Of Claws and Totems

by Kechlion

When a Worgen with his humanity intact comes out of hiding to save a Draenei, he'll realize that perhaps living alone isn't so great. His story is one of constant strife: fighting for acceptance, fighting for her heart, and fighting for Azeroth. Rated M for violence, some gore, and some sexuality.

7. Chapter 7 Duel

Of Claws and Totems

Chapter 7

Duel

"A… surprise? What kind of surprise?" Blackheart asked. "Well it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I just told you now would it? Now, follow me. Kalara you can come too." The Vindicator turned and walked away then, the stunned Blackheart starting when Kalara pushed against his back to get him out the door. Why would Valina have a surprise for him?

She led them towards the sound of a blacksmith's hammer ringing. Blackheart could smell the acrid smoke of a forge. He could smell all of the metals being smelted and the wood being used to heat the fires, and his ears caught a bellows working. When they rounded the corner to the blacksmith's shop, there were three soot covered draenei hard at work: one was working the bellows for a forge, one was hammering out a red hot piece of metal, and the other who appeared to be the instructor was looking over some work and making comments about it.

When he caught sight of the group, he raised his soot covered goggles and hailed them. "Ah Vindicator, the pieces you commissioned are finished! Tell me what you think of my young apprentice's work." He then set out the sword and shield that Blackheart had used, newly sharpened and repaired, as well as a large set of chainmail armor for the chest and legs,and the leather undergarments to stop the chains from pinching the skin. At Blackheart's confused look, the Vindicator said, "Well, don't just stare at them, try them on. Surely you've seen armor before."

Blackheart hesitantly walked over to the armor laid out before him. He picked up the leather jerkin and put it on. To his surprise it was a perfect fit. He buckled on the chain mail and did the same process with the leggings. It wasn't the most finely crafted work he could remember, but it fit well and seemed sturdy enough and it had the symbol of the Hand of Argus on it. The leather was thick and cured well and the steel chainmail would deflect most indirect attacks. While he was marveling at the armor, Valina said, "Excellent. I usually don't miss my mark when I'm sizing up someone. Now, Recruit Blackheart, kneel."

Blackheart did as he was told, kneeling before the Vindicator, placing a hand on his knee and one on the ground. "In light of your efforts to save Azure Watch and for your prowess in battle, I present you with your first basic set of armor and weaponry. I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it. I know a certain draenei who is going on a shamanistic quest. I request that you accompany and protect her with your life and ensure the completion of her quest. Will you represent the Hand of Argus honorably in this endeavor?"

Bowing his head even lower, Blackheart said, "I accept, and will do all in my power to accomplish this mission."

"Excellent. You may rise."

Blackheart stood and looked down at his armor again, still amazed by it all. He owned armor… and a shield and a weapon. Much better than some rocks in a cave and a lonely medallion. He strapped on his shield and buckled the sword on as Valina said, "You two should be on your way. You bear the weight of the responsibility of the Hand of Argus now Blackheart. Remember that."

The two then set off a short while later, heading northeast to a place known as Emberglade. Turning to Blackheart to explain along the way, Kalara said, "We have to go there and speak with Temper, a fire elemental. I've got to do some kind of quest for him so he will grant me the powers of fire."

"So… the plan is to march up to a fire elemental and just speak with him?" Blackheart asked.

"Yep, this is gonna be great!"

Blackheart just smiled and shook his head. The shaman next to him was enthusiastic if anything. That was a good thing; he had a feeling that Kalara would do well if she was able to stay that way. As they paced on Blackheart could hear the clink of his armor as he moved. That would take some getting used to. He normally moved in complete silence, so this would be a new experience. Looking back over her shoulder, Kalara noticed Blackheart lagging behind. "What's the matter?"

"This armor is… loud. I feel like just by walking I'm shouting where I'm at." Blackheart replied. Kalara covered her mouth and giggled. At his confused look she laughed right out at him. "I haven't heard a thing." she said. "You're hearing is just too good, I doubt anyone else can hear you either. There's also not much room to hide where we are going. Emberglade doesn't have very many trees… at least that aren't on fire."

"On fire? So Emberglade is a literal name." Continuing on their way, Kalara responded, "Well, what did you expect? We're going to where a fire elemental lives. It's gonna be a bit toasty!"

Blackheart and Kalara took the road north, towards Stillpine Hold. Emberglade was Northeast of the Hold. After an hour of travel, the road started winding through a forest. Slowly the trees started to increase in number until they crowded the small dirt path. Tall, old conifer's dominated this forest, not the type of tree that Blackheart would be able to climb easily. Perhaps the chainmail was better than silence after all. Ten minutes into the forest though he smelled… something. Fur and leather, tension mixed with anxiety to be at the end of their task. Something was hunting… and he and Kalara were the only prey he had seen.

