Colin awoke the next morning amidst a quiet set of voices. He looked around to see nothing, so he decided to get up and prepared for the day. While most of his work was in the factual realm, one portion he was particularly concerned with was 'Morning', wherein he would describe the mornings, specifically upon waking. While visiting with the Darkspears, a quote of his had been, "The island air is crisp, cool; thick with the stench of mojo by the fire."

On this occasion, Colin was quick to point out that mornings were not at all different from evenings. Time seemed still, permanent, on this tree, as though the elves that inhabited it were attempting to emulate their lost immortality within the time and space of this gigantic tree. In fact, nothing at all had seemed as though it had changed since he'd gone to sleep hours earlier.

He quickly noted his thoughts as he made his way out of the room, turning as he entered the common room and noticing three elven children peeking in through one of the giant windows. Word had clearly gotten around, so he simply smiled with a nervousness that was difficult to hide, lifting his hand to wave, though that only caused the children to run off, either in fright or their own nervousness.

Colin left the home and looked around, noticing Teronis crouched over a bushel of some exotic plant that probably hadn't been seen by any human. Quietly, so as to not disturb him, Colin approached his side, though the older elf was quick to notice him.

"Ishnu-alah, stranger," Teronis spoke calmly, "Kyra has already left for the moonwell. I trust your first night was good?"

"Yes, quite," Colin replied, "Everything about this place seems calm."

Teronus gently stroked a leaf that seemed to have grown apart from its twins on the stalk, "It is a reflection of my people, especially those of us upon Teldrassil. If you live thousands of years, you generally learn to live slower, I suppose. No point in being bored halfway through."

The older man stood up, and although Colin was rather tall, he still seemed to just tower over him before continuing, "It takes a long time to train ourselves to live outside of our home. Everything is so much faster; it could be too much for those unprepared. That's why young Shadowmoon tries to live like a child of Kalimdor."

At his last words, Teronus grinned, "Still, she cannot avoid her love of her home. Few can, to be sure, but I'm afraid she may be the reason, herself, that she remains. Hopefully you can help her take that final step; the children here are so expectant of her becoming a hero of Stormwind, or whatever stories they conjure up."

Colin watched as he began turning to leave, pointing toward to the entrance of the village, "The moonwell is that way, if you'd prefer to go on and start the day. I feel the ley lines are particularly rough; hopefully the furbolgs won't be too difficult."

Teronus gave something that may be considered a smile before sauntering off. Colin watched him part and then began walking toward the moonwell, though also noticing the eyes of the children that followed him. The older night elves seemed to have already become accustomed to his presence, though he understood the curiosity in the minds of the kids.

As he approached the moonwell, Colin was awestruck by what he was seeing, stopping in his tracks. Immediately upon coming into view of the well, he quickly noticed the unmistakable image of Kyra standing there, seeming to be bathing in the water, wholly in the nude as she did so. While he'd approached from behind, she hadn't noticed him, but something had alerted her to his presence, and her head turned around to see him.

She continued what she was doing, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was being watched. She leaned down, dipped her hands underneath the still water, lifted them up and allowed the water to run down her body from the top of her head and flow down the sudden dips and winding curves of her body. Colin was no stranger to lack of clothing, but the sight had been so breathtaking, between Kyra's body and the act itself, which seemed to be a sacred ritual of sorts.

He didn't move when Kyra spoke up, "My apologies. I didn't expect for you to wake this early."

Surprised by the fact that she was apologizing, Colin stammered away, "Oh, n-not at all."

Kyra finished pouring the almost ghostly water down herself and stepped out from the moonwell, now seeming to make an effort to hide her feminine features from Colin. She stood behind a pillar that had been constructed around the well and bent down to collect her clothing, now with Colin looking away at nothing in particular.

"I do know that such things are uncomfortable for humans to witness," Kyra spoke, "One of the reasons it's rare for humans to be here is just that those closer to immortality than others tend to act differently."

