Disclaimer- I do not own, "Wild Magic," all rights, rightly so, are to Tamora Pierce (Who I have met twice and have to admit she is the most splendid woman to walk this planet with a wicked sense of humor.)

(This is for you Amaruk- NNNNNNAAAAAWWAATTTT!)

Numair and Daine are probably my favorite couple of all time. My understanding of them has changed through the years, only deepening my appreciation for them. I have been meaning to write this particular one-shot for a while now and only recently was able to do so. (As I really don't want the amazing Tammy Pierce, however unlikely that it would be, to read it and come get me at night with her rat army. I don't think that would be a particularly pleasant way to go.)

This fic is of Daine's and Numair's first encounter, unknowing at the time pf who the other was. (As she thought him a hawk, though a fairly strange one at that, and he was too out of his mind to rationally put two and two together.) So without further ado…

Falling

Falling is a particularly interesting sensation and is not exactly what one expects. Such was the observation of Numair Salmalin. At the time there was no way to tell what was up or down except for the swirling of the green and blue plains of color.

Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith, he really had gotten himself in a quandary this time. First he had been made to ingest the horrid liquid from his captors after hours of a great deal of physical pain. (Though with some inward satisfaction he could state that they had not even come close to prying the information from him.) Then in a panic he had shifted to his hawk form. Which resulted in, on top of all of it, Stormwings being sent to, "acquire," him.

Numair had been trying to lose his would be captors when the familiar whistle, where he knew it from he could not resolve in his confused state, rang throughout the area. Taking advantage of the Stormwings inattentiveness, he dove into the dense forest where they could not follow.

The gods had finally decided to grace him with a bit of luck as he found himself in a clearing which contained a hollowed out tree. His streak continued, the log was large enough to hide his abnormally large hawk frame.

Still there was nothing to stop the swirl of the potion that was working its way through the mage's system. As a fairly tall man at the slightly above average height, at least as Numair said, of six foot five the enemy did not want any chance that their captive could get away. So naturally they had administered enough to knock out a fully grown elephant.

How long he sat in the fallen tree he did not know. At times he could have sworn it had only been a few moments, but then others it felt as if he had been there for days. Fighting the draft he struggled to remain conscious knowing that his pursuers could show up at any second to drag him back.

Yet that was not as fate would have it. An awareness, that only a select few possessed, alerted him that someone was coming. Numair prepared himself to move when something odd happened. He stopped.

There was something different with this person (it was a she he was sure of that) a golden warmth, a comfort, that radiated from her very skin.

A large face appeared at the mouth of his hiding place. Brown curls surrounded her face which displayed a gentle smile. Her hands were held out beckoning him forward as she murmured phrases that he knew he should, but could not make sense of.

Within seconds he was in her hands and lifted upward. Numair stared at his rescuer as she regarded him then began to speak.

She was like a vision; the mage swore she must have been some goddess of the forest sent to save him. (Not exactly a rational thought but then he was not in any state of mind to be so.) The crooning of her voice was a soft lullaby that surrounded Numair putting him at ease.

Working her magic on him she started to splint his wing, which he had forgotten about somehow when she had found him, soon the pain returned. Once or twice he cried out unable to help himself, but then it was over. She had cradled him in her arms and started to walk.

The trip was an easy one she talked throughout the duration. In the next instance he was being lifted out of her arms into a set that were oddly familiar. If the mage had had a voice he would have called out to the girl to take him back.

This was not the case. Numair rode alone and every so often she would speak to him. It was not until they stopped and she sat beside him that they were close again. Every so often weird pieces of, surely poisoned, meat were placed in front of him. The hawk threw it promptly away. Between the offering of the morsels darkness loomed. Such was the pattern of his consciousness.

Only one thing remained constant to the mage throughout the fog, the girl with the odd golden glow. Whenever he was aware of his surroundings she was always there, coaxing him to drink some brew or simply talking to him. She would be the only one able to bring him back.

Fate is very like falling in the fact that it is never what one expects. As fate would have it, this encounter between the mage, Numair, and the girl, Daine, would be the most important of both their lives. (Though at the time neither one recognized so.)

Daine would save Numair's life as he would hers. She would become his magelet as he would become her mentor. The mage would turn a man into a tree to save her and the magelet would turn a kingdom upside down for him.

It would take years for them to realize how significant this meeting would be. No bloom of friendship would have formed and ultimately led to the terrifying plunge of falling in love. A love so deep, that it would become talked about throughout the kingdom of Tortall, going up with those great loves such as King Jonathan and Queen Thayet and Alanna the Lioness and George Baron of Pirate Swoop.

All would have not happened if that fateful day with the chance meeting of hawk and girl. Both lost and looking for the missing part of themselves, only to find it in the other.

What did you think? Good, bad, I'll send the Graveyard Hag to mess with you because it was that horrid? Odds bobs, it's annoying not to know what you guys out there in cyber land are thinking. Oh wait I can. If you would do me the minute favor of reviewing this fic you would save me many hours of brain tension as I try to ponder what you guys are exactly thinking, as well as possibly saving what is left of my sanity.

Thanks to you all,

-Daine

Oh a little fun fact for all of you out there Tammy Pierce bases her characters off of real life people. The inspiration for Numair came from actor Jeff Goldblum.