It seemed that this Sylvanas did not travel very light. Luna could see one large pack, a bedroll, and her weapons; which included two long hunting knives, her longbow and quiver, and an assortment of smaller, decidedly unfriendly looking knives strapped to various places on her body and clothing. 'All she needs now is the kitchen sink and maybe a cannon to supplement her arsenal', he thought as he finally gave her a more than cursory glance. She seemed to have quite the temper on her and he was not so keen on being knocked out for a third time. 'Suppose I can watch my mouth for just a little while', he mused. Luna stood, shaking off any accumulated reminders of the forest floor. He chuckled internally as her ever-sharp gaze turned even more wary. "Look Sylvanas, I really do mean you no harm, I swear it on Malorne's left antler." Her wariness did not seem abated in the slightest, "That is my favorite of his antlers you know, I would never break a vow sworn on it." He smiled hoping some humor might relax her a bit. It didn't.
With eyes still cutting as jagged stone she spoke, much frustration in her voice. "I do not care what you swear upon druid, if you dare cross me, I will kill you swiftly." The steel in her eyes did give him pause. Sure she seemed young, but often with younger elves they were all the more eager to prove their strength. He'd seen it often enough with the newer druids he worked with in The Cenarion Circle. They did not realize their fragility, only their impatience. It often led to quarrels amongst the younger members. She stepped carefully over to where her pack and bedroll lay haphazardly across from the fire. "Do not give me reason to doubt your upholding your end of our bargain, you simpleton." She proceeded to quickly and tidily pack up her small tent, and clear away any overt signs of a campsite, besides the fire which she began to stoke again to cook breakfast. Still eyeing him warily she rolled up her bedroll and shouldered it and her large pack in one fluid motion, lifting her nose at him in a silent huff.
His smile slipped only for a moment before it was back plastered on his face. "Yes of course your highness, I would never dream of it." She continued to look unimpressed, 'This seems to be becoming a pattern.' He thought bemusedly. "So where are we headed now O captor of mine?" Luna hoped it somewhere close, he really did have better things to be doing...that grass was quite delicious.
She sniffed in disdain at his sarcastic attitude, but her eyes seemed a little less hostile. "We will journey to my family's estate at once. It is three months of hard travel through thick and dangerous forest from here." At his wondering glance she continued, "I have ventured this far to look for a healer to attend to my sister. Now that I have found one of some skill," At this she paused and looked questioningly at him until he nodded his affirmation. "We will make our way back to her as swiftly as possible. You will do as you are told and then you will never step foot in the land of the Quel'Dorei again, is that clear?" He nodded quickly, smiling slightly. 'She said nothing about stepping hoof in her land again.' He laughed at his newfound loophole, yes he was quite the genius wasn't he? 'That grass will be mine!'
The sun had started shining brightly through the canopy only about an hour previously but that did not stop the woods from becoming fully awake. Birds sang, trees hummed, even the grass seemed content. Sylvanas had finished putting out the last embers of fire and collected up her frayed rope. She looked at the idiot expectantly, "Come," She spoke forcefully, "You will walk in front, I'll not have you where I can not see you." Watching as he began to walk in the direction she had indicated, she smirked, it felt good to be in command. She was too used to the older, more experienced rangers bossing her around. Her smirk dropped quickly as she noticed the frustrating elf's even more frustrating face.
"You just can't keep your eyes off me huh? Don't feel bad, it's not as if you're the first elleth that's felt that way." Sylvanas grit her teeth, this...this...moron was insufferable! Such insolence! Did he not realise she could kill him whenever she wished? Unfortunately he probably knew that she wouldn't, as then her best chance of saving her sister died with him, she wished he'd at least act scared. She hated when people patronised her, the fact that her current antagonist was also her new prisoner made the situation even more frustrating. Sylvanas was distracted from her musing as this Luna character began to hum. She was about to let loose a biting command to be silent when she was struck by how nice the tune was. He had a rich, melodious voice and even the trees and the animals in them seemed to be listening intently. She saw him look at her with a slightly smug expression on his ageless face. She realised she had been making a rather unflattering surprised expression at him.
