User:NaraBluestar/In a Dark Place Part 1

''' I am an utter WoWWiki editing noob, but I decided to give this a try and hope I've done this correctly. If anyone actually reads this and sees mistakes, please let me know. This is the first in a series of stories I've written about my hunter. Be warned that it contains strong adult themes. If a disclaimer is necessary, I obviously don't own WoW, Blizzard, or any NPCs; just my own characters and story.'''

 In a Dark Place 

Chapter One

Blood poured into Hyara's eyes as she raised her bow to take what she knew would be her last, unsteady shot at the thing barreling toward her. Her cat Gink, exhausted and wounded himself by now, snarled and gave chase, swiping at it from behind. The arrow flew true and with a dull thunk landed firmly in the creature's chest, but Hyara's mana and most of her lifeblood were spent. The last thing she saw was the world turning blue as blood flooded her vision. Shit, she thought. Now I've done it. Blackness swallowed her.



In the eerie greenish gloom that passed for night in Felwood, Galmak could barely discern Palla, his wolf, winding her way ghostlike through the trees ahead and to the right of the path. She'd been on the trail of something for about an hour now, but she appeared unconcerned and the orc concluded that she'd probably scented some other hunter's pet and was merely passing the time as they traveled learning its scent story. For himself, he would be glad to leave Felwood as quickly as possible. The corruption of the place was unnerving, but the corruption of the creatures that dwelled there didn't bear thinking of. For an instant Galmak caught himself imagining how it must have been. Had the animals noticed when they first began to feel it? Or had it happened so gradually... He let out a low growl and mentally shook himself. He had to stay alert here.

Palla had wandered farther from the road, and the orc strained his eyes to catch sight of her misty grey shape in the direction he could sense she had taken. He tugged gently on the reins to bring his riding wolf to a stop and reached out through his bond with Palla to discover what had changed in her sense. She was moving cautiously and slowly now, skirting something.

Someone here, came her explanation.

Well, come back then, he responded. If it's an enemy, we want none of it; if it's a friend, we don't have time for socializing.

Galmak felt her mental equivalent of a disdainful sniff at his lack of curiosity, but he knew she understood his desire to leave Felwood as quickly as possible. It surprised him, therefore, when Palla did not reemerge from the forest right away.

Now what? he asked impatiently.

I think you should come here. The orc didn't bother trying to hide his annoyance with her, but nevertheless he dismounted and gave his riding wolf the command to stay, then started off the path into the deeper shadows of the undergrowth. He hadn't gone five yards when he began to notice signs of some sort of fairly recent carnage. He raised his eyebrows and would have let out a low whistle if he hadn't been trying to move silently- this must have been a pretty monstrous battle. All around him was broken brush; he spotted clumps of fur in several places and dark smears on branches and on the ground that must have been blood. Underfoot the sickly, tainted grass had been trampled. Galmak followed his sense of Palla and crept up next to her where she was crouched beneath a bush. She turned her wide, glinting eyes to him, then back to where Galmak could see not much more than what looked like a dark bundle crumpled on the ground in a small area clear of brush. He gave a most unprofessional start as something suddenly moved in an area that he could have sworn had held nothing but empty air a moment before, and the thing he saw resolved itself into the head of a cat. As his eyes made sense of this, he was able to pick out the rest of the cat's body, insubstantial as shadows. He could clearly see the brush behind the cat through the cat's body.

A ghostsaber, Palla's thought came to him. Galmak nodded. He'd seen them a few times before, but never with Horde hunters. His name is Gink, Palla continued, and this time Galmak turned to look at her.

And where's the thing that killed his hunter? he asked, his eyes scanning the undergrowth uneasily, searching for a trail the monster might have made as it crashed away after visiting death on the crumpled body lying in the clearing. ''The thing is several yards north behind the bushes, dead. Gink's hunter is not dead.'' ''Dying then, from the look of it. How long ago did this happen?''

A few hours, came Palla's answer. Galmak allowed himself a sigh. Palla knew his weakness; that was why she had called him over here. She knew Galmak didn’t like to leave anyone or any creature suffering. She herself didn't like to feel the pain of other hunters or their pets, and her compassion didn't know the bounds of Horde or Alliance.

And you call that weakness? Palla thought wryly at her master.

