#grakkar

The sun had set. Grakkar had finished his watch for the night, and rose to retire to his bedroll. As she wandered out of the gates of Warfang Hold to take his place, Grakkar and Aelissah nodded wordlessly to one another. Tomorrow would be a busy day for the both of them.

His thoughts turned again to their initial meeting. He remembered the scene well enough. Establishing outposts, making casual conversation… chatting about their homes, their peoples, their cultures. It was as cursory as a conversation could get, as far as he figured. Until…

“...Our people are led by skilled arcanists, those with the intelligence and skill to manipulate the arcane.” Aelissah explained, eyeing the growing fire between them. “Some to the point of bending space and time itself.”

"Bending space and time... how do you mean?" Grakkar asked, brow raised.

"All of the portals set up in Zuldazar. Even the feat to bring your people here... It could not have been done without our magic." Aelissah grinned, proudly. “Sadly, I am not gifted in the arcane, but…”

“--Your people did that?” the Orc perked, immediately interested. “Connected this world to Draenor?”

“With the help of the Bronze Dragonflight, I believe, yes.”

Grakkar stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

"Do you... think they could do so again?"

"Hmm... Bringing your people here was a very large feat. It was not easy to do... To do so again would be a very large undertaking. I would not even know where to begin, but... I would not say it would be impossible." Aelissah tilted her head in thought. “Twice now, your world and mine have been connected by a portal. Even with portals closed, there is always a permanent link.”

She glanced to Grakkar, brow askew.

"You wish to return home?"

"No, not to stay…” Grakkar grunted, frowning lightly. “Draenor is no longer safe for my people. The Draenei have twisted the world into their zealous design. Those of us who don't follow their Light have no place there.”

He sighed. The very memory of that place seeming to exhaust and upset him. He continued, however, eyes meeting Aelissah’s.

“But... there is someone still there I wish to save from the Draenei's cruelty and oppression.”

“You... wish to bend the laws of time and space... to save a single person?” the Nightborne asked, brow skewing further. “A wife? Child?”

“A friend.” he responded. “She resisted the Draenei to give the rest of us time to escape. She, and my Warchief... though I don't suspect the Warchief had any intentions of surviving…”

His frown only deepened.

“So she may already be dead…” the Nightborne put forth, cautionarily.

“It's... possible.” came Grakkar’s grunted response. “But she put herself at great risk to buy us time. If she did survive somehow... I wouldn't feel right leaving her there; not if it's possible to go back and save her.”

Aelissah blinked at Grakkar, before pensively eyeing him over. Curious.

"Embarking on a near impossible, dangerous mission. One of which you may never return... to save a friend." She smiled at that. "What an honor it must be... to have you as a friend."

Grakkar raised his brow - his cheeks grew a little flush, at that. He grunted, looking away.

"--Hmph, it is... well. It is the right thing to do." he replied. “To do nothing would be to damn a friend to death. Or... worse, in her case. Torture, abuse…”

"I will do what I can to help you.” Aelissah suddenly nodded, decidedly! “While I lack the abilities my people are gifted with, I can get you in contact with the right arcanists, perhaps..."

Grakkar was surprised, but smiled warmly to the Nightborne.

“I would take it as a kindness, Aelissah. Thank you.”

It seemed foolish to hope something could come of that. Though, Grakkar appreciated Aelissah’s intentions. Until now, he hadn’t told anyone about his friend, left behind on Draenor. For good reason, too.

She was a Draenei.

He considered disclosing that to Aelissah, to make sure she knew what she was getting into. But the possibility of saving his beloved Sinafay was still so… abstract. He did not think much of it, until it came up again later. A conversation about Suramar gave greater promise that Grakkar’s seemingly lofty hope was more within reach than he had considered.

“You will see it soon, I am certain.” Aelissah nodded, speaking about her home city of Suramar. “We will need to travel there to research how to help your friend.”

Grakkar visibly perked at that - the conversation coming up without him instigating it?