"I see that you are in awe of my beautiful voice as well huh?" He winked, and began to skirt away quickly at her rising anger. "Wait wait!", he laughed "I'm only teasing! It is natural that my song made you dazed, I laced it slightly with my magic, it is a song to help the trees grow." At this he smiled, "These trees have not had a druid to tend them since they were but nut and acorn, they're very excited to meet me." Sylvanas was surprised. He could communicate with the forest itself? What other powers did druids; and this druid specifically, possess? She might not be the first to admit it, but the Quel'Dorei did not have a very expansive base of knowledge on druids. There had hardly ever even been druids in their realm, only a few that had been passing through much like this Lunarious fellow had. Though they were received slightly better as that had been in the time of peace, before their skirmishes with the Trolls began in earnest a few hundred years ago. Could he really speak to the trees? Curious, she asked. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, I suppose I haven't really thought about that since my trainee days with Shan'do Malfurion." He paused as he stepped over some flowers, smiling at the bees happily buzzing about. "As a Kal'Dorei, we have an affinity towards all of nature, and many of my people can communicate in some way with trees and animals and the like. Druids though are able to communicate on a much higher level, think a small child versus an adult. It probably sounds like nonsense, but I am able to speak to the plant and animal life just as easily as I am able to speak to you. Shamans have a similar ability with the elements, warlocks with demons, priests and paladins with spirits. Many hunters are also able to communicate with their pets."
By this point he was smiling excitedly and gesturing wildly about. Sylvanas surprised herself by smiling lightly. She hadn't expected him to sound so knowledgeable, but she supposed that even idiots had their bright spots. Still curious she interrupted him before he went off on another long tangent. "And this tree," She pointed to an ancient gnarly willow that was slightly off their path. "What is this tree saying right now?" She stopped walking and looked expectantly at Luna.
"Well," He drawled slowly as he strode to place a hand on the thick bark of the old tree. "They say that they don't like your blades, and that you have a nice sounding voice." He made a stricken face. "I disagree, very harsh on the ears!" He made a big show of clasping his long ears in pain. Sylvanas was not amused and simply laid a hand threateningly on her long hunting knife. Watching his face pale he frantically followed with, "I'm only kidding! You have a very lovely voice, ever so soothing! I wish you'd sing me to sleep every night!" Her frown deepened. Speaking quickly while back away and holding his hands up in surrender, "They also say that you are welcome to the shade of the forest, and are happy to have you as their protector. The trees speak often of the rangers of the Quel' Dorei, and just as often of their many efforts in protecting the realm.
Sylvans stopped walking towards Luna abruptly. The trees were really thankful for them? They truly appreciated their efforts? She had never considered what the forest itself thought of her and her sisters' work, only its denizens. This struck her profoundly, and she found herself feeling very honored. She gently made her way to the trunk of the gnarled willow. Placing a hand on it softly, she whispered, "Thank you for your praise friend, it is much appreciated." Turning quickly back to her prisoner she saw a gentle smile on his face that was quickly wiped away in exchange for his now normal teasing grin. "What?" She demanded, annoyed.
"Nothing, nothing, I just did not know you could be such a big softie, O great captor of mine."
She sniffed, "Yes well, I am allowed to have feelings, I am not some kind of automaton!" She started their journey again briskly, calling out over her shoulder. "If I do not see your sorry hide walking in front of me in the next five seconds, I'll be pulling a second one of my arrows from it!" She laughed softly to herself as she saw him shift to the form of an elk and bound in front of her as fast as he could. 'Maybe this trip would not be so bad after all' She thought.
As the day progressed, and they walked farther, Sylvans noticed Luna becoming more contemplative. He was not singing any more and he had hardly even teased her in the last few hours. While she welcomed the silence and lack of his annoying personality, she wondered if he was plotting something. Looking once more at the serious faced elf out of her peripheral she felt a strange inclination to ask him what was wrong. "Whatever is bothering you, you cretin? You had better not be planning to escape."
He looked back at her in surprise. "Hmmm? Did you say something Silk Canvas?" Sylvanas felt a low growl building in her throat as she marched forward. Sensing his impending doom, he raised his hands placatingly. "Forgive me, I am just out of sorts because I misplaced my staff and only just realised it a few hours after we had already left."
Sylvanas frowned, with Alleria so sick she did not wish to waste anymore time getting home than necessary, but if the loss of his staff negatively impacted his healing abilities then she supposed the doubling back would be worth it. "We can double back for it but we must travel as swiftly as possible. I want to more than twice cover the distance we're losing by nightfall." She was annoyed with the situation and with the fool's terrible memory but she had to do whatever she could to save her sister.
