Author's Note part 1: Special thanks to Jack17cat for beta reading, Hoxadrine for brainstorming with me and putting up with me in general, you rock girls!
And of course many thanks to all the new followers/readers who gave this story a chance! *heart*
Chapter 4: The calm before the storm
The warm sun rose above the Broken Isles, its rays painting golden trails on the azure skies. However beautiful the scenery, the stench of scorched earth and burnt flesh was engulfing the air around the damaged Broken Shore.
Three days had passed since the conquering of the Cathedral from the Armies of Legionfall and everyone's spirits were lifted, leading to even more victories.
Khadgar had been fully notified by Maiev and Illidan about the Guardian's echo and the Pillars of Creation. A well-thought plan had to be devised regarding their entrance in the Tomb Of Sargeras, something that needed a lot of time which they didn't have.
"Have you seen Selina?" Illidan asked the Archmage. Illidan needed some answers from the girl, but he couldn't spot her location on the battlefields. "She's playing a board game on the camp below." Prophet Velen answered, handing a scroll on a Draenei accompanied by a small Naaru.
"Playing?" Illidan asked surprised. It was the last place he had thought to look at. Selina had the keyblade, a weapon of unknown power that seemed to have some connection to the Pillars of Creation, but its roots were unknown and despite his years he had never heard of it.
He walked down the stairs and found the girl sitting on a stool, on her lap was sitting a corgi and she was playing Hearthstone with a Pandaren monk. Both of them had a wooden mug by their side and laughed loudly.
Illidan was surprised when he first saw one of the bear-like creatures; Selina had told him all about them and their amazing brew. He was rather uninterested to them and their land though, unlike the excited girl who always spoke of "Pandaria and its wonders".
"Damn it! I lost again!" The girl swore taking a big sip from her mug; she was drunk.
"What are you doing?" The Demon Hunter asked her. She didn't turn her head to face him, just replied with a "Playing and drinking".
"You've been assigned with some missions, and you've done none. We don't have the luxury to drink and play." He told her, growing irritated. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He demanded.
The girl turned to look at him, her eyelids seemed heavy and black circles had started forming under her eyes. Her cheeks and nose were red from drinking too much of the Pandaren's brew. Illidan snorted at the sight and told her "Come over here, we need to talk."
Selina put down the puppy she was holding, petting its head, and bowed her head to the Pandaren thanking him for the fun. The Pandaren raised his mug cheerfully at her and bid her farewell.
"I don't know what's going on in your head, but it's the worst time to be having a breakdown." Illidan said to the girl as calm as he could, while she looked puzzled at him. "I am not having a breakdown! I just need a break ok?"
"The demons don't take a break, neither do we! You should have gone and helped the people we told you to!" He said to her and Selina frowned. "I am not your servant! There are tons of allies here, why do I have to be bothered with every little job?!"
Illidan stared at her for a moment. "How about showing some gratitude? Go do the tasks yourself! I've been working my ass off and you're just ordering me around acting all high and mighty!" She continued angry.
"That's because I am." He remarked and the girl clenched her fists. "Whatever that Demon told you that night is of no importance; our priority is invading the Tomb right now." He continued.
Selina grew furious. "Doesn't matter?! Doesn't matter?!" That's my brother you're talking about!" She yelled. "He was probably messing with your head, that's what demons do." He told her.
The female elf's eyes had gotten watery, holding back tears. " How can you be so heartless?! "Illidan sighed, "You're drunk, go sleep, recover and we'll talk later."
Selina opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and grunted. "Oh I am so done with you." She said walking away dizzy and angry.
Illidan stood there, seeing her walk away. She had asked for gratitude, he did show it, by helping and being nice to her. He had asked nobody to bring him back, he wasn't going to thank anyone about it, not even her.
~•~
Two weeks had passed and not much had changed on the Broken shore. Selina had decided to stay at the camp for a while spending all day and almost all night on the battlefields. She hadn't spoken to Illidan ever since that drunk incident she caused and had managed avoiding meeting him again, mostly because she was embarrassed of her actions that day. She was actively doing all the missions and tasks Khadgar and Velen would assign her.