"--Yes... we should. I worry for her." he looked to Aelissah, a glint of hopefulness in his eye. "Have you... thought of anyone who could help with that?"

“Oculeth would be the best person to speak with, but he is being kept extremely busy by the Horde efforts. We would not be permitted to approach him with a request.” she began, thinking aloud. “Suramar has a number of talented telemancers. Only a handful would be willing to attempt an adventure such as this. Perhaps one or two who would not ask an outrageous fee…”

She frowned, and shook her head. “My people are vain. Money talks. I prefer to rely on someone I can trust not to abandon us part way.”

“Hmph... We must find someone.” Grakkar grunted. “When our outpost is better established, and we earn our few days of leave... would you take me to Suramar?”

"I can do that, yes.” Aelissah replied, before eyeing Grakkar over. “...How is your diplomacy?"

“Uh... well....” Grakkar cleared his throat, before nodding. "I know when to keep my mouth shut."

"And... how is your temper?" the Nightborne asked, expression growing more worrisome.

"Moderate." the Orc growled, nearly snarling!

While her brow raised, Aelissah managed to keep her expression neutral.

"Some will speak to you as though they are superior and will try to get you to react. You will have to avoid any violent outburst for us to achieve our goals."

“Hmph... I can keep them to a minimum well enough.” Grakkar replied, taking up his flask again. "But any I'm afforded, I'll be tearing spines out..."

Aelissah nodded, before turning away from him to reach for her flask -  hiding her expression from him momentarily. ‘Eeeeeeeesh!’

“I can ignore irritation when I need to. Whatever it takes…” he assured her. "All the same, I'll leave the talking to you."

"I trust that you will. You're friend's life depends on it.” Aelissah's expression returned to normal as she faced him again. “Know that we will not be able to go back in time, only connect to the path already connected by Oculeth to bring your people over. You are certain she would still be alive after these past few months?”

"She is a survivor.” Grakkar nodded once, resolutely. “Stalwart, durable... resourceful. She's alive. I know it."

Aelissah's ears flickered as she observed him. She then smiled.

"I look forward to meeting her. She sounds like a fine addition to our ranks."

Grakkar frowned to himself. That part likely would not come to pass. He wanted to tell her… but he was afraid. What if she changed her mind about helping? He owed it to her to tell her everything… and yet nothing he’d already told her was untrue. Was that enough?

He struggled with the thought, as he settled in for the night. He closed his eyes, doing his best to relax - though his heart raced! Tomorrow they set out for Suramar, to meet with a contact Aelissah had arranged. The Orc was both excited and scared. So much was still tentative, unsure…

Exhaustion finally claimed him, sleep setting in for Grakkar. His final waking thoughts were of his beloved Sinafay… and how soon he’d hoped to be in her arms once again.

If there was a chance of it, it began tomorrow!

~*~

Kai’eka was thrown off a ways in the sand as Doofus let out a pained cry. The Ren’dorei looked up from her position, immediately noting the awkward angle his wing was bent in as he thrashed around. Most likely broken..

She narrowed her eyes, scanning the area until her eyes settled on the figure of a Pandaren, a glowing totem at her side as she began to channel something…

Kai’eka didn’t wait to find out, roaring as she charged at the Shaman. She wasn’t protective over many things, but Doofus was one of those things. Anyone who hurt him had to die, plain and simple.

The shout seemed to shock the Pandaren, interrupting the casting. Apparently, they hadn’t expected the swordswoman to get back up that quickly. That would be the panda’s last mistake.

Hooked blades danced through the air, coming down on the totem first, knowing that it was only being used to strengthen the Shaman somehow. The object was split in two with a single strike. In the same swing, she worked with the momentum of the blades and spun around. One blade cut a deep gash into the Pandaren’s throat as the other buried its hook into her side. With a sickening twist and downward motion, the fight was over. Blood poured out over the sand as the swords were wrenched free.

Kai’eka growled. She was angry. That fight had ended quickly. Too quickly…

“WHICH ONE OF YOU FUCKERS IS NEXT?!” she shouted out in Orcish.

