#fieschada

CHAPTER 2 But I haven’t met you yet

Her first year alone passed rather quickly. With Jashik at her side, Drepani quickly learned the ins and outs of how to fend for herself - and of course, she kept her raptor pendant close. Sometimes, she questioned the intentions of the Loa Gonk, but from what her mother had told her… the Loa were selective in their benevolence.

Since I be interesting to Gonk, Gonk be offering me his guidance, Drepani frowned, brushing hair out of her face. She needed to cut it somehow. It was all dry and gross at the ends, and she hated touching it. Maybe she could use her dagger?

Drepani huffed. Of course she could use her dagger.

The cuts were haphazard, and left her hair more unruly and uneven than ever before. She tossed the hairs to the birds; they could use it for their nests, at least. She spent the next ten minutes clawing through the various tangles and knots that was scattered throughout her hair. Jashik tried to help - but all he really succeeded in doing was making her hair more of a mess with all the feathers he tried to stick into the thick locks.

Drepani sighed, affectionately running her nails along Jashik’s snout, “okay, okay… I guess I be havin’ no choice bu’ to let it be, eh?”

Jashik churred.

The young girl made her way back into her cave, hands brushing over the various bags her mother had made before disappearing. She selected a woven one - the best kind for carrying crabs and shells and rocks and fish, if she happened to catch any.

Having selected her pack, she grabbed a spear she’d made - about as haphazard as her hair, decorated with the same paints that she used to decorate Jashik’s hide - and without a word she scrambled onto Jashik’s back. The raptor took off the second she was situated, leaving her to grasp the ropes that hung loose around his neck.

Nearly an hour passed once she reached the beach. Her bag was full of oysters, clams, a couple of fish, various shells, and a lively crab that kept trying to pinch her whenever she got too close. She wrinkled her nose at it, tapping its pinchers with her dagger.

Then, she turned her suspicious gaze to the wellmade crate that had been left under an outcropping of rocks she always hid the shells she found before she was ready to go.

There was a piece of folded parchment on it too. When she had arrived at the beach, it hadn’t been there, but when she had come prancing back over to the overhang the outcropping formed, she discovered the crate.

Now that she was ready to go back home, she gazed at it. Tilted her head to the left and the right; squinted her eyes - then she exhaled.

“Jashik… can you be goin’ to smell it?”

The raptor chortled, and she blushed, pouting, “don’t you be laughin’ at me!! Muuka always taught me to be cautious…”

Jashik made no complaints after that. He managed to hunker down enough to get his nose close enough to the crate.

The next thing Drepani knew, he was yanking the crate out from under the rock, making various sounds of what Drepani could only interpret as excitement.

“Jashik! Hey!” she had to laugh a little, as the raptor had clawed the folded parchment delicately out from under the ropes that held the wooden lid on. He was flailing it in her face moments later.

“Okay okay! I be gettin’ it. What you be so excited about anyway…?” she muttered, carefully unfolding the parchment.

‘Dearest Drepani--’

She clapped the pages together after reading the first word. Her heart was pounding. Jashik was poking his nose around the crate, oblivious to the turmoil that Drepani suddenly found herself in.

Heart still pounding, she slowly opened the letter again - then abruptly clapped it shut. She couldn’t let herself forget that the beach was not a safe place for her to get distracted by a letter.

She did her best to attach the crate to Jashik’s side after deducing that the items inside were of the non-breakable variety. Once it was secure enough, Drepani crawled onto Jashik’s back. The letter was clutched close to her chest the whole ride back to the cave.

And even when she was back safely at her cave, Drepani put her focus on making sure her catches for the day were properly prepared.

Work first, play later, she chanted to herself. It was what Alba’vida had drilled into her, after all.

The sun was just beginning to kiss the horizon when she finally sat down with the crate and the letter. Her eyes danced with excitement as she peeled it open.

She read the opening phrase again:

Dearest Drepani,

That it was someone who knew her, set Drepani’s heart racing - and in it’s wake left an empty ache. She continued to read despite the way her hands began to shake:

You were not to know me. I was not to know you - and while I am hard-pressed to ignore your mother’s wishes, I can’t stand to know that you are alone. How long have you been by yourself, I wonder, with no one but the ever faithful Jashik at your side? I wish I could come stay with you - but I will spare you my excuses. They are weak and feeble much like my resolve.

Drepani didn’t fully understand everything she read, but she could grasp at interpretations. This person knew her mother, but specifically said ‘your mother’.

The young troll looked up at Jashik - who had laid down across from her - with hope in her big eyes, “chaako?”

Jashik was of no help. He merely snorted, lying his head on the ground. Drepani pouted at him, and quickly resumed her reading:

Loa I wish I knew how big you were. I’ve hardly been allowed to see you. I’ve only caught glimpses here and there, but you have hair like the sea--

The ink was smudged where “like the sea” was written, and Drepani squinted. She raised the page, looking at it from every which angle, trying to decipher what had been written before. Jashik chortled at her, and she groaned, “you be no help, you big lizard!!”

Jashik merely chortled again, kicking one of his hind legs.

-- and your skin is minty, much like your mother’s. I wonder if your eyes are still as green as they were the first time I held you. There are some things for you in the crate. You are ever growing, and I did my best to place clothes in the crate that I think you might like.

But I don’t know you, and you don’t me. I hope this letter is enough.

Drepani had dropped the letter on the ground before she even finished reading the last sentence. Her fingers clawed at the crate, and after breaking one nail, she reached for her dagger. She pried off the top.

There was more than some articles of clothing inside.

A few wrapped goodies, which were sweet when Drepani stuck one in her mouth, and Jashik attempted to take the whole bag from her. He relented when she tossed him a couple after squealing at him to stop. There was more jewellery - mostly earrings, of course, so Drepani assumed that at some point, her mother had let it slip that the young girl had gotten her ears pierced. A couple of wooden, beautiful painted bangles.

Drepani slipped one on, and pouted when it nearly slipped right back off. Too big for her small wrists, it seemed.

“Oh well,” she muttered, pushing the bangle up her arm till it rested snuggly around her bicep, “I can just be wearin’ it higher!”

The dress, too, was a little too big for her - but she supposed she could grow into it. She could use the many colorful belts and sashes that had been stuffed into the box to cinch it more tightly around her small frame.

Her eyes drifted back to the letter. It laid on the ground, crisp parchment with crisp writing.

Drepani’s mother had taught her how to write; had taught her how to grind the blackberries into a sort of pigment.

She walked into the cave, plucking one of the feathers from her hair. She rooted around the firewood pile for a loose piece of bark - it was the best she could do, after all, her mother had only ever taught her to write on bark and not on parchment, and there was no parchment just lying around either.

There was some mostly dried ink in a pot near her mother’s abandoned things. Drepani added some water to it.

Of course, it wound up being gooey and sticky, but the little girl made due with what she had. She chewed on her lower lip as she did her best to write a response - the end result was a mess of scribbles, multiple crossed out words, followed by an apology for her sloppy writing. She had never gotten a real chance to practice.

I wonder if he’ll be finding it if I be puttin’ it in the same spot, she frowned. The sun had already disappeared below the horizon, even if the rays continued to light up the sky.

Sleep seemed like the wiser choice.

Her next gift crate had proper inkwells, proper parchment, and proper feather pens. There were even pages upon pages of letters she could copy as practice. Full sentences too. She did her best to practice her writing alongside everything else she was trying to do to take care of herself.

This went on for several weeks. Every now and then she would get a new letter, most often praising her for the improvements in her writing. Sometimes he asked questions after answering the ones she’d left for him, but he always ignored her question on his name.

It frustrated her to no end.

So much so, that she took out her frustration by sneaking up on Jashik.

The large raptor had no love for these antics of hers.

“Uuugh!” Drepani writhed on the ground, flicking her tongue and tail in a tantrum, “you’re not gonna’ be hurtin’ me, Jashik! I gotta’ be practicin’ my sneakin’ somehow…”

Jashik clicked his tongue. Drepani shifted back into a troll, pouting at him, “well… okay, fine. I guess you still be havin’ those wild instincts, but it be better to be tryna’ sneak up on you than… than a tiger!”

The raptor stamped his feet, and Drepani sighed in exasperation, “well if you don’t be wantin’ that, then you gotta’ be lettin’ me practice on you!!”

With a huff, Jashik stalked into the cave. Drepani scrambled to her feet to follow him. He had opted to curl up in a far corner, looking over his back at her with slitted eyes.

“Ooooh!! Fine! You be that way then!!” Drepani exclaimed. Jashik huffed; she stomped over to her pile of pillows. She fiddled with the pendant around her neck.

It had been a while since her last dream of Gonk.

Maybe I should be tryin’ that thing that chaako wrote me about the other day, she wondered, grasping the pendant fully in one hand, or well… maybe I should call him teacher. I still don’t be knowin’ if he be my chaako for real…

She crossed her legs and draped her arms over her knees. From the times she had quietly observed the other trolls, she had noticed that a group of them would often sit like this, eyes closed. Her ‘teacher’ had referred to it as meditation.

Raucous laughter met her when she opened her eyes.

“Oh look at her! She can meditate now! Good, good,” Gonk grinned broadly at her, “I was wondering when you were going to figure it out, little one.”

Drepani pursed her lips. She appraised the Loa for a moment, then got to her feet, “well… here I be! Teach me somethin’!”

He grinned toothily at her, “she sure is demanding, isn’t she?”

The little girl’s face fell, “muuka be sayin’ that to me once…”

“Hm,” Gonk prodded Drepani with his nose, “you’ve certainly grown.”

“It don’t be like I was gonna’ stay a baby forever, silly Loa!” Drepani chirped, giggling when Gonk nudged her more roughly.

“Silly Loa! That’s a new one. Come, I want you to meet someone. The two of you have some things in common, and it took me some time to permeate his thoughts,” and the Loa’s eyes sparkled with mischief. Drepani recalled again that the Loa were fickle beings, and while often inclined to be benefactors, they were no strangers to malice.

Regardless, Drepani shifted into a cobra and followed Gonk to an entirely different looking forest. It was… so different. The trees were large and elegant, stretching toward the sky - and their leaves were full. They covered the sky completely.

Drepani wasn’t sure how much she liked it.

Gonk led her further through the brush until finally, several minutes later, they came to a clearing.

Immediately the cobra darted into a bush. There was someone else in the clearing, and Gonk’s boisterous laugh startled the other being as much as it startled Drepani.

“You mortals amuse me! That being said, Naralex,” and Drepani found herself being pulled out of the bushes by Gonk’s tail, “I have brought this small one. Teach her druidic magic.”

The man stared at her, “I… what manner of creature is she? Is… is she a troll?”

Drepani shifted out of her cobra form and snapped, “is dat gonna’ be a problem!? Because you be lookin’ real funneh dere yaself, you weird, tuskless purple troll!”

Once again Gonk howled with laughter and this Naralex fellow stared at her with a gaping jaw. He turned his yellow eyes back to Gonk, “this is who you’ve been pestering me about? And how can she speak common so easily?”

“This is a dream,” Gonk purred, “and I am a Loa. Do you really think my power is not on par with the moon goddess? You would be wise not to question the capabilities of a wild god, elf.”

Drepani had no real clue what any of them were saying. Wasn’t she speaking the same language she always spoke?

“I don’ be knowin’ ‘bout you, bu’ I be knowin’ ‘bout me, an’ Gonk hasn’ been teachin’ me anyting fah a while!” she jabbed a finger at Naralex, “‘cuz he be tryna’ git you ta -- ta-- ta get along wit’ me!!”

Naralex appeared both miffed and intrigued, “I do believe the word you’re looking for is cooperate, little one.”

“Yeah dat!”

“Alright, well, if you come sit here… maybe I should teach you entangling roots first,” he tapped his chin as Drepani cautiously drew closer, “oh, by the way. I’m a night elf.”

“A night elf?” Drepani repeated, confused, “bu’ you be lookin’ like a troll… wit’ no tusks, an’ purple skin, an’ too many fingahs and toes.”

Naralex laughed, “I suppose you have a point there - then that makes you a night elf with green skin, tusks, and too few fingers and toes.”

Drepani pouted at him; he laughed. She supposed his temperament and his voice were kind enough.

“Come here, little one.”

“Drepani,” she corrected. Naralex smiled;

“Pleased to meet you, Drepani. I am Naralex, Druid of the Fang.”

Drepani slipped out of her meditation hours later to find a bowl of hot soup, another crate, and a long letter.

Another year had passed. Drepani added another tick to the cave wall that had been counting her years.

She was ten years old now - or perhaps more accurately, ten and a half. She sighed, sitting down on her mass of pillows and blankets with her various pieces of parchment paper. At her teacher and Naralex’s advice, she had started sketching the plant life and animals around her. Her drawings were… lackluster to say the least.

But she kept on trying.

Jashik was an all to willing subject, and regardless of how well or poorly Drepani thought she drew him, the raptor hoarded any and all drawings she made of him.

And slept on them, as raptors clearly do.

A smile crossed Drepani’s lips, “lately Naralex has been praisin’ me. Says I summon roots faster than most of the other druids he’s trained.”

She looked up at Jashik, “what do you be thinkin’ of that?”

The raptor chuffed, and Drepani sighed, “okay, okay. I’ll try not to be lettin’ it get to my head.”

Jashik settled down beside her. He did his best to discreetly look over her shoulder as she doodled, and jotted down notes beside her sketches.

During their practice sessions in what Naralex referred to as the Emerald Dream, the night elf had alluded to the fact that Drepani was not the first troll to ever find themself in the Emerald Dream. She seemed to be one of the first specifically led there by a Loa, but Naralex - being an elf, and living for a long, long time as a result - had seen the odd troll here and there.

But never once a child.

He had often nonchalantly spoken about different professions; things that could be taken up and used as a means to support oneself. Drepani wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but she assumed that it had to do with being able to cook and write and fight.

All things she could currently do, of course.

And when the man had mentioned herbalism…

Drepani had taken an immediate interest.

Naralex had started with bringing a peacebloom with him to the Dream: a little white flower with a yellow center. He explained to her that it had healing properties, and was often used by alchemists to create healing potions. Drepani had listened intently, completely enthralled by the very idea that there were plants scattered all over the world that could be used to help people.

He had also off-handedly mentioned that Gonk was still working on getting through to someone he referred to as shan’do, someone who could teach her more than Naralex himself could ever hope to.

And when asked what shan’do meant, Naralex had responded with “honored teacher”.

Naturally, the next time she saw Naralex, she referred to him by this title. Drepani had never believed that she could make a grown man blush so fiercely, but he thanked her profusely for honoring him in such a way before requesting that she stick to calling him simply ‘teacher’.

Sighing, Drepani got up from her nest. Jashik churred at her in question.

“I just be wantin’ to get away for a while. Maybe practice some spells. Naralex been teachin’ me lots and lots lately! Cuz I keep pesterin’ him about this herb and that herb and this plant and that plant,” she giggled, stroking her nails along Jashik’s forehead, “he keeps tellin’ me that me bein’ so curious be gettin’ him a lot of suspicious looks with how much he be goin’ in and out of the herbalism shops! I don’t really be knowin’ why he seems unwillin’ to tell his other elf friends about me though…”

Jashik chuffed, and Drepani shrugged, “it be what it be, I be guessin’. Maybe it be because I still be so young. Anywho! I be off! If I need you, I’ll be screamin’.”

She took off into the jungles before Jashik could further protest. The sun was high in the sky, and weaving through the foliage unnoticed was a simple task for her.

It wasn’t until she reached the roots near the beach that anything of interest happened.

First, there were the murlocs. Drepani hadn’t noticed them initially, but yelling and screaming caught her attention.

She was startled by what she saw.

The murlocs were dragging troll children down the beach!

Drepani watched as the red-haired boy she kept finding herself drawn to nearly got away from the murlocs. When one tackled him, he put of a ferocious fight, punching and kicking and snarling. One of the bigger murlocs picked him up and threw him hard against a tree. His heavy drop to the sand was enough to make one of the bigger girls fight viciously - and it was a bad course of action for the murlocs themselves, as the children had all screamed.

