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A shadow danced across the fading sun. Lyramyl sprawled upon the broad sandstone ledge, watching her mate's last night of training. He swooped and dove, a winged silhouette against the shimmering orange eye that hovered above the jagged horizon. Evening sunlight gave his black armor a burnt orange glow, as if he wore a coat of embers. In her youth, it was humans who drove the dragons from their ancestral homes. Now, humans forged armor to keep her lover safe.

How times changed.

Wind rustled leaves and pine boughs below the Seven Cliffs. Far above her, thin, wispy clouds spanned the sky in feathery coils. The scent of ice tinted the breeze, and she suspected they would see their first snowfall soon. It was early, even for the mountains, but the sky rarely lied. She scratched at the reddish stone, worried about how cold the cavern would feel without Velorek. Her scratch marks joined the myriad other scars and gouges beneath her paws. Once, dozens of dragons lived here. Now, there were only two.

Tomorrow, there will be only one.

Lyramyl swallowed, flattening her frills.

Don't think about it.

"He's coming back." Speaking it aloud made it feel more real.

Lyramyl stretched a foreleg, brushing some of the deeper gouges. When she was a hatchling, the dragons used to dance in the sky together. The beautiful memories lingered in her mind, so many colors flashing across the blue expanse. She smiled, savoring the feeling until another memory took its place. A sky dance interrupted by horror. A deep, resounding boom split the sky, and just like that, one of the dragons fell. Though Lyramyl's mother had covered her with a wing, she still heard the sound. There was no scream during the plummet, just a final, sickening thump that still haunted her dreams.

Hissing, Lyramyl dragged her claws across the stone again. She did not want to think about what drove her people from this place. As Velorek dove and blasted fire across the distant ground, Lyramyl pinned her ears. She didn't want to think about what brought them back here, either. They had their home back, and all it cost her was her mate.

"He's coming back!" She spat the words with more vigor, but they still sounded hollow.

Curling her tail, Lyramyl gazed across their lands. The Seven Cliffs jutted from the hills like the armored plates of some great beast. Dark streaks marked them all, evidence of the mountains' tears in springtime. Valleys strewn with reddish boulders lay between each cliff, and a waterfall poured through a channel between the central peaks. In the setting sun, the water was as molten flame. The river it fed wound amidst rugged, forested knolls beneath the cliffs. Vibrant red and yellow aspens contrasted the layers of blue-green pine and fir, painting fiery swirls of autumn color through the forests below.

Human villages and farms were visible beyond the hills where the land flattened into a broad vale. Lines of fencing divided green pastures and crops awaiting harvest. Clusters of buildings with wooden walls and thatched roofs dotted the landscape, connected by roads stretching to the horizon.

Lyramyl still wasn't used to seeing human settlements so near. None of them were there when she was young. Then again, when she was young, humans were still shooting dragons down. Nowadays, if her mate landed in one of their villages, they'd probably bring him food and drink. Times had changed, thanks in large part to her beloved Velorek.

In the morning, Velorek left for war.

With a cold knot in her belly, she gazed northeast. Even shrouded in a veil of smoke and haze, the sprawl of the human city named Stonecrown was impossible to miss. The humans named the place for the immense mountains that towered over it, where the sandstone abutted even greater peaks of granite and limestone.

Humans had been carving those mountains into fortifications for as long as she could remember. In the time between the dragons' abandonment of the Seven Cliffs and her eventual return, Stonecrown expanded immeasurably. There were more walls and towers cut from the mountainside than she dared to count. The city beneath it now stretched all the way across the valley. Smoke from hearths, furnaces, and strange machinery smudged the sky. A few times a day, fat, floating ships drifted over the buildings like bloated insects crawling across the horizon.

Lyramyl returned her attention to her mate. Velorek was a swift, graceful flier, even in his armor. He swooped and dove, banking hard and ascending at steep angles. Each plummet and climb took him further away from western ridges, and closer to the Seven Cliffs.

The setting sun glinted off Velorek's armor with every pump of his wings. Flickers of fire danced across the angular plates. The mail itself was black like the scales beneath it, and forged with the aid of strange, unnerving machines. The many plates and sections that coated Velorek were angled to deflect blows and projectiles. Each piece was strapped around him with buckles large enough for dragon paws to work. Lyramyl only hoped it was as effective as it looked.

Velorek back-winged as Lyramyl made room, then dropped to the ledge. Folding his wings, he swung his wedge shaped head around to smile at her. "Hello, love!" His brassy voice was cheerful, as always. Gold-edged frills perked up around his helmet. "I hope you've been hunting, because I'm starved."

"You ate before your training! If that's all that worries you on our last night..." Lyramyl gave a mock hiss. "I should push you down the cliff."

"If you do that, you'll have to find yourself a new mate." He curled his armored tail, flexed its spined tip. "Seems like too much work, to me."

"Oh, don't worry." Lyramyl waved a paw. "I already plan to find myself a far more satisfying male while you're off playing war games with the humans."

Velorek gazed at the other cliffs. "Then I suppose when I return, I'll have to move into another cavern so I can stare longingly at you from a distance."

"You mean you wouldn't even compete for my affections?" Lyramyl nipped at his ear. "I may as well just ask your gryphon friends to take up with me."

"Oh?" Velorek shook himself, his armor rattling. "If that's the sort of male you're after, you'd better expect to be disappointed." He lowered his voice to a playful whisper. "They're not very big."

Lyramyl tossed her head. "I mate with you. I'm used to disappointment."

"Gods, you _are_in a foul mood tonight."

"I wonder why!" Lyramyl glared at him, a flash of sudden fury heating her blood. She lashed her tail. When Velorek flattened his ears against his helmet and looked away, her anger melted into cold sorrow clenched in her guts. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way, and--"

"You'll be fine." Velorek turned back to her, his voice soft and measured. He set an armored paw atop hers. "We're both scared, but I know how strong you are. How strong your heart is. I promise you, you'll be alright. Five years isn't that long. Say it, Lyr. For yourself."

Lyramyl stared at his plated paw. Against her pale blue scales, his armor looked like forged shadow. "Five years isn't that long. But when I'm about to lose you..."

"You're not losing me." Velorek settled onto his haunches. He lifted his forepaw to cup her cheek. "I'm coming back."

"So we hope." She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. "Yet I feel like I've leapt into a great chasm. I'm plummeting, but I cannot open my wings..."

Velorek sighed and stroked her neck. "You're stronger than all that."

"I hope you're right." Lyramyl rested her head against his chest, her horns scraping at his armor. "I worry when the fourth year has come and gone, I'll start to wonder if you'll ever make it home."

Velorek rumbled, the sound deep and reverberating. "You could go to the city. Surely they would have news."

Lyramyl forced herself to smile. "Would they bring me this news before or after I choked to death on the smoke from their infernal machines?"

