Chapter One

Meeting in the Moonglade

Sometimes, love can be found in the strangest places. Sometimes, love happens between people that by virtue of where they are born, what side of a war, that never should be. Sometimes, the bindings of the heart end up be a lot stronger than the bindings of distrust and hatred. So it was that two very unlikely people found themselves in each other's hearts. It wasn't intended, of course. Neither of them set out to go against everything they knew about the other. Neither of them set out to be different than the rest of their kind. However, sometimes fate does things without permission, and so it was that there was a meeting of two very special individuals in the middle of the druid's peaceful glade.

Zanekes Skyfire had been born under an auspicious moon, or so it was said. When he was old enough, he'd shown talents in the ways of the druids. Night elves were surrounded by nature, and it seemed natural to him. He never thought he'd be anywhere else besides Teldrassil. He spent his days, growing up and playing among the boughs of the trees. He didn't remember his parents. His father had gone and fought during a war long ago, but he didn't remember which one. His mother had disappeared then as well, and no one really spoke on it. There were a lot of young Night Elves like him, parentless and roaming freely around the boughs of the world tree. Aldrassil had been his home for a long time.

Zanekes was an unusual elf, even by the standards of his own people. He was imbued with an insatiable curiosity about the world, for one. From the time he could speak, the child had asked questions of everyone about everything he could. His wild green hair was rarely tamed, and he generally leaped about any chance he got, finding his way up into the boughs of the trees faster than many of his brethren. He saw many of his fellows pair off, dreaming of families and extending the legacy of his people. He didn't care for that, after all, there was so much to see and do in the world. He wanted to leave the boughs of the world tree, he wanted to see the lands of Kalimdor, and the Eastern Kindoms, and the frosty reaches of Northrend…

He spent most of his time training, well, he called it training when he leaped and jumped through the forest, dodging night sabers and avoiding the Moonkin. He dared to get close, though. Once even, nearly touching a baby Moonkin. He'd ended up in the infirmary for a week after that, and still had the scar across his chest where the mother Moonkin had caught him. He fed the wild animals, and went to take care of the orphaned ones.

It was no surprise that he was drawn toward the path of the druid. He had no one to ask of his family, and he was on his own. He was alone, except he wasn't. He was always in the company of nature. He enjoyed the solitude, and when he found himself feeling the deeper pull of the earth around him, he went to find someone to teach him.

The training was hard, of course. He worked with Mardant Strongoak first. He was a tough, but fair trainer. First, he had to master the channeling of energy against things outside himself. But when he finally mastered channeling the natural energies around him to change forms, he felt liberated. He hit the ground running when the power of a cat's form coursed through his veins. He felt a freedom he'd never had before. He liked being able to prowl silently through the forest, blending in among the other cats nearly unnoticed.

However, it was the bear's form that made him the happiest. The bear's form made him feel more powerful than ever. He had always been a slight elf, slenderer than many of his brethren, but the bear form made him feel empowered. For the first time, he felt as though the world couldn't get to him, and he could go through anything that came his way. He wondered if the other forms would feel like this. Of course, at first, he did not know the other forms, but just the two were enough to make him realize how much he loved the ability. Channeling natural magic felt like nothing he'd ever sensed. It felt right, and it felt like it was what he was supposed to do. It was a freedom like none he'd ever experienced. He felt like he could take on the world.

Still, though, there was something that continued to bother him once he began down the drudic path. He would often wake in the night, sweating and cold, as though he were more alone than he had ever been. He would feel like there was something missing from his very soul, and he couldn't shake the feeling for days afterward. He thought that perhaps Elune spoke to him, perhaps warning him, but he wasn't sure. He'd always had dreams that he couldn't understand. He always remembered it was cold, and he was so very alone. Perhaps it was simply because he had lost his parents so long ago. He wasn't sure, but he had one desire, and that was to avoid whatever feeling that was.

He still wanted to explore and go far and wide. As he trained with the druids, he knew that he was growing closers to being able to do just that. He had a chance, and if he learned as much as he could, he would be prepared. Before his training had even come close to being done, he'd gone through every source and story teller he could find. Running all the way through Dolanaar and to Darnassus to sit at the feet of the old druids, he would learn from them. He wanted all the information he could find, and it seemed no one ever had all the answers for him. He had a voracious appetite to learn about things, and most of the older night elves would sigh and shake their head at him because he was living too fast. He didn't think so, there was so much out there, and he needed to find out more.

