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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1384503" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p><strong>A Creature Named Kelir</strong></p><p></p><p>Ignoring Lucius’ orders to get herself healed, she slowly walked over to stand a few feet away from the siabrie. For a moment, red-eye met red-eye in silent wonder.</p><p></p><p>Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Siabrey raised a hand in automatic greeting, unknowing that her mother had done the exact same thing, 25 years ago. “Hello.”</p><p></p><p>Her voice echoed around the dunes, and drew a frown from the siabrie’s face. Her friends were instantly at Siabrey’s side, but she barely noticed them. She was too busy watching the desert lord’s lips moving silently, as if trying to remember a language they had not voiced in a very long time.</p><p></p><p>“He….low….Hellow…..Hello.” he finally got out, gazing around at the 8 humans. “Th…thank…y….you…for…ha….he…helping…me.”</p><p></p><p>“You are quite welcome,” Tess was the first to speak.</p><p></p><p>He gazed at them all for a few more moments, then gestured at Siabrey. “Wh…..what…are….you…he….hear….for?” Wordlessly, the fighter drew the parchment Xanadu had given her from her belt-pouch and handed it to the siabrie, her eyes never leaving his face.</p><p></p><p>With his long delicate fingers, the desert lord unrolled the parchment and read through it. His eyebrows raised in surprise at several points. </p><p></p><p><em>"My old comrade,</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>It has been many winters since we last took up arms together, against the Temple whose followers threaten your desert. Today, another threat emerges, from the south. You may not be aware of the County of Holstean, but its forces are sending a massive force of orcs and corruptions of nature northward, into the desert of the siabrie. The person that bears this message comes in my name, to ask for your assistance in driving this force away and safeguarding your lands and their denizens. Please provide them with shelter and assistance as they need... they will explain to you how their quest will help the cause.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Your former and soon to be comrade in arms,</em></p><p><em>Xanadu Brightcold."</em></p><p></p><p></p><p>“So….I…am…to…to….h…help….you?” he asked as he finished, still struggling with the Common language.</p><p></p><p>“Yes.” Siabrey said slowly. The siabrie looked at her, then gestered at himself, then at her and the other. “Wh…who…are….names…” he struggled to say.</p><p></p><p>“What are our names?” Tess finished for him. He looked relieved, and nodded. Tess gave a small bow, “I am called Tess…Tesseron the Harper.” He looked confused at the last word until she lifted her instrument and pointed to it. “Harp.” He nodded, then shifted his eyes over to the person standing next to her, Pellaron. One by one, introductions were made, until at last the siabrie’s eyes drifted back over onto Siabrey, who had not spoken yet, but was staring at an area off to the left of the siabrie’s feet.</p><p></p><p>“You…name?” he asked. She lifted her eyes to his, and said in a soft whisper that was little more than a breath. “Siabrey.” His eyes widened. “You…are…siabrie?” The slight difference in pronunciation caused Siabrey to shake her head. “I am not a siabrie….my name is Siabrey.” The desert lord looked confused, but the golden-haired fighter continued on in that same breathless voice. “Who are you?”</p><p></p><p>The siabrie raised himself to his full 6 and a half-foot height. “My..name….Kelir.” </p><p></p><p>Siabrey’s heart nearly skipped a beat, and the world darkened to but a single small circle in front of her. Swiftly drawing her katana, she dropped to one knee and held up the sword balanced across her palms.</p><p></p><p>“Siabrie Kelir…this is the sword of Stodiana Sipner, your lover of old….and my mother.”</p><p></p><p>Kelir gasped and grabbed the sword, his eyes traveling along the unsharpened edge and the runes carved there. Siabrey’s eyes began filling with tears as she stared up at the being in front of her.</p><p></p><p>“Kelir….I am your daughter.”</p><p></p><p></p><p>Kelir stood in shock, holding the sword of his old love in his hands and shaking his head in disbelief. </p><p></p><p><em>It cannot be…we were together for such a short time…she didn’t look with child…</em></p><p></p><p>“No…Stodiana…not….” He said outloud. As he searched his memory for the word for pregnant in Common, he gestured as if having a big belly with his hand.</p><p></p><p>“Pregnant?” The tall blonde woman with the music instrument…a harp was it? supplied. </p><p></p><p>“Yes.” He nodded. “Stodiana not pregnant.” For a moment the eyes of the woman who looked like a siabrie flashed with anger.