"Oh, before, certainly." Velorek cocked his head. "And it's not that bad. Usually."

"So I'd live long enough for them to try and conscript me?" She flicked her tail, her gaze wandering. "It wasn't fair. You shouldn't have to risk your life just so they'll stop shooting us out of the sky."

"They haven't done that since we were young. The Empress is a very different person than her predecessors. Lyr, look at me, and be truthful." With a gentle touch, he guided her muzzle towards him, his striking green eyes wet and shining. "Do you think this is a bad idea?"

_ His eyes._ Their deep, impossible green mesmerized her. It was a shade so unlike the silver, gold, and bronze eyes other dragons had.

Lyramyl took a breath, and put her paw on the armor over his heart. "Your pact with them terrifies me. But if it works, it is...wonderful."

Velorek nodded. "It's already working. Some in that city call me friend! Can you imagine?" He turned his gaze towards Stonecrown. "Think of it. We could have a child someday who grows up playing with human children. They'll never have to fear dragonslayers, never have to attack villages to protect their own children..." He sighed, closing his eyes. "The loss and pain we knew in our youth can be the end of it. Humans aren't killing us, now. They're making us armor."

"They're making you armor. And only because they're sending you to war." She unsheathed her claw tips, and traced them down the black metal plates covering his chest.

"They were invaded, Lyr. The pact requires me to answer their call for help. The empress' generation are the first to see us as more than monsters. I'd have offered my help even without the pact."

"I know you would." Lyramyl flicked her tongue over one of his ears. He shivered, his armor rattling. "That is one of many reasons why I love you."

Velorek nuzzled her, stroking her neck. "I love you too, Lyr. And it's alright to be afraid. I'm scared too."

Lyramyl arched into his touch. "I can only imagine. You can talk about, if it helps."

"I'm scared of all of it." Velorek gazed at sky. Layers of pink and red edged the wispy clouds. His eyes picked up the sunset, gleaming like emeralds in firelight. "Frightened I may never see you again." His voice wavered. "Terrified we may never have our family. That's...that's the hardest part. But I don't want to tonight to be sad. If this may be our last night together, let it be joyful! A warm memory for us to cherish in the cold days to come."

Lyramyl gulped, working to dislodge the stubborn lump in her throat. He was right. They could hold each other and sob or they could rejoice in their love. If the worst happened, if this was the last time she ever saw Velorek, she wanted only happy memories.

With a sigh and a smile, she buffeted him with a wing. "You just want me to lift my tail tonight."

Velorek gave a hearty laugh, swatting her wing away. "If you weren't at the start of your cycle, I'd be on you already."

"What, in your armor?" She cocked her head, looking him over.

"You always said you liked the way I look in it."

Lyramyl licked her muzzle. "I do, but I doubt I'd like the way it grinds against my scales."

"Perhaps not." Velorek rose to all fours, stretching himself. "I could strut around in it for you."

"Strut around?" She waved a foreleg, ears perked. "What are you, some youngling looking to court his first female?"

Velorek paused in mid-stretch. "I thought you liked it when I strut around for you."

"I did, until you decided to call it strutting around. Besides..." Lyramyl surveyed the ledge, tail curling. "There's not enough room to strut."

"There was plenty of space that time I mounted you in the storm."

Lyramyl growled, tightening her wings. "That was the worst idea you ever had. My head was hanging off the edge and the rain kept pelting me in the face."

"Oh? I barely noticed the rain."

"That's because you were busy humping away with your tongue hanging out of your maw, like always."

"My tongue does not hang out of my maw! Besides, you were enjoying yourself. We both were!" His gold-tipped spines drooped around his helmet. "Till it started hailing."

"No, when the hail started, I finally had fun. I tucked my head and used you as a shield, then laughed at all your yelping." She tossed her head. "Mate in a storm. Idiot."

"Not my brightest idea, I'll admit."

"Then you couldn't even finish!"

"I couldn't finish because you were laughing at me." Velorek tilted his head back, flaring out his ebony wings. Golden spots and blotches marked them. "You should never laugh during a mating."

"I was laughing because you were getting pelted by hail stones!"

"Which is why I couldn't finish!" Velorek laughed and snapped his jaws, offering a playful growl.

Lyramyl waved her paw. "Males and their excuses." She dropped her voice an octave. "I can't get excited if you laugh. I can't finish because it's hailing on me! It'll seem bigger inside you, I swear!"

"I never said that last one!" He tucked his wings, huffing. "You keep it up and you won't get to see me strut."

"Which would be one of my greatest regrets, I'm certain." Lyramyl padded towards the entryway of their home. "Why don't you strut your way inside? I'll get that armor off for you, and then we can watch the last of the sunset together."

"I've got something else you could get off for me." Velorek rasped a rough purr as he followed her into their cavern.

Their home was one of many similar caves that littered the Seven Cliffs. Three connected chambers cut into the sandstone, each with multiple alcoves carved into the walls. Niches in the entryway served as censers, stuffed with smoldering clumps of reddish spice moss collected from damp places. Their spicy-sweet aroma permeated the air. Other nooks held shine stones, misshapen crystalline lumps that exuded a gentle blue light.

Lyramyl glared back at her mate over her wings. "You keep it up, and that'll be the only piece of armor I won't take off."

"I'll keep it up for you as long as you want."

"As witty as you think you are, we both know that's a lie." Lyramyl flicked her tail at him as they walked. "You're rarely up as long as I'd like."

Velorek gasped and clutched his breastplate. "My pride!"

Laughing, Lyramyl settled near their bedding and patted the floor. "Strut your way over here."

With his eyes locked on her, Velorek paraded himself through their sleeping chamber with long, slow strides. Pale blue light cast by shine stones gave his armor a spectral glow. Lyramyl licked her muzzle as he circled their expansive bed of hides and blankets.

"You do look good in that."

Velorek smiled when he came to a stop before her. "Thank you, Love. I'll see if they'll let me keep it when I come home."

"You do that. Now hold still."

With patience and practiced ease, Lyramyl removed her mate's armor. It was custom-fitted and protected everything but his wings. Each angled metal plate was padded on the inside to prevent it from rubbing his scales raw. The leather belts and metal clasps that were stiff and difficult to work months ago were pliable now, and the large buckles popped open with less effort.

Bit by bit, more black scales were revealed. His natural ebony coloration was marked often with gold. Faint, golden slash marks crossed the front of his limbs and the top of his tail. The same color dappled the back of his wings and mottled his haunches. The large frill that sprouted between his spiral horns and ran down his neck was completely gold. The color spilled across his head to edge the smaller frills behind his ears. Lyramyl loved his markings. She thought them far more regal than her own red-dappled wings and frills.

"Who shall help you with your armor, while you're away?" Lyramyl set one of the last pieces aside. Velorek always needed assistance, as he couldn't reach all the buckles himself.

