Over the course of a few days, Illidan gave Kelset a tour of what was to be her new "home". During that time he sealed a large portion of her abilities, making it impossible for her to tap into them and teleport out like she planned to do, he talked to her about his past, about death. He shared a lot with her, more than she truly expected out of him. Practically everything she read from being born with amber eyes to banishment, and even how death made him slightly regret past actions. What he didn't mention was Tyrande. Kelset knew that he once had an obsession with her, but she never knew details, and honestly, it didn't seem like a good idea to ask. For now, Illidan was being decent enough by humoring the endless questions and keeping her around. Asking the wrong thing could lead to things she had no desire to experience.

As he told stories, Kelset found her self often sitting at his cloven feet, mending various belts and sashes that he wore around his waist, while he made himself comfortable on a throne made of stone and bones. Occasionally, Illidan would take Kelset to one of the largest balconies of the Temple so that she could get fresh air and see the sky above her. This was becoming a favorite pastime for her, even if he stood near by with muscled arms crossed over his chest, watching her every move as he didn't trust her to be left unattended.

"Why don't you seek redemption with your brother?" Kelset was laid on a large, thick blanket. Her robes had been torn during their first meeting, so she had to make due with a white blouse that hung unflattering on her, and was a bit more low-cut than what she would normally wear. A dark pair of leggings with brown boots. Resting on her back with hands behind her head, she didn't bother to glance back at the solid sentinel, Illidan, always standing guard near her.

"Would you forgive me?" His tone was a bit saddened, lonely, and tinged with a bit sarcasm.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she watched a few meteors burn brightly high in the sky, and then quickly die out. To her, the answer was simple and pretty instant. "Yes, I would, if you were family or someone very dear to me."

"Naive human..." Illidan scoffed as he uncrossed his arms, only to take a seat next to her.

Chuckling softly, she watched the near giant settle down, noting how he carefully tucked those massive, tattered and torn wings inward to avoid smacking her with them. Despite being some sort of twisted version of a demon, but also something much more powerful, he did have an odd gentleness about him.

"So, if the roles were reversed, would you not forgive Malfurion?" Kelset shifted and moved so that her head and shoulders lay in Illidan's lap. Staring into his face, she could feel every muscle in his legs tense, and visibly see his jaw tighten as those green orbs peered down at the bold human. This lasted for a moment before his wings opened, making her flinch as she expected to be tossed off him. Instead, he settled, but those brows furrowed and he was clearly annoyed with the question presented.

"No, I wouldn't forgive the fool."

The sharp edge in his tone made her frown softly. It was hard, no, impossible for Kelset to ever understand the situation the Stormrage twins were in. On one hand, it was obvious as to why there could never be forgiveness, but on the other, she just couldn't imagine wanting to never see her own sibling. Now that she thought about it, this was likely a good thing that she didn't have any siblings, at least none she was aware of.

"There is always a slim chance." The smile had crept back onto her lips as she boldly kept taunting Illidan.

The wings set on his back twitched, showing agitation. "Why are you laying in my lap?"

Kelset snorted, amused as he dodged the question at hand. "Are you uncomfortable with it?" The look on his face told her that Illidan, a being capable of smashing her pieces with his bare hands and knowledge of magic, didn't quite know how to answer this.

"Is that your intention?"

Kelset answered by simply shrugging her shoulders, which gained a disappointed glare from him.

"A waste of effort." Illidan shrugged out from under the human, almost seeming to pout as he crossed his arms again.

"I used to dream of facing you. Stopping your reign as Lord of Outland and being a hero of sorts." Getting to her feet, she noticed he rose to his feet with her, watching not just her body, the flow of magic through her anticipating a possible ambush. "Now? I just feel bad for you. I want things to change for the better on your end, but that will never happen. You're too stubborn and dug yourself into one hell of a hole with the entire world, basically."

"Pointless daydreams of a little girl."

"What happened to the Broken who were reported to have reclaimed this place?"

"Do you really need to ask? Can you not piece together why none of them are here?" Illidan cocked his head to one side, purposefully being vague in an effort to make her mind reel at the possibilities, and to believe the worst.

Kelset just sighed in defeat. Honestly, she wanted to believe in him. Illidan had been quick to defend himself, saying over and over how what he had done was for the greater good, and everyone against him were mere fools because they could not see it that way. He didn't betray them, they betrayed him. There still was no admittance to another way to end things was possible, but he was a tad bit more hesitant each time he repeated the words.

