Sorry about the wait, I'll be thinking up some scenes for 'My Way'. I hope you like this chapter. This chapter is meant to be in it's descriptive sense since it's a part of a chapter, kind of like a 'lead-to' chapter. Happy reading :) Do not own Warcraft or Soulcalibur characters.

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Chapter 12: Against Vengeance Part 1: Another New Start

Jaina's eyes kept darting over towards Siegfried's face and limp body as he laid between the sheets of a cot-like bed that was barely long enough for his ankles to lay on the edge. The sunlight that poured through the small window above him gleamed upon his covered torso and long blond hair which splayed over the pillow slightly as well as part of his face and below his bottom lip. Jaina shifted a bit in her wooden seat close to the bed's edge while twisting and ringing a damp rag within her hands nervously.

'He hasn't moved since I teleported him here.' The sorceress noted mentally as she kept her gaze upon his closed eyes. Her gaze swept across the room, over the other small beds that were by the stone walls in two rows; it was what was called a 'healing room' which was used for all humans (as well as any other races as long as they were corporative when using a bed) who needed rest and the Healers were too busy to help them. Her eyes landed upon the door that was locked with a bronze hinge, which she hoped would stay that was as she didn't want anyone to find Siegfried just yet because of her fear that someone may be vengeful for the death of a comrade during the battle with him.

She sighed as her gaze dropped down to Siegfried again. Her eyes lingered upon his face for a few seconds before she leaned forward and dabbed the damp rag along his forehead, hoping it would help in waking him. As she sat back into her seat along with a sigh as he had made no movement, her gaze dropped and landed upon his formerly-deformed arm which laid across his chest. She cocked her head to one side as she curiously brought her fingers forth and let her fingertips run gently across the many thick scars and bulges upon the skin of his arm. Jaina raised an eyebrow confusedly at this lasting condition. 'Perhaps his arm was deformed for so long that some of its distinguishable features actually set in.' She guessed as she continued to let her finger travel along his muscled arm.

"GAH! GET AWAY!"

Jaina jumped and cringed as Siegfried's hand suddenly lashed out and gripped her wrist as he quickly sat himself up in alarm. His eyes were wide and his complexion portrayed horror as his eyes that were like icicles in their powerful blue color darted as he gazed upon the cloaked woman. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion until he noticed her wincing and looked down to realize that he was still holding her wrist. His eyes widened again, in shock with what he was doing and quickly released her.

"I'm sorry." Siegfried bowed his head slightly in his apology as he placed his hand back onto the sheets. "I was just afraid of what I might do to you. I always seem to awaken that way, with that fear." He added in a soft tone, which Jaina marveled at; His voice certainly wasn't like that of his demonic-self. It wasn't dark or even deep like it previously was, instead it was light in a way that portrayed his own youth and was quite gentle even through his strange accent that none of the visitors from the outer-lands seemed to speak. Jaina noticed his head turn as his eyes seemed to survey and take in his surroundings. "Where am I? And more importantly, who are you?" He asked with a semi-quirked eyebrow as his eyes swept back to hers.

Jaina was speechless at first, not knowing where to start as she darted her eyes while trying to think of a good, quick explanation. "Erm, I'm Jaina, Jaina Proudmoore." She smiled timidly at his gaze that remained focused upon her as she continued. "I just brought you here to sleep since-"

"S-sleep? I was asleep! F-for how long!" Siegfried sharply leaned towards her as his eyes widened in what looked like surprise and disbelief.

Jaina merely blinked as she pulled back at his sudden surprise. "I-I think perhaps ten hours." She answered in a low and quizzical voice that came from her confusion which heightened as Siegfried looked back down to the sheets as an excited and rather hopeful smile formed upon his lips. His head snapped back up as he noticed a full-length mirror in a corner of the room. Hastily he sprung himself out of the bed and walked eagerly over to the mirror as he let his eyes quickly travel over his human form. His smile widened as he noticed his normal-colored skin that wasn't in layers of clammy flesh and his eyes held no sign of demonic red in them and became even more overjoyed when his arm was back to its normal shape apart from the scars.

'W-who did this? Is that damn demon really, truly banished from me?' Siegfried thought to himself in a very hopeful tone. "I can't believe I actually slept." He noted with surprise as he listened to Jaina's footsteps as she came closer to look at his reflection with him. "I haven't slept in maybe two years, it feels so refreshing now." His smile slowly faded but into a more charming one that made him look as if he believed himself to now be complete and whole as he no longer had the intrusion of Soul Edge within him. He ran a hand down his now-human arm, not entirely satisfied with the way it looked but was happy nonetheless that he didn't have three claws instead of five fingers. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed small tears and tiny dark red and black holes upon his chest and back. "Where did these come from?" He asked, perplexed as he ran his fingers lightly over the holes and feeling slight stings as his fingers made contact with a few of the holes.

Jaina remembered seeing those when she pulled him onto the bed the night before. "Wounds from arrows, many arrows." She informed although she had taken an educated guess herself. "They shouldn't take a long while to heal, seeing as to how they hardly had any affect on your demonic being when they struck." Her voice became lower and lower since the point when she mentioned his former demonic side as she looked to the ground slightly.

His eyes seemed to voluntarily drop to the slightly shorter woman's reflection and noticed her uneasy aura, which is one that he had felt many times whenever he crossed paths with a person and held a sword that was about the size of Soul Edge. He stammered slightly as he tried to recollect his thoughts and think of something to say. For someone who watched over him, he didn't want to be inconsiderate, especially to one who seemed somewhat timid (which he hoped was part of her own being instead of her feeling intimidated by him from what he used to be). His eyes stopped to lay on what trees he could see outside and suddenly had an idea. "Miss Jaina?"

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows as she sharply turned to him to hear his request. She watched as he slowly turned back from the window to meet her gaze.

"About where I am…?" Jaina was about to speak to inform him but was cut off by his words. "Would you mind showing instead of telling me?" He asked kindly as he turned completely towards her. "It's been a long while since I actually laid eyes on the beauty of landscapes since that bastard of a demon polluted my mind." He stated as his eyes drifted across the floor at mentioning his infamous demon. "Then maybe you can tell me happened to me; I hardly remember anything thanks to Soul Edge." He added, knowing full well that what he said was half-truth.

