Path of the Wild

The sun steadily climbed through the eastern sky, bathing the lands below in it's golden light. The light spread across the landscape, breathing life into the new day and rousing the inhabitants below to rise. It seeped over Elwynn, through the small village of Goldshire – and in a little cottage just across the way from the Lion's Pride Inn, it crept in through the window of a small room. And it washed over the occupants of the room, mustering them to action.

"Oh boy!" Calvin crowed, throwing the covers off himself and jumping out of bed. "This is it, Hobbes! Today's the day! Hurry, get up!"

Back in the bed, Hobbes slowly pried a bleary eye open. "Wha – …... zz... ishk... time izzit?"

"C'mon, Hobbes!" Calvin jumped about, changing out of his night clothes. "Today we learn to hunt! Get a move on, would ya?!"

There came a low, growling sound from the second bed in the room. "Hey Twinkie, put a sock innit, huh!" Moe snarled, shifting around in the bed.

Calvin spared a glance at the larger boy before continuing his frantic dressing. He looked back at his own bed to see that Hobbes still hadn't stirred. "Well get a move on, would ya! We haven't got all day!"

The tiger stretched and let loose an enormous yawn before ambling out of bed. "... I can just hear your mom, now – 'Why can't you ever be this excited for school?'"

Calvin, pulling a shirt on, either didn't hear his companion, or simply didn't bother to reply. "Let's go Hobbes, we need to hurry – Othgar'll be here soon!" and with that, he dashed out the door.

The next thing Hobbes heard was several banging thuds sounding off in rapid succession as Calvin fell down the stairs.

Calvin numbly plied himself off the cottage floor, holding his head between his hands until the room stopped spinning.

"Your enthusiasm is admirable, but would walking down the stairs really take that much longer?" a droll voice above him said.

Calvin looked up to see Hobbes looking down at him with a sardonic expression. "Every second counts, Hobbes!" he called up to his friend.

The tiger raised a wry eyebrow. "You realize we've probably got a good hour, at least, before Othgar shows up?"

The two of them turned their heads and the sound of a door creaking open. "What was all that banging around?" Susie asked as she walked in. Hobbes pointed down the staircase and Susie followed his paw to where Calvin lay at the foot of the stairs. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Oh sure!" Calvin said as he climbed to his feet. "Just trying out more efficient ways of getting downstairs, is all!"

"More efficient?" her eyebrows lowered. "Seems a bit reckless, if you ask me."

"Hey, a hunter's gotta be fearless, right?!" Calvin dusted himself off.

"Fearless, not brainless!" was Susie's retort.

All the commotion had also roused Aligria from her own room. After ascertaining that Calvin hadn't hurt himself too badly, the shaman made her way to the kitchen and began preparing breakfast. After a few minutes, they were all seated around the table, enjoying their meal and discussing their plans for the day – none more so than Calvin who spent the time bragging about how mighty a hunter he would be and listing, in detail, the menagerie of beasts he would tame.

Once breakfast had been eaten and cleaned up, Calvin and Hobbes went and stood in front of the cottage. There they waited... and waited... and waited some more. Throughout the village, people from all the races of the Alliance walked through the streets, going about their daily tasks – armored humans marched down the roads on patrol, people bartered at various shops, others trained in various skills while little children ran around laughing and playing – and still, there was no sign of Othgar.

"Jeez, what's taking him so long?!" Calvin griped.

"Maybe he got lost." Thought Hobbes.

"How could someone who spends his days tracking get lost?!" Calvin countered.

Behind them, the door opened and Aligria, Susie and Moe stepped out into the fresh air.

Aligria cast her gaze around the village. "... The dwarf seems to be running a trifle late." she observed, shifting her satchel across her shoulder.

"That's what I've been saying!" Calvin tersely grumbled.

Aligria spared him a sympathetic glance before scanning through the streets once more. Still no sign of the dwarf – she gave a deep sigh and leaned against the side of the cottage.

Moe shuffled on the ground, restlessly. "So, we gonna go or what? I'm ready ta see some action; can't wait ta get fightin' Imma kick some – "

"As soon as Othgar arrives." Aligria interjected. "I'd rather not leave Calvin unsupervised."

