Chapter re-posted. Read and Enjoy.

The journey to Northrend was longer than Kia would have liked, but the trip itself was actually fairly pleasant and very educational.

The captain of the vessel was a night elf named Vissia and though she did recognize Kia as Malfurion's daughter and treated her with respect, she didn't act any differently towards her than she did any of the other passengers on her ship. In fact, when Kia asked if there was anything she could do to help, the captain jumped at the chance. She gave Kia jobs to do around the ship and did all she could to teach Kia what life was like when you lived most of it on the sea.

When they finally docked at Valiance Keep, Kia felt like her trip had already been worthwhile and she hadn't even made it to Amber Ledge yet. Shortly after arriving, she was met at the inn by a young man dressed in long red and blue robes. His black hair was neatly cut and he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen in a full human. He was very handsome. He smiled at her approach, no doubt he had been waiting for her arrival.

"Kia Stormrage. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Attros Balon. I'm one of the Magi of the Kirin Tor. The Archmage sent me to escort you to the Amber Ledge." He said, bowing.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Attros. This is Quinn." She said, patting the sabercat on the head. Quinn chirped a few times.

"Ah yes, I was told you'd probably be accompanied by a cat. I've made arrangements to travel to Amber Ledge by land, since I doubt your cat would like flying in one of the gnomish aircraft here that would be big enough to carry her. I don't even like riding in them." he joked.

"I'd very much like to keep my paws on the ground, he's correct." Quinn confirmed.

Kia smiled down at her friend. "Quinn very much likes the idea of walking to our destination, yes. Besides, it's been a long voyage and I think she might want to do some hunting along the way. She didn't find sea travel much to her tastes."

Attros nodded in agreement. "I'd Imagine not. I think the local wildlife should please her. There's plenty of variety for her to choose from." Attros said, leading the way to the stables where two horses were being prepped. "I anticipated your cat's need to hunt and have arranged for a horse for your transportation, so your cat will be free to roam as she likes."

Kia nodded appreciatively. "That will do fine, just let me talk to the horses first. I've found horses aren't always comfortable around Quinn. I'll reassure them they'll be quite safe traveling with her."

Kia walked up to the horses, standing so both could see her, while her bags were placed in their saddlebags. "Hello my friends. I'd like to thank you for taking us on our journey."

The horse on her right, a black stallion look up at her. "You can understand us?"

"Quite well, yes. I wanted to let you know the sabercat who'll be traveling us is a friend. She would never harm you. You have my promise." Kia said softly, running a hand down the necks of each of the horses.

The second horse, a white mare, nodded her head up and down. "I believe you. You smell like a friend."

Kia smiled at the horses. "I am. We'll start our journey to Amber Ledge when you're both ready to depart."

Attros stood watching the exchange between Kia and the horses. She spoke softly and delicately to them and they seemed to be talking back, though it only sounded like neighs and whinnies to him. He took the time to really look at Kia. She was easily identifiable as a mix breed. She had all the features of a night elf, but none of them were as distinct. He found the young woman incredibly attractive and doubted he was the first man to think so.

Kia returned to his side, a sweet smile on her face.

"Are we ready to depart?" He asked.

"Almost. Bayla, the white mare, says her saddle is a little too loose. It's going to rub her belly raw if they don't tighten it down a little."

The stable boy standing nearby didn't even need to be asked, he instantly hurried over, securing the saddle. The horse neighed in reply.

"Now we're ready to depart." Kia confirmed.

Attros smiled at her and Kia couldn't help but think it was a nice smile.

"It must be amazing, being able to speak to them. Can you talk to all animals?" He asked, mounting the stallion as Kia mounted the mare. Quinn trotted up beside them and the horses looked over, but they didn't show any signs for fear. They started out the front gate and headed out toward the cobblestone road. All things considered, the road was fairly smooth.

"As far as I know. I've never tried to talk to a dragon before, though. I'm excited to try. Their a bit of a grey area for my gift. They're not bipedal beings, but their minds are more advanced and some of them can actually take a bipedal form, so I'm not sure how things will work. I'm assuming most of the dragons around here can't take a bipedal form."

Attros nodded. "Correct. Most of the red dragons in this area can't speak our language or take on a bipedal form, so we're just as excited as you are to see if you can communicate with them. The dragon most skilled at communicating with us was killed a few weeks ago during a trip to Coldarra. All we know now is something is really unsettling the flight. If this partnership between the Kirin Tor and the red dragonflight is to continue, we need to know what's bothering them and if we can do anything to help. It really is a delicate situation."

The journey took most of the day. Kia and Attros maintained a conversation through most of the trip, talking about her past and his. Kia found him as easy to talk to as he was on the eyes. As the Amber Ledge began to come into view, he started to tell her all about it and the surrounding area. It turned out the whole of Borean Tundra had a rather violent, but interesting, history. Kia took it all in. This trip was just getting better and better.

To Be Continued...