Fanfiction: World of Warcraft (PG)
Title: Across Factions
Pairing/Characters: OFC, OMC, bunch of other OC's, NPC's in minor roles; OFC/OMC, Thrall/Aggra
Rating: PG
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Word Count: 12,737
Spoilers: Refers to past content, so if you don't know about it, you might be confused.
Summary: Jestana, a human hunter, runs into an old familiar face.
Notes/Warnings: I originally started this when I did Dragonblight on Orsinago, my blood elf hunter (now my only Horde 85), and the first scene came to me. Then it grew from there. Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium.
Across Factions
Part One
Pulling her cloak tighter around herself, Jestana reined in her palomino mare for the moment, surveying the bleak, snow-covered landscape. Amarisa, her well-trained wolf companion, pressed against the horse's side, blue-gray-tinted fur fluffed up against the cold wind that blew around them. The huntress glanced down at her canine companion. "What do you think, Ama, are we going the right way?" Looking up at the human, an uncertain whine escaped from the wolf's throat. Jestana sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. All this white has me turned around." Huffing out another sigh, she nudged Aurora into resuming their journey. "Well, going somewhere is better than going nowhere."
They continued their trek in silence, heads bowed against the wind as darkness began to fall. Off to the left some distance ahead of them, a fire flickered in the deepening twilight. Thinking only of the warmth it would provide, Jestana turned her horse's head in that direction, squeezing with her knees to urge her into a faster walk, then a trot, and finally a gallop. Snorting, Aurora stopped so suddenly when she reached the source of the flickering light at the mouth of a cave that she nearly sat on her haunches. Amarisa growled when she caught up with them. Jestana could only stare: a sin'dorei man stood up from where he'd been crouched by the fire, gazing up at the human woman with undisguised surprise in his eyes. After a long moment of silence, he spoke in accented Common: "Jestana Ivers?"
"Orsinago Daystar," she replied, finally placing the dark red hair and clean-shaven face. "I didn't realize you'd come back to Azeroth."
Grinning crookedly, he stepped forward to hold her horse's head as she dismounted. "The warchief sent out a command that able-bodied adventurers come to Northrend to fight against the Scourge, so here I am."
"Same on my side," she admitted, leading Aurora over to join his red hawkstrider at the back of the cave. "The king is recruiting as many people as he can to help the fight."
The sin'dorei hunter watched as she draped a blanket over the mare and carefully looped a nosebag over her head. "Where are you headed specifically? And where's Eva?"
"Fordragon Hold," she answered quietly, drawing her cloak tighter around herself as she moved towards the fire, saddlebags in hand. "From Wyrmrest Temple. That's where Eva is, incidentally. She caught a cold and is staying there to avoid making it worse."
Orsinago cleared snow off the fallen log he'd been using as a seat and Jestana sat down with a grateful smile. The warmth of the fire felt good. He sat down beside her as Amarisa settled by her feet. "I've just come from there, too. I'm on my way to the Kor'kron Vanguard, though."
"Ships passing in the night," she murmured, reaching into her saddlebags for some of her travel rations. She offered one of the biscuits to the wolf, who practically inhaled it. Laughing at Amarisa's hopeful look, Jestana nudged her with one booted foot. "Go on and find something else for you."
The wolf glanced at Orsinago, as if uncertain of leaving her mistress alone with him. Correctly interpreting her uncertainty, he held his hand across Jestana to let the wolf sniff it. She did and seemed satisfied, getting up and trotting off into the darkness. Straightening up, he commented to the huntress, "I'm glad she remembers me at all. It's been awhile."
"Yes, it has." Jestana focused on eating her rations, aware of his warm bulk beside her. "Do you still have Firestorm or do you have a different pet?"
He chuckled and gestured across the fire at the red-gold lynx just emerging from the shadows. "See for yourself."
"You've managed to keep one for more than a few months?" Jestana asked with a grin, holding out her hand to the feline, who padded over and sniffed it.
Apparently, he remembered Jestana as well as Amarisa had Orsinago, because he butted his head against her hand, demanding attention. "I just needed to find one who was a proper fit for me, like Ama is for you and I finally did in Stormy."
"I'm very glad for you, Orsi," she told him sincerely, resuming her meal.
He smiled, but said nothing as he continued his own interrupted meal. Amarisa returned shortly afterwards, licking her muzzle. She paused when she saw the lynx, and then trotted over to sniff at him in greeting. After a moment, the two curled up together and fell asleep. Orsinago glanced at Jestana, his crooked smile back in place. "I think they have the best idea, don't you?"
"That we should sleep?" she asked, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I think that's the best idea. I'm exhausted."
The sin'dorei man turned to bank the fire, keeping his glowing green eyes focused on that task. "Would you object to sharing? We'll be warmer if we do and less likely to freeze to death."
"Sharing would be ideal," the human woman agreed, willing herself not to fidget. "Just no funny business, all right?"
He sat up and held his hand up, his voice solemn though his eyes danced with amusement. "I solemnly swear that I won't take advantage of you while we're sleeping."
"Thank you." She unbuckled her sleeping bag from her backpack and carried it over to where Orsinago had already spread out his. It was the work of a few moments to join the bags. Keeping her back to her companion, she stripped out of her armor and quickly crawled, shivering, into the sleeping bags.
Jestana stayed curled up until she felt the other hunter slip into the bag with her, a muscular arm sliding around her waist to pull her back against a solidly-muscled chest. He brushed a kiss across her cheek that made her heart skip a beat. "Good night, Jes."
"Good night, Orsi," she murmured around a yawn. As she fell asleep, she mused that he still smelled like autumn and woodsmoke.
* * *
His gait a bit stiff, Orsinago entered the inn's dining room in search of breakfast, stifling a yawn as he looked around for an empty seat. A slender sin'dorei woman waved to catch his attention, shoulder-length hair the same dark red as his. "Orsi, over here!"
"Morning, Eru." He leaned down to kiss her cheek once he reached her side, sliding into the seat next to hers.
Erubadhriel kissed his cheek in return, smiling wryly. "It's closer to afternoon, actually."
"Is it?" He barely glanced out the window, stifling another yawn. "Who can tell anymore?"
His oldest sister laughed, amused by his determined irreverence. "I was just getting to know a new recruit to the Scryers: Jestana Ivers. Jestana, this is my baby brother, Orsinago Daystar."
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Daystar," the human woman across the table from them told him, offering a slender hand across the table.
Orsinago took in her appearance as he shook her hand: on the slender--for a human--side with light auburn hair and brown eyes, her skin was pale for a human, but still darker than the two sin'dorei. "It's nice to meet you, too, Miss Ivers."
"Jestana here is a hunter, too, Orsi," Erubadhriel interjected as the human resumed eating. "Maybe she can give you pointers on sticking with the same pet for more than a few months."
He rolled his eyes and refused to respond until he'd ordered something from the waiter. Once he had, he informed his sister, "It's not my fault the pets don't work out for me."
"If you'd just give them more than a few months," she began, exasperation coloring her tone.
Jestana inserted herself into the conversation just then, "Maybe it's not the pet that's the problem here, Miss Daystar."
"What do you mean?" Orsinago looked sharply at the woman. She was the first person he'd met who wasn't afraid to try to cut Erubadhriel off when she started on about something.
Shrugging, she took a sip of her juice. "My younger sister tried to be a hunter when we were little, but it just wasn't working, so she became a paladin instead. We're all much happier."
"No, I can hunt," he quickly defended himself, pausing when the waiter arrived with his food. "I just need to find the right pet to hunt with."
