A man lay sleeping in his bed, unruly black hair stuck to his sweaty face. He writhed uneasily as the dream came and swept him back to the Immortal Realms.
The Great God Ganiel stood before him, his eyes cloudy with worry. "I could not speak with you before, Mage Salmalín, in the Realms of the Gods, but I speak to you now! A life that you value beyond your own is in danger, and if you heed not this warning she will not live on to carry her love for you on in her heart."
"...Daine?"
"Protect her, Numair Salmalín! Protect Veralidaine from enemies she unwittingly made..."
The mage sat up in bed, soaked with sweat and trembling. A dream from Ganiel himself was not just a dream, but a warning. Numair felt a sudden urge to check on Veralidaine Sarrasri, more commonly called Daine, in her room adjoining his, to see if she was there. He slipped on a robe and opened the door softly, a beam of light from his hand resting on her face. Sleeping peacefully, he thought. I wonder if she had the same dream...
He closed the door silently and got back into bed. His eyes closed, and he soon slipped into a deep, dreamless slumber.
"Numair? Numair, wake up! I need help... Numair!"
Numair sat up in bed, dark eyes wide. "Daine! Wait, I'm coming!" In a frenzy, he rushed to pull on his robe once more, and open the door to her room. "Daine! What's wrong? Daine?"
She rolled her eyes and gestured at a sparrow, talons digging into her scalp. She winced, hands tight at the side hems of her nightshift in pain. "Odd's bobs, I'm not dying! But I do need help. This fellow is clinging to me and I can't get him off alone without hurting him more. Poor thing, his pain is so intense that I couldn't even communicate to him that he was safe.
Numair sighed inwardly with relief, his face burning red with embarrassment under a natural tan. Though his hands were large, as he was, his touch was gentle as he carefully withdrew the claws of the trembling bird and set him for Daine to heal. Before she started, however, she looked at him quizzically. "Why so concerned this morning?" Her eyebrows knit together in a critical gaze under her curly brown hair. "Is there something wrong that I don't know about?"
Numair shrugged, putting on a nonchalant act. "Oh, nothing. I just wouldn't want anything to happen to you, magelet." He brushed the top of her head with a tender kiss and left the room to dress whilst Daine got to work on the sparrow.