Vylaris' Perspective
Vylaris opened his eyes and stared up at the cobweb-infested ceiling for a few moments as the memories of the day before started to come to him. He quickly glanced over to where Azdralin should have been, but she was nowhere to be seen, and neither was her pet. Vylaris sat up and took another look around, confirming that she definitely wasn't in the room. He wondered if his words or even his appearance caused her to up and leave, but he figured it was probably for the best.
He began to quickly gather his things; Azdralin could be leading her forces right to his hideout this very instant, why else would she have left? Vylaris froze as he heard footsteps coming up the ramp of the spire. He grabbed the one dagger still sheathed in his belt and readied himself for an ambush, but that ambush never came. It was just Azdralin, her snowy beast padding behind her.
Azdralin looked up and blinked in confusion. "Uh, what's the rush?"
Vylaris sheathed his blade and stopped what he was doing. "Oh, nothing." He sighed softly, was that relief he felt?
Azdralin approached him cautiously. "When I got up you were pretty knocked out so I didn't want to wake you. I made it over to Tranquillien and grabbed some supplies for us."
Tranquillien was still occupied by the blood elves and served as a supply point for their forces, but it was originally a civilian village before everything happened. Vylaris was surprised that she went there and didn't even report his location; because if she did, they wouldn't be talking right now, and he'd probably be locked up in a cell. "Wait, what do you mean by us?" He asked suddenly.
Azdralin's eyes widened a bit and she stammered. "Oh, I just figured we'd probably be stuck together for a while until we came up with a way to settle things." She glanced towards his belongings that he had begun to pack away. "Unless you were planning on just running away."
"No...I thought you weren't coming back."
"Awe, so you missed me?" Azdralin mused. Vylaris glared at her and decided not to answer. Azdralin shook her head and seemed to hold back laughter. "I was just kidding, don't look at me like that." She took one of the bags from her side and handed it to him.
Vylaris rolled his eyes and took the bag from her, opening it up to reveal a few breads, some fruit, and some dried meat. "Quite the luxurious meal you've got here."
Azdralin raised a brow at him. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, so I'll just say 'you're welcome'." She sat down on her makeshift bed and dug into her bag, pulling out an apple to eat.
As he sat down, Vylaris looked over at her and for a moment, took in her appearance. She had such silky looking hair that was a rather brilliant, powder-blue color, which was quite unheard of among blood elves. Her eyes glowed with the same color, with almost a purple tint. He never really paid any attention to such details, not when they were literally trying to kill each other.
"Vylaris?" Azdralin's voice broke his train of thought and he realized he was staring at her. He immediately turned his head away and felt embarrassment wash over him. "Sorry." He hoped she didn't actually notice him staring at her.
She laughed softly. "You're probably wondering why I look the way that I do." Azdralin set her apple down. "It's kind of a long story, but I basically went into the realm of the dead and lived with some nature spirits for a while. After being in there so long, I came out like this."
Vylaris looked at her curiously. It sounded rather insane, but he did hear of how the afterlife, a place called the Shadowlands, had opened up into the mortal realm a couple years back. That's probably what she meant by the 'realm of the dead'; he wouldn't have believed her if he didn't know the reason the Scourge were running around without a master was entirely because of this realm spilling into theirs. "I guess I've seen and heard of more bizarre things." He responded.
Azdralin smiled and returned to eating her apple. "You should eat something, I'm sure you're just as hungry as I am."
He grabbed some of the dried meat and started eating as he thought over her words. Maybe that's why he couldn't kill her? Some weird kind of connection to the afterlife? It wasn't like she was undead or immortal in any way, seeing as she was very susceptible to his blade. The whole situation really bothered him.
Azdralin's Perspective
As they both sat silently eating their rations, Azdralin glanced over to Vylaris, who seemed lost in thought. He seemed so mysterious, but he probably just didn't trust her, and she didn't really blame him; she wasn't even sure if she trusted him.
She noticed that his hood was down and she looked over his strange features once more. Azdralin felt bad calling them that but, that's pretty much what they were. It wasn't common for anybody to have strange, glowing tendrils protruding from their head, but she guessed it was probably common for void elves. He really was handsome, though, she couldn't argue with that. Besides the obvious differences, he really was just an elf like her.
Ever since her uncle finally found love, he was really persistent on the idea of Azdralin finding it herself, since her uncle waited until he was rather ancient before even considering such a thing. He didn't want Azdralin to be alone all that time like he was. Although, he probably would revoke the entire concept if she brought home a void elf who was supposed to kill her.
