, Cairne nodded to each of them in turn. He paused, looking over Kiaga. "What guild do you hail from?"

"I'm guildless, sir."

"Well, I doubt you'll be that way for long after the war guilds hear of your heroism today." Cairne nodded to them again before finally turning away. "Go with honor, friends."

With that, the old tauren hurried away, braves surrounding him as he followed their lead.

Whisper stood there for another moment before her legs decided to betray her and buckled out from beneath her. Before she could scrape her knees on the ground below, an arm looped around her waist. Twist held her other hand. "You okay?" She paused before a girlish grin settled into place. It looked almost eerie on her, surrounded by fur matted with sweat and blood. "You were amazing, though! I knew you were a good healer, but that was amazing!"

"I wasn't that—"

"None of that," a gruff voice said practically in her ear. As she flicked it, she glanced up to see that it was their tank from earlier who was holding her up by her waist. That same grin from earlier was in place as he nodded his chin to her. "Whisper, is it? Nice to meet you. I'm Istal Steelwind."

Even as Whisper echoed the sentiment halfheartedly, she looked back at Lash. Part of her wanted to untangle herself from the steer holding her up, but she doubted she would be up if she did.

Lash was still standing where he had been, staring after Cairne with a look of awe plastered across his face. Whisper did her best to reach out and slug his shoulder, though she couldn't quite reach. "Good on you, Lash! We all owe you for…well, everything!"

Puffing up a little with pride, Kiaga gave him a toothy grin and a nod. "That we do, Bloodeye."

"I—" Lash looked at Kiaga finally and then to Whisper. He was pale, and she saw him shake for a split instant. "I have a last name."

"You earned it," Twist offered, trotting up to him. Despite standing taller than he was, the adoration on her face made her look almost childish next to him. She always had acted young for their age. "It would've been a dark day indeed if you hadn't stepped in!"

"Thank you," he murmured, still stunned.

Kiaga slapped a hand on his shoulder abruptly. "Come, let's get to the inn, and I'll buy you a drink."

"Psh," Whisper interjected, though she paused when she saw the orcess give her an irritated look. "I see no reason to toss the hero of Thunderbluff into a damn inn." She tried to stand tall, despite still needing the crutch of a steer beside her. "You can stay with me."

"Your mother will pick his brain to pieces about what you've been up to," Twist offered softly.

Whisper frowned, considering it. It was true enough. Lash deserved to be in the spotlight for a while, yet her mother would no doubt spend the whole evening dismissing that the orc had saved their chieftain, instead demanding to know just what Whisper was doing in Orgrimmar and why she wasn't heading home sooner.

An honored hero deserved far more than that.

"If you'd like," Istal began slowly, adjusting his grip on Whisper's waist so that his hand was more firmly supporting her. "You all can come stay at my place. It's not far. I can send word to your families that you're fine…" he paused to look at Twist and then Whisper. His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than she was comfortable with.

"I'd better not," Whisper murmured.

"I'll walk you home then," the steer replied. He paused, motioning to the others. "There's no reason the rest of you can't stay, though. You defended my people, it's only fair."

Lash hesitated and then nodded toward Istal. "Thank you. We'll accept your hospitality."

In a swift motion, Istal hoisted Whisper up in his arms, grinning when she tried to protest. "This is easier than me dragging you along like a lame leg."

Unable to argue, Whisper let him tote her through the city. She tried to keep track of the conversation, and survey the damage, but before she knew it, sleep reached up to claim her, and she drifted off.