Chapter 15
"Are you sure you won't take anyone with you?"
Tylira looked at Leya and smiled politely, shaking her head as she did so. She turned her head to look at Karis, who seemed to be playing happily with her pet raven before looking back to the Sentinel.
"I appreciate the gesture, I do" she said, reaching out and gently placing a hand on the Sentinel's shoulder. "But this will be easier if it just Karis and I." The Sentinel nodded in understanding, letting out a slight sigh as she did.
"Very well, but please be careful" she said as Tylira let her arm drop back down to her side. "There are quite a few hunting parties dotted around. Some hunt for food, others just for sport."
Tylira caught sight of a slightly displeased look on Leya's face at the last part of her sentence, resulting in one of her own eyebrows rising slightly. Tylira got the impression that she didn't like the fact there were those that hunted in the vale for nothing more than the fun of it. She had to admit, the thought of it didn't please her that much either.
"Don't worry, I will keep my eye out for them" Tylira said, offering another polite smile to Leya, a smile that the Sentinel returned.
"Well, take care Tylira" Leya said before looking over to Karis, raising her voice as she did so. "And you take care as well, Karis!" Karis turned her head and smiled at Leya, nodding slightly as she did.
"Until next time, then, Leya" Tylira said, bowing slightly. Leya returned the bow, shortly before the two Night Elves walked away from each other. Tylira walked over to Karis, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Are you ready, Karis?" she asked her quietly, looking down at her as the young girl looked back up. Karis nodded, smiling as she did so, her pet raven letting out a squawk as it took flight, circling above them.
"Yeah, lets get going" Karis said, looking up at the raven before looking down the path that would lead them further into Ashenvale. Tylira looked at Karis quietly, wondering what the young girl was thinking about, how she was feeling about the task ahead of her. Sighing inwardly, she shook her head slightly. So long as Karis knew that Tylira was there to help, that was all that mattered.
Taking one last look at the Retreat behind them, Tylira led Karis down the path. Karis started to hum quietly to herself as they made their way along the well trodden road, the gentle noise causing Tylira to smile softly. She remembered her own first task and how scared and worried she had been, yet Karis seemed to be completely at peace with things. But, that was only on the surface.
"Are you worried about your task?" Tylira asked softly, trying to find out more from her. Karis' pace seemed to slow down as her brow furrowed slightly, causing faint wrinkles in her light purple skin. Her smile faltered a small amount, the humming stopping. Tylira stopped walking and studied the young girl as she carried on walking, not seeming to answer the question.
"Karis?" Tylira called out, causing the girl to stop in her step. Slowly, Karis turned and looked at Tylira, smiling faintly as she did so. Tylira walked up to her, crouching down and looking into her eyes. Up close, Tylira could see the worry in them. "What is it?" Tylira whispered quietly, lightly brushing a piece of hair from Karis' face.
"I don't know…" Karis whispered quietly, looking away from Tylira for a moment, as if embarrassed. "It's a lot for me to take in, I guess? I really want to make this work, to become a druid, like you, but what if I fail? What if I mess up and something happens to Vulpiera? What if…" Karis' sentence was stopped as Tylira lightly placed a finger on her lips, smiling softly.
"Karis, it's understandable that you are worried" she said quietly, giving Karis a reassuring smile as she spoke, gently brushing away tears that had started to take shape around Karis' eyes. "You are right, it is a lot to take in. And yes, things may go wrong. But, if you spend all your time worrying about what could go wrong, all that's going to happen is that it will go wrong. I believe in you, that you can do this, and that you will become a great druid one day. You just need to have faith in yourself."
Gently, Tylira wrapped her arms around Karis, embracing her in a soft hug. Slowly, the young girl wrapped her own tiny arms around Tylira, nodding slightly as she did so. Overhead, Karis' raven squawked and landed on Karis' shoulder, seeming to nuzzle her cheek, causing her to laugh slightly, a sound that made Tylira smile as well.
"See? Even your raven is comforting you" Tylira said, letting out a chuckle as Karis slowly pulled back from the hug, using her sleeve to wipe away what was left of the tears in her eyes. Karis nodded, smiling as she reached up and lightly petted her raven companion, who playfully nipped at the hand. The happy moment, however was rapidly broken by the sounds of cheers and shouting.
