Going Ashore

“I want everyone lined up on this deck TEN MINUTES AGO!” the voice bellowed out.

All across the deck of the Sin'dorei warship, elves scurried to find their positions, neatly folding into organized, orderly ranks for the pre-shore inspection. All that is, except a small group at one end of the formation. That side of the ranks was filled with jostling, angrily whispering elves who took a minute longer than the rest of the group to assemble. It was as if they had not been given a good two months of basic training before being shipped off to Pandaria.

The deck sergeant rolled his eyes and brought two fingers to his lips, whistling sharply. The piercing sound cut through the last of the grumbling elves and all eyes turned towards him.

“This is it ladies and gentleman. This is the place we've come to bring glory to the Horde. It is here that you will serve House Sunfire, House Sunhaven, House Felo'melorn, and House Dawnsea as the Horde calls its valiant champions to battle.”

The sergeant paused, looking over the assembled troops and folding his arms behind his back. He began to pace back and forth before the ranks of red and gold armored Sin'dorei warriors, pride in his voice as he spoke. “I know some of our allies think that we cannot contribute, that we are not strong enough or skilled enough to take this war to our foes and bring them down. We are here, soldiers, to show the Horde what we are made of! To show them that we are more than just magic, more than just spells and fancy words! We're here to show them true power!”

From amongst the elves came a chorus of shouts, but this was expected and did not catch the sergeant's attention, what DID catch his attention was the giggle mixed in. His eyes narrowed and he studied the ranks of Sin'dorei before him, walking close and putting his scarred face near those in the front rank. A few of the elves looked away, unable to bear his glance. One or two nodded to the right, and he stalked that way, his face going from one face to the next face to the next...chest...?

He stepped back in surprise, looking up to see one of the tallest Sin'dorei females he'd ever laid eyes on. It did not help that she had two enormous blonde pigtails that bloomed from the top of her head like some sort of exotic fern. Her red-painted lips trembled once, as if she sought to contain mirth within her.

“Is something funny soldier?!” the sergeant barked. The tall Sin'dorei straightened further, fel green eyes widening in surprise as she shook her head. The sergeant stepped closer, forced to tilt his head up to look at her. “I asked you a question soldier!”

“Uh NO SIR!” the Sin'dorei shouted. Looking at her critically, the sergeant shook his head in disgust and folded his arms across his chest.

“And do you know why we are HERE soldier?!”

“TO EAT FACES SIR!” came the stern reply.

Several of the soldiers around the elf stiffened, now also holding their mirth in. The sergeant frowned, blinking in surprise, “What did you say soldier?”

“Er...to...eat faces sir? Isn't that what you're supposed to say?” the tall Sin'dorei replied. She looked down in confusion at the other Sin'dorei next to her. While none of them made eye contact, several of them shook their heads ever so slightly, and the tall elf bit her lip in embarrassment.

“I don't know where you got your crazy ideas soldier, but we're going to have a lo-” the sergeant began. His words were cut off as the lookout shouted “LAND DEAD AHEAD!”

Immediately the ship's crew scurried into action, climbing the rigging to bring the sails in. The sergeant nodded, stepping away from the Sin'dorei soldiers and cupping his hands to his lips to shout, “SQUADS ONE THROUGH FOUR, FALL INTO POSITON ON THE PORT SIDE. PREPARE LANDING BOATS. SQUADS FIVE THROUGH EIGHT, PREPARE TO FOLLOW SUIT ON MY ORDERS. THIS IS IT BOYS AND GIRLS, WE'RE IN IT NOW!”

The ranks of soldiers dissolved into a moving mass of elves, all intent on preparing for the landing, the tall Sin'dorei amongst them forgotten for a moment.

********************************************************

Several minutes later a small fleet of eight landing boats drifted gently towards the shore of the Krasarang wilds. Amongst them in one of the central craft bobbing on the waves was landing party seven. In the center of landing party seven's boat, the squad leader sat still, rolling his eyes as the largest female Sin'dorei he'd ever seen squished him against her as she held on for dear life, murmuring something about not being able to swim.

Mercifully, the rest of the boat's crew managed to keep their grins to themselves...or at least direct them out over the water.

********************************************************

As the Sin'dorei gathered together and began removing supplies from their landing boats on the shore, the elves started to form into small groups, working together to get the task completed as quickly as possible. There could be Alliance in the wilds after all, and staying stationary on the beachhead might result in an ambush.

As they worked, they lost track of their original squad assignments for a time. None of them noticed the tall Sin'dorei as she slowly wandered further towards the edge of the camp before she stepped into a row of tall bushes that lined a nearby creek. The tall Sin'dorei disappeared from sight, never to be seen again.

Hours later scouts would find several pieces of chain armor laying scattered in the bushes along with a few scraps of linen. The linen looked to have been torn by the claws of some animal, and the scouts determined that one of the landing party must have been taken by a jungle cat. Little did they realize that the cloth had been torn not by claws, but by sharp thorns, and the owner of the linen had not intended her garments to be shredded before passing from their camp.

Deep in the Krasarang wilds the tall Sin'dorei paused, looking back over her shoulder before letting her invisibility spell fade away. Spellsong drifted slowly from her mouth and her skin darkened, taking on a purple hue, her hair fading back to its beautiful cyan color.

Malandrae Moonwhisper smiled, her coral blue lips pursed as she took stock of her situation. She had some supplies, a good pair of boots, and mostly modest linen armor on. It was time to find some talking pandas! With that, the Highborne turned and happily strolled into the darkness of Krasarang.

It was debatable as to what would be more surprised by the visit; the Highborne or the land itself.