She tore around the corner and down the ramp to the street. The two griffons nested at the base of the ramp squawked at her as she hastened by, disturbing their slumber. “Keep moving,” she thought as sherounded the corner to the main square. The trade district in Stormwind was usually quiet at this time of night, but it seemed that the stars were aligned against the night elf this night. A war party had just returned from a successful campaign in Alterac Valley and was celebrating their victories and spoils. Revelers danced and cheered as they quaffed down flagons of mead and ale from the nearby inn. She had no time for such exuberance though. The Mistress was waiting.
She abandoned her caution now. She focused her mind as she ran, feeling the welling energies coursing through her body. She released the energy with a leap, enveloping her body in a swirling grey mist. As the mist cleared she landed on all fours in her preferred feline form. Normally the Stormwind guards preferred that her kind refrain from such things since the visage of a large panther running through the streets would panic the unaware. Time was too short for such concerns, however. She weaved her way around the celebrant crowd, through the long torch lit tunnel, and into the canal district. The Mistress was waiting.
The streets here were less crowded and she pressed herself harder to hasten her pace. Her muscles rippled and burned as she forged onward. She crested the bridge from the mage district. “Just a bit further now.” She cut the corner of the bridge and dove over the railing sailing over the water. She nearly crashed full-on into the drunken gnome passing by as she came down on the winding cobblestones again. He at cursed her in a slurred high-pitched voice and waved his tiny hands menacingly in her direction as she continued her mad dash past.
She turned the corner and saw the lush, green grasses of the northern park at last. “Almost there.” Her vigor feeling somewhat renewed, she bolted for the last few yards that would take her to her destination. The park moonwell came into sight at last she rounded the bend. She sprung up to the lip of the well and shifted back to her natural form, desperately looking about the park for any sign of her rendezvous. For a brief moment, she thought that she may have arrived before the master. Those delusions were quickly dismissed.
“You are late, young one.” It sounded as if the voice was coming from the opposite side of the well. The druid scanned about feverishly to find its source, but no one was to be found. Then the form of a tall, slender, female Night Elf emerged seemingly from shadows themselves. Her hair shone pure white and was highlighted by the sliver-blue racial markings on her face. The Huntress was leaning against the far arch post, casually adjusting the straps on her gloves. She then turned a harshly focused, stinging gaze to the druid, her one hand now resting atop the other.
The druid labored for breath. She raised her arms in front of her, her left hand covering her lightly fisted right, and swept into a slight bow. “My apologies, Mistress Ty,” she gasped. “I was delayed by the Enclave as they needed my….”
“Do you think I am interested in your excuses, little one?” the hunter sharply interrupted, continuing her piercing gaze. She then looked back down to her gloves and resumed her casual manipulation.
Shockingly realizing that she had overstepped her bounds in speaking out of turn, the druid froze in mid bow and then lowered her gaze slowly to the ground. Closing her eyes, she responded as she had been trained. “No, Mistress.”
She lowered her chin to her chest and dropped slowly to her knees. As she knelt she caught a brief glimpse of movement to the hunter’s side and knew at once they were again not truly alone. The great black lion, Humar the Pridelord, the mistress’s favored pet and life-long companion was as ever by her side. He glided from the shadows around the base of the well, his smooth padded strides belying his great strength. His long ebon mane flowed about his face in a truly regal manner, matched only by the poise with which he stood by his master -- poise the young druid now felt she was painfully lacking.
As the great cat reached his master’s side, the hunter turned her back to the druid and began stroking the great cat’s mane. He raised his head into her stroking hand, and purred deeply. “Such a good pet,” she said looking into Humar’s deep dark eyes. “You could learn something of respect from his example,” the hunter sharply chided.
“Yes, Mistress,” the druid sheepishly replied, her shoulders falling even more limply in disgust of herself.
The huntress turned again and began walking around the lip of the well, her pet falling in line behind her. Her strides were effortless and made not a sound, matching those of her feline companion. Her bright mail armor moved in unison with her shapely form. Such grace and beauty were always hypotonic, and it took all of her effort to not look up to watch her master’s approach. The young elf then had to stifle as nervous gasp as the huntress stopped directly in front of the kneeling elf, the tips of her boots directly in the druid’s gaze.
The hunter paused for a moment and considered the young submissive druid. This one was young, brash, and impulsive and still had much to learn. Yet she had taken quickly to the hunter’s varied lessons so far. Besides, the hunter found something captivating in her strong spirit and will – perhaps something of herself. She shook those thoughts aside as she focused again at the task ahead of them.
“Such a good pet,” she said teasingly as she stroked the druid’s silvery locks from her eyes. “At least you have learned some semblance of humility and propriety during all of your time with me.”
“Thank you, Mistress,” the young druid tentatively replied as she raised her gaze to the hunter and smiled nervously.
“Rise, young *******,” the huntress spoke as she continued past the druid and down the steps of the well. She turned her gaze over her shoulder to the still kneeling elf. “You have much yet to learn, and you’ll learn nothing more from that patch of ground beneath you.”
The druid rose and walked gingerly down the steps of the well and fell in stride with the hunter in her trained position - behind and to the right. The hunter paused for a moment under a nearby tree to fetch her backpack and weapons. She slung her bow over her shoulder and slid her spear into its harness on her back. She fumbled with her pack for a moment then slung it over her shoulder and continued her strides up the gentle hill towards the tunnel exits. She held her right hand back over her shoulder, revealing a small, brown envelope.
“Take this,” the huntress barked her gaze intently forward. “These are the supplies we will need for your next lesson. The tradesmen in the square can provide you with what you need. When you have completed that task, fetch our mounts from the stable master, fit them with the supplies and meet me at the gates of the city.”
The druid reached up gently pulled the list from the huntress’s grasp. “Yes, Mistress. It shall be done,” she obediently replied, a slight sense of confidence returning to her. She opened the envelope and began perusing the list. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary there, she casually tucked the parchment into her tunic and continued her walk to the tunnels.
“This list is simple, Mistress and should be easy to fulfill,” the druid said confidently. “Where are we heading?”
“That need not be your concern at the moment” the huntress replied coldly, her gaze still intently forward.
