This story is rated M for some language, some adult themes and violence.))
Through the Hour Glass
A World of Warcraft fanfic
By Heidi Cautrell
Part 4 Gelles already had the cots and bedrolls laid out when Xyra entered. They exchanged smiles, then tugged off their new boots and rolled themselves in their blankets to sleep. They would need it, for the next day they, and the rest of Allorna's Battalion, would be marching out to begin pushing the Qiraji back to where they came from.
Xyra's dreams were dark and disturbing, causing her to toss and turn most of the night. In each dream she failed to act fast enough to save her mother and in some cases, it was Gelles who was the victim. Some of the dreams involved the Qiraji, but others involved nightmare creatures from the Emerald Dream.
Across the tent, however, Gelles seemed to be having quite different dreams. Her new body seemed to be more aware and it wasn't until she woke the next morning that she realized just how much more aware. She woke slowly, opening her golden eyes to see Xyra come into sharp focus. Her friend was sitting up in bed, stretching slowly as she worked the stiffness from her slim muscles.
A blush the color of berries rippled across Gelles' cheeks as she felt the affect of Xyra's almost sensual movements. And then she remembered her dream and the blush darkened. She must have made some sound, for Xyra turned and gave her a sleepy grin.
"Sleep good?" said Xyra.
"Yes, I suppose I did," said Gelles, averting her eyes.
There was a pause, then rustling of a blanket. "Have any good dreams?" queried Xyra. Gelles glanced over to find her friend standing and stretching again. Just how did she get the muscles of her stomach to look so taut?
"They were... good, I suppose," said Gelles slowly, the blush still on her cheeks.
Glancing over with a frown, Xyra noticed the blush. A slow grin started on her purple lips. She settled in on the edge of Gelles' bed, her hip touching Gelles' hip. "Oh yeah? Was it a sex dream?" teased Xyra.
"What!? I-I, er- No!"
Xyra laughed. "Come on, who was it about? That druid with the nice ass? Or the supply officer that winked at you? Spill!"
Gelles blushed more if that were possible. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chin. A lock of blue hair fell into her eyes, so she brushed it away. "No, neither of those. I don't want to talk about it."
Xyra grinned slyly. "Was it about me?" She was teasing of course, but after she saw the way Gelles' eyes widened and then looked away, she realized she'd stumbled onto the truth and her mouth fell open in shock. "It _was_ about me?"
Gelles coughed, then shrugged, "It must be this new body, it's acting oddly I think." She attempted to straighten her clothes a primly as possible.
Xyra stared at her a minute, then grinned, "Was I any good?"
The two regarded each other for a moment and then burst into laughter together. They spent several moments laughing and each time they looked at each other, another wave of humor washed over them. When they finally calmed down, they sat in silence a moment, grins still on their faces.
Sobering, Xyra said, "You know, it could have been my mom too. We do look alike after all."
Gelles looked almost horrified until she saw the gleam in Xyra's eyes. Reaching behind her she grabbed the corner of her pillow and soundly hit Xyra in the face with it. Xyra laughed as she clutched the pillow, then tossed it back into Gelles' face and rose to get dressed. They didn't mention the dream again.
Once dressed in their new armor, both the normal purple of the sentinels, they broke down their gear and left it ready to be hauled away by the supply line. They snagged some breakfast with the other troops at one of the large cooking fires, then headed to Allorna's tent. She asked them both to see her in the morning as she'd want their input.
"I won't be revealing who you are, but I'll still want your input, so we'll simply say you were sent to scout and gain what information you could. That should hold off the over curious for now," Allorna had said while they'd gathered gear the night before.
In the light of day they could see that Allorna's tent was the least ornate. It made Xyra proud to know that even a thousand years ago her mother was a pragmatic leader. The sentinels standing guard waved the two through the entrance, their curious eyes following in the friends' wake. Word of the two surviving a scouting mission had already traveled the entire battalion.
As the pair entered, Allorna looked up from a table in the middle of the tent. She wore similar clothing to the night before, but her helm was off to the side on a pile of papers. On either side of her stood two female elves with lieutenant insignias and closed faces. They had been talking, but stilled their voices when the friends entered. Allorna nodded at the two and said, "Stand in the corner, Ladies. I'll be with you shortly."
Taking a stance in the right front corner of the tent, they stood at parade rest and observed. Gelles, still adjusting to her new form found the added height almost made her dizzy and yet the extra muscle and sharpened senses made up for whatever discomfort she felt for being in another body. Her gaze drifted around the tent assessing what she could of Xyra's mother and how she commanded.
The tent was filled with the trappings of war. Stacks of armor, sorted neatly. Racks of weapons, organized by type and all well cared for. There were several runners and other lesser soldiers writing correspondence or conversing in low tones at other tables around the room. Nodding her approval Gelles turned her attention back to the Commander.
One of the Lieutenants, a woman with turquoise hair and fierce pink markings covering her eyes forehead and cheeks like spread wings, was speaking as Gelles tuned into their conversation. "Commander, we can swing one of the battalions to the north and west, come in from the west and start a push to move them back toward the Scarab Wall. The other three battalions would be doing the same across the map."