Jaina smiled charmingly at his proposition then nodded. "Of course. I would enjoy that." She hoped that her 'friendliness' with him wasn't going too far with that last comment as she walked to a back corner of the room where she kept her tall staff. "Although I may warn you…" She started as she turned to walk back to him. "It would be wise to not attract too much attention to yourself. There are some who may still recognize you, or at least your form and, surely most, would try to harm you." She added with caution as she stepped in front of the door but didn't unlock it until she was sure that Siegfried was still willing to follow despite that warning.

Siegfried looked at her with a plain expression that seemed almost apathetical, although she knew that what he was feeling now was not apathy. Siegfried looked down once then nodded as he followed her through the doorway.

"Although I'll be happy to inform you that someone of whom you know, or at least should know, is within these very same forests and she's eager to know how you are." Jaina added but didn't turn to face him as she spoke and lead the way through the healthy, tall trees and fresh air that Siegfried greatly took advantage of.

"Sophitia…?" He asked in a soft tone as he slowly closed his eyes then reopened them again, although he sounded as though he knew it and didn't have to question it.

Jaina sharply turned to him in surprise; she didn't expect him to know Sophitia as well as he seemed to. "You…?" She started with curiosity but didn't know how to continue.

Siegfried seemed to chuckle as he closed his eyes slowly and opened them as he had done before. "Soul Edge may have made me forget a lot of things, but I certainly haven't forgotten her." He proclaimed as he mentioned Sophitia in his same soft tone as if the memories of her were slowly coming back.

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Sophitia murmured contently as she shifted her position ever-so-slightly as to not wake the sleeping woman below her. She had been up for what she guessed an hour or so but she never wanted to move; she enjoyed this fluttering feeling she experienced whenever she felt Taki's chest rise and fall as she breathed as well as the steady heartbeat drum in her ear and the warmth of what little exposed skin there was by Taki's neck. There could be a battle and bullets flying over their heads for all she cared, she wasn't going to move.

The Greek shivered as she heard chilling whispers at a corner of her ear. She flinched as she felt something cold poke at her back as she was lying on her side. Then a harsh tap which actually felt like an impatiently firm slap on her shoulder made her reluctantly open her furrowed eyes in annoyance and sharply brought herself into a sitting position to face the inconsiderate intruder. Her eyes widened as she took in a small, silent gasp as Sylvanas burning red eyes seemed to pierce into hers as the archer was kneeling next to her however more than a foot away as if to be safe.

Sylvanas' transfixed eyes seemed cold, annoyed and even somewhat disapproving. "You are so predictable." She stated in a low, harsh tone as if she was disgusted.

Sophitia looked at the undead elf with confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked in a soft voice so that Taki wouldn't wake up to find an undead archer next to her.

"You know very well what I mean!" Sylvanas shot back as she leaned forward but kept her voice low as well. "You're willing to go out of the city limits to possibly even hostile terrain just to be with your former lover! You were so careless and thoughtless during the battle that this hunter's battered body meant more to you than your own heartbeat!" She stated chidingly as she pointed a pale, slender finger accusingly at the younger girl. "You're just lucky I shot that warning arrow next to you, otherwise you and your beloved would've been mincemeat." She proclaimed nastily as she stood up only to walk a few feet away and leaned against a tall ruined stone that stood among the scattered debris.

Sophitia was just about to raise her voice slightly in protest until she stopped herself as Sylvanas' new information just hit her. "You… You shot that arrow at me?" She asked, slightly perplexed at Sylvanas' action.

Sylvanas rolled her red eyes. "Well I had to break you out of your little trance with that woman somehow!" She explained as if it was obvious. "Here, take a look for yourself." The archer pulled one of her long arrows out from her dark brown case and held it up in front of her.

Sophitia squinted as she stood up and walked over to Sylvanas as she recognized the black feathers with blood red tips. She also took the time to notice the sculpted dark wood of the arrows base which held designs that didn't exactly show a beautiful, whimsical sense like the Night Elves' arrows did, Sylvanas' seemed to give off an aura of death and decay. "Did you make these marks?" She asked curiously as she brought her fingers close to the arrow but didn't touch it, as if to feel its strong yet elusive aura.

Sylvanas merely glanced at the designs then looked away as if she quickly grew tired of it. "All dark rangers' arrows look the same. I have to carve mine that way; it's almost like a label or a sign of recognition for us." She explained simply although she had a hidden tone that sounded as if inside she really didn't want anything to do with this 'label-making'.

Sophitia let her fingertips touch the arrow's base then nearly cried out in pain as what felt like her fingers were suddenly pressed hard into a ragging furnace. She reflexively shot her hand back behind her as she checked at her fingertips to find them only very red and now the only pain she felt was a hard pulsing sensation within her fingertips.

"Interesting." Sylvanas seemed to merely state in a slightly intrigued however not concerned tone as she gazed at the raggedly breathing girl before her. Sophitia shot her eyes over to look wide-eyed at the elf who just placed her arrow back into her case that hung over her shoulder along with her thick, long and dark bow. "Normally only Lightbringers and Paladins feel the fires of damnation within my arrows." She held her chin with her thumb and index finger as she seemed to be trying to conclude something about this sudden action. "You must be purer than I had imagined." She added softly as she continued to comprehensively look over the blonde.

Sophitia blinked at the pale-blue skinned woman who looked even paler in the small amount of light given through the thick trees. She looked at her in an almost quizzical fashion however she didn't show any real expression that proved her confusion. '…'purer'…?'

Both were caught off-guard as a long dagger flew passed Sophitia and cut straight through the ball of Sylvanas' throat. The undead woman's eyes seemed to widen then narrow as she cringed at the feel of a long piece of metal jammed through her throat. She began to squint as she tried to grab the dagger's red hilt to pull it out only to feel waves of lightning shoot through the joints of her fingers and wrist, making her yell out slightly in pain. Of course with her condition, her yell came out as a grotesque gargle as dark red, almost black blood slowly dribble down the corner of her mouth.

Sophitia grimaced at the sight of the throat-slitted Sylvanas as the elf wrapped her hand around her own wounded neck as if she thought it would help in getting the dagger out. Sophitia instinctively grabbed Sylvanas' pale shoulder and held her firmly back as she grabbed the dagger's hilt and ripped it back out, hearing Sylvanas let out another gurgling yelp as she bent over and spat out, to Sophitia's surprise, merely a small amount of dark blood although let out loud coughs to get the blood out. The Greek looked at the blade in her hand and recognized its red hilt. She turned back to find Taki sitting up and glaring hostilely at Sylvanas.

