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The Fox and the Dragon

by _SeHT

THREE

"And the greatest of these"

I TOOK TO SOLITUDE AGAIN. I had things I could do: I pottered in my rose garden, tying up the dangling branches, dead heading the old blooms so new could grow, watering in the cool of the afternoon. I swept up the old leaves in the Lime Grove and cleaned out the waving fronds of water weed that threatened to make the stream that ran along the Grove's length burst its banks. I polished the plaques on the benches, and tidied the limes themselves.

I trimmed the grass by the shore of the lake, and then dove in, using my gills to help me stay underwater while I cleaned the stones that form its basin. Emerging from the water, I planted some more annuals in the glade I call Tír-na-ng. I cleaned a little moss off the plinths of the two statues I keep in there, out of respect for those in whose memory they stand.

I was busy in this way for several days. I had let my area go almost to seed since I had arrived: I prefer the natural, verdant look of nature being able to go mostly her own way, with just a little 'artificial' guidance.

I was left alone during this time. Nobody called on me, or I on them. I was quite happy to potter. From time to time, before I slept, I would look up at the sky and imagine that, somewhere out there, the fox was flying and working, and loving me. It kept me going more than I can ever tell.

And the days became weeks. Still the fox had not returned from his 'short trip', as he had promised me. I remained sanguine, in my naivété of things spacial; perhaps they were delayed. Friends visited betimes; they would stay a few hours, and then depart again. I would make them welcome, and they would at least seem to enjoy my company.

And the weeks slowly became months. Winter came, coating the now bare trees with a soft layer of muffly snow as it drifted down from the sky above. The mornings were crisp and clean, the air sharp, the sun clear but providing little warmth. The surface of the lake was frozen over, and I had extended an invitation to the furries as a whole that whoever wanted to skate on it could do so. At this time, I retreated into semi hibernation in and around the summerhouse: winter is a time I find tiring, if not trying. Since I am by my nature cool blooded, I either must stay in a warm place, or expend energy by maintaining my internal temperature with magic. This means I eat more in the winter, which I am loathe to do. So I tend to stay out of the winter.

Friends came and went; some with whom I had lost contact called upon me and, true to my nature, I was genuinely pleased to see them and made them welcome. I would recline against one of the pillars of the summerhouse, sitting on one of the benches, half closing my eyes, listening to the buzzing of the bees and the singing of the birds. From there I could see the snow drifting gently down, piling up on the ground around the magic protected hemisphere.

And the months passed, as is their way. Slowly the snow melted, and the days became steadily warmer. I had become a semi recluse at this point, tidying up the damage done by the winter and the onset of the spring. I made sure that the water supply to the lake was clear, and that the drain also was free from debris. While I was working at the lake, I made a secluded little beach area for my friend, the female panther, as she had asked me if such a thing would be possible. It was, indeed, most possible.

I trimmed the grass. I pruned and pinched, grafted and transplanted. Truly, the rooms looked beautiful. Everybody who visited said so. But my visitors dwindled; I suppose it was my own fault, really. I know they knew they had an open invitation, but even so, natural reticence always comes into play; people have such a terrible fear of intruding. I know. Believe me, I speak from experience.

Summer kept me busy. I had to trim the grass every couple of weeks to prevent it from becoming too lush; I used the trimmings to make small beds to sleep on. I listened to the lazy drone of the mayflies as they danced across the wide waters of the lake, and the triumphant calls of the grebes and moorhens as their chicks fledged with the coming of the warmer days.

I made a small orchard off the Lime Grove, filling it with all kinds of fruits: apples and pears, melons hanging in their baskets as they grew, swelling with life like a mother's belly. And at the base of the trees, soft fruits: strawberries, their heart shaped fruits swinging pendulously from the stalks; blueberries and blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries, their rampant runners tied to strings across canes.

