The group had traveled in relative silence for two days, even Nasorya was quiet. It was all business as everyone kept watch for threats, be they centaur or otherwise. While Gylledra found it bothersome that Varok was suddenly so distant, she thought perhaps it was for the best. They'd been distracted when the attack happened, and she wondered if she would have been alerted sooner if they had not been…preoccupied. Her cycle of self-blame had yet to be broken.

"Did I miss something?" Nasorya whispered, walking close beside Gylledra.

"Hm?"

"The two of you haven't said five words to each other since…the fire." There was legitimate concern on Nasorya's face.

"I suppose watching someone you'd felt some passing fondness for burn an entire camp full of people alive will put a damper on the desire for further canoodling. I told him I was a monster, I suppose he didn't believe me." Gylledra muttered, the words laced with bitterness and disappointment.

"Passing fondness…you're out of your mind. He's a fucking orc, Gyll, do you know what they do for fun? Violence. They do violence for fun." Nasorya went on.

"Nas…"

"Canoodling? That's what you were doing?"

"Please, don't." Gylledra sighed, feeling terrible enough as it was without having her choices picked apart as well.

"But…" Nasorya looked back to where Varok was bringing up the rear. "If it helps, he looks as miserable as you do."

"That's just his face…he always looks like that…"

"Want me to talk to him?"

"I will cover you in wards and strap you to a kodo." Gylledra snapped at her. Nasorya made an irritated noise, rolling her eyes.

"Did it occur to you to maybe have a conversation?" She asked.

"Would you cease hounding me if I asked you to stop?"

"Probably not." Nasorya put an arm around Gylledra's shoulders, giving her a squeeze. "You know I can't stand seeing you…sad and…surly."

"I'm not surly."

"She says, with surliness."

"I think it's probably better this way." Gylledra offered. "Such attachments are distracting and in battle…distractions are weaknesses that can be exploited…"

"Really? That's the route you're going with this? You think about things far too much."

"Perhaps, Nasorya, you don't think about things enough."

"Yes, and do you see how happy I am?"

Gylledra noticed that as the argument intensified, those around them had moved away somewhat and she wasn't sure if it was because they wanted to give them privacy or if they simply feared her. The latter did not help matters at all and she just shook her head, berating herself silently for having been so foolish. She glowered and marched onward, distantly aware and grateful that Nasorya had opted to stop pushing her about things.

She flinched, feeling a hand on her shoulder suddenly and was startled to find Varok walking beside her. Immediately, Gylledra looked around for Nasorya and spotted her where she was vigorously shaking her head to indicate she had nothing to do with it.

"Tired of riding?" She asked Varok, looking ahead.

"It's good to walk, too much riding make me stiff." He replied and Gylledra pointedly ignored the glaringly obvious opening for a joke.

"I do not burn camps and villages on a whim." She told him without preamble. They slowed somewhat, allowing the rest of the group to get ahead of them.

"I did not say that you do."

"I saw the look on your face when you thought…when you did think so." She glanced over at him again and he was watching her.

"It crossed my mind." He admitted.

"I cannot blame you, we are still practically strangers…"

"Except that we are not." He stopped her and took her by the shoulders to look up at him. "You know that we are not."

"So?" She breathed, realizing that the way he had looked at her that night had hurt.

"So?" He frowned. "After what we spoke of…"

"For that moment when you looked at me as that camp burned, I felt like a monster."

"It was not really you I looked at, I saw myself and my own atrocities, my disgust is for my crimes, I should not have let you think it was you." He told her. "I am sorry for that." They started walking again, both still aware of their surroundings, there would be no more surprise attacks.

"I have no idea what I am doing." She told him, not sure if she meant in general or with him…or both. "There is no plan…no knowing what is coming…"

"That's to be expected, I suppose. We've put a lot of trust into Thrall and his vision." He replied.

"And…I could never have foreseen that I might find someone who…" Gylledra glanced over and he made a noise of agreement. Her voice was very quiet when she spoke again. "I did not expect…"

"Nor I."

"So." She cleared her throat. They'd discussed themselves and whatever happening between them quite enough already, she thought. There was much at work that was far bigger and more important than their personal dealings. "We make our way to Stonetalon Peak where we hope to meet up with Thrall and the rest of the orcs, where he is hoping to find his oracle who will tell him of the Horde's destiny here in these lands."

"That is my understanding of it."

