The Hunter's Companions Ch. 10

Livinia woke the next morning to the sounds of the city coming to life around her. She sighed loudly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, luxuriating in the feel of thick cotton sheets and plump feather mattress. As her senses trudged out of the black abyss of sleep she recalled, with great detail, the events of the previous night. With a groan she gripped the covers and pulled them over her head, dreading what the day would bring. When her mind settled on the way that her night ended and her clitoris gave a quick pulse and she moaned. The way Belcarm had taken her last night had been so erotic. He was angry, she understood that, but never before had he been so forceful with her... and the way he left her unsatisfied?

Her fingers slipped under the gauzy fabric of her night dress; she was already wet and throbbing. At least there was one problem she could solve without too much trouble. She ran the tips of her fingers up and down her moist slit and moaned. Livinia closed her eyes and imagined the way that Belcarm had looked at her, full of rage and desire, and she could almost feel him pumping in and out of her. Her fingers sped up as she remembered the pain and pleasure mingling when he continued to drive her into the wall. When she pictured the look of ecstasy that flooded his face as he came within her, her entire core pulsated and wave upon wave of pleasure crashed down upon her.

Breathing heavily, Livinia pulled her fingers away and relaxed into the mattress. Now that she had sorted out that problem she knew beyond a doubt that she would have to go out and solve her other problems. She had a strange feeling that they wouldn't be as easy or pleasurable to solve.

Her mother and father were in the dining room already, they both looked up when she walked in. As she sat down she could see her mother bursting to question her, but for some reason she was holding back. Livinia took one look at her father and she could see a similar look in his eyes as well.

"Right, well, go on- say whatever you want." Livinia sighed as she reached forward and took a warm bread roll "You might as well get it over wi-"

"What in the name of the Sun Well happened last night?" Her mother asked before Livinia had finished her sentence. At least her mother didn't waste any time.

"Kalendras and Belcarm had an argument." Livinia said simply, breaking the roll into two and placing it on her plate.

"That much is plain Livinia, but why were you involved?" Her mother asked. Livinia reached forward and caught some butter on the end of a knife before spreading it on her roll.

"I told you why." Her father grumbled, but her mother waved him away.

"I don't believe it! I want to hear it from her." Once again she had her mother's undivided attention. "Livinia, what is going on?"

"Look mother, it's nothing, really. It just got a little out of hand, but I'm going to sort it all out and you really needn't trouble yourself with it."

"Milent Goldentongue said that he heard Kalendras professing his love for you." Her mother said, nose crinkled with distaste.

"Milent Goldentongue says a lot of things." Livinia bit back but her mother rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but be that as it may, they are usually quite true."

Livinia looked up into her mother's green eyes and frowned when she could see the determination there.

"Fine. Yes. Whatever. Kalendras and I love each other." Livinia said, her mother gasped and fanned her face and her father shook her head.

"But... Liv- he is... Kalendras is so..."

"Tauren?" Liv supplemented when her mother's horrified rambling came to a halt. "Yes, I believe he is." Her mother took a deep breath before changing direction.

"So what does Sharpsword's son have to do with this all then?" She questioned shrewdly.

"He loves me as well." Livinia said and looked at the two halves of her buttered roll, both equally appetizing. With an indecisive sigh Livinia pushed her plate away.

"And do you love him?" Her mother asked.

"Yes."

"You love both of them?" Her father asked, speaking for the first time, and Livinia looked up at him.

"Yes."

"Well your solution is clear. Forget Kalendras and Belcarm and try to patch things up with Rioden Swiftspell." Livinia's jaw dropped in horror and she glared at her mother.

"What? How is that even a logical solution?"

"You heard me, Liv. You botched this one up well and truly. By now all of Silvermoon and half of Azeroth would have heard this sordid gossip... I don't know what is worse- you with a Tauren or you with the social climbing Sword Master's son!"

Livinia could scarcely breathe for her outrage. She stood up quickly, her chair clattering to the ground noisily behind her. She took her napkin off her lap and threw it down on the table before fixing her mother with a caustic glare.

"For the love of the Sun Well mother! Belcarm doesn't even come up to your high standards?" Livinia snapped "Both Kalendras and Belcarm are brave, intelligent and strong- much more than I can say for that Swiftspell prick!"

