//------------------------------// // Level 2: Go Fetch // Story: Equestria Was Merely a Setback! // by Thunderscourge //------------------------------// A/N: Special thanks to The Blessed One, ChaoticLightning, Whiteeyes, Whinifree, ultronquake, Europa, Cade YYZ, Reykan, MerlosTheMad, refferee, Mad Maudlin, Drgnwolf, nioniosbbb, God of Physics, and Ketvirtas for commenting last chapter, as well as everyone who liked/favorited this story which got it on the front page! Thanks for your support, I hope you continue enjoying, and I hope to continue to hear from you in the comments! Trixie groaned as her body began to ache in a way she was not familiar with. A burning sensation all over. Was she exhausted in addition to wounded? Still, with some difficulty she managed to hide it and observe the man before her. Red robes with golden outlines...a look at his own clothes made Trixie realize that her own looked so much better. His were in tatters when observed up close, and they barely looked like they could hold together another day of actual use. In comparison to his shoddy clothes, his face was much easier on the eyes. His eyes were similar to the Magistrix’s in that they blazed a bright green, as if magic was pouring right from them. His face was pointed and skinny, but not in a bad way, as it gave him a very refined appearance that Trixie could appreciate. Even his eyebrows were amusing, being so long that they left his face entirely. Plain and simple, Trixie could not see what the Huntard was talking about in relation to his face being unappealing. Perhaps they simply did not like men? The handsome Elf before Trixie held a hand out towards her as he introduced himself, “My name is Kael’Thas, a fellow student and mage. Welcome to Sunstrider Isle, my lady. I apologize if some of our population is…” as Trixie moved to take his hand to stand up, he turned towards the direction the Huntard went and frowned at the now faraway figure of the cruel woman, “Well, whatever one would call that. Grouchy. Mean spirited. An as—” His turning and the shifted attention caused him not to politely help her up as he originally meant to, so Trixie cleared her throat to draw his attention back to her, “Ahem.” “Oh, my apologies,” Kael turned back to her and granted her his hand again, “Here, let me help you.” Annoyed at this point, Trixie decided to stand up on her own, “I don’t need your help…” As she stood, Trixie growled in pain as her leg wound flared up in pain. Yes, that. She had forgotten about that in favor of the arrow sticking in her. She fell backwards onto her bum as she tried getting up from her kneeling position, causing the man to crack a smile. “Apparently you do,” this time when he offered his hand, Trixie begrudgingly took it. Once upright, Kael reached behind him and removed a vial of some red liquid from a backpack he had, “Now, here, hold this.” Trixie took the vial with some confusion. It looked like blood. She rose an eyebrow at the sight of it, “What is this for? Is this some kind of…drink?” Kael reached for the arrow stuck in Trixie and grasped it firmly, “You could say that. Now, when I say drink, drink it.” Not happy about where this was going, Trixie tried pulling back from him only for the Elf to grab her arm as well and hold her still, “Wait, what are you—” He ripped the arrow out of her in one quick movement, saying at the same exact moment, “Drink!” “Oww! Damnit, you just—” Kael glaring at her made Trixie realize she did not do as he said, so she moved to change that. Trixie lifted the vial to her mouth only to find that it had a cork in the top. She removed it quickly with her thumb, at which point she guzzled the liquid down as fast as she could. This could be poison for all she knew, but the fact that he saved her life made her comfortable in drinking whatever he gave her. Pain wracked her arm as the arrow was removed, and she could feel blood begin to run down her robe’s sleeve… “I said drink,” he commented as he rolled Trixie’s sleeve up without her permission. Trixie was about to comment on what he was doing until she felt the blood stop running down her arm. When he finished rolling up the sleeve, Trixie gasped at the sight: no wound whatsoever remained. The pain was still there, but no arrow hole. Kael smirked at his accomplishment, “There, is that better?” “No…” Trixie pouted at first about the pain, only to realize then that she was being ungrateful, “Okay, yes. Thank you. But it hurts…” Kael let go of her and bowed slightly, “I apologize, but I do not possess healing magic and I assume you do not either, so this is our only alternative if you do not want to spend a week in the infirmary.” Trixie could see what he meant, since