Cenarion Circle (Elven_Lady89, and Malin)

M

malin

Supernova
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Location
with Carmen Sandiego
Zenji was one of many Troll's who had chosen a different and new path to his race after the cataclysm had taken much from the land. The spirits of nature had guided him and a hand full of others in the arts of healing, and working with nature. The new path had opened many doors for diplomacy, and Zenji was one of the first trolls who had signed up with the Cenarion Circle. The druids new connections with the spirits only lasted for as long as life flourished, and after deathwings rampage the circle had set to doing what ever it could to heal the land.

To Zenji signing up with the order had just made sense, however, what he hadn't expected was to be working so closely with the alliance. Oh sure he had known that the circle was supposed to be a neutral order, but walking through the moon glade the night elf presence was the largest one felt. There were some Tauren around, but night elves were the largest members of the circle by far. Walking through the greenery he did feel an odd sense of peace, where most of the world was only just recovering the moon glade still flourished.

The circle worked in pairs, small teams, and right now he was off to meet his teammate. He was expecting a member of the Tauren most likely, someone of which he had worked with in the past. Finding the meeting place, by an old sycamore tree he sat down, sighing he didn't know if he was early or if his partner was running late, honestly it was kind of hard to tell time when the sun was so covered in clouds. It wasn't threatening to rain but there would probably be some kind of out pour in the coming days.
 
Llunau ((pronounced loo-now)) was a respected young night elf druid who stood a little taller for her race. Not byemuch, and not taller than the males of her race either. Her long dark blue hair cascaded down her shoulders in light waves as the crisp, Moonglade breeze lightly tousseled her hair. Her skin, a pale violet color, was as smooth as the petals of twilight jasmine, one of the rarest herbs used only for the strongest potions and medicines. Her attire was fitting for a druid, a light leather armor covered in hippogryph feathers. The top, a heart shaped tunic which covered her chest and connected to her shoulder armor which was also feathers and leather. The bottom was a wrap around kilt that reached the ground. It was more intricate than the rest of her armor. The waist matched the top but as the kilt got longer, it revealed a thin, almost see through cloth which was very light green with beading that sparkled in the light. She also wore matching belt, gloves, and boots as well as a silver circlet that rested upon her head.

Llunau had been apart of the Cenarian Circle shortly after the Lich king and his scourge ran amuck in Northerend. It was a family calling. Everyone in her ancestry line had been a part of the circle. It was practically destiny. However her demeanor displayed strictly business motives.

Normally Llunau stayed with her mother in the council and did business with her, but the druid who was supposed to be taking on this mission that Llunau was called for had been injured by a twilight council attack which had left him back in Darnassus to heal in the Temple of the Moon. Llunau excepted the task and was to meet her partner near the sycamore tree near the northern grave yard. She was not told who she would be working with, but she trusted the council.

It was just about noon when the young night elf approached the meeting place. When she saw the troll sitting there, she stopped a moment. A horde? Yes the neutral faction was known for the friendly interaction between the horde and the alliance but the unspoken tension was still there. Llunau had not had much experience with horde but once again she trusted her council. Quetly she approached him.

With a slight bow of her head, she greeted him. "Ishnu-alah,"she began in her native tongue. "My name is Llunau and it seems we have been brought together by the council." Her night elf accent was apparent as she spoke the common language. She was polite, like most night elves during non hostile encounters. This would be the first time she had talked to a troll, let alone a member of the horde.
 
Zenji opened an eye for a moment at hearing a persons approach. Seeing a night elf walk towards him he was partly curious as to her purpose thinking that she would walk past him until she actually spoke directly to him. He shook his head part of him thinking that there was a joke in this, but sure enough she was his partner as ordered by the council. It made sense as Trolls were still new to the circle, being paired with a race of an older membership was a test of loyalty most likely, but it still wasn't a good thing in his opinion. Slowly he uncrossed his legs, and rose to his partial height. His skin was a pale blue, and his hair was a wild unkempt dark green. His tusks were shorter then most others, one of them was even chipped at the end broken slightly. Like all trolls he had a slight problem with posture, but even with the slouching back his eyes came even with the female night elves. His armor was Hardened leather, but most of it was decorated in fur, not feathers, most was made from high quality wolf hides, it wasn't showy, the fur was course and tough white pelts interwoven into armor. The gloves were fingerless, and everything was pressed down to make it less awkward to move in, the armor wasn't to tight or loose, rather it looked like it was designed to fight quickly in, focusing speed over comfort and show.

"Lo'." He spoke with a low tone, his Zandali accent shining through as he gave his own greeting. He didn't know if he was supposed to come off as intimadating or not, she was supposed to be an ally as she was a fellow druid, but he hadn't expected to be working with one of her kind so quickly. Druids must really have been in short number in this day and age. His three fingered hand brushed up against his chin as he thought over what to say.

"Greetings Llunau, I be Zenji." He was glad that she was polight at least, as he didn't really want to come off as hostile right off the bat, but he couldn't shake the feeling of tension he had in his gut. The alliance were bad news, many of his friends, and family had gone to war with them, and many had not come back, and with Garrosh as warchief.... things between the two factions had become even more tense. While the two may have had the common goal of being druids. Zenji was more then willing to be a little paranoid when faced with someone who could potentially be an enemy.

