An'she was rising when the taurenesses finally made it to their tent in Thunderbluff. It had been a long night for the two of them, as well as the other critters. Exhausted both mentally and physically, Kennocha laid down on the center mat and fell asleep.

While Winoa longed to join her friend, she had to look around the tent for any sign of Jafern. It had been over two weeks since she had last seen him and she was desperate for any sign of her mate. Checking every nook and cranny in the tent, she had hoped to find something but instead found nothing but her many bags and their favorite pipes in the back.

His pipe was relatively long for a regular pipe, made of a light and durable wood. It was well worn and still filled with sage and dreamflower. Hers was a long and sleek pipe as well, made of a heavy wood. It was polished and lightly used, saved only for special occasions.

Like their feast coming up in three weeks.

Sighing, Winoa relaxed herself on the mat by Kennocha and let her thoughts continue on.

What are we doing for the feast? Who will be in attendance? Are we continuing to plan for it when Jafern isn't even her?

The tired taureness listened to the questions in her head, trying to think of an answer for any of them. She hadn't been able to think of a response to them before they continued raining concerns on her.

What if he doesn't return by the time the celebration begins? Will they carry on with it? Will it seem disrespectful or awkward if they do? What if Jafern never comes back? What then?

The stress behind the words was clear to Winoa. She knew that she needed to calm herself down, but she couldn't think of a way to do so.

Instead, she looked at Kennocha as she lay slumbering on her mat.

Eyes closed, her friend lay on her stomach with her mouth partially open, breathing softly and consistently. Kennocha was a bit shorter than Winoa when she stood up, but on the ground she looked so small that she could have easily blended in with those just coming of age. At first glance, Winoa thought that she looked quite peaceful. Then she looked closer at her.

Her eyes had dark bags under them from the lack of sleep over the last few days. Her dark brown mane was loosely pulled into twin braids which had not seen a decent bath in days. Leaves and dirt covered her from the top of her mane to the bottom layer of her fur. Her brown coat was heavily matted as well. Her horns and hooves were covered in many layers of dried mud and grime. Looking at her light leather robe (which Winoa had made for her long ago), it was just as dirty as her fur and tattered in many areas. Her backside also wrapped around, but she didn't feel the need to disturb it. After all, it could have just been a field injury from the Legion invasions.

Next, the taureness glanced to Kennocha´s left arm. There she found a hides ripped off her robe wrapped around the arrm. Curious, she unwrapped the arm to find a long cut glowing dark purple. She could make out a bit of blood running from the wound, but it was vastly overwhelmed by the magically purple glow.

Well this cannot be good.

Worried about what had happened, she looked over the taureness again. She couldn´t find anything similar to it on her backside, but had yet to look even once. She gently reached under the taureness to turn her over, trying not to wake her up. She turned her friend over and placed on her back. Kennocha didn't stir.

Winoa succeed.

Now able to see the front side, she is shocked to look at Kennocha´s chest. It is wrapped similarly to the arm, with a faint purple and green glow radiating off. Careful to ensure her fingers don't make it any worse, she unwraps the chest wound. Between her breasts is a gash wound similar to her arm, but much deeper. The purple had become much brighter than Winoa would liked to admit. Green light would flicker off the wound on occasion, diming the purple glow before it retreated back to the leather.

She could tell that green was Kennocha´s healing at work, but she wondered why there wasn't something similiar on her arm. Looking back to her arm, she squinted her eyes to see a green light that was barely there at all.

Oh.

Turning back to the chest wound, she could see the purple and green glows seeming to dance around, with one always glowing brighter than the other. She didn't know what it meant though. After all, the purple glow was fairly knew to Winoa.

What happened to you Sister?

Looking to the leather hides, she debated retrieving new cloth to dress Kennocha's wounds. Deciding to use spare linen from the tent, she began to redress the wounds. She went for the chest first, wrapping the cloth around her before she had an idea.

Taking out one of her water totems, she asked the element of water to allow her to heal her friend. She couldn't hear the elements respond, but she could see their acceptance to help as water started to move towards the wrappings. Thoroughly soaking them, Winoa thanked the element before returning to wrap the cloth round her chest. It may not have been druidic magic, but it should work for healing the gash marks on her chest. Once she made it around a few times, she repeated the process on her friend's arm.

Once she had finished both the arm and chest, she laid down by Kennocha's side and promptly fell asleep.

They remained still and dead asleep for most of the day. Even though the critters been exhausted from the journey, they had quickly regained their energy from the trip. Waking up about the same time as one another, they looked around the bright midday scenery and figured that they needed to eat now.

The trio had made it into the tent to check on the taurenesses in hope that they had brought food to eat. Unfortunately, they both still slumbered. However, that wasn't going to stop them from eating something soon.

Faeren walked up first, nudging his muzzle on Kennocha's back. Yadwi quickly followed suit, leaving the fawn to go hopping onto the taureness's head. Kennocha didn't move.

Frustrated, the wolf began growling at the taureness. She still didn't react, so he continued to get louder and more aggressive. This scared Yadwi, leaving her to jump over to Winoa's chest. Maybe she could get this one to feed them….

So the rabbit began jumping on Winoa's back. She went back and forth across her spine, getting farther higher than she originally started. This made her meager weight hurt a bit, but Winoa followed Kennocha's example and refused to budge. Once the rabbit landed on Winoa's head one final time, she nipped at her ears like Faeren was with Kennocha's hair. Yet neither stirred.