He smiled a half grin. "Oh no it's alright, a few of my forest friends told me they would grab it for me, I'm only concerned because they should have caught up to us a long while ago." His grin slipped into a small frown. "Perhaps we should go check on their progress, I do want to make sure they're-" Suddenly he bared his teeth in a snarl. "Trolls! Trolls have stolen my staff and killed my friends!" Sylvanas felt herself take a small step back, his rage was palpable and left a heavy tension in the air. She could hear no bird song, and even the trees had stopped rustling. "Trolls should know better than to needlessly kill, the trees," He took a shaky breath. "They told me that they did not even take the corpses of the family of foxes that were carrying my staff." His expression darkened even further. Such malice need be punished." Bringing his eyes to hers, he said, "Sylvanas, would you mind coming with me, I need to find out why these trolls have done this and as I am no warrior I will need your help, and be glad for it."
She shook herself from her stupor, regardless of his staff, trolls in the realm of the Quel' Dorei could not be tolerated. Normally she would swiftly gather a few of her sisters to hunt them down, but she was so far removed from the nearest outpost that they would be long gone by the time the elves had returned. Still thinking she asked, "How many are there and which direction are they headed?"
She watched as he stilled for a moment until he turned to her and said, "They say a group of around fifteen, a raiding party that has split off from the main force. They are moving towards us, but it seems as though they are just setting up camp for the night, they are heavily burdened and pull a wagon. That is strange for a raiding party but no matter, they will all die the same." He snarled and gestured at her to come to him. Suddenly he was once again in the form of a great horned owl. "Come Sylvanas, climb on my back, there is dark work to be done." Sylvanas was hesitant but if he was offering a faster form of transportation, who was she to refuse. The newly shown ferocity did worry her though, it seemed as if her prisoner was not all the fool he appeared to be. With a terse nod of agreement she swiftly climbed onto his broad feathered back. She was surprised, his owl form was hardier than the feel of most avian creatures, though she supposed it had to be to be able to carry another person. With the thought that his feathers were supremely soft, and the following thought of questioning why she cared, she settled in for a tense flight. Crouching low to cover from the biting wind, she kept her eyes slitted to look for the troll camp.
With the speed gained by his flying them, they reached the troll camp in about an hour, right as evening was beginning to cloak the forest. Alighting down upon a knoll that was looking down on the camp, the two crouched to hide their silhouettes, with Luna shifting to the form of a cat and sniffing the air. Sylvanas was rather unnerved to suddenly have a large predator so near her but she dare not let any hesitation show in front of her annoying prisoner. Her keen eyes scoured the camp, looking for the druid's staff and any guards they may have posted on the perimeter. She cursed darkly. The trees had misunderstood. "These trolls are cultists of Hakkar, the Blood God." Beside her, she felt Luna still, and turn his feline face towards her. "They are not a raiding party of the forest trolls that live to the south, they are frost trolls from the northern continent. Their Blood God is vicious and it is said that the more they kill, and the crueler their methods, the more pleased he will be on their victorious return." She scowled darkly. Though the woods this far north were sparsely populated, there were still many innocent elves that could have already been butchered by these foul cultists.
Luna looked at her mournfully, with a rising fury in his large eyes. "I smell the blood of many coming from their largest tent. At least," at this he paused and smelled the air again. "Around a hundred Quel' Dorei scents." He faltered. "They do not smell fresh enough to be...living elves."
Sylvanas grit her teeth. How dare the trolls! How did they sneak past the border guards? She should have been there to stop them, should have known somehow! It made her blood boil to think of all the misery they had sewn while she had been galavanting around in the hope of finding a healer. Her hand tightened around her knife, they would pay dearly for this. Just as she made to rise she felt a soft touch on her arm and flinched in surprise.
