Be Kind To Those Less Fortunate 6
Disclaimer: The Warcraft universe is a creation of Blizzard Entertainment, not me. I intend not to, nor am I making, any money from this work. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Summary: A draenei paladin travelling through Northrend comes across a tauren shaman in trouble with the scourge. Author's note: Yep, another chapter has arrived. Some more about the characters is revealed, and a new horizon is ready to explore. Let's see where this goes shall we? -- Be Kind To Those Less Fortunate 8 -- Wince. The tauren cringed at the touch of the kaldorei druid inspecting his wound. A few moments ago the night elf had come to check on his progress. Watching a few steps behind the elf was a large bulky tauren, himself also a druid and the kaldorei's mentor. So far he hadn't said anything, which suggested that the elf had done everything right so far. At the wounded tauren's side was another large being, not as big as a tauren, but still rather impressive nonetheless. The draenei sat on a wooden chair not designed for his size, holding the three-fingered hand of the tauren with his human-like one. "The wound appears to have healed," explained the night elf, prodding the tauren's side again. "Seems to be a bit tender though." "I noticed," the wounded tauren said bluntly after wincing again, his grip tightening on the draenei's hand. "Do you think he is well enough to start moving around?" the draenei asked, giving the tauren a reassuring look at the increased pressure he felt when the tauren squeezed harder. "I don't see why not," the kaldorei responded. "But I would like to remove the stitches first." After receiving a nod from his mentor, the night elf pulled out some scissors and began his work. In a matter of minutes, the stitches were gone, leaving a patch of skin that looked red and very raw. "Unfortunately, there may be a lifelong scar," the elf explained, discarding the bloody stitches into a bag. "But your other wounds have disappeared completely, thanks to your friend's quick thinking." "The Light tends to heal better than other methods," the draenei explained. "Not always, of course, but often. But then you know this already." The tauren standing behind the elf nodded. "Different magic works in different ways. Nature is a powerful ally, as any druid would know. Still, it isn't always the best way to heal a wound. Efficient, yes, but not always thorough." "So you really think I'm ready to start walking?" the tauren lying on the bed asked. "I mean, I was near death yesterday as I understand it. I thought it would take days to heal." "I'm not sure how you were able to mend so quickly," the tauren druid replied. "Perhaps your close proximity to a Light-wielder over the past few hours has had an effect. What do you think Anarchei?" "It is possible," the draenei
responded. "Some have speculated that some followers of the Light emit an aura that changes with their mood. Perhaps that is why." "Perhaps," the tauren druid mused. "At any rate, Stronghoof appears well enough. Maybe you would like to assist him in getting around for a bit, at least until he can do it on his own comfortably. I'd have someone here do it, but we are a bit short-staffed at the moment. The front-line requires more healers it seems." "That won't be a problem," Anarchei agreed. "Good. I have other patients, as do you Surfal. Come." The kaldorei nodded and turned to follow his mentor out of the room. "Surfal?" Anarchei asked, walking up to the night elf. "Yes?" Surfal turned. "We were never properly introduced. I'm Anarchei." Looking down at the draenei's outstretched hand, the kaldorei took it and shook, looking back at Anarchei's face. "Surfal." "Thanks for your help," the paladin said as he released the elf's hand, smiling at Surfal. "No problem," the druid replied, smiling back. "I'll see you guys later." Giving a little wave at Stronghoof on the bed, the kaldorei turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Turning back to his new friend, Anarchei saw that Stronghoof was trying to get out of bed. "You sure you're ready for this?" Anarchei exclaimed as he rushed forward to assist the tauren. "I think I can manage," Stronghoof replied, wincing as he moved. "I did get out of bed last night without any help." "Yeah," the draenei agreed, placing his hands on the tauren's broad shoulders to prevent him from getting up. "But you were pumped full of adrenaline that time. You didn't feel the pain. Now you can." "I guess," the tauren acknowledged, sighing as Anarchei released him. "I just don't want to be in this bed any more." "Okay," Anarchei nodded. "Will you at least let me stay close in case you need a hand?" Taking the tauren's nod as agreement, the draenei stood by as Stronghoof placed both hands on the edge of the bed and pushed, trying to stand up on his own, his teeth gritting as did so. Groaning, the weakened tauren managed to stand up. "You alright?" "Yeah, it hurts a bit, but I've had worse." Anarchei knew that his friend was lying. Despite his outward appearance, the draenei knew that the tauren was in agony. He had seen other survivors of the plague, heard their screams as the evil burned them alive from the inside. The reason why no one ever heard of survivors was because most of them ended up crippled, unable to walk, some unable to move at all. Many ended up taking their own lives, not wanting to live with the pain any more. The fact that Stronghoof wanted to live, and was able to stand at all was a testament to his strong will. It was probably that same courage that led him to attempt suicide. The paladin was shaken out of his thoughts by the sight of the tauren
