**THIS STORY WAS RECENTLY REVISED! By me. February 2011. Just so you know... LOTS has changed.**
DISCLAIMER: This entire story is Copywrite. MINE. Got it? World of Warcraft, however, is NOT. Most characters are my own, except characters like Thrall and such. The world, too, belongs to Blizzard.
All right, just remember this isn't like, an edited novel or anything. Fanfics can have errors, so if you see a typo or anything, you don't have to bring it upon yourself to purge the fic of it. I'll find it myself later, when I read through it and have the time to fix it... thanks though! Constructive criticism, however, is never turned away.
-x0x-
Chapter 1: Fabled Friends
I had been wandering around Elwynn Forest for hours. It was exhausting. Truly, I couldn't even tell myself why I had been in such an exploratory mood. I really couldn't. Regardless, I was here, and tired as hell. I sat down on a small stump and sighed. I had been walking for a long while. I was exhausted, to say the least. I leaned my elbows on my knees and placed my sword back in its sheath, I was done training for now. I always carried around a lot of gear, you see. Even extra armour sometimes, in case I broke something or the climate changed. Like I said, I always had two daggers and a sword. I had certain abilities that most others did not, let's say. I don't want to dig into that too much, it's kind of hard to explain without a boring flashback sequence.
I pushed my auburn hair out of my face, as had become a habit of mine. Most of it was tied back in a long braid, but some would come down over my face. I had been in this area for a while now, maybe a few days. I guess I just found it comfortable, homey almost. Though it was dangerous for me to be around Stormwind City for too long, I was bound to be seen. You see, even though I'm a Human and all, I'm not exactly on good terms with the city. Everyone has skeletons in their closets, I guess; though for me it's quite literal. Minus the closet.
My foot tapped, even though the only tune was that of my heavy breath and the cicadas from a little ways away. My legs were tired, but regardless I just felt like tapping. You know that feeling sometimes when you're either restless or haunted with some kind of tune in your head. That's what it was like for me, right now. I wasn't in much of a mood to sing or hum to the fauna like some kind of fluffy fairy tale princess or whatever, I was just hyped after sword training. I get like that sometimes. I mean, after training, when your body really hurts, you just feel really accomplished. I do, anyway.
I wasn't much to look at, I think. Really, it's difficult to properly gauge your own appearance, but I'll attempt. I was an average Human, five and a half feet or more, long brown hair and golden brown eyes. I was boring, the way I look at it. I had a muscular figure, though not brawny by any standards. I just trained a lot; in this World, if you're not strong, you're dead. Trust me on that one. Anyway, there I was, alone and by myself, and concocting redundant descriptions of my situation. I pushed my hair out of my face again. God, I swear, one day I'll chop it all off. I really will.
"Hey look," A scratchy voice said in Common language, which is what I spoke in, from behind me, "It's a Human."
"In Elwynn Forest, what a shocker," I said, more to myself, before asking "What do you want, Orc?" I addressed it, without turning around.
Somehow I could tell by the accent it was an Orc, they have this distinctive speech pattern exclusive to native Orcish speakers. That, and the smell. It was the scent of unwashed, sweaty Orc hide. I'd never mistake that smell, no sir-ee. Right now, I was too tired to notice the various footsteps and chuckles that rose from behind me. I simply waited, eyelids half-closed, for his predictably condescending response.
"Someone's a bit rude, don't cha think?" The Orc laughed, though I'd hardly agree that his statement had any comedic value at all. I did, however, find myself almost impressed at his prowess in colloquial common.
"Perhaps we should teach the creature a lesson?" Another Orc suggested, and I just then noticed the other presences. I was slow today, I really was.
"Tell me," I spoke up, turning my head slightly to see them standing behind me, "What are a group of Orcs, such as yourselves, doing in these parts of Azeroth?"
"None of your business, wench." He growled in reply. Orcs had a habit of calling me wench, I'd noticed on various occasions as I've encountered their species.
"Come on, let's kill her!" The other Orc insisted. Orcs really were bloodthirsty, take my word for it.
"I agree." A third nodded. My foot stopped tapping.
