Kyra stood beside Maestra as the priestess knelt beside a group of night elves that had perished during the battle. She had attempted to ensure their survival, but the tell-tale shadows that accompanied their wounds told of a fate far more sinister than she could have compensated for.

"Fel magic," she spoke aloud, Kyra's ears perked, "Why would the Horde have use of this? I know the demons to the East have been known to masquerade, yet they've never demonstrated the ability to perform goals. This incursion was obviously to being down this tower."

Colin arrived alongside Orenthil, the two having been carrying bodies away from the post. The human had only heard the tail end as he spoke up.

"Why such a minuscule action, though?"

Maestra peered up toward him, "This tower was more so a symbol to my people than anything else. I'm sure it was more of an attempt to dampen our morale, more than anything. If they truly wished to slay us all, they certainly could have."

Colin shuddered. At that moment, the woman from earlier, who seemed to be the leader of that pack of nightsabers, approached the small group, speaking to another Sentinel.

"-and we'll go from there. Just make sure we- Kyra?"

Kyra, herself, gave a start as she turned to her, and the two gasped rather loudly. In a second, the nightsaberess had jumped clear over to Kyra, wrapping her arms tightly around her, much to Kyra's surprise. Soon enough, though, she returned the gesture, and the two excitedly rocked back and forth.

"Vylira?" Kyra spoke, still shocked, "I didn't expect you for another few days of travel! Why are you so far west?"

Vylira, whom Colin could only ascertain was Kyra's sister, excitedly replied, "We were expecting such an attack after we noticed their forces moving along the border. We stationed ourselves at Astranaar, since that seemed more likely a target. I wasn't expecting them to be concerning themselves with symbolism. We caught word immediately and rushed here as fast as we could."

"And saved me in the process," Kyra grinned slightly, "Again."

At that, Vylira became visibly angry, "And what in the world brings you here?! Your post is on Teldrassil!"

Kyra was about to reply, but her sister reached out and held her again, cutting off any reply, along with some circulation, "I couldn't live with myself knowing you'd been killed within my sphere of leadership! You were so much safer upon our home!"

Now, Kyra became miffed, probably not wanting to be addressed as a child, "For your information, I handled myself quite well. I'm not the sickly kid you left at home, remember."

She spoke in a statement, rather than a question, though it was all the same to Vylira who sighed lightly, "Well...you're okay. That's all that matters."

Having met with her sister, Vylira turned toward the only other unexpected person, "A human! What brings you to these lands?"

Colin began to reply, but Kyra cut him off, "We're traveling together. I took a sabbatical and Colin, here, happens to be an explorer of sorts, so he's my guide, knowing more than I do."

"'Colin', hm?" Vylira inspected him, slowly reaching out to shake his hand, "And you're not some schemer out to wrest something from my sister, are you?"

Again, before he could defend himself, Kyra took the role, "Vylira! I know whom I can trust and who I cannot! I'm not your 'little' sister anymore!"

Vylira looked at her sister skeptically, but ultimately sighed and nodded, "I know, I know. You're still the little girl who'd come running to greet me once I had finished my patrol."

Her face took a dark turn, "You're also still the girl who lost my glaive in the lake."

Kyra rubbed her face, "Please, not in front of our priestess."

Lost in all of this was Maestra, who seemed to enjoy the familial air and bickering.

Vylira returned to Astranaar, still skeptical of the Horde's movements, with the promise of still being there when Kyra and Colin came through. She and her sisters, that is, sisters in arms, etched markings into their armor symbolizing the number of lives they had taken, adding to the high amount they had already had, taking the opportunity presented by Maestra being there to have their armor newly blessed. Indeed, the Silverwings were an elite set.

Kyra was left more than a little spellbound by the presence of the warriors. Though she knew she was unprepared for such things, Kyra still longed to be one of them, and she was noticeably quiet after her sister had left. She also had to contend with the fact that she had Colin hadn't spoken much at all for days now, a fact that saddened her greatly.

She understood his thoughts, his feelings, but aside from her not necessarily being of the same romantic cloth, she knew very well that such a coupling was incredibly discouraged, if not taboo, and that succumbing to such things only led to dark places. Still, she respected the man's feelings, and ever since her friendly kiss, she felt more bound to him that usual, though it had been a part of a ritualistic act, which she attributed it to. She still thought, in hindsight, it may not have been the greatest act to perform.

