The Hunter's Companions Ch. 04

Even though it made her feel quite guilty, Livinia had been relieved when Kalendras had taken his leave of her. He had spent a few more hours with her before excusing himself, saying he still had a few more matters to attend to before he left for his trial run with the guild the following morning. Knowing that he would be gone for a couple of days gave her hope that she would have some time to figure out her rather strange predicament before he returned. After all, if he was accepted into the guild, and she had no doubt that he would be, it would certainly become awkward if Belcarm were to learn of their relationship.

Belcarm was another matter entirely. They had been comrades for the past two and a half years, they had both started out together; teaming up when they left Silvermoon City. At first she had despised him, he represented everything that she hated about Silvermoon; but he knew his way around the woods. She decided that it was better to team up with him than ignore him because they trying to eradicate the same creatures. Eventually Livinia realized that even though Belcarm was a Blood Knight, he was actually pretty decent. Over the past few years Belcarm's loyalty to her had been unwavering they had gone from inexperienced adventurers to well honed fighters together. Belcarm was a dear friend, even if his conceited and self-righteous attitude did rub her the wrong way at times.

Now that Livinia thought back to her time with Belcarm she realised that she should have at least had an inkling of his feelings for her. The jokes that he only made with her, his seemingly innocent touches, the twinkle in his eye when he healed her (which he did far more often than was necessary). Even the fact that, to her knowledge, he'd only ever had one other lover. Livinia cursed under her breath and shook her head; she'd been so blind.

Livinia sighed, gave her Windrider a grateful pat on the rump and unsummoned him. She did a quick mental inventory of everything she carried with her to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and walked towards the portal to the Twilight Highlands. While Belcarm was playing puppet for the Death Knights she figured she might as well take the opportunity to clear her head. In her years of adventuring she had decided that the best way to cleanse her mind was to indulge in some hard fighting. It was for this reason that she stepped through the swirling purple vortex before her and ignored the strange feeling of light-headedness and disorientation that accompanied the use of portals for travel. In less than a moment she stepped out on the other side of the magical portal and into Dragonmaw Port.

She took a few seconds to regain her senses completely before she walked out of the Portal House and towards the giant bonfire in the centre of the town. Livinia then begun the familiar spell that would summon her ever-faithful pet, Borris. When the giant cat flickered into reality beside her she heard an affectionate growl before he leapt at her, knocking her onto her back in the dirt. He showered her with happy licks and her laughter rang like bells through the deserted town square.

"Borris! It has only been a couple of days!" She sighed, he backed away from her slowly and hung his head. "You funny little thing!" Livinia scratched him behind the ear. "Fancy going and killing us some dwarves?" She asked, Borris's tail twitched back and forth and he lowered himself into a pouncing position. "'I'll take that as a yes, huh?" She asked.

Livinia hitched her pack higher on her back and turned, taking the path towards the city gates. Before she managed to walk fifteen feet she heard her name being called out from behind her.

"Belcarm?" Livinia said, eyes widening at the sight of his familiar cascade of black hair. He was wearing a deep silver tunic with black leather pants beneath it. The tunic was embroidered with traditional Elven knot work in light silver which caught the sun enticingly and complemented his spectacular eyes. She loved looking at males in armor, but Belcarm looked so effortlessly handsome in his casual clothes that she couldn't help but appreciate him. Livinia blushed and looked away from him. He grinned as he approached her, apparently noticing the red tinge to her cheeks.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, "I thought you'd get stuck with one of those week-long patrols?"

"Luckily all Master Pyreanor wanted me to do was deliver a message to Champion Dawnrose." He said with a shrug "I figured that you would be headed here anyway and decided to wait it out rather than return to Orgrimmar." He said with a grin, clearly conscious of her appreciation.

"Yup." She nodded and patted Borris as he nudged her thigh. "Borris and I are going to kill us some Wildhammer Dwarves."

"Well, I'm afraid that will have to wait." He said with a frown.

"Narkrall Rakeclaw specifically asked me to get it done." She said "And I am assuming he wants it done as soon as possible."

