Lucien sighed inside the tent that had been erected in the center of the camp, alone except for a map of the area and a very beautiful tigress. Yes, he was aware of how beautiful she was, and how seductive her movements, but he was too tired and irritated to take much notice. She seemed to mirror his exhaustion and annoyance, which told him that the gorgeous, seductive Sha'Rina was the most natural side of her. She would have dropped the show by now, and that wouldn't have been the way she fought. His guess was that the sweet, patient impression he'd gotten from her was reserved for formal meetings, and this wasn't one of those. He didn't mind, though. At least Bigby wasn't present.

"Avians and Serpiente may not be able to notice, but my cats have searched the entire area!" Sha'Rina said irritably. He knew she was right, but it didn't matter.

"There's been too much rain recently, scents could have been lost. There's no possible way that the crocodiles just disappeared, and that's what your cats have reported," he reminded her wearily. They were both still armed and dressed for the battlefield, but they'd dropped their Demi forms, otherwise Lucien was sure that Sha'Rina's tail would have been flicking about angrily as she paced the floor. He shared all of her frustrations, unsure how the Yacare troops they'd chased off the battlefield had disappeared. He could only assume that the Churyll had flown off, but the crocodiles had no wings, meaning they had to still be nearby. It didn't help in the search that the Serpiente, Avian and Mistari were cold, covered in mud and blood, and exhausted from a tough battle in the rain. Heisar had bravely offered to lead the search for the overgrown lizards, and Katharius, his second in command after what Lucien had been told was a 'minor taste of mutiny,' was flitting around like a madman in an attempt to keep the fatigued troops on their guard, tend to the wounded, and erect temporary shelters. Katharius was one of the most openly expressive Avians that Lucien knew,a nd experience told him that it was partly because of the raven's temper. Lucien liked him.

Katharius' busy schedule and Heisar's absence left Lucien and Sha'Rina alone togehter, both sore and bleeding in a few spots effectively. At this moment, feeling sluggish from the chilly temperature and the cold, wet clothes and armor clinging to him, all the cold-blooded king of the snakes wanted was his Naga, the one person he would never dare risk near a battlefield. I hate war...

"What was that?" Sha'Rina asked suddenly, her eyes turned entirely feline as they focused on absolutely nothing. She was focusing on what she heard, and Lucien trusted her ears more than any other Mistari's. An ear-piercing shriek that sounded as though it was directly aboce them confirmed her ears, and Lucien cursed violently as he leapt to his feet, already slipping into his Demi form. Hard black snakeskin spread across his otherwise human chest, back, arms and threatening at his face, while his blazing garnet eyes turned entirely snake-like and his canines became fangs. This was how he fought, and the addition of cobra senses were a big help.

In the instant it had taken him to stand, draw his sword, and release his Demi form, Sha'Rina had already darted out of the tent and joined the sudden battle that had been basically dropped on them. As he engaged a Churyll soldier in combat, using his hypnotic eyes to his advantage where he could, he saw Sha'Rina viciously slashing with her own claws and the clawed katar on her right arm that she seemed rather fond of. When he'd asked why she didn't just use her claws instead, she'd simply laughed and told him that the blades on the katar were longer, and size matters. Her tone had been so innocent at the time that he'd been speechless, but she looked nothing even close to innocent now, with blood and mud covering more of her fur and skin than her armor and clothing. She'd let fur slide across her skin in the same manner in which he'd let the black scales spread, and she tore viciously into her enemies with the claws and teeth she'd gotten in the same deal. That was alright, though. He had poison.

He took full advantage of his poison by fighting very closely to his enemies and striking out with his teeth wherever he could, pulling away to let the poison finish the job he'd started. He only hesitated when a cry rang out and he saw the Disa clutching her arm as it bled furiously, but she'd stopped for only a moment and just second later she leapt over a Yacare soldier who'd appeared out of nowhere with too many other crocodiles to count. She yelled something,a nd he twisted around to see what she was trying to warn him about, then sidestepped, trying to avoid the blur of movement he'd barely seen coming. A cry of surprise left his thraot as a sudden pressure and then pain struck him in the upper left part of his chest, near his shoulder. He ignored it, striking the enemy closest to him, and his mind vaguely realized that it was an arrow that had made his left arm virtually useless except to teach him a lesson in pain, and it was a Churyll arrow. I thought their arrows were all poisoned... But even as he thought about it, his vision was dimming, and he could feel his movements growing slower. He still continued to try to fight, but even he knew he couldn't win. One crocodile smirked at him as he kneeled int he mud, not sure if he could move enough to stand, and he swung his sword at his enemy. I will not die helpless...