Tylira looked to the side, into the woods, just in time to see a silver furred animal sprint through a clearing, a look of fear and panic on its face, followed a few moments afterwards by a group of Night Elves brandishing their weapons eagerly, some armed with spears and nets, others with swords. A hunting party…Tylira thought to herself as she watched with an angered look.
"Karis…." Tylira said, slowly standing up, her eyes still looking at the now empty space where she had just seen the creature and its chasers. "Get on." Looking down to the young girl, who was looking at Tylira with a confused look, Tylira smiled before dropping to all fours. Fingers digging into the ground, Tylira closed her eyes as she started to feel the change come over her; the process of her bones rapidly changing shape and realigning, a long tail shooting outwards from the base of her spine, thick, dark purple fur sprouting from all over her body as her armour glowed and changed with her.
It took only a matter of seconds, but the change was complete. Tylira turned her now feline head to look at Karis who looked back with a slightly stunned but amazed look on her face. Tylira lay down on the ground, still keeping her eyes locked onto Karis. Slowly, Karis walked closer to Tylira before smiling more, seeming to understand the previous command. Taking a firm but gentle hold of Tylira, Karis climbed onto the druids back, holding on as she rose up onto all four paws again, letting out a gentle growl as she did.
"I'm ready" Karis said to Tylira as she crouched down, holding on tightly with hands and legs. Tylira nodded her head slightly before breaking into a gentle jog, Karis' grip tightening slightly at the same time. Slowly at first, Tylira picked up speed, bounding through the woods of Ashenvale. Her improved senses quickly picked up on the hunting party ahead, but also something else, something different. Something that now sent a chill down Tylira's feline spine.
As they came closer, Tylira slowed down, coming to a final stop next to a tree, the hunting party hidden just beyond the bushes in front of the tree, along with the strange presence. Tylira shook herself slightly, indicating for Karis to climb down, who slid off of the back of her feline mount. Nudging the young girl slightly, Tylira got Karis to hide behind the tree before the druid slowly crept closer.
"I don't care if we've interfered with your hunt! For what reason do you hunt this beast, hm?" came a female voice that sounded rather angry. It also didn't sound quite right. "You seem well clothed, and this is not the sort you would hunt for food!" They were speaking Darnassian, that was certain enough, but it had a slight twang to it, as if it wasn't the speaker's native tongue. Creeping closer, Tylira quickly understood why.
In front of the group of Night Elf hunters stood two figures, one male and one female, and both Blood Elves. The first, the male, was standing a short distance from the hunting group, the silver furred creature from before hiding behind his long black robe. He looked to be young, possibly in his late teens, if not a little older and his hair was long and darkly coloured. His eyes had the same shine that all Blood Elf eyes had, and they looked to be watching the hunters warily. Strapped to his back was a staff, marking him as someone who probably knew how to cast a few spells.
The other figure, however, was the one that Tylira had felt the strange presence from. Striking an imposing figure as she stood in front of the hunters, the woman was brandishing a large two handed sword effortlessly in one hand, pointed at the group. Her hair was a shining silver, almost white colour that matched her pale skin. Her eyes shone bright blue, seeming even brighter than normal thanks to her pale complexion. She wore heavy armour all over her body, and hanging from her back looked to be a dark coloured cloak. What bothered Tylira most about the woman, however, was that the armour had the unmistakable design of a Death Knight, a Scourge warrior, and most definitely a dangerous foe.
Without hesitating, Tylira leapt from behind the bushes, landing in between the woman and the hunting party, causing both to take a step back in surprise. Tylira let out a slight growl at the two groups, the Blood Elf looking at Tylira with a puzzled look. The woman seemed to come to a kind of understanding as Tylira shifted back into her Night Elf form.
"Halt, my brothers and sisters" Tylira said as she looked to the hunting party, holding up her hand towards them. She had caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye starting to approach again, most likely with intentions of attacking the "Death Knight". Though grumbling slightly, the Night Elves all stopped moving, hands gripping their weapons tightly. Slowly, Tylira looked towards the female Blood Elf.