Then the day came that he could visit the Moonglade, and he felt more excitement than he could contain. He knew, that the Cenarion Refuge of the Moonglade, he would meet other druids, of other races. This thought alone made him happy. He hoped that while he was there he would get to meet some of the worgen and troll druids, and maybe, if he was lucky enough, he would get to speak to a Tauren. He'd always been fascinated by them, and curious why such a people that were aligned with nature, could align with the hateful horde. By the time he was going to bastion of the Druids, he was beside himself with excitement, his face lit with a light that had nothing to do with the golden glow of his eyes.

Another place, far away from the Night Elf homeland, saw another druid experience the freedom that came with learning to change his shape. Abauan Brownhoof had been born and raised on Red Cloud Mesa. He never really thought about leaving, and actually, had never thought of doing more than following in his father's footsteps and farming. However, his brother had left in the fight against Deathwing, and like so many, had not returned. He had mourned his loss, but then he wondered how he could truly honor his brother's memory. So, he had decided that he should try to find something that he was good at. His brother had been a warrior, but Abauan found that he did not do well with the sword and shield. He instead sat out an offering to the Earth Mother and asked for her to show him his path.

In his dreams that night, he viewed a verdant expanse like none he had ever seen. In the trees, he could see something moving, and he tried to reach it, for some reason, feeling like he was chasing it. The image flickered and he thought he heard laughter. He needed to catch it. He needed to get to it, and there was such urgency in the feeling he wasn't sure that he knew how to handle it. He had to reach it in time. He didn't know why; he just knew that it was more important than anything he'd ever felt in his life.

The image vanished, and he heard a voice whisper in his ear. "Ishnu-alah, dearest one…"

He sat up with a start, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and in his mind, the forest played there. He looked and he could see someone, leaping between the branches and there was a moment of fear, then it evaporated as he took off after the figure, on wings…

He went immediately to speak with the Druid nearby. He told him of his dream, and he said he believed that the Earth Mother had shown him a glance of what his future held. And when he tried to channel the energy of nature, to his surprise, he found it flowed from his fingers easily. He worked and worked to learn the things he needed to learn. With surprise, he transformed for the first time, and felt the spirit of the cat take him over. For once, he was fast, sleek, and quick. He was amazed by how it felt to be free to leap and zip around the camps. The other forms that he would learn would never have the spirit that the sleek, fast feline had for him.

The dreams haunted him, though. Of the figure in the trees, slipping away from him as he reached for them. He couldn't get to them, and he had no idea why. No matter how fast he moved, they slipped away, and he felt like he had to find out where they had gone. Each day these dreams visited, he would train even more. He needed to find this forest in his dreams. He needed to see who this figure that he wanted to catch was, and why they called to him.

"It is through the emerald dream," the older druid said one day. "Perhaps there is another reaching out to you," he had said, smiling at him. "You will find out, my student, for today, you will see the first verdant expanse like the one you dreamed of."

Abauan would travel to the Moonglade for the first time, and meet the Cenarion elders.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Zanekes at first was disappointed, because the Moonglade…well it looked like Teldrassil. He had thought it would somehow be vastly different. And to make it even less interesting, none of the Tauren that were here wanted to talk to him. They were nice enough, of course. He could tell though they knew he was a young Druid and they had their duties. He'd met some of the worgen druids, and a couple of the troll druids, which he found both of the fascinating, of course, because they were new people to him. But still, none of them really wanted to talk to him at length either. Everyone was so busy, it seemed, and no one had the time for a young druid. Most of the powerful druids were at Mount Hyjal, and dealing with the resurgence of the Old Gods. He knew that was important, but he couldn't help with that stuff. He wanted to, but he had to train first, and get better. He did look forward to learning to fly.

