Scouting The Barrens

"Another group of orcs." Melonara said, crouching down beside a couple of broken arrows and some blood spots. "They got a hit on whatever they were hunting, but it must have some tough hide to have broken these arrows."

Athrodar looked around the barren plains they were currently in, noticing a couple of Zhevra and Plainstriders but nothing more. "The only things I can see wouldn't do that to an arrow unless it was a very weak arrow."

"Could be those giant beast things we saw." Melonara suggested, looking over to him. "But they seem to travel in groups."

"Kodo." Athrodar said, making her frown and laughing a little. "They're called Kodo. But yes, I think you're right. They have traveled in groups, at least the ones we have seen." He began to follow the trail of blood, stopping when he saw more broken arrows. "This one might have been alone though." He said, noticing only one set of tracks.

"Or they're not very loyal beasts and when one of them get attacked, the others flee?" Melonara suggested, watching Athrodar raise an eyebrow at her. "No, okay... Fair point. So do we follow them or do we inform the General of this and try to avoid them?"

"We'll leave a warning arrow." Athrodar told her, taking out an arrow and a red ribbon, tying the ribbon to the projectile and firing it at the floor next to the broken arrows and blood. "Let's return to the path and keep an eye out for anything else."

"By the way," Melonara began, walking beside him. "I'd like to apologise for what we have done over the last week, Anya, Clea and I. I feel like we may have pushed things a bit too far and we'll leave you alone for the time being."

"I don't believe you." Athrodar told her, getting a laugh from his second.

"Smart." Melonara said, walking beside him. "So what are we going to do when we come across a group of orcs we can't avoid?"

"We'll come up with a plan to take them out." Athrodar told her, watching Melonara's reaction and noticing she didn't fully agree with that. "Unless we can avoid them, I don't know if there's another choice."

"I just don't like it when we've got no other option except fight. Especially against the orcs." She told him. "You get blinded by your hatred for the Amani whenever we fight them, I don't want you to lose control against the orcs as well."

Athrodar smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Melonara. But I'll be fine."

"I'll still look out for you, Athrodar." Melonara told him, watching him continue to smile. "Are all, you're my big brother now." She teased, poking her tongue out when she heard him sigh. "Anya's plan, don't blame me."

"I suppose if you're comfortable with calling me your brother after what we've done together." Athrodar flinched when he saw Melonara go to punch him but held it back inches from his face. "I-I'm just saying!"

"And how many times do I have to tell you, stop bringing it up!" Melonara yelled, punching him on the arm anyway. "Idiot..."

"Did he accept?" Liadrin asked, following Vandellor around like a lost puppy for most of the day, waiting for him to answer her question.

"Didn't I tell you the answer?" Vandellor asked her in return, making Liadrin groan.

"No!" She yelled, taking hold of his arm and holding onto it tightly. "Pleeeaaaase! I promise I won't say anything if he has said yes!"

"And if he said no?" Vandellor now asked her, grinning when he felt Liadrin let go of his arm.

"Father... He... He didn't say no, r-right?" She asked, knowing that would be the worst thing in the world to her, especially since her heart was set on this. "P-please tell me he said yes! I... I want to join Athrodar and all the rangers on the front line... It's bad enough I have to stay here whenever we are attacked, especially when I know I can do something to help!"

Vandellor laughed lightly. "You help plenty when it comes to an attack. I rely on you to help me heal the wounded and you do a superb job at that."

"But I know I can do more for Silvermoon on the front lines as a Paladin!" Liadrin cried, getting both upset and annoyed that her father continued to smile and laugh the more agitated she got. "Tell meeeee!" She yelled, shaking him back and forth whilst he tried to read the book in his hands.

"You're acting like a child again, Liadrin." Vandellor told her calmly, smiling to himself when Liadrin continued to shake him back and forth. "Continue like this and I'll never tell you what he said. And if he did say yes, I would choose someone else to lead them and you'll never be a paladin."

Liadrin gasped at her father. "You wouldn't dare!"

"I guess you'll find out if you keep bugging me and being impatient." Vandellor told her, glancing over to Liadrin who began to pout. "Keep pulling that face and it will be stuck like that if a cold wind hits it."

Liadrin stopped pouting but then began to narrow her eyes at her father. "You're making that up."

Vandellor laughed and closed his book. "Of course I am. Liadrin, you're a healer, you should have known that the moment I said it."

"Ugh, I hate it when you do that!" Liadrin groaned, folding her arms and looking away from him. "Make me feel like an idiot by making up fake illnesses and afflictions."

