Note: I do not own Blizzard or Wow, nor do I make any profit off of this story. It's purely for fun! ^.^

The eyes that met Jin'ala when she looked up to the ledge above them were glowing a pale green. Long, yellow teeth were permanently bared on a face with skin that seemed too tight. The stocky body of the plaguehound glowed with strange symbols as its feet appeared as if they were on fire without being consumed by the blue flames. The mat of course yellow hair that ran from its long, pointed ears to the center of its back stood on end as its muscles tightened and twitched beneath its skin, readying for the attack.

Jinny shifted to move, but the warrior's grip tightened around her. Immediately, she stopped.

"Five more behind you."

She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"On my go," he said quietly. The mage trembled with gathering her concentration as the savage pack bore down on them. "Ready?" he breathed.

Just as the diseased pack of dogs were on top of them, Darreek dropped to the ground and Jinny released an explosion of arcane magic. Quickly unsheathing his sword, the warrior swiftly cut down one of the demons, sending its lifeless body flying into a tree. This seemed to anger the rest of the pack as they all seemed to attack at once. Jinny quickly called down a blizzard of ice shards that pelted and punctured the thin green skin that covered their short bodies.

The mage moved back against the ledge as Darreek gained the attentions of all four plaguehounds that remained on the ground and drew them farther away from her. She cast spell after spell to try to keep him from as much damage as possible, but she could feel her mana draining, her head was starting to get foggy, her vision clouding. This was not good. Even through the fog in her brain, she could see he was hurt. She shook her head to try to clear it and forced herself to concentrate, which was becoming increasingly difficult. She swayed, leaning back against the rock face under the ledge.

There were only two demon dogs left...at least, that's what she'd thought she'd seen. The warrior swung his sword at one of the two dogs attacking him, mortally wounding it, only to have it come back around and attack him from the other side. Darreek only caught a brief flash as her ball of arcane magic slammed into the wounded hound, dropping it where it stood. The mage took a breath and cleared her mind in preparation for her next spell but fell back against the rock ledge, her strength failing her. She tried to catch her breath through her exhaustion, her breast heaving and screaming in pain from the lack of oxygen. Panting, she forced herself to her feet, taking a few steps forward before she was slammed face-first into the ground, a low growl rumbling in her ear as she realized she'd lost track of the last plaguehound. She'd forgotten the dog was up on the ledge. It had made its presence known by jumping onto the girl's back.

"Darreek!" she cried as loudly as she could muster before the demon sank its teeth deep into her shoulder. She could barely hear her own scream before the empty darkness enveloped her.

Her cry startled him and his eyes darted around until he saw her motionless form lying on the ground, the plaguehound mercilessly gnawing at her shoulder. The warrior's breath caught in his throat and his heart seemed to stop at the sight. Teeth bouncing off his own shoulder armor pulled him back to reality. Darreek spun around and quickly dispatched the beast and made his way toward her body, limping from a bite on his calf. He shouted to get the demon dog's attention. It looked up and snarled at the warrior as blood, tissue and cloth dripped from it's mouth.

This dog looked bigger than the other five he'd slain. It was a deeper green than the others, the skin on its face tighter, more grotesque. The warrior yelled again, challenging the monster, daring it to attack. The demon paced around its victim in a demonstration of possession, claiming the unmoving mage as its own. It crouched low to the ground, the lean muscles coiling like springs ready to snap. Darreek readied himself, bracing on his left leg, he pushed the pain from the oozing bite on his right calf out of his mind. The dog's attack exploded in a flurry of motion, punctuated with screaming snarls.

The warrior waited until the last possible second to bring his sword up straight into the center of the beast. He used the momentum of the attack to throw the dog over his shoulder, sprawling it onto the ground. He was panting heavily now, sweat dripping down his face and matting his hair to his scalp as he limped over to the wounded, snarling animal. He stood to his full height, hoisting his sword over his head with both hands. The sound of the sword slamming into decaying skin and severing bones echoed against the rocky outcropping they'd been fighting on.

Fumbling footsteps echoed as he tripped and stumbled over to her lifeless form. "Jinny? Jin'ala!" He called again and again, cradling her in his arms. Gently, he shook her and was rewarded with a quiet moan. It was all the encouragement he needed to gather the mage up into his arms and start walking towards Eastwall Tower.

The tall tower stretched to the sky, topped by an immense glowing orb resting at the top. The warrior's progress was sluggish to say the least, stopping every few yards to catch his breath. The wound on his leg was bleeding freely now and there were gashes on his arms. Each step sent an excruciating jolt of electricity through his leg that traced its way up his spine and flashed before his eyes. He looked at the girl in his arms. Her face crumpled up in pain and she moaned softly. She was coming to.

