Like Father Like Son [Complete]

[Drust]

An Old Friend

After so many events all i wanted to do is return to the wild... No more worries, no more ties, nothing at all but hunting, eating and sleeping. I guess that's always been my calling.

Tirius has finally returned to Ashenvale, his work for The Pride has sapped him, in his mind all he can think about is how he lost something of himself, he always lived in the forest, but it all soon changed as he began spending more and more time in civilization, now he's back.

After a few days in the forest some of the memories soon came back to him, the good and the bad, but both he welcomed, he remembered the sayings his father use to teach him, but through the days in civilization he seemed to forget, he remembered the day his father died, but mainly, he remembered all the in betweens, his life in the forest, hunting along side his father.

The days seemed to fly by as Tirius got re acquainted with the forest, he didn't seem to be at his Prime anymore, all that time away seemed to take away some of his experience. Each night as he slept in front of the fire, more memories seemed to come. He remembered the time him and his father were traveling through the forest looking for prey. When a pack of Nightsabers surrounded them. He remembered how his father changed.. Became more beast-like, Some of the roars and growls he made seemed to make some the of the sabers step back, almost like they understood him.

One thought that always went through his head was how alone he felt in the forest, even with his companion it felt different, each night when he lay by the fire, he felt the calm of the forest. But it was too calm. His father was with him always when he was in the forest, now, Tirius is on his own. That didn't stop him though, through all the memories that swirled through his head, each night, he would focus on the good and smile, as he drifted slowly off to sleep.

Another day in the forest, Tirius was out hunting for some food when a familliar scent filled his nose, he gazed around, his ears twitching a bit, a small grin filled his face as he raised his voice.

"Talos! Don't think you can hide from me this time!"

A tall buff Kaldorei with overgrown nails and quite worn out hunter gear appeared from the shadows smiling brightly, he had the look of someone who has never even been to Civilization, he's covered in dirt and his overgrown nails seem more like claws, his hair is long falling around his shoulders, purple and shaggy quite unkempt with dirt and leaves sticking out around it. But you could see through his expressions and how he acted that even though he had the look of a beast, there was still a humanoid somewhere there.

"Tirius, it has been a while since i've seen you in the forest, i was beginning to think you left for bigger dreams."

Tirius smiles shaking his head.

"Unfortunately i did, but after so much, i just wanted to go home."

Talos nods sitting down in the middle of the forest, he gestures for Tirius to sit.

"So why all of the sudden are you returning hmm?"

"Because, i prefer the serenity of the forest, i don't need to worry about anyone or anything, just live. Besides, i still don't think i have risen to my fathers potential as a hunter."

Talos bursts out laughing.

"I'm sorry to say there is not a chance you'll ever amount to your father.. No offense, but that Kaldorei knew the wilds. He was practically one with them."

Tirius, sighs, a smirk spreads across his face once more.

"Better then you then?"

"Pah! No chance, I'd say we were even. Me and your father grew up in this forest as well you know, as kids we trained here, mainly why we both never wanted to leave."

Tirius Nods impatiently sighing.

"I know, i know. But still, I've spent most of my life here as well. I reckon one day i'll be as good as him.. If not better, that's what he would want."

Talos stands up, stretching followed by a big yawn.

"Well.. Maybe one day. But to be like your father is to have a deep connection with the wild, being practically one with the animals."

"I can do that, just give me time... The longer i spend here, the more I'll learn."

"That's where you're wrong... I wish i could explain more but duty calls. I'll be keeping an eye on you young Cloudbreaker, If i see a bit of dedication, then maybe the next time we meet I'll give you a few pointers."

The Kaldorei then pelts off into the woods, fading into the distance. Tirius grunts as he stands up, gazing into the distance to where Talos disappeared. I can do it without help, my father could. Besides, i'm already one with the animals, if i can tame one then i'd say that's good enough. Tirius sighs as he walks off slowly his mind still deep in thought. Right...?

[Drust]

First Steps

The next few days in the forest were unsettling. Tirius has finally gotten back into old routine. But that was it, there seems to be no room for improvement. Each day it was the same, find prey, kill, eat, sleep. What else was he supposed to be achieving. He kept thinking about Talos offer, but he had too much pride. Tirius wants to be able to accomplish this on his own, but he knows it's not possible. Soon enough he decided to break his routine and go looking for Talos.

After a few days looking for him he came across a pack of sabers. Resting among them was Talos who was laying down, he didn't seem to be moving. Tirius panicked, he knew that if it's a pack that they are obviously not tame and notched an arrow onto his bow. He aimed an arrow at the first saber, preparing to let it fly, when suddenly, Talos sat up. Wait.. He's alive? The rugged hunter sniffed the air and smiled as his eyes darted to where Tirius was.

"Ishnu'Alah Tirius, what are you doing in this part of the forest?"

Tirius eyed the hunter, then the pack of sabres around him. He kept his distance, talking in a low tone, afraid to wake up the pack.

"I was looking for you. I need help with a few things."

Talos chuckles and gestures for Tirius to come and sit among the pack.

"No need to speak quietly, these animals won't harm you. So, what help is it that you require."

Tirius walks forward among the pack, he goes to sit down as one of the sabers eyes snap open a loud growl is heard as the rest wake up, the pack stares at the newcomer, barring their teeth. Tirius freezes up, not sure what to do, he stands there silently in the middle of an angry pack of sabers. Suddenly, Talos lets out a loud roar, and a few throaty growls to the pack, he waves his hands around in some wierd gestures. Surprisingly the sabers stopped, they all seemed to calm down and return to their resting state. Tirius stood their quietly for a moment, gazing at the sabers, then to Talos, he sat down slowly.

"What the fel was that?"

"That? Oh nothing, i was merely telling the pack that you were a friend."

"You... Told them? So they are tame then?"

Talos bursts out laughing shaking his head.

"Far from it, infact, if i wasn't here, you'd have quite a fight on your hands."

"So.. How- Nevermind. Anyways. The question. I feel that i cannot improve any further on my own. I'd say i have
reached my fathers potential.. Don't you think?"

"Tirius, you are far from that... Your father was not just a hunter. He was a Beastmaster, he knew the wilds and the animals well. Well enough to speak with them and almost be like them."

"Speak with them? So.. You must be one as well.."

"Yes. I trained alongside your father. Like i said."

Tirius sighs, staring down at the ground. There is no chance i'll ever be as great as my father without help then... I'll have to swallow my pride. He looks back to Talos.

"How does one train to become a beastmaster?"

Talos smirks, raising an eyebrow at Tirius.

"It takes much training... And if you are to fail, you could die. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Of course. If i am to become as great as my father, i need to walk his path."

Talos stands up smiling.

"Well then, i best explain to you a few things before we get started."

The Beastmaster then stands up walking off through the forest and leaving the pack to rest, Tirius stands up running up beside him.

"What things do i need to know? In all honesty it shouldn't be too much difference to what i do now."

"Tirius, being a beastmaster is not like being a simple hunter, an animal should not be a pet to you, or a tool. When i look at an animal, i don't just see food. I see another living being which is as much self conscious as me. You need to learn to be a beast, learn how they act and adapt to their nature. To survive in the wilds sometimes instead of hunting your prey, you can befriend them"

Fel, this is going to be harder then i thought.

"I already have a companion, i don't treat them like pets. I know all this already."

Talos smirks pausing in the middle of the forest. He turns to Tirius.

"Really now? Well i have your first assignment for you. I want you to find a pack, and observe them, watch how they act, how they treat each other, how one respects the other of the pack, while you are doing this you are not allowed to hunt for food. Or leave sight of the pack. Once you have observed them long enough. I want you to try and join that pack. If you fail. They'll kill you. I will not be there to help you out."

Tirius bursts out laughing.

"You're crazy! Isn't this going a little too far."

"No. I did the same thing. Your father did too. It's the best way to take your first step into Beastmastery."

Talos pats Tirius shoulder giving him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. You're a Cloudbreaker. You should do fine. I'll be watching you the entire time. But remember if anything happens. I won't be there to pull you out."

Tirius nods once giving a slight bow to Talos.

"Elune Adore Talos... You crazy fool."

Talos smirks giving Tirius a nod. He then runs off back to his pack leaving Tirius to go find his own pack.
I should be fine.. I am a Cloudbreaker...

[Drust]

The Pack

It has been days since Tirius and Talos spoke, and Tirius has still not found a suitable pack. He seems to be hesitant to begin, in his mind, walking into the center of a pack would be suicide. So why would he do it? Tirius knew that once he found the pack, he would not be able to leave or eat, until he finished what he was asked to do. Tirius dismissed his companion since he would either be gaining more, or would be mauled to death.

