The Hunter's Companions Ch. 10

"You'll need to remove your armour, there is no honour to be gained by fighting an unmatched opponent," Ma'Isha said. Seranna glared at her for a moment before stalking away, already fumbling with the buckled of her armour.

"What the hell are you playing at Ma'Isha?" Kalendras hissed at his cousin, storming over to stand beside her.

"Do you love this Elf?" Ma'Isha asked softly. Kalendras stopped breathing for a moment and stared at her.

"Yes."

"Then let her fight and win the right to be your mate."

"But they'll never recognize her!" Kalendras said, his fists clenching in anger. He had been struggling with this issue for months now, he had thought of (and then decided against) every possible solution other than the one he had chosen.

"If I witness and swear an oath that she won they can't dismiss her claim." Ma'Isha said. "After the mess you've caused this is the only way that you'll get what you want." She warned.

"Livinia you don't need to do this." Kalendras turned to Livinia and looked at her pleadingly.

"You don't think I can?" Livinia snapped.

"I know you can. You just don't need to. If you win this-"

"Next time we make love I'll officially be your mate," Livinia finished. Kalendras stiffened, but nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I know Kal. I can do this."

"So are we going to fight or are you going to try and get out of it?" Seranna asked, coming back into the conversation. She was now dressed in her cotton underclothes; her plate armor leaning against a nearby tree.

"Time to see if you really can punch out my teeth," Livinia said, turning and taking a step towards the Tauren female. She saw Kalendras try to protest out of the corner of her eye, but Ma'Isha grabbed him by the tunic and pulled him out of the way.

"I will not go soft on you just because you're an elf," Seranna warned.

"And I'll not hold back because you're Tauren," Livinia returned with a wicked grin.

When Seranna launched at her Livinia was well prepared. She shifted her weight from her right foot to her left, hopped out of the warrior's way, and then spun around and delivered a swift back-handed slap to her rump. Seranna howled in anger and whirled around. On the second pass Livinia slipped out her leg and almost tripped the female over. This made Seranna howl even louder. The first person to fall to the ground was the loser of this contest; Livinia almost won on the second pass.

Livinia had years of practice at dealing with people twice her height and double her strength. She had bested Kalendras on several occasions and wasn't put off by a larger competitor. Thanks to Kalendras, she knew what a Tauren's blind spots and weakest muscles were. After ten minutes of dives and dodges, Livinia was able to deliver a swift kick to the back of Seranna's knees that brought her tumbling to the ground and she then jumped on her back for good measure.

"I won." Livinia hissed into Seranna's ear before repeating the words in a triumphant cry. The Tauren woman growled with guttural rage as she rolled, trying to crush Livinia under her weight, but Livinia was too quick for her. Seranna jumped to her feet and then turned on Livinia, hooves grinding into the ground as she prepared for another charge.

"Seranna it's over!" Ma'Isha said, stepping between Livinia and Seranna.

"Get out of the way Ma' Isha!" Seranna huffed.

"No. This business is finished. Livinia Sunspeaker or Silvermoon City won the right to mate with Kalendras Totemrunner of Thunder Bluff and Silvermoon City. That is the custom," Ma' Isha said solemnly. "Get dressed- we need to finish our scouting."

Seranna looked as though she wanted to argue, but when Kalendras walked over, put his arms around Livinia and looked at her down his snout she turned and stalked over to where her armour was.

"Livinia," Ma' Isha turned to Livinia and looked at her seriously. "My cousin has fought the peh'ahroon vehemently. He has tried everything known to our kind to avoid the mating ritual and now I know why. He loves you, that much is clear. Please make sure that his love is not misplaced," Ma'Isha gave Kalendras a meaningful look and then turned and made her way to her friend.

Kalendras grabbed Livinia's hand and dragged her through the trees, only stopping when they were a good distance from where she had fought Seranna. As soon as he let go of her she turned on him, pummelling his chest with her fists.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me Kal?" Livinia yelled, taking out her shock and anger on him.

"Because I didn't want this!" Kalendras hissed back at her, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"We're supposed to be best friends! We're supposed to tell each other everything!" Livinia cried, giving him on last punch for good measure.

"I didn't want you to feel forced to fight for me

"That wasn't your decision!" Livinia told him, chest heaving from the efforts of punching him.

"And since when is it possible to reject a peh'ahroon?"

"The right to reject the outcome has always been there. It's just that no one in their right mind would do it."

"Why? What happens?"

"Aside from the shame?" Kalendras snapped "When I rejected Seranna as a mate I lost my right to fight for a female. Forever. I gave up whatever chances I had of mating with a female, unless there was one brave or stupid enough to risk the shame of marrying someone who rejected a peh'ahroon!" Kalendras said.

"Why would you do that?" Livinia gasped.

"Because I love you, you idiot!" Kalendras howled, "Because if I married Seranna I'd never have the chance to be with you again!"