“You face me!” A strong voice shouted back.

Kai’eka couldn’t help but grin as she turned to face a brown skinned Orc. He appeared on the older side, but the strong looking frame indicated he was still in top fighting condition. His hand held a firm grip on a large, well used axe. Behind him stood a large kodo... a companion of some kind? It didn’t matter.

Finally! A challenge!

He stepped forward, further onto the beach - no running, no sneaking, no… it was more like a march. He pulled his helmet from his head as he stopped a few yards away before dropping it beside him in the sand.

“I am Grakkar, son of Grek’thar. Raider of the Warsong Clan. Warrior of the Horde.” he declared in a challenging tone. “Now you know what to tell your ancestors when they ask who brought about your--”

That’s when the kodo lumbered over, nudging the orc’s leg with his big head. Grakkar sighed, and gave the beast a gentle pat in response… though kept his gaze on Kai’eka. She raised an eyebrow. The beast looked to be stupidly loyal, but dumb as a rocks… like Doofus. It was like an odd mirror reflection as the pairs faced off.

...Not exactly, as Doofus was still reeling from the broken wing. He’d stopped screeching, but was oblivious to anything else that was going on as he nuzzled the broken limb. He wouldn’t be joining the fight.

“... And this is Kronk.” Grakkar muttered, tone far less threatening with the addition. “But as I said, you will face me now, dragonrider!” He brought his axe up in front of him at the ready, “Lok’narash!”

Kai’eka stepped forward a few paces, keeping the drake behind her protectively. As the orc has done, she removed her helm and tossed it aside, allowing her braided ponytail to fall at her back.

“Kai’eka Sunwhisper,” she replied, gripping her swords, “Do me a favour. Don’t die too fast.”

She wasted no time, charging at the pair. Enough words had been exchanged. It was time to fight!

Kronk met her in her charge, lowering its head to ram into her with its horns. She had expected as much, and was prepared for it, leaping up before they met and using the creature’s snout and horns to propel herself into the air as the kodo threw his head back. The momentum was enough to close the distance between her and Grakkar. Her hooked blades swung vertically as she came down, aimed at his shoulders.

Grakkar’s grip on his axe tensed; he brought it up in a broad, horizontal swing to meet Kai’eka’s downward strokes. He knocked the twin blades to the side, sending the elf into a spiral during her final descent. He sidestepped quickly, letting her fall into the sand behind him.

“Kronk, relax!” he commanded with a snarl. “This one’s mine!”

A loud groan of protest escaped the beast, but Kronk did as he was told. He stomped off to the side along the beach, before settling into the sand - broad tongue sticking out to lick at some of it. Gross.

Meanwhile, the time it took to issue the command was all the time Grakkar gave Kai’eka to recover. He charged at her, letting loose a loud, intimidating battlecry; the Warsong earned their clan name somehow, after all. His axe, too, made an otherworldly howl as it sliced through the air in a downward stroke over the elf.

The battle cry sent shivers down Kai’eka’s spine; not of fear. No. Of excitement! Her eyes flared as her adrenaline got pumping. It had been too long since she had faced a worthy foe, and this orc proved to be just that.

At least, so far…

She didn’t skip a beat, not even as she hit the sand. She didn’t fight the spiral he sent her in, but used the momentum to roll to her feet, her back to him. Still, her movements didn’t stop. As she turned to face him, the back of her sword picked up sand to throw in his direction. It blinded Grakkar for only a moment; but it was a crucial moment. Her other blade met his axe in a loud crash of metal against metal, knocking it from his hand and into the sand beside him.

She grinned, before jumping up in an attempt to smash her head against his in her signature headbutt. Orc skulls were thick. Hers was thicker. He grunted, reading Kai’eka’s move as her forehead closed in. He had but a split second to react!

