Description: Daine and Numair deal with their latest Immortal problem with help from Kitten.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.

Author's Note: One of my very big fears is accidentally writing the boring woods section in Book 7 of the Harry Potter series. The problem is Numair and Daine spend a lot of their time travelling through woods… Please tell me if I'm boring you. I really am trying to make it interesting and not bore you to death while our mages eye each other up and not pine over the other (honest!).

Chapter 26

The horses met Daine and Numair on their way back, snuffling all over the Wildmage to ensure she was safe and unharmed. Much to the mage's concern, Daine refused to release her grip on him and ride on Cloud forcing him to carry her. A helpful wildcat was able to guide them to a nearby large cave where Numair very carefully and very respectfully examined the young woman for any injuries. Other than some nasty bruising on her arms and one on her forehead, she didn't have any broken bones. Tauros were known for ripping limbs off their victims, not that Numair had any intention of telling his friend that right now.

"Would you like me to make you some soup?" he offered.

Daine shook her head where it still rested on his chest. "Just hold me. Please?"

Taking a steadying breath, Numair adjusted his hold on her so it was more comfortable for the both of them. While he couldn't deny the reassurance he was drawing from having Daine safe and whole in his arms, the mage worried about ruining his cherished friendship with her as he gently stroked his fingers through her hair until she drifted off into a light slumber. Cloud settled down beside them to lip at her mistress' shoulder and arms while Zek settled in the Wildmage's lap. Kitten left the cave to collect firewood with Spots, returning after a short time with good-sized sticks which Numair instructed the dragonet on how to light with her magic.

Despite being asleep, Daine refused to relinquish her tight grip on his shirt which presented quite a problem. Numair tried to sleep sat up with his back against the cave wall but, in the end, he gave up after an hour. With some help from Kitten and Spots, he spread out one of the bedrolls on the floor, shuffling carefully so he could lie on it with Daine beside him while he covered them with the other bedroll. It was more comfortable, but Numair was extremely concerned about how she would react to having someone male near her when she woke.

He jolted awake just before dawn to the feel of her delicate nose rubbing into the V of his shirt. "Daine?" he whispered, groggily.

"Hmm?" Came the grumbled response as Daine snuggled closer against him, rubbing her nose into his chest hair again sending shivers down his spine.

Numair became instantly aware of just how tightly his arms had wound around her while they slept. Surrounding the pair was a family of pine martins and rabbits with Zek nestled comfortably in a ball in the young woman's hair. Kitten was snoring softly beside the dying embers of the fire with a wildcat – possibly the same one – fast asleep against her while the horses were stood together near the cave entrance slumbering or guarding them, Numair wasn't too clear. They made quite a picture if anyone were to discover them.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, removing his arms. "You wouldn't release your grip on my shirt. I never would have presumed to lie so intimately with you without your expressed permission, especially after what happened yest –"

"Stop talking n'go back t'sleep," Daine mumbled, grabbing his arm and placing it back around her waist. "S'too early t'be awake."

"Would you like me to set up the bedrolls so we can sleep properly?" he asked, barely daring to breathe.

"I'll hate you f'rever if you move. M'comfy here." She nuzzled his chest again for emphasis.

Numair swallowed hard feeling his body respond shamefully. "It's hardly appropriate… I was afraid you wouldn't want me near you after – what almost happened."

"Safe with you. G'night."

Numair was never going to sleep now! He was rock hard with a gorgeous young woman fast asleep in his arms, a soft smile gracing her features. What had started off as an innocent gesture to provide comfort – as innocent as it could be when he was absurdly attracted to his student – had now descended into something extremely suspect. Worse still, Daine kept rubbing her nose subconsciously against him which was horribly arousing. After everything she'd been through, it would be a dreadful time for her to discover the depths of his desire and probably traumatise her further.

Numair beat a hasty retreat when Daine stirred for a second time a few hours later, making an excuse about needing the privy. He prayed fervently to the Mother Goddess that his friend had been too asleep to be aware of the effect she'd had on him. When the mage returned shamefaced after relieving himself (in more ways than one), he approached slowly, remaining in full view so as not to startle her. He was unsure of what to say or how to apologise for last night while he watched Daine poke at the fire with Kitten in her lap looking extremely grumpy.

Daine's grumpiness, as it turned out, was just her normal morning grumpiness and she felt much more like herself after breakfast and a cup of tea. The group rode back out to where the portal was situated so Numair could seal it up, but this time no new Immortal threats appeared and the party was able to move on before midday.

"What are we going to do about the wyverns?" she asked her teacher as they headed towards the next village.