she knew basically nothing at this point and would have to learn more, “Point taken…” It was then that Kael realized that he still did not know the name of this new acquaintance, so he prodded her for that information gently, “So, ahem, what’s your name, milady? I do not remember seeing you around here.” Trixie decided to act as grandiose as she could, bringing a hand to her chest and speaking in a haughty voice, “I am the great and powerful Trixie Lulamoon, and I…” She paused as she remembered something. “I have no idea how I got here,” she finished in a more confused tone. Her response was first met with a smirk, and then after a moment that smirk transformed into a full grin. Then Kael tilted his head back and began to laugh at her, causing Trixie to grunt as he tried to reign in his burst of amusement. Once calm, Kael cleared his throat and continued on as if he had not just been laughing so heartily, “Oh do not worry. I would reckon that many who come here do not know much of went on before their arrival here. This is where journeys begin, not continue.” Trixie glared at him. Something felt off about this guy… “You have amnesia too, don’t you,” Trixie flatly responded on a hunch. Caught, Kael brought a hand to the back of his head nervously, “Yes, that would be the case…Beyond my name and some things here and there, I don’t really have a clue what is going on either.” That interested Trixie. Perhaps with a similarly…confused person, she could seek out answers as to what was going on. First she had to finish what she was doing though, which made her question what this strange fellow was doing too, “So you are just lounging here and saving damsels in distress, or do you have some goal?” Her question seemed to sap some of the warmness out of him, and Kael looked down to the side as he thought back to his own time in the Isle, “I tried getting some work, but people keep shying away from me. From what they say I guess I must look like someone infamous.” That would explain the Huntard’s comment, Trixie thought, which made her feel kind of sorry for him. Somehow the idea of being an outcast resonated with her. Perhaps she had experience with it that she simply did not recall? As Trixie began to pity him, the man put on a fake smile and returned the question, “And what about you? Do you have any goals in particular?” Trixie tried to act as if she was smart and knew what was going on again, “Well, besides growing my magical skill and reaching whatever potential I have there, I don’t know…” An idea struck her. He was an amnesiac outcast, and she was an amnesiac foreigner. Perhaps they could lend one another a hand, at least until they had things more settled and their memories restored? “Perhaps we can help eachother. Since neither of us have a goal or idea, how about we see where things take us?” Kael brought his hand to his chin as he thought about the possibility. He would hate to impose on someone else because of his current unfriendly relations with others around the Isle, but now that someone was willing to talk to him he would hate to pass up the opportunity, “I could be amenable to that,” he felt the need to warn his new companion though about the dark cloud that would follow him, “Though, if you plan to work with those around here, my presence may prove…scandalous.” Trixie crossed her arms over her chest and snootily lifted her nose, trying to act tough when in fact she was still a bit scared about how close she had come to dying, “You saved my life. If they have an objection to you tagging along and helping me, then they can deal with not having my assistance and skills.” Kael bowed to her, grateful that for once someone was not judging him for things he was unaware of, “You are most kind, Lady Trixie.” Surprised by the flattery, Trixie did her best not to blush as she changed the topic, “So, you do magic too? I was watching you before.” “Yes, though I have yet to branch out from the basics, but I do have a general understanding of at least those currently.” Trixie turned around to face the area she had been approaching prior to the Huntard’s interruption. The area opened up to a nice plains away from the buildings, and despite the occasion tree swaying or giant green floating crystal it seemed quite calm. As Trixie turned though, she felt a bounce in her chest area. She had kind of felt it while moving before, but the speed at which she turned made it all the more pronounced. The two orbs that swelled from her chest were the culprit, and Trixie found herself genuinely confused by them or what they were. She rose a hand to cup one of them as she pondered this weird feeling of having extraneous weight on her chest, “You know, this doesn’t