"Hang in there, little elf," he murmured. "Just hang on."

The little mage's moans became louder as they approached the tower. Gingerly he made his way about half the distance up the hill before one of the soldiers stationed there ran to greet him. The soldier scooped Jinny out of the warrior's arms, and not a moment too soon, either. Darreek's face turned sheet white. He knew he'd lost quite a bit of blood, but he hadn't really thought about it until his head started swimming.

Darkness ripped at the edge of his vision, threatening to overtake him. He fought the encroaching blackness as long as he could, eventually loosing and dropping to his knees. His eyes moved up the large stone tower that majestically jutted out of the hill and touched the clouds. The glow from the top causing him to squint and shield his eyes as white light faded to black.

Murmuring. She heard murmuring. Quiet tones, much too low to comprehend who was speaking, much less what was being said. She edged toward consciousness, ever so slowly, reluctantly. Her body pleading for more sleep, her brain saying enough was enough. It was time to get up. Bit by bit, her eyes opened. Very much against her wishes. She was not ready for the sun that she knew was there, just behind her lids.

The murmuring was louder. A low rumble of a gruff male voice and the soft, silky voice of a feminine persuasion. She could almost make out what they were saying, but not quite. It sounded like Thalassian...but...different. It sounded like...

Darnassian!

Jinny's eyes shot open.

Immediately, she regretted it, snapping her eyes closed again, a small moan escaping her lips. She had to have heard wrong. They couldn't be in an Alliance camp...could they?

A gentle hand snaked behind her head to tenderly support and lift as a cup was pressed to her lips. The soft, feminine voice offering hushed encouragement. Jinny opened her eyes again. This time much, much more slowly. The blurry scene gradually unfolding as her eyes grew accustomed to daylight. She looked up into a face not quite so different than her own. The same long ears, perhaps a bit longer than her own. The same brows above similar eyes, and a similar face...

In lavender.

Tattoos splayed across her face. Tribal markings under her eyes splashed across her cheeks. The voice belonged to a Night Elf. A long distant cousin whose ancestors had stayed with the Alliance when Thrall had taken in her forefathers.

Her distrust for the Alliance must have shown on her face as she refused the cup as politely as she could. The other woman smiled kindly, sensing the apprehensiveness of her ward. She slowly took the cup and held it up for Jinny to see. Just as slowly, she took a sip.

No poison, her expression promised.

The Night Elf brought the cup back to Jinny's lips and tilted it so the cool liquid inside came to the rim. The sweet nectar washed over her tongue filling her mouth with refreshing coolness. It was decidedly sweet with a hint of earth. Was that tea? A slight tang of mint finished the sensation as it slid like silk down her throat.

Somehow, the drink had instantly helped. She opened her eyes a little wider. The other elf smiled warmly at the little mage, obviously happy with Jinny's progress. Again she held the cup to Jinny's mouth. Again, Jinny drank deeply. Each swallow, each sip restoring her strength and clearing her mind of the fog that had clouded it. Little by little, Jinny's thoughts were drawn away from the woman helping her to...

"Darreek."

The name was on her lips before she could think about it. Before she could stop herself. Mentally, she shook herself for allowing the Alliance to capture her. But now, to give away the name of her warrior? What if he hadn't been captured? Oh, damn it to the nether and back! Damn her rotten mouth!

The Night Elf raised an eyebrow. "Darreek?" she asked. The mage groaned inwardly, closing her eyes. She felt like crying, while the other woman grinned broadly. She said something in Darnassian that Jinny could just about make out...almost. She prayed to whatever gods would listen. All she wanted was to see that annoying, childish, ill-mannered, self-centered, son of a –. Well, if he knew what was good for him, he'd be rescuing her as soon as possible.

As if on cue, there was a small commotion at the opening to her tent. But it didn't sound very confrontational. The commotion sounded more like jovial mirth rather than fighting. In fact, she could see two men enter the tent laughing and slapping each other on the back. Darreek said something that she couldn't understand and the human with him burst out in laughter. Even the Night Elf beside her chuckled.

Jinny ventured to sit up, wincing as her shoulder protested. The Night Elf woman was ready with soothing hands. She nodded thanks then turned to Darreek, raising an eyebrow. "Made some new friends, did you?" she asked in Thalassian.

He answered in kind, his eyes smiling with the rest of his face. "It's the best we could do on such short notice," he shrugged. "Well," he added, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "it was the best I could do. You were unconscious." He looked at her pointedly.