“My apologies, Mistress,” J****** replied. “I ask not to pry, but rather to ensure that proper accommodations can be arranged prior to our arrival.”
“We’ll need no such accommodations,” the hunter replied with a growing tension rasping in her voice. Unnoticed by the young druid, the hunter’s fist now clenched tight into a fist.
“Very well, Mistress. Will we need any travel arrangements made for our passage?” she asked cautiously. Even before the last word left her lips, she knew she had pushed too far.
“Enough J******!” the huntress barked and wheeled about on the young druid causing her to stumble back in surprise. “You ask too many question, child, and you have delayed us long enough. You still have much to learn and we have many miles to travel before this night is through. You have your task in hand, and yet you continue to delay us with your senseless questions. Put your rambling curiosities aside and focus instead on your duties.”
The coarse, cold tone in the huntress’s voice struck the young druid. The Mistress was generally hard -- at times even brutal -- in her discipline and orders. But there was something different this time, something distantly pained and vague that she could not quite place. Knowing better than to question such things further, the druid simply nodded, her eyes locked on the ground, and muttered “Yes, Mistress,” as she began walking solemnly towards the tunnel exit.
As the young druid departed, the huntress stood in place and watched her leave, her body still taut from her rash outburst. After a moment, she released a tension filled sigh and lazily began stroking the top of Humar’s mane. Her gaze, still focused down the now long empty tunnel, took on a more distant air. She sighed again seemingly unable to shake the tensions binding her, and looked down to the great cat pleadingly. “Is she ready for this Humie?” She let that nagging question linger in her mind for a moment, and then turned to the other thought plaguing her. “Am I ready for this?”
The cat did not reply. He instead stretched his paws in front of him with a sleepy yawn and then shook his head vigorously as if tossing the weariness from his body. The hunter chuckled to herself, “If only my worries were so easy to shed. She sighed again as she patted the cats firm, muscular side. “Come, my friend. We have much to do ourselves.” She then started down the narrow tunnel, the cat falling silently in stride with her.
Several hours later found Ty pacing nervously back and forth at the city gates. The guards eyed her cautiously with each pass she made, but continued to pay her little heed as they had since she’d arrived. The hunter found had no respite at the inn as she’d had hoped, the thoughts of the journey ahead constantly surfacing like splinters in her mind.
Thoughts of her beloved druid kept her tormented as well. Never before had she lashed out so vehemently at her. The fact that it was over trivial matters, fair questions the druid would have normally been expected to ask, made her anguish no better. Thoughts of the druid not returning to her that night – or ever again – tore at her being.
“Where could she be?” the hunter cursed allowed. J****** was not late by any means now, but the passing minutes felt torturously long. Off in the distance, the bells of the cathedral rang signaling the top of the hour. The tone from the bells that usually brought the hunter a sense of pride now resonated within her, acting as an echo of her torment. As the last bell struck, she turned about, intent to dash back to the city and find her young pupil. Before she had even made five strides, she heard a light familiar voice from distant behind.
“Mistress?” the young voice chirped.
The huntress smiled to herself as a wave of relief washed over her. She paused for a moment to relish in the sweet sound of that voice and then turned. J****** was walking up the dusty road to the gate with their mounts in tow, their packs bulging with fresh supplies.
She strode up next to the hunter and stopped, dropping the large cats’ reigns and letting them swing freely. “I’d have been here sooner, but I had to travel to Goldshire to fetch some supplies for the sabers, m’lady. The Stormwind stable masters rarely seem to stock enough meat for our great cats.”
Ty looked deep into the young druid’s bright eyes. She saw the young woman’s youthful exuberance and free spirit reflected there, as she always had. Her fears now shown as unfounded, she pulled the druid into a tight embrace.
The druid returned the embrace with a bright smile. “Thank you, Mistress! All is well?”
The hunter pulled gently out of the embrace and laid her hands on the druid’s shoulders. “All is well now, young one.” She felt a tear begging to well up in her eyes and quickly turned away to catch its fall.
“Oh, and look who I found along the way,” J****** said, flicking her head back over her shoulder motioning to the mounts. Humar then strode casually around the great cats and meandered up to the huntress’s side.
“Humie!” Ty sighed with relief. Lost in her former torments, she had forgotten that she’d sent him to run free about the forest until called, wanting to be truly alone. She knelt down in front of the black lion and wrapped her arms about his neck, happy for his return. Humar was well known to the Stormwind guard in and around Goldshire so he was as safe there as he would be in his home lands. It was this thought that brought their task sharply back into focus.
She stood up resolutely and turned her head to the druid who was now adjusting the straps on one of the saddlebags on her white frostaber. “Come, young N********. We have a long road ahead of us. The sooner we depart the better.” She strode over and mounted her blue-grey stormsaber and J****** followed suit, mounting her great white frostsaber.
The hunter watched as the druid went through her routine. J****** adjusted her reigns and wrapped them around her saddle pommel in a loose knot. She never used her reins to ride, preferring to hold on to her companion mount’s great neck, letting her hands run through its long flowing mane as they rode. To the hunter, this was just another example of the beautiful, youthful exuberance that the druid always showed, and this made the hunter smile.
J****** finished up her routine and turned to the hunter and returned her smile. “Shall we?” she chimed tossing her head toward the southern road.
“Let ride!” Ty cried, pointing her finger down the road with a triumphant flair. She pulled tight up on the reins and her cat sprung off the cobblestones and on to the dusty road, Humar running swiftly by her side. J****** leaned forward in her saddle and gently spurred on her cat that then followed suit and took off with a roar.
The followed the road to Goldshire and then turned to the east. Neither of them spoke, instead casting sideway smiles and teasing grins as each tried to outpace each other. Sometimes sticking to the road, other times running along the river banks, weaving in and out and over the moonlit forest landscape. It was in these unspoken moments that these two night elves, the huntress and the druid, the master and the student, that these two friends often found their closest bonds. This was no exception.
The rode swiftly until they reached the bridge leading to the mountainous range of Redridge. They stopped briefly to make sure their mounts were well after such an extended wide open run. As usual, the great cats seemed unfazed by the long jaunt, as they had become accustomed to their riders’ sometimes frantic paces and energetic riding habits. The then turned to face the southern road that would take them through the mired forests of Duskwood.