</p><p></p><p>“She WAS pregnant, when you left her.” Her voice was still quiet, but now contained an edge strong as steel. It was that voice, coupled with the way her face twisted in suppressed anger, that convinced Kelir. </p><p></p><p><em>She sounds and looks exactly like Stodiana, but with the skin and eyes…and even the wings of a siabrie! Could it be….</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kelir glanced down at his reflection in the glorious blade he still held clasped in his hands, and thought back to 25 years before, when the sword of his love had been broken in a tremendous battle with the sandhogs. Upon seeing her tear-streaked face, he had taken the shards and reforged them, deep in his lair in the desert’s sands. When he finished, and the blade was still hot, he found himself being drawn to its unmarked surface. The reflections of the fire’s light dancing along the blade had drawn him into a sort of trance, and when he awoke, he found runes carved deep into the unsharpened edge. As he had bent to read the Sylvan letters written there; his mind had swirled;</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>When ocean waves mate desert sands, there one shall stand. When burning suns embrace frozen moons, there one shall stand. When the shadows of the damned fight, when the whirlwind of fury comes, when souls are torn to everlasting death…there one shall stand</em></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>What does it mean? Why did I carve that?</em> he had thought at the time. He had no memory of carving those words, but they had obviously been done by his own hand.</p><p></p><p>When the blade had cooled he had taken it back to Stodiana, who gasped in surprise and delight, before asking about the carvings. Kelir had shrugged, and merely told her it was a protection of sorts.</p><p></p><p></p><p>And now…</p><p></p><p>His mind swam back to the present, to the young women who still knelt in front of him, so like a siabrie in color and appearance, yet with her mother’s countenance. <em>She has to be my daughter…there is no other explanation. If I had known when I left…But what is done is done. I cannot change the past, merely manage the present.</em> </p><p></p><p>“Why did you leave my mother?” Siabrey asked, her voice still holding its steely edge as she glared at the man she now knew was her father, years of repressed anger barely being contained.</p><p></p><p>Kelir gave a soft sigh, and held the blade back out to the fire-eyed fighter. “I….” he gestured again, inwardly cursing at his inability to remember the language he had learned when he met Stodiana. “I….must….she….rock…” he grimaced in frustration and knocked on his head with one hand. Once again, the instrument women came to his rescue. </p><p></p><p>“You had to leave, because she was hard-headed…stubborn?” She offered.</p><p></p><p>“Yes!” he gave a sigh of relief. “She…not able….survive…hot….”</p><p></p><p>“Because she wouldn’t have been able to survive out in the desert with you, and would have stubbornly tried to follow you. I see.” Tess nodded knowingly.</p><p></p><p>Siabrey’s face softened a bit, and she glanced at Lucius, who seemed unsure of how to act, now that he had finally met Lucius’ father. “I understand then…you loved her, and she loved you, but you had to be apart to protect her.”</p><p></p><p>Kelir’s mind was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. The crinkle of Xanadu’s note in his hand reminded him of why the humans clustered in front of him were here. They needed his help…his <em>daughter</em> needed his help.</p><p></p><p>He held up the note and gestured out into the hills “I…will visit….other siabrie. See if…they help.”</p><p></p><p>“We would greatly appreciate that.” Tess said curteously, giving a little bow.</p><p></p><p>“I…will….return…in two….” He forgot the word for ‘days’ and settled for using his finger to indicate the sun moving through the sky, down to the horizon, then back up again.</p><p></p><p>“Two days.” Tess smiled. “We will camp here.”</p><p></p><p>Kelir nodded, and took one last look at Siabrey. Her eyes, so like his own, glistened with unfallen tears, but her face was stoic. <em>She would be 25 now…so young to this world, and yet so strong…just like her mother…</em> </p><p></p><p>Kelir spread his six-foot wings and leapt into the air. In seconds, he had disappeared into a sky painted red by the setting sun. </p><p></p><p>Siabrey watched the part of the sky where she had last seen the shimmer of his wings for a long time. Finally, as the others began to move around her to set up camp, she sighed softly. “Safe journey…father.” She whispered to the setting sun.