Why in the name of the Loa had he come here? Zeiji looked in disgust at the demon-tainted wastes of Hellfire Peninsula, sitting on his raptor mount atop a small hill in Thrallmar. He had never seen or been in a worse place than this.
He turned his raptor around and rode slowly down towards the inn, not looking forward to spending yet another night in Hellfire.

A week. That was how long it had been since that night. It had, however, felt much longer, and Zeiji had had too much time to reflect over his actions.

Halting outside the inn he let out a tired sigh, and looked up just in time to see Zargh emerging from the building, and stopping as he caught sight of Zeiji. The last time Zeiji had seen him, was on the night when Zargh's Bloodscalp woman had nearly died, and Zeiji was certain that not much had changed in Zargh since then. Zeiji dismounted and backed away from the other Troll, who was his superior in their Tribe's hierarchy, and also someone who had enough rage in him to murder.

Zeiji's assumption turned out to be right when he saw Zargh reach for his spear, and Zeiji knew he had a limited chance to do what he now knew must be done. He had never really expected that Zargh would not figure out who had been behind the murder attempt, and he also knew that he would have to face the consequences one day. And apparently that day had come. He hid his feelings of uncertainty behind a smirk and a sarcastic tone, and begun.

He observed Zargh closely while he told the other Troll of the conclusion he had come to after fleeing from Sen'jin that night: that he would leave the Bloodscalp woman alone. Zeiji did not care for the Bloodscalp's well being, and would not have been particularly sorry if she had died from the snake's venomous bite. But what he did care for was his own place in the Darkspear Tribe, and his reason for following Zulj's advice was, that he had realised the foolishness and possible danger that lay in attacking another Darkspear's mate, scum or not.

And now he was standing face to face with the Darkspear Troll whose beloved he had nearly killed, and was waiting for Zargh's reaction to the things he had just told. It turned out to be a warning of what would happen if Zeiji ever crossed the line again, and also a hesitant trust in Zeiji's word.

“Ya do anythin' I don't like, an'...” Zargh finished, and made a sweeping motion across his neck. It was a gesture that Zeiji understood fully. He smirked, and this time it was a genuine smirk.

Then Zargh revealed that Tii'kii would come after Zeiji for revenge, as revenge was something her Cult's Loa taught its followers. To Zeiji's slight surprise Zargh proposed a plot to prevent this from happening. Zeiji was not worried or scared of the weak Bloodscalp woman, but the warning Zargh had given him was enough to make him listen to the plan. They were to find someone else to blame the assassination attempt on, and Zargh had obviously already chosen the scapegoat: the Sandfury Tribe of Tanaris.

To Zeiji this suited fine. They would head for Zul'Farrak this same evening, but before they begun packing up, Zargh paused for a moment to pull of his gauntlet, and extended his hand to Zeiji in an apparent gesture of peace. Zeiji hesitated, but accepted it. The sharp punch to his jaw caught him off-guard, and he stumbled backwards from the blow. He looked up from the dry ground at Zargh, who was pulling his gauntlet back on, looking back at Zeiji. “I made an oath to Shirvallah. An' I too keep my word”.

The oath had been made many months ago, and Zeiji now remembered how Zargh had pledged to harm anyone who would attempt to do the same to Tii'kii.

Zeiji got up, rubbing his jaw. He spat on the ground, glaring at Zargh who seemed unaffected and was now preparing his mount for the journey ahead. Zeiji knew he probably had deserved it, but that did not stop a bitterness from being born inside of him, a bitterness towards Zargh that probably never would be extinguished.


__________________________

Back in Sen'jin Village

Zeiji walked over to his recently purchased new raptor. A magnific beast, bigger and faster than his old one, which he had handed back to the raptor handler outside Sen'jin Village. He stroked his new mount's neck before getting up to the saddle.

He turned the raptor around to look out over the centre of the village, where a few Trolls were gathered. Most of them he knew to some extent from before, but there was one he had not seen for a long time, not since the two of them had lived in Sen'jin as scum – Zulj's brother Zêljin. Zeiji looked over at Zêljin, who was currently trying to engage Sinjajen in some small talk, and frowned.

Zeiji bade the Trolls gathered around the pond a short good night (throwing a brief glance to the direction of Zargh's hut), and rode off, Rji following behind him.

Zeiji frowned again as the blue raptor carried him swiftly through the stony passage that lead to Orgrimmar. Zulj's brother's appearance in Sen'jin had complicated things, and had forced him to start thinking about the things Zulj had revealed to him back in Un'goro.

Zeiji needed time to himself. He boarded the zeppelin that would take him to Stranglethorn Vale. Taking a seat under the deck, he stroked his loyal pet raptor Rji's head absent-mindedly. He would return to his home village at a later date, and perhaps then a decision would have been formed.