“We should lessen our haste through these woods, Mistress,” the druid offered. “The gloom that shrouds the forest makes for difficult visibility and navigation.”
“Agreed, young one,” Ty replied. “We are ahead of schedule and can afford a more leisurely pace for now” she said as she gently nudged her mount into a slow gait. J****** fell in line to her right and Humar padded quietly to her left.
The dank fog enveloped them almost immediately as they entered the wood. The cold mists sent shivers down the pair’s spines as they sat in nervous silence. There was little they truly needed fear there, but the seemingly unnatural darkness that surrounded the forest created an uneasy, almost tangible tension in all that traveled its roads.
They made their way slowly south along the roads, undisturbed and both breathed a sigh of relief as the torches of the Nightwatch patrols came into view through the mist. The pair waved to the watchmen as they past and made their way through the wrought iron gates leading into the secluded Darkshire village. Once a bustling quaint shire, the town now seemed to stand as wearily as the surrounding gloom.
The rode close together now as the cobblestone road leading to the square narrowed. As they passed the inn on their right, Ty looked up to the second floor corner windows. Their shudders were drawn tight and the room was dark, clearly unoccupied. She lowered gaze her back down to her pommel, closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
“He is not here, m’lady,” J****** said timidly. “He’s not been for some time now.” Ty did not respond, simply nodding her acknowledgement of the spoken words, not fully listening nor consciously understanding them.
J****** placed her hand gently on Ty’s shoulder and whispered “You miss him.”
This the hunter did focus on. She snapped her head up, casting an angry stare to the druid and pointed her finger, firmly poking her chest “You speak of things in which you assume much but know very little. Instead of dwelling in your ill conceived notions of knowing my mind you should focus on your understanding of the balance. It will serve you far better in the lessons that lay ahead.”
The druid snapped back slightly as her eyes went wide with surprise. She slowly removed her hand from the hunter’s shoulder and turned her gaze down to the ground beneath her as they continued their slow plodding on the path, a sullen look falling upon her face. “Of course, Mistress,” she humbly muttered.
Immediately the hunter regretted her outburst. For the second time that night, she had clearly hurt the druid with her rash words. Ty rubbed her forehead in frustration as she felt growing anger and loathing for herself gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She sighed deeply, and reached over placing her hand gently underneath J******’s chin and turned her head to face her again.
“I am sorry, Sweetling,” the hunter sighed. “You are again, correct. I do miss him…very much.” She stared distantly up at the few stars showing through the clouds above. “It’s been far too long since I have seen his face. And that worries me.”
She drew in a deep breath and sighed heavily again, releasing her gentle hold on the druid’s face and letting her own gaze drop to the ground for a moment. She turned to J****** again. “And this is the second time that I have lashed at you for things in which I have no place to injecting such venom.” She again covered her brow as if to conceal the furthering disgust at she felt for her actions. The druid slowly raised her head partially and turned slightly to Ty again.
“Understand this, young N********,” she continued soothingly. “The lessons that lay ahead of you will be some of the most critical that I can teach you. They will be taxing…” she paused, reflecting on her feelings of pain and anxiousness for what lay ahead, and stared off into the distance. “…for both of us. And I must ultimately face a decision - one that I have long dreaded.” She turned with quiet desperation back to the now sensitively listening druid. “That is from where my angst comes, and most definitely not from you. I am truly sorry, my dear.”
J****** laid her hand on the hunter’s shoulder once again and pulled her close, letting their forehead rest side by side. She closed her eyes and sighed “We shall face these trials together, Mistress.” Ty closed her eyes as these words eased into her heart, providing a slight feeling of relief. “As we always have,” J****** continued. Placing her hand gently on the side of the huntress’s neck, she pulled her closer and lovingly kissed her cheek.
The hunter reached up with her hand and caressed the druids face. “Thank you, young one.” She sat up and sighed away the tensions wrapped up her body. They both looked up and were surprised by their new surroundings. Neither of them had noticed that during their exchange their mounts had continued their slow plod through the square. They now stood at the gates along the southern end of the shire.
Ty turned a heartfelt smile to the druid as she realized the folly in that unguided traipse through town. “Let’s not speak of this again. Your lessons will begin in earnest soon enough.” She pulled tight her mount’s reins and guided it around the bend to the west. “Let us instead simply enjoy the night’s ride and each other’s company.”
J****** returned her smile and coyly responded “As you wish Mistress.” Ty couldn’t be certain but from the corner of her eye she thought she saw the druid toss a sly wink to her. The Mistress suppressed the surprised look on her face. Once again the druid had made her feel at ease with her casual, brazen attitude. While it was a habit that the Mistress hoped to lessen in the druid, she had to chuckle to herself as she thought, “Perhaps there are times when such attitudes are appropriate after all.”
The two riders prodded their mounts to a slightly faster pace and rode off into the misty night. As they passed out of sight of the town, a shadowy figure emerged from the behind a tree at the top of the hilly terrain just off the road. He was donned in dusky black leathers that seemingly blended with the darkness around him. He pulled his ebon mask from about his head and let his long, dark green-haired pony tailed hair fall along his back. He stared off to the west, following the now long-gone visage of the two female night elves. “May Elune watch over you both, and you over each other,” he whispered. “This is a path on which I cannot follow.” He sighed deeply to himself as he concluded his sullen prayer, and then turned and faded once again into the shadows.
It was nearly midnight when they reached the rickety wooden bridge that lead into Stranglethorn Vale, and the pair was glad to feel the gloomy mist of the woods finally lifting. On a clear moonlit night the jungles of the Vale would easily be navigable, but the overcast clouds and their still dampened mood from woods made the prospect of continuing on much less appealing. The followed the winding road along the deep ravine until they turned up the torch lit path that lead to the refugee camp.
Normally, Ty would have preferred to sleep in the wilds, making camp away from established footholds and patrols. She was sure that the druid would have been comfortable with the same. However her need for a sound rest – especially after her emotional outbursts – outweighed her desires for the comforts of nature.
The guard patrols greeted them with a nod as they passed into the camp. The two dismounted and J****** busied herself immediately. She began gathering the things they would need to make camp- their bedrolls, some timber and flint for a fire, and some of the rations she’d bought in Goldshire, including a few that the hunter especially liked – items not on the original provisions list.
