This one might seem a little dull to some, I'm sorry if it is. Do not own SC or Warcraft characters.
As a note to all those who read my fanfic and are a bit hazy about shoujo-ai, I'm sorry but I'm going to continue writing it, I love writing it and I'm in no way making fun of Taki and Sophitia. I've made two other fanfics concerning them both as being in love and this fanfic is a sequel to one of them. I just find shoujo-ai easier and sweeter to write, there will be male/female couples within this fic as well so don't think that this whole story is girl-love. I hope you don't have a big problem with that I just hope you enjoy my story for its storyline and how I make the strengths of the relationships in the couple settings.
No Flames on this subject please. You saw the 'Shoujo-ai' warning in the summary, it was your own fault for reading it if you don't like it.
Enjoy :)
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Chapter 2: Misconceptions
The travel to the north was quite uneventful for Taki and Sophitia. Sure there'd be a few bandits and aimless killers along the road, but most were unskilled and that bored them both, Taki most of all.
"Well, I hope this... Whisperwind person can help us against an army. What a strange name." Taki noted as she folded her arms behind her head and looked to the side at the mass of trees that they passed.
"We'll soon find out if she's worth her weight in battle strategies and blades." Sophitia commented.
She carried nothing but a small bag of money and the medium-sized swords on her back. Sophitia held a brown bag filled with whatever provisions they might need as well as a rag just to polish off her sword and shield from dirt and blood. Taki didn't know how she could carry provisions with the extra armor that she placed in as well.
"Where did you say this person lives?" Taki asked, not turning her head.
"Erm... I think it was called Ashenvale. Ever heard of it?" Sophitia turned to her.
"Nope. You?"
"Uh no." Sophitia spoke simply. "We're getting close though, to the northern part of the world anyway. We've been traveling on foot for... what? Three months now?"
"Yeah." Taki sighed as she stretched her back. "We should reach there any day now, wherever it is."
"I hope it's as soon as you say, these endless trees are starting to get to me. Maybe we should pick up a map of this place." Sophitia suggested.
"Pick up a map where? I haven't seen a soul in these woods for days." Taki raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we're bound to run into a soul sometime." Sophitia returned the raised eyebrow as well as a small smile. "I'm just glad my mother packed just enough provisions for us, I'm surprised that we've made it this far."
"I don't think she was very thrilled when you and Rothion called off the marriage, least of all ending up with me." Taki noted as she looked down.
"She's getting used to having you around, it just takes time. When you came back from Spain with me, she actually asked me if you were the reason that I had seemed to become more flexible than I was before." Sophitia noted simply as she ruffled her hair a bit with her hand.
Taki's jaw dropped within her closed lips then couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Sophitia turned sharply to Taki, wide-eyed.
"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way. I'm sure she meant it because you are a ninja!" Sophitia defended, or at least tried to. Taki still giggled uncontrollably.
"Oh yeah, and who knows? She might have meant it both ways." Taki spoke in between giggles.
"It's not funny!" Sophitia slapped Taki's upper arm, although couldn't help but show a smile at Taki's rather comical reaction. Taki tried to stop herself by biting her lip, and her laughter slowly ceased. Taki rubbed her with her hand as she looked to the side.
"Ahem. Sorry... couldn't help myself." Taki smiled as she turned to Sophitia.
"Yes, I'm sure." Sophitia smirked as she raised an eyebrow. She caught Taki glancing her way then quickly turned back, making her smile at Taki's hint of modesty. She let out a hand, taking Taki's shoulder and stopping her so than she could slowly come closer to the taller woman, taking her chin within her fingertips and pressing her lips gently against Taki's. Taki's eyes remained open until she did so; staring into the adventurine eyes that stared back into hers until she felt the touch of her lips. Sophitia slowly pulled away in a rather torturing manner and met Taki's soft brown gaze.
"What was that for, may I ask? Sneaky kisses are usually my job." Taki grinned as she raised an eyebrow. Sophitia smiled as she looked down at her boots and slowly rubbed her nape.
