OK, here it goes…the final chapter…and hopefully this will make up for the delay :D This chapter is much lighter and…well, read on. I don't think it's TOO graphic, but do be warned:

LEMON ALERT.

- Lupin's Magelet

Two days had passed, and while the animals were rowdy as ever, Alanna had noticed a change in Daine. And Numair, who had finally left the confines of the library. It was almost like when Daine had first joined their band, when Numair would sneak her out of doing chores so that they could practice meditating or call ponies or whatever it was that they did together back then.

Their meditating was a bit different now, though, and they had been perfecting it over the past two days, thankfully in the forest a ways from the Swoop.

"I'm not saying we have to get married anytime soon—really I should speak to your parents at Beltane first—but I want to at least keep our options open," argued the lanky mage. His fists clenched and the air around him crackled, sending a pair of squirrels fleeing from the area.

Daine barely took note of their retreat, focused as she was upon the issue at hand. As with the previous few days, the animals would complain to her later about the on-going argument between the two-leggers. "You keep talking like I've agreed to marry you. I haven't, for your information, because I don't see what the difference is. We can, Mithros help us, have children and all of that without being married."

"Yes, because you loved growing up a result of an unwed union."

"It's not like they had a choice in the matter!" she screeched.

"I'm not saying they did!" He pulled at his hair, the final piece falling out of his horsetail.

"Besides, you're the one that always says the village I came from is full of a bunch of backwards, ignorant ninnies that need to be taught a lesson in manners and that I don't need to prove myself to them by marrying well!"

"Mostly because I'd hoped you'd want to marry me for me, and not to prove a bunch of country yokels wrong!"

"Ahh!"

"Ahhh!"

The two mages stood panting in the clearing, unaware that their argument had been overheard by anxious ears. Daine reached out with her magic and couldn't sense even an ant within a 700 yard radius, which was probably a good thing considering that in her currents state she'd most likely issue a silent call for every creature around to give Numair a good beating. He didn't look much better off, as the ground at his feet was on fire.

Daine slumped to the ground, leaves and pine needles crunching under her as she did. "Put that out before you set the whole forest on fire."

"Hmph." He kicked at the flames and stomped on the ground until the fire was gone. "Just tell me that in a few years you'll be ready."

"Ready for what, exactly?" She tracked his movement as he stooped to pick a flower before joining her on the forest floor, reclining against a stump. He handed her the flower, a blue orchid, which made her smile. "Right, because that is endearing."

"I thought it was fitting."

"Appropriate?"

"No, but fitting," he said, bumping her shoulder with his, which she returned in kind. "I'm tired of arguing about this. Can we just agree that we'll get around to marriage sometime?"

"Will it make you feel better if I said yes?" She looked up at him and met his scowl by sticking her tongue out. "I'm sorry but marriage just sounds so boring."

"Boring?" He draped his arm across her shoulders and she snuggled into his side. "How exactly is spending nearly every waking moment with someone—scratch that—spending every waking moment with me boring?"

Daine picked at the stem of her flower, ignoring his gaze. "Well, living with you wouldn't be boring, but…it's just that every time I try to picture myself doing what Ma did: cooking, cleaning, waiting on Grandda…."

In response he tugged at the string holding her hair back until it came free, then pushed her to the ground and propped himself up on his right elbow, his left hand on the ground on the opposite side of her neck so that his face was directly over hers. She squealed and flushed, still unaccustomed to their new freedom with each other. The flower was tossed aside as he slowly circled her face with kisses, careful to prevent any other part of his body from touching hers.

Daine tolerated this until he began sucking on her neck and was struck with the urge to hold onto something. She tried to grab his shoulders, but that wasn't enough. When Numair transferred his attentions to her lips he barely noticed Daine squirming beneath him. Once her agitation registered, he pulled back a hairsbreadth. "You think I want you to cook and clean for me?" She shook her head, unable to form words. "Then maybe you're worried you'll tire of me." Again she weakly shook her head, struggling to bring her body into greater contact with his. Numair shifted and slid a knee between her legs, eliciting a whimper from Daine.