The bigger girl soon went limp after she was struck on the back of the neck by the wooden part of a spear. A girl who looked similar to her cried out sharply - then she silenced herself with a hand when the murlocs turned on her, making various angry sounds.

Wait. Wait, wait! That be the hunter who be tryna’ catch me before!

Hurriedly, Drepani started sizing up the situation. She coiled in the bushes, tongue flicking, eyes calculating.

The murlocs were starting to move more quickly, and Drepani slithered through the bushes to follow them. There was a green haired girl that kept on trying to use magic, but the murlocs never remained still long enough for her to get a spell off. The white-haired boy wouldn’t stop screaming, and ultimately, the murlocs knocked him out too.

The last child that put up any sort of struggle had hair like fire, and briefly Drepani thought of her mother - until she too, was knocked out, and the murlocs continued on their way.

Drepani was resolved to help them.

She bolted out of her hiding place, mouth wide, spitting hisses. She lashed her tail over the head of one that had no child in its arms. It ran off, screeching in fear. Drepani threw herself into the middle of them, rearing up, knowing that they were afraid of her because she would remind them of the naga.

As she expected, a good four of them bolted off in terror at her presence - but one, the one with the spear, faced her. It released a gurgling battlecry and charged. Drepani dropped her belly to the ground and lunged, slamming her head into its gut.

The second it was on its back she sunk her fangs into its throat and thrashed.

Several of the kids who were still conscious got up and raced back the way they had been taken from, yelling that they would get adults. Only the crying little girl stayed behind to try and drag the unconscious hunter to safety.

Drepani raised her head. Blood covered her face, and she whipped her head in the direction the murlocs had run, tongue flicking. They still had some children with them. She was about to go after them when she saw him.

The red haired boy had been dropped.

Quickly, she slithered over to him. She carefully wrapped her mouth around his arm and started pulling. Perhaps she had practiced slithering backwards specifically for this moment, but it was still a tremendous task. She dropped his arm several times for fear of causing him any harm.

Just as she was beginning to get the hang of it, she heard him mutter, “nnn… Zal…”

Drepani froze, and his molten eyes fluttered open to look at her, “Zal… m’friend, he… he be the one with the braid…?”

The red haired boy’s arm dropped out of Drepani’s mouth. She stared as if she were in a trance. He gazed at her blearily, his expression overcome by intrigue. It was understandable that he was unable to process what exactly was happening, given his state.

Then he reached up to caress her face.

Somewhere, she heard a clap of thunder. It was loud, and it scared her, and she bolted down the beach in the direction the murlocs had run.

Children like her were still stuck in their grasp, after all.

It was mysterious even to her, when she felt as though Gonk were running alongside her - and something about her own form changed. Drepani had legs again, but they were thicker, and heavier, as if she had grown muscle. The trees were moving past her at an almost blinding speed.

Up ahead, the murlocs appeared to be in an argument. They gestured wildly at each other, while several children attempted to crawl discreetly away, or grabbed at their unconscious friends.

Drepani’s eyes honed in on the boy with the white hair - Zal, as he had been called.

She released an ear-splitting screech and leapt at a murloc. Briefly, Drepani caught sight of her feet.

They looked like Jashik’s.

Startled, she found herself smacking into the murloc’s face with no arms or legs. She battered the frog-like creature with open-mouthed strikes, letting her rows of teeth scour deep lines in its head.

Her screech, at least, had dispersed the murlocs - along with the other kids, who ran in the direction Drepani had come from.

Before the murlocs could regroup, Drepani gave chase to several, snapping at their ankles. By the time her excitement started to die, the murlocs were running away from her, and away from the direction the kids had gone.

Good. Now for Zal.

The boy was lying face down in the sand. Unlike his red haired friend, he was wearing a shirt. Drepani grasped the back of Zal’s collar in her jaw, raised him as high off the ground as she could, and began to slither toward the fleeing children.

Her vision swam after hardly three seconds, and soon she found herself gasping for breath on the sand.

“Get up, Drepani, get up.”

She struggled to her feet. Her legs and arms felt like jello, but she pulled at Zal anyway. He groaned in pain as he started to come to.

Then she heard the voices.

Scared, she dropped Zal again, noticing that his eyes were barely open as he peered at her. Drepani’s fright only grew.

As much as she told herself, time and time again, that she wanted to be with the other trolls, she found herself too afraid of the prospect.

Before she could escape to the safety of the jungle, her arm was grasped in a much larger hand. Someone, somehow, had appeared behind her.

“Ey waitaminute now, where you be thinking you goin’?”

Drepani was jerked around to face the man that held her - and her eyes widened upon noticing that he wasn’t exactly a man, but certainly not a boy. His eyes were widened as well.

“Holy Loa she be havin’ blood all over her face!”

Instead of attempting to make any explanation, Drepani struggled in his grip; he was unperturbed, “stop your fussin’.”

“Juh-JASHIK!” Drepani shrieked, clawing at his hand. She tried to shift into a cobra again to escape, but all her body did was shimmer weakly.

Jashik came barreling out of the jungle. He skid to a halt right before he could have collided with the older boy. Jashik snapped his jaws in the boy’s face - but again, to Drepani’s dismay, he was unperturbed.

“Oi, now you both just bein’ all sorts of unreasonable,” he chided, reaching toward Jashik. The black raptor screeched, nearly bit off the boy’s hand, and bolted back to the jungle. He began to bite and tear and rip and slash at the trees, making various vocalizations to further emphasize his distress.

Drepani had given up trying to get the older boy to let her go. She sat on the sand instead, gasping for breath, tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Kunan’ji!”

“What now, Kuzari?” he sounded annoyed.

“You better be letting her go!” an older girl snapped. Several children had gathered around her legs, and a tiger stalked not too far behind, clearly her pet, “the raptor be in real obvious distress. Let her go.”

Kunan’ji pouted, “but--”

“Let her go, Kunan’ji.”

The two stared each other down, while Jashik continued to make a mess of the trees around him. He started stamping his feet, and looking at the other children as if implying he would attack them if Drepani was not released soon.

Kunan’ji sighed.

The moment he released Drepani, she lurched to her feet. She stumbled all her way to Jashik. He lowered his head for her to grab and raised her in the air, turning his head back as far as he could to get her onto his back.

Seconds before he took off, Drepani looked back at the trolls.

Most looked confused. She was one of them, after all, why would she want to leave?

She was unprepared for seeing the look of desperation on the red haired boy’s face.

“Wait--!”

But Jashik had already sprinted away.

The raptor’s path was far more erratic than usual. Drepani thought nothing of it, and clung to him. Why, why did she not want to stay? Why was she so scared to be with the other trolls. Against her chest, her raptor pendant was cold.

Because you don’t be wanting to lose them like you be losing muuka.

Drepani choked on a breath, refusing to let herself cry over it.

Because you don’t be wanting to be left behind again.

Yet another breath was choked on in her efforts to fend off the tears. It had been a while since she’d cried over it. Drepani only calmed when she looked up from Jashik’s neck and saw the familiar sight of the cave. She slid off his back, and barely touched the ground when the raptor sped off again.

She stared, brows furrowed. He’d taken an erratic enough path, did he really need to go back and muss up his path even more?

The seconds dragged on with Drepani opting to simply sit and regain her strength. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes…

Gave way to an uncanny stare on her back.

She was not alone.

Terrified, she shakily got up from her seat. The feeling of someone drawing closer beared down on her shoulders. If she could get to the cave and hide, she would be safe. She would be safe.

She bolted for the cave - but her body was too tired. She’d spent all her strength trying to help the other trolls, and she fell down before she could even make it three steps. Drepani tried to pull herself to the cave, but found herself swept up into warm arms instead.

Part of her thought she would see the face of whoever now held her, but there was a pinch at the back of her neck.

All she remembered hearing was, “Amita, Amita, you be safe. It be okay. Please rest.”

Two weeks had passed since the incident. She’d woken from the ordeal feeling refreshed, and kept her distance from the village for a while.

She’d found another letter, of course, filled mostly with praise toward her actions.

And she remembered being called “Amita”.

Something about this name resonated more with her than Drepani did. Maybe it was because being called Drepani made her think of her mother. Maybe it was because she thought if she left behind the name Drepani, she could leave behind her old mistakes and start fresh with Amita.

Or maybe it was because the person who had called her Amita had a distinctly masculine voice.

Perhaps, if she ever gained the courage to be with the other trolls, she could use her new name as a means to find her father.

“Your father?”

Naralex, of course, questioned her decision. Amita fiddled with the grass on the forest floor. In this session, she and her teacher were simply discussing. Naralex still had not told her why they weren’t practicing any spells.

“It don’ be like I’m givin’ up my old name…” she muttered, looking off at some nearby flowers, “bu’... if de one who be callin’ me Amita be my chaako, den, if I be callin’ m’self Amita, don’ dat mean I could be findin’ him fastah?”

“That will only work if you actually join the other trolls, Amita,” and a laugh escaped him when she gave him the best pout she could manage, “come now child. You know I jest.”

“Jest?”

“Tease,” he explained, one of his long ears flicking, “you know, I was looking into the history of my people recently. Somewhere down the line, we had forgotten that we were trolls once! I find that quite fascinating.”

Amita propped herself up on her arms, curious, “den why don’ dere be more trolls in de whole druid aspect o’ tings?”

Naralex hummed in thought, “well, I was wondering about that myself. Perhaps it has to do with how much more superstitious you are? Not that that’s a bad thing, of course! But, we night elves only worship Elune, the Goddess of the Moon. To my understanding - which is quite lacking, mind you - trolls have far many more beings that they worship.”

He nodded in the direction of Gonk when the raptor emerged, practically out of thin air, “Gonk, for example, is one of many Loa. Here, I’ll teach you some new words.”

“Okay,” Amita inched closer to him, ears perked up in interest. Naralex wrote on the ground with magic.

“Night elves, you could say, are monotheistic. That’s the belief in one, singular god,” he underlined the word, and Amita mouthed the letters to herself so she would remember how to spell it. Next to it, he began to write another word, “trolls, on the other hand, are polytheistic. That is the belief in multiple gods,” he smiled at Amita when he raised his head from the words, “neither of these beliefs are wrong, in my opinion! And then again, I’m not sure how being monotheist or polytheist plays into there being a lack of troll druids.”

“Loa are selfish,” Gonk chimed in, “we don’t like to share~ Technically, I’ve claimed this little one as mine, and mine alone - though, I will admit, I’m more willing to share the worship than most of the other Loa are.”

Naralex chuckled, and his ear flicked again. Amita wondered why, and quietly he asked, “is he coming?”

“Yes. It took me a few years, but I’ve succeeded.”

Amita sat upright. Nervousness washed over her when Naralex fluidly got to his feet.

And then, he bowed.

“Shan’do.”

Jashik stared at Amita. She stared at him.

She’d fallen over while she was meditating, and now her back ached from hitting the stone floor.

“... Jashik. You won’t be believing who I be meeting.”

He churred at her in concern.

“His name be Malfurion Stormrage. Oh Jashik!!!” she rolled over and scrambled to her feet, hugging the raptor’s face, “he be teachin’ me so many things!! I gotta’ practice! He be wantin’ to see me again, next week!!”

She danced in place, overcome by excitement. Jashik stamped his feet as well, his vocalizations betraying his own excitement.

Amita eventually took several breaths to calm down.

“He be wantin’ me to practice my stealth, most of all,” she informed the raptor. Jashik straightened. Amita stared at him. He looked to the side.

“See? This be what happenin’ when you don’t let me practice on you.”

Jashik wailed and retreated back to his pile of drawings. Amita rolled her eyes, “well, if you gonna’ be like that, then I’m gonna’ go back to the village! What better place to practice my stealth than on the outskirts?”

Her guardian protested weakly, and Amita informed him that he could protest all he liked; she was still going.

As per usual, her presence went unnoticed at first. Amita cautiously observed the other trolls. They seemed to have patrols, and one pair of males passed in front of her. Once she was sure they had passed, she slithered onto the beach.

Only to have a shadow fall over her.

She bolted under the nearest hut, right before she was grabbed. One of the males had backtracked, and was crouched by the tracks that Amita had left. She knew he could see her.

“Rokhan?” his companion had wandered back over to him. This Rokhan fellow had a boyish smirk on his lips.

“Well now don’t you be a lil’ shy eh?” and he was suddenly in front of the hut that Amita had darted under. She stayed as still as possible, and Rokhan’s companion hummed over her tracks.

“A snake?”

“A cobra. Y’know, I be thinkin’, you must be the one that young An’jen got in a fuss with her chaako about a few years ago.”

Amita soon found herself hanging in the air. Immediately she spat a hiss at the troll, snapping her body from side to side until she managed to wrap her muscular tail around his arm. Rokhan chuckled, then drew his head back when she attempted to bite his face.

“Mon, you be lucky you be havin’ such big hands,” his companion muttered, and Rokhan scoffed.

“So it be a bit big for a cobra! So what?”

“Not many of us can just be holding one like that, Rokhan.”

He pursed his lips. Amita ceased her struggling. Jashik obviously wasn’t nearby; otherwise, he would have come charging out of the jungle already.

She didn’t want them to know but-

Shifting back into her troll form was the best option Amita had. The looks of disbelief made her decision worth it.

And an uncanny stare settled on her back.

“Wha--”

“It be a child!?”

Amita scrambled between Rokhan’s legs, narrowly dodged the other male, and made a beeline straight for the jungles. Once again, Rokhan appeared suddenly beside her.

A bolt of lightning struck between the two, forcing Rokhan to jump back. Amita screamed, of course, but managed to dive into the foliage anyway. Rokhan had snarled.

Amita quickly shifted back into a cobra once she got a hold of herself. She slithered far down the beach, not caring what Rokhan and his companion were muttering about. The uncanny stare remained on her person, and no matter where she went, she felt it.

I be in stealth!! How can this gaze still be on me?! she was miffed. Amita could fully understand how Rokhan had discovered her: he’d drawn close enough to sense that she was there. And, regardless of her being in stealth, her long body would leave tracks on the sand.

So that be something I need to be workin’ on, she thought begrudgingly. Either she had to move faster, or she had to avoid the beach entirely.

Sniffling drew her out of her thoughts, and Amita halted.

Outside a hut, she could just barely make out the form of a child - one that she had seen before.

Amita’s curiosity got the better of her, and she slithered closer.

Wait.

Were those… bruises? The other girl wiped at her eyes, and wrapped her arms around her legs. There was a great deal of rummaging around in the hut behind her, and the girl appeared to bite down on her lip to stop from making any noise.

Against her better judgement, Amita slithered closer. And, further against her better judgement, she dropped out of her stealth. She flicked her tongue, releasing a quiet hiss.

“Ah-!!” the girl clapped her hand to her mouth, staring at Amita with frightful eyes. One was black. Amita slithered closer.

“Uh um wh-wai--”

She pressed her nose to the black eye, flicking her tongue again. Shan’do Stormrage had shown her how to use one simple healing spell while in her cobra form. It didn’t completely heal the bruise, but it healed the wound enough that it only faintly showed.

Amita didn’t know where to go from there. She ended up dipping her head to the other girl and started slithering away.

“Don’t--!”

Amita paused.

“Please don’t go, snakey…” the girl rubbed at her eyes again, “I don’t be havin’ many friends… will… will you be stayin’ with me… for a while…?”

Amita coiled in on herself, flicking her tail back and forth. The girl seemed to take this as a challenge of sorts.

“M-my name is Luxanai… I prefer Ani though… n-not that you can be talkin’, but… but I be guessin’ you should know, snakey. You’re um. You’re the snakey that An’jen be chasin’ some time ago, aren’t you?”

Amita reared up in interest at this.

“Do you have a name, snakey?” and Ani seemed to only be asking for the sake of making her stay.

Boy, did Amita have a surprise for her.

She cautiously slithered closer, turned, and began to drag the end of her tail in the dirt.

‘Amita’, she wrote. Luxanai beamed at her.

