"Are you certain about this, Lyrah? It seems awfully busy here as is."
Lyrah nodded without hesitation. "It'll only be for today. I'm just... curious is all."
"About what, exactly?" the paladin prodded as he placed a gentle hand on his daughter's shoulder.
The shaman leaned closer to him just a bit as the couple slowly walked through the bustling throng of quick-moving adventurers, very few of which paid them any mind. They were far too preoccupied with the respective orphans who happily trotted right alongside each and every one of them. "Just, y'know... you know what."
Drenan looked down at her, but she did not return his look. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the open door of the orphanage. All he could do was squeeze her shoulder yet again. "Alright then. I will be here with you no matter what, just so you know."
The shaman cleared her throat to wipe away the last wisp of nervousness, and quickly the couple made their way inside to a quickly-emptying orphanage. Adventurers were quickly scooping up little orc and blood elf children at a rapid rate, and even many of the tauren children were already gone. The orphan matron was swarmed with adventurers, and she hardly had a breath to notice Drenan and Lyrah. A number of adventurers were leading out orphans without talking to the matron, however, so the tauren couple felt a bit more at ease with poking around without guidance.
Lyrah's eyes looked this way and that through the chaos. Orphans were being swept up left and right, almost like meat at the market in the middle of the corrupted blood crisis, and as such there were many rows of beds and entire rooms that were devoid of children. However, one of these empty rooms, for some reason, caught Lyrah's attention. Without a word she walked into the seemingly empty expanse to look this way and that, while Drenan curiously kept close behind her.
"Hello?" Lyrah called to the empty room. "It's okay if you guys don't wanna come out, but if you do... I think we'd like to talk to you."
Slowly from behind one of the numerous bunk beds, two pairs of eyes peered out at the couple, followed by the gentle response of. "How... how'd you know?"
A small smile crossed Lyrah's face. "I'm a shaman. I could feel the air shifting with your breathing."
"Whoa..." the voice returned before both of the young children cautiously came out of hiding. The taller of the two was a troll girl with green eyes and aqua-colored skin, while the shorter -and clearly had been the speaker- was a tauren boy with jet black fur and icy blue eyes. Neither of them could have been much older than seven. Neither of them made proper eye contact with Lyrah, though the boy seemed a bit more willing to speak with her. "Can you speak to the, um, Earthmother and stuff?"
Lyrah chuckled softly and crouched down to his height. "Not exactly. That's more of a druid thing. I commune with the elements, and I make sure they don't get too outta hand or anything.
A soft giggle escaped the boy, and he couldn't help but smile just a bit as he tried to look her in the eye. "I bet they're pretty wild. My mom used to say I should be a shaman... but that was a long time ago."
As Lyrah chatted with the boy, Drenan gently crouched down next to her to look at the yet-quiet troll girl. She seemed to shrink behind the boy a bit as the hulking paladin lowered himself, but he did his best to offer her a disarming smile. "You seem quite strong for one so little. I bet your friend needs you to watch his back, hmm?"
The bashful troll struggled to hold back an amused smile as she shook her head in weak defiance.
"I do not believe it," he insisted. "I know a warrior when I see one."
Her head poked out from behind the boy with a wider smile. "I gonna be real strong someday."
"I bet you already are," he assured her and extended one of his massive hands her way. "Call me Drenan, if you like. It is always good to meet a fellow fighter."
The troll girl more agreeably reached her three-fingered hand out to shake his own. "I be Na'ri. Good ta meet'cha, mistah Dray-non. Dis here be Korzan," she added and jerked a thumb to the tauren boy, whose mouth was running a mile a minute now as he chatted with Lyrah.
Lyrah hung onto every word the boy had to say, though she did her best to catch bits and pieces of Drenan's chat as well. When the boy finally did need to pause for breath, she took her chance to speak. "Well then, Korzan, would you and Na'ri like to go out for a day? I heard the Darkmoon Faire is in town."
To their surprise, both children quickly went quiet.