"This be a bit of a surprise, I didn't think I'd be working with your type so early." The understatement did hold a bit of negative connotations. Even in passing he was willing to let her know he didn't fully trust her, she was after all a night elf. "I was told yah would have some work for us?"
 
Llunau took note of Zenji's tone. She knew he didnt trust her. Llunau didn't trust him either. She stayed very still, as If she were made of stone. Listening to the troll speak, the elf nodded. "Mt. Hyjal is still struggling in some areas. I have been given a list of places we need to travel to clear out elementals and areas where the Twilight cultists are still stealing dragon eggs and raising them as enemies to the land. Apparently they didn't get the message that Deathwing has already fallen to the champions of Azeroth. Where as most of our warriors and hero's have stopped cleaning up the land, the Cenarian Circle is still putting pressure on the monsters that threaten to destroy our lands. And that is our mission." Her voice was stern, yet soft. She sounded poised, professional. But most night elves did. There was something about the way they presented themselves.

We leave tonight so I suggest packing if you haven't done so already. It will be a long journey and the high elves tell me it will continue into the winter months. The cataclysm has brought a disturbance to our land and the weather they were told by the shamans that the winter would be brutal and long. I hope you brought something warm. Or can skin. I am an herbalist and also have skills medicinal alchemy." Llunau stated as she wiggled her small herb pouch that dangled from her side. "I won't be bringing much with me since Mt. Hyjal has an abundance of herbs and we shouldn't have a problem finding what we need."

The night elf motioned for Zenji to follow him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but get the notion that you don't come to Moonglade often. No worries. I practically grew up here. I don't know about you, but I have not had lunch yet and wouldn't mind getting some lunch. The inn is not far from here and they have a good selection of foods to choose from. They also just recently added a variety of foods from your culture. I can't promise it is spot on but the cooks there are pretty skilled." Llunau continued to walk toward the tavern slowly making sure not to get too far ahead. She was cautious of having a member of the horde at her back. The smell of freshly cooked foods began to fill her nostrils and she looked back at Zenji. "Smells delicious. The cooks here never disappoint me. "

Llunau entered the inn and bowed slightly to the innkeeper. "Elune-adore." The greeting to the night elf male was much more formal than the one she had given to Zenji. It was not to be rude, but to be respectful of his culture. Night elves and trolls didn't exactly have the same beliefs. The elves in the tavern were more accustomed to members of the horde visiting them. There were even tauren that worked there but the only one who was there today was hidden back in the kitchen. The innkeeper and the server were both night elf males. In Moonglade, it was not abnormal for the horde and alliance to sit down to a meal together. As a matter of fact it happened more often than not some seemed to be good friends. Others just casual business partners. It was blatantly obvious what kind of relationship the troll and female night elf had. Though Llunau was friendly towards Zenji, she was just acting as any other night elf of the Cenarian Circle would. Her main concern right now was to not offend the troll. She did want to keep the peace, but thAt didn't mean she trusted him. They had a task to do, and she would make sure it got done even if she had to work with the enemy.

The server greeted the two of them with a smile. "I expect you want the usual? " he asked Llunau.

"Yes please." She answered with a chuckle.

The server looked over at Zenji. "And for you, sir?" He asked as he readied his quill pen to write with.
His demeanor and tone was much different than Llunau's. After all he served horde all the time. It was normal to him.
 
The server treated Zenji as if he were just another normal customer. As if it were common practice. And for him it really was. "If I may," the server began. "Our Darkspear selections are on the front side of the third page in the menue. I doubt you would want the Darnassian salad selection that Llunau ordered. However our cook back there does make a good mean firefin snapper which is delicious with it." The server waited politely for Zenji to decide if he was hungry or not.
 
Zenji gave a nod as to the mission. The work was important considering the world tree, and the mission sounded like it would be a hell of a long time if they were really dealing with the possibility of being gone through the winter. Still he had been to Northrend, and there was nothing colder then the frigged air at the top of the world. Compared to that a year or so doing the work of a druid sounded almost tame, especially if they were dealing with elementals. There was something to those angry spirits, that just kept the land warm. It may have been a selfish way to put it, considering that he was supposed to uphold balance, and winter was a part of the natural order of the world. It was just a natural part of the world that wouldn't be missed by Zenji.

Walking with Llunau when she said that she wanted some form of lunch he merely gave a small grunt of approval towards the idea. He was still very much unsure of what to say about her, and so for now he would just humor her, letting her act however she wanted. A lot of people confused the night elf politeness, as arrogance, and observing it up close he wasn't sure which of the two she was giving towards him. Hearing her formal greeting between a member of her own race and her, he understood the difference. He would have given much more of his respect to an elder of his tribe, or even a member of the horde then he would either of these two people.