The crocodile approached confidenly, weapon raised and ready to strike, but he was too close for safety, and though Lucien's sword blow wasn't quck nor strong enough, the Yacare stepped right into biting range to take the kneeling, injured Snake King's head off. Literally. Lucien was leaning properly, on his hands and knees as the falcon poison stole his breath away, for a beheading, and that was what his opponent had doomed him to. But as the sword fell, Lucien twisted to his right, where teh lizard stood, and sank cobra fangs into the man's calf, while a horrific roar rang through the air. He's shifted entirely to ensure that the poison was at its strongest, and he pumped as much venom into his would-be executioner as he could before his world entered a poison-induced darkness.

The camp-turned-battlefield became mass confusion within the first 30 second that Sha'Rina and Lucien Cobriana were present. Thus far, they'd alternated fighting by each other's siden in battle and taking entirely different ends of the field. They'd noticed very early on that they were each distracted by cried of pain or enthusiasm from the other if they were within sight but unable to watch out for one another. So, they worked like one war engine, or met in the center of the field when all was said and done. This time, though, the ambush made both options impossible, and she saw him turn when she let loose a shriek of pain and outrage in response to her left arm being sliced open. That meant that she also saw the falcon linin ghim up for an arrow, and even calling out a warning couldn't stop the almost immediate attack. She saw her serpent friend and strongest ally twist around, then heard his voice as the arrow imbedded itself just below his collarbone.

The arrow being from a Churyll bow, she'd expected Lucien to fall instantly, but he continued fighting and she dared for a moment to believe that the arrow hadn't contained the venom designed specifically to kill the Serpiente. He was slowing down, though, and regardless of how hard she tried, she couldn't fight her way through. The Yacare they'd been looking for had reappeared, and two separate groups found the Mistari Queen and the Serpiente King. Unfortunately, the cobra wasn't very capable of fending them off, and all of their people were a little busy at the moment. Lucien had fought both the poison and his many enemies until he'd been driven to his hands and knees, and she loosed her anger and frustrations in a roar that caused everyone around her to hesitate, including the man attempting to remove the King's gorgeous head from his shoulders. The crocodiles reaction had been slight, but with Lucien's striking speed, that was all that was necessary. The cobra struck hard and fast, changing shape as he did so, and she lost track of him. Her full attention was needed on her own battle, but she'd made her goal getting to him, and she was nearly there.

She raked her own feline claws over her lizard enemy's throat, heart jumping in anticipation of the blood running, streaming, flowing down from the wide open jugular, and screamed as a sharp pain tore through her head and brought her to her knees. She hissed up at the warrior who'd struck her, her hand coming up in a violent, gut-spilling arch, and heard the Yacare horn blowing even as her opponent flinched far enough away to be merely sliced a little. She'd wanted to see the sweet viscera spill form his shell of a body, but his scales and movement allowed for some protection from tiger claws. And this time, it was ihis/i turn to hit.

Oh, Anhamirak, my head... It was as though it had been split in two, and for an instant, no memory rushed up to explain in. Then, everything became a little clearer, including why he was being dragged very painfully along with a rope around his wrists by a man who refused to stop complaining. A quick, silent inventory told his throbbing mind that he was unarmed, had plenty of cuts and bruises on his back, legs, and ass, where his clothes had torn, that the Churyll arrow had been torn out of his chest , and that he was very, very ill. The way his arms were held only made the arrow wound hurt worse, but that wasn't his biggest concern. He was freezing cold, so even his feverish mind was aware that his body temperature was out of whack from a high fever, and each sudden jolt from the brute dragging him made him want to vomit.

