There was a damp chill in the air as Ebonywind saddled Naha and prepared for the journey from Terokkar to Nagrand. The road would take her back through the depths of the forest and through Shattrath to reach her destination. Perhaps a few days in the saddle would do her some good. She could think about nothing. Let her mind focus on riding, on the trees as they passed, the sounds of leaves and twigs underneath Naha’s feet.
She settled Chicken into the small carrier strapped on one side of Naha’s saddle and Daega into the large sling on the other side. The animals settled in quickly, some instinct telling them they were leaving this place that frightened them so. She mounted in silence and urged Naha to the gate, leaving Stonebreaker Hold without even so much as a look back. She realized she had just been another body there. Yet another come to fight for them for a while then move on. Nobody in the place ever became friendly with the transients. Even if they did stay for long periods, it was only a matter of time before they died to the world they fought for. She felt no remorse. No farewells offered or given. She was far too worn out to be concerned about either.
As Stonebreaker disappeared behind her, the sounds of the forest settled in. The rustling of leaves seemed ominous in this place rather than comforting. The distant cries of wolves caused shivers down the spine. Daega huddled deeper into her sling and kept silent. Naha, ever reliable and sturdy, continued her trek toward Shattrath undisturbed.
As the ride wore on Ebonywind became restless. The silence of travel, that she thought would be comforting, became oppressive. Instead of giving her mind rest, it left it free to chase about the same things that had been harrowing her these past weeks.
As the silence weighed more and more heavily upon her she found herself looking for something, anything, to alleviate it. A sharp squeal from her communication stone drew her attention to it. Nothing came through, just a quick noise as sometimes happened for no apparent reason, but she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. She stared at if for a few moments wondering if she dared use it. Could she speak to him? Would he even answer? She sighed. She had to try. She could stand the silence, the loneliness, no longer.
She ran her finger across the magical stone and pictured him in her mind. She did not know how the stone knew what she was thinking or who she wanted to speak with, but at the moment, neither did she care. When she heard it whistle, the signal that it had contacted the stone on the other end, for a moment she didn’t know what to say.
Finally she spoke, attempting to keep her voice strong. “Grizz? Are you there?”
She waited several moments and just as she had started to despair that he would answer, she heard his familiar voice over the stone. “Ebonywind?” She frowned at the stone. He sounded… groggy?
“Grizz? Did I disturb you? My apologies. I will contact you another time.”
“No! Wait! You didn’t disturb me. Where are you?” He sounded slightly confused now.
“I am just traveling. Along a road in Terokkar forest toward Shattrath. I just wanted–” She frowned harder. What did she want? Wanted to talk to someone. A friendly voice. It seemed so trivial now. “I am sorry.”
“Wait. Hold on. I’ll be right there.” She heard the stone muffle and then silence. What did he mean he would be right there? The ride from Stonebreaker Hold to Shattrath was three days at least. She sighed and tucked her stone back in her belt pouch. Perhaps she had woken him and he was still confused.
If she could judge the time correctly in this strange place, it was just past midday when Daega began fidgeting in her sling. With a half smile for the young elekk, Ebonywind found a small clearing along the road and brought Naha to a halt. She lifted the elekk from her sling and let her wander into the taller grass beside the tree to tend to her “business” while she pulled out her food satchel to give them all a light meal.
A double handful of grain and some fresh plucked grass seemed to satisfy Naha. Chicken was content to swipe a few grains of Naha’s meal and Daega happily chewed up some dried fruit Ebonywind produced for her. Sitting down to nibble at her own meal of dried meat and bread she watched the animals enjoy the break from traveling.
After two bites of her own food she sighed and tucked it back in the food pouch. She simply couldn’t find the urge to eat. She sipped water from her water skin and looked about her, trying to gauge how much distance they had covered when a curious bird coming toward them along the road caught her attention.
Always suspicious in this place, she stood quickly and grabbed her mace off Naha’s saddle. The bird settled to the road not far from where she stood and after a moment it blurred then took on the shape of a familiar Tauren bull.
“There you are!” Grizz said with a smile.
Ebonywind relaxed and strapped her mace back onto Naha’s saddle. “Grizz?”
He smiled. “Hello, Ebonywind.”
She stared at him in puzzlement for a moment. “What are you doing here?”
His smile broadened and he stepped closer. “You called – here I am!”
She swallowed hard and stifled the urge to run away. “I did not expect you to come. I… just… wanted someone to talk to.”
“Well it’s much easier to talk face-to-face, don’t you agree?”
She looked around nervously, shuffling her hoof in the grass. What could she say to him? She never thought he would actually travel to find her. “I suppose…”
He studied her for a moment before stepping closer to reach out and tentatively poke a large patch of missing fur on her arm. “Busy, hmm?”
Absently, she reached over to cover the bare patch from his view. “It is nothing. What have you been doing lately?”
A twitch of his muzzle told her he had caught her not-so-subtle change of subject but he did not comment on it. “Oh, not much of anything, really.”
“You have returned to Azeroth then?”
He shrugged and smiled. “I like it much better there. Don’t you?”