exactly feel...right…” Kael struggled to respond as he too took an interest in what she was now talking about. Unlike Trixie however, Kael had a basic understanding of what made for a humanoid woman’s chest, and Trixie was no different than other Elven women in that regard. In fact, a quick observation made Kael all the more confused about why she was unsure about her breasts, since they were of a size that would be hard for most to ignore, “Your robes…fit you nicely? I don’t see what the matter could be…” Trixie grimaced as she thought about how she apparently was going to have to deal with this hindrance, “I guess they do,” she moved her hands up to the neck of her robe so that she could reach inside, “But what is filling them up. What are these?” Even with Trixie’s back to him, Kael turned his head away and coughed nervously, “A very unusual question, one with a level of indecency I do not feel comfortable answering.” Trixie reached her hand inside the robe and ran it over the soft skin located there. Her face went red at the touch, and she quickly realized that she was indeed a mammal. She withdrew the hand quickly and forced it to her side, her whole pale face red as she vowed never to embarrass herself like that again in front of someone else, “I...apologize for my question. I am…out of it.” Now the one eager to change the subject, Kael approached Trixie’s side and spoke back to their previous conversation, “Anyways, we did not agree on any terms of our partnership. As this is a business related matter, I suggest we come up with some basic rules to form its foundation.” Still embarrassed, Trixie only nodded to him. Business sounded good. Business didn’t make her tingle…or, at least in the same way. Kael reached into his bag and removed a pair of dice, “I propose an even split of what we find and gather in our journeys. When something is singular and of great importance, we shall roll an unmodified pair of dice. To help assure their fairness, each of us shall use one of our own. This will account for if any others join us, as a coin flip would be limited to only two while a dice has more outcomes than we likely will have people with us.” The idea of fairly distributing anything they come across sounded good to Trixie, but there was the chance that someone could be more fortunate than the other, /“And if one starts winning everything through random chance? I would say that we should decide whether or not one participant needs it or not. If they do not need it, they do not roll.” “And if none shall need it?” Trixie smirked, glad to think out this basic rule now instead of having to deal with any drama later, “Then both of us rolls, and then things proceed as normal,” with the materialistic aspect of their partnership decided, that left the more important part of leadership, “That concerns what we gain. Now, how shall we decide who leads and when?” Kael smiled back at her, similarly pleased, “We agree on our goals before we set out, and then take turns deciding the specifics on whatever journey we embark on after our time learning here. Take things day by day.” “Very well. I think that shall do for now.” “I foresee a long and beautiful relationship.” “The rules shall be amended as needed.” “Of course.” The rules quickly came into question when the two came into a situation where neither one of them wanted something. “Did a boot just fall out of that wyrm?” A mana wyrm that had been wounded by another young mage had assaulted Trixie and Kael after the other mage ran away like a coward the first time it hissed at them. With a blast of the only spell Trixie knew, named Frostfire she learned from Kael, she managed to keep it from biting her head off in its maddened assault. When it exploded in a brilliant light and fell to the ground as an orb, a boot also fell out of the light. This left both Trixie and Kael confused, though neither wanted to consider how or why the mana wyrm had a boot inside of it. “You have it,” Trixie disgustedly responded to Kael, who was beginning to come up with an idea for the unkempt boot. Kael picked up the disgusting boot to Trixie’s displeasure, and placed it in his bad as well with some of his own disgust, “We may think it is repulsive and junk, but who knows what the merchants around here will think of it? Perhaps we could sell it. I have a bag to carry it, so it will remain there for now.” Trixie stuck her tongue out at the sight of it, “So gross. Just remember to split the…profit.” Another mana wyrm, this one not at all aggressive, floated by Trixie’s face which reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing. She turned to her partner, who seemed to have the same thought on his mind as he said