Calvin turned to the shaman. Are you sayin' you don't trust me?!"

"Do you recall the incident with the poleaxe?" Aligria asked.

"... That wasn't my fault!" Calvin cried, flabbergasted.

"What wasn't?"

Calvin jumped with a yelp. Turning around, he saw the burly dwarf standing directly behind him, looking at him with a keen eye; beside him was a huge bear with blue-gray fur.

Calvin took a moment to catch his breath. "Jeez, give me a heart attack, why don't you?"

"There's yer first lesson as a hunter, lad." said Othgar, tapping him in the chest. "Always stay alert."

Aligria strolled over to the dwarf. "You're very late." she said, looking down at him.

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that, wee bit of a misunderstandin'." Othgar replied. "Thought ye said ye were at Northshire. So we headed up there, looked around fer a bit, decided ye weren't there – then o' course there were the bandits an' – "

"Bandits?!" Susie yelped. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

Oh, aye lass." Othgar replied airily. "Great lot o' tenderfoots they were, really – nothin' Strom an' I couldnea handle." he said as he pat his bear on the head.

Hobbes looked at the bear with a dismal look. When Strom turned to look at him, he gave a doleful grunt and turned aside.

Calvin, noticing this odd behavior, turned to his friend. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Hobbes replied without emotion. "nothing at all."

Calvin looked at Hobbes, then to the bear and back to Hobbes; then with a slick smirk said "You were hoping to see that lady tiger again, weren't you?"

Hobbes shot Calvin a defiant glare, then offered a glum "Maybe."

"Alright," the sound of Aligria's voice brought their attention back to the present. The draenei shouldered her satchel, filled with jewelry she intended to sell, and fixed a pointed look at the two of them. "we'll be on our, then. Be careful, both of you, and behave yourselves."

"Yes, mom." Calvin said in a quiet, dry voice.

"And you," Aligria turned to Othgar. "be sure to take good care of them!"

"Aye." the dwarf responded in a stoney voice.

Aligria gave a solemn nod, then turned to the road toward the city, beckoning for Susie and Moe to follow her. The other two children went along with the shaman; Susie turned and waved to Calvin and Hobbes, bidding them good luck.

When the other half of their party had gone from view, Othgar clapped his hands sharply, bringing the boy and tiger's attention back to him. "Right then, let us away." he said as he led the two earthlings into the depths of Elwynn Forest.

Othgar was very quiet as he led the way forward – only occasionally making motions for those following to stop and then proceed. After they had been walking through the foliage for several minutes, Calvin had had enough of the silence. "So, what sort of animals live in this forest, anyway?"

The dwarf gave a soft grunt before replying. "Oh, there're bears, wolves, boars,... a few deer, some squirrels,... rabbits, that sort o' thing."

Calvin was less than impressed with the squirrels and rabbits but the bears and wolves certainly piqued his interest. "Cool, what should I tame first?"

"Oh, ye'll have a while ta decide that!" Othgar said with a wry grin.

Calvin looked crestfallen. "Seriously?" he moaned.

"Aye... not ta worry, though; there's plenty ta learn in the mean time!"

"Really?"

"Oh aye, such as marksmanship, trappin' an' most importantly – trackin'!"

Calvin and Hobbes stopped short, looking at the man with a stunned expression. "Tracking? You think tracking's most important?!"

"Aye."

"... But,... what about marksmanship? I mean, if I don't learn marksmanship, I won't be able to shoot the things I track!" argued Calvin.

"But, if ya do'nea learn ta track, ya won't have anythin' to shoot at in the first place!" Othgar countered. Moving off a distance, he continued: "Now, all creatures leave evidence o' their presence; footprints, broken branches, snagged fur, claw marks, scents, scat; keep yer senses sharp an' ye'll be able ta tell what sort o' quarry's been in an area at any given time!"

"Really?" Calvin asked in a droll tone.

"The nose knows." Hobbes replied with a grin.

Othgar drew their attention to the tree he was standing next to. "Now as ye kin see, a spider came through here recently!"