She shook the thoughts away; why the hell was she thinking of such things about Vylaris of all people. It was probably because she didn't know anyone else besides the various animals she had befriended over the years. It figures the smallest act of kindness from the first real person she met turned her into some kind of love struck teenager; how embarrassing. It probably didn't even matter what she thought, though, the guy seemed like he hated her guts.
Azdralin looked up as she felt Vylaris' gaze again and this time, their eyes met for just a few moments longer than before. He seemed so intrigued with her, but at the same time he seemed so angry with her.
Vylaris broke the silence. "Why do you look at me like that?"
Azdralin was taken aback by this and her ears burned. "L-like what?" She stuttered.
"Like you're trying to read my thoughts. Trying to pick me apart. Whatever it is, you're not going to, so knock it off." Vylaris turned his back to her and started gathering up his things.
Azdralin frowned as he turned away and she felt kind of hurt by his words. She shouldn't have expected anything different, but it still saddened her, somehow. As she finished her food, she noticed Vylaris had finished packing and he was now standing up, removing his blade from the stone wall.
"We should get moving while it's still some resemblance of daytime out there. Those monstrosities are more active at night." He said as he glanced back towards Azdralin.
She nodded but tilted her head. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"I thought about it for a bit and decided if I'm gonna become a war criminal, I'd rather it be in Silvermoon than some dusty space rock." Vylaris walked over to her and offered his hand to help her up.
This surprised her and she cautiously took his hand, rising to her feet. "I really think I could convince Lor'themar to reason with you, I'm not going to let you be a prisoner."
Vylaris let go of her once she was up and laughed at her remark as he walked back towards his belongings. "Yeah? And what makes you so special that Lor'themar is gonna listen to you?"
"Well, he's my uncle."
Vylaris' Perspective
Vylaris stopped and immediately felt panicked. Lor'themar...was her uncle? Sure the old man would have an issue with him showing up in his city, but showing up with his niece? Although, on the bright side, it was probably a good thing he didn't kill Azdralin, and maybe he really would be seen as a good samaritan for saving her.
He cleared his throat and tried not to sound worried. "I didn't know that."
He could hear Azdralin laugh softly at his response, she must be able to tell he was surprised. "Yeah, there's not really a resemblance or anything; my parents died a long time ago and he raised me after that, so he's kind of more of a father than an uncle."
Great, that was even worse, thought Vylaris. He was absolutely dead if he did anything to upset her at this point, but he was afraid of even being too nice to her, to the point where he'd make Lor'themar think he was trying to get with his niece. Somehow things felt a whole lot more complicated.
Vylaris sighed to clear his mind and he fastened his mask back over his face, pulling his hood over his head. "Well, we should head out. It's a long way through the forest back to Eversong Woods."
Azdralin gathered what few belongings she had and followed him down the ramp of the spire. "Did you sleep alright?" She asked.
"Sure." He responded. Why did she care? "If we follow the river again, we should be able to find your bow somewhere along the bank. Otherwise, I'm not sure we should take the main path down to Eversong, anyone who recognizes us would be quite curious."
Azdralin followed him at a bit of a distance, but stayed close enough to where he could hear her clearly. "Sounds good."
It wasn't long before they arrived at the crest of the river and Azdralin looked around for a few moments before running over to a strange, curled branch that was sticking up from the mud. With a firm tug, she lifted it up and out came her bow. She looked rather disappointed at its condition, the wood starting to warp from the water and muck.
"That looks pretty bad." Vylaris said, slightly amused.
Azdralin shot him an irritated glare and she shook the bow of most of its grime. "It's fine, I'll replace it once we're in Silvermoon." She slung it over her shoulder and walked past him along the path of the river.
Vylaris watched her for a moment, placing a hand on one of the hilts of his blades. That feeling was still there, stopping him yet again from finishing the job. He supposed it was a lost cause at this point, and he might as well go along with her plan. Letting his hand fall back to his side, he began following Azdralin.
Azdralin's Perspective
It must have been at least an hour since they left the spire and Azdralin could feel the burning gaze of Vylaris as he walked behind her. It was a bit unsettling, but she didn't expect him to walk beside her or anything. She decided to attempt a conversation.
"So, where are you from?" She called back.
Vylaris seemed less than eager to answer her. "Void elves live in a place called Telogrus."
"Huh? No I mean like where were you born?"
"Oh..." he trailed off for a moment before answering her. "...I was born in Ghostlands, actually. Before it was called Ghostlands."
Azdralin shot a glance back at him in surprise. "Oh really? I was actually born here, too." She smiled softly and then frowned a little. "It sure was a long time ago, wasn't it? This place used to be so beautiful."