the question before she could, “You are doing the magic training, correct?” Trixie had seen him fighting a wyrm before her confrontation with the Hunter, which meant that he too was likely doing the Magistrix’s bidding too. Trixie nodded yes as she thought about how fortunate it was to have a partner when confronting such deadly matters, “Yes, I am. Are you tasked with ridding the Isle with the wyrms as well?” Kael smiled nervously as if he was hiding something, “It seems to be an entrance exam of sorts.” “How brutish,” Trixie commented, not pleased that there was a institutionalized practice of killing wild animals. She felt bad about even killing the one that just attacked her in a blind rage, but knew that she did not have a choice with how close it had been to taking a bite out of her. The mana wyrm floating around her made Trixie sigh, as she realized she had to deal with it in some way… A lightbulb lit in her head. Even if she could not tame them, she could get around killing them. The Magistrix wanted them gone, and Trixie would do just that. Trixie whipped out another magic attack to hit this wyrm at point blank range. She made sure to make it even stronger than her last hit, which had only finished off an already half-dead animal. The wyrm was blasted out of the air and fell to the ground, though not in the orb form they took upon death. It was wounded heavily, and it flopped around briefly before taking flight once again. Instead of confronting Trixie, the nearly dead animal took flight and began to weakly fly away from the area. Kael was intrigued by her approach, since he definitely remembered Magistrix Erona saying to kill them when he overheard her talking earlier, “Are you not going to finish it off?” Trixie scoffed at the idea, “Of course not. I am not going to harm something so needlessly. They said to reduce the population of mana wyrms, and so I am, just in a different way. I’ll scare them off for now so they stop being a nuisance, and later I will find a way to cure them. I do not feel comfortable slaying such beautiful beings.” Seeing her alternate method and goal, Kael sighed as he thought about how to complete it, “This will make things more difficult…” Similar to when Trixie first watched him, Kael summoned forth a burst of some flames at the ground beneath some mana wyrms. The sudden fire frightened the animals, and they fled a few feet from it. Once moved back this far, Kael shot another series of flames to chase them off and away. Trixie could see that the rapid use of magic was straining him, so she spoke up with some thought, “I was not going to prevent you from doing as you would. If you were going to kill them, go ahead. You need not handicap yourself.” That only made him laugh. He was being offered kindness from someone, and that was not something he was going to squander by trampling her ethics, “What kind of partner would I be if I breached my partner’s code of conduct?” Trixie smiled as Kael continued to set the plains aflame. This really was going to be quite the partnership should it last. The two continued this until a whole area of the plains was set free from mana wyrms, which continued to float away until they were no longer in sight. They could return, or they could bring problems to some other place, but Trixie was just happy they had rid the area of them with minimal blood shed. Trixie patted her partner on the shoulder at the sight of the fleeing wyrms, “Thank you for the aid. I think we have scared enough away.” The touch made Kael relax somewhat, his whole body aching immensely from the relocation effort due to all the magic he used and the toll that in turn took on him, “My fire was more than enough for the job. I am only glad to have been of service to you. You’re the first person who is actually bothering to talk to me much at all.” Seeing as how Kael had been quite the stand up fellow so far, Trixie found it hard to believe that others were shunning him, “How rude of them,” the idea of proving herself and gaining fame through her actions sounded appealing though in her mind, so Trixie decided it was time to return to her quest giver. After all, Kael could possibly earn favor back if he tried, “Let us report back to the Magistrix about our success.” Trixie turned around to approach the relatively nearby Magistrix who was handling some even newer recruits, but Kael did not follow her. She stopped to look back at him in confusion, but he once again spoke first. “You go ahead. I will wait here.” Trixie was not about to let her partner be shy even if everyone else hated him, so she grabbed his arm with a firm but not hard grip, “Why? Are you nervous about speaking with her? Come on.” The man continued