This time, however, Galmak was half inclined to leave well enough alone. This hunter was surely beyond help if he had been lying here for hours without moving. The orc was no healer and could do little to help if the wounds were serious, as the dark blood pooled on the ground near the head and side seemed to indicate. But still, he couldn't just walk away without even satisfying himself that there was nothing to be done. ''Alright, I'll take a look. Will the cat let me approach?'' I think so, Palla answered. Hopefully she had been able to reassure Gink sufficiently that her master meant no harm; otherwise he would probably wind up with four sets of claws buried in his chest. As Galmak moved cautiously forward through the gloom, the cat raised its head and fixed the orc with a stare that clearly said this trust was temporary and only out of desperation. Galmak made soothing noises as he slowly approached until he could kneel down for a closer look in the murky darkness. He put out his hands to turn the hunter's head for a look at the wound, and with a start he realized he was touching a horn. It was a draenei; what's more, it was a female draenei. Galmak inwardly cursed his bad luck. Crazed roaring, pain, then blackness... Hyara felt the passage of time in trickles, then in floods, then it would slow again. Her mind seemed to wander aimlessly in the blackness and she couldn't remember why she was there. And then abruptly she became aware of a red glow emanating from somewhere in front of her and her consciousness swam suddenly into focus: her eyes were closed and there was light in front of her. She struggled to move but her head felt heavy. Gink was by her side in an instant at the first sign of her stirrings. Hyara, don't move, he said through their bond. ''You're hurt badly and you're not out of danger. Stay still.'' Feign death? she thought weakly and confusedly. At this she sensed mild amusement. ''No, he knows you're not dead. What I meant was that your injuries are dangerous; don't make it worse by trying to sit.'' Hyara was still confused. Who knows I'm not dead? Gink's sense was uneasy. ''An orc hunter found us after we killed the beast. He's saved your life by helping with what he can, but I still don't trust him or his motivations. You understand?'' She did understand; the memory of what had happened was reemerging and clarifying. Gingerly she turned her head away from the flickering campfire and opened her eyes slowly, fearing what she would see... But instead of an entire band of Horde staring at her she saw one lone hunter sitting a few feet away, munching absently on a heel of bread as he stared into the black trees beyond the firelight. His pet wolf lay near his feet, grey head resting on her paws, one eye open. It was an altogether domestic and reassuring scene, and Hyara wondered suspiciously if perhaps he'd arranged it that way so as not to alarm her when she opened her eyes. She wasn't fooled for a second into believing that he didn't know the instant she awoke. The orc turned his head and caught her studying him. She didn't flinch, but locked eyes with him and decided to give him a surprise. "Thank you for saving me," she said in accented but perfectly understandable orcish. She got her desired reaction. His mouth fell open and he stuttered, "What the… How- how do you know orcish?" Hyara gave a small smile. "It's not terribly uncommon for draenei to know orcish. We lived with your people for many years." The orc turned his eyes toward the fire. What she hadn't told him was that it was actually fairly uncommon for someone her age to know orcish; she was young for a draenei and had lived most of her life on Azeroth, with only vague childhood memories of Draenor. Most of those memories involved her parents being afraid for reasons she hadn't understood. Azeroth had been Hyara's home for... oh, however many years it had been now since the Exodar crashed. Draenei were not very particular about keeping close track of time, but it had been long enough for Hyara to grow up to be an experienced hunter who was ready to venture into dangerous places such as Felwood. Or so she had thought. With a wrench she thought once more of the monstrous creature that Gink had said they successfully killed. Successfully killed literally only an instant before it would have killed her for good and true. She took a deep breath to calm herself and ended up gasping and crying out as pain lanced through her side. The orc shot to her side and put a calming hand on her shoulder, but Hyara thought he looked rather helpless, as if he were a little exasperated with the situation. "You've got a bad gash down your side," he explained. "I put some ointment on it... usually works wonders... but it doesn't seem to be doing any good. I'd guess it's fel-poisoned somehow, which isn't surprising considering the thing you tangled with." Despite her private terror at her narrow escape, Hyara was pleased to hear a touch of awe creep into the orc's voice. "Dunno how you managed to survive that at all," he continued gruffly. "That was the biggest, nastiest, most ferocious furbolg I've ever seen. How in the name of all the elements did you have the bad luck to attract his ire?"

Hyara's glowing eyes slid away from him and she bit her lip. "I bit off a little more than I could chew," she said in a small voice. And it had nearly cost her life, and Gink's. This appeared to render the orc speechless. That kind of overconfidence was a serious miscalculation, but it was a sure thing this little draenei had learned her lesson. She was lucky she was still around to apply it to future situations.

"I'm Galmak, by the way," he said quietly and extended his hand. She smiled again slightly and took it. "I'm Hyara." She pronounced the "H" breathily, and Galmak couldn't do it when he tried. "Ha-yara," he said, sure he'd done it right, but his ears told him otherwise and he was miffed with himself. Here she knew his whole language and he couldn't even get one name right in hers. Hyara tried to chuckle at his obvious consternation, but ended up groaning in pain again. Gink lashed his tail from his position on her other side. ''If a fel poison's gotten into you, we need to get you somewhere it can be cured. You're only going to get worse if we don't,'' her cat told her bluntly.

I know. A hint of desperation entered her sense at her next thought. ''But I'm completely dependent on him for help. Look at me- I can't go anywhere on my own like this. If he decides he's done enough and goes off and leaves...''

That thought didn't have long to trouble Hyara and Gink. "I think your head should do alright with a little time to heal; it wasn't the furbie that cut you there- must've been a branch or something. But I need to get you somewhere they can cure this poison." Galmak looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you think you can sleep tonight, try to gather your strength, and be ready for some traveling by morning?" Hyara nodded slowly so as not to set her head swimming. She reached out a hand to stop him as he turned away. "Really. Thank you.  I would have died.  I owe you a tremendous debt, and I won't forget it, Galmak." To protest that she owed him nothing, that there was no debt and never could be in his mind except a debt he felt he owed but could never repay... it would have insulted her. She wouldn't have understood, and he had no desire to explain, so Galmak merely nodded and turned away back to the other side of the fire. He lay on his thin spare bedroll, his better one having been given to Hyara, and gazed up at the twisted, blackened trees tainted by a force they hadn't recognized when it came to them and couldn't have run from even if they had. He heard Palla slink off into the undergrowth to prowl a stealthy, watchful circle around the camp, but there would be two on watch that night. Galmak knew he wouldn't be able to close his eyes for a moment.

Chapter Two

Galmak had finally fallen asleep a few hours before dawn, his mind exhausted from the thoughts that had chased him all night. He awoke alert and ready the next morning, however, sure of what he needed to do. He had to admit he didn't much like the idea though. Hyara needed the fel poison cleansed from her body, and that meant only one thing: they would have to travel back south to the druids of the Emerald Circle. Galmak grimaced as he began erasing the signs of the campfire and repacking his bags. It meant more time in Felwood, and undoing all the progress he had made to get this far north. If last night and today had gone as planned he would have reached the Timbermaw Hold and crossed into Winterspring by nightfall. But the thought that he could still make it if he abandoned Hyara never crossed his mind. She still slept, huddled on the ground under a thin blanket, and Galmak put a gentle hand on her shoulder to wake her. "Hyara."

She was awake in an instant, as he would have expected of another hunter. Hyara stretched slowly and winced in spite of herself. Her body felt like one giant bruise and her side was throbbing with a dull, ominous pain. Galmak carefully peeled the bandage away from the wound on her head and raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. Aside from her wound healing quite well, he could now see properly in the daylight that her blood was blue. "Of course," she responded when he commented. "Haven't you ever heard blood elves call draenei 'blue bloods'?"