“Amita,” she said, giggling softly to herself, “I hope I be seeing you around more often.”

Luxanai looked over her shoulder, and sighed, “I think that everyone will be thinking I’m crazy if I be telling them that I made friends with a snakey… they’ll prob’ly say I be lyin’.”

The druid rested her head on Luxanai’s shoulder, bringing the other girl to giggle again. Luxanai reached up to pat Amita on the head - she allowed it. After all, Luxanai’s hand was shaking, and that wasn’t something Amita could ignore in good conscious.

Soon after, Amita lowered her head from Luxanai’s shoulder to her thigh. She subconsciously coiled herself around the other girl. Luxanai seemed content to just ramble about some of the other children, and Amita only paid half attention.

She wasn’t sure how long she remained at Luxanai’s side, simply giving the other girl the comfort of her company, but when someone harshly called for Luxanai, the little girl jolted.

Amita flopped onto the ground, startled, and was further confused by Luxanai waving her hands in a frantic shooing motion.

“Y-you gotta’ go, snakey, b-before my family be findin’ you,” her expression grew saddened, as if she were on the verge of tears, “I… I hope you’ll be stoppin’ by again sometime…”

The cobra growled softly, then quickly went on her way after dropping into her stealth - she’d heard a raptor cry just seconds after Luxanai had finished speaking, and slithered in that direction. Jashik was waiting for her just within the line of trees.

Thank you for reading!! I’m having quite a bit of fun with this, especially exploring the whole idea of Dreamwalking and what not (also, Gonk WAS the Loa that took Zenta’bra and some other trolls to the Emerald Dream in Cataclysm, so I see no reason for him to not be the reason why Amita gets there). As for why Naralex and Malfurion are involved... Amita had to learn druidic magic from someone.

And as much as I don’t like how Blizzard writes Malfurion, he’s clearly the sort of character that doesn’t see factions much. Again, this just means that I see no reason for him to be unwilling to teach Amita magic.

The isles were beautiful. Jungle that grew wild and free; powerful roots shaped the landscape, forcing everything else to follow conform to their winding path. Beaches that stretched for miles, leading into sparkling sea, and the sun that warmed the shores.

Here, the Darkspear tribe had come after being exiled from the jungles of Stranglethorn. Their leader, Sen’jin, had dubbed it First Home. They set up their lodges and grew in number, being careful to always appease the great Loa that sometimes came to walk among them.

This had always been Alba’vida’s home.

She ran her fingers along the snout of her raptor, a fierce beast she’d called Jashik. Her eyes scoured over the horizon. There was no threat that she could see: no naga, no murlocs, no boats. Nothing that would bring harm to her people.

A sigh escaped her. She rose to her feet, whistling to Jashik. He trailed after her as she made her way further and further from the large village, hand resting against her bulging stomach.

Too soon.

Too soon.

It stormed.

Wind howled through the cave, and Alba’vida was only grateful because it drowned out her pained cries when she couldn’t hold them back. Sweat poured down her forehead. She had a pile of furs on the ground, and Jashik was pacing nearby.

There was nothing the raptor could to help while Alba’vida braced herself against the cave wall. She dug her nails into the stone.

A flicker of light made the huntress tense. It was difficult enough to deliver a child on her own without the added stress of what the light might bring.

It certainly had not brought thunder.

“Bwemba?” the woman said in disbelief - and her eyes widened when the powerful woman was followed by him.

“Lie down, Alba.”

She found herself ignoring Bwemba, her gaze entranced - as always - by the witch doctor’s emerald pools.

“You should not be here.”

“You should not have exiled yourself.”

“I be doing fine on my own,” Alba’vida spat. Did he not realise that his reputation was at stake?

“Let me help you,” he sounded like he was begging, and when he grasped her hand and pulled it away from the wall Alba’vida felt lightning course up her arm, “this be my fault. I wasn’t careful, and you be paying the price.”

Maybe it was the way he held her hand. Maybe it was how he cared.

Maybe it was how his eyes and his tattoos came to life when he held their daughter in his arms.

She listened.

“Drepani.”

Alba’vida was busy nursing her daughter. Loa, this child was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

“Drepani?”

“Yes,” she looked up at him - at Deonte. He had been busily braiding his hair, though now he was watching her intently. She held Drepani a tad closer to her breast, feeling self-conscious, “do you… not like it?”

A startled laugh escaped him, and his attempt to stop it from pouring past his lips left the braid he had been working on to unfurl. The huntress could feel heat rise to her cheeks at the sight. He shook his head, “no, no. It be a beautiful name.”

“What would you be calling her?”

Deonte’s eyes fell on the baby. He gazed at her for several minutes before finally looking back up at Alba’vida, his expression warm.

“Amita.”

Snakes were curious critters.

They were slow in their movements until they felt threatened. Some would coil together tightly, tails rattling, ready to strike. Others would fly through the underbrush, moving at lightning speed over leaves and sticks and rocks. Others still would dash for water, sliding into the liquid and disappearing beneath the surface.

Drepani did not fully understand her mother’s panic when the older huntress found the four year old sitting in a nest with not only dozens of baby snakes, but the mother as well.

“Drepani!”

“Muuka! Looka’ dese--um-- dis!” she held out both hands, baby snakes writhing about between both palms. She yelped when one of them fell to the soft leaves below, “ah! She fell!”

“What you be doing in-- she?”

“Ehyeah!” Drepani tilted her head at her mother, confused. Shouldn’t her mother know that the little snake that fell was female, and that the one curling over Drepani’s thigh was a boy, and that the two that were fighting just in front of her were both girls, while the one that had somehow crawled up Drepani’s back and coiled around her ear was a boy?

“You dunno’, muuka?”

Alba’vida had to stand still for a moment. Drepani hesitantly lowered the baby snakes back down to the ground. She broke up the scuffle between the two little females, unhooked the one on her ear, and shooed the one on her thigh away. She couldn’t help but think that perhaps she had done something wrong. Drepani pulled what she could of her short hair over her shoulder, twisting it together nervously.

The adult snake wove between her feet, seemingly unbothered by the little girl’s presence.

“I- I don’t, fen’di. How… how do you be knowing?”

Drepani stopped twisting her hair, cheering right back up, “dat be so easy muuka! The, the boys be havin’ thicker tails,” she snatched one up off the ground, walking toward her mother and showing her the snake, “see!!”

She had to stand up on her tiptoes, and Alba’vida crouched in front of her, looking at the snake struggling in Drepani’s hand.

“And and the girls be having de um thinner tails!”

Alba’vida looked like she was at a loss. Drepani’s excited expression faded quickly, and she lowered her hands and lowered her eyes. She set the small snake back on the ground and started twisting her hair again.

“... sorry.”

“What?” Alba’vida made a sound that was close to a laugh, then pulled Drepani to her chest, “no! No, I don’t be upset. I just be… amazed.”

She cupped Drepani’s cheeks in her hands, a smile crossing her lips, “when did my fen’di be getting so smart?”

All Drepani could do was giggle, wrapping her arms around her mother’s neck.

“Well? Is she going to be giving me an answer?”

“Nooooo.”

“So, I have to be tickling it out of her?”

“NOOOO!!”

Peals of laughter sounded throughout the jungle.

The huntress’ raptor had taken a liking to her little girl. The next time Alba’vida found her, Drepani was racing through the trees with a pack of raptors, Jashik close by her side.

“Fen’di!” her mother cried; but the young girl, high on adrenaline, laughed to the wind and picked up the pace. The raptors followed suit, running on either side of her, and eventually, they were racing along the beach.

Drepani didn’t quite have the stamina of the beasts she ran with - but when she was forced to stop, legs shaking, the raptors stopped with her. Jashik nudged his way closer to her side, churring at her in concern.

“Mm mm I be… okay,” Drepani panted, wiping sweat from her brow. She was leaning over her knees, trying to catch her breath, when voices caught her ear.

She looked up.

… eh?

There were other trolls. They were looking at the pack of raptors curiously, and Amita hugged close to Jashik’s side. A growl rumbled in the raptor’s throat, and he began to tap his feet impatiently.

Muuka never be saying anything about other trolls being on the island, Drepani felt betrayed. Why had her mother not told her about these other trolls? She could have made friends - maybe. She felt something uncomfortable building in her chest, like a bad feeling. Like a coiled snake that felt threatened.

As she moved closer to Jashik, she saw him.

A boy that looked to be her age, red hair loosely styled upward but too long to stay upright. He had blue-tinted skin, and from this distance, he looked like he had spots along his back. The large ears he had twitched.

His eyes were a beautiful, molten orange, like the sun. Drepani could feel her face growing warm. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

A clap of thunder made her gasp, and the other trolls scrambled amongst themselves. They were yelling. One of them grabbed the boy roughly by his arm, but his gaze was still fixed on her, until finally he was yanked away and the beach descended into chaos.

Drepani did not understand.

Jashik let out a fierce roar. The girl found herself swept onto his back. She clung to his neck with all her might as he led the pack of raptors swiftly back into the jungle, and undoubtedly, back to Alba’vida.

Clashing metal and screams of agony slowly became a distant sound.

She ran crying into her mother’s arms.

He was so… beautiful.

Black leathery skin that shone red in the light. Gold and silver decorations were on his body. There was no word for what they were or why he wore them. Bone spikes - at least, they looked like spikes, and they were colored like bones - stuck out from the plate on his chest, and the ones that ran along his spine, and lastly, the ones that spread out like a fan from the impressive helm on his head.

He tilted his head.

The feathers were red and orange and a weird blue color.

His eyes were white, but not pits. Not empty, full. Full of life.

He was calling to her.

Calling.

But it was a song that Drepani did not understand, and she sat up blearily, rubbing at her eyes, squinting at the mouth of the cave. Her small ears informed her that there were voices outside.

Excited, she lurched to her feet, tripping on the blankets. She landed flat on her face, yelping in surprise. The little girl picked herself right back up, racing out of the cave--

She caught sight of his back this time.

Drepani’s eager mind burned the image of the flower that danced along the right side of his body into her mind.

“What’d he bring me what’d he bring me!?”

“Drepani-- what be happening to your face?!” Alba’vida exclaimed, dropping to her knees. Excited, Drepani danced in place.

“What you be talkin’ ‘bout muuka?” she asked, looking for whatever it was the man had brought. Before, she had been too young to remember, and too young to recognize.

She just knew that whenever she heard another voice, she got something.

“You be bleeding!”

“Eh?” Drepani stuck her hand up to her face, drawing it away. Sure enough, there was a spec of red on the tip of her finger. She looked up at her mother, confused - then remembered.

“Ah!! I be fallin’ on muh-my face!” Drepani explained, rubbing under her nose, “I guess I be hittin’ my nose.”

Alba’vida sighed. She pulled Drepani over to the small bucket they had - it was filled with rain water. Wetting a cloth, the older woman wiped the dry blood away from Drepani’s face.

“Not only be my fen’di smart, but she be tough too,” Alba’vida smiled fondly, “good thing you be a troll.”

Drepani tilted her head, and her mother laughed, “we be healing easy. The bleeding already be stopping.”

“Yay!” Drepani beamed, “can I be havin’ my present now?”

Again, Alba’vida laughed, “oh, so demanding! But yes, you may be having it.”

It was a pendant, strung on a gold chain, with a raptor etched into it.

It’s eyes were white gems.

There was the song again. Drepani followed it for as long as she could, ears twitching this way and that.

She still couldn’t understand. The words were lost to her.

The raptor was there, standing in the middle of a pit of snakes. She went in fearlessly, patting several of the slithering beasts on the head when they reared up to look at her.

“You keep singing to me,” she said reaching up toward the raptor when she came to stand in front of him. He lowered his head, allowing her to run her little fingers over his snout.

Very suddenly, Drepani found it difficult to breathe. She fell over the large beast’s snout, shuddering gasps shaking her small frame. He lifted her up.

Drepani wanted to cry - but it was all so strange. She felt like her legs were becoming one leg, and that her arms were becoming part of her ribs; her hair seemed to harden, yet remained flexible, and when she tried to move, her new leg snapped from side to side.

She gasped loudly when she woke up.

Alba’vida’s hands were on her shoulders, horror written all over her face. The little girl could see tears gathering in her mother’s eyes.

“Drepani?” she moved one of her hands to wipe at her daughter’s face, “do you be okay?! Why you be crying in your sleep?”

Drepani shook her head, trying to catch her breath. She had two legs again. Her arms felt like they were boneless, but they were there all the same. Tears streamed down her face but not from fear or pain.

“I-I dunno’, muuka,” she wailed, burying her face in Alba’vida’s stomach, “I duh-don’ know!”

“Shh, shh,” Alba soothed, stroking her hand through Amita’s hair, “you be okay now. Muuka be here.”

Drepani rubbed her eyes, nodding her head. She shuffled closer to her mother.

“Do you be wanting to sleep with muuka?”

Again, Drepani nodded her head. Her mother hummed softly, and the two curled up next to Jashik.

This time, once Drepani closed her eyes and found herself in the jungle again, she was too afraid to go when the raptor sang to her.

The next morning was bright. Sun filtered through the canopy, and Drepani sat by a pile of wood, a decently sized ax in her hands. She’d just finished chopping the logs in half.

According to Muuka, it be important that I be strong, Drepani sighed, dropping the ax and wrapping her arms around her knees.

“I don’t just be wanting to be… to be strong!” she frowned, thinking back to the boy she’d seen. To the other trolls she’d seen. The memories left her chest feeling empty.

“I be wanting friends…”

Branches broke. Drepani jumped, her hand flying to the ax. She knew how to swing it. She could at least do some decent damage to whatever it was that was sneaking up on her, if not outright discourage the beast from approaching--

Bright green eyes widened when they fell on the raptor. He tilted his head at her, the gold and silver glinting in the sunlight that came through the trees. The feathers he had rustled in the wind.

The five year old dropped the ax.

Drepani hadn’t realized he was real. Astounded, she rose to her feet. Her legs trembled as she walked toward the massive beast, her emotions ebbing between fear and wonder. He lowered his head, grunting softly at her.

She reached up, placing shaking hands on his snout.

What sounded like a laugh reverberated through his chest. He nudged her.

A loud gasp made Drepani jerk her hands back; the raptor raised his head, eyes glittering. The little girl was fully ready to apologize profusely to her mother, but when she turned to look at the older woman, she had to stare.

Alba’vida was on her hands and knees. In fact, her face was pressed into the forest floor. And her arms were outstretched in front of her, palms up. Drepani didn’t fully understand the gesture.

When she turned back to the raptor, he was gone.

This was the first time the day in her dreams matched the time in her reality. Inky black, speckled with stars. Drepani could finally understand the song, and this time, finding the raptor only took her two steps and a sideways glance.

“Do you know who I am?”

The little girl turned to face him, eyes determined, “Gonk. You be Gonk.”

For a brief moment, she saw another form. He was tall, grinning broadly, his hair the same color as the features that adorned his headdress. Then it was gone, and Gonk threw his head back, chortling.

“Good! You know my name,” he strode toward her, lowering his head, “and you can hear my voice.”

As she had before, Drepani wrapped her arms around his snout - and, as had happened before, she felt herself go limp.

“Breathe, little one.”

She did.

“Remember this sensation. These melting bones and shifting muscles. You have potential. I wish to see you change with ease.”

It was difficult to breathe. She felt like her lungs were getting smaller. Her spine stretched nearly twice it’s normal length. The amount of ribs were deceptive in their increase.

In her dreams, Drepani slid easily through the jungle terrain.

And when she woke, her mother had already made the morning fire, smiling fondly at Drepani when she noticed her daughter was awake.

That Drepani hadn’t needed to wake to her mother shaking her, the little girl took as a good sign. She got up to go sit across from her mother, and asked more about the Loa.

Alba’vida began by telling her more about Gonk.

Yet another year passed. Drepani learned to slither amongst the bushes on her belly like the snakes she so adored did. They came at her call and went where she asked. She, as a cobra, was oddly bigger than they were, but still small enough to not be considered a complete anomaly.

