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"I'll entertain your idea, Skychaser, but I'm leading our little expedition."

"That's fine. At least you'll be coming with me. I'm thankful for that."

The three of them sat at the table in the living room. Alanea was quiet, watching her master and Kirima as they spoke. On the table was a map of the planet. Andereon had his breastplate on, Kirima had her clothing and armor. Alanea had nothing, completely nude. Her hands on her lap, she just looked at the map of Azeroth. Andereon had a finger on Kul Tiras, west of the Eastern Kingdoms.

"We can't go to Kul Tiras," he said. "If what the rumors I hear in the towns are true, the Alliance is focusing their efforts on trying to win over the country, so the Alliance navy will be around it, or at least the Kul Tiran navy, watching for Horde ships. I'd fit in just fine; you two will be killed on sight."

"You can't pretend we're prisoners?" Alanea asked.

"They'd wonder why I would be bringing prisoners along with me rather than deliver them to the nearest Alliance station for processing. And if I lie and claim you two are of some importance--" he glanced at Kirima and smirked, no doubt rubbing her face in her accomplishments, "--they'll take you off my hands anyway and just question you. Probably violently."

He kept his eyes on her and pointed to an island north of Pandaria. "What do you have on Zandalar?"

Kirima nodded and put a thick finger on the island north of Pandaria. "The Zandalari Empire still rule the land, last I had heard. They're trolls, like the Darkspear and Shatterspear. According to the messages I received before deserting, the Horde was focusing on gaining favor with the Zandalari. Ashton mentioned to me that the Alliance had captured their princess, but she had broken out with some help. That no doubt endeared the empire to the Horde."

Andereon let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his snout in annoyance. "They're going to bring the war to the middle of the damn ocean..."

Kirima tapped her chin slowly. They couldn't step foot in either Kul Tiras nor Zandalar. They probably couldn't even get close given the navies for both factions would be on alert for ships that didn't belong to them. They didn't need to approach either island, but having a place to settle down for a while would make her feel better. They couldn't get much information out here in the mainland. What to do, what to do...?

Alanea spoke up. "Master, Miss Skychaser...what about acting as mercenaries?"

Andereon tapped his foot for a couple of seconds. Kirima saw him close his eyes. He was thinking. That was good, at least. She had tensed up, assuming he would snap at Alanea for speaking, but she let out a soft sigh as he replied: "We could form a mercenary band, at least until we secure some of this Azerite. But it won't be that simple. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend it."

Kirima nodded and added, "If either side is looking for mercenaries, it's not going to be for a simple one-time job. They'll be looking to hire mercenaries for a long tenure. And we'll be observed and watched. And..." she trailed off as a thought ran through her mind. She frowned and furrowed her brow. She didn't want to have to kill to get this done, but...

"We'll be in heavy fighting," Andereon finished for her, crossing his arms. "We'll be having to fight against the Horde, or the Alliance. Skychaser doesn't want to fight her fellow hunters, and I don't want to fight the Alliance. Especially if King Greymane is in Kul Tiras."

Kirima shot a look of confusion. "He is, that's what Ashton said. How did you know that?"

"The first Kul Tirans were Gilneans originally," Andereon replied. "Most of the sailors who discovered and explored Kul Tiras were from Gilneas. So there's distant kinship there. After what happened with Admiral Proudmoore in Theramore, the best chance the Alliance would have to recruit them for the war would be to send the king."

Kirima caught a confused look from Alanea. "The Third War...it's a long story, Alanea. Ancient history, relatively."

"We've been through so much shit that it's certainly _feels_like it," Andereon muttered. "But in any case, we can rule out feigning being a mercenary group. Skychaser, you're a hero. You don't have _any_connections that could help us? Smugglers, owed favors, goblins that won't charge too much?"

Connections? She had to take a moment to think on it. She did know a number of smugglers, but would any of them be willing to risk getting shot at by actual navy warships? If they did manage to find directions to an island with Azerite, they could probably use that as partial payment for whoever transported them. But it would be a tall order; she figured, likely along with Andereon, that the ocean trading routes would be heavily locked down. It would be difficult to get any ship that wasn't on official business to get close to Kul Tiras or Zandalar. Goblins were crazy enough to do anything for money, but while she knew Andereon had some wealth, he didn't want to be completely bankrupted by the trip, especially since she talked him into it. She couldn't do that to him.

Most of her Horde connections in the Eastern Kingdoms were likely unavailable now that Lordaeron had fallen and Stromgarde was likely going to be a battleground given its proximity to Silvermoon City, home of the blood elves. After the Broken Isles and the Burning Legion invasion, her name did have some clout, but could she arrange something for them? She had a few names in mind that could help...she would need to send out a lot of letters.