Jestana held her hands up in a placating gesture. "It was just a suggestion. My uncle breeds wolves to be combat pets. I've had Amarisa since she was a cub and can't imagine hunting without her by my side."
"That's how it's supposed to work for us, too," Orsinago replied after swallowing his bite of food. "It didn't quite happen, though, because my dragonhawk was killed in a stupid accident."
She winced and placed a hand over her heart. "You have my complete sympathy, Mr. Daystar."
"That doesn't bring Jafar back," he muttered, thinking of the day he lost his dragonhawk.
Erubadhriel nudged him with her elbow. "That wasn't very nice, Orsi."
"What?" he glanced at his sister, and then across the table at the human woman. Though she hurried to school her expression, he caught a glimpse of stricken eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss Ivers. I sometimes speak without stopping to think first."
If she were inclined to it, Erubadhriel would have snorted in disbelief. As it was, she merely rolled her eyes. "Sometimes? Try almost every time you open your mouth."
"I'm not that bad!" he protested. She simply gazed at him implacably. He sighed. "All right, so I often don't use tact when I speak."
His sister nodded. "Close enough."
"You two remind me of the way Eva and I would go back and forth," Jestana commented wistfully, a faint smile curving her lips.
Orsinago took a bite of his meal. "Is she your paladin sister?"
"Yes. She tried to hunt, but she just could not hit the target, whether she used a bow or a blunderbuss." The huntress smiled in fond remembrance. "She enjoyed learning from the village paladin, though, so Mom and Dad gave their blessing for her to train with him once she was old enough."
He finished his meal and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm very glad it worked out for her. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of."
"I'll see you, Orsi." Erubadhriel tilted her head so he could kiss her cheek, which he did.
She kissed his cheek in return. "Take care, Eru, and say 'hi' to Cal for me." He nodded to the human woman. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Ivers."
"Likewise, Mr. Daystar." She shook the sin'dorei man's hand.
Without another look back, he headed out of the inn and over to the stable to see how well he and Tashlan would get along.
* * *
"Light preserve us, NO!" Jestana could only watch, horrified, as the plaguebombs fell on the Alliance and Horde soldiers fighting the Scourge in front of Angrathar. She knew, as everyone did, that those bombs meant certain death for everyone who inhaled their contents. Oh, gods, I hope Orsi isn't there!
She was distracted from her thoughts by a cry nearby: "Look! The dragons are coming! The dragons are coming!"
"What can they do against the plague?" someone else asked, sounding skeptical.
The sight of the dragons flaming the ledge with the catapults, and then the ground infected by the plague was answer enough. Jestana pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a cry at the thought of all those soldiers: If the plague didn't kill them, the dragons' flames certainly must have...
"No! Tom!" a woman cried near Jestana. She must have been close to one of the soldiers.
All around her, cries of grief began to fill the air as the others realized the full implications of what they'd just witnessed. Jestana didn't join the grieving, however. There was still a chance, however small, that her friend was still alive. After all, Orsinago was no more a soldier of the Horde than she was of the Alliance. It was possible that the Horde commander had made the sin'dorei hunter stay behind, as Lord Fordragon had with her. She was so deep into her musings that it took her a few moments to realize that a red dragon had landed before her. When she finally saw him, he spoke, "Quickly, young hunter. The Queen requests your presence before the gates of Angrathar."
"Yes, of course." She started for the stables to get Aurora, only to pause as something occurred to her. Turning back to the dragon, she asked, "What about the plague?"
She supposed his expression was meant to be reassuring, but he only looked even fiercer. "Don't worry, youngling. It's no longer a danger to mortals such as yourself."
"Thank you." She hurried to saddle her horse, calling Amarisa to join her once she was mounted. Her wolf at her side, she rode to the Wrathgate, towards where she could see the immense forms of Alexstrasza, the Queen of Dragons, and her consort, Korialstrasz, waiting patiently.
Dismounting once she arrived, she approached the pair and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for coming, young Jestana."
"I will do as your command, your Majesty," she replied, taking in the mix of devastation and blooming life with awe. Unable to contain herself, she asked, "Is it certain that no one survived?"
The dragon queen shook her immense head. "None, little hunter."
"Jes!" Her heart nearly stopped at the familiar shout. It can't be...
Forgetting the two dragons for the moment, she turned around, vaguely aware that Amarisa had bolted from her side. There, riding towards them, was Orsinago on his hawkstrider, Firestorm bounding ahead to greet Amarisa. Relief and delight flooding through her, she barely let the sin'dorei dismount before she flung herself at him. "Orsi! You're all right! I was worried that you were here."
"No, Saurfang felt I'd do more good staying behind," he admitted, hugging her just as tightly as she was hugging him. "I worried that you'd be here."
She shook her head as she reluctantly stepped back. "No, it was the same for me: Lord Fordragon thought the best place for me was away from the front line."
"It seems they made wise decisions," Orsinago commented, keeping hold of her hand as turned to take in their surroundings, glowing eyes glittering for a moment.
When he saw the two dragons, he stopped and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for coming, young Orsinago. I have a task for you, and one for you, Miss Jestana."
"I will do it if it is in my power," she told the Lifebinder, lightly squeezing her friend's hand. She knew the tasks Alexstrasza had in mind for them would send them two different directions.
Orsinago returned the squeeze as the Dragon Queen spoke, addressing her comments solely to the human for the moment: "Our fate is emblazoned upon our souls at birth. Bolvar's fall, while tragic, was unavoidable. All that you can do now is honor your hero, Jestana. Collect Bolvar's shield from the field of battle and return it to your king. When you present the shield to Varian, tell him this: 'All is not lost. From the ashes of the fallen will rise a force that will unite nations and purge the evil from this world.'"
"Yes, your Majesty." She bowed again, her heart breaking at the thought of how the king was likely to react when she presented him with his friend's shield.
Next, the Queen of Dragons spoke to Orsinago in Thalassian. Having worked hard to learn it after befriending him and his sister, Jestana understood her words as well as her friend: "Darkness stirs, Orsinago. A tragic event has transpired that none but the Timeless One could have foreseen. Soon your people will be gripped by anger and hatred. War is on the horizon. The red dragonflight has done all that it can. What happens next is in the hands of the mortal races of Azeroth. Regrettably, your journey begins with anguish. A father has lost a child today. You must bear the grim news. Gather the armaments of Saurfang and return them to the elder Saurfang."
"As you command, your Majesty." He bowed as well, his face unusually somber. Jestana wished for a moment to see a glimpse of his typical determined irreverence, but it seemed unlikely.
With a heavy heart, she found Bolvar's shield and carried it over to where Aurora waited calmly and patiently. After securing it to the saddle, she mounted her horse and whistled reluctantly for Amarisa. The wolf left off gamboling with Firestorm and trotted over to take up her place beside Jestana. She raised her hand to wave to Orsinago, who'd mounted his hawkstrider as well. "Until we meet again, Orsi."
"Until then, Jes." He waved back, clucked his tongue, and headed back the way he'd come.
Turning Aurora's head, she headed back to Fordragon Hold to catch a gryphon back to Wyrmrest to get her sister before heading to Dalaran, there to take the portal to Stormwind in order to make her report to the king. He's going to want to attack the Horde for this. I know it!