She continued to receive dreams from Gonk. He taught her how to fight in her small cobra form. Lunges, tail strikes, tail jabs; when to use her venom filled fangs and when to rely on the other teeth. Drepani had even learned how to wrap her body tightly around necks to suffocate her foes, all the while assaulting their faces with her fangs. The motions were ripping, meant to tear through flesh and sinew. When she had to, she would thrash.

Gonk even told her that as she grew bigger, so too would her cobra form.

“Drepani,” he said while they stared out at the dreamy night sky, moments before Drepani felt the pricks of consciousness, “things will happen to you that you will question. Please, don’t ever lose faith in me. There will be a reason to the pain. If it makes you angry, you know where to find me.”

Of course the young girl had no real idea what the Loa meant, but before she could ask him any questions about it, she had awoken. Her mother didn’t question her daughter’s increased interest in the Loa, nor did she question Drepani’s obvious interest in Gonk. The huntress seemed to expect it.

Before long, Drepani was hunting with Jashik. She managed to keep her cobra form a secret from her mother, deciding that whatever she was being taught how to do was between her and the Loa, I don’t want muuka to be getting worried, either.

The words Gonk had spoken to her, about not losing her faith, about coming to him if she was angry about the events of her life, were soon replaced by Drepani’s excitement.

At the very least, her mother was suspicious of this little cobra that had grown so attached to her, but the huntress never spoke to Drepani about it when she was a cobra, nor when she was in her troll form. She never questioned Drepani’s increased endurance or the fact that she could dash through the jungles at the same speed as the raptors.

Truly, the only thing that Alba’vida appeared to be was proud.

Drepani took advantage of her newfound abilities. She slunk around where the other trolls were - once she had figured out exactly where that was - usually when dusk was falling. There was just enough light for Drepani to see by, and just enough darkness for her to hide in the shadows. She knew the route home by heart, and navigating the jungle floor in the dark was easier than she’d ever imagined it to be.

Her fourth time investigating the sprawling beach village, she saw the red-haired boy again. Without thinking, she sat coiled right under a lamp, watching him. The sounds of thunder and clashing metal came back to her, but for whatever reason,  her heart soared at the knowledge that he had survived.

He was sitting next to a rather important looking fellow, though his eyes were half-closed in boredom. A girl sat next to him - she looked older, and had strength in her arms, similar to Drepani’s mother.

Hm… do they be related? the small cobra flicked her tongue, and raised herself a little. The warm lamp felt nice on her scales, no…. No they don’t be related. They be looking too different--!

“AH!!” the girl had lurched to her feet, eyes wide and set right on Drepani. The cobra froze, and then released a startled hiss. She threw herself to the side right as the other girl lunged for her.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed next, and Drepani began to slither as fast as she could down the beach, “wait! Come back here you lil’ thing!”

“An’jen!” the new cry sounded exasperated, and Drepani darted right between the legs of someone quite tall, “leave it be!”

“Oh that be so easy for you to say, Vanira!” the sand next to Drepani flew everywhere. She reared, jaw wide, loud hiss erupting from her throat. The sound, at least, startled the young huntress, and Drepani was quickly on her way again, eyes intent on the jungle.

“Ooooh no!! Nooo! It be gettin’ away!”

“An’jen, really, leave it be!”

“Vaniraaa I can’t just be leavin’ it! Did you see how pretty it be!? Those black scales, that vibrant underbelly, the bigger size than normal-- ah!”

Drepani shifted out of the cobra form, heart racing, and scaled a nearby tree. She climbed until she was hidden amongst the leaves. The huntress - An’jen, Drepani supposed her name was - looked furiously around the bushes.

“No… it just be disappearing…” the pout on her face was so comical that it made the other children who had come dashing over laugh, “don’t you be laughin’!”

The boy with red hair had his hand on the trunk of the tree Drepani had scampered up. She did her best not to stare at him. There was something different about him, and she was afraid that if she stared, he would notice her.

“It be because you be so loud, An’jen,” a younger girl chastised. She had her hands planted on her hips. Drepani squinted at them all. It was difficult for her to make out their features, much less the colors of their skin and hair.

“Huh!” An’jen crossed her arms over her chest, frowning, “fine. Mebbe. I guess that don’t be how I should be goin’ about tamin’ a cobra… but! When was the last time you ever be seein’ a cobra on First Home!”

“Not that common,” this time the red-haired boy spoke. Drepani allowed herself to glance at him.

He was looking right at her, the slightest smirk pulling at his lips.

“I be thinkin’ she climbed.”

“She?” the others piped up, and to Drepani’s dismay, they were all looking up the tree now, various curious gazes searching for her. She stayed as still as she could.

“Yeah. I think she be… right there,” and he pointed.

Drepani jumped to her feet, raced out along the branch, and leapt.

Her impact with the trunk of the next tree winded her, but she scrabbled at the bark with all of her claws, refusing to let herself drop. All of the other children had yelped in surprise - and the girls, in worry -  and Drepani pulled herself up onto another branch, terrified.

I thought you be wanting friends.

She was finding it difficult to stabilize her breathing, which had grown frantic. The other kids had already gathered around the new tree, and Drepani was pushed to wobble precariously on the new branch, before she leapt for the next tree. This time, she managed to catch a branch, and it was easier to pull herself onto it.

I do be wanting friends!!

Drepani clawed her way higher into the new tree, swatting at a few insects that were disturbed by her presence.

Then why do you be running?

The thought made Drepani pause. When she looked down, the young huntress called An’jen was starting to climb the tree she was in, while the other kids gathered around. Her heart still hammered in her chest, and she could feel the most unnerving gaze--

“Hey, you be waitin’ just a second--!”

“AN’JEN!”

The snarl made the huntress drop back to the ground. The other kids moved to hide behind her, almost, and Drepani watched in mild interest. An’jen’s ears were pinned back. Only the red-haired boy seemed unperturbed, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. The unnerving gaze was removed from Drepani’s person, and she focused on listening to the conversation instead.

“Chaako.”

“What do you think you be doing?”

“I be lookin’ for a cobra,” An’jen replied, sticking her chin out, “then the cobra be disappearin’.”

“And you think it be perfectly fine to be putting everyone in danger?”

“I didn’t!” the huntress snapped, balling her hands into fists, “I be havin’ my dagger! I could be protectin’ them!”

“And if a tiger be showing up, what then, hm?” a large male appeared in Drepani’s line of sight, and she kept her gaze fixed on the children. He looked imposing, and aggressive, and Drepani decided she didn’t like him.

“On top of that, the chieftain’s son be with you,” he grabbed An’jen roughly by her bicep, and started dragging her off, but not before shoving the red-haired boy ahead of him, “if anything be happening to him, An’jen… that will be something I will be making sure you regret.”

Drepani hurriedly shifted into a cobra, and slithered down the tree while the children followed the older troll.

It was the best time to make her escape.

“Hrm…” Drepani tapped her tail against her mouth. It had been a few days since she had nearly been snatched by the young huntress. She hadn’t forgotten the name.

Murlocs, however, were busy distracting the young girl’s attention. She had recently discovered that the strange frog-like creatures her mother had warned her to steer clear of would run in fear at the sight of her cobra form.

A shudder ran down her spine.

Drepani could only assume that the reason the murlocs feared her cobra form, was due to their fear of the naga. Alba’vida hadn’t told her too much about the large snake-people with their many arms, but what Drepani did learn led her to understand why the murlocs feared them so. Her mother had told her that the nagas enslaved the murlocs, and made the strange tadpole creatures do whatever they wanted. That the naga did the same to the trolls, and sacrificed them too.

In the distance, Drepani heard her mother call her name. She slithered into the bushes and emerged standing on her two feet, picking leaves and pieces of sticks out of her hair.

“I be here, muuka!” the girl announced, fiddling with the raptor pendant around her neck.

“Oh! There you be,” Alba’vida smiled. Her expression was tired. Drepani frowned. She approached her mother as the older woman knelt down by some kindling, intending to start a fire.

Drepani cupped her mother’s face in her hands, brows furrowed. Alba’vida stared at her, confused.

“Muuka?”

“Yes, fen’di?”

“Do you be okay?”

A startled look crossed Alba’vida’s features, and Drepani fixed her with the most intense stare her large eyes could manage.

“Muuka is just tired, Drepani.”

The little girl pouted, but accepted her mother’s words when the elder woman gave her another tired smile and patted her hands, “now, let’s be having some dinner.”

I don’t be convinced, Drepani maintained her slight frown, ears twitched down. She helped her mother finish preparing for supper regardless.

Night fell; morning came. Drepani hunted with her mother and Jashik, but this time, not as a cobra. Alba’vida had whittled a small staff for her daughter. Along with it, she had given Drepani a small dagger.

Drepani’s first attempt at skinning a rabbit could have been worse.

Ewwww, she wrinkled her nose at the fleshy skins, while Alba’vida could only laugh, it be so gross!

“Muuka it be gross!” she announced, holding the skins out as far as she could. Alba’vida could only shake her head.

“It be your first time trying, Drepani,” Alba’vida smiled adoringly, but the tiredness that Drepani had seen yesterday was still in her dark gaze, “you will be getting better at it, with time.”

Drepani could only make a huge fuss, and Alba’vida showed the young troll again how to skin a rabbit. Next, she was shown how to prepare the meat, and finally, Alba’vida had Drepani start a fire on her own.

This became the new supper ritual, until one day, Drepani was sent on her own with Jashik.

“You be keeping her safe, Jashik,” Alba’vida ordered, holding Jashik’s head firmly in her hands, “you be bringing her back.”

The raptor chortled at her while Drepani clung to her staff nervously. This was the first time her mother had sent her to hunt on her own, maybe I can be doing it as a cobra.

“M-muuka?”

Alba’vida turned to her, a smile on her older face, “don’t you be worrying, fen’di. Muuka will be nearby, always.”

Drepani shakily nodded her head, and with one hand on Jashik’s leg, she went off into the jungle on her own. She’d done this multiple times. She ran wild with the raptors. She scaled the trees, she slithered through the underbrush, yet here she was, scared to hunt on her own with only her small dagger, a wooden staff, and her mother’s faithful beast.

And if muuka is gonna’ be nearby… then I can’t be turnin’ into a cobra, she pouted. Perhaps it was for the better. She had to get better at hunting without relying on her. Drepani twisted her fingers in one of Jashik’s decorative bead strings. The raptor churred at her, and lowered his head to look her in the eye. Drepani leaned her forehead against his.

For a moment, she could almost understand him.

It gave her the confidence she needed. Drepani climbed onto Jashik’s back, and rode him toward the beaches. It was the best place to find turtles, after all, and Drepani knew Alba’vida liked their meat, and their shells could be used for dishes - plus, they were, in Drepani’s opinion, a good choice of prey on her first venture on her own, nice and slow. I just be needing to, um, be careful of their mouths!

Soon, her dagger was cutting deep into the back of a turtle’s neck. It was one of the pretty flat ones, and while Drepani felt bad, she was grateful that it’s struggling was quickly ended by a swift jab to the skull. Jashik crouched patiently while the small girl struggled to get the turtle tied securely to his back.

She chased smaller turtles through the water, and was successful in scaring one to the beach. She kicked it onto its back, this time slitting its throat. After that, she slumped on the ground, sighing.

“Aaah, huntin’ be so hard, Jashik,” she groaned, rubbing the raptor under the chin when he lowered his head to chur at her, “how muuka be doin’ it? I can be doin’ it better as a cobra…”

A shiver ran down her spine and she hesitantly looked over her shoulder - then up and down the beach. There were no murlocs that she could see. Birds still circled in the air.

Another shiver ran down her spine and Drepani snatched up the smaller turtle, gripping it tightly by the neck. She had been hoping to get another one, but the chill that was settling in the air made her stomach flip flop and her heart pound.

“Jashik, we need to be goin’,” she urged, standing between the large raptor’s legs. She kept up with him as best she could - but Loa! It would be so much easier if she could just turn into a cobra and weave between his feet like she so often did--

The raptor swerved. His bulky tail slammed into something solid, and it released an enraged, snarling hiss. Drepani dropped the turtle in her hands when she threw herself to the side. Jashik screeched.

The naga snarled back.

She didn’t think. She couldn’t. Jashik had too much weight on his back to put up much of a fight.

Drepani was lunging at the naga’s arm, mouth wide, fangs bared. Her sudden change startled the naga, but he was still able to hit her away with his forearm. She rolled over the sand, growling, and reared up, racing across the sand toward the naga again. Her side hurt a little. It was easy to ignore.

This time, she lunged for the fins lining the naga’s back; she ripped and tore at them, slithering into the underbrush to make it difficult for him to spot her, and then darting out from behind a tree, lowering herself to the ground so she could sprint toward him. She turned sharply at the last moment, dragging her tail across the ground. Sand sprayed into the naga’s eyes, and he yelled, swiping at his face. Jashik rammed his head into the naga’s chest, knocking him down.

And arrows riddled his body.

Panicked, Drepani retreated back into the jungle.

“Drepani!!”

Of course she recognized her mother’s voice, but she hid in the bushes anyway, camouflaging herself amongst the brush. The huntress stumbled into view, looking about frantically. Jashik appeared soon after with the small turtle Drepani had dropped clutched delicately in his mouth.

“Drepani!? Drepani!” her mother called, clutching her bow so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

She’s going to be mad at me, Drepani tried to slither backwards, but it was difficult. It wasn’t something she had practiced often enough.

After several more seconds of frantically calling her daughter’s name, Alba’vida calmed. She closed her eyes, and Drepani watched as small green wisps of magic danced about her mother’s fingers.

Her sharp gaze was fixed on Drepani soon enough.

“You can be using stealth…” the woman said in wonder, taking a breath to steady herself. She sat back on her calves, taking another breath, and then wiping at her face.

“I know you be there, fen’di. Come here.”

Guiltily, Drepani slithered out of the bushes. She rose up, hood flared for a brief moment, letting her mother appraise her - then she turned back into a troll in a flash of bluish-white. She fiddled with the bottom of her skirt, finding it difficult to hold her mother’s gaze.

“Come here.”

Hesitantly Drepani went. She could only think of all the reprimanding she was going to receive.

But of course Alba’vida was not upset. She jerked Drepani into her arms, holding her close. Drepani was startled.

“Thank the Loa…” Alba’vida said, her voice weak, “I can’t be believing it… all this time, you be the cobra.”

Drepani nodded her head, wrapping her arms around her mother’s neck. She sniffled, now that the adrenaline had worn off and the fact that she had been attacked by a naga sunk in. Her arms wound more tightly around Alba’vida, and in turn, Alba’vida’s arms wound more tightly around her.

No other words were exchanged. Alba carried Drepani back to the cave, where she watched as Drepani took apart the turtles herself.

She was seven.

This dream was different.

Gonk wasn’t here to show her any magic, Drepani knew that by how similar the cave she had ‘woken up’ in was compared to the cave she had fallen asleep in.

“Follow me,” he said, his voice deep, tone serious.

“I have something very important to show you.”

Though she was frightened, Drepani shifted into a cobra and followed the Loa. He had told her to have faith in him, after all. She felt that, right now, this was one of the ways she could show him she had this thing he called faith.

And this was the first time other trolls had appeared in Drepani’s dream.

The first troll she recognized as her mother. Alba’vida’s sunset hair was impossible to miss.

The second troll had a face shrouded in shadows, but the tattoos that crept over the right side of his body were familiar to her. She’d committed them to memory a mere year ago, the first time she had caught a glimpse of him. Drepani wanted to dart out and wrap herself around his ankle and never let go.

Gonk stopped her.

“I want to be a part of her life.”

“No,” Alba’vida’s voice was harsh. She had her arms crossed over her chest. The man balled his hands into fists, and in the shadow on his face green eyes burned with a rage Drepani couldn’t name.

“You cannot be keeping her from me like this. You cannot be keeping me from her. She be deserving to know me. And I be wanting to know her.”

Drepani jolted and pressed herself against Gonk’s leg when her mother slammed her fist against the male’s chest. He was hardly bothered by it, and Alba choked on a breath.