taking small steps forward. Quickly catching up, Anarchei made sure to stay at his side the whole time, ready at a moments notice to jump in and catch his friend if he were to fall. But he didn't fall. One lap of the room later, the tauren was breathing heavily, and moaning from the pain, sitting on the bed again. "I think that's enough for now," the draenei said. "No argument here," the tauren replied between breaths. -- Night had fallen. Standing at the entrance to the house of healing were a few tauren, a kaldorei, and a draenei. One of the tauren had a walking stick in his hand, clutching it tightly to keep him standing. The draenei was dressed in his armour, which shone even in the low light. The tauren wore a shirt and trousers, his armour too heavy to handle at that moment. "Your recovery has been remarkable Stronghoof," Surfal expressed with a smile. "We don't want to see you in here again any time soon, okay?" "Sure thing Surfal," Stronghoof replied. "Farewell," the tauren druid said before turning and heading back down the corridor. "Don't mind him," Surfal explained with a grin. "He isn't big on goodbyes." "I noticed," Anarchei responded, pausing. "So I guess we'll be going now." "About that. Where are you going to stay tonight?" "I have a room in an inn." "Ah, good. Well, I'll see you then?" "Maybe. Might be travelling for a while. We'll see." "Oh, okay. Well, goodbye." "Farewell Surfal," Anarchei said. "Bye," Stronghoof said. Once the night elf had vanished down the hallway, the pair faced the small crowd of tauren that had gathered, the same tauren that had helped carry Stronghoof the night he was injured. One of them stepped forward. "I think I speak for all of us here when I say how sorry we all are for how we treated you Stronghoof. We didn't mean the things we said. And for your mate, we offer our condolences. He was a great warrior, we are proud to have fought along side him in battle." All at once the tauren saluted in typical shu'halo fashion, turned about, and exited the building, walking down the street, their hooves echoing off the stone ground. Stronghoof simply starred at the space they has just vacated. "Are you alright Stronghoof?" Anarchei asked facing his friend, his hand on the shu'halo's shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine," Stronghoof replied, his eyes moist. "I just wasn't expecting that. I never thought I'd see the day when my kind would stop living in the past and embrace those like myself." "People change I guess," the draenei shrugged. "I guess," the tauren agreed. "So, which inn do you have a room at?" "The Legerdomain Lounge." Stronghoof nodded as they exited the building. The stars shone brightly as they made they walked, Stronghoof moving at a slower pace than what he was used to, his cane adding to the sound their hooves made on the
cobbled street. Overhead, a drake was flying low over the rooftops of the city, weaving it's way around the towers, before dropped from sight in the vicinity of Krasus' Landing. "Stronghoof, what do you say we make a bit of a detour first?" Anarchei asked, a smile on his face. "Sure, but why?" a puzzled Stronghoof replied. "I want you to meet someone," the draenei explained. As the tauren almost struggled to keep up with the excited draenei, he wondered who it was his friend would want him to meet. They made their way through the streets of Dalaran until they found some stairs that led up to Krasus' Landing. Using Anarchei for support, Stronghoof managed to get to the top of the stairs. On the landing were a few soldiers for the Alliance and Horde, as well as some mages of the Kirin Tor. In the middle of the circular courtyard was a cobalt netherdrake. "Jorus!" Anarchei called, waving at his winged friend. The drake walked over, his wings curled around his body to protect them from the ground. "Stronghoof, this is Jorus," Anarchei introduced the tauren to the drake. "He's the one that flew us here to Dalaran after you got hurt." Taking a moment to take this in, Stronghoof stepped forward, leaning heavily on the thick walking stick. "I can't thank you enough for your help Jorus. I'd give you a hug, but I'm not sure how to give one to a drake," Stronghoof offered with a smile. "Maybe I can arrange that," Jorus said before his form changed before their very eyes, one moment a netherdrake, the next what appeared to be a tall sindorei with long flowing blue-tinged hair. For a moment Stronghoof stood still in shock, not sure what had just happened in front of his eyes, his mouth slightly agape at the sight. "Oh, I'm sorry," Jorus apologised, his blue glowing eyes slightly wider than before. "I didn't realise you had never seen a drake transform before." "Eh, what?" Stronghoof almost stuttered. "Most dragons can take the form of mortals," Jorus explained, glancing at Anarchei as he said this. "I guess I could have told you that before I made the change." "I guess..." After a pause, Jorus perked up. "So, is your offer for a hug still available?" the elf inquired, a grin on his rather handsome face. Not getting a response, Jorus stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the tauren, the taller being coming to his senses and returning the embrace. "Thank you." "Anytime," the elf replied, releasing his hold on Stronghoof and stepping back. "So Anarchei, when do we make our next move?" "Next move?" the shu'halo asked, looking at his friend with a confused look on his face. "I probably should have told you this earlier Stronghoof, but I don't exactly plan on staying in Dalaran for very long," Anarchei explained. "Why's that?" Stronghoof inquired. "This isn't my home. I was only here to find materials for crafting
