Some time ago
From her perch on the roof of A Hero’s Welcome, Vala idly watched the people in the streets of Dalaran below. Well, mostly idly, as her eyes lingered on each male orc who passed, checking to see if he might be Garog. She had not encountered Garog in many months now, and circumspect inquiries had turned up no information about him. No one else seemed to have seen him recently. But since it seemed everyone – at one time or another – passed through Dalaran, here was as likely a place as any to spot him again. Not that she could carry out her plans here in the city. But she couldn’t carry them out at all until she located him again.
She stretched her neck from side to side, easing the tension that seemed to lurk there recently. Nice to be able to stay still in one place for a bit and have a chance to actually taste her food instead of just gulping something down between battles. This mead-basted caribou was good! She dipped her flatbread in the last of the juices and munched contentedly, then took a long drink of her snowplum brandy. Immeasurably better than the stuff she usually had when out in the wilds; food that had dried out and drink that had gone flat before she ever even got to taste them.
She set her plate and cup aside to return downstairs later and stretched out at the edge of the roof. The sun felt good, too. It actually had some warmth in it today. She watched people for a while again, this time not actually looking to identify anyone and not really thinking of anything in particular, her half-closed eyes scanning the streets, and nearby rooftops as well, a smile of contentment hidden behind her mask. A hint of motion on her own roof caught her eye. In the shadows at the other side of the roof and back a bit, she spotted two glowing golden eyes and the faint silhouette of a large black cat. Looked like the cat-form that many druids took from time to time.
Vala sat up, pulling her plate and cup close. “There’s room now if you want to sit closer to the edge, too.“
The cat blinked at her and seemed poised to approach. But his left rear paw twitched suddenly and he instead jumped back and away.
Vala shrugged and returned to her people-watching.
Vala dispatched yet another undead troll. That seemed to be all of them. Here anyway. But there was something else; other eyes on her. Someone else was watching her. She slowly turned in a circle, daggers still held ready, and studied the sickly trees and shrubs nearby. There. Nearly invisible in the gloom and the deeper shadows from some thicker bushes. A black cat with glowing yellow eyes looking straight at her. A druid in cat form.
Vala silently looked back at the cat. Was he also hunting the undead here? He looked familiar. She tilted her head in thought. Could that be the same druid that she had noticed in Dalaran the other day? Rogue and cat stared at each other for several long minutes, then finally Vala blinked. In that moment, the druid turned and ran off. Vala started to follow, then tripped as the grasping hand of one of the no-longer dead undead trolls grabbed her ankle. Cursing, she turned to deal with the troll, and the others now rising from the ground. Couldn’t these things someday just stay decently dead?
Vala lurked in the early evening shadows of Dalaran, watching for that druid. She’d spotted him often enough now that it couldn’t just be coincidence. Was he following her? What did he want?
There, across the street on the rooftop; she recognized that cat. As she took to the rooftops herself, she wondered what he looked like when he returned to elf form. She carefully trailed him, keeping well hidden in the shadows, as he spent some time apparently just watching the people on the streets below, occasionally moving to a new vantage point. Eventually, he seemed to tire of this pursuit and he jumped down to the street, shifting to elf in mid-air and landing as lightly as if he were still in cat form. He stood still a moment then, and just looked around as if getting his bearings. Or perhaps looking for someone. Her, maybe?
Vala smiled to herself as she admired him from her vantage point. Very nice to look at! His leather armor clung to his body, outlining his sculpted torso, emphasizing his broad shoulders and lean, muscular limbs. And even out of cat form, he still moved with the grace of the hunting cat. His thick black hair shone in the late-day sunlight, standing out on either side of his head as if he had run his hands through it, leaving it sticking out rather wildly. Then he turned and she could study his face. She instantly liked what she saw there. It was a strong face, framed by a short beard, with a firm jaw and high cheekbones. His dusky purple skin emphasized his golden yellow eyes. Very nice, indeed…
She tilted her head slightly as she watched him slowly move through the crowded street. She felt a sudden urge to smooth his hair down. It probably felt as silky as it looked… She frowned at the thought, and shook her head violently at herself. Stupid rogue! She couldn’t get close to anyone, couldn’t let anyone get close to her…too much to risk. She’d learned her lesson from what had happened to Jani. And the rest of her family, for that matter.
Inadvertently, her eyes were drawn back to him. Delighting in the way he moved, she watched him glide around a corner and out of sight. Once he was gone, she leaned back against a nearby railing and closed her eyes, brushing her hand across them. Something about him drew her to him. But… No.
Still, she hadn’t felt drawn to anyone this way before – certainly not someone she’d only seen, never really met. Thoughtfully, she gazed back the way he had gone for many long minutes before turning and heading in the opposite direction.
Vala spun through the shadows and delivered the fatal blows to the Stormwatcher. She watched with satisfaction as it slowly toppled to the ground.
A blur of something leapt at her, too fast for her to react properly. At the last instant, she recognized that druid Gil, a recent initiate to the guild, and pulled her instinctive attack. Changing from cat form to elf as he slammed into her, he drove her back hard into the trunk of a tree, knocking the air out of her. She fought to catch her breath, thought to look around for additional enemies, only vaguely aware of the huge fist of another one of the metal watchers, a fist as big as she was, that had crashed down where she had been standing a moment earlier.
Then her eyes met the druid’s. Their gazes locked and any thought of enemies slipped away. She could see now that his eyes were a deep amber rather than the more golden yellow color she had previously thought. She became intensely aware of the warmth of his body pressed up against hers, the strength in his hands gripping her shoulders, the muscles in his chest that she could feel even through her leather armor, and his. Something untamed lurked in the depths of his eyes. She felt lightheaded…and drawn toward that feral something. And those glorious eyes were less than a handspan from her own. She reminded herself to breath.
A motion beyond his shoulder caught her eye. “Look out…”
They threw themselves to either side -Gil changing back into cat form as he moved- narrowly dodging the massive fists that crashed into the tree, shattering the trunk into flinders. With no need to coordinate, druid and rogue simultaneously attacked the watcher from both sides, making short work of it. Their eyes met again then, for a breathless moment. The druid’s left rear paw twitched suddenly, then shook violently. He glanced back over one shoulder and seemed to growl at something nearby. Vala saw nothing, however.
Vala watched incredulously, then, as Gil turned and ran full tilt toward the edge of Stormwright’s Shelf.
“Wait!”
She dashed after him, heart pounding in sudden alarm. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind in an instant. He wouldn’t really jump off the edge…would he? That drop was too much even for her to manage with the various tricks she knew to break her fall. What was he doing? She watched incredulously, helplessly, as he jumped over the lip of the basin.
She pulled up short at the very edge, only seconds behind him but still too late, and peered over the side toward the floor of the basin so far below, dreading what she might see. Far below, but still well above the ground, a large bird soared in the air. She shook her head at herself, disconcerted. Druids! A couple of flaps of his wings and Gil was hidden by the haze of the basin.
Vala stared into the haze for a long while, wondering if he would return, hoping he might, then finally shook her head, grinning to herself. Must be fun to be able to do that. She turned back to the fallen watchers, pulling out explosives that she’d stolen from some Venture Company goons. Now to get the cranium off one of these metal monstrosities; one of her Frenzyheart friends needed a new war helmet!
However, distracted by thoughts of amber eyes and strong hands, Vala set the explosives wrong and managed to completely destroy the fallen watcher. Grumbling to herself, but wearing a silly grin beneath her mask, she paid more attention to the task at hand on the second watcher and this time managed to get what her Frenzyheart friend wanted.