Chapter 2, re-posted. Thanks for reading! Enjoy.

Malfurion stood looking over the balcony of the highest point of the Temple of the Moon. Tyrande stood next to him quietly. He had been quiet since returning from Ashenvale to pick up Kia. Her mate had always been a man of few words, but he was using even fewer words than normal.

"What's wrong my love?" She asked, placing a supportive hand on her mate's arm, though she already had a suspicion as to what was on his mind. There were very few things which could move Malfurion to silence. His daughter happened to be one of those things. Her imminent departure and his silent contemplation were not a coincidence.

Malfurion sighed, turning to face Tyrande.

"Am I doing the right thing, forcing Kia to live with humans? She's going along with it because she knows it will be good for her to learn about her other half and she rarely argues with my decisions, but I know she doesn't really want to leave. Am I wrong to force the issue? I know your relationship with Ki has always been a bit strained, but…"

The situation with Kia's arrival was complicated.

An anomaly had appeared in the forest, not too far from Ashenvale. It was causing the plants in the area to grow uncontrolled and the animals to exhibit strange behaviors. Malfurion had investigated it on his own, but had found no answers to its existence. At the time,there was a human woman living in Ashenvale who could communicate with animals. The Archdruid had enlisted her help. They spent a month near the anomaly, which is when their affair happened. It was a direct result of the magics being emitted from the anomaly.

Tyrande knew all this from a vision she had been granted, long before the events took place. Malfurion had confessed the affair right away, though the memory of it seemed to fade, just as the anomaly had faded once they left the area, and it never appeared again. It was as if the anomaly had existed exclusively so Kia to be conceived.

Tyrande was upset by it all, but when magic's involved, there was no one to blame, and her love for Malfurion was far deeper than any magical influence. They moved on, not knowing the human woman was pregnant. Tyrande's vision hadn't shown her that part.

It was true, when her mate first came home with this screaming half elf baby, stating she was his daughter and he wished for them to raise her together, Tyrande had disliked the child for a few moments. Fortunately, her maternal instinct overrode her dislike, and as the child grew up, she found she couldn't help but learn to love the girl as her own. Kia had inherited most of the traits she loved most in Malfurion. There was too much of her father in her to hate the child. She often was cold to the girl, but that was only because Ki needed to learn to deal with adversity. Living in between two species, never truly belong to either, was a challenging way to live. In the end, she would need to learn where she fit in the world and she could only learn that on her own. Tyrande wouldn't have done her any favors by coddling her, but the attitude didn't change the fact she still loved Kia deeply.

"I love Kia as I would my own blood. You know I do. You're doing the right thing. Kia is old enough to start finding her own path in the world. She needs to be challenged and pushed out of her comfort zone in order for her to grow. I think you'll be surprised at just how well she does in Stormwind. Rell will be there for her and she'll only be a portal way. Varian will keep her safe."

Malfurion nodded. "I'm not used to being this insecure."

"Parent's are always insecure when it comes to their children. Particularly when they grow up and move away. She'll be fine."

Kia spent the night in Darnassus. It felt like she was saying goodbye to an old friend. She spent most of the night just watching the sky from the highest tree in the city. No one bothered her, not even Quinn.

The next morning Kia stood beside her father as two mages summoned a portal to Stormwind. Malfurion had offered to accompany her, but Kia had declined the offer. She was an adult and this was something she needed to do on her own. She was nervous, but she kept her resolve.

"Good luck, Ki. Take care of yourself and let Rell help you. You will not be alone. Also, listen to the commands of the king. We live in dangerous times and if anything happens, do as you're instructed." He wasn't overly concerned about Kia following the commands of King Wrynn. She had been raised to understand hierarchical structures and knew all the niceties associated with the humans of Stormwind. As much as she disliked the idea of living with humans, she had prepared for it, nonetheless.

"I'm not a child anymore father. I'll be fine." Kia replied. Her voice sounded confident, but her mind was far less than sure. Change was a natural part of the world, but it didn't mean Kia had to be comfortable with it.

Malfurion chuckled. Kia didn't hear her father laugh very often. He was correct that they lived in dangerous times. It was good to hear him laugh before she left.

"I'm a father, I worry." He leaned down and hugged her.

Kia returned the hug for a few moments, then pulled away. "Okay, enough of this. If I don't go now, I'll never leave. I'd hate to keep anyone important waiting."

Malfurion kissed her on the forehead, then stepped back away from the portal. Kia picked up her bag, securing it onto her shoulder, and patted Quinn on the head. The massive cat was wearing her saddle with a bag hanging on each side. "Ready to go, my friend?"

"If you are." Quinn replied.

Kia took a deep breath to steal her nerves, then let it out slowly. "Then let's do this." She said, taking one last look at her father, then stepped through the portal. Quinn trotted happily behind her.