* * *
Since she'd joined the Scryers, Orsinago often saw Jestana doing work for them, just as he did. She rarely seemed to give Amarisa verbal commands, relying on a variety of whistles and calls instead. One time, while staying in Shadowmoon Valley, Orsinago happened to catch sight of the pair being set upon by a large group of enemies. He considered sending Firestorm, his current pet, down to help them while he shot them from his perch, but he remembered that Jestana was a fiercely independent woman, preferring to do things on her own. So he stayed where he was and watched, fingers threaded through Firestorm's ruff of golden fur. Amarisa was a whirlwind of teeth and claws, her growls audible to his ears. Jestana herself wasn't idle, using her polearm with deadly effect to dispatch her attackers one by one. In the end, they all lay dead around her and her wolf.
Only once she'd knelt to check Amarisa's wounds did he descend from his perch and approach her. Even then, her head snapped up, brown eyes flashing with anger. Her expression softened when she recognized him. "Hi, Orsi."
"Hello, Jes." He stopped beside her and gave Firestorm a stroke. The lynx moved towards the wolf and began to lick her fur where blood stained it. "That was quite a fight you had there."
Sitting back on her heels, the human picked up her backpack and rummaged through it for something. "You saw? Why didn't you help?"
"I was afraid you'd attack me if I did," he replied, taking the first aid kit from her and opening it. He used one of the disinfecting wipes to begin cleaning the blood on her face that trickled from a cut along her hairline. "And I like myself without wounds, thank you very much."
Chuckling, she held still under his ministrations. "You have a valid point, since they were all sin'dorei as well."
"You used to call them blood elves," he commented quietly, carefully cleaning the cut itself now. "Why did that change?"
She shrugged a little. "That's what you and Eru call yourselves, so I thought I should, too."
"Are you going to learn Thalassian, too?" Orsinago asked curiously, lightly probing the cut with his fingers. Not bad enough to require a bandage...
She removed her gloves and bracers to reveal a gash on her left arm just below the sleeve of her chestguard. Without a word, he began to clean that as well. "Is that your language? It sounds very beautiful when I hear your people speaking it."
"Yes, it's our language and it's not easy to learn," he placed a bandage over the gash and taped it in place.
Jestana put her gloves and bracers in her backpack, and then got to her feet. She straightened up with a hiss of pain, one hand going to her side under her ribs. When she pulled it away, her fingers were red with blood. "When did they get me there?"
"You were probably so focused on fighting that you didn't notice," he remarked, helping her remove her chestguard. She wore a shirt underneath that and he pushed it up to find a slash along her stomach just below the ribs. "This is going to need stitches. Do you have anything that can help numb the pain?"
Reluctantly, she sat down and rummaged through her backpack once again. "Don't think so. I mostly carry rations for myself and Ama. It's normally not a problem."
"Just a moment." He returned to where he'd left his hawkstrider, Vermillion, and rummaged through his own backpack, finding the bottle of potent wine he'd bought when last he'd stocked up. When he rejoined Jestana, Amarisa had sat down beside her mistress, who was leaning against the wolf with her eyes closed. "Wake up, Jes, you need to drink this."
She pushed the proffered bottle away, not even opening her eyes. "No, I don't drink."
"Unless you want to feel me stitching up that nasty wound, you need to drink," he insisted, pressing the bottle into her hand.
Sighing, she sat up and took the bottle, taking a swallow. "There, happy?"
"No, you need to drink more than that," he busied himself preparing a needle and thread from Jestana's first aid kit as well as a bandage to put over the wound once he'd stitched it closed.
Grumbling, she did as he instructed. Once it was half-gone, he had her hold onto Amarisa to keep herself steady. "Just do it, Orsi."
"I'll be as quick as I can," he assured her, beginning to suture the wound closed.
She gasped and quickly took another drink of the wine. He worked as quickly and carefully as he could, ensuring that there were no gaps between the edges of skin. So focused was he on his task that he hardly noticed that Jestana kept drinking. By the time he'd finished and covered the wound with the bandage, the bottle was empty. "Thanksh, Orshi."
"You're welcome, Jes." He tugged her shirt down over the wound and gently plucked the bottle from her limp hand. "The Sanctum of the Stars isn't too far from here. We should head there now to give you a chance to recover."
As he packed her first aid kit and tucked it into her backpack with her chestguard, she rested one hand on his chest. "Y'r very handshome, did you know that?"
"Yes, I do know that." He stood up and pulled Jestana to her feet. She promptly stumbled and fell against his chest.
Giggling, the huntress slid her hand down his chest and stomach to his belt buckle. "I want you. Will you take me to bed with you?"
"Only to sleep," he told her firmly, scooping her up into his arms to carry her over to where Vermillion waited patiently. "You're in no shape to have sex with anyone."
She rested her auburn head on his shoulder, toying with the collar of his chestguard. "Don' wanna have shex with anyone 'cept you. Dream about it all the time."
"That's the wine talking," Orsinago answered firmly, helping her onto the hawkstrider before climbing up behind her. Imitating the whistle Jestana used to command Amarisa to follow her, he was gratified when the wolf fell in without any trouble.
Leaning heavily back against his chest, she shook her head. "Nope. All me, me, me..."
Her words trailed off into a snore and he breathed a sigh of relief. She's going to have a horrible headache when she wakes up in the morning and I doubt she'll remember anything that she said. More's the pity. I like her very much, too...
* * *
The moment they arrived in Stormwind, Jestana and Evalynna rode directly for the Keep, announcing to the guards that they had important news for the king from Northrend. After a brief wait during which they did their best to scrub away some of the grime of their travels, they were ushered into the throne room. The king stood before his throne with the prince nearby. To the hunter's surprise, Lady Jaina Proudmoore was present as well. Varian spoke, his gaze intense, as always. "You have news, ladies?"
"We do, your Majesty." They knelt before the throne as Jestana spoke, still holding the lord's shield. "We've come straight from Angrathar. The assault ended in failure. It is only thanks to the intervention of the dragons that we are able to tell you this much."
The king stared at them with shocked eyes. "What happened, exactly?"
"It began well enough." Her voice steady at first, Jestana related the events of the attack, speaking of how the Alliance and Horde forces put aside their differences in order to fight the Scourge side by side. When she mentioned the emergence of the Lich King at Bolvar's taunt, her voice shook a little. Even from her post so far away, his very presence had sent chills of fear through her. In describing the last moments of the battle, her voice fell to a mere whisper. "No one survived, your Majesty." Finally, she revealed Bolvar's shield. "Not even Lord Fordragon. The Queen of Dragons said to tell you this: 'All is not lost. From the ashes of the fallen will rise a force that will unite nations and purge the evil from this world.'"
Much to her surprise, tears glittered on the king's cheeks. He quickly wiped them away, and then reached out to take the shield from her, tracing the device on it carefully. Slowly, the king nodded. "This is my fault. The Dragon Queen is right, Jestana. All is not lost. I will be the force that rises from the ashes and I will purge the evil of the Horde from this world. The deaths of our brothers and sisters will not have been in vain."
"If I may, your Majesty?" Jaina interrupted, stepping forward with a concerned expression upon her face.
As the two conversed in whispers, Jestana glanced at the prince. He looked pale and quiet, his gaze fixed on the shield his father still held. Of course! Lord Fordragon was like a father to the prince while the king was missing! Finally, the conversation ended and the king addressed them once again. "At the behest of Lady Proudmoore, I will allow a diplomatic mission to Orgrimmar to question the Horde's Warchief, Thrall. You two will assist her in this journey and keep her safe from harm. Return to me with news from Orgrimmar."
"Yes, your Majesty." Standing up, they saluted him. It was a relief in a way to know that the king would at least ask questions before charging headlong into a fight.
