<105>

	Both tauren immediately felt sick to their stomachs.  “We’re not gonna kill anyone,” Lyrah stated outright.”

	“You won’t have to.  I promised nothing unsavory,” Quela assured her.  “We simply need one or two on the inside to cause chaos, and we’ll handle the rest.”

	“And what do you mean by ‘chaos’?” Drenan pushed.

	Quela shrugged.  “Whatever tickles that new spear of yours.  I don’t care.  Just put them off balance so we can get our land back.”

	“I can go with him this time, yes?” Lyrah chimed in suddenly.

	“Only because I know you’ve got power that your father doesn’t.  I’m giving you three days to make any preparations before we strike.  But if Splintertree starts setting up defenses, we will attack immediately without question.  We may not [i]win[/i], but you both know there will be heavy losses on both sides.”

	“There will be losses if you attack,” Drenan rumbled.

	“Many fewer if Splintertree forces scatter instead,” Quela returned.  “Three days.  I suggest you get moving posthaste.”

	Father and daughter watched Quela leave without another word, then simply held each other for several long, quiet moments.  “This is bad,” Lyrah said quietly.

	“It is.  We have no sway in the Horde… perhaps we could implore Thrall?”

	Lyrah scoffed.  “The warchief that we met all of once because we almost got outed?” she pointed out dryly.  “No thanks, and I’m sure he’s got bigger problems on the Dragon Isles right now, or so I’ve heard.”

	Drenan was at a loss.  “What about Shele and Soren?  The Cenarion Circle?”

	“No good,” Lyrah insisted.  “The Cenarion Circle wasn’t exactly approving of the deforestation the Horde’s been causing out here, no matter how long Splintertree has been around.”

	Drenan snorted in frustration.  “Going in without a plan feels wrong.”

	Lyrah clung to him even more tightly.  “I don’t think we have a choice.”

* * * * *

	The night elves begrudgingly returned Drenan and Lyrah’s clothes, though Drenan kept his new harness beneath his open vest.  Beyond that, both tauren were shoved out of the camp to find the path on hoof, though Drenan knew the area so well now that navigation was no issue.  Lyrah had a fierce grip on her father, but for once her mind was far from the gutter.  Drenan couldn’t read her mind, but her thoughts were definitely somewhere far from where they walked.  “You are troubled,” Drenan gently broke the silence.

	Lyrah sighed quietly.  “This is all my fault.  I got us caught, and now I -we, I guess- gotta do their dirty work.  I… I feel really helpless and selfish.”

	“You are neither of those things,” Drenan echoed softly, one hand rubbing his daughter’s back.  “We could just as easily take a flight from Splintertree and ignore all of this.”

	The shaman was already shaking her head.  “I can’t.  Aurida would probably track me down and finish me off herself.  She stuck her neck out for me to keep me comfortable while you were gone.  She kept me company a lot of the time.  I wouldn’t call her a [i]friend[/i], but she’s no monster.  Quela already threatened that Aurida would be stripped of her rank if I betrayed the sentinels, and I can’t do that to her.”

	“This Quela is ruthless,” Drenan remarked begrudgingly.

	Lyrah shrugged.  “It’s her job, and this is her homeland.  She’s doing what we would do if we lived in Mulgore, or even back home in Azshara.”

	“Splintertree does the same for the Horde, to some extent,” Drenan reasoned.  “Which side is ‘right’ being here?”

	“I’m too small in this big Azeroth to answer that, Daddy.  And I don’t want [i]anyone[/i] to get hurt on either side.”

	“That is a very tall order.”

	“I’m still working on how to make it happen,” she added, squeezing her father’s arm.  “I have to.”

	A shriek from the sky tore Lyrah from her reverie, however, and the poor shaman nearly fell backwards as the massive, black-feathered owl perched itself with ease on Drenan’s burly shoulder.

	“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?” Lyrah cried, clutching at her heaving chest.

	Drenan winced, then looked up and exchanged glances with the owl.  “Sorry, sweetheart.  This is Kacheya.  I forgot to mention, I intervened when she was being attacked by a bear.  Now she follows me around.”

	Lyrah looked straight into the owl’s large eyes… and in an instant she went from panicked to calm.  “I… uh, hello Kacheya.”

	The yellow-eyed owl looked curiously at Lyrah, cocking its head 90 degrees and sizing the shaman up curiously.  A gentle trill left its beak.

	“What does that mean?”

	“She wants you to come closer.”

	Lyrah looked at her father quizzically.  “You understood that?”  The shaman shrieked again when the owl spread her wings, but as nimbly as could be she just hopped off of Drenan’s shoulder and landed on Lyrah’s.  “My… my pleasure,” Lyrah uttered softly, not wanting to make any sudden movements.

	Kacheya met her gaze and trilled for a second time, then gently nestled her beak into Lyrah’s mane.

	Drenan couldn’t hide his smile.  “What do you think of her?”

	Lyrah nervously returned the smile, even as Kacheya drew back and appeared to be chewing something.  “I like her.  You two look comfortable together, too,” Lyrah remarked.

	Drenan smiled in return.  “She has our backs, I have no doubt.  I think she likes you, too, and you will get to know her in due time.”

	“Weirdly enough, I can tell,” she admitted and dared to reach up and give the owl’s neck a soft scritch.  ”It almost feels like I already know her.”

	The owl trilled happily and nuzzled Lyrah back, though with another hop she was back on Drenan’s shoulder.  “I suppose we should not tarry too long.  We do not have much further to go.”

	“Then I guess we better come up with a plan, fast.”