"I've heard that before, but I assumed they meant it in the way humans sometimes do."

"They mean it quite literally. They have no problem with killing my people," she added with a touch of bitterness. Galmak stood abruptly and began securing bags to his wolf's saddle. Hyara watched him for a moment as he worked. Like most orc males she had seen, he was massively built with wide shoulders and powerful muscles. He was no taller than she was, probably shorter in fact, yet still he seemed huge to her. His hair was a deep midnight blue and he wore it pulled back into a ponytail. He had the characteristic tusks protruding from his lower jaw, and his skin was a shade of green that reminded Hyara of leaves in summer. And surprisingly, the natural lines of his face showed kindness. Hyara had always thought that orcs valued looking ferocious, but Galmak was... kind of cute, in a strange way, despite his ruggedness. Or maybe because of it. Hyara almost snorted with laughter at that thought and what he would surely have to say about it. She gathered her strength to try to stand. Galmak was an odd orc, and not at all like what she would have expected. But then, maybe he wasn't odd at all. Maybe her expectations had been all wrong. Hyara whistled for Gink, who came bounding through the trees a moment later. C'mon, old boy, I need your steady shoulder or I might not get to my hooves. Gink braced himself next to her and Hyara struggled upright, the throbbing in her side growing more persistent as she stood. Galmak had avoided watching her struggle; she could ask if she wanted his help, but otherwise he'd leave her the independence most hunters valued so highly. Now that she was standing, however, he studied her furtively out of the corner of his eye. This was his first chance to see her properly, in the daylight and standing up. She wasn't as tall as he had thought; he guessed that if he straightened to his full height from the normal slouched posture of orc males, he might be about as tall as she. Her skin was a pale blue, her hair an odd ash blonde color that seemed to shimmer from light to dark depending on the light. A wide, ornamented band held her hair away from her face, revealing the delicate facial tendrils typical of draenei females, but still allowed her hair to spill lose down her back. Her horns were small and curved, and Galmak found himself remembering how smooth they had felt when he had touched them the night before. Hyara's eyes were wide and glowed a soft blue-white, and she had a small, full-lipped mouth that seemed perpetually ready to break into a mischievous smile. Despite the many differences with his own species, Galmak had to admit that hers was a beautiful face. And then there was that little tail... He shook himself and resumed packing up. Hyara looked around futilely in the underbrush. Gink... I don't suppose... my elekk? She sighed. Of course not. Hopefully the poor thing would turn up somewhere. "I seem to have lost my elekk," she said lamely. The image of a giant elekk suddenly shuffling cautiously out from behind a bush was too much for the orc, and he burst into laughter. "I'm sorry," he said. "But... yeah. I think we'd see it if it were here." Hyara shook her head a little exasperatedly and limped her way to where Galmak had deposited her pack the night before. It was torn and smeared with her own blood, but at least she still had it. She tried to lift it, but gasped and fell to her knees as her side exploded in pain. Galmak covered the distance between them in two strides and lowered her gently to the ground. "Foolish woman," he growled. He lifted a piece of shredded armor away from the wound and cursed at what he saw. The gash looked larger than it had the night before, and certainly more malignant. A new stream of blood trickled down Hyara's side and dripped to the ground, and the wound seemed to radiate a faint greenish aura. "Not good," Hyara said through gritted teeth. "No. Not good at all.  We need to get you on my wolf right away; we have a long way to go to the Emerald Circle and it looks like every second is going to count," he said bluntly. "Wait..." Hyara closed her eyes and took a careful deep breath. "I think there's a druid at Talonbranch Glade." This was surprising, and excellent, news. "You think... how sure are you?" Talonbranch Glade, the Alliance outpost in northern Felwood, was a mere three or four hours' journey from here, Galmak estimated. Probably four, at the pace they would have to take. The Emerald Circle encampment would take at least a day to reach. ''Gink, am I right? Is there a druid there?'' Hyara asked. Gink hesitated. He had seen no druid the one time they had been there. On the other hand, Hyara might be remembering something from a conversation she had had with one of the other residents; perhaps the person had mentioned the druid. This was a matter of his mistress's life or death, and Gink was unsure that she would live to reach the Emerald Circle. Gink trusted Hyara's instincts. Yes, he responded. There's a druid there. Hyara nodded. If Gink was sure, it had to be so. "I'm sure," she told Galmak. The orc sighed with relief, and he pushed back the despair he'd felt creeping in. Quickly he led his riding wolf over to Hyara. She twined her fingers in the wolf's fur, then turned a questioning glance toward Galmak. "Will I hurt him if I pull myself up?" Galmak shook his head. Hyara, however, was too weak to do most of the work and Galmak had to help boost her up and swing one leg over the wolf. "I never realized how heavy hooves are," the orc grunted. Hyara gave a strained laugh. Galmak climbed up behind her quickly, afraid she'd fall off if he left her unsupported for more than a few seconds, and they were on their way north with Palla and Gink trotting to either side. The orc found now that they were seated together that most of her height was in her legs and she sat slightly lower than him.

How are you feeling? Gink asked his mistress after they'd been traveling a few minutes. Well... like crap, Hyara answered wryly. It's not far, Gink said bracingly. Just a few hours until we turn the corner east, then a few more over to the Glade.

