I totally forgot to do this last time, so:

No, I definitely don't own Maleficent.

Thanks SOOOO much for reading and it would be incredibly lovely of you to review!

Also, I really don't know what I'm doing and have never written fan fiction before, just read a ton. So please understand that I am new and doing my best!

And thanks a ton to my wonderfully kind reviewers last time!

Thanks again, mes chéris

And enjoy!

As he expected, Diaval wakes up screaming. His nightmare still playing out in front of his wide open eyes. His sound of terror cuts through the silence that surrounds him in the world of the living. His reaches out desperately around him as he realizes that the world is dark. Diaval isn't scared of the dark, he's scared of what he can't see when everything's shrouded in blackness. Dark in it's self he finds kind of comforting, at least, when he knows where he is. Now, though, he's horribly confused and he doesn't like the dark at all. Where is Maleficent and Aurora? What happened? Where is he? What is he? With a shock he comprehends the shape of his own body and panic crashes in around him. Short back fur, huge paws...

"Maleficent, change me back! I told...Maleficent!" his voice is raw and terrified in the blackness that always matches the shade of his hair, feathers or fur. He's curled into a miserable, trembling ball when his cry is answered less than a second later. Maleficent's strikingly pale face is visible even in the oppressive blackness, ivory skin glowing as if lit from within. Her horns and her dark clothing however are swallowed up in the night. Diaval has decided it must be night although he's not sure of anything else.

"Diaval, what is it?" She asks, exuding a calm that Diaval finds absurd and a little infuriating considering every fiber of his being is oozing anxiety. She places one hand softly on Diaval's trembling shoulder and the other briefly on his forehead. "Your fever is up." Aurora has appeared behind Diaval, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes. She sits down beside him and stares with huge, concern filled eyes. She chooses his free shoulder to hold, a firm but gentle anchor to reality.

"Change me back, Maleficent, I told you...no dogs! Please change me back...please." He sits up too quickly and groans as he is reminded of his injuries. In a characteristic act of kindness, Aurora pulls him over to lean on her shoulder, which he does half willingly and half because he doesn't have the strength to do anything else. "Why a...why a dog, mistress?" The sound of his own voice is alarming. The desperation in it almost overwhelming. "Just not this...anything..." He's not entirely sure if he's making sense anymore.

"You're not a dog, Diaval, you are a man." Maleficent is as collected as ever, even after hearing his incoherent, feverish rant.

"No! I'm..." He can't even see in the dark anyway, but he knows what he is. He can feel the skin that he hates wearing.

"You're speaking to me, aren't you? I do not believe dogs have that particular ability." There is slight amusement in her voice, its covering something else, something more sincere. Diaval isn't sure what yet.

"Don't make me...I don't..." I don't want to wake up in foreign skin.

"It's all right, bird. You're sick, that's all. You're human, I promise." It's Aurora's kind voice this time, as she wraps one warm arm around his bruised shoulder blades. She speaks softly, but Diaval hears her even over the sound of his own pounding heart and gasping lungs and the sounds of the Moor that he now recognizes as familiar and reassuring. He smiles at the pet name, remembering the first time he met Aurora face to face. The memory comes to him out of his foggy and fever addled mind with stunning clarity.

"Now go to sleep, Diaval. I will not change you." It's Maleficent's way of saying You're safe. Trust me.

Even through the fear and the pain and his morphed judgement, Diaval half believes her. But still, Diaval doesn't want to go back to sleep, he doesn't want to blink. He doesn't want to wake up alone and afraid and hurting. He feels Maleficent and Aurora stir to leave and a fresh batch of desperation and distress fill him up.

"Don't..." He murmurs. "Stay." He has been so stoic all these years. Kept any fear, uncertainty or sadness to himself. He has never showed weakness, only humor and unwavering loyalty. He's too exhausted to pretend now, too sick, too scared. He can't even bring himself to be embarrassed by the piteous plea.

Maleficent takes his hand and Aurora lays down besides him. It reminds him of his baby sister all those years ago. He tries not to think about what happened next. Tries not to think about the dogs. He opens his eyes wide in the darkness, in case one sneaks up on them and takes Aurora and Maleficent from him. He doesn't want to loose his second family too. Not to a pack of mangy uncivilized beasts. "No dogs." He says aloud, as if saying this will deter any nearby canines from disturbing them.

Maleficent squeezes his hand softly, "No dogs." She agrees. The strange, unidentifiable emotion is back in her voice, something that Diaval hasn't heard before. Well, except when they were at Aurora's bedside, wondering if she'd ever wake up again. Its guilt, he realizes, just as he closes his eyes again, listening to Aurora's soft steady breathing beside him. He wells down the flood of panic that comes with the sound, reminding himself that she won't need true loves kiss to wake up this time.

"I'm sorry you were hurt, Diaval." Comes Maleficent's voices, floating into his mind from far away. Her voice tugs him back into full consciousness. For a delusional moment he's not sure if she's really speaking or if it's his imagination.

"This'll heal." He mumbles quietly, resting one unsteady hand on his bandaged side.

"You didn't have to fight that battle with me." Regret weighs on her tone.

"Yes, I did..." this game is exhausting, guessing what she wants to hear. He decides to just tell the truth, that makes it easier.

"Why?" There's genuine curiosity in the query.

"'Cause you're my family. You an' Aurora." He startles himself by saying it aloud. His slightly slurred words hang in the air between them like an invisible, fragile rope and for a long moment neither of them dare disturb it. Diaval breaths out in to the silence half wishing he could chase after his words and snatch them from the air before they reach Maleficent's ears. Not because they're not true, but because Diaval has a terrible feeling that Maleficent is going to laugh at him. Like most sane creatures, he's not a fan of rejection or dismissal.

"I know, Diaval." He's not quite sure what to make of her response. He decides to save it for when he can think clearly. For now though, it's enough.

He feels himself drifting off and manages to say one more thing. "No dogs."

"No dogs." Maleficent replies softly. So softly he almost doesn't hear her. Diaval finally allows himself to begin to drift off again, wondering what he'll dream of, half accepting the inevitability of nightmares.

"I love you both." Maleficent says to the darkness when she is sure that her raven and her beastie are asleep. Diaval smiles slightly at her words, wondering if this is real, before falling asleep completely. Maleficent is awake for a long time after, staring out into the night as fireflies and other glowing creatures flutter past; thinking about Diaval and dogs.