"Do you really have to keep calling me things such as 'girl' and 'child'?"She decided to lighten up the conversations, sensing he was slowly becoming more and more cross with her. The last thing she wanted to do was push him over the edge. "I know you are considerably older, and practically everyone is a child compared to you, but I really would prefer you to use my name."

The pair came to an unspoken, mutual agreement that this would be acceptable, playful banter to pass the time, and hopefully it would lead into more neutral discussions instead.

Lucen's Search

The second Kelset was tossing him supplies and ran out of sight, Lucen was bothered by this idea, but he was stubborn and refused to reach out to her. The threat of demons was very minimal these days thanks to the efforts of those who fought against the Legion many years back. Still, something nagged at him. Something seemed to whisper on the wind that she should be stopped. Still, all Lucen did was watch her fade into the distance. Patiently, he waited for Kelset's return. For days he stood just outside the stone walls of the alliance hold, eyes searching and scanning constantly, nearly praying that he would see her figure in the distance and that all would be well.

"I think she abandoned ye here, lad."

A Dwarf joked as he walked past the Blood Elf still standing and waiting. No, she didn't leave and go home. Kelset wouldn't have it in her to just up and leave without at least letting him know. He could see her making a portal for her self back to home and forcing him to find other means back, sure, but he knew she would feel guilty about leaving him. Something happened. Something terrible, Lucen was positive, but he didn't believe her to be dead. Kelset never seemed to believe in her self enough, but Lucen knew she was strong enough to survive on her own. He not only felt it, but he had tasted the power inside in very literal way. Memories of her came flickering back. The first time he kissed her was ideal. Never did he admit out loud that he missed her. He was worried beyond what others could imagine. Lucen desired nothing other than to start over and place a bit more trust in himself. He knew Kelset trusted him. She trusted everyone. The problem was never with her, but always with him. Lucen had his own haunting memories before meeting her. Memories of his thirst taking complete control over his mind to the point that he usually ended up physically harming those he held relationships with. Lucen would never lay a finger on her in a hateful way, the harm was from him draining Mana out of those imbued with magical gifts to the point it caused physical pain and damage.

Now Lucen was filled with regret, and knew he should have just voiced his concerns sooner. If he had, perhaps she would still be at his side, holding his hand. Maybe Kelset would have supported him in the times thirst burned and flared within him. Maybe he could effectively subdue if she helped. Now? Now he just feared they wouldn't get the chance to see how things would have worked out.

It took time, and some convincing, for Lucen to gather a sizable search team. Not too many were thrilled about wasting resources on a single woman who was practically nameless in their world, but he managed. Lucen nearly turned Shadowmoon Valley upside down looking for her, only to discover no trace. No body, no trail. Lucen even bothered to venture inside parts of the Black Temple, hoping to find her. Each time he called into the dark, he was let down as his echo was the only sound to be heard.

After months of searching, the teams just gave up. Everyone was ready to accept the face that Kelset was gone, and likely was dead. Others tried to convince him to just stop this futile search and move on with his life. Some tried to tell him it would be easy to forget her should Lucen just find a hobby. Even when a year passed, Lucen still found himself returning to the gates of the Black Temple in a tribute to her. By now, he was convinced the darkness inside claimed the young woman.

The year spent with Illidan wasn't as bad as some might think. At least, not in Kelset's mind. It didn't bother her much that a demon hybrid was her only company, but he was also her protector, and soon became a great mentor. No one's grasp of magic was a profound as Illidan, and once Kelset proved herself an ally to him, he was eager to help the young mage tap into sources she wouldn't have otherwise been able to. The whole process was painfully slow. Illidan often worried about magic ruining her. There were many nights when Kelset protested against his cautious nature, begging him for more, that she could take it so long as he helped.

"I can handle this." Kelset whined, tossing her head back like a child, watching Illidan cross his arms in defiance.

"Why do you remain so foolish?" Illidan frowned, approaching the young woman to place a clawed hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly as if that would pull the girl from her own little world.

His words did nothing but incite frustration, causing her to pull away from the once comforting touch. Kelset had heard him toss out the words 'fool' and 'foolish' countless time. Most days they were said at least once, other days they would tossed around much more frequently. Today was simply one of those days.

"Why stop?" Kelset look up into the old Lord's eyes. Sadness that was often found their was slowly disappearing, only to seemingly appear in Kelset's eyes instead. "By now I am dead to the outside world. So why does it matter if I get ripped apart in the process?"

Kelset paused as thoughts swirled around. All of this was pointless. Learning new things was pointless if they never left. In general, the natives don't visit this place. Nothing tries to invade aside from a few rogue Warlocks hoping to gain valuable artifacts. Maybe a Mage or two in hopes of securing ancient books on a practice long forgotten.