The pain in her side beat like a drum with every step the wolf took, and her side and right leg were soon slick with trickling blood. Hyara found it harder and harder to stay upright on her own and she finally gave in and leaned back against Galmak for support. The orc fumbled behind him for something in a bag and handed her a fresh bandage. "Press it against the wound if you can. You're losing too much blood." His voice sounded strained. She was not only losing it, she was leaving behind a trail of it on the road. Would she have any left after three more hours of this? Hyara moaned softly from the pain, but tried to keep the bandage pressed to her side. Suddenly she realized she'd slipped to the side and Galmak's arms were the only thing keeping her on the wolf. How much time had passed? It felt like this pain had lasted an eternity, the wolf plodding on slowly but making no progress, the gnarled, tortured trees closing in around her with whispering voices that spoke of death. "Hyara!" She started. Galmak was gripping her arms tightly. "You were muttering something... You need to stay alert. Why don't you tell me about yourself?  Do you have family?" Hyara's head was spinning and she saw strange shapes whirling and rising before her, only to be swept away by a wind she couldn't feel. "I... I can't remember... Galmak, I can't think about anything..." she whispered. She had never been more terrified in her life. No beast she had faced, no dungeon crawling with evil, not even her recent near-fatal encounter with the furbolg had felt anything like this. It was as if her own senses were abandoning her, or were being driven out by something with a cold and sentient malevolence. The thought flitted through her mind that soon there would be nothing left of her but the husk of her body for this thing to command. The shapes forming in Hyara's vision swirled darker, closer, cramping her, and she shrunk away, clinging to the only thing that felt solid: the man behind her, supporting her. His warmth and solidity steadied her. She felt a hand closing around her own and it was that abrupt collision with reality that jerked her back to consciousness. "Galmak!" she cried. "I won't go." He knew what she meant. He began to sing as they traveled and Hyara grasped at his songs like a tenuous last hope. She concentrated fiercely on the words, repeating them in her head, scoring the meaning deep and joining in in a whisper when she knew the words. The writhing thing in the shadows of her mind brooded, kept at bay for now. It was clear to Galmak that Hyara was dying. If the druid at Talonbranch Glade could do nothing for her, she would be gone in a matter of hours. The orc found he was filled with sorrow at that thought. And not only because she was one more draenei that had to die, that he could do nothing to help. But at least he wouldn't be the cause of her death. You weren't the cause of any of those deaths, Palla whispered gently. ''What can I do, Palla? I don't want her to die... not even a chance to know her.'' And he found that he wanted to, very much.

''You've done everything possible; the druid will do what he can. The Glade is close. Gink and I are running ahead to alert them.''

Galmak urged his wolf faster and soon he saw two night elf sentinels running down the path with Gink and Palla in tow. He slowed to a cautious walk, despite the voice in his head that screamed for speed, demanded that he charge his wolf headlong into the small settlement in search of the druid. But this was no time to alarm anyone into shooting first and asking later. In badly broken Common he called out, attempting to communicate that he had one of their own, she was injured, and needed a druid. The sentinels exchanged a few words in Darnassian and one of them sprinted back down the path. The other approached cautiously and gasped when she saw Hyara's condition. At least there would be no mistake that somehow he himself had injured her; the fel corruption of the wound was obvious. The sentinel came close enough to get a quick look at the wound, then gestured for Galmak to follow her. He urged his wolf forward in a walk, but she motioned more urgently and he shrugged and pushed his wolf to a run. To his surprise she kept up easily next to him and they reached the Glade in a few minutes. Galmak could have shouted with relief; a male night elf, obviously a druid, was waiting for them. Hyara was singing softly as they pulled her gently off the wolf and lowered her to a blanket on the ground. The orcish words sounded harsh and strange to those who were helping her, but she didn't stop even as they cut away her tunic and touched her wound, sending fresh agony spiking through her. They also couldn't get her to let go of the orc's hand; she clung to it like a lifeline. The druid's work took hours, and when he had done all he could he was drained of mana and exhausted. The draenei had had an incredibly close brush with an unspeakable fate, but she would live. It would take some time for her to recover. And oddly, it appeared that they would have an orc living among them for a while. The orc could barely speak any Common, so that story would have to wait until the draenei had recovered some, but for a short time they could tolerate one member of the Horde in their midst. The druid, and all others who had seen that wound, had a more troubling thought on their minds than a member of a hostile faction: what in Elune's name had been so twisted with demonic forces to have caused a wound so horrifying?

Chapter Three

For the second time in a few days, Hyara felt herself swimming slowly back to wakefulness through a fog of confusion. This time there was not so much pain, she realized as she groggily tried to recall what had happened. There had been something evil calling her, but there had been a strong voice that had kept her anchored in herself. Galmak had succeeded. He must have gotten her to help.

Hyara's eyes fluttered open to a smiling night elf. "Welcome back," said the priestess. Hyara found her mouth was too dry to respond, but the priestess seemed to have anticipated this and handed her a glass of water. Hyara pushed herself up so she could drink and was surprised to find that she not only had the energy to sit, but she also felt little pain in her side. "Thank you," the hunter was finally able to respond.

The night elf let out a shriek of consternation as Gink leapt onto the bed, his weight causing it to creak in protest. Hyara laughed and buried her face in the cat's soft, comfortingly familiar fur.

Almost lost you, you know, Gink sighed.

Hyara felt her eyes go misty and the things she'd intended to say earlier came out now. ''I'm so sorry, Gink. I should have known better... I should have known we couldn't handle that by ourselves. I put you in terrible danger too.'' She gave Gink a tight squeeze, then leaned back to look at him. I- I'll understand if you don't want to stay.

A low, menacing growl rumbled in the cat’s throat, and the priestess, who had moved to the other side of the room out of respect for the hunter/pet communion that was clearly taking place, jumped and stifled another shriek. ''You know damn well I'm not going anywhere. You also know that it was partly my fault too... I should have listened to my better judgment and kept us away from that thing.''

Hyara sighed. ''I know you wouldn't leave. But it needed to be said anyway, if you can understand that.''

Gink looked at her sideways. He's still here, by the way.

Hyara started and gave the cat a look of her own. Can I not hide anything from you anymore? She realized Galmak had been a persistent presence at the back of her mind since before she had opened her eyes. Hyara turned and caught the night elf casting furtive glances in her direction. The night elf took Hyara's look as an indication that it would no longer be rude to intrude, and came back to stand next to the bed. She deposited a tray of food on the table next to Hyara.