The older woman's eyes were dangerously narrowed as she stood up (a little shaky because of the new unstable feeling in her once-broken ribs)and walked close to Sylvanas' form. "Is there a reason why you're here and not chained to the wall like you deserve?" She asked harshly as she sneered at her.

Sylvanas seemed to growl deeply as she sharply stood herself back up and glared daggers at Taki while keeping a pale blue hand still wrapped around her throat. "Oh y-you bitc!" She choked and gargled again as she felt her voice box twitch painfully as she tried to speak.

Taki smirked as she came forth with her second short sword. "Can't speak huh? Well that's what you get for trying to take Sophitia's life again. I thought you would've learned the first time, but I guess I'll really have to finish you for good." She stated in a rather confident tone as she held her blade downward in her hand as she raised it above her head, very ready to bring it down upon the undead woman that didn't seem to show a hint of fear.

"Taki wait!" Sophitia jumped in and grabbed Taki's arm before she could swing it downward. Taki's eyes snapped to hers in stunned surprise as her eyes furrowed with bewilderment. "She doesn't mean any harm, not to me!" Sophitia tried to explain, however knowing that Taki would find her words preposterous.

Taki quirked an annoyed eyebrow at her as she leaned forward. "Did she corrupt your mind of something? She's the same demon that slit your very own throat!" She yelled in her fury and annoyance at the blonde blocking her.

Sophitia sighed. "I know. But we made an agreement that she would help us find Arthas and Frostmourne. Please, just trust me." She spoke softly as she gently let her other hand rest on Taki's upper chest in a reassuring manner. Sophitia could tell that she was tense with anger, suspicion and worry.

The ebony-haired woman glared at her then looked over her shoulder to find Sylvanas sneering suspiciously at her. Although she seemed to also be running her fingers along her throat as if trying to 'repair' it, making Taki quirk an eyebrow at her before she turned back to Sophitia. "You can't seriously expect me to-"

"I know you'd never trust her, and you don't even have to do anything that has to do with her." Sophitia knew that that was definitely the option that Taki and Sylvanas would choose and she didn't need Taki's look of agreement to prove it. "But please, leave her be and don't attack her and certainly not randomly. I've been communicating with her for maybe two days now and so far she hasn't laid a hand on me." She added in an almost positive tone, hoping that it would help to making Taki trust her judgment.

Taki's eyes had slowly softened as the smaller girl before her spoke, but she still held uneasiness within her about the idea of her new friend being in a partner-like relationship with an undead elven archer. Taki blinked as she looked away from Sophitia's unwavering green eyes then took the Greek's hand within her own as she lifted it off of her upper chest. "I just want to know one thing; she's helping us find Arthas right? So what's in it for her?" She asked as she went back into her suspicious tone and peered over Sophitia's shoulder. 'There has to be a catch to all this.' She noted mentally and knowingly.

"I want Arthas' head in my hands." Sylvanas suddenly spoke up in a raspy, uneven voice. Taki and Sophitia both turned to her and didn't speak, knowing that she may continue. She seemed to gulp painfully before she continued. "I would do it myself but I'm basically alone in my thoughts against him and I admit that I wouldn't get far into assassinating him alone. There are others like me who wish to overthrow him but I have no desire in taking over his command and I'd rather burn than join the others who want to kill him." She added in a nasty tone although it came out in somewhat of a gurgling sound.

Sophitia looked back to Taki with reassuring eyes and Taki looked down at her, still in her uneasy state. Sophitia's eyes showed trust in what Sylvanas said while Taki just blinked at her as she looked at her for a moment to find any doubt or fear in Sophitia's eyes; she didn't see anything but trust and hope. "I don't know-" Taki stopped and sharply looked back to where Sylvanas now 'used' to stand; all there was left was a rustling pile of leaves that slowly settled around the spot that the undead archer once stood. "Hmm." Was all she could mutter as her eyes narrowed at the patch of land then looked back to Sophitia, who seemed to notice as well but only seemed to sigh as if she was used to Sylvanas' elusiveness. The ebony-haired girl waited until Sophitia looked back to her when she tried to speak in a possible defense for Sylvanas. However, Taki spoke before the younger girl did. "You got yourself into this little partnership with an undead elf so I'll let you deal with her. Of course, should she ever show her loss of integrity to you, don't blame me for shooting yourself in the foot." She warned with an accusingly pointed finger aimed just beneath her nose.

Sophitia just blinked at her with her soft gaze and sighed. "I promise that she won't bring any harm to any of us or the races. Just leave her to me and don't worry yourself over her." She stated softly as she handed Taki's partially blood-stained dagger back. Taki let out a hard sigh as she took her blade; in truth, it wasn't Sylvanas she was worried about, it was Sophitia might've gotten herself into by doing what she did just because of her good will. Sophitia's eyes furrowed in curiosity as something hit her; she knew that Taki would always hate Sylvanas, but why did she seem so… hard now? She was completely different the night before: gentle and caring. 'Did something happen to her during the night while I was asleep with her?' The Greek thought to herself concernedly as she tried to blink it out of her mind. 'Perhaps it was just Sylvanas' presence that made Taki so edgy and was just worried about me.' She guessed the excuse that she hoped was true; she had never seen Taki change so dramatically unless provoked.

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Siegfried felt a chill go up his back as the cool air brushed against his bare back. He was used to heat more so than the cold since Nightmare always liked to surround himself in the flames of destruction. It was times like this that a shirt or at least a breast plate would be helpful, especially when he noticed that quite a few of levitating, ruby-eyed and brown haired women liked to run their hungry eyes all over this 'newcomer'. Of course Siegfried smirked slightly at that kind of attention; he never got that when he was back roaming around Europe with his beloved sword, what his sword was before Soul Edge consumed it: his "Zweihander".

Siegfried's eyes inspected and surveyed the straw-roofed houses, shrine-like wells with vines around their rims, and strange, tusk-roofed burrows around him. His eyebrows rose in both intrigue and confusion at how diverse these lands and civilizations appeared. Although he didn't remember much, he recognized almost all the faces that his eyes laid upon. Be them beast-like and brute, human appearance with a solitary complexion, or long-eared with a firm and almost amazon-like complexion, he felt he knew them all so thus he wasn't very much surprised with each.

"How far would you like me to take you… erm… Lord Siegfried?" Jaina flinched at her own sentence as if she instantly regretted the way she made herself sound. 'I have no idea what I should address him as, I don't know what he was used to being called before.' Jaina thought as if to give herself her own excuse.