She whispered a command to Amarisa as Evalynna drew her sword, ordering her to remain alert and ready for battle. The wolf whined quietly in response and Jestana was satisfied that she would stay nearby while they were in Orgrimmar. Turning to the mage, the sisters nodded to indicate their readiness. The blonde woman gazed back at them with serious eyes. "Do not do anything that would incite the Horde. The Warchief has agreed to see us on good faith. Let's go."
After a brief moment of disorientation, Jestana found herself in a circular room surrounded by orcs, trolls, and even sin'dorei. One in particular caught her eye: Orsi! He made it safely! By her side, Amarisa seemed to shiver, as if she wanted to rush over to greet Firestorm, but Jestana's command restrained her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Evalynna stare at Orsinago for a moment, and then glance at her sister, as if she recognized him. The sight of armed orcs running in to attack them distracted both of them, however, and she quickly readied her bow, Amarisa alert at her side, while Evalynna lifted her sword. The orc she recognized as Thrall gave a command before any blood could be shed: "Kor'kron, stand down!" Once the orc guards obeyed his command, he turned to the mage. "Jaina..."
"Thrall, what has happened? The King is preparing for war..." Jaina asked the questions and Jestana couldn't help sneaking glances at Orsinago, who stood to one side, his gaze fixed on the warchief, one hand absently stroking Firestorm's fur. The lynx had his eyes fixed on Amarisa, who remained by Jestana's side, ears alert and pricked as she constantly looked around the room, sniffing the air occasionally.
"Jaina, what happened at the Wrathgate. It was a betrayal from within..." He began the explanation, sounding truly sorry for all the deaths. Watching him, she understood now why Orsinago respected him so much. Thrall was different from most orcs she'd met, without the thirst for blood and vengeance that characterized them as a race. He's so different from what I expected him to be like...
Jestana was startled to realize the woman who distracted her from her musings with her words, who'd been kneeling before Thrall, was Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, formerly under the Lich King's control, but now the leader of the Forsaken. "Lady Proudmoore, the Warchief speaks the truth. This subterfuge was set in motion by Varimathras and Grand Apothecary Putress. It was not the Horde's doing. As the combined Horde and Alliance forces began their assault upon the Wrathgate, an uprising broke out in the Undercity. Varimathras and hordes of his demonic brethren attacked. Hundreds of my people were slain in the coup. I barely managed to escape with my life."
"The Horde has lost the Undercity." Thrall took over the explanation then, looking angry and now Jestana could see how he'd come to lead his people despite his desire for peace. "We now prepare to lay siege to the city and bring in the perpetrators of the unforgivable crime to justice. If we are forced into a conflict, the Lich King will destroy our divided forces in Northrend. We will make this right, Jaina. Tell your king all that you have learned here."
As she answered, Jaina looked troubled and Jestana shared her worries. "I will deliver this information to King Wrynn, Thrall, but, Bolvar was like a brother to him. In the King's absence, Bolvar kept the Alliance united. He found strength for our people in our darkest hours. He watched over Anduin, raising him as his own. I fear that the rage will consume him, Thrall. I remain hopeful that reason will prevail, but we must prepare for the worst... for war. Farewell, Warchief. I pray that the next time we meet it will be as allies."
Wishing she'd had a chance to speak with Orsinago, Jestana stepped through the portal Jaina had created, finding herself back in Stormwind once more, Evalynna beside her. Jaina wasted no time reporting what Thrall had told them as Jestana whispered a command to Amarisa to stand down. The wolf relaxed her stance, even sitting down by Jestana's feet. As expected, the king looked angry at the news. "They have lost the Undercity? Then the time to strike is now. We will deal with Putress ourselves and retake the Ruins of Lordaeron for the Alliance!"
As the guards and civilians gathered in the throne room cheered, Jestana's heart sank and she rested her hand on Amarisa's head, stroking the soft fur. I hope we don't encounter the Horde forces there. I don't want to fight Orsi...
* * *
As Orsinago had expected, Jestana didn't remember much of what had happened while she was drunk. "I remember you starting to stitch the wound closed, but everything after that is kind of hazy." She looked up at him with some trepidation. "I didn't do anything silly, did I?"
"No, nothing like that," he assured her quickly. "You just fell asleep on our way back here."
She nodded, looking relieved. "Oh, good. Thank you for helping me, Orsi."
"Not at all, Jes," he told her with a grin. "Anything for a friend."
She managed a weak smile in reply and he wondered if he imagined the disappointment that flashed across her face. He didn't get a chance to ask her any questions because she excused herself soon after. Up to now, he'd always thought of the human woman as a friend. An admittedly odd choice of friend for a sin'dorei, but a friend nonetheless. Now, however, he took a hard look at his feelings for the huntress. She was certainly lovely in her way, with a tall--for a human--curvy build, pale creamy complexion, expressive brown eyes, and thick auburn hair. It wasn't her physical beauty that he dwelt on, however, but her inner beauty. She had a kind, generous, and compassionate heart, which made it all the more puzzling as to why she was running errands for the Scryers, many of which required her to kill people.
"How do you justify it?" he asked her one day while they'd both still been in Shattrath. "How do you live with yourself after killing people?"
Jestana kept her attention on the bracer she was repairing even as she answered, "The people I kill are people just like the ones who killed my parents when I was a teenager: unscrupulous murderers. They deserve to die and if it means I protect innocent people from being murdered, all the better."
"That's the most cynical thing I've heard you say," he commented, surprised by her attitude.
She looked up at him, brown eyes hard and cold. "I may be an optimist by nature, but we have our limits like everyone."
"I understand." He held up his hands in feigned surrender. "Just bring back the optimistic Jes, please."
A playful smile erased her hardened expression, "Did you miss me?"
"Of course, I did. You're much nicer," he retorted with a smile, hiding his relief.
All in all, he rather liked the idea of being more than a friend to Jestana. He just wasn't sure if her attempt at a pass had been due more to the alcohol or lower inhibitions. Much as he would have liked to find out which it'd been, he didn't want to risk losing her friendship. So he kept quiet and just enjoyed the time they spent together: him teaching her Thalassian and her teaching him how to fight properly in hand-to-hand combat (there were some benefits to having a paladin sister, apparently). One morning, as he attempted to train Firestorm to obey a more complex command, a hail from the main building of the Sanctum distracted both of them. "Orsi!"
"Hi, Jes!" he called back, smiling as he waved. When she drew closer and he saw how pale and drawn her face was, his smile faded. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
She flourished a piece of parchment. "I just received word from Wildhammer Stronghold. Eva 's grievously hurt. I need to go to her."
"Isn't she a paladin?" he asked, frowning as she came to a stop in front of him. "She can heal herself, right?"
Jestana nodded, but the worry didn't leave her eyes. "Yes, she can, but if she's this badly injured, she's probably out of mana and unable to heal herself anymore."
"Then go to her." He rested his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed. "She needs you."
Much to his surprise, tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't lose her, Orsi! She's all the family I have left!"
"Shh, c'mere." He drew her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back reassuringly. "If she's anything like you, you won't lose her. She won't let a measly injury stop her."
Even as she clung to him, Jestana laughed. "You have a point there."
"You should still go see her," Orsinago suggested gently, aware that she'd pulled back enough to look up at him, but her arms still rested around his waist and his around her shoulders. "I've a feeling she'll be glad for it."
Smiling, she stretched up to kiss his cheek. Just a light brush of her lips against his skin, but he felt it to the depths of his being. "Thank you, Orsi."
"You're welcome, Jes." He kissed her cheek in return, not sure if he imagined the soft intake of breath on her part.
The next moment, she was gone, heading to the flight master to take a gryphon to Wildhammer Stronghold. That was the last he saw of her, until they met up again in Dragonblight.