"We must stop here for a rest." She announced, drawing confused looks from the orcs and tauren. They had stopped for food and water only three or so hours earlier. "We need to rejoin the others sooner rather than later, and I know how we can move faster."

"What are you planning?" Varok asked, the group halting as she had asked. Her eyes flashed and around her hands, tendrils of bright arcane curled and undulated. She moved and shaped the power as though molding clay. The magic itself took the shape of a table with food laid out upon it. A small, whirling vortex appeared in their midst, becoming a shining well with clear, sparkling water.

"This food and drink will give you the energy and endurance to travel faster and longer." She told them, though they all looked a little wary. "You have seen what I can do with shadow, this magic bears no trace of it, I assure you." The orcs had known her longer and knew that she would not do anything that might harm or taint them, and they took the food and filled their skins and cups with the water, as did Nasorya of course Varok followed suit and then at last, Baine took some and ate, which prompted the other two escorts to do the same.

"It is delicious…" The female tauren, Natane, commented, smiling. As they ate, Gylledra went to each kodo, giving them food and drink as well and once everyone had partaken, the table and the well vanished. They watched as she grew still for a long moment, her eyes glowing bright white. Slowly, she raised her hands as though cupping water then with a quick gesture, several equine creatures materialized, stomping ethereal hooves and sniffing the air.

"We will move faster if we are all mounted." She told them, her eyes returning to normal before she reached out to ruffle the unearthly mane of one of the creatures. She effortlessly hopped up onto the back of one. "Do not worry, they are not of this plane, they will bear the weight even of orcs with no trouble."

"I'm calling mine Bubble." Nasorya said, mounting up and Gylledra smiled, turning to Varok who was staring at the one nearest to him, touching it, as though marveling that something made of magic was a tangible thing.

"I suppose this means we won't ride together then." He spoke so only she could hear and cocked an eyebrow, but smirked.

"No." Gylledra shook her head. "I'm sorry to say, but there can be no more distractions." She tugged the reins and the creature obeyed. Those who were not riding before climbed onto the backs of the creatures, even Baine, who brought it near to where she sat on hers.

"These are elemental." He observed. Nasorya galloped by with a delighted shriek.

"Yes…I don't commune with the elements the way a shaman does, but nevertheless, I am connected." She explained. "Perhaps even more now than I knew before, thanks to your cave." Everyone looked ready to go and she moved to the front, Varok and Baine beside her. "We will ride through the night, there can be no more delays."

"Are you taking command?" Baine asked, not offended, but curious. She looked at them, and the faces of the others before giving a nod.

"Yes. This group assembled because of me and we lost two, I will not allow anyone else to perish." With that, she surged forward with the confidence of any commander, knowing that they would follow.

.

There was no part of whatever came next that Thrall was looking forward to. His ability as a Warchief was being tested again and again. This coming battle against his own brothers and sisters of the Horde, the Warsong, left him with a sick feeling in his stomach. The army had grown from only orcs to include the trolls, and then the tauren…and now, they allied with the human survivors of Lordaeron. Though many would have thought it foolish, he hoped that should they be successful, perhaps the human leader, Jaina Proudmore, would remember that they all fought for Azeroth, that they all sought to carve out a place to belong…a home. Nothing would undo the orcs' past, but he could work toward a future where such horrors were not seen again. He hoped…

"Thrall." Eitrigg walked up to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"There are riders approaching, I believe it is Saurfang and Gylledra." The old warrior replied.

"Then it worked?" Truly he had expected the elf to die and realized in that moment that he'd vastly underestimated her. Despite hearing the tales, he'd had his doubts about just how she had stopped the ships from being pulled into the Maelstrom.

"Who is approaching?" Jaina Proudmore was suddenly standing with them, concern etched into her young face.

"A detachment of our own." He explained as they arrived. They were dusty from travel, but none seemed as exhausted as he would have expected despite having ventured into the Stonetalon mountains to rejoin with them. Gylledra looked stronger than ever, her shoulders back and her head held high. She was speaking with Saurfang who seemed to be agreeing with whatever she said. Judging by the way she gestured at the field ahead of them, he guessed tactics.

"Who is that?" Jaina asked, spotting the elf who indeed stuck out amongst the orcs.

"That…is Gylledra, our mage." Whatever familiarity had developed between Gylledra and Saurfang, Thrall could see it had certainly progressed judging by their proximity and the ease in which they communicated. They were headed for Thrall where he stood with the human mage, upon whom Gylledra's scrutinizing gaze was fixed.

