<1>

	"This is unfair, father!  What is wrong with this one!?"

	The black-furred tauren sighed heavily as he looked at his daughter wearily.  "Ja'na, why must you tirelessly contest me?  Is my word not enough for you?"

	"Not when I see no issue with it!" she retorted stubbornly.  The vivacious tauren planted her hooves firmly and gestured toward her own outfit: A ceremonial, matching brown skirt and top covered in beads and woven tauren symbols.  "Come now, dad, this is our [i]ancestry[/i]!  Why can't I wear it!?"

	His eyes narrowed as he took a step toward her, the male towering over his daughter, his muscular, bare torso an imposing sight to even the strongest of other tauren.  "I will not have my daughter, the future leader of our tribe, parading around in practically nothing at all!"

	Ja'na scoffed and folded her arms in front of her impressive chest.  "Well I like it, and I am [i]not[/i] changing!" she returned defiantly.

	The chieftain snarled, his muscles flexing as he put on his most intimidating look.  "Last chance.  Change, or I will not be taking you with me today."

	Ja'na's ears suddenly drooped.  "But you never let me go anywhere!  That's not fair!"

	"You are my daughter, and as long as you live under my tent, what I say, goes.  Change, or be left behind," he returned firmly, turning away and returning to work on the agreement he had been writing.  "You are our future, and as such it is my duty to protect you.  End of story."

	The female tauren's mouth dropped open wordlessly, but without further protest she sadly slunk out of his tent and toward her own.  Indeed, she was rarely let out of her father's sight, but he had always been so protective of her for as long as she could remember.  With a heavy sigh she began to rifle through her clothes, finally settling on perhaps the ugliest, most covering robes imaginable to change into.  It was a small chance to rebel as she pulled off her previous outfit, slipping the robes over her head in a single, swift motion.  Other than the floor-length covering, she remained nude beneath it, the thought bringing a smile to her lips.  Truthfully she loved her own body and how it looked, even if she had some extra weight around her belly.  She rarely had a chance to show it off, however.

	Chieftain Karon was waiting for Ja'na outside as she left her tent.  The powerful warrior guided his daughter to the wyvern that awaited them, and moments later the beast rocketed them off the ground and across the beautiful plains of Mulgore.  Neither tauren said a word to the other throughout the flight, nor was a word uttered as they touched down in the middle of a small encampment of tauren tents.  It wasn't until they had both dismounted that the chief spoke to his daughter in a whisper.  "I should warn you, I am hesitant to negotiate here.  It is very possible that I will have to speak to the chieftain one-on-one, and if I do, you will wait by the wyvern until I am finished.  Do not wander, do not trust the Runedreamers.  Are we clear?"

	Ja'na scoffed.  "Crystal," she murmured, obediently following a few steps behind her father as they entered the largest tent in the circle.

	Ornate candles and furs adorned much of the chieftain's tent.  Half of the tent was blocked off with curtains, and in front of the curtains sat a large, wooden throne adorned with talbuk antlers.  Upon it sat an imposing-looking, female tauren with short, ivory horns, light tan fur, and a hardened gaze in her oceanic eyes.  The chieftain was clearly in her forties or so, but her age had hardly diminished her matronly presence.  Thick, prominent curves ran over nearly her entire form, and the less-than-meager beaded links that draped loosely over her bosom and nethers showed nearly each and every one of them off.  One elbow rested on her throne with her chin propped atop her fist, while one leg remained crossed over the other.  She was a clear force to be reckoned with, and one without any form of shame or fear, clearly.  To her right sat a much younger male tauren, this one just out of his late teens with a jet black mane and fur, occasionally spotted with tan flecks here and there.  He, too, hardly wore much, seeming to favor a simple, leather loincloth between his legs, leaving his impressively toned torso on full display.  For the briefest moment, he and Ja'na made eye contact, though the both of them quickly looked away as a tinge of color caught their cheeks.

	"Chieftain Lavona Runedreamer, it is good to speak again," Karon echoed deeply as he bowed his head and dropped to one knee, motioning for Ja'na to do the same.  "I have returned to strike another bargain with your tribe for provisions for the coming winter."

	A thin smile crossed Lavona's face.  "Look me in the eye when you ask, Karon.  It is far more becoming than tradition would imply."  Her powerful gaze drifted over to Ja'na.  "And this is...?"

	Karon appeared to flinch briefly before responding, though Ja'na may have just imagined it.  "A faithful servant to our tribe.  A proper chieftain does not travel alone."

	"Fair," she returned.  "Moro, show her out.  I have business to attend to with Chieftain Karon here."

	Karon's gaze hardened at this, but he did not protest as the dark-furred male rose and strode over to Ja'na.  "Right this way," he echoed gently and gestured toward the exit, which Ja'na gratefully headed toward.

	As the pair exited, Karon grunted as his form appeared to relax a bit.  "You attempted to out us awfully quickly."

	Lavona grinned cheekily.  "You have always been fun to toy with, Karon Stormmoon."  In slow, calculated fashion, the tauren chieftain slowly uncrossed her legs.  Her beaded loincloth had been subtly flipped upward, revealing the matured, well-kept treasure beneath before her legs recrossed themselves.  "You know my price, yes?"