"Can't you see how pale his is? The poison made him sick, can't you carry him?" he heard a woman's voice say, and he turned his head to see who it was only to be rewarded with a crack on the back of his skull from a rock that proceeded to leave its mark down the length of his body. He groaned, tugging uselessly at his bindings, and the crocodile stopped.

"Stop there, cat," a new voice ordered.

"He's awake and making noises, let's make him walk," someone else suggested.

"Why did the idiotic bird have to drag him out of his worm form, anyway?"

"Not a...worm...jackass," Lucien managed indignantly, only to be rewarded with a kick to his right side that brough a scream to his lips. He bit down on it, though, and it was muffled enough to sound like a pained moan.

"Don't beat on him too badly, our Nefriti will want to play with him."

"I'm not! He called me a jackass!"

"I heard ribs crack. Don't do it," the first male voice he'd heard said coldly, allowing for no argument. Broken ribs? That'll be fun... "Now, let's try to make him walk."

As it turned out, he did have a few broken ribs,a nd the poison had made him more ill than he'd thought. He threw up the very moment he was vertical, and besides the heaving causing horrible shooting pains to run all through his torso, his arms no longer being held above his head brough a whole new dizzying wave of pain and fresh bleeding. At least none of the crocodiles had been in the way when he vomited, though. He probably could have expected a fresh set of blows. As it was, the one he'd called a jackass cuffed him on the head.

"If you do that again...I'll aim for you next time," Lucien threatened, though it was mostly an empty threat. He probably wouldn't be anymore capable of aiming the next time than he'd been this time. The threat earned him another cuff, and only that. Even sick and injured, Lucien had no intention of accepting that treatment. He was able to judge based on the laughter where his tormentor was and lunged, shifting his Demi form to give his bite the fangs and poison it needed. He later remembered hearing a familiar voice and sinking fang into at least two more bodies, but right then the world was spinning too quickly for his current levels of concentration, so he closed his eyes.

And opened them to find himself shirtless with a warm body curled within his arms. Tsunai! his mind screamed, but it wasn't her, he knew that. It just didn't feel right because for one thing, his wife was quite pregnat and this woman had a smooth, flat, well-muscled belly. He knew this because it was pressed against him, on top of him, actually, and then there was another clue that the softly purring female lying with her face nestled in against his neck and right shoulder wasn't his wife. Her hair and skin. He coudl see her deep red-brown hair spread across her tanned back, and Tsunai was pale and black-paired. What did I do? he thought frantically, trying to remember, but all that showed up was fighting and being sick. Where had sex and sleeping come in?

The woman stirred, yawned, and smiled at him, and it was Sha'Rina. "You're awake, Lucien, finally. How do you feel?"

Like a herd of horses just stampeded over me. "Fine. How did we get here?"

She smiled at him, as though she knew he was lying about how he felt, and pressed her soft, smooth lips to a spot just behind his ear. It wasn't a kiss, though, more like she was just feeling his skin. Seconds later, he knew that she was. "Liar. You're still too warm for a snake in this climate. At least you're awake, though, and with a more normal body temperature."

"Rina, how did we get here?" he asked again, more firmly this time.

"I brought you here when we escaped, how else?" she responded with a rather mischievous look in her eyes.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it! Did I betray my wife?"

"Fine, I can see that you're still too sick to play with," she said with a sigh, resting her head on his chest while she continued. "Now, you did not betray your wife. You've been unconscious and as useless as a blanket that alternates between catching fire and freezing over. Our lack of clothing is due to that insane body temperature of yours. I laid as much of my skin agaisnt you as I could in an attempt to stabilize that temperature. So far, it's working. Does it bother you so much to lay like this to save your life? By all rights, you shoudl be dead, and the quicker we stabilize that temperature, the lesser the chance that you'll relapse and die. Would it really be so bad to betray your wife once in order to return to her alive instead of being true and dead?" she asked, honestly looking for the answer, he could see that in her eyes.

his first thought was that he'd do anything to live, especially when it involved kissing those full, soft lips and touching that gorgeous, fit bronzed body, drinking in that warmth, relieving him of the cold creeping into him, but an image of Tsunai came through that need for warmth and touch, that lust, and he breathed deep, taking in Sha'Rina's exotic, spicy scent. It was a truly delicious, seductive smell, but it wasn't Tsunai's. Had she not been home, pregnant, he might have given in, had he not fallen in love with his Naga. But has she bene true to me? Or has she returned to Kane's arms in my absence?