"I am glad to see you are well again, Gylledra." Thrall greeted, speaking in common to avoid alienating their tentative ally, but Gylledra looked only at the human who did not shrink under the inspection.

"I wonder what fool it was that taught magic to humans." She told him in orcish, knowing Jaina would not understand. She looked him in the eye finally. "I would have thought so chaotic and tiny a mind would not possess the fortitude to wield the arcane." Saurfang let out a long breath.

"Yes, what was done is undone and then some." He commented to Thrall, masking his amusement and ignoring her uncharitable remarks. Gylledra's head whirled around to look up at him, eyes narrowing somewhat before turning back to Thrall.

"We were set upon by fifty or sixty centaurs in the middle of the night. Resok and Krilg were killed not in the ensuring fight, but in cowardice in the dark before we knew we were under attack." She told them in common, the expression she wore was grim as though she still held anger.

"They will be honored, though they could not die in battle." Thrall told her.

"Fifty or sixty? Against twenty or so?" Jaina interjected, drawing Gylledra's attention again.

"Yes." Her voice was quiet. "And when they were all dead, I made my way to their camp, likely one of the largest remaining." She looked back at Thrall. "I burned what was left of their warband."

"What?" It was Jaina again, who did not appear to know what to make of the elf standing before her.

"You heard me." The smile Gylledra gave was anything but pleasant.

"What are these rumors I hear of the Warsong?" Saurfang stepped forward.

"Much has happened in your absence, Saurfang." Thrall told him. "Come, we must all talk."

.

The oracle had revealed to Thrall and the humans what Gylledra had already known, that the Legion was not coming…it had arrived. She could see it even in some of the orcs, the taint of fel, what remained of their blood curse was making some of them violent and hungry for battle and bloodshed. She could feel the demonic power in the air. Not only that, though, the Warsong clan, which had been sent north to begin logging, had consumed the blood of the demon Mannoroth yet again, renewing the Legion's hold over them, turning them against their own, against everything.

Thrall and the human, Jaina Proudmore, had been forced into an alliance neither had wanted but was, without question, absolutely necessary. The division amongst warring factions had been the end of many worlds Gylledra had helplessly watched burn. She did not think much of humans, finding from what she had read and seen of them that they seemed somewhat simple. To come across one that bore as much power as the mage, Jaina, was something of a shock.

The army made its way back out of the Stonetalon mountains, heading into the Barrens once more. The presence of demons was growing stronger, Gylledra could feel them. She had spent millennia at war with them and was far better equipped to face them on the battlefield than anyone she marched with. They were less than a day from where the Warsong, drunk on fel power, were camped and waiting. As the sun was going down, though, they set up camp for the night.

"We're running low on meat; some hunting parties were sent out." Eitrigg mentioned in passing, dropping his bags and sitting against a boulder. Nasorya was tangled in rope as she attempted to erect her usual lean-to structure. Gylledra stacked some of the dry wood they'd been collecting in the center of a ring of small stones Pava was arranging for the fire.

"Gylledra." Varok said, unloading another armful of wood.

"Hm?" She didn't look up, arranging the wood in a cone shape.

"Will you hunt with me?" He asked.

"Yes, of course, I…" She halted as everyone in their immediate vicinity was suddenly silent. She glanced around, thinking perhaps there was an enemy coming but found the orcs all staring at her. Nasorya looked as confused as Gylledra felt, and Pava stared, her mouth hanging open. "What?" Gylledra sat back on her heels and looked up at Varok who offered no explanation, but his expression seemed serene. "What?" She hissed at Pava who grabbed her arm, yanking her a bit closer to whisper.

"It is a courtship ritual, for a male and female to hunt as a pair." Her friend hastily whispered. At that, Gylledra's eyes widened as she understood. Now with an explanation, everyone seemed to stare even more eagerly now, and she cleared her throat, getting to her feet. She brushed off her hands, meeting Varok's eyes.

"Yes." She told him simply.

"Let us go then, so these slack-jawed idiots will close their mouths, hm?" He growled good-naturedly. Gylledra nodded, biting her lower lip as she followed him. Nasorya started an inappropriate gesture and Gylledra promptly kicked out the support pole so that the canvas came down over her head.

Varok picked up his axe and they headed out of the camp. Ahead of them was a copse of trees and she wondered if they would run into any of the other hunting parties. She could practically feel the stares boring into their backs, but didn't care.

"So…" She started, a grin spreading across her face. "This is how it is done."

