<96>
	No sooner than the couple approached Shele's home did Soren come rushing out from the cave entrance with a frantic look in his eye.  "Lyrah, Drenan, um... it might be best to wait until later tonight to see her."
	Both father and daughter exchanged concerned glances.  "Is she okay?" Lyrah prodded.
	"Um... I mean, she's healthy and stuff," Soren replied somewhat awkwardly.  "But, uh, she hasn't really, like, moved or anything.  She blew up on the pair of druids who came here this morning, but I'm sure you guys know what all that's about."
	"We were informed," Drenan rumbled, growing more visibly concerned.  "I think we should still see her now."
	Soren looked between the two of them, and he immediately knew he couldn't stop them.  "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you if she blows up or something.  I've never seen her that angry before."
	As Drenan started to step past Soren, Lyrah placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.  "I'll go.  You can wait here, Dad."
	"Are you certain?" Drenan replied in surprise.
	"If she gets mad, I don't want her to provoke you or anything, not that I think you'd do anything.  But I think I can handle a little shouting without getting too heated."
	Drenan looked his daughter in the eye and gave her a light hug before stepping back.  "Good luck, sweetheart."
	Lyrah flashed him a cheerful smile before rolling up the sleeves of her druidic dress and marching off toward Shele's home.
* * * * *
	There were no lit candles anywhere in sight within the modest cave, and it was deathly quiet save for the clicks of Lyrah's hooves on the stone.  "Shele?" she called, looking to and fro as she stepped through the common room and further into the cave.  "Are you alright?  Where are you?"
	No response.
	Lyrah persisted, however, and through the cave she went until she stepped into the furthest room, which was swallowed up in pitch darkness.  "Shele?  It's Lyrah, are you in here?"
	Three agonizingly long seconds ticked by, then came the raspy, quiet whisper of, "I'm here."
	At the back corner of the room, a single candle flickered to life.  The large bed at the room's center, along with the rest of it, was surprisingly tidy.  It was Shele herself who just didn't match the room.  The tauren druid's fading, brown mane was disheveled from the previous night's sleep, and her robes were only half-buttoned up the front.  Her deep brown eyes were clearly much redder than usual, and the fur of her cheeks was matted with dried tears.  Her pale-furred legs were squeezed tightly together from where she sat upon a modest chair, and between her thighs stood her gnarled staff, which she clung to with both shaky hands.  Lyrah's mouth fell open in shock.  "Shele, my goodness!  What happened?"
	Shele's nostrils flared in anger, though her gaze didn't meet Lyrah's.  "Those... those bastards want to kick you two out of the Moonglade.  I can hardly believe them!"
	Lyrah flinched before quickly shuffling over to kneel before the seated druid.  "Shele, they came to us, too, and they kinda have a good point.  Dad and I screwed up, and we knew this wasn't gonna be-"
	"No!" Shele cut Lyrah off.  "This is unjust in all forms of the word!  I will see that [i]they[/i] are removed by Malfurion himself!  You two [i]can't[/i] go!"
	Sadness crept into Lyrah's eyes, and with steady hands she cupped Shele's cheeks, finally forcing her to look Lyrah in the eye.  "Shele... we [i]love[/i] you.  You're the only real mom I've ever had in my life, and you mean a lot more to Dad than he might let on sometimes.  And beyond that, we've shared a bed many times by now, and I've treasured each and every moment with you."
	Teardrops formed at the corners of Shele's eyes once more.  "Please, Lyrah, stop right there...."
	Lyrah sighed quietly.  "[i]But[/i], we can't stay here any longer.  Dad and I both knew this couldn't be our forever home, and I think you know it, too."
	Shele's lip began to quiver.  "Why not?  I-I thought you two were happy here."
	"We were," Lyrah assured her evenly.  "But it's just... too close to everything else.  I still remember our brush with Orgrimmar years ago, and ever since, we've seen nothing but problems on Kalimdor.  It's nothing personal, we love being with you guys, but we need someplace further than this.  Someplace where we can live peacefully, where no one knows us."
	The druidess was no child, but she did not want to admit the truth in Lyrah's words.  "But... but what about me?  And Soren?  We've loved having you here, and... we don't want you to go."
	"I know," Lyrah added as the shaman wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders to embrace her tenderly.  "But wherever we end up, I promise we won't lose contact.  You can come to visit, and we can pick right up where we left off, hmm?  I know you can't leave the Moonglade permanently, but we can't stay permanently either."
	Shele's staff fell to the floor with a sharp clatter, and she did not hesitate to return Lyrah's embrace, while simultaneously burying her face into Lyrah's shoulder.  "It just... things seemed so perfect.  Too perfect."  Her grip tightened on Lyrah, then slowly she drew back to arm's length to look her in the eye.  "I love you both so much.  You brought my son back to me, you gave me purpose for the past two and more decades, and you both have brought me more happiness than I can remember before you.  To let you go...."
	Lyrah felt a few tears come to her eyes, and one hand reached up to tenderly wipe away one of Shele's tears.  "I know, Shele, but I promise we won't be gone for good, y'know?  We love you too, and our baby is gonna need a proper aunt and cousin anyway, hmm?  We hope you'll come to visit all the time, wherever we end up."
	Shele sniffed away her tears at this, and a smile returned to her gray-furred face.  "An aunt?  Really?"
	"Well yeah!" Lyrah returned with a scoff.  "We're not cutting you out or anything.  You're still as much a part of our life as we are, yours."
	The druidess smiled even more, and a soft, strained laugh left her lips.  "I... I suppose that does not sound so bad."
	"Right?  You can even babysit if you want, and throw parties, and if we can make a few more friends, maybe we can find some special adult time for a night off in the future.  It's a long ways away, but there's tons of possibilities."
	Shele's shoulders seemed to drop a bit at this as she relaxed.  "Well... m-maybe that would be okay.  But as soon as you find your forever home, I expect a letter in the mail the next day.  I want to come see the both of you in it as soon as possible."
	Lyrah laughed softly at this.  "I promise."
	"Honest?" Shele asked with a wider smile.
	Lyrah looked her deep in the eye and leaned forward gently.  Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added, "I double promise, sealed with..." and tipped her lips forward until they met Shele's in a deep, passionate kiss.