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Camp was set up swiftly and silently, as the party had had much practice. Siabrey helped Lucius for a while, then went to sit out on the edge of camp, gazing at the stars. She had noticed the fact that everyone had been glancing at her worriedly as she had been silent the whole night. She smiled slightly remembering Shaun’s antics to try to get her to laugh, including joking about her and Lucius’ ‘bear attack’ and trying to balance his rapier on one finger while kissing Elenya. </p><p></p><p>She heard footfalls coming up from behind her, judged the gait and the heaviness of the step, and so was not surprised when Lucius lowered himself to the still warm sand. He was silent for a while, something for which she was grateful. </p><p></p><p><em>So much had happened these past few days; Lucius’ pesudo-proposal, Quinn’s death, the fact that our so-called ‘protective army’ may be destroyed, meeting my father at long last…</em> She sighed softly as she gazed at a particularly bright winking star.</p><p></p><p>“You ok, Siabrey?” Lucius voice was hesitant. She glanced over and him and was shocked with the pain in his eyes. He was really worried about her…</p><p></p><p>“I’m fine, Lucius. It’s just…” she froze as her eyes realized that the star she had been gazing at was glowing brighter. Glowing brighter meant that it was getting closer…</p><p></p><p>She leapt to her feet and drew her sword, instinctively stepping in front of Lucius.</p><p></p><p>“Tess!” her voice called out in a hiss. The bard ran over from her spot by the fire.</p><p></p><p>“What is it, Siabrey?” the bard took in her friend’s rigid stance and drawn weapon, and felt her heart leap. <em>Oh no, is something out there…</em></p><p></p><p>“Look!” Siabrey pointed at the bright light that was now much bigger, and seemed to be…twinkling?</p><p></p><p>“That’s made by light reflecting off something…” Siabrey’s eyes narrowed. She could just make out a long sinuous shape with gleaming golden scales...</p><p></p><p>“That’s a dragon!” she gasped in wonder.</p><p></p><p>A few minutes later, a 70-foot long golden dragon landed near the group. As Siabrey wondered if this could possibly be one of the dragons Xanadu was meeting with when she busted in telling him Quinn was dead and about Dingalus, the dragon trotted quickly up to the group.</p><p></p><p>“Are you…Siabrey?” he asked breathlessly.</p><p></p><p>“Yes….” Siabrey’s sword was lowered, but still ready, just in case.</p><p></p><p>The dragon beamed and for all the world looked like a puppy who had just brought his master a bone he had found. “Oh good! Xanadu told me you’d be easy to recognize…”</p><p></p><p>“Xanadu? Where is he, is he alright?” </p><p></p><p>“He’s fine, he’s fine. He asked me to come check up on you.” At this proclamation, the dragon drew himself to his full, already impressive height. “He trusts me, you see.”</p><p></p><p><em>Goodness, this dragon is just a kid!</em> If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Tess would have laughed.</p><p></p><p>“He also asked me to find out if you had met any desert folk yet.” The dragon continued.</p><p></p><p>“Yes.” Siabrey answered immediately, giving her wings an unconscious twitch. “Kelir went to talk to the other siabrie to ask for their help.”</p><p></p><p>“Good, good! Xanadu will be pleased.” The dragon practically purred.</p><p></p><p>“Where <em>is</em> Xanadu?” Tess pressed. </p><p></p><p>“He is in the mountains to the south. A wizard of some kind has captured a large number of younglings.” The dragon growled. “Xanadu requests you to come help him as soon as you finish your mission here in the desert.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course we’ll help him. Poor little dragons.” Siabrey crooned. For some reason, the thought of Xanadu being a daddy, and someone hurting the ‘younglings’ as he called them caused a strange feeling to run through her. She felt angry, and yet…sad somehow. <em>No way, my body’s telling me it wants kids?</em> She stole a glance at Lucius; the boy was focusing on the dragon, and his emotions were keenly visible on his face, he wanted to help the younglings too.</p><p></p><p>The golden dragon gazed down at them all, pride and pleasure showing all over his dragon face. “Thank you for helping us. There are so few dragons left…Xanadu is lucky to have such friends as you.”</p><p></p><p>“Tell Xanadu to take care. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him.” Tess smiled up at the young dragon, who nodded.