Chapter Seven
Lorus could swear that he was back in the Eversong Woods. It was soft and warm; he could almost feel the mossy forest floor littered with ripe red leaves. Its golden stature was so beautiful. But, during this gorgeous illusion, he realized that he could never return home with his newfound act of treason. His sister's laugh filled his ears and his father's disappointed glare could be felt, but not seen.
"Wake up." He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, warm and reassuring. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at the reflective silver ones of Hyleana. Jumping back slightly, he hit his head against the rough stone structure he'd fallen asleep on. "It's only me." She hissed. "I brought back all the supplies we'll need. I could not get transportation, however." She added with a sigh. His green eyes flickered to the wagon of items. "We could fit some of the wood in it, I made sure to save space, but we will need to tie up some and carry it." She explained further.
"It is fine." He grumbled, still half awake. Prompting him to sit upright, he looked around at their current situation; the moon was tilting in the sky. "It is past midnight, you are late." He commented. Hyleana blushed, "I took longer than expected, that is all." Lorus cared not, but he felt a sliver of annoyance in his soul as he felt restless.
"Well, now we face the issue of where we shall make our new home and how we shall get there." He remarked. "I feel that we should go to the other side of the island where it is much more barren." Hyleana looked off into the dense blue forest as though she already had a spot in mind.
"First you want us to go to a heavily populated area of deadly creatures, and now a desolate one? What has changed your mind?" he sneered. The night elf shrugged. "I feel that there may be an area by the farther shores were we could find shelter and solitude." He could feel a longing in her words, yet he refused to give her comfort.
"Do you even have an idea of where this place may be located?"
Hyleana looked up at him. "A general idea, yes." She responded. Her tolerance for his negativity was sliming down fast, but she knew that there was truth behind his words. They would have to be careful if they were to make this move unnoticed.
As Hyleana finished rearranging the items in the cart to fit her three satchels, she removed the cloak Kazeleora had given her only hours before. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed. "What?" Lorus asked. "Dawn will be approaching as we make our journey. But this hood could shield your appearance. We could then make our way through the Watch as a short cut." she smiled. Lorus wanted to argue, but Hyleana was already throwing the cloak over his head. "Just try it, if it doesn't work then we'll simply take a different route. But it will certainly be longer."
As Lorus pulled down the black cloaks long dress, Hyleana pulled the hood over his long ears to discover the slits made for draenei horns. "Perfect." She mused as the hood almost covered his entire face. "They will never suspect you. In the dim lighting, your skin is almost the same tone as mine." His green eyes glared at her from under his hood. "You honestly expect us to risk everything on this blasphemous plan of yours?" he asked. "The plan should work." Hyleana shrugged. Picking up a pack of wood, the night elf gave it to Lorus for him to carry. "I shall tote the cart." She explained.
The two began to walk along the shore. Hyleana had explained that they would be going up to the boarding docks and then making their way down past the Exodar. "The path there leads straight to the other end of the island." Lorus trusted the night elf's sense of location, but not her plan entirely. They would be out for a long journey that would last deep into the next day; the odds of him being caught were high.
They made it to the docks within half an hour or so, just as the sun's light rays were beginning to break through the night sky. The day, Lorus could already tell, would be dreary and miserable with a chance of rain. All the more reason to get to this place and build a decent shelter. He thought to himself. As the trio made their to higher ground, right next to the dock, Hyleana froze in her tracks.
Two female night elves and one male were standing between two draenei-built tents. "Friends of yours?" he asked in a hushed tone. She said nothing, but he followed her gaze to the taller of the two women. Looking closer, he saw that she was eternally beautiful with two long white braids and a small crown adorning the top of her head. She had a pink tone to her skin, but the markings around her eyes were like claw marks, similar to the ones on Hyleana's face.
The two females were conversing, but the man was working on making something; Lorus had not time to take in more of their details for he noticed that Hyleana had moved quietly off the path. Rushing after her, the two stopped behind a tree. "Do you want to explain yourself?" he hissed at her. "Hush!" she silenced him. "Stay here. I will be right back." Lorus watched as the night elf made her presence almost undetectable as she slipped into the shadows.
Hyleana crept closer to the back of the tents and silently listened. She worried that this technique may only work on enemies and not other night elves, but she needed to try. Desperately, she strained her hearing to listen to the conversation between the other two females, which wasn't hard. "I need to find her." The white-haired one was saying in a harsh voice. "I'm sorry, but we only just got back from the Teldrassil. Had I seen your daughter, I would have told you, my sister." Responded the other. But Hyleana had heard all she needed to hear.
Hyleana quietly moved back to Lorus's location, lucky to have not been detected. As she made her presence visible again, she looked at the blood elf with contempt in her eyes. "Please stay very quite and follow me. If they find us, we will never make it." Lorus nodded, not fully comprehending the tone in the situation. Looking to the saber that crouched at his heels, he noticed that even the feline had taken a more tense composure, but it did not dare growl. Slipping into the woods once more, the small group made it's way up towards the Exodar.
The uneven ground made maneuvering the cart a painful and loud procedure as the forest got thicker, but once she was sure her fellow night elves could not hear or see her, she made her way back to the even path. "Will you explain what happened?" Lorus asked angrily from behind her. "When we get to our final destination, yes." She responded.
The two made it to the Exodar much faster as Hyleana had not slowed her pace since the previous tents. "Pull your hood over you face more." She instructed her companion. Walking through the Exodar as though he was an Alliance member felt strange. The light had not lifted much, so he hoped that Hyleana's hypothesis on the color of his skin was correct. He could see suspicion glisten in the eyes of the draenei that spotted him, but as they saw Hyleana they smiled. "Hyleana!" a voice called. A tall draenei woman with long black hair came rushing out of the main building's entrance.
"Kazeleora!" Hyleana smiled at her friend. "You come back so soon? Are you alright? It's only been a few hours!" asked the concerned creature. "I am traveling with my brother to build our new home." She stated without missing a beat. Kazeleora's eyes flickered over to Lorus's hooded figure. He could see a sense of sadness register in her eyes. Hyleana had obviously taken not and quickly explained in a hushed voice, "He is badly burnt on his face, my friend. Whilst on our travels, we got ambushed by a few orcs... What they did to him..." she left off shivering. Lorus had to admit, she was a good storyteller.
"I apologize for using your cloak in this way... I know it was a sign of friendship. But he knows that his face... It frightens people-"
"Say no more." The Kazeleora. She smiled. "I am glad it came in good use." Hyleana looked relieved. She had not wanted her friend to suspect she thought nothing of their recent acquaintanceship. "May you do me one more favor?" Hyleana thought quickly. "A night elf with white braids may come here at any moment. If she asks for her daughter, will you tell her she left?" she asked in such a hushed tone that not even Lorus was unsure if he'd heard her right.
Kazeleora gave a concerned look, but nodded. "I shall say she is no longer in Azeroth if that be what you wish." She smiled. Hyleana's relief was carved so deeply into her face, it hurt. "I can never repay you for your kindness." She told the draenei. After an apologetic goodbye, the trio rushed off again into the wilderness. It would not be long after they left that the white night elf entered the Exodar.
Kazeleora intercepted her before any of her fellows could greet her. "Welcome, friend. How may I assist you?" Her silver eyes were similar to her daughter's, yet colder. "I seek my daughter, Hyleana Starfall." She bluntly stated. "Hyleana was here, but left yesterday. She said her destination was Stormwind. From there, I do not know." The night elf merely sighed and asked for directions to the hippogriff master. Kazeleora made sure to see her off, but wondered why it was that this mother was looking for her daughter and not her son.