This caused Calvin to let out an audible scoff. "A spider?! Seriously, you can tell an itty-bitty bug has been through here just by looking at a – "

he was cut off when Othger, quick as a flash, pulled out his rifle and fired a shot into the canopy. A split second later, a huge tarantula – as big as Calvin himself – fell to the ground with a thud. It's legs curled up in the air as it let out a dying hiss.

Calvin and Hobbes were both slack-jawed in an expression of shock. "Ooooh," Calvin wheezed. "they're big spiders..."

"Remember what I told ye, lad:" said Othgar, pointing a stocky finger to Calvin's chest. "Beware everythin'." he started walking further into the forest, causing the earthlings to hustle to catch up with him.

"So wait, you want me to be afraid my whole life?!" Calvin demanded.

The dwarf paused for a moment, then, letting out a thick breath, turned to face the boy. "'Beware' does'nea mean 'be afraid', lad. It means 'be aware'!" Thumping the butt of his rifle on the ground, Othgar fixed on Calvin with an iron hard glare. He continued, "There are a great many things in the world that will kill ye, if given th' chance. Do not. give them. that chance! Keep yer eyes an' ears open, stay alert, an' never, ever let yer guard down!" he picked his rifle up and pressed onward.

Calvin let what had been said seep into him for a moment before following after the dwarf.

"Alright," Calvin started when he caught up to Othgar. "I get it now; 'cause, y'know, telling someone to always be afraid seems a bit obtuse!"

"Make no mistake, lad, fear is a good thing."

"... Really?" asked Calvin in an incredulous tone.

"Oh aye. After all, fear is what keeps ye alive."

"You gotta be kidding." Calvin groaned, placing his fingers to his temple.

Othgar gave him a hardened look. "I'll tell ye what, lad; a man who is without fear will soon be without life!

"Fear is a constant reminder that we are mortal an' prone ta injury... or worse! Fear keeps us from runnin' blindly inta reckless situations that could prove fatal. But, bravery is not the absence o' fear, rather, it's th' ability to act in spite o' fear!

"Think of all th' great war heroes – those who risk life an' limb ta protect home an' family! Ye think any one o' them is'nea frightened? I promise ye, every time they march ta battle, not one o' their hearts aren't quakin' with fear! Yet they willinly march inta battle anyway; an' d'ye know why that is?!"

Calvin exhaled and sullenly asked. "Why?"

"'Cause they got somethin' worth fightin' fer, that's why!" Othgar crowed. "Their country, their freedom, th' safety of their family an' friends – noble ambitions they would all willinly give their lives ta protect!"

Calvin didn't say anything, but his expression was still incredulous.

The dwarf sighed. "I kin only hope ye'll understand one day... Perhaps then ye'll have somethin' worth fightin' for... Perhaps even somethin' worth dyin' for..."

They pressed on, further into the woods. Othgar spent a great deal of time explaining the finer points of tracking and the best ways to identify what animals had been around. Calvin tried his hardest to retain what the dwarf had said, but he found it wasn't quite sticking.

After a while, Othgar led them to a large clearing and asked Calvin to identify what animals had been in the area. Calvin took to examining the landscape in what he hoped was a similar manner to Othgar's while Hobbes sniffed around.

After about a half hour of dirty, sweaty rummaging around, Calvin came upon a discovery. "Hey, over here! I found a print!" he called.

"Aye." said Othgar, as they all gathered around. "Now, what kin ye tell about it?"

Calvin's jubilation suddenly fell flat. He looked to Hobbes who shrugged unhelpfully and back at Othgar who looked at him with an expectant glimmer. Sighing in resignation, he turned back to the print to glean what he could from it. "Well... it's um, obviously a large animal... it, uh, has toes... so it's not an ungulate... Could be a – no, ther're claw marks, so that rules out a cat. Could be a dog, but it's... awfully big..."

At that point, Strom opted to seat himself. As Calvin looked at the reclined ursine form, something clicked in his mind. "Oh, OH, it's a bear!"

"Right y'are, lad." said Othgar. "Now, kin ye tell us which way it went?"

So Calvin examined the area some more and went off in the direction the bear seemed most likely to have gone. The party trudged on for a few minutes more – Calvin became excited whenever he caught a sign of the bear's presence.