Kalara had noticed when Blackheart slowed and sniffed the air, his hackles raised. Knowing of Blackheart's keen senses, Kalara walked up to him and quietly asked, "What is it?" Turning to her while trying to locate their pursuers, he said, "We are being… hunted. Something with fur, and more than one of them, but I'm not sure what they are."

Looking around, Blackheart urged her to slowly proceed forward. "Be ready." he whispered. "They will show themselves soon." The two continued on their way; Kalara anxiously looking around while Blackheart fell into his senses and readied his sword and shield. They had only made it a few paces when Blackheart sensed movement behind him. He spun around in time to see, and slice in two, a net being hurled at him. It fell harmlessly to either side of him. Kalara let out a gasp at his quick motion, and tried to see what was attacking them.

Standing in front of him were a half dozen white furbolgs. They were dressed in scraps of leather and held spears at the ready, crouched and waiting for the worgen's next move. They spread out before him in a semi circle as Blackheart moved to stand between them and Kalara, making sure she was protected from any harm they could inflict.

One of the larger furbolgs, the one that smelled the most of anxiety, charged at Blackheart. The spear it wielded was easily turned aside by his sword and he slammed the furbolg with his shield, knocking him to the ground. Blackheart stepped in to make the kill, raising his claymore over his head to impale the downed creature. The furbolgs eyes widened in shock and fear as the large blade descended towards him

Mid stab Blackheart heard Kalara call out to stop the attack, but it was too late for him to halt the momentum of the large claymore. Instead he forced the blade over and it buried into the ground an inch beside the cowering furbolgs head. Kalara rushed forward then, speaking in some strange language he had never heard before… but it must have been Ursine because the other furbolgs lowered their weapons and spoke back to her. He looked back down to see the furbolg beneath him being hauled away and yelled at by the other creatures.

Kalara turned to Blackheart then. "Don't attack them, they didn't mean to come at you… or at least the rest of them didn't. They are the Stillpines and we're friendly with them. They actually thought that you had kidnapped me and were trying to save me from 'the wolf man'." Surveying the furbolgs, Blackheart slowly sheathed his weapons. As much as they appeared to be savages they were obviously an organized and intelligent bunch, and half decent hunters on top of that. They weren't quite as tall as he was, but were much wider, resembling bears.

"You can speak with them?" he asked Kalara. "Yes, when we first arrived on this island we… well we learned to talk with them. I'm not entirely sure how to tell you it happened. I just know that we learned to speak Ursine, and now all the draenei here at Azure Watch can speak their language." Shaking his head, Blackheart said, "Well, tell them that I apologize for any… damage I caused to the one that attacked."

The furry creatures erupted into excited chatter when Kalara told them what the worgen had said… all except the one that had attacked. He was looking at Blackheart with a combination of fear and anger. He would keep an eye on that one. Kalara turned and said, "Well they certainly liked that. They want to take us to Stillpine Hold to meet High Chief Stillpine and to inform the rest of the clan not to attack you. Apparently they think he'll be highly impressed that I have a wolf man as a guardian." She giggled after saying the last part.

Stillpine Hold proved to only be a half hour ahead on the road; the furbolgs had set an easy pace, constantly bantering to each other and to Kalara. It was a small village located at the mouth of a cave. There were crude straw huts set up, and Blackheart could smell the sweet and awful smells accompanying the village, from the cook fires on one side of the village and the small tannery racks on the other. The huts themselves were a haphazard array of sticks, leaves, and mud with no real thought to their placement, just wherever a furbolg decided to put one, which seemed to suit them just fine. He did notice one place that was cleared, an area around a totem pole with a large furbolg wearing more clothes and jewelry than the rest of them. That must be the High Chieftain, Blackheart thought.

One of their escorts ran ahead to the chieftain, while the others fanned out and started explaining why an eight foot tall armored worgen was walking into their village. Kalara laughed at Blackheart then; the furbolgs were coming to inspect him and were ooing and ahing at him. The furbolg that surrounded Blackheart were sizing him up and down and talking to each other; one of them grabbed hold of his arm to squeeze and feel the muscle, but let go at a growl from Blackheart. They definitely had strength packed into their large frames. He was about to push one away who was getting too curious about his sword when Kalara waded through and saved him.

"What is going on Kalara? Why am I being poked and prodded? Do they plan on cooking me tonight?" Kalara smiled as she took him by the hand and led him away. "No, they're not going to cook you! They're just amazed by you is all. They're close to nature and you're not something that most of them have ever seen before. Come on, we're going to meet their chieftain."