* * *
Read Part Two
Pairing/Characters: OFC, OMC, bunch of other OC's, NPC's in minor roles; OFC/OMC, Thrall/Aggra
Rating: PG
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Word Count: 12,737
Spoilers: Refers to past content, so if you don't know about it, you might be confused.
Summary: Jestana, a human hunter, runs into an old familiar face.
Notes/Warnings: I originally started this when I did Dragonblight on Orsinago, my blood elf hunter (now my only Horde 85), and the first scene came to me. Then it grew from there. Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium.
Across Factions
Part One
Pulling her cloak tighter around herself, Jestana reined in her palomino mare for the moment, surveying the bleak, snow-covered landscape. Amarisa, her well-trained wolf companion, pressed against the horse's side, blue-gray-tinted fur fluffed up against the cold wind that blew around them. The huntress glanced down at her canine companion. "What do you think, Ama, are we going the right way?" Looking up at the human, an uncertain whine escaped from the wolf's throat. Jestana sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. All this white has me turned around." Huffing out another sigh, she nudged Aurora into resuming their journey. "Well, going somewhere is better than going nowhere."
They continued their trek in silence, heads bowed against the wind as darkness began to fall. Off to the left some distance ahead of them, a fire flickered in the deepening twilight. Thinking only of the warmth it would provide, Jestana turned her horse's head in that direction, squeezing with her knees to urge her into a faster walk, then a trot, and finally a gallop. Snorting, Aurora stopped so suddenly when she reached the source of the flickering light at the mouth of a cave that she nearly sat on her haunches. Amarisa growled when she caught up with them. Jestana could only stare: a sin'dorei man stood up from where he'd been crouched by the fire, gazing up at the human woman with undisguised surprise in his eyes. After a long moment of silence, he spoke in accented Common: "Jestana Ivers?"
"Orsinago Daystar," she replied, finally placing the dark red hair and clean-shaven face. "I didn't realize you'd come back to Azeroth."
Grinning crookedly, he stepped forward to hold her horse's head as she dismounted. "The warchief sent out a command that able-bodied adventurers come to Northrend to fight against the Scourge, so here I am."
"Same on my side," she admitted, leading Aurora over to join his red hawkstrider at the back of the cave. "The king is recruiting as many people as he can to help the fight."
The sin'dorei hunter watched as she draped a blanket over the mare and carefully looped a nosebag over her head. "Where are you headed specifically? And where's Eva?"
"Fordragon Hold," she answered quietly, drawing her cloak tighter around herself as she moved towards the fire, saddlebags in hand. "From Wyrmrest Temple. That's where Eva is, incidentally. She caught a cold and is staying there to avoid making it worse."
Orsinago cleared snow off the fallen log he'd been using as a seat and Jestana sat down with a grateful smile. The warmth of the fire felt good. He sat down beside her as Amarisa settled by her feet. "I've just come from there, too. I'm on my way to the Kor'kron Vanguard, though."
"Ships passing in the night," she murmured, reaching into her saddlebags for some of her travel rations. She offered one of the biscuits to the wolf, who practically inhaled it. Laughing at Amarisa's hopeful look, Jestana nudged her with one booted foot. "Go on and find something else for you."
The wolf glanced at Orsinago, as if uncertain of leaving her mistress alone with him. Correctly interpreting her uncertainty, he held his hand across Jestana to let the wolf sniff it. She did and seemed satisfied, getting up and trotting off into the darkness. Straightening up, he commented to the huntress, "I'm glad she remembers me at all. It's been awhile."
"Yes, it has." Jestana focused on eating her rations, aware of his warm bulk beside her. "Do you still have Firestorm or do you have a different pet?"
He chuckled and gestured across the fire at the red-gold lynx just emerging from the shadows. "See for yourself."
"You've managed to keep one for more than a few months?" Jestana asked with a grin, holding out her hand to the feline, who padded over and sniffed it.
Apparently, he remembered Jestana as well as Amarisa had Orsinago, because he butted his head against her hand, demanding attention. "I just needed to find one who was a proper fit for me, like Ama is for you and I finally did in Stormy."
"I'm very glad for you, Orsi," she told him sincerely, resuming her meal.
He smiled, but said nothing as he continued his own interrupted meal. Amarisa returned shortly afterwards, licking her muzzle. She paused when she saw the lynx, and then trotted over to sniff at him in greeting. After a moment, the two curled up together and fell asleep. Orsinago glanced at Jestana, his crooked smile back in place. "I think they have the best idea, don't you?"
"That we should sleep?" she asked, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I think that's the best idea. I'm exhausted."
The sin'dorei man turned to bank the fire, keeping his glowing green eyes focused on that task. "Would you object to sharing? We'll be warmer if we do and less likely to freeze to death."
"Sharing would be ideal," the human woman agreed, willing herself not to fidget. "Just no funny business, all right?"
He sat up and held his hand up, his voice solemn though his eyes danced with amusement. "I solemnly swear that I won't take advantage of you while we're sleeping."
"Thank you." She unbuckled her sleeping bag from her backpack and carried it over to where Orsinago had already spread out his. It was the work of a few moments to join the bags. Keeping her back to her companion, she stripped out of her armor and quickly crawled, shivering, into the sleeping bags.
Jestana stayed curled up until she felt the other hunter slip into the bag with her, a muscular arm sliding around her waist to pull her back against a solidly-muscled chest. He brushed a kiss across her cheek that made her heart skip a beat. "Good night, Jes."
"Good night, Orsi," she murmured around a yawn. As she fell asleep, she mused that he still smelled like autumn and woodsmoke.
* * *
His gait a bit stiff, Orsinago entered the inn's dining room in search of breakfast, stifling a yawn as he looked around for an empty seat. A slender sin'dorei woman waved to catch his attention, shoulder-length hair the same dark red as his. "Orsi, over here!"
"Morning, Eru." He leaned down to kiss her cheek once he reached her side, sliding into the seat next to hers.
Erubadhriel kissed his cheek in return, smiling wryly. "It's closer to afternoon, actually."
"Is it?" He barely glanced out the window, stifling another yawn. "Who can tell anymore?"
His oldest sister laughed, amused by his determined irreverence. "I was just getting to know a new recruit to the Scryers: Jestana Ivers. Jestana, this is my baby brother, Orsinago Daystar."
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Daystar," the human woman across the table from them told him, offering a slender hand across the table.
Orsinago took in her appearance as he shook her hand: on the slender--for a human--side with light auburn hair and brown eyes, her skin was pale for a human, but still darker than the two sin'dorei. "It's nice to meet you, too, Miss Ivers."
"Jestana here is a hunter, too, Orsi," Erubadhriel interjected as the human resumed eating. "Maybe she can give you pointers on sticking with the same pet for more than a few months."
He rolled his eyes and refused to respond until he'd ordered something from the waiter. Once he had, he informed his sister, "It's not my fault the pets don't work out for me."
"If you'd just give them more than a few months," she began, exasperation coloring her tone.
Jestana inserted herself into the conversation just then, "Maybe it's not the pet that's the problem here, Miss Daystar."
"What do you mean?" Orsinago looked sharply at the woman. She was the first person he'd met who wasn't afraid to try to cut Erubadhriel off when she started on about something.
Shrugging, she took a sip of her juice. "My younger sister tried to be a hunter when we were little, but it just wasn't working, so she became a paladin instead. We're all much happier."
"No, I can hunt," he quickly defended himself, pausing when the waiter arrived with his food. "I just need to find the right pet to hunt with."