Ty meanwhile walked to make the arrangements for their stay with the camp leader, and Humar followed. The female human was clad in mail armor and her shield was emblazoned with a great lion, the given symbol of Stormwind. Tyalena noted it with more than passing interest and then looked at her great cat. “Will the ironies of this night never end?” she sighed. Humar looked up at the hunter quizzically, then plopped himself down wearily by the campfire.
After a brief discussion with the camp leader, Ty returned to the druid who had just finished gathering all of their camping needs and had them tucked under both arms. She smiled to the hunter as she returned. “Well done, young one,” she said returning the druid’s smile. “We’ll make our camp on the high ledge above theirs. I’d prefer a bit of solitude for this evening.” She reached for the gear tucked under the druid left arm.
“Very well, Huntress,” J****** replied. The druid turned away from the hunters reaching hand. “No need for that, Mistress. I’ve got this,” she said with a smile. She walked trotted past the hunter and started making her way up the cliff face, jogging along, jumping gracefully from one ledge to another. The hunter couldn’t help but stare as she went. The druid’s movements always seemed to flow with grace and ease, even over the most broken of terrain. She moved like a cat – much like the druid’s preferred form. Her leather armor was cut in seeming the most revealing of places. She knew that J****** had crafted them to allow her freedom in her range of movements, but suspected that not all of the cuts were purely for function. Another bit of her casual brazenness she suspected.
As the druid reached the top ledge, their chosen campsite, she turned to the hunter with a smile. “Shall I make camp here, Mistress?” she called.
Snapping out of her distracted stare, the hunter shook her head to clear her thoughts. “That is high enough, J******. Make things ready. I’ll be up shortly, though I fear my pace will not be a quick as yours up that terrain.” The druid nodded and tossed the hunter a sly wink over her shoulder before she walked away from the ledge and out of sight. “Brazen to the last,” the hunter chuckled to herself.
She turned to back to the camp to fetch Humie. He was now sleeping soundly next to the campfire as the one of the female guards was stroking his long mane. The guard looked up and saw the slight concern on Ty’s face. “Leave him here. We’ll watch over him. It seems he needs his rest.”
The hunter sighed and nodded, turning about to make her way up to the druid. As she turned, Humie bumped into her leg and looked up to her. He gave her sideways look as he passed and then sprung up the ledges up to . When he reached the top he turned back to the hunter, cocked his head teasingly, and then walked back out of sight.
Ty’s jaw dropped as she broke into a wide smile. “Not you too, Humie?” she teasingly growled. She jogged over the rising ledges and slowly made her way up the cliff face. The size of some of the gaps made the hunter take pause at how easily both had made their climb. "J*******, brazen to the last,” she muttered again with a smile.
When she finally reached the top, winded and muscles burning, J****** had the camp set and ready. She had prepared a circle of stones in which she had a low fire stirring. Their bed roles were set in a V next to the fire, their headrests next to each other. Humie lay in front of the fire and was cleaning his paws as J******* fussed with an iron skillet in the fire. As the hunter drew in a deep breath, the smell of the fire and the aromatic spices wafting from the he cooking fish filled her immediately with a soothing sense of peace.
J******* looked up and smiled to her. “Grab a seat, Mistress,” she quipped as she motioned to the hunters unfurled pack. “The fish is nearly ready and there is some light wine in the skin by your bed.” She reached to her right and then handed over a small wooden cutting board to the hunter. “Start on these while I finish this up.”
The hunter plopped herself down on her bedroll and took the board. It was covered with reddish purple grapes, fresh sliced peaches, and the soft, mild smoked cheese that she loved. Ty smirked as she raised a piece of the warmed cheese up to her lips. “This was not on the list I gave you,” she chided.
J******* did not look, but turned her eyes to the pack behind her, looking away from the hunter. She smirked as she feigned fumbling though the pack and shrugged her shoulders. “Was it not? Hmmm. I guess it must have been left over from our last trip then.” She turned back to the fire and looked to the hunter with a genuine smile.
“How fortunate for us then,” Ty replied. She placed the cheese in her mouth and closed her eyes as its nutty sweetness, smoky flavor and velvety texture melted deliciously on her tongue. She let slip a pleasured moan and opened her eyes again, and saw that the druid was grinning at her.
“I’m glad you are pleased, Mistress,” J******* said with a grin as she plated the fish she’d been preparing.
Ty reached for their tin cups and the skin behind her and poured some of the wine for them both. The sweet aroma of the light fruity wine filled the air as she poured. Again the hunter smiled, recognizing the wine as another of her favorites. She reached across the fire and handed the cup to the druid. “For you, my dear..”
“Thank you, Mistress,” she replied handing a plate of the steaming fish to her. She then plopped back onto her own bedroll. They sat quietly as they ate their meal, and then shared in the cheese and fruit between them. When only the last few morsels remained, J******* turned to the huntress with a familiar smile. It was that smile of adventure, that smile stirring, that smile that often preceded one of the druids many brazen acts. “So, what mysteries does the Vale hold for the two of us, Master?”
Ty swallowed the slice of peach she’d been savoring and eyed the druid with a stern by lighted smile. As much as she wanted to scold the druid for being as brazen as to ask such a question, that mischievous look instantly melted those thoughts away. “Tomorrow will start the first of your lessons,” she said as she downed the last of her wine. “But for now, clear you mind and get some rest. We have a long road still ahead of us and we will need our wits to be sharp. No matter how comfortable you are in these surroundings, young one, the jungles of the Vale are not to be traveled lightly.”
“Of course, Mistress,” J******* nodded. She gathered up their plates and cups, wrapping them in cloth and then placed them in her pack. Normally she’d have washed them immediately to prevent their scent from brining unwanted hungry visitors, but she felt secure given their elevated rise above the guarded camp below, and even more so with her present company.
After the two had finished packing away their supplies, they settled back into their bedrolls. They both stared lazily up at the moon which was now breaking through some of the cloud cover. It basked their campsite in a pale white glow, casting soft shadows around them that seemed to dance with the light of the flickering fire. “The Goddess watches over us this night, Mistress,” the druid said sleepily.