She relayed as much to him. "I need time to write letters to people that might help us. Some aren't Horde, some are. Some might have died or moved around after Teldrassil and Lordaeron."

"I have parchment and ink stored away," Andereon replied. "Have them ready by lunch and I'll be able to mail them out at the nearest town."

Alanea spoke up again. Her voice was quiet but it was clear she had been doing some thinking of her own while Andereon and Kirima were talking. "If we do manage to get to either island, what do we do after?"

"If the world is bleeding this Azerite stuff," Andereon replied. "odds are that both factions are using the islands as storage and gathering points. The Great Sea has many, many uncharted and unmapped islands, so it's entirely likely that the Horde and Alliance are not only trying to recruit those trolls and the Kul Tirans, but also using their harbors to scout for and explore those islands." He glanced at Kirima. "The odds say that once we get to either country, we'll be in a position where we could risk death to try and take stored Azerite, or join with a group to gather Azerite from one of the uncharted islands."

"But we would need to get to Kul Tiras or Zandalar first," Kirima concluded.

"So get to writing. Alanea, wash." Andereon stood up from his chair. "I know you brought spare clothing, Skychaser. They might be a bit big on her, but your connections will no doubt turn on me if I bring a naked tauren along."

"That's fair," Kirima replied with a nod.

"I'll go get the parchment and ink."

He walked out of the living room and vanished down the hallway past Kirima. Kirima watched him go and looked over at Alanea.

The young druid looked back at her and then spoke in Taur-ahe, the native tongue of the tauren. "Do you think it will work?"

Kirima opened her mouth and then closed it. Would it work? It was just a theory. Arcane energy canceled out fel energy, but if the fel energy was so ingrained in his body, would the Azerite actually fix him, or would it kill him? Or would it somehow get confused and strengthen the fel energy by thinking it was a part of him? She had to be honest.

"I don't know," she replied in Taur-ahe. "If nothing else, I don't want you to be the only one who'll suffer under his madness. I threw myself at his feet already, so there's no turning back for me."

Alanea lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I can't go against him..."

"I know. He beat the fight out of you. I'm sure you'd even fight me if he told you to."

Alanea didn't reply. Kirima didn't need her to; all it would take was a threat from Andereon to get her to cast some spell on Kirima. Andereon was acting cordial to her now but Kirima knew that could change in a heartbeat. For both of them, really. He hadn't given her back her bow, and he could just come back and just tie her up. Maybe Ashton was right after all. She was just punishing herself for reasons she might not even need to be punished for. But it was too late to back out.

Alanea stood up from her chair. "I should go clean up," she said.

Kirima nodded, and then she was alone as Alanea left the room.

_Contacts,_she thought to herself. She knew some smugglers who helped her secure some supplies for the Trueshot Lodge and the nightborne in Suramar. But they wouldn't dare risk capture or death from either faction. The goblins she knew would drain them of their money since they would know her name wouldn't be enough for them. There was that pandaren monk she met in the Broken Isles, but...would she be that crazy to risk herself?

She didn't know, but she had to try. Lilica Stormchaser would be her best shot without draining them dry or...having to "negotiate" with people who would know she deserted, though she had to hope that the pandaren was still alive and able to be contacted.

Andereon returned to her and placed a small stack of parchment on the table, along with a small stack of envelopes and a couple of ink bottles. "Get to writing," he ordered.

Kirima nodded and took one of the sheets of parchment. Setting herself up to start writing, she took a deep breath. "I'm already starting to feel like I'm back at the Trueshot Lodge. Writing letters almost daily, coordinating with the other orders, the Windrunner bow at my side..."

Andereon narrowed his eyes, not amused. "Don't ruin my good mood this early, Skychaser."

"I know, I know..."

---

Kirima let out a long sigh as she relaxed in the pool of water. The constant fighting was taking a toll on her body and mind. The naga in Azsuna, Xavius and the satyrs in Val'sharah, everything involving the vrykul in Stormheim...and now the drogbar in Highmountain. It had been roughly a month of fighting, with little time to rest and relax, and she knew that other obstacles lay ahead of her. The rest of the Pillars of Creation needed to be gathered, she had her ever-growing list of responsibilities to the Trueshot Lodge as the Huntmaster-apparent, trying her best to separate her duty from the fact that Warchief Windrunner was doing shady business in Stormheim, and the fact that Gilneas attacked the Horde in Stormheim as well...