Luna was looking at her with that mixture of rage and misery. "The forest tells me of their cruelty, I will not tell you what transpired but rest assured, these devils will not leave this camp alive." He gestured her to come back down into a crouching position, she had not realised she had started to her feet again. "I understand your rage, Ranger, but we must wait for sundown. The two of us against the score of them does not bode well in a frontal assault. Besides, I have a plan." She was once again surprised by his dark expression. In the short while she had traveled with him she had mostly seen him smile, but now he bared his teeth, which, while in the form of a large panther was intimidating enough that Sylvanas' pulse involuntarily quickened. He spoke again, softer this time, "The woods whisper to me of the trail of destruction these monsters have left behind them. They slash and burn so many innocent plants, animals, and people for no reason other than their own enjoyment! The trees want their revenge, and I plan to give it to them."
Sylvanas was not sure what that meant, but she was unsettled. "What do you mean, you will give them revenge?" Her doubt must have shown on her face for he was quick to answer.
"There is a spell. My Shan'do taught me it. It is a spell that gives trees the ability to move of their own volition. It is mainly used to help trees get to better soil, or if there is a wildfire, to escape from it. It is only taught to experienced druids as it is very mana intensive and can be very dangerous if the caster is not of strong will. It also takes almost complete concentration so the caster is unable to move, that is why it is almost never used in battle." He gazed back down at the camp.
"And what does this mean for our plan exactly?" Sylvanas asked. "Are you suggesting we send the trees to fight for us?" Her brow was furrowed as she waited for an answer.
He shited to his elf form and sat down, his back against a nearby oak. "Yes, that is exactly what I am suggesting. The forest is heavy with rage, it has been many years since I have seen one so angry." He looked at her and locked his gaze to hers. "I will slowly move some of their roots beneath the camp throughout the day. As soon as the sun has set and the moon has risen, you can use that scary looking bow of yours to take out the sentries. After you've done that, please protect me as I cast the spell. The trees will handle the rest." He sighed, "There will be much blood spilled tonight, I only wish we had known about these villains sooner, perhaps we could have saved some of your people."
Unwilling to think about how she had let her citizens down she merely hemmed in affirmation and settled down against the broad trunk of the oak besides Lunarious to wait. The next few hours were spent in silence, with Slyvanas keeping a sharp look out for any trolls that might have spotted them and Luna seemingly in deep conversation with the forest around them. As the first light of the moon shown upon her brow she stretched and nudged Luna with her boot. He looked around startled before remembering where he was and his face once again turned dour. "Are you ready, Luna?" She asked quietly. At his nod they both one again crept up to the edge of the knoll to look down upon the camp. The trolls had been busy, a roaring fire crackled loudly at the center, and four of the trolls rotated the camp slowly, keeping an eye out for intruders. Edging back to the oak, she grasped her great bow as Luna settled into a meditative position. Nodding to each other she began to take aim at the nearest sentry. As soon as his comrades' backs were turned she struck him down with a shaft to the head. The other three quickly followed suit in the same manor, her precision honed from hundreds of years of bowmenship. She turned and once more nodded to the waiting druid. He closed his golden eyes and began to chanel mana for the spell. Sylvanas' eyes widened, he wasn't kidding when he said this spell cost a large quantity of mana. She may not be as attuned to magic as some of her seniors in the rangers, but even she could feel the massive amount of mana coming from the muttering druid. She felt as if her eyes could not grow any wider as she watched huge roots burst through the soil of the camp and wrap themselves around the startled trolls. Suddenly, it was as if the forest was a sea of green, a massive tidal wave crashing upon the panicking invaders. Tents were torn to shreds, and Sylvanas could hear the incoherent screams of the trolls as they were made to mimic their tents. She almost forgot to be on guard so lost was she in the spectacle. She had hardly seen so much blood in her life. Glancing back at Lunarious, she saw that his brow was beaded heavily with sweat, and his hands were glowing fiercely with untamed wild magic, the shapes of vines and leaves flashing and flailing in quick succession. Returning her eyes to the battlefield, she spotted a few trolls trying to flee, 'Were it so easy to hide from me.' She thought darkly to herself. An arrow to the back for each of them was the only escape she allowed them. She spent the next few minutes picking off any stragglers that had somehow managed to evade the trees with a cold fury, her snarling mouth growing harder to wipe away with each kill. Sparing a glance to Luna she was taken aback by how strained he looked. His arms still swaying and wrapped in glowing nature magic were badly shaking, and he looked as if he would topple over any second now. Deciding that it was unlikely there were any trolls left to escape she moved to Luna's side, it would not do if her only chance of healing her sister died from a cracked skull before she could even bring him home. She watched the rage of the forest in awed silence. The trees were literally tearing the trolls limb from limb. She could no longer hear any screams, only the crashing and groaning of the angry forest. A few more minutes passed of the trees enacting their vengeance until they too turned still and calm, returning to the turned soil they had sprung from. She felt like she had forgotten how to breathe. Such destructive power, such ruthlessness. Her eyes wandered from tree to bloody tree. Nature was truly not to be underestimated. She turned as she heard a groan, this one elven in origin. Luna was holding his head in his hands, which were still shaking heavily. "Are you alright? You do not look so good, not that you ever do." She asked him hesitantly.