“I hope so, young one,” the hunter replied. She turned her head to look at J*******, whose eyes were closed and her chest rising and falling rhythmically, already lost in her sleep. She then turned to Humie whose sleeping purrs were softly filling the air, his great form rising and falling in his own deep slumber. “I hope so,” she whispered as she too surrendered to her growing weariness.
Morning came quickly and brought with it clear skies and a warm jungle sun. The fog and mists from the previous night we’re already being burned away under its bright glow. As the sun rise crested the trees, the pair’s camp was light a blaze in its orange light. It was early just as the hunter wanted, and she took a moment to praise herself for such insights. They’d need an early start for what lay ahead. She stretched the remaining weariness from her bones and the rolled over to find her companions.
But what she found instead was an empty bed roll, soaked smoldering ashes in the fire, and only matted grass where her great pet formerly laid. She snapped up out of her bed roll and looked frantically about. It was unlike them to go off on their own -- especially Humar. She began to look to the horizon for any sign of them when she heard a commotion below.
As she peered down to the camp, she that saw the guards in a tight circle surrounding two great black forms. Tyalena snatched up her bow and spear and dashed for the ledge leading down. She began leaping from ledge to ledge with growing abandon. “Damn it where are they?” she growled as she ran. When she got half way down the cliff face she slid to her knees stopping on the edge of the ledge and drew her bow taunt.
When she focused on the first of the two shadowy forms, she raised her view off of the shaft of her arrow and cast looked relieved and puzzled down to the campsite. The shadowy forms were two cats circling and sparring with each other. One was marked with pale white, moon shaped markings on her shoulder the other a great black lion with a flowing ebon mane. They playfully lunged at each other, trying to catch each other’s necks in the great maws, swiping at each others sides with claws retracted. It was then that the hunter realized that her companions were a bit earlier to rise.
Ty stood and watched them in quiet awe for a moment. They both moved so effortlessly and smoothly. And even in their restrained form of play she could see the great power rippling through sleek forms. Looking to Humar and then back to the druid, she could see why J******* preferred her panther form to her others. There was a majestic grace and beauty in it that seemed to match the druids own. With that thought the hunter smiled to herself, and then whistled sharply. The two combatants as well as the circled guards looked up to her on the cliff face. “That’s enough for one morning, don’t you think?” she called with a smile.
Humar turned his attention from the druid cat and started plodding his way immediately to the hunter’s side, leaping gingerly from ledge to ledge. J*******’s body became enshrouded by grey mist, from which she rose into her tall, slender elven form. She shook her long white hair back from her face and swept the rest up in her hands over shoulders, letting it fall down her back. “Good morning, Mistress!” she cheered as she started making her way up the cliff face. “Humie and I awoke before the dawn and I didn’t want to disturb your slumber. I hope you rested well, my lady,” she called as she started making her way up the ledges.
“I did, thank you,” she replied, placing her hands in a mock unapproving stance on her hips. She tossed her head up toward their campsite “Now get up here and break down our camp. We should leave as soon as possible.”
As she leaped to the same ledge as the hunter, the druid gave her a curious glance. Shall we not eat first, Mistress?” the druid asked, now standing by the hunter’s side.
“We’ll have some of the fruit you brought along the way,” she replied. “Time is short and we cannot afford the delays of a cooked meal.”
“As you wish, Mistress. I shall see to it immediately.” J******* responded and covered her hands in a slight bow as she skipped past with a smile.
Ty’s eyes followed the druid’s passing until they fell to her pet standing next to her. She reached out her hand and Humar walked over to her and nuzzled his head into her palm. She stroked his mane lazily and then knelt down in front of him, cupping both sides of his face with her hands. “And you!” she teased as she gently shook his face. “Why do you encourage her so?”
The cat cocked his head curiously for a moment, and then simply replied by licking her face. Ty laughed and then threw her arms around his neck. “Silly cat. You’re as incorrigible as she is at times.” She stood up and patted his side. “Come. Let us ready ourselves.” And the inseparable two made their way down the slope to await the young druid, to start yet another day together, to start the day’s lesson.
“We’ll not be traveling the roads to the south then, Mistress?” J****** chirped excitedly.
The hunter turned a stern, disapproving look to the druid, letting her question hang long unanswered in the air as she shook her head in disappointment. “Do you truly expect that you will learn the critical aspects of nature and the balance from the comforts of the barren roads?” Ty retorted.
“Of course, not Mistress,” the druid said sheepishly. She cursed herself. The excitement of the morning’s events and the relaxed, beautiful atmosphere had taken her off of her guard. Realizing that she had again stepped out of place with a question that she fully knew the answer too, she turned to the hunter and bowed her head slightly. “My apologies, master.”
The hunter nodded sternly but approvingly at the druid’s humility and seeming sincerity. She placed her hand under the druid’s chin and raised her head to meet her gaze. “Focus yourself, druid. Your lesson lies all around you, as do many distractions. The more focused you are on your surroundings, the easier it shall be for you to discern between the two.”
“Yes, Mistress,” she nodded confidently. “I shall.” With that, she climbed down from her saddle, and fumbled with her pack. She pulled a long silver spyglass from her pack. It was ornately engraved with the form of a sleek running panther on one side and a great bear on the other. The lens cover was made of pure white leather and was lightly branded with a crescent moon surrounding a large cat claw – J*******’s chosen symbol, marking her as a Druid of the Claw, the same symbol she wore about her neck. The young druid never traveled anywhere without her beloved spyglass, a gift from her twin brother given at the completion of her feral druidic trials. She paused for a moment as she regarded its beauty, tracing her fingers along its fine etchings. She felt her resolve returning as she discerned the intricate details of the panther under her touch.
J******* nodded to herself as is answering her own readiness call. She then walked over the edge of the landing near the bridge supports, knelt down and began scanning around the hunter’s camp. “It’s not more than a few miles from here, m’lady. The lands between us and the camp appear to be teaming with young tigers, although they are nothing we need concern ourselves with.” She stood up and closed the spyglass gently, and replaced the lens cap. She paused again as she traced her finger again over her symbol, smiled slightly to herself and tucked the spyglass back into her pack.