"Let me take another look at your wound," the priestess said and gently raised one side of the light cloth shirt Hyara now wore. The hunter looked down, not knowing what to expect, and was relieved at what she saw. Where the malignant, blue-green gash had once been, there was now only a long, blue scab surrounded by puckered skin.

"I'm afraid you'll always have a scar," the priestess said apologetically. "But the infection was so far along, it was only Elune's miracle that Golhine was able to cleanse you at all."

"A scar is a small price to pay for my life," Hyara responded. "And I want to thank- Golhine?- for what he did." She hesitated; but Gink had said he was still here, so surely it would do no harm to ask. "The orc who brought me here... is he here?"

Hyara flinched when she saw the priestess's eyes spark with intense curiosity at the mention of Galmak, and she thought wryly that the rumor mill had probably already been working overtime by now. But of course they would want an explanation; it wasn't every day that a member of the Alliance had her life saved by a member of the Horde. The priestess nodded. "Yes, he's still at the Glade. In fact, he's been here with you most of the past two days.  He finally left only a few minutes before you woke up, I believe because he felt his wolf needed to hunt." The night elf raised her eyebrows. "I think he'll be disappointed he wasn't here when you awoke." Ah. Hyara tried not to let her face betray her, but that was... interesting, and for some reason it made her want to grin like an idiot. Instead she made a show of scratching Gink behind the ears.

"There are many here who would wish to hear the story of what happened to you," the priestess continued. "And many who are concerned about what creature caused such a terrible wound." The priestess grasped Hyara's hand, urgency and fear creeping into her voice. "Felwood is far more corrupted than we knew if there are such creatures living here, and it may be growing worse. We must find the cause if that is true.  Please, you must help us by telling us everything you can of this creature and where it came from."

Hyara nodded. "Of course." She wanted to smack herself for her selfishness, but she was relieved that it sounded as if people were more interested in hearing about the cause of her wound than about how Galmak was involved. Well, what's selfish about that? she told herself indignantly. I don't want any trouble for him after all he went through for me. Across the room, the door creaked open slowly and Galmak appeared as he tried to enter as stealthily and quietly as his burly form would allow. He was so absorbed in getting the door closed as soundlessly as possible that he didn't even notice Hyara was sitting up in bed across the room. Palla did notice, however, and she gave a short bark which made Galmak jump and spin around. Hyara couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. The orc looked like a kid who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The priestess smiled and gave Hyara a sidelong glance. "If you need anything at all, I'll be just in the next room." She closed the door as she left.

Hyara found that she suddenly felt shy. This man had saved her life and had seen her at her very worst, yet she hardly knew him. She certainly knew nothing personal about him beyond the fact that there could have been no one better with whom to trust her life. Galmak's concern was too deep to notice her reticence. "Feeling better?" he asked, and she nodded. Suddenly it was all too much and Hyara felt tears running down her cheeks. Galmak looked alarmed and took her hand in his, but Hyara threw her arms around him and sobbed. "Thank you," she finally managed in a strangled whisper. It seemed wholly inadequate to her, but he understood what she meant. The orc patted her awkwardly on the back and she pulled away to wipe her eyes with the sheet. Galmak looked away in embarrassment. "I'm glad I could do something, Hyara. I think... I think I would have been sad without knowing why if I'd never found you and you hadn't made it.  Something about the world wouldn't have felt right." Uh oh, he thought. Maybe I've gone a little too far. "Uh... your wound's looking a lot better," he said hastily. Hyara raised her eyebrows. Been peeking under her shirt, had he? But she smiled and pulled up her shirt slightly to reveal the long scar forming. "The priestess said I'd always have this. But it's a reminder of what my recklessness can get me."

Galmak almost said that it had gotten her some good along with the bad, but mentally cursed himself for a fool. Why would this beautiful draenei ever... He stood abruptly and turned to the window so she wouldn't see the look on his face.

Hyara mistook this for impatience and was a little hurt. "I'm sorry," she said. She seemed to be saying that a lot lately. "The priestess said you've spent a lot of time here over the past few days. I know you must wish you could be away from here." Hyara was surprised to hear that comment come out barbed. Galmak turned around with a glare. "Why would I want to leave? I can leave any time I choose.  You're safe here; you're healing.  I wouldn't waste two days before deciding it was time to never see you again." He closed his mouth with a snap, but he'd already said it.

Hyara was speechless and she felt tears welling up again, but this time they were tears of relief. He really had stayed not because he felt it was his duty to see this through, but because he wanted to be near her. Maybe she was a fool, but she wanted Galmak around. She couldn't stand the thought that one of these days he would ride off, out of her life. But now she knew that he couldn't stand that thought either. Galmak came back to sit next to her. "I don't want to leave you," he said simply.

Hyara blushed and looked down at her lap, shy again. "And I don't want you to leave. Maybe... we could travel together?  I was planning on going to Winterspring, but I've never been there before..."

Galmak wanted to whoop with joy. She wanted to stay with him! "Now that's a coincidence, Palla and I were on our way to Winterspring also. And I have been there before, there's a goblin town I can take you to, and there are hot springs with pretty good fishing, and you've never seen so much snow..." He was babbling but he didn't care.

Hyara laughed at his delight and hugged him again. At that moment she couldn't have been happier, and all because of this orc. She never would have dreamed.



Hyara spent the next few days recuperating at the insistence of her healers. They took the opportunity to grill her about her near-fatal encounter, and she told them all she could despite the shame she felt at her poor judgment in deciding to attack the furbolg. It had been bigger and more aggressive-looking than any she had ever seen, and she had felt sure that eliminating it from Felwood would gain her favor in the eyes of the Timbermaw furbolg clan, as well as rid the other inhabitants of a clear menace to the unsteady, beleaguered progress they strove to make against Felwood's corruption. About these things she had been right; about her ability to take on the rogue furbolg she had greatly misjudged. The draenei hunter's tale made the residents of Talonbranch Glade deeply uneasy. How had that lone furbolg come to be in a part of the forest where none had ever been seen before? Why had it been alone? And most importantly, what had been wrong with it? This last question they hoped to answer. A party had been sent out on the first day of Hyara's recovery to try to find the furbolg's body and bring it back for study. They would have had only the vaguest idea of where to look for it if not for Galmak's help; Hyara had been thoroughly lost by the end of her frantic, harried flight through the underbrush as she tried to kite the monster.