I turned around fully, standing up to see the group. There were five of them. The one standing closest was probably the ugliest, as it had massive shoulder armour, a long grey beard, and deep olive skin. The four behind it seemed to be his team members, and they all seemed average. They didn't look too strong at all as individuals, but as a team it would be far harder to take them all. I hated teamwork, that's why I was always alone I guess. I shook my head, I shouldn't judge them by their looks. It's a terrible habit, a Human habit, one which I tried to stray from.
"Oh fine, let's have a little fun before the mission." The first one shrugged and removed his sword from its sheath, as if it would intimidate me. As if I myself couldn't remove a sword from a sheath, goddamn.
The four standing behind him all laughed and drew their weapons. I rolled my eyes, because I was not impressed by the macho performance. I did a quick back-flip behind a tree and breathed slowly. I was graceful sometimes, it came and went I guess. It was really just a habit, the flipping around and stuff, originating from all this Rogue training. I darted from one tree to another, to confuse them as to where I was. A Rogue manoeuvre, called cowardly evasion. Just kidding. When I came up behind them, I went into stealth, and began creeping up closer. The Shaman in their group was backing up slowly, looking around with obvious fear. A terrible Shaman, he could have listened to the elements like Shamans are taught to do, but no, he just cowers like a pansy.
Anyway, I slowly crept up behind him and drew my dagger. He didn't even see it coming. Quickly, and as quietly as I could, I Ambushed him. The hunter spun around, and hurriedly targeted me. Damn hunters. The one I stabbed fell to the ground, and didn't move. I quickly robbed him, because he was carrying this really expensive, important looking bag. I hastily used my Eviscerate on the Warrior, taking quite a chunk out of him. A Warrior with no Stamina and even less armour than me, he must have been damage spec. Even with all my amazing armour, which was awful armour, really, looted from trash mobs, the attacks of the Orcs were dropping my health fast. I evaded a decent amount of the attacks, but I knew I couldn't take them all; especially since I wasn't very good at evasion. Sad, really. A Rogue that can't dodge is like a Hunter with no pet, oh wait, they had one of those. God, these guys were more pitiful than I was. Oh right, avoid judging them. Right.
The Warlock was inflicting a lot of damage, seeing as how at the time I had next to no fire or shadow defence. If I did, his criticals would feel like sneezing from pixie dust. I could feel my strength giving way, anyway, but I still kept at it. I took another one out, and all that was left was the Hunter, the Warrior and the Warlock. The three biggest threats, if you could call them threats at all. I knew that I didn't have enough energy to continue spamming my attacks, and I was reaching my limit. Maybe I was the weak one.
I wouldn't let myself be bested, though. I was about to resort to my reserved techniques, but before my hope entirely diminished, I felt myself lift off the ground. I was pulled quickly through the trees at breakneck speed, until I stopped right above a branch. I registered that someone was holding me, around the waist. I didn't like to be touched. I was about to begin yelling at whoever it was, until we dropped onto the branch, and a hand was pressed over my mouth, though the meddler remained behind me.
"Mhm-ff?" I grunted in shock, struggling angrily. I get mad easy, okay?
"Calm down." A gentle and clear voice said into my ear.
"Mm," I growled irritably and waited for him to let go, slightly surprised as to how he spoke in Human dialect, for I could pick out the Elven accent from his lips. And looking down at his hand over my mouth, it was pale, unlike a Night Elf hand.
"There." He released me slowly, and I jumped away from him, with my back to the tree.
"What the goddamn hell do you think you're doing?" I spoke with a fast tone. I swear when I'm mad, I really do. Like a goddamn sailor.
"Gee, a 'thank you' would have sufficed, Miss Ingratitude." He shook his head with a smile and reached up to remove an arrow from a branch above us.
Attached to the arrow was a long, metal wire, which stretched back in the direction we'd come from. From my deductions, it seemed at he shot an arrow over to this tree, then possibly used a hook on the wire to carry us to this branch. I hesitated to think of the action as clever, for I still resented the guy. I glared at him as he bunched up the wire again.
"I don't recall asking for your help." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms in a huff. I wasn't good at saying thank you, as you can tell. This was my gratitude.
