New Life

"It's been two weeks, little one. When are you going to decide to come out, huh?" Sylvanas asked her belly, hearing Athrodar chuckle and looking over to him. "What?"

"You're getting frustrated." He said, hearing Sylvanas sigh and grinning at her. "He will come soon enough. Liadrin said so."

"When is she here?" Sylvanas asked, smiling when Athrodar placed a hand on her belly too. "I'm hoping it's soon because I want to be ready when this one comes. I have a good feeling it will be today." She sat up from her laying position and allowed Athrodar to sit down beside her, laying back down and resting her head on his lap and smiling up at him. "How are you feeling today?" She asked him, getting a smile in return.

"I'm feeling good. Excited as it could be today that we get to see our son." He stroked his hand through her hair and watched Sylvanas close her eyes at the action. "How certain are you that it is a boy anyway?"

"Certain. Liadrin, Vandellor and a few other priests have all confirmed it." She placed a hand on his cheek and felt him lean into it. "We're going to have a son and he will be more loved than anyone before him."

"Just keep him away from Dael'Thaelas and I think we'll be fine." Athrodar told her, getting a small laugh from Sylvanas.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't lay a finger on him. And if he does, I'm the General so I will make sure he had the worst, most boring missions I can think off for him and his company."

"Good." Athrodar said, kissing her on the forehead. "Then when you visit Stormwind with our son, he will get to see his grandmother who has been looking forward to meeting him since I told her." The moment he mentioned his mother, Sylvanas' face began to shift from happiness to sadness. "She doesn't blame you for his death. She's upset I wasn't there for the funeral, but considering our family, she has no ill feelings towards you compared to the rest of them." He brushed a thumb across her cheek and smiled down at her. "Trust me. She will just be happy to see you and our baby. Mel on the other hand... She might say some things behind your back, but make it loud enough so you can hear her."

"Maybe I should bring Anya and Clea along with me to distract her..." Sylvanas muttered, getting a laugh from Athrodar.

"That could work." Athrodar told her. "Although what could come out of it is me being harassed for a week or two by the three if them, you laughing and my mother feeling sorry for me."

"Okay, that's true." Sylvanas agreed, sitting up and turning so she was sitting beside him again, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I'll leave them here and you can talk to Mel."

Athrodar nodded his head in agreement. "I can do that. I'm sure she will be distracted with the tavern anyway." He told her, looking over to the front door when he heard a knock. "I'll get it, that must be Liadrin."

Opening the door, Athrodar saw who he expected to be there, but he didn't expect her to bring help. "I tried to talk them out of it, but they were adamant to join me after finding out what I am doing here."

Athrodar laughed and shook his head, moving out the way for Liadrin, Vilandil and Thalina. "I'm glad you could all be here. We have a good feeling it will be today."

"Then it's definitely a good idea for us to be here." Vilandil said, hugging his friend. "I want to meet the new member of our family when he enters this world."

"Well... Entirely your family." Athrodar told him, looking over to Thalina who smiled up at him. "But like I said, I'm happy you're all here." He told them, hugging Thalina who hugged him back. "It's definitely going to be today, I can feel it."

"I never thought you would be the first one out of the four of us to have a child." Thalina told him, looking over to Liadrin who made her way to the living room. "Despite her protests, I always thought it would be Li Li."

"I heard that, Dawnstrider." Liadrin said, looking over to Sylvanas and smiling at her. "How are you today?"

"Frustrated." Sylvanas told her, looking over to Vilandil, Thalina and Athrodar. "Didn't think I would be getting an audience though."

"We came by to see how you were feeling, General." Thalina told her, smiling at Sylvanas. "And if you needed anything from us."

"Yeah, I need this baby to leave my body so I don't feel like I have to pee every thirty minutes." Sylvanas told them, getting a chuckle from Athrodar whilst both Dawnstrider siblings looked a little lost on how to react. "Do you have anything that can force this baby out of me? I'll do or take anything at this point. It's been a week longer than everyone predicted."

"I think I have something." Liadrin told her, looking back to Athrodar. "Can you get me some water?"

