It was nearly nightfall when Rook finally arrived at his destination.
His drake's claws fell hard into the fields of grass, labored breaths of air gulped down by the serpentine companion. Dragon's weren't known for their weakness but they did have their limits, and as the bronze companion bent his neck for Rook to slide off the monk gave his ally a pat to his scales.
"I'm sorry about such a long journey," he murmured genuinely up to the bronze. The drake tilted his head, regarding the rider thoughtfully with one slitted eye before answering with an inhuman chuckle.
"Something tells me your journey is just beginning, blood elf."
Rook managed a knowing nod and stepped back as the drake's great wings stretched out, and several beats later the bronze was making short work of the skies. As his mount turned left toward the mountain tops, he watched the new moon begin to rise high over the peaks. As picturesque as this was time was of the essence. It was long time to do what he had put off for so long.. though he wished the circumstances were so much different..
It was no coincidence that Rook had chosen the location he had to land. It was a small clearing amongst the tallest trees, and the flat field quickly gave rise to a line which lead to a creeping hilltop. He knew this place well, just as much as he knew what that path would eventually lead to should he follow. This was the precipice of her land after all - and it had once been shared. He put no claim to it, far from it in fact. The threshold was wholly hers and he had not dared to come here in ages. Perhaps it was fear for what the reaction would be, or guilt that kept his feet grounded where they were. This time however, there was no time for either. When the feelings began to grow that something was quite wrong at home he did not flee toward Northrend, or even Silvermoon as his emotions suggested. Quite the opposite; they screamed for him to run, or perhaps even to flee in the other direction. Something unmistakable - horrible - had happened, and it demanded that he seek out one in particular as soon as he could. This time he listened to his wailing instincts, for they had rarely failed him. As his boots barely whispered against the grass at the clearing's edge they proved once again that they could be trusted.
THWUNK!
Rook froze in place, glancing aside at an arrow that had buried itself violently to the neck into the trunk of the nearest tree. Ornate markings shone around the shaft and announced without a doubt its owner and wielder, and he knew that it was no accident it had come to strike where it did. If they had meant to kill him he'd have been dead before hitting the earth. It was the purest form of warning and its message unmistakable, so the monk looked in the direction it had come sailing from. Ears perked and twitching, it was all he could do to calm his nerves - and those of the known assailant - by finally calling out into the cool night air.
"I'm alone, Ameriya," Rook called out, his voice echoing lightly across the field and between the trees. " -and I need to speak to you. Please. I haven't much time, you know that."
The monk took a slow breath and searched the treeline, knowing - feeling - that from just out of sight she was watching him. Rook realized suddenly that the same sense of dread that had driven him here could have taken hold of her, and against his nature shifted his weight abit. He brought his hands from under his overloack, spreading fingers wide not to show them empty, but to show that she would have the upper hand should he make any sudden moves. The gesture eventually bore fruit. Two specks in the distance appeared, glowing bright in the otherwise inpenetrable darkness, and to little surprise on his part the moonlight revealed the huntress as she stepped forward - albeit a cautious one.
Ameriya's eyes glowed hot with a mix of uncertainty and ferocity. Lines of missed emotions were stretched over her face but Rook took none of these lightly. The huntress was duty bound and if she suspected something sinister she would put him down without much hesitation. She was much as he remembered, dark hair spilling down one side of her face in a waterfall braid. The curve of her cheek and her pursed lips kissed the curve of a longbow and from it another arrow waited to make its mark should that be her decision. He made no effort to urge her toward an attack, instead letting her advance toward in him painstakingly slow steps. Rook could only close his eyes and speak his mind as his own heartbeat pounded in his ears.
"Something happened to Carro'wyn," he breathed out with some effort, as though fear was still clutching his heart and squeezing it. His voice sounded impossibly frightened despite its level tone. "And I couldn't go back. Not yet. Something horrible is here and I KNOW it's close. I had to see.. I mean I had to tell you ab- "
He blinked as his eyes fluttered open.
She was right there, not two steps away, her pointer finger rested on his lips and allowing nothing more to be said. Everything he meant to say built up behind it, and regard for himself was thrown aside in favor of all that she needed to know in that instant. But rather than find his voice, all malice in her face disappeared when four unexpected words left her own lips.
"You felt it too?"
Silence then hung between them, heavy and foreboding. For now he supposed it was enough to hear confirmation of his screaming senses coming from her - another Guardian if only in spirit - and Rook's lungs took in the first breath of relief he'd known in hours. It was short lived of course, and he whispered to her as though he thought the entire world might somehow hear.
"I think it's here somewhere," Rook finally allowed. The admittance felt like he had chalk in his throat. "I think it's back. ...and I think ..it has my sister.."