So much to do. So much to fight. So much stress. She was glad that the Highmountain were so accommodating to her, though perhaps it was the fact that she was a tauren herself, or the Huntmaster-apparent, or that the Trueshot Lodge was here in Highmountain, that led the Thunder Totem inn to tell her about the warm springs she was bathing in. Or maybe she was just reading too much into it and was just_that _tired.

She gazed out into the horizon, looking at the snowcapped mountains and the valleys between them. The drogbar had stolen the Hammer of Khaz'goroth, a Pillar of Creation that Khadgar needed to deal with the Burning Legion. The drogbar had also decimated the Highmounten tauren tribe, and the next day she would need to set out to gather help from the other tribes nearby. She had a long,_long _road ahead of her.

There was also the issue of the bow locked away in her room. Thas'gorah, the bow formerly wielded by the elf Aleria Windrunner, it was a legendary weapon blessed with power that she had yet to fully awaken, and both the Alliance and Horde knew she had it. She would need to take special care of it lest she run afoul of the Windrunners on either side, especially her warchief. If the bow were to be damaged, Warchief Windrunner might have her punished just out of damaging a Windrunner heirloom like that...

"Huntmaster? You're the Huntmaster of the Trueshot Lodge?"

She opened her eyes and looked around. She immediately noticed a young pandaren approaching her from the bath entrance, wearing only a towel. Not as rotund as the other pandaren she had met in her travels, this one was definitely skinny. Not lithe, but it was clear that she extremely fit. Judging from her posture, the red-and-cream colored girl was a fighter. A monk maybe? Or a warrior.

"Huntmaster-apparent, but I would guess since there's no other candidates I'd be it," Kirima replied. She was used to seeing others in these communal baths, so she wasn't put off by the intrusion, but as far as she knew there weren't that many people staying in the inn at current. How long as she in the bath for?

"When the innkeeper said they had a special guest, I didn't think it was the Trueshot Lodge leaderherself!" The pandaren flung off her towel and stepped into the bath, sitting next to Kirima. The pandaren was staring at her, looking her over. Kirima kept an eye on her as she tried to relax, but the stare was...intense. After a whole minute, she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh...how did you know I was the Huntmaster?" Kirima asked.

"Do you know Hemit Nesingwary?"

Kirima blinked. Nesingwary was a hunter who made a name for himself, hunting animals all over Azeroth, with many trophies and accolades to his name. "Yeah. He has a camp somewhere here in Highmountain."

"He told me about you when I stopped by his camp a couple of days ago." The pandaren extended a hand. "My name's Lilica Stormchaser."

"Kirima Skychaster, though you probably already knew that." The two shook hands.

"Are you having a day off from your duties?" Lilica asked. "I figured you'd be in the Lodge or something."

Kirima let out a soft laugh. "No, I'm here to help solve the drogbar problem. After a rest, anyway."

"So am I! We should work together!" Lilica leaned in, smiling wide. "You're a hunter, I'm a monk. That's range and melee!"

The tauren gave the pandaren a quizzical look. "Mayla Highmountain didn't say anything about hiring mercenaries or freelancers..."

"No, but I was planning on helping out anyway, so it works for both of us!"

A single laugh from Kirima. This monk certainly was eager and energetic. But she usually worked alone, after Blackmane had to be retired and she couldn't bring herself to replace him. She didn't want to have to worry about putting the girl in danger. "I appreciate the offer, Lilica, but my business here is for the Horde and the Unseen Path, so I can't really bring any third parties in."

"I can take care of myself," Lilica insisted. "Anyone adventuring around here has to be tough to survive the dangers here in the Broken Isles. You've been to Azsuna, right? Those naga are dangerous, especially when fighting hand-to-sword. They get their coils around you and they squeeze you and don't let go, and then they start stabbing. Stormheim? Very treacherous terrain. I've been to Northrend too. Bitter, bitter cold. I even got a peek at the Icecrown Citadel! I may be young but I've always wanted to explore Azeroth; I know it's dangerous, but that's why I've trained night and day to be able to defend myself."

Kirima stared at her blankly. An explorer? Except for the natives, the Broken Isles were restricted to the Alliance and Horde forces, plus anyone Khadgar allowed via Dalaran. She would have had to sneak aboard or pretend to be a member of either faction. For the pandaren that was easy given there were pandaren on both sides. But was it really that easy?

Almost as if reading her mind, Lilica nodded. "I pretended to be a member of the Alliance! They won't care about a sailor going missing, I'm sure."

"And how do you expect to go back? Pretending to be a member of the Alliance again?"