Damn these forests are never this cold at night

Tirius trudges through the dark forests of Ashenvale, his eyes glowing brightly through the darkness. After so many days through the forest, his leather armor has been torn up and withered, the cold of the night not helping his situation. Suddenly he pauses sniffing the air. His pace begins to pickup, a grin spreading across his face. Soon he's pelting through the forest, stumbling over branches and leaves, following, something. He gets to a small mound, dropping onto his stomach and wiggling forward, he looks over to see a small clearing where 5 Nightsabers are resting. He sighs quietly rolling onto his back, panting heavily.

This is it, i'm not looking for another pack. It's time to get started.

Tirius closes his eyes to fall asleep and get ready for dawn, suddenly, they snap open. Fel, i can't sleep. Once I wake up they'll be gone... Or i'll be food.

He groans rolling back onto his stomach and gazing at the pack. He sighs as he waits for dawn to come.

A hunter and his child are watching quietly at a small group of stags. The hunter has long light blue hair going down to his chest and down his back, the child has the same, but is shorter and his hair is light green. The hunter has a bow, arrows and a large blade with many small symbols carved into it, he is wearing thick brown kodo leather. The child wears the same, only it's simple leather from a stag, he has a small bow with blunt toy wooden arrows. They sit there silently watching the stags movement, waiting for the right moment. The child gets restless though, and soon enough jumps up from his hidden position.

“Don't worry An'da! I can get one without the wait!”

The child notches a blunt wooden arrow to his bow and fires it. It hits the stag and bounces off it's skin, the group of stag then run off into the forest, disappearing into the distance.

“Tirius! You scared the hunt off again! Now we get no supper!”

“Sorry An'da, it's just... I don't see why we have to sit here and wait for the right moment. Why can't we just jump in there and get our food?”

“Tirius it isn't like that. A hunter has patience it's one of his most powerful skills. If you cannot achieve this skill. You will never survive in the wild.”

“I have patience! See?!”

Tirius sits there silently for 5 seconds then hops back up smiling brightly to Torose.

Torose chuckles, ruffling Tirius's hair.

“If only.”

Torose Sighs kneeling down so that he is at the same level with his son.

“Tirius, there is one thing a hunter must learn, most neglect this. But it's what keeps us ahead of the rest. When you hunt, try to think like the creature. Then try to be the creature. Use It's cunning against itself, most hunters don't even know most of the creatures they are hunting, how they act what they do. These hunters are blind.”

Tirius nods, his expression serious.

“I'm not blind An'da! I'm gonna be a great hunter when I grow up!”

Torose smiles standing up.

“We'll see little one, we'll see.”

He then walks off back to camp without food, little Tirius following close behind him.

Hmm.. Wha?! Fel.. I dozed off.

Tirius groans sitting up and looking over the mound, his eyes widen as he drops to his stomach quickly.

I hope they didn't see me.

Over the mound the 5 sabers have awoken, two of the sabers seem to be cubs, the other 3 full grown adults, one male two females. Tirius groans to himself looking back over the mound quietly watching the pack.

Well it's a small pack.. That's good, this was about the Size of the pack Talos was with. Well... Now all I have to do is watch...

Tirius sits there for a while, watching the pack procrastinate, the three adults seem to be laying around as the cubs
wrestle one another. Tirius smirks to himself, watching the cubs fight. Suddenly one of the adults let out a loud roar.

Oh fel, they spotted me.

Tirius places his hands on the ground beside him, ready to launch himself up from his stomach, when suddenly the
pack begins trodding off in the opposite direction.

Hmm... Wierd...

Tirius stands up silently, and begins to follow them, a few large cracks were heard as the pack stops. Tirius groans dropping to the ground and silently removing his shoes.

Well, another step to being my father.

The pack begins moving again as Tirius follows not too close behind. The leader of the pack is the male and he seems to be sniffing the air frantically every few seconds, each time he does he either changes the direction they are walking in, or speeds up in the same direction. After a while the leader takes off sprinting, the pack not too far behind, the other two adults are carrying the two cubs by their collars, while trying to keep up with the leader. Tirius struggles to keep up, trying to stay silent and fast at the same time. They soon come to a halt. There are a few stag ahead, the sabers stay hidden, circling them. They seem to check every angle around the stags before preparing for the attack.

Soon the leader stops circling, the pack following what he does of course. The leader seems to make two short quiet grunts to the two adults, they break off and begin taking positions around the stags to cut them off. Tirius moves around as well, still trying to keep a safe distance from the pack, trying also not to scare off the stags. Once the two adults get in position they sit there silently. Suddenly the leader lets out a loud roar. The two adults drop the cubs onto the ground and begin pelting toward the pack of stags. The leader bounds into the air catching one by surprise as his fangs barrow deep into the stags neck. The other two are now chasing the pack as they dart through the forest, bounding around trees. One manages to get a stag by the ankle as it drops to the ground, the third adult keeps after them, and makes a dive to tackle one of the stags. But misses and slams into a tree. The leader lets out a loud roar as the two make their way back to the leader, one dragging a dead stag, one nothing at all.

Once they reach the leader he inspects the stag one of the females have caught, he lets out a grunt, and the female begins tearing bits of meat off the stag, the two cubs join in. The leader approaches the adult which caught no food. He growls at the saber and strikes her across the face. The leader lets out a few more throaty growls, before the female walks off toward the dead stag, her head low in shame. Tirius sighs, wishing he could cook some of that stag, he's beginning to get really hungry, and thirsty. But the only way he'll get food is to try and approach the pack.

Soon enough the pack finishes feeding, the cubs decide to take a few scraps of stag home with them, they return back to the clearing, Tirius still has his eyes focused on them.

I've never spent so much time stalking an animal... I knew they were complex but...

Night creeps in once more, the two cubs seem to ignore it as they wrestle for the last piece of stag, one of the adults let out a roar, as the cubs pause. One of the cubs stop and walks over to the adult, laying down beside her and closing it's eyes. The other takes the advantage and begins eating the last piece of stag before the other cub notices. The other female trods over and picks the cub up by the collar, carrying him closer to the pack. They soon drift off to sleep once more, preparing for another day.

Tirius groans rolling onto his back once more.

Alright.. A small nap...

The hunter and his child are sitting by the fire, it is a dark night in Ashenvale, the child smiles brightly as the smell of the stag cooking on the fire fills his senses.

“An'da, why do we live in the forest, when so many others live in villages?”

“Because, in a village you lose your natural instinct of survival, in a forest you need to think differently, like the beast. Most Kaldorei believe that wherever they are, they are in touch with nature. I feel that the only way to be in touch, is to be among the animals.”

“So why do we visit the villages sometimes.”

Torose chuckles.

“Because i get lazy, and we need to buy supplies.”

Torose takes the meat from the fire, tearing it up in his bare hands, Tirius reaches out to grab it from his father.

“Not yet Tirius, it's burning hot.”

“But you're holding it. So I can do It too.”

Torose sighs holding the boiling meat out to Tirius. Tirius takes the meat and lets out a loud yelp, dropping it on the ground. Torose chuckles slightly, watching Tirius flail his arms around, his hands shoot out grabbing Tirius by the wrists.

“Hold still.”

He reaches for his flask of water pouring it on either hand. Tirius yells even louder in pain. Torose laughs.

“Don't be a baby Tirius.”

Tirius groans rubbing his hands on his shirt.

“How do you do it.”

“It's threshold, you learn to get used to pain and tolerate it. These hands have been bitten, crushed burned, pierced and more in these forests. One day you'll be able to do the same.”

Tirius looks at his own hands and sighs, he looks down at the meat and groans, sitting back waiting for it to cool down.

A roar fills the forest as Tirius wakes up. He groans looking over the mound, the leader has woken. Tirius sighs, watching quietly, his stomach hurts from lack of food. Soon enough the rest of the pack wake up and they proceed to go on another hunt. The leader seems to leave earlier then normal, looking up at the sky every few minutes. Tirius looks up wondering what's going on.

Cloudy...

Tirius follows the pack as the leader takes them on another hunt. They come across another group of stag, preparing for an attack, when suddenly, another roar is heard. It's another pack of nightsabers. And they seem to have already made an attack on the packs target. The roar scares the stags off, both packs are unsuccessful in getting a decent meal. Soon enough they turn to each other, the leader growls at the newcomers, and rears his head, preparing to pounce, the opposing pack growls as they prepare for the oncoming attack. The two females put the cubs down and roar at them as they run off a safe distance. Once they are out of sight the mothers join the leader and pounce, a bloody fight ensues as the two packs fight it out.