"Oh, no reason..." Taki watched as Sophitia walked a few steps in from of her. Sophitia spun around to look at her, letting her hair flay about her shoulders and back and making Taki do nothing but stare in awe as her golden hair and adventurine eyes glistened in the speckled sunlight that dripped through the open patches between the thick trees' leaves. "I just couldn't resist." Taki felt like she was blown away when she heard Sophitia speak in a rather cute yet suggestive tone as she placed her hands behind her back and wrapped one foot behind her other ankle and cocked her head slightly to one side, giving her a cute, modest-looking pose.
'Wow...' Taki's mind whispered in a state of surprise excitedly as she slowly came towards her and reached out for Sophitia's nape and gently pulled her closer for a longer, deeper kiss. She gazed at the younger woman's beautiful smile as she felt Sophitia's arms being wrapped around her pulling her closer when they heard a loud 'clang' of metal against metal and a scream. The sound made them stop and turn to the direction of the sounds, seeing two bodies move between the trees. One was larger than the other and by the looks of it held a giant axe.
Sophitia sighed as she looked down disappointedly while Taki ground her teeth and looked to the sky in annoyance. 'Oh Kami, what impeccable timing you have on ruining perfect moments.' Taki thought rage fully as she clenched her fist, until she felt it being held gently by her loves' hand. She looked down to Sophitia's wonderfully green gaze.
"Don't fret Taki, perhaps we'll have more time later." Sophitia spoke softly as she stroked her thumb along Taki's knuckles and kissed them twice, making them relax beneath her hand. Taki closed her eyes briefly and breathed in deeply to relax herself then looked down at the blonde woman in her arms, then nodded.
"I suppose, lets see what we're up against." Taki sighed as she released Sophitia from her arms and turned to the two battling ahead. The shorter of the two she found familiar, but it was difficult to tell because of the distance and the fury the person showed.
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"Ha ha ha ha, scream for me!" The abomination with milk-white eyes boomed at his puny female opponent.
"Not before I make your death cry echo within these woods Astaroth!" The woman shouted bravely back as she readied herself as well as her Zanbatou before the brute. A whistle from someone to the side of them stopped the two.
"Eh?" Astaroth turned only to be struck hard in the head with a round shield. He grunted as he nearly stumbled off his feet.
"Sorry." Sophitia spoke although it didn't sound like a real apology. Astaroth only had time to balance himself before he was elbowed in the gut then punched upwards in the jaw b a flash of red and black, he could feel his jaw breaking and could taste the blood in his mouth, but that didn't bother him. The last blow he felt from the flash was a hard kick in the chest, in his exposed, pumping heart.
"I'm not." Taki spoke in an 'as a matter of fact' like tone as she went into a guarding position and watched as he fell to the ground.
He felt his back hit the ground, but quickly rolled backwards and came to his feet again. He held his giant axe higher as his eyes narrowed at the two intruders before him.
"Oh yes! More blood to spill, more souls to take within my hands, thank you for volunteering ladies; not very many puny humans such as yourselves give up their lives so easily." He spoke with a chuckle as he glared at the two before him. He raised his mighty axe and slammed it down into the ground, making it shake a bit, then raised it again for another blow towards them.
The two watched as he swung it horizontally at them. Taki ducked while Sophitia stopping it with her shield and using all her weight against the force. Taki took the advantage of his slowness in recovering and jumped completely over his head and, when positioned behind him, she struck him with her medium sword rising upwards along his spinal cord.
Astaroth howled with pain as he looked at Taki with a death glare as he thrusted the handle of his axe right into her gut with such force that it lifted her from the ground completely. Taki groaned as she hit the ground, feeling the air forced out of her, it was difficult for her to even stand without her legs feeling shaky.
Sophitia's eyes widened at the state of pain Taki appeared to be in, then narrowed as she turned to Astaroth. "How dare you? Mercy is something a grant to whoever deserves it, but you, who murders many to please his master and hurts someone I love, I'll grant you my wrath." She stated simply before she ran forward, jumped into the air and thrust her blade into his stomach then ripped it upwards, letting the blood spill tirelessly along his torso and her boots and spots on her legs and fists. Astaroth's head bent back as he roared to the skies in pure agony.