"Looked to me like you needed it." He replied placing the wire and arrow to where they belong. He didn't seem to mind my rudeness too much, but his lack of reaction is kind of frustrating. It's like talking to a wall.
"Well maybe you should get your eyes checked." I retorted, still a little angry that he'd caught be by surprise. I can hold a grudge, I really can.
"I'm sorry, next time I won't save a," He approached me and put his hand on my chin, "damsel in distress." I almost threw up.
"Damn straight." I smacked his hand and broke away from him, taking a step sideways, right off the branch.
"Hey!" He grabbed my hand, stopping my fall. He must have thought he was a goddamn hero.
"See? I knew you'd do that." I sighed. Guys like him were predictable, always looking to save a girl and accost her or whatever.
I flipped around, until I was upside-down, with my feet on the underside of the branch, still holding his hand. I yanked and pulled him over the side of the branch and onto the ground below. He landed on his feet in a crouching position, bracing himself with his hands. At least he can catch himself, like a damn cat. I followed, though I did another quick flip and landed quietly and gracefully in front of him. I'm selectively graceful, remember. He sighed, and leaned his elbows on his knees.
"The real question is 'why are Orcs in Elwynn Forest', anyway?" I said as I rose to a straight stance and crossed my arms again, facing away from him, "In fact," I spun around to face him and took a few steps backwards, "You're a Blood Elf, what are you doing here?"
"Relax, I'm not going to attack you." He put his hands up defensively, and somehow his slick smile put me a little at ease. Though I was still quite irritated with his intrusion.
"But Blood Elves are allied with the Horde, and if you can't tell, I'm a Human." I reasoned, putting one hand on my hip and the other tugged at my obviously Human ear.
"That's true," He pulled himself up from the ground in a very collected manner, "but I don't really consider myself a part of either faction." He shrugged and grinned, "I'm a lover, not a fighter. Well, I'm a fighter too," There's that ego.
"Then what are you doing here?" I slid my hand from my hip to my sheath. Yeah, so what, I can steal that Orc's unsheathing intimidation move. Sue me.
"Those Orcs," He pointed in the direction we came from, "are part of a new plan to overthrow Stormwind City. I'm here to stop them."
"You're here to stop them." I repeated in a sceptical, even tone. I rolled my eyes and waited for an explanation. I really didn't like the way this was going already.
"What, you don't believe me?" He asked, as if it was a sin to distrust him.
"Fine," I sighed, humouring him, "how did you find out about this so-called plan?"
"I heard the group talking about how it was direct orders from Thrall to come here." He pressed on, as if mentioning a name that big would make me believe him.
"Direct orders from Thrall, the Warchief?" I was still very much mocking him, but I perked up anyway, looking over through narrowed eyes, "What does he want here?"
"The Warlocks in Orgrimmar have been working on new magic potions, those that can change the appearance of any being into any other being, without detection." He explained with a straight face.
"What does that have to do with those Orcs?" I asked curiously, though retaining an air of urgency.
"For a test, they were sent to see if they could blend in as regular Humans. Then, in one week's time, they will report to a second wave of Horde forces outside city walls, and if all goes as planned…" He paused, "they are planning to disguise themselves as a wave of regular Humans to infiltrate the city, and start a mass riot."
"Disguise themselves as Humans? Just how many people are we talking about here?" I asked, unsure. It sounded like a ridiculous plan, is all. .
"Dozens, maybe hundreds. As many as Thrall can get here." He told me sternly. It was still a stupid plan, and I was suspicious as to how he knew so much about this 'plan'.
"And once they're inside city, they'll start riots, fights, all kinds of commotion, leaving the city completely vulnerable." I shook my head knowingly, I guess I should at least see where this was going, "I wondered why they were speaking to me in Common language… I guess that's why, right?"
"So, we should go to Stormwind and warn the city." He began, pacing restlessly.
"No," I stopped him, "they won't believe a Blood Elf; in fact they'd kill you on sight."
"What about you? They'd believe you, right?" He urged, not knowing where his prodding was targeted.
"No," I looked up slowly, stalling casually, "I'm not really the most welcomed subject." I said slowly, avoiding the topic. I really didn't want to tell a complete stranger my life story or anything, you know how it is.