Grabbing the menu he let out another low sigh trying to actually think about his order he scoffed hearing the suggestion for food from the darkspear tribe. As much as he enjoyed the meats that is tribes food consisted of, much of what had become of the darkspear food was actually Orcish gruel. Much of their original food the dark spear tribe had eaten before joining the horde had been rather cannibalistic, but Thrall had forbid such things in the earliest days of the horde. Since then their dietary food had changed, but the heavier meat content high in salts had remained. Reading the menu and page he let out a small sigh looking at the man. "Nah mon, I'll go with Salad, and snapper. Thank yeh for the suggestion." He said lightly putting down the menu.

One of the things he did was he was eager to travel and taste new foods. It wasn't that he had a refined taste or anything, but since most of the food of his tribe had been outlawed it was always interesting to taste the other cultures. So far though nothing beat Tauren cooking. Looking towards Llunau his gaze was a little bit of a stare and a bit of a glare. "So if we be workin' togetha then I wanna know more about you. You say you lived your whole life in the moonglade? So i take it you were a daughta of this order than?" His question was to simply pry some information from her. However he was reluctant to show his hand. She was the one who was used to this place, and the one who outnumbered him by race and time in the order. So she could be the one to have the loose lips.
 
The server looked at Zenji almost confused at his choice. Most of the trolls that visited the inn, which weren't many, did not have a taste for night elf foods. The foods were light, vegetables usually being the main aspect of the meal. He did not say anything however, only smiled and nodded to the troll. "Yes sir, the food will be here shortly." He took the menus, bowed slightly to the both of them, and turned to give the cook the orders.

Llunau tried not to notice the the nature of Zenji's stare. She listened as he began to pry into her personal life. She did not expect this. Taken back a little by his question, she raised a long, pointy eyebrow. "You say you want to know more about me, but I'm afraid it's really not an interesting story." she began. But to humor him she went on. "I have not always lived in Moonglade. I grew up in Teldrasil and when a became of age to join the Cenarian Circle, along with my ancestors, I moved to Cenarian Hold in Silithus to join my mother. However she was very protective of me and did not allow me to join them on their missions until just a few years ago. And even then she did not allow me to join them on high risk missions. In fact she did not want me to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors. But I knew it was my calling to do so. I could not ignore it. So I moved here to Moonglade two years ago to join the council here. It would give me a chance to get away from my mother and her protective ways and put me in a better place to fulfill my destiny." she took a sip of the spring water that was set next to her by the server as she was talking. "This will be my first high-risk mission for the council. But do not doubt my skills. My protective mother held me back from training, but you can't tame a feral druid. As they are only made of natural instincts. I'm sure you know this already." Llunau tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She did not tell him too much of her history. Her mother was very high on the council indeed, but Llunau was not willing to give him information on who her mother was and how high up she stood with the council. Not yet anyway.

"So after lunch, I'm going to go back home and ready my talbuk for our journey. I had not planned on bringing a mount with us until I realized the extent of the mission. It would be advisable to conserve our strength, or at least let our mounts carry our luggage for us." Llunau did not plan on bringing much, only a few essentials and some skins for the cold nights and food. Also a few medicines. No mission would be complete without weapons either.

"When we are done gathering our things, we will meet back up at the old sycamore tree again and we can start our journey to Mt. Hyjal." As soon as Llunau was finished talking, the server had brought there meals to them, setting the plates in front of the two.

"One firefin snapper salad for you sir, and the Darnassian house salad with added sagefish for the lady. Enjoy your meal." the server smiled and turned away to greet the next customers who seemed to be friends with the nightelf. It was two taurens, one was the flight master and the other was a merchant.

Llunau studied Zenji's face as he looked down at his meal. "What about you? What is your story?"
 
Zenji nodded as he was given food. Looking it over for a moment for any 'spices' he didn't recognize. He knew that the druid order was trust worthy he was a member these were his people now, but having an alliance chef food for him Finally deciding that it was just food, and not laced with anything he took a fork full, and listened to Llunau's story. He nodded discovering that part of his predictions had been true. Finding out that her mother was a high ranking member of the order was a little confusing. Most night elves lived for centuries, and it made him wonder just how old the one before him was. Still finding out that she had a mother as a possible archdruid was a little bit of a shock.

"Not much to tell mon. I be one of the first of my tribe to turn to Druidic practices. When I was young I spent most of my time with the Tauren. The dark spear tribe has never been the most illustrious group among the horde. Vol'jin did what he could to make us comfortable, but Orgramar, was not a home I liked. I had a strong connection to nature even back then I guess, because I spent every moment I could among Mulgore, and thunder bluff learning from their elders all that they would share. When the time came and the rest of my people had their spiritual epiphany that there was a better path then Shaman's and voodoo priests, I was one of the first open supporters and open druidic practice. It seemed to fit nicely for me, the path of the wild has made a better calling then the spirits ever would have."

Zenji paused for a moment wondering how much of his own liniage he would need to explain. Giving a low sigh he decided to tell her the truth as he took another bite of the food. Honestly he was finding the flavors of the snapper, and salad to be wonderful, but it wasn't like he was gonna tell them that. "I have no real blood relatives, My parents fought valiantly for the horde in it's earlier days, and my sister went north, her crew went up against a contingent of alliance ships and lost. I lost much to the war, between horde and alliance." He took a deep breath feeling the energies of the moon glade around him. He didn't hate the alliance perhaps as much as he should. He had lost much too it for sure, but he wouldn't be here if he believed that revenge would have better suited his purpose in life.
 