Kane had been at the same camp, and fought alongside Lucien's people since the Diente foudn teh man kissing Tsunai. The camp had been close enough to the Serpiente palace that a message would have reached Tsunai by now, and Kane could have easily returned. Had he truly died, having Kane comfort and care for Tsunai was what he'd want for her, but he wasn't dead. Is that child she carries even mine? It was a question he'd asked himself more than once int he last few months, and he hated that.

"Lucien, don't feel like I'm trying to push you into anything, because I'm not. It's just...tempting."

"Indeed it is," he said softly, still cold and getting colder, though his clouded, pain-ridden mind realized that he wasn't cold where her gloriously warm body touched him.

"Your fever is acting up again," she pointed out. "Your skin is growing cool."

"Then warm me," he responded, and he didn't fight when those full, silky soft lips met his. It was only a chaste kiss, though, and she cuddled close against him while he wrapped his arms around her, drinking in her warmth.

The Serpiente palace was running as smoothly as was possible in the absence of its Diente, and the Naga handled all matters large and small while Lucien fought the war. Tsunai only wished she could go with him, but with the baby's safety at stake, she ahd to be careful.

"Tsunai," a voice said, drawing her out of the thougths and concerns she was tending to, including worry for her husband, the love of her life. But this was Kane, her first love, and another man, one of the Serpitene guards charged with protecting Lucien on the battlefield. Both men looked as though their last battle hadn't gone well.

"Yes? Kane, Darius, what is it?" she asked, having noticed a letter in Darius' hand. Could it be from Lucien? But why send such important warriors as messengers?

"A letter for you, Lady Naga," Darius said solemnly, handing the parchment to her and revealing some cuts on his knuckles that looked as though he'd punched something metal or with large, sharp teeth, maybe both.

"It looks as though that last battle didn't go very well," she said absently, opening the letter without even stopping to realize that the seal was not the Diente's. And neither man seemed to want to say much.

"That's because it didn't go very well," Kane responded grimly. She didn't say anything, instead focusing on the solid, blocky handwriting she was faced with instead of Lucien's flowing script, which was what she'd expected.

Lady Naga, Tsunai,

An encampment of Mistari, Avian and Serpiente forces was ambushed just two days ago after losing the trail of a rather large group of Yacare and Churyll. this battle was a bad one because we were taken unawares, but our side did not suffer so many casualties as the enemy. Those we did lose were irreplacable,t houg, and I'm sorry that I am unable to tell you this in person. Lucien Cobriana was among those slain, and his body is missing, probably taken to the Yacare Pharoah. Again, I'm so very sorry to be writing this letter to you, but you need to know.

Best wishes and strength,

Heisar

At first, her eyes ran over the words uncomprehendingly, then a chill ran through her, and she looked at Darius and Kane witha look of numbness on her face. "Lucien...how did it happen?"

She'd looked to Kane, but it was Darius who answered witha note of regretfulness in his voice. "We were attacked in our camp while scouts went searching for the Churyll and Yacare army that had retreated before us. The entire camp was in a frenzy of activity when we were attacked, so I was the only guard near my Diente's tent. He and the Mistari Disa joined the battle and fought furiously, but we have lost them both. Lucien took a Churyll arrow here," he said, his fingers coming to a spot on his chest, just below the left side of his collarbone. "He continued fighting, so we all thought it hadn't been poisoned, but then he started to slow down, and he was overwhelmed. Sha'Rina had tried to warn him and take the arrow for him, but she too was surrounded. By the time she reached him, I'm almost certain that the poinson had killed him. She was taken alive by the troops that had surrounded her and the Diente, and his body was also stolen from us."

