World of Warcraft

10,000 years alone

theres something to be said about ten thousand years alone. to not feel the warmth of another being. barely enough room to move around. hearing the warden's metallic footsteps ever tracing the outside of those walls. after a while he grew used to not touching other living beings, and if he came into contact with another, she did only harm. illidan was, well, seemingly going mad. he was stuck between knowing himself as a man who had sacrificed so much to save his people, and thinking himself a monster. 

the fear and hate that the wardens gave off when they even saw his cell was enough to solidify this in his mind.

when tyrande freed him from that cage it was both horrifying and a breath of fresh air. so much had changed, the trees, the little elven pathways that gave away where they would cut through the woods, his brother and tyrande. they still looked the same, tyrande had more of an aura about her now, glowed brighter in the energy of elune. malfurion did too, an emerald green that soothed illidan's eyes after so long of seeing the harsh magic of his imprisonment. but that wasnt what the biggest change was.

both of his friends stayed feet away from him. malfurion's aura glowed fiercer the closer illidan got, seemed to harden around the edges, giving malfurion a protective bubble.

if he was honest, illidan didn't expect anything less, he was a monster after all.

for years it went on this way, until his illidari slowly came to the conclusion that their master would not kill them if they got within a six food radius of him. eventually they crept in on his space, testing how close was too close, keeping a watchful eye on illidan's face and body movements.

he didnt know what to make of it when jace leaned against him after a rather draining spell.

very slowly, it became apparent that lord illidan didnt hate his illidari touching him, and that sometimes, when all the missions had been finished, and the legion had slowed down enough, they could rest. this just meant filling a room in the fel hammer with as many sleeping supplies as the small army could find, and waiting for their lord to arrive.

the first time this happened, it was kor'vas that saw him first, bringing him downstairs. upon seeing the mass of blankets, pillows, scattered illidari, and occasional mattress. illidan turned, a confused look directed to the younger night elf. she simply continued walking, finding a place to sit.

illidan tucked his wings as close to his body as he could, stepping carefully around as many things as possible. he found himself against a wall, able to see both the door and the large window to his left, watching over his young elves. it wasnt often that the others would see their leader look so shy and compressed in on himself, it was odd.

belath's head emerged from a nest of pillows, and illidan almost jumped out of his skin, unaware of the blood elf that had managed to hide well enough that even spectral vision couldnt reveal him. before illidan could say anything, the still half asleep elf found his way to illidan, relishing in the warmth that his master radiated and laying back onto the soft floor.

these occurrences were few and far between, the legion and illidari ever pressing on, but the elves loved them nonetheless. after a while illidan stopped compressing his wings after he sat, and more elves came to rest at his side, though none dared take belath's spot.