Roan quietly crept through the ally, putting his heel down first and slowly rolling his weight to the ball of his foot before putting his next heel down. He spotted his target, which was buying some repairs from a vendor, so he had the advantage. He gripped his daggers tightly, and was ready to pounce. He got down lower to the ground, and then he let out his burst of energy, and landed on his target.

"Holy mother of-" His target grunted in protest as it fell to the ground.

"That's one more tally for this week," Roan exclaimed, as he dusted off his leather pants. "Warrior, zip; rogue, eight hundred and seventy-one."

"You know, I ought to just bladestorm your worthless behind, and let's see how well you take it," the warrior grumbled from the dirt ground. The blood elf rogue just laughed, as he gave him a hand to be helped up. He removed his helm, and dusted it off. Akken, a proud tauren warrior who cared for his mother in Red Cloud Mesa was a good friend of the rogue's. Just recently after his blood elf brother disappeared, the tauren made a friend in a blood elf rogue who showed himself extremely useful in battle. Akken didn't really care too much to become friends, until they kept finding themselves in such dire circumstances on the battlefield against the Alliance.

"Hey," the dark haired rogue smiled, "you took me up on this bet. Rogues might be very easy to kill once you get a hold of them, but you gotta catch us first."

"Blood thirsty heathen," Akken grumbled.

"So what's Lady Amuuru got for dinner tonight?" Roan smiled. Akken felt himself smile, too. It felt good to have a little brother hanging around, but he still found himself missing Kay and Orlaith. It was such a shame they couldn't stick around longer, but the Alliance learned of the night elf's betrayal and were on the hunt for both her blood, and her husband's. Akken shuddered with the thought, but knew that they were safely hidden somewhere in Azeroth.

"Akken?" The rogue asked, he cocked his head at his friend.

"Why don't you drop by and ask her yourself?" The tauren smiled. Roan grinned.

"Don't mind if I do," he answered, mounting up on his green hawkstrider. "Are you done here?"

"I am," Akken answered, as he mounted his kodo. He started for the elevators to the long journey to where Amuuru moved to. After the mysterious disappearance of Kayalos the Great Paladin, the old shaman was so overcome with grief, she fled to the fields of where she was born. Or so that was the story that they were sticking to, to avoid suspicion. Akken rubbed his temple as he felt a headache brewing beneath his skull. All the lies were difficult to keep track of, like when two mysterious strangers came to Amuuru's home late at night. And why Akken himself had been going up to Northrend less and less.

Roan looked over his shoulder to see his friend's expression very stressed. The rogue knew his friend was in pain over his missing brother. It was said that no one knew the story of how his paladin brother died, but there was a memorial set up by Amuuru's home. His mouth twitched as he thought of his own family, which would probably not mourn the loss of him, unlike the kind shaman. Roan was from a noble blood elf family, of all paladins. They believed in fighting a more honorable battle than the one he fought. When Roan left home to train as a rogue five years ago, his father told him to never return until he learned the ways of a paladin. So Roan never went back home. Instead, over the past year, he befriended two comrades close enough to be family. The obsidian haired blood elf looked up to the sky and shaded his eyes. It looked like it was going to be a difficult summer, one where water would be scarce. It would mean he would have to forcefully take water from the Venture Company for Amuuru. It wouldn't be difficult. He looked down to the ground and a devilish half grin appeared on his face. He was a powerful rogue, one who was on the same level as Akken in battle. It would be too simple.

The blood elf and tauren rode up to the large cabin in Red Cloud. A shaman with a cane stood at the door and waved to them as they approached. Roan quickly dismounted and gave Amuuru a tight hug, and she giggled. He smiled as he lifted her off of her feet and spun her around.

"Dear child," she gasped through her laughter. "You shall steal my heart." He set her on the ground, gently.

"Lady Amuuru," the blood elf got down to one knee, putting his hand over his heart and holding her hand in his other hand. "My heart belongs to you, dear shaman. Will you please marry me?" Akken smacked the back of Roan's head, and the blood elf tumbled forward. Amuuru neatly stepped out of the way so he wouldn't knock her down. Roan grunted, as he sprung up and drew his daggers.

"Stop flirting with my mom, it gives me the willies." Akken ordered. The blood elf threw his head back in laughter, as he put his daggers back in his belt.

