Obligatory disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft, or I would have gotten more of the details right.
Author's note: This is a short chapter (actually, two very short chapters), so I'm uploading another tonight, as well. I hope you enjoy them!
Litha was gliding through the air. Jozala's long strides ate up the hard-packed trail, her neck extended forward, nostrils flaring. The only sounds were the rhythmic thudding of the raptor's two-toed feet and the steady whistling of the cool night wind as they hurtled through it. The breeze was dry and smelled increasingly of dust and sand, but Litha thought it smelled like freedom.
It had been so much easier than she'd anticipated. Jozala had chirruped sleepily as she'd put the saddle on her, but hadn't protested in any real way. Lujin had simply watched, eyes glowing keenly in the dying firelight, whiskers and tail twitching, but had made no move to intervene. The troll had slept like the dead, as usual, one long green arm flung over his face.
Now, the human and her pilfered mount were racing through the darkness, the bright moon lighting their path, the stars whirling overhead. Litha hoped they were headed in the right direction.
She had tried to escape from the goblins many, many times. Her attempts had never been successful for more than a few minutes. As time went on, the efforts had been fewer and farther between. She had learned to balance the likelihood of a plan's success against the severity of the punishment she would receive. With an increasing number of failures under her belt, she'd grown more cautious, but had not given up altogether. She had been biding her time until they were within reach of an Alliance settlement.
The troll, however, had seemed oblivious to her scheming. Many nights she had laid awake, prodding at the fire with a stick, watching him sleep and making plans. She had even practiced approaching and grooming Jozala in the dead of night – the raptor was compliant and trusting. Jo was used to being groomed and ridden by Litha, and when the time came, had accepted her role cheerfully.
Ga'vik had said they would reach a Cenarion settlement within one or two days, presumably at the same, leisurely pace with which they had crossed Un'goro Crater. Litha knew the raptor could travel at speed for hours without tiring – even over the arduous terrain of Tanaris. She pushed hard, urging the fleet reptile with her knees, and they reached Valor's Rest by mid-morning.
When Litha swung down from the raptor, face flushed and panting with exertion and exhilaration, even the dull ache in her leg felt liberating. She was dizzy, and braced herself against Jo's neck as she walked. She could not feel her feet, though she was not sure if it was from the long ride, or the euphoria.
She approached the first night elf she saw.
Ga'vik glared at Lujin. "And where were you, night watch?" The big cat did not even deign to glare back. She was staring intently down the path toward Valor's Rest. She gave a muted meow and resettled the fur along her spine.
"Well, why didn't you fucking go with her, then?" he retorted. This earned him a single, sullen glance.
The human's sleeping skins were cold, which meant she had left hours ago. She had not taken the bedroll, either, which likely meant she didn't intend to spend another night on the ground. Only Jozala, the new saddle, and one water skin were missing. Litha hadn't taken much, really, other than his mount. Ga'vik swore lustily and kicked out the fire in frustration, then hopped back, hissing and shaking his burned foot.
He sat for a while, chewing angrily on a bit of jerky and gazing at the scattered coals. He remembered her guarded expression from the night before. From always. She was incomprehensible. Why leave now, when he had finally explained his intention to help her gain her freedom? He had not hurt her; he had not used her, even when she had clearly offered herself. The troll mentally flipped through images from the night before, searching his memories of her for a motive. His traitorous mind was eager to conjure everything but her face: the contour of her naked hips outlined in firelight; his own large hand covering the supple mound of her breast; the intricate pink whorls of her scarred thigh.
When he tried harder to picture her face, he saw only wet, red lips, parting open… and wide, green-and-gold-flecked eyes, glimmering with tears, pupils dilated in terror. Ga'vik's stomach churned suddenly and he spat out the remaining bits of tough, dried meat. He stood.
There was no doubt about the direction she was headed. Lujin was still weather-cocked toward the path, muscles bunched and ready to spring down the trail. One ear swivelled back toward him as he moved about the camp, and her tail switched impatiently as she waited.
Silithus was no place to travel without weapons or magic, but Valor's Rest was not far down the path, and the human was unlikely to be harmed by the druids there. As to whether they would help her… Ga'vik was increasingly doubtful. His optimism when he had first come up with the plan had soured as the whole of the universe (or perhaps, one spiteful loa) had endeavoured to remind him that nothing went as smoothly as he'd hoped.
Cursing again, the troll began rolling up the sleeping skins and stuffing them hastily into his bags. Without Jozala, his load would be much heavier. Once he'd packed the camp up as best he could, he set off down the trail at a jog, Lujin coursing beside him.
They reached the small group of buildings by dusk. Ga'vik dropped to a crouch at the crest of a hill to rest his legs – they felt like black jelly – and observe the encampment. He saw no sign of the human or the raptor, but several night elves and a couple of tauren were in evidence. When at last he spotted a female tauren strolling along the edge of the graveyard by herself, he moved to intercept her.