"Sure." Athrodar said, leaving to go gather some water and being joined by Thalina whilst Vilandil went to help out Liadrin. "How's your studies going?" He asked her, watching the mage frown at him.

"Are you back together with the General?" She asked, making Athrodar think about his answer to a question he wasn't expecting to hear.

"I'm not, no." Athrodar told her. "Why?"

"I don't want you to get hurt again, Athrodar." Thalina told him, placing a hand on his arm. "We grew up together, sure you and my brother may have bullied me a lot, but I still care about you." She looked up at him and smiled a little. "I think I might even love you..." She muttered, not noticing Athrodar's widened eyes at her confession. "I have for some time now in fact and knowing that you're having this child with someone else hurts more than I care to admit, but that's my fault for waiting for something to happen between us instead of coming out and saying it."

"Thal I..." Athrodar looked over to the entrance to the kitchen and saw Liadrin standing there, a little awkwardly.

"This might be a bad time to say this... But she is going into labour." Liadrin told them. "I came to get the water. It was originally meant for her to drink, now I think it's needed for a lot more than just that."

"What happened in the two minutes I was away? Not even that?" Athrodar asked, handing Liadrin a bucket of water instead of the original cup her was pouring for her.

"I placed my hand on her stomach and began to cast a light holy spell." Liadrin told him. "The same thing I have been doing for more than a week now." She stopped outside the living room and looked back to both Athrodar and Thalina. "This is the final line. Cross it and you're in here throughout the rest of this, stay on that side where you are currently, and you'll have to wait until we have finished." She waited for a few seconds and got no response from both of them, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Then stay here. Useless the pair of you." She said before closing the door behind her.

"How long have you had those feelings for me?" Athrodar asked after a long, silent minute in the hallway, looking over to the mage beside him.

"Not as long as the General apparently, but long enough to know that it's not just a spur of the moment thing." Thalina sighed and looked away from him. "This was a stupid idea... She's next door having your kid, you're in Stormwind now and no doubt have every human woman in the city throwing themselves at you. What chance do I have now that you're barely in my life?"

"I'm still in your life, Thal." Athrodar told her, watching the mage shake her head and ignoring the screams from Sylvanas in the other room.

"That's only true if I visit you in Stormwind, or you travel back here." She hugged herself and looked away from him. "The latter of which will be so rare that I don't expect to see you for more than a week every decade. Especially now that you have a life in Stormwind."

"I will visit more, I promise." Athrodar told her, placing a hand under Thalina's chin and tilting her head up so she was looking at him. "I have been absent for so long because I wanted to make sure everything was going smoothly in Stormwind. Now that I know it will be fine if I leave for a week or two, I can spend more time traveling between the cities." He smiled at the mage who smiled a little at him in return. "When I'm next in the city, after I spend a week with my son, I will come visit you and we can spend a day or two together."

"I want to accept that offer, but I'm not sure if you're only offering it out of pity because you don't feel the same back, or if this is your way of trying to feel the same as I do?" Thalina frowned at him when he didn't answer, finding it a little frustrating, but she didn't press him when they both began to hear the sound of a baby crying in the room beside them. "Well... Congratulations." She said, walking passed him.

"Thal, wait." Athrodar said, stopping her from leaving. "Don't leave like this. There's a lot going on right now and I don't know what to do, but I know that if our friendship takes a hit today, right here, because of our conversation, I know I will never forgive myself." He took hold of her hands and looked her in the eyes. "I don't want to lose you as a friend Thal. And who knows, maybe there will be some point in the future we can be together. But it will take more than just words to make that happen."

"So... Like... Dinner?" Thalina asked, getting a wider smile from Athrodar.

"That could work." He said, looking over to Liadrin when she opened the door to the hallway. "How is she?"

"She's fine." Liadrin said, closing the door behind her. "Exhausted, but fine. Vilandil is doing some checks on the baby but everything looks good."

"Can we go in?" Athrodar asked, getting a nod from Liadrin.

"She asked for you anyway." Liadrin looked over to Thalina and smiled at her. "You might as well come in too, otherwise you'll be the only one here who hasn't seen the baby."