"So, Milady," Roan asked politely, with less romance in his eyes, "what's for dinner?"

"I'm not sure, I wasn't thinking about supper at all." She answered, as she made her way to the kitchen table.

"Well, if you would allow me to do the honors, I have brought some ingredients from the far away land of Northrend. If you would allow me to delight you with my cooking," The blood elf bowed, and he heard a growl utter from the male tauren. The blood elf chuckled as he stood up and showed him his palms and shrugged.

"I think it would be lovely if you cooked," Amuuru smiled. "But I think you'd better behave before my son kills you."

"I'd like to see him try," the rogue taunted.

"I'm gonna kill you. You better start running." Akken growled with his teeth clenched. The blood elf laughed again, as he retreated to the hearth to prepare dinner. Akken sat at the table with his mother, eyeing the rogue with his back turned to them.

"By the blood of the Earth Mother, he knows how to get under my skin." Akken grunted.

"And he knows it, dear," the shaman told him. "But I do enjoy his company since Kay left." She sighed. Akken's expression softened. He missed his brother, and even the arguing with Roan took some of the pain away.

"I know, Mom. I think they're okay, though."

"I know they are. I feel that Elune and the Earth Mother watch over them." She nodded, and patted her son's arm.

An hour later, the kitchen table was covered in a feast of Firecracker Salmon, Poached Northern Sculpin, Mega Mammoth Meal, Rhino Dogs, and some Kungaloosh for the men. He poured Amuuru a glass of Morning Glory Dew.

"My, my, Roan, you sure know how to treat us." Amuuru smiled. "We can't possibly eat all this."

"You should know by now that I can," Roan smiled at her, as he handed her the glass. She took it from him and he sat beside her. The three of them dug into their meal, and watched as the blood elf helped himself to seconds, and thirds.

"Where do you put it all?" Akken asked, amazed at how quickly Roan devoured his meal.

"Here and there," the blood elf said with his mouth full of salmon.

"It's just amazing he stays so fit," Amuuru giggled. "He eats enough for two tauren."

"Hey are you gonna eat that?" Roan asked, pointing to Amuuru's half eaten Rhino Dog. The shaman stared at him in awe, but shook her head. The blood elf stabbed the dog with his fork and quickly popped it into his mouth.

"Now that we're slowing down with our meal, I wanted to express my concern," Roan said as he swallowed. "It looks like it's going to be a very hot summer." Amuuru nodded in agreement.

"It's always hot in Mulgore. Are you simple?" Akken smirked.

"Possibly," the rogue ignored the comment. "Lady Amuuru, who brings you water?"

"Oh," the shaman fanned her hand at him, "those who are beginning bring me water every now and then. I'm not too far gone to fetch my own."

"Mom. You're not serious?" Akken demanded, his expression growing grim.

"Well that's settled then," the rogue announced, as he stood up from the table. "I'm going to stock up your water supply for the month." Amuuru looked up at him, confused.

"But the legal rations only permit so much per week," the shaman spoke.

"Not the Venture Company's wells." He grinned.

"Oh Roan, don't do that! It's dangerous!" Amuuru clapped her hands to her cheeks.

"Oh like they'd actually be able to touch me," he sneered, adjusting his daggers and collecting the empty water pouches by the door.

"It could cause hostile actions between the neighboring town," the old shaman pointed out.

"Any more hostile than what it is now?" Roan shot her down. Amuuru started to stand up, but the blood elf shook his head. "I'll be back later."

"Do you need help?" The warrior asked.

"Oh please," Roan rolled his eyes, "it's the Venture Company." The warrior shrugged. "Thanks anyway, but I'll be back!" He winked at Amuuru before closing the door behind him. They heard the sounds of a hawkstrider bellowing and it's footsteps dissipating in the distance. Amuuru turned to her son, who was looking into his empty glass of Kungaloosh.

"I got a letter from Orlaith today," the shaman said.

"How much longer do they have to keep running?" He squeezed his eyes shut, and covered his eyes. "The longer they play 'catch me if you can', the greater the risk of getting caught."

"She thinks that the population in Outland is so low that they are safe, as long as they keep moving."

"Any word on if they're coming? We'd need to get rid of Roan if they are."