armour and weapons. When I was finished here I was going to return to my home on Draenor." "Draenor?" "It's called Outland these days," Jorus explained, a bit annoyed at the name change. "So you are leaving soon?" the tauren asked, his head drooping at the realisation. "Of course not," the draenei explained. "I'm going to make sure you are alright first." "Oh," Stronghoof responded. "You can come with me if you want," Anarchei offered. "Really?" Stronghoof asked. "Yes, really," Anarchei replied with a smile, before he was almost knocked off his feet by the overjoyed mass of the tauren as he collided with him for a hug. "For a moment there I thought you were going to leave me," the shu'halo spoke into the pointed ear of the draenei. "I'd never leave a friend in need." -- Two large hooved beings waved as a netherdrake flew off for another bout of hunting the beasts of Northrend. The tauren and draenei turned and headed down the stairs that led to Dalaran proper, the tauren needing some help from his draenei friend, the muscles of his body straining with the effort of holding up the large bull. Once on the relatively flat street, the shu'halo managed to walk on his own with the aid of his rather large cane. "So, what did you think of Jorus?" the draenei asked. "He's nice," the tauren replied. "A bit weird though." "Dragons do have their quirks," Anarchei explained. "Well, since he's the first dragon I've ever met, I'll take your word for it," Stronghoof said. "Really? He'd the first you've ever seen?" The shu'halo nodded. "Huh..." As they walked down the street, a draenei in warrior armour stepped up to them. "I see your buddy here is alive," the warrior snarled at Anarchei, his fangs clearly visible. "Going to go have some fun with him now, hmm?" Anarchei frowned and walked past him, Stronghoof at his side with a confused look on his face. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" the warrior grabbed Anarchei by the arm and jerked him round, only to have his face meet the paladin's fist. The draenei literally flew backwards and hit the stone wall of a building before slumping to the ground, still conscious but dizzy. "Don't you ever touch me again!" Anarchei growled, standing over the warrior. "Got it?" The draenei warrior nodded, holding the side of his face with his hand. Anarchei turned back to Stronghoof and continued walking down the street, the tauren barely keeping up. "What just happened?" "Some people never change." -- Swish. The room at the Legerdomain Lounge was rather large. In fact, it seemed to be more of an apartment than a mere room in an inn. In what must have been the common area was a sofa and a couple of armchairs surrounding a low table with some books lying atop it. Sitting on one of the armchairs, Anarchei had his arms crossed and a
frown on his face. Lying on the sofa, Stronghoof watched the swishing tail of the draenei as he was lost in his thoughts. "What did that warrior mean when he said 'going to have some fun with him now'?" Stronghoof asked. "He thought that I was taking you somewhere so we could have sex with you," Anarchei explained, his frown deepening. "But...why would he think that?" the tauren inquired, still unsure what his friend meant. "Because I'm like you," Anarchei replied, the draenei's frown now gone. "Like me?" "Yes, I'm attracted to males." "Oh...I had no idea." "It's not your fault. I didn't plan on telling you, at least, not until you were ready." Stronghoof nodded. "I understand. I don't think I was ready to know right now." "Sorry," Anarchei apologised, placing his hands on the arms of the chair. "You don't need to be sorry," Stronghoof offered, sitting up on the sofa with a grunt. "I would have figured it out eventually." Anarchei nodded. "I guess." A short silence followed, both lost in their thoughts, both not looking at the other, both unsure how to proceed. Suddenly a soft glow filled the candle-lit room. Anarchei looked around, his eyes settling on the tauren across from him. Stronghoof was emitting the glow, but he wasn't aware of it, his eyes closed as he leant back on the sofa. "Stronghoof," the draenei called gently. "Yeah?" the shu'halo replied softly. "You're glowing." The tauren's eyes shot open. He noticed the glow, brought his hands up to his eyes and confirmed it. "Why am I glowing?" Stronghoof asked, his eyes wide and his breathing getting deeper. "I don't know," Anarchei replied as he stood up and kneeled in front of the tauren, reaching his hands out to touch Stronghoof's own. "May I?" Stronghoof nodded. Anarchei proceeded to hold the shu'halo's hands in his own, his eyes closed in concentration. After a short period of time, he nodded. "I know why you are glowing." After a short pause, Stronghoof grew nervous. "Why am I glowing? Tell me." "It's the Light," Anarchei explained, a smile on his face as he looked into the eyes of his friend. "You are channelling the Light."