"I've no idea. One of the gryphons I'll fight alongside, maybe." Velorek repositioned himself for her to reach the last of the straps. "Or a collection of humans."

Freed of most of his armor, his lean build was on display. He was smaller than most other male dragons, but he was also faster. Velorek could outmaneuver any dragon she'd ever known, both on the ground and in the air. If the humans had him fighting alongside gryphons, they would make a formidable team.

Lyramyl tapped claw tips against the bowl-like armor piece that protected his sheath and testicles. "Even this bit?"

Velorek rumbled a chuckle. "Someone will have to."

"Won't that be a respected job?" She altered her voice, trying to mimic a human's high pitched tones. "Hello, sir! How do you make your coin? Oh, I strap armor on a dragon's balls."

Velorek's laughter grew. "An important task, I assure you."

"Oh, of course." Lyramyl flicked the clasps open, and eased the protector away. "Did the humans have to measure you for this?"

"They did."

"Oooh, their embarrassment must have been delightful."

"It was!" Velorek canted his head. "Turns out, humans _can_change color."

"Really? How odd." Lyramyl scrunched her muzzle. "You're all free for one more night. Go out and get comfy, I'll get your armor set up for the morning and join you."

Once Velorek was gone, Lyramyl arranged his armor on the floor in front of their most treasured possessions. Though the shelves and alcoves were decorated with a vast collection of trophies, their mating gifts remained most prominent. Tradition dictated they each present the other with something greatly meaningful on the day their lives joined.

Lyramyl had given him her most cherished childhood toy, a wooden dragon figurine her father carved her just before his death. In return, Velorek gave her the only remaining piece of his own egg shell. Though brittle and cracked, it was still abnormally thick. As he explained it, he kept it since childhood to remind himself what a gift life was.

Velorek almost never hatched at all. His egg hadn't formed right. The shell was too thick, and there was not enough space for the life inside to grow properly. When the time came to hatch, he lacked the strength to break free. His parents had to open his shell themselves to save him. After that, he was too small and extra fragile for a while, still developing. He never got as big or strong as the other dragons, but as he grew up, his hardships taught him to savor every moment of his life.

Sighing, Lyramyl brushed her pads across the egg shell. There were three gifts in life, Velorek liked to say. The first is life itself.To live is a gift. He told her the second when he presented her his egg shell, and asked her to share a life with him. The second gift is love. As for the third, he kept it to himself. She guessed, now and then, but the only reply she ever got was a smile and a laugh.

Lyramyl was going to miss that contagious smile as much as anything.

Wondering if he would want to take a reminder of home, she looked over some of their other belongings. Antlered skulls occupied a stone shelf alongside colorful gryphon feathers won in mock battle. Ornate mahogany boxes with intricate pearl inlay held the shiny coins humans used for barter. Did he need those?

She couldn't help but notice some of the clan's old battle trophies, reminders of darker times. A sword and spear sat in a corner, next to battered armor. They were practically antique, now. A dozen rounded metal spheres, dark and bloodstained, rested near the other weaponry. Lyramyl cringed and looked away, her heart tightening. At least Velorek had armor, unlike them. She shivered. Being on the same side as humans now wouldn't bring anyone back.

Turning towards the exit, she glanced at their sprawling pile of bedding. Their bed was a combination of animal hides, and colorful cushions and blankets Velorek brought back from Stonecrown. She dreaded how empty it would soon feel. When she gathered herself, she went outside.

Velorek lay on his belly, with his forepaws hanging over the stone lip. He lifted a gold-dappled wing, inviting her join him. Lyramyl slipped under his wing, and settled down alongside him. She leaned against him, and he draped his wing across her. Savoring his warmth, she licked his neck before resting her muzzle across it.

In silence, they watched the sun sink below the horizon. With every passing breath, it cast more brilliant fire across the sky. Layers of red and pink painted the coiled clouds. Orange flame set the Seven Cliffs ablaze. The lower the sun drooped, the deeper the colors grew. Shades of vibrant lilac crept across the sky, threatening the deep purple gloam of twilight. It was as beautiful a sunset as Lyramyl could remember since her childhood.

When the sun lingered only as a glowing sliver, Lyramyl found herself reminded of old tales, of fearful discussions overheard among elders. She nudged Velorek's neck. "Do you think it's true?"

The black and gold dragon shifted his wing. "About what?"

"The sun." Lyramyl stroked his forelegs scutes with a paw. "Do you think it's really dying?"

"Oh, no." He snorted, tossing his head. "I don't want to start hearing that from you. Just because the clan thinks-"

"I wasn't asking about your clan." Lyramyl nipped at a loose scale on his neck. "Ours had the same stories. Even my mother used to say the sun was far brighter when she was but a hatchling. That the days were warmer. But I was asking what you think."

"It wasn't worth dreading over when we were young, and it's not worth dreading over now."

"I'm not. I'm just curious what you think."

Velorek sighed, then turned his head to lick Lyramyl's ear. "I used to think they were just stories to the scare the younglings. Calling it the dying sun leaves quite an impression on a young dragon's mind."

"Wait." Lyramyl splayed her ears. "Used to think?"

Velorek curled his tail, glancing at the horizon. "Some of the empress' scholars study the sun. Seasonal patterns, length of daylight, brightness, that sort of thing. Some of them think it might be dimmer now than it was a few centuries ago." He shrugged his wings. "For whatever that's worth. They haven't exactly given me a lecture on their findings." Velorek set his paw over hers. "You know how I feel about this sort of thing. It does us no good to fear what we cannot change. Even if the sun's fading, I suspect even our children will be gone long before it grows too dim."

Lyramyl nodded, smiling. They'd talked about raising children for years, but those talks never grew too serious. They did not want to bring a new life into a world where humans shot them from the skies. Though dragons could mate for pleasure and love anytime, a female only became receptive during her yearly cycle. They made sure to avoid mating during those times.

It was because of that cycle they hadn't mated lately either. Despite the extra warmth under her scales, the tingling under her tail, and desire in her blood, they made do with pleasuring each other with paws and tongues. They did not want to bring in a child into an unsettled world, with an absent father.

"You said children." Lyramyl brushed her wings against his. "So you want more than one?"

"Thought we'd start with one, after I'm back, and see how ragged it runs us."

"More than you can imagine." Laughing, Lyramyl nosed at his chin. "You'll be ready to go back to war."

"Hopefully by then some of other dragons will have joined us in moving back here."

"They will." Lyramyl leaned her head against his neck, following his gaze across the darkened land. Tiny orange lights shone in the human villages. "When the others see your pact has made it safe here again, they'll want to return, too." She sharpened her tone. "Assuming your gryphon friends haven't taken all the caves."

"The gryphons shared their home with our people when we needed a sanctuary." Velorek turned his head to gaze down at her. "It's only right that we offer them the same kindness."

"They're not fleeing anything. They just want to get out of that foul swamp." She snorted. "Can't say I blame them."

