There is one moment that can be experienced between enemies in which an intimacy is shared that is rarely surpassed by even the closest of lovers. In that moment, as the blade of the victor bites deeply, one can see in the other's eyes the story of a life told in death. A fleeting expression of fear or sorrow or pride or contentment can say more than words.

Sin'rokh lowered and allowed the limp body of its late victim to slide onto the grass. A thin smear of blood ran down the curved blade.

The dead had been a sorry excuse for a warrior, but it was to be expected. Jidali knew that decent fighters knew how to place themselves in a battle to be as deadly as possible; stragglers would be weak, outnumbered and vulnerable. Still, he could not help but feel a selfish kind of contempt. He would have preferred a less anti-climactic end to even this small skirmish.

Having cleaned his blade and sheathed it atop its twin, Jidali turned and walked toward the centre of the ruined camp, where three trolls stood around the dead fire pit, talking amongst themselves.

"Of course it was worth it," said one in a placating tone. Jin'to was rather average in height with a posture that could be remarked upon as hunched even as troll postures go, so that he appeared to be relatively short. Despite this, he was a fair warrior and an even better unofficial second-in-command. He was currently gesturing vaguely to the top of a nearby watchtower, which was occupied by several men. "Zoraja says there's no Gurubashi 'round far as his people can see. We've got the region."

Abendi scowled and ignored him, though it was clear she was the one supposedly being placated. As far as host commanders went, she was certainly different, and not only because she was the only female holding such a position in all the Amani Empire. Often, Jidali felt like they were babysitting a spoilt and rather vindictive child.

"Jidali," she snapped, glancing up at him suddenly. He nodded. "Is the area secure?"

"Yes, boss."

"Good." With that, she abruptly headed over to the watchtower, something in her stride making Jidali wince at the thought of his younger brother's inevitable fate: to suffer at the hands of a frustrated Abendaya.

"Poor Zoraja," muttered Jin'to, echoing his thoughts. Jidali turned to look at the third troll, Vashilu, his elder brother, who had not yet spoken. The troll returned the gaze wordlessly before stalking away.

"Don't worry about him, mon. We did well today."

"Yeah," Jidali allowed, somewhat grudgingly. "He doesn't look too happy though."

Jin'to laughed. "Why? 'Cause he walked off like that? All three of you walk like you just got castrated by a Gurubashi witchdoctor."

"I do not!" Jidali said, glaring.

"You most of all, mon," Jin'to replied, giving him a genial slap on the shoulder before swaggering over to where Abendi stood, sternly lecturing some poor young fighter. She'd no doubt berate him until her face was bluer than a Gurubashi.

With a sigh, Jidali regarded the silhouette of his scarred hands against the dying twilight. It was difficult to be optimistic when you caught yourself thinking that fellow soldiers not three years younger than you were like babies. He'd been fighting this war for a long time. It seemed like forever. Sometimes, he wondered what it felt like for Vashilu. As the eldest of the brothers, Vashilu had seen more wars than he and Zoraja combined. Did he enjoy seeing his little brothers become heroes? It never seemed that way.

He grimaced and lowered his hands. Vashilu lacked something that both Jidali and Zoraja had plenty of. It wasn't skill - you didn't make it into this host without being the best of the best - but it was the reason why Jidali suspected that Vashilu would be distressed that his little brothers were fighting at all. It was also the reason why they he would never be a hero while the other two brothers already were. He'd never use the word pacifist to describe any troll, but the eldest brother was awfully close to it.

Hearing someone call his name, Jidali turned. Jin'to was waving him over. With a resigned sigh, he headed over. There was work to be done yet.

A/N: You'll notice I've used full English for the trolls' speech (except for the odd "mon" here or there). I have two reasons for this. The first is that these are Forest trolls from a long, long time before W3/WoW, and as such would speak differently. The second is that they would be speaking in their own language in this situation, not struggling to apply themselves to Orcish, like they do in WoW. As such, they wouldn't have too many grammatical problems. Don't hurt me if you don't like trolls without the sexy accent; I can't help that I'm lazy. :P