For the Whored Ch. 073

A couple of days later, Elunara stood nervously in the field, hand linked with Grogek, and other with Tulani. Tulani was holding Darguni and would transfer him into Elunara's arms before they stepped through the portal.

Tyrande handed Grogek a bundle. "Please put this on, it will make things easier."

"What is it?" He held it up before pulling it over his head.

"Darnassus tabard." Elunara nodded. "So they don't kill you on sight."

"Ah. It's... purple."

She laughed. "Live with it, tough guy."

He linked his fingers with her. "Your nerves are showing."

"Yeah, I want a tabard. Last I was here; I left with a kill on sight on my ass."

The mages opened the portal. Tyrande stepped through first. After a moment, Tulani handed Darguni over. Elunara put him on her hip and stepped through. It was a bit of a shock, but she'd taken many portals before. It was the time ones that made you the wooziest. They were on the island where the pink portal to Darnassus lay. Tyrande was speaking with the guards. They eyed Elunara with suspicion.

"This is my daughter Elunara. You remember her. This is her child, Darguni."

"He really is an Orc." Whispered one.

Grogek arrived next. The guards raised their glaives, but Tyrande shook her head. "This is her husband."

They openly stared as Grogek walked to Elunara and took her hand. She brushed her lips against his.

"Elunara was always an odd one." Murmured the other guard.

Tulani stumbled forward and both she and Grogek helped to steady her. "Oh, I am nauseous."

"Yeah, it happens sometimes with ports. The more you take the more that lessens. The time ones are especially awful." Elunara brushed Tulani's hair back.

"You are familiar with Draenei, this one is no different." Tyrande gestured. "Now, I am going to step through to prepare the others. Be nice." Tyrande ordered, before she stepped through.

Elunara snorted. "That really only means you can't kill any of us. You are under no obligation to be nice to me. Though, my family... that's something entirely different. Orc or not, he is my husband."

"I can't believe you ever got that far."

"Neither can I."

Tyrande reappeared. "You may follow after me." She went back through the portal.

Elunara shrugged and saluted the guards. "See ya."

Tulani let out a huge gasp. "Oh, it's so beautiful."

"Yeah..." Elunara felt herself tear up. She sat Darguni down and took his hand. Tyrande continued to make explanations as they followed her through town. Everyone stopped and stared.

"I have arranged for you to stay at the inn. Your old room is entirely too small for your family."

Elunara snorted. "I'd like to see just Grogek try to squeeze into that little alcove."

Tulani was spinning in circles as she walked. "That is the most amazing tree I have ever seen."

"That's the bank." Elunara grinned.

They made their way up the ramp and to the warrior's terrace, through the crafter's area and up to the inn. The innkeeper bowed.

"We need the room I requested."

"Yes, Ma'am, this way." She smiled. They were led upstairs and to a spacious room. The innkeeper frowned. "I'm afraid we don't have a bed large enough."

"That's fine." Elunara shrugged. "Just bring extra blankets and we'll sleep on the floor."

"Alright."

"It's good to see you again."

She smiled. "Try to not get yourself banished again." She leaned over. "Wow he's BIG!" She whispered.

"You have NO idea." Elunara winked.

After the innkeeper left Grogek grinned. "Well, you seem friendly."

"Are you kidding? I was her best customer for YEARS."

Grogek laughed as he put down the trunk. "Of course you were."

Tyrande gave a large sigh. "I did NOT need to know that." She shook her head. "Come; let us all head to the Temple so that I may make an announcement."

Once they were standing in front of the Temple of the Moon, a place Elunara was quite familiar with standing, Tyrande called out.

"My daughter Elunara has returned to me with full honors. Those who know Elunara from before will recognize her as the daughter I denied, cast out and banished from Darnassus. I will have you know that not only have I rescinded this order, I do it with utmost pride and joy. She has proven herself time and time again in the field of battle, and in many cases turned the tide in our favor. She has shown herself here today with the most unusual circumstances. This is General Grogek, former Iron Horde, and former second to Grommash himself. Elunara has redeemed this soul and has in fact, married him in a holy ceremony. I have welcomed him with open arms, as should you.

She further brings her child, a half orc, half Night Elf being known as Darguni. He is to be treated with care and respect. To complicate matters even more, because Elune knows that's Elunara's only speed, she has also brought with her a WIFE. Tulani is a Draenei with which we are already familiar with as our allies. This unusual family has been brought together at the hands of our Elunara.

