HELLO EVERYONE!
First off, let me start out with this: I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY ABOUT HOW LONG THIS TOOK FOR ME TO FINISH!
I have no words to discribe how sorry I am for how long this took to get out. I hit a brick wall that was about 200 miles high, 200 miles long, and 50 miles thick. That and I lost motivation to do a lot and I've just grown so bored of WoW lately (I've been spending alot of time on FFXIV the last couple days cause a friend finally convinced me to play it again...) Again, I am sooooo sorry. But, its here now! And I hope the length makes up for how long it took, even though I get the feeling it wont. So, without further ado, Enjoy!
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To Find A Cure
Sute glanced at her pets behind her, her team now full with 5 pets. There was Spirit, the Ghost Saber, the first pet she had bonded with, who she had met while training in Darkshore. They had been through a lot together, and she hoped she would have him by her side for a while yet. She knew, however, that being a Ghost Saber, a living spirit, that it was only a matter of time until his life energy, the thing allowing him to remain in this world and fight along side her, would die out. When that happens, she knew he would vanish, and there was nothing she, nor he, could do to stop it.
Then there was Glacier, formerly known as Iceclaw, who she met in the cold land of Winterspring. She had left Spirit behind when she went to search for this cat, only taking Blaze, her beloved Cinder Kitten, along with her. When she first met him, she was tied up, and dying to poison. She had been captured by a Forsaken Rogue while trying to protect some cubs from him. He had easily overpowered her, and was testing his new poison on her. That poison caused her the worse physical pain she had ever felt. But, Glacier had saved her, and to this day, she still didn't understand just how he cured the poison that was running threw her. But yet, even after all that she went threw to meet him, she never once regretted her choice to leave Spirit behind that day, and the choice she made in going there.
Then there was Night, the 4th pet she had tamed, who she had met in the Molten Front. She had been helping take out the remainder of Ragnaros' forces there, and had been taking a break. Blaze had been playing in the Lava pools when he startled a Lava Burster, and got stuck on its head. Then, things just got worst for the little kitten after the Lava Burster had been killed, when a Fire Hawk snatched him up and fled to Fireplume Peak. That was were she met Night, at the time known as Skarr. After a short battle with him that was interrupted, and after telling him that she would do anything to protect Blaze, even at the cost of her own life, she had earned his respect. And, deciding that he wanted to help her protect Blaze, he joined her team.
Then, there was Snow, the Spirit Beast, then 5th addition to her team. She met her two times, once when she was a normal Snow Leopard, then again when she had become a Spirit Leopard. Sute had been in Sholazar Basin at the time, even though she wished she was in Pandaria. The King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn, had ordered her to go there before heading to Pandaria, to assist the locals in taking out the Scourge forces that had surfaced there. She had been joined by two Horde soon after arriving. One was Blood Elf Paladin named Soleran, the other was a Troll Hunter-Shaman hybrid, named Zirithios. Sute had been amazed by Ziri, by how easily, and effortlessly she had combined her hunter and shaman skills. Truthfully, she looked up to the Troll. It was a week later when they found a Snow Leopard. She had been beat to within inches of her life by a Lich and some Cultist. With the assistants of her pets, Blaze included, Sute had easily killed them, and the Ghouls that the Lich had summoned. But, she had been to late to save the Leopard. She and her two friends gave her a proper burial, and, after finishing off the scourge a few days later, Sute visited the leopard's grave. That's when she met the Spirit Beast, and where Snow joined her team. That was were Snow saved Sute's 3rd pet, Emerald's, life.
Last, but certainly not least, there's Emerald. Emerald was different then all of her other pets because of one simple fact, she was suffering from a curse that a Warlock named Wrath had put on her. Sute had spent a week searching before she found him. Once she had, she had begged him to removed the curse from Emerald. However, he refused to, going so far as to attack Sute, trying to “correct the mistake of leaving Emerald alive”. She was quickly overpowered by the warlock, and was forced to flee. Since then, she spent more of her time training, and becoming stronger, Emerald never leaving her side.