I made an effort and sent out many invitations to my friends, old and new, asking them to come and visit me one evening, apologising for my lack of manners in not contacting them for so long. I forbore on them to forgive me my solitude, telling them that I had many things to attend to, and that my mind had been elsewhere. Realistically, this was not so far from the truth.

The party took place in late summer, on a beautiful evening, by the water's edge. I had set trestles of tables covered with all kinds of food - even though I cannot eat much, I enjoy to cook for others - ranging from simple cooked meats to salads and garnishes, sauces and condiments. Another table was covered with fruits from my own orchard, and arranged and presented in many ways: mixed into fruit salads, presented in mousses and meringues, or merely served alone. My friends arrived in groups or singly, all smiling and pleased to see me. I played the enchanted and enchanting host, making sure that all had what they wanted, that nothing ran short. The evening faded into night, and all the guests departed as they had arrived, with a token of my love to take with them some fruit salad, maybe, or some cooked meats.

When they had all left, I was alone. I cleared away the debris from the assembly, washing the plates I had used in the stream and standing them on their edges to dry in the soft night breeze. I folded the tables and stacked them away in the hedging that serves as my closet. Despite the apparent success of the evening, I felt it had been suffused with an artificiality, that people had been too happy, I had been too effusive. I felt that I had tried to make up for my extended seclusion with an expensive gift, and not the request for shared love I had intended it to be.

My light heart became heavy with self imposed - and, now I know, largely self-imagined - guilt and despondency. I tried calling some of my friends, but they were asleep and I would not use their override codes to invade their privacy.

The next morning dawned, a slight mist dusting the tops of the tall trees that shade the majority of the lake, providing my privacy. The plaintive call of the blackbird and the mistle thrush floated across the lake to me, and the sun seemed less warm than previously. I stacked away the pots I had used, re arranging them neatly in the piles I kept them in when not in use. Standing by the pool, I yawned and checked my mail: it was almost full of notes of appreciation, smiling, happy handwriting and video mails, all thanking me for the party. I smiled too and put them away to be safe.

A year had passed, without one word from the fox.

***

I BEGAN to question my integrity. Did I still love the fox? My mind told my heart I did. But, my heart argued, with such delicate matters as love, my mind should keep well alone and mind its own bloody business. My mind took affront at that, and I had to perform some very delicate negociations in order to prevent it from going off somewhere and sulking, which would have left me in a very interesting situation, indeed.

However, it provided more food for thought. Did I love the fox? he had not written to me since the letter he had left behind the day he passed above the clouds. I had heard nothing of him; none of my friends knew anything of him. It was as if he had vanished into thin space. And space, I knew, was very thin.

I knew I loved him. I could close my eyes and hear his voice... feel his touch... I could almost smell him, smell his musk as we made love. I sighed as I opened my eyes. Yes, I loved him dearly. I loved him as much as I loved _raIa... and I would have died in her place.

Why didn't the fox write to me? what did he have to hide?

The next time I saw him, I wished I hadn't asked that.

***

HE MATERIALISED WITHOUT WARNING behind me, as I was trimming back some raspberry vines, ready for the winter. He appeared so softly, not even I heard him. The first I knew he was there was when he softly whispered, "Dwaggin..."

I lifted my head. //I know that voice...// I said thoughtfully. //It seems familiar, but I can't place it.//

I couldn't hide the smile in my voice as I turned and faced him. It was him all right, black with a silver tip to his long, bushy tail which swept gently from side to side, his silver ventral fur gleaming in the early autumn sun. //Well,// I said, smiling a little. //This is a turn-up for the books!//

He smiled softly and approached me. There was something about his manner that I couldn't place. "I love you," he whispered as his hands touched my paws, stained as they were with earth and crushed leaves. His lips met mine and we kissed softly, tongues gently lapping at each other. I drank him in; his scent, the feel of his hands on my paws, his musk, the green of his eyes... I can remember it all so plainly. And then I felt something on is hand I hadn't noticed before.

