The Winter Queen took Malfurion in hand personally, to honor what he had done for her sister's people – and to see to it that he learned some much-needed lessons. "Your student is about to have a very interesting conversation with her mate. I believe you will find it quite … enlightening." She waved a hand as if brushing fog off a windowpane and a viewing portal appeared in midair.
For a moment Malfurion felt a surge of embarassment, for the view provided was of Jerathai and Valin together in their bed at Dragonstone Keep. The first sentence the young druid spoke drove it completely out of his mind, however.
"I feel bad for Tyrande, Valin," she said mournfully. "If she doesn't come out of this coma I'm sure she will go straight to Revendreth and never see Malfurion again. She has so many burdens on her soul – blackmailing Mother Moon to give her the Night Warrior powers, abandoning the Kal'dorei to go hunt Sylvanas..."
"And if she does awaken she faces eons without him," Valin commented.
Jera quickly added, "Even more, she'll have to face the guilt and self-judgment she feels about Teldrassil being burned under her watch, not to mention the fact that she chose to abandon the Kal'dorei to pursue vengeance. It was easier to rage at the Horde and hunt Sylvanas than confront her own feelings and actions."
Malfurion was astounded, realizing that his young student was correct.
The Moondragon Aspect mused for a few moments more before saying, "If she does have the strength to live and confront herself, she might well wind up breaking away from Malfurion."
The First Druid's jaw dropped. He was very glad when Valin asked his mate, "What makes you think that?"
Jera shifted to make herself more comfortable against his side and responded, "Think of it for a minute. He was always committed to being a druid, the best druid he could be. That was his dream, his life goal. Tyrande supported him in that. But she also had a dream. In addition to serving Elune, she wanted more than anything to have a child. Malfurion didn't support her in achieving her heart's desire. He charged ahead with his own – and the moment he made a druid change to his body – his antlers – permanent, he lost the ability to make Kal'dorei children, because he wasn't completely Kal'dorei any longer. He achieved the one dream he was focused on, but at a cost that if you ask me was far too high."
"So she supported him, but he didn't support her in return," Valin concluded.
The Winter Queen looked pointedly at her shocked charge.
"Not only that," Jera continued, "when Tyrande first broached adopting Shandris, he had the gall to object! Here he'd thrown away his own ability to make children, knowing that that was Tyrande's heart's desire – to have a child with the man she loved – but then he had the nerve to demand that she give up her dream completely!"
"Light of the moon, that's not love, that's control!" the warrior exclaimed, aghast. "I can't believe Tyrande would stand for such a thing! How in the world could Malfurion even think of coercing the woman he loved?!"
The Winter Queen's stare at the Kal'dorei became fierce and pointed. The druid dropped to his knees, in a state of turmoil.
Oblivious, his student continued, "He spent ten eons wandering the Dream, leaving her to lead the Kal'dorei alone, fighting wars and trying to keep the people whole – and losing. Is that love? I could go on, but honestly, if Tyrande wakes up and has the strength and courage to work through her burdens, it wouldn't surprise me if she concluded that what he feels for her isn't love – or that it's so one-sided that it isn't worth it to her to continue the relationship. And to be truthful, I wouldn't blame her at all. Really, you could view the fact that she abandoned the Kal'dorei and him to go hunt Sylvanas as evidence that on some level she knows that their relationship might already be over. That demand of his was the beginning of the end of it, and he should have known it when she adopted Shandris in spite of his objections."
Her husband hugged her close and agreed, "A one sided relationship is no relationship at all."
Jera's eyes focused off into the distance for a moment, then she snorted bitterly, "The renowned Stormrage twins. Both so utterly consumed with their competition for power – one competing with himself, the other with the first – that neither of them could see the woman standing in front of them who only wanted acknowledgment and respect." She grew pensive, "Poor Illidan. He was so close. If only he had focused on Tyrande instead of Malfurion, respected the fact that she had her own desires, I think he could have won her over. But then he made the same mistake his brother made, changing himself so that he wasn't quite Kal'dorei any longer. He threw away his chance, not realizing what he had done. If either one of them had helped Tyrande get her wish they could have had a child to carry on the family name. Now House Stormrage is extinct. Whatever inborn druid ability Malfurion could have contributed to future generations has been lost to the Kal'dorei."
Malfurion sat on his heels, crushed and guilty. He was distracted when Valin asked thoughtfully, "Have you ever been tempted to make some part of a druid change permanent?" When Jera shook her head emphatically he persisted, "Why not?'
The impish smile the warrior loved to see appeared as she countered, "Why don't you go into every fight with your shield in your hand?"
Valin was startled, "Well, if you're in bear form it's more efficient if I focus on damage..." His voice faded off as Jera grinned, and the answer came to him. "It's a tool? Like a shield?"
"Exactly," his mate responded. "If I need to fly somewhere and not be noticed, storm crow. If I need to fly and intimidate someone, dragon. If I need to sneak, stealthed cat. If I need to swim... you get the idea. The value in them is that I can pick them up and put them down as needed. But this," she put her hand over her heart, "is home. Where I am." She spoke softly, "Where the love of my life is. Where my children are." She leaned over and kissed him gently. When the kiss was over she pulled back and sighed. "I hope Tyrande can find the strength to come out of her coma, because that's the only way I can see her reaching closure on all this, however it ends up. Though that'll cause its' own issues, eventually."
"What do you mean?" Valin asked.
The crushing of the First Druid's dreams was completed when the young woman replied, "If she does make amends to Mother Moon and the Kal'dorei and resolves her feelings, what happens when the proper end of her life comes – and she's sent to Ardenweald – and has to tell Malfurion to his face that she doesn't love him anymore?"
A number of Ardenweald's fae jumped in surprise at the sudden agonized scream that echoed off of the great Tree.