"Yeah..." It sounded like Vylaris sighed, but he seemed to be keeping his emotions guarded.
It was awkward, talking to someone who was a little ways behind you. "It's funny to think, we could've known each other as children." She heard Vylaris stop and she turned around, watching him curiously. "Everything alright?"
Vylaris seemed to be looking towards her, but it was hard to read him with that damn mask on. "What are you trying to accomplish here?" He asked.
Azdralin was taken aback by this and she raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"All these damn questions! It's just one after another with you."
"I just...thought it would be a good idea to get to know each other." She glanced down at the ground and held her hands together nervously. "Is that so wrong?"
Vylaris crossed his arms. "I don't see the point of it."
"Look, the fact of the matter is that you saved my life, whether you really wanted to or not. I'm truly grateful for that. There's no point in being hostile with each other."
Vylaris scoffed. "I'm not being hostile."
Azdralin raised a brow at him again. "Yeah...right." She sighed and turned back around. "Let's keep moving."
Vylaris' Perspective
Vylaris watched as Azdralin started walking again and he uncrossed his arms as he followed her. He really disliked all these questions, but he supposed that there wasn't any real harm in them. It was interesting to think that they came from the same region, but plenty of other elves were born here.
He noticed that Azdralin had stopped and in the same moment he heard the rustling of leaves nearby. Gripping the hilts of his blades, he walked up to her and spoke quietly. "It could be a ghoul."
Azdralin seemed to tense up when he spoke, he must've startled her by getting close so suddenly. He was a rogue, after all, stealth was kind of his thing, but typically she was rather alert of his movements when they would fight. She must be letting her guard down.
The bushes rustled again and started to part as a horrific being stumbled out, its body ragged and torn. As it saw them, it groaned and reached its hands towards them. Vylaris quickly ran up and sliced his blades across its neck, instantly beheading the monster. He could hear more rustling in the distance and he turned back towards Azdralin. "Come on, we need to get out of here." He sheathed his blades and grabbed her arm as he started to run.
More ghouls started to stumble out from the tree line, and Vylaris could hear the snowy beast fighting off a few as it followed behind them. This was bad, it could be an entire pack of them at this rate; it seemed like the farther they ran, the closer the ghouls were getting to them.
Vylaris stopped in his tracks as he saw a line of the monsters spilling out from the bushes ahead of them. They were surrounded now. Fighting the undead this close and this out numbered was practically suicide. Vylaris looked down at Azdralin, whose arm he was still gripping tightly. "Hold onto me, okay?"
Azdralin looked confused but did what he asked and Vylaris wrapped his arm around her back. Dark energy swelled inside of him as he called to his powers, the powers of the void. A pair of fiery, purple wings materialized across his back and Vylaris lifted both of them into the air. He immediately landed among the large branches of a nearby tree and his wings seemed to vanish as quickly as they appeared.
Gasping for air, he tried to regain his strength as the dark energy started to leave his body, wisps of purple smoke falling from his figure. Vylaris watched as Azdralin's pet was able to easily scale the trunk of the tree with its massive claws, and it positioned itself on a branch opposite of them.
Multitudes of ghouls gathered around the base of the tree, causing a ruckus of groans and growls as they lazily swung their arms in an attempt to climb. They definitely weren't getting up here, and Vylaris sighed in relief.
Azdralin's Perspective
As more ghouls started to make their presence known, Azdralin felt uneasy, and it wasn't only because the things smelled like noxious gas; she had seen countless allies devoured by the likes of these monsters. When Vylaris grabbed her arm and started to run, she was completely thrown off guard, but now wasn't the time to question such things.
When they became surrounded, Azdralin was ready to fight with what little arrows she had in her soaked quiver, and she was certain they'd at least be able to make a clearing somewhere in the group to find an escape. However, Vylaris seemed to have other plans.
She wasn't sure what to expect when he told her to grab onto him, but she definitely wasn't expecting wings. Azdralin stared in awe as the phoenix-like wings appeared around them and lifted them up towards the tree. When they were safe, the wings quickly dissipated, sending specks of purple down around them. It was strangely beautiful, but ominous at the same time.
"You can let go of me now." She looked up as Vylaris spoke and she quickly released her grip.
"Right, sorry." Azdralin said embarrassingly. She watched as Vylaris sat down on the massive branch and she could hear his struggling breaths. He removed his mask and she could see his eyes burning with a violet glow.
She turned away, she knew it was probably rude to just stare at him while he was trying to catch his breath. Sitting down a few feet away from him, she watched the mindless ghouls flail around the base of the tree. Azdralin didn't expect Vylaris to save her once again, yet here they were. Glancing over to him, she noticed his eyes had returned to their normal state; well, as normal as they could be for someone like him.