"We'll make a deal then." Belcarm reasoned with a suave smirk "You come with me and help me with my quest and then we will sort yours out... how does that sound?"

"What quest are you doing looking like that?" Livinia asked with a laugh, going into battle dressed as he was would be completely suicidal.

"A special quest. How about you stop asking questions and just trust me?" He had a playful twinkle in his eye that made her smile and roll her eyes.

"How am I meant to know what to do then, you trog?" She asked. Now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Just be quiet and follow me before I change my mind." He said, then turned on his heel and took the path that led outside of the town. Anger sizzled in Livinia as she grudgingly followed Belcarm. There was one thing that always frustrated her when it came to the Paladin; his intense conviction that everyone ought to be doing what he thought they should. Even though Livinia was loathe to follow him on principle, it was always more fun working with someone else; that way there would be someone there to appreciate when she made a good shot.

Livinia and Belcarm walked for ten minutes before they reached a ramshackle hut on the outskirts of the town. Belcarm held the leather flap aside for her and she crossed into the one-room building.

In the centre of the room there as a swirling portal of deep purple and blue. She turned back to Belcarm and gave him a quizzical look, but he just grinned.

"In you go." He said, putting his hand on the small of her back and giving her a gentle push towards the portal.

"Where does it go?" She asked, he shook his head.

"Anar'alah!" He growled "Just get in there!" This time his push caught her off guard and she tumbled through the portal, she could hear Borris's growling fade into the abyss as she was transported through space.

When she fell out of the portal she landed on the spongy grass and looked around. She had spectacular, uninterrupted views of the world all around her. Livinia stepped away from the portal and spun around slowly, taking in the beautiful scenery that surrounded her. She could see the giant green trees and thick forest that was unique to Feralas and knew where she was. With a satisfied smile she noticed the other mountain top nearby and confirmed her first thought. The Twin Colossal Peaks. Ever since Kalendras had told her about them years ago she had always wanted to visit, but she and Belcarm never had time for leisurely sort of activities.

Livinia heard a loud growl and turned around to see Belcarm being pushed out of the portal as Borris pounced after him. The big cat downed the paladin with a growl and then looked up for his Mistress. The portal popped out of existence behind them and they were left on the windy mountain top.

"Leave him be, Borris." Livinia laughed making her way over to her pet. Borris backed away from the elf with his tail twitching, just begging for a chance to pounce on him again. Livinia offered Belcarm her hand and he took it, she helped him up and he dusted off his clothes, looking thoroughly annoyed that they had gotten dirty. "Told you your clothes weren't suitable." Livinia said with a grin.

"They would have been if your kitty hadn't pounced on me." Belcarm said, disgruntled "You know, even after all this time I still don't think he trusts me." Belcarm grunted, readjusting his armor.

"I don't think he does." Livinia agreed, smiling at her pet "But it is only because he doesn't like people with egos that match his own." The cat snorted at her and Belcarm crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"Wait here for a moment, okay?" Belcarm asked. Without waiting for a confirmation he strode over to the Orc fisherman. It was a sign of their friendship that Livinia didn't follow him just to spite him, there were only a few people that she would grudgingly take orders off, and in most situations Belcarm was one of those people. He and the Orc talked for a moment before Belcarm gave the Orc some coins and the Orc gave him two small objects in return.

"What are those?" Livinia asked when Belcarm returned to her side. He handed her one of the items and she inspected it closely. It was a small, round ball of parchment that was hollow in the middle. There was a thick string that came from a hole in the center. Curiously, Livinia lifted the item to her ear and shook it. She could hear some light scraping as she did so. "What is it?" She asked.

"Time will tell." Belcarm said. "Now strip."

"What?!"

"Take your gear off..." He said slowly, as though it was obvious. Livinia glared at him and he rolled his eyes. "Here-" He slipped his fine tunic over his head, removed his boots, and then dropped his pants until he was left standing on the mountain top in a small pair of cotton shorts. Livinia was just about to complain- she had enjoyed seeing him looking so handsome in his fine clothes, but then she stopped and realised that he looked twice as good out of his clothes as he did in them. He was standing before her in only his undergarments, the sun shining on his creamy white skin, his perfectly sculpted chest, and his silky black hair. Livinia bit her lip, using the pain to pull her out of her reverie. Belcarm then made the movements that Livinia knew would summon his windrider. When the creature appeared he balled his clothes up and jammed them into the saddle bags.

