((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 7 -

An ant explored the short savannah grass, antennae waving as it prodded the entrance of the cavern before it. What was this thing? Where did the tunnel entrance lead? Was there food at the other end?

And then it was sucked into Galerunner's nose, and its only thought was "Oh crap."

The Tauren youth sneezed explosively, startling herself awake. She sat up, coughing and snorting and rubbing at her nose with a finger to dislodge anything else that had found its way inside.

A glance at the sun proved that only a few hours had passed, which helped explain why she felt terrible. Her eyes still felt grainy. She had a headache. Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her of other needs.

She rubbed her eyes and gained her hoofs, stretching with a soft grunt as various aches made themselves known from her nap on the hard ground. Some food was definitely the next order of the day. She surveyed the unbroken grasslands around her and wondered if-

The wolf's ears perked up as she spotted it. Half its body was draped across the elf's legs. It gnawed on a bone held beneath one forepaw.

Hands on her hips, she glared at the animal. "Didn't I tell you to go away?"

The wolf had paused as she had spoken. Then it resumed its gnawing, not looking the slightest bit apologetic.

She stalked forward. "If that bone used to be my elf's arm, you will be sorry." She shoved the big wolf off the elf's legs. It growled in irritation, but took its bone and trotted a short distance away to resume its snack.

Glaring at it, Galerunner examined the elf's body, checking his bandages. He didn't /look/ chewed on, but one could never be too certain.

The elf's hand clamped onto her wrist. "...wa..."

Galerunner shrieked and scrambled away, drawing her knife. "DO NOT EAT MY SOUL!"

The elf sat up slowly. He buried his face into his hands for a moment, then turned to look at her. Eyes the color of burnished gold, luminescence dimmed by the sun, examined her. "Wa...ta..?"

Wa-ta? What the heck was "wa-ta" supposed to-

"Ohhhh! You want water, not my soul!" Galerunner laughed and stood, sheathing her knife. "Sure thing. Wait here!" She trotted over to her discarded pack and rummaged through it until she found one of her waterskins. She handed it to the elf, who took it gratefully. He drank a good deal of it while she watched him avidly, crouched a few feet away. When done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and handed the flask back to her.

"You are most welcome," she told him and grinned. "Now..." She dragged her pack closer and rummaged through it. "I do not know what evil elf demons such as yourself like to eat, other than my soul which you cannot have I would like you to know, but I hope you do not mind some travel bread. It is all that I have." She growled in quiet frustration, "If I could just find the-"

"Suh•oo•ah•loo."

"Hm?" Galerunner lifted her bag up, peering into the depths. Where /was/ that bread?

"Suh•oo•ah•loo."

"Swallow?" She said absently. "Is that your na-" She dropped the bag. "Sweet Ancestors, you can talk! Well, maybe not quite talk, but you know what I am!"

The elf laughed at her reaction. He pointed at her. "Suh•oo•ah•loo." He pointed at himself. "Kahl•door•ee."

"Kahldoor..." She blinked as the name came to her. "Oh, a Kaldorei! I never knew there were different names for demons. I guess I'll start calling you that instead of 'soul-sucking forest demon' all the time."

He lifted one long green eyebrow, clearly lost.

She giggled. "Ah well, I supposed it doesn't matter anyway, right?" She tilted her head. "I would offer you my birth name, but I do not want you sucking out my soul, so you may call me Galerunner."

He stared at her blankly.

She hooked a thumb at herself. "Galerunner."

"Caahldimmar."

"Gale-runner."

"Bahlefibber."

"No, see you have to- Gaaaaaaaleeeee. Ruuuunnnnneeeeerrrr."

"Khalruler."

They stared at each other, the wolf looking back and forth between them in amusement. Finally, Galerunner sighed. "Mikala."

The elf was grinning, dangerously close to bursting out into laughter. "Mikala."

The wolf chuffed.

"This would be a lot easier if you spoke my language," she told the elf. "How do you demons suck souls if you can't even speak our tongue?"

The elf smiled, very amused.

"Perhaps you should meet Greatmother. She has traveled far in her youth, farther than any Fartotem. Perhaps she would know your tongue."

The wolf, lounging off to the side, jumped to his paws. He snarled at her.

"What? I think it is a good idea!"

"Hst!" The elf rose to his feet, glowing eyes searching about warily. He beckoned for her to stand and, when she did, he darted forward and snatched the knife from her belt.

She opened her mouth to protest, but a tickle, a scrape of sensation clawed at the back of her neck. A half-glimpsed shadow at the corner of her eyes. A fetid stench, like rotting wood, washed over the trio.

The wolf lunged at the creature behind her, fangs sinking into its arm, and the knife that would have been in her back skittered along her left shoulder leaving a burning trail in its wake. She cried out and staggered away from her attacker.

Real demons burst from the air. Red-furred, horned and hooved, each bearing a wickedly curved blade coated a virulent green, the three satyrs ignored their wolf-mauled brother and closed ranks on the Night Elf and Tauren. The Kaldorei grinned and tossed Gale's knife between his hands, the weapon almost as large as a short sword. He didn't seem too concerned.

Utterly terrified, Galerunner fumbled her hatchet free.

Two of the satyrs lunged for the Elf. The third charged her.

Galerunner did what any mighty Tauren warrior would do: she shrieked, squeezed her eyes shut, and swung wildly.

Her axe connected with something that gave off a meaty thunk. A weight knocked her over, her head hit a rock, and the world went bye-bye.

Fin Part 7