Tusha-4

Glocara's left thumb rested beside her lips, head tilted, and her upper body unconsciously leaned backward, as if avoiding something.

"Please, Miss Glocara." Tusha extended his right hand from a dozen yards away.

"No. I'm not going over there."

"Why not? The journey is long, and life is short. We shouldn't waste time on hesitation."

"In any case, forget it."

Before her stood Tusha, holding a swift red raptor. It scanned left and right, its agile neck moving the menacing head back and forth, while its tail occasionally flicked low-hanging branches. Every movement made Glocara's heart contract, and the occasional glance from its bright yellow eyes felt like an ice pick lodged in her throat.

It all began with their conversation last night about "how to expedite the journey." Passing vehicles usually hesitated to carry both a human woman and a troll simultaneously, and neither Glocara nor Tusha knew how to ride horses. The discussion ended inconclusively. Probably due to the instinctive need for sleep to heal, Glocara woke up late this morning, only to see Tusha approaching with a raptor in tow. For a moment, she thought Tusha had finally decided to replace the missing bandits who had taken their former employer's coins.

"Don't they keep the raptors in enclosures when they're raised? But this one is wild."

"Tamed dragons are indeed more suitable for riding, but where do we find one now? Besides, we trolls and raptors have had an unspoken understanding since ancient times. It's a spiritual connection, so even though this child is wild, it will still serve us wholeheartedly. Of course, provided it's well-fed."

"...And it's fed now?"

"Full." Tusha patted the raptor's head. "Look at this child, such beautiful scales and eyes."

"I never knew these things allowed strangers to ride on them."

"Normally, they don't unless there's a rider with exceptionally strong taming abilities. But that's for other races. Now, I'm in charge, so you can trust that you'll be fine."

The raptor's mouth opened slightly, and Glocara saw its gum and a small row of sharp teeth, triggering some unwelcome memories. While she knew Tusha was right, humans could tame raptors – even adolescents – there was nothing to prevent them from biting a person.

"So... I ride it for the journey, what about you?"

"Of course, after teaching you how to command this child, I'll find one for myself."

So, I'll be traveling with two raptors. Glocara felt a bit dizzy.

"You... you ride this one, and I sit behind you. Can't we do that?"

"This time it's my turn to say: forget it, Miss Glocara. It can carry me, adding you is impossible."

"You..."

"I'm just stating the fact that this child can't carry two people. There's no other meaning, please don't misunderstand. We're almost wasting the whole morning; at this rate, we won't be able to do this by night. Maybe after riding for a while, you'll really like this child and even want to give it a name."

Glocara frowned and took a step forward; the raptor immediately turned its head towards her. She stopped.

"Come on, it's okay. This thing is sturdy," Tusha patted the makeshift saddle made of grass and twigs on the raptor's back, "it'll be comfortable to sit on."

Glocara also understood they couldn't continue like this. She didn't want to reject Tusha's kindness, but she was even less willing to listen to him speak in a tone similar to coaxing a child to go to school. Moreover, since she decided to see the outside world, how could she stumble right at her doorstep? She tried to erase the images of her brother playing with raptors from her mind and approached the red creature.

As she walked to the side of the raptor, Tusha used a command to make it lower its body. Glocara swung her leg over, and when her weight settled on the raptor's back, it suddenly bent its neck to look at her and let out a low growl. Glocara shuddered, her hands on the saddle recoiling. The raptor just shook its tail, exhaling some breath through its nostrils, then turned its gaze forward and raised its body again. Glocara realized it was much closer to the ground than sitting on a horse, so she eased up a bit.

"See, this child is very docile. I told you it's okay."

"I still feel a bit... never mind, give me the reins."

"Not yet. I'll lead it a few steps, let you get used to it first."

"Then where do I put my hands?"

"You can grab its scales first."

Glocara leaned forward, reached out, and touched a few particularly protruding coarse scales, each resembling a rusty arrowhead.

"Like this... press on it? Won't it hurt?"

"No, those are naturally grown parts of a wild raptor to prevent bites from enemies. Even if you hit them with red-hot tongs, it won't be affected."

Glocara closed her four fingers together, opened her thumb, and pressed most of her upper body weight on the scales. She thought that if it were the delicate fingers of a noble lady, they would have bled by now.

"Are you seated? Good."

"Wait..."

Tusha led the raptor, walking forward slowly. The seemingly fierce and cold mount was indeed obedient, still glancing around randomly but keeping pace with Tusha. Glocara remained tense, her body taut, so she couldn't say whether it was comfortable or not. She just hoped the tail behind her wouldn't hit her. After walking about fifty steps, most of Glocara's vigilance had dissipated. However, she suddenly recalled stories from her childhood about princes putting princesses on horseback and leading them for a walk – a ludicrous version seemed to be playing out now. The handsome prince turned into a troll, the noble white horse turned into a raptor, and the royal gardens filled with fresh air turned into a damp and stuffy jungle, with snakes coiling on ancient trees nearby. Moreover, romance had turned into silent awkwardness. Although there was no one else around, she felt an inexplicable discomfort and anxiety.

"Enough, I've adapted. Give me the reins; I can handle it myself."

"Not yet, this is just a stroll. You need to get used to the speed of this child running."

"How... how do I do that?"

"Of course, you'll only know by trying, Miss Glocara."