"'Lord'?" Siegfried seemed to chuckle in his amusement, making Jaina feel even worse as she turned to him. "You don't have to be so formal with me even if you don't know me all that well. So I'd prefer 'Siegfried', thank you though for troubling yourself to going that far." He explained with an amused yet reassuring smile as he turned back to her. Jaina grinned at the demeanor he always appeared to hold then chuckled a bit herself as Siegfried continued. "And to answer your question, you can take me as far as you wish; I have no knowledge of these lands anyway." The golden-haired knight seemed to pause for a moment. "Speaking of me having no knowledge up to this point, is…? How was…? Is 'It' really gone?" Siegfried stammered as he tried to find the right words although that didn't seem to faze him that much as he had a very hopeful look in his eyes as he looked down to his 'nightly guardian' walking next to him. He wanted to use the word "It" instead of "Soul Edge" because he didn't want to take the chance of attracting attention in case one person in these civilizations may have remembered the name.

Jaina looked and blinked at him for a minute as if she was having trouble understanding him but then suddenly she spoke as she slightly looked away toward the lush, partially-trampled ground in front of her. "If by 'gone' you mean from you, then yes; you should be back to your normal human self?"

Jaina was startled as Siegfried suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him. His eyes were focused, serious and even powerful as he looked unwaveringly into her brightly dark blue ones. A lock of his golden hair over his forehead fell even further forward and covered his long scar that crossed his right eye. "Yes, but do you know that It's out of me?" His tone held a bit of forcefulness to it but his eyes looked desperate behind his seriousness.

'Soul Edge must have really given him a hard beating to make him seem this shaken.' Jaina concluded in her mental notes. She quirked an eyebrow and looked to the side as she tried to find a way of proving it to him even though she wasn't sure herself, although she was always confident about her knowledge and skill in magic-casting so she was more sure about his normal condition than not. "Would It be willing to leave a piece, a fraction of it behind?" She decided to prove it to him in the form of a question.

Siegfried merely blinked but his hard expression didn't change, he only loosened his grip on her shoulders as he leaned himself slightly away from her. "No. Every little bit contains pieces of It's power and I'm sure It would never want to sacrifice any of its strength." He mused as he lowered his hands to his sides.

"See? And because of It, you were never able to sleep, right? So if it was still in you, wouldn't it have taken the advantage of corrupting your mind and body again during your sleep?" Jaina carried on and asked in a positive and convincing tone as a smile began to graze her lips at how she hoped Siegfried may react to this truth of Soul Edge's essence being blown from his body and mind.

The taller knight just looked almost blindly at although he seemed almost dumbfounded as if he was speechless. His eyes darted as he tried to find other exceptions but smiled widely as he couldn't. Siegfried looked down with a relieved expression while he tried to hold in his excitement. Suddenly his grin faded, making Jaina come closer to him with a look of concern in her eyes. He lifted up his scared and partially-bruised arm and let his eyes roam over it, making his face look more and more melancholy.

"The capital." Siegfried suddenly spoke up in a distant tone then slowly lifted his gaze to Jaina's eyes which looked rather quizzical. "I remember… can you take me to the capital?" His tone was hushed as he spoke as if the words slipped from his throat.

Jaina just looked at him and swallowed nervously. 'After the way the plains of the capital looked when the rain came…' She looked away as if to avoid his heavy gaze but had no choice but to look back up as he took a cautiously slow step towards her. His eyes almost looked pleading behind his stone-like expression. 'His eyes… if he's that willing, that ready to face it – what he was willed to do by Soul Edge…' Jaina dropped her gaze to the ground, sighed silently and rubbed her nape – her coming decision didn't make her feel all that well; "I'll take you there."

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Tyrande stood at the summit of the steps of her ziggurat by the double doors to her quarters. She watched in silence as the thick smoke from the pyres that held the corpses or her warriors rise from behind the forest trees not far off and spread amongst the parted clouds which were outlined by the day's steadily rising golden light. She made sure that they were by the edges of the large rivers so that the ashes could be swept into the streams and carried throughout the forests. That was what the people of her large civilization always did to honor their fallen. She let the other races do what they wished to honor their own dead; she felt it was right to do that and let them respect their dead in their own way.

She kept one arm wrapped around her stomach while her other leaned upon the arm wrapped around her so that she could let her hand cover her mouth and partially block her nose – the stench of rotting and burning flesh always seemed to carry over to tickle her nose harshly no matter what direction the wind blew. She let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes and eventually let them furrow agitatedly as the constant 'clank-clank-clank-ruffle-clank-clank-clank-ruffle' that came from merely five feet from her began to make her nerves twitch in slight annoyance.

"Maiev, could you please refrain from doing that? You're making my nerves as well as my patience quite unsettled." The priestess asked calmly through her slender fingers with her eyes remaining closed.

Maiev abruptly stopped her tensely constant pacing across the ziggurat platform and glared at Tyrande who seemed to show her aura of calm solitude. "I'm very sorry to have made you concerned, my 'priestess'." The extensively long-haired warden mocked with a sneer while placing a hand on her chest during her mocking apology before she continued. "But how can I not be this way when you know that a great sum of our sisters have been taken mercilessly into their deaths? Or has that all slipped from your mind?" She asked with a cockily quirked eyebrow beneath her helmet as she leaned forward with her hands on her hips.

Maiev's harsh words made Tyrande's muscles tense angrily but tried her best to calm herself. "It has not. And there is nothing we can do for them now except honor their bravery. Please Maiev, do try to not be so vengeful; the Azure Knight is gone, so which Jaina believes. Knowing this, you should just be content with what you have now." Tyrande opened her moonlit eyes and swept them over to Maiev's tense but wordless form. "Naisha, for example. Since you seem to care about her deeply by the look you always seem to have in your eyes whenever you look upon her." She added simply, which only made Maiev's illuminating green eyes snap completely to hers in surprise then slowly looked down to the ground beneath the ziggurat.

A small blush came to Maiev although she was thankful that she chose to keep her helmet on instead of taking all of her armor off earlier that day so all that she wore was her usual, dark green, long and hoodless cloak with her normal clothes beneath it. She rubbed her nape in her embarrassment then suddenly her face screwed in anger as she brought her hand harshly back down to her side. "Don't butt into places where you don't belong priestess!" She snapped back nastily.