The news of the Disa's capture was only the icing on the cake you always heard so much about. Lucien was gone. It was poison...we talked about that so long ago, but he was wrong...the Avian blood didn't supply enoguh resistance... But then, maybe it hadn't given him any resistance. Lucien was strong, blod may not have had anythign to do with his resistance of death. It doesn't matter, all that matters is he's gone... She'd never feel his hands brush her skin, never have his lips on hers, never hear that rich laughter, the soft , sexy, masculine whispers that made things low in her body yearn for his touch, never again see the fire in his garnet eyes or have him curl against her in his exhaustion. It was all gone with him, her Diente, her friend, her husband, her lover, lost. Gone. Dead. The cold finality of it struck her liek a wall of sleet and icy air, leaving her shivering and numb.

"Thank you, Darius," she said softly, still holding Heisar's letter and not looking at either of the men before her. "If you would please, I need some time alone."

"Should messages be sent to the Tuuli Thea and to Lucien's parents?" the guard asked.

"Yes, of course, and I guess the palace should be notified," she said, voice calm, still numb. Darius nodded and left, but Kane watched her until she looked up at him. That was when he went to her, and held her close for a moment before she pushed him away. "I want to be alone, Kane, I meant that."

"You won't let me offer what comfort I can?" he asked, obviously upset.

"No, there is not comfort you can give. I just lost my husband, Kane, don't you understand that? The only thing that coudl make me feel better right now is to see Lucien walk through that door," she said sharply, anger being easier to deal with than despair at the moment, and safer.

"I should have guessed," he reaturned, angry himself. "The man is worthy of legend. Impossible to defeat alive, and stronger as a ghost. You'll clsoe yourself up and die inside over this, and you won't struggle. You know what, just call for me if you change your mind, Tsunai. I won't fight a ghost to comfort you."

He left as soon as he'd finished, shutting the door behind him hard enough to make the heavy wood shake in its frame. What Tsunai didn't understand is how Kane had come to think that he could ever be Lucien's competition. Lucien had no competition, but Kane was right on one thing. She didn't care if she stayed numb and died on the inside over this. There was no Lucien to come provide this silent company and soothing words this time, because this time she hadn't lost Kane, she'd lost her knight, her cobra, and Kane wasn't Lucien. He couldn't draw her out of her grief like her husband had. And he wouldn't be returning to her as Kane had. He was gone, and now alone, she wept for the loss of him.

Hiking through a thick evergreen forest with a raging fever, too many hurts to count, and a beautiful tigress was not Lucien's idea of fun. in his fever-addled state of mind, Sha'Rina was a constant temptation, and he just generally didn't feel at all well on their trek until they rested during the cold nights in each other's warmth. That was when his temperature stabilized, and the poison seemed to flee from Sha'Rina's touch. It was said that only the Churyll possessed magic, but he was starting to believe that Sha'Rina may have a thread of it as well as his body recovered from its many wounds in only days, while they traveled. The journey should have made him heal slowly and painfully. I have to get back to Tsunai...

They weren't bothered by any human at all for days, and Lucien had no hint as to where they were, and when he asked, Sha'Rina simply said, "Neutral territory." It didn't occur to him what that meant until they met three of its inhabitants. They were Lukoi, and even better, two of the three were brothers who took on the form of a mongoose.

Afraid of being attacked and unprepared, Lucien took on his Demi form immediately, certainly not having enough time to draw any of his weapons, which Sha'Rina had taken from their captors, before the two brothers moved. They were on him in seconds, both in their Demi form, and he'd bitten both multiple time between his punches before they had his arms held painfully behind his back and his face shoved into the dirt. The poison didn't faze them. One brother's hand was on his head while the other man kept a firm grip on his throat as a reminder that a mongoose killed a cobra by matching its speed and breaking its neck. Tigers were a different story, though.

The third guard had obviously underestimated Lucien's female companion, and he lay in a bruised heap in the seconds it took the brothers to detain the wounded cobra. Then, one swift kick, literally, to one man's head knocked him off of Lucien's bakc, and her sword was at the other's throat.

"Is this any way to treat guests?" she growled, feline eyes blazing angrily. "Especially visiting monarchs?"

