Disclaimer: its not mine....we've been over this....
As the night grew old, the storm went on. Rain poured down outside, and the wind howled with such furry that it would send chills up even the strongest of man's spine. If Daine and Numair were not entranced in a dream filled sleep and a peaceful mindset, they would likely be restless from the storm. It was things such as this that kept most wide awake into the late hours of the night. But not the two that slept so soundly in each other's arms. No, they had been too caught up in each other to even notice the intensity of the storm brewing just outside. Of course it would do them no harm whether they noticed it or not, for they were safely concealed in the warm tower that lay on a cliff overlooking the crashing waves of the Emerald Ocean.
Several hours had passed since they had tired of their night's activities and thus dozed off. The two had slept quite peacefully since. Daine lay on her side, her back leaning against her lover's chest as he kept his arms wrapped affectionately around her bare shoulders. Numair's face lay atop of her own, his warm breath sweeping over her cheek. Their was a smile written clearly on each of their faces.
Daine's eyes snapped suddenly open, her breathing heavy and demanding. She drew in several quick, ragged breaths as if fighting for air. It felt as if life itself was seeping back into her body, flowing back into every inch of her thin frame. Her blue gray eyes began to tear at the sudden amount of pressure she was applying to herself and her head began to spin. What had just happened? It felt as if she had just been returned to her body. It was the eeriest, most obscure feeling Daine had ever felt, and she longed to shake it off. There was an impending sense of doom laced in the air, clouding her mind and heart. She did not understand how it could be there, for her night had been more than fulfilling. Aside from the tiniest of infractions, all had gone just as she had planned, if not better than she had ever even imagined.
The young woman's questions did not have to surface in her mind and linger for long, for the answers came just as suddenly as the questions had. It came in a impetuous rush that was marked by impulsive vehemence and passion. It flowed freely over her mind, consuming her entire being. Everything came back to her suddenly. The dream; all of it had been a dream. And Gainel; he had helped her. He had given her a better chance at preventing the doom that loomed menacingly in this night's air. And Numair.....
Realization fell on Daine like a tone of bricks. Only then did she become suddenly aware of the strong warm arms that constricted her body possessively in a loving embrace. Only then did she feel the indescribable feeling of flesh on flesh as she realized that she was pressed against her lover's muscled chest, the skin of her bare back brushing against it. Only then did she notice the precious feeling of his breath upon her neck as he slept peacefully at her side. Immediately, Daine's heart began thudding madly within her chest, her stomach doing flip flops. To feel the passionate sensation of her lover's embrace, of his chest rising and falling against her as he took in precious air. It felt as if she had been denied such a delicacy for so long, when in fact she had been here in his arms the entire time.
Slowly and menacingly, a hot tear fell from Daine's eye and rolled down her cheek with defiance. Another was soon to follow and the rest not far behind. All of this was just too much. The dream had been so real, that to her it was not just an ordinary dream. To Daine, it felt as if all of those terrifying things had really happened to her; that she had actually done those things. The fact that she was lying here in the arms of Numair Salmalin did not seem real. It did not seem even slightly possible. Gods, all of this was just so much to happen in one fateful night!
Clamping her eyes tightly shut, Daine began to access the situation before her. If everything that Gainel had shown to her in the vision was to become a terrifying reality, then that meant that all of it would start soon. If Daine remembered all of the events that had taken place in that night that she had thought she had lived, then she was certain that after waking it was only a matter of minutes before the attack came. At this thought, she drew in a fast breath, every muscle in her body tensing up with sudden fright. It was going to happen. All of it was going to happen tonight, in just a matter of moments. Daine found herself incredibly unprepared to handle this both emotionally and physically. It would all happen so fast that she was not certain what choice of action she ought to take when it all began, or what she could even do. It all seemed so hopeless, so endless. What if she failed? What if her dream would become a terrible reality?
In the midst of all of her serious thoughts and ponderings, Daine was still thoroughly aware of her lover's presence. It was a presence she had been deprived of for what felt like so long. She could feel the sweet sensation of chills running down her spine as she felt his breath fall on the back of her neck as he held her close in his warm embrace. The moment felt so tender to Daine that she had no wish to disturb it with what was to come. She just wished that Gainel could have made it all go away entirely. The truth was there was still even the tiniest of chances that she would lose Numair a second time. The problem was, that chance was not tiny or insignificant; the odds of her dream becoming a terrifying reality were not in Daine's favor. But she would strive, she was sure. She had been up against odds much less in her favor than this.
