Shaurria: Felwood

For anyone that wanted to know why Shaurria doesn't like furbolgs, here ya go. Also, I'm hoping this will get the ball rolling on her history coming out, so she can start becoming more "normal."
____________

Shaurria buried her fangs into the wolf's neck, slapping it with one paw when it tried to bite her. It snarled savagely, then yelped as her vision was suddenly filled with white. She released the now-dead wolf and shook the ice particles from her face and neck, then glared at Arvoss. "Sorry kitten," he apologized. "Ah'll try nae t' 'it th' next one sae close." She purred briefly- apology accepted- then looked around.

Felwood was not the most pleasant place she had ever seen, but it wasn't so bad, either. Arvoss had been right when he said it was corrupted; she had been attacked twice now by diseased-looking wolves. She felt safe enough, though, with both Arvoss and Windstar to watch over her.

There were no more wolves in sight, so the trio continued on their way, reaching the Cenarion Circle outpost without further incident. Shaur explored the buildings, receiving a few pats from the druids in the process, while Star and Arvoss spoke with whoever was in charge. After just a few minutes she heard Arvoss call her, and they set out again, this time only going a short distance down the road.

Shaur had gone a little ways off the road, exploring but still within sight, when she saw the others stop in front of a figure. She started to trot toward them, then Windstar moved to the side and Shaur got a clear look at what they were talking to. She stopped dead. It was a furbolg.

Arvoss turned and saw her standing there. He waved her over, but she remained still. He frowned and said something to Star, who also turned to look at her. She replied to whatever he had asked her, and he nodded as if remembering something. They spoke together a bit longer before Arvoss turned back to the furbolg. Windstar came back to Shaurria. "It's alright, Fuzzy," she said. "You don't have to come any closer. He's friendly though." Shaur looked at her disbelievingly, then returned her attention to the furbolg, studying him.

His fur was dark. He kept staring at her even as he spoke with Arvoss. She did notice his eyes were a warm brown, with no hint of the red glow she still remembered. His gaze was suspicious, though, and she still didn't trust him. She was relieved when Arvoss turned and started back toward them. He gave Shaur a curious look as he rejoined them, but she looked away and he didn't ask the question that obviously bugged him. He simply pointed back south, away from the road. "Back tha' way," he said shortly, and they headed off.

Shaur "discovered" another wolf along the way, although she barely had time to swipe at it before Windstar had pounced on it, dispatching it with a bite to the spine. Shaur satisfied herself by kicking dirt on the corpse, then loped ahead to catch up to Arvoss. She reached his side long enough for a pat, then she paused to look around, panting slightly. Movement not far off caught her eye. When she saw what it was, she froze.

Spread out before them, a good distance away but still within easy view, was a village. But it wasn't the crude log huts that had caught Shaur's attention; it was the village's occupants. They were all furbolgs, and they were all growling and muttering among themselves. One turned to look in their direction, then lost interest and resumed it's pacing, but Shaur could still see the telltale red glow in its eyes. She couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, as all her worst memories and nightmares collapsed on her all at once.

She saw her parents' still forms at the feet of the white furbolg; the blood on its claws, the same red light in its eyes. She felt again the shock as she charged into it, mauling it long after it was dead, until she no longer knew where she was or what she was doing. She felt the fear and the hate, then the shame, that had driven her out of her home village. And the aching loneliness and pain that she still felt whenever she thought about her mother and father.

Shaurria wasn't even aware when she began a low-pitched whine, deep in her throat, but the sound made both Arvoss and Windstar turn to see what was the matter. The druid-cat was standing like a statue, her gaze locked on the village. Arvoss headed back to where she stood. "Kitten?" She either didn't hear him or was ignoring him. He knelt before her, but she seemed to look right through him, not seeing him at all. He waved a hand in front of her, then snapped his fingers, but got no response. Utterly confused, he looked to Windstar, but she looked as lost as he felt.

Shaurria couldn't see or hear him; she was locked inside memories real and imagined, seeing the furbolgs in the village coming for them, killing Star, killing Arvoss- then spreading out and covering the rest of the world, destroying everything they found, til she was alone. And then they would come after her...

After several minutes spent trying to get her out of whatever trance she was in, Arvoss had enough. "A'righ' lass, Ah'm gettin' ye out 'o 'ere an' tha's tha'," he muttered, then stooped down and lifted Shaurria in his arms. She gave a brief struggle before going limp, and he carried her easily back to the Emerald Sanctuary. Windstar followed, still watching Shaur worriedly.

Once away from the furbolg village, Shaurria slowly came back to herself. Arvoss sat on a fallen log next to where she lay, talking to her softly. Windstar finally finished explaining to the curious druids what had happened, and came over to join him. "Look at 'er, lass," he said as she sat. "Wha' 'appened t' 'er t' make 'er like tha', eh?" Windstar could only shrug as she looked down on the younger druid. Shaurria was looking around a little now, though her pupils were still dilated and every now and then her skin would twitch, as though to shake off a fly. She was panting heavily.

Arvoss shook his head. "Ah'm an idiot," he said. "Ah shouldnae 'ave taken 'er there." "You didn't know she'd be like that," Windstar was quick to say. "Neither of us did. She never said anything." "Ah ken she's frightened o' furbolgs," Arvoss countered. "An' wha's th' first thing Ah take 'er to? Bloody Laigh'." Star couldn't think of a reply to that, so she stayed quiet. The two sat and watched Shaur. Shaur panted.

After several minutes of this Arvoss stood. The movement made Shaur flinch, and his face tightened a bit. "This ain' workin'. S'there a place she'll feel more at 'ome, like?" Star only had to think for a moment. "The Moonglade. She has a... a friend, there." "A'righ' lass. Let's get 'er there."

Shaurria still refused to move, so Arvoss carried her to the hippogryph master. "Oi, ye got a big'un? Ah'll 'ave t' carry 'er in flight," he explained to the startled elf. "Um, yes, we do have one big enough to carry two," the flight master replied. "It'll cost a bit extra, but-" "A'righ'" Arvoss interrupted. "Done. Show me th' bird."

Once they landed in the Moonglade Shaur seemed to perk up a bit. In fact, she caught Arvoss off guard when she suddenly jumped from his arms and took off running. He started to pursue, but Windstar stopped him. "I know where she's going. It's not far," she told him.

They found her right where Windstar said, in the Cat Spirit's clearing. She lay in a huddle in the middle as the Spirit paced around her. Each time he passed close to her, he would pause to sniff or nuzzle her. Arvoss stopped in relief when he saw her, and settled down at the edge of the clearing. "She's lookin' bettah a'ready," he commented. "But naow wha'?" " I don't know," Star answered. Arvoss sighed, then suddenly started digging in his belt pouch, finally holding up his buzzbox. "Ye think annehone else o' 'er friends migh' 'ave bettah luck?" he asked. Star shrugged. "Worth a shot."
______________

That's it for now. Can't finish it yet cuz I need to see if anyone comes to help, and who it is if they do. Might have a part 2 after it's all worked out.