"Monarchs?" the mongoose man snapped back, rubbing his jaw painfully. "He's a cobra, so I believe that, but who the hell are you? You're no snake, so you're not his Queen."

"Sha'Rina, before we continue, can you get this rodent off of me so that I dont' have to breathe dirt?" Lucien grumbled, and she must ahve used her blade to lead the mongoose off of him.

"Sha'Rina? You're the Disa of the Mistari, correct?" the recovering third guard asked.

"Yes, and we wishe to speak to your Ulfric and Lupa."

And so they did. Surprisingly, it didn't take much once Rina asked. Her reputation had preceded her as much as his had, and the Lukoi liked the tigress more. Even better, bartering for horses and an armed escort back to Mistari lands was far easier than Lucien had guess. A docter to tend to him was harder, but it happened. The docter prescribed only a special tea and a few good meals, though. Lucien took both gratefully, and the armed escort left them at the Mistari palace.

Sha'Rina obviously intended to take little recovery time, and returned to her army immediately after they'd both had a good night's sleep and she'd arranged an armed escort of Mistari to bring Lucien home. "Rest up, my friend, and I will fight beside you again. And thank you for refusing my offer, however willing it was. I thought you'd die without that warmth and circulation, but you're stronger than I'd originally thought," she said with a warm smile, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Send my regards to Tsunai."

"Thank you, Rina, and good bye." It was all he could think of to say, and somehow, it was all he needed to say. He'd see her again, and Tsunai was waiting for him.

He would have liked to send word to her ahead of him, but the majority decided that a messenger could be intercepted, and it was best for anyoe who didn't know better to believe him dead. So, he rode among the cats, dressed as one of them, with his Serpiente style weapons hidden. His hair had grown surprisingly long by the time he knew they were only a few minutes form the palace, and a few months of growth had brought it to his waist. He'd been clean-shaven when he left Sha'Rina's home, but it had been a long ride despite his insane pace and refusal to rest very long at night, so he fit in quite well amongst the felines so long as you didn't take note of his eyes, and nobody did, not even the guards that met them at the gate, the other sentries having likely sent word ahead of approaching Mistari.

"We weren't expecting any Mistari. State your purpose?" the guard asked, though not unkindly.

"We bring a message for your Lady Naga," the leader of the Mistari troop said vaguely, holding up a sealed letter. Lucien knew what the man was doing and remained silent, eyes down.

"Alright, you cna all enter our walls, but only two can gain audience."

With a nod, the cat leader, a leopard, moved on, and they followed. Lucien's people didn't come close to recognizing him beneath the long slightly wavy hair and two weeks' worth of stubbled beard, and he sighed, disappointed in their observation skills. But then, nobody recognized him as he moved through the halls to his own audience chambers to seek an audience with his own wife. The irony of it nearly made him laugh, and he was almost giddy at the thought of holding her again. He'd refused Sha'Rina at just the memory of Tsunai, and now he was so close to the living, breathing vision of his dreams. Standing before the dais waiting, Lucien avoided eye contact with Kane, who seemed slightly suspicious until Tsunai walked in with Darius. She took her seat silently, not looking at them, and her voice sounded dead when she spoke.

"What message have you for me?"

"We bring word of your husband, Lady Naga," Lucien spoke up softly, taking a step forward and watching her horribly pale face adoringly. "He lives, and he's traveled months to stand before you."

She looked him over then, as though she didn't see her husband beneath the hair and dirty Mistari clothes, and then she met his eyes, and he didn't fight her gaze, just as he never had. She could read him like an open book, know everythign that had happened, and he didn't mind. It was seeing the weariness leave her face and those golden eyes as she stood and started towards him that made his smiled light up for the first time since the day he was wounded, and it was he who closed the distance and held her close. She cried against him then, and he only held her, too happy for words.

"Oh, Lucien, I thought I'd lost you! I love you, I was so lost without you!" she sobbed. "Thank Anhamirak you're safe!"

"I love you, too, darling, oh how I love you," he whispered to her, breathing in the scent of her hair, the scent of love and home.