She then turned back to the hunter. “By your leave, Mistress,” she began as she bowed slightly, “I’d like to start ahead. The run would do me well to clear my mind.” The druid shifted her feet and nervously lowered her gaze, “I’d not like to disappoint you again.”
Ty raised her hand to her chin as she considered the druid’s request. One the one hand, the young one may be truly more self-aware and she may now realize that she is not in the proper frame of mind for their surroundings. Perhaps the run alone would do her good. On the other hand, she suspected that the bold druid might be using the run as an excuse to exercise her brazen escapism again. This wouldn’t be the first time that the fragile druid took flight in such forms.
Ty eyed the druid again, looking her up and down. When she locked on to J*******’s eyes, she was slightly a bit taken back. She was now staring back at the hunter, and there was a resoluteness there that she’d never seen before, a strength and determination as if to right some great wrong.
Ty unconsciously cocked her head at this sight. J******* turned her gaze more intently to the hunter’s eyes. “I’ll not disappoint you again, Mistress,” she said determinedly. The surprising confidence and subtle self anger in the druid’s voice was unprecedented.
The hunter struggled with this new display for a moment, and then sighed to herself. “Go,” she reluctantly commanded. “Leave Emerald with me. I’ll rein her to Bleu and we’ll make our way to the camp,” she said as she reached for J*******’s mount. “You may take whatever path you wish. We’ll not follow you. However, you must be at the camp when we arrive. I’ll not tolerate any further delays on your part.”
“Of course, Mistress,” she said as she handed over the reins to the hunter with a slight nod. J******* then turned and began striding towards the ledge, focusing her mind and energies for her forthcoming transformation.
Ty saw the druid’s body become more relaxed and knew that J*******’s mind was clear and focused. The hunter rode over to her and placed her hand gently and deliberately on the druid’s shoulder. J******* turned a surprised gaze over her shoulder in reaction to the unexpected touch.
“I’m giving you a great deal of latitude here, J*******,” Ty said firmly. “Do not make me regret it.” She paused a moment to let that thought linger and then removed her hand from the druid’s shoulder. Her eyes still locked on J*******’s. “Do not disappoint me.”
J******* nodded silently, letting her gaze remain on the hunter for a moment as her master’s words seeped into her heart. Ty responded with a single nod. “Go.” J******* again nodded and then began jogging to the ledge, slowly gaining momentum. When she neared the ledge her body again became enveloped in her silvery-grey mist as she transformed into her panther form and leapt off into the air, sailing over the jutting rocks below. The warm morning air caressing her face as she fell made it seem like time itself had slowed. She landed softly on all fours in the deep jungle grass below. She pause a moment, her soft glowing eyes looking back over her shoulder up to the hunter. Ty responded with a single reluctant nod and turned her mount back away from the ledge, disappearing out of sight.
J******* looked all about her – to the tall grass around her, to the clear blue skies above, to the nearby river – then dropped her gaze to the ground and closed her eyes. She focused her mind at what she needed to accomplish. Focused on her anger for her morning failures. Focused on the piercing disappointed look that her beloved master gave her. Focused on the primal, ravenous feral energies now burning and coursing through her veins. She threw her head back and loosed a bellowing, ferocious roar that resonated deep within her body, and echoed her torment throughout the river vale.
She unleashed her burning, rage driven vigor and exploded forward through the tall grasses. Her angry, claws tore large swatches of soil as they dug hungrily into the turf. With each stride she pushed more power, more rage, more desperation into her burning, churning legs. She kept one thought prevailing, echoing as a torment in her mind. One thought that burned like a sharpened spur gouging at her mind and biting into her flesh. A punishing tortuous thought driving all that she felt, all that she did, all that she could see. “I’ll not disappoint you again, Mistress.”
J******* continued her tear across the valley, weaving in and out of the tall underbrush. She came across a few small prides of tigers as she ran, but they paid her little heed in the now humid heat of the jungle. She paid them even less. It had been almost an hour since she had left Ty at the bridge and her pace had not lessened by one stride. Her muscles burned and ached from the strain, but her unrelenting torment pushed her onwards. She would not be denied. She saw the enclosing jungle as nothing more than an obstacle to her and she focused solely on getting through it and to the camp as quickly as possible.
She heard little as she bolted through the bush, save for her padded footsteps on the ground and her own labored breath. The lively ambient noises of the morning jungle we’re lost in the backdrop of her focus. The vibrant colors surrounding her were nothing more than a blur as she raced past. In her fevered haste she didn’t notice the curled form in the deep grass and topped headlong over it, crashing hard to the ground and rolling into a staggered recovery. “What in the nine hells was that?” she muttered to herself as she shifted to her elven form and dusted herself off.
She strode back over the tall grass that her tumbling had pressed, and scanned about for some sign of what had interrupted her cleansing flight. Then she found it and a curious look fell on her face. It was the body of a young tigress. It had a single arrow protruding from its chest – an obviously mortal wound - and blood was trickling from its closed maw. As she leaned down to inspect the fallen animal more closely, her focus was snapped by a shrill, piercing cry. Her head snapped up as she tried to discern the direction of the distressed shriek.
J******* shifted back to her feline form, dropped into a low crouch, and began prowling slowly through the tall, concealing grass towards the direction of the cry. As she crested a small rise in the terrain she came upon a wooded clearing recessed between the surrounding deep grasses. It the middle of the clearing she saw two forms huddled over another lying on the ground. The bright sun was casting long shadows from the jungle canopy concealing the two from her site.
J******* crouched lower now and crawled slowly around the perimeter of the clearing, using the tall grasses and jungle ferns to mask her approach. She came upon a large tree with low wind swept branches – clearly having obtained its odd shape from one of the Vale’s notoriously violent tropical storms – and slowly climbed to a high perch above the two forms. When she recognized who they were she immediately dropped lower on the branch to conceal her form amongst the tree’s deep, leafy cover.