*THWAP*

He struck her hard across the face with a heavy backhand; his padded gauntlet softened the blow to his hand, but the coarse and firm exterior of his glove was anything but gentle against the elf’s face. The slap was enough to divert her forehead from slamming into his, but their shoulders still clashed. He staggered back, catching all of Kai’eka’s momentum. Quickly, he brought his arm back under her to scoop her up. With a roar, he lifted the half-plated elf up with a little leap, turning her laterally, before pile driving her into the sand!

Between the backhand and hitting the ground head first, Kai’eka was completely disoriented. Her ears rang, her vision was hazy, and she’d lost her grip on one of her swords along the way. Thankfully, she was MUCH tougher than the average elf, and despite the massive headache she would be getting later, Grakkar’s maneuver hadn’t knocked her out or killed her.

Thankfully, the woman had survived enough battles that muscle memory had set in. Despite her warped senses, her body knew what to do next. Grakkar would either take the moment to search for a weapon, or set up to finish her off. Normally, he would have that time as his opponent regained their senses.

Not with her.

Almost as soon as she hit the ground, her hand tightened its grip around the hilt of her remaining blade. She swung around to face him as she got to her knees, disorientating her further, but it was worth it. Her weapon connected! She couldn’t see or hear it, but felt the connection, the hit knocking the orc back. She staggered to her feet and took a defensive stance as her vision returned.

The Orc staggered back - an unexpected blow, for certain! He kept his footing in the sand, before looking down at his chest - his tabard and harness were cut all the way through, seeping with blood from a wound beneath. He looked at Kai’eka, and chuckled. His laugh was deep and grisly, lips curling to a grin around his fangs.

The side of her face was already swelling, and she spit out blood that had pooled in her mouth, but she still had a smirk on her face. She was enjoying this. Despite the ringing in her ears, she heard the roar from behind her as her companion took a defensive stance next to her. Even injured, the dumb beast was loyal.

“Doofus, sit!” She ordered.

Her ear twitched as she heard the beast huff and back off, taking a seat next to Kronk. She kept her eyes on the orc, waiting for his next move.

“Haha! Good! Good!” he exclaimed, simply ripping his tattered tabard from his body at this point. “You’re a tenacious elf, yeah? Hardy! I didn’t think you’d last this long!”

Like his tabard before it, Grakkar gripped his harness and ripped it from his body - the leather strappings and metal buckles snapping from his hard tug to reveal his muscular, tattooed upper body. The markings flowed intricately between and through all manner of scars, designed intently and almost ritually. The gash Kai’eka carved into his chest oozed a bit over his pectorals. But he didn’t seem at all shaken by it. He’d been wounded thousands of times before. It was clear he was an older Orc… but his body was anything but feeble or decrepit. He took care of himself, maintaining a warrior’s physique. He tossed the harness aside, and rolled his shoulders.

Kai’eka blinked, but forced her serious expression to stay on her face as Grakkar went ahead and ripped his tabard and harness off his well toned and muscular torso. She eyed the tattoo designs and scars that laced his powerful body… It led her to wonder what the rest of him looked like.

‘Fuck…’ she thought to herself as her body immediately reacted.

The Void Elf cursed this new form of hers; of all the inconvenient moments for this need to arise… The way he’d just ripped off his clothes, his attractive physique, his deep grisly laugh...

‘Focus…’

“If only all you long-eared weaklings could last this long. It’d be more fun killing you!”

He clenched his fists, and slammed his knuckles together with a grunt! Then… he raised his fists at the ready. With a brief wave of his fingers, he beckoned Kai’eka on, tauntingly.

“Keep using those overgrown meat cleavers of yours, little elf - if you think you need the edge!”

She raised an eyebrow as and chuckled, unafraid to face him in a fair fight. She tossed her sword aside and tugged her gauntlets off. She’d already shed her pauldrons and cloak back in the jungle, so her chest plate came off next. Like him, she kept her belt and leg plates on, but left her torso bare save for her halter top, revealing her own muscular and tattooed form to him. Like his, her body was fit and well maintained. The tattoos on her upper arms looked like sleeves, the designs looking runic in nature. They moved down her sides, onto her back and hugged her ribcage and hip bones. The only thing she lacked were the multitude of scars her old body had held. Sadly, they hadn’t transferred from one form to the other.