"Who are you, and why are you in our forest?" Tylira said slowly and cautiously in the native Blood Elf tongue, making sure to put a tone of seriousness into her voice. The male Blood Elf seemed to let out a grateful sigh and mutter something to himself as Tylira spoke.
Tylira watched as the female motioned to the younger male to step forwards, as if to imply that he should be the one to talk. Walking over to the silver furred creature, the woman stopped, placing a hand gently on the males shoulder, whispering something to him before crouching down and softly petting the creature, an act that caused Tylira to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"Hello" the male Blood Elf said, taking a step forwards, his eyes seeming to warily watch the hunters behind Tylira. He also seemed to be a tad unsure of himself, wringing his hands nervously. Taking a deep breath, he started to talk.
"My name is Erthos, and this is my friend, Rastuazi" he started, motioning to the female behind him, who was still lightly stroking the creature. "We didn't come here to cause any trouble, we are only passing through. My friend has become an outcast, rejected by her own family. We don't have anywhere to go, so we are travelling."
Tylira looked at the young Blood Elf quietly, staring at him and trying to work him out as he appeared to do the same in return. His words sounded sincere, and his expression displayed the same. If anything, this Erthos was someone who meant well. His friend however, Rastuazi as he had named her, was a different matter. Being close to the woman had only confirmed Tylira's concern that she was a Death Knight.
"I can feel the Scourge energies within your friend" Tylira says quietly, watching as Rastuazi rose to her full height, the beast now rubbing against her armoured leg happily. "And yet…she does not act like one of them…" Erthos followed Tylira's gaze to Rastuazi as the Night Elf thought to herself about what to do. Although she could feel the Scourge taint on the female Blood Elf, she couldn't sense any actual malice from her. Letting out a sigh, she made her decision.
"You may travel our lands, for now" Tylira said slowly, looking to Erthos. "Do not expect to be welcome in our towns, however. But, so long as you keep to yourselves, the Sentinels will not cause you harm. If they do, tell them that Tylira has granted you passage, and they will let you through."
Erthos smiled, and the Blood Elf visibly relaxed. He nodded politely, almost looking like he was about to shake Tylira's hand, apparently changing his mind at the last second. Instead he bowed slightly, an act that caused Tylira to raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Thank you" he said, standing up straight again. "We will make sure to stay out of the way during our journey." Tylira nodded in response, watching as Erthos returned to Rastuazi, watching the two of them quietly. The two of them struck her as odd, a Death Knight who had a mind of her own, and a Blood Elf who Tylira could tell had a fair bit of power, but seemed too scared to use it. If she didn't have to take care of Karis, Tylira knew she would spend a lot of time watching over the two of them, to study them.
Shaking her head slightly, Tylira instead turned on the spot to look at the hunting party who were shuffling about on their feet, eyes still watching their lost prey, as well as throwing the occasional look to the two Blood Elves.
"Get out of here, now" Tylira suddenly said, her voice filled with anger, dripping with hate. "Leave and don't ever hunt here again, understand me?" The hunters looked at Tylira for a moment, studying her, assessing her. A couple of them seemed to smile, as if deeming her an easy task, a thought that the druid picked up on. As two of them took a step towards her, a flash of anger tore through Tylira.
"I said LEAVE!" Tylira almost roared, her arm and hand changing into the shape of a large bear claw, eyes blazing with fury and rage. Both the hunters and the two Blood Elves looked at Tylira with shock from the sudden outburst. The hunters seemed to remain frozen for a moment before they turned and ran into the trees and bushes, leaving Tylira alone with Erthos and Rastuazi.
The druid stayed standing with her back towards the Blood Elves, taking slow deep breaths as she brought her anger under control. She knew that she shouldn't let it get the better of her, but she also knew how much she hated people like those hunters. Closing her eyes, Tylira took another deep breath before exhaling slowly, her arm and hand returning to normal.
"Until next time Erthos, Rastuazi" Tylira said to the two of them before shifting into her Nightsaber form, sprinting into the forest and leaving the two of them alone. With that distraction taken care of, Tylira could return to focusing on Karis. With a deft leap, Tylira pounced over to where she had left Karis. When she landed, she came to a stop, her feline eyes narrowing. She sniffed around, checking the area. This was certainly where she had told Karis to stay, the same spot. There was only one difference. Karis was missing.