“Why can’t you be understanding?! Do you be having any idea how it will be reflecting on your reputation?! You be one of the most important men in the tribe, and I be nothing more than a lowly huntress! You cannot be seen with me, and no one can be knowing that you be having a child by me!”

The man snarled, and Drepani could only stare.

Her father.

The tattooed man was her father.

The one who brought her the raptor necklace that she still wore, he was her father - right?

“The decision you be making be most unwise,” he spoke through his teeth, and Alba’vida drew back. Even in the dream, Drepani found herself shaking from the waves of raw magic that rolled off of him.

“She be needing her father, and I be getting impatient. You won’t be able to be keeping her from me forever, Alba’vida. She needs to know that I be here for her.”

He kept saying he was Drepani’s father. So he had to be.

“I be making sure she can take care of herself!” Alba snapped, taking several steps away but never turning her back to him, “she can be hunting, she can fight, she can even be turning into a snake! Not that I be teaching her that.”

“Her magic be from me; you be knowing this.”

Alba’vida was silent. The man’s eyes flashed again, and this time, they nearly lit up his entire face.

“You may be teaching her how to be fending for herself, Alba, but if she be with the tribe, then she could be learning in safety. She could be learning with others, she could be having friends, and you be having no right to rob this from her for the sake of my reputation. I think I be humoring you long enough, out of respect for what you wanted, but I be putting my foot down, Alba’vida. She be my daughter too.”

Abruptly, Drepani awoke. She sat up in the cave, breathing heavily. Her palms were sweaty.

What be with that conversation…? Drepani thought to herself, wrapping her arms around herself. It made her nervous, why would muuka… not be wanting me to be with chaako? If… if he really be my chaako…

Drepani shook her head. No. He couldn’t be - could he? Again, she reminded herself that he kept on saying that he was her father. So he had to be.

She hugged herself more tightly. Drepani didn’t understand why Gonk showed her the conversation. Why would it have been important.

There was a sigh from outside. Drepani hesitantly got to her feet, shivering in the morning cold, and walked out to see her mother sitting at the firepit, as she normally did.

She looked tired.

Because she be meeting that man at night?

Drepani swallowed. Her arms fell down lifelessly to her sides. Her mother was tired because she kept on having heated conversations with that man at night.

She took a breath;

“Muuka, you aren’t going to be leaving me, are you?”

Alba’vida gasped, turning her head to look at the small girl. Drepani stared at her with wide, scared eyes.

The huntress swiftly approached Drepani, dropping down to her height and hugging the girl in one swift motion.

“No,” the word was firm, “I will never be leaving you, not by choice - but if something ever be happening to me, Drepani, I be wanting to make sure you can be taking care of yourself. I can never be knowing what will be happening in these jungles; you can never be knowing.”

She held Drepani tightly by the shoulders, and the girl sniffed, rubbing at her eyes.

“You need to be understanding this. You have no idea how much comfort it be bringing your muuka to be knowing that her fen’di can turn into a cobra and be defending herself. I wish I could be helping you with your magic more, but it seems you be finding someone to teach you, no?”

Drepani nodded her head, still sniffling, and mumbled, “Gonk.”

Alba’vida pulled Drepani back into a tight embrace, with Jashik nuzzling both of them as he huffed.

Perhaps she hadn’t needed to tell Alba’vida that Gonk had been her teacher, but the last thing that Drepani wanted was for her mother to think that Drepani had snuck off back to the tribe that the huntress seemed so determined to keep her away from.

Even if there was a man there who wanted Drepani to know he was there for her.

Even if Drepani got her magical inclination from him.

Even if Drepani desperately wanted to know him.

Another year passed. Drepani could shift seamlessly between her troll and cobra forms. She’d gotten brave enough to slither through the sprawling Darkspear village in broad daylight, under the guise of her stealth. She avoided leaving tracks where she could.

From the distance, she would watch the other trolls - and one troll in particular, the boy with the red hair, who was always accompanied by two adults. They always looked dangerous, fully armored, weapons not far.

Sometimes, they would stand off to the side and let the boy play - and train - with whom Drepani assumed to be his friends, especially the boy with white hair. It was usually braided.

Alba’vida didn’t question when Drepani came back to the cave with her hair haphazardly braided, or haphazardly done up in a high tail. She merely laughed, and taught her daughter how to do it properly.

On top of that, Drepani had started waking up before her mother did, going out to hunt down breakfast. Sometimes, she managed to bring back her kill before her mother even woke up, and she would always swell with pride when she had breakfast hot and ready for her mother when Alba’vida walked out of the cave.

Drepani was eight.

She stood at the mouth of the cave that her mother had turned into a home. Blankets, pillows, baskets, utensils, crude weapons, makeshift armor… Drepani had been taught how to make it all. Some things were gifts. She fiddled with the raptor pendant that hung around her neck. The jewellery was the one thing she had never taken off, except for when she hunted.

“Muuka?” she found herself asking, running back out to her mother. The huntress was busy restringing her bow, but she gave her daughter her attention all the same.

“Yes, Drepani?”

“Can you be piercing my ears?”

Alba’vida snorted, “what! She be wanting her ears pierced!”

Drepani pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, “muuka has pierced ears!! So do a lot of the other children…”

Alba’vida’s expression fell, “you… is that where you always be going?”

She didn’t sound surprised.

“I think it be obvious, muuka… I be learnin’ things!! Like dancin’,” and to demonstrate, Drepani twirled, and did her best to bounce her hips like she’d seen the other girls do. Alba’vida simply stared at her - and then, to Drepani’s amazement, released a sigh of relief. She heard the huntress mutter under her breath that she was glad her daughter could learn from observation.

“Okay,” Alba’vida motioned in front of herself, “you be sitting here, fen’di. Muuka will pierce your ears.”

Drepani was so excited that she didn’t even feel the pricks when her mother stabbed the thin bone needle through her ears, two in each lobe.

Half-way through the year, and Drepani had still to be noticed by the Darkspear - but every now and then, she would feel that unnerving gaze. She had finally deduced that the gaze did not come from the red-haired boy because when she felt the weight of this unknown stare, he was not looking in her direction.

One thing that always be gettin’ on my nerves though!! Is I can never be seemin’ to be learnin’ his name, no matter how hard I be tryin’!!

She huffed, slithering up to the cave and sliding right into her troll form. Her clothes needed adjusting again. Her mother had resorted to making her a poncho of sorts, and Drepani, well, she loved the covering. It was beautifully decorated, kept the sun off her shoulders so she was less likely to get burned, and it was the easiest item for Alba’vida to adjust.

Drepani was growing far more quickly than Alba’vida seemed to like. Drepani had noticed the small things herself. Her hips seemed to be sticking out more, and her… chest was growing outward. Not by much, but Drepani noticed whenever she was washing herself.

“Muuka! I be back,” she announced, flouncing into the cave. Alba’vida sat up, yawning. Drepani planted her hands on her hips, “you be havin’ an afternoon nap!!”

“Mm yes-- did you be growing, again?” the woman inquired, staring at Drepani with furrowed brows. Drepani tipped her head back proudly.

“Yes! I be growin’ again!”

Alba’vida grumbled, and all Drepani could do was giggle.

“You only be eight and a half, you should not be getting this tall! Ah, fen’di… you be growing up so fast,” she smiled fondly as she got to her feet, cupping Drepani’s cheek in her hand, “but I don’t think muuka could be any prouder.”

Drepani beamed.

This was definitely not the first time Drepani was walking into the cave - but it was cold. The air was thick with the promise of rain. Even the animals in the jungle were quieter than they had been in the previous nights.

Summer was being pushed out by the coming autumn storms, and Drepani felt a heavy weight in her stomach. The young girl didn’t like it. She clutched one hand over her gut and gripped her pendant tightly with the other.

She rushed back out to where her mother sat at the fire pit, her expression as grim as the sky above. Drepani threw her arms around Alba’vida’s neck, startled the older woman, whose voice was muffled against the fabric of Drepani’s poncho;

“Fen’di--”

“Muuka, I love you.”

Alba’vida was silent - then, her arms wrapped around Drepani tightly, and she pulled her daughter closer.

“I love you too, Drepani.”

She kissed her mother on the forehead, who in turn placed one on her cheek, and Drepani walked uneasily into the cave and to her nest of blankets and pillows.

Her dream was eerily silent, with Gonk doing nothing but staring off into the distance. Drepani sat next to him, staring into the stars as well - but they were hard to see. They were shrouded by clouds that moved too swiftly across the sky.

It wasn’t until the sun in her dream began to rise, that the Loa spoke, his voice low and words full of weight;

“Please, don’t ever lose faith in me.”

She woke up alone.

Rain, heavy rain, poured outside. The fire pit was empty, save for the few things that the pair would leave out. Drepani stared into the falling rain, terrified.

“Muuka?” she ventured, leaning against the side of the cave. There was no response.

“Muuka?!” she tried again, this time louder. Still, there was no response.

“Juh-Jashik!” Drepani called the raptor this time.

Neither appeared.

Scared, Drepani darted back into the cave. She kept her dagger close, and piled up all her pillows, wrapping herself up in both her poncho and blankets. It was for warmth, but also to conceal her; to make her look like just another pillow amongst pillows.

She knew where there was food. Her fear kept her confined to the same spot.

The rain stopped.

It was already night.

Still, Alba’vida and Jashik had not returned.

Drepani shivered. She had been standing at the mouth of the cave for over an hour. She had gathered some nearby rocks while the storm was still above, and made a fire pit inside the cave.

The fire hardly offered her any comfort when she moved to sit in front of it.

“Muuka?” she spoke to the cave, her lips quivering, “why wouldn’t you be lettin’ me stay with the Darkspear?”

A soft breeze answered her.

“Muuka, I really be wantin’ to know chaako. What he be like? Do he be nice? I think Gonk be showin’ me him once, but you be arguin’ with him.”

The trees rustled.

“Muuka, did you not love chaako?”

Shadows danced over the walls of the cave. Drepani could feel tears gathering in her eyes.

“Muuka?” she inhaled shakily, her voice soft, “do… do you love me?”

Silence.

Drepani cried herself to sleep, hugging her knees to her chest.

Alba’vida and Jashik had still not returned.

Drepani could hardly move herself to eat. By the middle of the day, she finally left the cave.

“I better… I better be havin’ somethin’ before I be goin’ huntin’,” she rubbed at her eyes. They felt sore and puffy, “probably from me cryin’ so much last night, ha ha…”

A quiet sob left her, and she managed to squeeze a few more tears out of her dry eyes, “muuka…”

She splashed cold rain water on her face, and brought some to her lips. Her mother had taught her better than to wallow in gloom. Alba’vida had said that she wanted to make sure Drepani could take care of herself, if something ever happened…

Drepani bit her lip, fighting against her tears this time. She strapped her dagger to her thigh, and began to trek through the jungle. Should she go to the beach and get a turtle? Or perhaps a few fish?

“No, I didn’t be bringin’ my rod…” she sighed, rubbing her hand over her forearm, “then a boar be better…”

Hopefully, she could find one small enough to drag back home.

Minutes passed. The young troll came to a clearing--

A branch snapped. Drepani froze, hand poised over her dagger. She had opted not to wear her poncho today, and the sun above beat down on her shoulders and back.

It was too quiet.

Something was stalking her.

Drepani threw herself forward, exhaling heavily when she hit the ground. She rolled to her right just in time to avoid getting her chest crushed by large paws.

A cry of fear died in her throat when she found herself face to face with a snarling, full grown tiger.

Shifting into a cobra, Drepani made a dash for the bushes - but her tail was caught by the tiger’s paw, and she was yanked back. She spat a hiss, rearing up and striking at the tiger’s head several time, eyes wide.

With ease the tiger swatted her to the side; Drepani shifted back into her troll form. She thought of climbing a tree, but with a yelp she was forced back into the clearing. The tiger had charged at her side.

While she had dodged its paw, the tiger’s long claws dug into her thigh. She bit her lip against screaming in pain. Alba’vida had always praised her for her toughness.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. A young tiger, she could fight, but a full grown adult?

It would be just as well that she would die on her first day without her mother by her side.

Tears fled down her cheeks. Anger. Despair. She clutched her dagger tightly in her hands, baring her teeth at the beast in front of her.

At least no one could say she went down without a fight.

The tiger lunged at her and Drepani shifted into a cobra, sliding right under it. Its tail grazed her back, and she shifted into a troll again, never letting the tiger out of her sight. Her absolute best course of action was to do everything she could to tire it out - or better, prove herself to be unworthy of the effort. Prey that fought back was better left alone.

She slashed at the tiger’s paw when it made to strike her again. It’s claws caught her cheek. The cuts on her thigh were already beginning to close. She held her dagger tightly in her hands, huffing and puffing.

Control your breathing, just like muuka be teaching you.

Drepani pivoted to the left, and the tiger snarled. It seemed intent on her. She clutched her dagger even more tightly. Her hands were beginning to shake.

This time, when the tiger lunged, Drepani slipped. Before she could cry out, a familiar shriek resounded through the area. Streaks of aqua flew through Drepani’s vision, backed by a dark canvas of black scales.

She burst into loud weeping, dropping her dagger, and sunk to her knees, crying into her hands.

Jashik clamped his jaws over the tiger’s throat and violently trashed, killing it within seconds. He was snuffling at her hair in the next moment, churring in worry, and even ran his hooked fingers through her long hair. Drepani wrapped her arms around his snout and pressed her face as hard as she could into his scaly forehead.

The raptor flopped onto the ground, huffing comforting breaths into Amita’s chest. For several minutes the beast and the girl lay in the grass, warmed by the sun.

“Jashik…” Drepani sobbed, running her fingers along the raptor’s eye ridges, “Jashik… you be coming back…”

He seemed to nod his head in affirmation, and made Drepani laugh through her tears at his attempt to wrap his arms around her. It was difficult for him, but, Jashik managed.

All too soon Jashik was struggling to his feet. He butted Drepani with his snout, encouraging her to stand up. She fingered her cheek while Jashik grabbed the tiger by the neck.

“... good, I don’t be bleedin’,” she sniffed, nodded to herself, and wiped away what remained of her tears. Next, she stooped to pick up her dagger, wiped what she could of tiger blood off the blade, and put it back in its sheath.

Jashik lowered himself so that Drepani could climb onto his back, like she always had. The trudge back to the cave was long due to the weight of the tiger, but Drepani didn’t care. She pressed herself against Jashik’s neck, relishing in the warmth his scales provided after he had been in the sun.

This must have been her mother’s answer.

Despite having heard her mother say it to her just the other night, when Alba’vida was still there.

“Muuka be sendin’ you back to me,” Drepani whispered, running her hands along the raptor’s neck. A sad smile crossed her lips. She traced the lines of the bright war paints that decorated Jashik’s neck.

“Muuka be sendin’ you back as an answer.”

The raptor churred in agreement.

Skinning the tiger took up the rest of Drepani’s day. While the job wasn’t perfect, she had enough of the pelt intact to make a blanket out of, once it was cleaned and properly tanned - she could even make it into clothing, if she liked.

“But I can be decidin’ on that later, no?” she said to Jashik, who chortled. Drepani smiled, then set about cleaning the bones. The meat was next. She portioned it out, setting aside some to make into jerky; some she seasoned for her dinner.

The rest, she let Jashik have. He was ravenous, and ate everything she didn’t make use of. Drepani was grateful for it. It saved her the trouble of needing to dig a hole far from the cave to bury the guts.

“They never be somethin’ I be likin’,” she muttered to herself, laughing softly when Jashik gave her a look of disapproval, as if the raptor were personally offended by her comment.

At least she didn’t have to sleep alone in the cave tonight.

For a long while, Drepani lay awake, staring at Jashik’s content face. He was half curled around her, chest rising and falling with steady breaths. The little nest she had made had never felt so warm.

Shooting stars were everywhere. They lit up the sky, leaving Drepani to stare at them in wonder before she hurried to the cliff. The sun was already beginning to rise in her dream. She wondered when it was that she had fallen asleep.