//Foxy,// I said, //what's that on your hand?//

His hand shot back as if I'd shocked him with a lightning bolt. He looked around, as if searching for somewhere to run away to. I grabbed him, and pushed him - gently but firmly - into the Lime Grove and backwards onto a bench. He knew better than to try to resist: once, while playing, he had tried to slip a paw lovingly into my ventral slit to rub at the head of my member and I had reacted instinctively by grabbing him and hurling him bodily through the air with a scream of shocked pain. He had landed, fortunately, in the lake, winded but not hurt and I had looked very contrite.

//Come on,// I said. //Total honesty. You're paw fasted, aren't you?//

He looked at the floor. "Yes," he whispered.

I maintained my composure, thanks to a severe internal struggle. After opening my mouth several times, I managed to force out: //Why didn't you tell me?//

He raised his head, and I knew what was coming. "I was going to," he said. "It just happened so fast... We'd been apart for so long, and this friend asked me... and I just accepted without thinking. I'm sorry, Seth..."

I didn't reply. I just stood there in mute disbelief, tears flowing down my muzzle, forelegs limp by my sides. He looked me in the eyes, and they flashed green again. "For what it's worth," he said, "I'll always love you."

I was hurting so much. I wanted to say, //Fat lot of good your word is.// I wanted to say, //I don't care! if this is love, then I don't want any!// I wanted to say, //I could kill you!// I wanted to break down into frantic sobs and beat my clenched paws against the warm earth. I wanted to run away. I wanted to flame with my mouth closed, killing myself and sending charred dragonflesh over a wide area. But I did none of those things. Instead, I sat down beside him, still crying, and put one of my forelegs around his shoulders, hugging him close. One last time. //I know,// I said thickly. //And I love you, too. I always will.// I sat up and dried my eyes.

//I'm sorry,// I said. //I should be happy for you. Dammit, I am happy for you!// Inside, my heart was burning in the onslaught of my own flames. //I love you; I want you to be happy...// Skip the 'to be happy'; I just want you. Doesn't anybody care about me? No, said my mind; what is there to care about?

He smiled and put his mouth to mine in a kiss, his paw rubbing down my chest. I stood up, and he looked at me, hurt.

//I'm sorry,// I said. //I can't.// I want to... Oh, Gods, I want him inside me... but if I let him in, I'll never let him go. I don't trust myself even that far.

He moved to embrace me, but I stepped backwards, involuntarily. I was crushing my hurt down into the smallest space I could, but it still filled my entire body. He either noticed, felt it or understood, because he nodded softly. "I love you," he whispered - and vanished.

//NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!//

***

"INTERLUDE: Everybody's Talking At Me..."

ANOTHER OF THOSE SONGS that I pick up from a friend. I listened to this one, going around and around my head as I wandered desolate and irresolute around the main streets of FurryTown. I could not stop the music, and I don't think I would have done, had I had the inclination. It seemed appropriate. I finished up in the cemetery, sitting on one of the benches. //Oh _raIa,// I whispered. //Oh _raIa, my love...//

"Everybody's talkin' at me,

I don't hear a word they're sayin';

Only the echoes of my mind...

People stop and stare,

I can't see their faces;

Only the shadows of their eyes...

_I'm going where the sun keeps shining

Through the pouring rain,

Going where the weather suits my clothes...

Banking off of the north east winds,

Sailing on summer breeze,

Skipping over the ocean like a stone..._

_I'm going where the sun keeps shining

Through the pouring rain,

Going where the weather suits my clothes...

Banking off of the north east winds,

Sailing on summer breeze,

Skipping over the ocean like a stone..._

_Everybody's talkin' at me,

Can't hear a word they're sayin':

Only the echoes of my mind..._

_I won't let you leave my love behind...

Oh, I won't let you lee eeeave...

Ahhhhh... no, I won't let you leave my love behind..."_

***

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN MY LIFE, everything I hoped and dreamed of had come crashing down about my temples, burying me under it. Gods damn it, I loved him! couldn't he see how much he meant to me? couldn't he understand...?