Entering the living room, Athrodar watched Vilandil give his son back to Sylvanas and saw her exhausted smile as she looked down at him. "Is this...?" Athrodar asked, making his way over to Sylvanas and their baby.

"It is." She told him, having Athrodar press his head against hers as they both looked at the baby in her arms. "Our son." She told him, smiling brightly and closing her eyes. "Our little Talanas."

The next several minutes were filled with everyone giving their entire attention to the newborn, so much so that they hadn't really noticed Sylvanas drifting off to sleep slowly until Athrodar caught a glimpse of her head getting heavy against his shoulder. "Liadrin, can you put the baby in its bed?" Athrodar asked, watching Sylvanas sit up a little as if she had suddenly woken up. "Sylvanas is drained and I think she needs to rest." He looked back to Liadrin and smiled at her. "The cot is in her bedroom. Somewhere she will be soon once she gets the energy to walk there."

Sylvanas handed Liadrin the baby and rested up against Athrodar once more. "I don't want to move." She whispered to Athrodar, looking over to Thalina and Vilandil who were talking amongst themselves. "Thank you for coming. I don't want to be rude, but I would very much like to be left alone with my baby now."

Thalina and Vilandil both bowed their heads to the General, smiling at her. "We'll leave now." Thalina said, looking over to Athrodar momentarily and getting a smile from him before leaving the room with her brother.

"We're parents." Sylvanas muttered once they were alone, letting out a small laugh and cuddling up to Athrodar. "I never thought I would have seen the day."

Athrodar smiled and kissed Sylvanas on the temple. "We are definitely not prepared for this." He told her, both of them laughing now. "Let me help you to bed. We can watch our son whilst we lay there too and hopefully he sleeps as well as you so I can watch over you both."

"Do I get to keep you around for a week now?" Sylvanas asked him, yawning and pressing her ear to his chest now. "Before you return to Stormwind?"

"You do." Athrodar told her. "Then I will visit again in a month to check on you and our son, spend a few days here and maybe bring my mother so she can meet her grandson." He stroked a few strands of hair behind her ear and smiled when he made the same ear twitch. "But we will go into details later. For now I just want you to rest up."

"Three weeks with you." Sylvanas muttered, smiling to herself and holding onto him tightly. "Almost as long as when we were together."

Athrodar smiled at that fact and looked down at the General who has just fallen asleep on him. "Time to take you to bed." He whispered, kissing the top of her head and slowly standing up, trying to make sure she remained asleep in the process. When he eventually stood up, after a good couple minutes of slowly moving a bit at a time, Athrodar picked Sylvanas us and carried her in his arms, almost laughing but stopping himself when she began to complain. "I'm taking you to bed." He told her, slowly placing Sylvanas down when they reached the bed and covering her up. "I'll be nearby if you need anything." He looked over to his son who was asleep in his cot beside the bed. "And I'll look after him if he cries."

Sylvanas smiled, still half asleep and nodded her head. "I love you." She muttered, falling back to sleep shortly after.

Athrodar smiled at the three words and crouched down beside her, kissing her on the forehead again and stroking her hair away from her face. "I think I'm starting to love you again. Two weeks with you is making it hard to deny those feelings, even after everything that has happened." His smile began to turn sad the longer he looked at her. "If you moved to Stormwind, I would take you back in a heart beat... But you're the General here and I have started something new over there. Long distances almost never work out and I don't see ours working out either." He stood up and looked back to his son. "I'll keep visiting you though." He whispered, smiling at the baby. "Just to be in your life and to visit your mother."

He looked back to Sylvanas who was sound asleep in her bed. "We'll be okay." He told himself, fiddling with the ring on his finger. "And maybe in the future we will get to be together again. Until then, I don't think we can be together because of the distance." He looked down at the ring on his finger now and smiled to himself, taking the ring off and placing it on the small table beside her. "Just so I know a small part of me is still with you when I leave in a weeks time."

"Has the elf gate between us and Lordaeron been repaired?" Kael'thas asked, sitting in for his father during the Convocation meeting.

"It has." Larysa told him. "The General has even thought about sending some scouts into Lordaeron and assessing the situation currently. Where the undead are and if they are any threat to us."