He smiled drly at her, but it seemed her attempt at levity had not worked as well as she'd hoped. In his eyes was a deep exhaustion. "I have not had to strain myself that hard for a long while, just give me a moment for pity's sake." He took several deep breaths, and made as if to stand, but instead crashed back down after his legs gave out. He smiled weakly at her, "Forgive me lady ranger, but I might need some help standing up."
Her lip curled in distaste, help her prisoner? The idiot who'd knocked himself out while trying to escape from her? Well she supposed that after he had done most of the work clearing out the trolls, the least she could do was help him up. Grasping his fore arm she hefted him into a standing position waiting until he seemed balanced to let go. She should have known that he would fall again right as she stepped away. She managed to catch him with her slim shoulders under one of his large arms. She had done that reflexively but immediately regretted it. She was sure he would smell just awful. She was...pleasantly surprised. His scent was that of lavender and grass, earthy and comforting. She inhaled deeply before she caught herself and shoved him away none too gently. What was she doing!? Smelling her prisoner? She had spent too long alone wandering the woods, she decided that as soon as she got home she would look for a nice Quel'Dorei elf to go out to Silvermoon with on a date. Perhaps the elf that helped with father's hawkstriders, he seemed nice enough. Hearing a cough she was startled from her musings by the red tinted face of the idiot she had captured. "Thank you, Saltana Bincracker, much appreciated." He smiled widely. "Forgive me if I'm a little out of sorts, I'm rather light headed at the moment." Turning from her to the direction of the destroyed camp, the grin slid from his face. "I suppose we should go investigate what's left of the camp now huh?"
Still fuming slightly from his purposefully misnaming her, she shoved her bow onto her back and strode purposely ahead of him, not waiting for him to catch up. She wished she had not rushed though as what greeted her was ghastly by even the most veteran of warriors standards. To say the trolls had been ravaged would be putting it lightly. They were barely recognisable as trolls anymore, many of them missing all of their limbs. The only thing left untouched in the camp was the large tent in the middle. She slowed her walk. She knew what waited for her there, and was not excited by the prospect of what she would find. She halted in front of the entrance to the tent, even her nose could smell the blood.
A soft gasp escaped her lips as a large warm hand gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Too unsettled to be angry at his nonchalant contact she merely glared up at his solemn face before glaring even harder at the tent flap that hid Sunwell knew what evils. Taking a deep breath she thrust through the entrance. Only to stop in mute horror at the scene that was before her. Bodies of her people were stren everywhere, some hung on hooks like meat, others obviosuly strapped to deviced of torture. So many severed limbs and heads gazed glassily back at her that she desperately fought the urge to empty her stomach. The trolls had been eating her people! Turning to the door to stop her companion from seeing this hellscape she found Luna, who had already followed her in. His expression was first one of shock, and tears trailed quickly and heavily down his face, slowly he bared his teeth in mute rage. His expression was thunderous, and she could see small streams of mana begin to crackle off of him in waves. The air grew dense and heavy and she struggled to find her breath. His eyes were glowing so bright, so furious. She had to do something, anything to calm him down. She slowly reached out a small hand to his chest, feeling coiled muscle underneath, taunt and ready for battle. "Luna, Luna look at me." She choked out. He did not seem to notice her, his gazed fixed on a row of severed children's heads. She was struggling with her own rage, it burned red hot in her chest, begging for an outlet. A caster though was much more dangerous if their magic went out of control, she had heard stories of mages that had literally combusted from the strength of their mana, their bodies unable to control the magic. He was also already running dangerously low on mana. "Lunarious! Look at me right now." This seemed to reach through to him as he slowly slid his eyes to hers. It was not enough. His teeth still bared and his magic was still spiraling out of control. As she tried desperately to figure out a way to calm him down, suddenly his magic ceased entirely. It felt like all the air had been sucked back into the room and she could finally breathe again, though the stench of corpses encouraged her not to breathe too deeply. She looked up at his face confused. Only to see intense confusion mirrored back at her.
