<3>

	As the bell chime faded and the druids disrobed, Lyrah and Soren exchanged looks of confusion.  "Is this... part of the ceremony?" Lyrah had to ask.

	Soren's look turned stern as his hands moved to pull his spear and strap off of his back.  "It is, but don't change the subject.  I may be shy, but I'm not dumb."

	Lyrah didn't hesitate much herself as she struggled to pull her poncho up over her horns.  "It was a legitimate question, I'm not dodging... anything!"  A sharp tug tore the fabric on her right horn, but the poncho did come free and flutter to the ground in a useless heap, leaving Lyrah as nude as she usually happened to be in most affairs.

	"Then answer the question!" Soren grumbled and tossed the spear to the ground, soon following by stepping out of his meager shorts.  He hadn't been wearing much to begin with.

	"Alright, alright!  Okay... you got me," she admitted in defeat, her ears drooping as she glanced around the glade defensively.  To her good fortune, most of the other tauren were more invested in their respective partners than others.  "Yeah, Drenan's... he's my dad, but we're both adults, and he didn't, like, do anything unsavory to me, I [i]swear[/i].  It was totally mutual."

	Soren searched Lyrah's gaze just before her eyes turned to the ground and her cheeks flushed hotter than fire.  His look softened and quickly had to drop to the ground as well to avoid staring at the rest of the plump, naked Lyrah.  "Y-yeah?  You guys really love each other like that, huh?"

	Lyrah nodded without hesitation.  "He's everything to me.  It's just... we don't wanna make it a problem by anyone else, so we don't mention it, you know?"

	The young bull's head nodded weakly.  "Does my mom know?"

	This time, Lyrah physically reached up to give her drooping ears a nervous tug before nodding shyly.

	And in response, Soren merely chuckled.  "I see."

	Lyrah's breath caught in her throat, uncertain of what this unusual reaction meant.  "Are you okay?"

	Soren turned away from her slowly and propped one arm against the smooth cliff, propping his horns against it to lean for a moment.  "Yeah, just weirdly... jealous, I guess."

	"Jealous?" Lyrah returned in shock.  "R-really?"

	The gray-furred tauren chuckled again.  "Do you have any idea what I'd give to have even half of something like that with my mom?  It was obvious you guys were attached at the hip back in Gadgetzan.  And I... I can hardly even face her right now."

	Lyrah dared to take a couple steps closer to him and delicately rest a hand on his right shoulder.  "Well, you [i]did[/i] say you'd go try."

	Soren's cheeks were instantly a bright red.  "Like this?  Naked?"

	"And that's a problem... why?" Lyrah returned just as quickly.  "If anything, it puts you two on even ground.  Nothing to hide behind, no reason to not say what you wanna say."

	While most of the druids were happily mingling with one another, a few were certainly sticking to the outer edges with one or two others they were familiar with.  That alone seemed to set Soren's mind at ease a bit, his muscular shoulders relaxing just a touch.  "Well... I guess it's not so bad.  So long as I... don't, uh..."  Another look around made him realize, however, that several of the males in the secluded glade were quite unashamedly erect before their partners, some of which were physically encouraging them beyond mere erections.

	Lyrah followed his gaze with color-tinged cheeks, finally smiling at him again.  "See?  It's fine.  I'll even go with you if it'll make you feel better."

	Soren drew himself to his full height and took a deep inhale and exhale, finally turning his gaze toward his mother who, to his surprise, happened to look right back at him at the same time.  "No," he said quietly.  "Thank you, but I think I'll do this alone."  Without another word, the naked Soren boldly strode into the shallow pool to make a slow, purposeful beeline toward his own, naked mother.

	Before Shele could prod Drenan further, her words began to fail her as she watched her son traverse the pool.  A tinge of blush colored her cheeks, and quickly her gaze flitted to Drenan.  "He's coming."

	Drenan glanced over his shoulder to catch Soren coming their way, and with an encouraging smile he gently stepped to one side and guided her Soren's way.  "Then perhaps he does not think as poorly of you as you imagine.  Speak to him."

	For perhaps the first time ever, Shele appeared to attempt to cover her nudity a bit.  "But-"

	"There are enough butts here already," Drenan cut her off and gave her a gentle nudge toward Soren before taking a few steps back.  "It is alright."

	The normally well-composed Shele seemed to shrink as her son drew ever-closer, until his towering form stood just a couple feet from her.  Soren looked to his mother with a stern, expressionless look on his face... though such a look was perhaps invalidated slightly by the [i]overpowering[/i] erection that stood between his legs.  "Mom..." he rumbled softly, his deep brown eyes desperately searching for her own.  "You look well."

	The pale gray fur of Shele's cheeks was bright red as she dared to look up at her son, then helplessly down his well-toned, naked body, then back up to his eye again.  Her stance shifted awkwardly in the ankle-deep water as she quietly squeezed her thighs together.  "Soren, it's wonderful to see you again," she said in earnest, smiling at him nervously.

	Soren's brow arched in surprise.  "Really...?"

	This brought a semblance of composure to the lithe Shele.  "Darling, why would it not?  I've missed you more than I can tell.  How long has it truly been since your last visit?"

	The stern exterior melted almost immediately.  "Father had said you'd stopped writing ages ago.  I didn't think you-"

	Despite the strange circumstances, Shele had no qualms with lurching forward and throwing her arms around her son's shoulders, hugging him as tight as she could,  No matter how hard she strained, however, her hands simply couldn't meet around his incredibly broad form.  Her slender figure had narrowly evaded his erection, though her hip still pushed against it from one side.  "I never stopped," she insisted incredulously, clinging to him for dear life as she bit back a mixture of sadness, anger, and relief at his words.  "It would seem that someone's... no, not now," she cut herself off, drawing back to look him properly in the eye and biting back a slight quiver in her lip.  "I'm so sorry... so sorry for everything."

	Everything Soren had wanted to say suddenly fled from his mind, and without hesitation his massive arms drew around his slender mother to pull her back into another hug, the both of them quietly embracing together beneath the full moon.