"Looks like you saved me again." She smiled.
Vylaris looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze back down to the ground. "Yeah. I seem to be pretty good at that, huh?"
Azdralin laughed softly and noticed that Vylaris was smiling ever so slightly. "It's good to know your skills."
He rolled his eyes and fastened his mask back over his face. Azdralin frowned a little, she rather liked him without his mask on, it felt more...personal. She looked down and noticed some of the ghouls had started to wander off and she heard Vylaris speak.
"They'll probably all get bored soon and then we can continue on. Shouldn't be much longer until we cross the border."
Azdralin nodded at his remark and she tried to ignore the sickening sounds of the monsters below. "I am grateful to have you by my side." She said quietly.
Vylaris was silent for a few long moments until he spoke again. "Don't get used to it." Was all he said.
Azdralin looked at him with irritation. "What's with you and this tough guy act, huh? You keep saving my life but then you go right back to hating my very existence. It's really frustrating, you know."
"Then why don't you just leave, if I'm so frustrating to you? Last time I checked, we are supposed to be enemies."
"You're the one that changed that..." Azdralin muttered as she looked away.
Silence fell between them and it seemed like forever until Vylaris spoke again. "I'm not sure what to say."
Azdralin looked over to him and still struggled to read his emotions, but his voice sounded remorseful. "Don't worry about it. Let's focus on getting out of here, okay?"
Vylaris nodded and Azdralin couldn't help but feel relieved. It was probably best not to dwell on such a confusing situation; they needed to get out of this damned forest first.
Vylaris' Perspective
It had been a few more minutes before the noises of the ghouls got so quiet that they could barely be heard; they must've moved on by now. Vylaris looked over to Azdralin, who seemed rather exhausted. They'd be in Eversong Woods soon, and she'd get to rest in the royal chambers of Silvermoon. He frowned, wondering if their prison cells would be at least somewhat comfortable.
His thoughts were interrupted when Azdralin stood up. "I think they've all left, we should probably get moving before more come this way."
Vylaris rose to his feet and stretched for a moment, trying to regain some of the feeling in his limbs. Tapping into his void powers really took a toll on his body. He watched as Azdralin easily lowered herself off the tree branch and jumped down to the ground below, her beast following behind her. They were rather high up for a normal person to just drop down, but elves were rather limber and agile, and descending a tree was like a walk in the park.
Vylaris dropped down soon after her and they both made their way towards the Ghostlands border. He knew the border would have guards and barricades, and he wondered how they were gonna get through so easily; at least, how he would get through so easily. Maybe there was an alternate route they could take.
"Where do you think we should cross?" He asked.
Azdralin looked over to him. "I was thinking the path towards the abandoned runestone would be rather absent of guards. The Scourge hasn't been sighted in that region of the Scar."
Vylaris frowned. The Dead Scar. It was as you'd imagine it, a terrible, dark scar on the land where the Scourge had marched during their conquest of the Sunwell about ten or so years ago. Even now, the land was completely barren there, not a single sign of life rose from the soil. They had made their way up Eversong Woods and cut right through Silvermoon itself, and when it seemed like they had made it far enough, their terrible master, the Lich King, created a path of ice across the sea that separated Eversong from the Isle of Quel'Danas; the home of the Sunwell. From there, they easily crossed over to the island and nothing but tragedy followed in their wake.
Azdralin must have noticed his silence, and she looked at him with worry in her bright eyes. "Hey, you okay?"
He grimaced. He wasn't okay, but that didn't matter. "I'm fine. We can cross the river here."
Vylaris brushed past Azdralin and started across the broken river that trickled into the Dead Scar. It really wasn't much of a river in these parts; it turned into a puddle once it met the ruined land. He felt a chill creep up his spine as he walked across the blackened soil. It was such a horrible, horrible place, but Azdralin was right, there were no Scourge and no guards.
Azdralin quickened her pace to match his own and she lightly touched her hand to his shoulder. "It's okay to show emotions sometimes, you know. Personally, every time I end up in Ghostlands or anywhere near this damned Scar, I feel like breaking down and crying."
Vylaris felt that sensation again; the same one that got him in this mess to begin with. It felt like a cluster of petals swirling around in his chest, making him feel out of breath. A single tear burned in his eyes and he struggled to hold it back; luckily for him, his mask would hide such a thing.
He reached for her arm despite his hesitation, and he gripped her hand softly, holding it in his own. "Until we get out of the Scar?"
Azdralin smiled warmly at him and nodded. "Until we get out of the Scar."