My area went completely to seed as the autumn progressed. The vines grew straggly, the stream burst its banks, choked with waterweed. The leaves drifted lazily down from the trees, carpeting the ground in golds, browns and reds. The roses in the garden received the bare minimum of attention, for my father's sake.

When I was young, before I mated with my foster sister _raIa, I would spend a fair amount of time in the gardens of my parents' house. As a family, we were fairly well off, and we had several gardeners to attend to the needs of the grounds. All except for one patch of ground, which my father tended: the rosiary. I would watch him move among the bushes, the standards and the wild roses, pruning here, tying there, watering elsewhere. The ground was kept scrupulously clean: only a few rose petals were allowed to fall onto its pristine surface. The grass paths were kept meticulously trimmed and smooth. In the height of summer it was a gloriously active place to be, as bees and butterflies and other winged things flittered and flapped their way from place to place. Once, when I was young, I asked him why he spent so much time there. He just smiled at me. //One day, you'll understand,// he said. //But for now, you can help me. Put a talon out and cut those heads off of that rose. That one. Yes, that's it. No, not too low,// he said, counselling and teaching me as I went. I cut a few heads off and ran to play.

My father died a few years ago. The rose garden went to seed for a year; there was no one to tend it. And then one day, as I walked in the garden, I understood why he tended the rose garden: because his father had tended it, and his father before him. It was a gift, handed down through the generations.

I picked up the watering can, extended a talon, and began to prune...

My reverie ended and I sighed. I had been gazing at the same rose for some time, not noticing as the evening approached. I had heard my father's voice - so gentle, so kind and loving and wise - and for a while I had been back at home, on my home planet, in the rose garden which now must truly have become overgrown and rampant... if it still existed...

I looked up and the rosier I was working on and removed the final heads. Casting them into the air I flamed and burned them as they fell earthwards, scattering into ash... like some of the gryphons I slaughtered as my mate died in the air... The ones who had murdered her... I shook my head, trying to clear it, but the images flashed before me. _raIa and I kissing, the day we affirmed our love for each other... the way she smiled when I slid her torc up her right foreleg... The feel of her under me and around me as we made love for the first time, flying over the mountains... her body as she lay, dead and bleeding. And slowly, suddenly, her body transformed into the fox's, looking at me, black fur for gold scales, green eyes for black... he looked at me, smiling and loving, a gold band on his third finger...

I broke down and sobbed into the unyielding earth, beating it with my clenched forepaws, cursing it for not giving way and praising it for causing me hurt. I tipped my head back and roared, flaming, emptying my methane sac in a howl of hurt and despair that, I was later told, could be seen and heard for miles around. And suddenly I felt paws on my shoulders. I closed my mouth and found the wulf touching me, holding me, with his mate standing by. I swallowed. //I didn't know you were there.//

He smiled. "I didn't advertise me presence," he said. He motioned to his mate. "'ere, 'old 'im while I get some food," he said. The man dog approached me and kissed my cheek softly, holding me. I clutched myself to him tightly, shaking and shivering and crying, not caring what people thought of me... it was too late for that. But his fur warmed me, and his soft paws soothed me, stroking over my back and sides. Soon the wulf was back, with fresh meat, which he fed to me in pieces. "You haven't eaten for a while," he said. "Yer'll shock yer stomach if yer not careful."

I swallowed what I was eating. //How do you know?// I asked.

He smiled. "I've been watchin' ya since he got back," he said. "I thought ya needed a lovin' paw."

//You knew?// I asked. //About him, I mean...//

"Bein' mated an' all?" I nodded. "Aye... Pettifer 'ere told me," he said with a nod of his head in the man dog's direction, who had taken over feeding me by now. "But I didn' know he'd come an' seen yer..."

//Not important,// I said. //You're here now.//

"Yes," said Pettifer happily, licking at my cheek. "We're here."

