<8> ”Rainier… if you weren’t my brother, so help me…!” ”Relax, Rowan. We won’t be long.” The flustered druid could only clutch his long hair as Summer and three other elves filed into his small Elwynn home. “I barely have enough room for [i]this[/i] schmuck!” he cried and gestured toward his husband. “Oh don’t get your vines in a twist!” Barry called from his chair near the fireplace. “They’re [i]fine[/i], and they can stay as long as need be! It’s my house too, and you should think more of your brother!” “How [i]can[/i] I when he puts me on the spot like this!” Rowan spat back. Rainier was nearly a head taller than his younger brother, but the druid was far from intimidated by the grizzled warrior. “We’re sorry, Uncle Rowan,” came a much softer, feminine voice. Summer came trotting up with a thick blanket draped over her shoulders, granting her modesty. She looked up at him with her big, glowing green eyes and a sad look on her face. “We can leave. I don’t think the Stormwind guards will recognize my mother as a blood elf.” Rowan did a double-take, glancing over at the leather-clad blood elf who was tossing a blanket over the purple-skinned Gianna. “That’s… that’s your [i]real[/i] mother?” Summer nodded. “I know it’s dangerous. I guess we’ll just… find someplace to camp for the night. We-” Rowan cut her off with several clicks of his tongue. “[i]Nuh-uh[/i]. No niece of mine will have to suffer the cold nights of the wilderness on my account. I mean, [i]I[/i] like them, but that’s why I’m a druid.” He placed a gentle hand on Summer’s shoulder, prompting her to smile and lurch forward to hug him. “Thank you, Uncle. You’re the best.” Rowan’s heart melted as he hugged her back, though he shot Rainier one last, stern look. Rainier merely shot him an identical look before the druid walked away, leaving Rainier to guide Summer to sit in a bay window looking out into the forest. The two of them looked at each other for a brief moment, then fiercely hugged each other, closing their eyes and just letting their emotions loose. “I’m sorry,” Rainier rumbled softly. Summer shook her head against his chest. “Not your fault, Daddy. I got myself into this stupid mess. I didn’t think Landon was that dangerous.” “You had no way of knowing. He’s a moron,” Rainier spat. “He shouldn’t have been pulled out of the void.” Summer glanced over at the elf trio, with Gianna still trembling softly among them. “I… think she did the right thing. He’s a jerk, but he didn’t deserve to die over what happened.” “Mmh,” Rainier grunted, unconvinced. “I’ll be speaking to your trainers tomorrow about him and what he’s done. He can consider his time as a warrior, done.” “That seems fair,” Summer admitted. “It seemed kinda cruel just to leave him for the void elves too, but… I suppose that’s just karma, huh?” “He deserves worse. Put him out of your head for now,” Rainier assured her, running a large hand through her disheveled crimson hair. “You have bigger concerns than him right now.” Summer’s heart skipped a beat, and when she looked at the elf trio again, she caught Vivine’s eye in particular. “Dad, I… I don’t really know what to do here. This is… weird.” Rainier let out a soft sigh. “They… they seem like decent folks. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna, but I think you should listen to yourself, here.” “Huh?” She spun to look her adoptive father in the eye. And, almost uncharacteristically, Rainier smiled. “You’re the fiercest warrior I’ve ever met, and I’m proud of you for it… but I worry your heart has hardened because of it. For better or worse, I don’t doubt that those three share your blood, and… well, stop listening to me yammer and do what you think is best.” Summer smiled back at him and pecked him on the cheek, then turned slowly and shuffled over to the trio. “Um… hi?” she said awkwardly. “Hi,” Athilis replied first, chuckling. “Long time, no see, I guess?” “Athy!” Gianna hissed and elbowed her brother. “Where’s your sense of sensitivity?!” “What!? What’s wrong with a little levity?” he protested. The younger blood elf giggled. “It’s good to meet you all… and it’s really fucking crazy to think I had siblings out there!” Her glowing eyes fell upon Vivine yet again. “And… and a Mom.” Vivine couldn’t help herself. The dam broke. Tears began pouring down her face, and she lurched forward to throw her arms around Summer, babbling incoherently. Summer took a deep breath, then felt her own tears wet her cheeks as she hugged her mother back, the two of them remaining locked in embrace for a small eternity. Athilis and Gianna smiled and watched the two of them. They knew for sure that their mother’s tears were both happy and sad, but that they were [i]necessary[/i]. “We did this,” Gianna whispered to her brother. “A bit high-and-mighty,” Athilis whispered back, “But yeah… fate’s funny like this.” He took a moment to look at his sister and touch her now-purple-skinned wrist. “How do you feel?” “... Different. Very different,” she confessed. “I hear very faint whispers now… is it like that for you?” “All the time,” Athilis admitted. “But I can tune them out now. The others taught me how, and I’ll teach you, too.” “The void-creature-thingy was… so weird. But he kinda wasn’t… bad? I think they’re his whispers I can hear.” “The call of the void is different for all Ren’dorei, as is our shared affliction. If you need anything at all, I’m here for you.” Gianna smiled at her brother and let out an echoing laugh. “Yeah. I don’t think I have much choice. I’m gonna have to learn.” The two of them went quiet when they heard their mother’s sobs fade. Both she and Summer were red in the face, but something about their embrace was just… natural. Neither of them doubted their shared lineage, and the two of them briefly took the chance to catch up on each others’ lives, with Summer adding, “So… I know this is all weird and different, Mom, but… try not to be too hard on Rainier, okay? He’s been a really good Dad to me, and I don’t think he meant to take me out of malice or whatever.” Vivine slowly looked back over at Rainier, still seated by the window, and stood to walk over to him. “Rainier Carnell,” she said in the best Common she could muster. “... Thank you.”