"Horde, actually!"

Kirima narrowed her eyes. "There's_monsters _all around the Broken Isles, Lilica."

"I know! I've taken out a bunch! You'd be surprised at the stuff people ask that you do even after heroes come in to take care of things. I've made a couple of friends, and learned a lot about the cultures here. Working together would make our jobs easier! You want to solve the drogbar problem and I want to help the tauren here. We help each other, we both win!"

Kirima sighed. The girl clearly just wanted to help. But the situation with the drogbar was dangerous. Could she really protect herself? Would she even take no for an answer? Lilica practically had the hunter trapped in the bath. Maybe having someone to help her out wouldn't be too bad...

"If you're sure you can take care of yourself, fine," Kirima shrugged.

Lilica suddenly closed the distance between them, pressing her body against Kirima's tightly, a hug that almost submerged them both completely in the water. "It'll be great! We can call ourselves Team Chaser since our last names are so similar! We'll beat back those dumb drogbar and all of the demons in the Broken Isles!"

Kitima struggled to keep them both from going underwater completely, using a hand to grip the edge of the bath while trying to ignore the fact their breasts were pressing together tightly. "We're not naming ourselves! Calm down!"

It took several seconds of involuntary nuzzling and hugging before Lilica broke the embrace, now sitting right next to and leaning against Kirima. "I think it's a nice name. You can even be the leader!"

"I'm not going to go to the Highmountain chieftain and introduce us as 'Team Chaser'," Kirima replied in a flat tone. She was now immediately regretting her allowing the pandaren to talk her into this. She was so bubbly that it was really hard to focus on the idea that the monk could take care of herself, but if her claims were true then she could at least back up her talk, at least enough to not get killed immediately. "Look, let's just finish the bath in peace, alright? We can talk more about things once we have to start drying off."

"After we dry off we should thin about our next step, yeah. What are we gonna do, Captain? Go right into the drogbar lairs and start cracking skulls?"

Kirima gave her a sharp look. "...Captain?"

"You're the Huntmaster, so you're the leader of the team! You can't chase a storm without chasing the sky!"

Kirima narrowed her eyes. Now she was_really _regretting this choice.

---

Still, Lilica had been able to pull her weight just fine. With her help, Kirima was able to unite the Highmountain tauren under the Highmountain tribe and take the Pillar of Creation from the drogbar king. Lilica even provided support during the united front with the nightborne in Suramar, and on the Broken Shore, where she helped support the Armies of Legionfall in her own way. Before Kirima had gone to Argus, she repaid Lilica by helping her get off the Broken Isles and off to further adventure, using her clout as Huntmaster and Horde champion to get her safe passage through a portal in Dalaran to head back to the mainland.

She had been sad to see her go. Lilica had wanted to go to Argus with her, but admitted it would be too dangerous for her, probably the first smart thing she had said the entire time they were together. But Alanea missed her anyway.

The pandaren had given her a means to send mail to her, and she had indeed sent letters since returning from Argus, but after everything began to dissolve between the Alliance and Horde again and the Unseen Path and other orders began to split or declare neutrality apart from the individual members, she couldn't be sure that Lilica would even be alive or not. If she was, Kirima hoped she'd be able to render some assistance. According to the last letter she had gotten from the monk, Lilica had acquired a boat that she had planned to use to explore parts of the Great Sea. Pandaria was very close to Zuldazar, so the ship would come in handy, and maybe Lilica would be going that way anyway...

She just hoped that the mail from the mainland to Pandaria wouldn't be disrupted by the war. Time wasn't really on her side.

Having penned the letter, she quickly placed it into an envelope and addressed it to the address Lilica had given her. One down. She looked at the stack of parchment and nodded. She had to keep her options open, so she may as well try her usual contacts too...

---

Kirima rubbed her wrist as she looked at the fifteen letters she had written to Lilica and her other contacts. It was likely only Lilica would be able to respond in time, but she wanted her bases covered. Andereon had made lunch for the group as Alanea tried on some of Kirima's clothing. Since Kirima was older and taller than Alanea, they indeed fit her big, but Andereon had assured her it was fine.

As he collected the letters, the worgen turned to Alanea. "Did your training include that stag form you druids love to use?"

She nodded.

"Good. If we're going to be playing the waiting game with waiting for responses, we may as well get some things from Darkshire. With me riding you, it'll cut down on travel time. We may be able to get there and back before night falls fully."

Alanea nodded. "I understand."

Kirima stood up and stretched, grateful that she didn't need to sit anymore. "What will I be doing?"

