Nagrand Fever

This is my first fic in a loooooooong time, please bear with me. ^^
I'll finish posting the rest of this Chapter later today or tomorrow. After that, if I get enough positive reviews I suppose I
could throw in a few more chapters. ;3


*Chapter One*

"Again!"

A gentle, yet commanding shout rang out through the humid afternoon air. The orc's ears perked to the sound. Weapons cut the air,
the earth clearly sundered by some force. The scuffle was semi-distant but the low plains carried well the warning of a possible attack.
Carefully, he finished stripping the hide from the talbuk carcass before him, wiped his large bloody hands off on the vibrant grass,
and mounted, riding closer to the noise.

"Oof!"

This time a high pitched squeak and a heavy thump as though someone had fallen. Garkrim drew nearer to the Ring of Trials and dismounted,
asking quietly that the air make his heavy footsteps less noticeable as he came to the open door of the arena. A human male laughed
while a dwarf rumbled on about.. something or other. The orc could never understand dwarves and their odd dialect. Draenic curses
caught his attention, however. Not yet daring to peek inside, he put his back to the outside wall of the arena and listened intently.

------------

Warrior and Huntress had been sparring long before the noon temperature rose, both beginning to show signs of fatigue. Horace
panted heavily in the thick air. Plate chestpiece thrown aside, he stood shirtless, tanned, and well built in the shade of the arena, taking a long
drink from his waterskin. He carried with him a single two-handed axe, the other left to sit with his discarded armor. Leggings made of
well-forged plate didn't seem to weigh him down as he returned to the center of the ring.

"Again!" cried the Huntress standing in front of him, herself panting. A Draenei with an ivory ponytail and skin a delicate shade of violet.
Beads of sweat rolled down her carefully toned abdomen. She wore tight and bloodied bandaging and little more across her ample chest, and a pair of brown
linen shorts. She stanced, heavy polearm resting almost lightly in the crook of her elbow, delicate hooves planted apart. Glowing white eyes inspected
the warrior's posture, attempting to guage his attack. Without warning, he charged from her front, catching her in surprise. Drawing back the huge
axe over his head, his heavy arms brought it down and buried it in the chalky floor beneath them. Sidestepping from his clumsy swing with
a light ease, the huntress brought her polearm in an upswing at his jaw. He was ready for it. Polearms were slow and the warrior was a
master at arms. Horace let go of the axe and quickly shifted his barreled chest backward to avoid a severe blow to the jaw.
Once she had completely followed through with her long swing, the warrior caught the shaft of her polearm and applied all the force of
his well-trained muscles to sling the draenei across the arena. "Oof!" She landed straight on her rump in the dust, glaring up at the
victorious warrior, who laughed heartily at her cute face all twisted up in a scowl. He offered the draenei a hand up, which Kira
took reluctantly and began to dust off her probably bruised rear.

"Yer takin' quite th' beatin' yeh know, girleh. Damned if ya guild leader won' be pissed iffen Horace keeps trouncin'
th' bloody 'ell outta yeh." Rotung's thick accent was underwritten by concern for his friends well being. Kira cursed, which
made the Dwarf chuckle. "Don' be cussin' it me nae! 'Twasn me who was wantin' come oot here n' show Horace whatfor."

"He's right, my dear." The warrior rolled his shoulder and grinned languidly at his guildmate. She promptly stuck her little pink
tongue out at him, which made him chuckle as he reached for his armor. "You really showed me.. how to land on my ass at least.
Alright, it's hotter than Stranglethorn out here. I'm done." Rotung nodded, "And me as wull, lassie.. We Dwarves are built for
snow!" They were right, the heat was insane even in the shade. She sighed. "Fine, but I'm not done with you, Horace."

"Of course not," He smirked as he slung both axes up to rest on his shoulders and paced from the arena, followed by the Dwarf who shot her
a goodbye wave.

----------

Garkrim waited until he heard the screech of the warrior's departing gryphon before he stepped casually around the door and cast his
long shadow across the arena floor. Kira had sunken down against the far wall, elbows propped on her goatish legs, head back and eyes closed
as her muscles twitched from exhaustion. The temperature dropped the slightest bit, which sent her flying forward for her gun on all fours.
From her quick glance at his figure, it was obvious he was an orc but she could not see his face with the sun glaring behind his huge
shoulders.

"Stop." He barked harshly in Orcish, a fast shock of earth's energy pulsing from his outstretched palm pushing the huntress's gun farther
from her reach. Dark eyes roamed over her delicate yet strong figure up to her face. He had seen that face personally on the fields of
Wintergrasp recently, launching shot after shot of explosives in his direction and ultimatly foiling his attempted on the southern towers.
Of course he did not expect her to respond or even understand him, so he made his meaning clear by shaking his head.

"Are you here to take advantage of an unarmed woman, orc?" She responded easily in his own tongue, clearly watching him for signs of attack.
He snorted, clearly a bit surprised.

"Of course not. Are you here to languish in enemy territory, little one?" Garkrim raised his hands as if in submission and stepped
gingerly into the shade, revealing his face for her. He was a veritable wall of muscle, moreso than even Horace. Mail
armor pulsing with energy showed him to be a shaman. The orc took off his huge blue shield and propped it against the wall with her gun, dropping
his mace to the floor as well. Her eyes searched his face, recognizing him from Wintergrasp as the shaman who packed a heavy punch if
you stood there and let him.

"And here I was thinking it was no one's territory quite yet.." Kira relaxed her posture, shifting to rest on her hip in the dust
as soon as he disarmed himself. Knowing all too well that his true weapon was not the mace but the elements themselves, she remained
mentally prepared to defend herself.

"True enough." Garkrim chuckled good-naturedly, chatting easily with her in his native tongue. "Contested at least. Your friends
would just leave you here alone.. In -contested- territory?" His voice rumbled deep from within his chest, soothing despite the harsh
tongue he spoke.

The huntress arched a delicate brow, raising her eyes to his own. "Don't think I can handle myself, do you?" This brought an earnest laugh
from the huge orc, who cracked his knuckles, a sly smirk spreading over his features.

"In a bare-knuckle brawl? No.. Don't think you could. On the field? Sure. I've seen you do it."

Flicking her bangs from her eyes she gave him a playful glare. "You could be pleasantly surprised."

"Pleasantly surprised by you getting knocked on your ass? I think not." Garkrim casually leaned his shoulder against the arena wall,
watching realization dawn on her that he had been there long enough to see her failure. Eyes widening, she growled, "Try me."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you, little one. You look exhausted, " he chuckled once more, noting her soaked bandages.

"I'm not exhausted, you're just scared," The draenei taunted as she turned her back on him, taking down her hair and shaking it
out before returning it to its tied up state. Garkrim took advantage of this to inspect her more, his eyes sliding down the girl's
lightly muscled back. There were two little dimples just above her tail, and below it a full round behind carried on strong thighs. An image
flicked through his mind of those juicy thighs wrapped in passion around his waist.. Delicious. He shook his head slightly, dismissing the thought.

"You're going to regret pushing me into this." Shoulders clattered to the dusty floor, along with his chestpiece. The orc stretched a bit,
free of the weight of most of his armor, his relatively unscarred chest rippling with muscle. She whirled around, smiling triumphantly,
letting her eyes gauge his bare strength.

With a sly wink, Kira giggled, "Don't be scared, I won't hurt you too much."


**TBC**