“You’re on!” she replied in Orcish, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders back.

Again, she charged the orc. Despite her muscle mass, he was bigger than she was by nature. That didn’t deter her, though. She welcomed the challenge! She pulled her arm back as she closed in, ready to throw a punch to his face. He growled, bringing his hands up to block - a mistake, as she shifted her punch to an elbow slam. She caught him in his abdominal muscles, the blow only softened as he leaped back. A grimace; he deserved that.

She attempted to follow up with a roundhouse kick to his side with her spiked greaves, but he caught it, bringing his forearms vertically up as he turned to meet the attempt. Her spiked boots sparked as they slammed into the mail padding of his gloves - thankfully woven closely enough to deflect them from piercing him. He turned his hands out quickly, and gripped her leg, Carrying her momentum a step further by catching her centrifugal force, he spun and threw Kai’eka off behind him into the sand. But he didn’t stop there. He gave chase, running after her as she landed, then leaping into the air to drop a punch down onto her directly!

Kai’eka knew to keep moving as she landed, rolling to get back to her feet, but Grakkar followed close behind. It was too late to dodge his fist as he came down, but managed to angle her body so that it connected with her shoulder instead of anything vital. She let out a grunt as she hit the ground under the blow.

This time, she didn’t bother maneuvering to get up. Instead, she brought her legs up to grapple around his neck he reeled his fist back for another punch. He grunted as he was caught between her powerful thighs, bringing his hands up to try and pry her legs apart at the knees as she attempted to choke him off.

It was a struggle; she was stronger than he thought! He stumbled back a few paces, bringing her up with him as he fought against her vice-grip thighs. For a moment, she was certain the battle was won. A shame, though… he would have made an excellent sparring partner had they been on the same side.

But apparently, he still had some fight left in him!

But then he roared, crouching for a split second, before leaping up! He leaned forward mid-air to bring Kai’eka down beneath him. She braced herself, prepared for a hard landing in the sand. What she hadn’t expected was the knee in her back upon landing. It knocked the wind out of her, causing her legs to loosen from around his neck. Damn!

Quickly, she brought her knees up and planted both her plated feet in his face to kick him off before rolling to her side, coughing to catch her breath from the impact.

Grakkar didn’t give her much time to do so. He staggered back from the kick, but scrambled quickly to pin her again. He sat on her waist, and slammed his palms into her shoulders to force her back into the sand. He snarled down at Kai’eka, bringing a large, muscular hand in to grasp about her neck. The other hand came up and reeled back...

Kai’eka grit her teeth, fully expecting that fist to connect with her face… but it never did. Confusion set in as his clenched fist loosened. His heavy breaths slowed, expression softening from his snarl to a grin. He laughed - LAUGHED!

Of all the things Kai’eka had expected to happen, that wasn’t one of them. She propped herself up on her elbows, gasping for air as he sat up and released her neck.

“Hah! A fine fight, elf!” he guffawed, brushing sand from his broad shoulders and firm chest. “You fought with honor. Ferocity! I like that! So much, I want to fight you again sometime.”

A smirk pulled at her lips. Her ears perked up and eyes flared at the thought of another battle with him. There was no hiding her excitement.

“Ha! I’ll be sure... to beat your ass next time…” she replied in between breaths, “Been looking for a sparring partner that can keep up with me.”

He was still sitting on her, but she wasn’t about to complain about it. It gave her a nice view of his torso… she laid back in the sand wiping sweat and blood from her face with the back of her hand… more like smeared it further.

“Grakkar, you said? I’ll try to remember it.”

Grakkar grunted his affirmation, as his breathing came back under control. The excitement - and nearly being choked out - sent his heart rate sky high, like the most rigorous of workouts. He took a moment to recover, before shifting his sitting on Kai’eka’s abdomen to a self-sustaining kneel. He extended his hand to her, in an offering to help the elf up as well.

