Tortall One-Shots

(Daine•Numair-1)

•Fluff•

"Daine! Daine!" The lanky mage's voice reached out to her thinly in the cold, harshly whipping air. The terrified howls of her pack rang out in the distance.

"Numair!" Daine screamed, tears freezing as they traced down her features. The Spidren dragged him farther away, the blizzard separating them through distance and a veil of snow.

The tauros hauled her the other direction, and she shrieked and screamed and cried in protest and pain and pure agony.

In the blinding cold and careless misery, Daine felt heat bloom against her chest, as if the Badger's claw were trying to burn into her skin. With a last cry as she bumped over the rocks, she-

"Daine, what's wrong, are you alright? Let me in!" Numair pounded on the door, cursing as she wept into her blankets and forcing his magic into the lock, exploding the mechanisms and forcing himself in. The sound ricocheted through his tower.

Immediately he rushed to her bedside, 6 foot 5 towering over her. With an offhanded wave, he lit a branch of candles with his Gift, peering down at her mess of smokey brown curls.

Her face hidden in her blankets, body curled up into as small a shape it seemed she could make herself. Numair's heart dropped when he realized that, despite the muffling effects due to the blankets, her shoulders were racked with sobs.

He wanted her to look up, but didn't want to see her stormy eyes filled with rain and terror. Resigned, Numair sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her back, annoyingly conscious of the barely decent nightgown she wore.

After a few minutes of soothing whispers and shushes on his behalf, Daine stilled, almost as if catching her breath. With a whimper, she rested her head on his knee. Numair smiled down at her reassuringly, stroking her hair.

It only took a moment for her to realize what she had done, and the Wildmage recoiled instantly, eyes wide with that animalistic fear that filled them more than he liked. He moved towards her, and she shook her head frantically, unable or unwilling to speak.

"Daine," Numair coaxed, opening his arms to her. The Hunter's daughter stared at him. What was happening in her mind?

"I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to wakeyouandhowloudwasI?" Daine whispered. Numair sighed with a wry smile.

"I'm glad you woke me up, don't be sorry. If you hadn't, then I wouldn't be here, and I know if it scared you that bad you wouldn't have told me. But Daine, you were screaming and crying and I thought maybe you were dreaming about your village but what woke me up was you screaming my name. Daine, what happened?" The Mage seemed almost timid, but tenderness overruled his typical brash way of speaking in a serious situation.

The demigodess shook her head mutely, backing away and almost falling off the bed, had it not been for him reaching out a hand and catching her. Of course, he used this to his advantage and pulled her into a close hug, both with heads on shoulders as she cried and he rubbed her back.

"Daine, I need you to tell me what happened. That's the only way I can help you," he murmured softly. She made a strangled, choking noise as if she were trying to speak but failing.

Daine sat up, drawing up her knees and wrapping her arms around them, looking down with the blanket draped around her shoulders. She started softly.

"We were in the mountains. There was a Spidren and, and a.... a tauros," she whispered. Numair's heart went out to her, remembering the time in the Realm of the Gods when one had tried to take her away and he had had to explain what they where and what they did.