Huffing, Faeren looked up at the nipping Yadwi. She was a large spotted rabbit, with bits of fat on her bones. Faeren had been "trained" from a young age to hunt carefully and only when Kennocha allowed. This never included going after her other companions.

The first time Kennocha gained a small critter, it had been a larger bunny than Yadwi with good tender muscles. To put it gently, she had been horrified to find the wolf with a small tail coming out of his mouth as he swallowed his meal. She had been strict on few things in his life, but his diet had been the one thing she had kept concern about. She had punished him with more loads off of her back and onto his. It hadn't been too harsh on its own, but when she tried to feed him a lighter meal of herbs, he got the message.

Of course, he made sure not to eat any animal Kennocha had the intention of keeping, but sometimes desperate times come with desperate measures. Especially when neither taureness would arose from their dreams to take him hunting.

Hence he lunged at the rabbit. If no one could see him, then he could get away with it. The rabbit was quick though, and hopped out of the way to get out of the tent as soon as possible.

Faeren followed suit, chasing after the sprinting rabbit. He was going to eat, damn it!

Yadwi had other ideas though. Chasing him around the pond surrounded by gasping taurens, she made a few laps around as the wolf came closer. Realizing that she couldn't keep doing this, she looked for a gap between the gaping tauren. There was one right by what seemed to be a couple having a picnic by the water. Perfect! To throw him off of her trail, she jumped between the two tauren, into the pond and began paddling to the other side.

Yet the hunter didn't give up so easily. He pushed the couple away from one another as he leaped into the water. Unphased by the pond's depth, he scanned the water for his meal.

There it was! It was swimming towards the far end. It had just made it to land as Faeren had begun to paddle. It was running towards the center totem, heading up to an upper tier.

So Faeren followed closely behind. He ran up the winding ramp as he veered right to the next tier. There were a variety of merchants and consumers here, but no sign of the rabbit. He began running across the tier, searching for Yadwi.

He ran across the bridge to one of the other mesas. This was the level with the zeppelin tower that he recognized. He looked around, smelling the ground. He caught the scent of the rabbit here. It was heading to the departing zeppelin!

He dashed over to the zeppelin, leaping to make it onboard to the surprise of the goblins and tauren onboard. Unfazed by the attention, he found the rabbit on one of the back engines. As he neared his prey, he was certain that he would be enjoying a good fulfilling meal of rabbit before Kennocha woke up.

Instead, the rabbit leaped over the edge of zeppelin, barely making it on the extending ramp on the bluff.

Well there goes his meal!

He was about to leap for it when a rope circled around his neck and tightened. Growling, he turned his head to see a few of the goblin crew holding onto the thick rope. One of them, a lanky green female called out to the wolf.

"Stand down!"

Another one, an ever shorter but round female, looked to the speaking goblin.

"Why are ya talkin' to it Gizzie! It's an animal for crying out loud!"

Gizzie clenched the rope tighter as she defended herself. "It might listen! Ya never know with these things!"

Sighing, the other goblin shrugged. "Uh huh. Keep tellin' yaself that one…."

The goblins kept their distance the entire trip to Orgrimmar. A few would whimper occasionally, only to be yelled at by the second woman.

"Alright ya mooks, where do ya think we're takin this thing?"

Gizze squealed in delight. "The pet store!"

The second goblin sighed. "Nope. Anyone else?"

No one spoke up.

"Ugh, I'm working with a buncha idiots. Just follow my lead."

Back in Thunderbluff...

The rabbit made her way back to the tent where Kennocha and Winoa lay sleeping. Nisi had never left the tent, only chewing on the grasses and herbs that grew by the edge of the tent.

Yadwi joined her in her meal after a long drink from the pond's cool water. Once they had their fill, they laid down by the taurenesses for a nap. Mu'sha was rising above the horizons now, with the sky darkening into a deep shade of blue.

Once Yadwi settled in between the taurenesses and Nisi was snuggled up in Kennocha's side, all sleep soundly in the tent.

That is until a large looking tauren stopped in front of their tent. He was a giant even among his people, with graying fur and two elaborate braids running on either side of his face and one down his chin. His horns and hooves gleamed white, but his face was ancient with wrinkles and smile marks. He wore the uniform of a Thunderbluff Brave, complete with the tabard and warrior totem by his side.

He stood at the opening flap of the tent, debating on entering the tent or calling out for its owner to come out. He looked upset, like he would rather be somewhere else. Yet he stood firmly, debating on what to do.

Eventually, he decided to peek into the tent. In it, a rabbit, a fawn, and two taurenesses were huddled together in the center. Looking at the faces of the taurenesses, he knew he was at the right place, but he didn't want to disturb their slumber.

He began to retreat from the tent, when he heard a voice from behind him.

"May I help you?"

It was the taureness with the lighter coat of brown. It had to his mate.

"Are you," he paused to read the letter in his hands. "Mrs. Winoa Summerdream or Miss Kennocha Bloomcaller by any chance?"

The taureness nodded. "If you wouldn't mind, please call me Winoa."

The older tauren returned the nod and grimaced. He had been right, but he wished that he hadn't been.

"I am so very sorry, but I come here with unfortunate news."

Author's Note-You have to have cliffhangers! As it is, I am farely behind on this story to what is going on currently, so I may have a few time skips. They shouldn't be too bad though. If there is anything you would like to say, please do so in a review or pm me. Thank you for reading and have a fantastic day!