"Maybe we should just stop this altogether. I'm never going to use my skills outside of these walls, and you're too stubborn and blind to see the gift that was given to you." Kelset huffed, tossing her hands in the air almost looking defeating, which only made Illidan tense up as he prepared to settle in for a nice rant.

"Seriously, wake up!" Without any warning, she pushed her hands against Illidan's stomach, a wave of energy being expelled with the motion. While it wasn't a large enough dose to cause any pain or alarm, it was enough to push him back a few inches, surprising him as he hadn't expected her to turn on him. "You have been given a second chance. Aren't you curious to who did this? What about redemption? It is possible, I just think you're too much of a coward to reach for it!"

"You are a coward as well." His words stunned Kelset, silencing her and leaving him with an opportunity to voice what he noticed about her over the course of the year. "You flirt. There is no end to subtle hints, yet you never take it further, and the few times I tried nearly sent you into an emotional mess."

"You can't pin anything on me there!" Kelset boldly pointed her finger at Illidan with a hurt gleam in her eye. "We both have our issues."

"I learned to let Tyrande go. I accept her choice. You are more freshly wounded by the rejection of that Blood Elf."

Everything that had been racing inside her skull suddenly stopped when Illidan approached her, casting a dark shadow that only made the globes in his eye sockets burn even more fiercely. The act of his clawed finger tracing her jawline, moving slowly, cautiously down her neck only to stop atop the collarbone made her squirm a bit uncomfortably.

"If I am to start a new life, I would want to start it with someone new by my side."

The cross expression on her face began to melt as she gently shooed his hand away from her. It was hard for her to guess just exactly how much of what Illidan told her was true a lot of the time, and at his worst, Kelset read him to be rather obsessive, and she wasn't entirely certain that was the sort of attitude she wanted to get involved in.

"You don't seem to trust me to venture outside these walls, Mr. Stormrage." Her brow raised curiously, eyes scanning the aged face of Illidan. While he definitely did not look his age, there were signs of it there. A few minor wrinkles formed, though every part of him was still in amazing shape. His skin was in pretty rough shape, but most of that was thanks to numerous scars littering him. Many were bright strands of silver against the gray-purple hue. "Also, why in the world would someone like you even want to consider just some human unfortunate enough to wander in?" Kelset was becoming reserved once more. While she didn't pine over Lucen, his actions had made her rethink a lot of things, and she was doing a lot better at resisting the primal urges to simply be with a man because she was lonely.

The corners of Illidan's lips lifted into a grin. The answer was a simple one, at least to him, and he was a bit surprised that she didn't see it. "Do you really think anyone else would have been less judgmental about me? No one would give me any benefit of doubt. You are likable, and very pretty. I want you by my side to help gain trust of others on the outside."

"So, you just want to use me?" The smile on his face quickly faded at the grim tone of her words.

"Not at all. I wish to gift you immortality, so that you can be by my side as a mate for eternity. I wish to be your strength, and for you to be mine." Kelset just laughed, shaking her head and walked away, ending this conversation altogether.

Illidan began to loosen his grip on Kelset, letting her venture outside the walls as she confessed that being stuck here was driving her as spacious as the Temple was, it just felt like a cage, even when in the large courtyards. Matters were only made worse when she thought back to all the travels she wanted to do, and instead she was stuck in one place that was still scarred and deformed by past demonic influences. It took time, but soon Illidan was willing to take short walks with her, and all the while he tried to court and pursue her affections. His tactics were far from any traditional courting, but the effort was nice and felt genuine, even if they were laced with long speeches and ramblings. Illidan seemed to be content so long as he could get her to smile.

They continued their training, still at a turtle's pace. Only now Kelset was allowed to unless on the environment and not just Illidan. Rocks were really about all she could bring her self to destroy. There was an incident where a Helboar was accidentally struck, and Kelset couldn't help but mourn the loss.

"Why are you upset?" Illidan's voice laced with confusion as he glanced down at the smoldering corpse. "Pretty certain you cooked it all the way to the core with one blast." The pride was rather obvious in his tone as confusion melted away.

"Because it's dead! That's why I'm upset. I could have disrupted nature, or killed a mother!" In the middle of being disappointed with her self, she felt the firm arm of the hybrid snaking around her waist. An action she had come to find comfort in over the past year. Slowly Kelset had allowed her self to become closer to Illidan, mostly physically. Feelings were something she still tried to stomp out before they flared into a fire.

"I doubt people will judge you harshly on this." Illidan chuckled, finding a strange warmth and sense of calm was starting to grow within his own cold, distant heart. Perhaps redemption was possible should be able to keep him anchored.