Surprised at his confession, Llunau put down her fork and took another swig of her spring water. "I'm sorry to hear about your loss." She began with much sincerity. "War is a terrible thing. And Instead of fighting together to preserve our homelands we would rather fight each other." Llunau was more of a peacekeeper than a fighter, but that didn't mean she would trust the troll. She would however give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm very surprised you chose this path considering your history with the alliance. I haven't had to feel the sorrow of losing a loved on to the horde personally, but many of my friends have. Some even resent me for choosing this path." The night elf looked down as she recalled a harsh memory of her best friend breaking all ties with her. She ate the rest of her meal in silence and when she had finished, set a handful of silver coins to cover her portion of the bill along with a tip.

The elf waited as Zenji finished his meal. When he did so, she stood and bowed slightly to the troll. "We will meet back at the sycamore tree in three hours. We better get moving." She gave him a half smile and turned to exit the inn, making way to the sta les where her talbuk was being kept.
 
Zenji gave a passing motion as he ate. He had come to terms with his families part in the war, and becoming a druid was his way of getting away from the blood shed. Becoming a druid meant a lot to Zenji as did finding another path then the war. However just because he was an idealist doesn't mean he wasn't practical when it came to actually confronting the enemy. There was ideology and then there was stupidity, and Zenji was not willing to confuse one for the other. Walking away from Llunau he gave a small indifferent shrug. "They be at peace, and there is a bigga picture then just the horde. This be my calling, doesn't mean I have to like the company it keeps."

And Zenji didn't like the company it kept in truth he disliked the fact that the circle worked with night elves and worgen. Two races that under any other circumstances he would have had enough of for one life time. Once he was outside of the tavern he worked a little of the druids magic. There were few arcane spells that the druids used, however the portal between the moonglade and the other parts of azeroth was unique. A strange blend of arcane, and natures magic mixed together to create a spell of convince, and a moment later he was back on the dark spear islands. Gathering his things for his journey, he packed away his various things. However he chose to not bring a mount. He hadn't used one in ages, actually not since he had his travel and flight forms gifted to him. While he would agree that the trip into mount hyjal would be long if they were staying past a year, the moon glade was actually rather close to the mountain.

Returning from his island home back to the moonglade through the portal he had already opened it closed behind him, and he let out a long sigh. That was the last he was going to see of that home for a long time from what he could gather. Three hours had passed rather quickly, and before he knew it, he was standing back at the sycamore and waiting. This was starting to become a common theme, waiting for the night elf to show up.
 
When Llunau entered the stables she saddled the talbuk. She would rather just use her travel form as well, but at least this would give them something to carry luggage. It didn't take her long to packager things which gave her time to take a quick nap in the stable with her talbuk. She awoke shortly before she was supposed to meet up with the troll to start her journey.

Llunau slept longer than she intended to, this didn't give her much time to change. Quickly, the elf unwrapped her kilt and threw on a pair of leggings that matched her top. It wasn't That she was trying to match, but the leather worker that made all her clothes always used the same materials which made choosing what to wear easy. It always matched.

With a quick fluid motion, Llunau hoisted herself onto the saddle and nudged her mount to take her to the meeting place. The sound of the massive heart's hooves pounded on the stone path and it didn't take ling for her to meet Zenji. Yes he had waited, but not very long.

She was not surprised when she saw he had no mount. Most druids didn't. But Llunau came from a very wealthy family and she was able to buy plenty of mounts. She only used one however. The large white beast with cobalt armor was her favorite. Not only because talbuks were her favorite animal, but because they were fine of the fastest mounts on the ground.

When Llunau saw Zenji, she slowed the talbuk and looked down at him. "If you want to put your things on Hatsu here, I don't mind." She offered. However she knew, given their not so close relationship, that he would most likely refuse. But she offered anyway. She would have offered him a seat on the large beast but she knew that too would be a no.

The portal to Mount Hyjal was not far away, and the elf led him to it. Once there, she turned to Zenji and smirked. "See you on the other side." And stepped through the green and purple swirling vortex with the talbuk. Once there, she waited for Zenji to follow.
 
Zenji shivered as he walked through the portal. Walking out into mount hyjal and seeing the massive roots of the world tree as it was. There was something cold about the air. It was the heat of summer, but here the roots, and branches were so thick that there was no sunlight. Everything was thrust into shade. Making it colder then it should have been, and walking through the icy magic of a portal didn't help. It took a moment for his body to reheat himself, and find a balance. there wasn't anything bad or creepy about this place, just that it seemed mostly abandoned.

As spiritually and physically important as mount hyjal was it didn't really have the same protection it had during the battles with Deathwing. Most of the elemental damage was contained, and the fires had been put out, that said there was always pockets of things that other druids would have missed, and there was some honor in this job. Even if it was a kind of grunt work the tree that ran through mount Hyjal was important, it was a fragment of the once all encompassing well of eternity. The water here had a strange light, glowing almost, but the area it's self was rather bare. There had been an inn set up here by the order back when the battle was in full swing, but now everything seemed to have slowed down, and the post was abandoned.