Her cheerful mood had returned quite fast, the fighting was not letting her think back at Mephistroth's words. Everything was as she knew it, bloodshed and even more bloodshed.
Selina was in her room back at the Fel Hammer, it was really early in the morning and she had just taken her morning shower. Having a private bathroom was a privilege she wouldn't like to abandon and was more than happy to have it.
Her wet hair left large drops of water fall down on her face and shirt. She was already dressed into a plain black shirt and blue leggings. With a small towel around her neck she looked under her bed for her boots; suddenly she felt a small gust of wind behind her. Startled she summoned her keyblade and turned around, just to witness an unimpressed Illidan standing in front of her. "Slow, if I was a demon you'd be dead." He said.
"What in the name of Elune you think you're doing here?!" She asked feeling a mix of happiness, anger and fear. "Visiting, I guess... are you going to attack me? Should I get my warglaives?" He responded with his usual apathetic voice.
Selina dismissed her keyblade and glanced at his tall figure. "I was heading out on the battlefield if that's what you were concerned about..." She told him. He stared at her. "Hm, yeah, whatever." He replied coldly. Fearing he would hurt her, she took a step back, closer to the small window of her room.
~•~
Illidan had noticed Selina was feeling rather stressed with him being in her room, well he had just barged in, so it had him wondering how she hadn't kicked him out yet.
"So I take it I deserve no privacy? How about knocking the door? That's why we have fucking doors in here." She said, trying to keep her cool down speaking with her usual ironic tone.
He paced around the room. "I don't have to knock, this ship is mine." The room was pretty small; there was a bed on the center, it had white sheets and one pillow. On the left wall there were three shelves with plenty of books on them. The black walls were decorated with colorful flowers giving a childish feeling to the room. A small desk was placed next to the bed, it had three drawers. On the desk, was a candle that had almost melted away and the ivy Selina had gotten from the Cathedral a couple of weeks ago.
"For starters, you were freakin' dead when we got the ship - hey hey! Stop messing with my stuff!" She complained as he checked the books, but got ignored. The room seemed even smaller with Illidan inside, he thought how could she live in such a small place. "It has my banners and my demon hunters, it is my property." He said taking the glowing flower in his hands. The magic he had imbued it with, had started fading away, he just redid the enchantment and walked to Selina.
"Okay, you're getting creepier than usual." She complained. Illidan stared at her "Creepy? So you think I'm scary?" He asked surprised. He gave her no time to reply and continued. "Is this why you've been avoiding me?
"I've had my hands full the past few weeks; you are not my boss so I don't have to report back to you." She declared, trying to keep her cool once again.
"Oh, is that so?" He asked and stood in front of her. She held back a gasp as he took a strand of her hair and braided it with the ivy he'd gotten her.
He saw that she was breathing very slowly and didn't look at his face, clearly she was expecting him to cut her head or something; either way she seemed scared despite her efforts to hide it. Was he that intimidating? He thought she wouldn't be afraid of him since they've talked casually many times and spent quite some time together.
He walked away from her and stood next to the door and crossed his arms. Selina's hair was still wet, he cursed himself for not having walked in earlier, maybe he'd have gotten a better glance of her without clothes. He had never paid attention to her body because she was almost always dressed in her armor or covered in blood, but taking a better look at her she seemed to be more feminine than he'd thought.
He mentally slapped himself, thinking that she would probably had nothing he hadn't seen before. Almost all female high elves had the same body type and didn't differ much from the Night Elven ones either.
"Do you wish me to leave?" He asked her.
"Well, I am going out; you can stay if you want." She said but despite her statement, she didn't move an inch.
This was new to him, in the open areas she was more fearless and cocky, not minding being alone with him, but in this closed room she acted as if caged. He was invading her personal space after all, he thought. "Ah what a shame, you're not going anywhere before you tell me what's up with that 'keyblade' of yours..." He said smoothly leaning his back against the cold wall.
