<114>

	Talla, however, happened to overhear the exchange while chatting with both Lyrah and Saratha.  “Oh!  Sara!  Your last name is Grimtotem, right?  Is that just to honor your tribe, or is that linked by blood?”

	Saratha’s chest swelled with pride.  “I am Magatha’s niece by blood!  Her brother was my father, who died valiantly in battle many years ago.”

	Talla shot her lover and friend an impish look.  “Ooh!  So, let’s see, that means… you two are cousins, right?”

	Lyrah and Saratha exchanged somewhat surprised looks.  “I guess I never thought of it that way, but yeah,” Lyrah agreed.

	“Soooooo… maybe I can call you ‘cuz’ from here on out?” Talla added, emphatically leaning on Saratha’s shoulder and not-so-subtly dropping a hand down to her firm bottom.

	“I-I did not agree to this!” Saratha chirped back awkwardly.

	Lyrah went into a fit of laughter.  “You wouldn’t be wrong I guess!  Just don’t get [i]too[/i] cocky, Saratha’s preeeeeetty feisty.”

	“Damn right!” Saratha agreed and tried to muster a prideful grin.

	“Maybe that’s what I like about her,” Talla added and laid her head on Saratha’s shoulder.  The dark-furred tauren blushed, and slowly but surely leaned her head against Talla’s in return.

	When all goodbyes were said, and when Lyrah had finished dealing with her nausea for the time being, father and daughter bid everyone farewell and began their trek southward into the Barrens.  The rest of the grimtotems were taking a while to pack up their camp, but they, too, planned on heading back to Thousand Needles eventually.  Talla had submitted her resignation, just as she promised, and she was more than ready to head there right alongside Saratha.  She wanted to face the rest of the tribe first, then take her quiet vacation with her new favorite tauren.

* * * * *

	“Geeeeeeez… hoooooooooot,” Lyrah groaned and tugged at her meager, shamanistic top.

	“You’re telling me,” Drenan grunted softly, carrying his pregnant daughter as she had requested before the entire Ashenvale debacle.  The Northern Barrens was vastly hotter than Ashenvale had been, and while Drenan was certainly working up a sweat carrying her, Lyrah’s warmth was amplified twofold by her pregnant hormones.

	“Ugh, I don’t even care if anyone sees us.  Can I [i]please[/i] take this stuff off?  I’m literally dying out here.”

	The two of them had almost made it to Crossroads under the midday sun, but Drenan couldn’t argue with his daughter’s plea.  To their good fortune, Lyrah caught sight of a few palm fronds behind a large hill not far away, and Drenan made a beeline for it to find a small, secluded oasis not much bigger than their old house.  Lyrah immediately fell to her knees and plunged her head into the lukewarm water.  She promptly tugged off her weathered sundress and submerged it, smiling as she redressed with a damp, much cooler garment.  “Holy shit this is [i]amazing[/i].”

	Drenan was skeptical, but he followed his daughter’s lead.  The clinging garments were rather uncomfortable at first, but once he got used to them, he realized how much cooler he felt.  “I see what you mean.  This is… not so bad.”

	Lyrah smiled and hugged her father.  Her eyes had been on him when he’d undressed, but she hadn’t said anything in that moment.  “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t, like, do anything,” she confessed.  “It’s very [i]very[/i] hot out.”

	“The thought had not crossed my mind,” Drenan rumbled, looking down at his daughter curiously.  “Has our lack of intimacy been bothering you?”

	Lyrah thought long and hard about this for several quiet moments.  “Mmmh, not [i]really[/i].  It’s not like we could help being captured by night elves and being forced to worm our way out of a debt for over two months straight.  Watching Talla and Saratha was pretty fun, but… I guess I feel like [i]I[/i] should be doing more for you, you know?”

	“You owe me nothing, sweetheart,” Drenan returned immediately.  “And I am capable of asking when the mood strikes.”

	Lyrah smiled shyly.  “I know, I know… I think I just feel bad.  Like, I don’t think I want sex any [i]less[/i] but every little thing is just [i]uncomfortable[/i] right now.  My whole body aches at random times, and the sudden urge to throw up doesn’t help either.  I guess what I’m trying to say is: I don’t want you to think I don’t want you.  Does that make sense?”

	A rumbling chuckle escaped the hunter in response, and his burly arms wrapped his daughter up in a damp embrace.  “I promise that I have never once thought that.  I think you would have worn out a lesser male by now, truth be told.”

	Lyrah giggled as her father scooped her back into his arms.  “Fair point.  Good thing you’re not lesser, Daddy.”

	Drenan was all smiles.  “Perhaps the mood will be better once we have a proper room again.”

* * * * *

	Their clothes were nearly dry by the time they’d reached Crossroads, but the two of them were determined to keep going while the sun was still high.  They turned to the east instead, and with a swift stride they were able to reach Ratchet shortly before sunset.  The neutral goblins barely paid them any mind as they made for the inn, and soon enough they were closed off in a room with a massive hammock, as well as a small table with two tauren-sized chairs.

	Father and daughter shared a quiet dinner together, chatting idly about the most recent trials they had endured.  They were mid-talk about taking the scheduled boat to Booty Bay the next morning when Lyrah’s gaze drifted out the window and up into the sky.  The shaman went quiet, a smile on her face as she placed her chin in her palm.

	Drenan polished off the last bite of his supper, then studied his daughter’s look for a long moment.  “What is on your mind, if I may pry?”

	Her smile widened a bit.  “Just thinking about Talla and Saratha.”

	“What about them?” he pressed curiously.

	“Mmh.  I think they’re gonna get married and become life-mates.”

	Drenan chuckled softly.  “You sound so certain.”

	“I think they’re great for each other.  Saratha needs to loosen up, and I think Talla’s the one to do it.  I’m glad I talked to her before the siege, ‘cause I don’t think she would’ve approached her otherwise.”

	“She was that attached to you, huh?”

	“I think so.  It feels weird to say that.  I don’t wanna sound like I’m full of myself.  It’s just a feeling I had… and she kinda proved me right when she started crying.”  Drenan couldn’t help but think of how beautiful Lyrah looked in the moonlight, and he reached out to gently take her free hand and give it a loving squeeze.  After a long silence, Lyrah suddenly added, “I think I wanna get married before we have our baby.”
