Daine shivered and snuggled closer to Numair. Or, as close as she could get with her now obviously swollen stomach. He opened his eyes and smiled. She scowled at him.
"I thought my days of freezing cold winters were over." She grumbled, pulling the blankets up to her chin.
"But it's so pretty. Look at all the snow!" At this, she let out a large shudder and hid under the covers completely. Numair smiled. "You're acting like than Alanna."
"She's worse than me," Daine mumbled, still hidden. "I mean, I don't MIND snow, and cold, but…"
"Sweet, you have to face the snow eventually." Something wriggled against his leg and he frowned. "Is that you?"
Daine grinned sheepishly, as a scaled head popped up between the couple. "It's Kitten. She doesn't like cold either." He sighed and rubbed the dragonet's head fondly.
"Both of you, it's time to get up." Daine groaned and stuck her head out from under the blankets.
"Fine." Suddenly, she frowned and clutched her stomach. Numair's eyes widened in concern.
"Is it the baby? Daine, what's wrong?"
"Nothing…" She smiled again, brightly. "Our baby's kicking!"
"Really? Can I feel?" She took his hand in response and pressed it to her abdomen. A soft nudge against his hand made him grin. Daine looked at him in amazement.
"Numair… are you crying?"

"… The Scanrans may have lost their killing devices, but their armies now have an advantage, as we cannot attack whilst the northern passes are blocked with snow, giving them vital time to recuperate…" Daine and Numair were in a strategy meeting with Jon, Alanna, and several of the other fighters. The baby's kicks had been growing increasingly stronger as the day went on, and Daine found herself rubbing her stomach. Numair turned his attention away from the speaker to tilt his head questioningly at his wife. She gave him a reassuring smile, and he turned back to the meeting. Another kick, and she winced. Then again, and again. She gritted her teeth against the pain, but still let out a small whimper. As everyone turned to look at her, she tried to smile.
"I'm fine, reall- OW!" She clutched her stomach. Numair looked at her, panicked. Jon turned to a servant standing behind him. "Get a healer. Quickly. Run, if you have to. RUN!" The boy sprinted out of the room. Others in the room had moved Daine so that she was resting on the floor, her head is Numair's lap. Her cries were more audible now. Numair turned to Alanna, worried.
"Can't you do anything for her?"
She sighed. "It could potentially be more dangerous to make her sleep, or stop her feeling the pain. The survival of Daine and the child may rely on her reacting to the movements." At that point the healer ran in, a short woman in her thirties, with brown hair in a neat bun at the back of her head. Her gift spread out over Daine's abdomen in a bluish light, then sank in. Numair stroked his wife's hair as she let out small groans. The healer frowned in concentration, then she paled slightly and looked up at Numair.
"Who is this woman?"
Numair, frozen in either panic or confusion, didn't answer.
"She is the Wildmage, Veralidaine Salmalín." Jon spoke for him.
The woman sighed, and rubbed her head. "That'd explain it. Thing is, Master Salmalín, this baby is not human."
"Mithros…" Numair turned white; no easy feat for a man with his swarthy skin. "What is it?"
The healer blinked in disbelief. "Excuse me?"
"What is it?"
She shook her head in amazement and focused her Gift again. "A wolfcub."
"Daine. Daine!" Numair stroked her cheek to get her attention.
She looked up tiredly "Hunhh?"
"Shape-shift. Now. A wolf. Lower half only, if you can manage it."
She gave him a withering look, and shifted without even blinking. The healer shuddered and drew the sign against evil on her chest. Numair glared at her. "Mistress…?"
"Dowe, thank you."
"Mistress Dowe, I trust you are a trained midwife, and will be caring for my wife?"
"Indeed."
"Ah. Well, this sort of event is not uncommon for our family. I suggest you get used to it, or get someone else to do this job for you."
She pulled herself up to her full, small height, and sniffed. "That won't be necessary. I've dealt with unusual pregnancies before, I believe I can handle this one, strange as it may be."
He smiled. "Good."
He turned to adress the rest if the room. "If you'll excuse us, my wife and I will retire to our rooms. Mistress Dowe, what is our child currently in the form of?" He had noticed new discomfort on Daine's face. The woman closed her eyes and focused.
"Human again."
Daine sighed in relief and shifted back to a human. Numair swiftly covered her with his robe, then scooped her into his arms. "Are you alright, my love?" He bent his face close to hers. She smiled.
"I am now. It's fair awkward being two kinds of creature at once."
"I can imagine." Numair tightened his grip on her. "Come, sweet, and rest."
She leaned into his chest, arms around his neck. "Alright."