"It can't be." He muttered. He suddenly started sprinting towards the back of the tnet, which had until this point been obscured from view by several crates. Sylvanas had yet to make to follow him, she stood rooted to her spot, bewildered by this turn of events. As she began in his direction she heard a joyous sobbing. "Oh thank Elune! Sylvie! There is one that yet lives!" Overjoyed she made a mad dash beyond the crates. The sight that greeted her was a welcome one. A young elleth, a mere child was held tightly in Luna's arms. It looked like he had already chewed through her bonds. She had large eyes, and vivid red hair that had been hacked to shoulder length. Her only clothing was a bloodied sack with rough hewn holes in it. The trolls had likely used it for...food, before she had fashioned it into clothing. Luna looked back at Sylvanas desperately. "She is badly injured, and horribly malnutritioned, we must get her out of here immediately."
Wasting no time Sylvanas swiftly drew her long knife and cut a large swath into the canvas of the tent wall beside them. "Well, come on Luna, hurry!" She watched as he gently stood and cradled the girl, heading quickly out the slash with Sylvanas right on his heels. The small girl was little more than skin and bones, and Sylvanas had seen brutal, unhealed gashes all over her frail frame. As Luna carried the girl back to the grassy knoll they had previously used as a look out, Sylvanas called to him, "What can I do to help?".
He turned his head as he laid the child down on the softest, thickest patch of grass he could find. "Please find my staff! It will help me channel my mana. I feel it in the direction of the fire." Given a task that she could actually help with, she turned and ran towards the now only softly glowing fire. She cast her gaze around quickly, rushing to find the staff. She finally found it clutched in the blue hand of a severed arm of one of the trolls. 'They must have sensed its power and thought to use it.' She guessed. It took a moment to pry the large fingers open, quickly tossing the arm aside, she grabbed the staff, a long piece of what looked like still living wood, that was wrapped in several types of vines. It thrummed with magical energy.
She dashed back to the knoll, a mad curiosity bursting in her heart. She needed to know if the little elleth would live. As she crested the small rise, she stared confusedly at what looked to be tall, living creatures that resembled actual trees. "Yes! Thank you Sylvanas." Said Luna as he reached behind him without looking, holding out his right hand for the staff while with his left he cast a steady healing spell.
"Uh, sure." She said lamely as she locked eyes with one of the tree creatures.
"Say hello to Branch, Bough, and Twig. I raised them from seedlings I found to help me with caring for the girl." The one that appeared to be Twig smiled at her as he concentrated a low level healing spell on one of the girls bruises. They are handling the minor injuries, while I," With this he grasped his staff in his right hand and held it above the girl while focusing on the most serious looking of the gashes with his left. "Handle the worst ones." Wild magic blossomed forth from
His hand in a twisting wave. Sylvanas could tell he was pouring all that was left of his mana into healing the most pressing of her wounds. Amazed, she watched as the minutes ticked by and all of the girls many wounded began to slowly close, turn to scar tissue, and gently fade. Finally after many terse minutes of concentrated silence, Luna let loose a loud sigh and sat back on his bottom before flopping down exhaustively on his back.
"Will she be ok?" Sylvanas asked gently.
He took a moment to respond. "I believe she will make it just fine. I took care of all of her gravest injuries, the Treants took care of the little ones. My biggest concern now is getting some nutrients in her, that is much harder to heal with magic." With that he looked at the trio of treants. "Boys would you mind foraging for something for us to eat? I'm very grateful for the help you've already given and I understand if you want to go do your own thing." The treants smiled and nodded tiredly, it seemed they still wished to help. He turned his head back to Sylvanas and coughed haughtily. "The reason the healing took so long was a few factors. First those wounds were not very fresh and had actually already started to be infected. Secondly, I was running very low on mana already so I had to be extra careful; and lastly, healing children is alway more dangerous because they tend to be much weaker than adults."