A wild thought crossed his mind as he saw her speechless standing like a trapped mouse, next to her bed, the water from her damp hair running down her neck, soaking her shirt so seductively. Oh the things he would do to that mouth of hers, which she always used just to talk back to him or be sarcastic...Oh how much he would make her moan.
He kicked the thought away, disgusted with himself for getting lusty over an honorable warrior, especially since so many prettier women, willingly threw themselves at him. He was probably getting excited because she didn't.
Her lips parted but she couldn't form the words, for she too didn't have a satisfying answer to give.
"Hm, is it that evil that you don't want to talk about it? Or are you just trying to provoke me?" He asked smirking. His smirk was an outcome from the thought he had; throwing her on the bed holding her down as she would put up a fight. He'd keep her there until he got an answer, for every minute that would pass without an answer, he'd take off a piece of her clothing.
He got mad at himself again. That would be molestation, rape, how did he dare think of such thing as if he was a pervert? He'd come here for a reason, to get answers, not to violate the girl.
The door of her room suddenly opened wide, slamming on the wall, startling the two elves. Kor'vas had entered. She looked at Selina and then in her surprise, she saw Illidan. She bowed her head "Oh! Lord Illidan!" she said and Selina sighed opening her arms defeated.
"Why are we even using doors?! Just remove them since nobody knocks!" she complained.
Kor'vas raised an eyebrow. "Slayer, it's important! It's Vandel! He was on Mardum securing the demons! Everything was quiet, but now the Legion is going all out on us! I think they are retaliating for what we did on their ships on the Broken Shore! Jen'theas has already gone there to help Lady S'Theno!
At the sound of Vandel's name, Selina ran out of the door, literally running past Illidan who didn't have time to react. "What was all that about?!" He demanded to learn from the Night Elf. Vandel was one of his best Commanders and had disappeared the day the Black temple fell. Maiev had knocked him out when the rest of his brethren had gone to Mardum, thinking he was dead she went after Illidan.
"Lord, I need to be there, it'd be an honor if you joined us!" She said bowing her head again. He nodded and they both caught up with Selina running to the portal that was prepared for them.
"How do you know of Vandel? Illidan asked Selina. "I've known him from before he joined your ranks, how do you think I got to be there to defend your Illidari? Anyway, I'll tell you some other time." She replied.
Illidan had grown weary of her dodging his questions, he knew this wasn't the time and he was most glad to hear one of his trusted "children" was alive and well.
Going through the portal, the first thing they saw were wounded Illidari being treated by some Shivarra. A tall Night elf with midnight green hair and a hunting knife on his left hand, stood there waiting for them. Selina, jumped at him hugging him in tears, asking where he had gone, the male elf struggled to get her off and when he did, he patted her head, smiling.
Seeing his Master he kneeled down. "Lord Illidan! So it is true! You have returned!" Vandel said overwhelmed with happiness after a long time.
"It is true, I am glad you didn't perish either, what is your report." He asked leaving a small smile.
"S…stop poking me, Selina! Oh! I've done what you asked Lord...Cut it out Sel!" Selina was poking him to get his attention; she left him alone and focused on Kor'vas instead, who was trying to help an injured demon hunter. "Yeah, I've done what you told me and trained more people, then I came here to scout with other members since Belath had taken over the troops." He said proudly. Illidan nodded "Well done, I was sure you would do well, it's time you return to Fel Hammer."
Vandel bowed and looked at Selina, he pulled her from her ear "Ouch, hey! Don't pull my ear, hey! Why did you call for me in the first place?" She complained. "Belath told me you had become one of the commanders of our group, and brought Lord Illidan back.
I thought you'd decided to become an Illidari and grow some brains, but here you are, looking like a buffoon as usual. How the hell did they even let you join?"
Selina attempted to punch him, but he dodged it. "Yeah she did bring me back, as for the later, well, it's a wonder." Illidan said sighing, he was sure Vandel had never mentioned of the girl before, or had he?