"The point is, that swampland is theirs. But when our parents and elders abandoned these cliffs to find somewhere safer to raise us, the gryphons let us share their swamp. I've made the invitations to a few friends, but as Cliff Master, the final decisions will be yours."

"Cliff Master?"

"I can't call you Cliff Mistress, or the gryphons might get the wrong idea." Velorek laughed at his own joke, then licked Lyramyl's frills. She shivered. "Either way, you're the leader here, now."

"Think I'd prefer Queen of the Cliffs." Lyramyl smiled, leaning into his affection.

"Queen of the Cliffs it is." Velorek's tongue wandered lower down her neck. "Does Her Majesty have any requests for her most loyal of subjects? Any needs to attend?"

Lyramyl shivered, her scales clicking. "Luckily for you, you attended my needs quite satisfactorily this morning. I am going to miss that tongue, though."

"That's what you're going to miss?" Velorek gave a mock snort, breath hot against her scales. "Just my tongue? I suppose I know the value of my company and companionship."

Lyramyl lifted a foreleg, and gave it a lazy half-wave. "You're the one inviting gryphons here. I'm sure I can find companionship in them, but they haven't got a tongue like yours."

"And what about when you want to cuddle?" Velorek stroked her scales, snuggling her beneath his wing.

"Gryphons have nice, soft, feathers for that."

Velorek tapped a few unsheathed claws against the sandstone ledge. "They do have us beat there. Nonetheless, I'd rather cuddle you than a gryphon."

"You'd damn well better, or I'll have to kick you out."

"Afraid my pact with Stonecrown's already beaten you to it. Some of us have to be heroes, you know. There are invasions to beat back, and humans to impress." He arched his neck in pride, frills fully extended. "They'd _better_be impressed."

"If they're not impressed by the bravest dragon I know, then they're damn fools." With a sigh, Lyramyl wriggled free of his wing and stood up. As he folded it, she nuzzled him. "Come on. We may as well get comfortable in bed, so we can pretend you're going to get enough sleep tonight."

Velorek smiled up at her. "I'd happily be exhausted if it means I get to spend one more night with you."

With a whimpering coo, Lyramyl licked his nose. "Sometimes you're so sweet it almost hurts. Somehow, even when I'm sad, you..." She sniffed, glancing away. "You always brighten..." Her throat constricted. She swallowed hard, unable to find words for a moment.

"It's alright, if you want to cry." Velorek eased to his paws to shelter her once more beneath his wing's warmth.

Lyramyl squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaws, telling herself not to cry. Every tear Velorek saw her shed would only be another claw in his heart. She was not about to send him off into the unknown, with his last memories of her tearful ones.

"I'll...I'll cry when you're gone." Lyramyl pressed against him and took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the trembling of her frills.

"You can do both, if you like." Velorek curled his neck to smile at her under his wing. "I'm going to cry too, you know."

Lyramyl nibbled at his nose, blinking away tears before they could build up. "Right now?"

"No," Velorek said, licking her chin. "Probably not till tomorrow, when I'm flying. I don't want you to have to see me cry."

"Then you know why I'm fighting it, too."

Velorek smiled, his green eyes shining and wet. "Let's both pretend we're strong dragons who never cry because they miss their mates."

Lyramyl sniffed again, then nipped at his neck. "Who's pretending? I'll be glad to have this place to myself. By the time you get back, I'll have tossed out all your silly things and started a proper hoard."

"That's the spirit!" Velorek laughed, and guided her inside, his wing still curled across her back.

Lyramyl leaned against him as they returned to their bed. Her legs trembled, and she was thankful for his support. Their footfalls echoed off the sandstone walls. "It's going to be ever so quiet and lonely here, without you."

"I know. And I'm sorry." Velorek smoothed out some furs and blankets. "For...for leaving you here, alone."

"You need not apologize for doing what's right." Lyramyl settled against the bedding, and this time, lifted her wing for him. "But thank you just the same."

"I still don't like the idea of you being alone so long." Velorek slipped beneath her wing, lying down alongside her. "But it's the only way to keep our people's claim on this place."

"Says the one who invited gryphons."

Velorek ducked his head. "So I did. Admittedly. I asked them here in the hopes that you'd make friends. So you'd not feel too lonely while I was gone." He sighed, and just as that idea settled home in her heart, he turned his head towards her. "Can I ask you a strange question?"

Lyramyl licked her nose. If he wanted to change subjects, she wouldn't fight him. "No, I won't let you watch me pleasure another female as a going away present."

"Ooooooh." Velorek rumbled, shifting against the bedding. "There's a thought. Too bad there aren't any other females around."

"Which is why I won't do it."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Maybe in five years, you'll get lucky and find out." She rubbed her finger pads over the pebbly scales on the back of his paw. "What did you really want to ask?"

"When did you first fall in love with me?" He cocked his head, caressing the underside of her wing with his own. "Or perhaps a better question is, why?"

"That is a strange question." Lyramyl gazed into his green eyes, her voice soft. "I loved you from the moment I pulled you out of that sink-sand."

"Really?" Velorek's ears perked.

"No." She smirked, baring her fangs. "I thought you were an _idiot_when I pulled you out of that sink-sand."

Velorek's ears drooped right back down. "Oh. Well...I was."

"Yes, you were." Lyramyl thumped her tail against the furs. "Really, who takes that sort of dare?"

"I had to prove my bravery! And that gryphon swore on his flight feathers there were pearls at the bottom!"

"Because he didn't really think you were foolish enough to wade in so deeply. As soon as you did he flew off to get help." She waved her free paw, shaking her head. "If not for me, you'd have drowned in the stuff before he returned with the adults."

Velorek curled his tail around, gazing at the curved spines that tipped it. A few of them were crooked. Gray marks marred the black scales. "I think you yanked so hard you affected my development. And I still have scars from your teeth."

"I lost a tooth pulling you out of there." Lyramyl hissed at him, her own red-tinged frills flared. "An adult tooth I'd only just gotten." Her spines settled, and she laughed, tossing her head. "Idiot."

"Don't act like you never did anything foolish. Why, remember when you--"

"You shut your mouth!" Lyramyl's eyes widened. She grabbed for his muzzle.

Velorek pulled his head out of reach. "You swore you could do a loop, and halfway through you fell into the swamp!"

"You promised never to bring that up!" Hot embarrassment left her frills flushed purple.

"At least you weren't very high. You could have killed yourself."

"I broke my wing!"

"You broke a bone in your wing. One of the tiny ones near the end." Velorek pressed his nose to hers, his smile contagious as always. "Which I'm convinced only happened when you were floundering in the water, yelling that you were drowning."

"I was frightened! I'd just crashed." She crooked a single unsheathed claw at him. "It was terrifying!"

"I got halfway out there trying to save you when I realized the water was only chest deep. Still took me five minutes to convince you to stop trying to paddle and just stand up."