She felt him grin against her cheek before his hands ran up and down her sides, pulling her closer. If she'd been paying attention to her own actions, Daine would have been embarrassed by the way her whimpering rapidly turned to moaning, but all she could concentrate on was exposing Numair's skin to the open air while doing her best to lock her legs around his to increase the friction. Once she'd managed to slip one hand under his shirt he helped her free the rest of it from his pants and shucked it. While he moved to toss it away Daine took note of how wonderful he felt against her, even through their thick breeches.

As soon as the shirt was gone his lips were back with hers, his fingers fumbling with the laces of her tunic. She arched against him as she struggled to remove her belt and it was his turn to moan. He buried his face in her neck and ground against her, grunting slightly as he did so. His lips dipped to her collarbone before exploring the area beneath the loose laces, stopping only when he came to her breastband. Daine was panting heavily when he looked up to meet her eyes. "What's that look for?" she asked after she'd caught her breath.

He shook his head, obscuring his face with his hair. "This isn't how at all how I'd pictured it," he said, running his hands across her belly. His hands on her bare skin had always delighted her, but before they'd only been there with a purpose. Now he was able to take his time and explore, for which Daine was very grateful.

She mimicked his movements with her hands on his skin; down his chest to his wasteline and around his back up to his shoulders. "Thought we'd make it to a bed, did you?"

"Not necessarily—just less pine needles."

"But I'm a wild mage. Where else would you have me?"

He raised himself and brought his nose to hers so that she could only see his eyes. "As long as I get to have you, I'm not too picky about the where and why. Although," he paused and kissed her deliberately, slowly until she was once more moving against him, "I did picture myself being a little more in control."

"But then you'd be the only one, and I thought the point was to let yourself go." She wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted a lock of his hair around her finger. When she tugged on it his eyes darkened and he squeezed her tighter. "That's better."

"Good. Then let's work on you being more nak—OOF!" Before she knew what happened, Numair was sprawled out several feet away, an orange, smoking, screeching dragon atop his chest. Kitten had grown since her meeting with her ancestors and Numair found he couldn't shake her off as he used to. "Hey! Ah—watch the claws, watch the claws!"

"Kit! Come here this instant!" demanded Daine as she scrambled to her feet. The air was warm enough, but as her pulse slowed and her blood cooled she felt a chill without Numair so near. Her arms crossed below her breasts, she cut an imposing figure despite her disheveled clothes and the pine needles clinging to her curls. "What in the name of all that is—?" She stopped to listen to the dragon. Kitten directed her thoughts to her adoptive mother, though her eyes never left her captive. "Mithros," she swore under her breath. "Let him up. NOW."

The dragon's scales darkened and she shook her head, her tail lashing back and forth dangerously.

"Skysong, don't you make me tell your grandsire about this." Kitten's eyes darted to where Daine stood, her attention diverted by the threatening use of her true name. Numair took advantage of her momentary distraction and shoved her aside. He took deep breathes and rubbed a hand over the fresh claw marks marring his muscled chest. "Come here." The spines along the dragon's back bristled, but she did as she was told. Daine knelt down and held Kitten's face close to her own. Numair watched the silent exchange with curiosity—whatever it was that his magelet was saying to her charge had caused the dragon's scales to pale.

Daine's anger did not last long. She kissed Kitten on the nose and lifted an eyebrow in question. Numair sat still as Kitten slowly approached him, her head hung low in apology. She chirped a few sad notes, by far the most pitiful sounds he'd ever heard from a dragon. "Kit says she's sorry for overreacting, but she heard us arguing earlier and thought I was in trouble. She didn't mean to attack you, but with what's been going on lately…Anyways, I told her that as long as you are the one chasing after me she doesn't need to fend you off."

He said nothing until she scratched at the ground and flattened herself at his feet, her eyes still lowered in submission. Despite the horrible timing of the dragon's appearance, Numair was too soft to continue tormenting her. "Come here," he instructed, his voice far less-commanding than Daine's had been. She stuck her tongue out at him, indicating that she did not appreciate him making her out to be the bad guy. "I'm sorry we worried you, but you know that I would never purposefully do anything to make Daine unhappy, right?" Kit nuzzled her head against the side of his neck in agreement. "I forgive you, but next time a warning would nice, alright?"