"Stop being so gullible and I will." Vandellor told her, kissing Liadrin on the temple and watching her smile at the action when he pulled away. "And he agreed. You're to start training next week with twenty other priests and priestesses who want to go down this path with you."

Liadrin squealed and hugged her father tightly. "He said yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She had the biggest smile on her face as she continued to hug him, feeling Vandellor hug her in return. "You're the best father ever."

"Now remember, you have to train hard and not get distracted by anything or anyone, got it?" Vandellor saw Liadrin smile and nod. "Good." He then said, kissing her on the forehead. "Halduron will be the one instructing you all on how to use a sword, the actual paladin side of the training will have to be self taught I'm afraid. We don't have any paladins here and the nearest human paladin is in Stormwind."

"That's okay, I have been doing some research ever since we spoke about this, so I think I'm good to go!" Liadrin smiled up at her father he chuckled at her eagerness.

"Okay, okay. I can see that you have done your research and you're raring to go, but you have a week to find twenty like-minded peers." The moment he saw her begin to think, he knew he had made the right decision to go with Liadrin as the leader of the Paladins.

"I have a few names already." Liadrin told him, watching her father smile down at her.

"Then you best go tell them then." Vandellor said, pushing Liadrin slightly. "Go on, off you go to tell them."

"Okay, love you dad!" Liadrin yelled with as much excitement as she could muster.

"I love you too, Liadrin." He yelled back to her, watching her leave Sunfury spire.

"Another arrow." Clea said, picking it up off the ground and looking over to the General. "We should have avoided them all by now, right?"

"I hope so." Sylvanas told her, looking around the nearby surroundings. "I don't see anyone or anything in the area, so we should be safe." Her attention turned to Prince Kael'thas when he made his way to the front. "What is it?" She asked him when she saw his focused gaze in the mountains to the west.

"I can sense something... Magical." Kael'thas told them, glancing over to Jaina who stood beside him and looked in the same direction.

"So can I." She said. "We're meant to go towards it, I know it."

"We should camp here for a few hours." Sylvanas suggested, looking over to Clea. "We've been traveling for hours and the weather isn't getting any colder, so it's best not to risk heat stroke."

Clea bowed her head to the General. "I'll inform the others."

"Thank you, Clea. I need you to find Velonara and tell her to find Athrodar and Melonara. They need to be updated on their mission and rest here for a while before we start to move out again."

"I'll go find her, General." Clea said, bowing her head again and leaving to find the Ranger.

Half an hour passed by with most of it focused on setting up camp and patrols to keep an eye out for the orcs roaming these lands. "Setting up camp already?" Athrodar asked when both he and Melonara returned to the main group.

"You two have the advantage of moving quicker and resting in the shade." Sylvanas told him, watching Melonara bow her head to her. "We have to keep moving at a snails pace with little to no rests in between camps."

"That's a good point." Athrodar said, stepping forward and hugging the General, smiling when she hesitated at first and then hugged him shortly after. "You can still hug me whilst you're in 'General mode' right?"

Sylvanas laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "That's fine. We're camping at the moment, so we can do a lot more than hug."

Athrodar smirked and glanced over to Melonara, watching her stand there uncomfortably. "You can go, by the way."

"Don't wait up." Melonara yelled the moment she began to run off.

"How was it for you out there?" Sylvanas asked Athrodar, closing her eyes and pressing her head against his. "Did you enjoy exploring a new place?"

"It's really different here than I'm used to." Athrodar told her, moving his hands to her waist. "No trees to hide in, only open spaces and dry air."

"Aw, you poor baby." Sylvanas teased, grinning when she heard him sigh. "Luckily you can hide in my tent until we have to leave."

Athrodar chuckled and closed his eyes, feeling Sylvanas stroke her fingers across his face. "I would love to hide in your tent, even if it was for an hour or two."

"Come with me then." Sylvanas purred, dragging the Lieutenant along with her as they made their way to her tent.

The moment they entered her tent, Sylvanas pushed Athrodar onto the sleeping bag she would use, giggling when he groaned the moment he was on top of it. "Sorry, forgot it's not my bed back home." She told him, dropping to her knees and climbing over and then on top of him. "Since we're taking this slow, I'm only going to kiss you now instead of taking things further."

Athrodar smiled and was kissed by Sylvanas hard on the lips, rolling over so she was pinned beneath him. "I hope this isn't awkward for you, General. Pinned by your Lieutenant in your own tent must have some sort of damage towards your ego."

"Depends on the Lieutenant." Sylvanas cooed, stroking a couple fingers along his cheek again. "The one who is with me right now is perfectly fine to keep me pinned underneath him."