"Livinia! How dare you-" Her mother begun, but Livinia would have nothing of it.

"No mother, how dare you? You always wonder why I don't come back home- well, this is why! This is why I wanted to leave in the first place! You do not control me. I am my own person and I will live my life how I want to. I don't need you to find the first desperate bastard you can to fix me up with, and I certainly don't need your input on my love life!"

"THAT'S IT YOUNG LADY!" Her mother screeched, getting to her feet and throwing her napkin onto the table. "For years I have let you go about your business, fighting like a second class citizen and running around with brainless hulks of muscle- but no more! You are a Sunspeaker! You are the only heir of a family line that is so old that even some history books forget where it started! Our race was almost completely decimated thanks to the Burning Legion, the Scourge and now Deathwing! You have a responsibility to yourself, to your family, and to your race to make sure that our people survive! I don't care who you think you love, or that you want to run around and shoot birds with your damned arrows, because right now your obligation is to your people. "

Livinia's mouth dropped open in horror as her mother ranted and raved. She was so dumfounded by her mother's argument that she needed a few moments to compose an answer. Where had all this come from? Her mother had never said a word of her supposed responsibilities before, and now she was dumping this rubbish onto her?

"What you need to do, young lady, is learn your place. You and Rioden will marry, and then you will try for children. There is no question about it Livinia, this gallivanting around has to stop."

"Gallavanting around?" Livinia cried angrily."What the hell do you think I am doing out there, huh? I am fighting against Deathwing! I am one of the people trying to stop all of this crap that is going on."

"Well you clearly aren't doing a very good job of it." Deanna said snidely, crossing her arms over her chest.

"How dare you?" Livinia hissed. "Belcarm and I helped to bring down Orno Grimtotem, we helped Sylvannis infiltrate Icecrown, we even helped Thrall take the Dragonsoul through to Wyrmrest! And that isn't even half of it! While I was out there trying to save Azeroth what were you doing? Sitting on your pretty arse and discussing how horrible Deathwing is! Don't you dare even tell me that I am messing around! I have achieved more in the past five years than you have achieved in your entire life!"

"Don't talk to me like that young lady!" Deanna screeched "For years you have ignored your responsibilities and I will not put up with it any longer. Even though we are long lived our race is cursed with a lack of fertility. You are young, and strong, and you shouldn't be wasting your time playing with weapons!"

"Is that what this is all about then? Making babies to fill your precious city?" Livinia sneered. "Want to know a secret Mother? I have been getting a hell of a lot of practice making babies lately without your damned intervention!"

Livinia glared turned, chest heaving and face red with anger, and glared at her mother who was staring back at her open-mouthed. Livinia turned her father for help, but he merely looked at her with a frown and a noncommittal shrug.

"Now I am only going to say this once, so listen closely. You do not control me. I do as I damn well please, and I do whom I damn well please. So you can go and tell Mitrae to shove his stupid fucking son up his arse and then jump off the top of Sunfury Spire!"

The sound of the door echoing through the hallways after she slammed it shut was the only sound she heard before she bolted for the door.

~*~

Livinia took her time traveling through the Eversong Woods. She had chosen to ride her hawkstrider as her feet were still hurting from the shoes she'd worn the previous evening. After the fight with her mother and the fiasco last night she really needed to get herself sorted out. She had decided to go to see Belcarm first. Even though she didn't know who she wanted, she thought that she'd be able to talk to him with the least fuss. Aegon was probably working after a day off, and they would have the house to themselves. Talking to Kalendras would be a lot more difficult; after Zuroc's anger last night Livinia gathered that they would have been arguing well into the morning. Probably best to let sleeping Taurens lie.

No matter how much Livinia tried to slow her hawkstrider down they still made great time. It was barely even mid-morning when Livinia tied the hawkstrider's reins to a tree near the Sharpsword cottage. She had a sudden urge to turn around and race back home, but the memory of Belcarm's anger steeled her nerves. It wasn't fair to leave him hanging like that- at the very least they needed to talk about what had happened last night.

Livinia had to knock on the door for a long while before she heard footsteps from within. As they came closer her nerves reached breaking point. However, when the door opened, she was shocked to see Aegon Sharpsword looking out at her.