Jestana held her hands up in a placating gesture. "It was just a suggestion. My uncle breeds wolves to be combat pets. I've had Amarisa since she was a cub and can't imagine hunting without her by my side."
"That's how it's supposed to work for us, too," Orsinago replied after swallowing his bite of food. "It didn't quite happen, though, because my dragonhawk was killed in a stupid accident."
She winced and placed a hand over her heart. "You have my complete sympathy, Mr. Daystar."
"That doesn't bring Jafar back," he muttered, thinking of the day he lost his dragonhawk.
Erubadhriel nudged him with her elbow. "That wasn't very nice, Orsi."
"What?" he glanced at his sister, and then across the table at the human woman. Though she hurried to school her expression, he caught a glimpse of stricken eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss Ivers. I sometimes speak without stopping to think first."
If she were inclined to it, Erubadhriel would have snorted in disbelief. As it was, she merely rolled her eyes. "Sometimes? Try almost every time you open your mouth."
"I'm not that bad!" he protested. She simply gazed at him implacably. He sighed. "All right, so I often don't use tact when I speak."
His sister nodded. "Close enough."
"You two remind me of the way Eva and I would go back and forth," Jestana commented wistfully, a faint smile curving her lips.
Orsinago took a bite of his meal. "Is she your paladin sister?"
"Yes. She tried to hunt, but she just could not hit the target, whether she used a bow or a blunderbuss." The huntress smiled in fond remembrance. "She enjoyed learning from the village paladin, though, so Mom and Dad gave their blessing for her to train with him once she was old enough."
He finished his meal and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm very glad it worked out for her. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of."
"I'll see you, Orsi." Erubadhriel tilted her head so he could kiss her cheek, which he did.
She kissed his cheek in return. "Take care, Eru, and say 'hi' to Cal for me." He nodded to the human woman. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Ivers."
"Likewise, Mr. Daystar." She shook the sin'dorei man's hand.
Without another look back, he headed out of the inn and over to the stable to see how well he and Tashlan would get along.
* * *
"Light preserve us, NO!" Jestana could only watch, horrified, as the plaguebombs fell on the Alliance and Horde soldiers fighting the Scourge in front of Angrathar. She knew, as everyone did, that those bombs meant certain death for everyone who inhaled their contents. Oh, gods, I hope Orsi isn't there!
She was distracted from her thoughts by a cry nearby: "Look! The dragons are coming! The dragons are coming!"
"What can they do against the plague?" someone else asked, sounding skeptical.
The sight of the dragons flaming the ledge with the catapults, and then the ground infected by the plague was answer enough. Jestana pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a cry at the thought of all those soldiers: If the plague didn't kill them, the dragons' flames certainly must have...
"No! Tom!" a woman cried near Jestana. She must have been close to one of the soldiers.
All around her, cries of grief began to fill the air as the others realized the full implications of what they'd just witnessed. Jestana didn't join the grieving, however. There was still a chance, however small, that her friend was still alive. After all, Orsinago was no more a soldier of the Horde than she was of the Alliance. It was possible that the Horde commander had made the sin'dorei hunter stay behind, as Lord Fordragon had with her. She was so deep into her musings that it took her a few moments to realize that a red dragon had landed before her. When she finally saw him, he spoke, "Quickly, young hunter. The Queen requests your presence before the gates of Angrathar."
"Yes, of course." She started for the stables to get Aurora, only to pause as something occurred to her. Turning back to the dragon, she asked, "What about the plague?"
She supposed his expression was meant to be reassuring, but he only looked even fiercer. "Don't worry, youngling. It's no longer a danger to mortals such as yourself."
"Thank you." She hurried to saddle her horse, calling Amarisa to join her once she was mounted. Her wolf at her side, she rode to the Wrathgate, towards where she could see the immense forms of Alexstrasza, the Queen of Dragons, and her consort, Korialstrasz, waiting patiently.
Dismounting once she arrived, she approached the pair and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for coming, young Jestana."
"I will do as your command, your Majesty," she replied, taking in the mix of devastation and blooming life with awe. Unable to contain herself, she asked, "Is it certain that no one survived?"
The dragon queen shook her immense head. "None, little hunter."
"Jes!" Her heart nearly stopped at the familiar shout. It can't be...
Forgetting the two dragons for the moment, she turned around, vaguely aware that Amarisa had bolted from her side. There, riding towards them, was Orsinago on his hawkstrider, Firestorm bounding ahead to greet Amarisa. Relief and delight flooding through her, she barely let the sin'dorei dismount before she flung herself at him. "Orsi! You're all right! I was worried that you were here."
"No, Saurfang felt I'd do more good staying behind," he admitted, hugging her just as tightly as she was hugging him. "I worried that you'd be here."
She shook her head as she reluctantly stepped back. "No, it was the same for me: Lord Fordragon thought the best place for me was away from the front line."
"It seems they made wise decisions," Orsinago commented, keeping hold of her hand as turned to take in their surroundings, glowing eyes glittering for a moment.
When he saw the two dragons, he stopped and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for coming, young Orsinago. I have a task for you, and one for you, Miss Jestana."
"I will do it if it is in my power," she told the Lifebinder, lightly squeezing her friend's hand. She knew the tasks Alexstrasza had in mind for them would send them two different directions.
Orsinago returned the squeeze as the Dragon Queen spoke, addressing her comments solely to the human for the moment: "Our fate is emblazoned upon our souls at birth. Bolvar's fall, while tragic, was unavoidable. All that you can do now is honor your hero, Jestana. Collect Bolvar's shield from the field of battle and return it to your king. When you present the shield to Varian, tell him this: 'All is not lost. From the ashes of the fallen will rise a force that will unite nations and purge the evil from this world.'"
"Yes, your Majesty." She bowed again, her heart breaking at the thought of how the king was likely to react when she presented him with his friend's shield.
Next, the Queen of Dragons spoke to Orsinago in Thalassian. Having worked hard to learn it after befriending him and his sister, Jestana understood her words as well as her friend: "Darkness stirs, Orsinago. A tragic event has transpired that none but the Timeless One could have foreseen. Soon your people will be gripped by anger and hatred. War is on the horizon. The red dragonflight has done all that it can. What happens next is in the hands of the mortal races of Azeroth. Regrettably, your journey begins with anguish. A father has lost a child today. You must bear the grim news. Gather the armaments of Saurfang and return them to the elder Saurfang."
"As you command, your Majesty." He bowed as well, his face unusually somber. Jestana wished for a moment to see a glimpse of his typical determined irreverence, but it seemed unlikely.
With a heavy heart, she found Bolvar's shield and carried it over to where Aurora waited calmly and patiently. After securing it to the saddle, she mounted her horse and whistled reluctantly for Amarisa. The wolf left off gamboling with Firestorm and trotted over to take up her place beside Jestana. She raised her hand to wave to Orsinago, who'd mounted his hawkstrider as well. "Until we meet again, Orsi."
"Until then, Jes." He waved back, clucked his tongue, and headed back the way he'd come.
Turning Aurora's head, she headed back to Fordragon Hold to catch a gryphon back to Wyrmrest to get her sister before heading to Dalaran, there to take the portal to Stormwind in order to make her report to the king. He's going to want to attack the Horde for this. I know it!
* * *
Since she'd joined the Scryers, Orsinago often saw Jestana doing work for them, just as he did. She rarely seemed to give Amarisa verbal commands, relying on a variety of whistles and calls instead. One time, while staying in Shadowmoon Valley, Orsinago happened to catch sight of the pair being set upon by a large group of enemies. He considered sending Firestorm, his current pet, down to help them while he shot them from his perch, but he remembered that Jestana was a fiercely independent woman, preferring to do things on her own. So he stayed where he was and watched, fingers threaded through Firestorm's ruff of golden fur. Amarisa was a whirlwind of teeth and claws, her growls audible to his ears. Jestana herself wasn't idle, using her polearm with deadly effect to dispatch her attackers one by one. In the end, they all lay dead around her and her wolf.