Now, standing in line, yet again, to get on the Airship to go to Pandaria, Sute knew she had to hurry to find Emerald's cure. It was only 2 short days ago that the last, terrible, attack had happened. The attacks happened when the power that Wrath had used to place the curse reached its highest point. This point causes Emerald unimaginable pain, and made it fell as if her fur was on fire. The sudden burst of heat would cause Emerald to roar out in pain, and then cause her loose consciousness. The only way to stop the attack was to wake her up, which would be impossible if Blaze wasn't able to draw to heat out of Emerald's body and into his own. This last attack had been the worst one yet, having killed Emerald. Emerald was only still with Sute right now because of Snow. Snow had used Spirit Mend on Emerald, and had saved her life. Sute put her hand on Emeralds head, who stood by her side. Emerald let out a purr, and rubbed her head against Sute's hand.
“Hey, you're Suteneko, Elfdragon's daughter, correct?” A dwarf asked, walking over to Sute and pulling her from her thoughts.
“Yes, I am.” She said, looking at the Dwarf.
“And you where one of the 12 soldiers sent back to Northrend, correct?” He asked.
“Yes. I was sent to Sholazar basin to help the Gorloc and Wolvar.” Sute said.
“Ah, good.” He said. “Please, follow me.” He turned away from her and started to walk, not even taking a moment to see if she would follow. Sute glanced at her pets, then at the long line ahead of her. Blaze let out a mew and nudged Sute's hand from where he sat on Emeralds back, then jumped down and followed the Dwarf.
“Let's go.” She said to her pets, before leaving the line and following the Dwarf. Sute followed the Dwarf as he walked past where the guard still stood with his clipboard, the Dwarf only stopping to whisper something in the guards ear. The guard nodded to the Dwarf before turning to the Rogue he had been addressing.
“I'm sorry Ma'am, it seems this ship is filled up. You'll have to wait for the next one to arrive.” He said to her.
“Come on, lass.” The Dwarf said to Sute. “We have to leave soon.” Sute nodded and followed him to where the Gryphons were kept. “You might want to dismiss your pets until we're up there.” He said, and Sute did so. Blaze climbed onto her shoulder as she mounted a gryphon and it quickly took off, flying up towards the Air Ship.
“I promised your mom I'd get you on the first flight to Pandaria that I could when you finished up in Northrend.” The Dwarf explained as Sute dismounted the Gryphon, patting it on the head and feeding it an fish.
“Thank you.” Sute said, summoning her pets to her side. “Do you think my mom will be waiting for me where the ship docks?” She asked the Dwarf.
“No, I'm sorry, she wont.” The Dwarf said, frowning. “She had been, but then the King had to call you away, and she had to go aid the Prince with something. Something about needing to find an ancient artifact before Garrosh could get his hands on it or something. It didn't make any sense to me.” He shook his head, confused as to why finding the artifact was so important and why Elf had to help him. “She did tell me that she would head right back to the place once she finished helping the young prince.”
“Ok.” Sute said, deciding that she would wait for her mother.
“But.” The dwarf said, as if reading Sute's mind. “She also told me to tell you to not just wait for her. She knows you have something very important that you must do, and that she will find you, if you already arrived and left to start that quest, once she finishes.”
“Ok. And thank you.” Sute said, bowing slightly to the dwarf. The Dwarf nodded his head, then turned and walked over and said something to the captain. Sute turned and walked to the edge of the ship as the captain started to call orders to the rest of his crew. She leaned against the rail of the ship as it started to move underneath her, her pets all pushed themselves up onto their hind legs and put their front paws on the railing, look out as well.
“We're on our way.” Sute said, glancing down at Emerald. Emerald turned her head and looked at Sute, and Sute saw a new sparkle in Emeralds eyes, one that she had never seen before. Sute reached her hand over and rubbed Emeralds neck. “It wont be long now.” She said as Emerald let out a purr.
Sute stepped out of the inn and into the sun light. The ship had arrived in Pandaria late the night before, so she had decided to stay in the town that night, and set out in the morning. She looked at her 5 pets, all of which seemed just as eager as she was to get their search started. Without a word, Sute left the inn, and headed towards the entrance of the town. As she neared the entrance, a commotion caught her attention.
“Whats going on over there?” Sute wondered, walking towards the crowd.
“And Killer the Core Hound pup wins again!” Someone was saying. “Is there no pet out there that can beat this mighty Core Hound?”
“Of course not!” The gnome that owned the Core Hound said. “Killer is the strongest battle pet ever, no one can beat him!” The gnome had a huge grin on his face, causing some people in the crowd to roll their eyes. “Who shall be my next victim?” The gnome asked. Sute looked around the crowd, wondering who would battle this Gnome next. No one stepped forwards.
“Ah ha. I knew it, you all know it would be worthless to try and beet Killer, for no one can best his strength!” The Gnome said, causing people to murmur in annoyance in the crowd.