"Oh, I understand," Colin replied, almost as though just speaking whatever came to mind immediately.

"Elves don't really lust the same way others may," Kyra explained as she pulled her chest plate up to slide over her head, careful to pull her hair through the top, "We live too many years to concern ourselves with procreation, after all. I do understand that humans are rather quick to the draw, so to speak."

Colin chuckled lightly, rubbing his face, "I believe you know plenty more than you lead on."

Kyra shrugged as she walked out from behind the moonwell, running her fingers through her wet hair, "A brother of mine was rather interested with animal husbandry, which, I suppose, included the humanoid races of Azeroth as well."

Colin watched Kyra picking up a bag she had brought along, following her along as she walked away, "These seem to be a bit more sacred than to be used as bathes, right?"

Kyra turned to him, confused, "Oh, no. We wash elsewhere, but Sisters of Elune simply wash in the purifying waters in these moonwells. We don't even wash the dirt off our hands in them, and if so much as a stray leaf lands inside the water, we must perform rituals to remove the water and replace it."

She sighed heavily, "It's certainly a chore. And please, don't enter one yourself. I'm fairly certain humans aren't allowed."

Colin nodded, silently taking in everything he was hearing. The two had been walking down a road that had been laid down with a multitude of rocks, which was supposed to be the one and only road on the tree. They had left Starbreeze Village, and were, apparently, off to deal with some furbolg creatures.

"Time for me to ask some questions," Kyra asked, rather suddenly, as though having waited long enough, "What do you know of night elves? I mean, like the general knowledge."

She turned and saw that Colin was thinking before she clarified, "True or otherwise."

Thinking, Colin began to speak slowly, "Well… Very mysterious, I guess. Quiet, stern. I remember when I was a kid, a druid came through Theramore and we all were sort of scared, but at the same time thought he was a superhero. You just seem as though you're from an older age."

Kyra nodded, staring forward, "I suppose we do come across as such."

"Not that you can't be fun or anything," Colin went on, reassuringly, "There were some kids watching me curiously and giggling when I woke up. I didn't even know night elves had children, to be honest."

Kyra grinned, as though some great secret had been let out, "To be fair, many of us don't even see children for hundreds of years either."

Colin scratched the back of his head, "I suppose being close to immortality definitely is different."

The two walked along, quietly, though for no particular reason, but Colin was, indeed, in thought. If he was truly here to learn what he could about this culture, he shouldn't hold back the question that had been lingering on his mind, perhaps as long as he'd heard those ancient stories of the high elves.

"Do you ever feel as though being immortal, or close to it, has its drawbacks?"

Kyra smiled, albeit a bit sadly, "That's always on our minds. I sometimes am jealous that my life isn't fleeting; that I'm not forced to appreciate every moment, because it could be my last. That's partially why I wanted to become a soldier; you're forced into thinking like a mortal."

She paused for a moment, stopping her walking as well, turning toward Colin, who'd paused as well, "Even the dragonflight sometimes peer at mortals with jealousy."

Colin couldn't help but gulp at a sentence so magnanimous, but Kyra smiled slightly before continuing on the road, "Dolanaar is close by. We'll check in and ask about any furbolg activity; they're usually the first ones to know. Besides, you can visit with some of the residents there; admittedly, they're more used to visitors than most you've met."

The two arrived in no time, especially since there was no way to tell, at all, how much time had truly passed. As Colin thought about it, he realized that it could even have been the middle of the night and he wouldn't have known. Regardless, he allowed his thoughts to leave his mind as he followed Kyra into the small village, a lot less sleepy than Starbreeze had been. There was a certain bustle here, or at least however much there could have been in a night elf town; everybody seemed to be doing something, anyway.

Kyra led him to the tallest tree in the town, which had been hollowed out and had a ramp that swirled up to the tree top, and stopped him, "Talonkai will have word of any goings on that will concern me. Just stay here and explore the village if you'd like."