Only once she'd knelt to check Amarisa's wounds did he descend from his perch and approach her. Even then, her head snapped up, brown eyes flashing with anger. Her expression softened when she recognized him. "Hi, Orsi."
"Hello, Jes." He stopped beside her and gave Firestorm a stroke. The lynx moved towards the wolf and began to lick her fur where blood stained it. "That was quite a fight you had there."
Sitting back on her heels, the human picked up her backpack and rummaged through it for something. "You saw? Why didn't you help?"
"I was afraid you'd attack me if I did," he replied, taking the first aid kit from her and opening it. He used one of the disinfecting wipes to begin cleaning the blood on her face that trickled from a cut along her hairline. "And I like myself without wounds, thank you very much."
Chuckling, she held still under his ministrations. "You have a valid point, since they were all sin'dorei as well."
"You used to call them blood elves," he commented quietly, carefully cleaning the cut itself now. "Why did that change?"
She shrugged a little. "That's what you and Eru call yourselves, so I thought I should, too."
"Are you going to learn Thalassian, too?" Orsinago asked curiously, lightly probing the cut with his fingers. Not bad enough to require a bandage...
She removed her gloves and bracers to reveal a gash on her left arm just below the sleeve of her chestguard. Without a word, he began to clean that as well. "Is that your language? It sounds very beautiful when I hear your people speaking it."
"Yes, it's our language and it's not easy to learn," he placed a bandage over the gash and taped it in place.
Jestana put her gloves and bracers in her backpack, and then got to her feet. She straightened up with a hiss of pain, one hand going to her side under her ribs. When she pulled it away, her fingers were red with blood. "When did they get me there?"
"You were probably so focused on fighting that you didn't notice," he remarked, helping her remove her chestguard. She wore a shirt underneath that and he pushed it up to find a slash along her stomach just below the ribs. "This is going to need stitches. Do you have anything that can help numb the pain?"
Reluctantly, she sat down and rummaged through her backpack once again. "Don't think so. I mostly carry rations for myself and Ama. It's normally not a problem."
"Just a moment." He returned to where he'd left his hawkstrider, Vermillion, and rummaged through his own backpack, finding the bottle of potent wine he'd bought when last he'd stocked up. When he rejoined Jestana, Amarisa had sat down beside her mistress, who was leaning against the wolf with her eyes closed. "Wake up, Jes, you need to drink this."
She pushed the proffered bottle away, not even opening her eyes. "No, I don't drink."
"Unless you want to feel me stitching up that nasty wound, you need to drink," he insisted, pressing the bottle into her hand.
Sighing, she sat up and took the bottle, taking a swallow. "There, happy?"
"No, you need to drink more than that," he busied himself preparing a needle and thread from Jestana's first aid kit as well as a bandage to put over the wound once he'd stitched it closed.
Grumbling, she did as he instructed. Once it was half-gone, he had her hold onto Amarisa to keep herself steady. "Just do it, Orsi."
"I'll be as quick as I can," he assured her, beginning to suture the wound closed.
She gasped and quickly took another drink of the wine. He worked as quickly and carefully as he could, ensuring that there were no gaps between the edges of skin. So focused was he on his task that he hardly noticed that Jestana kept drinking. By the time he'd finished and covered the wound with the bandage, the bottle was empty. "Thanksh, Orshi."
"You're welcome, Jes." He tugged her shirt down over the wound and gently plucked the bottle from her limp hand. "The Sanctum of the Stars isn't too far from here. We should head there now to give you a chance to recover."
As he packed her first aid kit and tucked it into her backpack with her chestguard, she rested one hand on his chest. "Y'r very handshome, did you know that?"
"Yes, I do know that." He stood up and pulled Jestana to her feet. She promptly stumbled and fell against his chest.
Giggling, the huntress slid her hand down his chest and stomach to his belt buckle. "I want you. Will you take me to bed with you?"
"Only to sleep," he told her firmly, scooping her up into his arms to carry her over to where Vermillion waited patiently. "You're in no shape to have sex with anyone."
She rested her auburn head on his shoulder, toying with the collar of his chestguard. "Don' wanna have shex with anyone 'cept you. Dream about it all the time."
"That's the wine talking," Orsinago answered firmly, helping her onto the hawkstrider before climbing up behind her. Imitating the whistle Jestana used to command Amarisa to follow her, he was gratified when the wolf fell in without any trouble.
Leaning heavily back against his chest, she shook her head. "Nope. All me, me, me..."
Her words trailed off into a snore and he breathed a sigh of relief. She's going to have a horrible headache when she wakes up in the morning and I doubt she'll remember anything that she said. More's the pity. I like her very much, too...
* * *
The moment they arrived in Stormwind, Jestana and Evalynna rode directly for the Keep, announcing to the guards that they had important news for the king from Northrend. After a brief wait during which they did their best to scrub away some of the grime of their travels, they were ushered into the throne room. The king stood before his throne with the prince nearby. To the hunter's surprise, Lady Jaina Proudmoore was present as well. Varian spoke, his gaze intense, as always. "You have news, ladies?"
"We do, your Majesty." They knelt before the throne as Jestana spoke, still holding the lord's shield. "We've come straight from Angrathar. The assault ended in failure. It is only thanks to the intervention of the dragons that we are able to tell you this much."
The king stared at them with shocked eyes. "What happened, exactly?"
"It began well enough." Her voice steady at first, Jestana related the events of the attack, speaking of how the Alliance and Horde forces put aside their differences in order to fight the Scourge side by side. When she mentioned the emergence of the Lich King at Bolvar's taunt, her voice shook a little. Even from her post so far away, his very presence had sent chills of fear through her. In describing the last moments of the battle, her voice fell to a mere whisper. "No one survived, your Majesty." Finally, she revealed Bolvar's shield. "Not even Lord Fordragon. The Queen of Dragons said to tell you this: 'All is not lost. From the ashes of the fallen will rise a force that will unite nations and purge the evil from this world.'"
Much to her surprise, tears glittered on the king's cheeks. He quickly wiped them away, and then reached out to take the shield from her, tracing the device on it carefully. Slowly, the king nodded. "This is my fault. The Dragon Queen is right, Jestana. All is not lost. I will be the force that rises from the ashes and I will purge the evil of the Horde from this world. The deaths of our brothers and sisters will not have been in vain."
"If I may, your Majesty?" Jaina interrupted, stepping forward with a concerned expression upon her face.
As the two conversed in whispers, Jestana glanced at the prince. He looked pale and quiet, his gaze fixed on the shield his father still held. Of course! Lord Fordragon was like a father to the prince while the king was missing! Finally, the conversation ended and the king addressed them once again. "At the behest of Lady Proudmoore, I will allow a diplomatic mission to Orgrimmar to question the Horde's Warchief, Thrall. You two will assist her in this journey and keep her safe from harm. Return to me with news from Orgrimmar."
"Yes, your Majesty." Standing up, they saluted him. It was a relief in a way to know that the king would at least ask questions before charging headlong into a fight.
She whispered a command to Amarisa as Evalynna drew her sword, ordering her to remain alert and ready for battle. The wolf whined quietly in response and Jestana was satisfied that she would stay nearby while they were in Orgrimmar. Turning to the mage, the sisters nodded to indicate their readiness. The blonde woman gazed back at them with serious eyes. "Do not do anything that would incite the Horde. The Warchief has agreed to see us on good faith. Let's go."