Golhine the druid was troubled by one other thing he'd noticed about the encounter, but he avoided telling Hyara; the poor girl had gone through enough already. Hyara had explained about doing her best to kite the thing after she realized she couldn't let it stand still to tear Gink to shreds. But she had tried sending Gink in to hold its attention first while she gauged the monster's strength, and Golhine was struck by how Gink had escaped that fight comparatively unscathed. The cat had been wounded some, that was obvious, but nothing at all like what Hyara had suffered. Had he been lucky and escaped the worst of the creature's blows, or had that thing consciously known that it needed to infect the hunter, and not the pet. And if so, why?

When the fifth day dawned after her arrival at the Glade, Hyara felt fully ready to be on her way again. Galmak had his riding wolf packed up and he waited patiently in the weak morning sun as Hyara made a final purchase of arrows from one of the merchants. The orc was happier than he could ever remember being, and his good mood allowed him to ignore the stares and whispers from the Alliance around him. For the most part he'd felt strangely welcome here; Hyara had passed along what the Glade residents had explained to her: Galmak was tolerated because he had assisted one of their own, and because Hyara trusted and vouched for him. Also, the inhabitants of Felwood, both Horde and Alliance alike, had learned that at least limited cooperation in their dangerous home was sometimes necessary for their own survival, so they understood Hyara's willingness to accept the orc's help out of necessity. Nevertheless, all this time spent in an Alliance settlement had made the orc more uneasy with each passing day and he would be glad to be on the road north again and away from this cursed forest. "All set," Hyara smiled as she packed the new arrows into her quiver. Her smile sent a thrill through Galmak and he grinned back. She hoisted herself onto the riding wolf's back, this time without difficulty, and Galmak climbed on behind her. Hyara felt her stomach turn over and she couldn't help smiling to herself. Despite the sadness of losing her faithful elekk, she was going to enjoy traveling like this. Galmak was thinking exactly the same and he watched in fascination as she reached back to arrange her tail between them. What did it feel like? Would she smack him if he touched it? He gave a great bellow of laughter at that thought, and Hyara squeaked and jumped.

"You're in an awfully good mood," she teased.

"Just glad to get moving," he grinned. Gink and Palla were glad too; they dashed around in the undergrowth like cubs, chasing each other, roaring and yelping at any small creatures stirred up by their ruckus. Hyara and Galmak laughed together at the scene and the orc urged the riding wolf to a lope. As they traveled, they talked. Hyara told him of her family, her parents who lived in Exodar, her grandfather, her older brother. "My grandfather is the reason I grew up on Azeroth," she explained. "He’s been a devoted follower of Velen for a very long time and he wouldn't hear of it when my parents wanted to risk staying on Draenor. Grandfather insisted that it was best for us all that we follow Velen wherever he would take us in the Exodar.  And so we came here."

Hyara craned her neck to look back at Galmak when he remained silent. He was staring off to where Palla was nosing through the underbrush after something. "Galmak... are you alright?" The draenei was puzzled by his distantness. He turned back to her and smiled. "Of course..." But he trailed off and silence fell again. She bit her lip, worried that she'd bored him with stories that couldn't mean anything to someone who didn't know the people involved.

"Please... will you tell me about your family?" she asked tentatively. He shifted behind her and patted the wolf's side. "Oh, there's not much of a story there. I was born on Azeroth, my parents live on a small farm near Orgrimmar.  No brothers or sisters.  See?  Boring, really." He chuckled.

Hyara let out an exasperated "pffft." "I told you more, cheater. Talk about a bad exchange rate."

"Well sorry, lady, but I can't give you as much ammunition as you gave me, I don't have any siblings," he grinned wickedly. "I can't match any stories involving brothers who decide to give their sister a haircut..."

Hyara groaned; she knew she shouldn't have told him that, but it was so typical of her brother that it had just come out when she talked about him. Fortunately his pranks had gotten more harmless -and more hilarious- over the years. Hyara felt a sudden stinging in her eyes and realized for the first time in months how much she missed them all. She prodded Galmak further, and when he realized she was genuinely interested he told her more of his parents and their small farm in the Barrens where he had grown up and decided to become a hunter. "Were you born there? Or in Orgrimmar?" she asked. "No," he answered reluctantly. But he sighed and continued, "I was born in Arathi. When my parents were held in the internment camps there."

"I'm sorry I asked if it's painful for you to talk about it," Hyara said gently, and rested a hand on his leg.

"It's alright; I don't really mind telling you about it, but yeah, it's not something I choose to talk about in detail." But now Galmak wasn't thinking about his past anymore; his mind had snapped straight to Hyara's touch. They had been climbing a steep hill for a short time now and Galmak's memory told him that the Timbermaw Hold was only a few minutes' travel away. "Nearly there," he said. "You're sure they'll let you pass?" "They... they will," she answered with a slight tremor in her voice. "I don't think they trust me much, but they'll let me pass through the Hold as long as I'm quick about it." Galmak himself had no fear of the Timbermaw furbolg and was even on speaking terms with them. But Hyara had not had as much contact with them, and then there was her incident... That of course had not been a Timbermaw, she told herself firmly. But still a furbolg, and now she would have to travel through the heart of their Hold with watchful, mistrusting furbolg eyes on her every step of the way. She felt a hint of fear begin to grip her and she pushed a little closer to Galmak's reassuring solidness behind her back.

"It's alright," he whispered as they approached the furbolgs standing guard outside the Hold. "I won't let anything harm you." And for the moment she was lost in the bliss of that reassurance.