Colin nodded as she walked off and into the tree, and he turned to examine his surroundings. The people of Dolanaar were certainly not as intrigued by him as he'd come to expect, and even the ones that peered up at him didn't spend much time lingering to watch him.

He walked on and into the open-air inn that sat close by, examining the craftsmanship. All of the night elf buildings he had seen were made from the local lumber, but much like everything else on this island, it seemed to have a sort of non-mortal quality to it.

He noticed another moonwell, houses, and some buildings that may have been for working. More transfixed than anything, he took a seat on some rocks that stood on top of a hill toward a lake, pulled out an enchanted quill that never lost its ink, and began roughly sketching the scene before him.

He didn't get too far when a Sentinel walked by, curiously, and watched what he'd been doing, though Colin was too involved to notice. The armored woman slowly walked behind him and peered over his shoulder, admiring what she was seeing.

Completely absorbed in his work, Colin had no idea that more and more people were coming up behind him to watch him draw, surprised by the fact that a human was so beautifully emulating their home in a sketch. While quite a bit of them hadn't met a human before, they were quickly amazed.

"[Nice detailing]," spoke one of his viewers, which forced Colin to jump and spin around, a bit perturbed by the audience that, to him, appeared out of nowhere.

The woman who had first showed up looked down at him, "[How'd you get to be here?]"

Colin could only stare back at her, still surprised, and now confused by being addressed in a foreign tongue. He didn't reply, but Kyra had returned from her meeting and she quickly walked over to the group of people who were still surprised by Colin's presence.

"[He's with me]," Kyra spoke, coming to a stop in front of Colin, "[He's visiting for a week; nothing to be concerned about.]"

Colin switched from looking at one to the other, now that the Sentinel had spoken up, "[I did not mean to insinuate ill intent, Sister. I'm just explaining what everyone here is thinking.]"

"[And I understand that]," Kyra continued, grabbing Colin by the arm and pulling him to his feet, "[If you'll excuse us. Elune be with you all.]"

As Kyra walked off, Colin followed along, waving nervously at the group of elves that watched him leave. He was still confused by their reaction; the tone of the two's voices seemed to be a bit more forceful than anything, even for the most stoic of night elves he had encountered thus far.

"I knew it was not normal for visitors to be here," Colin spoke up, finally, as the two left the village, "But she almost seemed hostile."

Kyra shook her head, "Shandra is very devoted to her post. Though you are correct; very few visitors come to Darnassus, much less the rest of Teldrassil. Tyriel must have jumped through a lot of hoops to get you here."

The two continued along as she continued, "When the Legion attempted to cover the world, we were already apprehensive to allow guests. I do not wish to say we despise visitors, we just simply don't encourage it. Our magic tree that teleports to and from Darnassus to Rut'theran is scary enough for most visitors, already, to discourage entry."

Colin nodded, following along with a grin, "Very true."

Kyra turned to him as they walked along, "It must have been similar, what with living on Theramore, correct?"

Shrugging, Colin answered, "I suppose, at least from land. The gates were consistently closed, but we had plenty of sea traffic from boats trying to make it big down in Gadgetzan. Part of the reason I do this is simply because I was introduced to so many ideas from so many people who came by; I didn't not want to learn about it all."

He grinned as he thought about his childhood, "There was this peddler that came in off a boat, a draenei, and he had just the coolest assortment of trinkets, and this was back when we knew absolutely nothing about them; he had these totems that were more mechanical than anything, and they'd just sit there are fire off fireballs at any spider that approached it. Ah, it was so cool."

He began laughing as he spoke, which caught Kyra's attention. She had had memories that could have possibly been comparable to the ones Colin was describing, but at that moment, she realized she hadn't had the same kind of emotion to go along with them. As she peered off, distantly, Colin paused his recollections, looking over at her, noticing that her normally emotionless face had a sort of sadness to it.

"Sorry," he spoke, "I know you probably want to leave so you can see new things like that as well."

She didn't correct him.