She gently rested her armor beside the moonwell that served as consecration for the nearby post and western entrance in general. She removed the clothing she wore underneath and stepped into the purifying waters, meticulously grabbing handfuls of the ghostly water to pour upon herself.

The cold water ran down her body and she immediately became self conscious, flashing back to that drawing Colin had done. She peered over her shoulder, finding nobody, and returning to her activity, not sure why she had done that. Was she hoping to see somebody?

In fact, from the kiss onward, which she had wholly meant as a symbolic demonstration of friendship, her entire outlook on the man had changed. She looked at the necklace that she had laid down beside her armor; a shamanic totem, given to her by Colin, supposed to make her fall for him. She stared at it hard. Had it been working?

She left the moonwell, her purification complete, although ironically, as her mind was a mess. She returned her armor to her body and picked up the necklace, examining the carving of a fox on its face. Why was it even a fox? She sighed, recognizing that she was now asking odd questions. Instead of putting it back around her neck, she dropped it into one of the pockets her clothing provided underneath her armor and returned to the encampment, still reeling.

She quietly entered into her tent, not wanting to wake Colin up, but she gave a gasp. A blue handprint rested upon his cheek; the same cheek where that priestess on Telsrassil had touched him. Kyra was shocked; he had clearly removed it. He said as much, and afterwards, she couldn't detect any trace of it. She slowly approached his cot, leaning down to examine the moonlight that reflected upon his face. It was clearly the same handprint; clearly, Maestra hadn't done the same thing, nor would Colin have allowed her to, Kyra was sure.

She desperately wanted to touch it to examine it further, but that risked waking Colin up, so she refrained. As she returned to her own cot, she heard the rustling of blankets and noticed that the moonlight on the walls of the tent had disappeared. Colin leaned up noticed that Kyra had returned.

"Hey," he murmured groggily, rubbing his eyes.

Kyra didn't reply, only because she was still taken aback by his cheek, but Colin continued after a heavy yawn, "Some day, huh."

"Yes," Kyra hastily quipped, coming to.

Colin sat up and adjusted his shirt, "You've mentioned your siblings before, but are they all so protective of you? The only Kyra I know could take down a Burrow of furbolgs."

She sighed, grimacing, "Well, they haven't seen me since I was a child. Some have, I mean, but Vylira lives and breathes the life of a Silverwings; she couldn't ever visit much. Oddly enough, she was my favorite sister; I admired her so for her tenacity and strength."

"Traits you've certainly emulated," Colin noted, "I'm an only child though, so the whole dynamic is sort of lost on me. You learn real quick that your best friends become brothers and sisters."

Colin turned to look at Kyra immediately noticing that the necklace had left her neck. He wasn't exactly surprised, but he was rather disheartened, despite believing that he had no right to expect her to have kept it on in the first place. He heard a barely audible sigh from her as she had finished resting her armor near her cot.

"Some of my siblings, you wouldn't want to meet," she voiced, quietly, with a great darkness, "You don't live four hundred years without seeing loved ones turned to enemies. Another good trait of a mortal."

Colin turned away, almost in reverence, now a bit uncomfortable. He didn't reply, but as Kyra laid down on her cot, he did the same, wrapping his arms back around his pillow. In the darkness, and given the quiet air of quiet needed for sleep, it wasn't nearly as tense of an air as it might have been. It, of course, couldn't last.

"I do wish I were more than mortal," Colin muttered, offhandedly, though he wasn't entirely sure why he had.

He knew what he'd said, and that it opened up a lime of questioning he had wanted to avoid; one that Kyra promised bot to discuss unless he had brought it up, as he just had. He only hoped that she hadn't heard, or had fallen to sleep quickly. Perhaps she would know not to press the issue?

"There are many things you would not enjoy about-"

"I know of one thing I would greatly enjoy," Colin interrupted, both of them continuing to be still in their beds.

Kyra was taken aback by his sudden statement, and was now miffed. Colin, himself, was now quite embarrassed, so he remained silent. Neither of them spoke again before sleep overcame them, albeit uncomfortably.

Colin stood alone against one of the small cottages that stood in the area of the small outpost, looking out at the recovery effort. There were both humans and elves helping with the clean up, which was mostly just collecting the various fragments of the tower, which stood about half as tall as it once had. Colin had wanted to help, but was reminded of his meeting in Astranaar and told to go on.

