"Dad? What's going on?"
After a moment of silence, she turned to Auryon. The Draenei woman shrugged and mumbled something in Common, then said in heavily accented Orcish, "Family... sad."
Looking back toward her father, Lith noticed the parchment that lay on the floor beside him. She knelt down and read the short message scrawled on it.
Greatmother Losi walks with our ancestors. Please come soon.
She sat down beside him without speaking. Auryon brought her a drink and then sat down on his other side. After several minutes, he seemed to shake himself and notice their presence.
"Hi, Lith." He sighed deeply. "Sorry - I've got lots of jumbled thoughts right now."
"I think I understand. Well, Auryon and I are here if you want to talk about it."
He smiled at her, then stared into the fire for a few more minutes before he spoke again, translating into Common for Auryon as well.
"Greatmother Losi actually wasn't my blood Greatmother. My Greatmother Lomai passed over when I was very young - barely a calf. I remember very little of her, other than that she was short and round, and she had such a joyful laugh. After she died, Greatfather Rofalo... he became very hard toward life. Although he still had many years left, it seemed as though he would prefer to have crossed over as well, rather than continue without his lifelong partner. I was scared of him, because I never knew what might set him off. He never struck me, but his temper and angry words would tear me apart."
"After several years, he began to change. He became a real person again - loving, gentle. It was because of Losi. She was from Feralas, though he had apparently known her for many years. She had never married. They began courting, and eventually were married. She centered and completed him in a way that is so rare to see."
"Greatmother Losi was one of the best herbalists I know. She used to take me on walks through the woods or gardens and teach me about the plants that grew there. Others appreciated the plants for their use - the inks or chemicals they produced, or their medicinal properties. She appreciated them for their existence."
"Greatmother also taught me a lot about myself and my role in the world. During her time in Feralas she had rubbed shoulders with many different races and clans. She taught me that most beings have a deep respect for honor, transcending race or culture. That it is important to show honor to our friends, but even more to our enemies. Not that she really had any enemies."
"Greatmother was one of the most influential factors in my decision to pursue becoming a druid. I think she could have made an outstanding druid herself." He chuckled. "She could definitely be a bear if you crossed her. Not literally, of course."
"I'm sad that neither of you had an opportunity to meet her. I'm certain that she would have welcomed you both with open arms. After Greatfather Rofalo died, she moved back to Feralas. The creatures there would have torn you apart, Lith. As for Auryon, the townsfolk would have done the same."
"I heard that she was sick, that her time was short. I should have gone to visit during Winter Veil." He shook his head sadly.
Lith patted his arm gently. "Dad, I'm sad too that I never got to meet her. It sounds like she was a wonderful person. But it also sounds like she poured a lot of herself into you. So I guess, in a way, it's like I have met her."
Mato translated this for Auryon, who agreed. "She sounds like one of the main reasons we're together today - all three of us. If she were not a Tauren, the way you have described her I could easily picture her as one of our Draenei elders."
He chuckled. "I'm sure she would have been pleased by that." He stood and retrieved a dusty bottle from the shelf. "Before I get ready to go, how about a round of drinks to her memory?"
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