Vandel's mouth dropped open. "But she's a blockhead!" He explained pointing at her. Selina put her hands in her hips gasping and looked at her friend. "Yes she is." Illidan agreed, receiving a death glare.
"Hello? I'm standing right here?! I can hear you!" The elf said angrily. "First of all, I did an amazing job helping the demon hunters, and secondly I'm very smart okay?! Why didn't you go save him instead, Van?"
No reply was given, some distant demonic screams was the only thing that could be heard. Kor'vas stepped in "Eh, don't be so harsh on her Vandel, you've been away for some while, you'd be amazed how well she did."
Selina hugged Kor'vas happily, glaring at the two males who shrugged.
"Anyway, the Legion has been quite active lately, one of our scouts heard they might be sending ships in other areas of the Broken Isles as they distract you with minor demons on the Broken Shore." Vandel explained to his Lord and the two females who were listening.
"I'll pretend you didn't insult me Van, let's go back and tell me what's up! Oh and remind me to punch Belath the next time I see him." She grunted heading to the portal ignoring the warning. Illidan stopped her however.
"If I catch you abusing my commanders, I'll throw you into the void." He said partially joking.
"Okay! I'll do it when you're absent then!" She said dragging Vandel to the portal.
"Vandel is going to Fel Hammer to hand in his report; you go to the Broken Shore." He continued."But I always go to the Broken Shore!" Selina complained. "Ugh! Can't you just say what Vandel said to Khadgar? I'll go check the other areas to see if it's true." She continued.
"No, Broken Shore, now." Illidan insisted. Selina sighed and hugged her two other friends before entering the portal Illidan had opened.
~•~
"Forgive me Lord, she is actually a deadly warrior despite that weird goofy side of hers." Vandel apologized. Illidan looked at him; he knew that already of course. "Sometimes simple minded people can see clearer than us, Commander." He said to him. "Kor'vas, see that Jen'theas is back and then head back to the ship with Vandel, Jace said something's up.
Illidan had a deep connection with his Illidari and could reach them with his thoughts whenever he wanted. One of his Commanders had let him know that the demons that were imprisoned inside the Fel Hammer had broken free and were causing a mess.
He'd like to help his "family" in this matter, but right now their concern should be Vandel's information about incoming invasions. They should not give the Legion the upper hand. He entered the portal he had opened for Selina to head back to the Broken Shore.
Upon arriving, he noticed Selina had already gone to battle; she was hunting down a bunch of Wyrmtongue who were carrying some short of boxes into a gateway.
~•~
"Demons have opened another portal to Auberdine, send a group there immediately." Illidan said to Vandel as he dismissed the rest of his council.
"Lord, it's already been closed." Vandel replied.
"Oh, and the demons from the other side?" Illidan asked surprised.
"All been taken care of, it seems" The tall commander answered.
Illidan took eight steps until the room's window and then another eight steps to turn back to his commander. "Who did it?" He asked again. "Not one of ours I suspect Lord, I think it must have been an ally of mine back there." He said.
Illidan looked at his comrade surprised. "You have allies on Azeroth?"
"Just one really old friend, and she despises demons as much as we do. She does fairly well against them." Vandel replied exhaling loudly. Illidan was fully focused on him now. "She? How come you haven't recruited her yet?" He asked.
"Oh I wouldn't want to drag her into this hell, my Lord...she wouldn't sacrifice anything, and most likely get killed by trying to help everyone." Vandel answered, a hint of worry in his tone.
"Hm, sounds like a fool who's trying to play hero… do bring her to me if times are desperate, you never know who can be of use." Illidan said coldly and with that dismissed his Commander.
Every day a portal was being opened by the demons to Auberdine, just to be closed a couple of hours later by the same person Vandel was talking about.
~•~
"So that was Selina…" Illidan thought, as he stared at the girl. Fate had it that she indeed had helped them in their most desperate time. He wished he had recruited her that time, maybe a lot of things would have been different, or maybe she'd die during the training. Thinking of her with fel eyes, horns and their tribal tattoos didn't really please him, oddly.