to look away from her, “The truth is, I never actually got the mission like you did…” he flashed her a nervous look, “Since so many people were ignoring me or outright telling me to go away, I feared approaching the teacher who was setting people on missions of destruction lest I become the new subject of her ire. I’ve just been copying what others have been doing the past day or so. That’s why I know a little more, but have not progressed any farther.” Trixie pulled his arm in so that it was intertwined with her own as she began to tug him towards her teacher, “Oh don’t be silly. How do you expect to earn their trust if you do not try and do something for them? Come with me, and I will say you helped me in my mission. They seem fine with me, so my introducing you should prove beneficial to your reputation.” Her persistence and optimism got through to him slightly, and he allowed her to pull him even though he remained somewhat pessimistic about the whole matter, “I acquiesce to your plan.” “Of course you do. I am brilliant after all.” Once the other students had left Erona, Trixie approached her with Kael in tow. She let go of him once they were there, causing Kael to straighten himself out after being pulled there by the tall but still shorter than him Trixie. Trixie beamed at her teacher whiled gesturing to the area she and Kael had cleared out, “Hello Magistrix. I believe that my partner Kael and I have succeeded in ridding Sunstrider Isle of your pesky wyrms.” Trixie’s words seemed lost upon the Magistrix beyond a certain point, as the Magistrix turned to face Kael with a gaping jaw. “Kael? As in the same name as our Prince, Prince Kael’Thas Sunstrider? You have been born into an unfortunate life, my friend, to be named after that man. At least you were not named after the Outlands conflict began, for that would be even more unfortunate.” Kael opened his mouth as a light bulb lit in his mind, “Actually, I—” Seeing that Kael was about to say something that could possibly incriminate himself, Trixie gripped him by the arm again and spoke up faster than he could for once. “May I speak with you?” Kael nodded, and Trixie apologized to Erona for the interruption. With his permission Trixie led him about ten meters away and began to speak to him in a whisper. “Okay, new plan. Don’t go around saying your name. I’m sorry I did.” Kael tilted his head, confused by the complete 180 on her approach to his reputation, “What? Why not? Being a prince sounds quite familiar, and perhaps she knows something about my history. What if I am this Prince Kael’Thas Sunstrider? That would mean this whole Isle is named after me—” Trixie held a finger to her lips to signal that he should be quiet, “She said being named Kael was unfortunate. What do you want to wager that this Kael’Thas, possibly your own self, was disgraced at this so called Outlands conflict that seems to be going on right now?” “I…” Kael’s shoulders dropped as he realized that if he was not just a lookalike who held the name of the prince, he might actually be this ill favored man which would be the root of his current problems. The others likely were shunning him because of his similar appearance, and him saying his name would only make their suspicions rise further, “I concede to your point. I do wish to look into this matter in the future, even if it is by research rather than inquisition.” Trixie could understand the need to know more given her own situation, but she did not want her new friend to get in any trouble, “Of course, but hush for now.” With their new rule established, Trixie and Kael returned to the Magistrix who gave them both a curious look. Trixie laughed nervously for a moment before breaking the silence, “My partner here was named after the prince, and grew up to resemble his namesake. Quite the fortunate turn of events.” Erona pointed towards a couple of apprentices who were steering their way around Kael completely, shooting him venomous glares on their way to go do whatever tasks they had been granted, “Or not. It seems to be causing you social problems.” This did nothing to help Kael’s self-confidence, though Trixie rubbed his arm supportively as Erona spoke again, “Anyways, you have successfully completed your first task; for that, you are to be congratulated. Such success gives me faith that you will turn out better than those young blood elves who fail to heed the lessons of their masters. Continued success will be rewarded - not only with knowledge, but also with tangible rewards as well.” Erona took out a pouch and handed it to Trixie, who graciously accepted it and took a look inside. What seemed to be round copper coins formed the contents of the bag, which