He sighed, kicking a stone thoughtfully as he headed toward Lake Elune'ara. He supposed it was beautiful, and he could sense the power there, of course, but there was nothing that he hadn't found in his home. He sighed, sliding down the shore and flopping down on his back to stare at the sky as the sun moved high into the sky. It was an accomplishment, of course, to be here, only powerful people could make it here unless they were druids. Still, he was bored already and he had just come to this place.

He flopped over on his stomach, looking over the grasses, picking up a small white flower that had come off the stem and tucking it into his hair without much thought. There were several laying around, and he found himself picking up the small flowers and tucking them around his hair where it was pulled back from his face. He smirked, thinking he could be a flower princess…prince…whatever. He found himself greatly amused by this, and snickered to himself, kicking his legs as he fiddled with the flowers. It was silly, he knew, but for some reason, he liked the flowers.

"Do elves usually decorate themselves with flowers?" came a deep voice above him.

Zanekes looked up in surprise to see a Tauren standing a few feet from him. He looked like most the Tauren he'd met so far, but he was obviously younger than some of the Cenarion guards here in Moonglade. He appeared to be a younger druid like he was. He wore a set of basic leathers similar to his own, and saw he carried one of the simple staves. He had the kind of coloring that was two toned, blackish on the top fading to white at his underarms and down his face. He had one of those rings in the septum of his nose a lot of the Tauren males had, and he was clean shaven. Zanekes reached up and knocked the flowers off his head in embarrassment. What a way to make a first impression, he thought to himself, pushing himself to his feet.

"Ishu-alah," he said, bowing slightly to him. "And, ah, no, I was just bored…" he said trying to explain away the strange behavior.

When he spoke the words, something clicked in Abauan's mind for a second, but he shook it away, watching the night elf with amusement. He was built slimmer than many of the others he met, more cat like, he thought. He had green hair, which Abauan was still getting used to seeing. It was long, but half was pulled up on his head in a band. He'd tried to brush away the flowers, but there were several still peeking out of his hair in spots. He had the deep purple coloration to his skin, which Abauan knew was one of several skin tones these elves had. He was almost the same height as Abauan, though, which also surprised him. Abauan stood about seven foot and eight inches in height, and this night elf had to only be a few inches shorter than he was.

"Um, Abauan Brownhoof," he said, nodding at him.

Zanekes looked at him dumbly for a moment. "Oh, sorry, um, Zanekes Skyfire. I'm not used to meeting strangers. I mean, I met a few humans in Darnassus when I visited, and a gnome once too, but I haven't been around many other kinds of people. And the Tauren here don't seem very talkative," he said, sighing and crossing his arms over his chest, looking away toward the buildings with the not talkative Tauren.

"You wish to talk to Tauren?" Abauan asked, and he swore the night elf's already glowing eyes glowed brighter.

"Yes! I have so many questions! Like, what's it like living in plains? Do you have trees there? Or is it just barren? Do you grow up really quickly, or does it take you just as long as us? How long do you live? Do you have enclaves like these that your people have? And do you have very big families? And how do you manage to deal with the other members of the horde? And speaking of that, how do your people stand aligning with people that do so much damage to the world like the goblins? And what about what the orcs do? Do you think that's the way things should be? I heard that Thrall is a shaman and they're supposed to be like us druids when it comes to the elements…" he said and Abauan thought he actually said it all in one breath.

Abauan held up both hands. "Whoa!" he said. "I don't think I can keep up with all that at one time!"

Zanekes winced, covering his face for a second behind his hands. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just…it's so dull and boring in Teldrassil! And here! It looks just like Teldrassil. I'd hoped for something…different."

Zanekes sighed, thinking that this Abauan would surly go away now because he was acting so oddly. Of course, even by his people's standards, he was acting oddly. Most of them didn't care to ever leave the tree, let along meet and learn about others in Azeroth.

Abauan smiled though. "Well, if you ask questions a bit slower I can try to answer them." He didn't think he'd ever seen someone so excited to learn about the world.

Again, he thought his eyes were glowing a bit brighter. "Okay, I can do that!" he said, smiling, and Abauan saw the slightly feral canines that the night elves still carried.

Zanekes dropped down to sit on the grass. He patted the ground beside him excitedly. Abauan smiled, sitting down slowly and watching this strange elf. "Okay, so what do you want to know?"