Luna seemed to want to prove his worth to her. She smiled softly, She had only been with him a day and she already was going soft on him. What would her superiors say? "Thank you very much for helping her." She began, "Take a rest now, I will remain on watch, and when the Treants return I shall make all three of us a very late dinner." She chuckled at his dumbstruck expression. Was she not allowed to be complicated? She rummaged through her pack and frowned. She had only a few pieces of dried meat and a dwindling supply of nuts and gathered mushrooms. The stupid druid had already eaten a third of her rations and it had only been a half a day since she'd foraged last! She swore to herself she'd make him eat grass for the rest of the trip if he kept up his habit of sneaking food when she wasn't looking. "Druid." She paused as he looked up from tending to the girl. "Explain to me where all my lost food has gone right now," She scowled at him. "Or I shall skewer and eat you instead." She immediately regretted her threat, as images of butchered elves burned in her mind.
Luna must have noticed her grimace as he tried to speak with levity and smiled sheepishly. "Grass is delicious but it does get quite tedious after a while. I did not think you'd begrudge me just a few small morsels." He looked up at her from his crouching position with what she assumed was his best attempt at a pout.
"A few small- you idiot! You've eaten nearly half my food! In fact, the only reason you're here right now is because I was hunting when I came across you." She could feel a small migraine coming on as he kept looking at her with that hideous attempt of a pout. Pinching the bridge of her nose, an action she'd done more in the last day than she had in the last year previously, she began to tell him exactly where he could shove his few small morsels when he interrupted her with a clap. Blinking in surprise she was about to start berating him again when he yelled, "My staff!"
Uncertain if he was still light headed from excessive mana use she started slowly. "Your...staff?"
"Yes yes! Here, look!" He said excitedly as he grabbed his staff and brought it close before her. "This staff was a gift from Ysera herself! She bestowed it upon me after I saved an entire cave of green dragon hatchlings from dragon hunters. Its core is a branch from Nordrassil, our most sacred of trees."
"Yes, it seems to be a very nice staff, how does this help you escape my wrath?" She said dryly.
"We get there when we get there." He teased. "Forgive me for wanting to show off my extraordinary weapon, it is the stuff of legends!" He turned his nose up at her.
Against her will, she felt the corner of her mouth curl into a small smile. "Ah yes, the extraordinary weapon that you misplaced and forgot this morning. That weapon right?"
For a moment he seemed dumbstruck, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he could think of a retort. "Anyway, watch!"
With that he held the end of his staff above her hand. The vines that entwined it's length slowly swirled until they coalesced above her waiting palm. She watched in amazement as several types of tree fruit began to grow and ripen in the span of a few moments. There were a few apples, an orange, and even a small bunch of a yellow fruit she believed were called bananas, though she had only ever read of them in tales from the south. Gently placing the tip of his staff, and the now ripe fruit with it onto her bedroll, he twirled his now fruit free staff and did a grand bow. "So this mighty weapon of yours makes fruit?" She deadpanned.
Luna looked affronted. "It can also make vegetables! And flowers! I'm still figuring it out, I only just got it a few months ago." She squinted in distaste, this Kal' Dorei truly was in such a bratty mood right now.
"Well how often can you do this? Every meal? How useful is this skill?"
He scratched lightly at his ear, that infuriatingly dense look on his face was back. "Uh, I think I can do it once a day max, at least right now." Well at least he wasn't a total waste of space. Just then she heard rustling from the outskirts of their small fires light. Her bow was drawn and arrow primed before she even realized it was just the Treants returning. Hopefully they had found something adequate to supplement the fruit that Luna had created. Her eyes widened as she took in the sheer amount of nuts and berries that Twig, Branch, and Bough were each carrying. Smiling they dumped their catch on Sylvanas' bedroll with the fruit, made a few noises to Lunarious, who hugged each of them tightly, and then shambled away into the dark. He turned to her while wiping at his eyes suspiciously. "They said a few woodland creatures were happy to help, they also wished us safe journeys and promised me they'd do their best to protect this part of the forest from now on." His smile seemed fragile but genuine. "Anyway, let's eat! We should also make sure to make the little elleth a small meal she can eat when she wakes."
"Any when do you think that will be?" Sylvanas said while gathering up the fruit and berries to prepare them into a fruit salad with the nuts.