Their usual rounds and exploring was soon brought to end as the day began to fade into night. Although here there really was not a huge noticeable difference between day and night. The sky was always dark and ominous. The ground always cold and hard with the exception of areas where lakes of molten, green goop and lava resided. Seemingly a realm modeled purposefully after nightmares as most rocks along the mountains were jagged and sharp.

"What do you say we go up to the ridge not far from the Temple, have a quick spar, then I make us something to eat?" She beamed happily up at the hybrid that loomed over her. Little Kelset was at her peak at five foot six inches, while Illidan was easily nine foot tall, and that wasn't taking into the account the height of curved horns and large, bat-like wings that reached far above his head.

Illidan could have easily skipped the daily challenge of sparring, but if she truly wished it, then so be it. He opened his arms to her, sliding one underneath her legs and scooping her body up, gripping protectively. Kelset immediately relaxed in his sturdy grasp. They had done this enough times that she was used to it and completely trusted him not to allow her to fall. Even if she was knocked out of his arms, she now held the abilities to guide her self safely to the ground and assure her own survival. That is if Illidan wasn't able to grab her falling body first.

It only took a matter of minutes for the couple to reach the ridge. This was one of Kelset's most favorite places, especially for picnics. A large portion was raised high, a large hill, but barely falling short of a mountain. Much of the top was flat and spacious, giving plenty of room to lounge around and even hold friendly fights. At the foot of this ridge was a roiling lake of lava. It was tainted a sickly green and reminded Kelset more of living ooze than anything else.

As soon as his cloven feet hit the earth, wings disturbing a fair amount of loose dirt and rocks, Kelset slid easily from his grasp and skipped a few feet away, turning smoothly on her heels to face her opponent. Every since earning favor with the demon hybrid, Kelset had been dressed much better. A robe sewn of bright purples, blues, and reds clung tastefully to her curvy frame. Each color was a symbol of her master of the basic elements the Mage had control over - red was for her skill in fire, as blue was to frost and purple was the arcane, all of which bent effortlessly to her will since Illidan graciously opened doors for her.

Kelset noted how his hands tensed into mangled looking talons as she bowed respectfully to him. He knew her routine enough to guess when she was going to strike - a negative with practicing against a friend. Without mercy, she flung an arsenal of brightly burning missals, each one was just barely dodged by Illidan. While there wasn't a direct hit, they exploded on impact with anything, causing splash damage. Using his wings to propel forward, Illidan rushed the woman, who was now glowing intensely through his unique sight. His gift was to see beyond physical forms and instead view all magic and what it was tied to. This made Kelset easy to predict as he could see what she was charging up and where it was as well as noting exactly what element. Several frost bombs were deployed in an effort to slow his advance. She was much better at ranged fight while he could easily destroy up close and personal.

No onlooker would have guessed this to be a friendly squabble. Large balls of fire were hurled and deflected, storms of ice sharper than glass rained from above while arcane energies constantly gathered only to explode violently against their victim. The displays of power went on for some. Both partners were equally matched as both of them not only took their fair share of hits, but also dealt hefty blows. The only reason for stopping was that Kelset had grown hungry, and she was the one who needed some energy left to prepare a meal as promise.

"You owe me a new robe..." Her voice nearly a whisper as she inspected several gashes through the cloth that his talons had caused.

Amused with himself, Illidan simply grinned as he settled down on the earth as Kelset pulled a fairly large meal seemingly out of thin air. A few different types of meat and fruit materialized before him, smelling fresh and highly appetizing. Without waiting for him to approve or start eating, she plunked her self across from him and dug in. This was the first meal she had all day, and it was easily the best tasting she had in several days. Sweet and savory fruit coupled brilliantly with the heavier taste of dark meats, and for that moment, all was well with the world.

As they finished stuffing their bellies, Kelset took her usual seat with Illidan. It wasn't out of the normal for her to lay across his lap, staring into eyes that peer down into her soul rather than seeing her physical form. It was an enthralling feeling, also unsettling. Carefully, her gaze left the burning sockets to come to rest on his lips. They curled back in a smile, revealing a few rather sharp and wicked looking teeth. When a soft chuckle worked through, that's when she turned away.

"Why do you do that? I can feel you studying me, and you do it all the time. Why? Am I that hideous of a creature now?" His tone was amused and playful, and maybe even a tad bit arrogant.

With an agitated grunt, Kelset sat up, removing her self from his lap to sit on her knees. Without really thinking on her actions, she pushed her lips tightly against Illidan's as her hands rested against his chest.