"Did you forget someone?" The other woman jumped behind him and whacked the bottom of her Zanbatou hard against the side of his head. The three heard a horrible crack from his neck as he plunged to the ground, hitting it with a loud 'thud'. His body lay motionless with his blood spilling upon the grass below him, his eyes remaining open.
The woman stood up as she brushed her brown bangs out of her eyes, then turned to Sophitia. "Thanks." She smiled faintly.
"No problem. Ugh! Happy to help." Taki walked over to the two the best that she could despite the pain that she felt in her abs, which she held with one hand. He voice was a bit husky because of the fact that she was still trying to properly reclaim the air that she had lost. "Seung Mina, am I correct?" Taki asked as she watched Sophitia come to her in haste and wrapped her arm around her waist, trying to help her stand.
The woman nodded. "How did you know?" She lowered her eyebrows in confusion.
"I've seen and heard of you in Japan, the Korean runaway?"
Mina raised an eyebrow. "Yeah that would be me. But enough about that, I saw a child being threatened by Astaroth for some reason, have you seen her?" Sophitia and Taki looked at each other. They were about to say no when they heard a rustle in the bushes.
"That might answer our question." Sophitia spoke as Mina walked over to the bush. She pushed the branches out of the way only to have a child tumble out. Mina smiled at the little girl who seemed no older than nine, but then turned to surprise when she took a closer look at the child's features when she looked up.
Sophitia gasped slightly when she noticed that the girls' skin was a color of a lavender-like purple and her long straight hair, which had green maple leaves within it, was like a turquoise to dark aqua color, her long ears pointing backwards and seemed to reach just behind her head. The part of her that startled them the most was her eyes; her pupil, which was usually black, glowed in a star-like manner, white with a blue tint. Her iris was a beautiful dark blue that shone out a bit due to the light that her pupil was giving off. On her forehead were two symmetrical purple marks that stretched in a horizontal curve.
The girl's eyes portrayed fright, then they narrowed as she pulled up her baggy animal fur-like clothing. "Stay away from me human!" She shouted at Mina, who just continued to stare.
Sophitia felt sorry for the strange girl, not because of the way she looked, but because of the fear that she tried to hide. She slowly left Taki, just to make sure she wouldn't collapse, then went over to the girl and knelt down showing a face of patience and kindness. "Hi." Sophitia started softly. "What's your name?"
The girl remained speechless for a moment, until she gasped as she grabbed her knee and held it tightly to her chest. Sophitia was curious by this. "Can I see?" She reached out her hand to the girl's knee.
"No!" The girl protested as she held it tighter and looked at Sophitia with anger.
"Why not?" Sophitia cocked her head to one side.
"Because you'll just hurt me like that other big man tried to. All you humans are the same!"
Sophitia blinked as she smiled warmly at the girl. "Well, one thing is, that man wasn't human. And secondly, not all humans are bad. Do I look like I would hurt a child such as yourself, or do they look like they would?" Sophitia pointed at Mina and Taki with her thumb. The girl looked at the two for a moment then back to Sophitia. She looked at her for a moment.
"I still don't trust humans, I never will, not after what they've done to my race and the lands of Ashenvale." The girl spoke softly, still showing a face of suspicion. Sophitia's head shot up.
"Did you just say Ashenvale? Is that your home?" Sophitia questioned with raised eyebrows. The girl simply nodded. Sophitia thought for a moment before she came closer. "Can I see your leg now? I promise I won't hurt you, I may be one of the humans you hate so much, but I would never hurt someone without a good reason." Sophitia assured. The girl paused for a moment, her eyes darting between the ground, her knee, and Sophitia. She sighed as she obediently showed Sophitia her knee. There was a long cut along her shin, running horizontally. It bled red blood as it dripped down her bruised shin. Sophitia took the bag from her back and took out a rag. She gently tied it around the girl's wound. "How did you get this?" Sophitia asked as she tied the rage around her leg.