The couple exchanged concerned looks as Drenan spoke up gently. "It is alright if you do not want to."
"It's not that..." Korzan assured him meekly. "We just... um...."
Na'ri put a hand on her friend's shoulder and looked between the two adults. "Just... ju bot' gotta promise us ju ain't gonna leave us dere."
Drenan looked to Lyrah in time to practically watch her heart break in her eyes. "We promise," Lyrah said without hesitation.
"We promise," Drenan agreed.
Korzan slowly leaned over to his friend and whispered not-so-quietly, "You think they mean it?"
Na'ri hesitated for a brief moment before offering him a slow nod. "Well alright den. I guess we can give ju two da honor of takin' us to da faire... and bring us back laytah."
"We would be honored indeed," Drenan played along and bowed his one-horned head respectfully.
The children kept somewhat quiet as the foursome left the orphanage, but as they boarded the zeppelin to Mulgore, their playful natures seemed to return with a vengeance. Na'ri and Korzan both were constantly looking out over the Barrens below, and one time Drenan even had to snag Na'ri by the back of her shirt to keep her from falling over the railing. It wasn't long before they all passed through the portal to Darkmoon Island, and the lively carnival was all mattered.
"I wanna try the roller coaster! Please?" Korzan begged as he gently tugged on Lyrah's skirt.
"I don't like heights!" Na'ri immediately protested. "Da big race would be way moah fun!"
Drenan and Lyrah exchanged glances once again for a brief moment before Lyrah chimed in. "Alright, Korzan. Let's go on a few rides, hmm? I bet Drenan would be much happier on the ground, too."
The paladin looked down to Na'ri and nodded. "Much happier indeed. The need for speed calls to us both, it would seem."
Both of the little ones lit up with joy, and without hesitation the two pairs broke off to make for their respective rides.
* * * * *
Korzan was nearly bouncing with glee as Lyrah offered up a couple of tokens to the taker. "This is gonna be so fun! I loved this when I was little!"
Lyrah couldn't help but smile down at him as she gently led him up the stairs by the hand. "Yeah? You've been on it before, huh?"
"Twice," he said proudly. "And I didn't even hold onto the bar the last half of the second time."
"Impressive!" Lyrah agreed. The bars on the cars lifted to allow the two tauren to seat themselves into the frontmost car, and with a click the bar secured them firmly in place. "I haven't been on this ride before. Is it scary?"
"Nah," Korzan dismissed with a wave of one small hand. "It just goes really high and really fast is all."
A noisy grinding sound echoed forth from the machine as the cars lurched forward into motion, and both tauren gripped the bar tight during their slow ascent. Soon they were overlooking almost the entire faire as they neared the peak of the coaster. "Wow, it's really pretty up here, huh?"
Korzan couldn't hide his smile as he was frantically trying to look at the faire from every angle he could. "Yeah! I think I see Na'ri and Drenan down there, too!" His small hand reached forward as if to point them out... only for the coaster to tip right over the peak to hurtle almost straight downward!
Lyrah let out a thrilled shriek and a laugh as the coaster gained momentum, and within seconds the boy's arms suddenly locked in an iron grip of fear around her waist as he, too, screamed right along with her. Twist after twist sent them upside down, side to side, and any other direction imaginable over the span of a minute, and as quick as it had begun, the ride ground to a noisy halt. Even as the bars unlatched, Korzan dared not let go of Lyrah's waist. Lyrah had to stifle an amused giggle. "Was that fun?"
Korzan nodded wordlessly, wide-eyed.
More stifled giggles. "It's okay. I gotcha. Just one step at a time."
* * * * *
Na'ri skipped in happy circles around Drenan as the pair made their way to the race track. The path ran all around the fairgrounds, and a series of different vehicles were lined up for racers to choose from. The goblin running the track appeared... disinterested in addressing customers, though there was a sign propped up next to her with a depicted height requirement for solo riders. A second sign stood next to that with a much shorter requirement, albeit with a disclaimer that it only applied to gnomes, goblins, and vulpera.