</p><p></p><p>“I will. You be careful too. Come to the south Balarac Mountains as soon as you can. We will be watching for you!” With that, the gold dragon leapt into the air. pumping his wings furiously and raising a sandstorm around the party below. In seconds, he had disappeared back into the starry sky.</p><p></p><p>Once the dragon had gone, the party went back to sitting around the fire talking, all except Siabrey, who took up her position at the edge of the ring of light. Lucius came and sat next to her, helping her stare at the stars. After a while, his arm snaked out to wrap around her waist, and he pulled her close.</p><p></p><p>“I love you, Siabrey.” His voice was warm and husky.</p><p></p><p>She lay her head on his shoulder, delighting in the simple pleasures of being close. “I love you too.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1384503, member: 15043"] [b]A Creature Named Kelir[/b] Ignoring Lucius’ orders to get herself healed, she slowly walked over to stand a few feet away from the siabrie. For a moment, red-eye met red-eye in silent wonder. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Siabrey raised a hand in automatic greeting, unknowing that her mother had done the exact same thing, 25 years ago. “Hello.” Her voice echoed around the dunes, and drew a frown from the siabrie’s face. Her friends were instantly at Siabrey’s side, but she barely noticed them. She was too busy watching the desert lord’s lips moving silently, as if trying to remember a language they had not voiced in a very long time. “He….low….Hellow…..Hello.” he finally got out, gazing around at the 8 humans. “Th…thank…y….you…for…ha….he…helping…me.” “You are quite welcome,” Tess was the first to speak. He gazed at them all for a few more moments, then gestured at Siabrey. “Wh…..what…are….you…he….hear….for?” Wordlessly, the fighter drew the parchment Xanadu had given her from her belt-pouch and handed it to the siabrie, her eyes never leaving his face. With his long delicate fingers, the desert lord unrolled the parchment and read through it. His eyebrows raised in surprise at several points. [I]"My old comrade, It has been many winters since we last took up arms together, against the Temple whose followers threaten your desert. Today, another threat emerges, from the south. You may not be aware of the County of Holstean, but its forces are sending a massive force of orcs and corruptions of nature northward, into the desert of the siabrie. The person that bears this message comes in my name, to ask for your assistance in driving this force away and safeguarding your lands and their denizens. Please provide them with shelter and assistance as they need... they will explain to you how their quest will help the cause. Your former and soon to be comrade in arms, Xanadu Brightcold."[/I] “So….I…am…to…to….h…help….you?” he asked as he finished, still struggling with the Common language. “Yes.” Siabrey said slowly. The siabrie looked at her, then gestered at himself, then at her and the other. “Wh…who…are….names…” he struggled to say. “What are our names?” Tess finished for him. He looked relieved, and nodded. Tess gave a small bow, “I am called Tess…Tesseron the Harper.” He looked confused at the last word until she lifted her instrument and pointed to it. “Harp.” He nodded, then shifted his eyes over to the person standing next to her, Pellaron. One by one, introductions were made, until at last the siabrie’s eyes drifted back over onto Siabrey, who had not spoken yet, but was staring at an area off to the left of the siabrie’s feet. “You…name?” he asked. She lifted her eyes to his, and said in a soft whisper that was little more than a breath. “Siabrey.” His eyes widened. “You…are…siabrie?” The slight difference in pronunciation caused Siabrey to shake her head. “I am not a siabrie….my name is Siabrey.” The desert lord looked confused, but the golden-haired fighter continued on in that same breathless voice. “Who are you?” The siabrie raised himself to his full 6 and a half-foot height. “My..name….Kelir.” Siabrey’s heart nearly skipped a beat, and the world darkened to but a single small circle in front of her. Swiftly drawing her katana, she dropped to one knee and held up the sword balanced across her palms. “Siabrie Kelir…this is the sword of Stodiana Sipner, your lover of old….and my mother.” Kelir gasped and grabbed the sword, his eyes traveling along the unsharpened edge and the runes carved there. Siabrey’s eyes began filling with tears as she stared up at the being in front of her. “Kelir….I am your daughter.” Kelir stood in shock, holding the sword of his old love in his hands and shaking his head in disbelief. [I]It cannot be…we were together for such a short time…she didn’t look with child…[/I] “No…Stodiana…not….” He said outloud. As he searched his memory for the word for pregnant in Common, he gestured as if having a big belly with his hand. “Pregnant?” The tall blonde woman with the music instrument…a harp was it? supplied. “Yes.” He nodded. “Stodiana not pregnant.” For a moment the eyes of the woman who looked like a siabrie flashed with anger. “She WAS pregnant, when you left her.” Her voice was still quiet, but now contained an edge strong as steel. It was that voice, coupled with the way her face twisted in suppressed anger, that convinced Kelir. [I]She sounds and looks exactly like Stodiana, but with the skin and eyes…and even the wings of a siabrie! Could it be….