"She should awaken some time tomorrow afternoon. I do not want to move her until she can at least have something to eat, the wild magic that healed her is still settling in."
Sylvanas nodded while chewing her lip. This was all taking precious time. Time she was not sure her sister had. She supposed that it could not be helped, she was not about to abandon a small child alone in the deep forest. They spoke idly while she prepared their meal, and extra leftovers for the girl. It was a little difficult to prepare food for three with her small camping utensils and instruments, but she managed. She found herself laughing at the druids antics throughout the meal. She wondered if his excessive buffoonery was his way of trying to cheer her up, near stranger she may be. The images of what lay inside that tent kept flashing through her mind whenever she closed her eyes. Suppressing a grimace, she told Luna to stay put and went to scout around the camp, lest she missed something in their stakeout earlier. She knew he would not be going anywhere without the child and he said himself that she could not yet be moved. As she slipped into the darkness of the shade from the canopy, she thought to herself, 'This was going to be a long night'.
Elune's light shed soft luminance on the harsh scene of the ruined troll camp. It was deep into the night but the two travelers camped on the knoll above the carnage were still awake. The elleth kept a watchful eye on the darkened woods around them, wary of any lingering cultist that the trees may have missed. The druid sat slumped against the large oak opposite her side of the fire. His eyes were shut in focus and small sparks of mana could be seen shooting from his body. "Whatever are you doing, Kal'Dorei?" Asked Sylvanas.
Quirking a brow but keeping his eyes shut, Luna seemed to concentrate before speaking. "This spell is called Innervate, it is used to regain one's mana. Druids draw the natural mana from the air and channel it through their or another's body to replenish them." He took a slow breath. "Much like my earlier spell, this one also takes most of my focus, it also takes quite a while depending on if there is an abundance of mana in the air."
"I...see." Sylvanas almost regretted asking. For such a cheerful and seemingly empty headed elf, he sure did like to go on and on about his spells. "Well why did you not cast that earlier, before you healed the girl?"
"I did not think I had time, I was not exaggerating when I said she was badly injured. By the time we found her, I imagine she was mere minutes from death.' he softly brushed the little elleth's deep red curls from her face without so much as cracking an eye open. "This little one has faced such hardships, it is a gift from Elune that we found her just in time. It seemed he had finished his spell as he opened his eyes and let loose a deep, tired sigh. "I believe it is time for me at least to go to bed. Druids need their beauty sleep you know."
Sylvanas snorted in reply. "You should sleep for a few centuries then, maybe it could do something about your unfortunate looks." He simply stuck his tongue out and rolled over, getting up to look for a good place to rest. She smirked to herself, she was rather proud of that retort. It was strange, but she found herself falling into an easy camaraderie with this nimrod of a Night elf. She supposed that could be dangerous but she believed herself a better judge of character than most and though she could tell he could be vicious at times, it felt to her that his natural state was one of easy kindness. She would never admit it to him, but she admired his care-free lifestyle. Sylvanas was an elleth of serious determination. She did not often crack big jokes and was usually more on the focused, contemplative side. Her family, her father especially, expected great things from her and she had always risen to the challenge. Her two elder brothers, Lirath and Sylvos, had both proven themselves as Paladins serving the crown. Her elder sister Alleria and her younger sister Vereesa had both joined the Ranger Corps when she had, making it difficult to distinguish herself in her parents' eyes. She understood that they would be proud of her whatever she chose to do but she still yearned to please them. Her whole life, her strictest motivator and harshest critic had always been herself, and though she was still young by Quel' Dorei standards she knew she was destined for greatness. That was why she always pushed herself harder and farther than her fellow junior rangers. Realizing she had been lost in thought, she glanced around their moonlit camp. The druid was in his bear form, curled protectively around the little elleth. Sylvanas squinted, feeling like something was missing until she found it. Her bedroll, the only one they had available was rolled underneath the girl as a pillow. She smiled through a sigh, resigning herself to her fate of a night without a soft, precious bedroll. Though the Quel' Dorei did not sleep as much as other races, after the last few days, she felt like she could sleep for a week. Deciding that their secluded knoll was hidden enough that they could do without a watch for the night, she set a few simple traps and on her return, laid down on the other side of the small elleth, who had taken most of the good grass. She had hardly laid her head down before she slipped away into a thankfully dreamless sleep.