"Oooh, I wanna try da mech-mon!" Na'ri mentioned and pointed to the iron, humanoid suit atop one pedestal.
Drenan eyed the suit warily. "You are sure? The mechanostrider looks-" The bull had to stop his words quickly, noting Na'ri's almost immediate sadness. "Very well," he said kindly, and in turn she perked right back up and made a beeline for the machine. Drenan exhaled sharply as he clambered into the machine first, and halfway in he reached out to scoop Na'ri up and seat her in front of the controls before him. His quiet concerns proved quite valid indeed as the protective shield closed above their heads, and his hulking form was forcibly hunched within the undersized suit. Despite his silent pain, the excited look on Na'ri's eyes made it all worthwhile. She reminded him of Lyrah when she had been so little, and reliving that excitement seemed to ease his pain for at least a few moments...
... until Na'ri *floored* the controls the second the starting light turned green.
Manic giggles filled the compartment as Na'ri shot off through the winding trail, and Drenan was forced to cling to the inner handlebars for dear life to keep himself stable. The suit jarred to a halt a number of times as the troll girl fumbled with the controls, and it took every ounce of control for Drenan to keep from lurching forward and squishing the child against the screen.
The race seemed to take an eternity, and nearly thirty tolls (the record racers only took eleven) of the bell had passed as the machine trundled across the finish line. The dome popped open to reveal the giddy-as-ever Na'ri, followed by a painfully-grunting Drenan as he carefully lowered her out of the vehicle. "Dat was fun! Can we go anodda round? Pleeeeeease?"
Drenan offered her a pained smile as he rubbed his aching lower back, but as he opened his mouth to respond, a thunderous boom echoed forth not far from the raceway.
The sound caused the girl's ears to perk up instantly. "No, wait! We gotta see da concert fuhst! Please, Dray-non? I love da Tauren Chieftains!"
Drenan hid a quiet sigh of relief as he glanced toward the stage and smiled. "Let's get you straight to the front row, hmm?"
* * * * *
The stands were nearly empty as Drenan and Na'ri strolled over. The concerts were held hourly, so most patrons shrugged the shows off, figuring they could go see them any time. As if on cue, Lyrah and Korzan came strolling from the northern end of the faire, and each held two massive sticks of cotton candy. Lyrah waved one high to catch Drenan's attention, and with a smile she walked right up and graciously offered one to him, while Korzan did the same to Na'ri. "You two having fun?" she asked sweetly.
"Tons!" Na'ri assured her enthusiastically. "We got ta race a biiiig mech-mon!"
"Yeah?" Korzan countered and puffed out his chest. "Well *we* rode a big, not-scary-at-all coaster! *And* we got food!"
Na'ri shot him an exaggerated glare before taking an even more exaggerated, angry bite of her cotton candy. "Welf, fank you fo' da food."
Another thunderous boom rattled the grounds, and in a burst of smoke, the entire band appeared on stage and began to play. Suddenly the children seemed oblivious to Drenan and Lyrah's presence, and within moments they were bouncing up and down, dancing to the rock music as it flooded the small stands set up before the stage.
Drenan and Lyrah took their chance to take a few seats back and give the little ones some space to burn off their excess energy. Drenan's seat was accompanied by another pained grunt, to which Lyrah quietly giggled and said, "She's a handful, hmm?"
"Indeed," he agreed, their words kept private by the rumbling rock music. "But she's a real sweetheart. Reminds me of you," he quipped with a chuckle.
Lyrah was all smiles as she watched the children jump, dance, and cheer at the band. "I kinda wish I had that to compare Korzan with too, y'know? Even so... he's got a good heart, I can tell." Her head slowly leaned over until it rested on her father's shoulder. "I'm already exhausted... but I feel like I could go on a dozen more rides, too."
"Sounds about right," Drenan agreed. "I would do truly anything for you, and it is easy to feel that way about those two as well."