"Good morning Mr. Sharpsword." Livinia said quickly, her face flushing red. This wasn't how it was supposed to be- surely Aegon should have been working?

"Good morning Livinia." He replied curtly. Hearing him speaking to her in that tone made her feel like she was a child being scolded again.

"Erm... May I please speak to Bel?" Livinia asked slowly, trying to ignore the sense of guilt that was creeping up her throat. Aegon looked at her with a frown.

"Belcarm is in Silvermoon at the moment... Apologizing for his behavior last night." Aegon said stiffly.

"Apologizing? What for? He did nothing wrong!" Livinia said in dismay.

"Nothing wrong?" Aegon asked. The way he spoke gave Livhthia a shiver- it was exactly how Bel sounded when he was angry. "My son was acting as a Guardian for the night, then he had an argument with the son of one of two of the most important Tauren envoys. My son was representing the Guardians and the Blood Knights. He has a lot to apologize for."

"B-but... he didn't start the fight!" Livinia argued, Aegon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then he shouldn't have continued it," Aegon said. "Either way he put a lot of noses out of joint."

"Oh hell, this just gets better," Livinia mumbled under her breath, Aegon raised his eyebrow and Livinia bit her lip.

"Do you love my son, Miss Sunspeaker?" Aegon asked. The question made Livinia's mouth fall open with shock. She looked at the Master of Sword and frowned.

"Yes," She replied, still confused as to why he asked the question, but knowing she had to answer it truthfully.

"He loves you more than you know, please don't break his heart." The anger in Aegon's eyes was slowly eaten away by some other emotion that Livthia couldn't place.

"Sir?" Livinia asked slowly, confused by this sudden change of tone.

"You'd better head off Livinia. Belcarm won't be back until late and he said that you were supposed to be heading back to Orgrimmar at midday. He will meet you there tomorrow some time. I'll tell him you stopped by,"Aegon's eyes hardened once more and Livinia was now thoroughly confused. Livinia nodded slowly and then turned to leaved, forgetting her manners in her haste to get away from Aegon's heartbreaking love for his son.

~*~

When Livinia stood outside of the door to the large city apartments that belonged to Kalendras's parents she realized that this was going to be even harder than her encounter with Aegon. She didn't know what had made Zuroc so angry the previous night, he was usually calm and rational in even the most intense situations. With a deep sigh she decided it was best to get it over with, and then knocked on the door.

When it opened she was greeted by Zuroc Totemrunner. She bit her tongue and wondered at her luck lately. Two fathers in one day?

"Zuroc," Livinia said with a respectful bow of her head. "May I please speak to Kalendras?" Zuroc looked back into the unit before he stepped outside into the hall and shut the door behind him.

"Kalendras told us everything," Zuroc said with a sad frown.

"Oh did he?" Livinia asked with fake enthusiasm "How splendid."

"Livinia..." Zuroc looked as though he wanted to say something but changed his mind at the last minute. He went to speak again but stopped and shook his head. "I love you like my own daughter, you know that, don't you?" He asked, giving he a sad smile.

"Of course!" Livinia said quickly. In most respects she was closer to Kal's parent than her own.

"I love you dear, but there are some things that... Well, sometimes no matter how much we want something, it is impossible. You are old enough to understand that by now," Zuroc said sadly.

Suddenly the door flung open behind Zuroc and Livinia was delighted to see Timbra standing there. The Tauren woman gave her a broad smile and pushed past her husband to pull Livinia into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh Livinia!" Timbra said, letting Livinia go and taking a step back. "I wish Kalendras had told us about everything earlier. I am sorry we missed it though- we should've known. What else could we expect? You two were brought up together it is only natural that-"

"Timbra!" Zuroc growled warningly.

"What?" Timbra snapped, turning to her husband. "You wouldn't have a problem with this if she was Tauren!"

"But she's not Tauren!" Zuroc hissed.

"And therein lies our problem," Kalendras said as he opened the door. Livinia took a deep breath of relief when she saw his familiar silver fur and curving horns. "Livinia, we need to talk."

"We do Kal, we do indeed," sighed Livinia.