"Well, they don't know about him yet, so I think that's going to be difficult." Amuuru cocked her head. "You should be more careful with pacing your trips. If you keep coming back-"

"It's only going to look like I'm comforting a mother who lost her son in battle," Akken interrupted. The shaman's expression fell.

"If this is too much for you, son-"

"It's not."

"Will you let me finish a sentence?" The shaman demanded. Akken averted his gaze to the ground. "Son," she put her hand on his beefy shoulder, "I know this is difficult. It's not an easy lifestyle."

"It's not my own life I'm concerned about, Mom." Akken admitted. "It's Kay's life. I want him here with us. I want to get to know my sister-in-law better." He shrugged. "It's just disappointing more than anything." Amuuru's brow furrowed as she rubbed her son's back.

"I know more than anyone, son." She said, sadly. The warrior's head snapped to his mother as he realized what she was going through herself. He suddenly felt selfish.

"I'm sorry, Mom." He pulled his mother into a warm embrace. Akken knew his mother was a very strong individual, but it was times like these where he really respected her.

Roan crept carefully behind an unsuspecting goblin who patrolled the Thunderhorn Water Well. He quickly sunk his dagger deep within the goblin's green flesh, and covered his mouth to keep him from making noise. The goblin slumped in Roan's arms, as he dropped the body in the grass. Vicious and greedy creatures, the Venture Company was, hoarding the water wells and draining the land of it's natural supplies. It made the blood elf sick to think that Amuuru didn't have enough water to last a few days. If Akken and he didn't come home when they did, he shuddered to think of the shaman struggling with her cane to get water. He stretched his arm out and he grabbed the rope, dangling above the deep well, and grasped it in his hand. He pulled the rope towards him, carefully and quietly, as not to alert more to his presence. He smirked. He was, after all, a rogue, a master of deadly stealth.

When the full bucket of water was in reaching distance, the rogue grasped the handle and filled an empty waterskin with the liquid. Then, he lowered the bucket back down to the deep ditch. He repeated this process until all of Amuuru's waterskins were full. Then he crept away, feeling a snicker coming on, for getting away with all of the water his mount could possibly carry. He summoned his hawkstrider, and loaded the bird with the full waterskins. He was about to mount up, when he noticed something dark in the path before him. He figured it was a dead animal, but then he saw it move. Another dark object circled around the larger dark spot. Curiosity sparked in the rogue's chest as he drew his daggers and led his hawkstrider to the area. Upon closer inspection, the object revealed to be a person in dark robes, with a felhunter nudging it's master. Warlocks, he thought. Probably some low rank who bit off too much too soon. He knelt down beside the body and touched the arm. The felhunter growled deeply, as it bared it's demon teeth in threat.

"Calm down, wretched thing," he snapped, "I'm trying to help." As if the demon understood his words. He rolled the warlock over on it's back, and he heard a female's voice moan. The helm of her cloak revealed a feminine jawline, but it covered everything above her nose. In the dark with no moon, he couldn't reveal her beauty, anyway. He felt a twinge of disappointment, for he could see her skin was the color of cream. A charming blood elf warlock would probably make nice conversation at Amuuru's home. He ran his hand down her midriff, and the female cried out in pain. Her cry startled her felhunter, as the demon leaped for Roan's throat. Luckily, Roan dodged it's attack. The beast snarled at him, as it readied itself for another attack.

Roan gripped his daggers and narrowed his eyes. Pesky demon, Roan held the daggers out as the felhunter charged the rogue. The demon opened it's strong jaws and aimed for the throat of it's victim. However, Roan was ready, as he sunk his daggers into the leathery skin of the beast. It let out a guttural, dying noise. He threw the beast off of him, and it vaporized before him into the night air. Roan turned his attention back to the female, as he looked to the area that was most sensitive. He touched it, gently, but when he removed his hand from the area, it was covered in a sticky liquid. A puzzled expression grew on his face as he drew his fingers up to his nose and inhaled the scent. Blood. The female was covered in it, he soon discovered as he gingerly lifted her up from the grass. The wind picked up, and Roan looked to the sky, where stars shone brightly above him. He quickly scurried to his mount, and held the female tightly as he dug his heels into his faithful hawkstrider.

"Hold on, Milady," he said, gently to her, as he rode quickly to Amuuru's home.