"What... what happened?" Drek'thar grunted as he pulled himself together. Dang, he was really getting old when he fell asleep in the middle of a meeting with the warchief... and all of a sudden, chaos had broken out all around him, with the guards shouting something about a human assassin. "Thrall, mind explaining to me what happened while I was... uuhhh... meditating?"
Giving his old mentor a short smirk, Thrall explained: "A human appeared out of thin air, right in front of us, old friend. I don't really know how she managed to sneak past the guards, but if she's a rogue, she's the most skilled one I've ever seen."
"Hmmmm, strange dat..." Vol'jin muttered while stroking his elongated chin. "Dat woman didn't look like an assassin to me, gurl seemed rather surprised to be caught in da middle of a drink, you get me, mon?"
"Wait a minute..." Drek'thar muttered. "Human girl... appearing out of nowhere..." Suddenly, he had the feeling as if he knew that human they were talking about. "Quick, tell me, what did she look like?"
"Well," Thrall said. "She was slender, not too tall... and the most outstanding part was that she had purple hair, like a Night Elf. Maybe it was dyed..."
"PURPLE HAIR?" the elder shaman gasped. "Thrall, quick, call off your guards... that girl is not an assassin, neither is she an enemy... I know her!"
Vol'jin scratched his head. "You nevah told us you'd know a human..."
"Yes, I do, that must be Shampoo!" He turned to where he heard the rattling of the guards' armor and shouted: "Call the other Grunts, tell them that the human is not an enemy, do you hear me?"
"You heard him, men!" Thrall added. "Make sure she stays unharmed and if possible, bring her to me, safely, so I can apologize."
The Grunts nodded and ran out of the room, leaving Drek'thar, Vol'jin and a bewildered Thrall.
The warchief looked at the shaman and raised his eyebrows. "Shampoo?"
"Yes, I know, a rather peculiar name," Drek'thar sighed. "And the sweetest human girl I ever met, still very proud for her age."
"But how did she manage to appear in the middle of Grommash Hold like that?" Thrall wondered. "If it's a friendly visit she wanted, she could have entered through the main gate... I've told my guards again and again that not all humans are our enemies."
Drek'thar sighed. "Yes, about that... you should know that she always had an unusual way of appearing right next to me... and neither she nor I really know how or why she keeps appearing next to me like that... but it was so many years ago since she last came for a visit... I wonder what the reason for that might be..."
Shampoo allowed a small smirk to appear on her face when she saw the muscled body of Ambassador Rokhstrom went down under her powerful blow. But she knew she had no time to find out if the Orc was truly unconscious or not, so she left. Knowing that she wasn't safe in this building anymore, she climbed to the topmost floor and saw a flicker of hope when her eyes fell on the balcony. From there, she could easily escape by roofhopping...
But the first thing she saw after running outside was an arrow that barely missed her head and got stuck in the wall next to her.
Down on the street, Troll hunter Trekhan growled to himself. "Drats! Missed her... go and get her, my pretty bird!"
And with a shrill squawk, his carrion bird pet flew up to the balcony, where the apparent assassin had appeared.
Shampoo gasped when the huge bird suddenly attacked her, and she tried defending herself against its sharp beak with her bonbori.
Downstairs, Trekhan smiled as he out another arrow on his bow. "That's right, my dear, keep her busy, so I can take aim..."
"STOP! Call back your pet, hunter!" one of the Orgrimmar Grunts shouted as a small battalion of guards appeared next to him.
Trekhan frowned. "Aw, but I almost have the humie finished... lemme take one shot at her, pleeaaaasse?"
"Put down your bow and call back the bird! On direct order of Warchief Thrall, he wants to see the girl in his fortress... alive!"
Trekhan grumbled something unintelligible and put his finger in his mouth. A sharp whistle later, and his carrion bird left its prey alone and came flying back to its master.
Shampoo was certainly surprised when the bird stopped attacking her, but she wasn't going to complain. Now she could escape...
"Wait!" a voice behind her shouted. "Shampoo, don't go!"
On edge, Shampoo twirled around, bonbori ready to strike. She saw another Orc standing behind her. He was big and muscular, even for an Orc, and he was wearing impressive, black armor. Hadn't she seen him in the room she appeared in?
"You let Shampoo go!" she demanded. "She no is assassin!"
"Yes, I know that... that is, now I know." The Orc raised his hands in a reassuring gesture. "Listen to me, I've talked to your friend... your friend, Drek'thar."