"Then, what do we do?" He asked suddenly, obviously catching my last line. At least he had some respect for privacy.
"I suggest we go over to Orgrimmar ourselves, and stop this there." I went on. Wow, I must be in a rather patriotic mood for someone who doesn't care too much for their faction. Either that or very eager to die. But from what I've heard, Thrall is very open to dialogue with other races. I just don't think I'd like to take that chance, I had a better idea.
"How hard did those Orcs hit you? We can't do that," He blabbered. He was certainly loud, for an Elf.
"Well, Elfboy, do you know how the potion works?" I asked, ignoring his complaints.
"Well yeah, but first you'd need to find someone who's identity you wish to take." He explained simply, as if it was his invention.
"Do you think we could take out two Orcs at Orgrimmar?" I asked, subtly hinting towards my plan.
"Well, I'm sure but – what are you thinking? You're forgetting one key part here – the potion," He reminded me. God, he loved being the bearer of bad news.
"When I took out the first Orc," I reached into my bag and found that expensive looking satchel I had taken from the Shaman, "before the Hunter had a chance to find me, I stole from his body. And guess what I found?" I reached into the bag and found what I had hoped was there. I held out two small vials of a strange purple liquid. I knew it must have been valuable, I thought I could sell it and buy myself a new dagger or something.
"Good work." He praised, somehow impressed.
"If we're gonna do this, we should leave now." I said, turning suddenly, hoping he'd complain that he wouldn't come with me.
"Sounds excellent," He followed close beside be, giving me a warm but somewhat secretive smile. I took a large step away from him.
"Don't think I don't have my eye on you, Elf." I wanted him to be keenly aware of that, in case he were to try something.
Just then, a large feline jumped out of a bush behind him, and landed between us. It was facing me, and bearing its teeth in a growl. I rose and eyebrow, and crossed my arms again. I wasn't really afraid of it, it's just an animal, I've fought them before. The cat was possibly a panther, as it was black. It appeared rather fierce, and possibly strong, but a little overweight. All in all kind of non-threatening. The Elf reached forward and spoke to the animal.
"Easy, Max, easy." He said to the beast, "She's cool." It spun around, and almost looked like it gave him a grin. It walked around him once and sat beside him. I sighed. At least this Hunter had a pet, though.
"So it's your cat." I said with an unenthusiastic nod.
"Yes, his name is Max. As in, Maximilianus." He explained. Not that I honestly cared right now.
"Good to know." I said sarcastically and distantly as I continued on.
He and his cat looked at each other. The cat didn't quite have an understanding of our circumstances, but didn't seem to hate me just yet. The Elf petted it quickly on the head before following me, slower, though. The cat stood and walked beside him. When he and I were a certain distance apart, he spoke to his cat, though I could still hear him.
"She's totally into me." He grinned. I heard him say it, but I didn't really want to snap at him again, I was getting tired already.
"You coming or not?" I called back.
"Yes," He hurried after me, "Hey," He fell into step beside me, "I was wondering," He paused as if I would answer before he even asked the question, "what's your name?"
"My friends call me Viola, well, I wouldn't say friends." I spoke without turning to him.
"That's an odd name, what's the origin?" He asked, leaning closer as if actually intrigued.
"I read it in a book once," I said quietly and seriously as I looked straight ahead. The name had some sentimental value, I suppose.
You see, when I was a kid, I read a lot. My father had inherited all these books from my Grandfather and my Great Uncle, who was an avid reader. When he was alive, he taught me all kinds of things about books. Anyway, this one book, though I guess it's more of a play, it was about this girl who pretends to be a guy. My Great Uncle had always told me that he wished he had a granddaughter, or a daughter at all. He never married, you see. Anyway, he wished that she'd have the name Viola. He loved the name. Every time he said it, it was spoken with such love that I felt an immediate connection to the name, to the character. So after he died and I left my house, I decided it would kind of be my codename. It reminded me of him, in a way. And it's kind of a symbolic name for someone pretending to be who they're not. It just seems to fit, you know.
"You read the name in a book," He questioned, trying to investigate, "So, does that mean it's not your real name?" He asked.