"I'm uncertain. We'll have to hope we can locate them before they cause too much trouble," he replied, scanning the sky as if the Immortals would magically appear.

"You could always shapeshift," Daine suggested. She'd noticed the mage seemed very reluctant to use his ability since Carthak.

Numair shook his head firmly. "I think the better option would be for you to link minds with a bird of prey and locate the wyverns from the air."

"I could try." She frowned. "What am I going to do about my body? I'll freeze if we stop." There was at least six inches of snow on the ground and the temperatures were below freezing.

Tie yourself to my back. I won't let you fall and then we can keep moving, Cloud stated.

Daine relayed what her pony had said to Numair who agreed to help secure her to the mare's back. Closing her eyes, the Wildmage reached out with her magic and found a sparrowhawk who was hunting not far from their position. Blacktalon was more than happy to offer his assistance as the young woman joined with him. They flew over where her body sat on Cloud's back to see Numair wrapping another blanket around her.

He's very thoughtful, she commented to the hawk.

A male should provide for his mate, Blacktalon responded, matter-of-fact.

Daine didn't think she could explain what a teacher was to the hawk, so she let it be. Numair had been very sweet last night letting her have a complete meltdown on him and she was grateful he hadn't said a word about it this morning. It wasn't often that an Immortal got the best of her, and the young woman hadn't appreciated feeling so defenceless. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened had Numair not been with her or if that creature had found one of the villages.

The hawk caught a thermal and soared so high into the air that everything below looked like a child's toy. There was no sign of the wyverns at Goldenlake or any of the surrounding villages which the Wildmage was grateful for, though it started to make her worry where the giant reptiles had flown off to.

Blacktalon was almost out of her range when they spotted yellow fog rising up near the River Drell. Thanking the hawk, Daine returned to her own body, a little disorientated with her vision still feeling like she was seeing through a hawk's eyes. Closing her eyes, the Wildmage held her head, shaking it slightly before opening her eyes again. Thankfully after a few minutes her vision returned to normal, and she didn't think anything of the few feathers that fell from her head.

Daine reported everything she'd seen to her teacher while the horses picked up the pace. It would take days to reach the River Drell in the poor conditions and there was no guarantee the wyverns would remain in one location for very long.

It was just before nightfall when the mages reached the village of Stoneshadow located at the base on the northern side of the Tusaine Mountains. Numair paid for two rooms while Daine took the horses to the stables before smuggling Kitten into her room hidden in her travel bag. The dragonet hated staying at the villages because she had to stay in the room. If the villagers weren't screaming 'monster', then they demanded Kitten be kept on a leash like a pet.

Changing into clean clothes, the young woman promised to bring Zek and the sulking dragonet something to eat before joining the mage for dinner. Numair had ordered two plates of venison heavily ladled in gravy with potatoes and root vegetables which the pair tucked into. Their own provisions were running low and Daine was finding it harder to hunt these days thanks to this new lesson. The Wildmage had never been squeamish about hunting before, having seen herself as just another predator, but now she was gaining a new perspective on the world, one which was complicating her viewpoint. It was one thing to talk with her friends but quite another to experience their lives as one of them. Only a week ago, she'd grazed with a herd of deer…

"Did you see how Kit was able to drive the wyverns off?" Daine asked, wanting to escape her own thoughts.

"I noticed." Numair nodded. "Now I really wish I'd had a chance to brush up on my Immortals knowledge." He tapped his lower lip with the end of his fork distractedly, lost in thought. "Wyverns are lesser cousins to dragons, but they don't have the intelligence or the magic of a dragon. Instead, they spit venom and breathe out a fog that burns the eyes and throat. It is conceivable that Kitten is able to control or command them with her magic somehow. We certainly saw some evidence of that."

"Tkaa would prob'ly know," Daine muttered.

"The basilisk you met in Dunlath?" She nodded. "I do wish I'd had the opportunity to meet with him. Is he still staying there, do you know?" the mage inquired eagerly.

The young woman shrugged, poking at her meat. "When I last wrote to Maura he was. He's been helping her with the mines."

Numair unrolled the map on the table beside them to study it. "If we continue to follow the River Drell we would eventually reach Dunlath." He drew a path with his finger before tapping the location. "You mentioned Tristan having Stormwings and hurroks with him during his little coup. What's the betting he opened a portal above Dunlath?"

"No bet!" The Wildmage grimaced. "Tkaa told me himself Tristan opened one. That's how he got through."

"You could have mentioned this before," the mage scolded lightly. "We possibly should have made Dunlath one of our first stops."

Daine rolled her eyes at him. "We've closed plenty that no one would've known about if you and Kit hadn't found them."