Zanekes took a deep breath and Abauan thought he was going to start with a million questions again, but he stopped and seemed to be thinking. "What…why did you want to be a druid?" he said finally, tilting his head to the side and smiling at him.

"Oh, um, well, I prayed to the Earth Mother to show me a path, and I had a dream of this place," he said smiling. "I'd never seen a forest like this, so I couldn't have made it up."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's true," Zanekes said, kneeling in the grass and plucking more of the little white flowers. Abauan saw that there were still several poking out of his hair, and his hair was sticking out in several directions where he'd tried to swipe the flowers out. "So…tell me about your home!" he said.

Abauan smiled, starting to tell him about the Mesa when he flinched, seeing that Zanekes had just thrown a flower at him. He blinked. "What are you doing?" he asked, curiously as Zanekes seemed to be narrowing his eyes to throw the flower at some particular spot.

"Shhh," he said, flicking another flower at him, hitting him right on the tip of the nose. "Ah, missed!"

Abauan started to say something but when he opened his mouth, one of the flowers landed in his mouth. He spit it out and stared at the elf. "Stay still!" he commented, concentrating, leaning forward and flicking a flower again.

"Ah! Got it!" he announced and Abauan realized he was trying to toss a flower through his nose ring. He started to say something but shook his head, and continued on with his explanation of his homeland.

Every now and then he'd feel a flower land on him, and he'd look over to see the elf trying to hide a smirk and acting like he hadn't done anything. He had to believe that this elf was built with more energy than anyone he'd ever met. After a while, they ended up going for a walk through the forest, and this time Zanekes did the telling, pointing out the flowers and herbs that he knew. Then, to Abauan's shock, he took off, running up the trunk of a tree and disappearing in a canopy.

Abauan couldn't see him, but he heard him, and a feeling of having been here before overwhelmed him completely. He was so taken aback that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the elf landed on his shoulders.

"Ah! What are you…!" he yelped, stumbling as the night elf tried to hold onto his horns and keep from sliding off his back.

"Hehe, you're a mount now!" he said with a giggle, before pushing off and flipping over him dropping to the ground in a crouch.

Abauan put his hands on his hips and looked at him for a long moment. Zanekes was sitting on the ground, laughing. "But you're an epic mount!"

"Why you…" Abauan said, reaching to grab the giggling night elf, but he slipped away, shifting into his cat. "Hey!" he announced. "I can do that too, you know!" he said, taking off after him, chasing each other back and forth through the glade.

A few times, they came running out, and almost barreled into a couple of the more powerful druids visiting. Both the younger druids skidded to a stop right in time, seeing that the two druids were definitely here to speak with Stormrage. They arched a brow at them and Zanekes stopped, swatting Abauan on the hind quarters and leaping over him. Abauan growled and took off after him, the other druids shaking their heads as they took off again.

They ended up back at the Lake sharing a meal and then going up to the Inn for the night. Both were up bright and early, Zanekes with a ton of more questions for Abauan. So began Abauan's "lessons" to the other druid. It started simply, of course. He was just telling him all the things he asked. None of it was anything someone couldn't easily find out, just things that he knew from being raised in a less insulated community than the night elves hailed from. They talked nearly nonstop the first time they were both in the Moonglade, sitting on the shores of the Elune'ara.

They would sit, and Zanekes would ask something, and Abauan would slowly go through the explanation of what it was, or what the history was. He'd never expected a night elf to want to hear about the history of the Tauren people, but he seemed utterly fascinated. He asked questions, then now and then he would tell Abauan about similar experiences he'd had.

Usually, the elf would sit on the shoreline, arms wrapped around his legs and practically thrumming with energy. He was excitable about everything, it seemed. Abauan, of course, was calmer and spent more time with everything. He thought it was an odd juxtaposition of characteristics, because he'd always heard that the longer lived races tended to be less…energetic. It seemed that Zanekes had not been told this, however, as everything new sent him into a buzz of discussion and questions. It was as though the elf had to know everything. Abauan would laze beside him, usually leaning back on his arms and letting the sun warm him. He'd slowly tell his tales, watching with amusement when Zanekes would begin to get impatient for the part of whatever he was telling he was most wanting. He practically bounced sometimes, he thought, rocking now and then where he sat. Abauan assumed that it was because, like him, the elf was young. However, when he asked about his age, he found to his surprise he'd already lived at least one of his lifetimes.