The leader manages to kill one of the pack, but that doesn't seem to stop the fight as it continues. One of the mothers let out a deathly roar as one of the opposing sabers tears through her neck, and begins violently shaking his head side to side, the mothers head jerking around like a ragdoll. The leader let's out a loud roar, sounding almost as deathly the females, but he doesn't seem to be injured. The fight pauses as the opposing pack, backs away, it seems like the leader has admit defeat. The opposing pack disappears into the forest, as the two cubs return, one runs up to the mother which is still alive and huddles close to her, the other runs to his mothers corpse and nudges it with his nose, he sits down silently looking at the corpse and letting out throaty groans, it huddles close to the corpse, but doesn't feel the same warmth that his mother should give him. The cub lets out a loud roar as the leader approaches and picks him up by the collar, tearing him away from his deceased mother. Tirius sits there silently, watching everything unfold, he sighs shaking his head.

I guess even animals know what it's like to feel loss... It's wierd. I figured to be an animal is to just live blindly, instead, they suffer some of the things a conscious humanoid would.

A crack of thunder is heard as the first drops of rain hit the ground, the leader takes off in another sprint, He manages to find a cave, dropping the cub on the ground, the mother follows with her own cub. Tirius sighs, watching them from outside the cave.

My leather is torn, I'm hungry, and I can't even recognize my own scent... I have to do it now, or I'll die anyway...

The cub lets out another roar pelting out of the cave trying to return to his deceased mother, the leader grabs the cub by the collar once more, before he's able to leave the entrance, suddenly, the leaders eye catches something.. A soaked green Kaldorei wearing torn clothing and looking quite fatigued, he drops the cub and lets out a low growl, barring his teeth.

[Drust]

Equal Respect

Tirius approached the cave slowly, conscious of the beastly eyes locked on him, he stands just out the front of the cave in the rain, gazing at the leader.

Okay... What now...

The saber begins to growl rearing down, he lets out a loud roar bearing his fangs.

It's angry! What do i-

Tirius drops onto his knees so that he seems less threatening, he then lets out a loud roar. The sabre pauses, it gazes at Tirius looking quite confused. Tirius kneels there silently, waiting for a verdict. Nothing happens, it's just a stare off... Soon, Tirius makes the first move, edging slowly toward the sabre, every so often he lets out a few throaty growls, holding his hands infront of him, his palm open, showing that he means no harm. Soon enough he is in reach of the sabre. He goes to pat the leader on the head, when suddenly, the leader chomps down on the hand. Tirius lets out a loud roar of pain as the sabre begins biting down harder, drawing blood. The roar seemed to gain the attention of the other adult in the cave.

Crap! This is it.

He glares at the leader, locking his eyes with him, he gives the leader a serious gaze. And lets out a loud roar at him, the kind of roar the mother made when she was killed. The kind of roar the leader made when he admitted defeat. The leader gazed at Tirius, his jaw slowly unclenching from his hand, Tirius pulls his hand back, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. The leader then walks back into the cave letting out a few short growls to the adult, and Tirius. Tirius has no clue if he's allowed in, so he took a wild shot in the dark and followed. Tirius stood up and began walking into the cave. As soon as he stood up the sabers began to growl. Tirius quickly dropped onto his knees again, staying at the same level as the sabers. He edges inside the cave and slumps down at a nearby wall.

Well they don't seem to want to kill me.

Tirius lets out a heavy sigh. He feels so tired and hungry, but there is no food around. And Tirius is still afraid to fall asleep, the leader might have second thoughts, so he sits there quietly, watching them once more. One of the cubs is licking his mothers wounds, cleaning them from the fight before. The other cub is sitting silently beside the leader, staring out of the cave at the downpour of rain silently. For once Tirius feels calm again, his eyes slowly closing, as he drifts off to sleep once more.

The hunter and his son have travelled to Auberdine, the hunter has left his son sitting at the docks watching the other Kaldorei as they work. Soon enough the hunter returns. Carrying a sack full of supplies under one arm, and a small moonsaber cub under his other, the saber seems to struggle in the hunters arm, tearing and gnawing at it, the little cub seems to draw a bit of blood out of it as the hunter approaches his son.

“Alright Tirius. Back to the forest.”

“An'da, why do you have a Moonsaber gnawing your arm?”

Torose smiles.

“Because, one of the villagers found the little bastard running around the village on its own.”

He chuckles still holding the sabre tight, as he turns around and begins heading back to the forest.

Soon enough it's night, the hunter and his son are sitting by the fire once more, the hunter still holding the sabre by its pelt, the sabre doesn't seem to fight anymore, knowing that whatever it does, it's simply not going to get anywhere. After a while the hunter finally decides to give the cub a bit of freedom, letting go of the little creature. Once the little cub had felt the grip loosen it jumped up, roaring as loud as it could, it then bounded for Tirius knowing that since he's smaller, he's less of a threat.

Tirius yells as he's tackled to the ground, the saber begins tearing at his arm, Tirius thrashing around madly.

“An'da help!”

The hunter sits there silently, not moving an inch. He responds calmly, like nothing is happening.

“Tirius, show it that you are stronger. Fight back, the only way it will respect you is if you prove you are equal.”

Tirius thrashes around a bit more, his hands shoot out to grab the cub which is still violently scratching and biting away at him. The cub quickly swipes his hands away and continues his attack, soon enough the little sabre starts to draw blood from his arm and chest. That is when the hunter quickly shot up. Grabbing the sabre and holding it up so that he is looking at it in the eyes. He then roars loudly at it, not breaking eye contact his expression extremely serious and stern. The cub lowers his head as the hunter places the cub back on the ground, he sits beside it and begins stroking it quietly, the cub lying there, its gaze fixed at the ground. Tirius sits up, a few tears are sliding down his face as he gazes at his father.

“An'da... Why didn't you stop it sooner. It was trying to kill me, why would you let a sabre hurt me?”

The hunter sighs standing up and sitting beside his son, the cub stays where the hunter placed him, not daring to make any movement.

“Tirius, I did not intervene because I wanted you to show the cub that you are stronger... The cub will attack you again at some point, it thinks you are below it. You faced the cub with fear, because to you it is a crazy animal who just wants to kill you. You don't see the creature as a being that looks for respect as well. When a humanoid attacks you, you try not to show fear, you know that if you show fear in a fight, the humanoid will notice it. If you have self confidence though, the humanoid will be hesitant. A saber can see the same. If you show self confidence, an animal will be hesitant as well. You do not need to show it that you are above it, you need to show it that you are equals, and that you can rely on each others strengths, like a pack. That is a companion. Even the most loyal companions tried to kill their masters in the beginning.”

Tirius sighs, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

“But I wasn't ready An'da!”

“In life you can never be ready.”

The hunter ruffles his sons hair standing up and sitting back down beside the cub, Tirius lays down, closing his eyes. Letting the warmth of the fire take him once more.

Tirius groans waking up to chewing and growling. Tirius sniffs the air as the smell of raw meat fills his senses. He sits up quietly gazing around the cave. The leader and his pack seem to be feasting on a stag. Tirius sighs rubbing his stomach. Even raw meat sounds like a good meal to him now, he crawls over to the feasting animals quietly, the leader growls, his head poking up from the animal and glaring at Tirius. Tirius pauses. He frowns shaking his head and moving on forward toward the dead animal.

Forget it, I'm starving. Let the bastard kill me if it has to.

He crawls over to the stag and sinks his teeth into its stomach. The two cubs and the mother pause stepping back and growling loudly. The leader approaches Tirius and roars as it pounces at him, tackling him to the ground. Tirius roars loudly and pushes the saber off him, he darts back waiting for the leader to pounce again. Soon enough the saber pounces again. Before the leader manages to hit Tirius, His hand springs up, his palm open, he strikes the saber across the face, his long nails digging into the skin and cutting the leaders cheek, just like what the leader did to the female who didn't manage to catch any food on the hunt he watched. The leader yelps, jumping back. Tirius gazes at the leader, an angry look in his eyes. He roars loudly and crawls over to the stag. He once again sinks his teeth violently into the stag, tearing off some of its stomach, he sits there eating silently. After a while, the female and the cubs join in. And soon enough. The leader.