"Erk-" I stiffened, "Well why would I want you to know my real name?" I said seriously, "We're not partners or anything."
"Well that's silly." He shook his head.
"And what do they call you, Elfboy?" I asked.
"Kujajin." He grinned, and offered me his hand. I wanted to smack it.
"Hmm," I thought for a second before taking it, "And you were sceptical about my name."
"Hey, I got my name from my father, it's a traditional ancient Elven name." He beamed, giving me that almost arrogant raise of the chin.
I scowled, that was a rather familiar action for me, and I loathed it more and more with each use. People these days have too high opinions of themselves, it's the new plague, I swear. I had read about arrogance when I was younger, but lately I had become keenly aware of it. I didn't let it linger in my mind too long, and proceeded to respond to the gesture in a resentful way.
"Yeah, whatever you say, it still sounds ridiculous." I muttered nonchalantly.
"Hey," He groaned, I could tell it really bothered him.
"I'm kidding." I assured him, turning to face him to give him a shrug.
"So where are we going, Vi?" He asked, with a mocking tone.
"First, don't you dare call me Vi." Seriously, don't. "Second, I already told you." I sighed, as I continued along the path. I was already feeling stressed out, and we hadn't even left the Forest.
"Do you even know which direction you're going?" He went on in a demeaning way.
I hated when people spoke like that. When they talked down to you. I think everyone hates it. It makes you feel like a child again, and a stupid one. I could deal with it, I guess, but I hated it. I also hated when people asked questions, that was worse for me. I hated answering questions, especially stupid ones. I felt like I had to lecture people. I hate stupid, most of all.
"Yes, the sun sets in the West, and we need to go North. Thus, to show us which way is North, we use the sun. Use your mini map if you need help. " I explained. I did it in a demeaning way, to piss him off.
"And we're going North because…?" He asked. I hated answering questions, I really did. That's all this Elf seemed to do, too, is ask questions. I don't know how long I can be around him without snapping his neck or something.
"We're going to Menethil Harbour, to get a boat so we can sail to Kalimdor." I groaned, getting tired of explaining everything.
"But Menethil Harbour is Alliance territory." He stated the obvious, and I was almost winded by the bluntness.
"And I'm in the Alliance, you know, Human and all, with the tiny round ears, you see? You have a problem with that?" I asked, turning around and poking him in the chest.
"'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet'." He chimed with a smirk.
"Shut up." I spun back around and kept moving. I wish he hadn't said that. That line is from another play, by the same man who wrote my name. Maybe he knew that.
"Why can't we just go to Booty Bay?" He urged, cocking his head.
"You must have just got here," I rolled my eyes, "Because there's been a huge battle going on in Stranglethorn for the past few weeks, as some unruly Orcs started ambushing Alliance on their way there." I explained briefly, "They must be harvesting Human data or something, now that I think about it. If I go there, we'll get attacked too."
"Oh," He seemed disappointed. He shouldn't have been, I mean, he's the one who's trying to destroy a plot the Horde cooked up to take down the Alliance. What's wrong with taking an Alliance boat?
So we walked through the forest, around Lakeshire, and deep into the Burning Steppes. I could tell that it was getting darker, and colder. I knew that if we were to continue we'd possibly get into trouble. It's much more dangerous at night out here in this area. I wasn't a big fan of this place, by any stretch of the imagination. I stopped suddenly, causing Kujajin to stop too.
"What's wrong?" He asked me, a little urgently. I must have really thrown him for a loop.
"It's getting dark out, we have to stop." I told him. Why must I always be the voice of reason, anyway?
"What, are you scared?" He asked with a mocking grin. Mocking me really knocked him out, I guess.
"With you here? Not a chance." I remarked sarcastically, "Everyone needs rest though, you know, double experience or whatever." I joked.
I picked a spot and cleared it of pebbles, ash, and other debris. I sat in the middle and slowly removed my sword and a few other uncomfortable items, before slowly leaning back with my hands behind my head. I kept a dagger in one of my hands, for you never know when you'll need it. Especially with a stranger around. He followed suit, laying down a few feet beside me, and Max walked around a little before finding a spot to rest. I glanced at Kujajin.