"Yes." He replied, glancing down at her. She saw he was smiling too, and they were quiet for a moment as the realization of what was happening settled down over her. Her heart lodged itself in her throat as she stared ahead at those trees, the dark sheltered area away from prying eyes…and ears. This time there was an entire army on the watch, she didn't have to worry about any roving enemies.

"I suppose we may not accomplish much hunting…" She mused.

"We will if that is what you wish to do." He replied.

"It's not." She said much more quietly.

"I didn't think so." Varok murmured and she chewed her lower lip some more. It had been all fun and games before…teasing and flirting, stolen kisses and glances…but now it was real. It was overwhelming to truly consider but it was what she wanted. Something in her had longed for it since the first time his eyes had raked down her naked body, his axe at her throat. That budding desire, the unexpected passing attraction had grown into much, much more.

It was cooler beneath the trees in the shadows, but it did not allay Gylledra's rapid pulse. Varok took her hand and while the simple contact settled her somewhat, still her anticipation pumped through her. They came to a grassy clearing and somehow, appearing completely calm and collected, Varok leaned his axe against a felled tree then sat down, his back against the large log. It had not escaped her notice, and likely no one else's either, that he'd not worn his pauldrons. She stared at him for a moment and he arched a brow at her, perhaps wondering why suddenly she was so jittery. Gylledra sat beside him and he draped his arm about her.

"Under normal circumstances, I assume there actually is hunting?" She asked him.

"Typically, but I didn't suppose we have that kind of time." He replied. "Though, I did not bring you out here for the sole purpose of physical gratification, Gylledra, I only wish to spend time with you, whatever that entails, while there is time before tomorrow's battle."

"You truly are honorable." She replied quietly. "Not that I wasn't aware of that." She smiled and looked down, her cheeks growing hot. "The battle tomorrow is no small thing, the threat of death is real, but I do not fear it. I will fight and accept my fate if it comes, but I do not want to die before…knowing you. If after that, I shall fall, then I think it will be a happy death, knowing I was well loved." Varok pulled her to sit across his lap, his eyes intent on hers.

"You are well-loved." He told her, his voice deep, humming through her. "I will make sure of it." Gylledra caught a flash of his wicked smile before he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, open for him, stroking his tongue with her own, allowing him to take over her. She moved, straddling his lap as his hands roamed over her form and she felt breathless when he pulled back, looking into her eyes.

"Why are you trembling? Are you afraid I will hurt you?" The question was quiet, and she could hear the concern in his voice.

"I know you will not hurt me. I am a little nervous is all…" She smiled, trying to shrug it off.

"But why?" His brow drew slightly, and she realized that he didn't know.

"Did you think that I was lying when I said I never had a lover?"

"I thought you said it in jest." His brows arched high and Gylledra shook her head.

"No." She whispered and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "I have never loved another with my body…or my heart."

"Never?" He breathed, kissing her neck and she could feel his tusks and his breath, hot on her skin as she inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly.

"Never. But after tonight, I will have done both, I think." She kissed him hard, and Varok gripped her hips, pulling her against him. He was straining beneath the leather of his trousers, she could feel him. Gylledra pulled back and watching his eyes, unbuckled her jacket, shrugging out of it and did the same with her vest, then untucked her shirt, pulling it off over her head without hesitation. He leaned forward, kissing her breasts and her neck, but she pulled back again and got to her feet. Varok watched in anticipation as she unlaced her boots and pulled them off one at a time. Her fingers moved to her belt buckle, unfastening it then tugging the laces of her fly. Finally, she slid the leather leggings down and stepped out of them.

"Beautiful." He breathed and Gylledra approached, standing over him again but when she moved to sit, he grabbed her hips, stopping her, looking up from almost between her thighs.

"What…" Before she could ask the rest of the question, his mouth was on her and she gave a gasp of surprise, gripping fistfuls of his hair, but didn't pull away. Suddenly she felt his tongue as he kissed her there and her breath caught.

She yelped again when he scooped one of her legs up, putting it over his shoulder, giving himself better access to her. His mouth pressed tighter against her and she groaned, the sensation intensifying. Her hips moved involuntarily with the strokes of his tongue as something seemed to be coiling inside her, something she was inching closer to, but she had never felt anything like it before. She knew what it was…but then it suddenly hit her, and she didn't know what anything was at all, every muscle in her body contracting as a glorious spasm tore through her. She cried out, unable to stop herself as she clung to him. It slowly ebbed away, and her legs gave out. Varok lowered her to straddle him once more.