[/I] Kelir glanced down at his reflection in the glorious blade he still held clasped in his hands, and thought back to 25 years before, when the sword of his love had been broken in a tremendous battle with the sandhogs. Upon seeing her tear-streaked face, he had taken the shards and reforged them, deep in his lair in the desert’s sands. When he finished, and the blade was still hot, he found himself being drawn to its unmarked surface. The reflections of the fire’s light dancing along the blade had drawn him into a sort of trance, and when he awoke, he found runes carved deep into the unsharpened edge. As he had bent to read the Sylvan letters written there; his mind had swirled; [I]When ocean waves mate desert sands, there one shall stand. When burning suns embrace frozen moons, there one shall stand. When the shadows of the damned fight, when the whirlwind of fury comes, when souls are torn to everlasting death…there one shall stand[/I] [I]What does it mean? Why did I carve that?[/I] he had thought at the time. He had no memory of carving those words, but they had obviously been done by his own hand. When the blade had cooled he had taken it back to Stodiana, who gasped in surprise and delight, before asking about the carvings. Kelir had shrugged, and merely told her it was a protection of sorts. And now… His mind swam back to the present, to the young women who still knelt in front of him, so like a siabrie in color and appearance, yet with her mother’s countenance. [I]She has to be my daughter…there is no other explanation. If I had known when I left…But what is done is done. I cannot change the past, merely manage the present.[/I] “Why did you leave my mother?” Siabrey asked, her voice still holding its steely edge as she glared at the man she now knew was her father, years of repressed anger barely being contained. Kelir gave a soft sigh, and held the blade back out to the fire-eyed fighter. “I….” he gestured again, inwardly cursing at his inability to remember the language he had learned when he met Stodiana. “I….must….she….rock…” he grimaced in frustration and knocked on his head with one hand. Once again, the instrument women came to his rescue. “You had to leave, because she was hard-headed…stubborn?” She offered. “Yes!” he gave a sigh of relief. “She…not able….survive…hot….” “Because she wouldn’t have been able to survive out in the desert with you, and would have stubbornly tried to follow you. I see.” Tess nodded knowingly. Siabrey’s face softened a bit, and she glanced at Lucius, who seemed unsure of how to act, now that he had finally met Lucius’ father. “I understand then…you loved her, and she loved you, but you had to be apart to protect her.” Kelir’s mind was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. The crinkle of Xanadu’s note in his hand reminded him of why the humans clustered in front of him were here. They needed his help…his [I]daughter[/I] needed his help. He held up the note and gestured out into the hills “I…will visit….other siabrie. See if…they help.” “We would greatly appreciate that.” Tess said curteously, giving a little bow. “I…will….return…in two….” He forgot the word for ‘days’ and settled for using his finger to indicate the sun moving through the sky, down to the horizon, then back up again. “Two days.” Tess smiled. “We will camp here.” Kelir nodded, and took one last look at Siabrey. Her eyes, so like his own, glistened with unfallen tears, but her face was stoic. [I]She would be 25 now…so young to this world, and yet so strong…just like her mother…[/I] Kelir spread his six-foot wings and leapt into the air. In seconds, he had disappeared into a sky painted red by the setting sun. Siabrey watched the part of the sky where she had last seen the shimmer of his wings for a long time. Finally, as the others began to move around her to set up camp, she sighed softly. “Safe journey…father.” She whispered to the setting sun. Camp was set up swiftly and silently, as the party had had much practice. Siabrey helped Lucius for a while, then went to sit out on the edge of camp, gazing at the stars. She had noticed the fact that everyone