A lot of suffering had to be endured during that training. He suspected the demon she would consume would suffer way more with her chaotic personality. It wouldn't hurt him to try and convince her.
He saw her returning to the camp and walked down the stairs. "Why don't you become a demon hunter?" He asked bluntly. Selina looked at him confused and answered immediately. "Huh?No. Have you seen Khadgar?"
Illidan was expecting that and continued. "Why not?" He asked and Selina sighed. "Why yes? Where did that come from anyway?" She asked surprised.
"You are friends with Vandel, I thought you'd be honored by such a suggestion. "I'd be honored if you gave me a free pass to a Brew house in Pandaria. "The girl answered.
He sighed but didn't give up; this girl was testing his patience. " It's not like you're a paladin, or a priest, or something like that, and some of my Illidari have expressed their disliking of you not being one of us."
"Yeah, those Illidari can kiss my ass because they can't even kill an Eredar without fucking up half an area. Besides, how do you know I'm not a paladin, my teacher is one after all…Why do you assume things for me in general, anyway?" She asked annoyed.
He didn't like that she was critiquing his demon hunters. "Oh come on, do you take me for a fool? It's clear you haven't found your path and you don't look like a Sunwalker…" "I could become a Warlock!" She interrupted him.
"No, if you try that I'll cut your hands off." He proclaimed and Selina gasped. "Listen, Vandel told me how the training method goes, you seem like a horrible teacher too. I don't want to eat a demon's heart, the tattoos look great but I like my eyes where they are. So yeah, no thank you very much." She told him, now clearly annoyed.
He now had gotten angry she had accused him of being a bad teacher. "I've made the strongest warriors that exist in these lands; I think I am more than a capable trainer."
"Good for you! You've called me an idiot several times, wouldn't want to ruin that pretty, non-problematic and totally stable community of yours!" She said and he swore he'd grab her by the neck if Khadgar hadn't interrupted them.
"There you are! I need to talk to you, it's important!" The Archmage ran to them."What's up?" Selina asked.
"A Legion ship has made its appearance above Val'Sharah!" He said out of breath. "So Vandel was right… we were late!" Selina said, looking at Illidan.
"Don't worry, Commander Jarod Shadowsong had a plan in case such a thing would happen; as we speak allies rally there to defend our forces. Adatin is also there, Selina." Khadgar said, fixing his robes.
"Jarod?! What am I still doing here! I should go there and help!" Selina said running upstairs, but Khadgar stopped her. Illidan's ears twitched at the sound of that name. He was never in good terms with neither of the Shadowsong siblings.
"No, no, it's been handled…I hope; you two are needed elsewhere in Val'Sharah."
"Two? Why would I be needed there, Khadgar?" Illidan asked irritated, he didn't even want to step foot on these lands.
"Err… I know it's your birthplace and you have problems with your brother, but it's important, Cenarius has requested for both of you in the Temple Of The Moon." Khadgar replied, clearly seeing the disapproval in Illidan's face.
Illidan massaged his temples; he was getting a headache, why did that Demigod want to see him and Selina in the first place.
"Hey, can we stop by Blackrook Hold first? Please?" His companion asked kindly. Illidan stared at her; he thought she'd probably want to see her Master before going to Cenarius. He sighed and opened a portal.
He then saw something walking by them; the figure was engulfed in radiating light. "Good day to you, Lady Selina." It said. Illidan's jaw dropped, it was a Nathrezim, but instead of Fel energy and evil he emitted pure light. "Lothraxion! You look wonderful today, have a good day yourself!" She said happily waving at him.
Illidan turned to her. "What's the meaning of this?! What was that thing?" Had this girl any doing in this creature's transformation? The Nathrezim were vicious dreadlords, sworn to fight for the Legion. And here he saw one who was completely the opposite. He had witnessed Selina use her weapon to bend the power of Light and turn a presumed dead Elemental Lord into something different, and now this…
Selina took a step back, her helmet hiding her expression. "That was Lothraxion! He's a paladin in case you didn't notice. And well, he is fighting for us now…" Illidan yelled interrupting her. "Did you take part in this changing?! Did you do it?!"