Silently the four sabers and the Kaldorei finish off their meal. Tirius silently heads back to his spot. Sitting there silently and watching the pack from a distance once more. He watches as the cubs wrestle and play. The female watching them and making sure they don't go too crazy. Soon enough Tirius crawls over to the cubs, a big grin on his face. He attempts to join in on the game, but the female roars loudly, stepping in between him and the cubs. Tirius sighs heading back to his spot, he lays down and closes his eyes. Falling asleep once more.

But that sleep is soon awakened by a loud roar. His eyes shoot open as he gazes around frantically. The pack seems to be gazing at the entrance of the cave, they seem to be in an attack ready position. Tirius looks to the entrance. It's hard to see the figure through the glaring sunlight coming from the entrance. But from the shadow it casts he can make out it's something big... Almost like a bear... Tirius gazes at the pack once more. Then to the mysterious figure. The figure lets out a loud roar which echoes through the walls of the cave. It's followed with a chuckle.

“Tirius, you in here?”

Tirius lets out a heavy sigh, smiling brightly.

“Talos... What are you doing here?”

“Checking if you were saber food yet.”

Talos walks closer, but pauses when he notices the nightsabers.

“I see you made some friends...”

Tirius sighs.

“Not completely, I kind of understand them now, but it's hard to gain their respect...”

Talos kneels down looking at the group. They are still in an attacking position, ready to pounce if Talos comes any closer. He looks back over to Tirius.

“Of course you cannot gain their -full- trust. You are not a Wilderness stalker. This was just a test to see if you were able to communicate with them. I don't expect you to gain their respect. I just wanted you to learn how they act, and how they communicate. And since you're alive, it looks like you got the hang of communicating.”

“What about the pack -you- were with?”

“That pack? Well I know how to communicate with them extremely well and since I have spent more time with them and aided them, they have trust and respect for me. I will never be one of their pack. But I am still able to gain their trust and respect. Show them that I treat them as equals.”

Equals...

“Anyway, little Cloudbreaker. You did it, it's time for your next task. You can leave this pack now.”

Tirius sighs looking back at the pack.

“But I want to examine them more, maybe try and gain their trust like you did.”

Talos sighs.

“Tirius, a Beastmaster is one who can take on the aspect of specific animals learning their nature to mimic them. You have learned the basics of a Nightsaber. Now we need to find a more challenging task for you. If you truly like the pack you have found you are always able to take a companion, although that requires the pack to truly trust you and have respect for you. A Beastmaster is able to have multiple companions, because he knows how to communicate easily with each one, soon enough instead of wasting time taming and training an animal, you will both have a common understanding.”

Tirius sighs standing up. He looks at the pack which has now turned to Tirius and are growling at him. He looks to Talos.

“If i could take an animal from this pack. I would take the cub... The little creature lost his mother in a fight. It showed me how an animal truly feels the same burdens as us, and aren't just clueless creatures running on pure instinct.”

Talos shakes his head exiting the cave.

“Forget it Tirius, this pack does not seem to trust you enough... Fel they even get intimidated when you stand up. Come on, we have more work to do.”

Tirius looks back to the pack. He silently gazes at them for a few minutes before following Talos. Once outside the cave Talos turns around, he eyes Tirius up and down.

"At least you're starting to look like a Beastmaster, your next task is an easy one."

Talos holds his hands out to Tirius.

"Give me your bow and arrow, and any other weapons."

Tirius is hesitant, he opens his mouth to protest. But silently follows his teachers instructions. He hands all his weapons to him. But pauses once he unsheathes his sword. He gazes at it silently, running his fingers across all the small symbols, before handing it to Talos.

"Good, you have learned how a nightsaber acts, how they survive. Now you are going to be one. You will hunt animal with your bare hands and teeth, you are not allowed to have any sort of weapons, in the night you will use your instinct to find a safe place to sleep, with no fire. After a while i will contact you again. If you break any of these conditions. I will train you no further."

Tirius groans loudly.

"Talos, how am i going to hunt an animal with my bare hands?"

"Tirius, if you have not noticed, your nails are quite long, after much hunting and the odd crawling on all fours, those nails will be tough claws. Also the more you eat raw meat, the sharper your canines will get. When you hunt an animal, hunt like the Nightsaber. Mimic how they act, I'll be watching you Tirius."

Talos bows briefly to Tirius, Tirius nods as he watches the hunter disappear into the forest again. Tirius stands there gazing around the forest silently oblivious on what to do. Suddenly he drops onto all fours and pelts off into the forest.

[Drust]

[Sorry about the late posts, been having internet troubles lately.]

Complications

The hunter and his son are sitting by the fire once again, it is a cold night as the hunter sits there telling him stories of the past. Laying across his lap is a blade with many symbols on it, little Tirius sitting beside him quietly, watching his father run his hands across the symbols of the blade, listening with full concentration and enthusiasm. The hunter runs his hand across the blade as it stops on a symbol, it is a feather, the hunter chuckles to himself.

“What's that one An'da?”

“This one was the time when I was just getting into hunting on my own, I remember finding a lone wolf, thinking I could take it, one arrow later I was pelting through the forest the wolf close behind me, I swear I ran so fast, it was like I was as light as a feather.”

He chuckles to himself once more before running his hands across the symbols of the blade again, it stops at a picture of a small paw.

“Is that your first companion An'da?”

The hunter gazes at the symbol, smiling warmly.

“Better then a companion, this symbol is the birth of my son, my little cub. One of the greatest beings to ever keep me company in this forest.”

The hunter smiles ruffling his sons hair.

Tirius smiles, looking over the blade, he points to a symbol of a graceful panther, its tail high up in the air, it seems to be staring upwards, almost as if gazing at the moon.

“What about that one?”

The hunter sighs, he shakes his head.

“That one's nothing, just a panther...”

The hunter quickly points to a different symbol, it's a picture of a wise owl, its wings spread out wide.

“This symbol is your grandfather, he is one of the most wise people you will ever meet, always has a reason for everything, always has an answer, just like we are doing now, he taught me about the wilds. His favoured animal was the owl. They are known as one of the most wise animals in the forest.”

Tirius points to another symbol, this one is a symbol of an eye, but not the eye of a human, the eye of a saber.

“That one, when becoming a hunter you learn to be like the animals, think like them. For a short period of my life I tried to use the instincts of certain animals, one of them was a saber, it was the most fascinating. I find Moonsabers to be the most Majestic animals, bounding through the winds to catch their prey, using their eyes, ears and nose to track and find their way through the forest.”

Tirius smiles, he points to another symbol and goes to ask another question when his father cuts him off.

“Tirius you must get some sleep, otherwise i'll have to carry you again when we go hunting, and believe me. It may be fun for you, but it's fel for me.”

The hunter chuckles as he stands up, sheathing his blade.

“But An'da! I want to know about every symbol, I want to know every story!”

“Tirius, to know every story is impossible. A symbol is not just one story, but it is many. A picture paints a thousand words.”

With that the hunter sits back down on the opposite side of the fire, Tirius sighs, laying down and closing his eyes, the one thing that runs through his head is the symbol of the graceful panther, as the thought soon fades, he drifts off silently to sleep.

I can smell it, I'm close! I know it!

Tirius darts rapidly through the dark forest on all fours, launching himself across the ground with each bound.

I can't do this anymore, I need some sort of food!

He soon stops, sliding across the cold soil, he sniffs the air, his eyes pulsing once as he does so.

Food.

He darts a few more meters forward, stopping behind a tree. There he sees a lone stag. It seems to have lost its group, so there it stands, grazing. Tirius smiles broadly, he quietly moves around the stag, finding a good position to pounce from, he soon finds a position which will allow him to tackle it. He rears down and pounces forward, ramming his now quite sharpened nails into the side of the stag, the stag, startled begins to dart off, Tirius keeping his nails dug firmly into the back of it, being dragged across the forest by the stag, soon enough his grip begins to weaken, he roars loudly attempting to launch himself from the back of the stag to its neck, his mouth open wide. But the stag is too fast and has already evaded the attack fading into the forest. Tirius slams down onto the ground face first. He rolls onto his back groaning.

I'm a dead Kaldorei...

He lays there silently, not being able to fall asleep from the lack of food. So he lays there in the forest, soon enough watching the first sign of dawn creeping through the cracks of the trees and leaves. He gets up slowly, standing on his two feet, his stomach growls at him. He sighs dropping on all fours once more.

One more attempt, if I fail, I'll find a nice spot to die in...

He prowls through the forest once more, too weak to go any faster. After a few hours of aimless prowling he comes across a small group of stag, grazing in the sunlight. He pauses, thinking.

How would a saber approach this...