He moved a branch aside and nearly stumbled when he saw what was just in front of him. "Wow! We did it, Hobbes!" he said in an excited whisper as he clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"We actually tracked something." Hobbes replied in awe.

Calvin called back to the dwarf. "Othgar, we found it! We found the bear!"

Indeed they had; it stood no more than fifteen feet away from them, calmly lapping at stream. It was a large beast, bigger than Strom, even. It had dark, scruffy fur, long claws and an oddly shaped scar on it's shoulder.

Othgar took a look at the beast "Aye, a big'n at that!" he said, a little loudly, Calvin thought. "So lad," Othgar continued, pulling his rifle out of it's holster. "What shall we do with this mangy beast, now that we've found it?"

Calvin was taken aback. "Oh, erm,... you mean you're actually gonna sh-sh-shoot it?"

"Well why no'?" the dwarf asked. "After all th' trouble we went through ta find it, it only makes sense, does'nit?"

"Well, I guess... I mean it's just,... it looks awful... big."

"Oh aye!" Othgar crowed. "Jus' think about all th' money ta be made from sellin' 'er parts! With that hide... eh, could get a couple silver fer it. But look at all th' meat she's got on 'er; 'specially those big, fat thighs!"

"'Kay, Othgar, you're talkin' kinda loud, there." said Calvin. "Might wanna tone it down, or she might notice us."

"Or not." came Hobbes' voice from behind.

"What do you mean?" Calvin asked.

"She's gone!" Hobbes pointed to the area the bear had just been in – the area which was now empty.

"Which way's she go?!" Calvin asked in an urgent whisper.

"I dunno, I looked away for one second, and when I turned back, she'd just... vanished!"

Both boy and tiger's senses were put on high alert now; anxious for any noise or movement that might indicate the massive beast's reappearance. And a noise did catch their notice – not from ahead of them, but from behind. The duo turned with a jolt to see the bear had reappeared and held Othgar pinned to the ground with a giant paw on his back. For a tense moment, they didn't know what was going to happen; Calvin audibly gulped while his fingers twitched – wishing he had something, anything to defend himself with. Hobbes gave a frightened growl while the fur on his tail bushed out and his claws unconsciously extended.

Whatever the two of them had expected, it was a far cry from what happened next.

"Duplicitous scoundrel!" Calvin and Hobbes' expressions went from frightened to confounded in a split second. True they had witnessed some truly strange and marvelous things in this world, but still, they never imagined they would ever hear a bear speak!

Othgar lifted his face out of the ground and grunted indignantly toward the bear. "Ach, lighten up! T'was only a wee bit o' harmless fun!"

"Harmless?!" the bear fumed. "So shooting at inoffensive bystanders is harmless now, is it?!"

"Um,... what is going on, here?" Calvin asked in a stupor.

The bear continued. "I agreed to help you with training your new ward in good faith – had I known you intended to fire at me – "

"Seriously, what is happening?"

"I was'nea goin' ta!" Othgar protested. "I was jus' a joke, s'all."

"... Little explanation would be nice."

"Playing with people's lives is no laughing matter, dwarf!" the bear admonished in a growl.

"Well, it's hardly my fault if you hav'nae sense o' humor!" Othgar countered.

"Am I seriously the only one not following, here?"

"Oh, I'll show you a sense of humor! Just you wait until – "

"Would SOMEONE please EXPLAIN the talking BEAR!" Calvin shouted.

This outburst promptly brought the bear's attention to the boy standing there. With a low grumble, she lifted her paw off of Othgar and rose onto her hind feet. As she rose, her form changed into an imperious night elf.

"... Wow." Hobbes' jaw fell slack in awe.

"Jeez, why's this world full of such freakishly tall women?" Calvin grumbled under his breath.

As the elf peered at the two of them, her cutting expression softened and her lips twisted into a light smile. She tilted her head toward them with a pleasant "Good afternoon."

Calvin shakily raised his hand, offering a haphazard "Hi."