A large brown-green orc and pale blue troll were standing over the fallen form of a young tiger. The orc was donned dark brown leather skins and a chain of fangs hung about his neck, all obviously taken from the local fauna. A grey weathered bow was slung over his shoulder and a dark brown quiver filled with familiar crude arrows hung casually on his hip next to a rough hand axe. His troll companion wore dusky grey leathers and carried with him a crude spear with a wicked hooked blade attached to the end. The two were covered in the dripping bloods of their hapless prey, the salted scent of which made the druid drop instinctively into a lower haunch as the fur on her nape became electrified. The hunting instincts of her form were beginning their burn their way through her veins.
J******* began edging further out on the branch until she heard a grizzled howl to her right and froze in place. A mangy grey wolf ran out of the grass and stood just beneath her. He wore a sharply pronged collar and bore many dark, reddened scars along his flanks. This was the orc’s pet obviously. Theirs was not the kind of hunter and pet relationship with which she was most familiar. Ty’s pets were adored companions, life long partners, kindred souls. They were a living and independent extension of her own being. This was something more grotesque. This once proud, untamed animal had been corrupted, tainted, poisoned by his harsh master’s ruthless punishments and brutal reinforcements. This noble creature was no longer a keeper of the night, no longer a caller to the moon. It was now just a savage tool for a barbaric profiteer. The image of such furthered the druid’s growing rage and revulsion.
The mangy cur turned and pointed in the direction from which he’d just come. The filthy orc muttered something unintelligible to the troll and ran off into the deep grass with his wolf in tow behind him.
When she saw that the orc was out of sight, J******* began edging forward again to get a closer look at his lanky companion. She could now see that the small tiger was mortally wounded, but still very much alive. The troll snickered to himself and reached into his hip-side pack and pulled out a crude pair of metal pliers. They were rusted and stained with the blood of the countless creatures that these two had obviously slain. He then bent down and reached for the tiger’s head. The helpless creature tried in vain to continue its struggle, weakly batting at the troll with his paw. He ignored the feeble attacks and grabbed the tiger roughly by the back of its neck. He pulled its head back causing it to open its maw wide, which the troll immediately closed on with the pliers. He latched the crude instrument on to the young cat’s large fang and snapped it sharply upward, removing the sharpened tooth with a sickening slosh of blood. He dropped the bloody tooth into his pack and lunged in for the other. Again the sickening blood drenched snap. The young tiger moaned in protest, swooned, and finally collapsed in surrender from the pain. The troll then stood up and began walking in the direction of his companion; passing directly under J*******’s hidden perch.
A wave of revulsion washed over the druid as she looked at the pitiful form that was once the young prideling. Its blood now flowed freely from its oral wounds and stained the ground beneath its head. The smell of the innocent blood in J*******’s nostrils and the sight of the growing crimson pool stirred her already burning fury further, as her revulsion turned into a vengeful resolve.
Even from her earliest days, the young druid could seldom swallow the thought of killing the noble beasts of the wild, the children of nature’s womb, though she realized that circumstances sometimes dictated such actions. Hunting to accommodate specific needs – food, shelter, clothing, protection – has been a practice of all races since before recorded time. But there was nothing noble in this wretched hunt, nothing altruistic. This was pure greed, all ego-driven selfish hording. This was a vile rape accosting the very fabric of nature itself. A welling hatred brewed in the now tautly coiled panther as her conscious mind slipped deeper into her primal, voracious feral state. These two wretched trophy stalkers would feel her venomous wrath.
Uncontrollably, she released a menacing growl as she turned to face the troll, her great fangs shining down from the deep shadows of the tree. The sound made the troll stop in his tracks and pull down his spear. He began looking around eagerly for the source of the growl, grinning at the thought that more prey had stumbled into his path. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
J******* snarled fiercely as she sprung from the high tree branch. The troll wheeled about, its eyes going wide in horror, just as the full form of the black panther crashed fully into his chest. The brutal force from the booming impact snapped his spear clear from his hand. He slammed hard into the ground and his breath was completely blown from his lungs. His head exploded in searing agony as it crashed with a resounding thud into a hardened knot on the trees exposed roots. He felt himself falling into unconsciousness as his head rolled to the side. His desperate mind snapped it back to the painful reality and with a turn of his head the great black form of his impending peril came grimly into view again.
The tremendous panther stood over him, sharp claws pinning him down, digging into his shoulders. A stream of blood flowed to the ground from each of the fine lacerations now raked across his chest. J******* lowered her head so that her now fiery glowing eyes looked directly into the terrified gaze of her vile prey and she grimaced in a guttural snarl. The troll looked frantically to his left and right, desperately searching for something, anything to use to fight off this demon cat. A deafening roar brought his fearful attention sharply back. He returned his gaze to J******* just in time to see her great maw rear up powerfully and lunge down to his exposed throat. She squeezed her jaws about his neck and her teeth dug deep into the trolls flesh, unleashing a hot stream of gushing blood that flowed over her mouth and down her face. Its filthy salty taste fed forcefully into her insatiable bloodlust for vengeance. She closed her maw tighter as the troll gasped for breath, beating helplessly at J*******’s flanks. He was now drowning in sickening muffled gurgles as his own lifeblood filled his burning lungs. The helpless troll lulled into death spasms that shook his entire body, and then stopped all together, his eyes now forever locked in a visage of pure pain and terror.
J******* released her clamped jaw from his neck, stood over the now lifeless form, and roared with a primal fury. A stream of blood still flowed from her mouth and dripped down on to the torn form of the troll. The sight of her prey drenched in his own stolen lifeblood coupled with the feeling and bitter taste of it still coating her tongue made the carnivorous, hunting cat hungry, ravenous, drunk in her own power. Her body was heaving. Her pulse raced. With a sharp realization, she snapped her head sharply to the side, turning the direction that the orc had gone. “He’s still out there,” she growled to herself. “Time to hunt.”
As if on cue, the orc suddenly came crashing back through the opposite side of the clearing behind her, and J******* narrowed her eyes into a wicked gaze on her new prey. “Come to me,” she snarled. As the wolf entered the clearing, it dropped low on the hunter’s side and growled menacingly at the great cat with a froth of angry saliva dripping from his jaws. J******* spun about on the pair and roared in seething protest.