"Now your turn." He said with a nod.

"Why?" Livinia asked, still extremely suspicious.

"Is this part of your quest?"

"No... Well- sort of - yes- please, just do as I say... for once." He said, a tinge of desperation in his voice.

"Fine, but I am not putting my clothes with your windrider... I am summoning Oscar." Livinia said with a sigh of resignation. Livinia summoned her own wind rider and slowly stripped herself of her armor. She followed Belcarm's lead and stripped right down to her underclothes. When she had finished strapping her items to the majestic creature she looked over her shoulder to see Belcarm's eyes raking over her appreciatively.

"Now what?" She said, wrapping her arms around herself and turning around. Even though the weather here was quiet warm, the wind on the mountain top was enough to make goose bumps rise on her normally smooth ivory skin.

"Now unsummon Borris." He said. Borris looked at him and growled angrily. The big cat prowled over and begun circling him menacingly.

"Why?"

"He can't use one of these, can he?" Belcarm held the strange item and Livinia sighed again.

"Here Borris." She said patting her knees. When he trotted over to her she knelt down and gave him a firm hug. "It won't be for long- I promise." She said. She gave him a kiss on the nose and rocked back on her heels, concentrating on the un-summoning spell.

When Borris had flickered from their presence Livinia stood and looked over to see Belcarm staring at her, eyes full of desire, and a cool breeze reminded her that she was extremely under-dressed. She wrapped her arms back around herself somewhat self consciously. Belcarm closed the distance between them and pulled Livinia's scantily clad body against his own, their smooth hot skin burning together. He put his lips against her ear and nipped her earlobe playfully. The intimacy sent a jolt of desire down to the pit of her stomach and her breath caught in her throat.

"You should never cover yourself up." He whispered, breath hot in her ear. "It is a crime to cover up something as fine as your body." Even though the words kindled the fire of desire deep in her stomach, Livinia laughed.

"And you wonder why I used to think you were joking." She said. "Now, what do we have to do? I'm going to turn into an icicle if you don't hurry up!"

"Now listen carefully," He said softly, "when I tell you to, you need to pull the string away from the parchment as quickly as you can... Got it?" Livinia nodded and Belcarm kissed the crook of her neck slowly, tongue darting out to lick her sensitive skin playfully. Belcarm stepped back from her, the entire front half of her body feeling cold from the sudden distance between them. He gripped her hand and led her towards a rocky cliff on the edge of the mountain.

"What are we doing?" Livinia asked nervously as they approached the edge of the mountain. Belcarm turned and gave her a dashing smile.

"The first time we came to Feralas you wanted to come up here because a friend told you about it. Your friend said that this was the single best thing he did on this continent. We didn't have a chance to do it back then, so I thought we could do it now instead."

A friend. The only person who Livinia had ever talked to Feralas about save Belcarm was Kalendras. Livinia was still distracted, trying to recall what Kalendras had told her about the Twin Colossal Peaks, when Belcarm handed her one of the small packages. Without notice or warning he gave her hand a hard tug and the two of them tumbled over the edge of the mountain.

Livinia screamed in horror as she tumbled over the edge, only air and freezing water many miles below them. Belcarm kept a tight grip on her hand as they fell. The wind roared in her ears and she looked at the deep waterfall pool at the very base of the mountain.

"PULL!" Belcarm's voice boomed as he dropped her hand. Livinia fumbled with the parchment bundle in her hand and she gripped the string and pulled with all her might. A shimmering silver powder puffed out from the parchment, which dissipated into thin air, and she felt a sharp jolt.

Now instead of falling they were floating. The world below them approached at a leisurely pace and Livinia was suddenly struck by how beautiful everything looked. The waterfall pool below them trickled into several smaller pools further down a hill before disappearing into a lush, almost overgrown, forest. At her current height she could see above the canopy of trees and for miles and miles beyond where the horizon turned into a jagged line of dark blue shadows.