After a brief moment of disorientation, Jestana found herself in a circular room surrounded by orcs, trolls, and even sin'dorei. One in particular caught her eye: Orsi! He made it safely! By her side, Amarisa seemed to shiver, as if she wanted to rush over to greet Firestorm, but Jestana's command restrained her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Evalynna stare at Orsinago for a moment, and then glance at her sister, as if she recognized him. The sight of armed orcs running in to attack them distracted both of them, however, and she quickly readied her bow, Amarisa alert at her side, while Evalynna lifted her sword. The orc she recognized as Thrall gave a command before any blood could be shed: "Kor'kron, stand down!" Once the orc guards obeyed his command, he turned to the mage. "Jaina..."
"Thrall, what has happened? The King is preparing for war..." Jaina asked the questions and Jestana couldn't help sneaking glances at Orsinago, who stood to one side, his gaze fixed on the warchief, one hand absently stroking Firestorm's fur. The lynx had his eyes fixed on Amarisa, who remained by Jestana's side, ears alert and pricked as she constantly looked around the room, sniffing the air occasionally.
"Jaina, what happened at the Wrathgate. It was a betrayal from within..." He began the explanation, sounding truly sorry for all the deaths. Watching him, she understood now why Orsinago respected him so much. Thrall was different from most orcs she'd met, without the thirst for blood and vengeance that characterized them as a race. He's so different from what I expected him to be like...
Jestana was startled to realize the woman who distracted her from her musings with her words, who'd been kneeling before Thrall, was Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, formerly under the Lich King's control, but now the leader of the Forsaken. "Lady Proudmoore, the Warchief speaks the truth. This subterfuge was set in motion by Varimathras and Grand Apothecary Putress. It was not the Horde's doing. As the combined Horde and Alliance forces began their assault upon the Wrathgate, an uprising broke out in the Undercity. Varimathras and hordes of his demonic brethren attacked. Hundreds of my people were slain in the coup. I barely managed to escape with my life."
"The Horde has lost the Undercity." Thrall took over the explanation then, looking angry and now Jestana could see how he'd come to lead his people despite his desire for peace. "We now prepare to lay siege to the city and bring in the perpetrators of the unforgivable crime to justice. If we are forced into a conflict, the Lich King will destroy our divided forces in Northrend. We will make this right, Jaina. Tell your king all that you have learned here."
As she answered, Jaina looked troubled and Jestana shared her worries. "I will deliver this information to King Wrynn, Thrall, but, Bolvar was like a brother to him. In the King's absence, Bolvar kept the Alliance united. He found strength for our people in our darkest hours. He watched over Anduin, raising him as his own. I fear that the rage will consume him, Thrall. I remain hopeful that reason will prevail, but we must prepare for the worst... for war. Farewell, Warchief. I pray that the next time we meet it will be as allies."
Wishing she'd had a chance to speak with Orsinago, Jestana stepped through the portal Jaina had created, finding herself back in Stormwind once more, Evalynna beside her. Jaina wasted no time reporting what Thrall had told them as Jestana whispered a command to Amarisa to stand down. The wolf relaxed her stance, even sitting down by Jestana's feet. As expected, the king looked angry at the news. "They have lost the Undercity? Then the time to strike is now. We will deal with Putress ourselves and retake the Ruins of Lordaeron for the Alliance!"
As the guards and civilians gathered in the throne room cheered, Jestana's heart sank and she rested her hand on Amarisa's head, stroking the soft fur. I hope we don't encounter the Horde forces there. I don't want to fight Orsi...
* * *
As Orsinago had expected, Jestana didn't remember much of what had happened while she was drunk. "I remember you starting to stitch the wound closed, but everything after that is kind of hazy." She looked up at him with some trepidation. "I didn't do anything silly, did I?"
"No, nothing like that," he assured her quickly. "You just fell asleep on our way back here."
She nodded, looking relieved. "Oh, good. Thank you for helping me, Orsi."
"Not at all, Jes," he told her with a grin. "Anything for a friend."
She managed a weak smile in reply and he wondered if he imagined the disappointment that flashed across her face. He didn't get a chance to ask her any questions because she excused herself soon after. Up to now, he'd always thought of the human woman as a friend. An admittedly odd choice of friend for a sin'dorei, but a friend nonetheless. Now, however, he took a hard look at his feelings for the huntress. She was certainly lovely in her way, with a tall--for a human--curvy build, pale creamy complexion, expressive brown eyes, and thick auburn hair. It wasn't her physical beauty that he dwelt on, however, but her inner beauty. She had a kind, generous, and compassionate heart, which made it all the more puzzling as to why she was running errands for the Scryers, many of which required her to kill people.
"How do you justify it?" he asked her one day while they'd both still been in Shattrath. "How do you live with yourself after killing people?"
Jestana kept her attention on the bracer she was repairing even as she answered, "The people I kill are people just like the ones who killed my parents when I was a teenager: unscrupulous murderers. They deserve to die and if it means I protect innocent people from being murdered, all the better."
"That's the most cynical thing I've heard you say," he commented, surprised by her attitude.
She looked up at him, brown eyes hard and cold. "I may be an optimist by nature, but we have our limits like everyone."
"I understand." He held up his hands in feigned surrender. "Just bring back the optimistic Jes, please."
A playful smile erased her hardened expression, "Did you miss me?"
"Of course, I did. You're much nicer," he retorted with a smile, hiding his relief.
All in all, he rather liked the idea of being more than a friend to Jestana. He just wasn't sure if her attempt at a pass had been due more to the alcohol or lower inhibitions. Much as he would have liked to find out which it'd been, he didn't want to risk losing her friendship. So he kept quiet and just enjoyed the time they spent together: him teaching her Thalassian and her teaching him how to fight properly in hand-to-hand combat (there were some benefits to having a paladin sister, apparently). One morning, as he attempted to train Firestorm to obey a more complex command, a hail from the main building of the Sanctum distracted both of them. "Orsi!"
"Hi, Jes!" he called back, smiling as he waved. When she drew closer and he saw how pale and drawn her face was, his smile faded. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
She flourished a piece of parchment. "I just received word from Wildhammer Stronghold. Eva 's grievously hurt. I need to go to her."
"Isn't she a paladin?" he asked, frowning as she came to a stop in front of him. "She can heal herself, right?"
Jestana nodded, but the worry didn't leave her eyes. "Yes, she can, but if she's this badly injured, she's probably out of mana and unable to heal herself anymore."
"Then go to her." He rested his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed. "She needs you."
Much to his surprise, tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't lose her, Orsi! She's all the family I have left!"
"Shh, c'mere." He drew her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back reassuringly. "If she's anything like you, you won't lose her. She won't let a measly injury stop her."
Even as she clung to him, Jestana laughed. "You have a point there."
"You should still go see her," Orsinago suggested gently, aware that she'd pulled back enough to look up at him, but her arms still rested around his waist and his around her shoulders. "I've a feeling she'll be glad for it."
Smiling, she stretched up to kiss his cheek. Just a light brush of her lips against his skin, but he felt it to the depths of his being. "Thank you, Orsi."
"You're welcome, Jes." He kissed her cheek in return, not sure if he imagined the soft intake of breath on her part.
The next moment, she was gone, heading to the flight master to take a gryphon to Wildhammer Stronghold. That was the last he saw of her, until they met up again in Dragonblight.
* * *
Read Part Two