"Hey… I never really asked, but," I breathed, "why do you want to stop this whole Stormwind conspiracy scheme, anyway?" I asked curiously.
"Well, to be honest," I hoped he was being honest, "I guess I'm just not really the kind of guy that likes killing hundreds of people. I mean sure, I do enjoy fighting and all that, but war is too much." He sighed, "Plus, I'm kind of fond of you Alliance folk, Humans are kinda cute." He smirked at me.
"…" I looked over at him, feeling almost touched by his sincerity, before righting myself. I cleared my throat, "That makes sense." I looked away, blushing a little. "Not only that, but it would upset the balance of power."
I knew that was a major factor. You see, in this World the power and strength of the opposing factions has to be regulated. Whenever there's a sudden shift, another war breaks out. The World is in a kind of state where the races are in at least some form of peace. I would hate if it all just plunged into chaos again. Who knows what would happen. The balance of power is what keeps one faction from attacking another, because if their forces are equal, then there would be no clear winner. But if one faction was drastically larger than another, then absorbing it would be easy.
"Very true," He seemed to share the opinion, "And if this plan does work out, those Orcs are going to take all the credit, and eventually make more war and try and become rulers of all races, and there's no way I'm becoming a slave or some kind of prisoner to an Orc." He ranted.
"Amen to that." I agreed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the topic. I shook it off apathetically.
After that we both fell silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the moving of lava through rocks in the distance. I wasn't quite tired yet, so I took this opportunity to actually get a good look at Kujajin. I slowly let my gaze stray from the smoky skyline over to him.
He was staring up at the dark toxic aura as I had been. He had a fine build, and a well proportioned face. His hair was blonde-brown, short and straight, though it flipped up at the sides. His eyes were a vibrant green, just like all the other Blood Elves. He was wearing clothes that didn't surprise me. Most Blood Elves wore black and red, to 'remind themselves of their losses' or whatever, which is what he was wearing. Various shades of grey-red, which suited him well. Black wrist guards and deep red boots, as well as a long crimson cape-cloak sort of article on his back. His smirk was alluring; in lack of a better word, and his skin was a light, pale beige.
"Why are you staring at me?" He asked, without turning his head.
"I-" I stuttered, turning around so my back faced him, "I'm not."
I grunted to myself and pretended to go to sleep. I still didn't quite trust the guy, since I was always taught to never let your guard down, but something in my head just kept telling me he wasn't the enemy. Still, I forced my eyes open, and stared at a rock in my line of vision.
"You can go to sleep, you know," His voice came up, "I won't kill you."
"Like you could..." I grunted inaudibly and mentally slapped myself for not acting more asleep. I slammed my eyes shut and frowned. I was never good with allying with people, I went solo. But now, I just seemed to enjoy the company for once. Well, enjoy may not be the right word. Before I knew it though, I had drifted away into the chasms of my subconscious.
I felt a presence near me as I began to wake up, and snapped my eyes open hurriedly. Kujajin was kneeling next to me, staring me in the face, as if he was just about to say something. Instantly, without thinking, I screamed involuntarily and scooted away from him. God, I can be girly sometimes.
"Hey, easy there," He put his hands up to try and calm me down, "You're a light sleeper, I move a few feet and you bolt up like lightning!"
"What the hell were you doing?" I asked suddenly, through my already heavy breathing.
"I was about to wake you up." He said, standing up, "Tell me, is there a way I can wake you up without you having a heart attack?"
"Not that I know, but you keep working on that," I stood up, too, trying to shake off the embarrassment.
"We should keep going, if we get to Menethil Harbour by sunset, we can sleep on the boat." He suggested.
"That sounds like a plan." I said, still recovering from the shock.
"Okay then, let's get moving." He still sounded like he was mocking me. He shook his head in a laugh as I scowled and continued towards our destination. It seemed kind of dumb, I mean, you stop, sleep, then just get up and keep going. Seems that travelling by foot is almost hard to get attached to. I mean, there's so sentimentality at all. I don't know.
"Don't forget your cat." I pointed beside me to a sleeping beast, without my gaze straying from the back of Kujajin's head.
