Jesika stared, teary-eyed, as Thrall left the room. Words of gratitude were caught in her throat. I am forever in your debt, she vowed silently. You won't regret this.

Aku's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Brace yourself, child."

She did just that and grit her teeth through thirty more minutes of pain. When he was finished, Aku applied a salve from a pouch on his belt and began to wrap her wound.

"You must visit me again tomorrow," he said. "I will need to heal and redress your wound daily."

"Thank you, Aku," she replied with a dip of her head. "I'm extremely grateful."

The tauren merely grunted at her, finished dressing the wound, and lumbered back to a desk laden with dimly glowing books. Jesika took that as dismissal and looked to Theron.

"So… what now?" she asked, somewhat downtrodden. They had their audience and succeeded, but with that hurdle cleared, Jes wasn't sure of what to do or where to go.

Theron adjusted his bow and sighed. "Now, we pay Aedyndel a visit."

"Your brother."

"Yes," he answered stiffly.

Jesika prodded Theron about his brother as they left Thrall's Fortress, trying to discern why he kept their blood relation a secret. He didn't budge. They followed a path to the East side of Orgrimmar, toward the Valley of Honor, and were passing under an archway when Jes finally conceded. "Will you at least tell me where we are going?" she huffed, hands on her hips.

"The Cleft of Shadow," Theron grumbled, making no effort to hide his mounting agitation.

Jes stared at him, first in shock, then in anger. "The Cleft of Shadow?!" she cried. Passerby cast her strange looks so she pulled her hood lower over her eyes and hissed, "You really think that's a good idea, Theron? Sending the only human in Orgrimmar to the shadiest area possible? And after Thrall told us to lay low, no less!"

"Is that why you're worried?" Theron countered angrily. "Thrall accepted you as one of us and is seeing to it personally that the Horde is made aware. Word travels fast."

"Oh yeah?" Jesika argued with a petrifying glare. "And how exactly can you prove that?"

"Well, if you would take off that hood, you could see for yourself." He promptly reached over and pulled back her hood, much to her displeasure.

She was about to protest when she noticed Mira hesitate out of the corner of her eye. The hair on the back of Jesika's neck raised. The lynx's ears flicked backwards. She hears something… Jes thought. A warning manifested on her tongue, but she was rendered silent by an overwhelming sense of dread and, for a moment, she thought she heard something. Duke didn't seem bothered, so maybe… no, she definitely heard something. The young woman turned to look behind herself and, to her surprise, bumped into something with her elbow- someONE!

Jesika stood in shock, face to face with a male troll as he appeared before her eyes, seeming to peel away from the shadows. A yowl of fear had scarcely left her lips before someone else barreled into her waist and carried her off, over their shoulder, with impressive speed. She was disoriented and horrified, but instinct sent her into a fit. Jesika lashed out at her assailant with flailing limbs, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"I'm not dying today!" she howled, squirming and striking furiously, no holds barred. The man carrying her was nearing the entrance to the Cleft of Shadow when Jesika managed to worm herself loose.

"Hey! N- Wait! What the-" stammered her captor as she slid down his back, head first. He scrambled to get a hold of her, to restrain her somehow, but she was kicking too much for him to get a solid grip on her legs. Jesika's hands were mere inches from the ground, prepped for a hard landing; nevertheless, the mystery man slowed her with fruitless attempts at capture until, finally, a swift kick to the jaw set her free. Jesika dropped to the ground in a brief handstand and rolled, clipping her head on a rock in her haste.

Terrified, the girl didn't spare so much as a glance backward; she took off at a dead sprint the moment her feet touched down. Still, she wasn't fast enough. Jesika sensed her attacker closing in and frantically searched for an escape. As if on cue, Duke rounded the corner in a barking fit of rage, and launched himself at the enemy with every ounce of his being. A male voice bellowing in pain told her that he hit his mark. Jes whistled for Duke to return but never slowed. Theron came jogging casually into view just as a blood elf woman attempted to clothesline her. Jesika tried to duck but at such high speeds, she only unbalanced herself and fell onto her side. The momentum turned her fall into a slide, leaving painful scrapes beneath her clothes. For now, pain was fleeting and Jes twisted onto her feet unfazed, gravel crunching under her sneakers as she slid to a stop. The newest attacker took this opportunity to tackle her to the ground. They grappled for a few tense seconds before Jes broke away and, followed by a string of Thalassian curses, made a mad dash for Theron.

Just a few more feet and I'll be safe!