"So where should we set up our base?" He said lightly. In truth they didn't even really need a base. They were druids, and land as rich as this would supply them with almost everything they needed. Even as he started walking he could see the various fruits, and berries, just on glancing. He walked slowly just to annoy Llunau so that she couldn't use her talbuk's immense speed. He had no desire to ride with her, nor did he wish to relinquish any of his bags. For now he was holding all of that to himself, just so he could further draw on what ever nerves his partner had. He wasn't going to win her to his side any time soon, but Zenji was having more fun being on her nerves then anything else.

Zenji stretched the sooner they set up some kind of base camp, even if it was just a small shelter or an old abandoned one, the sooner they could start working out what actually needed to happen in a place like this. He could feel the tainted energies the elemental had left in their wake, but he didn't feel or see any of the fires that he had half expected. There was however a lot of chaos to this place. when normally this should have been a quiet haven of balance. Breathing in he could practically smell the amount of work that would have to be done. No wonder the circle thought this would take them all the way through the winter months. "I think it would be best if we set up closer to the center of the tree, there was a few old buildings back that way if i remember this place correctly."
 
Llunau felt the cool evening breeze as it toussled her hair. It was chilly, but the night elf had always preferred the cooler weather over warm weather. The place lacked a certain sense of welcoming it used to bring. She remembered traveling here with the order to run a few errands. Usually just passing along a message or buying things from the unique vendors that used to be posted at every corner. But now it was abandoned and quiet. Even the flight master had packed up and left. If they still needed help restoring the lands, why didn't the heroes of Azeroth, that so easily took down the mighty Deathwing come to the Cenarian Circle's aide?

"Nordassil," she sighed. Sitting high on top of her talbuk, she looked up at the coverage of thick branches and leaves. Even if it did rain they would be well protected. Her talbuk took a few steps ahead. Llunau looked back at Zenji. He was practically right next to the portal and now he was stretching. Normally she wasn't impatient, especially on a mission. That type of thinking got people killed. But they were safe where they were. Llunau waited for him to catch up to her. She knew exactly where the buildings were that he had talked about. "We will go there then." Her voice short and to the point, no longer putting up a polite front. They would be partners for a while now. There was no point in going out of her way to be nice.

Talbuks were fast creatures indeed. But at a walk, they could be relaxed and leisurely. As Llunau and the large beast lazily walked to the small buildings, she would often look back and see Zenji falling behind.

'Really? Even a dwarf with short stubby legs could keep up with this pace. Surely a troll, even with bad posture couldn't be that slow.' the elf thought to herself. With a soft sigh, she halted the beast and waited for him to catch up. If they had gotten into trouble and the other one wasn't there to help, if one of them had died it would look very bad on the both of them.

She did this about four more times before they reached the huts at the very base of the tree. They were merchant huts, small enough to fit one, maybe two (if they were close) people. Llunau dismounted and patted the talbuk's neck. She took the saddle pack off of the tall beast and set it on the ground. After taking everything off of the talbuk, she slapped it on the rump and it trotted away to find food. He would come back when summoned.

Llunau put her belongings in one of the huts claiming it for herself. She unpacked a large wolf pelt blanket, which consisted of at least five wolf pelts. It was a present from a close friend of hers who still kept in contact with her. She spread it on the floor of the hut.

We can take turns keeping watch. I don't expect anything to happen but this place is abandoned now. I will take the first watch unless you want it." She said.

Llunau knelt down on her knees and then leaned forward as she transformed into her feral form. Even if he were to choose the first watch she would stay in this form in case something, say a troll, tried to attack while she slept.

Her fur was a dark blue, almost black color. At her shoulders were the markings every night elf feral druid had. Only different druids had different colors. Llunau's markings were violet. It was a simple marking on both sides of a crescent moon with a dot on the inside of the crescent. Llunau stretched out her massive paws in front of her and clawed at the ground while she stuck her rump in the air. She stretched for a long moment letting her body adjust to the form. After the stretch she yawned opening her powerful jaws revealing glowing white large fangs.

Waiting for an answer, Llunau sat down looking at the troll as she continued to claw lightly at the ground, feeling the dirt shift under her bare padded paws.
 
Zenji gave a small snort as he was corrected in the trees name of Nodassil, it wasn't that hadn't known it, rather he hadn't cared to use it. It may have been a sign of disrespect to the tree and nature around him, but at the same time he wasn't really feeling all that great about this place. Perhaps it was the elemental taint that had never left, or the fact that nowadays this basin was all but abandoned, but something about Mount Hyjal felt wrong in his body. He didn't want to bring it up fearing that the night elf would just squander such a thought as meaningless paranoia.

Hearing that she was willing to take first watch, he gave back an affirmative grunt. "Suite yah self, but wake me if I be needed." Even though part of him wanted to be rude towards her she was still his partner for this mission. He watched her morph into her feline form it was actually rather elegant looking, sleeked down like a true predator. Muscular, with no real body weight just muscle. He admired her for a moment before shifting his body into the other feral form of the druids the bear. His fur was a much lighter blue still the same tone of his skin actually, with the troll markings being a pale white as he nestled into his position.