I smiled and ate some more of the meat. //I feel like an eggling being given its first solid meal,// I said, nibbling some more out of the man dog's paw. The wulf nodded. "That's exac'ly what you are, kinda."

A silence fell between us for a while. The only sound was the whispering of the wind and my chewing. After a while, the wulf came up on my other side and held me, sandwiching me between himself and his mate. I felt warm and safe. And loved. //Why are you doing this?// I asked, knowing the answer. Pettifer air bapped me playfully. "Because we love you, silly," he said, lapping at my muzzle. I smiled. //Thank you,// I whispered. //And I love you both too.// They moved as one and began to kiss me... softly at first, and then deeper and deeper, their paws moving across my body and wings, down my chest and belly to my - No, I thought. Please, no.

They sat up, worried expressions on their faces. "What's wrong?" asked the wulf.

//I'm sorry,// I said. //I just can't handle that right now.// I extracted myself from their grasp and stood, stretching. Without my noticing, the night had passed and a new day was dawning.

The wulf stood and looked me in the eye. "Get used to it or keep hurtin'," he said bluntly.

I shrugged. //Then I keep hurting,// I said. //Don't worry; I'm used to it.//

He growled, fur bristling slightly. "Dammit, _SeHT," he said. "Yer gonna kill yerself if yer not careful. And I don' want that."

I shrugged mildly and he growled again. "Jus' remember - yer know where we live. Come on round an' visit - Pettifer 'ere'll be pleased ter see yer, an' I sure will."

I smiled. //Oh, okay then.// I yawned. //I need to sleep.// They both nodded and waved, then vanished into nothingness, paw in paw. I looked at the spot where they had vanished, staring past and through it.

I realised what my next move would be. What it always was... what it had to be.

I left copies of the letter posted to signs in all my rooms, left messages on furs' answering machines, and took to the skies, flying west with the sun.***

I FORGET HOW LONG I FLEW. It could have been for weeks, or just days. But by the time I landed again, I had crossed one expanse of water, and considered myself alone and able to start over. All I had with me were some pictures, a small comm link given to me by the technophilic Drakharen and a gallery full of memories.

I was sad to have to leave it all behind, yes. I had made a lot of friends in the town, and I would miss them dreadfully. They, probably, would miss me, too; but maybe (my inferiority said) they would be happier to see the back of me. I shrugged mentally and continued on.

Eventually I found a small glade in which I settled. I cut the grass down it was long and lush, and had not been cut for many seasons and made myself a bed. Carefully I scraped out a fire pit, laid some branches in it and lit them; somehow, the rising column of smoke made me feel better, as if it were a welcome of some sort. This place was my new home. Only one person could reach me, and I was well out of my past. I decided to try and leave it behind. Requiescat in pace.

I found a food supply in the form of deer and the occasional wild boar. Before anyfur pounces on me, they were not sentient. I would swallow them whole, or kill them and cook their flesh, as the fancy caught me. I would spend whole days merely lying around the fire, keeping it in by knocking a log into the flame pit with my tail. I felt no reason to move, so I stayed put.

After a few weeks of this blissful langour, I felt the novelty begin to wane. Despite my self-imposed solitude - which I enjoyed - I began to miss my friends back in FurryTown. I thought of them, probably wondering where I had gone, and if I were all right. I smiled sadly and shook my head. No, I couldn't go back.

So I went forward instead. I expanded the glade a little, clearing the trees for use as firewood. I cut a path through the forest to the nearest river, only a few tens of yards away. Cutting the banks away, I made both a solid dam and a pool for me to bathe in; smaller of course than the one I had created at home - home! - but nonetheless large and cool, and satisfyingly refreshing. I bathed fairly regularly, despite the onset of winter. It was much warmer here, and I found the temperature shift much less violent and thus easier to tolerate.

Was I happy? Yes, I suppose I was. My solitude meant little to me; after the death of my mate I had become thus for many years, speaking little outside the necessary affairs of state my position had required of me. My being alone was nothing new. And yet... And yet I felt a loss within me that I couldn't place.