<2>

	Outside the tent, Ja'na breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank the Earthmother, I thought Lavona was gonna kill me with her stare," she sighed in exhaustion, hooking a finger in the neck of her robes and pulling it outward to let air flow through, not that it helped much in the stagnant heat.  "Is she always like that."

	Moro let out a light chuckle.  "My mother only plays games on her own terms.  I've learned not to cross her over the years."

	Ja'na cocked a curious eyebrow.  "She's your mom, huh?  Is she always so... intimidating?"

	"Pretty much," he confirmed with a light sigh.  "I wish I'd gotten that from her.  I... don't really like threatening people."

	"Me neither," she returned and fluttered her robes more rapidly.  "My dad's the one who does the threatening, usually.  He doesn't let people boss him around like that."

	Moro looked at her in confusion.  "That guy was your dad?"

	She chuckled a bit.  "Is that so weird?"

	"No, no.  I just... you don't really look like a chieftain's daughter, I guess," he offered with a nervous chuckle.

	A wry grin crossed her face.  "And how would you know what a chieftain's daughter looks like?"

	"I wouldn't!" he returned defensively with wide eyes.  "I just, y'know, figured you'd have, like, beads and lots of feathers on and stuff?"

	Ja'na scoffed and began to walk away from him.  "The old geezer won't let me wear any.  Says it's [i]immodest[/i] or some junk.  It's ridiculous."

	"No kidding.  I'm surprised you're not overheating in that thing," he admitted.

	"I am," she confirmed and looked back at him somewhat desperately.  "Is there anywhere quiet around here where I can cool down or something?"

	Moro paused for a brief moment before holding his hand out to her.  "Come with me."  Ja'na did not hesitate as she took his hand, and off they went ducking between a few of the tauren tribe's tents.  Within moments they were out of the circle and into a small copse of trees, finally stopping before a crystalline pool of tranquil water.  "Here, this is my favorite spot.  I come here all the time to swim, and nobody bothers me out here."

	"Oh thank the Earthmother!" she cried, and without even the slightest hesitation Ja'na hiked her robes up over her head and tossed them to the ground.  The naked taureness was quick to plunge her entire head into the cool pool, jerking it back up and shaking out her dark auburn mane sharply with a grateful gasp.  "MUCH better!"

	Moro, however, found himself unable to take his eyes off of her.  The dark fur of his cheeks darkened all the more as he looked her up and down, marveling at the beautiful sight before him.  "Uh... um..." he attempted to pipe up, but he could find no words.  What could he say?

	The female tauren cocked her head to one side dramatically.  "What, never seen a [i]naked[/i] chieftain's daughter before?"

	His cheeks flushed even darker, the impressive tent from beneath his loincloth being more than enough of a response he needed to give.  "Well... no... but truly, I don't even know your name yet," he returned with a nervous chuckle.

	"Ja'na," she offered to him with a smile.  The rebellious gears in Ja'na's mind whirred to life as she eyed the male's package.  She couldn't deny that he looked quite handsome as well, and she found herself growing deathly curious as to what might've been beneath that meager covering.  "I'm sorry," she added as sweetly as could be.  "Perhaps I was being too forward, Moro.  I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."  Her hips swayed gently as she took a step closer and perched her wide rump atop a nearby boulder, tipping her upper body back as if to sun herself.  "I... don't get out much myself.  It's not often I really get the chance to talk to other tauren, particularly males, to be honest."

	Moro let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the boulder himself as he struggled to lock his eyes with hers and keep them there.  "You too?  Are all chieftains so protective?  Heck, I've never even gotten the chance to court a girl, let alone... mate with one."

	"Who said anything about mating?" she retorted suddenly, watching his eyes grow wide before letting out a playful laugh.  "I'm kidding, I'm kidding.  But seriously though, a chieftain's son like you would mate with a female like me?" she returned, scrutinizing the male's expression intently.

	The black-furred male nodded without hesitation.  "Who do you think you're kidding?  I mean, c'mon, look at you!"

	Indeed, Ja'na could have posed for an ancient statue in her current state.  A demure look crossed the lovely tauren's face as her slender arms reflexively folded over her massive torso, squishing her voluminous assets quite tightly beneath her self-embrace.  Even in that pose, her smooshed breasts just barely stood past the curve of her soft belly.  Her dampened mane ran in disheveled tangles down her back, while her bangs nearly covered her emerald eyes.  One three-fingered hand carefully reached up to brush a few strands away from her gaze as it quietly studied Moro.  Her thick thighs squished gently against one another, but as she looked at him they couldn't help but part just a touch, granting him the briefest glimpse of her own, curl-covered treasure.  "I... you're really sweet," she was able to eke out, cheeks flushing all the deeper.  "C'mere."

	Moro swallowed hard as he fought against his nervousness and took step after slow hoofstep closer to the goddess before him.  Indeed, most females had quite an eye for the fit Moro -despite his modesty, it was clear he could crush a skull with his bare hands if he really needed to, and with only a loincloth it was difficult for him to hide his secondary gift- yet still he'd never had the chance to come out of his shell before, so to speak.  Before he realized what he was doing, his calloused hands had placed themselves on Ja'na's thighs.  As her muzzle opened to speak, Moro quickly silenced her with an unexpected, yet not unwelcome, kiss.