"Yeah," she agreed. "I mean, I hardly know 'em, but...."
Drenan looked down at Lyrah sadly. "Perhaps if we did not travel so much, we could take them."
Lyrah didn't return her father's look, but her sad sigh said enough. "I feel bad about having to take them back."
Drenan's muscular arm draped itself over Lyrah's shoulders to hug her tight. "We will talk to the matron when we return. Perhaps we can send them letters sometimes. Keep them moving in the right direction, you know?"
Lyrah stayed quiet for a long moment, a smile gently spreading across her face. "That sounds really nice."
* * * * *
A full day of faire-going later, and the foursome were watching the sunset drift by as the zeppelin took them back to Orgrimmar. Korzan was propped up piggyback-style on Drenan's back, his eyes half-lidded as he fought the grasp of sleep, while Na'ri sat and chatted with Lyrah about the numerous sights and sounds of the faire. Her energy had been significantly depleted as well, but she was determined to keep talking as long as she was able. Neither child seemed even remotely uncomfortable around the pair any longer.
The pace of the tauren pair had clearly slowed as they neared the open doors of the orphanage. Despite the nearly-asleep children, it was obvious that the two were reluctant to return the children. The main hall of the orphanage was devoid of life, save for the orphan matron who was currently snoozing at her post, exhausted from having to deal with obstinate adventurers.
The rows of bunk beds were nearly full of sleeping children this time, save for the two which the children had been found hiding behind before. Drenan quietly tip-hoofed up to the upper bunk as he gently attempted to extract Korzan from his back. As he held the boy in his arms, the young tauren's eyes opened halfway to look up at him. A soft yawn escaped him as his small arms reached out to just barely grasp the bull's neck in a sleepy hug. "Thanks for everything, mister Drenan," he said quietly, and a moment later sleep had regained its hold on him. It took all of Drenan's power to keep his composure as he placed the boy in his bed and gently tucked him in.
Na'ri rubbed one eye weakly as she looked at her bed, but her hand kept a tight grip on Lyrah's. "Do we have ta go ta bed?"
Lyrah nodded and smiled sadly at her. "We all need some rest, honey. You have another big day ahead of you tomorrow."
A soft yawn escaped her. "It won't be as much fun," she lamented quietly.
"Maybe not, but it'll still be fun with Korzan around, right?"
The troll girl nodded weakly, and suddenly she, too, leaned toward Lyrah to give her a sleepy, happy hug. "T'anks fo' everyt'ing, Lyrah... Dray-non... we gonna miss ya bot'."
Lyrah sniffed softly as she gladly returned the hug. "We'll write," she assured her with a gasp. "Just... stay outta trouble and look out for each other, okay?"
Na'ri smiled sleepily and nodded. "Ju bet, we're gonna... gonna...." And just like that, she was asleep while still on her feet. Lyrah's form shuddered quietly as she tenderly tucked the girl into her bed.
* * * * *
Both father and daughter kept quiet as they left the orphanage behind. It wasn't until the building was out of sight that Lyrah suddenly fell against her father, hugging him tight and sniffling quietly. "I'm... I'm gonna miss 'em... they were so sweet...." she mumbled into his chest.
Drenan closed his eyes and hugged his daughter tight. "I will, too," he assured her gently as he ran his hand through her mane.
Her sniffling slowed just a bit as she looked up to her father with just a hint of a smile on her face. "Dad... do you think that we could ever... you know... have our own?"
Drenan cocked a curious eyebrow at this. "They made quite an impression on you, hmm?"
Lyrah wiped away a few tears as she nodded. "I've... I've never felt like that before... that there was another life that just... totally depended on me. I think that's something I really wanna experience for myself... with you."
The paladin squeezed his daughter even tighter. "Of all the males on Azeroth, you would pick me to start a family with?"
Lyrah smothered herself in his chest once more. "There's no one else on Azeroth I could imagine myself doing this with."
