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	The bull looked at her stoically… and smirked.  “You wish to be taken captive, little elf?”

	Quela scoffed.  “I have done no offense to your people.  [i]This[/i] one, on the other hand,” she paused and gestured at Drenan, who looked entirely dumbfounded.  “He disgraced my kind upon our first attack, and he disgraced [i]you[/i] with his bare hands!  If there is one prisoner to take, it would be him!”

	Murmurs went among the night elves.  Drenan looked to his comrades in Splintertree, but all of them looked too uneasy to spit in the face of a grimtotem’s request.  At last, he looked at Talla, who was… surprisingly calm.  She smiled at him and silently mouthed ‘I’ll come get you’.

	Drenan sighed, then drew himself to his full height and strode toward the bull.  “It is your choice.  If it spares any bad blood, I offer myself freely.”

	Quela trembled in silent anger, and the grimtotem bull chuckled and clapped Drenan on the shoulder.  “Tie him up.”

* * * * *

	Lyrah collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as the last drop of lava cooled.  Saratha was still in shock, but in that shock she dropped to her knees and helped her chieftain back to her feet.  “Do not overexert yourself.  Let me do the walking for you.”

	The shaman groaned and placed her hands on her belly.  Saratha scooped her into her arms with relative ease, and Lyrah’s head lolled over to look at her and smile.  “Thank you….”

	Saratha flinched and looked away, but she couldn’t hide just a wisp of color in her dark-furred cheeks.  “I have served Magatha for nearly two decades, and never before have I witnessed such a display of power.”

	Lyrah laughed weakly.  “Prob’ly never will again… not while I got a big ol’ baby in me.”

	“I read that in your letter,” Saratha added and chuckled.  “You are stronger than I took you for.  I cannot imagine having a child of my own.”

	“I don’t blame you one bit.  And I’m only, like, three months in.”

	Saratha turned serious again.  “We need to get you hydrated and taken care of.  You should not have spent that much energy so early on.”

	As the two of them made it down the last hill, Saratha hissed and darted behind a nearby tree trunk.  Drenan was in the middle of being tied up, and both elf and orc simply stood and watched while he was thrown over the bull’s shoulder and carried away… except Talla.  While all eyes were on the grimtotems, she darted backwards and into the shadows instead.  Lyrah watched all of this with half-lidded eyes.  “Maybe we shouldn’t… go back to the Post.”

	“Agreed.  We will rendezvous with the other grimtotems then.”

	“And I’ll guide you.”

	Saratha nearly jumped out of her fur as Talla appeared behind the two of them.  “What!?” she whisper-yelled and tried to raise a fist.

	“S-stop!  She’s my friend!” Lyrah insisted, and Saratha immediately calmed.  “Sh-she set up the rope traps.  She knows a s-safe way through the woods.”

	Talla offered them both a confident nod, looking Saratha right in the eye.  “Tell me where the spot is, and I’ll get us there.”

	Saratha hesitated, studying the peculiar huntress before her.  The grimtotem was not nearly as tall as other tauren, but Talla was the same exact height as she was, and seemed no less capable in her hunting ways.  She was skeptical, but curious to see her in action.  “Fine.  Lead on.”

* * * * *

	Talla moved among the underbrush as if she’d lived there all her life, and Saratha kept just a few steps behind her, still carrying a weakened Lyrah.  They did not speak as they made their way southward, skirting the logging camp until they neared the pathway into the Barrens, then veered to the west into a small, secluded clearing.  The other grimtotems were already waiting for them, albeit restlessly, and Drenan remained tied and held captive at its center.  At Saratha’s approach, the rest of the shamanic warband cheered, then grew tense seeing Talla accompany them.  “At ease!  They are allies.  Water, now, and revitalizing herbs if we’ve got them!”

	Drenan watched Lyrah flop about in Saratha’s arms, unable to tell if her eyes were open or not.  “Durgak, please!  I need to go to my daughter!”

	The lead tauren, who had actually been chatting pleasantly with Drenan -enough so for them to introduce each other- pulled a knife from a nearby pack and slashed the hunter’s ropes.  “Go.”

	Drenan bolted toward Lyrah and placed a hand on her forehead, which earned him a smile as her eyes fluttered open.  “By the Earthmother, do not scare me like that again!” he rumbled with a laugh.

	Lyrah giggled.  “Sorry, Daddy… couldn’t help it.  Wanted to see you come for me.”

	Drenan leaned over, and the two of them kissed lovingly before another grimtotem pressed a waterskin to Lyrah’s mouth.  “Will she be alright?”

	Saratha nodded and beckoned one of the shamans over.  “She spent a lot of energy.  She just needs rest.  We will not leave this encampment until our chieftain is able to walk again, and be certain that her -your- baby is safe and healthy.”

	Drenan breathed a deep sigh of relief, grasping his daughter’s hand and squeezing it fiercely.  “You have our thanks.”

	Saratha grunted, “Don’t mention it,” then turned away to come face-to-face with Talla again.

	“Thanks for helping my friend,” Talla said earnestly, setting Saratha back on her heels.  “I didn’t know you guys were, like… empathetic?”

	“W-we’re not!” Saratha rumbled defensively.  “W-we do as our ch-chieftain commands, that’s all!”

	Talla laughed softly.  “Did she command you to bring her here?”

	“Well… no… but our duty is to our chieftain!  To let her die would have been dishonorable!”

	“Buuuuuut you didn’t kill anyone [i]else[/i] today,” she quipped and smirked.

	“Not [i]yet[/i],” Saratha rumbled through gritted teeth, though the look on her face was much further in the realm of awkward than angry.