"Speaking of the General, how has she been?" Kael'thas asked, looking over to Vandellor who smiled and bowed his head to the Prince.

"She's doing well. The exams have shown nothing to be worried about and she, as well as her son, are healthy." The High Priest said, looking over to Belo'vir who smiled at the results. "Talanas Windrunner is his name, named after the first Ranger-General of Silvermoon."

"He's four months old now, right?" Kael'thas asked, getting a nod from Vandellor and smiling at him. "Good. I'll pay him and his mother a visit sometime this week." He looked over to Dael'Thaelas now who had taken up a seat on the Convocation when he heard about the King's rapid decline in health. "What about the Amani?"

"They're still in the Hinterlands. Unfortunately, we have gotten wind of them potentially joining up with the Horde. If that's the case, we might face another attack like we did during the Second War." Lord Sunblade looked around at the Convocation and hearing several mutterings from a handful of them. "With the orc city on the coast of Kalimdor, they have a stronghold they can launch attacks from should they decide to start another war."

"The orcs have been a problem ever since they arrived on our planet." Kael'thas told them. "But I have spoken to their Warchief. He wants peace for his people and I don't see any reason why he would allow the Amani to join the Horde, knowing our past with them." He looked over to Dael'Thaelas who was tapping his fingers on the table. "With the Horde and the Amani joining sides, I also fear future attacks from the trolls. But with what is happening in the world at this moment, the Alliance barely holding on with the humans of Stormwind, gnomes of Gnomeregan and dwarves of Ironforge, as well as the Horde settling down in new lands, far away from us, I think we are safe for now." He leaned closer to Lord Sunblade. "Keep a company on standby. I want to make sure we are ready should they attack."

"My son is already there." Dael'Thaelas told him, sitting back in his chair and looking over to Larysa. "I trust him."

"Speaking of trust." Belo'vir said, looking over to the Prince. "What's happening with the Kaldorei?

"Thank you for bringing that up, Grand Magister." Kael'thas said, turning his attention to Belo'vir. "The friendship with the Kaldorei although new, is still very fragile. It may have been a year now since the Burning Legion had been defeated and an Alliance struck between our two people, but growing tensions between them and the orcs have been making it difficult to remain neutral and if such a thing continues, we may be asked to help them cleanse their forests of said orcs."

"It would deal with the Amani problem in the meantime." Dael'thaelas said. "If we deal with the orcs and show them that we are working with the Kaldorei, that would make it so the Amani see us as a threat and one that shouldn't be poked or prodded." He looked around at the convocation around him. "If we continue to work with the Kaldorei and help them should they ask for it in the future, we can do the same back when the Amani trolls start to become a bigger nuisance than they already are."

Kael'thas held up his hand to stop the conversation should it get out of hand. "Be that as it may, we are first and foremost working with the Kaldorei to secure an everlasting bond with our cousins for the present and future. If they feel we are only allied with them so they can send their soldiers to fight our wars for us, nothing will stop them from either turning on us, or cutting ties altogether."

"That won't be the case." Lord Sunblade told the Prince. "The General will see to that. I can see this alliance with the Kaldorei would be beneficial, your Majesty. If they need us and the General knows what this friendship will bring to both sides, I'm sure she will make it her number one priority to keep that friendship secure by working with them, not having the Kaldorei pull all the weight for us."

"Good." Kael'thas said, looking over to the twin doors leading to the Convocation hall. "The last topic I have is about the humans on Dalaran and the new city of Theramore." He held his hand up when he heard some mumbling from the members of the Convocation. "I know some of you don't agree with the humans and my plans to work with them, but we have close ties to Dalaran and with Lady Jaina setting up a new city in Kalimdor, we will have a friend at the very least to trade with should we need it."

"Who's to say they're not a part of the Alliance?" Dael'Thaelas asked.