“Someone needs to put this gnome in his place.” Sute heard someone whisper close to her.
“Yeah, his ego is getting so big its going to crush him. And truthfully, I'm sick of hearing him put everyone down. He needs a reality check, and he needs one now.” Someone replied.
“So why don't you fight him?” The first person replied.
“Are you kidding, my battle pet is a Mechanical Squirrel. He'd be weak against an Elemental pet like a Core Hound.” The reply was followed by silence.
“You!” The Gnome said, pointing in Sute's direction. “That's a Cinder Kitten at your side, is it not?”
“Yes, it is.” Sute said as Blaze jumped onto Emeralds back.
“How much do you want for it?” The Gnome asked. “Only a battle pet trainer as awesome as me is worthy of owning such a rare battle pet!”
“I'm sorry, but Blaze is not for sale.” Sute said, meeting the Gnomes gaze.
“Nonsense!” He replied. “A lowly Night Elf like you is not worthy of owning something as rare as a Cinder Kitten! You must sell it to me!”
“I will do no such thing.” Sute said, as Emerald and Night let out a growl and Blaze hissed at the gnome.
“Then we shall have a battle!” The Gnome said. “When I win you have to give it to me! It shall be mine!”
“He has a name.” Sute said, getting tired of this gnome calling Blaze an 'it'. However, she didn't really want to have a pet battle with this gnome. Sute looked down as Blaze nudged her hand. He looked determined and ready to fight. This Gnome had insulted his mistress and he wouldn't let him get away with it. Jumping off of Emeralds back, Blaze took a step towards the gnome, and let out the most ferocious roar he could muster.
“We accept your challenge.” Sute said, moving her gaze from Blaze to the Gnome.
“Fantastic!” The Gnome said. “You better say your goodbyes now! Killer, lets make this quick!” The Core Hound took a couple steps forward.
“Let's just get this over with.” Sute said.
“This pet battle will be between Killer, the Core Hound Pup, and Blaze, the Cinder Kitten! One on one, no switching!” The referee stated. “Let the battle begin!”
Killer started the fight with a howl, causing Blaze to take a step back. Not wasting any time, Killer let loose a ball of fire from both of his mouths, trying to burn Blaze. Blaze, recovering from the slight fear the howl had caused, leaped out of the way of the attack just in time. Using his momentary speed increase, Blaze clawed Killer in the back, causing the Core Hound to roar out in pain. Spinning around quickly, Killer scratched Blaze, and followed the scratch up with another burn attack. Blaze let out a pained growl, and retreated from Killer, trying to get some distance between them.
“Haha!” The Gnome laughed. “Just as I thought, you cant even train a battle pet correctly! You most definitely are not worthy to own such a rare battle pet, let alone ANY battle pets!” Sute couldn't help but glare at the Gnome, she was really getting sick of him.
“Come on Blaze, I know you can do it.” Sute said, turning her attention back to the fight. Blaze glanced at the Gnome, letting out a snarl. He was getting really sick of this Gnome insulting Sute. Blaze flared out his fir-fur as he snarled, setting the ground in the battle area ablaze. Killer let out a surprised howl as the ground underneath him started to burn. He growled more as smoke rose from the ground, making it harder for him to see. Blaze used this chance to enter his stealth, just as he had seen his older teammates do countless times. Killer looked around, growling when he couldn't find his target. Letting loose a roar, Blaze leaped onto Killers back, rending him with his claws and burning him with immolate. Killer thrashed, throwing Blaze off of his back, then charged at Blaze, trying to scratch him again. Blaze barely dodged, but Killer grabbed him by his tail, throwing him to the ground, momentarily stunning him. While Blaze was stunned, Killer burrowed into the ground. Quickly jumping to his feet, Blaze dug his claws into the ground, trying to feel for where Killer would attack from.
His plan having worked, Blaze leaped away right as Killer came out of the ground. Not wasting any time, Blaze charged back at the Core Hound, clawing and rending him as best he could. Killer let loose another howl, trying to frighten Blaze and make him take a step back. Blaze fought threw the fear though, not slowing on his attack. Blaze and Killer finally parted, both letting out a ball of fire. Killer hoped that his burn attack would finish Blaze off, and Blaze hoped likewise with his immolate attack. The two attacks met in the middle, causing a small explosion and the area to fill with smoke, and causing both pets to cry out in pain.