The prospect of staying here now seemed more appealing than continuing on with Kyra. He was more upset with himself than anything, especially considering the night before. He simply clammed up and stared off into the distance, though Kyra still refrained from saying anything the few times they had spoken today. At the moment, she was meeting with Maestra in order to create a list of supplies to have sent back once she had made it to Astranaar. From there, hippogryphs would go to and from Darnassus for whatever wasn't readily available.

As Colin watched the people picking up the ruined tower, he turned toward a lone nightsaber rider entering the outpost, one who bore a striking resemblance to Kyra's sister. She met with Orenthil, who had come to greet her, and the two discussed a few things before Vylira sent him off with her mount. Now on foot, she looked around, immediately noticing Colin, and approached him, much to his chagrin.

In no mood to socialize, he still stood up straight and greeted her as she came toward him, "Hey, uh, Vylira, correct?"

"Ashra thoraman?" she asked in Darnassian, which caught Colin by surprise.

He shrugged, "Sorry, I don't speak-"

She grinned suddenly, causing him to halt his speech, her face becoming rather mischievous, "My apologies, human. You've been here before, yes?"

Colin nodded, "Well, sort of. Between here and Astranaar was sort of a-"

He paused again, noticing the same teasing expression on her face, continuing only softly, "You know."

"Knew", she clarified, "I had my eye on you since you'd first come here. Of course I knew something was up when you met up with Tyriel's courier. Had I known you would end up here, again, and with my sister, I might have considered stopping you."

"I take it you wanted her to stay on Teldrassil?"

Vylira contorted her lips in thought, "Not so much that, as not wanting her to be in your company. I had my eyes on you for a reason, human; it's odd for anybody to enter Ashenvale. I still don't know if you're up to something or-"

Now his turn to force her halt, Colin knelt down and pulled his pack around his body, rummaging through it to pull out a sketchbook of his, handing it to Vylira, who accepted it curiously. He noticed her critiquing eyes soften a bit as she scanned through the pages, taking longer to examine a few.

"I haven't been home in quite some time," she pointed out, "Quite nice to see it again. And this was done by a human, no less. Impressive."

She handed the book back to Colin and examined him up and down, causing an uncomfortable shiver to run through the latter's body, "Is there something else?"

She shook her head, "No. I was just curious what kind of man you were. I need to know what kind of person my sister is traveling with. I was sent here to escort you two to Astranaar, in case of any further Horde incursion. A more selfish reason was to question you."

"You're very protective of her," Colin pointed out, as though it were new information.

Vylira shrugged herself, "We all are. I don't think we can help it; she could become Syndragosa's right hand woman and we'd still be acquainted with that tiny thing that cried endlessly. It's a testament to her willpower, honestly, that she even made it to maturity."

She peered off into the distance, as though watching to see if Kyra was around, "You know, I always thought about it. She cried so much as a child, and then she just stopped. I'm sure it was because she wanted to be strong, but… At least for me, anyway, it just worried me more, knowing she was bearing it all. She never spoke to any of us about any problems. She just, you know, kept it in."

Grinning sadly, Vylira finished, "I almost think I'd trust her strength more if she were more willing to depend on others. Ask for help, cry around them when she's overwhelmed; then I'd at least know she'd be able to handle herself. She can be as strong as she wants; as a Silverwing, I know, you're resolve at your lowest matters far more than at your highest."

Colin, who was an only child, took what she had said to heart. It also surprised him that Kyra's siblings hadn't seen her cry, though he had witnessed it twice. It was information he knew very well not to indulge, but at the same time, he felt a great sense of trust, knowing that Kyra had allowed him to witness such a private side if her.

Vylira pulled her arm up, pointing her thumb over her shoulder, "We'd better head on out soon, if Kyra's finished here. Do you know where she-"

She turned to see Kyra standing there, a blank stare on her face, "More interrogations, I see?"

Vylira grinned, "Only to ascertain whom my sister is entrusting her companionship to. He checks out. Anybody so able to capture the beauty of my home on paper surely has good intentions."

Kyra tried to hide a blush that caught both Colin and Vylira's attention, "Falore?"

The younger sister didn't reply, and simply began walking down the path to Astranaar, leaving Vylira to stare at her, wide-eyed, her speculations running rampant. She immediately turned to Colin, who's face was just as confused as hers, which seemed to quell her worries. It must not have been anything involving him, after all.

Vylira sighed, shaking her head, "You two are going to be the death of me."

Grinning, Colin replied, "Don't worry; you won't be the last, I assure you."