"Huh?" He spun around, "Right. Max, come here."
The cat perked up and jumped to its feet, looking around. It spotted Kujajin and then ran over to his side. He looked back at me with a cocky smile, and continued walking. I groaned and followed after him. I wondered in all Blood Elves were like this. I hoped not, because this is just painful.
"You know, I don't have to go with you, I could just bolt behind some rock and forget I ever met you." I told him, illustrating my words with my hands. I wanted him to know just how little I cared about him. So he wouldn't think I was soft or anything. Plus, I didn't want him to think he was like a leader or something. I'm not the following type.
"No," He disappeared for an instant, quickly appearing behind me, Elf magic can do that, "You wouldn't want to lose my company," He spoke softly into my ear, tickling it, "you like walking around with me."
"Quit it," I said pulling away quickly, shuttering from the uncomfortable closeness.
He shrugged nonchalantly and continued walking, with me following after, as much as I despised to. After a while, I just began to get used to the walking, and I didn't pay much attention to anything. You know the feeling. Your mind moves in a completely different way than your body does. But suddenly, a realization made me very aware of my surroundings. Where was that Elf? He was in front of me a few seconds ago. Everything was dead silent. I walked past another rock, and was about to call for him when something grabbed me from behind the rock and pinned me to it. There was –once again— a hand over my mouth.
"Shh!" He put a finger to his lips, which at the time was the only thing I could really see in front of me.
"Mm…" I shoved his hand away from me and poked his forehead, moving closer to speak quietly with him listening, "You keep doing that and I punch your goddamn face so hard through the back of your skull you'll have to walk backwards to see where you're going," I warned him, more as a joke than anything.
"Understood." He took a step back and looked around, "I heard something."
"So you decided to hide behind a rock?" I asked plainly, raising an eyebrow in inquiry. I knew it'd hurt his pride.
"I didn't know that you hadn't noticed it." He continued, trying to push the insult to me. People are so manipulative sometimes. Not just people, Elves too I suppose.
"Noticed what?" I asked, a little more seriously, trying to show that his evasiveness didn't affect me.
"Oh right, Human ears are not as sensitive…" He nodded to himself. God, he was proud.
"Well excuse me for my race." I said, pretending to be offended. At least if he thought he got to me he would stop trying to do so and just tell me what he heard already.
"Just listen." He remained quiet and I did the same. I listened for a moment.
"What is it?" I asked, hearing a faint, deep sound.
"It's a Tauren." He told me, almost as if I was stupid not to know.
"A Tauren? How do you know?" I asked him, wondering if perhaps he had seen the Tauren and was trying to show off by knowing something I didn't.
"I can tell these things." He shrugged, acting modest. Yeah, he sounded pretty narcissistic right now.
"Let's go check it out." I grabbed his arm and dragged him in the direction of the noise.
"Wait—what?" He seemed a little surprised.
I approached a boulder, and I could tell that from just beyond it, the Tauren was there. I peered over it and looked at the guy. He was shouting something I didn't really catch, and running around in a circle with a giant tree tied to his back. That's something you don't see every day. I think he was startled or something. He fell down and was on his back, shouting for help. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and floral shorts, so he looked like he just came from the beach. This guy was really weird, honestly.
I went into stealth mode and quietly approached him. He was still screaming like an idiot and flailing his arms around. I stood over him and put my hands on my hips, staring at his pathetic being. I turned off my stealth and stared down into his eyes. I didn't feel the need to attack him right away. He was shocked at first, and stammered out some kind of sentence.
"Holy –Earth-fucking-Mother!" He twitched around a bit.
"What-" I paused, removing my dagger from its sheath and crouching next to him, with the dagger to his throat, "-are you doing?"
"Just cuttin' trees, miss!" He said with a grin, though it was a nervous one.
"Should I kill him?" I asked Kujajin, without moving my gaze move from the Tauren.
"Nah, he doesn't look like a threat." He shrugged, walking up behind me casually with his cat at his side.
"A Blood Elf and a Human? I can just imagine what your kids will look like!" He laughed, either he likes to be stabbed or he likes to make jokes that make other people uncomfortable.