As they approached where the chieftain was standing, they noticed him engaged in an argument with the furbolg that had initially attacked him on the road. When they got close, Blackheart could smell the anger radiating off of the furbolg, and it intensified when he noted their approach. Blackheart's hackles rose after the look he got from the angry furbolg.

The chieftain stopped talking to the other furbolg and turned his attention to Blackheart and Kalara as the two arrived. He surprised Blackheart by speaking in Common. It wasn't perfect and was heavily accented, but it was easy enough to understand. "High Chieftain Stillpine, I am." he said. "Welcome to our home. I am in hopes that your stay is warm and comfortable. Who are you, and where are you going, I ask?"

Blackheart bowed to the chieftain saying, "Thank you for letting me into your home. My name is Blackheart. I hope I haven't caused too many problems or too much alarm for your people. I am traveling with Kalara here to assist her in her journey to become a shaman." The chieftain smiled at that, saying, "Shaman, there is no higher calling. Though… trouble you have brought a little bit with you. Grimclaw doesn't wish for you to be welcome in our home. He has invoked a weaponless challenge with you, and unless you wish to leave you must accept, I'm afraid."

Blackheart and Kalara both were taken aback by the challenge. Kalara tried to explain in Ursine that earlier was an accident and that Grimclaw had attacked first, but the chieftain merely explained that it was their custom and that the custom must be followed. Turning to Blackheart, Kalara said, "Come on; let's go. I can't believe that everyone has a problem with you, even after you've proven who you are. We don't need to stay here and can camp on the edge of Emberglade."

Blackheart caught her arm as she turned away; she gave him a confused look when he didn't let her leave. She noticed he wasn't looking at her though, he was staring down Grimclaw… and doing a right good job of it she thought. It made her want to cower just watching him stare intently at something else. "You don't have to do this, please let's just go." She tried to move him, but was not successful. "No Kalara… this is something I have to do. I will always have to fight for acceptance if I'm going to continue living like this, and I'm not going to back down now." He turned to the chieftain then. "What are the rules of this challenge?"

"The fighting will be with hands only, no weapons involved. Yielding first is the loser. Do you accept this challenge, Blackheart?" Following Blackhearts nod, the shaman said something in Ursine to Grimclaw and he let out a growl of excitement. "Blackheart, to the forest come with me." The chieftain then walked out of the town to the forest, followed by Grimclaw, Blackheart, Kalara, and a number of other furbolgs. There was no cheering; there was hardly any noise at all from the other furbolgs. This seemed to be something take very seriously.

A short way into the forest, the chieftain stopped at a small, circular clearing that had been made. Blackheart could see, as well as smell, the old blood stains that had been left here. Apparently this had been the site of many such duels. Upon seeing the blood, Kalara turned on Blackheart. "And you're sure that we can't just walk away from this and ignore them?"

Blackheart removed his sword, shield, and the rest of his equipment remaining in only his clothes. Blackheart took her shoulders in hands them, steadying her nervousness. He looked down into her eyes, saying "Yes. I will not run from this, now or ever. I knew that this would happen, having to fight for acceptance, wherever we go. Thanks to you, I'm ready to face it." He walked to the ring then; Kalara was left hugging her shoulders and went to stand beside the chieftain. Blackheart faced Grimclaw then. The ring was twenty paces across the center; it was a large place to fight. The chieftain walked in between the two and looked them both in the eye, then raised his hand over his head. He said something loud and guttural in ursine as it descended, and Blackheart took that as his cue to start.

Grimclaw let out a roar and charged at Blackheart, attempting to tackle him to the ground. Blackheart neatly sidestepped the charge and laid open a thin set of slices on the stumbling furbolg's back with his claws. It didn't seem to phase the creature, and it quickly turned and tried to tackle him to the ground again. This time when Blackheart tried to sidestep, Grimclaw was able to adjust and tackled the worgen to the ground. Blackheart's breath came out as 400 pounds of angry furbolg came down on him. Grimclaw was trying to claw and bite Blackheart, but with little success; Blackheart was too fast. Blackheart managed to coil his legs between the two and kicked out hard, hitting Grimclaw in the chest and sending him flying over backwards to splay out on the ground for a second. He was going to have to be careful from now on, Grimclaw was a tougher opponent than he looked.