Gonk was waiting for her, as he always did, singing his song. When her small hands reached for his face, he lowered it so she could wrap her fingers around his jaw.

Drepani’s eyes were wide with hope, “she… she never left me, did she?”

Gonk shook his head, a smile lighting up his white eyes, “no, she is with you. Always.”

Drepani’s eyes closed in relief. She leaned her forehead against Gonk’s snout, and felt the prickles of consciousness pulling at her mind.

“I too, am with you. Always.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

The little girl stared groggily at Jashik. He was still fast asleep - so she shuffled closer to his chest, and placed her ear against his ribs.

Jashik’s heartbeat was a lullaby, and Drepani was sung back into a peaceful sleep.

Thank you for reading!! I really hope you enjoyed it... I hope the next chapter won’t be nearly as long as this (or maybe it will be - who knows), but with this one I had to get Amita (or well.. Drepani //SNORT) from age like 0 to 8. The next few chapters will be split more evenly into one year and/or two years. So yeah!! This entire origin story should end up being around 18 chapters or so long.

I also might go back and edit how Amita’s thoughts are shown (as in, ‘having them between two apostrophes like this’ as opposed to them looking similar to how her dreams are by being straight up in italics). I HAVE to go to bed though, I work tomorrow and my body is NOT going to be happy with me if I stay up any longer.

Also, I really hope I got Kat’s characters right... //SWEATS AND WHEEZES;;;

CHAPTER 3 Coup de Foudre def. “A sudden unforeseen event, in particular an instance of love at first sight.”

The sea breeze was pleasant.

Magic twirled across the sands, draping itself over the young troll’s form. His ears flicked when the breeze tickled them.

Soft giggling reached him, and immediately Vol was focused on his surroundings, a smile pulling incessantly at his lips. He counted in his head.

One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three--

Right as he felt water lick at his spine, the boy somersaulted backwards, delivering a solid kick to the chest of his assailant. Then, Vol pushed himself up on his hands, and started running along the beach. Sand kicked up with every push up his hands against the fine grains. There was something magical about how it was firm and soft all at once under his palms.

A gust of wind sent him spilling onto the sand. Laughter escaped him even as he was winded by the fall.

“You rascal!” Zalazane shrieked, standing over Vol once the red-haired boy had rolled himself onto his back. He was covered in sand - but Zalazane was covered with water, red blossoming between his eyes.

“That’s what you be gettin’ for trying to pour water on me! And I don’t even be knowing what that be meaning, Zal,” Vol mused, a stupid grin spreading across his face, “you gotta’ stop using such big words all the time!”

Zalazane scowled, “it don’t even be close to being a big word,” he snapped, “and maybe you should be paying more attention in your studies! Then you might be knowing what I be talking about half’o the time--!!”

The young witch doctor scuffed at the sand when Vol rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you be rolling your eyes at me, son of Sen’jin!”

Vol lurched to his feet and grabbed Zalazane around the waist. He tackled his friend to the ground, where they grappled for nearly a minute. Vol won, in the end, after getting Zalazane into a leglock. Zalazane flailed his arms.

“I yield, I yield!!”

Vol laughed, releasing his friend’s foot, “you know you’re never gonna’ beat me in a physical fight, Zal.”

Zalazane pouted; Vol got to his feet. He held his hand out to his friend; Zalazane accepted the offer, and allowed the red haired boy to pull him up.

“Why you always be actin’ like you don’t be smart, Vol?” he asked unexpectedly. Vol blinked at him, then looked off to the side. Shame crept up his throat. He did what he could to swallow it.

“Cuz being the son of the chieftain be stressful enough. Sometimes, I wanna’ be dumb, Zal. There don’t be nothing wrong with that.”

Zalazane sighed, an apologetic smile crossing his lips. He patted Vol on the arm, “I be understandin’. You wanna’ be a kid too, yeah? Lots of expectations be on your shoulders.”

“Yeah,” Vol grinned, jostling Zalazane with his shoulder, “that’s what I be having you for. The only friend of mine who let’s me be dumb.”

This time, Zalazane was the one who rolled his eyes. For a while, the two fell into silence, simply enjoying the gentle breeze. Zalazane began to walk back to the village center after appraising Vol. In turn, Vol shifted his gaze to the jungles.

Again, he felt that curious gaze.

I wonder if it be belonging to her, he thought, squinting at the tangle of roots and brush, I wonder if she be hearing that thunder too.

Vol had never been able to explain it.

Never once had it crossed his mind that there could be other trolls living in the vast island jungle.

He was hardly five years old the first time he remembered seeing her. The thunder had clapped seconds after they locked eyes, and then there had been lightning. As far as Vol knew, lightning always came before thunder.

Master Gadrin had grabbed Vol roughly by the arm and whisked him away to safety, while the little girl he had seen was swept into the jungle by a herd of raptors. He’d pushed her to the back of his mind incidentally, his boyish mind preoccupied with other things, like hunting frogs.

The second time he saw her was when An’jen had gone wild chasing after an elusive cobra. Vol had looked up into the branches of the tree the cobra had “disappeared” at and seen shining green eyes looking down at them. She’d been so hasty to get away when he had spotted her, and Vol would be a liar if he claimed that his ability to locate her filled him with perhaps too much pride.

There hadn’t been any thunder that time, though, and soon enough An’jen’s chaako was herding all the kids back to the village.

She be so acrobatic, he recalled, a smile creeping over his lips. His feet led him toward the jungle, jumped from one tree to another. Like she’d been doing that since she be a baby.

The third time he had seen her, he realized that she was, in fact, the cobra that An’jen so desperately wanted to tame.

It hadn’t crossed his mind initially. Vol had been groggy from being knocked out by the murlocs. He’d never known a snake to have such a gentle grip, nor for it to be so large.

And when I be muttering about Zal, I just be putting my hand on her face, he had made it to the treeline now, and was peering around the bushes, she just be staring at me.

And then, he had heard the thunder again. It had startled him to be more alert, and something had to have startled her down the beach. When he saw her next, Kunan’ji was refusing to let her go to a raptor named Jashik. She’d been in the form of a troll then. Vol wasn’t dumb. He could make the connection.

A sigh left him. Vol was about to turn away from the jungle when something flicked over his hand.

He snapped his head to the right--

And there she was, gazing at him with mischievous, brilliant green eyes, like emeralds; black scales like the night sky, that shimmered in the sunlight when it caught her form. Her tongue flicked over the back of his hand again.

In the distance, Vol could hear the distinct rumble of thunder - but there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky.

“... it’s you,” Vol found himself whispering, reaching out tentatively toward her. She lowered her head ever so much, letting him set his hand on the top of her head. He felt giddy. His heart started pounding and he wondered if maybe, just maybe, she would follow him back to the village. He was soon cupping her serpentine head in his hands, struggling to keep his breathing even in his excitement--

“VOL BY THE LOA!”

And just like that, she was gone.

Vol scowled. He looked over his shoulder at Zalazane, scowl deepening. The other boy gave him a befuddled look, eyes shifting from side to side.

“... what you be lookin’ at me like that for?”

Vol turned to face him fully, taking a step forward. Zalazane took a step back.

“Vol?”

He sprinted, eyes intent on Zalazane like the other boy was his prey, and he was a predator. With a shriek, Zalazane whirled around and raced toward the village. He sent a billowing cloud of sand at Vol to discourage him.

Sen’jin’s son once again tackled Zalazane to the soft sand, right before they reached the village center.

Amita shifted out of her stealth after a moment, watching the two go.

She’d heard thunder rumble again, before he had muttered, before he had cupped her face in his hands.

I wonder if he be hearing it too.

Little over a week had passed when Vol found snake tracks on the beach. Rokhan sighed. He stood at Vol’s side, and the boy looked up at him with a pout.

“I can be trackin’ her!”

“Vol…”

“I’m gonna’ do it.”

Rokhan muttered under his breath. Vol sifted his hand through the tracks before squinting up at the sky. Fluffy white clouds rolled by, leaving the sand cooler than it would be on a sunnier day. The tracks were neither hot nor cold, so he couldn’t quite tell if the snake had recently passed by or if the indentations were a day old.

Regardless, he followed the track. It led him further down the beach, and Vol hesitated in his search only when he realized Rokhan was not at his side. Nervously the boy looked over his shoulder, eyes seeking the newly minted shadow hunter.

Rokhan tilted his head to the side. He was a few paces ahead of where he’d been standing.

“Rokhan…?”

“She be spookin’ easy,” the man finally said, pointing with his eyes past Vol, “I nearly be catchin’ her once myself when she be slitherin’ into the village.”

Vol was only half paying attention.

The moment Rokhan had looked past him, he’d fixed his own gaze into the distance. There, down by the water, was the girl. Making out all of the details was difficult from this far away, but she was obviously collecting something. Every now and then she would crouch, reach out, inspect something, and stick it in a bag of sorts or drop it back in the water.

Vol approached slowly. A second glance over his shoulder let him know that Rokhan was following him, albeit at a pace closer to that of a tortoise.

At one point, Vol noticed the tracks in the sand changed from one solid line to two separate footprints.

The girl perked up.

Vol froze.

“E’chuta,” he rasped under his breath. He wasn’t close enough that he would be able to grab her.

Curiosity dominated her features, but her eyes were wide. Fear, perhaps? Vol wasn't sure; Rokhan would know, but the wild girl before Vol took a rigid step back. Vol stiffened.

When she bolted, so did he.

Amita had not expected this to happen. She could practically feel him catching up to her, and her panic nested uncomfortably in her chest. Her eyes were focused on an outcropping of rocks. If she could just make it to them. They were close to the jungles, and she knew the jungles.

This boy might be able to track her on the beach but tracking her amongst the bushes and the trees would be no simple task.

She suddenly shifted her direction down the beach, risking a glance over her shoulder.

Loa, she had to giggle. He must have lunged for her, because he was getting up from the sand, shaking his head of the fine grains.

Amita sought refuge on one side of the rocks to catch her breath. He was on the opposite side from her too soon, but more winded than she was.

I could be using that to my advantage.

He was covered in sand, molten eyes seeming to glow. Amita inhaled deeply.

“You,” he beat her to the first words, “you be the cobra.”

Amita’s eyes flicked past him. Another troll that she recognized was steadily making his way over; not too fast, not too slow. It was like every step he took was with a purpose, and he was keeping his distance only to allow this little conversation to take place.

Her eyes went back to the boy across from her, “yeah.”

“How you be doing that?”

For a brief moment, Amita considered humoring him - but she didn’t want to say anything about the Emerald Dream, or her teacher Naralex, and she especially didn’t want to make any mention of Malfurion Stormrage.

With a quiet yelp Amita threw herself back; she stumbled over loose sand, of course, and fell onto her rump.

Loa, he’d almost had her!

His hand closed on open air, his expression in a pout; Amita had barely caught his movement in her peripheral vision. And now, Amita’s face grew hot at the realization that he’d asked the question in order to distract her from his actions.

Of course he was standing over her within seconds. Amita twisted her body so she could deliver a sharp kick to his shin. His eyes went wide as he toppled over, and Amita scrambled to her feet, sprinting to the trees.

She was forced back to the rocks when the boy suddenly appeared next to her, red blossoming over the tips of his ears.

“Where’d you be learning that?” he sounded dumbfounded as he braced his arms against the rocks. Amita puffed out her chest.

“I be learnin’ from observation~” she gave him the slyest look she could manage, “I always be watchin’, sunshine~”

His face reddened when she called him sunshine, and Amita couldn’t help laughing.

“What you be laughing at eh?!”

“You be looking so cute,” she teased, “with your cheeks all red!”

Amita was certain he was going to snarl and lunge over the rocks at her. To her surprise, he kept his cool, scowling at her instead.

This was easier than she could have ever imagined. Speaking to him was like a dream come true. Perhaps her success in this conversation meant that talking to the other trolls would be just as easy.

“I did not be spending all this time hunting you down to have you be calling me cute,” he finally hissed. Amita grinned toothily at him, flicking her tongue like she would as a cobra.

A chill ran down Amita’s spine. The older troll was getting too close for comfort.

“You know, I wonder if you would be able to be catchin’ me.”

The boy perked up, his ears upright before pinning back somewhat.

“Of course I can,” he stated firmly, as if offended by the very suggestion that he wouldn’t be able to. Amita smiled.

“Okay, then if you be catchin’ me--”

“You’ll be coming to the village with me.”

Her smile disappeared, what?

“If I be catching you,” he decided to reiterate, “then you’ll be coming to stay with the Darkspear.”

Amita stared at him. She couldn’t find it in her to believe his words.

“That is if you be catchin’ me, sunshine,” she found herself saying rigidly. It filled her with a strange fear. Sure, talking to him was easy, and subsequently that meant that talking to the other children should be easy but…

She wasn’t prepared for the possibility of it becoming a reality.

“I will.”

“That so?” she lowered her head. He tensed.

Amita bolted into the jungle. To the best of his ability, he followed, but Amita was confident. She knew these trees, she knew these roots, she knew these bushes.

With ease she shifted into a cobra, shimmered into stealth, and slithered up a tree. Vines had grown, strong and firm, up the trunk, allowing her a path to travel on.

Her hunter didn’t get too far.

The older troll had grabbed him by the arm - by Gonk, had he really been that close? - and pulled him back.

“Rokhan, I--!”

“Not today,” Rokhan replied, his voice low. Amita shifted out of her cobra form, straining her ears to try and hear what was being said.

Their voices, unfortunately, were lost to her.

Amita kept her eyes on them until they disappeared out of her sight. Only then did she sidle her way back down to the jungle floor. She went straight back to the cave, clutching her bag of shells to her side.

Jashik was waiting for her. His bright eyes narrowed at her, and Amita’s ears pinned back.

“I told you I would be fine on my own…” she muttered, kicking at the leaves. He chuffed at her, and Amita sighed, “okay fine, I suppose I be takin’ longer then I be sayin’ I would - but I be gettin’ distracted!”

Jashik stamped his foot, chattering at her before snapping his jaws in the air. Amita frowned, opting to hug herself, “I know you be about to come lookin’ for me. But… that boy. He be trackin’ me now.”

Of course, Jashik let out a low whine at this news. Amita shook her head at the large beast, stroking his nose when he lowered his head, “don’t you be worrying. He won’t be catching me… he won’t.”

Loa, she would have never thought she’d get so distressed over the prospect.

“Gotta’... gotta’ write to chaako,” she exhaled shakily, and walked swiftly into the cave. She still found it strange how she would refer to him as chaako only when she was in distress - but she supposed it didn’t matter. She set her bag of shells down before she collected all her writing supplies.

Once prepared, Amita sat at a smooth, angled rock. She’d found it on one of her adventures and managed to convince Jashik to let her tie it to his back to carry it to the cave.

It was the perfect thing for her to write on.

Taking a deeth breath, Amita began:

Teacher.

Today I met a boy - the boy I keep telling you about. I think he’s trying to track me down. He said that when he catches me, he’s going to bring me to the village.

Amita paused, A blot of ink began to form where she kept her pen pressed to the parchment.

If he does… will I get to meet you?

The thought was enticing. Amita shook her head, signing her name at the bottom - she’d been practicing a signature, and frowned. It still looked sloppy to her eyes.

Her teacher had told her she shouldn’t be bothered by it. According to him, she already wrote considerably better than most of the ten year olds he knew, but Amita was certain that reason was due to the fact that she had a significant amount more free time than they did, between their own studies and special training sessions.

And whatever else extra curricular activities they did.

To distract herself from her thoughts, she crossed her legs, draped her arms over them, and meditated.

She was dropped in the Emerald Dream almost immediately.

“You’re rather early, young one.”

Malfurion’s voice made her yelp. He stared at her with wide eyes when she spun around to face him.

“I--!! I don’ be intendin’ ta stay… I jus’ needed ta be um… tinkin’ ‘bout sometin’ else.”

The night elf hummed, and sat on the ground. He patted the spot in front of him, offering Amita a gentle smile. If she were honest, it was mostly hidden by his growing beard.