“Blaze?!” Sute called out, worried about her little kitten.
“Aha! I win!” The gnome said, laughing. He stopped laughing as the smoke cleared. “IMPOSSIBLE!” He cried out. Sute couldn't help but smile, because Blaze was still on his feet. Killer was on the ground, not moving, and Blaze had his little paw on one of Killers necks. Blaze let out a victorious roar, then turned and walked tiredly over to Sute.
“I'm so proud of you.” Sute said, picking up the exhausted kitten and hugging him close to her. Blaze purred, rubbing his head against Sute. The crowd cheered for Blaze, glad that someone finally put the Gnome in his place. As the cheering died down and the group started to disperse, Sute turned and started to head back to the entrance of the town.
“Hey, you!” Sute stopped a couple minutes later, hearing the Gnomes voice.
“What do you want?” She asked, not turning around.
“There's no way a lowly Night Elf like you beat me, so that means you cheated which means I won. So you have to give me that Cinder Kitten!” He said. Sute turned her head and looked at the Gnome. He was wielding a 2 handed sword. Sute shook her head, realizing that this gnome was a Warrior, and warriors always looked down on Hunters, feeling that they were weak. Truthfully, Sute only knew of 1 warrior that didn't look down on Hunters, and that was Zalaxin, her mothers best friend.
“I did not cheat.” Sute said, turning towards the warrior.
“You must have! No one has ever defeated Killer before! Its impossible! So gave me that kitten now! It belongs to me!” He said, taking a step towards Sute with his sword posed to strike.
“For the last time, I did not cheat!” Sute said. “And stop calling Blaze an 'it'.”
“Fine then, I'll just take it then!” The gnome said, taking another step towards Sute. Emerald, finally having enough, suddenly leaped forward, catching the gnome off guard and pinning him to the ground with a claw to his neck. Sute's other pets moved to surrounding the warrior, who really wasn't all that strong.
“Ok, okay! I'm sorry, I'll let you keep it! Just get these things away from me and don't kill me!” The gnome begged. Sute's 5 pets snarled, not liking being called 'things'.
“Only if you promise not to harass the people who live in this town and the pet battlers who come to Pandaria to get stronger.”
“Ok, I promise! Just don't kill me!” The gnome continued to beg. “I'll go back to Stormwind, I'll never return here!” Emerald looked at Sute, who nodded her head at her pets. Emerald let out one more growl, pushing down lightly on the Gnomes neck, before she and Sute's other pets returned to her side. The Gnome quickly pushed himself to his feet, and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Sute let out a sigh and shook her head.
“Thanks you guys.” She said, looking at her pets. “I really didn't want to get into a fight in the middle of this town. Besides, it would have woken Blaze up.” She looked at the kitten, sleeping soundly in her arms. “Now, lets get going.” She turned back towards the town gates, and left.
Wrath watched as the last of his catch was loaded onto his transport ship. He smirked as a black tiger snarled and threw itself at the front of its cage, trying to get out and attack him. His eyes narrowed, though, as he counted the number of beast being sent back.
“There's only 20.” He said to Krenthun, his Felguard, as the demon walked up next to him.
“The beasts are getting wiser as time passes.” Krenthun replied. “They're learning how to avoid our traps.”
“We need to find a better way to make gold.” Wrath said.
“What if we try catching and selling rare Battle Pets?” Krenthun suggested.
“I don't know of anyone willing to pay as much for a Battle Pet as people are willing to pay for rare and exotic beast from another land.” Wrath stated plainly.
“Wrath.” He looked behind him and saw Sam, his lead trapper, walking up behind him.
“What is it?” He asked the Worgen.
“There is someone here who wishes to speak to you.” He said.
“Oh? Who is it?” He asked.
“He refused to give me his name, stating that he is here on business. I can tell that he's a Forsaken Rogue and the mount he came on, as well as his gear, is very rare and very expensive.” Sam said.
“So he's a collector.” Krenthun said as he and Wrath started to follow Sam to where the Rogue waited.
“Lets see what he wishes for us to retrieve for him.” Wrath said, smirking at the thought of how much gold this Forsaken must have.
“Ah, Wrath. It is an honor to finally meet you.” The rogue said, bowing as Wrath walked up.
“And you are?” Wrath asked.
“Ah, please forgive me. My name is Phantom. I am a collector.” He said. “I am always on the hunt for rare mounts and battle pets.”