Kitten's eyes narrowed at him and she whistled and clicked her tongue in a way that had Daine laughing. "She says she did warn you, but you were too, uh, hard at it that you didn't hear her. When you didn't answer her she was worried you weren't yourself."

"Hard at it is right," he muttered, and Daine noticed with a blush that being attacked by an angry hatchling had done little to quell his desire.

"This wouldn't have happened if we were in a bed."

"Yes it would've: she can pick locks, remember?"

"Oh, right."

After another silent exchange with Daine that left the wild mage blushing, a less-angry Kitten disappeared into the trees. "I think she's been left alone with Cloud too much," she said as she returned to his side.

Eager to recommence with their earlier activities he pulled her down next to him and kissed her forehead. She stretched out on her back and allowed him to reposition himself overtop of her. "What exactly did she say before she left?" He smiled as her knee raised in response to his hand running along the underside of her thigh, her legs creating a warm cradle for him to settle into.

She ran her fingers over the marks that Kitten's hind claws had left on his lower abdomen. His breath caught at her touch as she bashfully looked up from beneath her long eyelashes. "She said that she was going to make sure the animals and anyone else around leave us alone until 'Da has fixed my problem.' Despite her protectiveness, I'm afraid she's still a bit too young to understand why the People are so riled up."

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and when they did he still didn't believe it. "She really—I mean, she thinks I'm her…?"

Daine nodded. "I think she always has. Apart from me and Tkaa I don't think she trusts anyone more than she does you."

"I guess I knew that we somehow fell into the parental roles and played them rather well, but it's humbling to know that she sees us that way. You I understand, but me…"

She found herself laughing, despite the way Numair's hands were slowly inching up her sides. "If you have trouble accepting the fact that we are the adoptive parents of a dragon, I can't help but wonder how you reconcile the rest of my adoptive family."

Her laughter increased as his fingers danced across her belly. "Rather easily, actually. You were given life by two minor gods, and later by chance were adopted by wolves and a badger god while under the matronly care of a puritanical pony that doesn't much care for me at times. I don't think we'll have any trouble explaining the family tree to the grandchildren, do you?"

"You're expecting grandchildren, then?"

"Not immediately, but that reminds me…" His hand disappeared into his pocket and removed a small silver charm shaped like a badger, a familiar rune etched on the back side. "This is for your chain. I've worked the spells myself, and as long as it's attached to the badger's claw it should stay with you when you shift." After he attached the pregnancy charm to the claw's chain, he moved against her and pressed his lips to her ear, causing Daine to shiver. Her heart rate sped and Numair was close enough that his heart responded to hers. "At the moment I'm content to keep you to myself," he whispered gruffly.

"Good answer." She dragged his lips back to hers. "Now I believe you made some negative remark in regard to my clothing?" His grin spread and the two picked up where they had been interrupted. As their passion increased clothes were stripped away, but before Daine had been freed of her undergarments the pine needles began to stick to their skin and discomforted the mages enough to give Numair reason to pull away. He sat up and brushed himself off.

"This won't do at all," he said, picking needles from Daine's bare stomach.

She didn't let him move too far away, though, and slid into his lap. "You're a mage: fix it." Momentarily distracted, Numair returned her kisses with fervor. His fingers pulled at the ties of her breastband and a throaty moan moved from his chest to hers. She batted his hand away and broke their kiss. "No, ground first," she breathed, her chest heaving and driving away the few rational thoughts he had left.

"Ahem, right. Ground." He stole another kiss before summoning his magic to create a barrier over the ground. "Next time we bring a blanket."

"Next time we don't get out of bed in the first place," she said between kisses. Her hands tangled in his hair as her mouth moved beneath his ear. Black fire poured from his fingertips, but all he could concentrate on was the way Daine was nipping her way along his jaw. As a result the pine needles turned to a fine powder. Daine shifted in his lap and ran her fingers over the ground. "I suppose this is one of those simple magics that you're too important and powerful to learn to do properly?"