Numair sighed heavily making no move to eat anymore as he pushed a roast swede around his plate.

The young woman nudged him with her foot under the table until he met her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I fear we may be fighting a losing battle," he admitted, voice soft. "I tested the barrier with my Gift the other day and it feels even more fragile than when we first embarked upon this mission. Any more tears and I worry it will fall completely which is not something I can repair."

Daine swallowed a mouthful of green beans, taking in his pursed lips and the worry lines on his forehead. "You're trying. Nobody's going to fault you if we fail."

"You know that for certain?" Numair looked up, soulful eyes filled with anxiety.

She kicked him, harder this time. "Jon's not the emperor. He's not going to punish you 'cause he asked for the impossible. We've closed – what? – eleven of these portals now. That's more'n anybody else has."

That got a smile out him. "You have a very unique way of looking at things. Thank you, Daine."

The next day they restocked their supplies before setting out towards the eastern border. There was only one more village between them and the river which meant the mages would be relying on caves as Numair was still being funny about sharing a tent. His need for propriety had gotten even worse since he'd spent the night comforting her. The mage got all jumpy whenever Daine touched him or sat beside him around the fire. He was taking the tauros encounter far worse than she had, and she'd been the one in danger!

It took three days before they sighted the wyverns again, circling in the distance. The large Immortals had found a farm and were terrorising the livestock while the farmers tried to drive them away. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain while Daine watched through the eyes of an eagle. A yellow fog hung in the air and the people were all hacking and coughing, suffering from the effects while still trying to fire their arrows.

The Wildmage returned to Numair to update him on the situation. "What's your plan for stopping these things?"

"Despite their size they can be killed," he informed her. "You would do best to aim for their wings instead of their scaled hide. If they cannot fly, the creatures will be easier kill."

It took two hours of riding before Daine heard a melodic sound drifting on the wind. It was coming from the wyverns! The 'singing' was hauntingly beautiful, similar in some ways to wolf song. Their three voices blended together harmoniously while they circled in an intricate, hypnotic pattern. Cloud started forward towards the creatures when Numair muttered something, and a black sparkling transparent globe encased them.

"What did you do?" Daine twisted to look at him.

"Protection spell." He frowned; eyes focussed on the Immortals. "I just remembered that wyvern song has the ability to lure their prey to them."

The young woman turned back to see a herd of sheep walking towards the flying reptiles. "I know it's dangerous, but I've never heard anything so beautiful."

The mage nodded silently in agreement while the pair sat on their horses, almost spellbound, listening to the wyverns and watching as they gobbled up the livestock who walked straight into the mouths of death without a second thought. Daine could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks for the poor stupid sheep.

"It's a shame to have to kill something so wonderous," she sniffed sadly.

Having finished their meal, the wyverns began to circle lazily into the sky as Numair released the protection ward and the horses started forward.

"What if we were to drive them into the Tusaine Mountains?" he mused aloud. "There are plenty of mountain goats and sheep for them to hunt and, as I recall, wyverns prefer to nest in mountain caves, rocky heights and cliff ledges."

"Aren't we s'posed to be killing them?" Daine looked up at her teacher, amused.

"You said yourself it was a shame to kill something so 'wonderous'. I'm merely trying to offer an alternative to slaughter." The mage gazed down at her, brown eyes shadowed.

Daine smiled up at him, her chest almost painful with how much she adored this man. "Let's do it!"

"Kitten, do you think you can drive them that far?" Numair asked the dragonet.

The young Immortal chittered, looking between the wyverns and the distant mountain range.

"She wouldn't have to drive them the entire way," Daine pointed out. "We could herd them like sheep. If Kit can get them headed in the right direction that'd be enough, wouldn't it?"

"It's certainly worth a try," the mage agreed looking at Kitten for confirmation. "Can you manage it?"

The dragonet looked up at her humans before chirping and whistling an affirmative.

Numair sat on his bed at the inn in Stoneshadow cradling the sleeping dragonet in his lap. He'd just finished drip-feeding her a bowl of broth but didn't like how pale she was. It had taken two full days and a lot of back and forth for Kitten to drive the wyverns into the mountains. The mage had helped as much as possible, using his Gift as a deterrent when the Immortals tried to veer off course but the effort of will needed by the dragonet had left her almost white. Kitten had barely moved for much of the day, sleeping fitfully and waking up begging for food or water, leaving Numair feeling guilty for asking so much of her when she was only two years old. It was easy to forget sometimes just how young she was considering some of the magic she was able to produce.