"While I was running from that huge man I tripped on a rock and cut myself." She answered simply as she watched Sophitia heal her the best that she could.
"There." Sophitia straightened the rag a bit before leaning away from the girl's leg.
"Thanks." The girl smiled faintly, but beautifully nonetheless with her star-lit eyes and turquoise hair.
"Could you lead us to Ashenvale, please? We would be doing your home a favor this time." Sophitia asked kindly. The girl paused, this time for a longer period; she looked down for a moment, then slowly looked up.
"Alright, but only because you're different." The girl tried to stand, but only ended up falling again.
"Here, I'll carry you." Mina suggested; she figured it'd be best to have her trust all of them the best that they could. She gave her Zanbatou to Taki to carry for her, Taki decided to put it to good use by leaning on it. The girl seemed a bit uneasy at this, but let the brown haired woman take her up in her arms. Mina lifted the girl into her arms, letting her get comfortable.
"Aessena." The girl spoke faintly.
"Hm?" Sophitia asked. she watched as the girl looked up at her innocently with her star-lit eyes.
"My name is Aessena." She still showed a bit of nervousness in her features. Sophitia smiled warmly as she noticed that she was starting to trust her.
"Pretty name." Sophitia complimented, keeping her smile upon her face. Her smile widened as she noticed the girl blush slightly as she looked away. Taki looked over to Mina.
"So you'll be joining us then?" She raised an eyebrow at the Korean.
"Hey, I found and saved her first, I think I deserve to know what this is all about." She looked down at the girl in her arms, who continued to look down. "Plus I have nothing better to do." She stated plainly. Taki raised an eyebrow, then sighed as she looked down briefly then turned to Sophitia.
"Well? Where to now?" She asked. Sophitia's gaze swept to Aessena, waiting to see if she would tell them. Aessena paused for a moment.
"Do you promise not to hurt anybody when we get there?" She asked suspiciously.
"We promise." Sophitia answered sincerely. She watched as Aessena hesitantly pointed in the same direction as Taki and Sophitia were heading.
"It's a small ways from here, I'll tell you if we're there or not." She assured.
"Alright. Thank you very much, Aessena." Sophitia smiled as her. Aessena hesitated as she looked at her charming smile.
"S-sure." She stuttered as she slowly relaxed herself into Mina's arms. As they began to press forward, Taki came closer and spoke in a low voice.
"Nicely done."
"What?" Sophitia raised an eyebrow.
"How you got that girl to trust us and handled her."
"Well I'm surrounded my children all the time in Greece, I'm pretty much used to it." Sophitia smiled at her. "Plus I enjoy it anyway."
"Surprise surprise." Taki chuckled. Sophitia glared at her with a hint of playfulness and pulled off a cocky fake laugh under her breath, which Taki could clearly hear and couldn't help but giggle to.
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"We've been walking for who knows how long and we haven't seen any sign of life! Are you sure we didn't pass it?" Mina complained as she lifted the now-sleeping girl higher into her arms.
"Yes, I'm sure. I have a feeling that we're getting close." Sophitia noted as she surveyed the area for any sign of what they might be looking for.
"I'm having another feeling." Taki suddenly spoke as she did the same as Sophitia.
"Hmm? Do you think I'm wrong?" Sophitia stopped and sharply turned towards her with a raised eyebrow; a bit surprised as to Taki's disagreeing with her is a rare thing.
"No, it's not that; it's just..." Taki's eyes swept to the treetops. "I feel like we're not alone." She looked back to Sophitia's concerned gaze. "But it might just be me." She spoke in low voice. 'My instincts are never usually wrong; I've just been catching whispers echoing through the trees. But perhaps it's the darkness of the night that's making me unnerved.'
"Did you notice the sparkles in this girl's hair?" Mina spoke as she waited for the two of them to start walking again. She broke Taki from her thoughts. Sophitia turned to see that the strange girl's dark aqua hair did seem to have small sparkles randomly placed around her head as the moonlight shined upon it, making her aqua hair take in a turquoise hue. "Looks like the night sky, doesn't it." Mina noted.