Tyrande had to pinch her lips with her fingers to keep herself from gigging at Maiev's reaction. She lowered her head, feeling a bit shameful (although still a little amused) for making Maiev react the way she did. "I apologize, I'm just merely stating-"

"Uh-huh, and what about you?" Maiev interrupted sharply, making Tyrande turn to her, bewildered at what Maiev might be commenting at next. "What about that demon we now have in chains in our underground prisons under maximum security?" She pointed downwards as she spoke as if the underground was just below the ziggurat even though she was just doing it for emphasis. Maiev stood herself straight and slowly walked to Tyrande until she was close enough to speak in a hushed tone. "I know who he is, Tyrande. And I've heard my share of rumors concerning the both of you inside and outside of the forests of Ashenvale." She stated in a deep tone of slight warning.

Tyrande's eyes shifted to look utterly serious, almost to the point where her bright starlit pupils bored sharply into Maiev's own - the warden quirked an eyebrow at this. "I'd rather you not make things personal Maiev." The priestess' voice was soft but startlingly firm like concrete.

Maiev's eyes narrowed until slits of shining green could be shone through. "You already did by bringing Naisha into this, so I wouldn't talk if I were you." She stated in her same tone of warning although no matter how low it sounded, Tyrande could hear the threat beneath it. The priestess looked at her for a long moment, merely blinking once in the meantime until they heard Mina hastily reach the summit where they stood. She tried to catch her breath after running up the huge flight of stairs as she looked up at them.

"Hey, huff, just so you know… huff-puff… Siegfried is here and being accompanied by Jaina." Mina informed as her breath slowly came back and stood herself straight again.

Both Tyrande and Maiev were giving her odd, bewildered looks as if they had never seen this Korean girl before. "What do you mean? Who's this Siegfried?" Tyrande asked curiously as she took a few steps closer to the red-brown haired girl.

"He's the knight. You know, the hos- well then again the 'former' host of Soul Edge?" Mina explained with a quirked eyebrow as she had corrected herself in describing Siegfried. However, she became a little afraid when Maiev's eyes abruptly narrowed into slits while Tyrande seemed to strangely lower her gaze. Mina's eyebrows furrowed quizzically as she looked at them, noticing how close they really seemed to be and how quiet the two of them were; by Mina's observations, if you put the two of them in the same room for at least half an hour, they'd never stay quiet in their blunt arguments. "Are you two okay? You seemed in some kind of a tiff when I came up. Did I interrupt something?" She asked concernedly.

Maiev closed her eyes while slightly furrowing her eyebrows ad if suddenly annoyed as she stood herself straight and straightened her cloak. "No." She answered simply as she begun to walk passed Mina. "It would be none of your business anyway, now would it human?" Maiev harshly stated as she swept passed the human girl to go down the steps and meet this 'former host of Soul Edge'. Mina watched her go while she pulled back in surprise; she had forgotten about how blunt Maiev can be.

Mina looked next to her to find Tyrande standing closer to her than before with a reassuring smile even though it seemed quite faint even with the golden sunlight that shined upon each ziggurat. "Don't be concerned over her. She's just being who she is." Mina could hear the soft certainty in her voice as Tyrande's eyes seemed to fall to the steps just below them and watching as her eye caught Maiev's form as it just made its way to ground level and turned the corner to go around the ziggurat.

Mina looked down to find Tyrande lacing what looked like a soft purple handkerchief in between her slender lavender-skinned fingers in an almost thoughtful fashion. "Are you sure I didn't interrupt something?" She asked as she looked back up in slight bewilderment.

"Oh certainly." Tyrande waved a hand as if to simply dismiss the idea from her head although her eyes seemed to show a different emotion but Mina decided not to question. "She's being her normal self. Speaking of which I'd better make haste myself, otherwise who knows what Maiev may do to the 'former' host of Soul Edge." She spoke as if the thought suddenly hit her and snapped her fingers behind her, making Starstrider quickly and obediently come to her side. Tyrande quickly swung her legs over the tall white tiger's back and held on to her reins and shoulder bone as they galloped swiftly down the staircase as if it was easy enough to gallop over if leveled.

Mina took in and let out a heavy breath as she made her way back down the brown-tan colored stone steps. "I can't wait to see how this all goes." She spoke aloud in a dulled tone as if she could already see it all happening.

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Siegfried took a deep breath in dreading anticipation as he walked through the last of the vast forests' trees and came into full view of the capital. At first glance, everything seemed at peace and prosperous: bright sunlight upon ziggurats that almost looked golden with the sky's light upon them, pathways and entrances were bustling with lavender-skinned elves as the majority of the capital's population that gossiped lightly as they passed. However, it was when he looked down that he felt his breath get caught in his throat; scattered puddles of water seemed to have a tint of red in them and the damp lushly-green grass had long, slash-like dark red stains upon in, which were just as well scattered as the puddles and very obvious to any eye.

"Blood." Siegfried spoke softly but Jaina, who stood next to him, could just barely hear him as she looked up to his lost gaze that seemed fixed upon the ground. "This was my doing." The real demeanor of the capital's population began to come to Siegfried's realization. Everyone's gaze seemed to be lost as they walked about either doing their usual tasks or just walking to their leisure. It was obvious that they were still in mourning.

Jaina's eyes portrayed more and more concern the longer she looked at him. His eyes looked dreary as he seemed to survey the lands and people around him. He looked as if all his strength to move had suddenly been taken from him, as if he just wanted to fall to his knees and keep watching like an angel of mourning upon a desolate cloud. She noticed that a white lily-like flower that he had picked on the way over to where they stood (although she had no idea why he picked it in the first place but decided to be respectful enough to not ask) was being held tightly but carefully within his grasp as if he was afraid that he might drop and ruin it.

"Well! Is there a reason why you brought your sorry little murderous and cold-hearted self back here?" Jaina rolled her eyes as she recognized the deep voice of the female warden as she walked closer to the both of them. "You have courage for doing such a thing." She added as she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. The long-haired elf could only watch as Siegfried's reply was to merely turn to her with emotionless eyes as he kept his lips closed. Maiev's expression quickly screwed into anger and annoyance at his speechlessness. "Speak you FOOL!" She demanded as she came towards him and nearly took him by the neck. Her commanding voice quickly brought nearby onlookers from the capital. Siegfried showed an apathetic emotion; only a dulled sympathy could be seen within his eyes.

"Leave him alone Maiev; his mind was polluted by Soul Edge, he did nothing wrong, none of it was his fault." Jaina bravely tried to explain as her hands balled into fists. She caught Siegfried turn his eyes to hers as they seemed to hold a glint of gratitude in them. Jaina softened as she saw this but not long enough to hear Maiev begin to rant again.