Shampoo blinked. "You know Drek'thar?"
The Orc smiled. "Of course I do, he is my trusted friend and mentor. I must apologize that my guards attacked you like that, but we all believed you to be a..."
"An assassin, Shampoo know..." she sighed. "So, you say you is friend of Drek'thar, too? Why Shampoo should believe you? Elder shaman told Shampoo that many Orcs want to kill humans. And stupid wolf mask woman tried smashing Shampoo's skull with axe."
The warchief smirked. "Well, yes, Ambassador Rokhstrom tends to be a bit... impulsive. I don't blame you for knocking her out like this... you must be a strong warrior if you are able to best her in combat, though."
Shampoo felt flattered by his words, since she knew from Drek'thar that an Orc warrior's praise is something not everyone would hear. Still, she was on guard. "Well, Shampoo is trained Amazon... What your name?"
"Oh, sorry, I should have introduced myself first," the Orc grinned. He put his fist to his chest, saluting the Amazon. "I am Warchief Thrall... on behalf of the Horde, I welcome you in Orgrimmar and apologize for the misunderstanding!"
Shampoo finally lowered her weapons. After all, he knew her name... and how would he know it, if not from Drek'thar?
"Shampoo honored, warchief!"
Tyrande Whisperwind moaned and turned around in her sleep. "Furion..." she mumbled to herself. "Emerald Dream... no, no, don't go..."
She flailed around a bit until she awoke with a gasp and sat up in bed.
She sighed. She was still in her personal chambers in Darnassus.
But still, the dream she just had was so... lifelike. Had her soul really touched the Emerald Dream while she was sleeping?
She knew she had seen her beloved Malfurion in her dreams, although it was just a faint, spiritual form, not his actual body... and he had talked to her. These words, even if she had heard them in a dream, were the first words she had heard of him in the past few months.
The High Priestess of Elune lifted her legs out of bed and rubbed her temples. "Why do you have to torment me like this, love?" she sighed. "Why can't you just return to me, in body and spirit?"
She then recalled something... something Malfurion had told her while she was asleep. He had told her that something important was about to happen, something that would affect all of Azeroth... and it would begin with the arrival of a certain girl in Darnassus... a human girl.
Tyrande knew that Malfurion's prophecies always had held some truth... but after all, she couldn't be sure if he had really contacted her, or if he had just been a figment of her imagination.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember his exact words...
"Remember this, my love!" the Arch Druid's words echoed in her mind. "During the time I was asleep in the Emerald Dream, before the Burning Legion returned, I wasn't quite alone... my spiritual being was visited several times by a visitor from another world. But it wasn't a demon, voidwalker or spiritual entity... it was a small, human girl, confused at the sight of the Emerald Dream, and scared.
I talked to her, calmed her down and asked her for her name. After realizing that I and the Dream itself meant no harm to her, she relaxed.
This girl visited me several times in my dreams, and I must say, my long sleep had become much less boring whenever she showed up." Malfurion's spiritual voice chuckled. "However, I haven't seen her for many, many years, and after you awoke me to repel the invasion of the undead and the demons, I nearly forgot about her, to my shame.
But recently I received the vision that she will return... and this time, I made sure that she won't appear in the Emerald Dream, since it isn't safe here anymore. She will come to Darnassus, and it will be the beginning of a chain of events that will change Azeroth forever.
Please, my love, welcome her in my place, and tell her that I haven't forgotten her... make her feel welcome, for little Ukyo has been like a daughter to me... do me this favor, love!" He smiled in her mind. "I shall await the day when we will reunited again... I love you forever, Tyrande..."
And then she had woken up.
She seriously did not know what she was supposed to think of this strange dream. Malfurion had never told her about being visited in the Emerald Dream... and they never had any secrets from each other.
Well, the humans were their allies, so she had no problem with welcoming a human girl... but how was she supposed to know how she looked like?
Again, she sighed. "I probably won't find any sleep after this..." she muttered to herself and stood up. She slowly walked to the window and looked outside, at the moon.
"Elune..." she whispered. "Guide me... and help me make the right decision..."
"Um, excuse me?" a voice suddenly spoke up behind her.
Taken by surprise, Tyrande spun around... and gasped when she saw the human standing in the door to her room.
The bandana-clad boy with the huge backpack and the umbrella scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout this... but can you show me the way to Mulgore? I'm kinda lost..."
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(Posted Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:25)
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