Athrodar chuckled and rolled off to the side, closing his eyes and not noticing the frown on his General's face. "Good, unfortunately I am exhausted and in need of a break for an hour or two."

Sylvanas smiled and watched him fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. "You really were exhausted." She whispered, stroking a hand through his hair. "If we did what I had planned, you would have fallen asleep midway through it." She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll watch over you whilst you sleep, don't worry about it."

"Did you tell him?" Dael'Thaelas asked his son, standing beside him as they both stood in Tranquillien.

"He's on his way to the Hinterlands now with his company." Aerinan told him, watching his father closely when he sensed something was off with him. "How did the King take the Amani news?"

"How you'd expect. He was furious we let them leave so easily and he wasn't alone when I told him." Dael'Thaelas told him. "The most embarrassing thing about it was he yelled at me in front of them. He has never yelled at me in the many centuries we've known each other."

"So what do we do now?" Aerinan asked.

"We wait here until Tahnir tells us the Amani are leaving to return to Zul'Aman with a bolstered force." Dael'Thaelas said, calling over his second.

"That could be months." Aerinan muttered, watching his father's second report in and listening in to their orders to scout Zul'Aman. "What do we do until then?"

"Return home, train, sit here. I don't care, Aerinan. It's your choice until we get word of the Amani returning." Dael'Thaelas began to walk away, leaving his son to his thoughts.

Aerinan sighed and watched him walk away. "This whole thing is troubling you." He muttered to himself. "I fear you're going to lose yourself when they return to these forests."

"I don't want to leave, I'm comfortable here." Athrodar muttered, waking up slowly and opening his eyes, smiling when he saw the perfect view as he had his head resting on her chest. "And I have the best view in the world right now."

Sylvanas chuckled lightly and held him closer. "Then take it all in. We're not leaving until the very last minute."

"Shame... I was going to have some fun." Athrodar whispered to her, feeling Sylvanas let go of him and laughing to himself.

"Then do it." Sylvanas told him, watching him closely. "Because I think I'm going to enjoy it too."

"I'm sure you will." Athrodar told her, planting a kiss on her neck. "I feel like you deserve a reward for how much you've told me about yourself." He whispered, planting several more kisses on her neck and chuckling to himself when he heard her gasp. "Of course you know the deal, the more you share the more I'll treat you until you've shared enough."

"A cruel game." Sylvanas told him, holding him as close to her as she could and biting her bottom lip when he continued to make a trail down her neck and onto her chest with his kisses. "B-but a fun one."

"I thought you'd approve." Athrodar told her, laughing a little whilst he pulled her tunic up and over her head. "You've been hinting for days that you've wanted this, I thought I could hold out but you're too good at seducing me."

"Part of my Windrunner charm." Sylvanas cooed, holding his head against her breasts when he began to kiss them. "I don't want to push you, but we've got five minutes, maybe ten."

"Ten minutes?" Athrodar asked rhetorically. "That's more than enough time to get you weak in the knees for the next few hours before we camp for the night"

Sylvanas let out a small moan and bit her bottom lip when Athrodar continued his trail of kisses down onto her stomach, giggling lightly when she felt him hook his fingers around the waistband of her leggings. "If you do that, I will have to punish you for tampering with my ability to lead."

"Punish me?" Athrodar asked, grinning at her. "If it involves similar circumstances, I don't think I'd mind."

"Mmm... So the naughty boy wants to be punished, huh?" Sylvanas purred, giggling when he made his way up her body again and kissed her. "Stop, we don't have a lot of time!" She cried, laughing the whole time when he continued to kiss her. "Oh, you just never listen to me, do you?"

"Not whilst we're here." Athrodar told her, gazing into her eyes and watching her do the same back. "Whilst we're in here, alone, I like to think of us as equals." He felt her place a hand on his face and kissing her passionately.

"I want you to think of us as equals all the time when we're not doing our jobs." Sylvanas whispered, placing her other hand on his face. "I don't want you to think we're not equals outside of rank. You're the one elf I want to spend my entire life with, nobody else."

Athrodar opened his mouth to speak but was stopped when they both heard someone clearing their throat outside the tent. "Five minutes may have been a tad optimistic." Athrodar muttered, hearing Sylvanas laugh and then sigh. "And for the record, I believe you're the one elf I want to spend my entire life with too."

"General, we're packing up." Clea said, not daring to enter the tent after watching both Athrodar and Sylvanas walk into it and noticing none of them leave. "And then we're moving out."