"Stay out of this human!" Maiev snapped as she turned to the Sorceress who was slightly taken aback but kept her firm stance. "None of your kind died because of him!" Maiev continued harshly making Jaina noticeably pull back in surprise at her assertion; she was right even though there were only five humans within the entire settlement counting herself but not Siegfried since he was inhuman at the time of the battle. Maiev sharply turned back to Siegfried. "Seeing as to how I represent justice, I should do away with you right now for all your sins!" The tall elf quickly pulled out a small but long-hilted dagger from behind her cloak, which she always carried for defense in the case that she didn't have her signature weapon. She press the blade against Siegfried's throat, ready to slash it across underneath his complexion that seemed as if he wasn't afraid of this moment.

"Maiev, please." Maiev growled as she heard Tyrande's soft deep voice behind her. She turned only enough so that she could glare at the priestess at the corner of her eye, noticing her shifting her position on Starstrider as Mina stood behind her as well as noticing onlookers scattered around them. "Release him. He's not only unarmed but he hasn't done a thing to anyone or anything around us." The priestess softly spoke coherently.

"I won't!" Maiev replied stubbornly. "Again something has slipped from your mind Tyrande; the stench of burning corpses drifts to us and he is the cause of it!" Maiev's voice rose to nearly become a scream.

"Maiev…" Maiev turned sharply as she heard the voice of her closest friend among the onlookers. Naisha had her faithful feline battle companion next to her, although with it near her she wondered where Taki and Sophitia were if they didn't come back with her panther. The sentry's gaze was intensely soft upon her own as she came closer. "I know you like to live up to your vocation and reputation, but don't lash out at someone who hasn't even been given a fair trial. Please Maiev, let him go." Naisha asked in the most sincere tone that Maiev had heard in quite a while. The warden blinked at her, then glanced at Tyrande and when she saw the priestess' eyes upon hers she quickly turned away as their previous argument came back to her. She shut her eyes tightly then slowly released Siegfried.

Siegfried took in a breath and nearly stumbled backward until he felt Jaina push him upward from behind to help him regain his balance. He watched as Maiev shot him a cold, nasty look before she turned on her heel and left in Naisha's direction, avoiding Tyrande's gaze. The onlookers held cold stares upon him while others just looked at him plainly or in intrigue until they slowly dispersed from the scene.

Tyrande came over to Siegfried upon her 'steed' of a tiger and gave him an expressionless gaze. Her eyebrows raised in intrigue as the knight seemed to bow slightly to her. "I greatly apologize for the suffering I've surely caused to your race as well as the other races I've seen about these woods." He brought his head back up to meet her gaze. "If there's anything I can do to redeem my name as well as help in the mourning of your lost comrades, I will be happy to do so. I've tried this many times before to the villages of my lands and I'm ready to try in these lands as well." He stated calmly and sincerely.

Tyrande was taken aback by his sincerity and soft tone; she wouldn't have guessed for a dark knight whose killed hundreds while under the influence of a demon would have such a gentle soul. "Sir Siegfried…" She started although she wasn't really sure of what to say to ease his mind although she quirked an eyebrow when he appeared to smirk slightly (due to his notice that Jaina wasn't the only one in calling someone by a formal name).

"You haven't changed much I see." Siegfried immediately turned to the voice that he almost completely recognized even though it sounded a bit deeper than the last time he'd met this person. He tried to hold in his grin so that he'd look a little more sophisticated as Sophitia stood close to him. He soon noticed that an Asian woman in a tight red body suit with two small blades hooked on her back whom he didn't recognize close behind the Greek with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes that looked at him between a normal look or a surveying eye upon him.

Siegfried's attention turned to Sophitia as he suddenly straightened himself up and rubbed the back of his head with his palm nervously. "Uh-Ms. Alexandra," He started, making it his turn to be formal as he now knew how Jaina felt when she called him "Lord". "Jaina told me about you being here and I remember Soul Edge ranting in my head about you. It's a pleasure to see!" He let out what sounded like a slight squawk of surprise as Sophitia suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a light, friendly hug.

Sophitia rested her head lightly upon his broad shoulder as she felt him tense in surprise of her suddenness. "Siegfried, I've known you since you were about sixteen and stubbornly eager to get what you wanted for your father's honor. You don't have to act so formal with me since I know how you can really be at times. I'm just really happy to see you back to your old human self." She stated in a soothing voice that made Siegfried relax and slowly wrap a trembling arm around her waist in return as she finished. He kept the hand that held the flower behind him. He let out a content breath and blinked slightly, willing to wait until she would release him. His blue gaze seemed to involuntarily go from Sophitia's golden hair at his chin to meet Taki's soft brown eyes which sharply snapped to the ground and reposition her legs in her standing position as he looked at her. He looked back down as he felt Sophitia break away from him with a warm smile on her face. 'Better not ask who or what the flower is for.' She thought to herself as she smirked inwardly.

Siegfried sighed as he back away a few steps to see how much she had grown herself since the last time he'd seen her when he was still trying to tone his skills in holding and swinging his Zweihander even though he figured he was moderately good at it at the time. "You haven't changed much yourself even though you were quite fierce with that sword and shield, which I see you still have." He noted as he pointed at the leaf-blade sword and round shield at her sides.

Sophitia seemed to let out a small laugh as she placed her hand on her hip and glared at him playfully. "Yes, well, as I said, you were very stubborn." She noted with a smirk as she noticed Taki walk passed her in the corner of her eye to Tyrande's direction. Her smile slowly faded as she watched her from behind then looked down and seemed to stammer slightly to Siegfried as she took in a breath then looked back up to him. "I hope you are well now Siegfried, I'll leave you in Jaina's care since I'm having some… small problems of my own." She stated, just catching Jaina's surprised, bewildered and slightly nervous look in the corner of her eye to her left. The sorceress' eyes seemed to dart from Sophitia to Siegfried and raised her eyebrows in slight intrigue as the knight didn't seem to have a problem being around Jaina, or at least by the relaxed and content way Siegfried looked back at Sophitia as she told him this. Siegfried merely nodded, concerned about what the 'small problems' may be but decided not to butt into the affairs of a woman he hadn't seen in a long while, feeling that it wasn't his place anyway.

Tyrande watched Taki come towards her and lifted an eyebrow as she waited for the ninja to speak. "If it is alright with you, I wish to know what happened to that demon that attacked during the battle. I've been confused about it for most of the morning and I want to be relieved of it. If you have it, I wish to take a look at it." Taki stated in a proclaiming voice as if she wasn't going to take any answer of delay until the priestess would finally agree. Tyrande took in a sigh as she looked at the Asian's unwavering eyes and was about to speak until Maiev (who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with Naisha until she heard the word "demon") decided to speak.