Livinia looked to her right and smiled at Belcarm.

"This is AMAZING!" She shouted. He gave her a cocky grin and shrugged as if to say that it was no big deal. He looked purposefully at the pool below them and then tucked his knees up into his chest. Livinia followed suit and braced herself for impact.

There was an almighty splash as the two Blood Elves hit the pool and found themselves falling through water instead of air. Livinia felt a hand grip hers and drag her slowly to the surface. When her head broke through the surface she gasped for air for a few moments before throwing her head back and laughing. When the laughter finally subsided and the adrenalin rushing through her body settled down she looked over at her companion. He was watching her, with a big smile that spread to his green eyes. He waded over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Amazing." He whispered throatily before he pressed his lips against her. The feeling of his kiss brought a second adrenalin rush. His smooth lips on hers, their near-naked bodies pressed together in the cool weightlessness of the water, all of it was so intimate that it made Livinia feel light headed. Slowly he pulled away from her begun to swim to the shore of the pond, Livinia followed him. When they reached a spot where they could both stand comfortably he pulled her back into his arms and resumed his assault.

Their kiss deepened and Livinia's core began to throb with desire. She could feel his erection pressed against her stomach and he leaned into her slightly, making her groan. One of his hands came down to cup her buttocks and pull her into him harder, she broke the kiss and threw her head back, exposing her neck to him. He took the opportunity to rain a trail of kisses down her neck and collarbone, biting and sucking where he saw fit.

Finally he pulled away, chest heaving and face flushed with desire.

"Come," He said, gently pulling her out of the water. He led her over to a spot underneath a massive oak tree and he closed his eyes. He muttered a few unintelligible words and a wicker basket and a blanket appeared on the ground between two massive roots of the tree. "Sit."

Livinia fell to the ground and her eyes widened at the sight of his tented shorts. He looked down at her and grinned. "Now, now, Hunter- not just yet. You can have desert after you finish your lunch."

Belcarm sat down opposite her and reached into the basket. He pulled out some cheese and bread, he divided it into two equal portions and handed her half. Livinia took it with shaking hands.

"What's all this?" She asked, face furrowed with confusion. She looked up at him and he gave her a tender smile followed by a careless shrug.

"I just thought we'd do something nice... We always spend our time fighting and sorting out other people's problems. I wanted to focus on us for once." He took a bite of his cheese and chewed thoughtfully.

Livinia couldn't keep the blush from rising up her cheeks. Not once had one of her lovers ever done anything like this for her. She watched as Belcarm ate his food and a smile slowly crept onto her lips. Why hadn't she ever really noticed how handsome he was? His thick black hair was as long as hers and extremely well kept, even after falling through the air at high speeds and being drenched in a freshwater pool. His face was as finely chiseled as any statue's and his eyes held a combination of determination, conviction, and humor that said a lot about his personality. Livinia broke some bread, rolled it into a ball, and popped it into her mouth.

All of her other lovers had just taken her, as she had with them. Even Kalendras often took what she offered and made himself scarce. She knew why she and Kalendras were never able to spend time together, due to their different responsibilities and paths, but nevertheless it was something that their relationship was sorely lacking . Livinia's heart skipped a beat as she realised that Belcarm truly did like her. This whole excursion had been so indulgent, so intimate, so relaxing. She looked up at her companion. Seeing him sitting so contentedly made her heart flutter. He caught her eye and she gave him a small smile as a sense of guilt settled over her. She had to tell him about Kalendras... but not yet. There were some things that were better done on a full stomach.

"Why is your hair still so perfect?" Livinia asked with a grin, reaching out and stroking his quickly drying tresses."Even after that massive drop, or after a battle, you never ever have a single hair out of place." Livinia said shaking her hair in disbelief. "

"I made an oil for it..." Belcarm said, his cheeks colouring slightly.

"You have something like that and you let me get around with my hair looking like a birds nest? Why didn't you tell me about the oil?" She asked, instead of blushing more his lips quirked up in a wicked grin.