Regardless, she moved to sit in front of the Malfurion.

“What troubles you, Amita?”

“I be meetin’ a boy,” she sighed, then scowled up at Malfurion, “an’ it don’ be wat you might be tinkin’!!! I be seein’ him befah… bu’, I dunno. I be scared.”

“Why are you scared?” Malfurion’s voice was soft. Amita whined.

“He be huntin’ me!! Or mebbe… trackin’ me?” she huffed, “eithah way, he be sayin’ dat when he be catchin’ me, he’s gonna’ be takin’ me to de village.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“I dunno… I would be able ta be meetin’ my othah teachah! Bu’...”

“But?” he encouraged, reaching toward her. After some gentle prodding, Amita turned around, and Malfurion began to braid her hair into one of the styles she’d seen the elven women with - and only seen. Even with encouragement from Naralex and Malfurion, Amita had never been able to find it in her to approach the female druids.

“I… I don’ be like dem,” she admitted. Malfurion wove small blooms of flowers through the braids, and a few long strands of grass.

“What makes you so certain you aren’t?”

Amita made a sound of childish frustration, and Malfurion’s gentle laugh carried through the open space, “I understand that these are a lot of questions - but it’s important for you to find the answers.”

“Why?” she found herself asking, and Malfurion lowered his hands to her shoulders. He easily lifted her to her feet and around to face him.

“So that you can fight your fears.”

Amita stared at her feet.

“I don’ be knowin’ how ta be ‘round othahs,” she finally said in reply to his last question. He actually snorted.

“While that might be a fair point, I would argue that you are more than capable of knowing ‘how to be around others’. And, even if that was the case, that doesn’t mean you don’t belong with them.”

“Muuka was nevah wit’ dem…” she informed him, looking away as if in shame, “if muuka nevah belonged wit’ dem, why would it be any diffahrent fah me?”

Malfurion’s brows furrowed in thought.

“Well… you aren’t your mother now, are you?”

Amita shook her head. Malfurion smiled, “then things could be much different for you, couldn’t they?”

She nodded her head, as if in defeat. Malfurion tilted her chin up with a bent finger, concern creasing his brows, “as I mentioned, you know how to be around others. You do quite well interacting with Naralex and I! And should you meet some of the other druids, I’m sure you’d get along easily with them too. This other teacher of yours, they’ve clearly done a good job with the information they’ve given you. Don’t belittle yourself so, Amita.”

Her lips set in a pout. She could feel a stinging at her eyes.

“I… I wanna’ be wit’ dem,” she sniffled, rubbing at her eyes with one hand, “bu’... bu’ I don’ tink I be ready…”

Malfurion drew Amita into a warm hug. She rested her head against his shoulder, hiccuping on unshed tears.

“Would you like to start your lessons early?” the night elf asked softly, and Amita nodded her head. Malfurion smiled.

“Alright.”

He pulled a small packet out of his sleeve. Seeds were inside, and Malfurion dug into the dirt before him to place the seeds inside. Amita swept her palm over it to cover the seeds.

“Now, I want you to place your hands over the seeds, like this,” he placed his hands down, one on top of the other, “and slowly funnel your druidic magic into the seeds. When you feel the first leaves beginning to blossom, carefully lift your hands up.”

Amita did as she was instructed, brows furrowed in concentration. Magic raced down her arms into the ground.

“That is too quickly. With more control, Amita.”

She huffed, but closed her eyes this time. She focused on the sensation of the magic trickling down her arms, across her palms, and out, into the soil. Sweat began to collect on her forehead from the amount of concentration it took for her to control the flow of magic.

“Good. Hold your focus. Remember to breathe.”

By the time Amita felt the first brush of a leaf against her palm, her hands had started shaking. This took much more effort than shifting into a snake - but, as Malfurion had instructed, she began to lift her hands.

His touch was gentle against her forearm, “stop there. Take a look.”

Amita opened her eyes as she cautiously opened up her hands. It was a viney plant, swirling together in some spots and coiling together in others. She could just make out what looked to be buds. Her eyes sought Malfurion’s face, and she smiled when she found that his expression was pleased.

“This magic,” he began after admiring her work for a moment, “comes naturally to you. One of your parents - perhaps, the father you cannot seem to find - is incredibly gifted. He must have passed his magic on to you.”

Amita bit her lip. She nodded, keeping her gaze on the plant before her now.

“... I couldn’ be makin’ it bloom…”

“Yet.”

She looked up at him, confused, and Malfurion reiterated, “you couldn’t make it bloom yet - but you will.”

“You be tinkin’ so?”

Malfurion laughed, setting his hand on Amita’s head, “I know so.”

Several days had passed since her encounter with Sunshine. While stalking through the bushes in her cobra form on a particularly sunny day, Amita came across yet another familiar child.

Ani was muttering to herself, picking at the leaves on a tree.

“I don’t be that weird,” she was saying, her fiery hair all dishevelled, “maybe I be lookin’ weird, bu’ I don’t be--aaaaaAAH!”

Amita released a broken hiss as Ani tumbled over onto the sand and leaves. Ani stared at her from her spot on the forest floor - then she scrambled to her feet.

“Snakey!”

Amita bobbed her head as if to nod. Luxanai’s eyes lit up - though her ear flicked and she looked over her shoulder at the beach.

“I wish I was like you, snakey,” the girl muttered, going back to picking leaves off the tree. Amita cautiously slithered to sit next to her, then lowered her head all the way to the ground. It wasn’t just Sunshine and the huntress she could see on the beach. They were with a large group of children, playing some game with a strange looking object. It was round, and they could kick it around.

Amita prodded Luxanai with her tail, and when Ani looked at her, Amita looked to the playing children, and then back to Ani. The girl sighed.

“I’m too weird.”

Amita could only hiss in confusion. Luxanai laughed, but even Amita could tell there was pain in the sound, “I don’t be surprised, y’know? I’ve always been different… I think.”

Shaking her head, Amita made to move - but there was a yell, and the ball bounced close. Luxanai froze. Amita pressed herself against the soft ground as best she could, heart pounding.

For a moment, the world was still. None of the children drew closer, and Luxanai stared at the object just a foot away.

In the end, Sunshine himself decided to approach. His molten eyes flicked to Amita as he stooped to scoop up the ball.

“Hey-- Luxanai, right?” he shifted his gaze to the girl. Amita still refused to take any semblance of a breath.

“U-uh!! Yeah…” and Ani fidgeted with the bottom of her frayed skirt. Sunshine offered her a smile, and then, his hand.

“Come play with us.”

Luxanai’s eyes went wide. She danced a little in place, looked at Amita with absolute joy, and grabbed Sunshine’s hand in what Amita could only assume was a vice grip. He visibly winced - regardless, he held onto his smile.

“Bye snakey!” Luxanai whispered excitedly under her breath, then hurried off with the boy to join the other children.

Amita opened her mouth wide in a gasp, dropped into her stealth, and quickly slithered away.

“Do you be trying to get into trouble, Vol?”

“Look,” Vol dropped down from the tree, fixing Zalazane with a stern gaze, “if you be so concerned, you can be goin’ back to the village.”

Zalazane scowled, “you know I always be down to get in a lil’ trouble, Vol, but not this kinda’ trouble. The guards and the shadow hunters and the witch doctors be tellin’ us to stay out of the jungles. Nagas be making moves, Vol. That be trouble.”

“I won’t be goin’ far,” Vol insisted, gripping Zalazane’s bicep, “don’t you be worryin’ ‘bout me.”

“I worry about you.”

Vol shifted his gaze to the ground, releasing Zalazane’s arm. The young witch doctor sighed.

“You gotta’ learn to listen, Vol. You be knowin’ I will always be havin’ your back - we be friends! We be doin’ dumb things.”

“We do,” Vol agreed, giving Zalazane a stupid grin. Zalazane returned it, though it quickly faded. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“You won’t be listenin’ to me, will you?”

“I… have to be tryin’. She be in this area. Luxanai be knowin’ her name but she won’t be tellin’ me. She be all suspicious.”

Zalazane scowled, “fine. Go. I be waitin’ here. If anything be goin’ wrong, scream. I’ll come to you.”

“Thanks, Zal. You can… be givin’ me an hour.”

“And I already be counting.”

Vol ducked his head, gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly, and hurried into the jungles. His raptor, Fahey, would come at a whistle if Vol needed him. Part of him hoped that having the time pressure would give him the focus he needed to track--

His foot stepped into an indentation. He crouched, sifting his fingers through the dirt like Rokhan had taught him. Warm. Had a light, scale-like pattern inscribed into it.

She had passed through here.

Vol rubbed some soil between his thumb and forefinger, eyes scanning the bushes. After a moment, he took the risk.

He closed his eyes, putting his focus into imagining a web of magic. It was dark, like the shadows, and latched onto roots and branches and leaves. Vol waited. One of his hands closed over a small rock.

There, to the right, at the base of a large tree. Something was there, still and unnoticeable to the naked eye. Vol opened his eyes and whipped the rock at the tree. A startled hiss brought a smirk to his lips, and he dashed after the parting leaves until they finally gave way to black scales.

So Moonlight’s stealth isn’t something she can be keeping up, Vol mused. He kept his eyes trained on her as best he could. She wove easily between roots and bushes, hardly making a sound. He was positive that if she could, she would be hissing incessantly at him.

Vol was unsure of how long he remained hot on her tail, but no matter what he did, she always stayed just out of his reach.

And then, she disappeared. He heard a splash, gasped, and instinctively shoved the blade of his dagger into a crevice. His body slammed against hard rock; he winced. The dark rocks were slippery with water, and Vol cursed under his breath. It was about a ten foot drop into a pool of water below, and he dangled precariously above.

“Do you be crazy!?” he snapped when his eyes landed on the form of the girl. She was scrabbling at the rocks and soil that made up the basin for the pool, in her troll form. As Vol attempted to keep tabs on her while figuring out the safest way to get down, she got out of the water. Her long, uneven hair was a soaking mess that clung to her arms and parts of her legs.

And to his dismay - even if it meant he could catch her now - she slipped and landed face first on the ground in her haste to get away from him.

From where he was now, he could slip into the water and easily crawl out. Climbing down the rocks had been easier than he’d first thought, and thankfully, he’d remembered to put his dagger in his mouth when he started climbing down instead of leaving it jammed near the top of the drop.

Right after he got out of the water, his prey lurched to her feet. His heart rate skyrocketed, and he barely managed to keep his balance himself.

“I-I don’t be crazy! You be crazy, sunshine!”

Vol scowled at her back, and she swung around a tree. He went after her.

So she went to another side, and when he followed, she went to the other. He peered around the trunk, just enough so she could see the grin spreading over his lips.

“Tired, moonlight?”

She blushed fiercely. It disarmed the glare she gave him.

“What~? It don’t be like we be knowing each other’s names,” he pointed out between breaths, “that, and if you be insistin’ on callin’ me sunshine…”

“F-fine!” she was still breathing heavily, “you be wantin’ my name?”

Vol nodded.

“Then I be wantin’ yours.”

“That be soundin’ fair to me,” he agreed, and tired to shuffle closer. She noticed, scowled, and shuffled away. Vol frowned.

“I don’t think I be sayin’ that catchin’ me would be easy, sunshine.”

“You-- well… you didn’t…”

“Mm-hm.”

Vol couldn't take his eyes off her, as much as he wanted to look away. He was worried she’d take off again, without giving him her name.

“On three then?”

“If that be makin’ you comfortable, sunshine.”

“It be more than makin’ me comfortable, moonlight,” he hissed; she giggled.

So he counted, and she waited, and when he said “three”-

“Vol.”

“Amita.”

Silence fell between them. He mulled over her name, saying it to himself. Her lips moved as though she were doing the same. Vol smiled.

“Amita.”

She looked up at him, emerald eyes curious.

“Nice to meet ya.”

Amita beamed, “nice to meet ya too, Vol - and better luck next time, yeah?”

Before he could blink, she took off, scaling the nearest tree.

He wanted to go after her, Loa he did. He wanted to chase her until he caught her and brought her back to the village.

But the winds had shifted. The jungles were cold. Vol began his trek back to where he had left Zalazane. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he shakily raised a hand to his lips.

His whistle was sharp, and it filled the eerie silence. Vol gripped his dagger tightly. Something was watching him, and it wasn’t a gaze he could recognize: not Sen’jin, not Rokhan, not Zalazane, not even his newly named moon.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Amita couldn’t resist following him.

Since she had awoken, the jungles had been eerily quiet. Jashik had refused to let her go anywhere alone. The large raptor had even refused to let her come hunting with him. If the eeriness hadn’t already gotten to her, then Jashik’s refusal to let her hunt with him set her on edge.

She had gone down to the village earlier, Jashik trailing after her. The trolls had been fine, if more on edge.

And then, she had seen them.

Nagas, crawling all throughout the jungle. Searching for trolls. Leaving death in their wake.

I wish Naralex be here, she thought, stopping in the bushes. Vol had whistled. Amita wished Malfurion were here. Surely, Jashik was close by.

An arrow embedded in the tree near Vol.

He drew his dagger immediately, but didn’t stay put; he took off. Amita released a confused hiss, and chased after him. To her left, she could make out the bright green scales of a naga through the passing trees. If she went faster, she could cut it off.

A yelp reached her ears, along with a cackle, and Amita charged straight toward the naga. It had come to a stop, eyes focused on Vol.

Amita spat a furious hiss, hood flared, and sunk her fangs into the naga’s arm. She shook her head violently, intending to rip the limb off. Burning hot lightning raced through her body and in her fright, Amita shifted back into a troll, screaming in pain.

“Amita!”

“Vol - by the Loa-- STOP!”

The other voice, she recognized. Vol sunk his dagger into the naga’s long tail; she shrieked, backhanding the boy with two hands. Though he was dazed, he managed to yank his dagger out of her tail. A bolt of lightning struck the naga next. Amita fought the urge to run away.

Focus, focus, focus.

Green magic swirled around her fingertips. Roots began to lock over the naga’s long tail; it brought her attention back to Amita. She lunged for the young druid, and Amita scrambled back-

Another bolt of lightning made the naga falter. She lashed out at Amita anyway, claws raking over her leg. Amita bit back a cry of pain, and continued trying to back away on all fours.

“Let’s GO!” the voice belonged to that white haired boy. He grabbed Vol by the bicep and jerked him to his feet, and then a small emerald raptor barreled into the naga’s side. Once again, the naga shrieked; the sound was tinged with fury. She struggled against the roots that Amita had grown around her.

“F-Fahey, c’mon,” Vol tugged the raptor to him. Amita’s roots were beginning to break.

Instead of going after the boys and the raptor, the naga lunged for Amita, every root snapping off her muscular tail. Vol made to thrust his dagger into the naga’s tail again, but he just missed.

Amita screamed.

The naga’s cackle was cut off by black jaws closing around her head.

Jashik put his entire body into whipping the naga up into the air, before slamming her against the ground, again and again and again until her limbs were lifelessly snapping back and forth with every motion of the raptor’s head.

Silence came back to the jungle, save for the heavy breathing of the children. The body slumped to the ground, headless. Jashik lowered his mouth and deposited the head on the ground, near the neck. There was quiet.

Then he roared at the boys.

Vol’s raptor attempted to roar back, but Vol clapped his hand down on Fahey’s muzzle.

“Hey--”

Jashik slammed his foot against the ground. Before Amita could stop him, he was chasing the boys away, and before she knew it, he’d circled back for her. Vol hadn’t gone far; he’d bolted around a tree to trick Jashik into thinking he’d left. His hair was impossible for Amita to miss amidst the bright greens and dull browns that surrounded them.

“Hey!”

“Y-you need to be-- be hidin’ your light, sunshine,” Amita hardly managed a smile. Vol’s expression was distraught as she pulled herself onto Jashik’s back, ignoring the biting pain in her leg, “the nagas be everywhere.”

“If you be comin’ with us back to the village you’ll be safe!”

“Thanks, Vol, b-but I be feelin’ safer with Jashik.”

