Reunited

Vantha's eyes flew open and shifted side to side. She choked, gasping as the air of life, once again, expanded in her lungs. Her mind flooded with confusion as to the events leading up to her... death. Blood pumped furiously through her veins, her muscles tight and sore. Her eyes focused on a small silver ankh levatating above her chest, pulsing a bright silver glow that illuminated the entire cave. She reached up to touch the sterling regeant, only to have it crumble to glimmering dust , falling all around her. Carefully pulling herself to her hooves, she cast her healing totem, sat back down and pulled another bottle of moonberry juice from one of her satchels. Once she was coherent enough to tend to him, she crawled over to Aerden. He was unmoving, not a breath in or out escaped from his lips. She began to call upon her ancesteral spirit, but even after putting all of her strength into the spell, he still lay motionless on the cavern floor.

"Please, Aerden. Come back to me. Come back to this life." Tears started to well in her eyes. "Please?" She threw her arms around his corpse, his skin pale and cold, the glow in his eyes gone. She stood, trying once more to cast life back into her companion.
'It's too late, child. You must move on.'
Vantha heard the voice and called out in frustration. "Don't do this to me! It's not fair!" She screamed into the cave walls, but got no further response. Falling to her knees next to Aerden's body, she wailed, tears streaming relentlessly down her face. "No! Aerden, please come back." Her voice raspy as she mourned the loss of the one she was beginning to love. She sat back, away from Aerden's body and cupped her face in her hands, closing her eyes to try and pull her thoughts together. Warm air, followed by a feeling of relief came over her, though she didn't know where it came from. She lifted her head, hoping to see Aerden's smiling face, but found quite the opposite. His body was gone. No wisp, no bones, but his armor lay in the same formation as his corpse had. Vantha was slightly confused, however, she had never seen a Night Elf pass on before. This might have been normal for all she knew.

She sat alone in the cave for some time, knowing that the Orc could come back at any time, however, she didn't care. It was time to go home; back to the islands where it was safe. For the first time since she left home, she actually missed it. Everyone was expecting her to return from her hiatus refreshed and ready to sharpen her shamanistic and alchemist skills, but she knew it would take time until she was ready for her studies again. She began to feel guilt, wondering if the Orc may have let them go had she not given him such a verbal assault. Would he have showed mercy on Aerden if he had been alone? Was it that he was with a Draenei that brought the Elf to his demise? She began to cry once more.
'I just want to go home'.

Grabbing her bags, she noticed two that belonged to Aerden were still there in the pile. She gave a half smile, feeling a little better that she had something to remember him by. She would wait until she got back to Azuremyst before looking at their contents; she had already had too many heartaches in one day and she didn't know how much more she could handle. Clutching her hearthstone, the spell rolled off her tongue and within seconds, she was back home. She hurried to her room, unnoticed by the other patrons of the Inn. Once inside, she flung herself onto her bed and burst into tears, crying herself to sleep.

Shortly before sunrise, Vantha began to toss and turn. Visions of Aerden kept coming to her in her sleep. In them, he was smiling and happy. Everytime he would begin to speak to her, her eyes would fly open and he'd vanish. The last vision was the most intense and she could almost feel him near her. After awakening, she decided to stay up. Her room was beginning to fill with a soft bluish glow as the sun began is ascent over the Islands of northern Azeroth. Lighting a few candles, she went to her bag for a skin of water. Her hand brushed against the soft netherweave of one of Aerden's bags. She bit her lip, feeling guilty about going through a dead man's belongings, however, her curiosity got the best of her.

The first bag contained mostly food, drinks and potions, but the other bag yielded a closer glimpse into the business aspect of the Night Elf's trip to the Stonetalon Mountains. Vantha uncovered several pages, mostly written in Kal'dorei, accoompanied by crude drawings of what appeared to be maps.

"I need to get these to Malfurion right away." She folded the pages and slid them neatly back into the bag. Her hand slipped, by accident, into another pocket that was deeper in the bag. She felt something cold and smooth touch the top of her fingertips. After placing the papers in the correct slot, she went back into the other pocket. What she pulled out was a necklace made of the purest silver she had ever seen; a moonstone pendant swung like a pendulum from the necklace. On the small, round pendant were engraved images of the moon, trees, and woodland animals. Vantha was in awe of the piece she held in her hand and without a second thought, her hands went above her head and dropped the delicate chain around her neck. She stood and turned to look at herself in the mirror and the decorated orb seemed to glow between her breasts.

She held the opalescent orb in her fingers, rolling it back and forth. "I will wear this forever, Aerden, in honor of you." Clenching her lips inward, her eyes tightly closed. "I miss you, friend." She managed to choke as the tears came again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Vantha jumped, turning towards the door to her room. "Vantha? Are you in there?"
"Damn it!" Vantha quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll be right there!" It was her best friend, Ysahnaa. 'How did she know I was back?' Vantha shrugged, not really wanting to face her friend. She walked over and unlocked the door. "Hey, Ysa." She gave a friendly smile.

"Hey, how are you?" Ysa threw her arms around Vantha. "My brother, Draden, said he thought he saw you running up the stairs of the Inn last night, but you looked tired and distraught, so he didn't say anything to you." Ysa stepped back and looked over Vantha's shoulder, as if she was looking for something. "So, why did you cut your vacation short?"

