Disclaimer: Same old, same old...

AN: Does anyone want me to make a pronunciation guide? R&R!

Chapter 4

A black panther, larger than any of its brothers, stalked angrily through its jungle home. Its purple eyes were like small flames in the shadowy forest. With a snarl, the panther listened to the sound of crying, a human crying, as it echoed through the steam. The sobs silenced every animal that heard it but did not seem to touch the panther who shook off the sadness that came from the human. –Easy prey. — The simple, blood-thirsty thought crossed the panther's mind as it stalked towards the two-legger. With a roar, it pounced, claws extended.

Raedeshe woke with a start, feeling trapped in the cat form he was in. The shape was too close to the panther who had stalked through his nightmare. With a glance, he saw that he was curled up on the pillow next to Rhea. Purring, he carefully got off the bed and shape-shifted, settling into his human form. Pulling on the extra pair of clothes he had hidden there, he walked back to the bed and sat lightly on the edge.

He watched Rhea sleep for a few moments as the call of "The Midnight Hour and All is Well" softly came through the shutters. Leaning over, he brushed a few strands of Rhea's red-gold hair off of her face and then lightly pressed his lips to her cheek. She shifted and he drew back, sweeping his black hair out of his eyes. "Rae?" The soft word came from Rhea who was holding a hand out to him.

With a smile he took it, surprised by its warmth. The smile faded quickly as he pressed his hand to her forehead. She was burning up with a fever that had not been there before. He panicked slightly, searching around the room for anything to cool her off. As he tried to get up, her grip on his hand tightened. "Get Maia…" Her soft voice was a croak and she released his hand, eyes sliding shut. Pulling away, he strode quickly to the door and stepped out into the hallway. He only glanced back once at Rhea before he broke into a run, heading towards Maia's room with a silent prayer that she could help.

A loud and very insistent knocking brought Maia away from the land of sleep. Opening the door, she froze at the tall shadow of a man blocking the doorway. She pulled a dagger out of its tie on her wrist and then snapped her fingers. A bluish-purple ball of light appeared to light up the room and the man. He was tall and well-muscled and his purple eyes were panicked. His black hair was long and starting to get sweat-soaked as he kept brushing away from his handsome face.

"Raedeshe," Maia said softly, placing a hand on his arm and causing him to jump, "What would bring you to my room, in the middle of the night, in human form?" He grabbed her arm without saying a word and towed her out of her room and down to Rhea's.

Opening the door, Rae turned to look at her. "I woke up and she was burning with fever." Maia stiffened slightly and then went in, muttering what she knew about fevers. She could cure breaks and get rid of small fevers and that was all she hoped that it was. When she pressed a hand to Rhea's head she sighed—it was no small fever.

Taking Rhea's hands, Maia dropped into her magic, feeling the comfort that her Gift gave her. Drawing a deep breath she reached for the fiery inflammation that was the fever. Just as she sent a cooling wave of magic towards it, she was thrown out of her magic.

"In the name of the Goddess!" She snapped, opening her eyes to glare at Rhea. Instead of the woman there was a hawk lying on the bed. Suddenly it transformed, feathers melting into the fur of a dog; then Rhea was a squirrel, a mouse, a cat, and finally a panther.

Turning, Maia spotted Raedeshe sitting on the edge of the desk, watching them carefully. "Rae! Stop her from shape-shifting. I can only heal humans!" She watched as Rae pulled himself off the desk and then walked over to the bed, kneeling down to press his head to the panther's. A snarl curled the panther's mouth but it slowly faded as did the fur, tail, paws and muzzle. Finally, Rhea, in her human form, was lying on the bed.

Her red-gold hair was sweat soaked and plastered to her head. Maia smiled slightly as she watched Raedeshe brush it off, his purple eyes still closed and his head still pressed to Rhea's. Guessing that it was safe, and not wanting to disturb the two, Maia plunged back into her magic and threaded the healing fire into Rhea.

Her Gift attacked the fever, cooling it and breaking it down. Checking to make sure that nothing else had tried to stick to Rhea, she drew out of her Gift. Opening her eyes, she saw that all three of them were sweat-soaked and that the cook was sitting at the desk, dishes piled in front of her.

Maia's stomach growled and she glanced at the shutters, surprised to see them open and with dawn light streaming in. The cook smiled and got up, taking a plate and giving it to Maia. She then handed Rae his own plate and a bowl of hearty soup that steamed. "That's for Rhea when she wakes up." The cook said, brandishing one of the spoons at Rae. "If I've heard that you ate it, you'll be doing dishes for weeks!"

With that, the cook left and Maia smiled crookedly. "She never said anything about me not eating it." Maia said with a smile, laughing as Raedeshe's eyes widened. "I'm just kidding Rae," She said, wiping the smile off of her face. She fell on her own plate of food, finishing it off in record time.

The shuffle of feet and then a sudden shadow made her look up. Rae was standing there, hand extended and his purple eyes kind. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room." Maia gratefully grabbed his hand and he pulled her gently to her wobbly feet.

She leaned on his arm all the way back to her room, her legs feeling like they would give way any second. Having reached her door, she looked up at Rae. "You can go now." Smiling slightly, Rae left, practically running back to Rhea's room. Sighing, Maia opened the door and walked over to her bed, falling asleep the second she lay down.