Laughing, Lyramyl shook her horned head, her ears pinned. "Let's just agree we were both idiots in our youth."

"Agreed."

"Good. Then we're also agreed that one of us is still an idiot." Lyramyl gazed around the room, and spoke up as soon as he tried to protest. "The other is going to be stuck here all by herself."

Velorek glared at her, emerald eyes shining. "Just don't try any loops while I'm away."

"Very well, and you make sure they don't send you to fight in any sink-sand." Lyramyl let her eyes meet his. "It was your optimism, by the way. And your idealism."

"What?"

"You've already forgotten your question, haven't you."

"Thought you had, actually." He tilted his head, furrowing his eye ridges. "So, my-"

"Optimism. And idealism." Lyramyl licked her muzzle, wishing her flush would ease. "Sounds naïve to say it out loud, but it's true. You bore them like marks of honor, and they wore me down until there was nothing left in me but love for you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Just saying it like it is." Lyramyl flexed her wings in a shrug. "You asked and I answered."

"I don't think I'm that idealistic." Velorek arched his neck. "At least not the way you make it sound. I just don't want to spend my life wallowing in fear. Life is difficult enough as it is without making it harder on ourselves. What does it matter if the sun's fading? We can't stop it. All we can do is enjoy our lives while we're here."

Lyramyl rested her head against his black scales. "That's _exactly_what I'm talking about. When we overheard elders whispering about the dying sun, what did you say to me?" She cocked her head, lowering her voice to emulate his brassy tones. "'That just means the summers won't be so scorching!' Or when they fretted over the smoke from human machines, you just said, 'Smoke makes it harder for them to aim at us, in the sky.'" She swatted her paw against his. "You used to say humans killed us because they didn't understand us. It was...so naïve it was almost adorable."

"You never believed me, anyway." Velorek snuggled up against her, beneath her wing. "But what good did it ever do us to hate them? To fight them? Kill a knight, and they brought dragon slayers. Kill the dragon slayers and they brought an army. And that was before..." He glanced at the collection of blood-stained, metal spheres resting with the other old weapons. "Hell, even those things are almost outdated..." He trailed off, and licked Lyramyl's neck. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up."

Lyramyl leaned into his tongue, closing her eyes. "It's alright. I think that was when I started loving you." She closed her eyes, struggling to keep the worst of the memories at bay. Her voice drifted, aimlessly floating on a dark ocean. "After I lost them, the rest of the clan just kept telling me how sorry they were. How much they knew it hurt. But all their apologies, all their sympathy, could not even begin to fill the hole swallowing my heart. I was empty. All I wanted to do was cry myself to sleep. And then you were there."

"I was worried about you. Tracked you to that tiny cave we found, all muddy from the swamp."

"I was tired of empty consolation. I just wanted to be left alone."

"So of course I went to find you." Velorek curled his tail across hers. "Because driving you mad is what I'm good at."

Lyramyl opened her eyes to find his heart-warming smile. "You told me, we should play sink-sand rescue, and this time, you'd save me. Then you bit my tail and started yanking."

"Sure got you out of there in a hurry. You hit me across the muzzle so hard I thought I'd lost a tooth."

"Would have made us even, at least. But you just...stood there." Images of that moment drifted through her mind. A young black dragon, the smallest of their age. Tears glittered off his cheeks, his emerald eyes shone with sorrow. "And you told me not to mourn them, but to celebrate them. That the harder we clung to the pain of our loss, the deeper it buried itself in our heart. This, from a dragon who some said never should have hatched. The others' words were hollow, but yours gave me hope."

Velorek stroked her foreleg. "Losing them both like that, it was too much for one set of wings to bear. I wanted to ease the weight, any way I could. All I knew was what helped me, in my hardest time. Wasn't sure you'd actually follow me into the sky."

"Half of me just wanted to hit you again." Lyramyl nuzzled him. "But then you told me to shout their names, to pour out my pain and let the sky bear it in my stead. When the echoes died, you told me to call their names again, but this time with joy. To celebrate them! To scream them and remember the best times we shared while they were still alive." Flashes of her father carving toys, and her mother playing with her in the rain left her eyes tearing up. "And then I had to land because I was sobbing."

"Wasn't quite the reaction I was hoping for," Velorek said, squeezing her paw.

"It still worked. For the first time since they died, I felt a little better. I...didn't wish I'd died with them anymore. I knew then that I didn't want to live my life in fear any longer. Not like the others, clinging to all we've lost. I didn't want to fear the dying sun, or the humans and their machines and weapons. I wanted to live like you do, happy just to be alive."

"Life is one of only three true gifts we have." Warmth glowed in Velorek's emerald eyes. They glittered in the shine stone light. "Everyone who lives shares that gift, but not everyone truly understands it. The second gift we can find in life is love."

"So it is." Lyramyl tilted her head. She pushed her muzzle against his and flicked her tongue out in gentle, tender kiss. "After that day, I knew I'd follow you anywhere. Even when you told me you sought a pact with the humans..."

"I think that was the hardest thing I've ever done, because I understood why you hated the humans. Why you couldn't trust them."

"I trusted you." Lyramyl gave his nose another soft lick. "And when you first returned home in...in that." She swept a wing towards his armor. "When I saw they'd built something to protect a dragon? I knew you were right."

Velorek scratched his neck with a wing-tip talon. "I get something right once in a while. Couldn't say I knew they were going to be invaded, though."

"Yet, for all my fear and distrust of them, I know you're doing the right thing. I'm..." Lyramyl squeezed his paw, smiling. "I'm ever so proud of you."

"Thank you." Velorek nuzzled her chin. Before he could say more, a yawn interrupted him. His muzzle spread wide, and he stretched his forelegs, paws splayed. Lyramyl found it adorable the way his pink tongue curled in his black muzzle. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. You should sleep, though." She folded her wing and rose to her feet. "Let me get the lights."

Though she'd rather spend all night talking, Velorek needed his rest. Lyramyl padded around the room, covering shine stones with animal hides. When the room was dark, she returned to her mate's side. It did not take him long to place his wing over her.

"I'm going to miss your wing at night."

"I'm going to miss you at night."

"Won't miss you one-upping me, though." Lyramyl curled her tail around his. "I'm curious. You always say there are three gifts, but you never tell me the third."

"The third?" Velorek's voice wavered. "The three gifts, they...they're only things that I hoped to find, in my own life." He sounded uncertain. After a few quiet moments, he sighed. "I am ever so grateful to have two of them. We'll talk about the third when I return."

Lyramyl scowled, her ears flattened back. That only made her more curious. What could it be that he wouldn't just tell her? Still, she wouldn't press him on his last night. "As you wish. Sleep well, love."