Selina was almost hiding behind Khadgar, who stood there speechless. "You say it as if I did something…bad…? If Fel corrupts, Light can purify… well we had several failed attempts, but…"
Illidan interrupted her; he was getting furious and wasn't planning in the least to hide it. He walked closer to her. "You mess with forces you can't even comprehend! Are you a fool?! Do you think you can twist such powers?! You're walking down a dangerous path! "
Selina took a step forward. "You're one to talk! You did the same thing to your Demon Hunters! But with fel power, which is even worse! If you could reason with the elves and turn them into something different, why not do the same with different races?"
"It's not the same! I unlike you, know what I'm doing! You did the same thing with Ragnaros! How do you know this won't backfire?!" He yelled at her.
"Because Light is more trustworthy than fel!" Selina shouted back, but Khadgar stepped in. "Ragnaros? As if, the dead Ragnaros? The ex-firelord? Selina did you do something?"
He wanted to slap the girl and beat some sense into her, how could she compare what he did with what she is doing. In a way she reminded him of himself so much, he wanted to drag her out of those weird thoughts of altering people like he did. But then again he could use that eagerness of hers to help her find her path, maybe she can live a better life, one that he did not.
She ran through the portal saying they shouldn't let a Demigod wait.
"What did she do?" Khadgar asked Illidan worried. Illidan walked through the portal without looking at the Archmage. "She tried, but failed, don't worry." He lied, then vanished.
The portal Illidan had created teleported them at the entrance of Black Rook Hold. The place was filled with smoke,fire and several dismembered bodies. Green mist surrounded the area, making the atmosphere heavy.
Illidan had managed to irritate Selina once again. Why didn't he leave her be? Maybe he didn't want her around his Illidari fearing they'd smile more often or something.
Sighing, Selina heard the demon hunter emerge out of the portal, blabbing some stuff about recklessness and light, Selina had enough of this and ignored him running inside the gates of the Hold looking for Jarod. The way was clear from demons and banshees so she proceeded inside.
She looked behind and noticed that Illidan wasn't following her. He was standing in the entrance with his hands crossed and a killer look on his face. "I'll be back in ten! Go play with some Demons!" He was still glaring at her; she turned her back again and moved ahead, thinking for how long is he going to put up with her before he ends up strangling her.
She saw Jarod sitting next to some hippogryphs and handing out orders to a couple of Dwarven hunters. She ran to him waving.
"Miss Selina, have you come to join our forces?" He asked her, smiling kindly. Selina blushed under her helmet. "N…no unfortunately… I have an important task assigned here… where is Adatin…?" She asked shyly.
"Hmm, a shame, we could use your strength here. Lord Adatin is heading to the top of the Legion Ship, as we speak" He said.
Selina grew anxious, she wished she could join her Master at that fight, she knew how dangerous it could be. She stared down at her shoes when she felt Jarod's hand pat her shoulder, surprised she met with his gaze. "Don't worry, he is with a trusted group of warriors, he'll be back before you know it, go now do whatever you were tasked, we'll keep these demons at bay." He reassured her.
She always found Jarod incredibly charming, and kind. Not many people were nice to her before she became well known for her feats, back then when she was still nobody, he always treated her with respect and kindness while most people did not. Blushing she nodded wishing him luck and headed back to the grumpy Demon Hunter that was awaiting her at the entrance.
She however felt happier now and surer of herself, she wouldn't let Illidan make her angry or irritate her. She knew this place stressed him, and it probably didn't please him in the least to meet with his previous teacher, so she should at least support him until they were done with Cenarius.
"Ok! We can go! I think they can handle this without us!" She said happily to the tall Night Elf that was waiting for her. He just nodded and opened another portal, to the Temple of the moon.