She nodded. "How long was I asleep?"

"All night."

"Where are we?"

"Eastwall Tower. One of the few strongholds that dot this land."

Jinny looked at him apprehensively. "How long are they going to keep us?"

He laughed outright, the sound exploding from his chest as the Human and the Night Elf looked back and forth between the two Sin'dorei. They listened intently, erupting in hearty chuckles themselves as Darreek translated what had transpired. Jinny felt the heat rise in her cheeks as color splashed across her face. She looked at the three of them, studying each of their faces in turn. Darreek being last and receiving the brunt of her annoyance. He was still chuckling, but his face softened. He spoke a little softer and switched to Orcish so the other two would be sure to miss what was said.

"You know, you're beautiful when you blush." He grinned wickedly at her. "Especially when your hair's a mess." Her hand quickly went to smooth her hair as his eyes slid down the rest of her body. He walked over to Jinny's bed-mats and sat next to her.

She glared at him. "Well, now that you're done making fun of me..." she smacked away his hand when he tried brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "How long are they going to keep us here?"

He glanced at the two guards and spoke quietly, nodding towards the tent opening to punctuate. They nodded in return, the woman murmuring something to Darreek that made him chuckle softly. Jinny couldn't help but feel safe as the quiet laugh tumbled over her, warming her, strangely pooling in her belly. This time she didn't notice his hand as he smoothed a fly-away hair. At least, she didn't notice it until he touched her sensitive ear. She sucked in a sharp breath and shot him a glance, glaring slightly. He chuckled again, choosing to ignore the look she gave him and tracing his finger down her neck and over her unbandaged shoulder, grazing her upper arm only to backtrack and retrace it's previous path.

"What did she say?" Jinny asked, trying to shrug his hand off and indicating the woman who she'd assumed had nursed her back to health through the night.

His soft, gritty chuckle seemed to echo in her ears and brought goose-bumps to her skin. Or was it his finger, gently stroking her collar bone causing those? "She told me that I am to be gentle with you..." He gave her a wolfish grin.

"She said what? Why would she tell you to be gentle with me?" she asked, her eyes growing wide when she realized what he meant after she'd finished speaking. Suddenly, she was also very aware that the only thing covering her were her bandages. Jinny grabbed for the blanket that she'd folded down by her waist only to find that he was sitting on it.

A sly smirk tugged at his lips. "Something wrong?" he asked as she blushed fiercely, a bright red spreading across her face, cascading down her slender neck and staining her pale skin.

My word, this man was unnerving. Doubly so with his fingers leaving trails of fire crisscrossing her skin. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't form the words. Swallowing hard she tried again.

"I...I was wondering if you could fetch my robes for me?" she stammered weakly.

The smirk on his face threatened to turn into a full-fledged grin. "Of course, mage." His eyes glistened playfully. He rose and plucked her clothes from the nearby chair. Watching her hastily cover herself out of the corner of his eye, the relief visible on her face. He turned to face a decidedly calmer, more relaxed mage.

This was much better. She sighed with quiet contentment as she pulled the blanket over her shoulders. He'd already seen more than she'd wanted him to. Jinny's confidence quickly returned with the new placement of her blanket and she eyed him expectantly, holding out her hand for the robe. The warrior simply stood there, eyes smiling, looking at her. She shifted uncomfortably under her makeshift cloak, pulling it a little tighter around her.

"You look like you belong in Winterspring, bundled up like that."

"Do I?" the mage asked. "Perhaps I'd be a little more comfortable with my robes on." the woman's eyes fell to her robes that currently rested in his hands.

He shrugged. "Perhaps."

Exasperated, she huffed out a sigh. "May I have my robes, please?" The hand she'd held out stretched even further. The mage narrowed her eyes at him just slightly. The warrior's demeanor was turning unmistakably roguish. His grin turning wolfish, he took a step back to force her to stand. A blast of air escaped her lips and she slowly unfolded her legs from under her. Placing a delicate foot on the ground, she scooted to the edge of the mat, exposing a slender ankle and shapely leg all the way up to her thigh.

Oh, gods, she had a beautiful leg. Darreek's mind wandered lustfully with imaginings of that lovely pair of legs wrapped around his middle. He was shaken out of his thoughts with snapping. He blinked. She was snapping her fingers in his face. The man's gaze went from her dainty fingers to her expressive eyes which now told him that she was getting rather annoyed. He relented, placing the robed in her hands. He gave a brisk nod and walked to the opening to the tent, closing the flap as he stepped out.