Once Velorek was comfortable, Lyramyl curled herself in a way that allowed her to rest her head against his body. His heartbeat was strong, a wonderful sound for a dragon that almost hadn't hatched at all. The rhythmic _thump_soothed her worried thoughts. As she drifted above the dark ocean of sleep, she hoped it was not the last time his heartbeat would lull into dream.

Sometime, in the deep of night, Lyramyl woke. Without lifting her head, she wondered what time it was. How long did she have left with him? A strange, empty fear lingered, a cold hollow in the pit of her belly. A nightmare, perhaps, but she could only recall a vague sense of loneliness. Maybe she needed a quick flight to clear her mind.

Gentle and slow as she could, Lyramyl crawled from under Velorek's wing. The cavern air was chilly without his warmth across her. Shivering, she crept around their pile of bedding. Hints of blue light emanated from covered shine stones. Embers glowed in censers. A faint white hue emanated from the entryway, like moonlight through the clouds. Everything was silent. She heard no nighttime bird calls, nor wind. Near the cavern entrance, the air grew frigid. A sharp, icy scent overwhelmed the aroma of smoldering spice moss. Snowflakes drifted in through the opening, forming little drifts across the sandstone floor.

Outside, all was white.

Snow fell in steady cascade. It blanketed everything, and smothered all sound. As she crossed the ledge to look upon the white-shrouded world, the snow chilled her pads and melted against her wings. Clouds swirled above the Seven Cliffs and shone with an unearthly glow, silver moonlight filtered through icy fog. Her breath rose in misty plumes. The snowfall brought with it a lonely sort of peace, as if she was the only creature left alive to witness the silent, empty world. If not for Velorek slumbering in their home, she might have thought herself alone.

It struck her like frozen teeth in her heart that she soon would be. Lyramyl's legs wobbled. She stumbled, flopping onto her haunches. The snow crunched beneath her scales. Cold tendrils coiled in her belly, and her breath came in fearful pants.

What if he never came back?

After months of telling herself Velorek would make it home safe, she was finally staring straight into the long, uncertain years without him. Despite all the good the pact did for their people, it might end their family before it truly began. Though they'd been together for years, they had always put off having a child.

Now, the weight of that decision pressed against her like so much snow blanketing the earth. It already felt like a loss, a hole opening deep inside her. What if they missed their chance? If he never returned, this cold silence would echo through the emptiness of her home. It always felt like they had more time, but it slipped through their paws like--

"Is that snow?" Velorek's voice, groggy and soft, pulled her from the dark pit.

"It is." Lyramyl stared at her paws as if just noticing how cold her pads were.

"Going to make it a chilly flight."

Lyramyl shook a foreleg and then licked her pads. "Why are you up? You should still be sleeping."

"Good morning to you, too." Velorek beat his black and gold wings, blowing snow off the ledge. He sat alongside Lyramyl, and draped a wing over her back. Its warmth was sheltering comfort from snow and fear alike. "I woke up and you were gone, so I came to find you."

"Why didn't you go back to sleep?" Lyramyl snuggled against him, wishing she could take refuge beneath his wing for the rest of her days. "You need your rest."

"I was worried about you." Velorek set his forepaw atop hers. "You only leave at night when something's bothering you." He nuzzled her neck. "A lot's gone unsaid, lately. I don't...want to leave us that way. So whatever words you need to say, please. Say them."

"What if you don't come back?" Lyramyl's voice trembled, watching the snow melt against his face. She tried to etch each splash of gold and each spiny frill into her memory forever. "What if you die?"

Velorek's paw tightened against hers. His frills flattened out, and he pinned his ears. He took a slow breath, staring into the falling snow. "Then you'll take to the skies, and call my name in celebration. Mourn me if you must, but please, revel in the joy we shared. And when the pain eases..." Velorek swallowed, hoarseness creeping into his voice. "Find someone to love you as you so greatly deserve. Someone to have a family with."

"I couldn't-"

"I want it to be our family." Sorrow and hope alike shone in Velorek's eyes, emerald beacons to guide her soul home. "But the only thing I want more is your happiness. If I die, my last moments will pass easier knowing I had the privilege of sharing two of life's gifts with such a beautiful soul. And my long rest will be happier knowing that soul will find joy again."

Lyramyl growled, fighting the growing lump in her throat. "You always said there's a third gift, too."

"There is." Velorek nuzzled her, his voice soft. "And if..._when_I make it home, we can share that gift, too."

Someone to have a family with.

I want it to be our family.

Lyramyl understood. "It's family, isn't?" Her voice quavered, and she curled her tail tip around his. "Not just a mate, but a family. You wanted a child."

Velorek gulped and managed only a wordless nod.

"Then we shouldn't wait any longer." Lyramyl pressed to him, her scales rubbing against his. "You should take flight at dawn, knowing..." She rested her head against his. "Knowing you have a family to come home to."

"I thought..." He stroked her foreleg, holding her under his wing. "I thought we were waiting?"

"We were. But now I fear we're missing our chance. You've always lived your life as if each moment might be your last. And this?" She waved a paw at the snow, then let the silence settle across them. After a few breaths, she spoke again. "This could be our last moment."

"Lyr...what are you...?"

She cradled his cheek in her paw. "I don't want to regret the chance we never took. We should start our family."

"But if I don't come back..." Velorek's golden frill lay flat between his horns. "You'll be alone-"

"No, Vel. I'll be alone if we don't start our family." She took a breath, laying her muzzle against him. "Even if I lost you, it would still be our family. I would hold our child all the closer each night, and whisper to them of the wonderful father they'd never get to know. The dawn is nearly here, and no more can I hide from tomorrow. When we part, we can hope and pray to make a family someday. Or we can be a family, by sunrise."

"You'd have to do everything. All on your own."

"A glorious burden, if ever there was one." She licked his ear, smiling. "When I lost my parents, you helped me learn to stop living my life through fear. But fear is all that's kept us from having a child. So I say, no more. We seize this moment while we still can." She slipped out from under his wing and turned away, brushing her tail across his body. "Come back to bed with me."

Lyramyl walked into their cave, glancing over her wings. Velorek remained silhouetted against the snow, staring into the distance. Wanting to give him time to think, she returned to their sleeping chamber. She went around the room, uncovering some of the shine stones. Soon, Velorek stood at the entry. For long, silent moments, he only stared at her, his tail tip twitching.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She settled onto her haunches near their bed.

In response, Velorek strode forward and pressed his open muzzle to hers. The sudden kiss caught her off guard. Even among lifelong mates, a true kiss was a rare thing for dragons. It meant sharp teeth near vulnerable throats, but trusting one another so completely only added to the intimacy.

Lyramyl tilted her head and parted her maw to return the kiss. As they kissed, she leaned against her tail to free up her forepaws. Lyramyl cradled his muzzle, caressed his frills. Their kiss deepened, tongues entwined. Velorek eased into a seated position, and when she felt his claw tips teasing her neck scales, she arched into his touch. Her heart pounded, her blood and body aflame.