“So I can tell.” Wrath said. “However, my,” He thought of the best word to use. “business, only deals with rare and exotic beast.”
“Yes, I know. But you are still the best trappers I've heard of. Everyone says if you cant find it and catch it, no one can.” Phantom said. “And I will pay you very well.”
“Very well. What do you wish us to catch for you.” Wrath asked.
“Well, it's an EXTEREMLY rare Battle Pet. There's only one know living one.” Phantom started.
“What is it?” Sam asked.
“Its known as a Cinder Kitten.” He said. “As I stated before, there is only one living Cinder Kitten known of in the world today.”
“Do you know where I can find this Cinder Kitten?” Wrath asked.
“It is said that it is currently in the possession of a Night Elf Hunter. They say she goes by the name of Suteneko, and the Cinder Kitten's name is Blaze.”
Wrath smiled. “Oh yes, I know the hunter.”
“You do?” Phantom asked, surprised.
“Yes. She and I have...Crossed paths before.” He said, choosing his words carefully. “We, however, are not on good terms.” Phantom nodded his head, deciding not to ask for further explanation.
“I, however, am not sure where she is at the moment. Last I heard she was seen in Northrend, but after leaving there my contacts could not figure out where she went.” Wrath thought for a moment, and glanced at Krenthun.
“She shouldn't be hard to find.” the demon said, answering his unasked question.
“Our trappers have seen her here in Pandaria only a day ago.” Sam stated.
“Very well. But, before we make this a deal, how much gold are we talking?” Wrath asked, returning his attention to Phantom.
“I am willing to pay Four Hundred grand.” He said. Wrath eyes widened. “As I stated before, I am a collector, and this Cinder Kitten is the only living one. People would pay me thousands just to come and see such a rare battle pet. Now, do we have a deal?” Phantom held out his hand.
“You've got yourself a deal.” Wrath said, shaking the Rogues hand. Wrath turned towards Sam as Phantom walked away.
“Lets get to work catching this pet.” Sam said, turning and walking towards where they kept their mounts.
“It seems its my turn to search you out, little hunter.” Wrath said to himself. “Only this time, you will not get away.”
Sute let out a sigh as she exited the town surrounding the Temple of the Jade Serpent. She had visited the great Serpent after being told of the wisdom that she held, hoping that she would know how to cure Emerald. The serpent, however, had regretted to inform Sute that she did not know how to cure Emeralds curse, but instead told her to visit the Temple of the White Tiger. So, that's where she was heading next.
“Don't worry, Emerald.” She said, glancing down at Emerald. “We'll find this cure.” Emerald looked at her, then padded off ahead of her, looking more comfortable in this land then she had been in the other places they had gone together.
“Looks like we found the land she came from.” Sute said to her other pets, standing around her. Blaze let out a small meow, looking at Sute from where he sat on Snows back. “Which means there's a good chance that Wrath is here in Pandaria, somewhere.” Blaze growled, thinking of the Warlock that had tried to kill his friends. “Come on.” Sute said after a moment. “Lets catch up to Emerald.”
“This path should take us to the Temple of the White Tiger if we keep following it.” Sute said, looking up from her map. “Shouldn't be to much longer before we get there.” She folded up the map and put it back in her bags, then continued to follow the path, her pets walking alongside her. She looked at Blaze, who was padding along a little bit ahead of them.
As she watched the little kitten, Sute's mind turned to what her life would be like without him. What she would do if she ever lost the energetic kitten. She shook her head.
“I'll never lose him.” She whispered her herself. “I'd die before I let anyone take him.” Sute stopped walking as a shadow passed over her, a chill going down her spine. She glanced at her pets around her, they all looks as if they felt it too. They glanced around, as if trying to find the source of their unease.
“Blaze.” Sute called to the little kitten, who stopped and looked at her. “Come over here.” Sute said. Sensing his companions uneasy, Blaze started to pad back towards Sute and the others.
“Blaze!” Sute cried, as suddenly a Felhound appeared and picked up the young kitten.
“Well, you certainly made finding you easy.” Sute's head snapped to the side as she heard his voice.
“Wrath.” She said, staring at the lock.
“Oh, good. So you do remember me.” He said, a smirk on his face.
“How could I forget the one who has caused Emerald so much suffering?” Sute said.
“Oh, you wont have to worry about that anymore soon.” He said. “But, I guess I should be thanking you for making finding you so easy.” He crouched down as the Felhound ran up to him, and took Blaze from it, the Felhound vanishing as soon as he had hold of Blaze.