Grimclaw stood up and looked angrier than before, if that was possible. This attack came slower than the last. The furbolg slowly paced in, claws at the ready and face in a snarl of rage showing a large set of fangs, and took measured swipes that Blackheart easily dodged. Grimclaw accelerated his swipes, making them come in faster and in a fury that was starting to catch up to Blackheart. He took a few nicks from the furbolgs sharp claws before retaliating. He avoided the next swipe from the furbolgs left, caught the one from his right and laid open a slash across his chest which sent the creature stumbling and down to the ground. Blackheart expected the furbolg to get up again. He didn't expect the handful of dirt and rocks thrown into his face.

With his opponent blind, Grimclaw took full advantage of the situation, slashing and biting at Blackheart with abandon, laying out bloody streaks and gashes. He bit down hard on Blackheart's left arm, almost breaking the bone before the worgen punched him in the face enough to make him relent. The best Blackheart could do was to flail wildly and try to fend off the furbolg until he could put some distance in between the two. Just as Blackheart was about to retreat, the attack stopped.

Blackheart twisted his head from side to side and vainly tried to clear the dirt from his eyes. He heard footsteps pounding the earth from his left, and jumped backwards to avoid getting tackled again. He was successful to the extent that he wasn't on the ground, but now had a line of deep claw marks across his chest. He hissed in pain and could hear Kalara gasping, then crying out in rage that she wasn't allowed to interfere. Blackheart needed to stop the fight soon; he was losing a lot of blood, and his left arm was in bad shape.

As he stood waiting for Grimclaw, the blood dripping from his chest, it went totally silent. Grimclaw was controlling his breathing and not making a sound when he walked. His opponent was going to go for the kill next. Remembering the lesson he had taught Kalara the previous day, he calmed himself and fell into his other senses, ignoring his sight completely.

He could hear the noises that the other furbolgs and Kalara made. He could smell the grass and trees, and the blood dripping from both him and his opponent. That was the key: blood. His opponent's blood came through to him strongly, and he could tell that the furbolg was roughly five paces away from him and was slowly trying to circle around behind him. Tapping into his predatory instincts Blackheart went stock still; he was waiting for his chance to attack.

Tracking Grimclaw with his nose, Blackheart could smell him moving in from his side. The smell slowly came closer, the sharp tang of blood and the scent of anger. It wasn't time yet. The furbolg crept even closer, the scents coming to almost envelop him. Blackheart was so attuned to his senses he could hear the fur brushing between the legs of the furbolg as he crept closer. Blackheart waited for what seemed like an eternity… and then it happened, a sharp increase in the smell of blood and adrenaline. The furbolg's heart had started pumping faster, adrenaline filling its veins to dish out one last lethal attack.

Blackheart processed all of this in a split second, as well as the multitude of sounds he heard. The swish of air from the enraged furbolg's swing at Blackheart's throat, the gasp of fear coming from Kalara, the grunt of force the furbolg released. He could hear the swish coming closer, almost as if time had slowed for him alone. It was close… coming closer… now it was mere inches from his throat. This was the time. Blackheart sprang into action.

Or rather, sunk into action, dropping down as low as he could crouch and gathering all of the spring he could muster into his legs and left arm. His right arm balled into a rock solid fist, and as the swing narrowly passed over him and clipped his ear, he could hear the surprise in the grunt from Grimclaw. Blackheart retaliated then, leaping and pushing up with all his might to deliver a massive uppercut to Grimclaw's jaw. He could feel his fist driving up, shattering bones and tearing muscle, then further up; they were off the ground then. The furbolg was carried up into the air on Blackheart's fist two feet off the ground before flying backwards to land in an unconscious heap.

Stunned silence engulfed them as Blackheart landed, crouching and listening to make sure that Grimclaw wouldn't get up again. He heard one of the bystanders pace into the ring over to where he assumed Grimclaw had landed and heard him say something in Ursine. The ring erupted in hoots and cheerful roars and Blackheart was hit by a small fleshy missile that smelled like Kalara. "You did it! You really beat that stupid bear in this stupid duel." He grunted in pain as she squeezed him in a hug. "Oh no!" she said and immediately backed off. "While we're on the topic of stupid, sit your stupid butt down and let me heal those stupid wounds." Blackheart gladly did as he was instructed, sitting down on the grassy turf.

He smelled and felt Kalara's healing magic wash over him. It felt like he was taking a very refreshing dip in a cool spring on a hot day... it was beginning to be a smell he enjoyed. The watery healing magic raced down his arm, knitting the muscle and skin back together and closing his wounds. Kalara was slower to fully cast her next spell; it smelled more like an old, wise spirit, gently removing the dust and debris from his eyes and clearing up his vision. When he opened his eyes he saw Kalara kneeling in front of him, a look of worried determination on her face. Her hands were held together in front of her, with the palms facing him, and blue energy was slowly coalescing there and washing over him. Even after his wounds were healed, she kept pouring the energy into it. She stopped when Blackheart's hand closed over hers. "Thank you for healing me, yet again. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise about not getting hurt."