Their paws roamed one another. Velorek's touch wandered down her sides, teasing her wing joints. Her paws followed suit, gliding down across his chest plates, enjoying his lean, tightly muscled form. She savored the textures of his scales, and the power of the muscles beneath. His paws cupped her head, warm against her frills as he kissed her harder. She whimpered in growing desire and curled her tongue around his, heat flooding her.

As Lyramyl's finger pads traced further down his belly scales, Velorek parted his hind legs. She angled her head to gaze upon him. His tapered member was already half out of its sheath. Lyramyl relished watching him emerge, as though his maleness was some secret treasure shared only with her. In the faint blue light, his red flesh looked almost purple.

She gently wrapped an azure paw around his growing length. It was hot and smooth in her grasp. Velorek moaned against her muzzle as she gave him a slow, encouraging stroke. He hardened in her paw even as he finished slipping free. She pumped him slowly, soft pads brushing the ridges around his base.

Velorek's touch trailed down her belly, down between her thighs. She shuddered as he traced a single finger along the cleft of her sex, working it up and down to mirror her stroking motions. After a few trembling breaths, she released him to massage his balls, instead. As she rolled them around their silken purse, he eased a finger into her, stroking it against her just enough make her whimper. She squirmed against his touch, growing slicker.

After another tender kiss, Lyramyl pulled her muzzle back. She rose to all fours, turning away. Her tail slithered across his scales as she stepped forward. Velorek lowered his head and pushed his muzzle up beneath her tail. When the velvet warmth of his tongue washed across the opening of her sex, she gasped, pawing at their bedding. For long blissful moments after, Velorek worshipped her folds with his tongue. Each slow lick felt better than the last. Now and then it swirled across her, brushing her clit. She moaned, her head lolling.

When Velorek withdrew his muzzle, she eased her chest down against the soft bedding. She kept her hind end up and tucked her tail, presenting for him. Velorek mounted her slow. He licked her, caressed her as he eased up. She flattened her wings at her sides as his belly pressed against her back. His weight was a pleasant sort of pressure trapping her chest against their bed.

All the fire in her in her blood now fixed between her hind legs. A droplet of wetness ran down her pebbly scales as his pointed member brushed her thigh. Velorek's forepaws roamed her hind legs, and soon gripped blue scales dappled with red. When he was positioned, Velorek licked the back of her neck. He rolled his hips forward, his tapered length parting her and gliding inside.

The intimate heat of him within her was stunning, the warm sensation of fullness almost overwhelming. Lyramyl gasped, her claws unsheathed. Velorek pushed in until till his basal ridges stroked her outer lips, rolling across her clit. She moaned, her tail curling against his. With his muzzle against her neck, Velorek eased partway out, only to thrust right back in, coaxing her into another soft cry.

As their loving rhythm began, Lyramyl turned her neck, seeking his muzzle. When he lifted his head, she kissed him again. Their tongues met in twisting dance as Velorek rocked against her. His thrusts were slow and even, pumping in and out in equal measure. Lyramyl worked her haunches, matching his motions.

Velorek's pace remained steady at first, but as their urgency grew his thrusts became shorter, swifter. Every few moments he pushed deep inside her, ebony balls snug against her body. She met short thrusts with swift rocking. At the end of long thrusts, she ground her body against him, her clit against his ridges. Soon he was driving himself into Lyramyl, his claw tips pricking her scales.

When Velorek broke their kiss to nuzzle the back of her neck, Lyramyl knew what age-old instinct told him to do. Teeth brushed scale, and she arched her neck for him. She wanted it, too. Even though she knew it was coming, Lyramyl still cried out when Velorek bit the back of her neck. The pressure and hint of pain only added to her primal delight.

Lyramyl moaned, and lifted her wings to embrace her mate. In response, Velorek's tail twined around hers, squeezing. Scales slid across scales, claws and teeth dug in, wings brushed wings. Lyramyl stretched the end of her tail away from their shared coils to brush it over Velorek's balls, teasing the snug black eggs.

As their mating continued and their pleasure grew, Velorek's panted breath against her neck turned to ragged snarls. His smooth thrusts grew erratic. Close to her own orgasm, she arched her back till his ridges were stroking her clit with every frantic thrust. She moaned his name, wanting him to spill inside her, to fill her.

To make life.

Velorek cried out against her neck as he came. With one last, powerful thrust, he buried himself inside Lyramyl. His body shook, and his tail flagged as his liquid heat erupted deep within her. The white-hot rush finished what last frantic thrusts started, and she climaxed with him. Her inner walls rippled against his trapped flesh, ecstasy coursing through her. She roared into their bedding, her hind legs trembling.

Only when a little tension drained from Velorek did Lyramyl ease her back end to the ground. Velorek settled against her, still embedded. Panting, he licked the back of her neck, washing the tiny bite marks. They were not the first love scars they'd given one another, and Gods willing, they would not be the last. Lyramyl laid her head against a cushion, awash in happy, peaceful afterglow. Her mate stayed atop her until he retracted into his sheath. Then he eased down, and curled around her. Velorek draped a wing over Lyramyl, and she was happy to snuggle under it.

"Do you...do you think..." Velorek rubbed her side. "You know, it took?"

Lyramyl gave him a tender lick. "I think it always does when a female is in cycle."

"Does it feel different this time?"

"No." Lyramyl chuckled, smiling at him. "It doesn't work like that." Then she flattened her ears. "At least, I don't think it does."

"You're right." Velorek laid his head over her neck. He sounded drowsy. "It was a silly question."

"You should sleep again." Lyramyl closed her eyes, relishing his warmth and gentle touch while she could. "It's not quite morning."

"You just want to spend more time with me."

"That too."

Velorek hugged her tighter with his wing. Though she wished to savor every moment, it was not long before comfort and drowsy afterglow lulled her back to sleep with him.

In her dreams, she flew beneath a brilliant blue sky. The sun was as bright and vibrant as the old stories claimed. It warmed her wings, and painted the world in shining golden fire. She flew, aimless and happy. There was no snow, no emptiness. In the next moment, she clutched a hatchling to her chest. Her child squealed in delight at the golden world passing so far below. An instant later, and a mountain loomed in the distance with a black dragon atop it.

Velorek.

The sunlight made his golden markings glow. He roared to her, a happy, jubilant sound. Her hatchling tried to imitate it. In the dream, she had not seen him in years. She flew towards the mountain, but the distance between them never closed. Within that strange, sun-painted world, it mattered not. Velorek knew the joy of all three of life's gifts. Whether or not she ever reached the mountain, they were a family now.

When Lyramyl awoke, she lifted her head and gazed towards the exit. A hint of cold gray light shone from the front chamber. Her heart sank. She thought about letting Velorek sleep a little longer, but he stirred, gold-marked wing shifting across her body. Velorek blinked awake, eyes shining in emerald slits. She nuzzled him, muzzle parted, invitation to one last kiss.