However, her sprint was brought to a skittering halt as a Forsaken, masked in shadow and poised to strike, became visible behind him. Jesika did a double-take; did her eyes deceive here? For a brief moment, she thought she was imagining things, but a more intense stare brought the Forsaken man into focus. He was there.

"Theron, watch out!" Jesika yelled. Approaching footfalls rang in her ears. She listened intently and ducked when the sound closed in, narrowly avoiding a baton to the dome. The blood elf had caught up. Jes grabbed a fistful of sand and small rocks from the ground, tossed it at the other woman's face, and took off again, back the way she came. This time, she darted into an alley she'd passed on her way to Theron.

About 20 feet ahead, the narrow path opened up to a small, square space with no exit in sight. Out of breath and out of options, she knew it was only a matter of seconds before they caught up with here- and what were Theron and Mira doing? Jesika shook her head free of that thought; she had to worry about hiding, now.

The open space was home to a few stacks of boxes and crates just opposite the entrance, probably as storage for the neighboring shops. Thinking quickly, she shuffled them around a bit and positioned herself in a dark corner by the mouth of the room. Just as expected, someone stepped cautiously into the area within moments; it was an orc, male and clad in leather armour. Jesika struggled to quell her panting and breath silently, even holding her breath as his eyes nearly fell on her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," the orc growled, a sadistic grin on his youthful face as he advanced on the boxes. "You can't hide from a rogue."

Jes slipped from the shadows, survival knife in hand, and moved to strike. The orc whirled around, catching her by the wrist.

He disarmed her easily as he sneered, "Gotcha."

The young woman took a great breath and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Get the fucked away from me!" she shrieked as she wrenched her arm from the orc's grasp and turned to flee. "Theron! Help!"

The orc grabbed her from behind, trapping her in an iron embrace. He struggled to carry her through the alley while she thrashed violently, kicking and screaming. This one was stronger than the one that grabbed her first, but she'd be damned if she made it easy on him.

"Why… are… you making this… ungh… so… difficult," he grunted.

"Because fuck you, that's why!" Jesika threw her head back, crushing his nose and consequently loosening his grip. She smashed her elbow into his diaphragm, giving herself the chance to escape his grasp. The young woman fled for her life, shoulder checking the dagger-wielding Forsaken from just minutes earlier without a second thought. She hooked a sharp right out of the alley and stumbled into Theron almost immediately.

"Thank god," Jes whimpered, crumpling against his chest. The poor woman was wheezing at this point, from all of the overexertion and Theron hesitantly rested an arm around her.

"Enough of this nonsense," Theron snapped. "Can't you see she's had enough, Aedyndel?"

The brown-haired elf who grabbed her and started the whole wild goose chase, came out of the alleyway with the Forsaken rogue in a headlock on one arm, and a squirming puppy in the other. "Apologies. Weapons," he replied, glaring pointedly at his undead captive, "weren't part of the game."

Jesika was dumbfounded at first, then livid beyond imagination- so much so, she hardly noticed that Duke had been let go and was bounding to her side. "Your BROTHER was behind this?!" she roared, exhaustion forgotten. "You piece of shit. You reeking pile of garbage, how DARE you!" She lunged at Aedyndel, brandishing Theron's skinning knife. She didn't get far.

"Jesika, calm yourself," Theron commanded as he held her back. He retrieved his knife and sheathed it. "How did you even get that?"

"I grabbed it off your belt," Jes panted, staring daggers at his brother. "I dropped my knife when his orc attacked me."

Theron pulled her back to his side. "What was the point of this, Brother?"

Aedyndel reached behind a nearby building and yanked out the blood elf woman by her ear. "Well," he began, obviously upset with his apparent underlings, "I wanted to scare you a little bit by 'kidnapping' your little girlfriend here. I specified no weapons and no intentionally harming her- it was supposed to be a prank."

"Oh, well in that case," Jesika said sarcastically, raising her hands in a mocking 'all's good' gesture.

Aedyndel rolled his eyes. "You weren't supposed to be so slippery. And you said she wasn't trained, Theron."

"She's not," Theron sneered.

The Blood Elf and Forsaken in Aedyndel's grasp seemed particularly hurt by that. The orc, on the other hand… he trotted over, beaming through his bloody face and holding Jesika's weapon. "Well fought!" he praised, offering the knife, hilt first, "I'm impressed!"

Jes took the blade with a weak smile. "Thanks… sorry I broke your nose."

"You're an idiot, Aedyndel," Theron scolded. "This is precisely why I didn't want to involve you! That stunt was completely unnecessary and far too dangerous."

