Lothar had initially been reluctant to let the healers put him out to work on his shoulder, but they had insisted. He woke later in the day with his sister at his side, and he instantly knew something was wrong.

"Khadgar?" he asked, his voice raspy.

"He's…resting," said Taria, her brow creasing slightly.

Lothar sat up immediately. "Is he awake yet?"

"He was, for a short while, but the healers had to give him something to make him sleep." She gazed at her brother sympathetically. "He tried to hurt himself, Anduin. They said there was blood everywhere."

"What? How? They were supposed to have wards up—"

"They did, Anduin, but this wasn't magic. They think he was trying to, well…" she winced. "Break off one of his horns."

Lothar closed his eyes. "I have to go to him."

She rested her hand on her brother's. "They say he saved you. That when you were hurt he was at your side a moment later, killing the orcs who'd attacked you, and that he came close to killing Gul'dan as well."

Lothar nodded, rising to his feet. "He did."

Lothar had hoped to make it to the dungeon as quickly as possible, but on the way he was intercepted by a group of mages and priests who'd been responsible for both setting up the wards around Khadgar's cell and tending to him afterwards. He met with them briefly, getting a quick rundown on Khadgar's current condition – including ideas on what had happened to him during his imprisonment as well as what occurred in the battle before the mage blacked out. Khadgar's strong connection with the arcane had helped him fight against the Fel, they'd told him, and that somehow the mage had developed a kind of immunity to it…which was how he'd been able to not only manipulate the Fel, but to catch Gul'dan's attacks and hurl them back at him. They'd assured him the mage's mind, memories, and free will were fully restored, and that Khadgar had been able to purge most of the Fel from his system.

Most, but not all.

"But is he all right now?" Lothar had pressed. "Uh…maybe you should see for yourself," was the nervous reply from one of the priests. He'd been slightly annoyed at the non-answer, but he'd thanked them for their help before hurrying down to the deepest and most heavily fortified section of Stormwind's dungeon.

What he saw there just about broke his heart, and he understood what the warders had meant when they'd said the mage had purged 'most' of the Fel from himself.

Khadgar was huddled on the floor, shaking, his arms wrapped around himself tightly. Lothar was relieved to see that the wings and spikes were gone. The talons had been replaced by shorter and stubbier claws, but he could see that one set of horns still remained. Pure white, they curved elegantly back along the sides of his head, although there was a bandage around the base of one of them.

Lothar approached the bars, coming to stand right outside the cell. He'd finally come to terms with his feelings for Khadgar while they were Gul'dan's prisoners, and those feelings had only intensified when his friend had broken through his Fel corruption and saved his life.

"Khadgar?" he asked hopefully.

The mage flinched, startled, then wrapped his arms even tighter around himself. "Don't look at me."

"Why not?" asked Lothar. "You just saved my life. Again."

"I'm not—" Khadgar couldn't speak, and he rested his head on his knees, still shaking.

Lothar gazed at him through the bars. "Khadgar. Please."

Khadgar finally turned to face him, revealing eyes that were thankfully their normal brown. "Please what, Anduin?" he asked tearfully. "Please don't hurt me like you did in that cell? Please stop being half demon?" His face twisted; he looked like he was about to be sick. "Please don't rape me again?"

"That's not what it was, Khadgar," he said gently.

"Wasn't it?" There was anguish in the young man's voice.

"It wasn't," Lothar assured him. Seeing his friend so distressed made his next decision for him...Lothar unlocked the cell door, stepping through and leaving it open behind him. "I know you weren't yourself at the time, and you weren't exactly thinking straight, but I hope you remember that Gul'dan was the one who gave you that order. You weren't acting of your own accord." He wanted to break through that self-loathing and take away all the mage's pain. "And when you did it, you were gentle. Careful. It wasn't violent at all." He paused. "Khadgar...not only did I come, I came before you did. You probably don't remember that, but I did."

Khadgar looked away again. "Anduin…"

Lothar sank to his knees at Khadgar's side, wrapping him in his arms. "Think back to what Gul'dan said right before he left us alone. That he could tell I wanted you, and still wanted you, even after you'd been changed by the Fel." He brushed his lips against the mage's cheek. "I've lost so many people I've loved, Khadgar. Llane and Medivh, Cally and Callan. I couldn't bear it if I lost you too."