“What are you going to do to Blaze?” Sute asked, drawing her bow. Her pets started to growl, and Blaze hissed and tried to claw Wrath from where he was held in his hands.
“You see, I have a Horde client who is willing to pay a lot of gold for this little guy. So I'm going to take him.” Wrath said, smirking. Blaze growled more and flared out his fur, trying to burn Wrath and cause him to drop him. “Now now, none of that.” Wrath said as a Rogue unstealthed next to him, holding a cage. “Now, you just sit in there quietly like a good little kitten while I take care of this hunter and her pets.” He said to Blaze as he dropped him into the cage and the rogue closed it.
“Give me Blaze back!” Sute said, notching an arrow.
“And if I don't?” Wrath said. “What are you going to do?”
“Take him back by force.” Sute said, glaring at the Warlock.
“Oh, really?” Wrath asked. “Well, then, I hope you're stronger then you were last time.” His hand started to glow dark as he prepared a Shadow Bolt.
“Be careful, guys. We still don't know where his demon is.” Sute said.
“Should look behind you.” Wrath said, sending off his Shadow bolt. Sute avoided the Shadow Bolt, and spun around, disengaging just in time to avoid getting hit by the Felguards ax.
“This is going to be fun.” Krenthun said, as Glacier and Spirit leaped at him. “I can already tell she's stronger and more skilled.” He called over to Wrath.
“It wont make any difference.” He said, dodging an attack from Emerald. Sute quickly launched an arrow at Wrath, then glanced around, trying to locate Night and Snow. She saw them, just barely, through their stealth. They were slowly approaching the rogue holding the cage with Blaze in it, from either side. Sute turned her attention back to Wrath, who seemed to be having a small amount of trouble dodging Emeralds attacks. Sute quickly prepared her bow, and let loose an Arcane shot. She hit him in the shoulder, in the same place he had hit her when they first met.
“Looks like I cant hold back this time.” Wrath said, putting some distance between him and Emerald, his whole body starting to give off a dark glow. “Now, you will face my full strength!” He said, transforming into a demon. Sute glanced towards Krenthun as he started to laugh, and saw that he, too, had transformed. He was no longer a Felguard, but a Wrathguard instead.
(AN: Yes, yes. I know this is not how it works in game and that its a Talent that changes your demon, but I always thought it would be cool if the Demon transformed when the Demonology warlock used Metamorphosis.)
“Now things get really fun!” He said, preparing his two swords to strike. Sute turned her attention back to Wrath as he began to speak.
“You should have forgot about the kitten and ran when you had the chance.” He said, his voice sounding more demonic then human now.
“I'll never abandon Blaze, or anyone that I care about!” Sute said, notching an arrow.
“To bad, now you're going to die. But don't worry, death wont be the end of it for you. I think I'll let my Void Walked take your soul to the void and let them have fun with you.” Emerald snarled and Sute felt a chill go down her spine. “And don't worry about your pets. I'll kill Emerald as soon as I'm done taking care of you. As for the other 4, if I cant sell them, I'll just make them suffer the same curse as Emerald.” Sute took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, forcing down the fear she now felt towards this Warlock.
She glanced to where Night and Snow were now attacking the Rogue, who still held onto the cage Blaze was trapped in. He seemed to be struggling to fight off the two cats with only one hand, and Sute could see that Blaze was clawing and biting him as best he could through the bars of his cage.
“That's right.” She thought to herself, disengaging just in time to get away from Wrath, who had leaped at her, his clawed hand slamming into the ground right where she had been standing, causing it to erupt into flames. “It doesn't matter what happens to me. As long as I protect him, as long as I protect them. He wont get my pets. He doesn't realize what would happen if I die.” She smiled, knowing that, even is she was to fall to this Warlock, her pets, and Blaze, would be safe. She readied her arrow, remembering the promise Night had made to her.
Sute stared up at the Pandarian moon, shining brightly above her. She felt a cool head rub against her arm, and looked to see Night sitting next to her.
“Cant sleep,either, Night?” She asked him, and he let out a quiet roar. “You miss your home, don't you?” She asked him, and he looked at her. She shook her head. “Promise me something, Night.” He tilted his head, and roared softly.