Aedyndel scoffed. "Relax, Theron. My students got practice, a lesson in humility, and I was able to see Jesika here perform under pressure." The elven man smiled and continued with a hint of smugness; "She can start her rogue training with the guild in the next few days."

Theron bristled. "Absolutely not. She will be joining the hunters."

His brother chuckled heartily. "We'll see, but for now, everyone head home. Let's get you both some food. As for these two," he said, tightening his head lock and ear hold. "You both will give me laps until I send for you, and you're on dishes tonight. Go."

Both of them groaned, but the Forsaken dutifully began running while the blood elf stayed back, agitatedly watching the orc and troll as they walked toward home.

"Can I at least wash the dirt from my eyes first?" she huffed, glaring at Jesika with fel-green eyes. "I still can't see clearly. And it stings."

Aedyndel lowered himself to her eye-level and fixed her with a hard stare. "Maybe it will serve as a reminder to react faster and obey my rules," he stated in a low voice. "Run."

Aedyndel lead the way into the Cleft of Shadow, followed closely by Jesika and Duke. Theron and Mira kept their distance. Jes hardly noticed Theron's eyes watching her, far too distracted by her throbbing head and burning arm to pay anything any mind. What she did notice, was that the Cleft corridors were much larger than depicted in-game. They came up to the fourth brazier, plenty of tunnel ahead, and stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" Jesika asked, softly so as to not disturb her budding headache.

Aedyndel revealed a charming smile. "We're here. Can't you see, Doll?"

She rolled her eyes, about to make a smart aleck remark when the door came into focus. It didn't really look like a door per se; Jes only saw a faint seam in the wall of rock, but Aedyndel noticed the realization on her face and grinned ear to ear.

"She can see it," he said with a triumphant look at Theron.

The blonde brother lifted his chin and snorted, "That means nothing. Anyone can see it if they look hard enough."

Aedyndel chuckled. "Whatever you say. It didn't look like she tried that hard."He swung open the door to reveal a dimly lit corridor sparsely lined with torches. The trio proceeded, Aedyndel in the lead, and Mira and Duke bringing up the rear. Jesika whimpered softly; muscle fatigue was finally crashing down on her. Everything hurt, but the throbbing headache and burning pain in her shoulder were beginning to make things particularly unbearable. Coupling that with her exhaustion resulted in the girl practically falling asleep as they walked.

"Jesika?"

"Is she conscious?"

"Well, she's standing, Theron, so I would assume so. Jesika!"

Jesika's eyes fluttered open to see that they were at a split in the corridor. Both brothers were staring at her. Aedyndel was gently shaking her shoulders.

"Jesika!" he called again.

She sucked air through her teeth. "Ow! My arm!"

Aedyndel retracted his hands. "Sorry, I was talking to you and you just stopped responding."

"You were standing with your eyes closed," Theron added. "Are you alright?"

Jesika rubbed her temples. "Yeah, I'm fine… just tired." She took a step forward and would have fallen if not for Aedyndel's quick reflexes. He lifted her upright and wrapped an arm around her waist to support her weight, allowing her to relax against his side.

"See what your little stunt accomplished?" Theron hissed.

"You're pretty quick to pass blame," Aedyndel countered. "What did you do, run her all the way here from Razor Hill?"

"That is quite rich coming from the man who just ran her ragged!"

"Alright, let's clear something up-"

"Would you two just fucking stuff it already?" Jesika snapped groggily. "You bicker like old men. I'm tired. The adrenaline has worn off- I'm crashing." She peeled away from Aedyndel's body and rubbed her face. Any more time in his embrace and she would have promptly fell asleep. "I can make it on my own, thanks."

Aedyndel chuckled and winked. "You sure?"

Jesika sputtered a moment, taken aback.

"Aedyndel," Theron growled, "must you always be so cavalier?"

"I'm only joking. Relax, Brother," he replied. "Right this way." The blood elf released Jesika's waist and continued down the right hand side of the split in the corridor, though Jes could've sworn he lingered.

Feh, what a tramp.

"This," said Aedyndel as they came upon a second fork, "is the only part of our space that isn't co-ed. To your left is the women's showers and to your right, is the men's." He led them through the left side and another rocky doorway that opened up to what could only really be described as a cave.

Jesika observed the area. It was moderately sized with a number of stalls lining the left wall. All of the stalls consisted of two walls of rock and a curtain. She counted only seven, with two on the right that neighbored shelving for discarded clothing. She slid her foot on the floor of smooth rock and was surprised to find that it lacked any visible drains, yet there was no slipperiness or pooled water. Curious, Jesika knelt and placed her palm against it. It was cool to the touch and, aside from a few scattered water droplets, almost completely dry. Now that she thought about it, the air was not dank or musty in any sense either and, quite frankly, it lacked moisture for a shower room. The ventilation system was astonishing, wherever it was.