Once she was settled on the couch in their rooms, Daine looked at her husband. Numair was pacing. She frowned.
"You'll wear the carpet out, if you keep doing that. Sit down.
He rubbed his face wearily and sat. She tugged his shoulder and made him lay down with his head in her lap. She undid his horsetail and ran her fingers through his hair to calm him. It worked. With a small shiver of pleasure, he spoke. "I was thinking…"
"Mmm?"
"Well, we can't carry a midwife wherever we go, and I'm no healer, so we need a way to tell…"
"Tell?"
"If the baby shifts again."
"Ah." She grimaced, remembering the pain from earlier. "And I suppose you have a way?"
Numair smiled up at her. "I do." He jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands.
"Numair, you're scaring me. What are you planning?"
"Well," He took a deep breath. "Mistress Dowe's magic, the one she used earlier, to see the baby, should still be in place on you. So, if I strengthen it, and fix it temporarily to your womb, then connect it to your mind, you should be able to tell what shape the baby is taking. Follow?"
She stared at him in amazement. "You came up with that just now?"
"That's nothing," He scoffed, grinning. "You should have seen how long it took me to plan our wedding night…"
"Don't tell me. Please."
He laughed and knelt before her. He looked up at Daine and smiled. "Ready?"
"Yup. Work away." He pressed his hands to her abdomen and closed his eyes. His black Gift spread down his arms and into her body. Daine gasped at the new sensation. It was something like cold water spreading through her. Numair mouthed words in a language Daine didn't know, and the cold spread up towards her head. She closed her eyes, and had the impression of something latching onto her mind. Suddenly, the cold stopped, leaving a path in her thoughts that led to the baby. Numair looked up, panting slightly.
"Did it work?"
"Yes, yes it did. This feels… amazing. Truly."
"No pain?"
"None."
"Good. Now you'll know if it shifts again, and can shift with it."
She grinned and pulled him back onto the couch. Kissing him soundly, she smiled. "Thank you." He chased her lips, kissing her repeatedly, then calmed again. His head was resting in her lap again when Onua entered. Daine looked up from stroking her husband's head to see what her friend wanted.
"What is it?"
Onua put her hands on her hips, and Daine noticed that she was dressed in her fine clothes. "Aren't you coming down? The party? The feast? It's Midwinter! Though," She smirked, "you two look pretty comfortable where you are."
Numair swore at her and she grinned. "Temper, temper!"
Daine slapped his cheek gently, more of a pat than a blow, to reprimand him. Then she turned to Onua. "I've no dress to wear. I forgot, what with the baby."
"Then call me your faery godmother, because Thayet and I had one of her old gowns fixed, one that she wore when she was pregnant with Lianne, for you. And considering that the Queen only gets to wear her party dresses twice at most before they decide she needs a new one, it's in good condition."
"Really? Oh… I don't know what to say! Can I see it?" She kissed Numair and left him to get dressed.

Numair finally cornered his wife on the balcony. "HaVing fun?"
She turned with a smile. "Could say that. You?"
"Well, Coram and Myles passed out an hour ago, and Alanna was taken home by George just now, so…"
She nodded. "You're ready to leave."
"If you are."
She covered,a yawn with her hand. "I'm exhausted. Lets go."
They returned to their rooms. Numair removed his shirt and boots as Daine pulled one of his larger shirts over herself. Then, to her surprise, he walked round the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her sweetly, gently teasing her tongue with his, then smiled.
"Happy Midwinter, my love."

A/N- loooooooong chapter! Yaay I'm happy now! Thanks to my 2 followers for this story! They are:

Princess of Niight

ziva10

Thank yooooooooooooooouuuuu!