Illidan gave a final glance at the large Legion ship that floated above the Hold, Selina however averted her gaze from it so that she wouldn't get any more worried. "Thanks for getting me here first!" She said just to receive a confused look as she entered the portal.
Illidan remembered every part of Val'Sharah. His heart had ached when he saw Black Rook Hold. Now he was feeling angry, he didn't want to return here and get assaulted with memories and nostalgia.
In front of them the majestic temple was under siege, corrupted ancients and trees were causing havoc, but it seemed the archers and priestesses of Elune were doing a good job defending it. Selina had her weapon ready and suddenly she ran off by herself in the opposite direction.
Illidan looked behind and saw two children being entangled by the roots of nightmarish red flowers. The children were crying as the living weeds approached them, Illidan rushed to help the two small night elves. When he arrived he didn't have time to strike, a silver beam of light cut through the flowers, setting them ablaze.
But it wasn't just a beam, it was a weapon, he saw Selina's blade stuck on the branch of a tree a few meters away. He realized Selina had thrown her blade to kill in time the fiends, he looked at her surprised. She didn't have any magical potency, but she had harnessed the power of the light with her weapon. The blade vanished from the tree branch.
"Are you two okay?! What do you think you're doing here?!" Selina ran to the younglings and helped them remove the roots that had trapped them. The children didn't respond and looked at Illidan, new tears formed in the corners of their big silver eyes. "No more demons! Help us! He'll kill us!" The little boy yelled hugging the shorter female elf, who was clinging on his shirt.
The children thought he was a demon who had gone to kill them. Selina looked at him and giggled. She patted the heads of the children trying to calm them down. "Oh, he's just a grumpy old man, he looks scary right? But he's here to help, don't worry!"
Scary? Old? So is this how she saw him?
The children nodded and the little girl sniffled. "We wanted to get to the temple… they are good! They will protect us!"
"This is no place for children! You should have stayed home!" Illidan said, but the children seeing him walking closer, hid behind Selina, hugging her.
"Shoo Illidan, you scare them, let me do the talking." She replied, leaning closer to the children once again. "What are your names?"
"I am Lorneth" The girl said holding the boy's hand. "And I am Taenon! We got separated from our parents!" The boy let a sniffle and the girl continued. "But we saw the temple and came to ask for help! The goddess will find our parents!"
"You really shouldn't rely on the priestesses… I mean…hey! Yes, maybe we could get you back home!"
Illidan gave her a piercing look. "Selina, we don't even know if their home is intact…" The little boy interrupted them. "We were heading to a basement! Right outside Brandensbrook! Our house is…is…" Taenon started crying again.
Selina looked at Illidan, he didn't have to see her face to know what she wanted. "No, we have work to do, just let the priestesses…" "Please…they are children… you can't really… listen, clearly with us the children will have better chances of finding their parents. Can't you just take them in your arms and fly over Brandensbrook? It'll take just a couple of minutes! And who'll dare put up a fight with you!" Her voice was crystal clear, and didn't seem to back down either.
"I can't just show up in the skies, the kids will be in more danger…" "Fine! Then we walk! I can get them there, you go see Cenarius and-" He interrupted her "Alright alright, enough of that, get moving." He didn't want to see his old teacher alone, he just wanted to get this stupid mission done as fast as possible.
On the other hand it was the first time she had asked him of such a favor, and it was about somebody else's life, and for the first time she said in words that nobody would dare oppose him, clearly she trusted in his powers.
"Do you see any demon-free paths we could use?" Selina asked him and took the children by their hands. "Okay cuties, stick close to me now, we'll find your parents in no time!" she continued.
"Yes, follow me." Illidan said. There was an area full of trees and bushes, it seemed to be clear of demons since the fight had been pushed in Black Rook Hold, but there were a bunch of them still scouting around so they had to be careful to not be spotted.
He led the way and Selina followed him with the two frightened night elves tucking on her purple cape. It had seemed Elune had kept an eye on them since no enemy had taken notice of them, nor did they come across any awkward encounters.