The pair of Timbermaw guards eyed them suspiciously as they approached, but one called out, "Orc, you are known to us. You are welcome to our Hold." He turned his eyes to Hyara. "This one... I do not recognize her." "Her name is Hyara. I believe she's had some honorable dealings with your people before," Galmak responded. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The guard retrieved a piece of paper from a pouch at his side and skimmed over it. "Ah, here. Hyara... yes.  She is permitted to travel through our Hold, but she may not linger and she may not speak to anyone.  Can you vouch for her, orc?"

"I can, on my honor," Galmak said.

They dismounted, as they were not permitted to ride through the Hold. Galmak led his riding wolf forward to the entrance, but turned back when he realized Hyara wasn't following. He sent the wolf on in with a pat to its side and extended a hand to the draenei where she hung back with Gink. The draenei was trembling under the suspicious gaze of the two huge Timbermaw guards, and she took Galmak's hand gratefully. "I'm so sorry... You'll think I'm a coward," she whispered to Galmak as they passed inside. "I would never think that. This is a temporary fear and you'll get past it.  It must be like looking at death looking back at you." He jerked his head in the direction of the guards. Hyara smiled weakly and wished she could see them once more as big, extra-hairy teddy bears. They had been traveling for a while through the twisting corridors when Hyara realized that she was still holding Galmak's hand. Embarrassed, and afraid that he would think her weak, she dropped it hastily. He pretended not to notice, but he was disappointed. They passed the rest of the way through the Hold in silence. At last they turned a corner and saw the exit. Hyara couldn't help it; she dashed into the muted, cloudy sunlight of Winterspring with relief. But the world before her brought her to a breathless halt and she gasped in wonderment. All around was pristine, soft whiteness. Snow swirled down in eddies to frost the tall dark pines, tracing feathery flakes across Hyara's cheeks. The wind whispered to the trees in a lonely, sighing voice, as if it were unwilling to break the underlying silence that pervaded this strange crystalline landscape. The path out of the Hold made a sharp right turn, and it was easy to see why; straight ahead a short distance was a bubbling pond with clouds of steam rising from the surface. Those must be the hot springs Galmak had mentioned. The air was so cold that even the heat from the springs couldn't keep the snow at bay for more than a few feet above the banks. Hyara had seen snow before; there was always snow in Dun Morogh. But this... This place was all its own. She felt Galmak come up beside her and drape a blanket over her shoulders. She realized she had been standing there shivering, staring wide-eyed while she froze. "Quite a sight, isn't it?" the orc commented. "This land has eyes, I always thought. You come out of the tunnel and can't help but stare, but at the same time this place is looking right back, sizing you up.  It feels like it's been like this for an eternity." Hyara could only agree. They mounted back up and set off down the path that would eventually lead them to the goblin town of Everlook, but it wasn't long before Hyara was wondering just how hot the springs were and whether it was possible to bathe in them. A dip in a nice, toasty pool sounded like the best thing in the world right now. Galmak chuckled when she mentioned it; the hot springs were a famous reward for anyone who made it safely through the Timbermaw tunnel and he could use a little warming up himself. He turned the wolf and headed off the path.

Hyara dismounted a bit gingerly, as all the walking through the Hold had made her side a little stiff and sore. She shivered with delight as the warm steam blew over her on the bank of the spring. She turned back to untie her pack from the saddle and shrieked, covering her eyes. Galmak had his shirt off and had just started to strip off his pants.

"What are you doing!" the draenei asked, flabbergasted. "I'm right here!" Galmak supposed he should have thought of that; not every race was as casual as orcs tended to be. But it wasn’t as if he'd intended to drop his underwear too. Hyara snorted with laughter at that, in spite of herself. "And I wasn't going to stand there and watch you undress, if that's what you're worried about," he said a little grumpily. Was he that hard on her eyes?

She must have read his mind though because she said teasingly, "Well don't get in a huff, it's not as if I mind the view. But a little warning next time, hmm?  Now in, and turn your back so I can get in; I'm turning into an icicle!" She stuck out her tongue and turned her back so he could finish undressing. He grinned and shook his head. A moment later Hyara heard a massive cannonball splash and she peeked to be sure that Galmak had his back turned, then stripped down to her underclothes. She dipped a hoof gingerly in the water and found that it was the perfect temperature. Hyara slipped in up to her neck and called to Galmak on the other side of the pool, "Okay, I'm in... you can turn around."

The water felt wonderful. "Oh Light, this was a mistake... I'm never going to want to get out," she moaned, closing her eyes. Galmak chuckled and moved closer so they could talk over the bubbling and fizzing of the water. His face grew serious. "I'm sorry about that, back there. I wasn't thinking, and I didn't know it would bother you.  Cultural difference, I suppose."

"It's alright. I didn't really mind... much," she added mischievously. "Over here," Galmak beckoned and moved to one side of the pool. There was a large flat rock a few feet below the surface, perfect for sitting on. It looked suspiciously out of place, as if it had been moved there by someone long ago for just this purpose. Hyara sat next to him and tried not to think about how clear the warm water was and how she couldn't seem to keep her eyes from wandering to Galmak's muscular form below the surface. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, Galmak with his eyes closed. He's respecting my privacy, she realized, and it occurred to her that she wished he would open his eyes for a moment and take a peek. Hyara sank a little lower in the water in embarrassment. Why was she suddenly feeling so bold?

She broke the silence, hoping he would open his eyes. "Does Palla ever come in? When you swim in here."

He did open his eyes, and looked at her face. "She does sometimes. It's a little warm for her though; she'd rather be off exploring."

Hyara nodded. She could feel Gink prowling around nearby, absorbed in a mini-hunt for some rabbit or squirrel. Only the greatest need could induce him to put a paw into anything but the shallowest of streams. Galmak had closed his eyes again. She knew it was childish, but she was suddenly overcome with the urge to dunk him. Too bad he could probably sit there like a rock and not move at all while I tried with all my strength, she thought ruefully. In all likelihood she'd be the one who ended up underwater. She moved off the rock and out to the center of the spring where it was deeper. Here the spring sent up gouts of bubbles and foam frothing to the surface. "Oh! It's warmer out here," she called.