"You're going to have to make this up to me." Sylvanas told Athrodar, sitting up and resting her head on his shoulder when he sat up too. "I don't know where we're going next. I know there's a forest to the north, but both the Prince and Lady Proudmoore can sense magic to the west and believe that's where we're going next."

"Do you want me to scout up north, see if there's anything there?" Athrodar asked, getting no response except her taking hold of his hand. "Sylvanas?"

"And if you find trouble up there whilst we're heading west?" Sylvanas asked him in return. "I don't know if I can spare anyone to go with you as protection. It would just be you and Melonara."

"If there is a forest up north, we will be safe in the trees and away from any danger on the forest floor." Athrodar reminded her, hearing her sigh.

"I don't want to get in the way of your combat effectiveness and I know you're at your best as a scout, but a small part of me doesn't want you to do that." Sylvanas admitted, looking over to him and watching him smile at her a little. "I'll allow you both to go north and find anything you can that could help us. Maybe find out if the orcs are as big of a threat as I think they are."

"I'll report back to you in a few days if I find anything." Athrodar told her, both of them standing up and getting ready to leave. "No longer than a week." He added, having Sylvanas take hold of his hand before he left the tent.

"One last thing." Sylvanas told him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging the Lieutenant tightly. "Don't try to find trouble, stay safe and return to me."

Athrodar smiled and hugged her back. "You sound like you're worried about me." He whispered, laughing when she sighed. "Again, it makes you very cute, General."

"This is why I don't tell you anything." Sylvanas said, making Athrodar laugh again. "Still... Promise me you'll return to me safely?"

"I promise." Athrodar whispered back to her, pulling back a little only so he could press his head against hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sylvanas replied, moving her arms around his neck and pressing her whole body up against his whilst keeping their heads pressed together. "The sooner we get through whatever this is, the sooner we can return home and you can hold me tightly in your arms whilst we sleep on my bed."

"Naked?" Athrodar asked, hoping she would agree.

"No other way, so of course." Sylvanas told in him return, grinning when he smiled. "Now go, find out what is happening up north and report back to us quickly if it's a better option than whatever is to the west."

"Hard to know if it will be, but I'll still come back within a week." Athrodar said, gazing into her eyes again. "I love you." He whispered, kissing her one last time before leaving the tent.

"I love you too." She whispered back to him seconds before he left.

Athrodar made his way through the camp, looking for and then finding Melonara who was unfortunately surrounded by Anya and Clea. "We need to leave." He told her, making the ranger frown.

"I thought we were leaving in a few minutes?" She asked, watching him shake his head. "What do we have to do now?"

"We're heading north whilst the rest of them head west." Athrodar told her, hearing his second sigh. "I know, we barely got any rest."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Anya asked, looking and sounding sad at the fact. "But we didn't get to spend any time together."

"Generals orders." Athrodar told her, watching Melonara pick up her bow and sling it over her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"I suppose so..." She muttered, following Athrodar for a couple of steps before looking back to Anya and Clea. "I'll talk to you when I get back." She said, being hugged by Anya and then Clea. "Though I don't know when that will be." She told them when they pulled away from their hug.

"I look forward to it." Anya told her, smiling brightly at the ranger.

Once they left, Athrodar glanced over to Melonara who looked sad about leaving. "Growing close to them, aren't you?" He asked, watching her look up and over to him.

"I am." She told him, smiling a little. "They're as close as I can get to having sisters."

"We'll be gone for no longer than a week." He told his second. "We're just heading north to see if it's safer than here for the humans, if the orcs are as big of a threat to them as the General thinks and to just scout out the area."

"This better be worth it." Melonara told him, getting a small laugh from him in return.

"I'm with you there." He agreed. "I don't exactly like being away from the General and the rest of them, especially in a foreign land."

Melonara smiled and placed a hand on his back. "The quicker we get there and make sure it's safe, the quicker you can return to your General and have your hands all over each other again." She teased, hearing him sigh in return.

"Let's just get this over with." He told her, hearing her laugh beside him whilst he looked back to the camp that was being packed up. "Who knows, we might find something really cool up north. There's supposedly a forest up there, so that's a great change."

"A forest means no longer staying in the sun." Melonara muttered, smiling brightly. "That means water and shade!" She then said, excited for the journey up north now. "We need to get there in one piece, otherwise I will kill you." She now told him, glaring at her Lieutenant.

"I'm sure we'll make it there in one piece." Athrodar told her. "I'm excited to finally return to a forest too. I'm hating this constant burning sun on my head."

"Then why are we walking?" Melonara now asked him, taking hold of his wrist and dragging him along the moment she began to jog. "Let's go!"