Arthas was an idiot. Why would he be so stupid to believe that the kid would be smart enough to stay close to town? He searched every nook and cranny along the tree line around town but Sapphire was no where to be found. Finally Rot caught her scent but Arthas doubted the dog's ability to track. The temptation to just forget about his daughter and continue on to Boralus without her. The feeling passed quickly only to replaced by overwhelming guilt. She was only lost due to his decisions. She could have stayed with Volugg if he had stayed dead.
Sapphire was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Letting her wander the woods and potentially die from wildlife, exposure, or lowlife mortals was not an option. He felt little guilt over the hundreds of thousands of innocents he had killed, directly or indirectly. But this one girl? If Sapphire were to die, Arthas could only accept it if he wielded the blade. She belonged to him.
So Arthas searched for her. Rot sniffed every single leaf and rock. He had never been to Kul Tiras before but from the descriptions he had heard, he never expected to find such in the island chain. The trees grew closely together, blocking out the sun with their leaves.
Rot sniffed a mushroom and opened his mouth to eat it. Arthas snapped his fingers.
"Don't eat that!"
The dog looked at Arthas, then back at the mushroom. Then back at Arthas. With one quick movement, Rot snatched the mushroom cap and chewed vigorously. Arthas scowled.
"You are not being helpful! Give me one reason not to crush your skull under my heel."
Rot barked an argument, then sniffed around one more time. He wagged his tail and ran off, barking excitedly. The man followed the dog reluctantly. About an hour later, He heard barklike cries and howls. Arthas moved forward quickly.
"Hold still, strange brother!" A voice cried out, exasperated.
There underneath a crooked tree, a young man was kneeling next to a very bloody Stub. He wore nothing but furs and had a handful of leaves that he was trying to put onto Stub's wounds. The boy looked up in alarm at Arthas's sudden approach. He fled on all fours over to the cover of a thorny bush.
"You reek of death! Who the hell are you?"
Arthas smirked. Atleast the kid was smart enough to fear him.
"My name is Andrew and I won't kill you if you can tell me how you came across this hyena," Arthas stated bluntly.
The boy stuck his head out from the bush. He nervously glanced at Stub. "I found him all bloody. I was trying to put some liferoot leaves on his wounds. Could you hold him still so I could do that?"
Arthas acquiesced and held down the struggling hyena while the boy applied the crushed leaves to the ragged wounds. Stub seemed calmer now that Rot and Arthas had shown up, but he was still clearly upset.
After the leaves were applied, Arthas let go of Stub. The hyena snorted at the dressed wounds and tried licking them, only to be disgusted by the taste. He then slumped exhausted to the ground. The boy gave Arthas a hesitant smile.
"Thanks! My name is Grendel. Wh do you have a dead dog?"
Rot barked at this comment. Arthas waved in his direction.
"Oh that's just Rot. He is my daughter's pet. Same as this hyena."
Grendel's eyes widened. Then he stood up.
"Well, then. I have to go! Bye."
The boy tried to run off, but Arthas knew that look. He knew something. Having zero tolerance for games, Arthas drew up some frost magic and froze the ground beneath the boy's feet. As expected, the boy slipped and fell on the patch of ice. Arthas stomped over to him and grabbed the kid by one arm.
"Where is Sapphire?" Arthas shouted.
Grendel winced and cowered before the man. "The Huntsman probably took her! The strange hyena thing was attacked by wicker beasts! I warned her but she didn't listen to me."
Arthas let go of Grendel, who dropped back down to the ground. He didn't give the boy another chance to run though.
"Who is this Huntsman? What the hell is a wicker beast?"
Grendel stared at him in shock. "Oh, you're as stupid as she is. The Huntsman is an evil man who rides on a stag and leads a pack of horrid monsters. He hunts down and kills mortals who intrude the Crimson Forest at night. Your daughter is dead."
The word "dead" seemed to hit Arthas right in the empty space where his heart used to be. She could not be dead after he finally found her. This was his fault. He should have followed after her. He shouldn't have told her to run off in the first place. She was just a child but Arthas had been the immature monster that had lost his temper.
Arthas leaned against a nearby tree, unable to stand.
"Then I have nothing left."
Grendel watched him in fascination. "What do you mean?"
He did not see any reason to lie to the forest boy. "I am a genocidal monster that could kill you just now and feel no guilt over it. I commanded armies of the dead and wished to destroy all life on Azeroth."
Immediately Grendel fled and hid behind a tree.
"But I was defeated and I have nothing left except a half rotten dog and my daughter. I never gave a damn about her before now but I was trying to do better. Clearly I couldn't even keep a damn child alive."
Grendel looked out from behind the tree and gave Arthas a look of pity, which enraged the man.
"I'm sorry. Maybe...she hid somewhere? I could help you I guess. So long as you don't hurt me."
Arthas wondered who was more naïve, this Grendel or his own daughter.
Stub managed to get to his feet, and started to limp off in a western direction. Grendel tried to grab the hyena and stop him. The hyena snapped his teeth at the youth's fingers.
Arthas shook his head. "Let him go. Maybe he can show us where Sapphire was last."
Snowfur grabbed at the vibrant butterfly but it fluttered out of her reach. She tried hopping to catch it to no avail. For the past hour, she had been trying to capture the annoying critter. After waking up, she had enjoyed an extensive breakfast alone. She had never eaten so much in her life as she had since she entered Thros. Even Volugg did not feed her as well, but she would have preferred his company to the tree man or his boring servants. Gorak Tul had not shown up but Sister Lilith had told her he would be visiting soon. So the girl wandered the forests until she came upon the butterfly. It stood out in the misty forest which immediately caught her attention.
Despite her concerns over Stub and Adalger, Snowfur pounced at the butterfly. It had flown from her grasp which led to an hour long pursuit.
In the clearing, Snowfur finally grew exhausted. The butterfly landed on a nearby tree. The girl collapsed in the soft sweet smelling grass and rolled around it in.
"Having fun?"
Snowfur jumped into a sitting position. There, at the clearing Adalger stood grimly. His arms folded over his chest. She couldn't see his expression under the deer skull but she could tell he was not happy. She curled up defensively.
"Yes. I am...Did you find Stub?" She demanded.
The man groaned and held a arm out toward the mists. He flicked his head.
Stub came rushing out of the mists and flung himself into the sweet grass. Snowfur squealed. She ran over to the hyena and wrapped her arm around the hyena. He reeked of dead leaves and rot but she didn't care. The hyena licked her profusely, cackling between each lick. There was no wounds visible on him.
"Happy now?" Adalger snarled.
Snowfur looked up at the man and smiled. "Yes, thank you so much! I was so worried for him. Did you apologize?"
The man tilted his head. "Apologize?"
The girl stopped hugging the hyena and folded her arms as an imitation of the Huntsman.
"Apologize to Stub."
The Huntsman growled. "Fine. Sorry, Stub."
The hyena didn't seem to notice, more intent on licking Snowfur. She decided that that was the only apology she would get out of the man. Snowfur hopped to her feet and ran off.
"Come on Stub! Let's go find that butterfly!"