Aedyndel squatted beside her, amused. "Innovative, isn't it?" he asked, sweeping his own hand along the surface. "The guild had it soaked and polished with some Goblin-made fluid I found in Gadgetzan. Hyper absorbent and much cheaper than paying the same group to install a drainage system." The elf puffed his chest a bit proudly.

"Wow, it sure takes someone so super smart to find something like that," Jesika commented, oddly chipper.

"That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"I'm surprised you weren't too busy jerking yourself off to notice."

Theron snickered. "She is a bit crass when she is tired."

"Then I suppose I'll show you to your rooms." Aedyndel stood. "There are three exits-slash-entrances," he explained. "There's that one we just used, that provides access to the Cleft; there's one straight ahead, opposite us, that provides access to our indoor training arena; and there's a third and final door at the top of these stairs-" Aedyndel gestured to a staircase built into the right side wall, nestled between the two shower stalls. "-that gives access to what I'm sure will be Jesika's favourite right now: the bedrooms."

"I feel like you're alluding to something dirty right now and, somehow, I'm too tired to care."

"Don't encourage him, Jesika…"

Aedyndel laughed. "Lighten up, Theron."

This time it was Jesika who stifled laughter. Both brothers stared inquisitively. "Get it?" she asked. "LIGHTen, up?"

Aedyndel and Theron snorted and groaned, respectively.

While Jes was still subtly snort-laughing at her own pun, Theron pleaded to his brother; "Please show her to her room before I learn anything more about the sleep-deprived side of her personality."

^v^v^v^

Aedyndel, though very thoroughly amused by Jesika's antics, obliged to his brother's request without protest. He started up the steps, only to pause at the sound of whining. The rogue turned to see Jesika's puppy, Duke, as he heard her say, sitting at the bottom step, unwilling to go on. Despite her exhaustion, the human picked him up with a sigh and carried him up to the top of the stairs like a baby, where he assumed she would set him down. However, Jesika seemed to ponder a moment before hitching him into a more comfortable position. Aedyndel raised his eyebrows.

He could see now, why Theron insisted that she join the hunters; not too long ago, she was sleep walking and about to collapse, and yet, when the pup finally lost its strength as well, she mustered whatever energy she had left to care for him. Jesika's love for her pet was palpable, but her perception and skills… she picked up on his apprentices before even Theron knew what was amiss… and escaped all four- five if he included himself. Aedyndel's pride still stung from losing her, but it was clear that she had talent and he would not let that be squandered by turning her into a hunter. He decided to speak with Theron when the time came.

As Aedyndel stepped through the doorway and began his tour of the barracks, Jesika seemed to get more and more distant. Her eyes became dull and their lids drooped- she needed rest. He could tell in the way she carried herself that she would stay on her feet as long as needed, without complaint, so he swiftly guided her into her room.

"And, here we are," he said, finally. The blood elf watched as Jesika stood still for a moment, absent, before eventually meandering over to her bed and placing Duke on the mattress. She was far away… just going through the motions of getting settled, that much was obvious- at least to him.

"Jesika, would you like to eat before resting?" Theron asked, well-meaning.

No answer.

"...Jesika?"

Again, no answer.

"Jesika." he said, more firmly this time.

"Theron," Aedyndel murmured, "leave her be. It's too much right now. She's getting overwhelmed."

Just as Theron was about to speak his rebuttal, Duke stirred. They both watched as the unusually large puppy lumbered over to his mistress and pressed his nose to her cheek. When she didn't respond, he licked, and kept licking until she came back.

"Jesika?" Theron asked for the fourth time, more tender now. He reached for her.

Jesika looked to suddenly realize what was happening and withdrew from his touch. "I need to sleep," she said plainly.

"What about-" Theron was cut off as Jes began to usher them both out of the room and slowly shut the door.

"Thank you for the room and the tour, but I'm very tired and must rest. Goodnight."

"But it's only-"

The door shut, along with his protests.

Theron stood in silent shock outside of Jesika's room, much to Aedyndel's amusement.

"What's so funny?" the hunter snapped.

"You know… for 50 years old, you're still pretty naive, little brother," Aedyndel commented as he strode toward the doorway to the Common Area.

"How on Azeroth do you mean?!"

"You've still yet to figure out when a woman wants to be left alone."

Theron sputtered and stomped after his brother.