Othgar, meanwhile, had pulled himself to his feet and was brushing himself off when the elf gave him a sharp jab to his shoulder. "Well Truesteel, are you going to introduce me to your ward, or not?!" she barked.

Othgar rumbled plaintively, but stepped forward, gesturing to the two earthlings. "Calvin, Hobbes, this is Nehannah Stillglade."

"A pleasure to meet you." Nehannah stepped toward the boy, clasping his hand tightly.

"Wow. So, you're a... shaman, then?" Calvin asked. He couldn't be sure, but when he asked the question, it seemed like a dark expression had crossed her face. But whatever it was, it passed imperceptibly fast.

"No." she answered. "I am a druid."

"Oh." Calvin gulped. "Well, it's just that you turned into a bear, and, y'know, I've only ever seen a shaman do that.

"Well, I promise you that we druids are distinctly different; while shamans derive their power from spirits, our power is forged through our connection with nature."

"'Kay, got it." Calvin nodded. "So,... you say Othgar asked you to do this?" he turned his gaze to the dwarf.

Othgar shrugged in response. "Thought it'd be best if yer first attempt at trackin' brought yeh ta somethin' that would'nae attack on sight."

"Well,... at least not attack you on sight." Hobbes muttered to Calvin.

"Looking back, I suppose I should have known he would pull something like this." Nehannah said, glaring at the hunter – who glared right back. "I suppose it's a hazard when you befriend someone so..." she merely tilted her head toward him as if that were explanation enough. Turning back to Calvin, she went on. "Well. It was nice meeting you, but I must be moving along now – I've other appointments to keep... with other freakishly tall women."

Calvin shrunk back slightly. "Oh,... you heard that." he nervously stammered.

"My ears are not this big for aesthetics, boy." she calmly answered. She strode off into the forest, saying "Best of luck with your training!"

Calvin tried to watch her depart, but she quickly vanished amongst the foliage. His eye caught a sudden movement, but it turned out to be a deer.

He turned back to see Othgar gazing at the sun through the forest canopy. "We probably ought tat head back as well." the dwarf said. "The draenei'll be expectin' us."

They returned to the cottage just as the sun was sinking beneath the horizon. Aligria watched their approach from the window; she opened the door as they drew near, ushering them all inside. "Welcome back." she said, warmly. "How did your fist jaunt into the wilds go?"

"Great." Calvin sighed. "We even managed to track something! (sort of.)"

"Wonderful." Aligria smiled. "Well, I imagine you must be tired after such a long day, why don't you go sit yourself down. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Turning to Othgar, she added. "You're welcome to stay too, if you would like."

"Ach, I would'nae want ta intrude..."

"No? Too bad, I prepared a whole rack of venison – "

"But, if y'insist..."

Calvin and Hobbes left the two adults and headed toward the main living area of the cottage. There they found Susie facing the hearth with her hands stretched out and palms facing the empty fireplace. They watched as she drew her arms back, took a deep breath and flung her arms forward again.

This went on for a good long moment; she would repeat the pattern several times. But when she thrust her arms forward, her serene expression would melt into a look of vexation – like she was expecting something to happen and it simply wouldn't cooperate.

As she pulled her arms back one more time, Calvin quietly crept up behind her and just before she thrust her arms out, he said "What'cha doin'?"

Susie made a nervous jump at the sudden noise, and as she did, a small cloud of embers popped and crackled before her open hands.

For a time, no one spoke, too astounded by the spectacle they had witnessed.

When the moment finally passed, it was Susie who spoke up first. "Did... did you see that?!" she said excitedly.

"Er, yes... impressive." Calvin said quickly, trying to regain composure. "... you uh, learn that at magic training?"

"mm-hmm." she nodded. "I could tell you all about it, if you'd like."

Calvin ambled over to a chair and seated himself while Hobbes made himself comfortable on the floor. "Guess I got nothing better goin' on." said Calvin. "So I'll go ahead and listen... 'least until dinner's ready."

A/N: Hey gang. So here's the latest installment, and I hope it's decent. Sorry it took so long, though; ever have an instance where you know what you want to do with something, but you're not sure the best way to execute it? That's sort of what this chapter was like. But now it's done with, so enjoy!