((AN: Another little ditty from World of Warcraft. Galerunner is my 70 hunter on Thorium Brotherhood. Copyright Blizzard blah blah blah don't sue me.))

Serendipity - A Coming of Age Story

A World of Warcraft fanfic

By Kristin Renee Taylor

Part 2 -

It was the fiercest battle either opponent had ever faced. For hours, their deadly duel raged across the length and breadth of the sprawling Barrens savannah. Animals fled in mortal terror as they approached. Centaur and Tauren alike had taken cover, lest they draw the attention of the combatants. Even the mighty kodo, the lumbering juggernauts of the land, had steered clear of the epic battle in the making.

An eternity passed as the duo fought. Both were equally matched, neither gaining the upper hand for more than a few seconds. Each thunderous crash of blade on blade flattened and cracked the ground for leagues around them.

Suddenly, in a bold and clever move, the mighty Tauren warrior slipped inside her opponent's guard, knocking him to the ground. She raised her sword high to deliver the finishing blow. The earth held its breath in expectation. The air was fraught with portent. Time itself paused, heavy with-

"Galerunner!"

The mighty Tauren warrior yelped in alarm and spun, bringing her sword to bear on the looming shadow that had snuck up behind her.

Long used to her daughter's mannerisms, Tomia Fartotem didn't so much as blink as she caught the stick in one strong fist before it smacked her in the face. Frigid hazel eyes gazed sternly down at the tall, gangly youth whose muzzle was turning an interesting shade of pink beneath short white fur.

"What are you doing?"

"I... Uh... Er... That is..." Galerunner hemmed and hawed, growing more flustered and agitated and mortified as her mother continued the icy gaze. She released her end of her wooden "sword", opting to stare at a point just above her mother's ankles.

"I've been calling you for ten minutes. Didn't you hear me?"

Galerunner shook her head in silence.

"It doesn't take two hours to get firewood."

The tips of Gale's ears were blazing red, she could feel it.

"And have you done /any/ of your chores yet?"

Galerunner's wince spoke volumes.

Tomia sighed. "Silly mooncalf," she murmured. The ice in her voice had melted somewhat, and Galerunner, ever hopeful, lifted her head enough to give her mother a sidelong, wary glance.

The older Tauren, a vision of Galerunner's future (provided she grew another two feet and gained the muscle to go with her lanky and awkward figure) chuckled and smiled. "Back to camp with you, 'oh mighty Tauren warrior.'" She ruffled Galerunner's hair with one hand, and swatted her daughter's bottom with the stick in the other. Galerunner squawked indignantly and hopped sideways, out of her mother's range.

Tomia brandished the stick at her. "Get on. Before I string you up for the centaur to find!"

Galerunner, feeling bolder or foolish (or both), stuck her tongue out at her mother and grinned. "You'd have to catch me first!"

"Hyah!" Tomia swatted at her daughter again, but, true to her name the young Tauren was already off, speeding away from the only thing that could frighten any mighty Tauren warrior: a mother's wrath.

Fin Part 2