“Vol, c’mon, we gotta’ go. I be givin’ you an extra ten minutes, and the other naga would be hearin’ this one screamin’!”

Amita had not expected the white-haired boy to return, but she was grateful he had.

“Zal--”

Vol snarled when Zal punched him in the arm, “listen to me! For once, would you be listenin’ to me!?”

Amita leaned forward to whisper, “Jashik, go.”

With a chuff, Jashik took off. Amita hoped that Vol would be discouraged and go with his friend now, if she was gone.

She hoped Luxanai was safe.

Jashik took the long way back to the cave. He joined with a pack of raptors at one point, and Amita did what she could to tend to her injuries. Since healing Luxanai’s bruise, Amita had gotten a little better at healing. She’d mended a parrot’s broken wing, and a young tiger’s foot after it had been caught in a trap.

The cuts were gone within minutes.

For the next few weeks, Jashik refused to let Amita leave the cave alone. He was constantly by her side. Sometimes she felt that uncanny stare: the one that enveloped her in a safe embrace as often as it left her stomach filled with unease.

On one day, a sudden storm was born. Lightning laced through the trees, never touching them, but sending naga shrieking and snarling back toward the far beach where they made their home.

Her raptor pendant had felt especially hot against her chest that day. Despite Amita’s fear that it might burn her, she refused to take it off.

The year crawled past, and the days Vol chased her were gone too quickly. Most of the time, she lost him to the wilds. It filled her with some measure of pride to know she could get away from him. Some days, he nearly caught her, but she would always slip between his fingers. Sometimes, they talked. Amita avoided saying too much about herself, and likewise, she felt Vol avoided saying too much about himself.

He seemed more… interested in getting her to experience it. Their brief conversations always ended with him asking her why she didn’t come to the village with him.

Her answer was always the same:

“Better luck next time, eh, Vol?”

I wonder if he be catchin’ on, she thought to herself. She observed the large group of children, doing her best to mimic their movements.

If you really be wantin’ to learn how to dance, why don’t you be takin’ shan’do and Naralex’s advice? Just go be with them.

Amita shook her head, nearly missing out on the fact that the group had just done a spin. An embarrassed flush came to her cheeks, even though she was yet to be discovered.

“One of these days, you’ll be getting Vol into deep, deep trouble.”

She shifted into a cobra and dropped flat on the ground so fast her new companion choked on a laugh.

Amita made an attempt to dart away, but the male had caught her in his hand - and this time, instead of holding her by the neck, Rokhan cradled this large cobra to his chest.

“There. Now if you be trying to get away, you can’t.”

She flailed regardless, hands grabbing at the nearest tree.

“Oops,” Rokhan moved away, tsking, “can’t be having that. Let’s go over here.”

“Wh--”

Of course Amita was confused. Instead of taking her to the village, Rokhan took her further into the treeline. The large male tucked behind a tree before setting Amita on her feet. He gestured around the tree.

Amita peered around it. Two trolls dressed similarly to Rokhan passed by. She flushed, staring up at him.

“I… I be thinkin’ you were gonna’ take me to…”

“The village? And take the little game you be having with Vol away? Pff, not a chance!”

“But…” Amita shifted nervously on her feet, combing her fingers through her messy, unkempt hair, “you be tellin’ me I’ll be gettin’ him into big, big trouble…”

Rokhan tapped a finger to his lips, “I did be saying that! But that don’t mean I be taking you to the village. Vol be wanting to do that.

Amita huffed, “well yeah. Sunshine be makin’ that clear.”

A chuckle left Rokhan, and he rolled his shoulders, “another patrol will be coming by in twenty minutes. That class will be over by then - you he needing to pay more attention to your surroundings, little moon.”

She flushed at the nickname, and Rokhan disappeared.

When the class finished, Amita slunk back into the bushes - but she hung around, watching. Sure enough, another patrol passed by - and this time, another two trolls she recognized. Kuzari and Ku’nanji; she remembered.

And quickly went on her way, as Kuzari’s tiger was looking at the bushes far too intently for Amita’s liking.

And this time, when she found herself in the Emerald Dream, she boldly approached the female druids. The younger druids were curious about her, and were the only ones who dared to venture closer. Malfurion watched from a distance, and Amita found herself dotted over by Naralex.

“You be makin’ me real nervous, Naralex,” she finally told him when her time in the dream was coming to a close. He pouted and looked askance.

“I will admit that I was… afraid they might not be so accepting,” his brows furrowed when he glanced at the older females. They were whispering amongst each other, “especially not the older druids.”

“De younger ones be gettin’ on along with me well enough,” Amita assured him, patting him on the hand, “an’ wit’ you an’ shan’do here, dey wouldn’t wanna’ try anytin’ anyway.”

Naralex’s expression was grim, “you are only half right.”

The rest of Amita’s night was spent in dreamless silence.

This wasn’t right.

Amita rummaged around the poorly made camp, brows furrowed. There was hardly anything worth noting, save for perhaps a dirty, embroidered blanket. The young girl sat back on her haunches.

Who would be makin’ a camp out here when there be nagas crawling all over the jungle again?

Surely not one of the kids from the village… right? The adults wouldn’t let them be so foolish. She doubted that Vol and his friend Zalazane would’ve kept quiet about their close encounter with one little over a year ago, and she knew how many times Vol had gotten into a scuffle with the snake people since then.

The naga always seemed to get aggressive this time of the year.

Amita fiddled with her pendant - then bolted into the nearby bushes, shifting into a cobra. She’d heard footsteps.

Even as a snake, her jaw dropped open when she saw who it was.

Rubbing bitterly at her face was Luxanai. Amita could only stare while the other girl begrudgingly wrapped herself up in the dirty blanket. Her fiery hair was a mess. Dark circles under her eyes. Amita distinctly heard a rumbling sound immediately after which Luxanai grumbled something about her stomach needing to be quiet.

The cobra emerged from the bushes, hissing softly. Luxanai pouted at her.

“Snakey…”

Amita tilted her head to the side, and Luxanai laughed weakly, “I um… I be thinkin’ that I could… I dunno… live out here like snakey. But it be so hard!”

When Amita slithered closer, Luxanai reached out to pat her on the head, “and it be so cold… how do you be managing?”

As best she could manage with limited expression, Amita gave Luxanai the most unimpressed look she could manage. Her tail flicked from side-to-side, and the frown on Luxanai’s lips became more prominent.

Isn’t it obvious? I’ve been out here all my life, first with muuka who taught me how to live, and now I be with Jashik who helps me hunt, Amita released a low hiss. If only she were willing to reveal her troll form to Luxanai. She could tell the girl exactly why she managed.

However, Amita thought it better to get Luxanai back to the village. She grabbed the bottom of Luxanai’s blanket and yanked with all her might. Luxanai yelped, “hey!”

Amita pulled and yanked until the blanket was secure in her mouth, and no longer wrapped around Luxanai. She slithered off with it, only to have Luxanai belly flop onto her.

“That’s mine!!” she exclaimed, far too loudly for Amita’s liking. The naga could be anywhere - and while Jashik was faithfully nearby, the naga were surprisingly stealthy creatures. Amita hastily wrote in the ground with her tail.

‘Go back’.

Luxanai blinked, then fiddled with her blanket.

“I um… I dunno how to be gettin’ back…”

Amita’s snake jaw dropped at the little girl, who flushed in both embarrassment and frustration. The tears were obviously gathering in her eyes.

“I don’t be like you snakey! You be all slithery an-and stealthy and I just b-be… I just be me…”

The cobra shook her head, then grabbed Luxanai’s blanket again. This time, though she pulled gently, and eventually, Luxanai was walking with her. Amita kept part of the blanket in her mouth.

At least Amita knew which direction the village was from here. She could feel the comforting vibrations of Jashik’s heavy footsteps nearby. Amita’s only irritation was that Luxanai walked slowly, as if she were afraid.

Eventually the cobra felt inclined to check Luxanai’s feet.

But Jashik released a loud growl.

Of course, Luxanai yelped at the sound, then yelped again when Amita clamped her mouth down on the girl’s blanket and jerked her into the nearest bush.

“Sn-snakey!!”

With great effort, Amita coiled herself around Luxanai’s legs, planted her head on the other girl’s back, and made the best shushing sound she could manage in her snake form.

Luxanai, thankfully, quickly understood and fell silent. The minutes passed slowly. Jashik drew closer, growling again - a disgruntled hiss answered him, followed by strange words.

Naga.

Amita’s heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She refused to move away until Jashik chuffed at the bush. Then and only then did she uncoil herself from Luxanai and slither under the raptor.

Luxanai shuffled out of the bush moments later, staring up at the black beast in awe. His brows narrowed at her, but he lowered himself closer to the ground. Amita poked her head out from under him, then grabbed Luxanai’s blanket in her mouth again.

It took some effort, but Amita was able to get Luxanai to first drape her blanket over Jashik’s back, and then she managed to help her friend onto the large beast.

At least with Luxanai on Jashik’s back, it was easier for Amita to get her friend back to the village safely - but Amita found herself staying at the treeline as Jashik approached the village.

Many of the children - most she recognized - raced toward the raptor. A boy with his head shaved helped Luxanai off Jashik’s back. He tolerated their curiosity, though when Vol drew closer, Jashik lowered his head. Amita could make out the others teasing him as Jashik began to make his way to the jungles again.

His ears looked darker at the tips. If she could, Amita would giggle at him - but alas, she had to follow Jashik back to the cave.

“So… Amita.”

She looked up at Naralex as best she could - behind her, a night elf named Jhordis fussed over braiding Amita’s hair. It was similar to the first time Malfurion had done it, but different from him. Jhordis was actually weaving the flowers through Amita’s hair instead of just sticking them in. She’d met the rogue a few days ago, and already Jhordis seemed hyper-attached. Malfurion had seemed all the more tired when Jhordis was within the Emerald Dream.

“Yes, teacher?”

“You never explained to me why you want to be called Amita.”

“Ah…”

“Amita isn’t her given name?” Jhordis inquired. Naralex scowled at her, and Amita could only assume the woman scowled back.

“You’re here by shan’do’s will only, Jhordis.”

“Yes, yes, I know the lot of you would have rathered I disappear with the rest of the high elves,” she chirped, her hands stilling for a moment in Amita’s hair, “that and I’m a rogue now, not the most usual thing that would be in the Emerald Dream.”

Amita sighed, looking off to the side, “I um… I jus’ be preferrin’ dis name.”

Naralex was obviously displeased with this answer, but before he could pursue the conversation, Jhordis picked Amita up. The little girl blushed, unsure of why the woman would pick her up.

“Well! Naralex let it slip that you like dancing! Why don’t I teach you some things, Amita~?”

A smile spread across Amita’s lips, and she nodded her head. Jhordis glided over to a clear part of the Dream; Naralex trailed behind. Malfurion was with a class of druids in the distance.

But as she was taken to the clearing, Amita could see something dark and foreboding. It seemed to be lurking there, waiting, and for whatever reason, it was tempting.

Especially to a little girl.

“So!”

Jhordis’ voice distracted Amita from the coiling black and red.

“This is called ‘first position’,” the night elf demonstrated. She had her legs together, feet facing out to the left and the right as opposed to forwards. Her arms were slightly outstretched ahead of her, bent at the elbows to bring her hands in front of her chest - and lastly, her hands were also bent at the wrists, fingers slightly less than a hands width apart from each other.

“Second position,” Jhordis continued smoothly, feet still pointed outward to the left and right, and legs now parted in more of an upside-down V shape, “arms like this.”

She held her arms extended outward to her sides, palms facing the front and fingers somewhat fanned. Amita tilted her head to the side, still trying to figure out how to stand with her legs together and feet pointing outward to the sides.

“Fourth position.”

Amita shook her head, eyes wide with shock. Jumping from second to fourth? Where was the third? A smile pulled at Jhordis’ lips. Her feet were now crossed, left in front of the right, feet still facing outward to the sides, and Amita could hardly wrap her head around how Jhordis was keeping her feet pointed the way she was.

“My legs are about a step apart for fourth position, like so,” she turned so Amita could see, and then shifted her arms, “and fourth position arms, like so.”

Her left arm was in the same as the very first position she’d shown Amita, while her right arm was raised above her head, slightly bent at the elbow. Her hands were always positioned so delicately; Amita wondered if she’d be able to channel such elegance. She was but a little troll child, after all.

“Fifth position is the same as forth, however, your legs are touching,” the rogue moved her arms again, “third position for the arms,” she extended her left arm out to the side, keeping her right arm above her head, “and fifth position.”

Her left arm came up to join her right, outstretched above her head but bent slightly at the elbow. She held the position for a moment more and then, she relaxed.

“Why dere be no third position?” Amita inquired, tilting her head to the other side. Jhordis chuckled.

“Third position and fifth position are especially similar regarding the position of the legs. I opt not to teach it as a result. Only the arms are of significant difference,” she beamed down at Amita, “here, let’s go through them together. First position.”

Amita did her best. The arm positions were much easier for her than the leg positions. Jhordis was a strict teacher, adjusting Amita’s positioning by the slightest of millimeters. Amita thought that all the time she spent hunting with Jashik and running through the jungle and clibing the trees would have made learning how to do this strange dance easy, but Loa did her legs burn.

By the time she was done her little lesson, her thighs and calves were protesting her actions vehemently. Even her arms ached a little. Jhordis, at least, was rather pleased with Amita’s progress in such a short amount of time.

“Practice some more outside the Dream! Oh, and make sure you do some stretches, but I’m sure you already know about those. And then when you come back next, I’ll have one of my druid students teach you more,” her eyes flicked to Naralex, then to Malfurion. She leaned down to scoop Amita back up in her arms, her voice a whisper when she spoke again, “Naralex and shan’do Stormrage don’t like it when I pester them about bringing me in here. I think it takes a great deal of Stormrage’s power to keep a non-druid within the dream.”

“Ah… so I won’ be seein’ ya again…?” Amita asked softly. Jhordis was quiet for quite some time. The prickles of consciousness came to Amita’s mind, and she reached up to pat Jhordis on the cheek.

“Jhordis?”

“... I never did tell you why I wanted to meet you, did I?”

Amita shook her head.

“I always wanted a daughter.”

Jhordis brushed the back of her fingers along Amita’s cheek, “but I never thought I could be a mother - and yes, of course you’ll see me again! Just… not in the Dream.”

“Mm…” Amita looked down at the ground solemnly. She slid out of Jhordis’ arms, doing her best to smile up at the woman, “well! I guess… I guess I’ll be seein’ ya some othah time den? I gotta’ go…”

Jhordis sunk gracefully to her knees, and leaned forward to kiss Amita on the forehead, “yes, and yes. You’ve had a long Dream. It’s time for you to wake up.”

Amita found herself staring at Jashik’s face.

The muscles in her legs still burned.

I have decided to put my AN’s at the end instead of at the beginning because WOW depending on when I post I mmm okay me what are you saying (//shudders at ch 2 I need to edit that). I had to put that lil’ ballet snippet in there because it’s Amita’s best style of dance yis.

And don’t worry I did my research, non-druids are capable of getting into the Emerald Dream, just not by normal means - or in this case, I had Jhordis be like “lol Malfurion I wanna’ meet this lil’ girl I’ve heard Naralex prattle about pls take me to the dream” and she was adamant and he caved.

Why YES Jashik is the physical manifestation of Amita’s plot armor! Glad you noticed! //BRICKED

I NEED TO KICK MYSELF CUZ THERE’S PROBABLY A LOT OF WEIRDNESS IN REGARDS TO THE SLEEPING AND THE EMERALD DREAM AND THE EMERALD NIGHTMARE but for my sake and since this is all set during WC3 times and I’m p sure Malfurion is AROUND for that (sort of???) he’s not asleep juuuust yet. But it’ll happen. Just. Later. In Fieschada. Yeah. Gotta’ show off how powerful Amita’s papi is when I get the chance.

... I also can’t decide whether I want certain nicknames to be capitalized or not so there’s probably a loooot of inconsistencies there and I apologize.