Ahead of them a small village appeared, it seemed demons had attacked it, smoke, dust and corpses laid everywhere, thankfully there were only demonic bodies around and the villagers were trying to get rid of some fel infested eagles.
"Hey, I'll go check for their parents, stay here!" Selina told him.
He just crossed his arms and nodded, clearly the mortals that lived there would be intimidated by his appearance.
"Now guys, say thank you to this kind demon hunter, for getting us here in safety." Selina said putting her hands in her hips. The children ran to him, the little girl said "Thanks sir! Are you like super strong?" Illidan stared at the kid; it seemed extremely tiny compared to his height, he scoffed and nodded.
The boy came by shyly as well behind the girl. "I hope one day I look cool like you too!" Had Illidan had eyes, he'd blink at the boy's statement. "Oh, this form is just to scare the demons away; I'm actually a Night Elf too." The siblings looked at each other, then back at him and smiled. Bowing they went back to Selina who had her blade in her hand as she waited for them.
Illidan sat under a tree waiting for them to return, always keeping an eye for demons, in case he had to intervene. Selina had to ask a bunch for villagers to pinpoint the location of the duo's parents. Eventually, a couple came running to them, embracing the two younger elves in tears.
Selina received a thousand blessings and thanks from the couple, they wanted to give her food, and she gladly accepted a pouch with baked goods. She said she'd visit them again soon, and asked them to stay safe and to not be separated.
Returning to the forest she found Illidan sitting under a tree silently. She approached him fast yelling happily that she got food; but unfortunately for her, she stumbled on small log making her lose her balance; reaching her hand, she grabbed a tree branch that was in front of her, otherwise she'd have fallen head on the dirt.
It wasn't a tree branch, however. She had taken hold of one of Illidan's horns; he had his arms stretched, ready to catch her to prevent her from falling, but it was unnecessary.
She blinked twice as the demon hunter let his hands fall down in defeat, his face getting darker. She let go of the horn, and patted it saying "Whew! That was close! You're useful after all!", as she took a few steps back.
Illidan didn't reply and Selina felt cold sweat run on her neck. "You're thinking of murdering me on spot right?" She asked.
"Very much." He replied coldly.
"Then let's go back to the temple before you decide to do so!" She said and paced, more like ran, ahead to avoid his death glare.
A few silent minutes had passed and as they were a couple of feet away from the temple she heard Illidan speak.
"Oh, would you look at that!" He said running under an enormous tree. Selina followed him curious."Do you see this tree? It's as old as I am! I can't believe it's still standing…" He said in deep thought.
"Oh? And you remember the spot after all these years?" She asked surprised.
"Yeah, you know I used to train in these areas, I was raised nearby here." He continued. He then pointed on the horizon, where now the sea is. "Over there, there was an extension of the forest, before the War of the Ancients, I used to hunt there with my brother long before I learned I was a sorcerer.
"Woah…you have a really good memory! I can't even remember what I ate in the morning." Selina scoffed.
Illidan had expected her to make a joke about his age, or something like that, he was surprised the girl was actually listening to him very carefully and was eager to hear more.
He told her a few things, but avoided including his brother or Tyrande in his recursion, he wanted to talk about his childhood to someone, but also didn't want to; it made him feel sad, nostalgic, something he hadn't felt for years.
"How about you? He asked her, he didn't know her roots, or where she grew up and how she came to be the person she was now.
He had her full attention. "Oh? Oh! I was born with my brother in Qu-" She was interrupted.
"You have a lot of nerve to appear in these sacred lands, Illidan."
A tall man identical to Illidan stood in front of the temple's gates. His hair and beard however were long and green. From his head two large antlers emerged. It was Malfurion Stormrage, Illidan's twin brother.
Illidan's face grew grim, he was a fool to believe he would be lucky enough to avoid meeting with his brother.
Author's Note part 2: Next chapter a lot of important things are going to happen, so consider this one a slightly filler chapter ;) Thank you all for reading! Will be looking forward to your comments!