"Watching the house. Most people don't know the difference between a tauren druid and a night elf druid or a worgen druid. A stag is a stag. I can take her just fine."

Kirima nodded. "Alright. I'll sit here and...mull over the fact that we're going to be getting close to a war zone or two?" She let out a light laugh. "...Earth-Mother watch over us," she added quietly as Andereon and Alanea stepped out of the house.

It was going to be a long rest of the day.

---

He had left her bow, or at least, didn't lock it away in a crate. She was grateful for that; she wanted to get some aiming practice. She didn't have the Windrunner bow anymore, having given it to Aleria after using it to stabilize the sword Sargeras plunged into Azeroth, and she was still getting used to her new bow.

She had practiced for an hour around the forest near the house. Running shots, rapid shots, aimed shots, even shots while prone on the ground. She wanted to be prepared for any situation, and most of the arrows she fired found their mark, embedding themselves in trees with a high amount of precision. Even the rapid shots had a good grouping, as did suddenly snapping to various targets surrounding her. Once she was confident in her bow's tuning, she returned to the house and rested, taking it easy. She had considered using some of the stored tools and wood to work on her fletching skills, but she figured she would need to ask permission for that.

Andereon and Alanea returned some time after night had fallen completely. She met them outside, Andereon climbing off of Alanea. He put a hand on the collar, and it glowed as she changed back to her normal form. "Mail's sent," he said. "We wait."

"The earliest response we can expect is probably the end of the week," Kirima replied. "Pandaria isn't affected much by the conflict, I hope, so if there's some mailing routes that should still be intact, it's from the mainlands to Pandaria."

"Good." He walked past her and gestured for the tauren to follow him inside. "Let's settle in for the night. Alanea, you have your room. Skychaser, you're sleeping with me tonight."

Alanea glanced at Kirima, who blinked in surprise. "Uh...me?" Kirima asked, uncertain.

"Did I stutter?" He turned to face her fully, his gaze cold steel.

She turned her eyes away from his, suddenly nervous. "No...no, but I don't think that--"

"You don't think, no," Andereon asserted. "We have a lot to catch up on, you and I. And I have a lot to say to you."

Kirima's whole body tensed as she heard his words. A small fragment of her mind told her to run, but there would be no point. No, she knew deep down that it would come to this. She had been surprised that it didn't happen the first night she stayed. Tonight was probably going to be hell for her, but she figured she deserved it. After a few seconds of hesitation, but what felt like hours in her mind, she nodded. "Alright, Jayden."

For a second, she saw his left eye glimmer with that fel glow. But he didn't snap at her. She deliberately called him that to appeal to what humanity was left in him, or was it more her way of saying she accepted what was going to happen? She couldn't be sure herself.

She followed him into his room, and he began to remove his armor, placing his sword and shield on a rack with his second sword.

Kirima just stared as he undressed, unsure of what to say. Now that they were alone, she wanted to say...so much. More apologies, wanting to hear about how he lived after deserting the Barrens invasion outpost, how he..._survived_all this time. She wanted to know so much.

She figured she'd get a head start on things, so she began to remove her armor as well, setting it on the ground by the doorway. Torso, wrists, waist, legs, untying them one by one and putting them in a rough pile. She followed it up with her shirt and shorts, followed by her undergarments. He had seen her naked before, of course. Not just at the worgen pack cave where he rescued her, but back in the Barrens camp, in the communal baths or one of the small lakes near the camp.

She turned to face him, finding him naked as well. His armor rested on an armor stand for easy retrieval. He stared at it for about a minute, ignoring her completely until she took a step toward him. What was going on in that head of his? What was he thinking about? Her? Alanea? Being healed? What would happen if it didn't work?

He turned, a very faint glow in his left eye. His voice was low. "Not a scratch on you," he observed.

She looked down at her body. "That's not...completely true. I've been scratched and clawed and bitten at. A couple of scars from blades. Nothing too deep, thank the Earth-Mother."

He laughed, but it sounded more like a scoff. "You hunters always had it so easy, sitting at a distance, letting others fight in your place."

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. She knew he knew what she was going to say. He had always been glad to take the blows for his squad, he wouldn't need reminding. This was him venting to her, about her.

"It took everything I had to not drag you from your bed and have my way with you," Andereon told her. "For a few days there was nothing I wanted more; it had become an obsession. To pay you back, punish you for being so stupid, so foolish to rush past the Legion battle line on your own. You knew I would do what I could to protect you, and you disobeyed a direct order from me."

