The table was set.

It was quite a feat seeing as they needed literally over 1,000 places for all of her daughters and granddaughters and even great great granddaughters. Not that there were actually any tables or chairs, rows upon rows of food were simply lined on platters and placed in the center of the clearing. The poor younger children were tasked with keeping wild animals away from the food, which as it turned out was a full-time job. Whereas animals would avoid humans and the like they had no issue wondering in the midst of even a hundred Dryads. As Leon watched he saw a young girl that had patches of fur and cat ears pick up a small wolf cub and run back into the forest with him, only to have six or seven other pups take its place and start eating the food off of a plate that she had abandoned to take him away.

“Nice, the wolves are capable of diversionary tactics,” Leon said with a laugh indicating the small cat girl who had just come back to see the plate she had been tasked with guarding had been decimated. She placed her hands on her hips, the tail behind her puffing up as she hissed her frustration out loud to the world.

“Indeed,” Moina said as she leaned back against the bark of a tree, “it is good to see all of my children here,” she smiled as she watched the little cat girl chase off the wolf pups, this time brandishing a branch like a club and wildly waving the leaved end at them hissing the entire time. “Well not all of them, we are still waiting on my mate, apparently she is being dragged here almost forcefully by our daughter.” she laughed, and even Leon smiled at the image that formed in his head.

“You must have all kinds of parties like this,” he observed, Lira, leaned her head back against his chest, using him for a headrest as she watched the anthill of activity in front of them.

“I do have many daughters, but we only do this on the first bonding, and I only throw these parties for my daughters, not my granddaughters or so on, those parties are handled by their mothers.” she smiled.

“There was this one summer what was it forty years ago?” Gwenice asked from her resting place, which happened to be his lap. She had placed her head on his legs and was stretched out to the side her long limbs splayed in what looked like a particularly comfortable position. She was getting bolder by the minute, though she was still not used to the sexually charged jokes that tended to be thrown around by everyone in his family, those still threw her off of balance.

“Ah, Morea, Kraneia, Daphnaeae, Epimeliades, Kissiae-” Moina started naming off names.

“Yes mother, but there is no need to name them all off, I don't wish to hear the names of hundreds of my sisters that got bound that summer,” Gwenice interrupted,”the point was we must have stayed drunk for at least a month, it is considered rude to not eat and drink at one of these, and we literally had hundreds of them, months upon months.”

“Yes, it got so bad that I got physically sick at the sight of Hymwine,” Moina laughed, “Didn't you claim you would never mate that day Gwenice?”

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“Did I? I don't even remember anything of those months, except the beginning and the ending, I remember wondering why I was so cold, and then realizing I was covered in snow, it would seem that I had spent the entirety of summer in a drunken stupor and woken up in the middle of winter.”

“It was one hell of a party, or rather one hell of a string of parties,” the Hamadryad said with a laugh, “And when I came to many of my daughters were now carrying saplings, and had no idea who the fathers were,” she shook her head, “What a mess,” she chuckled.

“Roey, remind me to never party with your family, I don't think I would be able to survive,” Leon laughed, Moina smiled, but the smile split into a broad grin when she realized what he had said.

“Roey? ” she asked with a laugh, and Gwenice groaned out loud and buried her face in his lap in an attempt to keep her face hidden. “Oh goddess, that is adorable, I am going to have to reintroduce you as Roey now,” she laughed.

“No mother, please don't-”

“Nope, it will be done!” she threw her head back and laughed up at the sky.

“Is it really necessary to antagonize your daughter so?” Caitlyn asked as she walked into the clearing, truly being pushed along by Eva who was struggling to hurry her mother along for all she was worth. The headmistress had cleaned up nicely, she had left her glasses off and allowed her long blond hair draped down her back free to be caught and blown by the wind, she had also lost the standard dress she wore, instead she was clothed in a looser fitting white robe that seemed to float around her like a cloud.

“But of course dear, what kind of mother would I be otherwise?” she asked smiling over at her mate, “I am glad you are wearing that, it will make Julissara so happy to see you in the dress she made you,”

"LEON!" Eva shouted, and sprung out from behind her mother, pushing Gwenice's head off his lap and taking the place like she was a queen and she had found some woman sitting in her throne while she had been away.

"HEY!" Gwenice shouted, "You little brat that hurt!" she fumed as she turned to look at Eva, who simply flashed her an innocent smile which melted the anger out of Gwenice's stare. "That look is completely unfair," she muttered to herself as she scouted back and took his other shoulder, using that as a headrest instead, still mumbling something under her breath. Eva for her part sat there on his lap, looking extremely pleased with herself and started prunning her feathers with a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Wow sis, you clean up good,” Leon winked at her and smiled broadly as she blushed.

“Careful boy, you don’t want me getting jealous,” Moina said with a slight smile on her face, “Or I might have to take her here and now and show my dominance,” she growled good-naturedly as a vine sprung up from the ground wrapping Caitlyn around the waist and pulling her down on top of Moina’s lap. "But he is right you do clean up good."

“Moina!” Caitlyn cried out, “At least let me keep some dignity!” she cried out.

“Everything you are is mine, this includes your dignity, I will do with it what I wish, like I will do with you,” she purred as her hand wandered suggestively over her captive’s body. Leon’s smile widened a single eyebrow raised as he watched the interaction. An icy hand gripped his chin and turned his head away and he found himself looking directly into the eyes of Krya.

“Not allowed to watch,” she stated firmly, even as he could see fluffy in the background panting and wagging her tail at the site behind him.

“Perhaps you could entertain me some other way to keep my mind and eyes from wandering then?” he purred back and felt the satisfaction of watching her mouth slowly curl up in a smile.

“Mother!” Gwenice shouted, sitting up from her resting place, “It is my bonding remember?”

“Yes, yes, fine, we will postpone this,” Moina said with a sigh, and as Krya released his chin he was able to see a red-faced and rather rumpled Caitlyn quickly trying to get her dress back in order, “Everyone!” Moina called out, her voice commanding silence in the valley. “I bid you welcome to my Daughter’s Binding! Let the celebration begin!” and without any pomp or ceremony, they all descended on the platters of food like wild animals.

Elegant wild animals, but animals nonetheless.