had been glancing at her worriedly as she had been silent the whole night. She smiled slightly remembering Shaun’s antics to try to get her to laugh, including joking about her and Lucius’ ‘bear attack’ and trying to balance his rapier on one finger while kissing Elenya. She heard footfalls coming up from behind her, judged the gait and the heaviness of the step, and so was not surprised when Lucius lowered himself to the still warm sand. He was silent for a while, something for which she was grateful. [I]So much had happened these past few days; Lucius’ pesudo-proposal, Quinn’s death, the fact that our so-called ‘protective army’ may be destroyed, meeting my father at long last…[/I] She sighed softly as she gazed at a particularly bright winking star. “You ok, Siabrey?” Lucius voice was hesitant. She glanced over and him and was shocked with the pain in his eyes. He was really worried about her… “I’m fine, Lucius. It’s just…” she froze as her eyes realized that the star she had been gazing at was glowing brighter. Glowing brighter meant that it was getting closer… She leapt to her feet and drew her sword, instinctively stepping in front of Lucius. “Tess!” her voice called out in a hiss. The bard ran over from her spot by the fire. “What is it, Siabrey?” the bard took in her friend’s rigid stance and drawn weapon, and felt her heart leap. [I]Oh no, is something out there…[/I] “Look!” Siabrey pointed at the bright light that was now much bigger, and seemed to be…twinkling? “That’s made by light reflecting off something…” Siabrey’s eyes narrowed. She could just make out a long sinuous shape with gleaming golden scales... “That’s a dragon!” she gasped in wonder. A few minutes later, a 70-foot long golden dragon landed near the group. As Siabrey wondered if this could possibly be one of the dragons Xanadu was meeting with when she busted in telling him Quinn was dead and about Dingalus, the dragon trotted quickly up to the group. “Are you…Siabrey?” he asked breathlessly. “Yes….” Siabrey’s sword was lowered, but still ready, just in case. The dragon beamed and for all the world looked like a puppy who had just brought his master a bone he had found. “Oh good! Xanadu told me you’d be easy to recognize…” “Xanadu? Where is he, is he alright?” “He’s fine, he’s fine. He asked me to come check up on you.” At this proclamation, the dragon drew himself to his full, already impressive height. “He trusts me, you see.” [I]Goodness, this dragon is just a kid![/I] If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Tess would have laughed. “He also asked me to find out if you had met any desert folk yet.” The dragon continued. “Yes.” Siabrey answered immediately, giving her wings an unconscious twitch. “Kelir went to talk to the other siabrie to ask for their help.” “Good, good! Xanadu will be pleased.” The dragon practically purred. “Where [I]is[/I] Xanadu?” Tess pressed. “He is in the mountains to the south. A wizard of some kind has captured a large number of younglings.” The dragon growled. “Xanadu requests you to come help him as soon as you finish your mission here in the desert.” “Of course we’ll help him. Poor little dragons.” Siabrey crooned. For some reason, the thought of Xanadu being a daddy, and someone hurting the ‘younglings’ as he called them caused a strange feeling to run through her. She felt angry, and yet…sad somehow. [I]No way, my body’s telling me it wants kids?[/I] She stole a glance at Lucius; the boy was focusing on the dragon, and his emotions were keenly visible on his face, he wanted to help the younglings too. The golden dragon gazed down at them all, pride and pleasure showing all over his dragon face. “Thank you for helping us. There are so few dragons left…Xanadu is lucky to have such friends as you.” “Tell Xanadu to take care. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him.” Tess smiled up at the young dragon, who nodded. “I will. You be careful too. Come to the south Balarac Mountains as soon as you can. We will be watching for you!” With that, the gold dragon leapt into the air. pumping his wings furiously and raising a sandstorm around the party below. In seconds, he had disappeared back into the starry sky. Once the dragon had gone, the party went back to sitting around the fire talking, all except Siabrey, who took up her position at the edge of the ring of light. Lucius came and sat next to her, helping her stare at the stars. After a while, his arm snaked out to wrap around her waist, and he pulled her close. “I love you, Siabrey.” His voice was warm and husky. She lay her head on his shoulder, delighting in the simple pleasures of being close. “I love you too.” [/QUOTE]
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