Kirima felt the words stab at her violently. Even in her memories she could hear his roaring voice over the din of battle, telling her to fall back, to not rush in, to not be stupid. And he had rushed in after her to save her.

"You had told me I could rely on you to follow orders despite our differing factions. And I believed you. Ever since that day, I had wanted to take everything from you, to show you what happens when you personally cross me. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't go through with it back then. So I ran, like a coward, still scared over what I was becoming."

He took a heavy step toward her, the green veins in his upper left torso glowing with fel taint as the rage built up in him. She didn't dare step back. "I still had my wits about me, but I could feel the fel eating away at my being. I had gone to priests, I had gone to druids, I had gone to paladins to try and fix what was wrong with me."

Kirima and Ashton had visited druids and shamans together and separately to figure out what had happened too. The theory that Ashton had come up with was that a preemptive healing spell had infused with the fel blast that engulfed him at the exact same time, making the fel energy become a part of him as the healing magic healed everything together, a simple freak accident of two magics interacting in the same instance. There would be no way to be sure, though.

"For almost a full year I've gone up and down Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms trying to keep from going too mad. But I had to come to terms with the fact that my time was limited, Skychaser. So I had this home built for me, so I could try to enjoy what little time I had left before I either went mad or killed myself. Then, what do you know, the fucking Horde decides to go and blow up the night elf tree while I'm finishing up my business in Ashenvale! Then I see that damn tauren and all I can think of is you and how I couldn't pass up this chance to make someone else suffer!"

He took another step toward her. She stood her ground, but was shaking. "And now here we are," she said.

"Have you considered what I'll do to you if this whole thing is a waste of time?"

He'd kill her.

No.

He'd make her wish he would kill her. That was it. But it was her action without thinking that brought them to this point. She didn't _want_to die, but at the very least it would be closure. So she nodded.

"And you're staying?"

"You won't let me leave."

He chuckled. "That's true."

He took another step toward her, and now he was inches away from her. No longer hunched over, he stood taller than her, and she looked up at him. His gaze stayed on her, and she couldn't help but hyperventilate slightly.

"She was young, easy to break, easy to shape how I wanted. Just a couple of months and look how obedient she is. She knows she'll never be able to go back home, she knows no one will ever realize what fully happened to her. You were the only one who had a chance of saving her, and yet you're in my hands now, and you came willingly."

She was more resilient than Alanea. He would need to work harder to break her. But he would do it eventually, even if it took him months. If the Azertie didn't do anything to him, she would be doomed to be as timid as Alanea was now. The prospect of being nothing more than an obedient slave scared her, terrified her, but she had no choice unless she got very desperate.

Her eyes must have betrayed some of her feelings, because he let out a laugh. "You realize what's coming. Good."

They stared at each other for a full minute. Kirima couldn't help but breathe ever faster, unsure of what was going to happen. Was he going to hit her? Grab her? Yell more? The Earth-Mother knew she deserved it, but still, the silence was unnerving. He let out a soft growl as the corrupted veins in his body glowed, the eye glowing brighter.

"It's taking everything I have to not drag you to the bed, Skychaser," Andereon said.

So he was still trying to hold himself back. He had everything he wanted right in front of him and the humanity inside him was keeping him from just claiming it. That was noble, touching even. Jayden wasn't gone, not fully. But she knew that if he kept holding the anger in, it wouldn't end well for either of them. He needed to vent his anger. And she knew what she had to do.

Not that it did anything to help with her shaking. The proud Huntmaster nodded and put a hand on the worgen's chest. She could feel a raised patch of skin under the fur, a scar. Her hand trailed along it, a thick finger moving up several inches, right to the middle of his breastbone. It was from a Burning Legion spear after that fel blast. His armor had practically melted off him and the spear had no resistance going into him.

"There's no need for pretense," she said quietly. "I was yours the moment I came back. Do with me what you want. I know you've been waiting for a long time."

He let out a light scoff, but smirked. He grabbed her head and tilted it down, and as her gaze turned to his groin, she could see his cock emerging from its sheath. "You don't know what you ask for," he told her.

"if anything," she replied, "it'll be better than that pack."

He grabbed her by the left arm and sneered. "Oh, that pack had nothing on me, Huntmaster," he told her. Pulling her toward him, he spun and pushed her onto the bed. She stumbled and almost tell onto it face first, but adjusted herself to land on her side.

"At least it isn't the floor..." she muttered.

"Oh, there's time for that later," he told her. He quickly pinned her down on her back, a vicious glare in his eyes. "I need to savor my new prize. To think, you're a hero of the Horde, a champion respected by the Horde leaders, Huntmaster of the Trueshot Lodge and the Unseen Path. You're practically a living legend."