Unlike her cat form, the bear was bulk over muscle. Sure his arms were weighted, but the fur was thicker, and the skin was heavier. He moved lacking the grace of the cat, but had power, and body mass behind every step leaving small impressions on the ground as he walked inside of his hut and nestled in to the ground. There was no need for a blanket if he was to stay in the form of an animal while he slept, and if he was attacked by say a night elf in the guise of a cat form he wanted the ability to plant his paws on ground without ruining something as valuable as a mission. Shade or not it was still the midst of summer for them. Closing his eyes he was soon asleep nestled away inside his hut.

The rest of the day faded rather quckly, with moonlight breaking out over Mount Hyjal after only a few hours of Llunau's watch, and it was then that things started to move in the forest. Rocks could be heard slowly moving and clacking, while the sound of trickling water could be heard as well. slowly but surely the forest was coming to life, but not in a natural way. The elementals were starting to move.
 
Llunau nodded to Zenji as he shifted into his feral form as well. He was massive, bigger than other feral bear druids she knew. He definitely had strength and power to him. The ground gave way under his large paws. Llunau had no intention of picking a fight with a feral bear. She knew she could probably take him but it would definitely be a challenge. Her agile cat form would be hard to catch but his thick hide would be hard to scratch. Her yellow eyes followed him as he retired to his hut and instantly fell asleep. Llunau was surprised he let her take the first watch but she figured he knew he was safe if he stayed in his bear form.

When the sun set, the forest came to life, but it wasn't right. There were no frogs croaking in the glowing waters, the
sound of scurrying rodents was no where to be heard, and even the crickets which usually sang throughout the night were silent. Llunau became uneasy. The only sounds she could hear were the restless elementals rustling through the forest. If one were not familiar with the elementals they would have thought the clanking sound of rocks was a slow ongoing Rockwood down a cliff. But Llunau knew the difference.



The elementals did not come near the world tree however. It seemed safe enough where they set up camp. Llunau circled the area quietly. Her movements were that of a predator. Quiet and stealthy. The feral cat could sneak up on practically anything. After prowling the perimeter, the large but swift druid sat down close to zenji's hut. She had a feeling something was watching her. Unsure of what it was, Llunau began to clean herself. If she looked distracted it may tempt whatever lurked in the shadows to come out. Llunau licked the back of her paw and began to clean her face. Her ears were listening intently though. It was a trick she had used in the passed that seemed to work fairly well.

After about ten minutes, llunau no longer had the feeling of being watched. She stood up on all fours and continued top-down again.

Five hours or so went by with no incident and llunau began to yawn every now and again. She looked back at Zenji's fast asleep in his hut. Cautiously, she approached him to not startle him as she woke him. Llunau was ready to lunge back if she startled him. It was never a smart idea to wake a sleeping bear especially if you weren't the best of friends.

Llunau pawed at the ground next to Zenji before nudging his furry shoulder ready to dash away. "Zenji," she quietly meowed at him. Druids had an ability to understand each other even in different forms. He didn't wake the first time so Llunau tried again. This time louder and a little harder. "Zenji, wake up it's your watch."
 
Zenji had maintained a rather uneasy sleep. every now and then his body would twitch as he was having some form of a nightmare. It never got bad enough that he woke or stirred, but it did show as the large beast he was in his bear form was twitching his body turning at random intervalws but never actually leaving the hut, and when a padded paw touched his shoulder it was enough for the already agitated Zenji to spring into action a heavy paw slapping against the other feral druid as Zenji suddenly burst from his sleep with a shot of adrenaline.

Zenji's chest was heaving as bowled over the smaller night elfs cat form trying to stomp her into the ground so that she could neither run or attack him. It took him a moment to remember that he had been asleep, or even that he was in his bear form, but by the time his mind was activating he was already attacking Llunau. He rallied backwards trying to regain control of the bear spirit he was channeling.

The problem with druid magic was that it was as wild and powerful as nature it's self. the feral forms were no different to this rule. Druids who stayed too long in their form could loose their more 'humane' side, and inexperianced druids could find themselves struggling with the animal. Zenji was neither of these things, but even a veterain who had been trained by Touren for most of his life to handle moments like these could have moments of fear and realization, just as every knight can have an off day.

But by the time that Zenji had regained control of the bear spirit, it was too late he had already attacked Llunau, and if he knew the night elf cat she wouldn't hold quarter against him. She had said as much in the past, and he would not back down from such a challenge. Nor would he admit out of a sense of pride that he had lost control over something as simple and stupid as a bad dream.
 