"No," he pouted. "I would have been able to do it if you hadn't been distracting me."

"It's alright. I mean, everyone has an off day sometimes."

"I'm not having an off day."

"I don't blame you. I promise."

"There is nothing wrong with me."

"So you're blaming me?"

"Yes."

Something in her twisted as the corner of his mouth edged upwards in a tight smirk and his eyes bored into hers. Her breath caught in her throat, bringing an end to her teasing. "Numair?"

"Hmm?"

"Fix the ground."

"Right, but you have to get off of my lap first." He reluctantly pushed her away and stood up to get a better look at the area. Unembarrassed by her state of undress, Daine stood a few feet away and watched him, proud that she was able to muddle his mind as much as he did hers. It also afforded her the opportunity to admire the lean body that until now she'd only been able to fully appreciate in her dreams. Apparently restoring the pine needles was out of the question, but he did manage to create one of the soft barriers he used for their campsites which he believed would also keep them relatively dust-free. In addition to the usual privacy spells and Kitten's sworn absence, there was nothing more to interrupt them.

When he was finished he turned around and stared at her, and for the first time upon their entering the forest she was self-conscious. It was silly, she knew, but this was the first time they'd allowed themselves to fully drop their barriers. Still partially clothed, it was the barest they'd ever been around each other. He wasn't trying to hide his desire from her as he usually did, meaning that she was free to show how much she wanted him without feeling guilty. The immensity of it all nearly overwhelmed her.

He saw the emotion dance across her face and in two quick strides had her in his arms again. She leapt into his embrace and wrapped her legs around his waist as their mouths opened to each other. Both fought for control of the kiss, and had Numair been a weaker man his knees would have given out. He managed to drop to the ground without jarring them too much, though Daine was so caught up in his mouth and the effect his hands were having on her that she didn't notice she was on her back until he was spreading her legs with his and kissing his way down her chest. Her body arched against him and he emitted a strangled groan. "Are you trying to kill me?" he asked her cleavage.

She mimicked her movement and he repeated the sound again. "No, but your pants are." He rolled aside and kicked his breeches off while Daine sat up and fought with the ties of her breastband. "What did you do to these?"

"I tried to take them off," he said in a strained voice; in his rush his pants had twisted around his ankles and refused to slide off. One lace at a time she untangled the knot Numair had created. Once he managed to free himself from his pants he helped her with the rest and tossed the binding leather aside, leaving them both clothed only in their loincloths. As he leaned in to kiss her he discovered she was shaking. "May I ask what it is that has you so amused?"

Daine bit her lip and looked up at him, failing to control her laughter. She shook her head, but the frown on his face seemed to say he was hurt. At least that's the look he was aiming for, but at the same time he was battling the urge to explore her newly exposed flesh. "No, I just—I was so nervous about this, and…I don't know—it's funny, isn't it? It's hardly your first time, but you seem as out of sorts as I am."

It was more a question, her way of asking if he really was nervous or not. She hadn't meant to cause him to be embarrassed, but really, he'd never had trouble getting his pants off before.

And the truth was that he was nervous, more so than any previous encounter with a woman. Before, that's what they had been: encounters. Few of those encounters were repeated, while the even fewer long-term relationships had not lasted as long as the time he'd spent consciously waiting for Daine to be lying beneath him like she was. Never before had he been more uncertain of his course of action, as all he seemed to be able to focus on was the beautiful young woman before him and the knowledge that he would never accept anyone else into his heart or his bed after he made Daine his. She would be his as much as he would be hers; that much was clear. Yet no matter how deeply he desired to voice his thoughts at the moment, he also believed that she wasn't yet prepared to acknowledge that he would not take no for an answer after this.

At some point she would have to accept his proposal and marry him, despite her reservations.

Daine suspected he was thinking somewhere along these lines and she knew—deep down—that she would eventually say yes. The depth of the emotion in his eyes said as much, and she knew that her eyes mirrored his. Marriage was simply a custom she was unfamiliar with, but time would bring her around. This thought sobered her and she reached out to draw him closer, unafraid. Nervous, yes, but she knew her place was with Numair. If marriage meant spending the rest of her life with the man that made her feel like she was the only woman in the world, well, that wouldn't be so bad.