Perhaps it was her distance in mind and thought from her surroundings that she was surprised by what came next, but whatever the reason Daine found herself brought suddenly and unpleasantly back to reality by a terrifyingly familiar feeling. It was a feeling and a desire that she had once been so certain she would never have to feel or face again. But that had been a dream, a fantasy; this was reality. Her eye lids swept open suddenly, her blue gray eye's alight with what looked to be a sense of danger. Her body was drenched with sweat. The attack was upon her as fresh and utterly terrifying as it had been all of those times before. Experience with pain could do nothing for Daine now, for this pain was of a different breed all together. It was far greater than anything she had come across since the start of the attacks several months ago. It was an excruciating attack on both the body and the mind. It was both mental and physical. It called to her, wedged itself deep beneath her skin, invading her in ways she had once never imagined to be possible.
Against her will, Daine began whimpering from the pain that brought siege upon both her mind and body. Her breathing became heavy and ragged, making it all the more difficult to achieve. In the midst of her agony, Daine knew that she had to somehow force herself to think rationally. Rational thoughts were vital if everything was to work out in her favor. In her vision, the attack that had broken the barrier in her mind had taken place down stairs in the kitchen. If Daine remembered correctly, this had been a result of her leaving the bedchamber and Numair behind before the attack reached its height. Now though, she had no time for that. She was still in the bed chamber and the attack on her mind was upon her. She had to think of something to do, something to change the events she had so fortunately foreseen. She needed Numair's assistance. In her vision, the attacks had never returned, not even in the slightest, after Alanna had rebuilt the magical barrier in Daine's mind. She knew now that she needed Numair to do the same. She had to wake him.
"Numair...."Daine moaned, clutching her lower chest and body nervously. The pain was now racking her entire form, setting each and every bone ablaze with stinging fire one at a time.
Daine did not need to repeat her call for her lover, for in the instant that she moaned his name, his eyes snapped open, alert and ready. By this time though, the pain that raced through Daine's mind and body had reached such heights that she could no longer stand to hold her body up in a sitting position. With a cry of defeat, Daine tumbled back down onto the bed and slid to the floor, as if melting from intense heat.
In the back of her mind as she fought to dim her pain, Daine could hear Numair shuffling along the bed as he searched for where her call had come. Within a few agonizing moments, she could feel his gaze fall upon her and his breath catch in his lungs. "Mithros!" she heard him curse opening as he threw back the covers that bound him to their bed and swung his legs down onto the floor. Each sound made as his bare feet padded against the cold hardwood floor of their bedchamber vibrated painfully in her now magnified hearing. "Daine, what in the name of the great gods-"
He never got to finish his statement, for immediately Daine interrupted him, knowing that time would mean everything to them this night. She could not determine exactly how much time was left until she could no longer control herself, but she knew that it was not much and she must use the time she had left to explain the situation and what he must do to him. "Numair, it's the-," she began explaining hurriedly, heart racing faster than the winds of a hurricane. She was interrupted before she hardly had time to begin by an unbearable pain coursing through her veins. It was a terrible burning sensation that seemed to set her insides alight with tiny bits of burning embers, tearing away at her. Like an invisible force, it did her no physical harm, but it was pain beyond anyone's wildest belief all the same. "the pains, Numair…..the b-barrier…again…" she struggled to breath, let alone relay a message to him. She could not force any further explanation from her throat, for the pain had reached unbearable heights.
Panic coursing like wildfire through his mind, he fought a untamable battle within himself to gain focus on the situation once more. He would be of no help to Daine if his mind could not stay on task for worry. Her words dawned on him suddenly and it was as though he had been trampled by a dozen horses at once. He knew at once what she was trying to tell him and found himself suddenly flying into a whirl of emotion and fear. Gods, what was he going to do? He was certain now that the barrier in her mind had either broken or was near doing so. Mithros only knew what she would do once she lost all control as she surely would if he could not stop her, and soon.
As Numair continued to think, taking everything in slowly so that he could properly understand the situation, his eyes remained transfixed on the sprawled form of his lover as she thrashed on the floor of their bed chamber in pain. He knew that there was no time to think or ponder; he had to act now. He began to make his way towards her, stumbling over himself in worry, his usual catlike grace gone with the wind. "Daine, sweet, you'll have to calm yourself if I'm to help you…" he cooed, voice shaking. He wanted very much to comfort her and make her settle herself, but he found this to be a difficult task as he could not even do any such thing for himself. Fear was evident in his voice and he knew that she could feel it pounding in his veins. After all, she was beginning to get the instincts of a wolf.