"Dalaran isn't, that I know for certain. But Theramore is on the ropes of joining them." Kael'thas told him. "It's only a matter of time before they do join the Alliance." He then said. "Which is why I want to set up a trade agreement and a friendship with Theramore so we have something with them before they do. It's not my plan to join the Alliance, not with all the infighting over the last few years and how far away we are from them makes it useless. But if we can form a friendship with one of them on Kalimdor, we can use it as a safe port should we ever need to travel to that Continent. "

"And what does your father think about this?" Dael'Thaelas now asked him. "Is he in favour of this plan?"

"My father, your King, left me in charge of our people whilst he fights for his last handful of years left. That means I decide on our future until he returns." Kael'thas looked back to the rest of the Convocation, ignoring Lord Sunblade who had a small grin on his face. "This goes for the rest of you too. Whatever happens here, be it a simple news update on our allies and the forests we protect or if it's a call to arms by an ally of ours, whoever sits at this table, be it my father or myself, will decide the fate of our people going forward. Do you understand?" He watched everyone nod and stood up, looking over to Lord Sunblade who looked up at him. "Good. This meeting is adjourned."

"When are you leaving for that mage you're having dinner with?" Lana'thel asked, sitting on Athrodar's lap whilst he was laying in bed.

"Tomorrow." Athrodar told her, smiling at Lana'thel who looked a little upset. "Why, are you jealous?"

"I mean... I wouldn't mind a dinner or two." Lana'thel muttered, leaning down and kissing him lightly. "This would be your fifth dinner with her. Can't a girl just get one? After all, we've been sleeping with one another for a year and a half now. I'm starting to not feel appreciated."

Athrodar chuckled and rolled Lana'thel onto her back, pinning her beneath him. "You are very appreciated." He whispered to her, kissing Lana'thel on the neck and working his way down to her breasts. "You keep my bed warm whenever you visit, you manage to annoy Mel whilst making my mother happy every time you're here." He started to kiss her stomach, looking up at her when she bit her bottom lip and took in a sharp intake of breath. "The other women in my life may not like having you around, but it's not up to them. You make me happy and I want you around." He made his way back to her lips and kissed her again. "How about we have dinner next week?"

"So soon?" Lana'thel asked, hearing Athrodar laugh at her. "What? That's way too soon. I'd have to get ready and book a place for us to eat." She frowned when Athrodar continued to laugh. "What?"

"You've put a lot more thought into this than you let on." He told her, moving to lay beside the mage and cuddling her. "Have you secretly been wanting this to happen for a while?"

"Well... It would be nice to go somewhere other than your tavern... Or the room above the tavern when I visit you." She placed a hand on his chest and drew circles with her finger. "I want to show you off to the people. Some of the nobles already think we're an item, it's making it easier to get things from them because they think I am cheating on you with them. It's some big ego trip thing, but little do they know, you are the only one I am doing this for pleasure with. It's all business with them."

"So you like to keep reminding me." Athrodar said, smirking at her. "Are you trying to make me jealous or something? I know what you are doing with the nobles and I'm fine with it. Especially because they don't get to experience this part of it." He kissed her on the cheek and chuckled when she leaned into the action. "And you seem to enjoy them too."

"What can I say? I have missed sleeping beside someone who I actually like." Lana'thel told him, wrapping her arms around Athrodar and smiling to herself.

"And here I thought you told me you didn't want this to be anything other than two people using each other for pleasure?" Athrodar asked her, laughing lightly when she said nothing. "You're going back on your word, aren't you?"

"No..." Lana'thel muttered, looking up at him and sighing when Athrodar continued to smile at her. "Maybe a little." She sat up and narrowed her eyes at him when he continued to smile. "What are you getting at?"

"You're going against your own rules and you're falling for me." Athrodar told her, watching Lana'thel begin to climb out of bed and laughing now. "It's okay, I get it." He said, sitting up and reaching over to place a hand on her wrist. "Hey." He said softly, pulling her over to him. "Since the first month, I have had those same feelings. I just never told you because of your rule."

Lana'thel looked down at her clothes and smiled a little, turning her attention back to Athrodar when she glanced over her shoulder. "So dinner?" Her smile widened when Athrodar hugged her from behind and kissed her on the cheek. "Next week, I'll make sure we have a place to go, okay?"

"You got it." Athrodar whispered in her ear, kissing her on the cheek shortly after.