Galmak nodded and treaded over to join her. At that moment some movement on the bank to the east caught her eye and she took a sharp breath. She was suddenly filled with unease and she swam back to the rock, ready to leap out of the spring.

"What's wrong?" Galmak was concerned, but he thought he knew the cause of her sudden wariness.

"I saw something moving over there, behind that cluster of trees. It... Galmak, it looked like a furbolg.  Am I going crazy and seeing them everywhere now?" He sighed and shook his head. "No, you probably did see one. Maybe I should have warned you, but they don't usually come so close to the springs.  The Winterfall furbolg live in this area.  They aren't friendly to outsiders and they're enemies of the Timbermaw.  They sometimes send runners down the path between their villages; we might see them on our way to Everlook.  They only very rarely bother travelers though," he added hastily. Despite Galmak's reassurances, Hyara no longer felt much like relaxing without armor or weapons in a hot spring. She sent out a brief warning to Gink but she could sense that he had known for some time and had given the furbolgs a wide berth.

"I think I'd like to get out now," she said, feeling stupid and cowardly, but unable to resist the fear she felt. No longer thinking about whether Galmak was or wasn't looking at her, Hyara climbed onto the bank and hastily wrapped a blanket around her instantly freezing body. The worst part of it was that Galmak looked sorry for her. He didn't say a word though, only followed her out, and she wrapped a blanket around him. "I'm sorry," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath. "I don't know why I feel this way. I know I shouldn't."

"It will pass," he said softly, and then he pulled her close to him. She hated herself for feeling so weak and vulnerable, but at the same time the feel of Galmak holding her, of being pressed against him, gave her strength.

That night they made camp just off the path. Galmak had decided that the dangers of the path and anyone who might be traveling it were less than the dangers of venturing too far into the wild forest of Winterspring, so they had pitched a makeshift tent over a nearby tree limb with the blankets they had used to dry off after the hot springs. Hyara started a merry little fire just outside the tent and set about roasting the rabbit Gink had caught. Galmak eyed a hole in his boot and wished for the thousandth time that he could repair it himself, but he had never learned. Engineering suited him fine most of the time, but he really ought to be able to patch a hole in his own boot, for gods' sake.

"I don't suppose you're a leatherworker," he said a little sheepishly.

"Hmm? Oh, no... I'm a jewelcrafter," she replied. Many of her people were, but Hyara had jumped on the bandwagon only because she genuinely enjoyed it. After their meal Galmak gave a tremendous yawn. He glanced inside the tiny blanket tent, then said, "You're sure you don't want me to sleep out here..."

Hyara rolled her eyes. "We already discussed that, don't be absurd. Even if you weren't frozen solid by morning, I wouldn't be able to find you under the snow.  There's room enough in there.  Besides, it'll be warmer." She smiled to herself. She was going to sleep tonight curled up next to him. She liked that idea very much.

Galmak liked that idea too, but he told himself sternly to wipe from his mind the image that kept floating before him: the brief glimpse he'd had of Hyara as she climbed dripping wet and nearly naked from the hot spring. He hastily crawled inside the tent and pulled a blanket over himself. Hyara ducked inside a moment later with a couple more blankets. She tossed one to Galmak and covered herself with the other.

"We can share that one," she said as she lay down on the bedroll. Galmak was glad now that he'd heeded his remembrances of Winterspring's harsh climate and packed a few blankets more than what he normally carried. He realized though that the blanket she'd thrown him was one of her own and it carried her scent. Furtively he pressed his face to it and inhaled her sweet, earthy scent that was so different and alien in a way he couldn't identify. Hyara removed her mail chestpiece so she could sleep in her more comfortable linen shirt, then stretched out on her side with her back to Galmak. She giggled. "My hooves are sticking out." She yawned and rubbed her side where she still felt some stiffness and the occasional twinge in her muscles. Galmak was silent behind her, and she thought he had fallen asleep already. Without thinking or worrying about whether she should, Hyara scooted backwards in the small space and pressed her back against him. He too was lying on his side, facing her, and she sighed and closed her eyes, sure she would sleep better now. She was surprised when she felt his arm encircle her and pull her closer. Hyara was suddenly unsure if she'd sleep at all, and Galmak was wondering the same thing. The draenei bit her lip in frustration; she was such a fool, this was only for warmth and because of the close quarters. Who was she to this orc? Why would he feel that way about her? He had wanted to travel with her, but that didn't mean...

With a shock Hyara realized that something about this had to mean something or other, because she was feeling... She blushed furiously in the darkness. Something was poking into her lower back. Galmak seemed to realize at exactly the same moment because he suddenly jumped back. The silence was deafening for a moment. Then Galmak let out a long breath. "I'm...so...sorry," he groaned, and hid his face behind a hand. But Hyara turned over to face him. "Don't be sorry," she whispered with a smile, and traced a long, graceful finger down his cheek to the tip of one of his tusks.

Galmak bundled her into his arms and kissed her. She moaned softly and twined her arms around his neck in the rapture of the moment that had finally come. He was sweet and gentle yet passionate in his kisses, and she never wanted it to end. "Mmmm, Galmak," she sighed his name lovingly when finally they broke apart.

He smiled and rested his palm against her cheek, then whispered her name, "Hyara..."

She kissed his hand, then bit it softly. Hyara felt she could spend the entire night like this, just staring into his eyes and glowing in the bliss of this feeling. But the weariness of the day had finally caught up to her and she felt her eyelids drooping. "I don't want to sleep yet," she whispered, and Galmak laughed softly. He gathered her in his arms as she drifted into dreams that caused a small smile to flicker across her beautiful face, and he soon joined her in a deep, contented sleep.

Outside their tiny cocoon of warmth, the snow whirled and whispered of things to come.

Continued in User:NaraBluestar/In a Dark Place Part 2