The agreement was reached without words, sealed by the way his hands cupped her breasts and the sound she made in response. His mouth followed his hands and toyed with Daine until all he could hear was a stream of unintelligible words flowing from her mouth. She wanted something from him and he was more than willing to give it. With one hand in her hair, Numair slid the other hand down the length of her torso. His fingers danced across the waistline of her loincloth. "You know this will hurt, right?"

She brushed his hair aside so that she could see him better, his eyes deep brown pools of desire. "Good thing I have a fairly high pain tolerance." Talks with Onua and several of her other friends, apart from what she already knew from her animal friends, had prepared Daine, and she knew that Numair would wait until she was ready before he fully let go. She arched against him again, shifting to bring his hand lower. The dampness between her legs was growing uncomfortable and she was ready to shed the rest of their clothing.

He got the hint and finished stripping himself before he slowly bared her. She didn't have the nerve to look at him until he was again kissing her. His breathing was louder, and the throaty moans vibrating from his chest to hers indicated that he wasn't going to stop even if the barrier fell again. His passion fueled her own and she grasped his shoulders while her legs tightened around his in an attempt to draw him in.

His hand lowered even further, testing her. One finger dipped in to the source of her delicious heat and her breathing sped up. He added another finger, feeling her soft walls tense around him. When he removed his hand she moaned loudly, her eyes closed until he'd gently secured her wrists above her head in his grip. "I love you," he breathed before entering her.

Daine's eyes widened, though she couldn't focus her sight. He was kissing her much more slowly and carefully than before. The sensation wasn't as bad as she'd first anticipated—in fact, the discomfort she felt could hardly be described as pain. There was a pressure she was unfamiliar with, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Coming back to herself she responded to his kisses, finally beginning to enjoy this new closeness. Then the pain came as he broke through her maidenhood.

She cried out weakly against his lips, her grip on his shoulders tightening as the fire tore through her. This was the pain she had been warned about, and though it was not the worst she'd experienced, it certainly was not pleasant. The trick was to not think about it, and ignoring pain was a skill Daine was well acquainted with. After some time she became aware that Numair was speaking, whispering soothing words of love in her ear. Further sensations registered afterwards. His arms were tight around her, his hands stroking her; she was flattened against him and the soft hair of his chest tickled her sensitive flesh. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she inhaled the heady spice smell that was distinctly Numair's. The knowledge that he was there with her, barely holding himself back for her, allowed Daine to eventually relax.

Numair let out a deep breath, glad that she was no longer painfully clenched around him. "I love you." His words soothed her further and she relinquished her grip on his shoulders, allowing him to meet her eyes.

"I love you, too."

Tentatively, Numair moved his hips. The slight hitch in her breathing and raising of her brows was response enough, but when Daine shifted beneath him he knew she was ready for more. He started slowly, careful to watch her face for more signs of discomfort. He maintained the slow pace until Daine's eyes narrowed and her hips began moving with his. What little restraint he'd managed to maintain thus far snapped. She saw the moment his eyes changed and her legs locked around him of their own accord.

The pace picked up and Daine felt like she was losing herself one thrust at a time, and she couldn't find a reason to care. After all, she was losing herself to Numair as he was offering up himself in return. Hands kneaded, chests heaved, mouths trailed hot open-mouthed kisses over whatever they could reach as the two succumbed to a magic as old as time, sharing their hearts and their bodies to reach a higher, brighter place. This, however, was a pair staking their claim over the other, as though every touch and moan would declare to the world that their lover belonged to no one else.

Daine felt a new pressure building low in her belly as breathing soon became more difficult. Numair's shoulders were beginning to shake on either side of her and his breathing was more labored as well. He held her face close to his as she arched against him in earnest, unable to throw her head back because of the strong hand beneath it. "Sweet, just let it come," he said, his voice deeper than she'd ever remembered hearing it. Her vision blurred and her mind spun, lost in a sea of flashing colors. She thought she was shouting something, but all she could hear was Numair calling out her name.