"I'd be happy to show you." She answered simply and sincerely, which made Taki pull back at her change of attitude until she saw that sly grin that the warden held for some baffling reason although it made Tyrande very unsettled when the memory of their previous argument came to her. "I want to see how the little brute is doing anyway." She added cynically. Without waiting for Taki's reply, she quickly turned on her heal to the direction of the underground chambers. Taki turned to Sophitia with a raised eyebrow, asking a question that she figured the younger girl would understand. Sophitia looked at her and gently nodded as she followed giving Siegfried a departing wave.

"Perhaps we'll catch up sometime." Sophitia suggested as she looked at Siegfried one last look. She watched Siegfried blink then nod once before he turned to Jaina who was just as confused as to knowing what to do or go next as he did. However both were saved from an almost complete moment of silence when Tyrande suggested that she'd take a walk around the forests and asking him a few questions concerning him and Soul Edge as well as some curiosity about matters concerning Arthas, hoping that he may remember.

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Sophitia followed the two elves, being Maiev and Naisha, along with Taki to the underground prisons, which appeared to be at the far edge of the capital and within a ziggurat that appeared to be merely a quarter of the size of the taller ones. At first when Taki saw it, she quirked an eyebrow at how small in length and width the prison appeared to be, wondering how they could keep fugitives inside such a small place. Her question was soon easily answered as Naisha stepped forth and opened the thick wooden door with multiple locks and large hinges and partly covered with loose vines and led them down a stone spiral staircase.

The bottommost part was almost completely dark although the walls hung torches that, of course, were lit to ease the eyesight in seeing the multiple cells that were much like the ones that Sylvanas was held in, only more wood was used on the walls instead of stone which was only used as flooring. It was eerily quiet apart from the shifting movements within the cells even though there weren't many who occupied the cells. The four passed all the glaring fugitives at the back wall of their cells so that half or maybe less of their bodies were hidden behind the shadows while others looked at them in a frightened fashion that they tried to hide as if they thought their deaths sentenced upon them were coming.

A sentry walked by on her patrol but didn't nod nor smile as they passed, she just glanced as if it was a major part of their job as patrollers. Naisha seemed to sigh as the sentry went passed, knowing how it was down in these depths for long eerie nights; prison duty certainly wasn't fun when it came to be Naisha's turn.

They finally came to a large, locked door guarded by two male Night Elves with plum-colored loose masks that hid their nose and mouth and holding long, wide-bladed spears within their bare, crossed arms as they stood at each side of the door. Their moonlit eyes illuminated brightly in this darkness, the same could also be said for the sentry still on her patrol. They were about to ask what their business was for going down without a pass of their authenticity but were silence as they recognized Maiev, who solidly ordered them to open the door for them to pass. They both nodded obediently as the guard closest to the lock and golden handle pulled the door open for them.

Taki and Sophitia's eyebrows raised in almost unison as they gazed and strode into the cube-like large room with a square stone platform surrounded with water and had long pillars at each corner that seemed to hold up the ceiling with the help of thick, leaf-covered vines. The weaker leaves seemed to randomly fall onto the platform around the lone, kneeling figure in the center of the platform that had flickering lights of torches in far-off corners showing his broad profile for random seconds. As the only two humans of the four came in, they noticed two female guards and one male guards standing their own wall of the room apart from the wall that held the door.

With a 'creak' and low 'click' of the door being shut, Maiev came forward in what looked like a form of haste and stopped right in front of the figure that was chained to the platform beneath him by his wrists, legs, neck and waist. Naisha came to her left side and Taki stood at her other while Sophitia stopped at Taki's right. Both humans noted that the male 'demon' looked just like any other night elf apart from two things; his long, black, leather-like wings that were folded behind his back and the long horns that protruded out of his forehead above his silver blindfold, which Taki and Sophitia quirked an eyebrow at as well as the memory that the demon that they remembered was larger, much more darker-skinned and didn't seem to need a blindfold. His head continued to hang downward as if in lamentation.

"What do you want from me now, Maiev? You're presence alone is enough to want to drive myself even further beneath the earth." The chained elf spoke in a deep, sinister and almost baleful voice. Sophitia pulled back slightly, wondering how a blindfolded person could know who a person in front of them was and not even listening to the voice to be sure. All Taki did was quirk an eyebrow at him.

Maiev merely seemed to chuckle at his blunt assertion. "You always were a feisty one Illidan. It's funny how different you are from your brother. Although it's even more amusing when you think back to how you tried to subdue me during the battle with that corrupt knight." Maiev stated with a knowing smirk. All knew that the warden was talking about Nightmare when she said "corrupt knight".

The elf named Illidan seemed to raise his head slightly as he formed a sneer. "Don't worry, dear warden, I'll get my chance soon enough to finally rid you from this planet." He turned his head slightly towards the humans' direction as he seemed to sniff. "And I, however, am not quite sure of what I would do with your little human helper Maiev." As Taki pulled back, Illidan turned his head back to a centered position.

"How did you know we were even human?" Sophitia suddenly asked to try and clear her confusion over this 'demon's' abilities. Illidan seemed to sneer as if mocking her in his head as he turned slowly away from her. He appeared to not want anything to do with a human even if it did seem like small-talk.

"You I don't really recognize, but your other human friend I remember by her scent." He spoke to the Greek with his reluctance to do so showing in the tone of his voice. He turned his head up to grin darkly at Maiev's direction. "And if you don't mind my mentioning Maiev, she did more damage to me than you did." He stated smugly as he turned his shoulder slightly so that a long jagged scar could be seen running down his back. Taki then knew that he truly was the demon from the day before. "You must be loosing your touch. I'm quite disappointed to find you going second-rate to a human." Illidan cocked his head to one side. "So much for your strong, honorable reputation, eh Maiev?" He mocked with a very amused attitude which heightened as he sensed the strong waves of Maiev's rage. He could only smile when he heard Maiev's knuckles crack at her sides.

"You know nothing, blind bastard!" Maiev shot back, her voice and throat tightening at her rage as she leaned forward sharply but a small measure.