Seconds later, they both emerged into a large room full of stained glass windows. There were two human mages helping to hold open the portal on their end. Once she was through, the mages on the Darnassus end interrupted the portal and it closed behind her.

Standing before her were three human men and a night elf. Two of the humans were obviously soldiers, for they were heavily armored and armed with large broadswords. The third human was Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind. She had never formally met the man, but she knew a great deal about him and had seen him from afar a few times while with her father. It surprised Kia slightly that the king himself had chosen to greet her on her arrival.

"Welcome to Stormwind, my lady." Wrynn said, taking a single step closer to her. "I'm Varian Wrynn."

Kia bowed her head slightly in respect, following the night elf tradition when addressing a king, rather than using the human custom of curtsying. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I thank you for allowing me to visit."

The King smiled at her. It was a nice smile. Kia had a feeling he didn't get to use his smile very often, if he was anything like her father.

"Malfurion explained your circumstances to me when we spoke. You are more than welcome here. I have arranged chambers for you in the castle and I was going to assign you two guards, but your father insisted that Rell will be taking care of your welfare during your stay."

Rell Nightwind stepped forward, bowing his head. He was almost as tall as her father, with long purple hair, a full beard and glowing gold eyes. He was more slender, though, obviously build for his roguish profession. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kia. Your father has told me much."

"It's good to finally meet you, as well." Kia replied, returning the bow.

"Well, I will leave you in Rell's charge." Varian turned to the night elf. "If you will give her a tour and show her to her chambers." It wasn't a command, but it didn't feel like he was asking either. The king was shorter than the night elf, but he held a presence which was both majestic and intense. This was not a man to take lightly. His presence fit his status.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Rell replied.

"My lady." He said with a final nod. The king left the room, followed closely by his soldiers. Rell and Kia were left alone.

Kia sighed louder than she intended. "Will they always call me 'my lady'?" She asked.

Rell chuckled. "Probably. Humans do like their titles. Not that night elves are much better."

Quinn made a few meowing sounds.

"Quinn greets you. She's eager to see this place. Particularly the forests. She's a typical frostsaber. I think she wants to see what kind of hunting opportunities will be available to her."

"We'll get to all of that later. First, let's drop off your belongings in your chambers and get you acclimated."

Rell led the way. They walked down a winding staircase, which ended outside in a small meadow. They had been in a tall tower. The tower was surrounded by shops and inns which were bustling with activity, though the meadow itself was fairly deserted.

"This is the mage tower. It's where most portals are generated." Rell explained. They headed down the street and Kia didn't know what to look at first. The city was much noisier and busier than Darnassus. The streets were lined with shops selling all kinds of merchandise. There were market carts along the streets selling fruits, vegetables, breads and other goods. As they progressed closer to the castle, the shops began to sell armor and weapons. The city was one big marketplace, containing all the sights, smells and sounds one would expect. Kia found it almost overwhelming.

"I hear you're training to be a ranger?' Rell asked.

Kia jogged up and walked next to Rell, since she managed to lag behind looking at everything. His greater height and longer strides made keeping up with him challenging. "I am. I'm already very good with a bow."

"I'll be working with you on your melee technique. Every good ranger should know how to defend themselves at close range, just in case. You can't count on the enemy keeping their distance during a fight. I've also been told you have some druidic power."

Kia grumbled under her breath. It figured her father would tell Rell about that. Her father wanted her to become a druid. He never said it outright to her, but she knew. To be fair, she had thought about it, but the magic she possessed just didn't feel natural to her. It figured her father would turn this visit to Stormwind into a chance to change her mind about her chosen profession.

Rell gave Kia a knowing look at seeing her reaction to his comment. "I know you have no desire to learn to be a druid, but it would probably be beneficial to learn how to use your powers anyway. It's a dangerous world and you never know when a little bit of magic could come in handy." Rell stopped, turning to look at Kia fully. "It's up to you, of course. I won't force you to do anything, but just keep it in mind. You can never have too many tricks up your sleeve."

Kia thought about it for a moment. Damned if Rell didn't have a point. "Fine. I'll at least talk with a druid trainer. I won't promise I'll dedicate much time to it, but you're right, if things get bad, it might be nice to know some magic. You can never be too prepared."

"Exactly!" Rell said confidently as they continued to walk towards the castle. At first, it didn't look very large, but the closer they got, the bigger it seemed. The structure wasn't anything like any of the buildings back home. They were equally as large, but the architecture of the castle was completely foreign to Kia, making it slightly intimidating. She did have to admit, the stonework was impressive and beautiful in its own way.

The streets were crowded with all kinds of people and not just humans. Kia saw dwarves and gnomes, along with several draenei and a few elves. She began to believe she might not stick out as much here as she first thought. True, she was still fairly visually unique, but there seemed to be quite a bit of diversity in this city.

This might not be so bad afterall.

To Be Continued...