I feel it wouldn't be fair of me to leave out the one they had to leave to attend their affairs, because somehow, Elune help me, General Jordan Shryke of Stormwind is also part of Elunara's family as her lover. As confusing as this all is, I still manage to welcome Elunara back to Darnassus as my cherished daughter, who has gone out of her way to prove me wrong time and time again. Please welcome them with all honors and love."

Tyrande turned to Elunara. "You try my sanity."

Elunara snorted. "Well, that kind of kills the sentimentality of your statement."

"Yet, I meant every word." Tyrande sighed and hugged Elunara. "I'm glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back, and not have glaives thrown at my head."

Tyrande cocked her head to the side. "Is it true you caught one and flung it back?"

Elunara snickered. "Yeah, and scared the shit out of Shylena. Was quite funny."

"Elunara, if it's ok, I'd like to take care of Darguni while we're here." Tulani blushed. "I'm not so comfortable on my own, and not having my sewing is making me... itchy."

Elunara handed over Darguni. "Of course." She brushed her hand over Tulani's hair and kissed her. "You do whatever is comfortable."

"Draenei are regarded highly here. We have close ties with the ones on Azuremyst and Bloodmyst isles. Perhaps if there's time, we can take you to Exodar."

"I'm not really... comfortable around people at all. My own kind or no." Tulani flushed. "Elunara is my world, and I only get along in town as I do because of her." She sat Darguni down and took his hand.

"Oh, don't be like that, sweetheart." Elunara brushed the back of her fingers on Tulani's cheek. "You've done plenty on your own and you've grown so much. In fact, you haven't even had a nightmare since Lorros' kidnapped me." Elunara twirled Tulani's hair in her fingers.

"I..." She blushed. "I guess you're right."

"I notice these things, my sweetness."

"ELUNARA!!!"

Everyone turned to look at the Night Elf running up the pathway.

"Elunara, my turtledove! There you are!" He threw himself on Elunara.

She tried to untangle herself. "Uh, hey... uhh." She looked to Tyrande.

"Yernal."

"Yernal. How are you?" Elunara awkwardly patted his back.

"Oh, Elunara! My turtledove, my sweet, delicate flower! How I have missed you! I knew you couldn't stay away for long, so you did something heroic to come back home to me!"

Elunara untangled him and shrugged in confusion at Tyrande.

"You don't remember him?"

"Not a bit."

Tyrande put her hand on Yernal's shoulder. "Yernal, dear, this is Grogek, Elunara's husband." Tyrande gestured.

Yernal sniffed. "A poor substitution, but I guess you had to make do with what you could find."

Elunara grabbed him by the throat and held him in the air. "You say one more bad thing about my husband or family, and by Elune, I will get myself banished again."

"You are not the Elunara I used to know." He gasped.

"You're damned right I'm not." She tossed him to the ground and watched him scrabble away.

"This must be the daughter you've told me so much about." A mild voice had them all turning around. "Has a bit of a temper, I'd say. Just like her mother." Malfurion laughed.

Grogek shared the laugh. "The town is more afraid of her, than me." He grinned.

"Is that so? Fascinating." Malfurion stooped down. "And what a fascinating child."

Darguni smiled, showing off his teeth.

"One fang?"

"He was born with it." Elunara regarded Malfurion. "You're looking... fascinating."

"The Emerald Dream warped my body."

"I heard."

"I can honestly say that it is good to see you." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Tyrande has..." He lifted his hand and looked at it. He put his hand on her shoulder again before taking it back and frowning. "How odd."

"Elunara..."

She held up her hands. "Don't look at me, I'm not doing anything. I swear."

Malfurion looked at Tyrande. "Something I should know?"

"Elunara's body absorbs energy through contact with those she holds a... sexual energy with."

Malfurion raised a brow.

"Maybe positive energy works as well." Tulani smiled.

"If that were true..." Malfurion began.

"Then Elunara's actions all this time were justified..." Tyrande nodded.

Grogek reached out and put hand to Elunara's arm. "You're getting cold again."

Both Grogek and Tulani wrapped their arms around Elunara and she laughed. "Hey, I like the idea, but why am I still losing energy?"

Darguni held up his hands. "Momma."

Elunara picked him up and smiled. "You want to help too?"

"Why IS she still getting cold?" Tulani frowned.

"Perhaps the darkness I felt is draining her. Maybe it is the light I saw that maintains her energy through contact, but the dark is eating it."

"Oh goody, I have a parasite."

"Exactly. I wish to have you examined in the Temple."

"Well, we're here."