Llunau had noticed his tossing and turning in his sleep earlier in the night, however she had no idea he was experiencing nightmares as he slept. She just figured he was uncomfortable. Her bear form always made her uncomfortable. Before she could react and leap backwards, the massive bear had slapped his huge paw against her left shoulder causing her to lose her footing and sent her flying back to fall over on her side. The force was so strong she could feel ever vertebra in her back pop as her light agile body hit the hard ground while the leaves and dirt created a dusty fog around her. Llunau landed with a grunt as he had knocked the wind out of her. The downside to the bear form was the lack of speed. Llunau was able to get to her feet before he could crush her with his front paws as he tried to stomp her into the ground. However he did land a successful stomp onto her tail which caused a loud roaring 'Mreeoorw'. She couldn't run from him, so she sat back on her hind legs as he came down on her just in time to wrap her flexible front legs around his neck, latching onto him with her large claws pierced into his thick skin. Just before he began to take back control of his bear spirit, her crushing jaws enclosed around his neck but not with enough force to pierce his flesh. She could feel him trying to calm himself, but it was too late. She wouldn't back down just yet. She didn't know Zenji, and he could be too unstable to trust at the moment.

Her piercing eyes looked up into Zenji's with a warning growl as she didn't let go of his neck. She was holding back on locking them in, but her claws were still latched on tightly. Her tail somehow managed to get free and now she was practically hanging from the bear's neck. Her hind legs were pressed firmly into his chest but the claws were not threatening him just yet. If he were to continue to attack, she would be able to launch herself off of him while pushing her hind legs against his chest.

"Zenji, control yourself," she growled as her tongue pressed against his furry neck. She knew he would most likely find her position a threat and probably still fight against her, but she didn't have a choice as she was pinned earlier and it was the only way to get him to let go of her tail.

He would most likely feel insulted at her statement as it would sound as if he couldn't handle being a feral druid, but she needed to find a way to tell him she wasn't a threat, but not before she would let him crush her under his massive paws.

She decided he was not in control enough to handle the situation properly, and she began to dig her claws in deeper to his neck as she hoisted herself upwards before using her powerful haunches to launch herself away from the bear.

Flying through the air, her body twisted in a swift, but unnatural way allowing her to land on her feet almost silently. She lowered her sleek body to the ground with a snarl as she readied herself if he decided to attack her. Llunau's long tail whipped back and forth as she hissed at him. It was an instinctual taunting gesture which she didn't mean to let slip, but the power of the druids was hard to control, and she could feel the feral side taking over as well. The rage was strong within his eyes. She wouldn't blame him if he continued the attack. She was stupid for waking a restless sleeping bear. She should have known better.
 
Zenji felt her Llunau's claws peirce into his skin, but his body was thicker then hers, although he could feel his body hurt from her claws. The pain only enraged him further and by extension helped the beast keep control even as he struggled to gain back his body from the bear that had hijacked his motions. As much as he wanted to calm down he quickly felt himself loosing to the bear as she her mouth up against his neck. He could feel her fangs against his neck, increasing the threat against his person.

He looked down at the night elf in her cat form, not seeing how he could get out of this situation without getting hurt, and yet at the same time really wanting to hurt her, as her hind legs poked against his skin. The anger was still beating inside his ears, making him rather irational, his heavy paws stomped down next to her body as he brought his muzzle to hers. for a moment he looked into her eyes the bears anger still on display as Zenji tried to fight back from actually doing damage.

Finally the bear let off a feral roar into the night elf's face, the anger leaving with the harsh roar, and his body becoming looser in the process, stepping back from her, zenji stepped down regaining control over the bear walking back to his hut he sat down closing his eyes, and allowing himself to morph back into his normal body. He breathed out a long relaxed breath as he returned to a troll ending the fight, or at the least really hoping that the fight was over. His body still had all the scratch marks where her claws had struck home and got past the bears thick fur and body mass.

"I be sorry for that." He said giving a deep bow towards her. He let out a long sigh trying to relax the rest of his body. "I didn' mean anything by it, just got surprised you know how it can be some times."He stretched out and got ready to settle in for his watch hoping that his appology was enough to defuse the situation, but he kept a close eye on her if that wasn't the case. "If I hurt ya then I would gladly heal yah for it was my mistake."
 
Llunau flinched as Zenji stomped his front paws dangerously close to her. If he truly wanted to, he could have trampled her easily but he was holding back. Llunau stood her ground as his snout was just inches away from hers. Even on all fours, Zenji towered over her. His eyes were still raged as he stared her down. Llunau's nostrils flared unevenly as she awaited his next move.

The stare down didn't last long before Zenji opened his massive jaws and let out a hot, booming roar in the cat's face. Llunau crouched lower and raised a paw getting ready to strike but it was clear he was backing down after his boisterous roar. She waited to watch his every movement. He turned and headed back to his hut slowly. Llunau followed as if stalking her prey. She knew he was backing down but she wouldn't turn her back on him. Staying low to the ground, Llunau watched as he began to transform back into a troll.

Llunau stayed crouched as he came back out. She backed away a few feet slowly keeping eye contact with him. He wasn't threatening her at the moment, but in all honesty he scared the shit out of her. She wouldn't admit it though.

When he began to speak and apologize, she sat back on her hind legs and noticed the scratch marks around his neck. She instantly felt remorse for hurting him. But here he was asking if he had hurt her. She was fine even though he stomped on her tail. It would bruise at the most but it wasn't broken or anything.