"Why didn't you just stop the peh'ahroon before it started?"

"The only way to do that is to present a female who has already won my heart!" Kalendras said. "What would you have done if I approached you three months ago and asked you to fight for the right to be my mate?" Kalendras asked angrily.

"I-" Livinia stopped and glared at him. "I've always loved you Kal, always. I would've fought for you."

"Yet now you won't even decide between me and the Paladin!"

"Don't bring Belcarm into this!" Livinia screeched, poking his chest angrily with her finger. "This has nothing to do with Bel! This is about you hiding something from me! This is about the fact that you didn't give me the chance to make the decision for myself!"

"Let's say that you did fight, and you lost, then what?" Kalendras asked bitterly "What if you fought and decided that I wasn't worth it? What if you felt that I rushed you into it and you hated me for it? Liv, you have to understand! I never wanted you to feel obliged to be with me! Not when being with me would cost you so much!"

Livinia's mouth opened and closed uselessly several times.

"If a Tauren presents someone they already love no one ever bothers to challenge." Livinia said dismissively.

"Perhaps not if I were to present another Tauren... but you? They'd never have accepted it." Kalendras told her. "I have run through every possible option in my mind Liv- I did the only thing I could."

"And what if I'd picked Belcarm over you, huh?" Livinia snapped angrily. "You would have lost the chance to ever have a mate! How stupid can you be Kal?"

"I didn't want to force you in to anything!" Kalendras howled in frustration.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore Kalendras," Livinia said, turning away from him. "You lied, you hid things from me, and you even had the nerve to make a decision that involved me without asking for my opinion. Right now I am extremely angry off at you, and I don't want to discuss this until I've had time to clear my head. Take me back to Silvermoon. Please."

Kalendras looked as though he was going to argue, but Livinia pressed her lips together firmly and refused to meet his eyes. With a heavy sigh he took a step back from her and shifted into his sandstone drake form. Livinia climbed on and clung tight as he leapt into the air and flapped towards the portals.

When Kalendras-drake touched down in front of Livinia's home in Silvermoon she was still seething with anger. He changed back into his Tauren self and gave her a very guilty look. Carefully, he reached out to cup her face in his hands, oblivious to the people walking through the street and watching with undisguised curiosity.

"Have you forgiven me?" He asked meekly.

"No. I haven't. Not yet," Livinia snapped, voice terse. He rolled his eyes and put his hands by his side. "Kahora has asked that Belcarm and I accompany him to the Deadmines the day after next. When I get back you and I need to have a very serious chat!" Livinia poked him hard in the chest.

"Liv, please, I only did it to-"

"Save it!" Livinia growled. She stood on her toes and planted a quick kiss on his neck before turning and walking back into her parent's home.

~*~

"So you are still heading back to Orgrimmar today?" Her father's voice drifted in through her open door. Livinia mumbled her response and continued to stuff her clothes unceremoniously into her pack. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a couple more days?"

"You're kidding, right?" Livinia asked, turning to her father and staring at him with disbelief. "You want me to stick around so you can watch while Mother tells me how useless I am and how I should be popping out babies instead of fighting evil?"

"Liv, your mother was just shocked. Give her a bit of time," her father sighed, leaning against the doorway and folding his arms over his chest.

"I'll give her time all right, I'll give her plenty of damn time."

"Liv-"

"What, Father?" Livinia threw the top she was folding onto her bed angrily.

"I'm sure that, with time, your mother will come to accept Belcarm. He is a good man; that much is plain. She'll get over the fact that he isn't from an old line."

"And what if I want to be with Kalendras, hmm? Can she accept that?" Livinia shot at him, crossing her arms over her own chest. Her father sighed.

"I shouldn't have been surprised, I know that now. Zuroc and I brought you and Kalendras up together to be the best of friends. If you were Tauren or he Sin'dorei it would have only been natural that you would end up together... but you aren't Tauren Liv, even though I am sure you wish you were." Her father said with a rueful smile.

Livinia's mind raced back to her fight with Seranna and her anger was once again renewed. It seemed that being Tauren would solve a hell of a lot of her problems.

"Don't Father," Livinia said warningly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine... But, like I said, I'm sure that your mother would be willing to support it if you allowed Belcarm to court you. I'm sure she'll get over the Swiftspells once she gets a chance to meet Belcarm properly. I could talk to her if you like? Put in a good word for the Sharpswords?"

"I don't give a hawkstrider shit what she thinks." Livinia threw the last few items into her bag. "I can assure you that I will be making my decision based on what I want, now what Mother thinks I should want. It will either be Kalendras or Belcarm, and I don't give a shit if she chooses to support me or disown me. Makes no difference. Just, please, tell her that I wouldn't marry Rioden if he was the last Sin'dorei in Azeroth."

Livinia slipped her pack onto her shoulders, grabbed her weapons, and then made for the door. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek before she marched straight out of her childhood home.