"You got a death wish or something?" I pressed my dagger harder against his neck.
"No ma'am, no ma'am!" He waved his arms around in fear.
"Not to mention our kids wouldn't look all that odd," Kujajin pondered thoughtfully, but stopped when I shot a devil of a glare at him, "Especially with a girl so beaut-"
"Shuddup," I returned my attention to the Tauren again, "and you speak Common…" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I've lived in these parts for years, you pick things up!" He said defensively, trying not to make me any angrier I guess.
"Ugh," I groaned, standing up abruptly and putting my dagger away, "Let's go," I grabbed Kujajin's arm and stormed in the opposite direction.
"Wait—wait—wait!" He called after us, trying desperately to get up.
"Hmm?" Kujajin spun around and looked at him, stopping me, for he was stronger than I was.
"Can I come? I'm so bored, and I wanna go on a cool adventure!" He pleaded. I wasn't impressed.
"No way, you are just an accident waiting to happen." I growled, knowing full well this would be a bad idea.
"Aww, come on! I'll be good, I promise!" He begged. He didn't have much pride at all. I guess that could balance out the Blood Elf.
"…" I sighed, already too uncomfortable having Kujajin around.
"What do you think? I think it may be a good idea, the more power we have the easier this may be, I mean, what if we get in a fight?" Kujajin grinned as his cat sniffed around the Tauren, "I can't protect you all by myself."
"I don't need protection, thank you very much, Elfboy." I said defiantly turning away, though somewhat flustered, "Fine, if he wants to come, I guess that's that. Just," I looked back at the guy seriously, "don't get yourself killed."
"Hey, that's harder than it sounds!" He defended, as he finally managed to get up.
"First thing we do, is get you some new clothes. If you're going to walk around with us, you have to look at least a little intimidating." I told the Tauren, "You'll make us look like a tropical girl scout troop."
"But I like the Hawaiian shirt." He whined, that might get annoying. The whining.
"But its not armour, you'll die in an instant." I told him in an almost caring manner as if it would hurt his feelings. I don't know why I said it like that, I didn't care too much if he liked me or not.
"What are you talking about?" He pounded his hand on his chest, causing a loud tong tong noise, like metal.
"…" I stared at him blankly, "I don't even want to know…" I lowered my voice, "Man alive…" I muttered to myself, so they couldn't hear, "Why must I travel all the way across the goddamn world with an enticing Elf and an imprudent Tauren…"
"So, what are your names?" The Tauren asked curiously. I would have though he could just read the text above our heads or something.
"I'm Kujajin, and she's Viola." Kujajin explained openly as I growled lowly, "And my cat's name is Max."
"I'm Alpine, but you can call me Al." He beamed, as if he was excited to have people know his name. He must not have many friends either.
"Mhmm," I simply waved over my back. I didn't want to seem excited to have friends, because I wasn't. Believe me on that one. Friends only breed betrayal and hurt.
"… She okay?" Alpine asked Kujajin.
"She's a reclusive one," He seemed to ponder the thought for a moment before continuing, "But she's slowly opening up, don't worry." He grinned and rushed after me, probably to invade my personal space even more than he already has. Guys are like that.
-x0x-
Preview of Next Chapter:
"No, wait a minute here," I stood up and walked towards the bed. I pushed it further away from my cot, until it was a couple feet from Alpine's and a couple yards from mine, before walking back over to my bed to take off my weapons, "That's far better."
"Why did you do that?" Kujajin asked, walking over to his bed somewhat slowly.
"She thinks your gonna rape her." Alpine said laughing, as a joke. I didn't think it was particularly funny, so I didn't include my input.
"Ah, my nave friend,Kujajin spoke as a professor might, "You can't rape the willing." He grinned and winked at me.
"Excuse me?" I whirled all the way around with a surprised and more than peeved expression, I murmured my response, so it was even hard on my ears, "You couldn't rape me if you had Alpine hold me down,"
"I don't believe in rape," Alpine continued, as if we were listening, "'cuz my Grandma used to always say 'a girl can run a lot faster with her dress up than a boy can with his pants down', or something like that."
Remember to R&R! Really. This is serious biz, bra.