Folding her arms under her breasts Kalara directed her now familiar death stare at him. "Well you better start trying to keep your promises with me, or you're gonna be on your own, living in a cave and wearing rags in no time!" Her stare melted down and she leaned forward and hugged the worgen then. "I'm just glad that you're ok. Now then, let's go get something to eat shall we?"

As the two stood up High Chieftain Stillpine walked over to them. "One mean punch have you Blackheart. Remind me to not duel you. Ever. I hope this learns Grimclaw a lesson." Blackheart looked over to the unconscious furbolg then. There was a furbolg shaman casting some kind of healing magic on him. "Will he be ok?" the worgen asked.

"He should be fine, I think. Perhaps only damage done will be to his pride. Now, join us for supper as guests?" the chief asked. "I could certainly eat after that, being healed makes you hungry. Though… I wonder how Grimclaw will be able to eat with what I did to his jaw." Blackheart said. "Worry not about Grimclaw, his mistakes he will have to live with."

Blackheart gathered up and re equipped his armor and weaponry then. With darkness gathering at the eastern edge of the sky, the large group headed back to Stillpine Hold, with two of the furbolgs carrying Grimclaw back with them. He was dumped unceremoniously into his hut upon their return, and Kalara and Blackheart were led to the chief's hut. It was larger, more ornate, and better constructed than the rest of the huts. When they entered, the chieftain ushered them onto grass mats on the floor to sit on. At his call, another furbolg brought them each a large bowl of stew. Blackheart could smell the venison and the other herbs in it, and it smelled delicious, eliciting a growl from his stomach. "Stillpine stew, the best stew on this island, it is."

He quickly emptied the bowl of stew, then another, and was finishing his third bowl as Kalara put down her first. Speaking in Ursine, Kalara said, "That was delicious! Thank you so much for your hospitality. Do you have a place we might be able to stay the night at? I don't really want to travel through the forest."

The chieftain motioned at a few pallets that were lying against one wall of the hut. "You may stay here if you wish." Another furbolg came into the hut then, saying something in Ursine to the chief. "I'm afraid that my attention is required elsewhere. I will return later." He left then, presumably to finish some chieftain duties.

Kalara helped Blackheart remove his armor and he set his equipment against one of the walls. "So what do you think of the furbolgs, Blackheart?" Kalara asked him. "Well… they are, with an exception, generous and welcoming of those that have earned their trust. I get the feeling though, that the trust was hard to come by. How exactly did you learn to speak their language?"

Kalara was quiet for a time before she spoke. "Miyara was the first one to discover the totems. She was a powerful shaman then, just after the Exodar crashed, and she was proving to be even more skilled then Master Tuluun himself. She found a furbolg totem in the forest and was able to commune with it. She somehow deciphered what the runes meant, and taught the rest of us to use the totem. Once we could access the totem, it magically imparted the ability to speak the Ursine language to us."

"That's pretty amazing. Who's Miyara, and where is she now?" Kalara was silent again. She looked like she was having some kind of internal struggle. Finally she spoke in a whisper. "She went to Outlands and helped end the Burning Legion, fighting the demons and Illidan. Next she traveled to Northrend to help bring about the end of the previous Lich King, fighting through thousands of scourge. Once again she returned home victorious. But then…" Kalara started to sniffle. "Then she had seen too much. The Twilight Hammer came and… and they took her! They took my sister away! I don't know how but they took her away and I haven't seen her since…" she was in tears at this point.

Blackheart felt the urge to go to her then, to comfort her and protect her. He crawled over and picked her up gently, setting her in his lap and he let her cry into his chest while he slowly rocked her back and forth. In a blubbering voice, Kalara said, "She was all that I had left! When the Exodar crashed, every one I knew, all of my family and friends, they all died! Except for her… except for Miyara. She was the strong one; the survivor. No matter what she was always there for me, provided for me and always came back to me. I thought she would be around forever but now she's gone. Except for Master Tuluun I've been so alone… and when I leave here I won't have anyone!" She turned into his chest and cried harder now, grabbing handfuls of fur and pulling herself closer to him.

As Blackheart continued to hold her and rock her back and forth, he looked own and shushed her, saying, "That's not quite true is it?" Kalara looked back up at him, tears still streaking down her face. "What do you mean that's not true?" Blackheart smiled down at her then, and wiped her tears away as best he could. "You've got me."