"Choo gonna sleep all day dere, Bruddah?"
Sang'jai grunted and opened his eyes. "Jes enjoyin' da soft bed, Sistah." The sounds of Echo Isles reverberated in his ears...drums, birds, the ocean in the distance. He closed his eyes again and smiled.
"Get up wit'cha den. Zen'tabra be waitin'" Something soft smacked into his face.
He rolled out of bed and smoothly popped up next to his sister, placing a gentle hand under her jaw, pulling her face up to look into her eyes. "Good ta be seein' jah, Tiski. How be cha students?"
She snorted. "Some students be good, some students be needin' some discipline." She shrugged. "Dat da ways o' tings."
He watched her for a long pause before nodding and exiting the hut. He knew she had questions, and he wished he could answer them. He wished he could share his worries with someone.
The Darkspear training grounds were surrounded by four giant stone pillars, visible from every point on the main island. He found the druid trainer easily enough, and spent several hours with her and her current students, sharing stories of the fights he'd been in, and teaching them a few tricks he'd picked up over time. He was almost sorry when the lessons ended. It felt good to share his knowledge, and the pride he felt for his people made his heart beat strong. They had come so far in so few years.
===============
Tiski'tai placed her spoon on the small wooden table between them stared at Sang'jai. "So ah been waitin'. Out wit' it, now, Bruddah."
"Dis soup be ahmos' as tasty as Muddah's," he replied, without looking up.
"Don' be avoidin' da tale. Ah's knows jah been troubled, an' Ah'll be havin' it outta cha." Her eyes narrowed as Sang'jai continued to pointedly stare at the soup in front of him. She reached across the table and grabbed one of his tusks, forcing his face up to hers, though he closed his eyes to maintain his silence. "Ah nevah seen jah so troubled, Sang." He sighed and opened his eyes, willing her see what he dare not say.
"Is it this group you've joined, da Grim?" His eyes narrowed but he remained silent. "Have jah been havin' troubles wit' da enemies o' da Darkspear?"
"Da Horde, Tiski. Mebbe we not be followin' da will o' Hellscream wit'out tinkin' 'bout it first, but da Darkspear be Horde." His lips pulled up around his tusks as his conviction turned his face into a snarling mask of hate. "Da enemies of da Horde will fall. Da Alliance races, da black dragons, da elementals, it dun mattah who be threatin' us. Dey all be annihilated, till dere be peace troo'out da lands."
Tiski pulled back, golden eyes still watching him closely. "Aye, it be a good day when we be no havin' no more enemies ta worry 'bout. But dat not what troublin' ya, ah dun tink. Ah, I tink Ah knows what it is. Ah be figurin' jah out dere, Bruddah." An impish grin filled her face and she leaned forward. "Choo be fatherin' too many bastads wit' dose whores in Orgrimah, dat what it is!"
Sang'jai blinked at his sister and then snorted. "Ah tought fer sure jah'd have a few bastads of yer own when I came home. So where jah been hidin' mah little nieces and nephews dere, Sistah?"
"Whatcha tink be in da soup?" She retorted back, before breakin' out in laughter. He joined her laughter, letting his worries go for the briefest of minutes.
"Ah, Sistah, Ah been missin' jah. Ah really should be makin' da effot ta come back mo' often. Dis ting dat worry me. It be some'tin' Ah kenna tells jah wit'out betrayin' da Grim, or Ah would be tellin' jah."
The laughter left her face, and she reached for his hand on the table. "Well, Ah been meanin' ta leave da Isles and travel some. If'n dis group da Grim be treatin' jah good, Ah been tinkin' dat mebbe dey could use a priest."
He gripped her hand. "But choo student's Tiski. Who be teachin' dem da ways o' da Loa without choo? Doh' da Grim be good ta me and Ah tink dey be appreciatin' ma skills in da battle, it not be an easy ting. Ah dun' want ta be worryin' bout choo too."
"Ah, dear Bruddah. Jah knows jah kenna keep me safe here forevah. We be Sharktooths, and we be made fer battlin' enemies. Ah wants ta fight wit' choo."
They sat there for awhile, staring at each other over soup that had long since lost its heat. Finally he nodded and picked up his spoon. "Ah'll write choo a lettah o' introduction den."