"You're welcome to come in, Liv," Timbra said, stepping out of the doorway.

"No.Liv and I need some time alone," His tone was hard and his mother looked at him sadly.

"Kal, you need to tell her-" Zuroc begun.

"No!"

"Son, this is ridiculous!" Zuroc said through clenched teeth.

"Father, don't," Kalendras pushed past his father and took Liv's hand.

"Tell me what, Kal?" Livinia asked. Kalendras growled and pulled her away from his parents and down the corridor.

When Kalendras and Liv left the corridor of the apartment building and stepped out onto the street he let her arm go and turned to her, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Give me a second." He said taking a step back. Livinia felt a little dizzy as she watched his body shimmer for a moment before shifting into his sandstone drake form. When Kalendras-drake jutted his head sharply towards his back Livinia scrambled on, settling herself on the hollow between his wings and placing her feet carefully on the joints. She reached forward and grasped onto one of his spine spikes a moment before his powerful legs pushed off the ground and launched them both into the air.

Kalendras flew them to the portals in Silvermoon City and they went through together, him still in drake form, and came out in Thunder Bluff. With another powerful leap Kalendras soared into the air and circled higher and higher above the city, seeming to enjoy the feeling of the wind under his wings. There was a loud clap of thunder and Livinia looked to the sky to see angry black clouds swelling around them. Before she called out to him, Kalendras seemed to notice the horrible weather, and he lazily floated down lower and lower and lower until he came to a small dip between two of large peaks that made up Thunder Bluff and they took shelter under a small familiar copse trees.

Livinia dismounted and gave him a thump on the rump, then Kal slowly transformed back into his normal Tauren self. When he was done he stretched his arms and legs and then walked over to a nearby tree, leaning against it and looking away from her. Livinia bit her lip and waited, thinking that he needed some time.

"They're right Liv," Kalendras said finally.

"Who's right?" Livinia asked

"The paladin. My parents... Your parents too, I'm guessing," he said. With a deep sigh he turned around to face her. "As much as we want to be, we just aren't suited to one another."

"Don't you start with this too!" Livinia groaned, rolling her eyes.

"No Liv, we have to face it," Kalendras's words were soft, but his words hit home all the same "I love you and I don't want to give you up... but there are things that will never work for us. I'll never be able to give you a child-"

"What is it with everyone and babies?" Livinia asked, her tone dripping with annoyance. "Kal I can't even get my love life in order- what makes you think I want a child?" Kalendras tried not to, but he couldn't help but laugh at her exasperation.

"You don't now but you might in the future."

"Do you want a baby?" She asked. She wasn't too fussed on the little mess makers, but if he wanted children then Kalendras needed to have that chance.

"Me? Not really Nitawa Kee. I'm happy doing what I'm doing," Kalendras said with a shrug. "It's not just the children thing though... The stupid Paladin was right about my life span- I won't be around for nearly as long as you. It is selfish of me to let you fall in love with me, because when I die you'll be left alone."

"Even if something happened to you next week I would never regret our time together." Livinia said seriously.

"If you choose me, Nitawa Kee, our relationship will never be accepted. People will say and do horrible things, rumors will fly around and we risk ostracism from our societies."

"Kalendras, I haven't made my decision yet- I want you to know that right now. But I don't want you to give up on us based on what others will think. I love you, I know there will be consequences, but that isn't what bothers me. If you give up on me, do so because you don't want me, not because you don't want others to talk about us," Livinia said, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.

Kalendras looked at her for a moment before walking over to her. He reached down and placed a hand on her cheek softly. She leaned into the contact and he smiled at her.

"And there will always be the fact that I hurt you when I make love to you." He said. The shimmer of emotion in his eyes told her that this was what bothered him the most.

"It's not like that Kal. You don't hurt me as such... Sometimes, yes, it can be slightly uncomfortable, but it is all part of it. It is all part of what makes being with you wonderful." She reached up and ran her hands over his chest. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around, pulling her closer to him. "Look Kal, after the last couple of days all I want is to spend some time with you."

"It was so hard last night you know... to stop myself from snatching you away from the ball and taking you back to your room," Kalendras whispered, stepping closer to her. "You looked so beautiful in that dress..."