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	Her deep green eyes met Lyrah’s.  “Is that not blasphemy?”

	Lyrah scoffed.  “It’s antiquated is what it is.”

	”But Magatha-“

	“Magatha isn’t in charge anymore,” Lyrah insisted.  “I am.  And I say it’s fine.  I wish I could have said the same for my mom when she was alive.”

	Talla squeezed Saratha’s shoulder tighter.  Her green eyes began to tremble, and the normally-stern tauren broke down into tears.  Her white-furred lover moved in front of her to hug her even tighter, though she kept her composure as she looked back and addressed her friend.  “Thank you, Lyrah.  I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to tell you about our talks.”  A deep blush colored Talla’s cheeks, and a smile appeared on her face as she spoke.  “She kept insisting on escorting me, and we got to talking.  A lot.  I know she seems kinda gruff, but Sara’s really, really sweet.  She offered to hold my hand a few days ago, and… we got kinda carried away today.  I guess I owed you one after that business in the tent back in Thousand Needles!” she remarked with a jovial laugh.

	Lyrah couldn’t help but laugh along with her.  “I guess we’re even then!  I’m really sorry we interrupted you two though… and I don’t want Saratha to worry.”

	Saratha was still a quaking puddle of tears, prompting Talla to squeeze her tighter still.  “All her life, she’s been raised among the grimtotems and has had their ways… beaten into her.  I know you said it’s okay, but it’s gonna take some convincing for her and the rest of the tribe.”  Talla’s smile faded and she ran a hand through her lover’s ashen mane.  “Maybe we should… put some distance between us and the tribe for a while.”

	“No!” Saratha cried and looked up at Talla, wide-eyed and still tear-filled.  “I… I can’t… they’ll kill me if they find me!”

	Lyrah grew deathly serious at this.  “No one’s killing [i]anyone[/i] while i’m chieftain.  I’ve wanted to respect my heritage and culture, but this is just needlessly barbaric and cruel.  And you two deserve to be together.”

	Talla looked Saratha in the eyes, and after a moment the two of them leaned in and kissed each other, pressing their foreheads together as the kiss broke.  “I know it was quick… but I know that I love her,” Talla uttered softly.

	“Love…” returned Saratha, who dared to smile sadly.  “That word almost seems forbidden among my kin.  Marriage and mating is for strength, not love.  But I… I can’t ignore the butterflies you put in my gut.”

	Talla bit back a chuckle and nuzzled her lover.  “That’s one way to put it.  You [i]sure[/i] you don’t just like ogling my butt?  You walked a step or two behind me a lot of the time.”

	Lyrah arched her brow in surprise.  She hadn’t remembered Talla ever acting so… confident.  Let alone cheeky.

	But it made much more sense to see the priceless, flustered look on Saratha’s face.  “I-I did no such thing!  O-or did I?  Is that… better?  N-no!  I have more pride than that!  Y-you just… UGH!”

	Talla giggled and kissed her one last time.  The little jab had dried Saratha’s tears, which is what she really wanted.  “We probably should get going then.  I think I’ll go back to the post tonight and turn in my resignation.  I’m tired of Ashenvale anyway, and I’ve got a ton of gold saved up.  We can go on vacation!”

	Saratha sniffed.  “Vay-cation?”

* * * * *

	When the trio had finished their chat, Drenan came ambling up behind them, sheepishly stowing his manhood.  Talla assured him that they’d done nothing wrong, and after a quick round of hugs, Talla headed northward, while Saratha, Lyrah, and Drenan went south.

	“Chieftain…” Saratha rumbled softly.  “Can you… promise me that I will receive no harm from our tribe?”

	“I swear on my life,” Lyrah said with all confidence.  “You and your warband answered my summons without question.  If your dedication to me is that strong, then so is the rest of the tribe’s.  I want things to change for the better.”

	Saratha smiled, though her gaze remained upon the ground beneath her hooves.  “That… that sounds nice.”

	Quietly, Drenan draped an arm over his daughter’s shoulders.  Lyrah’s azure eyes peered up into his own, and Drenan was all smiles as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.  She knew she was doing the right thing, but the pride her father had for her was so palpable that he didn’t have to voice it.

	The rest of the grimtotems greeted Saratha’s return with extreme relief, but when asked why she was gone, the black-and-white tauren hesitated.  Lyrah gave her some quiet encouragement, and she reluctantly told her kin about her new relationship with Talla.  Many of them balked, until Lyrah stepped in and expressed her outright permission for it.  Just as she had expected, the other tauren accepted her ruling without question, and Saratha went to sleep that night happier than she could ever remember feeling before.

* * * * *

	The following morning, Talla came to the camp bright and early to snuggle in next to Saratha before she woke.  The two of them exited her tent together, holding hands, which garnered a few teasing remarks from her kind, but not a nasty word was said against them.

	Drenan and Lyrah woke, too, and quickly gathered what few belongings they had.  Kacheya had been keeping her distance, but she often visited their tent at night to check on them.  This morning, she calmly perched herself on Drenan’s good horn, which earned [i]him[/i] some peculiar looks, but he hardly minded.

	“I think this is where we part ways,” Drenan rumbled and stared down Durgak, despite the black-furred bull being about a foot taller than he was.  The hunter offered the bull his hand.  “Perhaps we can have a rematch someday, hmm?”

	Durgak looked down at him sternly, grasped his hand in a fierce handshake, and grinned.  “Hah!  Maybe so.  I admit, I can’t remember the last time I took that hard of a punch to the jaw.  You have fighting spirit.  Perhaps Kinah was not the fool Magatha claimed she was.”

	Kacheya bristled a bit upon Drenan’s horn, and the hunter only acknowledged the remark with a noncommittal grunt.