Gylledra saw his lips and chin gleamed with her wetness and she reached up to lightly touch his lower lip.

"I have wondered every day since I saw you what you must taste like." He told her.

"And?" She wiped herself off his chin.

"If I die never tasting anything else, I will die happy." He smirked and she kissed him, tasting her own salty sweetness on his lips. He let out a shuddering breath, knowing that's what she had done, and his fingers flew over the buckles and straps that held on his bracers and belt, tossing them aside. Gylledra moved to kneel beside him as he removed his boots. When his hands went to his waist, she stopped him.

"Lie back." She told him quietly and he arched one brow but complied, lying down in the long, soft grass. She straddled his thighs and could plainly see the rigid outline of him pressing up against his fly. She let her hands slide over him as she moved to untie the laces. Varok inhaled sharply, watching her as she pulled the ties. Finally, it was loosened, and he lifted up to let her slide the pants down his thick, muscled thighs.

Gylledra couldn't help staring as he sprung free, but she removed that last article of clothing, gazing at the broad expanse of his bare chest, taking in the sight of his full nakedness. She could not think of anything she'd ever seen that she thought was as beautiful as he was. She leaned down, pressed a kiss to one thigh, then another as she moved up, inching her way north until her mouth was very near him. His breath came faster and curious, Gylledra ran her tongue up the length of him.

"No!" He gasped suddenly and she pulled back at once. "I can barely hold back as it is, Gylledra." He was practically panting. "Not that, not yet, it will undo me…"

"Okay." She smiled. "What would you have me do?"

"Come here." She moved up so that he could kiss her again, but he stopped. "Sit up." He told her, and she did. He reached up and let his fingers trail down between her breasts, down her belly and between her thighs before one finger butted up against her wetness. Gylledra stared at him, her breath shallow and rapid then he slipped one finger inside her. She gasped, her hands on his chest as he moved slowly.

"I…you…" She muttered incoherently.

"If it hurts, you must tell me at once." Varok replied and she blinked at him, unable to string a sentence together, but he took his hand away, gripping her hip, holding himself in the other hand.

"Yes." She breathed before he had the chance to ask if he was ready and she felt him pressing against her. Gylledra lowered her hips as he slipped inside her very slowly. Warmth bloomed at her center, expanding outward as she sat back, taking him in bit by bit.

The sensation at first was strange…foreign and full, tight, but not painful. Varok's mouth was open as he watched her, his muscles taut as he fought to stay still. He held her hips and withdrew suddenly then filled her again and she cried out as she clenched around him. He moaned low in his throat but moved again and she could barely breathe, but he kissed her. Varok turned over then, Gylledra beneath him now and she gripped his arms as he held himself up.

"Are you alright?" He panted. She nodded in reply then looked down between their bodies and she saw him inside her and she gasped, watching him. "I…I cannot stop now…" He growled through clenched teeth, his hips moving, jarring her, and she bowed up beneath him, all of it overwhelmed her as her body seemed to shatter again, her voice echoing in the darkness around them. Varok drove into her, harder and faster as the sensation crashed over her again and again. It was too much and not enough all at once and Gylledra watched his face contort with pleasure. The cry of his completion tore from him almost violently as he pressed as deep inside her as he could the final few times.

They were both breathing hard, their bodies covered in a sheen of sweat as Varok slumped to one side to keep from crushing Gylledra. She clung to him though, her eyes closed, strands of hair plastered against her face as her cheek pressed to his chest.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked, unable to keep from grinning as he chuckled, then laughed outright. "I suppose practice will make perfect." She opened her eyes, pulling back to look at him.

"I will try harder then, next time." He grinned, holding her close.

Gylledra felt as though she was finally exactly where she wanted to be. True, it was in a patch of woods naked in the grass, but she was with Varok. She would be sore in the morning, for all her experience fighting for so long, she'd never used her muscles quite like that. Though she was well-pleased and still in a state of languid satisfaction, she ached for more…to be so close to him again that they were one.

She wriggled up a bit and kissed him, it was light at first, she hadn't meant to rile him up again, but her body seemed to do as it would without her input, and it was not long before his tongue invaded her mouth as he gripped a fistful of her hair.

"Again?" He breathed.

"Yes…though I fear we've made a terrible mistake." Gylledra pressed against him, kissing his neck. She could feel him growing hard again.

"Mistake?" He murmured then inhaled sharply as she took his earlobe between her teeth.