Trixie began to count as Erona continued speaking. Money made the effort all the more enriching to Trixie. “Your work here, however, is not finished. There is much more to learn, my young friend...” Erona paused as Trixie continued counting, only half listening compared to the more enraptured Kael, “Your effort has made something clear that, honestly, I wish were not true. The unchecked power of the Burning Crystals has maligned a much larger swath of the isle's natural balance than I thought. We must now take on more unfortunate measures to reclaim control.” Trixie finished counting and carefully removed half of the coins in the bag, which she then stuffed inside Kael’s bag before realizing she did not have a place to put the pouch she still had in her hand. Erona turned around to point towards where Trixie had woken up, at which point Trixie had a brilliant idea. With Erona’s attention elsewhere, Trixie opened up the top of her robe and placed the coin pouch in the only compartment she could think of: the strap-like thing that she had felt inside her robe that was covering her chest. Kael laughed as he noticed her do this, but Erona did not seem to notice or care as she continued speaking. “The nearby lynxes have succumbed to the influence of the crystals, and they must be put down. Bring me their collars, Trixie, as I may yet be able to fashion a magical restraint to turn some back from being uncontrolled.” Trixie realized that the cats she ran into before must be the lynxes spoken of, which made Trixie all the more willing to take action against them. They were mean kitties. Still, the order to murder and maim the cats had not been given so Trixie questioned it, “You only need their collars?” Erona turned back to face them with a smile, “Yes, their collars should be enough for me to finish a cure for the creatures and their malady. Your compassion for the wyrms made me think about alternate ways of handling these problems. Here I will see if rehabilitation is actually possible, after we create my cure.” This was a mission Trixie could be wholly behind, and so she grabbed Kael by his tattered sleeve to drag him towards where she woke up, “Come Kael, we have mean cats to beat up.” They gave the Magistrix their goodbyes, and left to go beat up those mean cats Trixie so loathed. Once behind the building, the two were met with the sight of a whole pack of the beings spread out across the hill that formed the back area of the building. Kael was curious what was over the hill, but Trixie was more focused on the cats who scared her off earlier. “Since we just need the collars, we should have an easy time leaving them alive,” she noted as she began to wonder which one she would need to knock out first. Kael, however, was more interested in the dead body that lay face-down as a pair of lynxes began tearing into its armored form, “Poor Warrior…” Trixie recognized the armor as being that of the person who ran to attack the cats earlier. Likely the person in line ahead of them for this particular quest. Erona had not really stressed that it could be dangerous, but then again she seemed to have a detached view of how one was supposed to learn magic other than learn as you go or die. Trixie felt bad, but at the same time the man who was dead brought it entirely on himself, “He attacked a mob of cats by himself like an idiot.” Seeing the closest lynx, Trixie began to charge up an attack while lamenting she did not know more. Perhaps she would be able to learn more after she was done cleansing the vermin of the isle like a glorified janitor or exterminator. The cat noticed the light forming in Trixie’s hand, and as if it had seen it before the beast began to charge at her. The speed at which the animal moved shocked Trixie, who had not finished the attack by the time it was ready to swipe at her. Luckily, it did not hit her. Trixie gasped as she realized Kael had intercepted the attack, his arms wrestling with the cat that had pounced up at her. The possible prince growled as he tossed the animal down, the cat rolling over to prepare another pounce just as a blast of magic struck the back of its head. It weakly stumbled over, still conscious, only for Trixie to quickly knock it out with a kick to the head. The kick actually hurt Trixie as much as it did the cat, and she grunted in pain as she realized her toes were in immense pain. The cat stopped moving though, and that allowed her to see that it had a collar on. Likely an artifact of its time underneath Blood Elf rule, it had little use for it at this particular moment while Trixie had a great one, so she removed the collar with some joy. Seeing these events drew the interest of other lynxes though, and