Numair's urging did Daine little good, for she could not control it if she tried. She had long since stopped trying to fight off the violent thrashing of her limbs, for it only further exhausted her will. She had to keep her energy for what was to come next if Numair could not stop things in time. She knew that she could only help him so much and that the rest would have to be up to him.
Finally, Numair fought his way through the barrier the thrashing of her arms and legs had created and he managed to pull her into his hold. He tried in vain to calm her, or to at least restrain her with his own strength. He found though, that because of the breaking of her barrier, she had gained not only the magnified senses of a wolf, but also the unfathomable strength of the creature. He was now no match for her as she fought him.
Just as he began to fear that he would be unable to work his way into her mind, her thrashing suddenly ceased and she fell limply into his waiting arms. The chaos of the room came to a stand still and it seemed as though the untamed violence of only moments before had never happened at all. Thunder boomed overhead, lightning flashing in waves as it only briefly lit the entire bedchamber from the bare glass of the large window. Numair gazed down at the limp form of his lover, not in panic or rush, but rather calm. It was an unusual feeling that washed over him and fought to take control of his emotion. It was perhaps a feeling of dread, one so heavy that it was hardly felt at all and left its victim in a sleek, calm state. That was what he felt now.
Looking down upon her, confusion still present in the back of his mind, Numair could see through the flickering flashes of lightning from outside the bedchamber that she was deathly pale. Though her lips were still as rosy as ever, her once flushed cheeks and cream colored skin tone were nearly as white as freshly fallen snow. With her eyes clamped tightly shut and her lips twisted into a troubled frown, she looked anything but peaceful or even dead for that matter. That slight assurance was perhaps what kept the mage from panicking and thinking her to have moved on to the Black God's Realm. In any case, he did not lose his will to act with reason. To him now, she looked as though she were merely sleeping through a nightmare and in a sense, she was.
Snapping back to himself after long moments of pausing, Numair began to give in to his usual sense of protectiveness. He drew her immediately to his chest, his large hand lifting her chin to tilt her face upward. She did not react in the slightest to his touch and he felt a natural sense of worry wash over him like a springtime rain. "Daine," he breathed, trying to shake her awake. He spoke softly into her ears, trying to urge her to come out of this stupor. Though he knew that the barrier in her mind that separated her from her wild magic was severed, he had no idea what it could mean. He could not begin to imagine what it could prompt her to do, only that it could not be good. After all, if the stories she had told him about her past in Snowsdale had been accurate, it likely meant she would go mad and lose control of her human senses and give in to the part of her that was People. "Come on now, sweet, wake up." he continued to whisper in her ear, trying all that he knew to bring her back to him. The only comfort he now held was that she was not dead, nor was she remotely close to being so.
What happened next came so suddenly that Numair had no time to respond to it. One instant she lay limply, innocently in his arms as he whispered softly in her ear and stroked the top of her head with shaking fingers. The next, her eyes snapped suddenly open, an indescribable look of untamed ferocity swirling in their midst. Gone were the soft, blue gray orbs that had so often aroused his attentions. Gone was the simple, sweet nature of the young woman he so loved and wanted desperately to come back to him. Her humble, almost shy nature had been replaced with a cruel, predatory one. For the split second in which she stayed in her position of lying still in his arms, he could see clearly and impossibly inhuman look about her; animal-like even.
In an instant Daine sprang wildly from his arms, emitting what sounded horrifically like the snarl of a rabid wolf. As she leaped effortlessly into the air, she flaunted her arms like that of an animal. Once landed, she did not scramble to her feet and continue her odd behavior that way, but rather stayed firmly on all fours. Daine moved with a cat-like grace, acting as though she had been this way all of her life and had in fact never been a human to walk on her hind legs.
Numair quickly scrambled away when he felt her begin to stir in his arms and then suddenly spring with a snarl. He knew well that she would be dangerous like this and that even if she had managed to keep a little of her true self, it would be unlikely that she would be able to push it to the surface. No, right now he knew that he was not dealing with his lover, nor the woman he so desperately loved, but instead he dealt with a fierce wolf that was just as likely to kill him as look at him.
A/N: Well, I hate to cut things off there and at a time like that, but I think I'll live. Hehe….besides, I DID want to get a chapter up for you today considering I haven't updated for about four months. I'll be sure to update very soon as I now have the time and am not feeling so depressed. Hopefully you'll have another chapter by a few days after Christmas, maybe even sooner. Until then, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! R/R!