"Mmhm…because what if this desire to feel you move inside me never ceases?" She panted and he put her on her back, her head cushioned beneath his forearm as his amber gaze seemed to warm her. Varok hooked his other arm beneath her knee, pulling it up and opening her wide for him. His breath was coming faster, and he shifted just a bit then in one fluid motion thrust forward hard, sheathing himself in her to the hilt. Gylledra cried out, throwing her head back, gasping for breath.

"Then I will come into you…again and again…" He moved and her nails bit into his flesh. "And I will never stop…until my body breaks and I can rise no more."

The camp had all gone to sleep when Gylledra and Varok finally made their way back. The warriors on watch politely pretended not to notice their quiet return and they slipped into the crude tent that served as Varok's quarters. They bedded down and within moments, she was on the precipice of unconsciousness as he curled around her, holding her so her back pressed to his chest.

"You are well-loved, Gylledra." He whispered. "For, I do love you." His words startled her back to consciousness, though for just a moment, and she looked over her shoulder.

"And I, you." She replied just as softly. He kissed her and they drifted off to sleep.

Gylledra's dreams were troubled as they often were before battling the Legion. Memories of past terrors haunted her, things she had endured…things she had forced others to endure. She woke before dawn, before any others had risen and she didn't try to go back to sleep, instead relishing the quiet, and the warmth of being wrapped in Varok's embrace.

As she lay in the quiet darkness, she heard some shuffling in the distance, a quiet oof then what sounded like enjoyment. Her eyes widened and she listened harder, catching various sounds of that nature coming from different directions. It made sense, in the last quiet moments before a battle, that people would partake in the act of mating…or lovemaking…whatever they called it. Many would die, and this was their last opportunity. Though, listening roused in her too that desire.

Varok kissed the back of her neck and Gylledra flinched slightly, she hadn't even been aware he was awake, but his hand slid down her belly and between her legs and she had to stifle a groan. Apparently, he could hear the others as well and was stirred. She could feel him now, pressing against her backside so she shifted onto her stomach and he moved over her, pulling up her shirt, the sole article of clothing she wore. Varok raised her hips and entered her slowly, moving with a gentleness that their urgent, fiery need didn't have the night before. Despite the leisurely pace, Gylledra's heart was hammering faster in her chest as he moved, and the sound of his breath came faster.

"Please…do not die out there today…" She murmured, pressing hard against him as he buried himself so deeply in her flesh. But then he withdrew, turning her over before it could truly register, and was inside her again, his body heavy on top of her. She took his face between her hands, kissing him and just a bit, his pace increased as they both began approaching the peak they were climbing to.

"I would ask the same of you." He replied.

No one seemed to care when Gylledra emerged from Varok's tent as the sun's first rays stretched over the horizon. Likely they would have been more surprised if she had not and while part of her had feared perhaps ribald remarks or winking or some such thing…everything was, to her relief, business as usual. She was well aware of how irregular it was for an orc to have even a casual dalliance with a non-orc, let alone seek to have a non-orc mate. If there was dissent about the matter, Gylledra didn't think she nor Varok would hear of it because of how well-respected he was, and after all, she had nearly died for them. They could not have children, so she supposed they could not begrudge them their love.

She sat by the fire quietly and in a small shimmer of arcane, a thick roll appeared in her hand. It was the only thing that would quell the ache she felt throughout the entirety of her body. Though she could not fathom how she had come to feel so stiff when she had always been so strong. But, being honest with herself, indeed she had never spent the night with anyone, let alone an orc.

"You're eating arcane food…?" Nasorya sat down and frowned a little. Gylledra gave her a sidelong look, finishing her bite.

"Yes. I would prefer to go into this battle without the hindrance of sore muscles." She replied.

"Sore." Nasorya scoffed. "You haven't been sore in thou—" She halted, eyes growing round. "Silly me…of course you're sore." She giggled suddenly and scooted closer. "So…"

"No, Nasorya." Gylledra pointedly avoided looking at her, to no avail as she scooted closer still, pressed tightly against her side.

"So." She said again, but more quietly and Gylledra sighed.

"No, we did no hunting at all whatsoever. Yes, I am and was well-loved. And now, I presume, we are whatever the orc equivalent of together is. Satisfied?"

"Not even a little, though you obviously are." Nasorya grinned. Gylledra smiled and shook her head a little, giving a sigh. Really, she couldn't even be annoyed.

"Ready yourself, Nasorya…we fight demons again this day."