“There's a chance there's a Warlock named Wrath somewhere in Pandaria, and if he learns of me being here, there's a good chance that he'll hunt me down.” She started. Night let out a small roar, as if to ask why. She looked up to the sky as she continued to speak. “He's the reason Emerald is suffering like she is. He's the one who placed the curse on her. She should have died because of it, should have starved cause she cant hunt because of it. But she survived, because of me. And he doesn't like that. So now he wants to try and kill her, along with me for saving her and trying to cure her. After our first meeting, I still don't know if I'm strong enough to beat him.” She looked at Night. “So, promise me Night. If something happens to me, if... If I don't survive our next encounter with Wrath, promise me you'll take Blaze back to the Molten Front with you. That you'll raise him just like he was your son... That you'll keep him safe.” Night looked Sute right in the eyes, and put his paw on her leg. He let out a soft roar then pressed his nose into her cheek.
“Thank you, Night.” She said, as he removed his paw from her leg and laid down. She laid down next to him and placed her head on his side, staring up at the sky once again. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and fell to sleep.
Sute shot another Arcane shot at Wrath, hitting him in the shoulder again.
“You'll have to do better then that now.” He laughed, brushing the attack off as if it was nothing. “Come now, what happened to that confidence you showed earlier?” He mocked. Sute glared at him, preparing another attack. However, before she got the chance to send it at Wrath, she sensed something next to her. Spinning around, she brought her bow up just in time to block an attack from Krenthun. Unable to take the full force of the blow, her bow snapped, and she was sent flying. Sute gasped as she hit the ground, and clenched her arm, which was now badly cut.
“It really is to bad you're not stronger.” Krenthun said, walking towards where Sute laid on the ground. “This would be a whole lot funner if you could put up a better fight.” Sute pushed herself up into a sitting position.
“What now?” She said to herself, she looked past Krenthun to where her broken bow lay. “My bows broken, and even if it wasn't, I couldn't use it with this arm...I guess this really is it.” She closed her eyes. “I just hope Night can get Blaze away from them.” She opened her eyes as she heard a pained howl, and she, Wrath, and Krenthun looked in the direction of the howl. Sute smiled as she saw that Night had his fangs dug into the Worgen Rogue's upper arm, and saw Snow rip the cage out of his hand.
With Blaze's cage away from the Rogue, Sute's 5 pets hurried to her side, ready to defend her with everything they had. Using her good hand, Sute opened the cage, freeing Blaze.
“Its ok, Blaze.” She said as he pressed his head against her. “No matter what happens to me, you'll be safe, I promise.” She placed him on Nights back, then pushed herself to her feet. “What now, Wrath?” She asked, looking at the Warlock.
“So, you got the kitten back, it doesn't matter.” He said, shrugging. Using his demonic speed, he shot forwards, and grasped Sute by her neck, lifting her into the air. Sute's pets jumped away, instinct telling them to get away from this Warlock-in-demon-form. “He'll be easy enough to catch again, without you or these other 5 nuisances to protect him. I've got all the time in the world to catch him again.” He smiled, as his hand started to glow with his felfire magic.
“You, on the other hand, are out of time.” Krenthun said, walking up.
“Damn you.” Sute managed to say, as she felt her neck start to burn. She clenched his wrist with her good hand, trying, hopelessly, to get him to release her.
“I might actually have a reason to go back to the void with you there.” Krenthun taunted. A snarled cause them to look towards Sute's pets. There, they saw Emerald, standing there with her claws digging into the dirt below her. This snarl was pure rage, pure hatred, a sound Sute had never heard come from the curse tiger before. Suddenly, her body started to glow brightly, and her body seemed to grow. As she continued to glow, her body changed. Her neck straightened, her fur lightened, and her chest fur turned to a green-gray color. Her eyes turned yellow and her muscles filled out.
“So, your hatred of me broke the curse?” Wrath said, looking at the tiger. Emerald let out a roar, then charged towards Wrath, but Krenthun was faster, charging past his master and knocking Emerald to the ground. Emerald quickly returned to her feet, shaking off the blow as if it was nothing. She took a step towards Krenthun, roaring at him again.
“Just keep her busy for a little bit longer, Krenthun.” Wrath said, returning his attention back to Sute. “She wont last much longer.” He smirked. Sute barely managed to glare at him. She felt herself weakening, darkness appearing at the edge of her vision.
“Emerald is safe...Blaze is safe...They'll all be safe now.” She thought to herself. Suddenly, an arrow embedded itself in Wraths shoulder. A moment later, the arrow exploded, causing Wrath to cry out in pain and drop Sute. Wrath retreated from her as another arrow buried itself in the ground right where he had been standing. Worried about Emerald, Sute weakly looked to where she was standing. She was no longer alone, standing next to her was Aqua, the spirit beast, and a Lioness.