A knock came at the door as Daine entered, not waiting for permission, and walked over to the bed. It was an annoying habit she'd developed and Numair had to keep reminding himself to lock his door while he was bathing or dressing, or his young friend would just walk right in. Daine had caught him once too often the last few weeks in various stages of undress and never seemed to be unduly concerned by it. While he had spent the last eight years of his life paraded around in nothing but a loincloth, Numair found himself preferring to have a little privacy and dignity in his life now.

"How's she's doing?" the Wildmage asked, leaning in for a closer look at Kitten.

"She isn't showing any signs of improvement." He frowned in concern. "If I have caused her irrevocable harm because of this, I will never forgive myself."

Daine perched on the edge of the bed and stroked a hand over the dragonet's scales. "Hopefully rest is all she needs. She doesn't have a temperature."

"This isn't how I wanted to repay my debt to her," Numair complained bitterly, clenching his fist.

"Has she eaten anything?" Daine asked, gently examining Kitten with her hands. Neither of their magic worked on a dragon which was as unhelpful as it was frustrating.

The mage nodded, eyes intent on his patient. "Kitten ate most of a bowl of broth before she passed out again."

"That's a good sign. I'd be more worried if she wasn't eating." The young woman smiled and squeezed his arm in reassurance.

"What of the wyverns?"

"Settled on a cliff face near the border. Blacktalon and I confirmed there's lots of food to keep them there for now. You're not regretting the decision to relocate them, are you?" Her blue-grey eyes bore into him.

"I would never regret sparing a creature's life, but I will if it costs Kitten hers," he sighed.

"Leave her sleep." Daine picked up the dragonet and settled her onto his bed, tucking blankets around Kitten to keep her warm. "There's someone downstairs who wants to see us." Numair looked at her with a silent question. "The messenger didn't say," she admitted, standing.

The mages entered the bustling common room, looking around trying to identify their mystery visitor when Daine spotted bright copper hair sat in the corner. Grinning broadly, the young woman waved and joined the Lioness at her table. Numair hesitated before steeling himself and joining the pair with far less haste.

"I thought your descriptions sounded familiar." The knight smiled broadly at the pair. "How have you been?"

"Good. What brings you here?" Daine asked.

"The king asked us to investigate a report of wyverns in the area," Alanna explained, taking drink from her mug of warm cider.

"Us?" Daine frowned.

"I've been travelling with The Own. What do you know about these wyverns?" The Lioness regarded them while the mages exchanged a look.

"They're not a bother to anybody. Not anymore," Daine put in cautiously.

"Explain." Alanna narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping into her voice.

"We drove them into the mountains. Well, Kit did," the Wildmage explained. "They've started nesting in the cliffs. There should be plenty of food up there, so they won't come down and raid the livestock."

"You're positive? Daine, these creatures are dangerous! We can't risk people's lives because you hope they'll stay up in the mountains." The Lioness banged her fist on the table. "They aren't griffins!"

"Not all Immortals are interested in hunting humans," Numair added softly, avoiding those penetrating amethyst eyes. "Wyverns will attack livestock, which I admit is an issue, but there are plenty of goats and sheep in the mountains for them to prey upon and deer in the forests. This way we can attempt to co-exist."

"They'll provide a good deterrent for anybody thinking to invade our border," Daine finished impishly.

Alanna sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Why is everything so complicated with you? I'm not sure His Majesty's going to like it but fine," she conceded with a snarl. "Speaking of the king, have either of you heard of regular reports?"

The mage blushed. "I sent a report after we closed the last portal." More accurately, he'd written the report and his student had found a member of the People willing to carry it all the way to Corus.

"That was over a week ago," Alanna pointed out with a scowl. "The king requires reports on your progress whether you've found anything or not. You're out here alone! Anything could have happened to you."

Numair winced and lowered his eyes. Something almost had happened to Daine, and it was his responsibility to ensure her safety.

"You were worried." The Wildmage's eyes widened in understanding.

"Of course!" The Lioness shouted drawing the attention of people around them. "Whenever I don't hear from you, it means you've found trouble. Usually the kingdom threatening kind!"

"No trouble, I promise," Daine reassured her. "Numair and I have been closing portals and dealing with the Immortals that try to sneak through. Oh, and I saw Badger again! I've been learning how to become a magical sym-whatsit."

"Symbiote," the mage corrected with an indulgent smile.

Daine filled Alanna in on nearly all the details of the past few months over dinner, including closing the portals, fighting Immortals, and the badger god's new lesson. Thankfully she said very little about the incident involving the tauros. Daine mostly spoke about her experiences riding with various animals while Numair listened, adding his own comments occasionally, but he could feel the Lioness' eyes on him all through the meal making him nervous. Why was she really here?