Illidan chuckled slightly at Maiev's obvious jealousy. "Well your rival seems to know a great deal; maybe she should give you a few lessons of how to really subdue a demon." He smiled but it quickly faded as he felt a metal-booted foot harshly blow the air out of his lungs and felt a throbbing sensation in his gut. He nearly fell over from the force but made himself stay in his kneeled position. He heard a shuffling of feet and a woman with a voice a bit higher than Maiev's trying to calm the warden down.

At this entire conversation, Taki just quirked an eyebrow and tried not to smile at Maiev's misfortune no matter how much she wanted to, knowing it wasn't right to do so anyway. She had gotten somewhat of a warning look from Sophitia so she made herself stop. She suddenly noticed Maiev's green eyes glaring at her while Naisha looked concernedly at her commander while stroking the back of her left shoulder. Taki tried to ignore Maiev's glare as she turned to Illidan for just two questions that confused her the most. "How did you know who Nightmare even was and why did you fight him in the first place?" She asked bluntly as she leaned towards him slightly.

Illidan seemed to grumble something underneath his breath. "Let's just say I've met Arthas before on an occasion and know what he's like. And as for the real 'how' and 'why', well, I have my ways of finding things out. That 'Nightmare' had incredibly strong evil waves emitting from him, I wanted to take care of him myself but then I noticed that you and he were already in the middle of battle so I just decided to wear him down a bit for you." He stated quickly and dully as if none of it really seemed to matter anymore.

"Well thank you for your time." Maiev stated cynically. "I'm sure all that time will pay off for you down here. I hope you always love the darkness you always seem to surround yourself in whether it is intended or not. And don't worry, I'll make sure to send your regards to Tyrande." She stated with a smirk and was met with a horrible sneer.

Illidan harshly turned his face away from her direction while keeping his sneer plastered upon his face. Maiev could clearly tell what he was thinking as she mentioned Tyrande. "You think I like the darkness so much? Well then, leave me be within it. Your voice alone is beginning to sicken me." He retorted nastily, his face still turned away.

Maiev smirked and cocked her head to one side. "Have it your way." The warden looked at the others, including the guards, briefly then turned on her heel expecting the others to follow her back to the surface. She could feel the disturbing chill of Illidan's sightless eyes upon her as she left.

Once they reached the surface, Sophitia let out a breath, glad to not be surrounded by so much eerie darkness, when she turned around to meet Taki's brown eyes she noticed that Maiev had suddenly grabbed the ninja and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"I want to settle this little quarrel between us. I want to see who the better fighter is." Maiev stated in a solid tone. Taki just rolled her eyes and sighed at Maiev's pretentiousness. "This wouldn't be a fight to the death, but only to the point when either of us is thrown out of the fighting grounds or knocked out. If you win, you can take on any demon from this world so which you desire. If I win, you'll leave all the demon killing to me and will never get in my way like you did last time with Illidan." She stated each rule firmly as if she had already made them out in her head a while ago.

Sophitia sighed, she knew what Taki's answer would be and was confirmed with Taki's narrowed eyes and her agreement by saying "If it's want you want and if you really want to try and take me." Taki was always that way: competitive when it came to challenges especially when against her love of demon hunting.

Maiev only narrowed her eyes at her until they were slits. "Don't be so cocky, or your impudence will cost you dearly." She warned with a harsh, shallow tone before she turned on her heel again to Naisha, who had been waiting for her concernedly until she was able to walk back deeper into the capital with her first-in-command.

Taki seemed to study the warden's distinct movements as she left as if she thought that a last minute interpretation of her fighting movements would benefit her greatly. However, Sophitia just ran her palm over her forehead as if already stressing over Taki's acceptance. "Are you sure that was wise?" Sophitia asked concernedly, watching as Taki suddenly turned towards her with a raised eyebrow.

The taller woman had it in mind to ask in return if making an alliance with Sylvanas was wise, but kept her mouth shut. Taki's eyes squinted as she slowly walked towards her, noticing and odd, curious feeling when her eyes landed upon the Greek's aventurine ones.

Sophitia just watched as the silent ninja came towards her and gave her an odd look. Taki's eyes slowly and somewhat shakily brushed her elegantly-parted bangs out of her eyes, making her jerk back at the sudden gesture but slowly sighed and tried her best not to close her eyes but at least blink to ease them as she felt Taki's fingertips graze gently over her forehead. "Is… Is something wrong?" Sophitia asked in a voice that she tried to control despite her emotions at the moment.

Taki's eyes seemed to take more focus upon her facial features and not just her eyes. "Wha-Er-no-no. Nothing's wrong. It's just that…" She paused then seemed to double check her facial features and eyes. "I've been having a lot of dreams and visions lately… and your eyes look very…" 'familiar.' Taki thought, not wanting to say it because she figured it sounded preposterous to find something familiar about someone who she had just met perhaps a week ago. Sophitia looked at her in a curiously strange way as she cocked her head to one side, wanting to know what Taki was thinking and waited for her to speak first. "N-never mind. Perhaps it's just me." Taki finished as she backed away and crossed her arms over her stomach and looking down in a rather hesitant way as if she wasn't sure of what to do next.

Sophitia just blinked at her then sighed in a slightly depressed manner, really wanting to know what Taki was taking about with her dreams and visions. As much as it tempted her to ask, she kept her thoughts to herself and didn't press Taki any further into her introverted than she already was, or at least seemed to be. The Greek looked the side as a thought hit her. 'This may be a mean thought, but Maiev remembers how Taki and I were before the necromancer got to Taki. So perhaps Maiev will mention something during the fight if Taki becomes querulous enough.' Sophitia changed her view to the tall trees as her mind paused for a moment. 'If Taki does get hurt, I'll be there for her as always have been. Perhaps then Taki will be willing to tell me what her dreams and visions have been about. Maybe the gods, whoever they may be, have given hints about Taki's and my past relationship.' Sophitia looked up to the cloud-parted skies with hope in her eyes. 'Oh I can only hope that they have been that merciful to me as well as Taki. I don't know how much longer my heart can survive without her kiss.' While Taki wasn't looking, she closed her eyes and placed her hands softly together in her hopes that her thoughts were true.

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Thank you so much for your patience, I know the two chapters took a long while and I hope this one wasn't too long-winded. I think it was Siegfried just coming in that made the chapter longer. The fight will be one of the first things to occur in the next chapter as well as Sylvanas' explanation for her sudden disappearance; I was planning to have all of this in this chapter but it became too long so I figured I'd move it which is good because it would give me more room to write in the next chapter. Siegfried may seem a bit, well, maybe overly emotionally sensitive but I'm working on that and I'm hoping to bring out the character that he appeared to be in SC1.