She frowned and tried to phrase a careful response. “I… have not been back recently.”
Grizz echoed her frown and moved to sit down against a nearby tree. It seemed he was ready to drag this awkward conversation out for some time. “Not even briefly?”
She looked down, unsure how to answer. She had returned, very briefly but nothing useful came from that return. “I… went briefly a couple of days ago. I needed to speak with the Elders in Thunder Bluff.” She sat as she spoke, absently wrapping an arm around Daega when the little elekk huddled against her side.
“What about?”
“I was seeking advice, but they had none to give.” She sighed slightly. “So I returned to Outland.”
Grizz frowned again as he studied her. “What sort of advice?”
She could not meet his gaze, instead focusing her attention on scratching Daega behind the ears. “Nothing important.”
They sat in silence for several moments when Grizz smiled and spoke again. “So! You said you wanted to talk? I’m all ears.”
“There was nothing specific…” She felt like a fool now, calling him at all. “I was traveling. It was very quiet. I… just wanted to hear a voice.”
Grizz nodded in understanding. “Sometimes it can be very lonely out here.”
She nodded in agreement. “Indeed. During the day there is too much silence, at night…” She hugged Daega close when she jumped from a sudden sound in the forest.
The silence began to stretch out again when Grizz huffed and stared straight at her. “Ebonywind… you look like hell. What’s going on?”
She frowned. This was part of the reason she didn’t want to see him. She knew what she looked like and why, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it. “It isn’t that bad. I… I am fine.”
“You look like you haven’t eaten in a week!”
“I eat. I saw Grizo at Stonebreaker last night and he gave me a warp burger.” She didn’t admit that she had only taken a couple bites before her appetite gave out and she gave the rest to the worg guarding the inn.
“And you haven’t eaten since then?”
She looked away again and fussed with a piece of grass. “I wasn’t hungry today.”
Grizz huffed again and began rummaging around in his pack. “I should have some food in here somewhere. Would you like some?”
She shrugged, wishing there were a way to convince him she really wasn’t hungry.
A moment later he pulled out a cold-spelled food pack. He opened it up and pulled out a large hunk of roasted clefthoof. “Here you go!”
“I… am not really hungry, Grizz,” she said, taking the clefthoof reluctantly.
“You should eat it anyway.” His gaze raked over her reproachfully and she slumped and stared at the meat. “Really.”
She sighed and nibbled at the clefthoof. She could hardly choke it down with him watching her so she laid her arm across her knees wondering if he was going to sit there all day waiting for her to eat it.
He frowned at her, staring at the clefthoof that she tried to carefully ignore. “You should take better care of yourself, Ebonywind.”
“I am fine, Grizz. You should not trouble yourself.” With a forced smile, she took an exaggerated bite of the clefthoof and worked to chew it and swallow it to reassure him. “Mmmm…. See?”
He stifled a chuckle then pulled out a drinking skin. “Something to drink?”
She inhaled sharply as the last time she had a drink with Grizz rushed through her mind and she began choking on the bite of clefthoof. After a few minutes of coughing, and motioning to Grizz that she was fine, she found her voice again. “I—I have water.”
He nodded satisfied and opened his water skin to take a drink. “Good, water is what I was having too!”
She sipped her water trying to ease the last of the tickle in her throat. After a few moments he spoke again, seeming more and more awkward as time passed.
“How are your sisters doing?”
“I do not know.” She wiped water from her muzzle and put away her water skin. “The last I heard, Redwind had left. Nobody knew where. Gentlewind… I have not seen in many months.”
“I see.” Grizz stared at the dirt between his hooves as the silence stretched out between them yet again. “This isn’t going well, is it?”
She looked up at him confused. “What isn’t?”
“This whole talking thing. I’ve spent the last months thinking of everything I’d want to talk to you about, but now you’re here and just… pfffft.” He threw his hands into the air in an evaporating motion before letting them fall into his lap.
Ebonywind sighed, resting her chin on her arms. “I… wish I knew what to say, Grizz. I did not meant to call you here. I… just… wanted to hear a voice.” She swallowed hard, her own voice dropping to a whisper, “Your voice.”
He smiled warmly at her. “It’s good to hear your voice too, Ebonywind.”
She looked around the forest suddenly, having made a decision. “I do not like this place. I was leaving. Would… would you like to travel with us?”
He peered at her confused for a moment. “Us?”
She smiled slightly. “Me, Chicken, Daega and Naha. They don’t talk much so are not very good company.”
“Oh! Yes, of course I would love to.”
“I am headed to a place called Nagrand. I have been told it is on the other side of Shattrath City.”
He smiled. “I am familiar with it.”
She nodded then and rose to her feet before she could change her mind. Carefully she reached out a hand to help him up. He took her hand and held it but put no weight on her as he rose. The warmth of his hand in hers felt good to Ebonywind and she was reluctant to let go. He squeezed her hand slightly as if he did not wish to let go as well.
Finally he said quietly, “Shall we?”
Swallowing hard she nodded, gently releasing his hand.
“To Nagrand,” he said, helping her load Daega and Chicken back onto Naha’s saddle.
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