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	"Ohhh whoa!  Dad, look at all the lights!  I haven't been here in years!"  Lyrah grinned from ear to ear as she darted amongst the sparse crowd of humanoids. The Lunar Festival was the one time of year any and every race was freely invited into the Moonglade, and as such the local druids were happily greeting one and all while filling their bellies with special, sparkling brews.  The flight to the Moonglade had been uneventful, and as they touched down Soren had politely parted ways with them for the time being, though he hadn't said why.

	Drenan chuckled softly as he turned his gaze skyward.  "Feels like we haven't been much of anywhere in years," he rumbled.  "But I would be lying if I said I hadn't missed being someplace... familiar."

	"Speaking of familiar," another feminine voice suddenly called out from behind.  Both tauren whirled around to see the lithe, ever-smiling Shele standing but a few feet from them, her hands planted on her wide hips.  

	Father and daughter both lit up happily and flung themselves at the pale-furred druidess and smothered her in a dual-hug that she returned just as warmly.  "It's so good to see you, Shele!" Lyrah cried and drew back to arm's length.  "How have you been?  Things been calm in the Moonglade?"

	Shele chuckled softly and looked between the two of them, her smile fading just a bit.  "Better than you two I would suppose.  I heard whispers of your travels in Southern Kalimdor.  If we have time, I'd hope to catch up on what you've both been through."

	Drenan and Lyrah exchanged more concerned glances this time around before Drenan spoke.  "Perhaps later, but tonight marks our year, does it not?  I would think celebration would come first and foremost."

	"So it shall," Shele agreed and hugged the pair a second time, holding them for several moments just to solidify the fact that it was really them.  "Actually, if you'd like, a number of the Cenarion Circle have a special celebration planned in a little while, and I know that my colleagues would take no issue with having you two join us."

	"... will we still be able to see the fireworks?" Lyrah had to ask.

	"There isn't a spot in the Moonglade where you can't," Shele assured her.  "Come."

	The three of them took their sweet time as they waded through the masses of adventurers, steadily catching up on the events of the past couple years.  Shele hung onto every word of the tauren couple as she led them through a small, vine-strewn tunnel and out into a second, secluded little glade.  A pool of shallow water sat at the center of the circle of cliffs, while the rest of the flat glade was shrouded with soft, clean moss and grass.  Here and there, several clusters of other druids sat and chatted idly, all of which wore similar, leaf-and-vine-strewn robes as Shele often did.  Perhaps most notably, all of the druids were various fur-colors of tauren.  "What of the night elves, worgen, and trolls?" Drenan couldn't help but ask.

	"It is the year of the ox, darling," Shele replied plainly.  "There will be time for the other druids another day."  Tonight, we drink, dance, and celebrate Mu'sha's grace, as both family and lovers."

	Her last words caught Drenan off guard.  "And what does that mean?" he asked fairly innocently.

	"You are both safe here to be who you are," Shele returned calmly.  "I have told my colleagues much about the both of you -all of it positive, I promise- and you have their support, should either of you ever need it.  We do not judge those who show each other love, even if their love is beyond familial."

	"But not Soren," Drenan stated more than asked.

	For the first time, Shele seemed to get visibly agitated.  "I thought we were waiting to speak of serious matters?"

	As Drenan and Shele spoke, Lyrah's gaze drifted out among the other tauren druids, and at one of the furthest reaches she happened to catch sight of a familiar-looking wisp of gray fur.  "I... think I'm just gonna step away for a bit," she muttered, but before either of the elder tauren could notice, Lyrah was off across the glade of her own volition.

	Drenan only caught Lyrah leaving out of the corner of his eye, but she was already halfway across the glade before she turned to watch her.  "Forgive me, Shele.  It is not my concern.  I just..."  The paladin hesitated, choosing his words carefully.  "I suppose I had never realized I was speaking to a fellow parent."

	Shele's small smile faded completely, her gaze drifting past him to watch Lyrah fully confront the distant Soren.  "Drenan... I feel like a poor mother," she confessed quietly.  "I had Soren when I was quite young."

	The paladin eyed her curiously, calmly.  "It is not my concern," he repeated, "But I am here to listen, as you always have been for me."  Slowly, his large hand reached out to affectionately touch Shele's shoulder.

	Shele did not shy away, rather she simply lowered herself to sit upon the soft, spongy grass.  Her deep brown eyes looked out at the gently-rippling water as she pulled her knees up to her chest with a soft sigh.  "Soren is... he is both my greatest pride and my greatest failure, and I feel horrible even just saying that out loud.  I had him during a time of emotional weakness for me, years before I met you, Drenan.  His father is... wild in a different way."

	Drenan cocked a curious eyebrow as he took a close seat next to her.  "Difficult to believe," he quipped with a chuckle.

	Shele let out a soft laugh.  "He had originally thought to train as a druid himself.  We met during training, fell for one another, and... Soren came along shortly after.  I was overjoyed when I found out, but he..." she paused at this and sighed once more.  "He realized that the druidic arts were not for him.  In fact, being around the druids had sort of... regressed him.  He came to despise any and all trappings of civilization.  He wanted nothing to do with any of it, and shortly after Soren was born, he asked me to leave with him."

	Drenan's ears drooped just a bit.  "That is a big change, especially after having a child."

	"It was, and as much as I wanted us to be a family, I simply couldn't agree.  I had much more to learn, and I wanted to do right by nature as it had done by me.  Retreating into the wilderness, no matter how peaceful, simply wasn't for me.  So... we parted ways, and he took Soren with him."

	"How come?" Drenan asked innocently.

	Shele shook her head absently.  "Soren wasn't doing well in the Moonglade.  He was a wild child from the start, and he caused the other druids a lot of problems.  I barely had attention to spare for him... and his father would often disappear into the mountains to get his privacy.  Part of me wondered if he hadn't found a furbolg to fuck," she quipped, chuckling once more.  "But ultimately, after fifteen months of difficulty, he took Soren with him.  He used to write me letters every month, but that stopped after about four years.  He even used to send Soren to visit at least once a year, but when Soren became of age he... elected to do his own thing instead.  This is the first time he's been back in years."

	Drenan gave her shoulder a soft squeeze and further draped it across her shoulder blades.  "Perhaps you should speak to him about this.  If Soren-"

	Shele's head shook before he could finish.  "He did not come to greet me with the two of you.  It's obvious he's avoiding me."

	"And you are assuming much," Drenan returned evenly.  "He loves you.  He's still your son."

	"If only it were so simple," she uttered with another sigh and leaned into her muscular friend.  "There are times I have deeply envied how close you and Lyrah are.  Such envy was not simply born for you, Drenan, but for how you and your own daughter can have such a loving bond with one another."

	Drenan's azure eyes looked over the curled-up Shele, as if searching for something he couldn't see.  "Do you love your son?"

	This caused the fur on Shele's neck to bristle, and her dark brown eyes suddenly turned to look at Drenan fiercely.  "Of course I do.  I love him with all my heart."

	"Then you have nothing to fear by simply speaking to him," he returned evenly, squeezing her far shoulder.  "He told us himself that he loves you, he wears your surname with pride, and he brought us here without even a fleeting hesitation."

	The lithe druidess grew quiet at this, her features softening as she looked at Drenan, as if trying hard to find any lie in his eyes.  "He did?"

	"He did," Drenan assured her.  "I am not one to tell others what to do, but I would encourage you to at least consider approaching him.  At least you will know the truth without uncertainty."