I had run away again, just like I ran away after _raIa died. Run away, rather than accept. And it worked... for a time. Because the more I thought about home... and the gooseberries that would be rotting on their stalks... and the friends that I had there... and the Saturnalium in the town square with its twinkling lights. About the smell of hot chestnuts roasting on a brazier... the sound of furries singing carols...

//NO!// I shouted, and redoubled my efforts. I didn't want to think about it; I had left all that behind. But, like any hermit, one thing flashed across the darkness behind my eyelids more and more often: the face of the fox.

***

A FEW DAYS AFTER THE TURN OF THE YEAR - for what it was worth, I kept a tally of the days I had been away - I saw a sight I had not thought to see. A small snub fighter flew over the glade, and dipped its wings in salute. As it flew past I looked inside the cockpit, and saw my Drakharen friend waving frantically at me, as if asking for permission to land. I started to wave my paws in a 'come hither' fashion, and he nodded and started the landing cycle.

When the cockpit had popped open he climbed out and down the ladder that had extended itself from the side of the fighter . "I've got to talk to you!" he growled.

I grabbed hold of him. //Hey, calm down!// I said, seating him by the fire. He struggled free from my lock. "No, no!" he said. "You don't understand! It's the fox!"

My blood - cool as it is - ran cold. I felt my stomach tighten. //What's wrong? Is he - is he -// I couldn't say it. But my friend shook his head. "No, he's not dead. But he's in hospital... they say he's critical..."

I bared my fangs slightly. //What happened?//

"It was an accident," he said. "Apparently his paw mate was fixing something on his ship when one of the laser cannons went off... The fox took it full on his left side..." He trailed off and took my paw in his. "I had a medic off my ship look at him... she did what she could but..."

He didn't need to say any more. //But she couldn't do enough. Why me?// I asked.

"Because you're the only one who can!" he growled angrily. "Dammit, Seth, you're about the only one who can heal him and the only one he'll trust! Especially now..."

//Especially now what?// I asked.

He looked down. "That mate of his did a runner after he called the medics," he said. "Some mate he turned out to be."

I growled softly, baring my fangs. //Just a minute,// I said, making my way into the forest.

"Hey, where're you going?!" shouted the Drakharen. "Shouldn't you be going the other way?"

//Shut up!// I yelled and closed my eyes, and assuming a stance I hadn't taken for many years. I was praying. //Oh God _SeHT, my name god... give me your strength to help my love... Give me my mate's knowledge and tenderness that I can help him and save him... I love him as I love her. Oh Lord _SeHT, give me your strength...// I bowed my head... and then light radiant poured down from above. I almost saw the great gold muzzle of my name god as he stretched out his paw but I FELT the strength enter me, coursing through my body. You need not fear for your mate, child, for she is with you always. And in the light, I saw her briefly. It was her, eyes flashing gold... And then she was gone, and the Drakharen was shaking me. "Hey, come on! it's a long way back to Furry!"

I looked up at him. //Do you believe in magic, Akr'?// I asked.

He shrugged. "I've heard it's possible, but - wha - !?" He was left speechless as I grabbed him and the forward landing pylon of his fighter, closed my eyes, and let the physical world explode around us.

***

JUST AS THE DRAKHAREN HAD SAID, I found the fox lying on his back, surrounded by machines that made beep... beep... noises, and full of pipes and covered in wires. The nurse on duty had been more than a little reticent to allow me entrance, but a little persuasion worked its usual magic. Actually, to tell the truth, I had lazily extended a foreclaw and used it to pick my teeth, smiling all the while, and cocking my head in the direction of my love's room. After a few minutes of this, the poor raccoon nurse had almost broken down and, I think, let me in just get me out of sight.

I looked at the fox. His left side was scorched and burned, red areas of charred flesh showing through his black fur. A slightly blood soaked bandage was tied around his chest. As I gazed at him, I felt my eyes fill with tears. I couldn't leave him like this... I couldn't leave him again. As I looked around I saw the ring his mate had given him; it wasn't even gold, as dull steel shone through where the gold had rubbed away.