Allorna nodded grimly, her golden eyes on the map before them. Gelles knew that Allorna would be one of those commanders who would ride with their soldiers. She'd be on the front line, fighting right along side them, bleeding and sweating and wondering if they were going to survive the next minute, let alone the next hour or day.
"I meet with the other Commanders to discuss our strategy shortly. These ideas will be helpful ladies. You have your orders, get our troops on their feet, we'll be setting out by two hours past noon." Allorna straightened then and nodded at the two Lieutenants. They both saluted and then exited the tent with purposeful strides. They ignored Xyra and Gelles completely.
Gelles didn't blame them, though she had to wonder if it was due to their rank or their infamy that was spreading via rumor through the camp. She turned her attention to Allorna. The Commander was speaking to a courier and holding out a scroll. Once the courier took off, she nodded at the two and beckoned them over with one hand.
"You two may be knowledgeable, but you're also only two. There isn't much help that you can give, except..." Allorna trailed off, "No. You can't tell me how it ends, can you." It wasn't a question.
Gelles answered anyway, "No, Commander Lunastar, we cannot. We aren't sure of our purpose here either, but I believe that us coming to you directly was no coincidence."
"I believe that too. And so, you'll be with me for the time being. I'll use you as consultants." She eyed the two in turn, her eyes, as yet unchanged by druidic magic, glowed a fierce silver. "We'll need everything we have at our disposal, so I hope you two are ready to do battle."
Xyra grinned widely then. "Battle is what I do best, Commander." She couldn't acknowledge their relationship or it would bring further questions they just didn't need right then.
Allorna's answering grin pulled a similar grin from Gelles as well. Mother and daughter were very much alike indeed.
"Good, you have your orders too then. I'll see you on the march. Dismissed," said Allorna, giving them a crisp, kal'dorei style salute. Returning the salute, the pair exited the tent and began preparing with the rest of the troops.
The army, massive in size, still worked like a well oiled machine, each part knowing when to move and how fast. Within the timeframe Allorna had indicated, the troops were on the move. Though they were generally calm there was an air of determination about the column. Many of the soldiers had lost precious family to the Qiraji and they were ready to seek, if not revenge, then an end to the war and the threat of this ancient and evil race.
Riding side by side Xyra and Gelles found themselves within Allorna's vicinity constantly. She would call on them occasionally to answer what questions they could. As both of them had once fought in Silithus in the future, they offered what little information they had. All in all, however, it seemed there would be little hope unless the dragons decided to intervene as well.
A day's travel brought them into the territory the Qiraji occupied. Scouting parties were sent in all directions to eliminate whatever threat they could find. One such party was lead by Allorna herself. Xyra and Gelles were included to test their skills in battle. "Best we see what you can do _before_ the real battle begins, hmmm?"
Many of the Sentinels were duly impressed by Xyra's skills at appearing from nowhere in the heat of battle and offering the killing blow or stunning an unnoticed bug. If they were impressed by Xyra, they were awed by Gelles and her command of the Light, which they knew only as the power of Elune. Her skill with sword and her command of the light magic as a weapon had many of the sentinels, who were also current or former priestesses of Elune, vying for attention from the still awkward night elf.
Gelles gave Xyra a wild look from her mount after their battle. She'd been singled out by several of the sentinels as they rode. Her look said, "You have to help me, I don't know what to say." Xyra merely grinned and waved from where she rode next to her mother, then turned back to their conversation on stealth tactics. Gelles ground her teeth and made a point to berate Xyra that night for her lack of help in explaining Gelles' powers.
"I could have used your help in trying to explain why I can do what they cannot," Gelles said quietly from her bed roll that night.
Xyra sighed. Gelles scolded in such a manner that one rarely felt anything but guilt and the need to apologize. "I'm sorry, but you can't just rely on me while you're here. There may be real situations where I _can't_ help you."
"The point is you could have and you chose not to."
"Oh come on, Gell. It's not like you were being attacked. They were curious. Just tell them the truth only replace Light with Elune's Grace." Xyra made an exasperated noise and rolled over under her blanket.
"Right. Because they're exactly the same." Gelles' tone was neutral, but Xyra could hear the tension in her voice.
"Oh please don't start with the Naaru are evil thing again, okay?" Xyra wondered if the plea would fall on deaf ears or if it would get her friend ire up instead.
"This has nothing to do with _them_," she said the word as if it were a curse. "I'm simply saying that Elune works differently than the powers that I use."
There was a pause. The rustling of others in the camp, whispers and conversations carried on the wind were muffled by the tent they shared, though they were still quite aware of the vast army outside its flimsy walls.
"Are you arguing semantics with me?" Xyra said finally, "For Elune's sake Gell, I _know_ they aren't the same. But do you wanna screw up the past by making such a simple mistake such as calling your powers 'the light'?"
Gelles snorted. "No." She sighed. "Thus the reason I could have used your help. Though luckily for you they were already assuming it was Elune and said as much. I took my cues from them and said as little as possible."
Xyra groaned. "Right, so it's my fault if we irreparably change the past."
"I didn't say that," said Gelles primly.
"You didn't have to," Xyra groused.
"Let's just drop it then. I've said what I wanted to say."
"Good. Great. Night, Gell."
A sigh. "Good Night, Xyra."