just as Trixie began to say “One down” there was already three more running at them. Once again Kael placed himself in the way, with one beast biting into his leg and another jumping up to bite his shoulder. The third collided directly with his gut with its hard head, causing him to gasp and stop the spell he had been channeling momentarily. Trixie felt fear grip her at the sight of him in such a dire position, but knew that she couldn’t cast her magic fast enough to do much good… The shimmering metal of the fallen warrior’s sword caught her eye. Trixie rushed over to grab the nearby weapon, and as soon as her delicate hands gripped the large blade she turned to swing it at the closest lynx attacking Kael. The blade sliced down its body and made it lose its grip on Kael, who that very moment finished channeling his power to let out a burst of magic that knocked the other two back. The one still standing growled at them both, and it moved to bite Trixie. She tried swinging at it again, but her blade passed above its body because of her lack of practice with it. The animal fell down either dead or unconscious though when a shard of ice pierced its back. Trixie dropped the blade onto the ground and sighed, glad that there were no other lynxes currently interested in her blood. Kael, to his credit, was fighting off the pain of his wounds quite well even as his robe continued to fall into disarray. He removed another healing potion from his bag and drank it, a shudder going through his body as the odd tasting medicine took effect. His wounds disappeared to Trixie’s delight, as it meant he was fine despite taking all of the damage in that fight. Thankful but prideful, Trixie crossed her arms over her chest, “I can protect myself, you know.” Kael chuckled at how she had trouble just saying thank you, “I know, but I daresay I am more durable than you, my lady.” Trixie snorted at him, though as her eyes began to trace across him she could see some serious signs of muscle on the otherwise lean body of her partner. The rips in his robe were allowing her to actually see how ripped he was, not that she would say any such thing, “I couldn’t tell underneath your dress.” He seemed less interested in the falsehood of her being unable to see his tough body, and more interested in the insult itself, “It’s not a dress, it’s a robe!” Trixie stuck her tongue out, “You secretly want to be a woman, don’t you?” Kael was the one crossing his arms this time, only semi-defensive because he knew she meant no harm, “I am very comfortable in being a man, thank you very much. It’s not like I have much else at the moment other than being a Blood Elf male who looks like a prince.” “I bet our people thought they had a princess at first, since that fool looks so much like you, wretch,” another voice said, causing Trixie and Kael to turn towards it. A man in a yellow robe who was holding an odd staff of sorts stood staring at them with a wicked smirk. Trixie didn’t know who they were or what they were doing, but she did not appreciate their comment whatsoever. Trixie jabbed a finger in their direction, her voice angry and defensive, “Hey, you stay out of this.” As if the lynxes in the area agreed, one jumped at the yellow robed man and began attacking him. No longer able to dialogue with them, the man turned to do battle with the savage beast while Trixie and Kael each wondered how much they wanted to help him. After seeing him get chomped a few times, Trixie blasted the lynx and knocked it out. Wounded, the man limped away to go tend to his wounds while Trixie muttered, “Serves them right. The nerve of some people…” Kael decided to be the one to address her hypocrisy, “You were making fun of me too.” Trixie placed a hand on her chest and let out an odd noise, “Hmmph. Yes, but you are my partner. I have a right that no-one else does.” Hypocritically heartwarming as it was, Kael laughed at her possessiveness over mocking him, “So can I poke fun at how you obviously have no idea about any of what is going on?” “I am a magical apprentice who is learning so I can go on to defeat the dreadful Scourge and amaze everyone with my supernatural powers!” Trixie responded with a bit of uncertainty, even though she tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about. “I can assure you they are quite natural to Elves such as us.” “Oh shut up. Can you teach me that fire spell?” Kael shrugged, not really knowing too much other than the fiery magic came naturally to him, “I am not sure I can. I barely can do it myself. Perhaps we should see about getting you to a mage instructor.” Trixie nodded in understanding as she began to retrieve more collars from the now unresponsive lynxes, “Like