I stepped up to the bed. He must have heard me, because he opened his eyes a crack and essayed a smile. "Dwaggin..." he whispered, a dry, reedy sussurus, nothing like his usual voice. I hushed him. //Shush, love... it's all right. I'm here. You're going to be all right.//

He shook his head vehemently, almost disturbing the pipe that went into his sensitive nose. "No," he whispered... "Oh Seth," he said, tears flowing down his muzzle, "oh Seth, I'm so sorry..."

I put my forelegs around him and held him as he cried, as I had done so many times in the past. I lifted him a little and rocked him back and forth, soothing him. I felt hot tears splash onto my shoulders and run down my back... but I didn't care. Tenderly I laid him back onto the bed and turned to pull the curtains across the viewing window.

He smiled a fraction. "I'm not up to that," he said. I frowned, and then smiled. //You only think about one thing,// I said softly. //Now lie back and close your eyes.//

He did as I bid him and I stood easily above him. I gathered the strength I had been given, and what I could draw from within. My eyes closed, I pictured his spirit, injured and burned. And then I imagined it whole, no burned flesh anywhere, fur covering the parts the now showed through. I imagined the bright green of his eyes, the majestic silver of his belly, the soft touch of his paws... The pain behind my temples increased steadily, a rising tone sounding in my ears as the pressure of the magic built up and up. This wasn't my natural field - I am an Elementalist, not a Healer - and it caused me discomfort to perform. But as I opened my eyes a crack, I saw through the off purple haze that filled the room that his flesh was closing and healing, fur regrowing at an incredible rate. Just when I thought I could take it no longer, there was a silent explosion and the purple light evaporated. I collapsed to the floor, gasping, and a doctor came running in.

"What have you done?" he demanded. I looked up, panting. //What had to be done,// I said. //What you couldn't do.//

He looked from me to the fox. Who opened his eyes and snorted, trying to remove the tube from his nose. Uncertainly, the medic moved over to him and started to disconnect the wires and plumbing. He looked at the sweet vulpine, who was lying on his back, breathing gently. "Erm..." he began, thinking I couldn't hear him; evidently people don't seem to know about the auditory prowess of a dragon. The fox looked up. "Do you know this dragon?" the medic asked. A chuckle was the reply.

"I should do," he said. "He's my fiancé."

The doctor nodded. "Ah," he said softly. "Then I'll leave you two alone. I'll have to keep him in a day or two," he said, turning to me. "And I'd love to know how you did that."

I chuckled. //One day, doctor, you may. But for now, there are still some things that remain strictly the province of magic and its academes.// He nodded and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

I sat on the bed and took the fox's hand in my paw. //Did you mean that?// I asked. //About my being your fiancé?//

He smiled. "Yes, love," he said. "If you'll still have me."

I hugged him so close to me and shut my eyes tightly. //Don't ever do this again,// I said. //I love you so much.//

He smiled and his eyes shone with tears. "And I love you too... sweet dwaggin."

I kissed him tenderly, tasting the sweet salt flavour of antiseptic on him and his breath. We held each other close through the night, and fell asleep in each others' embrace.

***

READER, I MARRIED HIM.

We were mated on the summer solstice by Kerrah, the wulf. Pettifer, his mate, was my best fur, and Boysen, a bear whom both I and the fox knew well, was his.

It was a glorious summer day. It always was summer here, under the canopy of the summerhouse, which I had decked out with roses from my rosiary and leaves and branches from the limes. Strands of ivy taken from the trees around the lake twisted their way up the columns of the summerhouse, and the circumference of their capitals was crowned with a posy of flowers from Tír-na-ng.

The reception had been provided and paid for by all my friends and lovers, and their friends. I had supplied the fruit, and they the expertise. They wanted me to have no part in the work. Of course, I had to lend a helping paw with the floral arrangements; no hard feelings, but the rose garden is something special.