He gripped her arms even tighter and she winced at the pressure. "And yet here you are, away from their prying eyes, all your strength and skill meaning nothing."

She looked down and saw him preparing to enter her. She spread her legs, figuring she should do what she could to make it hurt less. She decided to play along with his words. "When you're in bed with someone...you're at your most vulnerable."

"You'd know all about vulnerability, being a hunter," he told her. "All they have to do is get close, get their hands on you...and that's it." He smiled.

"That's...that's it," she repeated.

"So how does it feel, being reduced to nothing?"

Then, he pushed into her. She grit her teeth as his length began to sink inside, spreading her open. The worgen alpha the month previous had been large, but it had been a full month, give or take a couple of days, so she wasn't used to the sudden penetration. She let out a quiet grunt, but otherwise didn't say anything else, just watching that warm pink rod slowly vanish from her sight.

"The demons of the Burning Legion, the naga of Queen Azshara, the drogbar of Highmountain, everything else in the Broken Isles, and one of the best the Horde has to offer falls to a single worgen."

He began to move inside her. Out, then in. Out, in. Out, in. It was a slow, teasing rhythm. She squirmed under his hold, but couldn't do much otherwise aside from breathing heavily and letting out the occasional grunt or moan.

"To think that not only did you come back willingly, you were the one who wanted me to do this to you." It was technically the truth, but they both knew that this was going to be inevitable. Still...to just outright say she was the one who wanted all this...

She had forgotten how good he was at psychology. A mix of shame and guilt was starting to well up in her, along with the slight pleasure he was giving her with his thrusts.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Huntmaster?" He asked her. His breathing was slow, but heavy. He was trying to stay focused and in control of his temper.

"I...can't defend myself..." she admitted. "You're right. Despite...everything I've done, I can't protect myself in this situation..."

"So you may as well enjoy it, right?" He sneered at her, picking up the pace every so slightly. Every three or four thrusts he would plunge his entire length into her, making her gasp. "Throwing all of your accomplishments away just because you felt guilty. It doesn't matter. None of it matters, as long as you get what you want."

"Y...yeah..." she said. She wasn't explicitly admitting to anything, but she knew he was getting excited by the power he had over her. Did she believe it herself? She didn't know.

The minutes rolled by slowly. His thrusts continued to be slow, taunting her with fleeting pleasure still. She began to pant regularly, her body getting hotter and hotter.

"You can't even...muster the words to defend yourself..." he told her. "For a living legend you're as dense as a rock. I guess it's just a running thing for you tauren..."

She let out a soft whimper as he punctuated "tauren" with another hard thrust. "I don't...I can..." Kirima finally tried to defend herself, but couldn't find the words easily. This weird mix of insulting and gentleness was throwing her off. She had fully expected to be raped or, given she was willing to a point, fucked roughly, but this gentleness mixed in with insults to her character was confusing her. Did he mean to do it? It was certainly having an effect on he mentally. She had no idea what to think, and the pleasure and guilt was now being mixed in with confusion.

He had been an effective warrior, but there was a reason he had been a Gilnean captain.

"Did you tell your parents you'd...be coming here? I know they're alive, Skychaser..."

She let out a soft moan, unwittingly doing so as she tried to speak. "N...no, I told them I would...be joining the war..."

"So you lied to your parents? What will they think when they hear their daughter is a deserter? For shame..." He let out a breathy laugh as he picked up the pace of his thrusting. "Maybe you should write them a letter? Tell them...that you've been captured and are a prisoner." He laughed again, masking a moan himself. "It's the truth, after all."

He hit a sensitive spot inside her, and she let out a loud moaning gasp. With his timing, it made her sound like she had moaned at the thought of writing to her parents. Andereon really _was_dangerous. If he fully succumbed to his madness he would be a dangerous foe to anyone in his way.

"Let's...not get too carried away..." Kirima said, taking heavy breaths.

"I'm not even getting started, Skychaser," Andereon replied. Another strike inside, hitting her sensitive spot again. "You're mine in all but name now. Now that I have you, I'm never letting go. And a part of you wants that. Maybe..."

He smiled, his voice lowering to a breathy whisper. "Maybe your guilt comes from...a part of you knowing you didn't deserve to live a...grand life as you did."

Her body began to tense up. Wait, how was she already getting close to orgasm? Her eyes went wide. Wait, did she actually want this to happen to her!? No, of course not! Her guilt over everything was her knowing she had messed up and did something she shouldn't have! There wasn't some deep-rooted desire to be punished...was there? She thought this was punishment for it, but it wasn't some inherent desire of her being! Was it? She never thought about it before, she never had time to until she deserted the Horde!