Sophitia nodded as she continued to look at the girl. "I wonder what she is; I mean skin of purple and lavender, dark blue hair and starlit eyes? And I was surprised that when we asked her what she wanted to be she answered that she wanted to grow up to be a huntress." Sophitia raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps she's part of this 'race' we're supposed to be looking for, although I've never seen a race such as what she seems to be." Taki noted as she looked at the blade of Mina's Zanbatou. She noticed some dirt a part of the blade and used the pad of her thumb to scrape it off. Mina turned when she spoke and noticed what she was doing to her weapon.
"Hey! Don't smudge it!" Mina yelled. Taki turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's already smudged! What are you worried about? That I'm going to break it!" Taki retorted.
"Do you know how long it took me to bring that blade to the perfection it's in now!" Mina gave Aessena to Sophitia due to the fact that her arms started losing strength from carrying her.
"'Perfection'?" Taki chuckled. "Oh yes, the dirt and blood stains from that oaf Astaroth really bring out its pristine condition." Taki added cockily. "Here." Taki handed Mina's weapon to its owner since she no longer needed to carry it for her. Mina shot out a hand and took it from her in a stubborn fashion. She folded her arms across her chest and held her beloved Zanbatou close to her.
"You couldn't use my weapon properly even if you tried!" Mina's gaze lowered as she spoke. Sophitia sighed; she knew how her Taki was, whenever she got in a fight she wouldn't stop until she got her point across. Normally she would cut in and break the fight, but seeing as to how she was holding a sleeping child in her arms and because this argument didn't seem as if it would break into a real fight, she didn't really see a point to try, she knew it would stop soon anyway. She looked down and was a bit surprised that Aessena wasn't awakened by their arguing.
"I don't think I would need to anyway." Taki started walking ahead of her, then turned sharply as she heard a rustle within the bushes and trees. 'Perhaps just a squirrel or something.'
"Oh yeah? And why's that?" Mina with her lowered gaze and folded arms switched the weight on her legs and cocked her head to one side as if she was interested in Taki's answer. Taki took her gaze from Mina and looked forward as she continued.
"My Rekki-Maru is much more powerful than yours so I wouldn't need your use your stick with a knife anyway-Oof!" Taki stopped as she was pushed forward into a tree and being held there by someone pushing against her back. "Say, Mina..." She winced as her chest was being pushed into the tree. "I notice that you don't like me very much but is this really necessary? I was just kidding you know!" She spoke as she tried to go against the force but could nothing but struggle against it.
"It's not me!" Mina shouted, her voice sounded rather distant to what Taki had expected. Taki's eyebrows lowered in confusion. She looked back the best that she could to find Mina's Zanbatou laid upon the grass while she seemed to be in a very strange position; her arms were held behind her, her back was bending back a bit and her head rose a little higher to the sky as well as being cocked slightly to one side. There was no one behind the both of them, or so it seemed. She could definitely feel a force pressing against her and something gripping her arms and holding them back.
"Erm... Sophitia?" Taki tried to push back against the force with all her strength, only to be harshly pushed back onto the tree. "Love? Do you... feel strange?" She turned to the younger woman.
"Um... kind of." The only things Sophitia could feel was a hand on her shoulder gripping it rather tightly while she felt something sharp against her throat although she couldn't see it.
"Ishnu-alah, human." Sophitia heard someone speak softly in her ear from behind. She could feel the person's breath on her cheek. The person behind her moved around to what sounded like a stop in front of her while she still felt the sharp object against her throat.
The person before her slowly became visible, she looked just like Aessena, except of course taller, a different complexion and had purple symmetrical marks that looked like thin, long slashes on her cheeks near her long ears. Her long, wavy, dark aqua hair (that had leaves within it as well) was partly pulled back only to have some strands near her face fall forward. She wore thin armor that covered every place but her stomach, upper chest and arms. She smiled as she narrowed her star-lit eyes at Sophitia, still keeping her long dagger in place upon her neck. "Theta, take Aessena. This is the last time she's ever going to wander off."