Tirius checks the area around the stag quietly, not only does he find the best place to attack from but he also examines the area around him, checking where the stag would most likely run. After a while he sits down at his attacking spot, and waits for the perfect moment. An hour passes as Tirius watches the stags graze. Soon enough one lifts its head up to chew the rest still munching. This is the moment he's been waiting for, he bounds forward, letting out a loud roar as he flies through the air, he manages to sink his claws into the side of the stag again, but this time reacts quickly launching forward to its neck and sinking his teeth into it. The stags begin to bound off, but the one which Tirius caught, drops to the ground and thrashes around, Tirius quickly brings his fist up, slamming it down on the stags head repeatedly, until the creature stops writhing, and just lays there silently. He then sinks his teeth into the animal once more and begins to eat. His mouth filled with not only the stags blood, but his own blood as his gums begin to bleed from the thick leather he is digging his teeth into.

In the middle of eating a crack of thunder is heard as it begins to rain again in the forest. Tirius groans taking one last bite from the stag, he then stands up and begins darting through the forest.

I need to find a cave or something that will protect me from this rain.

He makes his way through the forest, his pace picking up slowly as the rain gets heavier. Soon enough he's running through it once again, the trees whizzing by him as he blindly makes his way through the forest, suddenly his foot gets snagged by a root, as he goes flying forward, he hits the ground sliding across the cold soil and slamming backfirst into a tree, he gazes up at the trees as the rain falls heavily around him, soon enough the sound of the rain seems to drown out, his vision getting blurry.

Little Tirius is slammed to the ground letting out a high pitched yelp, he groans, standing up slowly, he smiles weakly as he begins to charge at the hunter, he dives forward wrapping his arms around his waist, trying to lift the massive Kaldorei up. The hunter bursts out laughing as Tirius continues to try lift him up.

“Tirius, you know you cannot lift me up, why try.”

“If I was a bear I would be able to lift you up!”

The hunter then grabs Tirius under the arms lifting him up and placing him onto his shoulders.

“Enough messing around, we need to find a good spot to set up camp.”

Tirius chuckles giving the hunter a light slap on the head.

“Forward!”

They both chuckle as they make their way through the forest. Soon enough they find a clearing in the forest, the hunter takes Tirius off his shoulders and places him on the ground.

“Alright Tirius, now I need you to go find me so-“

The hunter pauses, he sniffs the air as his eyes dart to the intruder who has entered the clearing. The hunter unsheathes his blade, pointing it at the Satyr.

“You're not meant to be here. Turn around and go back from where you came.”

The Satyr cackles cocking his head.

“This is as much my forest as it is yours, Kaldorei.”

“I'm giving you one last warning...”

The Satyr growls and charges forward, he rams his claws into the hunters chest as the hunter roars loudly. He retaliates with an elbow to the Satyrs cheek, the Satyr stumbles back and bares his teeth, his sight switches from the hunter to little Tirius standing behind him scared. The Satyr smiles broadly as he charges forward once more, this time for Tirius, but is tackled halfway by the hunter, the Satyr struggles on the ground, stabbing the hunter repeatedly in the stomach with his claws. The hunter roars in pain and grabs the Satyrs head, he begins bashing it on the ground until, suddenly the stabbing and thrashing seaces, the hunter rolls off the Satyr and lays on his back. Tirius runs up to him.

“An'da! Are you okay?!”

The hunter looks up to him and smiles weakly.

“Of course... A weak wretch like that cannot stop a Kaldorei.”

The hunter sits up slowly, he roars in pain dropping onto his back once more, he looks to Tirius.

“Tirius, grab me a flask and some bandages from the sack over there.”

Tirius does what he's told. The hunter opens the flask and holds it upside down, noticing there is no water.

“Tirius, not too far from here is a lake... I want you to run down to it and fill this flask. Run fast and do not stop for nothing until you reach the lake. Then I want you to run back without stopping once more, no matter what you find, you keep running.”

Tirius takes the flask and without hesitation runs off into the forest. He keeps running, not taking notice of anything else. He finally reaches the lake and fills the flask up, turning around and running back. Once he reaches his father he notices he's sitting up. He runs up to him holding out the flask, panting heavily.

“Here An'da, I ran as fast as I could!”

The hunter takes the flask, he takes a small swig from it and sits up smiling. Tirius frowns gazing at the hunter.

“An'da... Why are you sitting up...?”

“Because I already tended to my wounds.”

“Then why was it so important for me to get you water?”

The hunter sighs smiling.

“Because, I wanted to be sure that in a bad situation, you are able to take care of yourself. This was nothing, just a few cuts and bruises. But one day, if anything serious is to happen to me, I want you to run like you did today, as fast as you can.”

Tirius frowns, sitting down, he crosses his arms looking at the ground.

“That's not fair An'da, you wouldn't run away from a fight, you wouldn't run away if I was wounded.”

The hunter groans sitting down beside his son.

“Tirius, the difference is that if you stayed and fought, you would be wounded like me, and it would hurt me more. I help you by protecting you, and you help me by staying safe. Understand little one?”

Tirius sighs, nodding silently. The hunter stands up and silently begins preparing the fire.

The sound of the forest seems to fade in as his vision begins to clear. Tirius sits up slowly gazing around the forest. The warmth of the sun makes him smile in his damp state. He stands up, groaning from the pain in his back. Suddenly a small growl is heard. Tirius spins around to see a bear, a big bear. The bear rears up on its hind legs and roars loudly. Tirius doesn't hesitate, he turns around and takes off through the forest, the bear close behind. Tirius running faster and faster, feeling almost as light as a feather.

[Drust]

A Wise Friend

Oh man, this is not good

Tirius pelts through the forest, the bear not too far behind, the lumbering bear plows through the forest roaring loudly. Tirius tries to stay ahead but his body is quite bruised and fatigue is kicking in once More, soon enough he gives in dropping on all fours and turning around to the bear. The bear comes to a halt. The two staring each other down, Tirius widens his eyes and barres his teeth, he roars loudly at the bear and stands up on his two feet. The bear seems to take a few steps back and returns the roar. The two eye each other silently, waiting for one to make the first move. Tirius makes the first move, finally lunging forward, he manages to ram a claw into the bears eye socket. The bear roars and frantically swipes at Tirius, the paw connecting with his ribs. A loud crack is heard as Tirius is thrown to the side, slamming into a tree. He watches as the bear slowly approaches him, his eye sight getting blurry once more.

The hunter is sitting by the fire with his son. The moonsaber laying beside the hunter quietly. Tirius is already asleep by the fire, the hunter sitting there watching him quietly. After a few minutes the hunter looks down to the moonsaber cub, and whispers something in its ear. The cub quietly stands up and walks up to Tirius, it lets out a loud roar and jumps on top of the sleeping Kaldorei, the little Kaldorei screams as he wakes up, the Moonsaber tearing at him. The hunter watches silently, Tirius looks to his father and goes to yell, but the hunter shakes his head silently. Little Tirius looks back at the cub and roars loudly, grabbing the cub by the neck. With all his might he throws the cub off him by the neck, the cub getting a swipe across his face as it flies off him, the cub slams hard onto the ground, the cub gets up fast rearing down to pounce once more, Tirius stands up slowly, preparing for the next pounce. As the saber watches the little Kaldorei stand, it seems to stop. It stands up from it's pouncing position and walks past Tirius, sitting down by the hunter once more. The hunter seems to be smiling.

“It will not harm you again. Tirius, you stood up against it, showed that it cannot push you around. Now it has respect for you, knowing you are part of the pack, and not just a weak little kid.”

Tirius sits back down silently, letting out a heavy sigh. The little Kaldorei seems to have a few tears streaking down his cheek, however he is smiling.

“It scared me An'da... I thought you were gone and it was going to eat me when I first woke.”

The hunter chuckles, shaking his head. He strokes the cub across the back gently, not breaking eye contact with little Tirius.

“For as long as I breathe Tirius, know that I will always be there to protect you. You are my kin, my blood.”

Tirius wipes the tears away from his face as Talos appears behind his father.

“Little Cloudbreaker... Are you alright.. The bears gone, don't die on me now...”

Huh? What was that...

Tirius opens his eyes staring up at the moon, he appears to be laying on a beach, he can feel the warmth of a fire as he sits up, groaning in pain as he rubs his ribs. He gazes around, noticing he was laying right next to a fire, sitting on the other side of the fire is Talos, smiling broadly.

“Welcome back, you were out for quite a while.” Talos chuckles holding his hands quietly over the fire.

Tirius frowns, rubbing his ribcage. “What happened to the bear... I should be dead...”