"That confusion in your eyes..." Andereon chuckled. "It's as beautiful as you are."

She blinked in surprise. Did he just call her beautiful? After all that!? What was she supposed to think about that!? She stammered a response, but he kept her quiet, moans and scattered sounds all she could muster as the tension in her body built up like a coil. She tried to rationalize something with her mind, but the mix of emotions was making it hard to really focus. She wasn't even aware that one of her legs had wrapped around the worgen slightly, as did one of her hands, keeping him close despite her confusion.

He didn't just break Alanea with rape. No...he did a lot more. And she was experiencing it firsthand.

And...it felt...bad? Good? Pleasurable. No, confusing! She let out a single laugh, trying to reconcile everything flooding through her mind.

Her moans were increasing as she was approaching climax. She finally let out a sustained moan, grabbing a handful of white fur in one hand and sheets in the other, cumming hard. Her pussy clenched around him, trying to bring him to orgasm as her juices flowed forth onto him and the bed.

But he didn't relent. Even as she tried to bring him to orgasm subconsciously, he continued to thrust, assaulting her sensitive body. Despite his own panting and moaning, his eyes were right on her, that glow from his left eye almost like a beacon in the darkness, along with the veins under his skin. And he was smiling.

"Good girl," he told her. One hand reached under her chin and scratched it, like she was a dog being praised. "See? You might be some big shot hero but in the end...you're still just a stupid tauren, and at the end of the day, that's all you'll ever be. And you're mine. Finally."

She began to feel his knot starting to push against her. He wasn't going to last much longer, but her heightened sensitivity made each thrust rock her, making her squirm and whimper. She knew he had a knot; humans-turned-worgen had them, night elf worgen didn't. He didn't know why back then, and likely still didn't know now. But he had one, and she knew he was going to put it inside her. All she could do was brace herself.

"Now, let's make this 'official', Skychaster," he said with ragged breaths. "You're_mine_!"

He gave her a few powerful, full thrusts, pulling almost his entire length out of her and ramming it back in repeatedly, the knot threatening to push into her each time, until he finally let out a growling howl, unable to contain himself. She let out a gasp and shook as she felt the bulb enter her, locking her with him, and she felt the rush of cum flowing into her.

It didn't occur to her until now that maybe his cum was fel-tainted, and a wave of panic swept through her as she was filled. But it quickly occurred to her that she couldn't do anything about it now. So while her mind was fried from her climax and the continued assault on her body, she just relaxed, letting the warmth fill her. The knot was quite filling, and it certainly felt...nice?

Andereon took a moment to catch his breath. After a few moment, he said out loud, "Alanea."

Kirima blinked and tilted her head to the doorway. She could see the young white-furred tauren staring at them, part of her head peeking from the doorway. How long had she been there?

"Yes?" Alanea asked, surprised at having been caught and taken a bit aback by the fact he didn't yell at her.

"Bring me fresh sheets from the storage room. Then head to sleep."

Alanea nodded. "Yes, Master!" And she was gone.

Kirima looked up at Andereon, and just stared. What was happening? She expected nothing but anger and hatred form him, but he had been relatively gentle with her. But he was also making her feel guilty, and confused over her own feelings! She knew he was manipulating her emotionally and even mentally, and yet...it was so effective. Now, in the afterglow, she had some clarity, but...but how long would it take for her to "break", really? Did she _want_to be broken? Or was that just what he was saying getting to her?

No...she was just overthinking it. That's all. She needed to focus. Meanwhile, the glow had faded from Andereon's eye and body.

"I think...I would like to sleep," Kirima suggested. "If that's alright with you."

Andereon let out a soft growl and scratched under her chin again. She tilted her head, knowing better to resist. It felt nice anyway.

"Should I apologize more?" Kirima asked him.

"No. What's happened has happened. This is the way things are."

"Alright. Just...just making sure..."

"Don't pass out too early. You're going to feel the knot pop out...and I need to get the sheets changed once we untie."

"Alright...I think I can wait..."

She had willingly jumped into the bit, and there was no bottom to be found. And oddly, that didn't scare her anymore. Maybe that should have been a bad thing...but...it felt nice in the moment.

Maybe resigning herself to this fate wouldn't be too bad? She might regret those thoughts later, but in the moment, she was in a haze of emotions. All she knew was that they would need to get to the islands in the Great Sea. Good or bad outcome, she was falling down, down, down.