"Oh, I got home sick. Come in, I'll make some tea and we can chat." Vantha knew Ysa could see right through her vague explanation. No Draenei ever came back to the Islands for being 'home sick'. The two sat and chatted for awhile until it was time for lunch. Heading downstairs to the restaurant, they chose a table by a window and continued their converstaion. Vantha didn't mention the elf, or the real reason she was back home. She wasn't sure how her friends and family would react to her relationship with an Elf and reliving the encounter with the Orc was too painful. Something in her made her believe that Aerden wasn't dead, but in a state of limbo. She couldn't explain it. Maybe the dreams of him were giving her the idea.

"Draden's been asking about you, Van." Ysa smirked. "You know he's always had eyes for you."
"He's just a horny warrior who doesn't know what he wants. For the love of the Naruu, he's your little brother!"
"You know how many women would kill to be with him?" Ysa pushed herself towards Vantha, staring into her eyes. "He would treat you like a queen." She hissed.
Vantha snorted. "He'd want me barefoot and pregnant, like all the others. I might as well forget all of my training, sell my armor and start popping out babies." She rolled her eyes. Marriage and children were almost a foreign concept to her.
"At least give him a chance."
Vantha's mind flashed back to Aerden and the documents she had to return to Malfurion.
"I can't." Vantha's mood changed. "I have a very important errand to run and it might take me out of town for a few days, maybe weeks. I don't want to get Draden's hopes up only to leave again."
Ysa looked disappointed.
"But tell your brother I will definately allow him to take me out to dinner when I return... and tell him not here. I'm thinking, maybe, the seafood place in Booty Bay."
"I will do so as soon as I see him. And he loves seafood." Ysa now had a smile on her pretty light blue face. "He'll be so happy!"

After lunch, Vantha and Ysa parted ways. It was time for her to go Moonglade to return those documents to the Druid leader. Walking over to the flight path, she made sure she had both of Aerden's bags, gave the hippogryph master a few silver and went on her way. Vantha was nervous. This wasn't her first trip to Moonglade, and she wasn't concerned about meeting the ArchDruid himself, but rather all the people she had to go through to get to him.

Moonglade was so tranquil and serene with only a few inhabitants, mostly vendors and wardens. Vantha hurried to the Inn where she found Dargon, a food and drink vendor.

"How may I help?" he asked.
"Could I have a bottle of melon juice, please?" Vantha held out one silver in exchange for the drink. "Thank you."
"Go in peace, friend."
Vantha paused before speaking. "Excuse me, again, but do you know where I can find Malfurion?" The vendor paused, looking at the draenei with suspicion. Vantha laughed at his expression. "I have some documents that belong to him." The Elf relaxed his brow.
"Shan'do Stormrage comes and goes throughout the seasons. Right now, he is at an undisclosed location, however, you may speak with his beloved, the High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind in the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus."
In a moment of slight frustration, Vantha mused. "Is she nice?"
Dargon let out a deep laugh. "Very. She will help you with whatever business you have with Furion."
Vantha dug in her pouch and pulled out two gold. "Thank you so much for your time." She then went back to Darnassus to seek out the Priestess.

Upon entering the Temple, Vantha gasped at the beautiful fountain before her. This place felt so magical and soothing at the same time. She approached a sentinel, inquiring to the whereabouts of Tyrande.
"Follow the spiral incline and make a left at the top. Then, go to the second tier and there you will find the Priestess."
"De'nadrae!" Vantha yelled back as she hurried towards the top. As she rounded the second corner, she saw the Priestess standing next to one of her own. "Krona kai kristor, Valustraa." The two Draenei embraced.
"What brings you to Darnassus, Vantha?" Vulstraa hadn't seen Vantha since right after the Exodar crashed into the islands.
"I wish to speak with Priestess Whisperwind." Vantha turned towards the elegant elf. Tyrande looked at Vantha, her eyes ablaze with curiosity. Vantha bowed her head and bent down on one knee. "High Priestess, it's an honor to be in your presence."
"Come, child. How may I be of assistance?" Tyrande reached out and put her hand on Vantha's shoulder. Vantha stood.
"Do you know Aerden?"
"Yes, I know him well. Why?"
Vantha held out the bag containing the Stonetalon documents to the Priestess. "There are papers in the bag that may be of interest to Malfurion in regards to the logging company encroaching on the borders of Ashenvale." She met with the Elf's concerned gaze. "Aerden was killed by an Orc named Motlik. He killed me too, but I was able to come back." Her voice was shaking, tears began to well in her eyes as she fell to her knees again, Valustraa crouched beside her, embracing her Draenei sister. "I tried... so hard, Priestess!" Sobbing uncontrollably, she went on. "In the... few days I knew him.. we had so much fun!" Vantha took a deep sigh, quietly adding. "And I blame myself for his death."
Tyrande kneeled next to Vantha. "Young Shaman, do not blame yourself." The Priestess stood, tears in her eyes as well. "Thank you for bringing these to me. I will see to it that Malfurion gets these documents. Your actions will help to save the lands of Ashenvale and I grant you exhalted status with Darnassus for your bravery. May Goddess Elune watch over you."
Vantha bowed before Tyrande once more. "Thank you, Priestess."