Now and then, Zanekes and Abauan would take off in their animal forms, chasing each other and jumping through the glade. A couple times, they went for a swim together, and Zanekes had laughed when Abauan refused to take off his clothes to get in the water. Zanekes, it seemed had no problem stripping down and jumping into the water. Abauan didn't know if all night elves were like this or if was just this one, but he found it unlike anything else he'd experienced, even when the blasted elf was jumping out of trees and trying to use his horns to swing. More than once he'd endured target practice of some sort. Once it was acorns, which when one popped Abauan right in the eye, Zanekes had laughed and took off in his cat form, and of course, Abauan was on his heels. Neither of them seemed to think about how odd this would seem to outsiders.

They figured out how difficult friendships between their factions were, when they were walking back to the Inn and Zanekes was excitedly talking to the quiet Abauan. They almost ran right into a group of humans, both stopping when the tension became almost palatable in the room. Zanekes saw that they were glaring at Abauan as if he were their enemy. He grabbed the Tauren by the wrist to pull him away, and their looks shifted toward him. One of the men made a disgusted face and Zanekes could see his hand was twitching at the hilt of his sword.

"This is neutral, protected ground, gentlemen," came one of the elders' voices from behind Zanekes and Abauan. "This is a safe haven for all the Cenarion Enclave no matter their race or faction," he said, putting a hand on each of the young druids. "Go on now, leave the dealings with outsiders to me," he had said, and both the druids shifted immediately into their cat forms and darted past the armored and armed humans and up the ramp to the second level.

Zanekes had shifted out, sitting on the floor looking rather angry. Abauan had shifted back to his Tauren form and sat down beside him, curious as to why he was upset.

"Why do you look so angry?" he asked, frowning at him.

"They were rude, and they didn't like you just because you're Tauren. They don't know you at all, and they just assume because the Tauren are with the Horde that you're all bad. But you're not bad! Not at all. The Tauren are good, I know they are, you reach out to nature like we do, so we're…we're not as different as they think!" he said, looking like he wanted to go back down to the lower level and tell them just that.

Abauan smiled at him, putting a hand over Zanekes' hand where it laid on his lap. "They will learn eventually, that what unites us is stronger than what divides us."

Zanekes sighed, his anger fading, and he smiled at him. "Okay, I'll try to remember that, he said, putting his other hand on top of Abauan's, and feeling a strange sensation in his stomach. They were both going back home the next day, and he didn't want to leave. They'd parted the next morning with the barest comment to each other, other than they would try to meet again the next time they were in the Moonglade.

They hadn't seen the two Druids watching them as they left the Moonglade. They sighed almost in usison.

"Do you think it is something that should continue?" asked the night elf of the Tauren.

The Tauren raised an eyebrow. "Whatever the Earth Mother and Elune willsshall occur. You know that as well as I do."

"Should we tell Malfurion of it?" the night elf said.

"He knows, you know that as well as I do," the Tauren said with a snort.

The night elf looked to the distance. "It is not common, or acceptable anywhere else except here. There will be trouble in the future."

"Of course, there will be trouble. Young ones are involved," answered the Tauren.

"Should we intervene if it goes further?" the night elf said, having been shown many things over the years in the emerald dream.

The Tauren smirked, blowing a long breath. "Ah, why would we do such a thing? Let the young ones have their world, we are old, and one day, will be no more."

"Meetings among those in the Moonglade are not uncommon," the night elf continued. "I worry that those two will not be able to have such a limitation. They are bright, full of life, and of the ilk that will try to change Azeroth."

The Tauren looked at the night elf again. "And that is what is needed, you know as well as I. Come, leave the young to their youth, we have other things to deal with these days, Hyjal yet burns, and our rest is done."

Both the druids took to the sky in their avian forms and disappeared over the mountains to return to their battles for the world of Azeroth. Yes, better to leave the world to the young ones, the ones who would begin to make a difference in the world.