"Elunara has always had a near unlimited amount of energy, I've only ever seen her like this one other time, and that's when Grommash absolutely destroyed her body." Grogek shook his head. "I now understand that my affection and concern for her may have actually been the thing to save her." Grogek stroked her hair.

"Funny how that works." Elunara laughed as she laid her head against his shoulder.

"It really is quite fascinating to see them like this." Malfurion remarked.

"Yes, the little Night Elf and big ol' orc. Weird, right? Anyway, can we move this along?"

Grogek laughed. "We'll go home soon."

"Yes, let's." Tyrande lead the way into the Temple.

The other priestesses eyed the crew with some trepidation. Tyrande gestured where she wanted Grogek and Tulani to stand with Darguni. Elunara sat on the pedestal at the feet of the statue in the center of the pond. Tyrande and Malfurion took spots on opposite end of the pool. The rest of the priestesses began to gather in a circle.

"We've already discussed what we will be doing. All of us will be channeling the same spell. Hopefully this will tell us what is going on."

Elunara closed her eyes and leaned back.

All around, the priestesses began to cast their spell. Tyrande directed them. Malfurion added his own variety to the mix.

Elunara felt a deep sense of calm as the spell reached into her and gently probed her spirit. She became dizzy and rubbed her forehead.

Tyrande had closed her eyes as she followed the spell and found two tangled creatures. One was the light, the other a deep darkness.

Grogek and Tulani stared in awe as Elunara was lifted into the air. A tendril of light wrapped itself around her body, and the other was an inky blackness that attempted to surround her. The light and the dark began to tangle and fight around her body. Not certain of what they were doing, both started running. Darguni sat down and began to giggle and clap. Grogek and Tulani reached Elunara and grabbed her hands.

The light wrapped around the pair and began to siphon energy from them, growing larger. Tulani let go first, her head laid back and her mouth open. The light energy pulled more from Grogek, as it battled against the darkness. Grogek was lifted into the air and he reached out and grabbed the black tendril. With a growl he ripped it apart. Most of it fell down to the holy water, burning and disintegrating. A small part slipped back into Elunara's body. They drifted back down to the base of the statue and the priestesses stopped their spell.

"What was that?" Tulani asked, as she rubbed Elunara's forehead.

"I don't know, but we didn't get all of it." Tyrande frowned.

"GAH!" Elunara sat up and held her head. "Fucking hell."

Several priestesses gasped at her language.

"Are you alright, my love?" Grogek ran his thumb on her forehead.

"I REALLY wish Elune would stop using me as a freaking pin cushion."

Every Night Elf present froze. "How do you know it was Elune?" Tyrande whispered.

"She freaking told me."

"How are you able to commune with her directly?"

"I don't know. But she sat there and told me that she needed help purifying my body and that she would call on anyone she had to, to get it done." Elunara shook her head. "She said... that when I used so much energy on Grogek, I allowed an opening for this dark thing. Something about a Dark star? I don't know what the hell that means. Anyway, until it is destroyed completely, it will continue to grow and eat me."

"I've heard of it before." Tulani frowned. "A dark star is a Naaru at the end of its lifecycle. If it is away from people; it explodes into a massive wave of energy. If it is near people, it can cause untold destruction and chaos. There have been tales of people who have absorbed the dark star, but they usually wind up destroying themselves in the process of trying to harness it. If she really harbors the essence of a Dark Star, it will kill her, but only after it corrupts her body in a way that could destroy us all..." Tulani wrapped her arms around Elunara.

"Elunara's body must be a haven for such a creature."

"So tired." She whimpered.

Grogek scooped her up. "She needs rest."

"I agree. We must discuss how we are to finish the job." Malfurion nodded.

Elunara woke up in a pile of blankets and pillows. "My head is killing me." She whimpered.

Grogek helped her sit up and drink.

"How long was I out this time?" She sighed as she laid her head against his chest.

"Only a few hours."

"Where's Tulani?"

"Trying to get some childish energy out of Darguni. Your innkeeper friend offered to take her shopping."

"Well, that's good."

"They're working very hard to understand how best to deal with the dark star."

"Dark Star? What's a dark star?"

"Do you not remember what you said in the Temple"

"Ugh, I did it again, didn't I?"

He stroked her hair. "I don't know how you never remember your discussions with your Elune."

"It's frustrating to have such a hole in my memory."