The hunter looked past the shadowed cat to his fallen, mangled companion, and then snapped his eyes back to J*******. He narrowed a hatred leer, grunted angrily and pointed his hand at the panther. The wolf bolted from his side at the given command. J******* instantly sprang into action, charging head on towards the wolf, rapidly closing their distance. She was pushing herself hard again, her muscles burning to push more speed into her furor driven strides. The canine seemed to be matching her intensity as they closed with blinding rapidity. The wolf leapt up with his open, ravenous maw leading the way. Just before the two collided, J******* leapt ahead and to the side, passing a mere inches away from the canines snapping jaws, and spinning about in mid air. As she flew past the wolf, her body became enveloped in the silvery mist of transformation, shifting her back into her elven form. She landed on her feet and slid to one knee as her continued momentum carried her further from the wolf. She pulled both hands back to her left side forming tight claws with her fingers, muttered her incantation, and then snapped her arms forward, unleashing her magical energies. The wolf spun about with a snarl as it landed, then paused with a quizzical look on its face. It began to sway and fight in vain to maintain its balance. It then succumbed to the sleep that J******* had forced upon him collapsing in a heap to the ground. The druid grinned wickedly as she relished the sight - her ploy worked perfectly.
The thwack of an arrow into the ground beside her snapped her back to attention. She spun about on the hunter who was already knocking another arrow. J******* stood up and grinned at him, then began striding menacingly, confidently, stalking towards him. He loosed another arrow that raced a deadly path towards the center of her chest, directly for her pounding heart. She twisted her body to the right at the last moment and the arrow whisked harmlessly past her. She turned her eyes slowly down and behind her as if following the arrows path, then returned her gaze to the hunter with a bigger, more devious, more furious smirk. “That was your last mistake,” she growled as she lengthened her strides, her rage growing with each step. The orc notched another arrow and released it, this one sailing high and wide of the druid. Infuriated now by the stupid orc’s persistence she ran towards the wretched hunter who stumbled back at her damning approach.
The frenzied druid was in a full sprint now as she shifted her body forward. Again her body became enveloped in her transforming mist. The orc’s eyes went wide in surprise as he was now faced with the form of a great grey bear charging down on him with red fury-burning eyes. J******* bellowed a deafening roar as her long, lumbering strides rapidly closed the distance between the two. The hunter fumbled with his quiver and hurried to loose another arrow. This one found its mark, biting deep into J*******’s shoulder, its wicked tip scraping against her bone. Searing pain poured from the wound and wracked her body. To any other, this would have been a damning shot, enough to fell even the most seasoned and stalwart of veteran warriors. Not this time, though. She was too focused now, too enraged, too determined. She ignored the nearly blinding pain and pushed hard to close on her doomed target.
The hunter looked down to grab another arrow, desperate to get off a final shot before she closed completely on him. Too late. The Druid of the Claw was upon him. She reared up on her hind legs and swatted the bow out of the orc’s hand with a back-hand swipe of her huge paw. The orc staggered back and tried desperately to pull his axe free from his belt. J******* came down and pressed in further, swiping with her other claw. The falling blow caught the orc across the shoulder and raked down his chest, shredding his meager leather, snapping his depraved trophy necklace, and drawing jagged crimson lines of blood across body. The incredible force of the blow took him by surprise as he barely managed to spin with its momentum. He staggered back as he drew his crude, notched axe.
As the he lifted his feeble weapon over his head, J******* relentlessly pressed again. She charged the hunter, bashing fully into him with her massive form. The brutal impact made the orc double over and fall back under her pressing weight. As he hit the ground, his axe fell free of his tentative grasp and tumbled away over the broken ground and roots. J******* strode forebodingly on top of the orc, straddling him while her great front paws pinned his shoulders to the ground. The orc’s face went pale and his eyes went wide with terror as he shook his head in a desperately plea for a mercy. J******* loomed over him, looking him into his horrified red eyes as her hot, labored breath blew in his face. The rage in her large ursine eye still burned with white hot intensity as she lowered her maw to just inches above his head, her great jaws dripping with frenzied froth from her dire snarl.
The horrified look on the orc’s face gave her brief pause. This one was beaten. He’d not likely return here anytime soon. His tales of this encounter would likely dissuade others of his kind from trying the same. She lowered her head and looked around, as if searching for an answer. When her eyes found the fallen form of the young tiger across the clearing, she had decisively found her answer. Her revulsion-driven rage returned full force and she snapped an infuriated scowl back to the helpless orc. She tossed her head back in a fuming roar and reared up on her massive hind legs. The orc screamed in terror as she rose and then was immediately silenced as she came crashing down, bringing all of her force and weight to bear on his fragile head. His skull exploded in a wash of blood, bone, and brains that scattered across the jungle floor, spraying J*******’s paws and face in the sickening ichor. She reared up and smashed down again, and again, and again. In to each savage, tormented blow she poured more rage, more hate, more loathing, more vengeance. Her strength was beginning to wane, her muscles burning from the continued strain but she pressed on with her hammering retribution.
When exhaustion finally overcame her weary muscles and she could barely muster the strength to stand, she froze in place, laboring to catch her breath. The great bear lingered over the orc for a moment, panting heavily, unable to move, staring unblinkingly at the gruesome crimson mash beneath her blood drenched paws. She closed her eyes in disgust, turned slowly and lumbered to the middle of the clearing, where she shifted back to her elven form. The arrow was still protruding from her shoulder in front of her, and she mindlessly yanked it from the wound with a grunt. The pain was intense as it tore free from her flesh, but she simply flinched and paid it no mind. Her head hung low, her eyes still closed, her gaze still downward. She breathed deep trying to collect her thoughts, trying to let go of the rage and revulsion she somehow still felt, revulsion that was now turning on herself. She looked to the fallen tiger, to the mangled troll, and then to shattered form of the orc.
The wave of nausea and guilt washed over a hit her like a mailed fist in her gut, making her swoon and drop to her knees. She grabbed at her knotted stomach as it churned and then buckled as she became violently sick. Each wrenching heave left her feeling physically empty, but brought her no closer to releasing the sickening images now torturously burning in her mind. Her body fell into sobbing convulsions as her hard fought tears now streamed down her pale face. She covered her face with her hands and wept openly. “What have I done?” she cried. She looked to the young tiger again and then again to the two brutally mangled corpses. She then turned her gaze to her own trembling, bloodstained hands. “What have I become?”