Llunau stayed in her cat form as she answered him. "I'm fine." Was all she said in a low meow. She wouldn't change out of her form until the morning. The cat stayed there a moment as she licked her paws and cleaned her face of any saliva that landed on her while he roared in her face. Not long after, she walked passed him to get to her hut. Pausing to look up at him, she spoke once more. "Sorry about the scratches." She said and then turned to retire to the hut.

Llunau made a bed out of her wolf skin blanket and laid down when she found a comfortable spot. The warm blanket made a perfect bed fit for any cat and Llunau curled up into a ball looking out towards Zenji. She knew he wasn't intending on attacking her after that incident, but she couldn't help but to be cautious. She eyed him for a long time before finally falling asleep as he took the next watch; lulling herself to sleep as her throat muscles vibrated as she pureed loudly. No doubt loud enough for Zenji to hear.
 
"Well that be attractive." Zenji spoke under his breath as he watched the night elf go to bed. He honestly couldn't believe his ears, the night elf snored! OKay so it was a loud throaty purr, but in any other form that simply would have been a narrow passage way or inflammation. Simply put Llunau snored when she slept. Zenji rolled his eyes. He was greatful to have the appology but in truth none of the wounds she had dealt him were nearly as life threatening as the fact that his new partner snored loud enough for him to hear from across a glade.

Zenji shook his head, raising a hand it was washed in a soft green light as he evoked the powers of nature and allowed himself to regenerate the damage that she had done with her claws. He wasn't a great healer, but he made sure to have some skill in every aspect of the druid life. Healing and feral alike. For now he stretched out allowing himself to full awaken he checked his bags, and pulled out a water skin from one of them taking a sip as he felt thirsty. and then finally he fell into a small meditation.

His hands were in his lap, and his body relaxed, but he remained conscious. He listened to all of the sounds around him. Trying to find anything that would have or rather should have been natural for this area. The more he strained his ears however the more the natural was replaced with the supernatural. He could hear the elemental energies and how the forest was still very much alive with living arcane poisons, but he couldn't see them. As far as he could tell they hadn't made it this close to Nordassil. The tree seemed to be protecting their camp which was great. it meant there was still plenty of strength left in the magic that governed mount Hyjal.

The problem then was in what he wasn't hearing. There were no birds, no rivers, no animal sounds. he hadn't even seen a spirit dragon. It was fair to assume then that there was something evil a foot in this place. The problem being that it could be forever till they actually found it, and even once they found it who knew what they were actually doing. The twilight hammer had a lot of things they could be doing in such a place, and he honestly didn't know what they would be up against. None of the information he was able to gather seemed to say that they were 'safe' but they clearly weren't in danger as long as they stayed close to the world tree.
 
The long silent night was uneventful under the protection of the world tree. When morning came, Llunau awoke as if an internal alarm clock had sounded her awake. Some time in the middle of the night she had managed to wrap herself up in her blanket. Even though it was warm out, it didn't bother her in her cat form. With a loud cat yawn, Llunau stretched her sleek form outward once again sticking her rump up in the air as her front legs extended in front of her. The refreshing stretch helped her to awaken. It didn't take her long to change into her night elf form and she whistled to call her talbuk. She didn't need him right now but by the time he would return they would be getting ready to head out for their first task to find the small hidden base camp to the south of Nordrassil.

Llunau searched her pack and pulled out a small pack of apples and removed two from the leather pouch. The tall elf walked over to where Zenji was, it was evident he had been meditating but by the time Llunau reached him he was finished.

As if last night never even happened, Llunau approached him nonchelantly. "Anything interesting? " she asked quietly as she sat down next to him handing him a bright green apple. She could feel the tension between them but she tried to ignore it. She knew the answer to her question before he said it. If anything interesting did happen it wasn't around here. "We have to search for clues to the whereabouts of a small hidden twilight base camp today. If we are lucky enough to find it we will need to clear it out and destroy it along with any cultists that may be there." She sighed before taking a bite of the sweet delicious apple.
 
Sitting up as he was approached by Llunau, Zenji's body adjusted as he went back to being his normal dark blue troll self. Stretching out his spine as he saw the rise of the sun as a good thing. Taking the apple with a bow of gratitude he dusted it off before biting into it, and enjoying the juices of the apple. He would rather have had some meat, but such things would needed to be hunted in their current condition. It wasn't like he could just pop down to orgrimar to buy some food any time he wished. The mission to find the cultists was a welcomed news, and he was grateful for her not speaking about their fight from last night.

"The Tree is silent, aside from the elemental, there be no signs of nature around us." He said giving her the information he had observed. "I don't know what would cause it, but there be foul magic in the air here." There was however the chance that this wasn't just magical problems, but a lot of other things as well. Still they could get some of the answers they needed from the cultists.

Shifting his body into cat form he sniffed the air. "I don't be smelling any humanoids but you and me at the moment, so they must be further out and around the tree. How about I cover da ground, and ya take to the skies? If we stay in sight of one another we should be able to make good progress with our search." The problem with that plan being that while she was in the air it would be possible for her to be spotted, though that was also partly intentional. After all if he suddenly saw the enemy throwing fire balls at Llunau, then he would know where the enemy was... and all it would take would be for his partner to be slightly burned in the process either way it seemed to feel like a win win.
 
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