the Magistrix?” “No, she is just in charge of things overall. You should see an actual trainer,” Kael clarified, his face turning to one of exasperation as he realized he destroyed most of the collar on one of the lynxes with his magic. Finding collars wouldn’t be a 1 to 1 ratio of defeated lynxes it seemed. Once they pulled together all of the collars in the area and began to pack them away, Trixie decided that she was about done with the foul tempered cats. She needed a rest from all the fighting anyways, since her head was pounding and hurting like never before from what she believed to be her exertion. “I think that should be enough collars. We really ought to have asked how many they needed.” Before placing the last collar away in Kael’s bag, Trixie got a wicked idea. Instead of reaching into his bag, she placed it around Kael’s neck. He was too surprised to stop her, and Trixie could not help but laugh at the sight of the man wearing a pet collar. “Hah, the prince of the Blood Elves is into bondage!” Kael rolled his eyes, but did not remove it because it seemed to be amusing Trixie so greatly. Still, he would not lose the verbal war, “You put it on me, my lady. Does that not mean you are the one interested in that particular perversion?” “…shut up.” “That wasn’t a no.” Trixie only grumbled as they went to turn in their findings to their teacher, who seemed pleased to see them back. As she greeted them Trixie removed the collars from Kael’s bag and handed them over. “Magistrix, here are your collars.” Erona was pleased to see the collars in relatively good condition, but soon found herself confused when she noticed one was in a weird place. “Why is he wearing one of them?” Trixie shrugged, trying to stifle a giggle that arose in her, “I thought it looked good on him.” Not even wanting to get into that subject any further, the Magistrix cleared her throat as she took the collars, including the one Kael removed from his own neck, “Know that it gives me no pleasure to ask you to destroy these beasts. While in times past we have lived in relative harmony with woodland creatures, these are different times. The first order of business for all sin'dorei is survival; make sure you remember that.” Assuming that sin'dorei meant Elf, Trixie decided to just go with it, “Of course,” Trixie replied, pleased that perhaps Erona was not completely psychopathic in her ways of cleaning up the isle, “By the way, there is a dead Warrior in the back.” “I was wondering why it was taking him so long. Did you take his things?” Trixie was confused by the question, but also realized that perhaps they should have brought him, “No, I did not. Do you intend to give them to his family?” Erona laughed, “His family? I don’t even know anything about him other than a lack of intelligence and a tragic case of death. I meant did you loot his corpse. It is common practice in Azeroth to take from the dead, since they are not using their equipment anymore.” Her response unsettled Trixie, who could understand the reasoning but also felt disgusted by the idea of looting someone’s corpse… Erona used the silence as a time to continue speaking to the two, with Kael too nervous to speak up at all, “Now, the tower and surrounding areas should now be relatively secure, though only for the time being. You have done well in providing us with a buffer of security, but we will need to reassert control over the entire isle if we are to survive here in the long run. This will involve tackling much greater threats than errant mana wyrms and lynxes.” The Magistrix took from the ground a small bag and handed it over to Trixie who realized she could wear it on her hip by attaching it to the cloth belt she had on, “Take this, Trixie. You will no doubt make good use of it for the tasks to come.” Trixie thanked the Magistrix when a yawn escaped her lips. Wow, she realized she really was tired. She stretched out after putting the bag in place and another yawn let its way out of her, “Can we take a break first? All this magic is making my body ache.” Erona gestured to the building they had been around so long, yet had yet to enter, “Oh, of course. You may rest inside if you feel the need. Come back to me when you wish to continue your training.” Trixie and Kael nodded, each of them moving to approach the building. Once again speaking only to Trixie, Kael decided to mention something he found out before meeting her. “The mage trainer should be inside. I heard some of the others talking about her.” “Let us see about learning some new tricks!” “I can’t tell if that was a bad pun or if you were being sincere.” “…shut up. Anyways, while we’re resting I want to hear some stories about what is going on.”