As their muzzles entwined, Velorek retracted his wing and eased onto his side. He stroked her neck. Lyramyl arched into his touch, and caressed one of his frills. She shifted, her belly scales brushing his, their wings stretched behind them. They kissed for long moments, paws roaming each other's bodies, caressing scales. Their tails snaked together, twisting. She slipped a paw between them, stroking his sheath while they kissed.

Velorek slipped free quickly, and when he was hard as could be, she rose long enough to roll to her back, wings tucked at her sides. She pulled Velorek atop her, belly to belly. They rarely mated in that position, but it offered the greatest intimacy. Velorek entered her slow, tapered tip parting her heated folds. Lyramyl groaned, and licked his throat. He pulled back, and pushed in further. Lyramyl stretched her wings up, cradling him. She coiled her tail around his, squeezing in time to the slow rhythm he built.

Their second mating was unhurried, savoring each blissful moment. They took time to kiss and hold one another. Belly scales rubbed belly scales, and tongues roamed soft and sensitive places in between kisses. Where their earlier mating was passionate, an act of love to create life, this time it was slow, tender. This time, it was goodbye.

Both dragons made it last as long as they could. Lyramyl curled her hind leg around his, holding him deep inside her at the end of each measured thrust. Whenever their pleasure grew almost too intense, Velorek paused to linger within her, sharing a long kiss. Lyramyl relished the heat of him, the intimate fullness. She licked his nose, staring into his beautiful emerald eyes. How she wanted those haunting eyes fixed in her memory forever.

Every time Velorek resumed his rhythm, his urgency grew. His pace picked up, and his thrusts rocked her against the bedding, balls bumping her. Lyramyl's breath came in short, eager gasps, dragging claws across his scales. Even as he neared his peak, he never let his motions grow frantic. They stayed smooth, and steady, his mating tool pumping into her in constant, stimulating glide against her inner walls and outer lips. Moaning, she cupped his cheek. Velorek nibbled her throat, and she pressed her muzzle to his.

"Don't stop!" Her teeth brushed his ear, her words breathless desire. "Don't stop!"

Velorek heeded, clutching her in his forelegs as he drove himself into her hard and deep, again and again. Lyramyl threw her horned head back against the furs, her frills flared, crying out as she came. Overwhelming bliss left her body twisting and clenched around his maleness. Velorek gave a muffled roar through clenched jaws, his spines rigid around his head. With a final thrust, he buried himself in her up to his tightened balls, his whole body shaking. His maleness throbbed inside her, filling her anew with hot, liquid life.

When at last they both lay spent and panting, Lyramyl curled her wings around him. She nuzzled his neck, her plated chest heaving. For a time, her afterglow kept the pain of their upcoming goodbyes at bay. She stroked his frills, licked his chin, and savored just being with him. Only when he was fully retracted and sheathed did she finally release him from her wings' embrace. He smiled, licked her nose, and rose to his paws.

While Lyramyl languished on her back, Velorek fetched a basin of water. He dunked a spare cloth into it, and gently washed her. She took another cloth, and did the same for him. Normally they bathed beneath the falls after mating, but Velorek had no time to spare. When both dragons were clean, Lyramyl followed Velorek to his armor, laid out on the floor.

She swallowed, staring at it. When she lifted the first piece, it trembled in her grasp. This might be the last time she ever put it on him. With a deep breath, she set the armor in place. Her paws shook as she buckled it. Lyramyl grit her teeth, trying to lose herself in the well-practiced motions. She checked every buckle and strap to make sure they were secure before moving onto the next ebony plate.

He's coming back.

Lyramyl repeated the thought with every piece of metal she adorned him with. His helmet was last. She settled it over his head, and snapped the clasps shut. The buckles weren't as shiny as they once were, and the leather belts not as stiff. But the angled plates they held in place were sturdy enough to protect him even from the weaponry the humans now wielded. Surely, they'd keep him safe.

She had to believe that.

Once his helmet was secure, Velorek licked her all the way up her muzzle. She licked his ear in return, then gave him room to test his armor. While he strode around, Lyramyl's eyes settled upon their life-mating gifts. On a whim, she fetched the wooden toy she gave him. She tucked it into a hide pouch, and tied it around his neck.

Velorek touched the keepsake with a paw, and gave her another lick. "I guess that's it, then."

Lyramyl opened her mouth to reply, but her jaw hung there, her tongue frozen. Anything she said now was only going to bring tears she did not want him to see. So she just swept a wing towards the exit. Velorek nodded, and walked alongside her. Lyramyl draped her wing across him, sheltering him as he so often sheltered her in their many years together. Every step closer to the ledge opened a deeper gulf in her heart.

It was still snowing. The sun rose somewhere beyond the clouds, casting the infinite whiteness in a ghostly glow. Normally, Lyramyl loved the snow. Now, its peaceful silence only brought a great, lonely emptiness. Her body shook as the snow crunched beneath her paws.

"I...I should..." Velorek's voice shuddered. His words left lingering clouds of steam. "If I don't go now..."

"I know." Lyramyl swallowed down the sobs she knew were coming. She didn't want his last memory of her to be her tears. "Don't...don't say goodbye. It sounds too final."

"I won't."

Velorek gave her one last shining smile. In his eyes, she saw not pain, but glittering happiness, nearly warm enough to melt the snow. He knew he was a father. His smile spoke of hope and optimism. Lyramyl knew in his beautifully optimistic mind, Velorek was already looking forward to his return, to the day he would meet his child.

"I love you, Lyramyl." He pressed his nose to hers, still smiling. "I'll see you soon."

"I love you too, Velorek." Lyramyl blinked away tears, her voice hoarse. "Whatever happens, we're a family now. But, please. Come back to me someday."

Velorek leapt from the ledge, and beat his wings. Snow swirled in the gusts. In only a few wingbeats, he faded into the clouds. Lyramyl kept her tears at bay until she could no longer see his shadow in the snow. Only when she knew she was alone did she let herself cry. At first the tears were gentle, a few hot droplets running down her blue muzzle.

By the time she reached their bed, wracking sobs consumed her. She collapsed against the bedding and curled up, hiding beneath her own wings. All the tears she'd fought back for days poured her from at once in a great, wrenching cascade of sorrow. She cried until it left her shattered and limp, alone in a bed that suddenly seemed ever so empty. When her tears ebbed, exhaustion weighed against her like a warm wing. She wiped her eyes with a paw, and then laid her head on a cushion that still had Velorek's scent.

Gods, how she missed him already.

"One day..." Lyramyl closed her eyes, murmuring to herself. "He'll be back."

She had to cling to that hope. She had to believe it.

"We'll be together." She sighed and curled tighter, ready for slumber to ease her pain. "All of us."

Lyramyl hoped to dream of the day they'd be a family.