The mage was trembling, blinking back more tears.

"I meant what I said in the village, Khadgar," Lothar whispered. "I love you. And I still want to be with you...if you'll have me."

This final admission seemed to be what pushed the younger man over the edge, and he turned his face to Lothar's chest, sobbing, clinging to the warrior while he cried himself out. Lothar held him through all of it, whispering gentle words and stroking through the mage's thick, soft hair, careful to avoid the bandage at the side of his head.

"So will you?" Lothar asked some time later, once Khadgar had settled and was calm once more. He'd been pressing soft kisses to Khadgar's face and neck, which the young man had ardently returned.

"Will I what?" Khadgar asked.

Lothar cupped his cheek. "Will you have me?"

"I can't believe you could still want me," he said in wonder. "Or that you wanted me even before."

"I did, and I do," he said simply.

Khadgar leaned back. "So you're seriously saying THIS doesn't make a difference?" He gestured at himself.

"Not one bit." It was the truth. "I'm kind of glad you lost the wings, though. They'd make buying clothes for you a lot harder."

"About that…" Khadgar fidgeted a little before he spoke again. "The wings are still there, you just can't see them," he confessed. "If these wards weren't up I could manifest them. They're not as strong as they were before, though, so I don't think I can fly anymore. Maybe glide a bit, but not fly."

Lothar blinked. "Are you saying you could actually fly?"

The mage nodded. "The only good thing about the transformation. It gave me a sense of freedom, even when I wasn't free," he said. "Maybe I'll try to learn a flying spell, an arcane one, once I'm feeling up to it."

"Medivh could turn into a raven, you could probably learn that," he offered. He thought again about the battle with the Guardian, his former friend, and what the warders had told him about Khadgar. "They said your strong connection to the arcane helped you fight off the effects of the Fel, and that you're immune to it now."

"Immune?" Khadgar gazed at him thoughtfully. "That's what they said? Immune to the Fel?"

"Yes. That's how you took the Fel bolt Gul'dan threw at you and threw it right back at him."

The mage rubbed his chin. "That could prove…extremely useful."

"Considering how close you came to killing him, you're damn right it's useful – if he's smart, he'll run the next time he sees you," Lothar proclaimed, taking one of Khadgar's hands in his own. "What was it that made you turn on him, when we were in the village square? You weren't yourself then, you couldn't even talk. But you still saved me."

Khadgar squeezed Lothar's hand. "Even an animal can recognize kindness, Anduin," he replied softly. "And you were kinder to me in that state than Gul'dan ever was." A faint smile played across his features. "He should have realized I could turn on him. The Fel corrupts, but it doesn't automatically make everything it touches into allies. The green orcs followed him even before they were exposed to the Fel, but a demon would always have to be controlled." This admission seemed to disturb him, and he shivered slightly, looking away.

"You're not a demon, Khadgar," he soothed. "The priests used the Light to heal you; it wouldn't have worked on you if you were a demon." Then he frowned. "Speaking of which…just what were you thinking when you did this?" He tapped the bandage, careful not to get too close to the base of the horn it partially covered.

The mage had the grace to look embarrassed at that. "After I got rid of most of the Fel, I'd hoped I would revert back to my normal self. But I didn't. So I, ah…thought it might be possible to remove them physically." He made a face. "Unfortunately, they seem to have a rather copious blood supply," he said ruefully.

Lothar tousled his hair. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way to hide them with your magic. The claws too. Not that they're all that dangerous anymore."

"All this really doesn't bother you?" he asked. "Not even the horns that scream out 'I'm half demon' to anyone who sees me?"

Lothar couldn't resist the urge to tease. "I'm sorry, Khadgar, but I've seen baby goats with more impressive horns," he said. "And really, half demon? More like five percent. Maybe ten if I was being generous."

"Baby goats?" he sputtered indignantly.

"Baby goats," repeated Lothar, grinning. "Baby lambs too."

Khadgar rolled his eyes. "You are incorrigible."

Lothar smiled, bringing Khadgar's hand to his lips and kissing it. "So…will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Will you have me?"

Khadgar's eyes widened for a moment, and then he nodded eagerly. "Yes. Oh yes, Anduin," he breathed. "By the Light, you're all I've wanted for months."