“DragonsClaw...” Sute realized. Sute pushed herself weakly into a sitting position, and froze as a Wind Serpent wrapped itself loosely around her, and hissed at Wrath. A red Direhorn and ruby Gem-Serpent moved in between Sute and Wrath. The Serpent hissed, and the Direhorn slammed his tail into the ground and roared. A wolf howled and ran passed Sute, stopping alongside Claw. Then a Shell Spider, Water Strider, and Devilsaur joined the other pets in front of Sute, and a Core Hound joined the pets at Emerald's side.
“I'm sorry it took up so long to get here.” Sute heard a voice say from behind her that she hadn’t heard in years, and felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Mom...?” She whispered, looking to her side and seeing her mother standing there.
“It's me.” She said, smiling.
“Now, before we can all catch up, lets take care of this worthless lock.” Menardi said, coming up to Sute's other side. “The quickest way to get on our bad side is to hurt one of our friends, isn't that right, guys?” The Shell Spider and Water Strider hissed, the Devilsaur and Aqua roared, and the Core Hound howled.
“And trying to kill my daughter is the best way to get on ours.” Elf said. Her wolf snarled, Claw and the Direhorn roared, and the 2 serpents hissed.
“We should fall back.” Krenthun said, retreating to Wrath's side.
“Looks like you get away with your life, this time.” Wrath said, obviously angered. “Next time you wont be so lucky.” With that said, he vanished.
“He must have a Demonic Circle close by.” Menardi said. “Should we go after him?”
“No, we can get him later. We have something more important to tend to.” Elf said, as Sute's 5 pets and Menardi's and Elf's 2 pets returned to their sides. Snow and Aqua pressed their noes' into opposite arms, both casting Spirit mend on Sute. Sute closed her eyes as she felt strength return to her. Emerald pressed her head into Sute's chest as the Wind Serpent removed itself from around her.
“Emerald...” Sute said, laying her head on Emeralds neck.
“Come on.” Elf said gently, picking up Sute and placing her on the back of her Direhorn. “Lets get to the nearby town so you can rest. We can catch up there once you get settled and something to eat.
“Ok, mom.” Sute said. Blaze ran over as Emerald stood next to the Direhorn, and, using Emeralds back as leverage, he jumped onto the Direhorn's back, and crawled into Sute's lap, pressing himself into her. He let out a meow as they started to move, and she petted him on the back. Sute looked ahead of her, at her mother and their best friend, then at the 14 pets surrounding her, all ready to leap into action if anything dare try to attack them.
She looked at Emerald, and let out a relieved sigh. Emerald was cured, Blaze was back with her, and they were all safe. She had completed her quest, which she had spent the last 8 months trying to complete. And, even though Wrath was still out there, she would make sure she was ready to face him next time. She knew how strong he could be now, and she wouldn't be caught off guard by his demonic strength next time. She looked back ahead at Elf and Menardi, and had the feeling that she would never face him alone again. Exhaustion washing over her, Sute leaned forward and leaned her head against one of the spikes on the Direhorns head. Closing her eyes, she slowly feel to sleep, all of the things she had been worried about the day before gone.
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There you have it. I had a lot of fun with Wrath here, and I think I love him, but I also hate him. And the name of his Felguard, Krenthun, was stolen from my Gnome Warlock. I just want to say thank you again to all of you for reading this, and I hope you guys enjoy it. And give a special thanks to SylviaDragon for all the help you given me for this, and even just letting me spoil parts I was really proud of by telling you them on b.net. Below is a picture of Sute and the cured Emerald, Sute and her full team, Elf and her team, and Menardi and her team. I didn't put in the name of Elf's and Menardi's pets, I couldn't think of how Sute would know them, and only Claw and Aqua were mentioned in the story before this part. but, the names are on the SS's. Anyways, again, I am so sorry about how long it took for me to get this out.
PS: I left this story open to possible continuation, sense Wrath is still at large. But I'm not making an promises that this will be continued. I might just end Suteneko's Story here, but I might not. It's up in the air right now, but again, no promises. Until next time~
PSS: Please pay no mind to how the SS's of Elf and Menardi were taken in their garrison. I just hopped onto them quickly to snap a SS cause I told myself I wouldn't let myself play any games today until I finished this.