His eyes wandered, studying her body now that the threat of death was… well, less imminent. The tattoos were fascinating; he’d never seen anything like it. Perhaps some similarities with the Shadowmoon runes he’d seen - but even then, hers were designed in a style of their own. He also took a moment to size up her physique; lean muscle with well-toned definition. She certainly was built like an orc! He liked that about her.

“Kai’eka, you said.” Grakkar repeated. “You are… unlike any elf I’ve ever seen. Are there others like you? Some clan or tribe of physically strong elves with intricate markings I haven’t heard of yet?”

Kai’eka scoffed at the question, “I could break the others of my kind in half if I looked at them too hard, I’m sure. I’m a bit of an anomaly.”

She shrugged, finally going about putting her shirt back in place and dusting the sand off, at least as much as she could. It was everywhere! Her hair was full of it! She undid the braided ponytail and brought a hand through it to shake it out of the long grey locks.

Her eyes moved to over his form as she did so. She noticed he hadn’t been shy about looking at her, so she wasn’t shy to study him in turn. She eyed the pattern of his tattoos. Each orc clan had different markings. What clan had he said he was from again? She hadn’t been paying attention...

“Warsong?”

Again, Grakkar grunted affirmation - this grunt sounding much more proud. Defiant, almost. He scooped up a handful of stand before standing straight up, and simply smeared the coarse grains across his chest and into his laceration. It’d heal eventually on its own; he only cared to stop the pesky bleeding, is all.

“As I said, I am a raider. A wolf-rider of the Warsong clan. Though, since the clans united, they prefer we call ourselves mag’har. ‘Uncorrupted’, in contrast to the fel-tainted green-skinned orcs you’ve seen here.” he let out a scoff, nostrils flaring a bit. “They can call me whatever they want; but Warsong blood flows in my veins. Nothing will change that.”

He grunted again, definitely defiant this time. He stepped away, and scooped his harness up from where he tossed it. After shaking the sand from it, he inspected it - perhaps it wasn’t his best idea to simply rip it off his body like that. Oh well. Grakkar tossed it aside yet again, before reclaiming his axe.

“A shame, you are the only of your sort. A clan of elves as mighty as you would be a clan I would very much like to see.” he chuckled, looking Kai’eka over again. “You are unique. One of a kind, then. In a clan of your own.”

“Heh, I suppose I am.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she turned away to collect the pieces of her plate armor and her swords, bringing them together to rest against a large boulder. She removed her boots and leg plates, choosing to remain in her halter top and pants. It was warm on this island and they were going to be here a while.

“We should make camp,” she said, “Unless you have a way off this island I don’t know about. I think it may take a while for Doofus’ wing to heal.”

She paused, her long ears perking up to listen. The two beasts were oddly silent. As Kai’eka stood up to look along the beach where they’d left their two companions, she realized they were nowhere to be seen.

“Where the fuck did they go?”

“Bah!” Grakkar gruffed. “It’s Kronk. He does this sometimes…”

Grakkar looked at where the two beasts had been, noting the track patterns they left in the sand. He followed them with his gaze up the beach, until they were too far out to see. Kronk ran off… and it looked like Doofus followed.

“When I tell him to stay out of fights, he loses focus. His attention span isn’t… erm… it’s not great.” the orc shrugged, scooping up his tattered Horde tabard. “He wanders off. Looks like your dragon followed him up the coast a ways.”

Grakkar tucked the tabard into his belt, letting it hang down his front like an off-centered apron. He looked to Kai’eka, and nodded.

“Let’s find them. Then make camp. I don’t have any way off this island, now that both ships are destroyed.” he informed her. “To be honest… I was going to just kill you and take that dragon of yours.”

“Ha! That would be entertaining to watch! I’ll bet one hundred gold coins you wouldn’t be able to steer him and end up landing in the ocean,” she chuckled, walking along the beach at his side, “Nothing against your animal handling skills, but Doofus is dumb as a rock.”