Talos bursts out laughing pulling his hands back from the fire, he brushes some of his dirty hair away from his face. “Don't worry about the bear, you're lucky i was watching you.”

Tirius sighs, he lowers his head staring down at the ground. “I failed, didn't I?.. You should've left me for dead...”

“Are you joking?! You passed young Cloudbreaker, you hunted. You prowled... Fel you stood up to a bear and gouged the poor bastards eye out.”

Tirius looks back up at Talos smiling broadly. “Really? I passed? So i'm a beastmaster?”

“Are you joking? Far from it, I already have your next task for you. I want you to befriend an owl.”

“An owl? What good is an owl? I prefer beasts that can protect me in the wild.”

Talos sighs standing up, he looks down at his claws, picking a bit of dirt out of them.

“Tirius, an owl is one of the beastmasters best companions, they are one of the most wise animals there are. In a bad situation, they are the most useful animals in this world.”

Tirius groans, standing up, his chest feels like it's going to explode, he looks down noticing that his left rib is quite enflamed. “Talos... I think I broke a rib...”

Talos looks up at him and bursts out laughing once more. “So? Live with it, in the forest you'll be breaking, spraining, and crushing a lot of things. Get used to it.”

Tirius sighs turning around and walking off. “I'll be back in a few hours with an owl.”

“Good, but don't forget to monitor it for a bit, remember it's not just a pet. You don't want it following orders, you want it listening to you like a friend would.”

With that notion Tirius set off, he gazes around his surroundings noticing he's in the Zoram strand, he heads off back into the forest of Ashenvale. It's not long until he comes by an owl, perched on a low tree branch. He walks up to it slowly. The owl seems to stretch its wings, showing a bit of agitation as the Kaldorei approaches. Tirius stops right in front of it.

An owl is like a druid... Boring, if I sit and listen to it for a bit, showing concentration, it should be surprised i'm interesting in its ‘stories'

He sits down and just stares at it. The owl cocks its head to the side and chirps, Tirius doesn't move, he sits there silently, keeping eye contact with the owl. After a while the owl lets out another chirp and takes off, flying around Tirius twice and then heading off, staying low. Tirius stands up, running after it and following it.

He continues to follow the owl through the forest. The owl soon lands at a nearby moonwell, perching beside it. Tirius sits down once more, keeping firm eye contact with it as the bird chirps on. After a while Tirius stands up, the owl cocks its head to the side as Tirius begins to approach it, holding his hand out, he strokes the owl on the head and holds his hand out for the bird to perch on it. The owl slowly edges onto his hand, chirping every now and then. Tirius strokes the bird on the head once more and sets the bird free, letting it fly around. Tirius holds his hand high up in the air and tries to imitate the sound the owl makes, the owl soon lands on his hand once more. Tirius smiles as he makes his way back to the Zoram strand.

After a long walk Tirius returns. Talos is still there waiting. He stands up smiling as he greets Tirius.

“I see you made another friend... Wasn't that hard eh?”

Tirius chuckles, stroking the owls head as he speaks. “Not at all, I sat down and 'listened' to it for a while, followed it and listened to it a bit more, I then attempted to approach it, once it got accustomed with me I set it free, and called it back. Hopefully it will be familiar with the call.”

Talos nods, smiling. “You may think that listening to it is pointless, but since you have shown interest in what the owl has to teach, it will truly help you in the wilds. Especially in your next task.”

Tirius smirks. “What task is that? Another animal to imitate? Or do I have to follow this owl around for a while.”

Talos shakes his head, approaching Tirius slowly. “Nothing like that. Let me see that owl...” Talos makes a few chirping noises as the owl leaves Tirius and lands on Talos. Talos smiles stroking the bird on the head, then quickly his eyes glance to Tirius as his hand crumples into a fist. The fist flies forward to the unsuspecting Tirius, slamming into his ribs. Tirius drops to the ground roaring loudly in pain.

“What was that for?!”

Talos doesn't answer, before Tirius can do anything else, Talos sends a knee to his head and he is knocked out cold.

The hunter and his son are walking through the forest silently. Tirius is now a teenager and half the size of his father. His Moonsaber follows close beside him as they stroll through the forest looking for food. They come across a stag grazing. Tirius turns to his father.

“Let me take this one...”

The hunter nods silently and sits back watching his son. Tirius moves forward notching an arrow to his bow, his Moonsaber standing idly beside him. Before he lets the arrow fly the Moonsaber pounces, taking the stag by surprise and tackling it to the ground. Soon enough the stag is dead as the saber returns to the side of Tirius. Tirius roars at the Moonsaber and goes to strike him. But his arm is grabbed by the hunter.

“Tirius, do not harm your companion, -ever- he was only doing what was right. If you would've shot that arrow it would've missed, the angle you were coming from would've alerted the stag when you let the arrow go. The saber was simply getting you food.”

Tirius growls turning around to his father.

“I don't care! That one was mine, when we eat dinner tonight, I wanted to be proud that I was the one who obtained it for us!”

The hunter chuckles, giving Tirius a light punch in the shoulder. “You'll get your turn Tirius, just keep practicing. And remember, if your companion does something you did not expect. It did it out of instinct and knowledge of its own. Do not punish it for aiding you.”

Tirius sighs as he turns to his Moonsaber, stroking across the back. The hunter nods as he begins heading off to find a good places to set camp. Tirius follows behind him, the Moonsaber walking close beside him.

The air feels thick as Tirius draws a heavy breath, gaining consciousness, his chest in pain at each inhale of breath. He sits up coughing madly, gazing around the surrounding forest. The area he is in seems tainted. Everything seems to be rotting and dead.

This place... I've never been here before... Where the fel am I...

Tirius stands up, he seems to be hunched forward from the pain in his chest, it's night time but that doesn't seem to change much. The forest is dark and the air seems to be thick with gases and taint. Tirius goes to take his first step forward, when he hears a loud screech. He glances up to see the owl he had befriended. He raises a finger to his lips.

Please be silent... My head is killing me, and I don't want to anger anything that might reside in this place..

He goes to take another step, but the owl lets out another loud screech. Tirius stops once more and looks up at the owl, growling.

“Please shut the fel up, you're going to get me killed!”

I'm yelling at a damn animal... I think that knee to the head did something...

Tirius once again continues through the forest, the first few steps are alright. But after a few more, the owl swoops Tirius, flying right across right in front of him and causing him to stop once more. Tirius is furious now, he looks around the ground and finds a stick, he looks back up at the owl and prepares to toss the stick at it. He pauses before he allows the stick to leave his grasp.

Wait... Maybe I'm doing something wrong... I know nothing of this place...

Tirius drops the stick and sits down quietly. Looking up at the owl. The owl swoops down, landing on his shoulder. Tirius sighs as he lays back down on the ground, the owl taking off once more and heading to a nearby tree. Tirius stares up at the sky... Or at the fel green fog that covers the trees.

Why did Talos do this to me? He injures me and drops me in this tainted forest... Wait... Tainted, this could be Felwood, a place not many venture.. I must've failed the task before... This –has- to be punishment... But why did the owl follow me...?

Tirius lays there contemplating his situation for sometime. After a few hours the sun begins to rise. Tirius is close to nodding off as he begins to forget the pain in his chest. Suddenly the owl lets out a loud screech and swoops over Tirius once more. Tirius sits up frowning at the owl

What now...

Tirius stands up slowly as the owl lands on his shoulder. The owl seems to stare forward. Tirius gazes at it for a bit before taking a step forward, the owl does nothing but sit on his shoulder quietly. Tirius takes another step, and another. Soon enough he's walking through the forest.

Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Night time bad. Got it

Tirius strolls through the forest, still hunched from the pain in his ribs, however there is a smile on his face, as the owl sits on his shoulder, seeming to dose off as he walks.

[Drust]

Smells Like Home

Tirius stumbles through the forest, the owl still perched silently on his shoulder, the sun seems to shine through the tree tops, however it isn't too welcoming, the green haze seems to glow above him with the sunlight as he continues on. Fatigue is starting to kick in, his bruised ribs don't seem to help the situation. He stumbles by a river, a smile spreading across his face as he makes a dash for it.

Finally!

He cups his hands, dipping them into the water, he brings them up to his lips, but pauses as a loud screech is heard. It came from the owl on his shoulder, which is now awake again. The owl flaps its wings, taking off, it swoops his hands causing him to drop the water back into the lake. He gazes down at the green murky water and groans, standing back up. He looks up to the bird in anger and frustration.

"What the fel do you want me to do?! I need something!"

