Is Where Pali Finds Some Things Change, And Some Don't

Hi everone, this is Pali.

It's been a long six months since the Cataclysm, and there's a lot to fill you in on. For starters, as you can see, I'm in Outland now...

...and it looks just like it did that night three years ago that 'licious and I came here to see the Portal. After showing the Hordies they couldn't kick us out of the Gulch, we'd caught a mage teleport to Shattrath, then hopped a gryphon to Hellfire. We were so full of piss and vinegar then, strong and beautiful and not afraid of nothin' - not even a Pit Lord. That night we made love for the first time, and she told me her real name, and I knew we'd be together forever.

The demons are still attacking the Black Portal, trying to fight their way into Azeroth. The Alliance and the Horde still fight a desperate battle to keep them out. It is as if Illidan were still sitting in the Black Temple, and Doom Lord Khazzak was still taunting us from his throne up on the plateau, and time had decided to stand still. I can close my eyes and for a moment believe we are still those two kids, brave and invincible. And then I open my eyes, and I remember.

It was last December that Deathwing's tsunami slammed into the coast of Tanaris, ripping us apart and nearly drowning me. The next morning I worked my way along the edge of what was now a dead, briny inland sea, calling her name, growing more and more desperate. It was the vultures which finally found her for me. They were circling over something, getting lower, and when I ran to it I saw that it was Feral, lying in a heap against a pile of boulders. Still breathing, thank goddess. Her head had struck one of the rocks, and there was some blood, but not too much. I closed my eyes and reached into her, searching for internal injuries. It was clumsy and awkward without my armor and its enchants to channel the earth's energy to me - sort of like playing the flute while wearing mittens - but I did the best I could. What I saw- well, it was bad. Couple broken ribs and broken tibia weren't too bad, but inside her skull there was blood and other fluids building up, putting pressure on her brain. I tried to ease the fluids out, to repair the damage, but it was hard, so hard, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't channel the energy, it kept slipping away from me, I was so scared and she wouldn't wake up no matter what I did!

....

Sorry. Remembering that, that was hard. Just give me a minute, I'll be okay.

We couldn't stay where we were. There was no shelter, no water, no .... anything. Just sand and seawater pools and vultures. Watching us, always watching. So, after I'd done what I could, I picked her up and started walking. There was no way Steamwheedle Port could survived that wave, so I headed inland towards Gadgetzan, and tried not to think about what it would mean if the wave had reached the city. I followed the edge of this new bay, trying to stay on solid ground and not get bogged down in the pools. Along the way there were plenty of corpses - basilisks, hyenas, strange creatures pulled from the ocean depths, even a few humans - but nothing living. Except the vultures - they were doing fine. A couple of times I found rock outcroppings large enough to cast shadows, and I paused in the relative cool to rest and try to reduce the pressure in poor Feral's head. Maybe by crude field magic was keeping her alive - I couldn't tell - but it clearly wasn't to heal her. I slept a bit; fitful, restless, anxious naps. I walked all night with her in my arms, thanking Elune for the full moon. I kept going the next day as well, but it was getting harder. My feet were raw from walking on sand and stones, and burning from the salt. My back and face and ears were burned from the sun, and it was getting harder to keep carrying Feral. And I was thirsty, oh I was so thirsty.

That second night, I had to stop and rest for a few hours. I knew the longer it took to get Feral to a proper healer the worse her chances were, but I just needed to rest, just for a little while. I don't know that if I slept really - my muscles ached like they never had before, my back and arms and legs and uh, well, ummm, my butt felt like they were on fire even though the sun had gone down. A few hours before dawn I figured as was as recovered as I was going to get. I kissed Feral on her lips, which were as cracked and swollen as mine, and gently picked her up. I had no idea how much farther it was to Gadgetzan, or if it even still existed, but it didn't really matter. Either I would get us there that day, or I wouldn't have the strength to carry her any farther and we would both die in that shattered desert.