He used the last of his strength to roll them over before he fully collapsed on top of her smaller frame. Daine, her consciousness still slightly separated from her body, nuzzled against him and basked in the feeling of the sun and Numair's body on her bare skin.

Sighs of contentment brought a smile to the mage's face and he continued combing his fingers through Daine's soft hair. When he'd sufficiently regained his breath, he tilted her chin up for a kiss. "And that is exactly why I find the term 'canoodling' to be far too inadequate and on the whole utterly ridiculous."

"Hmmm…I don't care what we call it, so long as we do it more."

"I think that can be arranged," he said between kisses. "Though next time we should try for a bed."

"Or at least a blanket, because we wouldn't want a repeat of—" He cut her off with a kiss and she squealed as his fingers toyed with the areas of her body that he'd discovered were particularly sensitive.

"I thought we cleared up this silly matter—I am in no ways deficient or inadequate. At all. I am a superior specimen of a man and you should treat me as such," he said with as much pomp as he could muster, trying to keep his arrogant face from breaking. Daine's laughter was too much for him, though, and he cracked a smile. "Woman, desist with this distractive giggling and fetch me my robe. Fix us a snack while you're at it."

"Really? 'Woman?' How would you like it if I start running around doing that? Man? Man where are my clothes? I'm naked and I—"

"Hmm, yes, I know you're naked. That's how I like you."

"If you think about it, the majority of the time I'm around you—especially in battle—I'm running around without clothes."

"Yes, but these," he said, palming her breasts, "and plumage are not quite the same. And if they were I would make sure you were better covered."

"Hold on—are you saying you could spell a robe or something to stay with me when I shift forms?"

His eyes rolled to the side while he thought about it. "Possibly. The most difficult part would be ensuring that we could alter its size to fit that of your animal form so that you didn't have to worry about tripping over it. I haven't really given it much thought, but if I—"

"No, stop. Why haven't we tried this before?"

Numair swept a lock of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. "If I'd known that you were so bothered by it I would've said something before now."

"What—you thought I enjoyed running around naked?"

"You don't seem to mind it now." The pride he took from this comment made her blush. "But honestly, I didn't realize it embarrassed you so much."

She watched the way his face changed and she realized what was going on. "No, that's not it—you enjoy watching me scramble for cover every time I forget to dress after I shift."

"The thought had crossed my mind…but it happens so often now that I wondered if you really didn't like being caught that way."

"For your information, Master Mage, I enjoy being clothed as much as anyone else."

"Not when you're alone with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I give up."

"Good. Now, before I ask you a question, let me ask how the animals are feeling."

Daine reached out with her mind to see if the People had settled down. Numair's thumbs brushed her cheeks while he waited. "Actually," she said, her brows shooting up to show her astonishment, "They seem to have calmed down. I was a bit worried that they would react to…you know, but I guess I didn't project those particular emotions. I wonder why, though. I seem to project every other time I can't control how I feel."

"Hmm, probably for the best. I expect—what with the influx of puppies and kittens and ponies and such—that we would be banned from Swoop. And Corus, and everywhere else for that matter."

"Not that I particularly want to be in either of those places at the moment, but things wouldn't have gotten so out of whack if you had simply been a good boy and lent me a hand. Oh!"

His laughter echoed around the clearing. "While I do not doubt the power of my hand, I'm still not sure that it would have been enough to satiate you." She moaned as her eyes rolled back, enjoying the skills of the hand in question. "Besides, being good hasn't convinced you to marry me."

"You're right," she said breathlessly, pulling him into a deep kiss. "I think being bad may do the trick, though."

Kudos to those of you who understood the significance of the blue orchid. Name etymology is both slightly disturbing AND fun! Also, I know that pregnancy charms are supposed to look like closed wombs, but then those are a bit of giveaway for unmarried women. I figured that Numair the all-powerful and devious mage would be able to make it look like something else. Let me know what you thought: this is the first lemon I've written!

Thanks to all of my readers for sticking with this story and encouraging me to continue working on it. Hopefully I'll be able to write more stories for this pair in the future :D