The bird circles Tirius twice, before landing on his shoulder and letting out another screech. Tirius sighs as he leaves the lake and continues traveling. As he trudges through the green murky forest he begins thinking about each aspect of the animals. What a saber may do in his situation. As he walks, he begins sniffing the air, his ears twitching. The forest seems to have a specific smell, different from Ashenvale or Darkshore. He began sniffing more frantically, searching the air for maybe a sign that he's close to another forest. Nothing. He continues walking, passing dead animals that have rotten and seem quite diseased, even in the discusting state they're in Tirius still found them looking quite tasty, since the situation he is in. However he knew he couldn't do anything. Soon enough night came, as the forest began to darken Tirius began to slow down. He couldn't move on any further, as fatigue grew stronger. He slumped down by a tree, gazing around wearily, the owl seems to be wide awake, now. Tirius gazes silently at the owl on his shoulder.

Soon enough the owl takes off, flying away. Tirius watches the owl leave, trying to get up and chase it. But he's too weak and tired to even get up now.

"Wait! Don't leave! I still need your help!"

He realizes he's shouting at nothing but the forest now, he slumps back on the tree, his breathing seems to be more heavier and strained the longer he spends time in the forest because of the green haze. He sits there silently, listening to himself breath and the small cracks and snaps of the forest.

The hunter and his son are standing by a hole, Tirius seems to be crying, his father lowers the dead Moonsaber into the hole, turning to Tirius, he places a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"Friends come and go Tirius... You'll learn this as you progress through life, try not to get too attached to anyone. In the end we all leave this world..."

Tirius shakes his head, gazing down at the dead Moonsaber in the hole.

"So why make friends at all... Why find companions? Why set ourselves up for this...?"

The hunter sighs, crouching down a bit so he is eye level with his son. "We do it for the memories... In the end that is all we have, memories. It is what allows us to learn and to go on. Life without a friend or companion is not a life at all, the best memories are the ones shared with others..." The hunter chuckles wiping a few tears away. "Remember when the little bastard tried to catch a fish sitting on the outside of the water, and ended up falling in? The little scamp still chased it, even in the water..."

Tirius smiles slightly, a small chuckle coming from him. The hunter then kneels down, and grabs some dirt, beginning to fill up the hole. Tirius stands there silently, gazing at the dead saber one last time, before kneeling down and helping his father fill the hole.

A weak low growl is heard as his eyes snap open, he gazes frantically around the dark forest, he glances upwards noticing dawn is coming, however the forest is still quite dark. Another growl is heard as Tirius scrambles to his feet. He squints through the darkness noticing the silhouette of a bear. He backs up against the tree.

Oh fel...

The bear stumbles forward but drops on the ground, weak. Tirius frowns, gazing at it, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. He notices that the bear is a cub, it's scarred and looks quite diseased. The bear gazes up at Tirius laying on it's side, it runs it's paw across the ground, groaning softly. Tirius edges slowly toward the bear, sitting down beside it, keeping a small distance from it. He goes to stroke the bear, but pauses, thinking about the disease on it. He draws his hand back. The bear groans once more, attempting to get to it's feet, but all it manages to do is squirm around the the ground. Tirius shakes his head at the sight, feeling sorry for the poor creature. He gets to his feet and stumbles around the area, gazing hard at the ground, looking for something. He manages to find a rock, walking back to the bear. He takes a deep breath, sitting beside it and raising the rock.

"I'm sorry... There's nothing else i can do..."

He slams the rock down on the bears head, a sharp grunt is heard as the bear jolts, it still seems to be alive, but barely. Tirius brings the rock down again. Suddenly there's silence, Tirius sits there silently, staring at the dead diseased cub. A sharp screech is heard as the owl returns, perching on Tirius' shoulder. Tirius stands up smiling weakly at the owl.

"Where've you been...?"

The owl appears to have something in its mouth... It's a leaf, but not just any leaf. Tirius takes the leaf, grabbing another one from the ground, he compares the two, noticing one leaf is green and dead, the other alive and disease free. Tirius holds the leaf close to his nose, inhaling deeply.

Ashenvale...

The owl screeches and flies forward through the forest, it then returns to Tirius' shoulder, Tirius blinks at the bird confused. The owl once more flies in the same direction, flying back to Tirius and landing on his shoulder. The bird lets out another loud screech. Tirius, gazes in the direction the owl went and begins walking once more. This process goes on for a while, until the sun is completely out. That is when the owl seems to fall asleep again, dosing quietly on Tirius' shoulder. Tirius continues trudging on, his pace extremely slow from heavy fatigue. As the owl sleeps, Tirius comes by another lake. The water flows powerfully through it and isn't as murky as the rest. Tirius kneels down, looking over to the owl which is still asleep. He quietly fills his hand with water, and places to his lips, letting the water slide down his throat, he sighs with relief as he dunks his head down into the water, drinking as much as he can. The owl snaps awake, screeching loudly, it takes off from his shoulder and begins swooping him, Tirius stumbles back from the lake onto his backside, the owl still swooping him like crazy.

"Hey! Relax! It's just a small drink!"

The owl continues to swoop, Tirius stands up, growling at the owl. He nods to his shoulder.

"Just shut up and sleep."

The owl swoops him one more time and flies off, Tirius watches as it leaves once more.

"Hey! Don't do this to me... Flying rat!"

Tirius growls as he begins running in the direction the owl his flying, his bruised ribs still aching in pain, he notices that the air seems to be getting more clear. Tirius takes a deep breath, slowing down and looking at his surroundings. He sighs, walking over to a tree and slumping down, he breathes heavily, his heartbeat finally slowing once more. He notices that the trees around him seem to be a bit more alive, some of the leaves on them seem to have no sign of taint. He sniffs the air. A weak smile forming.

Ashenvale... Almost there...

Tirius stands up slowly, and continues on, his head seems to spin a bit... Must be the water...

[Drust]

Like Father, Like Son.

Tirius trudges through the forest, the air seeming to clear as the haze seems to grow more thin as he continues on, soon enough, the green haze is gone and he's surrounded by beautiful tree's which seem alive and growing every second.

I've never been so happy to see Ashenvale in my life... Now to find that bastard Talos...

Tirius continues on in the forest, his stomach growling, his head still seems to be a bit woozy, he manages to stumble to a lake, drinking as much water as he can, he sighs heavily, feeling the pure water slide down his throat, he stands back up, his ears twitching as he drops on all fours once more, he prowls silently through the forest, sniffing every now and then, each time he changes direction, he seems in deep concentration, almost like he's a different being completely. He finally finds what he's looking for, there is a group of stag grazing, Tirius stays low, prowling around, looking for the best opening. He sits back, waiting, he inspects his ribs, he gives them a light poke, groaning lightly, they still seem quite inflamed. His ears twitch as his gaze darts back to the group, he moves back to all fours and rears down, pouncing. He lands in front of the stags as they turn around and begin to run. His eyes quickly scan the group as he darts for the closest one, he manages to grab the stags leg, pulling it back, he brings his hand up, digging his claws into the stags side and tearing right across the stags side, the stag groans loudly in pain and drops to the ground. Tirius slams his fist on the stags head, as it finally dies, he lowers his head, sinking his teeth into the stag. He doesn't seem to care whether it's raw or not anymore, he growls as he fiercely tears the meat off with ease, his fangs sinking deep into the stag with each bite.

Soon enough he finishes his meal, he stands back up, gazing around. He looks up at the sky noticing it's still quite sunny, he heads off, finding a quiet lake and finally resting, he is finally for once, well nourished, his eyes close as he lays on his back, his hands on his ribs. His breath still heavy from breathing the gases back in Felwood, his eyes finally close. A screech is heard, he groans looking up. It's a stormcrow, it swoops by Tirius dropping a note. He reads it, a smirk spreading across his face as he lays back down, closing his eyes once more and drifting off to sleep.

Tirius and his father Torose are sleeping under the stars, like all the other nights they have for hundreds of years now. Tirius is now a teenager, moving ever so closer to adulthood. They lay there talking and laughing.

"I'm sorry Tirius, but it was pretty funny when you ran head first into the tree, chasing after that stag... You need still patience my son."

Tirius Groans, smirking, his gaze not breaking from the sky above.
"Hey, sometimes i honestly can't be bothered alright...? Sitting and waiting is the boring part." He yawns loudly, his head slowly moving from side to side as he gazes upwards.

Torose chuckles, his gaze also at the sky. "Some things never change huh... Y'know, soon enough you'll be on your own in this forest... I wonder how you'll cope sometimes."