"I wonder if she is speaking through you. Not that you woke up and told us, but that she used you to deliver the message. Anyway, when you depleted your energy to revive me, you didn't have enough of yourself left to defend yourself against this Dark Star Energy. At the Temple they are trying to figure out how to purify your body in order to rid you of the dark star."

"Fun." Elunara snuggled against him. "Now I'm a puppet."

Tulani entered the room with the innkeeper who sat down a basket. "I knew you'd be hungry." Tulani released Darguni's hand and let him run around.

"Has he gotten bigger?" Elunara frowned.

"Yeah. He jumped again." Tulani sighed. "I can barely lift him."

"How old is he?"

"Not even two." Elunara frowned.

"He acts and moves like a four to five year old."

"His growth was already bordering on ridiculous, but I think going through the portal just accelerated the issue." Elunara frowned as she watched him.

"We must work on his speech." Tulani sighed. "I hope his intelligence is keeping up with his body."

Grogek nodded. "Something we can deal with when we get back."

Darguni flopped down in Elunara's lap and smiled. "Momma."

She wrapped her arms around him. "Yeah, I am."

Darguni pointed at Tulani. "Momma Tuly."

Tulani nodded. "Yes, that's right."

He grinned at Grogek and climbed in his lap. "Papa."

Grogek laughed. "Yes. Yes I am." He picked up Darguni and tossed him up. "My son." Darguni came down with a wild giggle.

The innkeeper wiped a tear. "I feel like I just got to experience a very personal family moment."

Darguni climbed up on to Grogek's shoulders and hugged the back of his head.

Grogek laughed. "Your mother does that too."

"Damn, I lost my perch to a usurper." Elunara sighed. "Though, I'm curious as to how he will react to Jordan."

"Unca Joran?" Darguni cocked his head to the side.

"Sure." She laughed.

"Ok, so I heard Tyrande say that, Grogek is your husband?"

"Of course."

"Tulani is your wife?"

"Double yes."

"And this Jordan is your... lover?"

"Backup husband also works."

Sae shook her head. "You never did anything by halves. Or normal for that matter." She laughed. "I feel forward asking a man to get a bite to eat, you just walk up to them and say "Hey, let me eat you"."

Elunara laughed. "She's right, I did say that once."

"I'm sure he enjoyed it." Grogek laughed.

"I take it he is aware of your past?"

"Past, present, future." Elunara shrugged. "He likes to watch... or join. Depending on the situation."

Sae just stared.

"She isn't messing with you." Grogek grinned. "Though, since Jordan joined our family, I don't have to harass her clients to get my own entertainment."

"You call them clients now?"

"I started my own business. On the base, I draw portraits, or even dude nudes for people. I also have been doing a body identification program where I draw the bodies of our soldiers in order to draw up a book of identifying marks. I've identified many bodies of our fallen using it. After that... well, I offer a practice I call "sexual healing" where I help people deal with their sexual related questions and concerns. I improve the sex lives of couples."

Sae started laughing. "Oh, Elune save me, you made a business out of it."

"Well, previously, I used my talents in the SI:7, I seduced a target, leeched him of all his information and dumped him in a ditch."

"I'm impressed you've made all this work out so well for you."

"Feel free to share the gossip." Elunara winked.

Sae put a hand to her chest. "A woman after my own heart."

"Careful, she'll seduce you too." Tulani winked.

Elunara opened the basket and gasped. "OH! I haven't had any of this in AGES!" Elunara began digging. "Do you know how impossible it is to get some of these treats outside of Darnassus?"

Sae smiled. "I picked all your favorites."

Elunara began stuffing her face.

Grogek laughed. "I haven't heard those sounds outside of sex."

"Me either." Tulani shook her head.

"You have no idea." She mumbled in between bites.

Sae grinned. "I'll leave you to your foodgasm."

"I meant to ask you..." Grogek wiped frosting off her cheek. "What's a turtledove?"

"A silly little bird."

"I just loved "delicate"." Tulani giggled.

"I still don't remember that idiot." She stuffed another pastry in her mouth.

"I'm glad you're eating. You'll need your strength." Tyrande stood in the doorway. "Sorry, the door was open."

"S'ok."

Darguni wandered over and put his hands on the shimmery parts of Tyrande's dress. "Pretty."

"Is that Darguni?" She gasped.

"I think the trip through the portal accelerated his already fast growth."

"That's concerning."

"You're telling me."

"I think we're prepared to try again."

"Why so soon?" Grogek frowned.

"The longer we wait; the better chance the dark star has to grow. We need to keep at it at every conceivable moment in order to fully eradicate it."