So, after a command from Tusha, he ran forward, leading the raptor. The sudden acceleration made Glocara almost unable to sit still. She quickly released the scales with one hand, pressing it behind the saddle, supporting her body that almost fell. She soon forgot what she was sitting on because the raptor's disgusting and frightening physiological features dissolved into nothingness in the simple high-speed movement.

The speed was much faster than Glocara expected, but what truly exceeded her imagination was the fact that Tusha was moving with them. She thought Tusha's speed couldn't compare to the raptor, but judging from the mount's pace and posture, even if it wasn't giving its all, it was still running at about seventy percent of its maximum speed. Watching Tusha's back muscles expand and contract with the movement, she was puzzled once again. In the few years he had been following her, although Tusha was efficient, he had never shown such vigor. Although she felt uneasy, it was more directed at the raptor than Tusha.

After a few seconds, Glocara patted Tusha's shoulder, signaling him to stop. Tusha gradually slowed the raptor down, but before it came to a complete stop, Glocara dismounted. She walked unsteadily to a nearby large tree, leaned against it, and pressed her forehead with her left hand.

The raptor's running caused a lot of bouncing. Glocara had been on a small boat caught in a storm, but she had never felt so dizzy. She dry-heaved a few times.

"Are you okay, Miss Glocara? We can take a break; it's almost lunchtime."

Glocara shook her head, took a deep breath, and turned to Tusha. "Give me the reins."

With the help of the mounts, they soon exited the Stranglethorn Vale. However, to avoid drawing attention, they released both raptors afterward. Crossing Alliance territory took a long time because with Tusha around, they had to detour around human settlements and major roads. They didn't encounter any real danger along the way, and whenever the topic came up, Tusha would attribute it to "luck." However, Glocara had different thoughts – she had found wolf carcasses not far from the campsite and knew Tusha often roamed around at night. She had even followed him twice at night but gained nothing.

Glocara saw many things along the way and grew fond of many things. The dry, yellowish-brown land of the Western Wastes, the sentry towers standing alone under the scorching sun. Elwynn Forest, different from the gentle greenery of the Stranglethorn Vale, made her swear never to approach, yet she couldn't help gazing at Stormwind City's royal castle from a distance for quite a while. She didn't like the cold of Dun Morogh, but she liked the pure white it brought – a color she would never see in Booty Bay – and the tranquility brought by the cold. There were several opportunities to stay in human villages along the way, but Glocara didn't take them; even though each time passing through those places, she showed a little regret, turning back to look at the roofs shining brightly under the sun. The last chance was when the two arrived at a crossroads in the wetlands.

"As long as you cross the northern bridge, you'll reach the Arathi Highlands," Tusha said. "Hey, then I won't have to travel so discreetly. What about you, Miss Glocara, any plans?"

"Me? Just keep going."

"Sounds like you haven't thought about it carefully. To the west, you can reach Menethil Harbor. I think it's suitable for you there. Even if you don't like it, you can start from there and go elsewhere anytime."

Glocara looked at Tusha, who was earnestly whittling a small twig. This was the first time Tusha explicitly suggested her to "stay" – that is, a suggestion to part ways.

It was indeed a reasonable suggestion. Glocara had no reason to go to the Arathi Highlands, and she heard it was constantly in turmoil. She wasn't sure what Menethil Harbor was like, but since Tusha said so, it should be a decent place. Of course, almost every human settlement they passed by seemed much better to her than Booty Bay.

"Is Menethil Harbor a big port?" she asked.

"Yes. Although not as big as Booty Bay, it's much quieter."

"Forget it. I... I'll keep going north for a while."

"Why? Once you pass that bridge, you'll be close to the war front, and you never know what might happen."

"I'm tired of the sea. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a place that smells of fish all day."

"But didn't I say, if you don't like it there, you can..."

"No, not going. I've decided to go a bit further north. That's it, no more discussion."

After saying that, Glocara turned around, facing the endless swamp. Tusha knew she had just come up with a lame excuse on the spot. The woman who was the worst at lying in the world.

That night, Tusha planned to leave Glocara, who was sleeping soundly, and travel alone. If they were still in Alliance territory, taking her as a hostage made sense. But now, this reason was becoming untenable. Continuing to travel together would only drag each other down.

But he thought if it was just for the convenience of action, he should have abandoned her long ago, so why go so far as to travel together? Or go further, should have taken away her gold coins long ago; or that day, should not have rushed into the fire. Changing to a different attitude now would only show that he was deceiving himself.

Tusha was good at, and even enjoyed deceiving others. But he was not used to deceiving himself. Since he thought of "reclaiming research data," then go ahead and do it. Since the most direct thought in his heart was "this woman wants to leave, then just take her a bit further," then go ahead and do it.

He decided to start the usual nighttime patrol to drive away the beasts wandering nearby. This had always been done to prevent beasts from approaching Glocara, as she slept deeply and probably wouldn't even know if a wolf licked her face in the middle of the night. However, he hid behind a large stone not far away, peeking out half of his face to see if Glocara was pretending to sleep again, considering whether to track her at night.

Not today. She really fell asleep.

That's good, that's good. Give up the thought of probing into my details, woman. If you want to live long, that is.

After the patrol, Tusha wiped the blood on his hands on the same large stone. Just now, he killed a hyena man approaching from this side. He found that the smear of red happened to form a horizontal arc, so he suddenly became interested and continued to use blood to draw two dots above the arc, forming eyes.

"Hehe," he looked at the smiling face drawn with blood, and he chuckled.