And, finally, we were there. I stood on Kerrah's right, waiting for the fox. I wore my sashes and diamond Star, and the coronet my father had given me on the day I bonded with my first mate, _raIa. A chorus of flute and string music heralded the arrival of the fox. I kept my eyes forward until I felt him against me, and then turned to look at him.

He was dressed in a morning suit, grey against his blackness. His tail swished happily behind him and he looked at me and smiled.

Kerrah stepped forwards as the assembly of friends sat down.

I was lost in the depthless green of his eyes. They had held me entranced when I first saw him, and they held me now. It was like looking into a limpid pool of water, depthless and calm... but here they were filled with a depthless love. For me.

I didn't hear anything until I heard my name being spoken. I jumped, and people laughed softly. I blushed.

Kerrah smiled at me. "Silly dwac," he whispered, just loud enough for the fox and I to hear. I nodded. //Yup.//

He grinned and tried hard not to laugh. "_SeHT," he said, "will you take Sorrel to be your mate?

"Will you love him and serve him? guard him and keep him? cherish him and protect him? nurse him and tend him? age with him and die with him?

"_SeHT, love, will you do these things?"

I looked into Sorrel's eyes and, for a moment, they turned into the golden orbs of _raIa's that I had looked into so long ago. Then they turned green again and I smiled, crying gently. //Aye, Kerrah,// I said. //As the Gods see me, I will.//

He placed a ring on my finger, and I one on his. It was pure gold I know, for I had made it myself and was in the shape of a dragon, wings spread, tail in mouth, with a fox on its back. The one he gave me was a band with a flattened top, with a small picture of a fox and a dragon in an embrace.

Kerrah smiled. "Time for a snog, I think!" I rolled my eyes and laughed at his choice of vocabulary, but took Sorrel into my forelegs and kissed him soundly and deeply, feeling him right where I wanted him - forever.

A loud cheer broke out as we broke the tight embrace. I grinned. //Food!// I yelled, and led the rampage for the dinner table.

***

THAT NIGHT, after all our friends had gone home, we settled down in our beds in Arcadia and kissed softly. Our breaths mingled... and our desires grew steadily. He rubbed me between my legs and I grew ready for him. I had saved myself for him... now, right now, I wanted only him.

The ring on his third finger glinted ruddily in the firelight as we kissed, nuzzling closely into each other's body, whispering soft words of love with no meaning and with all meaning. We each had what we truly knew we wanted; we were happy.

No words were said, none were needed. We both knew what we wanted. Since we had met, I was always the one to be mounted, rather than to mount. And tonight - it was time.

Sorrel knelt and turned to me smiling. "Sweet dragon," he whispered. "Sweet, sweet dragon." I covered him, holding my flared head to his rump. //Beautiful foxy,// I whispered, crooning, touching him, lapping at his sensitive ears. He myrrred and arched his back, willing me to enter him.

I did so, slipping inside him, purring and beginning my movements, steadily in and out. I held him close, panting softly into his ears, laving his face with my tongue. I felt him as part of me, and I part of him - and so we were. I felt my scales become his fur... my paws his hands and feet...

With a sob I came in him, deep and hard, pouring my love into him steadily. I cried as I held him so tightly, all barriers down, no longer needed. I cried because I loved him, because he was my mate and I was his, because I wanted this so much... but mostly because I was so overwhelmingly happy.

When I finally ceased to flow and kneeled up, holding him against me, I saw a sticky morass on his belly fur, and knew he had climaxed from my mating him. He turned his head and kissed me, tears in his eyes. Tears of love and joy. "Oh sweet dragon... never leave me," he whispered between caresses as we kissed.

//Never,// I said. //Never, my _TAm...//

We fell asleep in each other's embrace, the flickering firelight glancing off my burnished scales to help keep my mate warm.

When I awoke, he was still there - with his left paw in mine. And I smiled, and held him close, and drifted back to sleep.