Tirius frowns, his gaze quickly snapping from the sky to his father. "What the fel is that supposed to mean...? You think i don't make a good hunter?"

Torose shakes his head, his expression still calm, his gaze still at the skys above, he yawns loudly stretching out towards the night sky. "Tirius I think you'll make a great hunter... But you have one problem... You don't take things seriously sometimes, I used to be the same... There's a time for work and a time for play, If you spend too much time goofing around. You'll get nowhere in life..."

Sighs, looking back up at the sky. "I know... But I still have a while until I'm on my own..."

"Tirius, you don't know that, I just wonder... When I'm gone would you remain in the forest... Or be seduced by civilization."

Tirius shakes his head. His expression looking troubled. "I'd stay in the forest... Become just like you one day."

Torose chuckles, gazing over at his son. "Tirius, you should try experience all aspects of life, I love the forest and always will, but most things should be tried once... Just don't get sucked into it. I only hope you don't make the same mistakes i did..." He sighs looking back up at the sky. "Even a graceful panther can tear your heart out..."

Tirius blinks, frowning at that notion. "Graceful panther..." He thinks back to one of the times his father told him stories from the symbols on the blade. "So Who-"

Before Tirius could finish his sentence his father sits up fast, his ears twitch as he stands up, grabbing his blade. He sniffs the air, his ears twitching as a roar is heard. Soon enough a group of Satyr emerge from a nearby mound. Torose quickly glances to Tirius. "Tirius. Run!"

Tirius shakes his head. "Bu-"

"Please! I'll see you soon, alright?!"

Tirius, nods once and reluectantly turns around, sprinting off. In the distance he can hear roaring and a scuffle, he trys to ignore it as he pelts off in the direction of Astranaar. As he runs he hears a deathly roar. It doesn't sound like a satyr, he tries to keep it out of his mind and continues running.

Tirius wakes up, yawning loudly. He gets to his feet gazing around the forest, it's night time. He stands up, rubbing his chest and wincing as he moves on. As he walks through the forest, his minds seems to drift in thought, he realizes he doesn't view the forest the same, almost like he has more control over it. He drops on all fours and feels like he's something completely different, taking every aspect of the animal he has learned in. His gaze snaps to a nearby tree as a screech is heard, it's an owl... His owl? The owl swoops Tirius twice and flies off low, Tirius chasing after it. The owl leads him to a lake, flying up the water fall and landing on a fairly large branch towering over it, he squints, gazing upwards, noticing that there is someone else up there. It's Talos. He growls, raising his voice and shouting up to him.

"Talos you traitor! I'm gonna kill you!"

Talos looks down at Tirius smiling broadly, he chuckles, yelling back.

"Stop acting like a baby and get up here!"

Tirius groans and makes his way around and up the waterfall, he slowly balances across the branch, sitting down near Talos. He growls at him.

"What's stopping me from trying to kill you right now?"

The owl sitting on Talos's shoulder screeches, Talos chuckles, giving the owl a pat on the head, he looks back to Tirius, shrugging. "You're going to kill me over a lesson...?"

Tirius roars, his eyes wide with anger. "You beat the fel out of me! Made my ribs worse! And dumped me in felwood, for a lesson!?"

Talos nods, casually, not really fazed by the yelling. "I wanted you to learn a few things... One, I put you in one of the worst situations possible to see if you used instinct. And two, you're alive because of our friend here..."

Tirius pauses, he gazes at the owl, looking back to Talos. "How does a simple animal know all these things...?"

"Because, the owl perches high above and watches the creatures of the forest, it views each animals mistake, and learns from it. Unfortunately not a lot of people think that listening to an owl is anything... In fact people would think you're crazy, but those fools don't know what they're avoiding." Talos ruffles Tirius' hair. "You did good... You see, some beasts cannot be mimicked... Like the owl, we cannot fly... We can never do what they do, or try and look through their eyes. So instead, we master this animal. We learn to befriend it, and learn from it... Not only do we mimic beasts, but we value our animal friends highly, they are not just protectors... They can be tutors as well."

Talos stands up, and begins walking off the branch. "Come."

They make their way back down to the bottom of the waterfall, Talos stands near the edge of the lake and gestures for Tirius to stand beside him and look into the water. "What do you see young Cloudbreaker...?"

Tirius gazes into the water, he see's the reflection of Talos next to him, a big buff Kaldorei, looking quite rugged, his clothes torn, his hair long and wild, going down his chest and behind his back, all dreaded up, he has claws, and fangs, he also appears to be growing horns... Tirius then gazes at his own reflection. He see's a rugged buff Kaldorei, with green hair, it has twigs, bloodstains and seems to be dreaded a little, and stretches down his shoulders and back, his hands appear to have claws as well. Tirius opens his mouth slightly, noticing his canines have sharpened and grown... Fangs. He runs his hand across his forehead, feeling small two small lumps. He looks back to Talos, confused and shocked.

Talos smiles brightly, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder. "My little Thero'shan, you have taken your first steps into Beastmastery... You are effectivley a Beastmaster."

Tirius looks over himself then back up to Talos, his shocked gaze seems to fade slowly, followed by a smile. "I did it...?"

Talos nods briefly, grinning. "Yep, you have learned an aspect, you have learned how to communicate, and seem one with the wilds. You know to handle situations with animals which a simple hunter cannot, when you first ran into me, you froze at the sight of the pack i was in... Now, i wouldn't be surprised if you casually strolled in and tried to befriend them." He chuckles, walking off to a nearby hollow tree. He kneels down pulling out a blade. He walks over to Tirius. "I remember this blade... I actually watched your father etch some of these symbols into it... Anyway, You've completed your training, here's your weapon... Although i doubt it'll get much use now..."

Tirius takes the blade, holding it up, he gazes at the symbols, his fingers running by the few he knows. The feather, the wise owl, the small saber paw... The graceful panther... He looks back up to Talos. "What happened to my father when he decided to spend time in civilization?"

Talos chuckles, he smirks slighty, turning to the water and sitting down. "He had you... His reason for returning to the wilds..."

Tirius frowns, heading over to the lake and sitting down. "I thought he spent all his life in the wilds."

"He did, but like all Kaldorei we wonder about other things... He spent a few years of his life living in civilization..."

Sighs, his eyes looking back down to the lake, he gazes at himself, feeling like he's looking at a completely different person. "So, what happened to my mother?" His gaze shifts back up to Talos, looking for an answer.

Talos gazes at Tirius, he shrugs looking back down at the water. "She died giving birth to you, your father had no reason to stay in civilization... And he didn't want his son growing up like that, so he took you into the forest to raise you like a Cloudbreaker."

Tirius nods, his gaze seems to move around the forest, he seems to sink deeper into thought from that.

Talos chuckles. "If you're heading back in to civilization, let me give you one advice, stay out of partnerships... They just lead to trouble..."

Tirius sighs, his gaze moving once again back to the pond, his hands seem to drum on his leg, as his gaze moves around the water. "Yeah... My father says the same thing, i know..." He looks back up to Talos, frowning. "Why would i go back though? I still need training."

Talos bursts out laughing, standing up, he gazes down at his claws, picking a bit of dirt out of it. "Are you kidding? I taught you all you need to know. It's up to you to learn the rest, there are many animals out there to study and mimic, even some -I- don't know yet... I stick to the ones here... All I'm saying is that you've reached the point where you know how to handle situations in the forest, the rest of the aspects and the rest of the animals if you choose to dwell deeper into Beastmastery are out there, and it's up to you to learn those specific aspects." Talos turns around and begins to walk off. "Ah, by the way. Try learning the aspect of a wolf... Unfortunately there are none in Ashenvale and the ones in Darkshore are diseased... Wolves are known to be the most loyal friends, one of the best animals to have with you. They know the dynamics of a pack better then a Moonsaber."

Tirius stands up, walking over to Talos, he holds his hand out to shake. "Thank you Talos for taking the time to train me."

Talos chuckles and without warning gives Tirius a bear hug, squeezing him tight. "Anything for a Cloudbreaker... We are practically family."

Tirius groans as he's bear hugged, finding it a bit hard to breath, as Talos releases, he chuckles and gives him a nod. "Well anyways... Thanks Talos..."

Talos chuckles, he begins to walk off. "Y'know something little Cloudbreaker? You truly remind me of your father now... You're getting much closer to his potential... Stay safe. Beastmaster, Tirius."

Tirius chuckles as Talos walks off, disappearing into the forest once more, he turns around to the lake, kicking a stone in, he gazes at his reflection.

I need to clean myself up...


[Complete]