Sophitia watched as another who looked like Aessena and their confronter come towards her and take Aessena from her arms. She looked behind their confronters to see that one was holding Taki against the tree while another was holding Mina with a dagger at her neck, which would explain her odd position from before. All were looking at her.
"Why did you try to help this girl? You have no idea where she's from or what she is." The woman stated as she raised an eyebrow.
"Yes we do, she's from Ashenvale, which is our destination." Sophitia answered showing no hint of fear, even with a dagger at her throat.
"Your 'destination'?" The woman spoke with disbelief. "Why do you want to come to our homeland? To destroy it, the three of you?" She, including some of the others, chuckled at the odds of that actually happening.
"No, we ask for the help of someone who lives there; Tyrande Whisperwind." Sophitia watched as the woman raised an eyebrow.
"Tyrande? Outlanders like you need her help? Why?" The woman pressed her blade a little harder against Sophitia's throat.
"There is a great, dark force that has made an alliance with another of our continents. There are two weapons that we are searching for and need to destroy; one is called Soul Edge and the other I believe is called Frostmourne." Sophitia informed as she winced at the feeling of the blade against her throat. She watched as the woman's gaze turned into one of surprise. She slowly lowered her dagger.
"If what this human says is true, if Frostmourne has made an alliance then who knows how quickly he can corrupt our lands as well as the lands of the humans. Should we take the chance and trust them Diana?" The woman named Theta spoke to her leader with concern.
The woman named Diana looked to the ground. "I'm not sure, let's take them to Tyrande and see what she thinks. She can ask these humans herself." She turned to the others who held Taki and Mina. "Release them, but keep a close eye." Her gaze swept to Sophitia who looked a bit relieved. "How did you know about Frostmourne?" She asked with lowered eyebrows.
Sophitia paused; she wasn't sure if it would seem strange to mention her gods to these strange yet obviously devoted women. "Um, I was informed by someone."
"Um-hm." Diana sounded unconvinced. "Well, I won't pry into your business with that 'someone' from these outlands; it's not my place to do so. So I'll just let Tyrande do that for me." She took a few steps in the direction that they were originally heading. "The portal is just a bit further into these forests. That is the only entrance into Ashenvale."
"P-portal?" Mina spoke up with her voice not being the only thing that showed her confusion.
"Where we live is much harder to get to on foot or by sea. We basically live in a different world then you do, we do coexist with your continents, but we are very remote and there are quite a bit of challenges to fight through to get to where we live. Humans like you live there as well, it is said that at the beginning of time, they stumbled upon the entrance to the remote lands of Azeroth and fell in love with the tranquility that it held and remained there. Of course they didn't know what really lurked in the tree, barrens and snowy mountains, but they stayed and made a new empire nonetheless." Diana explained as she walked forward through the thick woods, the others carrying on behind. "Of course how Aessena activated the portal and survived this long I'll never know." She noted.
"We saved her from a brute by the name of Astaroth." Mina noted. All the strange women around them turned to them with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you now?" She spoke in a soft voice as if she was rather touched. "Did you see what she looked like before you saved her?"
"Well, no. But Sophitia and I carried her most of the way here, she's injured but Sophitia wrapped the wound up." Mina stated. Diana's eyebrow rose a bit in surprise.
"Well... thank you." She spoke in a low voice. "I wouldn't think that humans, outsiders even, would help a child that looked strange to them."
"And what are you, may I ask?" Taki asked with a raised eyebrow. Diana slowly turned to her with a small smile on her face and narrowed eyebrows.
"Why we are Night Elves of course." She smiled proudly, of course at that moment the moonlight seemed to gleam down upon her, making her skin, hair, armor and eyes seem to stand out even more than before. Taki, Mina, and Sophitia looked at each other, intrigued that they had met up with elves and even saved one.
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I hope you liked it and I tried to fit in as much information as needed for a second chapter, more will come in the next. And yes, Thrall will be in this fic eventually, as well as Jaina and a few others :) Arthas etc. will show up (separate scene) within the next two chapters. And I'm sorry if the whole 'flexible' conversation got to you.
